Icejacked
Chapter 28

The

I was not a particularly excitable character, but despite my usual pragmatic attitude, I was quite excited as I drove to Zurich airport to meet my friends from London. I arrived in plenty of time and settled myself at a table with an unhindered view of the incoming flights board. I plunged the handle down on the cafetière and poured myself a coffee.

Julie had told me that Jenny had jumped at the chance of coming to . As I sipped my coffee, I began to get cold feet. Texting and phoning was one thing, but meeting up in person was an entirely different can of worms.

We were all staying at the Continental in central Zurich. During the weekend, I had a tour of the city planned. On Monday, it was the presentation at my university. I had missed the main awards ceremony due to the Leddicus tours. My lecturers and a few other colleagues had decided to have a special presentation for my friends and me. I was looking forward to this opportunity of stepping out of university life with a bit of a flurry. Once the formalities were over, I had booked a table at a rather posh restaurant in Appenzell. I wanted to revisit a sport I had missed in the last few weeks, introducing Leddicus to something new. I thought fondue would be just the ticket. The restaurant I had chosen was recommended for this Swiss specialty.

An hour later, the board flashed up the flight number with “Landed” alongside it. It was bang on time. I watched impatiently for the sign to change from “Landed” to “Baggage in Hall.” I paced up and down for about twenty minutes. Then there they were, heading towards me, smiling, and waving.

I managed to cram the rather large quantity of luggage into the boot. What a lot of it there was just for a long weekend. Fortunately, Joe was coming in on a later flight, which meant there was room for all of us in my Audi. We clambered aboard and headed off to the hotel with everyone talking at once.

They were all delighted with the hotel. After congratulating me on my choice, they headed off to freshen up and do a bit of unpacking. I sat in reception with a long, cool lager, waiting for Joe to arrive. Just as everyone arrived back in reception, my phone rang.

“Joe, where are you? I thought you would be here by now.”

“I’m sorry, Gerhardt. Something urgent has come up, and I will have to delay.”

“But you will be able to come?”

“Not today, I’m afraid. I …” he hesitated. “It’s bad news I’m afraid. I can’t say more than that at this stage.”

“When do you think you will be able to come over?” I was so disappointed. I wanted the whole crew there.

“I will keep you posted. E-mail me the details of your graduation. I will do my utmost to get there for that.”

“What’s happened? Can you say?”

“At this stage, I don’t want to until my fears are confirmed.”

“Well, good luck, and keep in touch.” I cut the call.

Three pairs of eyes stared at me full of questions.

“What’s going on? Is Joe all right?” Julie asked.

“He’s wouldn’t say what it was. Only that it was bad news.”

We sat down on the sofas in reception. The excitement was ebbing away.

“I hope you don’t mind me butting in,” Jenny ventured, “but we’re here now. Perhaps we should try to make the best of it?”

“That sounds sensible to me,” said Leddicus. “What plans do you have for us, Mr. Shynder?”

We headed off into the afternoon sunshine and wandered along the streets at a leisurely pace, with me pointing out places of interest. After a couple hours, we all piled into a small restaurant and ordered a late lunch.

As the meal drew to a close, I checked my watch. “I have to go and collect my parents. It’s about an hour-long round trip, and there’s no way you lot can all fit into my Audi. Let’s meet up back at the hotel in a couple hours.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Julie. “Don’t worry about the bill. I’ll sort that out. You get going. Leddicus and I will find our own way back.”

I stood up and headed out of the restaurant, and Jenny followed.

“Okay if I tag along?”

“Of course,” I said. “Good to have the company.”

“Are your folks staying at the hotel tonight?”

“They are. They wouldn’t miss this for the world, and they’re very keen to meet Leddicus.”

The journey passed quickly. Although initially I felt rather nervously uncomfortable the feeling gradually ebbed away. I was surprised how easy it was to chat to Jenny.

“So good to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Shynder.” Jenny smiled warmly and shook them by the hand.

My mother looked at me quizzically, but made no comment. I popped their bags in the boot, and we headed back to the hotel. Jenny sat with my mother in the back. They were soon chatting away as if they had known each other for years. My father got in the front with me. As I drove, I brought him up to date on plans for the weekend.

The evening was a great success. The hotel restaurant had an excellent à la carte menu, something for everyone. I could see my parents hanging on every word Leddicus said. He was on good form, waxing lyrical with funny stories from our tours. He even managed to add some humour as he described his collapse in Caesarea Philippi. I was pretty impressed at how he had broadened his knowledge in the past few weeks. When he was recovering in hospital, he had brought himself up to date with current politics, western and European, and he expounded his world opinions with clarity and conviction.

Joe called me in the middle of the evening. Although he sounded grim, he said he would be making every effort to be at the graduation. He remained tight-lipped about the reason for his delay.

