In Denial (38 page)

He had nobody else to blame but himself.

He remembered walking the length of Nathan Road, he remembered looking in the jewellers shop, but he remembered little after that. Thank God he had the forethought to carry the minimum cash and no cards.

The stench hit him again.

He had to get out of here, but to where? He had no shoes, no shirt and no identity. He would be arrested in no time.

He got to his feet but his legs refused to work properly. He staggered the first few yards then leant against the wall in an attempt to shake some life back into his muscles. Finally he reached the end; he needed to find out where he was. People were walking on either side of the street as though where he had come from was a million miles away. There were shops, mostly closed with barred shutters, and several restaurants. He was robbed literally yards from what he considered to be normality. And yet to walk back into his real world would be impossible: he was not only half naked but he was nameless. If he were stopped certain members of the police would take a great deal of satisfaction in putting a gweilo behind bars for the night.

Revenge was a marvellous weapon.

Looking to his right he saw a European couple walking towards him. They were young, maybe late twenties but there was no way of determining their nationality.

He waited until they were only feet away before stepping out from the alley.

‘
Excuse me,’ he said. He saw the immediate revulsion in both their faces but at least they slowed down. ‘I’ve been mugged and just need the price of a -’

The man took his girlfriend’s arm and urged her past this disgusting excuse for a fellow European. Adam thought he heard the words, ‘Fuck off,’ but perhaps it was what he expected to hear therefore assumed it was said.

He slunk back into the alley.

But then he was aware the couple had stopped.

They turned round and looked at him.

‘
Did you say you were mugged?’ the young woman asked, clutching the man’s arm firmly. There was an accent but he could not identify it.

‘
Yes,’ Adam said. ‘If you have the price of a phone call I could perhaps get myself out of this predicament.’

His possible saviours exchanged looks. The man thought for a moment. ‘We can probably do better than that. You can use my cell phone.’ This time he recognised a definite American twang. The man put his hand in his trouser pocket and produced the phone.

‘
Thank you,’ Adam said, reaching across the few feet between them. Who should he phone? He didn’t know the number for the hotel … then the number Leila had written on the bathroom mirror flashed into his mind. He looked at the couple. ‘Can you tell me where I am?’

Another exchange of looks. ‘One block from the Nathan Road and Boundary Street interchange, south,’ the man said.

‘
Thanks.’ Adam tapped out the number and hoped he remembered it correctly. It was answered almost immediately. ‘Leila?’

‘
Yes.’

‘
Leila, it’s Adam Harrison, look I’ve been mugged and -’

‘
Where are you?’

‘
A block south of Boundary Street on Nathan Road …’

‘
Stay where you are. I’ll be with you in ten minutes.’

‘
Leila, I’m so sorry, I -’

‘
Adam, forget it, which side of the Nathan Road are you on?’

‘
I … hang on.’ He looked at the couple. ‘I’m sorry, but which way is it to Star Ferry.’

‘
That way,’ the woman said, pointing to the right.

‘
Thanks. Leila? I’m a block south of Boundary Street on the right.’

‘
Okay, wait there. Ten minutes.’

Adam closed the phone. ‘Thanks,’ he said handing it back to the man. ‘You’ve been great.’

The woman looked at her partner. ‘We can’t leave him like this.’

Adam smiled. ‘I’ll be all right now. It’s not as if I’ve got anything left that might attract another mugger.’

‘
But …’ she started to say.

The man reached into his trousers pocket and took out his wallet. ‘Look, I’m sorry we can’t do more for you but take this just in case.’ He handed Adam a hundred dollar note.

‘
I can’t,’ Adam told him.

‘
I can, so I can’t see why you can’t.’ He thrust the money towards Adam. ‘Go on.’

‘
Well, all right but where are you staying and I’ll repay you.’

‘
Forget it. Just put it down to an example of the friendly international relationship that exists between the British and the US.’

‘
All right, but my name is Adam Harrison and I’m staying at the Peninsula. If you’re anywhere near it over the next week or so, please call in and I’ll not only repay you this money but I’ll also treat you to a meal.’

‘
You never know,’ the man said, ‘we might just take you up on that.’

‘
Are you sure you’ll be all right?’ the young woman asked, ‘We could always get you a taxi.’

‘
No, it’s all right. Thanks. The friend I called will be here shortly.’

‘
If you’re sure, but are you injured in any way?’

‘
Just my pride.’

‘
You’re sure?’

‘
I’m sure and thank you both. You’ve restored my faith in human nature. And I look forward to repaying your understanding over a decent wine and a good meal. Don’t forget the name is Adam. Adam Harrison and I’m staying at the Peninsula.’

‘
Okay. If you’re quite sure.’

‘
Please. You have both done more than enough.’

With a cautious smile from the young woman, the couple moved on but not before she glanced over her shoulder, almost as though to make sure Adam had been real.

*  *  *

It was less than five minutes before a yellow taxi pulled up and Adam saw Leila climb out and start looking around for him.

‘
I’m here,’ he said coming out from the shadows of the alley.

Leila’s hand shot up to her mouth. ‘Adam, what happened?’

