Matthew Flinders' Cat

by Bryce Courtenay

  Suddenly Billy sensed that with his sudden and total commitment to Ryan, the fighting lawyer was back and that Billy the human being, with a love greater than his addiction, was emerging. His rehabilitation had taken a hop, step and great leap forward. Billy O’Shannessy was crying his heart out for the kid, for himself, for a world that did such things to children, for the whole of human existence.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It had taken some time to comfort Ryan sufficiently to suggest they move. Billy was afraid that Sergeant Orr, the sergeant-at-arms coming off his shift from Parliament House next door, might spot them. Although he mightn’t know anything that would place Ryan in danger, it was just as well to get moving. Orr, like Barker, could sniff trouble and Billy reminded himself again that Orr had been a witness for Alf Petersen. Policemen like Orr were like old bull elephants, constantly suspicious and with a prodigious memory.

  ‘Ryan, we have a fair bit to talk about, but I think we should make a move. There’s a way of getting into the Botanic Gardens before they open the gates, I think that’s where we should go, don’t you?’

  Ryan nodded, rising from his skateboard. Billy realised how small and frail he looked and how much the poor little boy had been through. ‘I have to bury my blanket, then let’s get going.’ Billy made no mention of Sergeant Orr, the child was already traumatised to the point of shaking all over, his teeth were chattering.

  Billy took Ryan to his private bench beside the rock pool. The sun was just coming up and, catching half of the bench, was sufficient for them both to share in its warmth. Ryan was still shivering, his eyes were red and swollen from crying, and Billy could see that he was still thoroughly miserable. More than anything in the world he wanted to comfort Ryan, to give him the assurance that he was safe, but he knew this wasn’t true and Ryan was far too intelligent to buy such a notion. When he’d been a child and miserable, his nanny would sing a little nonsense song and now Billy put his arm around Ryan and started to sing softly:

  Never mind the weather

  as long as we’re together.

  The elephant and

  the kangarooooo!

  Never mind the weather

  as long as we’re together.

  We’re off to see

  the Wild West Show!

  ‘They said I was gunna go to Osmond House,’ Ryan suddenly cried, unable to respond to Billy’s feeble attempt to cheer him up.

  ‘Ryan, I told you, I have a plan. We’ll sort this out, lad, you’ll have to trust me.’

  Ryan looked tearfully at Billy. ‘But you said you was a coward and you’re a derro.’

  Billy knew he had it coming to him, that Ryan hadn’t said it to hurt him. Despite his misery, the child was still thinking correctly and it was a fair enough question under the circumstances.

  ‘Sometimes being a coward helps you think things out, fearful men look at consequences far more closely than brave ones.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘It means if you can see all the bad things that could happen, you can do something to avoid them, that’s if you don’t simply run away.’

  ‘You won’t run away again, will yiz, Billy?’

  ‘No, lad, I’m tired of running away, I’ve been doing it all my life.’

  ‘And you’ve got a plan so I don’t have to go to Osmond House?’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

  ‘What is it?’

  Billy hesitated, not quite sure how to go about telling Ryan about Con’s offer. ‘It may mean you’ve got to go into a foster home. They won’t let someone like me be a foster parent, but I’ve got that more or less arranged, Con Poleondakis and his wife Maria are happy to take you.’

  ‘Who are they?’

  Ryan was shocked when Billy explained. ‘But he said yiz was a poofter! I don’t like Greeks, that’s a shit plan,’ Ryan shouted, upset.

  It took Billy some time to calm him down again. ‘Ryan, listen to me, for the next little time we’re going to have to hide you until we’ve got things sorted out. It’ll be like a trial run for you with Con and Maria. See how you go and if you like it, you’ll see me every day anyway. I’ll even take a room around the corner so I’ll always be near.’

  ‘I can hide in a squat like I done before,’ Ryan protested, though Billy could sense that was exactly what the child didn’t want to do. He was worn out, frightened and lonely. Without money, there was only one way for him to survive on the streets.

  ‘Ryan, I’m a lawyer and once I was a very good one.

