Read Expo 58: A Novel for Free Online Page B

Standing on the rain-soaked pavement outside the Foreign Office, wondering which direction to take, he had had no idea that anyone was waiting in the shadows behind him. Now two figures emerged from the darkness, dressed identically in long beige raincoats and trilby hats. Thomas was somehow not surprised to identify them as the two anonymous men from the committee meeting.
    ‘Filthy night, isn’t it?’ the first one remarked conversationally.
    ‘Shocking,’ Thomas agreed.
    ‘Mind if we walk with you?’ asked the second.
    ‘Not at all. Which direction are you heading?’
    ‘Oh, we thought we’d leave that up to you.’
    ‘It makes no difference to us.’
    ‘I see,’ said Thomas, even though he didn’t. ‘Well, I hadn’t quite decided.’
    ‘Tell you what.’ The first of the men raised his arm and immediately, as if from nowhere, a black Austin Cambridge pulled up against the kerb beside them. ‘Why don’t we give you a lift home?’
    ‘That’s decent of you,’ said Thomas. ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘Absolutely, old man.’
    ‘No trouble at all.’
    The three of them squeezed onto the back seat. It was very tight. Thomas, seated in the middle, could scarcely move his arms.
    ‘Where to this time, gents?’ the driver asked.
    ‘Tooting, please,’ said the first man, unprompted. And when Thomas looked at him in surprise, he said: ‘Sorry. You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to. We can take you anywhere you like.’
    ‘No, no,’ he demurred, ‘Tooting’s fine.’
    ‘Don’t want to keep the little woman waiting, after all, do you?’
    ‘Got something nice bubbling away for you on the stove, I dare say.’
    ‘Lucky man.’
    ‘Cigarette, Mr Foley?’
    While they were all in the process of lighting up, the moon-faced man said:
    ‘Well, we might as well introduce ourselves. My name’s Wayne.’
    ‘As in the film star,’ said his companion. ‘Comical, really, isn’t it? You can’t picture him in a stetson.’
    ‘And this is Mr Radford,’ said Mr Wayne.
    With some difficulty, given the confines of the back seat, Mr Radford shook Thomas warmly by the hand and said: ‘Delighted to make your acquaintance.’
    ‘Are you both members of the Brussels Committee?’ asked Thomas, at which they chuckled.
    ‘Oh, goodness me, no.’
    ‘Heaven forbid.’
    ‘Far from it, old boy. But we take a keen interest, you know. From a distance.’
    ‘We’ve sat in on quite a few of the meetings.’
    ‘Starting to get to know most of the characters involved.’
    ‘That Mr Gardner’s a bit of a card, isn’t he?’
    ‘Likes to put the cat among the pigeons.’
    ‘Dependable chap, though.’
    ‘Absolutely. Salt of the earth.’
    ‘Solid as a rock. Underneath, you understand.’
    They fell silent. Mr Radford wound down his window, in an attempt to dispel some of the smoke. But it was so wet and blustery outside, he soon wound it up again. The traffic was light and the driver was making rapid progress. In only a few minutes they were driving along Clapham High Street. While the Cambridge was stopped at a red light, Mr Wayne glanced out of the window and said: ‘I say, Radford, isn’t that the coffee place we were in a couple of days ago?’
    ‘I believe so, yes,’ said Mr Radford, peering through the rain.
    ‘Do you know, I just feel like a cup of coffee.’
    ‘I was just thinking the same thing.’
    ‘What about you, Foley?’
    ‘Do you fancy a cup of coffee?’
    ‘Well, I . . . I was rather hoping to get home in time for . . .’
    ‘That’s settled then. Driver! Can you drop us off here, please?’
    ‘Wait for us round the corner, if you would.’
    ‘We’ll only be a jiffy.’
    The three of them spilled out of the car and hurried across the pavement, which glistened in the rain. The establishment they had chosen advertised itself as Mario’s Coffee Bar. Inside there were half a dozen tables, all empty, and a bored dark-haired girl behind the counter, trying to fill in the time