There was a party atmosphere as we arrived at the university the next morning. Determined I was not going to miss the inevitable graduation photos, I had hired a gown and mortar for the occasion. Before we piled into the taxis, I made everyone check that cameras had not been forgotten. Leddicus was soon snapping away on his brand-new smartphone and ribbing me about my attire.

The principal presented me with my doctorate, and everyone stood up and applauded. I was grinning from ear to ear, although I did forget to throw my hat in the air. My department had laid on drinks and canapés. The room was a hubbub of chatter, and I made a point of speaking to everyone and making sure Jenny, as the newcomer to both groups of people, was included. I soon realised I had no need to be worry about her. She seemed to have a way of effortlessly engaging with everyone she met. I think my parents were a little overwhelmed with the whole event, but they were also, quite obviously, glowing with pride.

As the afternoon wore on, I spotted Leddicus on his own for the first time since I had collected everyone from the airport. I had some plans I wanted to run past him. I could leave it until the next day, but I was keen to get his thoughts, find out if he liked my ideas.

We sat in the corner of the room, Leddicus with the inevitable plate piled high with an array of nibbles and a large glass of red wine and me with a glass of sparkling water. I didn’t want to get tipsy on this auspicious day. Well, not yet at least.

“Congratulations, Gerhardt. It’s great to share this day with you. Before you say anything else, I want to ask you something. Will you join me in for another celebration? And I need a favour.”

“We should celebrate. You’ve come back to life twice now, and what was the favour you wanted?”

“That’s not the celebration, although it is pretty amazing. Apparently, when you get married in this culture, you need a best man. So that’s the favour. Will you be the best man?”

“Well, if I’m going to best man, I at least need to know who is getting married.”

“Me, of course!”

My throat grew dry, and my hands began to sweat. “To whom?” I said slowly.

Leddicus looked surprised. “To Julie of course!”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. This was the worst outcome possible. My pulse was racing as anger rose up and destroyed my euphoria.

I kept my face straight and my voice level “Of course, I would be honoured to be your best man.” Inside, my brain was yelling out one phrase, “Julie has won!”

Leddicus was so animated that he didn’t notice my distinct lack of enthusiasm on receiving his news. He just carried on chatting, “I have some more news. I have a job.”

“A job? What do you mean?”

“Remember the stamped my travel document ILR. Not only can I travel, I can work. And now I have a job.”

I sat there stunned. I could find no words. My worst fears were being realised. I was losing everything because of that wretched girl Julie, and my initial instincts had been spot-on.

Leddicus interrupted my thoughts. “I think we could say that woman has won!”

I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Out of the fog invading my brain, I said, “Yes, she has. Julie has won.”

“What are you on about? I’m talking about Priscilla Morrison.”

“The Morrison woman. What has she got to do with anything?”

“It’s a bit complicated. I need to go back to the beginning. When I became a follower of the way, I remember being told that Jesus said we should first of all seek the of God. Even though I am new at everything that is twenty-first century, I thought I should still be doing that. I think I have found out exactly what I should be doing here.”

I was still angry and not really paying attention. “I still don’t see what that’s got to do with Morrison?”

Leddicus spoke calmly. I was sure he had now sensed my tension. “Priscilla and my time at the holding centre were the catalyst. For me it brought modern-day slavery into sharp focus. I couldn’t get those children out of my head or my dreams.”

I shrugged. “The catalyst for what?”

“There’s more slavery today than there was then. You really have forgotten what our research revealed, haven’t you? Well, I’m going to work for a charity that’s trying to put a stop to it. They are working closely with law enforcers to bring those who trade in human misery to justice. I feel it’s my destiny, my purpose, to be a small part in the fight against this evil. I think, as a follower of the way, it’s the right thing for me to do.” He laid his hand on my arm. “Everything has changed for me, my friend. I have to make a new life here. I hope you understand.”

I could feel everything slipping out of my grasp: the tours, the film, and the book. I needed to act quickly. If only Joe were here, he would know what to do.

Julie joined us, and Leddicus slipped his arm around her shoulder. He looked at her proudly. “What do you think of it?” She held out her left hand to display a dainty diamond ring.

“Very nice,” I said with little enthusiasm. “Congratulations. I hope you’ll be very happy. Please excuse me. I need to circulate.”

The room was very crowded. I didn’t realise I knew so many people.

As I was pushing through the crowd, a lady said, “So you are still enjoying the benefits of your con job!”

I swung round, and there facing me was Pricilla Morrison. I was already angry. And now this! I couldn’t help myself and snapped at her. “How did you get in here? This is university property. You have no right in here.”

“Oh, don’t I?” she snapped back. “You are quite wrong. I’m a member. I studied here!”

I was speechless, and I took a deep breath. “So that’s how you knew about me coming here one year later. What year were you here?”

“One year ahead of you. Don’t you remember?” She glared at me. Her voice was a low growl.

