Tom had asked Dawn to go to Lambeth Bridge on the north side, where she would find a homeless woman called Annie, about 31 years of age and wearing a lime green coat. Dawn was to bring the homeless creature back to the office without delay.
All Tom had told her was that the two grubby men in his office held the keys to a political lead and that it was imperative that they remain with him. Apparently one of the men, known as Jim was getting anxious about his friend Annie and so she was to be brought to the office.
“Here, take this” Tom had told her, and handed her a cheap worn out plastic lighter, “Loki says if you show her this lighter she will know you are telling the truth. Oh and tell her Loki has paints and paper for her.”
“Why would she come with me?” Dawn has exclaimed, horrified with her mission “this could be any old lighter, and of course it is!”
Tom thought for a few seconds, recalling how close Annie and Jim had become, she obviously knew about his political obsessions.
“Tell her that Jim has uncovered something political and he is talking to reporters about his findings.”
With that she had marched back into his office where the two mongrels were still stuffing Cadbury chocolate fingers into their mouth.
Now under the bridge, Dawn’s nose crinkled up at the smells and was disgusted to believe people lived in such conditions. She pulled her scarf around her neck and put her hands in her coat pockets to shield herself from the cold winter winds. It was now 6pm and the chilly night air was biting hard.
She saw a man setting up some cardboard boxes ahead of her, his actions precise in order to create a robust shelter with the promise of another freezing cold night.
Dawn was acutely aware of her appearance, her smart brown fitted warm coat, her shiny heeled shoes and her perfectly groomed blonde hair.
“Oh God” she whispered, fear now tingling her senses “I am going to get mugged, or worse still killed out here!”
She tentatively made her way over to the man with the boxes,
“Excuse me….sir, excuse me”
The man looked at her, his eyes cold and hard, she was taken aback by his age. This was not a man, but a boy about 17 years of age.
“You looking to get yourself mugged lady?” the boy replied after looking her up and down, “if you are lost, my advice is get back to the main streets, you are surrounded by desperate people around here.”
Dawn was terrified, but rationalised that this boy would have made a move by now if he was intent on harming her, but instead he had offered her a warning.
“I am looking for Annie. She is about 31 years old and wears a lime green coat.”
The boy looked at her suspiciously “why do you want Annie?”
“So you do know her?” Dawn was relieved she had struck lucky straight away; she wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible
“You never answered my question lady” the boy said suspiciously, taking a step towards her, “what do you want with Queen Annie?”
“Queen Annie? Why do you call her that?”
“If you knew her, you would know that she has her own throne. It is her thing lady; she is Queen Annie around here.”
Dawn was becoming agitated, she was getting nowhere.
“Do you know someone called Jim?” she asked
“Mad Jim, yeah sure, he and Annie are always together, they look out for each other” the boy got back to his boxes and was in the process of laying old blankets underneath his abode.
“Jim has sent me to fetch her. He is in Brick Lane now and has asked that I come and take her to him”
The young boy crouched under his shelter and wrapped his body in the blankets, looking at her he said
“Lady, my advice is to go, you will be eaten alive down here!”
Dawn opened her handbag and took out her purse
“Put that away you stupid woman!” the boy scowled “didn’t you listen to me?”
Dawn held a ten pound note in her hand and held it up to him
“Look” she said as she edged closer to him “if you will just let me know where I can find Annie, I will give you this ten pound note and you can get yourself some decent food in the morning.”
Standing by the boy, Dawn could see his face a little clearer and began to feel ashamed, he was just a child.
The boy held out his hand to take the money “walk about 200 yards that way” he pointed to his left “you will find Annie and if Jim is not with her as you say lady, she will be upset by now”
Dawn leaned slightly to hand the boy his money. He grabbed her arm as she did so, and she let out a small scream.
“My name” he said slowly “is Pete, just in case you were interested. I didn’t choose this life you know” and he let go of her arm.
Dawn shuddered as he released her from his grasp and stepped away slowly, visibly shaking from their encounter “thank you Pete” she whispered as she turned to find Queen Annie.
****
Dawn found her within 10 minutes, but didn’t make herself known to her instantly. Instead she hid behind a metal column just yards away from where she sat on her rickety crate.
This mission, although short in terms of time had affected Dawn, the sight of Pete had caused her great concern. Her pre misconceptions about homeless people had been challenged by this boy. He could have robbed her, he was a big youth! Instead he had merely told her his name, as if to find some sort of recognition and acknowledgement, ‘why was he living like this?’ she asked herself as she looked across at the figure in the lime green coat sitting rigidly on a dirty old crate. She slowly edged out of the shadows,
“Annie?” she said gently “Annie my name is Dawn, Jim and Loki have sent me to you.”
Annie stood up from her throne, eyes wide her body language agitated
“Jim sent you? Where is he? Is he ok?”
Dawn slowly walked toward her not wanting to startle her in any way.
“Here” she pulled out the lighter “Jim asked me to show you this”
Annie moved towards her, glaring at the lighter with a manic look in her eyes,
“Where did you get that?” she snatched it from Dawn “Where is Jim?”
