them. Theory never stood up to practice.
In the distance, he could see the lights of the London Wheel beginning to shine brighter than the sky behind them. It was still a couple of hours before night would fall completely. He wondered whether she’d found somewhere to stay before she’d come to visit, so that she wouldn’t have to remain outside and vulnerable.
He clicked his finger.
Yes.
The gold coin.
He should do the research now so that he’d be ready for what he needed to do the next day. She’d have sold it for cash. He turned on the mobile he kept in his trouser pocket. He called up a listing of all the pawnbrokers in the local area — they were an easier sell than a jeweller. There weren’t many. Five within a reasonable walking distance — you couldn’t ride without cash and anyway, it had taken him several weeks after he was released before he was prepared to brave the tube trains, or even the buses. Three of them had websites, but none had the coin listed. It was probably too soon for that.
His other mobile rang. He grabbed it from his bag and looked at the display. His body tensed, until he realised it was Atwood. He forced himself to relax. They couldn’t know there was anything wrong.
“Hey, how’s Mayra?” he asked. Leo didn’t hesitate.
“She’s good, but in for the night. I wasn’t allowed to stay for long. I’m back home. She needs to rest.” There was no need to tell him he hadn’t gone to the hospital at all. He wasn’t likely to find out soon enough. Reports took time to write up, and even longer to be read.
“Bad luck. Hospitals can be so inflexible.”
“Tell me about it.” He allowed his voice to smile. “Was there something else? Do you need me to come in?”
“No, just checking in and … I was wondering if you could drop by my place on the way in.”
So, Atwood was going to be there all night.
“And get you a change of clothes? Sure.”
They each kept a set of the other’s keys. It wasn’t something he liked, but it was Department protocol in case of emergencies — and overnight working. If you couldn’t trust your partner to pick out a clean pair of smalls, you couldn’t trust anyone.
“Thanks, mate. Just a clean shirt and some underwear. I’ve got a toothbrush.”
“Done.”
Leo hung up. He had his excuse for being late into work, which would give him time to visit one, maybe two of the pawnbrokers on his list if he was quick. It was worth the effort. It would keep his cover for longer. He picked the ones that were closest to Atwood’s flat. They both opened at seven. If he was back in the office by nine, there wouldn’t be too many questions levelled at him. And if there were, then, too bad. He’d just have to think up some good excuses.
He was good at that.
Eight
“Why?” said Mara, officially scolding herself for her stupidity as she walked aimlessly along the southern bank of the river. She wasn’t scolding herself for the stupidity of having gone to Leo’s flat and getting caught there when he got back from work, that was so high on the scale of stupidity that it didn’t count. The stupidity she was now concerned with, was how she’d been in this city for half a day and not managed to sort out the acquisition of any money before all the shops had closed. Getting enough of the local currency to survive for the three days she was there was one of the first things she should have sorted, because she could do very little without money. Seeing Leo and his girlfriend had put that completely out of her mind — that wasn’t entirely true, it had crossed her mind, but had very quickly been eclipsed by her other thoughts. As a consequence, it was now impossible for her to secure somewhere to stay for the night. Which, of course, was the second thing she should have done after getting money, because being out alone, in a strange place, at night, was not a good situation to put yourself in. And she still had nothing to eat.
Gordon
In the distance, he could see the lights of the London Wheel beginning to shine brighter than the sky behind them. It was still a couple of hours before night would fall completely. He wondered whether she’d found somewhere to stay before she’d come to visit, so that she wouldn’t have to remain outside and vulnerable.
He clicked his finger.
Yes.
The gold coin.
He should do the research now so that he’d be ready for what he needed to do the next day. She’d have sold it for cash. He turned on the mobile he kept in his trouser pocket. He called up a listing of all the pawnbrokers in the local area — they were an easier sell than a jeweller. There weren’t many. Five within a reasonable walking distance — you couldn’t ride without cash and anyway, it had taken him several weeks after he was released before he was prepared to brave the tube trains, or even the buses. Three of them had websites, but none had the coin listed. It was probably too soon for that.
His other mobile rang. He grabbed it from his bag and looked at the display. His body tensed, until he realised it was Atwood. He forced himself to relax. They couldn’t know there was anything wrong.
“Hey, how’s Mayra?” he asked. Leo didn’t hesitate.
“She’s good, but in for the night. I wasn’t allowed to stay for long. I’m back home. She needs to rest.” There was no need to tell him he hadn’t gone to the hospital at all. He wasn’t likely to find out soon enough. Reports took time to write up, and even longer to be read.
“Bad luck. Hospitals can be so inflexible.”
“Tell me about it.” He allowed his voice to smile. “Was there something else? Do you need me to come in?”
“No, just checking in and … I was wondering if you could drop by my place on the way in.”
So, Atwood was going to be there all night.
“And get you a change of clothes? Sure.”
They each kept a set of the other’s keys. It wasn’t something he liked, but it was Department protocol in case of emergencies — and overnight working. If you couldn’t trust your partner to pick out a clean pair of smalls, you couldn’t trust anyone.
“Thanks, mate. Just a clean shirt and some underwear. I’ve got a toothbrush.”
“Done.”
Leo hung up. He had his excuse for being late into work, which would give him time to visit one, maybe two of the pawnbrokers on his list if he was quick. It was worth the effort. It would keep his cover for longer. He picked the ones that were closest to Atwood’s flat. They both opened at seven. If he was back in the office by nine, there wouldn’t be too many questions levelled at him. And if there were, then, too bad. He’d just have to think up some good excuses.
He was good at that.
Eight
“Why?” said Mara, officially scolding herself for her stupidity as she walked aimlessly along the southern bank of the river. She wasn’t scolding herself for the stupidity of having gone to Leo’s flat and getting caught there when he got back from work, that was so high on the scale of stupidity that it didn’t count. The stupidity she was now concerned with, was how she’d been in this city for half a day and not managed to sort out the acquisition of any money before all the shops had closed. Getting enough of the local currency to survive for the three days she was there was one of the first things she should have sorted, because she could do very little without money. Seeing Leo and his girlfriend had put that completely out of her mind — that wasn’t entirely true, it had crossed her mind, but had very quickly been eclipsed by her other thoughts. As a consequence, it was now impossible for her to secure somewhere to stay for the night. Which, of course, was the second thing she should have done after getting money, because being out alone, in a strange place, at night, was not a good situation to put yourself in. And she still had nothing to eat.
Gordon
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