Chapter 6 Chapter Four

I don't feel embarrassed.I only had about five pounds left, and I had to borrow money from Sheila and Guy.They are very considerate about it.Of course, being thoughtful means rummaging through wallets and wallets angrily and saying they can go to the bank later.At first I wanted to say it was okay, I could get by without the money, but it did, and I couldn't do anything without the money.So a total of fifty-two pounds in notes and coins was stuffed into my open palm.Then I borrowed a pair of panties and a T-shirt from Sheila, and threw all my clothes into her laundry basket.She asked if there was anything else she could offer me, and I asked her if she had any old sweaters I could wear for a day or two.She said: Of course, and then go and find me a nice sweater that doesn't look old at all.Sheila is a lot bigger than me, especially now, but I can roll up my cuffs so it doesn't look too funny.Even so, she still couldn't help but smile all over her face.

I'm sorry, she said.you look really nice but like someone having a hard time, i say No, no, she repeatedly denied it.I'm just more used to your look, I don't know how to say it, you are more mature, maybe. When they went to work, I thought they looked a bit suspicious of leaving me home alone.I don't know if they thought I'd be looting their liquor cabinets or refrigerators or making international calls or whatever.I actually looted the medicine cabinet, looking for painkillers, and I made four phone calls, all in the city.I called a radio taxi because I couldn't get around the streets by myself.I called Luo Bing's company, and she said she couldn't meet me for lunch, and I said she had to come.She said she had a lunch appointment with someone else and I said sorry but she had to call it off.After a long silence, she sighed and said, "Okay."

This is the first time in my life I've been calling around for help.I called Carla and pestered her to meet me for coffee in the afternoon.I called Sam and made a deal with him to have another cup of coffee with him forty-five minutes after my meeting with Luo Bing.He didn't press, and neither did Carla.It seems that the situation is not good, and they must have heard about it.What did Sadie say?I know what it feels like, and I used to get into the kind of gossip that was pretty hot, and spread it around like Typhoid Mary.I can imagine the situation: Hey, listen up, folks, have you heard what happened to Abby?Or to put it more bluntly: Hey guys, Abby is crazy.Oh, and on a side note, she's going to want to take all of your change.

I looked out the window until I saw a taxi appear.I wanted to get my bag but then I remembered I don't have a bag.I have nothing but a little money from Sadie and some from Sheela and Guy.I want the taxi driver to take me to Cannington tube station.The athlete didn't grin at this. He seemed a little confused. This was probably the first time in his practice that anyone wanted to take a taxi to the subway station just a few blocks away.The trip cost me £3.50. I took the subway to Euston, walked across the platform and took another train on the Victoria Line.I got off at Oxford Circus and walked towards the Bakerloo line platform.I looked at the map across the tracks, and yes, this route was going to remote places I had never heard of, which was exactly what I wanted.A car pulled into the station, and I stepped into the car.Then, just as the door was about to close, I got out of the car again.The train pulled away, and for a second or two, before the other passengers showed up, I was alone on the platform.Everyone who sees my behavior thinks I'm insane.Apparently I knew early on that no one was following me.No one follows me.But that's when I was really sure, and that made me feel better, a little bit.I headed for the Central Line to catch a subway bound for Totemhan Road.

I hiked to the local branch of my depository bank.I felt a strong sense of ennui as I pushed through the door.Things that used to be normal have become difficult.clothes, money.I felt like Robinson Crusoe drifted to a desert island.The most nerve-wracking part was having to tell a different version of what happened to everyone I met.I recounted an abbreviated version to the lady at the counter, who directed me to a personal finance specialist, a larger woman in an emerald green blouse with brass buttons, who sat at a desk in the corner.I waited a long time and she was opening an account for a man who obviously didn't speak English.After he left, she turned to me with a relieved look on her face.She didn't know how tricky it was going to be.I explained to her that I wanted to withdraw money from my account, but I was a victim of a criminal case and I didn't have a checkbook, credit card, cash card.No problem, she said, any ID with a photo would be accepted.

I took a deep breath.I don't have any documents.I have nothing.She looked puzzled.She looked almost terrified.Then I'm sorry she opened her mouth. But there must be a way to withdraw money, I said.And I also have to stop paying with the old card and apply for a new one.I can cooperate with any document you want me to sign, and I can provide any information you want. She was still full of doubts.Not just doubts.She seemed almost bewildered.Then I remembered Koros.Of all the people who pushed me back into the real world, Cross seemed the most helpless.He also briefly mentioned that if I needed help, he would try to help.

There's a policeman, I say.He investigated that case.You can check this with him. I copied her the phone number and immediately felt uneasy.If Koros cooperates too much and reveals too much, I may be even worse than before.She looked at the number and frowned and said she had to speak to the branch assistant.He was a balding man in a well-fitting gray suit, and he also looked frightened.I thought they might be relieved if I blew up and walked away, but I didn't stop there, they had to put me back in my life. It took a long time and a lot of phone calls.They asked a lot of questions about my life, my accounts, my most recent bills, my mother's maiden name, and more.I signed a lot of papers, and the woman typed a lot of information into her desk computer.In the end, they apparently begrudgingly handed me £200 and told me my new credit card and check book would be sent to me within two working days, maybe even the next day with any luck.It dawned on me that this meant it would all be sent to Terry's place.I was going to ask them to send it elsewhere, but I figured if I tried to change the address, they might throw me out on the street.So I split the wad of notes into the two pockets of my trousers and left.I feel like walking out of the lottery.