“He’s with my boss Annie, he has uncovered something big about our political system”
“What?” Annie responded in disbelief “You mean, he was right all this time?”
“It would appear so, and” dawn took a step closer to the disheveled figure still holding the lighter aloof “Loki has arranged for you to have paints and paper.”
Dawn watched her facial expression change from shock and agitation to surprise, her grime stained features lit up at her words
“Really? Paints and paper?”
“Yes, now we need to go Annie, we need to go now” Dawn looked around; there was no light other than the small fire that burned woefully in the metal drum by the rickety crate.
Annie hesitated, unsure if she should go with this woman, but the promise of being with Jim and the promise of her very own paints coaxed her forward. She turned and looked at her crate,
“Can I take my throne?”
“We will get you a new throne Annie” Dawn said quickly, she desperately wanted to get away from this godforsaken place, “now hurry, Jim and Loki are waiting for you.”
“Ok” Annie nodded, she hated being alone, anything was better than being isolated during the long winter nights, “follow me lady, otherwise you will get us killed dressed like that!”
Following Annie, they soon reached the light of the streets. Dawn felt embarrassed to be seen with this woman and felt ashamed of her embarrassment, her thoughts drawn back to Pete.
“Tell me Annie” she enquired as they walked together along the busy evening streets of London, people walking by, no notification on their faces expressing their disgust at Annie’s state. People just did not seem to see her, or at least pretended not to see her. “What is Pete’s story?”
“You met Pete huh? Nic
e boy, nice boy.”
“Why is he living under the bridge?”
“He was sexually abused by his uncle all of his life” Annie glanced sideways at Dawn noting her horrified expression and continued, “At the age of 13, Pete beat up his uncle and put him in intensive care. He tried to tell his father what was going on, but he didn’t believe him. As Pete tells it, his father is a wealthy well known business man and the uncle who was abusing him was his father’s brother and business partner.”
“Oh my God that’s awful!” Dawn whispered. Her pre misconceptions about homeless people had been that they were bums, alcoholics who could not face the challenges of life. It never occurred to her for one second that they were real people with real lives, “Why didn’t he go to the police?”
Annie laughed “lady, you have no idea of reality do you? Pete’s dad would never allow this to go to the police, if he did it would have gone to the press and that would never do! His dad told him to get out and never return.”
“But he was just 13!”
“Yep, and been living on the streets ever since. He’s a good kid, a bit disturbed as you can imagine, but a good kid, a nice soul.”
They both continued walking and turned left onto Brick Lane,
“Here we are” Dawn sighed, glad to see the office and get in out of the cold. They entered the building and Dawn offered Annie a chair. Annie sat and began stoking the fabric on the arms,
“This is nice!” the chair swiveled “and it goes around and around!” she began whizzing the chair around as Dawn knocked on the door to the office.
“Hey lady, can this be my new throne?”
“Sure” Dawn called back as Tom opened the office door.
Chapter 4
Tom drove to his house with the three homeless people who were now his precious cargo. He had called his wife Jenny earlier to warn her of his plans. He had explained the situation and insisted that she told no body about their guests. His wife was amazing, he adored her and he knew she would do exactly what he asked.
He pulled up outside his three story town house and quickly ushered his guests out of the car. The front door opened and Jenny was standing there, apprehensive awaiting the arrival of her husband and his guests.
“This way,” Tom said gently as Jim and Annie gingerly walked to the doorway.
Jenny touched Jim on the arm “Frank?” Tom shook his head fervently indicating that she should not say anything else.
“Let’s just get them in for now Jen”
Loki trailed at the back of the strange line of people entering this stunning town house. He wanted to ensure Jim entered the house and positioned himself at the back just in case he turned around, afraid of his new destination.
“Did you do what I asked Jen?” Tom asked his wife after he closed the door and the world behind him.
“Yes of course I did”, she looked over at Jim as he slowly took in his new surroundings. “Are you sure this is Frank?” she whispered.
“I am certain. Where are the personal stylists?”
“In the lounge room” she pointed to her right “I hired them from outside of the city as you asked and told them that they were taking part in a fly on the wall documentary called “Do the clothes make the man?” Jenny’s eyes rose to the ceiling “I can’t believe they bought it. I even told them that there were hidden cameras in the house to keep the transformation scene as natural as possible.”
“Didn’t they wonder why it was all happening so quickly, didn’t they ask about contracts?”
“Yes, but trust your wife darling, it is all sorted. The only thing that really threw them was the fact that I wanted them here tonight.”
“Oh Lord, what did you say to them?”
“I told them that the original stylists were scheduled for this evening and that it was all arranged and contracted for over 6 months ago. I said that they had let us down at the last minute, and that due to a confidentiality contract still in place, I was unable to reveal the reason for the no show.”
“And they bought it?” Tom was in awe of his wife, she was truly amazing.
“Well they are here aren’t they?”
Tom turned his attention back to his guests, “Jim, Annie, Loki come here and meet my wife, this is Jenny”
Quiet variations of ‘hello’ and ‘hi’ floated across the hallway. Loki stepped towards Jenny and extended his dirty stained hand
“Pleased to meet you Jenny, thanks for taking us in; it is mighty cold in London tonight.”
