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gabbyncatLink to Plot Outline
By mid-day the following day Harry was thoroughly fed up with the City Council and their documents. She'd now got a folder on her PC bursting with PDFs on everything from the historic protection order on the Central Quarter, statistics on the poverty levels in some of the less salubrious parts of the same quarter and the Council resolution to form a sub-committee to investigate the possibility of demolishing some of the "slum" housing and replacing it with buildings that would be "a credit to the city". What she hadn't found was the "health and safety" report that was supposed to have triggered the whole mess. She wasn't even sure it existed, none of the documents referred to it, but Alex had been clear that the residents of Crown Estate believed their houses had been condemned because of this report.
She abandoned the computer and went to look for inspiration in the fridge. This was never a good idea but she was desperate. She ended up looking uncertainly at a half-eaten pot of yoghurt that didn't actually appear to be growing anything but she couldn't recall when she'd got it and a slice of chocolate cake which listed a simply frightening number of calories on the packet. She didn't remember buying the chocolate cake either but had a feeling she had planned it as a treat for the weekend. The phone saved her from making a decision.
"Hello?" she asked.
"It's me, Alex."
"Hello, how's it going?"
"I got contacted by some photo-journalist guy."
"That was quick. I was expecting him to get back to me first."
"What's the idea?"
"Photo-story, the passing of a local community, historic Illyria, sepia-tinged photos of old-fashioned balconies with washing hanging out and window boxes, that kind of thing."
"Will it help?"
"Might do. It'll raise awareness of what is threatened."
"It's not quite the blistering expose of big business corruption I was hoping for."
Harry closed her eyes. "Well we don't know there is any corruption yet."
"That healt and safety report..."
"I don't even know if there was a health and safety report. What do you know about this council sub-committee on developing the central quarter?"
"What council sub-committee?"
"You're really not used to this investigation thing are you?"
"Well what do you think I need you for?"
"I wasn't aware you needed me for anything. I came to you remember!" Harry pulled a face at the phone.
"Look, why don't I take you out for dinner. You can explain to me about this sub-committee and talk me into this photo shoot at the same time."
Harry pulled the phone away from her ear and glared at it a moment before putting it back.
"Are you asking out on a date?"
"Dunno. Would you like it to be a date?"
"You don't hang about do you?"
"Shall I take that as a yes?"
"No. You can take me out for a working lunch on a strictly professional basis. Meet you in fifteen minutes."
"What? now? today?"
"No time like the present. Besides I've no food in the house."
By mid-day the following day Harry was thoroughly fed up with the City Council and their documents. She'd now got a folder on her PC bursting with PDFs on everything from the historic protection order on the Central Quarter, statistics on the poverty levels in some of the less salubrious parts of the same quarter and the Council resolution to form a sub-committee to investigate the possibility of demolishing some of the "slum" housing and replacing it with buildings that would be "a credit to the city". What she hadn't found was the "health and safety" report that was supposed to have triggered the whole mess. She wasn't even sure it existed, none of the documents referred to it, but Alex had been clear that the residents of Crown Estate believed their houses had been condemned because of this report.
She abandoned the computer and went to look for inspiration in the fridge. This was never a good idea but she was desperate. She ended up looking uncertainly at a half-eaten pot of yoghurt that didn't actually appear to be growing anything but she couldn't recall when she'd got it and a slice of chocolate cake which listed a simply frightening number of calories on the packet. She didn't remember buying the chocolate cake either but had a feeling she had planned it as a treat for the weekend. The phone saved her from making a decision.
"Hello?" she asked.
"It's me, Alex."
"Hello, how's it going?"
"I got contacted by some photo-journalist guy."
"That was quick. I was expecting him to get back to me first."
"What's the idea?"
"Photo-story, the passing of a local community, historic Illyria, sepia-tinged photos of old-fashioned balconies with washing hanging out and window boxes, that kind of thing."
"Will it help?"
"Might do. It'll raise awareness of what is threatened."
"It's not quite the blistering expose of big business corruption I was hoping for."
Harry closed her eyes. "Well we don't know there is any corruption yet."
"That healt and safety report..."
"I don't even know if there was a health and safety report. What do you know about this council sub-committee on developing the central quarter?"
"What council sub-committee?"
"You're really not used to this investigation thing are you?"
"Well what do you think I need you for?"
"I wasn't aware you needed me for anything. I came to you remember!" Harry pulled a face at the phone.
"Look, why don't I take you out for dinner. You can explain to me about this sub-committee and talk me into this photo shoot at the same time."
Harry pulled the phone away from her ear and glared at it a moment before putting it back.
"Are you asking out on a date?"
"Dunno. Would you like it to be a date?"
"You don't hang about do you?"
"Shall I take that as a yes?"
"No. You can take me out for a working lunch on a strictly professional basis. Meet you in fifteen minutes."
"What? now? today?"
"No time like the present. Besides I've no food in the house."