“I need to sit down.” I pushed my way to the edge of the room. I found a chair and flopped into it. Pricilla, the pain, had followed me through the crowd and sat down next to me.

“I don’t know you. I thought I knew the names of all the students in the year above.”

“I changed it!” she snapped again. “When I moved to Rome. But what’s worse, you don’t even remember my face!” she spat the words out at me. “You don’t remember going out with me for two months. You don’t remember taking me out to the year-end proms and all those things you said to me on the way back to my flat?”

I stared at her in horror. The light was slowly dawning. The years fell away, and the familiarity of her face popped into my brain. The alcoholic memory loss cleared like thick mist on a sunny day. The sharp reality hit me. Now I know why she had the knife in and was twisting it hard. I slowly regained my composure. Her eyes held mine. Full of hate, they bored into me. She was talking of something that had happened years ago as if it were yesterday. I was dealing with an unbalanced freak. I decided to tread softly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you,” I said calmly, . “I had no idea you were now a journalist, but you need to know something. Leddicus is the real deal. We are telling the truth.”

Morrison was not listening. She glared at me, just the way she had at the hotel. Fury filled her eyes. She stood up and marched out of the room. I watched her elbowing her way through the crowd, and then I heard the huge oak door slam so loud that it rattled the windowpanes. I leaned back in the chair, closed my eyes, and took some slow, deep breaths.

Just then, the door swung open, and there stood Joe. His face was dark, and he held a large parcel under his arm. Leddicus, Julie, and I quickly gathered round him, all talking at once. I led the group over to a table on the edge of the room, away from the hubbub.

“I have some dreadful news.” He turned to me. “I’m sorry to rain on your parade, but I thought you should know as soon as possible.” We all fell silent as he placed the package on the table and slowly drew apart the brown paper. There in all its glory was a hardback book, The Leddicus Enigma by Edgar Crabtree.

Leddicus and I started talking at once. Julie sat back in her chair with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

“How could this have happened? I thought we had exclusive rights,” I said.

“We do up to a point, but you must realise that anyone can write a book.” Joe glared at Julie.

I jumped to her defence. “Joe, you know damn well that it wasn’t her fault. You’ve given her enough of a hard-enough time. Lay off her.”

His face softened slightly. “Okay, okay, but this was my fear all along. There is so much stuff out there about Leddicus. Whoever this author is, he has got his act together and produced this ahead of us.”

While the conversation ran back and forth between Joe and me, Julie ran her fingers over the cover of the book, slowly turning the pages and scanning the text. She suddenly let out a gasp. “This is my stuff. This is what I wrote. This was in my notes!”

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Joe snapped.

“This bit here about his early childhood days. This has never been in the press. I should know. I have every cutting ever produced about Leddicus.”

We sat there dumbstruck. The reality was slowly dawning on us.

Joe broke the silence. “You mean your laptop was hacked?”

“It can be the only explanation,” she said wearily.

“And your lost notebook?” I asked.

“It must have been stolen.” She shuddered.

“Don’t we have copyright? And who is this Crabtree guy?”

“You can’t copyright every item in the press. As for Crabtree, I’ve been in touch with all my publishing contacts. They can tell me nothing. It seems this is his debut biography. He is apparently somewhat of a recluse and shunning all publicity.”

We sat discussing it with heavy hearts. The conversation went round in circles.

“Don’t I get any say in what’s written about me?” Leddicus asked.

“I’m getting that checked out with my lawyers, but as there is no character defamation and as you are a worldwide celebrity, it would seem not,” Joe replied.

Julie looked distraught. Leddicus stood up and took her gently by the hand. “Walk with me.” Concern filled his eyes.

I sat stunned, the full implications of what had happened swept over me, this was financial disaster for us all, I could hardly bear it, after a few moments Joe touched my arm and I looked up at his distraught face.

“Joe, my hospitality has completely deserted me. Can I get you something to eat?”

“A stiff drink would be good,” he said.

I rustled up a couple of large whiskeys from the makeshift bar. We drank in silence.

“This is a complete disaster. We are ruined.” I said. “Do you want a top up?”

He handed me his empty glass.. “Not ruined exactly. Just much poorer than we anticipated.”

Twenty minutes later, Leddicus and Julie returned. They had a bottle of Champagne and four glasses. They both looked more relaxed.

“Something terrible has happened, and we need to find out how and see what can be salvaged,” Leddicus began, “but we are forgetting that there is much to celebrate. Gerhardt has successfully graduated. I am yet again back from near death, I have a job, and best of all, Julie and I are getting married.” He popped the cork and caught the sparkling liquid in the proffered glasses.

“Is this the end of the dynamic duo? Will we ever go on tour again?” I asked Leddicus.

“You can depend on it.” He said as he filled my glass.

“Be sure you keep in touch.”

“You can always get me on Facebook.” He chinked glasses with a beaming Julie.

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