Jenny took his hand, without hesitation, without grimace and shook it
“You must be Loki? You are more than welcome, I have arranged for you all to be cleaned up, have new clothes and food will be served a little later.”
Loki liked this lady; his angelic radar that never dissipated during human existence sensed a good genuine soul.
Annie came to Loki’s side, “Loki?” she whispered “where are we? And where are my paints? That Tom guy promised me paints.”
Loki put his arm around Annie’s shoulder “I know the paints will be here soon Annie, I also know that you will paint amazing art one day.”
Tom, who had gone into the lounge room for a second, returned with three people, two men and one lady aged between 21 and 25 years of age.
“Guys, I would like you to meet Judith, Pedro and Daz” all three nodded as their name was mentioned “these lovely people are going to ensure you all get the star treatment you deserve. They are going to pamper you, groom you and dress you. You are going to feel like kings and a queen when they are finished.”
“You see” Loki beamed down at Annie “you really are going to be Queen Annie tonight!”
Jenny led the stylists up the staircase there were three bathrooms in the property so each could have privacy whilst they were being looked after.
“Go on” Tom urged gently to all three of them, “go and enjoy the hot water, the steam, the whole thing, I will have food ready when you’re finished.”
Loki encouraged Jim and Annie to go up the stairs by gently maneuvering them up toward the steps, “How great is this Jim? Come on Queen Annie!”
Loki gave Tom a wink as he guided them up the steps, and Tom nodded in appreciation of Loki’s support.
****
Jenny walked into the lounge room, where Tom was pouring himself a large brandy,
“Do you think that is really Frank? It’s impossible! Just 18 months ago Franks bones were found, you know this and the police confirmed they were Frank’s remains!”
Tom took a large gulp of his brandy, savoring the gentle heat as it trickled down his throat
“Didn’t you notice the fleck in his eye? I am telling you Jenny it is Frank! This thing goes deeper than any of us thought.”
Jenny fell silent for a few seconds “No I didn’t notice the fleck, but Tom, Frank is dead!”
“It’s Frank love, it is him.” Tom walked to the settee and lowered his body “Jim, as he calls himself only has memory over the last three years. From what I can gather, he has been living on the streets, homeless without any recollection of his past, other than according to Loki he is obsessed with a political conspiracy.”
Jenny planted herself unceremoniously beside her husband, and took a drink from his brandy glass.
“I can’t believe that he’s alive after all these years. That means the police lied.” Both fell silent for a few minutes in deep thought of the sadness they had felt, they had even attended Frank’s funeral.
“Oh my God Tom what about Penny?”
“I know, I know” said Tom “it’s a bloody mess alright. Penny remarried just 6 months ago, so things are going to get complicated.”
“There is something else” Tom gazed down at the liquid amber sitting in his glass and drained the remains, “Frank, I mean Jim keeps ranting a series of numbers over and over again when he is nervous or upset, 08071965”
“And?”
“That is Frank’s birthday 8th July 1965, but mo
re importantly I think it is a combination.”
“To what Tom?” Jenny searched her husband’s face for an answer, until the realization of what Tom was saying hit her “the safety deposit box!”
Tom nodded “the problem is that I have no idea where the box is, only Frank knows that.” He turned to his wife “do you remember me telling you that Frank called me the night before he disappeared and he mentioned a safety deposit box?”
Jenny nodded, she remembered it well. After Frank’s mysterious disappearance Tom had no idea where the safety deposit box was, and it drove him insane.
“I think the digits he recites are not just his birthday I think they are the combination to the safety deposit box. If I can get that box, I know that I can get all the evidence Frank had on the policies for cash scam that took place before the elections.”
“Tom, that’s massive!”
“Tell me about it!” he sighed “how to get Frank’s memory back here is the key. I am kind of hoping that when he is cleaned up, fed and rested he may be in a better frame of mind to try and remember.”
“And the other two, what part do they play in all of this?”
“Nothing as far as I can tell, other than they are Frank’s friends, although there is something about Loki, something I can’t quite put my finger on. My journalist nose tells me there is more to him than he is letting on.”
“How on earth did you manage to conduct your interview with the Chancellor today with all of this going on?”
“I didn’t. I cancelled the interview.” Tom stood up and walked towards the lounge doorway “this is far too important Jen. If we can get that safety deposit box and get Frank back to full mental health then my next interview with the Chancellor will be in public, on the television with full evidence of their dirty games.”
“My God” breathed Jenny “It’ll be like Frost and Nixon all over again!”
“In the meantime, I am going to the kitchen to tell Greta to go home early once she has finished preparing the food. The least amount of people that know what’s going on the better; and Greta knew Frank well.”
There was a knock on the front door, three consecutive taps followed by a short silence then two more taps,
“That is Dawn, can you let her in whilst I send Greta home. She will have several black bin bags full of newspapers.”
“What a mess” uttered Jenny as she opened the door to a disgruntled Dawn, ten large black bin bags on the step full of newspapers.