“His address in
London does not exist. Or rather, he does not exist at the address. He has not
lived there for a long time, much too long a time for his business cards not to
have been changed. Which means he has lied about his whereabouts. I have not
seen a single document baring his signature. I have received no mail since joining,
no postage whatsoever.”
Tamas raises his
eyebrows. “Do you mean to suggest that our Mr.Sarastro is hiding from us?”
Paikea meets his
eyes with an inscrutable gaze. “Not at all. I am suggesting that Sarastro does
not exist. We have seen no official documents, we have not met him, spoken to
him. He has never attended the circus, or any auditions. He has never signed
any cheques that I have seen. I believe he is, to put it rather fancifully, a
ghost. He is a distraction, and we are being carefully monitored so as not to
notice that he is a distraction. He is there to prevent us from seeing who is
really in charge.”
Now Tamas
relinquishes his hold on his tea. Both cups sit on the table, cooling despite
the warmth of the fire near them.
“I think you
know quite well who is in charge. While I know you and Pamina are close, I
should wonder what she is or is not telling you.”
Text by Lucie MacAulay
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