For Your Own Protection(36)
Satisfied by Matt’s reaction, Harvey relaxed and flopped down on the seat opposite. ‘So, Matt, you really came to check out my flat?’
Matt shook his head. ‘Amy texted me earlier this evening. Told me you’d quit the course.’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Harvey shifted in his seat. ‘You know, time for other things. Lots of things to do with my life.’
‘But I thought this was your priority.’
He smiled. ‘I have lots of priorities.’
‘I just think it’s a shame. Particularly because it’s only a couple of weeks until the assessment, and you’ve been doing so well.’
He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you’d care, man.’
‘Of course I care.’
Harvey gave an almost imperceptible, dismissive shake of the head. ‘You lookin’ forward to New York?’
The question was an accusation.
‘I’m not going. I quit the bank.’
Harvey’s mouth hung open in shock. ‘You’re kiddin’ me.’
‘No, I’m serious.’
‘But . . . why?’
‘Because it’s not what I want anymore. I’m not sure it’s what I ever wanted.’
‘Man, I did not see that one comin’.’ Then realisation hit. ‘Does that mean you’ll be stickin’ around then, at the college?’
‘Yes.’
Harvey didn’t react.
‘Under one condition. If I go back, you go back.’
A smile curled Harvey’s lips. ‘Sounds like a deal.’ He held out his ring-adorned hand and they shook on the promise. ‘Good on you, man. You’re a natural teacher.’
‘Thanks. I’m from a family of teachers. It must have rubbed off.’
‘School put me off teachin’, big time,’ Harvey said. ‘My teachers, they were really down on me, man – they wrote me off, just like those other tutors. Used to tell me I’d end up as a nobody. Told me I’d probably end up in jail.’ He looked away, deep in thought, then chuckled. ‘I guess those bastards were right in that respect.’
‘Never let anyone else define you,’ Matt said.
‘Your sister said that to me once,’ Harvey replied. He smiled. ‘You two share notes?’
‘It was something our dad used to say,’ Matt said sadly.
‘Your dad sounds like a clever guy.’
‘He was. He died.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Harvey filled the uncomfortable silence. ‘So what changed? Why’d you go into bankin’?’
‘I went to my old school for a week-long placement before starting uni. The first morning, I was in the staffroom when my old form teacher entered. When I told her I was planning to train as a teacher, she just said, “What a waste,” and left the room.’
‘And that changed your mind about your career? Never let anyone else define you,’ Harvey joked.
‘Glad to see you’ve been listening.’
‘I always listen. Hey, man, I didn’t ask you if you wanted a drink.’ He sprang to his feet. ‘Tea, coffee, whisky, beer? Unless you want to go out. There’s a club just down the road. I can show you some of the sights on the way.’ He seemed to read Matt’s reticence. ‘Don’t worry, man,’ he said, looking at Matt’s suit. ‘They won’t think you’re a copper or anythin’. No plain-clothes copper in their right mind would walk around this place in a suit.’
‘Er, okay.’
‘Great. And anyway, I wouldn’t be hangin’ around with no police. People see you with me, they’ll probably think you’re my lawyer or somethin’.’
‘Accountant, maybe.’
‘Exactly, man! You’re my big-shot private accountant. I like that. Nice idea. If anyone tries to start somethin’ with you, blind ’em with numbers, yeah? C’mon, bruv, let’s go.’
‘So is this place as dangerous as its reputation?’ Matt said, as they paced along the poorly lit street.
‘Murder capital of the capital,’ Harvey quipped, always scanning around, scrutinising everyone who walked towards them and everyone on the other side of the road. They passed closed betting shops, launderettes, grocers, and a surprising number of Internet cafes. ‘But a lot of it is imported crime,’ he added, narrowing his eyes at a group of men congregating across the road. ‘The people who live here, a lot of them anyway, they don’t get into no trouble. They just want to get on with their hard lives, do the best they can. It’s those who come in, the gangs, they bring in the violence. The real London is ugly as hell. You wouldn’t wanna see it.’
Matt watched Harvey as they strode on. This guy was warning him against seeing the ugly side of London. But surely Harvey was part of that underbelly. Or he had been up until very recently.
‘Stop!’ Harvey said suddenly, thrusting his arm, barrier-like, across Matt’s chest to bring him to a dead halt. ‘That group over there – I know them. We need to be careful.’
Matt glanced across the street. It was the group Harvey had been looking at just a few steps ago. They had now started to walk in parallel with Matt and Harvey, just behind them, on the opposite side of the road. There were five of them, all in their late teens or early twenties. All wore jeans and dark leather jackets. Matt’s first thought was that they looked to be of Turkish background. They looked uninterested, but Harvey’s reaction was telling.