A Distant Shore (20 page)

“Come on, we can go in here.”

Stuart Lewis remains in the corridor while Katherine leads the way into a small room, where Gabriel immediately notices that the fluorescent light is blinking on and off. There are a table and four chairs, but on the walls there are neither pictures nor posters, and there are no windows. Gabriel sits across the table from Katherine, and then Stuart Lewis and a policeman come in and the lawyer sits next to Gabriel. Suddenly Stuart Lewis seems relaxed, and he even smiles at Gabriel, who can now see that today the man has what looks like a slight coffee stain on his yellow tie.

“How are we this morning?”

Gabriel is confused by this sudden change of tone. He glances at Katherine, who also seems somewhat puzzled.

“Everything all right, Stuart?”

“Oh yes, everything’s all right.” The lawyer looks at his watch, and then he begins to drum his fingers against the table top.

Katherine waits for a few moments and then she speaks again.

“Stuart, what’s going on?”

The policeman looks at them all in turn, and then he suddenly gets up. He opens the door and steps out into the corridor. Stuart Lewis looks at his watch and then he too stands.

“Stuart, what on earth is going on? I think Gabriel has some right to know, don’t you?”

The lawyer glances again at his watch, and then he looks smugly at Katherine.

“Well, that’s it. The Crown’s lawyer has failed to turn up, and the girl is refusing to testify, so it’s over. I’ve informed the police that you’re taking care of his application for asylum, and so as long as you’ve filed his papers, he’s all yours.”

“So all criminal charges are dropped?”

“The chief witness for the prosecution won’t co-operate, so that’s pretty much it. The case is over, but Mr. Gabriel is not a popular man in these parts. You
have
filed his papers for asylum?” Katherine nods. “Well, while things are being processed, I would suggest that Mr. Gabriel get as far away from here as possible.”

Katherine stares at Stuart Lewis, who straightens his tie and then pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Are you going?”

Stuart Lewis seems surprised by the question.

“Of course I’m going. Without the girl there’s no case, and I’ve got other things to attend to. Is there anything else?”

Gabriel looks now at Katherine, who seems confused. She holds her arms out in a gesture of helplessness.

“Well, I suppose not. It’s just that it’s all a bit sudden.” The lawyer moves towards the door.

“Good luck.” He pauses and then looks at Gabriel. “To you both, I mean.” He closes the door after he leaves, and Gabriel and Katherine are left alone.

“Did you understand all of that?” Gabriel does not answer, so Katherine edges her way around the table and sits next to him. “Gabriel, it’s over. The girl has refused to co-operate, so the Crown has had to drop the case. You’re free to go, but Stuart is suggesting that you go far away. I think he’s right. It’s not going to be easy if you stay around here, but that’s not what you want, is it?” Gabriel shakes his head. “Look, I’ll be honest with you, love. Your application’s in and you’re supposed to stick around here, where they’ll house you and feed you as a refugee till they decide if they’ll accept you. My colleagues in the local office here will take care of you.” Katherine pauses. “But the truth is, love, with this hanging over your head, people around here are not going to forget you. You’ll not get a fair hearing.”

Gabriel does not know what to say, and so he waits for Katherine to say something further that will break the silence. Then Katherine takes out a small notepad from her handbag and she begins to write in it.

“Gabriel, I’m going to give you my address in London.” Katherine tears a piece of paper out of her pad and hands it to Gabriel. “Drop me a line if you need anything, but between you and me, your best bet is to do a runner. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but it’s true. Stuart’s right, the press have been all over this case. In fact, even London will be a bit dodgy, given the publicity that you’ve had. Go north. You’ve not really got any papers, so call yourself something else. Take a chance up there as they won’t know who you are.”

“But I did nothing wrong.”

Katherine touches his arm.

“I’m not disputing this, Gabriel. It’s just that people always assume that there’s no smoke without fire. I know it’s unfair, but that’s how it is.”

Gabriel looks closely at the piece of paper that Katherine has given him.

“Can you read it?”

Gabriel nods and Katherine smiles.

“Well, that’s it then.”

“Will I be going back to the prison?”

