A Genuine Mistake by Ted Tayler (miss read books txt) 📗

don’t suppose you remember where they came from, surnames, or where they worked?” asked Neil, more in hope than expectation.

“Derby,” said Nick. “both girls came from Derby and worked for Royal Crown Derby, the English porcelain manufacturer.”

“Good, that’s something we can follow up on,” said Neil. “Is there anything to add to the Gerry and Ruth story? Was that another one-night stand?”

“You might see a pattern emerging, DS Davis,” said Nick Barrett. “After a day spent imbibing the amber nectar, we visited our sixth or seventh bar, and Gerry saw Ruth. He told me to follow him and made a beeline for her. Ruth was taller than Molly and with a fuller figure. I prayed she had a twin sister somewhere in that crowded pub. Gerry bought our drinks and followed Ruth as she sashayed into a dark corner. I trailed along behind, as usual, to get introduced to Shirley.”

“It didn’t go well?” said Neil.

“She had the personality of a whelk, detective, and once she had another drink inside her, Shirley started to talk. A booming voice and language that would have caused my mother to faint. An hour later, when Gerry and Ruth disappeared to the girls’ hostel, I could tell that Shirley expected to go back with me to our digs. I opted to walk along the Esplanade with her to give Gerry time alone with Ruth.”

“How did Shirley react to that?” asked Neil

“I received a verbal onslaught rather than a physical one. For which I was grateful. Shirley would have made mincemeat out of me,” said Nick. “She suggested I was gay. I went with her to the hostel to make sure she got back safely, made my excuses and left.”

“What happened to Gerry?”

“He wasn’t entirely happy when he returned. He thought he was in for an all-nighter.”

“Were you sticking to Batman and Robin?” asked Neil.

“Gerry mislaid his t-shirt somewhere on the trip. I can’t remember where. Somewhere between Alice Springs and Mount Isa. I think we were Gregg and Norm for that night.”

“Did you move on from Cairns soon after?”

“We moved on to Port Douglas to visit the Great Barrier Reef,” said Nick. “Now, that was an unforgettable experience. Amazing. Gerry and I had talked to one another again by then, but he wasn’t keen on hitting on anyone. It was weeks before we left Queensland. We spent ten days in Mackay, just chilling out, trying to drink less and save our pennies. We knew the cost of living was higher around Sydney, and we wanted to keep money in reserve.”

“Did you work during your trip?” asked Neil.

“I couldn’t possibly comment, detective,” said Nick. “One way of cutting back on the alcohol intake might be to pull a few pints for someone else. Let’s leave it at that. We had a glorious time on the Sunshine Coast. The place became far more popular in the decade after we were there. It had attracted the hippies in the Sixties, people seeking an alternative lifestyle. There were craft industries, co-operatives, and spiritual centres wherever you looked. Far out, man. That stuff didn’t interest us, but the weather was great, and the locals were friendly.”

“When did Gerry’s quiet period end?” asked Neil.

“After we moved into Brisbane,” said Nick. “Now, let me see if I’ve got this right. I think her name was Julia, and she hailed from Richmond. The place on the Thames, not the town in Yorkshire. Julia did something in the City. She had a position with a merchant bank. Gerry was punching above his weight, but Julia took pity on him for four or five nights. She didn’t have a friend in tow, so I didn’t need to embarrass myself. I fell off the wagon and got drunk the first night, had the hangover from hell, and that might have been an occasion when I pulled pints for other people. I kept my distance from Gerry and Julia in the evenings.”

“Your hesitation suggests that Gerry got lucky more than once in Brisbane,” said Neil.

“We’re talking June, July, and the beginning of August,” said Nick, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. “The weather was mild. There was no rush to move on, and it was the busiest time for tourism in the area. You couldn’t go for a quiet pint anywhere. Every bar was teeming with international students. Their term dates differ from those in the UK. The academic year started in February and March, and they had a further intake in June and July. So, Brisbane was a paradise for Gerry when we stopped there. I couldn’t drag him away. I was keen to move on to New South Wales and Sydney. Time was running out. We both wanted to fly home well before Christmas. He met a South African girl called Kerry, and I didn’t see him again for a week. I’d resigned myself to my lot, and didn’t bother joining him when he was on the pull. I’d pick a bar, Brisbane had plenty to choose from, and sit nursing a pint for two hours, then get off back to the digs.”

“Time must have dragged,” said Neil.

“Not really,” said Nick, “I might have worked the odd shift, you know, and with so many students in town, I always had someone to chat to, male and female. I kidded myself that if I didn’t go looking for a girl, it might happen when I least expected it.”

“How did that work out for you?”

“Much as you might expect. Gerry was around during the day. We never fell out again. Oh, I’ve just remembered one more occasion before we left Brisbane. The weather was on the turn. They can get violent storms and cyclones there in August and September, so we agreed to heed the warnings and head south. We took one last excursion before leaving. We hired a car