Page 288 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

They all laughed. Walli said to Dave: "What's VD?"

"Venereal disease," Dave said. "Spots on your cock."

The comedian paused, then added: "I know, because I gave it to him."

This got another laugh, then there was a commotion at the door. Dave looked that way and saw several uniformed policemen coming in, pushing people out of the way.

The comic said: "Ooh, it's the law! I do like a uniform. The police come here a lot, have you noticed? I wonder what attracts them?"

He was making a joke of it, but the police were unpleasantly serious. They shoved their way through the crowd, seeming to enjoy being unnecessarily rough. Four went into the men's toilets. "Perhaps they've just come for a pee," said the comic. An officer got up on the stage. "You're an inspector, aren't you?" the comic said flirtatiously. "Have you come to inspect me?"

Two more cops dragged the comic away. "Don't worry!" he cried. "I'll come quietly!"

The inspector grabbed the microphone. "Right, you filthy pansies," he said. "I have information that illegal drugs are being sold on these premises. If you don't want to get hurt, stand face to the wall and get ready to be searched."

The police were still pouring in. Dave looked around for a way out, but all the doors were blocked by blue uniforms. Some of the customers moved to the edges of the room and stood facing the walls, looking resigned, as if all this had happened to them before. The police never raided the Jump Club, Dave reflected, even though drugs were sold there almost openly.

The cops who had gone into the toilet came out frog-marching two men, one of whom was bleeding from the nose. One of the cops said to the inspector: "They were in the same cubicle, governor."

"Charge them with public indecency."

"Right you are, guv."

Dave was struck painfully in the back, and cried out. A policeman wielding a nightstick said: "Get over by the wall."

Dave said: "What did you do that for?"

The cop stuck the club close to Dave's nose. "Shut your mouth, queer boy, or I'll shut it with my truncheon."

"I'm not a--" Dave stopped himself. Let them believe what they like, he thought. I'd rather be with the queers than with the police. He stepped to the wall and stood as ordered, rubbing the painful spot in his back.

He found himself next to Lew, who said: "Are you all right?"

"Just a bit bruised. You?"

"Nothing much."

Dave was learning about why his grandmother wanted to change the law. He felt ashamed for having lived so long in ignorance.

Lew said in a low voice: "At least the cops haven't recognized the group."

Dave nodded. "They're not the type to be familiar with the faces of pop stars."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the inspector talking to the badly dressed man who had asked about buying pills. Now he understood the cheap jeans and the military haircut: the man was an undercover detective, poorly disguised. He was shrugging his shoulders and spreading his arms in a helpless gesture, and Dave guessed he had failed to find anyone selling drugs.

The police searched everyone, making them turn out their pockets. The one who examined Dave felt his crotch a good deal longer than was necessary. Are these cops queer too? Dave wondered. Is that why they do this?

Several men objected to the intimate searching. They were beaten with truncheons, then arrested for assaulting the police. Another man had a packet of pills he said were prescribed by his doctor, but he was arrested all the same.

Eventually the police left. The barman announced drinks on the house, but few people took up the offer. The members of Plum Nellie left the pub. Dave decided to go home for an early night.

"Does that sort of thing happen a lot to you queers?" he asked Lew as they were saying good-bye.

"All the time, mate," said Lew. "All the fucking time."

*

Jasper went to visit his sister at Hank Remington's Chelsea flat one evening at seven o'clock, when he was sure Anna would be home from work but the couple would not yet have gone out. He felt nervous. He wanted something from Anna and Hank, something vital to his future.

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