Perry Scrimshaw's Rite of Passage (38 page)

‘
As I live and
breathe it is you! You’re back.’

‘
Your hat,’
Perry prompted again, Joel took it from him and screwed it back
onto his crown.

Joel clapped him on the back.
‘Good to see you Perry, how long have you been back?’

‘
Just got
in.’

‘
And where is
it you’ve been all this time?’

Perry stuffed his hands in his
pockets. ‘Oh you know, here and there.’

‘
All mysterious
now I see,’ Joel cleared his throat, ‘so you sticking round for
good now or what?’

Perry shook his head. ‘Leaving
at the end of the week.’

‘
Ah,’ Joel
nodded, ‘ a short visit then. Pity,’ he mumbled and looking up to
the street. ‘I’ll need to get back to my post in a sec, the dance
is starting soon.’

Perry ran his fingers along the
switchblade in his pocket. ‘I was hoping to catch Eva, see how
she’s doing you know? Assuming she’s still in Southampton?’

He watched Joel closely, but
his face gave nothing away.

‘
I’ve only got
a few days here, but still…’ Perry pressed.

‘
Yup. Makes
sense.’

Perry ran his hand through his
hair. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got any idea where she might be?’

Joel’s expression was statue
still, betraying nothing. He looked out again onto the road where a
coach rumbled past.

‘
Possible
punters going by there,’ he mumbled, ‘I really should get back to
my post.’

‘
Joel,’ Perry
was surprised at the sternness in his own voice, ‘if you know where
she is, please, just tell me. I’d love to see her before I
leave.’

Joel nodded, rubbing his chin.
‘I’m sorry mate.’

Perry braced himself; only the
truth could spare Joel now.

‘
Sorry?
Why?’

‘
I’ve not seen
hide nor hair of her since the day you disappeared.’

Perry could barely contain his
rage. ‘Shame,’ he stammered.

‘
Yes,’ Joel’s
eyes narrowed. ‘Still. Better run, good seeing you
mate.’

Perry ground his teeth
together, unable to contain it any longer. ‘You damn liar!’ he
roared and pulled the knife out of his pocket, flicked the blade
out.

‘
Perry what’s
gotten into you?’ Joel edged backwards, his palms out.

Perry swished wildly with the
blade, but Joel dodged back, the swipe cut through the air. Perry
couldn’t find words in his throat that would do justice to the ills
Joel had caused him, the betrayal, the heartache; it was so beyond
anything he’d ever known. All his anger allowed was a low growl,
like some savage beast, advancing forward with the knife held at
belly height.

Joel spun on his heel and
sprinted.

‘
You get back
here!’ Perry took off after him, pushing his feet into the ground,
springing each foot up fast and gathering speed as quick as he
could. He remembered Joel was swift; the flaps of his coat billowed
like bat’s wings as Joel darted around the corner.

Perry tore after him and saw
Joel running with one hand on his hat, already building a slight
lead on him. Perry pumped his legs and weaved around a couple
outside the Dolphin Hotel. Ahead, Joel leapt over a crate of greens
and glanced back at Perry. He had a fair lead, Perry wasn’t much
practised at running these days but he was determined to run Joel
down if it was the last thing he did. He leapt over the same crate
and dodged a woman pushing a pram.

‘
Oi!’ she
yelled after him, but he didn’t stop, didn’t break stride, his
focus was just on the thudding feet in front if him.

Joel took a sharp right towards
St. Michael’s, Perry still remembered every twist of these streets,
he’d run them a hundred times over, chasing or being chased as a
boy – but never like this. With the church looming ahead, Joel was
starting to pull away and turned right again. Was Joel leading him
in a circle to tire him out?

‘
Come on!’
Perry urged himself, he couldn’t lose him in the shadows now, and
took the corner at a tight angle brushing the brickwork with his
sleeve and then his boot caught something and he flew, suspended in
the air for the briefest of moments, arms flailing, feet scrambling
to find purchase on the ground while his body’s momentum still
carried him hurtling forwards, further until wham! He hit the dirt
landing on his hip, knees ripping, skidding and then rolling over,
jagged stone and pebbles tearing at his body.