“I shouldn’t think so. You don’t really have anything, do you?” Gabriel produces his crumpled book from his pocket. “Well, if that’s it, then you’re all set. I’d give you a lift as far as London, but I’ve got to go across to Dover for another case.” Katherine pauses. “You haven’t any money, have you?”

He watches as Katherine reaches into her purse and takes out some notes. First the woman is sharing her private address with him, and now she is offering him money, but Gabriel will not take the money, for this is too much. He looks away, but Katherine is insistent.

“Gabriel, I am going to leave it right here on the table and I want you to take it. You never know.”

“I do not need your money.”

“I beg your pardon?” Katherine’s voice is suddenly filled with indignation.

Gabriel is shocked by his words and he speaks again. “I am sorry. Thank you.”

“Good.” Katherine stands. “I know one of the policemen pretty well. I’ll ask him to give you a lift to the train station in the next town so you can get away from the journalists. I’ll tell him I’m meeting you there later or something. Wait until he goes, and then you’re on your own.” She momentarily stares at him. “But I expect you’re used to that, aren’t you?”

Gabriel stares back at her.

“Good luck, Gabriel.” Katherine closes the door behind her.

Gabriel sits and stares at the money. Then he reaches over and picks up the two notes and pushes them into his trouser pocket.

Gabriel feels the weight of a hand upon his shoulder and the sour smell of a man’s breath on his face.

“Keep it down, mate. You’ll have the whole of Scotland Yard down on our heads if you’re not careful.”

Gabriel looks at the scruffy, unkempt man, whose straggly beard momentarily frightens him. The man’s skin is pale, almost waxen, and now that the man is sure he has Gabriel’s attention, he takes a step back. Gabriel looks around himself and he begins to remember. The policeman bundled him into the back of a car, but this policeman did not handcuff him, nor did he wait for a driver. He pulled his door closed, and then he began to drive out into the countryside. As he did so he tormented Gabriel, asking him about the girl, and what it was like, and how Gabriel would feel if he were to do the same thing to Gabriel’s sister or to his mother. Gabriel had no choice but to listen, but the longer this man talked, the more convinced Gabriel became that the man intended to beat him, or take him to a place where a group of his friends would be waiting to kill him.

Just as Gabriel was beginning to think that in order to save his life he should open the door and jump out and run into a field, they began to approach another town. The policeman did not drive as quickly, and he stopped talking. Eventually the man turned off the engine and sauntered around to the back of the car, where he held open the door and simply said, “Get out.” Gabriel quickly stepped out and onto the pavement, and the man slammed shut the door and said nothing further. Gabriel watched as the car raced off. He felt in his pocket to make sure that he still had the money that the woman had given to him, and then he turned and walked into the train station and towards the place where people were buying tickets.

Some hours later a cold and hungry Gabriel found himself wandering the overcast streets of London, a city bathed in the weak yellow glare of afternoon street lights. The sky was a grey blanket that hung limply over Gabriel’s head, while all around him traffic roared so that no matter which direction he walked in, it was impossible to escape the terrible noise. He discovered the broad majesty of the river, where the crowds were less dense, and he stared in wonder at the great buildings that lined each bank. However, Gabriel could take no pleasure in these incredible sights for there was, as yet, no order to his life. He was lost. He wandered to the centre of one of the many bridges, and he stared down into the blackness and, for a moment, Gabriel wondered what it would be like to drop down into the cool water, having first spiralled through his own reflection. Perhaps he might find peace in the silence and stillness that lay beneath London’s silvery vein. As a sudden washing of traffic across the bridge shook him to his senses, Gabriel decided to leave this river and once more give himself purpose by searching for Bright among the endless streets of the city. However, as a troubled day gave way to the consternation of the night, this task began to overwhelm Gabriel and he was soon eager to abandon his quest.

