1981 (Made in Yorkshire, #6) by James Farner

Author:James Farner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: eighties, Thatcherism, homeless, British, historical, family saga, gritty
Publisher: James Farner
Published: 2015-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Richard kept on returning to Elspeth Road over the next few weeks. Having something to do made him feel part of the wider world again. His takings from begging increased as he thought of Jessica. Before, he hadn’t cared about what happened to him, but now everything changed. He had something to aim for. He had the goal Cranberry had told him to find.

The royal wedding passed him by and the city returned to relative normality again. The tourists left and Prince Charles and Princess Diana became a couple. Ronan had kept him away from the wedding on the day. Everywhere in Central London bustled with camera-toting outsiders. It was no place for people who preferred to remain invisible to the rest of the world.

He kept tabs on Commissioner Hardy. Every morning, he stole a newspaper from a local shop or seat on a tube train to find out more about him. He rarely gained a mention in any of the pages. The one mention he did get came as a public statement laced with the usual sarcasm about reducing crime rates and eliminating corruption. Richard cackled to himself. The person leading the anti-corruption probes in the Met was the source of the corruption in the first place. The joke was on them.

“You not eating?” Ronan chomped on a burger from a small van parked just off the road.

“No, man,” said Richard.

“You’re not struggling for money, are you? Can give you a lend, if you want.”

“No, thanks.”

“What’s wrong?” Ronan licked some ketchup of his fingers. “You’ve not been eating much lately. Not ill, are you?”

Richard shook his head. In truth, he was starving. His stomach had cramped up the night before. The pills weren’t working as well as they had before. His leg had healed, but the stuff Malcolm had did a good job of suppressing his appetite. He needed to hold onto his money.

“Got to eat to keep your strength up, lad. And you take any more of those tablets Malcolm’s giving you and you’ll be like those people under the Ealing bridge. Want a bite?” Ronan held the half-eaten burger out to him. He could see its gooey, melted cheese insides and the succulent meat dashed with spots of ketchup here and there. His mouth began to water.

“Go on, then.” Richard took a bite out of the burger and swallowed it whole. He gagged as it burned his throat.

Richard knew he’d made a mistake as soon as he let it tumble down his oesophagus. As it landed in his stomach, his body grumbled and demanded more. It only took one bite to make it think feeding time had started. Richard tried to put the oncoming cramps to one side by getting up and pacing in front of the van.

“What’s up, then? Why’re you not spending any money?” said Ronan.

“I need it for something. Can’t spend it. Need to save it for a while.”

“Something to do with your brother, is it?”

“How do you know?”

Ronan waved the bun in front of his face.

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