Out what was happening, but it’s all there.
That trust has been emptied for the Heart theft.’
‘By who?’ ‘That, I’m not sure of. But, I know
How they did it, and where the money went.
It was pretty clever, I must admit.
Took them years to pull off, to take it all.
‘The money from Cancer’s trust has been used
By students, but students that don’t exist.
The money was funnelled to an account,
One single account, until it was used.’
‘Whose account?’ ‘Anonymous, I’m afraid.
Whoever did it was very careful,
But not careful enough, because I traced
The money and who got paid for the job.’
‘The police?’ ‘Sure. But mostly, just one guy.
Again, would you care to place a wager?’
I weigh up the few potential suspects,
And come to a quick conclusion. ‘Garfield?’
Shepherd claps and chuckles to himself. ‘Yes!
Right again, Mister Yorke. It was Garfield.
The man who went and organised the theft
Is the same man investigating it.’
Figures. There was something wrong from the start
About the chief, the way he spoke to me
And dealt with Cancer, all calm, collected,
Like he knew something that we all didn’t.
‘He can’t have stolen it alone,’ I say,
And Shepherd agrees. ‘Of course not. But then,
Now’s your chance to ask him who else did it.’
‘What do you mean?’ ‘Follow me, Mister Yorke.’
Shepherd stands, and for the first time I see
His face. I can’t help but stare at the scar
There, wrinkled up in a river of flesh,
Burned into one side of his heavy face.
He catches my eye and turns serious.
‘You might be asking why I trust you, Yorke.
And this,’ he points to his red scar, ‘is why.
Vox has put its mark on us both, my friend.’
Franklyn opens the door, and I follow,
Head full of thoughts vying for attention.
I’m dreading what’s going to happen next,
Because I can guess what Shepherd has done.
And there, wrapped up almost like he’s a gift
And hanging upside down from the ceiling
Over a black pool of water, Garfield
Swings idly, conscious, gagged and looking scared.
‘For you,’ smiles Shepherd. The room is a dock,
Wide and walled, private, with a gaping hole
Leading out to the dark ocean beyond.
Franklyn holds a bare bulb, plugged in somewhere.
It’s a hell of a scene, every shadow
Made massive and moving by the bright bulb,
The black water reflecting and waving
And Garfield above it all, swinging slow.
I realise I have an audience.
The dock is full of Shepherd’s paid heavies,
Lolling on crates and watching proceedings,
Dark shapes among dark shapes in the background.
Montana tugs the gag from Garfield’s mouth
And the chief starts coughing and spluttering.
‘Get me down from here! Yorke? Is that you there?
Arrest these men! What are you waiting for?’
I realise I’m angry. ‘Was it you?
Did you send Santiago to kill me?’
He falls silent, and that’s enough for me
To know the truth. Shepherd got the right man.
‘Who paid you?’ I ask him, and I notice
His gold tooth has been torn out. He’s a mess,
Bruised and shaken by whatever they did
To get him down here, strung up like fresh meat.
He doesn’t reply until Shepherd says,
‘Answer the man, Garfield. We have your wife.’
And even then he takes his time, weeping,
Salty tears meeting the salt of the sea.
‘Someone from the Uni’, I think. Some man.
We never met, instructions by phone call.
I only worked out he’s from the Uni’
Because he let slip about his student.’
‘His student?’ ‘Yeah. You know. The bright-veins girl.’
‘Vivian?’ ‘Sure. Whatever. He told me
To bury the case, she was a problem,
Called her “one of my students” and that’s it.’
Well, I’ll be damned. Maybe I should have known
The two cases were linked. It all leads back
To the University. All of it.
‘Thanks,’ I tell Garfield, and then Shepherd, ‘Thanks.’
‘That’s enough?’ says Shepherd. ‘Yeah. That’s enough.’
Except it’s not, but I don’t realise
That I still had a question quick enough.
Shepherd draws his gun, a shining pistol
That looks more like an ornament, and shoots
Chief Garfield clean through the top of his skull,
Blowing his brains into the black ocean.
‘Sink him,’ says Shepherd, idly motioning,
And they lower Garfield into the sea,
Weighed down by rocks and still leaking crimson
As he goes, vanishing quick and easy.
‘His wife?’ I ask Shepherd. ‘Already dead.’
He shrugs. ‘Anyway. I still have to ask.
Where have you been, Mister Yorke? We missed you.
My men say you caught a train to Manus.’
The way he can keep talking, casual,
Like he hasn’t just committed murder
In front of an officer of the law
Sets me off balance. It’s hard to react.
‘Yeah,’ I tell him, dazed by Garfield’s murder.
‘Out of town. Manus. To see the ruins.’
‘Which ruins?’ ‘Cancer’s wreck. The boat, I mean.’
‘Ah,’ he says. ‘And did you find anything?’