  I still know a few people and I know how to open this thing up. Justice Wood is setting up a royal commission, it’s just getting under way. It’s an examination of police corruption in society and there is reference in it to paedophilia and organised paedophile networks. So, you see, this is the perfect time for us to strike, to get sufficient evidence on Mohammed Suleman, The Queenie, Alf Petersen, their clients and the corrupt policemen involved. It’s an opportunity to expose the whole sordid business.’

  ‘But they’ll catch me also ’cause I’m a poofter now,’

  Ryan said.

  ‘Ryan, you’re not now and you never will be!’ Billy said sternly. ‘You must get such nonsense out of your head. You’re a child who’s been abused and those bastards are going to pay for that.’

  ‘Monkey said once it’s done to you, yiz one forever!’ Ryan cried.

  ‘Well, Monkey’s lying, Ryan. He’s trying to make sure you don’t tell anyone what happened. Now listen to me, Ryan, and I’ll try to explain the situation. When the royal commission gets under way, everyone’s going to duck for cover and somebody’s going to squeal. It always happens, someone makes a deal with the inquiry in order to get protection. Now, when that happens, the rest of the mongrels try to destroy the evidence. That’s when we’re both going to be in danger, but especially you. You’ve escaped their clutches and they can’t afford to have that happen. We know that, because they’ve already set you up for drug procurement and a possible manslaughter charge.’

  ‘You mean for killing me mum?’

  ‘Ryan, you did not kill your mother!’ Billy shouted angrily. It was the first time he’d raised his voice. ‘The manslaughter charge is purely technical, you can’t possibly be blamed for that. That’s just a way to bring you to the Children’s Court, part of the indictment. On the other hand, as a child handling drugs, a children’s magistrate could have a strong case for putting you into a juvenile correction centre, and that could mean Osmond House. These are powerful people and, with corrupt police in their pay, it’s quite possible they’ll succeed. I’ve been to see the police and they know that I intend to represent you if you get caught. In hindsight it may not have been the best thing to do, but I needed to know exactly why they were looking for you.’

  Billy now explained his interview with Detective Sergeant Barker. ‘I don’t think Detective Barker took me too seriously or that he is involved with paedophilia, but if push comes to shove, the cops who are on the take will hear about my visit to the Kings Cross Police Station. Barker has what I said on tape. The Queenie and the rest of them who gave you drugs and sent you to the German will know they’re in trouble and the search for you is going to hot up. Not just you, Ryan, we’re both in this together, lad. The idea of “just another derelict”, as Barker put it, being found dead will seem a very attractive and easy solution. After all, it happens every day.’

  Billy paused to let what he’d said sink in with the distraught child. He was aware that what he was saying would further frighten Ryan, but it was of the utmost importance that the boy understood what was happening and accepted the need for him to hide.

  ‘So, you see, we have to get this right the first time, there isn’t going to be a second time for either of us. What’s more, we’re going to have to stay away from DOCS. Alf Petersen is a very senior public servant in the Departme
nt of Community Services and if he thinks he’s in trouble there’s nothing he won’t do to cover himself. If you go back to a squat the police will find you, and Petersen will make damned sure there’s a strong case against you and you’ll be committed to the Children’s Court as an intractable juvenile. With that happening and the right magistrate, there’s every chance you’ll end up in Osmond House.’

  ‘So that’s why you want me to go to the Greek bloke?’

  ‘Ryan, I can trust Con and Maria. You see, by harbouring you, I’m breaking the law. Because of your mother’s death leaving you with no relatives, DOCS are already looking for you. The legal procedure here, even if you’re not in trouble, would be for them to place you in a foster home. DOCS is not the only foster-care agency and when the time comes we can have Con and Maria apply to one of the others, but in the meantime if we can break this paedophile ring wide open, you will be a key witness at the royal commission. I dare say, even though I’ve broken the law by harbouring you, when the reasons for doing so are understood they will get me off the hook. When it is seen that I’ve placed you with responsible people, who took good care of you, then we’ll both be in the clear.’

