Morning Rounds

The main street of Little Timor was two lanes wide it was Constable Biebe’s habit to walk down one side cross over and walk up the other ending at his office in the small police station. He knew the town and its inhabitants well enough to spot a stranger when one appeared. He discounted the tourists they were easily enough recognizable. The man on the corner looked so out of place in his two thousand dollar suit and custom made shoes he stopped and spoke to him.

"Are you looking for something?" John asked

"Um…actually I was just looking to see what was here," he smiled slightly.

"Not much…how did you find this place?"

"I uh am going to live here…well not here exactly but in Port Auckland…I’ve bought a house."

John raised his sunglasses, "yeah where? I didn’t think he’d built any houses yet."

"It was there already…on Bay Road."

"The white house with the long drive…oh yeah I know it…I’m John Biebe, Senior Constable."

"Sorry…Max Skinner…um…banker."

"Banker…are you the one renovating the old bank?"

"Yes afraid so…didn’t know it was going to be a renovation project."

"Anything in Port Auckland will be a renov or a new structure…you’re English."

"Rather," Max shook his head, "I had no idea about this place everything has to be flown in."

"Either that or shipped in…well if I can help you I can be found at the end of the street."

"Thank you," Max said and flipped his sunglasses down.

John continued his walk down the street turning to look at Max Skinner again he banged into something knocking his hat off.

"You didn’t hurt your self did you?" Keisha Mallory asked from the door way of her shop.

"Uh no," John picked up his hat and settled it back on his head, "What…?"

"It’s a wind chime…I like them." Keisha leaned against the doorway.

"You certainly have a lot of them," he said looking around the stripped canopy outside her shop.

"Other people like them too. Are you sleeping any better?"

"What?"

"The other day Maeve said you weren’t sleeping."

John looked at her a moment, "not really…everything alright here?" Her mass of curling hair was blowing about her face she made some effort to push it behind an ear.

"Here…well that depends on what you mean…" she turned and walked back into her shop leaving him on the sidewalk.

John stood there a moment and touched the wind chime again setting off its melodious sounds and continued on down the street. Maeve had said she was single but he noticed a ring on her finger…what did that mean? Not that he was interested or anything.

Later on he got in his police vehicle and drove over to Port Auckland a derelict whaling village being resurrected apparently from the ground up. He stopped for a moment in front of the Bank of WA and watched the work gang installing a new front door. The two story brick building appeared to be intact. He wondered again at the Brit in the suit…what was he doing out here?