‘Not much. But I did find that the Uni’
Was out there a while back, excavating,
Taking stuff from the boat and back to Vox.’
‘That's interesting,’ says Shepherd. ‘Yes indeed.’
‘What now?’ I ask, as he holsters his gun
Idly, like he didn’t just kill a man.
‘Go and find the Heart, Mister Yorke,’ he says.
‘Right,’ I say. Then, ‘Right,’ again. Shepherd laughs.
‘Franklyn, Montana, drive him where he wants.’
The scarred man strides away, still laughing loud,
And I don’t know if he’s laughing at me
Or Garfield, or the whole damn mess of it.
‘Shepherd!’ I call after him, remember
I left him Vivian’s blood to look at.
‘The blood?’ ‘It’s blood,’ he calls back. ‘Is that all?’
‘That’s all, Mister Yorke. Blood that glows brightly.’
‘Time to go, Yorke.’ Franklyn steers me away
From the dock and back out, into the rain.
It hits me at once in a chill of drops
And wakes me from my dazed kind of stupor.
I’m cursing at myself for not asking
Garfield about any accomplices,
Those officers guilty of helping him
Steal the Heart and kill all of Cancer’s guards.
I’m pushed back into Montana’s car
And he starts the engine, lights the headlight,
Illuminating the wall of mild rain
Spattering the dark sea front endlessly.
‘Where to?’ asks Montana, backing the car
And turning back out into the city.
Ahead, t
he protesters are still going,
Chanting their bleak mantra. ‘Give us some light.’
***
There’s something important I need to do.
I step out of the car, into the rain,
Hands deep in pockets, ducking my head low
And striding between the drops down the street.
It’s a quiet district, not too wealthy,
But made visible by those few store fronts
That make enough to afford a front light:
Often flickering, but a pleasant sight.
The street is mostly empty, which is fine.
I need some space to think, to consider
All the information I have so far
And what I should be doing about it.
I know this sidewalk well, intimately,
Because I grew up here. I know the road,
The curve of the flagstones and every crack
Along them, rain flowing down in rivers.
The stores have changed, but the street never will:
Dents in the thick brick masonry, the way
The light falls out of the old grocery
Door, the only one left with a window.
I come to my destination and stop,
Rain dripping down my face, soaking my boots,
Because my father’s hat store hasn’t changed.
I know those shadows, the depth of each one.
I’m hesitant because it’s been two years,
And I had no plans to ever come back,
But I can’t think of anywhere better
For what I need. I take a breath, step in.
The bell’s the same, that half-broken tinkling
Heralding my entrance. I wipe my boots
Out of habit, dripping on the carpet
And taking a look around at the hats.
There’s a humble bulb buzzing at the back,
Set to flash on when a customer comes,
And it reveals the shadow of Lewis,
My father’s apprentice, as he steps out.
‘Virgil? Do my eyes deceive me?’ he smiles.
I always had a soft spot for the man,
The same age as me and destined to be
The one to take my father’s small business.
‘Lewis.’ I shake his hand. ‘I need a hat.’
He’s a happy, warm guy, proudly shows me
Around, is patient with me. I notice
The tough skin on his fingers, the prick marks.
I find the kind I’m looking for, broad brimmed,
The style my father was in demand for.
Lewis makes a few adjustments for me.
‘How have you been, Virgil? It’s been a while.’
‘Alive,’ I tell him, ‘and keeping busy.’
‘Of course. But…’ and he leaves that word to hang,
That unspoken question, and the reason
I didn’t want to come back here again.
‘There,’ he says, eventually, and hands me
The hat. It’s a snug fit, comfortable, wide
Enough so I can hide my eyes, my scar.
I thank him, but he won’t accept money.
I make to leave, open the door, dull bulb
Blinking black automatically. ‘Virgil?’
Comes his voice, out from the dark. ‘Where were you?’
And I find myself paralysed by him.
I can’t answer because I don’t know how.
How is it right? That a man can not show
For his own wife’s funeral? It’s not right,
And I still can’t explain it. I don’t know.
Summoning enough strength, I walk away,
Let the door close behind me, bow my head
And lose myself down the dark street. ‘Virgil?’
I hear the door, his voice calling for me.
***
Dante looks like he’s been to hell and back,
Got a table to himself at a wall
And keeping a tight hold of his coffee
Like he’s been drowning and it’s a lifebelt.
‘Yorke,’ he says, nods, motions for me to sit.
The diner’s mostly empty, vacant seats
All in a row along the lengthy bar,
Bored-looking waitresses standing idly.
‘You got my message?’ I sit opposite.
‘Yeah. Things have gone to hell back at HQ.
Garfield’s gone missing, and so has his wife,
And there’s still no sign of the fucking Heart.’
I order a coffee as black as black
And sit back, remove my hat, admire it.
‘I think I know who has the Heart,’ I say.
Dante squints, shakes his head looking at me.