  ‘What’s being a key witness mean?’ Ryan asked, a little fearfully.

  ‘It usually means that you have information to give to the court, or in this case the commission, that will be vital to the outcome of their inquiries. Without your evidence, the case would not be as strong.’

  ‘Do I have to tell everything that happened, like with the German?’

  ‘No, not to the court or the inquiry directly. As a child witness you are protected, but as your lawyer, I’m going to have to write everything down, every word, just the way you told it to me. I will submit it as evidence, and a qualified case worker or probably a child psychiatrist appointed by the court will see you to determine whether the evidence you’ve given me came from you in the first instance and is a reliable and accurate version of what you claim happened.’ Billy knew it was difficult to get the testimony of a child witness accepted in court and he’d have to get it exactly right.

  ‘They’ll just say I’m lying,’ Ryan protested. ‘Me mum said never to tell them trick-cyclists from DOCS nothin’ because they’ll make it mean something different and I’ll be taken away.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Ryan, you’re as good a witness as I’ve ever presented before a judge or an inquiry, that’s simply not going to happen.’ Billy paused, reluctant to do what he knew he should do next. ‘Ryan, if you’re up to it, is there anything else that you can remember and want to tell me, either before you were taken to the German, or afterwards?’

  ‘You mean after he done it to me?’

  ‘Yes, or before.’

  Ryan thought for a moment and then began talking. ‘The German must have gone in his bedroom ’cause I hear the door slam. I’m crying and I’m pullin’ up me pants and one of the big blokes gimme a slap. It ain’t too hard and he’s laughing and he says, “Don’t cry, mate, you’ll soon get to love it.” I try to stop cryin’ but I can’t and me bum hurts and later, when I get home, there’s blood on me underpants.

  ‘In the car Monkey says to me, “Well, now you’re one of us, darling.”

  ‘I’m still sniffing and I say, “No, I ain’t.”

  ‘“Oh yes, you are, The Queenie’s got you now, you’re a member of The Boys’ Boutique.”

  ‘“You said that didn’t mean nothing, that it was a password,” I tell him.’

  Billy suddenly remembered where he had heard of The Boys’ Boutique before. He put it aside, he’d think about it later.

  ‘“It certainly is, darling. It’s a passport to money, lovely, lovely money. You’re very pretty, sweetie, you’re going to command a premium price. The Kraut got his virgin, I’d love to know what she got for you. Bloody sight more than two hundred bucks, I can tell ya.” He laughed. “The bitch will sell your video to the Kraut as a keepsake, a little thousand-dollar keepsake. She’ll also sell you as a virgin for as long as she can.”

  ‘“I ain’t going back!” I shout at him. “Lemme get out!”

  ‘But he keeps drivin’ and he laughs, “We all say that, sweetie. When you’re homeless, no food, no place to sleep, no place to hide and you need drugs and a warm place to kip, you’ll come crawling back on your hands and knees and that’s the position she wants you in.”

  ‘“I ain’t homeless and I don’t do drugs,” I tell him.

  ‘“Get real, sweetie. Your mum’s an addict who’s whacked most of the time. Now she’s got Hep C, she won’t have the energy to be a dancer. It will be up to you, darling. You won’t sing for your supper any more, from now on you’ll earn it bending over frontwards.” He looks at me and takes both hands off the steering wheel. “It’s nearly show time, darling!”

  ‘I didn’t say nothin’ ’cause I don’t know what to say. He’s right, me mum’s still got no energy. Instead I say, “Why does they call you Monkey?”

  ‘He laughs. “Because when I was fourteen and in ‘the ring’ I used to get up to all sorts of tricks.”

  ‘“What sort of tricks?”

  ‘“Well, if you’re a good boy, I’ll teach you some.

  You can make a lot of money with tips in kiddy-sex. You have to be careful, the bitch wants her cut of everything. I hate her.” Then he says, “Oh, by the way, do you want cash or caps for the audition today?”