‘
Argh!’ the
pain lanced him, raw at first and then the sting came. Holes in his
jacket at the left elbow, along the left side of his leg and on his
right knee the fabric hung off in tattered flaps. Through the rips,
deep dusty grazes were already blooming dark with blood.

He looked up. A group of people
circled around, intrigued passers-by with their heads cocked
looking at him, murmuring things like ‘Oh my,’ and ‘Silly fool,’
and then from behind him, a sarcastic ‘Oops.’

Perry twisted to see the
silhouette of Joel, still breathing heavy, standing with his back
against the wall.

‘
You tripped
me!’

Joel rested a hand against his
chest. ‘Oh I am so awfully sorry,’ he said in a mock lady
voice.

Perry pushed himself up,
half-expecting to fold again with some break or sprain, but his
legs held steady.

‘
You’re
dead.’

Joel pushed himself off the
wall and casually skipped away, walking quickly towards the
seafront. Perry staggered after him, slowly at first, with leaden
feet. He ignored the pain, quickening to a trot. Joel shot a
nervous look back and seeing that he was still being pursued,
started to jog. Perry began to jog too and then broke into an
awkward, limping run. Joel must have heard his quickening steps for
he too began to run, a yard or two ahead of Perry and soon they
were back running near as fast as before.

Perry gritted his teeth against
the pain; soon they were at the end of French Street. He figured
Joel would run along the harbourfront, but to his surprise he ran
straight up the wharf - a watery dead end. Wary of some trap, Perry
slowed at the neck of the wharf, there was little point running.
Joel was penned in between himself and the sea.

The crescent moon cut belts of
shimmering silver onto the black water beyond. Perry gazed up at
the desolate sky, clear and starry. Was God watching him? Wooden
decking creaked underfoot, though he trod cautiously, seeking out
forms in the shadows under the iron benches and checking behind for
ambushes. The icy breeze buffeted and nipped at his ears, water
licked and lapped in the darkness, stifling his senses. At the end
of the wharf there stood a figure, black as a crow, waiting for him
to come.

Perry took a moment to dab a
handkerchief at the worst of his cuts, though there were too many
to attend to. He settled for tying it around the biggest wound on
his knee. The pain was sharp and true. He cursed his stupidity for
falling for that old trick, one he had played himself when he was
younger. But that wasn’t what really hurt, what really fuelled the
anger and hatred deep within. Would killing him assuage it? Right
the wrongs? Perry didn’t know anymore, but he knew he would
continue on to the end of the wharf.

With each step, the figure grew
larger; he was on the edge, facing out to sea, back turned to
Perry’s approach. Perhaps he wouldn’t need the knife at all, a push
might be all that it would take.

‘
Funny to be
here again,’ Joel spoke without turning, ‘I remember being chased
here once before and had to swim to shore.’

‘
You got
pneumonia,’ Perry stated flatly, recalling Joel’s story.

‘
I did, and we
fished here together once, didn’t we, don’t you
remember?’

Perry was in no mood for
reminiscing. ‘And we guddled up Bishopstoke together too. Take Eva
on your fishing trips now instead do you?’

Joel turned to face him, the
moonlight casting hard lines on his face. ‘So you have seen her
then,’ he stroked his chin, ‘she’ll never believe you, you
know.’

‘
Believe
what?’

‘
That I had you
attacked and exiled.’

Even knowing it was Joel,
hearing it aloud and said with such bold pride made it incalculably
worse.

‘
Maybe she
won’t but it doesn’t matter, I’m here to right the wrong done to me
and my Pa,’ he pointed. ‘
You
betrayed us!’

‘
No. I
betrayed
you
. I
did nothing to your Pa. And you want to talk about betrayal? What a
memory you have old friend. Who betrayed who really?’ Joel’s voice
wavered. ‘You promised me we’d stay together, the three of us. And
what did you do? You stole our money and fixed to leave me on my
own here. My best friend and the girl I love, the only people I had
in the world scheming to abandon me,’ Joel bowed his head. ‘You
promised me you’d never do it again after the prison notes. You
lied.
You
betrayed
me
!’

