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The cell was bright and clean. I was
wearing a grey jump suit that the Germans had given me when they took my
clothes away. I needed a hug, I’d tried wrapping my arms around myself but that
hadn’t worked. How long were they going to keep my here? It was the silence I
couldn’t stand. It was deathly quiet apart from the ticking of the clock on the
wall. Despite technically being caught on East German soil with no passport, I
was in a West German cell. I think even the stern East German guard had taken
pity on me. I’d caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window as they led me
off that train and I really had looked my age.
I looked around the cell, apart from the
clock there was only, the table and two empty chairs and a security camera in
the corner, staring down at me. Were they watching me now? I stared at the
camera, then at the clock and then back at the camera.
When the door finally opened and a large
man came in. He smiled. I didn’t.
“Gutentag, Tony, I’m Helmut,” he said. I
shrugged, I didn’t give a toss who he was.
There were large bags under his eyes and he had swollen nose that looked
like it might burst any moment.
“Would you like to tell me how you were on
a train in West Berlin with no passport and no money?” With each word I got a
whiff of his garlicky breath.
I shrugged again. The door opened and a
woman brought in a tray with two cups of coffee. She lay them on the table and
left. Helmut nodded at the cups and I took one.
“Got a cigarette,” I said.
“Aren’t you a bit young to smoke.”
“Give me a cigarette and I’ll tell you my
story.”
He got out a soft top pack of HBs, shook
two out and handed me one.”
I tried not to cough as I took in the
smoke, I had smoked before, to impress Laura down the park. But I hadn’t like
it much, and after Laura had got off with Mark, well I’d not had need to smoke
again.
“So?” Helmut looked at me.
“I was abducted,” I said.
“Abducted?” the policeman echoed me,
placing the cigarettes and matches in between us.
“Yes, I was walking to school in Carlisle,
where I live, I live in Carlisle, in England. Anyway I was walking to school
when I was bundled into a van by two men.”
Helmut looked at me. I took in, and blew
out a mouthful of smoke. It got nowhere near my lungs.
“What did these men look like?” Helmut
asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But they spoke
strangely, not English.”
“And this was in Carlisle?” He said looking
at his notes. “So how did you end up on a train in Germany?”
“I remember changing vehicles somewhere. We
were in a car. Then, I was put in the boot and told to be quiet. I was there
for a long time. Then when they let me out, we were in Europe. I knew because
you guys drive on the wrong side and we were going really fast.”
Helmut nodded.
“Finally we arrived in Hamburg. We stayed
two nights in a disgusting hotel, there were bugs and everything, and women downstairs who looked like whores. Then
we met with a man at the train station. He gave the men money and they left me
with him. He stank of BO and had greasy hair. He told me he’d kill me if I
didn’t do what he said. We got on a train. I fell asleep, when I woke up, the
new man was gone.”
Helmut was still staring at me,
scrutinising my face. I’d finished my cigarette and reached out for the
packet.
“How did you get into East Germany with no
passport?” Helmut asked reaching for his own fresh cigarette, he shook out the
match with a flourish.
“My abductor was with me at the border,” I
said. ‘He had a passport for me.” I coughed.
“I see,” Helmut said, he scratched his
chin, his stubble crackled. “Okay, tell me your address so we can contact your
parents. They must be worried.”
“My name’s Tony Tonison, 14 Chester Place,
Carlisle.” I said.
“And your phone number.”
“We don’t have a phone in my house.”
Helmut looked confused for a moment before he
remembered he wasn’t dealing with a German, this was a British subject. He
stood up.
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