  ‘I’ve already got two hundred bucks the German bloke give me, so I say caps. Maybe with four caps, me mum will get better. It’s four days I don’t have to find smack. He hands me the caps. “Be careful, Ryan, this shit is new on the street, it’s from the slopes in Cabramatta and it’s very pure, tell your mum it’s her lucky day, she can get three hits out of every two caps.”

  ‘We get back to the Cross and Monkey stops the car. I want to get out but he grabs me arm and he says, “Ryan, don’t tell anyone what’s happened, you hear? There’s witnesses that will inform the police that you’ve been buying heroin, that you stole the money from The Sheba. That’s a crime. You’re a juvenile, they’ll put you in Osmond House. You heard about Osmond House?” ‘All the kids at school know about Osmond House, so I say, “Yeah, I heard about it before.”

  ‘“Well, whatever you heard, it’s worse! I was there when I was fifteen, I got raped and beaten up and nobody paid me for the privilege.”’

  Billy immediately thought of Davo and wondered how many children this evil place had destroyed.

  ‘“You just shut your trap, you hear?” Monkey says. He smiles at me, “You’re one of us now, Ryan. You’re lucky, you’re prime meat and beautiful, darling. The Queenie will use you, but she’ll also take care of you until the pimples kick in. She and Alf only trade with the best. Stick with me and I’ll teach you the tricks and you can have anything you want. I’m not a paedophile so you’ll be safe.” He’s got this sort of smile on his face. “Well, safe until you’re seventeen anyway.” Then he gives me a card with his phone number on it. “You’ll be back, sweetie, call me when the time comes,” he says.

  ‘“I ain’t comin’ back,” I tell him again.

  ‘But he just laughs, and he pats me on me knee. “Don’t worry, angel, you’ll soon be bending over and thinking of the new set of wheels you want for your skateboard. There are worse ways to make a living, darl. This ain’t the worst thing that can happen to a kid, the Darlo Wall is the worst. That’s where you pick up the clap and lots of other nasties like AIDS. Be grateful that you’re with the best in the biz.” Then he lets me out. “See you soon, precious!” he shouts after me, “Tell your mum she’s got a sweet boy!”’

  ‘We’ll add Monkey to our list of mongrels,’ Billy said to Ryan. ‘Do you have the card?’

  Ryan fished into his pocket and produced a card, which he’d folded into four, and handed it to Billy.

  Billy simply dropped it into his briefcase. ‘Can you tell m
e what happened next?’

  ‘I come home and me mum’s a little better. She’s out of bed and says she’s a bit hungry but we’ve got nothin’ to eat, she ain’t et for five days. I give her the four caps and tell her about them being too pure, what Monkey told me, to make three hits out of two caps. She says that’s real cool and she loves me a lot. She’s okay to do her own needle so I go to the Just Enough Faith van and get something to eat and I bring her back some sticky date puddin’ ’cause that’s her favourite. When I come back she’s drinking some brandy I didn’t know she had and she eats a bit of puddin’ and says she’s going to bed. I’m pretty whacked meself and hurtin’ so I go to bed also where I do a bit of cryin’ ’cause I wish my nana was still there and I could talk to her.

  ‘In the mornin’ I looked at me mum but she were still asleep so I left and went to school.’

  ‘You went to school, that was the day your mother died, wasn’t it?’ Billy asked.

  ‘Yeah, that was later when I come back home.’

  ‘But you spent the day at school? Are you sure?’ Billy was concerned with Ryan’s answer because Dorothy Flanagan had said she hadn’t seen him since he’d tried to get some of Billy’s money.

  ‘Nah, I only went, but I couldn’t go in, I was frightened they’d see that I was now a poofter.’

  Billy thought his heart would break, but he managed to say, ‘What did you do that morning?’

  ‘I come here,’ he pointed to the giant Moreton Bay.

  ‘Remember how you left me the book and buried it under some leaves? I come and sat under the tree but it was too dark and cold so I come here.’

  ‘Here, on this bench?’

  Ryan nodded, unaware that Billy couldn’t quite believe that of all the dozens of benches in the Gardens Ryan had selected this particular one beside the rock pool. ‘Then I went home,’ Ryan concluded.