Harkness nodded his head, awkwardly, as if he were punch drunk. ‘A further misunderstanding. I’ve returned it, of course.’
‘This routine investigation to which I have been subjected?’ persisted Charlie. ‘Is it concluded now?’
‘Yes,’ said Harkness.
‘I do have the right officially to be informed of that, don’t I?’ said Charlie.
‘I’ll let you have a memorandum today.’
‘My personnel record should also have an attachment to that effect too, shouldn’t it?’
‘I’ll ensure that it’s done,’ promised the other man.
‘Thank you, sir,’ said Charlie. ‘I’m very glad everything has been settled so satisfactorily.’ Enough, Charlie told himself; a time to shaft and a time to stop, enjoyable though it had been.
Laura was waiting apprehensively in the outer office, standing beside her desk. ‘He’s fired you, hasn’t he?’ she said.
‘Of course not,’ said Charlie, grinning. There’s inside knowledge here, my son, he reminded himself. He said: ‘Any chance of our getting together some time?’
‘I’d like that,’ said the girl.
Blackstone looked with disbelief at the other man, not immediately able to speak. Then he realized how stupid he must look and tried to recover, swallowing heavily. ‘I see,’ he said.
‘I thought you’d realize it would have to come to an end some time,’ said Losev.
‘I didn’t,’ admitted Blackstone. Desperately he said: ‘There’s nothing at all?’
Losev shook his head. ‘I can understand how awkward that is going to be for you, with two homes to support. That can’t be easy.’
Blackstone stood more open mouthed than before, his tongue moving over his bottom lip. He said: ‘Who are you?’
‘Your friend, Henry. Still your friend. You mustn’t worry.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘You will, when we’ve had a little chat.’
13
Natalia had been away on the Australian visit when Eduard became eligible for leave, which therefore had to be postponed, so it had been almost six months since they were last together. Natalia was relieved that another overseas trip had not intruded to make this visit impossible. And pleased at how quickly permission had been granted for her to take leave herself, a Friday and a Monday, giving them a long weekend together.
Natalia tried hard to make everything right for her son’s homecoming. She planned a Saturday-night outing and shopped widely at the concessionary stores, where she hesitated uncertainly at the alcohol counter. Natalia hardly drank but believed, although she was not sure, there was a half bottle of vodka somewhere in the Mytninskaya apartment. Eduard was nineteen, living in an all-male, military environment, she reminded herself: a man, which had been a strangely abrupt realization when he’d been home for the last time. He’d expect her to have something in: consider it odd if she hadn’t. Still hesitant Natalia bought whisky, vodka and some imported Danish beers. As an afterthought she added four bottles of French wine, two white and two red. In a final touch Natalia displayed flowers in the hallway and the living room: she knew Eduard wouldn’t appreciate them – probably wouldn’t be aware of them – but Natalia thought flowers in a home were welcoming so it was really a gesture for her own benefit.
His letter had guessed at his reaching Moscow some time in the afternoon but she knew the risk of delay was too great for her to start preparing the homecoming meal in advance of his arrival. Natalia wandered about the flat, touching and moving things that didn’t need to be touched and spent time in Eduard’s bedroom, tidying things already tidied. Why – or of what – was she nervous? Natalia couldn’t decide. Just that she was nervous, which was ridiculous. What on earth was there to be nervous of, receiving home a soldier-son whom she had not seen for half a year? Nothing. Ridiculous, she told herself again.
It was gone seven when Eduard telephoned and she was glad she had not started to prepare because he still had to go through some leave formalities at the military post at the Kursk station. An hour, Eduard guessed: an hour and a half at the outside. It was more than two hours from the time of the call before he got there.
Natalia was unaccountably disoriented by Eduard’s entrance into her home. He appeared to be bigger, filling more space and making everything correspondingly smaller. The army boots looked huge and the uniform was rough when he held her to him and kissed her, quickly as if he were embarrassed by the gesture. There was a smell to his clothing, a stale, unclean impression mingled with the odour of his own body. There was another, more obvious smell on his breath and Natalia wondered if it really had taken more than two hours for him to get through the railway station formalities.
The hallway greetings over, he stumped directly into his room with his bag and topcoat but reappeared immediately, looking around as if he hadn’t seen the apartment before.
‘It’s good to see you, Eduard.’
‘Good to be back.’
‘I’m cooking beef: I’m afraid it might be a little overdone.’
‘I’m starving!’
‘Would you like a bath first? There’s time.’
Eduard frowned but started a smile at the same time, as if he suspected her of making a joke. ‘Bath! What for?’
Natalia raised and lowered her shoulders. ‘I thought you might have felt like one after all the travelling.’
‘No,’ he said positively. He looked inquiringly around the apartment again as if looking for something.
‘I got some drink in. Beer: vodka and whisky, too.’
Eduard allowed the grin to register. ‘Bloody good!’ he said.
Natalia couldn’t remember his swearing even minimally in front of her before. He appeared unaware of having done so. She said: ‘It’s all in the kitchen. Why don’t you get it yourself?’
‘You want anything?’
‘No thank you.’ Natalia became aware that she had remained standing since his entry. While he was out of the room she sat down on one of the two easy chairs: he’d trodden something black, like oil, across the room and into his bedroom.
Eduard returned with a glass of vodka in one hand and a beer in the other. He gestured with the beer can from which he was drinking direct and said: ‘Imported beer and beef in the oven! Still all the privileges! You should try the beer we get at the camps: just like horse pi…’ He stopped just in time, but remained smiling. ‘Absolutely filthy,’ he finished.
‘What’s it like there?’ There hadn’t been any reports of nationalistic protests between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis for a long time, but she wished his officer-cadet field course had not been somewhere so active.
‘Boring,’ said Eduard at once. ‘I don’t know why we don’t make our minds up: either shoot the idiots when they riot or stand back and let them kill each other. Perfect solution, one way or the other.’ He slumped in the opposing chair and thrust both legs out towards her. The boots really did look huge: she couldn’t see whatever had caused the marks he’d trodden through the apartment.
‘How about your grades?’
‘I’ll graduate easily,’ said Eduard.
He’d always found easy anything academic, always the perfect student, remembered Natalia. Like Igor had always had a quick and receptive mind. The recollection of the husband who had deserted them surprised Natalia: she couldn’t think of the last time he’d come to mind. At once she decided it was not surprising at all. There had always been a strong facial resemblance between father and son, even in unconscious mannerisms like the way each flicked back the straying, coal-black hair and smiled crookedly, one mouth edge up, the other down, but Natalia was caught now by how much stronger the similarities seemed to her. Imagination, she dismissed. How could any of Igor’s behaviour or attitudes have washed off on a son he’d abandoned when the child was three? She said: ‘How much longer will you be attached to an active field unit?’