The Japanese Girl Read Online Free PDF Page B

especially when they brought in two of the firm’s directors. But it gave me an opportunity I’d never had before to tell them just what I thought of them, why I’d broken out like this, why I’d defrauded them, why I’d lost thousands of pounds of their money on the races. Because I had been a loyal servant of theirs for eighteen years, had joined them straight from school, had wanted only to work for them and work my way up the firm for the rest of my life. Instead I had been treated as a cog not as a human being, overworked, underpaid and disregarded when any promotion was going. I was expected to work for another twenty-five years and then I’d be retired with a gold watch and a miserly pension and told to enjoy my old age! It was time they woke up, I told them, and realized that the days of slavery were past, and if their treatment of their staff was oppressive and dishonest, they couldn’t expect loyalty and honesty in return.
    I fairly let myself go. I said the same things again when the police arrived. Maybe I overdid it a bit, because it seemed such a good line. God knows it was the truth, and maybe it sounded like the truth. But possibly I overdid it.
    It was all worse than I thought. That’s the trouble with imagination: you can’t trust it. You go to the dentist and think he’s going to torture you and you don’t feel a thing. You go to a doctor for a simple pain somewhere and his examination gives you hell. Well, this was hell.
    They took me away, and the next day I was up before a magistrate and was remanded in custody. Remanded in custody, mark you. It means I was shoved in prison like an old lag in a cell with two other men who’d been caught shop-breaking. It was grim, just that to begin, and I can tell you my heart was in my boots. Because this was the very beginning and I couldn’t see all the time ahead.
    I didn’t want to see Hettie but she came just the same. ‘Oh, Jack, why did you do it? Why? Why? Why? Weren’t we happy together? Did you want for anything? What was wrong ?’
    â€˜I wanted for everything ,’ I said passionately. ‘Everything that makes life worth living!’
    She burst into fresh tears. ‘I told you. Oh, I told you. That racing! All the betting! I can’t believe you lost, wasted so much!’
    This was a point of interest to the police too. One day Inspector Lawrence came to me and said: ‘Look, tell me a bit about this racing. Who did you go with?’
    â€˜Nobody. I went on my own.’
    â€˜Every week? No pals? You must have had pals.’
    â€˜I didn’t. I went on my own. I didn’t need anyone else.’
    â€˜And all this money. How much did you lose?’
    â€˜The lot. Every penny. Every week.’
    â€˜You never won at all?’
    â€˜Oh, yes, sometimes! It was great then! Sometimes I nearly got back what I’d lost.’
    â€˜And what did you spend it on?’
    â€˜Spend it on? I went next week and put it on the horses again.’
    â€˜Look,’ said Inspector Lawrence again. ‘I know you’ve lost a lot. But you must have some left. Well, I tell you, if you hand this over it will mitigate your sentence. If you are able to return even five or six thousand pounds. Restitution. That’s what they call it. It might mean a year off your sentence. You’ve been very straightforward about everything else. This would help.’
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ said. ‘If I had it they could have it back. Honest. It isn’t going to be any use to me where I’m going.’
    The Inspector looked at me. ‘Too true,’ he said.
    The trial didn’t last very long. After all, I admitted everything so they had nothing to prove. The judge gave me seven years.
    I couldn’t believe it at first. That thin old crow with the haggard face and the dirty grey wig. I’d thought when he was addressing me he sounded pretty harsh, but I