Best Served Cold

Epilogue

PROLOGUE

Manhattan, New York

Mike was struck by how flat he felt. It felt like the burning passion, which had driven him up to this point, had run out of fuel, and was spending itself in the most unlikely setting of this Federal Courthouse. He barely took in the cold, impersonal feel of his surroundings – the functional, typically uncomfortable Government-issue furniture, the unimaginative attempts at decoration, the muted hum of the air-conditioning that struggled to keep out the heat of New York in August. He found it strangely difficult to focus on the man whom he had pursued for so long, almost, it seemed, to the exclusion of everything else. When he forced himself to do so, he thought it was funny how different he looked now. Yes, the suit and tie were sharp as always, and no doubt the shoes gleamed as they always did. Yet, there was something different, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Mike thought about that for a moment, and then decided that it was the arrogant, self-assured air that had gone, replaced by uncertainty and apprehension, as they all waited for the jury to return with their verdict. The defendant, Big Man, licked his lips, and frequently flicked back an immaculate cuff to glance at an expensive looking watch. Ever the showman, he tried to conceal his growing anxiety by smiling and waving at the adoring band of sycophants and hangers-on seated on the benches reserved for the public. Mike idly wondered how long they would hang around for, if, as he hoped, the jury came back with a verdict that condemned their benefactor to several years as an unwilling guest of the Government of the United States. He thought with a wry smile of the vicious infighting that was sure to follow over the ill-gotten millions Big Man had amassed over such a short time.

Things seemed to be moving. The law enforcement people in attendance stopped chatting to each other and took up positions around the room. The prissy, pompous court clerk bustled in, and the stenographers suddenly reappeared. The lawyers sat back at their tables, pens poised over yellow legal pads. The Court rose as the Judge appeared. The jury filed in and took their places. Mike scrutinised each face, hoping for a clue as to which way they would go. The foreman, a small, dark Hispanic man looked vaguely uncomfortable, as he had done since the first time Mike set eyes upon him, as if troubled by piles. Next to him was the white woman Mike had taken to calling the Bitch in his mind, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Fatso sat next to her, looking somewhat awed by the occasion, and he actually seemed to be awake for a change. Then there was the Mad Professor, who had apparently spent the entire trial leaning forward, staring intently through his thick glasses at whomever was speaking at the time, as though he were either committing every word to memory, or else divining the secrets of their souls. Mike was surprised to note that the earlier feeling of flatness had disappeared, replaced by the sort of anxiety that had accompanied waiting for exam results in his youth. Or waiting outside the labour ward all those years ago…He ground his teeth as he fought to suppress those memories; after all, that was why he was here to see this, wasn’t it?

He glanced across at Big Man. All pretence of cool detachment had vanished. The man looked frankly terrified. His hands seemed to be shaking, and he tried to control them by firmly interlocking his fingers. He leaned over to listen to his lead lawyer, but his eyes never left the jury box. He watched the Judge ask the foreman if they had reached a verdict. Yes, Your Honour, we have. The foreman passed a folded piece of paper to the clerk who handed it to the Judge. The Judge opened it, read what was written on it, and with no trace of expression handed it to the clerk who cleared his throat, and in his most pompous way started to read. One Count One, we the Jury find the defendant guilty. On Count Two, we the Jury find the defendant guilty. A low murmur spread across the room, soon drowned out by loud wailing from the public benches. Someone appeared to have collapsed. The Judge was saying something about passing sentence at a later date, but Mike barely took it in. He only had eyes for Big Man, watching with a growing sense of satisfaction as the Marshals handcuffed him behind his back, and led him away, a far cry from his days of pomp and importance as a senior figure in the Government of his country. As he disappeared, Mike seemed to wake up, and noticed that it was the defendant’s wife (or at least the most senior of the several wives and concubines) who had collapsed and was now being wheeled out by ambulance medics on a trolley, with an oxygen mask over her face. He felt a fleeting pang of guilt, and then remembered his own wife and children…

