Ian sat still and steamed through his suit. He wanted to confess, to say he was sorry, that he’d paid that thug only to smash windows, not burn the place down. The outcomes of violence are unpredictable. But that wasn’t what he’d come here to say. ‘I have a gift,’ said Asquith, reaching for the papers in his jacket.

‘Yes.’ It was becoming obvious to Lucky there was something more to the visit than common condolences.

‘Soon I’ll be returning to London, because I no longer have a job. You probably don’t wish to hear about my financial position in detail.’

‘You have money. You come from money.’

Asquith continued: ‘I have a sum I wish to offer you.’

He handed over an envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper on which he’d written a figure in Australian pounds. Lucky fidgeted with the paper until it was perfectly square with the bar table.

‘This is the amount?’ Lucky asked. The numbers appeared to be a mistake.

‘It’s not satisfactory?’

‘It’s an enormous sum.’

‘There are several reasons why I want you to accept the money. Remember the Benny Goodman night, during the war? You pretended to be the man you couldn’t be. That’s what I find fascinating. I am guilty of a similar fraud. I felt a kinship with you.’

‘That’s a bizarre thing to say.’

‘It must sound peculiar. Yet it makes perfect sense to me.’

‘What do you want in return? There’s gotta be some catch to money like this.’

‘There’s not. Use the money as you see fit. This afternoon I will go down to the bank and make the transfer. Do you accept the gift?’

‘Yes,’ said Lucky. ‘Thank you.’

‘Wonderful! I’m pleased. I feel relieved.’

‘I’m not sure I understand why you’re giving me the money.’

‘I simply want to do good here. I’m departing from Australia, this part of my life is over, and I want to leave behind something of value.’

Lucky stared at the numbers in front of him. At that moment, in his eyes, before the next cafe, before the franchise, the money was at its most abstract. The sum represented nothing: its meaning hadn’t yet taken, it didn’t seem connected to goodwill. Money as resource. Money as pure energy. From the first, Lucky knew there was something strange about Ian’s benevolence, but he pushed this vague suspicion from his mind—well, people could be strange—while shoots of possibility grew from the five-digit sum, as he came to possess the money, as it became part of his will and capacity.

Asquith wanted to ask right away: What will you do with my gift?

Chapter 14: 1972

1972

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