Page 5 of Fe
“Morning, Mr Belmont. Better day than yesterday.”
“Yes.” He bloody hoped so.
Ripley stared out of the window as he was driven to Lincoln’s Inn Fields where he worked in Old Square Chambers. He should have been reading his case notes but he’d prepared for the trial last night as he ate his dinner. Another fun-filled evening.
And whose fault is that? If you’re going to sit there and make no effort, then why should you be anything else but miserable?
He didn’t want to make an effort. He missed Alejandro.
Ripley extinguished the thought as if he were blowing out a match. Maybe not the best of analogies because the aroma lingered and Ripley rather liked the smell of a burnt-out match. Memories of Alejandro would always be there, but he was gone. There was no point wishing it otherwise. Loneliness was here to stay until Ripley decided to do something about it.
He could blame Covid. He’d never been the most sociable of individuals, but increased remote working and the use of Zoom rather than meeting people face to face had made him feel isolated. Barristers spent much of their time alone, preparing cases, travelling. But he’d had Alejandro to come back to… Well, mostly. He clenched his teeth.
On the plus side of Covid, there were fewer mountains of paper to cart around, which had to be better for the planet and his back. Almost every case he was given these days was submitted digitally.
“I’ll have to take the longer route, Mr Belmont. The road’s blocked ahead.”
“No rush.”
Ripley had got Harry off a serious criminal charge a few years ago and Harry was now devoted to him, acting as part-time driver and occasionally as a PI. Harry didn’t work exclusively for him, but after Ripley had kept paying him throughout the pandemic, even when he had no need of his services, Harry put any request of Ripley’s above those of his other clients. It had been money well-spent.
That morning’s case was straightforward. Ripley was pretty sure the man he was defendinghadtaken a baseball bat to his neighbour’s carandthreatened the neighbour, all because of a row about a hedge, but he was still entitled to a defence and Ripley’s job was to get him the best result possible. Hopefully, not a prison sentence. All he could do was his best and then it was up to the jury and judge.
Billy, the senior clerk, stepped out of his office as Ripley walked in.
“Good morning, Mr Belmont.”
“Is it?” Ripley went into his room and took off his coat with Billy on his heels.
“It’s not raining,” Billy said. “It’s not snowing. The world hasn’t ended. Work is still pouring in.”
Ripley huffed and dropped down behind his desk. “Now give me the bad news.”
“You’re neededup north.”
“Was that a Lancashire accent?”
“Yorkshire. I’ve been practising and I’m mortified you didn’t recognise it.”
“Leeds?”
“Yes, Mr Belmont.”
It could have been worse. Ripley was happy with more work, though not particularly happy about having to go to Leeds. But not disappointing his clerk was important, or he could find himself stuck with a case he really didn’t want in a town even further north. Though Ripley trusted Billy to give him the right cases and Billy trusted him, so he’d be going to Leeds. Ripley didn’t have anything against Leeds though he liked to sleep in his own bed.
First job was to call the auction house. It took no small amount of pleading to persuade them to give him the address of the young man from last night. Well, the address of his employer. The moment this trial ended, he’d go and ask for his box back.
“Car’s waiting, Mr Belmont.”
Ripley turned to see Billy standing by the door, tapping his foot.
“Sorry, Billy. I’m on my way.”
Ripley grabbed his roller-case and hurried out to the Uber waiting on double yellow lines.
“Hello,” Ripley said to the driver as he climbed in the back.
The man muttered something Ripley didn’t catch.