CHAPTER ONE

London, England

Not for the first time, Mike wondered how the hell the English managed to live with their crazy weather, when it could have been sleeting this morning, and now, late on this spring afternoon, the sun was out, it was freezing cold, and to top it all, hailstones the size of golf balls were falling. He half wished that he had taken his boss up on the offer of staying for one more drink at the boozy lunch they had had to celebrate clinching the merger of two small companies that made feminine hygiene products, as the turgid prospectus described it. The thought of having to put up with the antics of several drunken Englishmen was enough to persuade him that it was time to cut and run. Inevitably, he would have a few himself, and become less able to put up with their prejudices which seemed to come to the fore when they’d had one drink too many, and then he might do or say something he’d regret later; no, it was better to make polite excuses and leave them to it. He toyed with the idea of going home to the swish flat in Docklands that he’d bought with last year’s bonus, and maybe going for a swim, but his exercise routine didn’t appeal today. Perhaps he could give that pretty lawyer at the bank a call….now what had he done with her number?

Why don’t you bloody look where you’re going?

I do beg your pardon, I was miles away. He smiled sheepishly at the deliveryman he’d nearly knocked off his feet, and bent to help him pick up the bundles of the evening newspaper that he’d been carrying. The man grunted an acknowledgement of the apology, and went on his way. Mike looked round and spotted one of the several coffee shops that seemed to have sprung up in London over the last few years. He’d go in for a coffee to get out of the hailstones, and have a good hunt in his wallet to see if he could find the bank lawyer’s card she’d given him earlier.

An Americano, please.

Sure, regular or large? The girl behind the counter wasn’t particularly convincing that she gave a toss either way.

Regular’s fine, thanks

Anything else?

No, that’s it

That’ll be three fifty

Mike handed over a five-pound note and watched her search for as many fifty pence pieces as she could find in the till to give him as change. He dutifully left two of them in the saucer on the counter and took the cup from her. He wandered around, trying to find a seat, but the shop was full of other people with the same idea as him. He gave up and stood at the ledge by the window. He got his wallet out to see if he had put the lawyer’s card in there, but couldn’t find it. So much for that idea. Someone had left a copy of the same newspaper he’d just knocked over, and he glanced idly at it whilst he sipped his coffee (which was surprisingly good). He flicked through the pages of the newspaper, starting with the sports section at the back, as he usually did. Next, he glanced at the entertainment section, hoping perhaps to go and see a film. His eye was caught by an unusually large advert for a South African musical that he’d seen advertised on the Tube a few days previously, and that he’d made a mental note to look up-that he had completely forgotten about it till now was another piece of evidence that he was getting a little too stressed. He saw it was on at the Barbican, which was within easy walking distance; well, that solved the problem of what to do with himself this evening. He wasn’t to know it then, but his life would take a very different course from that moment on.

There was a fairly large crowd in front of the ticket offices at the Barbican, generating a steadily increasing volume of noise. Mike took some time to work out where he needed to go to enquire about tickets, but thankfully the queue wasn’t too long, and there were still tickets available, albeit at the pricier end of the scale. He bought a ticket in the stalls, as well as a glossy overpriced programme. The show wasn’t due to start for another hour and a half, so he looked round for a bar to sit in and while the time away with a few drinks. The bar he found was no great shakes, but it would do. He ordered a vodka and tonic, got a bag of nuts and wandered to a table in a corner that afforded him a view of the entrance. A few minutes later, his attention was caught by a striking woman who walked in with a smug looking man dressed in jeans and a shirt that looked at least a size too small for his belly. Mike pretended to read his programme whilst casting an increasingly impressed eye over the woman. He wouldn’t have described her as beautiful, but there was something about her that he found attractive. He tried to decide if it was her light skin, or the way she filled her clothes in such a sensuous way, or whether it was the haughty, somewhat arrogant look in her eyes-after some more admiring reflection, he decided it was a combination of all three. He had just started to imagine what she would look like without her clothes on when he realised with a start that she appeared to be looking directly at him. He hurriedly averted his eyes, but not before he saw an amused half-smile play over her lips, which for some reason he felt vaguely annoyed about. She started walking in his general direction, looking around her, and he realised she hadn’t been looking at him; she was trying to find a free table, which annoyed him even more. She found one a few tables along to his left, and turned to wave at Beer Belly at the bar to let him know where she was sitting. For the first time, Mike turned his gaze to Beer Belly, wondering what a stunner like her was doing with someone like him. His face was pleasant enough, but with evidence of a lifestyle of too much consumption and too little exercise. He carried himself with the haughty air of one who thought quite a bit of himself. Mike thought that there was something vaguely familiar about his face as he watched him make his way towards the table the girl was now sitting at, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. He watched him sit at the table, and pour the wine. Mike realised he was staring, and made an effort to drag his eyes back to the programme open in his lap, but couldn’t resist turning his eyes towards the couple every few minutes. He was surprised to note that he was now more preoccupied with trying to work out why Beer Belly’s face seemed so familiar than with appreciating the attractiveness of his companion. He prided himself on his memory for faces, and he just knew that he had seen that face before; it would annoy him now for the rest of the evening.