‘What the fuck happened to you, Yorke?’ he asks.
‘It’s been a funny cycle,’ I tell him.
The coffee arrives and it’s way too hot,
But I drink it anyway, feel the burn.
‘All right,’ says Dante. ‘Who has the damn Heart?’
‘The same guy who killed Vivian,’ I say.
Dante drains his coffee, gives me the look
He saves for unpredictable suspects.
‘I’m serious,’ I tell him, find the Heart
Replica and put it on the table.
He takes it, rolls it around in his hands
And recognises it. ‘Norton?’ he says.
‘Yeah. You remember that interview, right?’
‘The one you fucked up?’ ‘Yeah, that one. You see,
I think he was nervous about something,
Something bigger than Vivian, maybe.’
Dante sighs, leans back, drops the replica.
‘What makes you think that?’ ‘Something he mumbled.
Look. I’ve been out of town, at Cancer’s wreck.’
‘Cancer’s wreck?’ ‘Yeah. The place the Heart came from.’
‘You’re losing me.’ ‘All right. I’ll be simple.
There’s a word that keeps coming up, you see.
“Conversion”. Something to do with the Heart.
And the only guy I’ve heard saying it—’
‘—is Norton. Yeah. I remember,’ he says.
‘So what’s it meant to mean? This “Conversion”?’
I shrug. ‘No idea. But there’s a guy
Who might. Knows all about Hearts. Magnusson.’
Ordering a second coffee, I wait
For Dante to process my theory.
He plays with the Heart replica, turns it,
Chewing at his bottom lip thoughtfully.
For a while, I’d considered telling him
About Santiago, about Garfield,
But this way is easier. He’s honest,
Too honest maybe, and I’d rather lie.
‘Not bad, Yorke,’ he says, after a small while.
‘Better than any leads I’ve had so far.
It’s a long shot, but hell, I’ll come along.’
I breathe a sigh of relief, drain my cup.
‘You bring a car?’ I ask him, grab my coat.
He slides out. ‘Of course I fucking well did.’
Outside, the rain’s finally subsided,
Leaving a gleaming sidewalk in its wake.
Dante unlocks the squad car he borrowed
And starts it up, engine turning, growling.
We follow its headlight through the city,
Igniting cigarettes, wisping white smoke.
***
The University is real busy,
A hive of students swarming around us.
There’s a kind of close tension in the air,
Like everyone knows something that we don’t.
Dante doesn’t seem to feel it, strides on
Down the hall like there’s no one else in it,
Shouldering through without apologies.
I’m caught up in his wake: bruised arms, sharp looks.
I ta
ke the time to try and listen in,
Catch snatches of idle conversation,
But kids shut up when I’m close, like they know
I’m an outsider here: an intruder.
The reception is busy with students,
But Dante doesn’t let the press stop him,
Happy enough to push bodies aside
And knock noisily on the wooden desk.
I can’t spot Rachel. Maybe she’s not in.
They’re all strangers behind the reception.
I hang back, let Dante do the talking.
The excitement in the air puzzles me.
But, like in a dream, like I summoned her
With my thoughts of her, Rachel then appears.
She looks radiant, and I’m stuttering,
Surprised by her sudden glowing presence.
‘Virgil,’ she says, holding on to papers.
‘What brings you back to the Uni’ again?’
I take a breath, glance around at the kids
Laughing, joking, caught in some excitement.
‘Did you catch a train?’ I say, studying
Her face, the dance of the shadows on it
As she frowns. ‘I’m sorry?’ ‘A train,’ I say.
‘I don’t—’ I shake my head. ‘Doesn’t matter.’
Guess it was in my imagination,
After all. I dismiss the memories.
‘What’s all the excitement about?’ I ask.
She looks around. ‘Last cycle of the term.’
She’s probably right, but for some reason
It doesn’t fit right in my head, seems off,
Like I’m still missing something. But she says,
‘Meet me tomorrow,’ and I can’t think straight.
There’s that smile again, slow as a sunrise,
But not the dark star that we orbit here:
The rise of that alien sun I saw.
A bright emergence of warm brilliance.
‘Tomorrow?’ ‘Yes. Come and meet me,’ she says.
I glance about and Dante’s still busy.
There’s nobody around listening to us.
‘Sure. All right,’ I say, and the words feel light.
‘East Park. Do you know it?’ ‘Sure, yeah I do.’
‘Okay. Around ten o’clock sound all right?’
It does, and I let her know that it does.
‘I need to go now, but I’ll see you then.’
She leaves, and I watch her go, heels clicking
Across the stone floor, between bright glowing
Patches where the white bulbs above reflect.
Too bright for me; I need to keep squinting.
And when she’s gone, has vanished entirely
Among the turbulent crowds of students,
Dante grabs me by the arm. ‘Come on, Yorke.
Magnusson is in. We’re gonna talk now.’