Night fell quickly, and Gabriel was concerned that a policeman might apprehend him and start to ask difficult questions. He had walked for many miles and his right leg had now begun to distract him, and Gabriel not only wished to feel safe, but was also in desperate need of a place where he might rest. At the point when Gabriel thought that he could probably walk no further, he stumbled upon an unlit park where, through the gloom, he noticed that many men appeared to have settled down to sleep on the benches. The first bench that he sat on disgusted him, for it was only after he leaned back and stretched out that he realised he was sitting next to a used condom that looked as though it had been filleted and opened like a cleaned fish. Gabriel found a different bench and as he lay down he kept his eyes open. Although he was tired he did not feel safe, so he stared at the tree above his head, the large branches hanging over him like a big black canopy. And then he noticed more of them, hanging in the branches like discarded rubber fruit, but he was too tired to move. He rehearsed the events of the day in his mind, a day which had begun in an English prison and was now ending with him lying on a park bench in the capital city of London. And then suddenly the man with the waxen face was upon him, and the sky was bright and clear, and Gabriel realised that he must have fallen asleep.

“You’ve got to keep it down round here.” The man steps back towards Gabriel and sits down on the edge of the bench. “You’re new, aren’t you? I can always tell a new one. You’re disturbed.” The man taps the side of his head with his finger. “Up here. That’s where you’re disturbed. I’m right, aren’t I?” He does not wait for a reply. “You’re worried about your family. You can’t figure out how you got yourself into this situation, that’s it, isn’t it? I know I’m right, aren’t I?” The man laughs quickly and slaps Gabriel’s thigh. “Well, go on, admit it.” The man continues to chuckle to himself.

“For me this is not a good situation.”

The man seems somewhat mystified by Gabriel’s response, so he waits, but Gabriel says nothing further.

“What do you mean, it’s not a good situation?” Gabriel knows that it is foolish to trust the first stranger that he meets, so he decides that he will not tell this man any more. “You’re one of those refugee blokes, aren’t you?” The man seems to visibly relax now that he imagines that he has solved the mystery of Gabriel’s identity. “You’re one of those blokes, aren’t you? Coming into this country to sponge off the welfare state. That’s what they say about you lot.” Gabriel looks at this man, and then he speaks slowly.

“I have not come to this country to take from anybody.”

His new friend seems immediately cheered by this news.

“Well, that’s good then. Here, my name’s Jimmy.” He sticks out a grubby hand, which Gabriel shakes cautiously. “Well, come on then, cat got your tongue? What’s your name?”

“Gabriel.” He utters his one word and then waits for the man to speak again.

“Nice name, Gabriel.” The man pauses and he points to Gabriel’s book, which is falling out of his pocket. “So what you got in there?”

“My book.” Gabriel pushes the book back into place.

“Oh, you’re a big reader then, are you?”

“Sometimes I write things down.”

“Well, that’s handy. Helps you to remember, right?” Gabriel looks at the man, but he says nothing. The man continues. “You know, if you’re so much of a reader, we can go and get some mags and get busy.” Gabriel looks puzzled, but the man continues. “You know, the guide mags. Buy ’em for half the price that we sell ’em for. Keep the rest.” Gabriel has no idea what this filthy man is talking about, but he does not want to give him the wrong impression.

“I am poor. I do not have any money.”

“None at all?” Gabriel shakes his head. “Well, sometimes they might trust you if you’ve got a friendly face.” The man looks closely at Gabriel. “You know, you’ve got a lucky face. Anybody ever tell you that?” Gabriel shakes his head. “I used to think I was lucky till I was had up for drunken driving twice in one week. That’s when my luck ran out.” He laughs now. “It ran out all right, and the bugger’s never come back to me.”

Gabriel follows this man out of the park, across a wide road that takes them an age to negotiate, and then through a succession of streets that seem to dead-end into each other, until they come to a tall office block, which is clearly their destination. There are other “Jimmys” both going into and coming out of the building, and Gabriel begins to panic, fearing that this man might be about to trick him out of his money. He pushes his hands deep into his trouser pockets and clutches the single note and loose coins, and then he reminds himself that, if necessary, he will fight this man, and any others, who attempt to treat him ill. Once they pass inside the building, Gabriel relaxes, for the man appears to know exactly what to do and there are many others present. His new friend approaches a woman who sits behind a desk and he hands her a fist full of coins. The woman counts the money, and then she begins to count ten copies from a bank of magazines that are piled up in front of her.