Page 15 of Reinventing Cato
“Er…”
Cato laughed. “Yep, that’s the bit that puts people off. Shades of criminals dissolving bodies in lye. But get over that, and it’s a neat way to dispose of remains.”
“What’s in the liquid that’s left?”
“Peptides, soap, sugar, amino acids.Completelysterile. This isn’t a very cheery topic and it’s worrying me that you’re showing so much interest.”
“It’s worrying me that you know so much about it.”
Cato chuckled.
The gritter turned off onto another road and they joined a line of cars probably heading for the motorway.
“Is that the end of the entertainment?” Vigge asked.
“Not much room for a striptease, though I could try. Crank the heating up first. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about my tackle.”
Cato caught the hint of a smile on the guy’s face. That was a relief.
“Not too hot, or I might fall asleep,” Cato said.
“Late night?”
“Ministering to the needy. In bed before midnight. No sober needy left to minister to.”
“A disappointing New Year’s Eve, then?”
“The food was good. The company was terrible. But that might have been because I was in a bad mood. It was a long way to go for a party I didn’t enjoy.”
“Presumably you didn’t set off thinking you weren’t going to enjoy it.”
“No. I thought it would be fun. It wasn’t. Do you live in the north or in the south?”
“The south.”
“So had you come up for a party as well?”
“No.”
“You’re not very chatty, are you?”
“You’re supposed to be entertaining me.”
“What do you want me to talk about?”
“If you’re not going to do a striptease, anything but religion.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I’m not talking about family.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“Nor my job.”
Cato laughed. “You can’t or won’t tell me what you do for a living?”
“No and no.”
