Page 55 of Enzo

I’ve barely touched my scrambled eggs when a bunch of girls at a nearby table start squealing over something.

“People say he's Enzo Knight,” one of them says.

Hearing complete strangers discussing me makes my stomach churn. I’ve lost my appetite, so I pay the bill and get the hell out of there.

Father calls me as I get back into my car.

“You haven't returned my calls.”

“I've been busy.”

“So I've seen.”

He sounds most displeased.

“How are you feeling—”

“You're avoiding me.”

I was going to ask him how he is. Post-surgery, he hasn’t looked as well as we thought he would, but he’s clearly not interested in niceties. He gets straight to the point and I don't even try to defend myself.

“Come and see me when you're free.”

“I will.”

I look at the cream-colored card that Luca gave me, and decide to go and check it out.

***

I park alongside the kerb.

This has to be it. The street ends fifty yards ahead, the immaculate houses giving way to a tall iron fence half-hidden behind trees and vegetation.

I get out of my car and walk towards it. The place is huge. Beyond the railings, acres of neglected land stretch out. Trees and shrubs have been left to grow wild, swallowing what look like the remains of old pathways. In the middle of it all stands a long glass pavilion.

Or what's left of one.

Half the panes are missing. Others are cracked or opaque with dirt. Rust streaks the metal framework and vegetation crawls up sections of the structure.

What was this?

I pull out my phone and look it up online. That’s when I discover that it was built in the 1920s as a horticultural exhibition pavilion and public gardens. It closed decades ago. Since then there have been proposals, objections, preservation campaigns and more than one developer trying to get their hands on the land.

None of them got anywhere.

Until recently.

I scroll farther.

The site was acquired by a private company.

Valizar Holdings.

I look through the railings again. Now I understand why Luca brought up the depot. He doesn't want me to build something here. He wants me to work out what deserves to stay.

I’m locked out. There’s nothing I can do. There’s no way I can inspect this site further, but one thing’s for sure. There’s so much space here. So much potential for what it could be.

I decide to come back another time, when I can explore this properly. I flew in this morning, booked to stay overnight because I didn't know how long I would need to be here.