This time he makes sure to not forget the time like last time, and eventually leaves the city hall around five o’clock. Outside Old Joe is waiting patiently for him. Nillian is not sure what to think of that, and hopes Joe will not be able to keep this up for long. It will get old very soon, having someone following him around, trying to help.
Nillian begins to feel hungry, so he walks over, and asks Old Joe to recommend a restaurant for that evening.
"Well, there is a good vegetarian restaurant several blocks that way. I heard that it was quite good, with reasonable prices. Otherwise I would not know, I don't go out eating out very often."
"Alright, that sounds interesting. Let's go there."
Old Joe seems to have gotten over his fear of harming Nillian with the cart, and rides normally this time. After several minutes Nillian sees the restaurant in the distance. Even from a distance away it is already obvious which restaurant Old Joe is heading to.
It is a smallish restaurant, stuck in between two other buildings. It has a green and white striped awning, which is decorated with some green foliage. The whole front of the building is decorated with different kinds of vegetables, rakes and other farming materials. In front of the restaurant there is a large sign telling customers that "All meals are prepared from home-grown vegetables and herbs!".
Old Joe stops the cart in front of the restaurant, and waits for Nillian to disembark.
"Say, Joe, you don't have to wait here. Go home if you want, I can find my own way back to the inn. From here it is only a short walk."
"Oh no, I will stay here. It is not bother, really. With your injury and such, you shouldn't be walking such distances!"
Nillian sighs, uncertain how to convince Old Joe to go home. Then he gets an idea.
"Well, in that case you are going to have dinner with me. Just park your coach over there, and come on!"
Old Joe suddenly looks discomforted.
"Are you sure that is a good idea sir? I'll be fine outside, I normally spend the whole day outside ..."
"Well, you are not staying outside while I am having dinner here! Come on, it will be alright. It's my treat."
"But ..."
It takes some more persuading, but in the end Old Joe capitulates. He asks the watchman standing outside to keep an eye on his cart, just in case, and enters the restaurant with Nillian. Inside the restaurant the decorations are the same as outside, a lot of vegetables and farming equipment. One wall has been decorated with a variety of different dried turnips, glued directly onto the wall.
Nillian and Old Joe are shown to a table without comment, and they order their dinners. Old Joe goes for the cheapest things on the menu, not wanting to burden Nillian, and orders a dish of broccoli with a pepper sauce. Nillian on the other hand goes for the specialities, having eaten a lot of vegetarian dishes at other restaurants. So he orders a meal of light bean-sprout soup, with tofu in chilli sauce, sautéed on a bed of spinach.
During the meal they keep up some small talk, but Old Joe is very uncomfortable and therefore quite silent. The dinner is very good, and Nillian orders an extra desert of tomato ice-cream in custard, which he also shares with Old Joe. He is very happy to have come there, and gives a big tip to the waiter.
After dinner Old Joe takes Nillian back to the inn, thanking him for the meal. Then he goes off, either home or to the pub. Nillian goes inside and makes his way to his room. It is quite early, and Nillian does not want to go to bed yet. So he gets a glass of whiskey and stretches out on the sofa, relaxing, letting his mind wander.
It is quite amazing how everything is progressing so far. I started out from knowing almost nothing. Everyone knows that Dr. Biene just disappeared, and no one ever doubted it. Or at least almost nobody. What did the council say? "You are not the first to be interested” or something like that. Strange how that something that happened twenty years ago can still inspire people to go looking for it. I am of course also guilty as charged, with me running around between the cities, looking for clues. And in every city where I go there are people with some information, leading me on. It is almost like a trail, leading me ... No, that is just crazy. I am just looking for the notebooks for his book, not following some kind of trail set by someone twenty year ago.
The people that I have met have all been nice to me. Well, of course because I spoke with a lot of public spokespersons. They have to be nice to people. Except that clerk here, she was just rude. And the robbers, they weren't nice either. That was really frightening, someone standing before you, controlling you with nothing you can do about it...
It was also quite a bother that they took al my money. I am really glad I could just go to the bank and make a withdrawal there. A few years ago that would probably not been possible, then I would be stuck here. No way to pay for a ticket to Kataras, no money for the inn. And no way to contact my family in Kataras, so they could come over here and settle everything.
It is good to live in a golden age, where technology is on the rise and making life easier and better. I can almost see it: the money flowing from and to every bank, going wherever the clients go. Of course it is not only the money that travels. There is a lot of coal, metal and other goods that keep travelling. Things get imported and later on exported, moving like a ... river, streaming everywhere. Goods going from one city to another, by train and boat, always travelling.
Suddenly Nillian jumps up, an idea boring into his thoughts. Export! A large order of coal. Exported to another city. But which one? Check the export records, every city council is required by law to keep records of exports. Find the city that suddenly had a single increase in its imported coal, and you have the destination. The place where Gerardina Nott shipped all the coal to, and probably was working on the big and secret project.
Slowly Nillian let himself slump back on the sofa. He has found the lead he was looking for. He smiles. Now he only has to check it, and he will know where to go next, where to find the answers he is looking for!
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