A9

A9 enters the story as the place where the body of a boy is found in a ditch. The discovery turns a stretch of roadside into the point where disturbing news becomes personal for Peter: he remembers the boy and associates Steef with a pistol, then fears that the father of his child is a murderer.

The Discovery

Rebecca tells Peter that the boy’s body has been found in a ditch alongside A9. The report comes amid accusations that Steef handled a boy too roughly. Peter’s memory fixes on a boy in a baseball cap and on an image of Steef with a pistol tucked into the waistband of his jeans. As the connection takes hold, Peter stops hearing what Rebecca says; the news has displaced the conversation around it.

Significance

A9 is mentioned only through this discovery, but its narrative force lies in the sudden link between a reported death and Peter’s private crisis. His thought that the father of his child is a murderer turns the roadside location into a marker of how far his situation has deteriorated. The novel does not establish here that Steef killed the boy: Peter’s fear arises from the accusation, the recovered memory, and the boy’s death, which he connects in the moment.