Shadows of Deceit Read Free Page A

angry at the situation he had allowed himself to be drawn into.
    “I should never have stayed.”
    “No, that’s not true and you know it, I didn’t entice you at all. It was just the circumstances of the evening brought you here. Besides nothing has happened.”
    “Nothing has happened! - listen mate I don’t usually give myself up to be viewed at close quarters by some…”
    “Say it Harry, say it, go on, ‘some nance, some ponce, whatever!”
    Harry couldn’t make eye contact with Andrew; now he felt embarrassed. Perhaps he had overreacted somewhat?
    Andrew continued, speaking quietly,
    “I’ll admit to you …yes…I am - but it never entered my head to try anything with you I promise. I woke up and came in to see if you had gone or whether you wanted to look for the ring you lost. It’s just getting light now. The all clear has sounded.”
    “Go on.”
    “I came into the room but felt dizzy, the drink, the fight or something. I didn’t eat properly yesterday so I sat down here. I thought you would have heard me come in. I’ve not been here for long. Again, I’m sorry if you’ve taken offence.”
    Harry’s face showed that he was angry but he said nothing. Andrew continued,
    “It’s probably best you go now, my life is complicated enough without all this. I really did just come in to help you, that’s all.” Andrew stood up and left the room.
    Harry quickly dressed and checked his pockets again. He picked up his coat and went to the apartment door. Andrew was waiting there in his dressing gown, he opened the door for Harry.
    “Look.”
    He said,
    “If you can detach yourself from what occurred just now my offer of a possible job could be yours, here’s my phone number.”
    “We’ll see.”
    Harry stuffed the card in his pocket and walked quickly down the stairs and out into the street.
    Andrew called after him,
    “What about the ring can I help you search for it?”
    Harry didn’t hear him.
    The heavy rain had stopped; Harry lit a cigarette and retraced his steps to where the attack on Andrew had occurred. A few of the small shops had opened and the owners were busy carrying produce outside to display. Only a handful of people were walking by and all were wrapped up against the icy wind now gusting from the east. He searched for some time without finding the ring, as Andrew watched him, unseen, from the window of his apartment above.
    “Bugger it!”
    Harry said under his breath.
    A half empty double decker bus squelched by, its tyres noisily slapping over the cobbles as it travelled towards the centre of town. Harry decided to return to his digs; the ring was gone: he had to accept that, but his mood became increasingly gloomy as he was forced to negotiate an alternative route home because of an unexploded bomb. Eventually he turned into his road from the far end and peered down towards the house only to discover that an incendiary bomb had burst through the tiles and destroyed much of the roof of the property. Two nearby houses had also suffered a similar fate,
    “This is turning out to be one fucker of a day!”
    He negotiated his way through the rubble and broken glass strewn across the road and passed by a group of men who were sawing up a tree that had been blown over.
    “Harry, thank God you’re alright, we weren’t sure whether you were in the house or not?”
    His landlady, a slight thin woman with greying hair, was standing by the gate. She was holding onto a rope attached to the collar of a timid black mongrel that the rescue team had found abandoned. Before Harry had an opportunity to reply their attention was diverted by a Fireman emerging from the rubble.
    “It’s safe to go in and collect things but we need to tarpaulin the roof before you can stay. We’ll get one of the council teams to get on to it later this afternoon. Then, when it’s dried out in a few days you should be able to move back in again.”
    “That’s a relief to know, thank you.”
    She turned to