‘He's been suffering from stress, work problems, the usual drill, so he's gone walkabout. If we can help track him down, she will be very grateful.’
‘Other woman, gay, breakdown or dead,’ said Erasmus.
Dan smiled at Erasmus. ‘And you're just the man to find out. I told her I knew the best, someone who was trained in these matters, who had fought in Afghanistan. Come on, you just need to help find a missing person. You tracked al-Qaeda, didn't you? This should be a doddle.’
Dan eyed up the two women for a moment just to let them know he was still interested, and then sipped his drink.
‘I told your boss after the last case that was the end of it.’
‘What was that?’ asked Dan.
‘An assault case.’
‘An assault on what?’
Erasmus knew then that Dan must have heard.
His last case had been digging for dirt on an attendant at the local Blue Planet Aquarium. He'd witnessed Eramus’ client's son, high on meth, stabbing a stingray. But Erasmus had found someone who had sold the witness some marijuana the day before and the case had gone away. Not his proudest moment.
‘I am giving you a beautiful woman who will pay a proper billing rate.’
‘So she's beautiful and rich. Have you tried to bed her? Is your firm going to be facing a harassment suit? Is this what this is all about?’
‘Not at all. If I wasn't married then I may have been tempted but you know me, faithful to the bone.’
‘She turned you down, didn't she?’
Dan laughed.
‘Oh and the part about her being rich, that's not strictly true either. It's her uncle-in-law, he's the rich guy. He has lots and lots of lovely money. He was a direct beneficiary of the war on terror. Before 9/11 he was running a wholesale business for medical supplies. Doing OK, but no Donald Trump. Post 9/11 he found himself with warehouses full of surgical masks, gloves and other stuff that he suddenly realised he could sell online to the public. Throw in a few flu pandemic scares and you have a very successful businessman.’
Erasmus’ drink arrived. He took a sip. Dan shifted in his chair.
‘So she comes to see me last week. Tells me that the day he disappeared he just never showed up for work. He works as a bean counter for the council. She got a call from him early in the morning. Seems he pulled a pervo – calls and then breathes heavily down the line – and she still wants to find him.’
‘And?’
‘That's it. He's been missing ever since. His mobile phone company say his phone is switched off or broken. No trace of him at any of the hospitals or any contact with relatives or friends. The police think he's probably had a breakdown and done a runner. Apparently, he was under a lot of pressure. He worked for the council in the education department and his boss thinks things were getting him down. He was a strike breaker.’
Before he could help it, an ugly word popped into Erasmus’ mind: scab. That's what his father would call a strike breaker. Inherited prejudices were often the hardest to break. He shook his head and tired to dismiss the thought.
Dan cast a glance over to the corner table. The girls had been joined by two men. He groaned.
‘I don't want the case. I saw this happen in the Army: once a shit-kicker, always a shit-kicker. I'm going to have to say no to this one,’ said Erasmus.
Dan had started to slur his words. Not a good sign at midday on a Friday afternoon, thought Erasmus.
‘Did I tell you I mentioned it to the Bean? You know how hard it is to get a training contract these days? Especially for a man of your, ahem, advancing years. Do this favour and you will be looked upon favourably. Does that help your decision?’
Erasmus’ hand went to the empty cigarette pocket. He had sent off nearly fifty letters already trying to get a training contract at a law firm. Without one, the money he had borrowed, the exams he had passed, all of it would have been wasted. And more importantly, one of the final building blocks in the bridge to a new life wouldn't be in place. He thought of Abby and sighed.
‘Why do I feel I have no choice?’
‘Because you haven't, my friend. We never do.’
Out of the corner of his eye Erasmus noticed that the two men were looking over in their direction and one of them was pointing at Dan. The man was in his late thirties, had a huge balding head and was wearing a tight T-shirt that stretched over bulging muscles. Erasmus sighed and out of habit scanned the room quickly for weapons and exits. Dan was oblivious to the mounting danger.
‘I tell you what, I'll meet her, but that's it. I'm not giving up my life on this one.’
‘Excellent. The Bean will be delighted. He really wants the uncle's account. The firm will be grateful for this, you know that.’
Dan pulled out a white card from his suit jacket pocket and handed it to Erasmus.
‘That's her number. Most men would pay good money to get hold of those digits. Trust me on this one, Erasmus, I've just done you the biggest favour of your life.’
He handed the card to Erasmus.
Dan raised his glass in mock toast.
‘Salut!’
He downed his drink in one gulp.
‘You sticking around? Going to help me save those damsels in distress?’
Dan turned and winked elaborately at the women.
‘Shit,’ said Erasmus under his breath. He turned and faced the bar, taking hold of his glass of water, and hoped that he was wrong about was about to happen.
It was a forlorn hope.
The two men left their seats and walked right up to Dan, standing deep within his personal space.
The older man stood slightly ahead of the other, younger man. He was clearly the leader. Erasmus noticed both were wearing builders’ boots and had hands like shovels: Dan wouldn't stand a chance.
It was the bigger one who spoke, spittle landing on Dan's face.
‘And what fucking damsels are they, eh? Do you mean my fiancée? Twat.’
Dan, invulnerable with booze, made a mistake.
‘Fuck, those big ears aren't just for balance then?’ He placed his hand on the man's shoulder. ‘Let me buy you a drink.’
The man knocked Dan's arm away making Dan lose his balance and fall from his stool.
In an instant, Erasmus was up and had shoved his glass bottom first into the man's sternum, causing him to double up. Erasmus brought his knee up, cracking the man's nose and then used his right arm to gently lower the unconscious man to the floor.
Erasmus’ eyes never left the second, younger man who now took a step back and began to raise his arms.
‘Help your friend. We're leaving. This is just a misunderstanding yeah.’
‘Yeah, a misunderstanding,’ mumbled the second man. He moved forward and began to help up his friend who had come round and was making whimpering noises.
Erasmus held out his hand to Dan. He took it and let Erasmus pull him up from the floor where he had contentedly watched the action.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Erasmus.
Dan hugged him and started to laugh almost hysterically.
‘Brilliant, that was fantastic. I knew you were the man for the job.’
‘Come on, let's get you in a taxi.’ He slipped out of Dan's embrace and led them away from the bar and up the stairs that