Was he crying? Perry bit down,
fists bunched at his sides. He didn’t want to admit it aloud, but
it was true. Of all the people in Southampton he had wronged, Joel
was the one he had wronged the most.

‘
It doesn’t
excuse what you did to me. I was imprisoned in Buenos Aires. I
missed my father’s passing. I should’ve been here!’

‘
It was no less
than you deserved and you know it. You’re just angry because I
outfoxed you.’

‘
Outfoxed me?’
Perry was incredulous. ‘This isn’t a bloody game Joel!’

‘
Oh, but it is
a game. It’s all a game, playing people off one another, scraping
by, fooling people. I learnt from the best, you.’

‘
Joel, I’m not
the same person who left, I’m not like that anymore.’

‘
And I’m not
the boy you left. I’m a man grown and I’ve made something of
myself. Earning good money, a fine place to live and I’m promised
to Eva.’

It was sickening to hear. ‘She
doesn’t love you,’ Perry said, ‘not truly.’

Joel’s face broke into a
crooked smile. ‘Well, at least that’s one thing we can agree on.
But she will, in time.’

Perry was astonished. How could
Joel want to marry someone who didn’t love him back?

‘
I know she
loves me some, but it’s a question of closing some of the open
doors in her mind. When she knows it is only me who can give her
what she wants, she’ll realise it’s me she truly loves. Only me,’
he repeated.

Perry stood in silence, the
breeze boxing his ears and the water lapping at the heels of the
wharf. ‘You can’t make someone love you.’

‘
I disagree.’
Joel stuffed his hands in his pockets. ‘You shouldn’t have come
back Perry,’ he sighed, ‘though it was good for one
thing.’

‘
And what’s
that?’

Joel held a knife up to the
moonlight. ‘You brought my blade back to me.’

It couldn’t be.
Perry’s arms shot to his pockets and padded down onto nothing. It
must have spilled out of his pocket when he fell. And now he had
nothing to attack with. No…he had nothing to
defend
himself with.

Joel levelled the blade,
outstretching his arm. ‘We wronged one another Perry, but I can’t
have you coming back and spoiling things for me.’

Fear pierced through him. He
couldn’t believe how this had happened, him with the advantage of
surprise over Joel, yet it was he who was now on the wrong end of a
switchblade, with an injured leg that wouldn’t do for running away
fast enough.

‘
Well you
needn’t worry. I’m not intending on staying. I’m going abroad
again,’ Perry said desperately, taking a step back.

Joel sketched a lazy figure of
eight in the air with the knife. ‘You’ll try and take her with
you.’

‘
I’ve already
tried,’ he swallowed, backing away, ‘and she refused.’

A small flash of triumph spread
itself over Joel’s face, but then snapped back to menace. ‘I was
too kind, getting those coal porters to put you on that ship.
No-one would have noticed if they’d kicked you into the sea
instead.’ Joel took a step towards him, knees bent and knife at the
ready.

Perry kept his eyes on the
blade.

‘
But I see I’ve
been given another chance!’ Joel lunged and slashed the knife.
Perry jumped back, but not quickly enough, the knife caught his
arm, slicing through the fabric of his jumper. A second, then
another and the pain throbbed to the surface. Just a scratch, he
thought, gritting his teeth and resetting his footing.

Perry circled round with Joel
like bareknuckle boxers looking for an opening, except his mind was
only on defence and staying away from the blade.

‘
That one
hurt?’ Joel’s eyes were as black as a midnight sea.

‘
A nick’s all,’
Perry didn’t dare look away from Joel.

‘
There’s more
where that came from.’

In a flash, Joel darted forward
lunging the knife straight at Perry’s belly, but Perry managed to
leap back, sucking in his stomach, and gave Joel a shove backwards
on his shoulders. At the contact, Joel slashed another stroke
wildly in the air and Perry got his arms out of the way not a
moment too late.

He was terrified, the last
attack wasn’t intending to slash him and cut him up, it was aimed
to skewer him in the belly, no doubt with a twist of the knife.
Joel was serious. He had no doubts now. Joel wanted to kill
him.