SEVEN
The next morning Stuart made breakfast for them both. He felt quite happy how things had turned out and really did not mind making breakfast for his strange new friend. The smell of the breakfast cooking woke his friend up. He seemed in a very positive mood. Both men readily consumed the roll and sausage and a massive mug of coffee.
‘A great mug of Coffee and roll and sausage the world was is right’ commented Stuart as he went over to pick up the Scotsman and Daily Record from the front door. Picking the papers up he gave John both newspapers to read over, before heading off to work.
‘I will see you later tonight John, look after yourself’.
As he shut the door leaving John in his flat he felt surprisingly relaxed about the whole affair and promptly set off for work.
That night when he came home, he bumped into one of his very nosey neighbours. Within seconds, she started to tell me about the ‘Nasty business that happened this morning’
She went onto tell him that, ‘apparently the man 2F2 had shot himself. They have just took him to the mortuary. The police are up there now.’
Stuart ascended the stairs to the second floor, and found a couple of police officers and an inspector who was trying to look important ordering people around. Stuart asked a few stupid questions, and they soon kicked him out. One of the coppers was grabbing a sneaky cigarette outside his flat. A quick chat from him confirmed what Stuart hoped would be the conclusion.
The copper said, ‘Once this has got to an inquiry they will find it a case of simple suicide of an sad lonely alcoholic of unsound mind who’s’
The police officer taped his head as though to let out the next sentence
‘Few effects we found will be handed over to Edinburgh Council for them to deal with including the disposal of the body, ‘
‘With a bit of luck this will be resolved by the end of my shift and I can grab a pint.’
Stuart then returned to his flat. Forgetting for a second that John was in the flat he opened the door with his key and was surprised to see John at his desk reading the Scotsman. He was glad that John was still there. It had been interesting hearing about his story and he was quite excited to be part of it.
He hung up his coat and quickly changed out of his work clothes and into a pair of jeans and a purple and blue polo neck t-shirt.
John began to chat about the weather but soon the conversation came around to John’s death.
This gave Stuart the chance to give John a full account of the affair, and it interested him greatly. He said he wished he could attend the inquest, for he reckoned it would be interesting to read your own obituary notice in an inquest.
Yet, John seemed very tired and after tea and having watched a film on their TV, both men drifted off to sleep.
The next day while Stuart was at work John opened up his shoulder pack and he took out some of his bulbous latex noses, make up, soft cheek inserts and grey contact lenses. Checking that there was still some left in the bag, he went to Stuart’s bathroom where he began to alter his appearance. Within half an hour, he had transformed himself. He had changed himself into an elderly man and promptly left the flat.
After a harrowing hours walk in which he had to maintain the pose and speed of a retired worker from Scottish and Newcastle Brewery, he walked down a hill until he came to Haymarket railway station. Checking that he was not being followed he brought a ticket from Haymarket Station to Glasgow Queen Street. Boarding the train he took up a seat near one of the toilets and sat motionless watching the people sat around him. Watching out for any tell-tail signs that he was been watched he waited and waited until it looked like the coast was clear. Happy that no one was watching him and the CCTV cameras on the train were not following him, he stood up and moved towards one of the toilets on the train. Timing it so that he entered the toilet as the train entered Linlithgow Station he locked the door and set about his transformation. Once inside and in a secure place he quickly changed into a different set of clothes while he took off his make-up and prosthetics which he quickly flushed down the toilet and put his old clothes back into his rucksack.
Having transformed himself he came out of the train toilet, got off at the next station and got the next train to Glasgow.
In Glasgow John, took a taxi out to Maryhill. There he went to ‘Smiths Butchers’ where he asked if William had his chicken order. William came out, seeing who it was he returned to the stores where he came out with his special chicken.
John then picked up the chicken and left. A few minutes later, he walked across to the local sports centre. In one of the changing rooms, he pulled out his chicken. He smashed it open to reveal a 9mm Browning Hi-power semi-automatic pistol. Tucking it in his pocket, he once more reapplied his make-up and prosthetics using his ruck-sack. Leaving the chicken stuffed under the bench in his changing room, he opened the door and began to walk out as though he was once more an old man. Leaving the leisure centre the harmless old man that he had transformed himself reversed his journey and travelling back into Edinburgh before returning to Stuart’s empty flat.
Once back at the flat he took off his make-up and prosthetics. He cleaned and tidied himself up, he hid the gun at the back of the toilet cistern and the rest of his belongings including cash behind the fridge in the kitchen.
For the rest of the day John stayed with Stuart in that back room. John was very peaceful. He read and smoked a bit, and made a heap of jottings in his black notebook. Later on that night, Stuart and John had a game of chess, at which John beat Stuart without trouble.
John gave the impression that he was nursing his nerves back to health, but in fact, he was preparing for his next move.
A few days later John was beginning to get restless. He fixed up a list of the days until the Chinese President was due to arrive, and ticked each off with a red pencil, making remarks in shorthand against them.
With the President’s visit, drawing nearer Stuart could see that John began to get edgy again. He started to jump at any sudden noises. Once or twice, he got very peevish, and apologized for it. John did not blame him. He made every allowance for Stuart quite enjoyed his company.
It was not the safety of his own skin that troubled John, but the success of the scheme he had planned that he was worried about. That night he was very solemn.
'Stuart,' he said,
'I have something new to tell you. I should hate to go out without leaving somebody else to carry the fight’.
That is when Stuart realized John expected him to get further involved. Before he had a chance to resist, he began to tell Stuart in detail what he had only heard from him vaguely.
Stuart did not give him very close attention. The fact he was more interested in his adventures than in his politics. Stuart reckoned that the Chinese President and the ‘Establishment’ affairs were none of his business. He was very clear that the danger to the Chinese President would not begin until he had arrived in Scotland, where there would be no thought of suspicion. He mentioned the name of a woman called Susan Blackburn and Norman Brook as having something to do with the danger. There would be a decoy, Stuart gathered, to get the Chinese President out of the care of his guards. He spoke a good deal about death, too. He was anxious about beating ‘The Establishment’ but he did not care for his life.
Next day John was much more cheerful, and read the Sun and even started to watch comedy shows on the internet TV.
That day Stuart went out to dinner with a few friends from work and came back about half-past ten.
He was a wee bit worse for the weather coming home with a cigar in my mouth and holding a half drunk bottle of beer in his hand. As Stuart pushed open the door, the lights were not on. This struck him as being odd. He wondered if John was asleep already.
Putting his bottle of beer down, he snapped the switch on, but there was nobody there. Then he saw something in the far corner that made him drop his cigar and fall into a great dread.
Stuart’s guest was lying sprawled on his stomach. There was one of his kitchen knives stuck through his heart that skewered him to the floor.