Ten Days

by Gillian Slovo

  But when, soon afterwards, the commemoration began and Lyndall and Jayden were called to lay the flowers, her tears started to run.

  Such a loss, she thought, not only for Ruben’s family but for the wider family of the Lovelace. As if the wrecking ball that was demolishing their homes had first run through their lives, turning the estate, and Ruben and Banji along with it, into dust.

  So little she had left of Banji. No photos to look at. No letters to read. It was as if the man she thought she once had known had never really existed.

  ‘Mum.’ She felt Lyndall’s arms going round her. ‘It’s all right, Mum,’ and then, as she turned to Lyndall and continued weeping on her shoulder, she realised that she did have something of Banji’s.

  She had the most precious thing of all.

  Abbreviations and Police Terms

  APW: All Ports Warning

  BBM: BlackBerry Messenger

  Bronze: responsible for the command of resources, and carrying out functional or geographical responsibilities related to the tactical plan

  FME: Forensic Medical Examiner

  FWIN: Force Wide Identification Number

  Gold: assumes overall command

  Gorget patches: insignia on the collar of a uniform

  IAFPA consistent/distinctiveness scale: International Association for Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics scale that measures how consistent and distinctive is the match to any particular voice

  IPCC: Independent Police Complaints Commission

  LAS: London Ambulance Service

  Level 2 trained officers: trained for two days every six months to deal with disorder; have access to full protective equipment

  LFB: London Fire Brigade

  NPCC: National Police Chiefs’ Council

  PCC: Police and Crime Commissioner

  PSU: Police Support Unit

  RIPA: Regulation of Investigatory Powers

  SC&O10: specialist crime directorate responsible for covert policing SC&O19: armed response unit that includes tactical support and firearms officers

  Section 60 of the Public Order Act: relates to stop and search

  Silver: coordinates the tactical response

  SO1: the specialist protection branch

  TAU: Tactical Aid Unit (Manchester)

  TFC: Tactical Firearms Commander

  TSG: Territorial Support Group

  Acknowledgements

  The idea for Ten Days grew out of my verbatim play that, commissioned by London’s Tricycle Theatre, was put on in October 2011, not long after the conclusion of the 2011 riots. A special thanks to Nicolas Kent for gifting me this project and for making it happen on stage.

  I have used the deep background and some of the details that I had gathered for the play in the novel, but Ten Days remains a work of fiction whose plot and characters have sprung entirely from my imagination. Even so, I would like to thank Martin Sylvester Brown, Sergeant Paul Evans, Mohamed Hammoudan, Sadie King, Leroy Logan MBE, Pastor Nims Obunge, Stafford Scott, Chief Inspector Graham Dean and Sir Hugh Orde for generously sharing their experiences and so helping me understand how a riot can happen. Thanks also to Clifford Stott and Martin Scothern for taking the time to talk to me about the police force, to Helena Kennedy QC for putting me right on the structure of the Ministry of Justice, to David Winnick for guiding me round the House of Commons, to Ed Miliband and his office for further inducting me into the workings of Parliament, to Giles Fraser and John Turner for showing me round their stomping grounds, and to Kamila Shamsie for reading and commenting on the manuscript just when I needed her to.

  My agent, Clare Alexander, not only helped me find the idea for Ten Days but also gave me the courage to write it: her thoughts, and her readings, were invaluable throughout. This novel also brought me the pleasure of working with a new editor, Louisa Joyner, whose thought processes are lightning fast and just as deadly effective. I thank them both, as well as the whole of the Canongate team: it has been a pleasure.

  Thanks to Cassie Metcalf-Slovo, who helped me especially in the initial stages of the book. And finally, thanks to Duncan James, who read as I wrote and whose generous feedback and love sustained me during the writing of this book.

  Welcome to Cityread London 2016

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