‘
Don’t ask.’

‘
You look -’

‘
And I probably smell twice as bad. Can you take me some place where I can have a shower?’

‘
Your hotel?’

‘
Preferably not. Not yet.’

‘
My apartment?’

‘
Yes, if you have a shower, and I might just offer you an apology or two at the same time.’

‘
Are you injured?’

Adam was surprised to see her shudder and was puzzled by the sudden look of disquiet on her face.

‘
My pride is seriously hurt,’ he said, ‘but physically I don’t think my assailants had much to do other than take what they wanted.’ He looked towards the waiting taxi. ‘Do you think he’ll let me in?’

Leila took his arm in much the same way as the girl in the bar had taken his arm. ‘He will have seen much worse than you.’ She opened the back door of the taxi and issued some rapid instructions in Cantonese before getting in after Adam.

Adam rested his head against the back of the seat. The taxi smelt like a fresh English Spring day compared with the alley. ‘Thank you,’ he said, closing his eyes. ‘Thank you for leaving your number and thank you for coming to get me.’

‘
I could be clever and say I knew it would only be a matter of hours before we saw each other again, but I would be lying. Let’s just say this is what I hoped for, although not under these circumstances.’

‘
But I -’

‘
No, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. You’re safe now and yes, I do have a shower, a very good one as you’ll find out, and I hope afterwards you’ll give me just a little of your time before you reject me again.’

Adam smiled. ‘I didn’t reject you -’

‘
Then what did you do?’

‘
I didn’t reject you. I was fighting against what you were doing to me.’

She glanced sideways as the taxi slowed for a set of traffic lights. ‘And what was I doing to you?’

There were a few seconds of silence. ‘Making me realise that even under the most testing of circumstances, life must go on.’

‘
I think we’ve been here once before,’ she said, pushing her knee against Adam’s.

‘
Yes, we have, but this time it’s different.’

Gabrielle would have given anything to get to sleep.

She had tried to watch more films than she had ever watched before and half of them she either didn’t understand or didn’t want to understand. As with TV back in the UK, she never ceased to marvel at what entertained some people. She also often wondered whether she needed to revisit her sermons and bring them into the twenty-first century, but since most of her audience was from the earlier part of the twentieth century there seemed little point.

She felt dehydrated.

She felt agitated.

But most of all, and understandably, she felt extremely apprehensive.

Had she done the right thing? There was no real way of knowing. She was venturing into the unknown. Her father always said she was impulsive. Even when she decided she wanted to become a minister he told her she was acting on an impulse and then five years later when she was ordained it was still on an impulse. She often thought all her father ever wanted for her was to find a man; a man who would look after her, produce numerous grandchildren and at the same time keep her happy. Her father was from the generation that believed women were put on this earth to have babies, be mothers and look after their husbands.

He would not only be apprehensive, Gabrielle thought, smiling nervously to herself; he would be having the proverbial kittens. He would be lying awake at night and worrying. Her mother would be lying awake next to him and worrying because he was worrying. As soon as she landed she would have to let her father and mother know where she was. She had spoken to them or texted them each day after she left Loch Lomond, and from Heathrow when she’d told them she was going abroad for a few days, though not what her destination was.

Gabrielle watched as the cabin crew for the umpteenth time walked up and down the aisles checking on their charges. How could they do it? With the advent of giant airliners and hundreds of passengers, surely the glamour of being an air stewardess had worn off by now, or were there other attractions?

‘
Are you all right, Miss?’

Gabrielle decided her inquisitor was even younger than she was. ‘Yes, fine thanks, just having trouble getting to sleep.’

The stewardess smiled. ‘I’m afraid it happens all the time. Would you like another blanket?’

‘
No, no thanks.’

‘
Breakfast will be served in about three hours.’

‘
How long after that before we land?’

‘
We’re on schedule, so about four and a half hours.’

‘
Thanks.’

Gabrielle closed her eyes.

It was frustrating not knowing what avenue she would pursue on her arrival. It was just as frustrating not even knowing what she was going to. She tried to remember the pictures she had glanced at over the years, but none would materialise into an image. She remembered the fuss and bother generated when the British pulled out of Hong Kong seven years earlier, but also remembered wondering why the British had been there in the first place. She was sure that if she read up on the history of the colony a lot of her questions would be answered. She tried to imagine a similar situation existing somewhere in Great Britain. The answer was quite simple: it would not have existed. The in-flight magazine she’d read from cover to cover hadn’t really helped.

With her eyes still closed she tried to conjure up a clear picture of Adam Harrison’s face because, after all, he was the reason why she was now in a British Airways Boeing 747 thousands of feet above the Indian Ocean.

She could remember his smile.

She could remember his laugh, his voice, his eyes, but putting all the pieces together was not proving easy. She had known him for such a short time. So why was she a matter of hours from arriving in Hong Kong?

Okay, yes, she had made a promise to Christina Yong.

And she fully intended keeping that promise.

But …

*  *  *

‘
We seem to spend a lot of time watching each other come out of the shower,’ Adam said as he crossed the room.