As soon as Luo Bing saw me, she hugged me tightly, but if she was really worried about me, she also had doubts.I can see why.We seem like different species.She was beautiful, dark, well groomed, and well dressed.I look like I am now, a homeless person who doesn't know where to go.She met me outside the travel agency where she worked.She didn't book a table anywhere for us to eat.I said I don't mind.I do not mind.Let's go to a sandwich bar and we'll sit at the bar.I ordered a large coffee and what looked like an oversized sandwich that looked like it had all the food in the deli between two slices of toast.I was so hungry that I wanted to feast on it.She orders a cup of coffee.She wanted to pay the bill, and I didn't stop her.I still have to save as much as I can, and I don't know what to spend money on in this kind of life without a fixed place.

Sadie called me.she says. good.I muttered, mouth full of sandwiches. I can't believe it.We are all worried about you.if i can help, anything What did Sadie say? That's roughly the case. Then Luo Bing narrated another version of my encounter to me.What a relief to hear this story rather than tell it. Are you going to meet someone?she asked when she had finished speaking. You mean man? I mean doctor. I have been hospitalized. But Sadie said your head hurt. I just took a big bite out of the sandwich and I had to chew and swallow the sandwich so the conversation stopped for a moment.

That's one of the reasons why I want to talk to you, Luo Bing.Like Sadie said, I had a concussion or something, and the doctors and the police were suspicious of that.So I'm trying to fill in the gaps in my memory of what happened during that time.For example, I'm honestly a little embarrassed to even say that I didn't know I had broken up with Terry.Stupid enough, huh?I finally made up my mind to make one of the wisest decisions of my life, and then I forgot all about it.So, basically, if I'm a cop, and I go missing, and I ask you: The last time you talked to Abby.When did Deborah meet?what would you say

What? When was the last time you met me, Luo Bing?This is not a huge problem. No, that's right.She thought for a moment.I know you left Terry.We met the other day.Sunday, around noon. Slower.That Sunday, January 13th? right.We shop on Kensington High Street.You should remember. Not impressed.What did I buy? She looked at me in astonishment. Are you serious?Well, I bought some awesome shoes.From the exaggerated original price of 160 pounds to 35 pounds. But what about me? Luo Bing smiled.Now that I think about it.We talked on the phone the night before and you were a little bit manic.But you were doing well that morning, really well, the best I've seen you look in a long time.You said that you feel very positive and energetic, and you also said that you want to make some arrangements for your new life.You bought a pretty short brown dress, pleated velvet; some stockings and panties; shoes to match that dress;You spent a lot of money.But pretty good.Money is always going to be spent.You're also giggling and laughing about how much money you just left and spent. Oh my God!Could it be that I dumped both Terry and my job at the same time? yes.You don't know?No, you didn't seem to care then. So I'm out of work? The ground beneath my feet seemed to shake.The whole world changed color again, darker and colder. Abby?Luo Bing looked worried. I was in a hurry to find a topic.Is that the last time you saw me? We had lunch and made time to have a few drinks together.I think it should be about Thursday evening.But you called the night before to cancel. Why? You say there are things that need to be taken care of.You keep apologizing. Is it a good thing?Do I sound distraught? You sound uh, maybe a little hyper.Say a few words. that's all? Yes.At this time, Luo Bing looked at me, and I swallowed the last bite of the sandwich.Could this be a misunderstanding? You mean I was kidnapped and imprisoned, and the man wanted to kill me, and he had already killed other women?Are you saying it was a misunderstanding? I have no idea. Luo Bing, I said slowly.You are one of my best old friends and I want you to confess to me.Do you believe me? Hearing this, Luo Bing supported my head with her slender fingers, kissed my cheeks, then let go of me, and looked at me again.The problem, she said, is that if it's true, and I believe it to be, then I just can't stand the idea. You should try to put yourself in my shoes. The meeting between me and Kara inevitably involved hugging and crying, saying that friendship will last forever, etc. But after asking for a long time, the final result is that she was out of town for business during those days, so the only information I could provide was in her answer There was a message on the machine asking her to call back and she had left a message on Terry's answering machine when she got back, that's all. Sam is another old friend of mine and I can't believe I remember the boy who lived upstairs partying all over South London with a joint in his hand and is now a lawyer wearing a suit and tie on Sundays From one to five, from nine to five, he pretends to be a mature and stable mature man.Yet at the same time, I could see what this handsome, straight-looking guy of twenty-six would look like in his forties. Yes, we met, he said.We had a drink on a Sunday night.he laughed.I'm a little bored that you can't remember this.You were staying with Sheila and Guy at the time.You talked a little bit about Terry, but not much.I thought we'd meet to get you to spit it out, to smack that bastard who didn't know what to do.I mean, I don't know what it's like to live with you, but you seem so excited. Oh yes, I remember.I don't remember our meeting, but I have an inkling of what was supposed to happen.Sam and I have always been friends and have had no further acquaintances.I sometimes wonder if he regrets it, and maybe he sees me breaking up with Terry as an opportunity.That was something that crossed my mind, too, but apparently the Abby who had been drinking lightly with him decided to keep his distance.He's better off as a friend. I sip my fourth cup of coffee that afternoon.Caffeine and strangeness keep my head buzzing.I haven't heard much, but this may be the intriguing place.I know now that I chose not to spend my last days with my best friend before this happened.So who did I get along with in those days?What have I done?What kind of person was I? What are you going to do?Sam asked in a courtroom tone. What's the meaning? Because if what you're saying I mean, from what you're saying, he's got to be out there somewhere, and he knows you're out there somewhere, so what are you going to do? I took another sip of my coffee.This question has been on my mind for a long time and I have been trying to ignore it. I don't know, I said.hide.What else can I do?