He was just starting to really wind himself up when he realised that the time had flown by and it seemed that the show was about to start, as the bar, which had filled up a fair bit without his realising it, began to empty. He got up and joined the crowd heading to the theatre, but not without first casting a last glance at Beer Belly and his companion. There was something about him….

It came to him mid-way through the first session before the interval – Beer Belly had initially been a year ahead of him at school, but they had ended up graduating together after Beer Belly had been forced to repeat the third year, much to the delight of Mike and his classmates, who had suffered much at the hands of Beer Belly when he had been their senior. Although never close, he recalled that Beer Belly had been friendly enough in their last two years at school, especially as their school leaving exams approached, and the joint need to pass with good grades overcame any lingering feelings of animosity or superiority. Now what was his proper name….Akin Something or Other, wasn’t it? Kazeem – that was it. Niggling problem resolved, Mike turned his attention to the lithe young bodies on the stage, dancing energetically to the pulsating rhythms that only African music seemed able to generate. He could see why the show had received such good reviews – the music was superb, the set and lighting much the same, and the storyline quite haunting. He settled down to enjoy the show.

Excuse me, did you go to Sacred Heart in Lagos by any chance?

Beer Belly turned round, with a look that suggested he was wondering what mere mortal had had the temerity to address him in this place. When he realised it was Mike, and that he did not seem to be in the least intimidated by the look, his expression softened a bit. Yes, I did he said.

I thought so….Akin Kazeem, right?

That’s right…you are..?

Mike stuck out a hand. Mike Anako….we studied for our school cert exams together

Recognition dawned on Beer Belly’s face. Of course! I thought your face looked familiar in the bar earlier. How are you? Long time, man

Indeed. I don’t think I’ve seen you since we left school. You went off to Ife, right?

Correct…and you?

Stayed in Lagos to read Law, and for Law School, then went off to the States to do a Masters, and ended up in the UK a few years afterward, been working in the City as a corporate lawyer since. What are you up to these days?

I’m sorry to interrupt the school reunion, but the second half of the show is about to start Mike was surprised that he hadn’t noticed Akin’s female companion, given how riveting he had found her earlier. She now added an impatient look to the previous haughtiness, which only made her look more attractive, Mike thought.

Akin looked a little sheepish. "Sorry dear, go ahead, I’ll catch you up shortly. With barely a glance at him, she swept imperiously past them without another word.

Is that Madam?, Mike asked.

Akin cracked a somewhat knowing smile. "For where? She’s a good friend who looks after me when I come to London, if you know what I mean"

Say no more. Anyway, we’d better go before you get into more trouble

"Don’t mind her jare. I don’t know what gets into all these women that after a while they think they own you…why don’t we meet up for a drink and catch up on old times? I’m in London for another few days". They exchanged numbers and returned to the show.

Mike was impressed, despite himself. He’d lived in London all these years and thought he knew every upper, middle and lower class dive and drinking den, but this little place off Piccadilly was a new one to him. You wouldn’t have thought such discreet opulence was to be found behind the nondescript dark wood door, which had an unlabelled buzzer beside it. He had arrived with Akin after meeting up with him in the bar of