Malinda Chou
The day Eddie Brisco died, everyone else turned up to work on time.
At 9:15 Suji said, “I need a coffee. A proper coffee. Does anyone else want one?”
“Grande skinny mocha.”
“Regular flat white.”
“Not for me thanks.”
“I’m skint till payday.”
“Has anyone seen Eddie?”
“Probably wrecked after last night.”
“Did he go out?”
“Isn’t he up in Blackpool for that meeting?”
“Maybe.”
“Last call for coffee people!”
At 10:10 Neil Severidge came down from the fourth floor.
“Has anyone seen Eddie around?”
“I think he’s on a training course.”
“RPCS?”
“Rings a bell.”
“That’s next Friday. I’m on it.”
“You got your dates mixed up, Neil?”
“I’m positive it’s next week…”
At 11:30 Wendy Pech came down from the sixth floor.
“I’m looking for Eddie Brisco.”
“Not in yet, sorry.”
“When do you expect him?”
“I think someone said he was on a course today. Do you want to leave him a message?”
“No, that’s alright, I’ve already sent him an email.”
“Did you get an Out of Office reply?”
“Not yet.”
“Hangover. Pay up.”
“No way. He probably just forgot to turn the Out of Office on.”
“We shall see.”
At 12:12 Neil Severidge came down again.
“No Eddie yet, sorry Neil.”
“I checked. The course is next week.”
“Must be sick then.”
“Yeah, sick.”
At 2:00 the admin team were talking about Jacqui’s upcoming wedding.
“I have the vows on my computer. Do you want to hear?”
“Sure. I always wanted to write my own vows, but I never got around to it.”
“I know. When I sat down, nothing came out.”
“I find it so embarrassing when –”
“Okay, here they are. I printed copies for you all.”
“Thanks, love.”
“Hey, I like this bit about the pets.”
“Yeah, Rob’s really into animals.”
“That’s what you’ve got to do. Make it personal.”
“What’s this about Mordor?”
“Lord of the Rings. Rob again.”
“There are no single men around.”
“Not here anyway.”
“Which shows you how bad it is. If these guys are taken, it’s got to be slim pickings.”
“Who is single?”
“Heath from Procurement?”
“No, he’s got a girlfriend.”
“Must be something in the water.”
“What about Eddie?”
“Isn’t he married?”
“I always just assumed…”
At 3:15 Eddie Brisco’s phone rang.
“Pick up the phone.”
“It’s Eddie’s.”
“He never gets calls.”
“Except when he’s pulling a sickie.”
“Pick it up.”
“Too late.”
“It was right beside you.”
“I’m busy.”
“Yeah right.”
At 4:15 the phone rang again.
“Hello, Eddie Brisco’s phone… Hello? … Hello?”
“Prank call?”
“I bet it was Eddie.”
“That prick.”
The phone rang again.
“Hello, Eddie Brisco speaking… Sorry, no, it’s Justin… I … Okay, I’ll put you through.”
“Who was that?”
“Eddie’s wife.”
“Shit.”
“She wanted to speak to the big boss.”
“Wendy?”
“No. The big big boss. Eric.”
“Scandal. What do you think it is?”
“She sounded sleepy.”
At 4:45 Eric Winchester called the entire floor into the meeting room.
“Where is everyone?”
…
“Have they all gone home?”
“It’s Friday.”
“It’s not even five.”
“Don’t growl at us. We’re still here.”
“Sorry. I’ve just received some bad news.”
“Not more cutbacks?”
“Geez, talking about timing.”
“Remember, we were the ones working on Friday afternoon.”
“No. It’s about Eddie Brisco.”
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