I perched on the edge of the rooftop, feeling the cold chill as the midnight rain ran down the neck of my jacket. I resisted the urge to shiver.
She’ll be here soon.
A clap of thunder made me bristle, and I took a cautious step back from the edge.
‘Quite a night to be meeting like this,’ a voice called out from behind me.
Blast, I thought. How long has she been there?
‘It’s always rainy in Sandringham,’ I countered, turning around. ‘I hardly even feel it any more.’
She smirked, running her eyes up and down my trenchcoated-silhouette. ‘Agent,’ she eventually nodded.
‘Agent,’ I nodded back.
‘I haven’t heard from you in years,’ she said. ‘Why now?’
‘I need your help,’ I replied, reluctantly. ‘I wouldn’t have… if there was any other way—’
‘What do you need, John?’ she interrupted me, not unkindly.
‘I need the best buyer’s agent working in Sandringham,’ I whispered, barely louder than the crushing rain. ‘I need you.’
She paused for a moment before replying. Eventually, she let out a deep, mournful sigh.
‘That’s not me anymore, John,’ she whispered. ‘That hasn’t been me for a very long time.’
‘Those sorts of skills don’t fade,’ I countered. ‘That killer instinct, the way you know the Melbourne property market. I… I’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘And you never will again,’ she spat, suddenly vicious. ‘I have a life now, John. Children, a husband. People who need me to be something different. Something… something better.’
‘Better than the best?’ I asked quietly. She ignored me, taking two steps closer to the edge of the roof.
‘Look,’ she said after a while. ‘I can help you find someone, give you everything I know about how to find a good buyers advocacy company operating in Melbourne—’
‘Dammit Leanne, you know I need more!’ I growled, rushing forward and grabbing her arm. My fingers tightened, the rubber of her raincoat protesting against my grip. She made no move to buck me off.
‘I can’t help you,’ she shook her head. ‘You have to let me go.’
My fingers slowly unwound… and she was gone.