Car 4

117
Mr Edward Gossart

Outward appearance

About 26, suit and overcoat rucked over huge shoulders, ruddy face, jet-black hair. Holds a teddy bear in a Tesco bag.

Inside information

A sales and service executive for Lloyds Bank. Went to Rugby School where he was a star athlete. Will take the teddy bear to Christies at lunchtime to have it valued for his Aunt Ella who needs to sell it.

Teddy speaks estuary English with fluent glottal stops. His job pays shit and he lives in a tiny ground floor flat in Stoke Newington. His Aunt lives in a large house in the Cotswolds and thinks the Queen doesn't speak properly. The family made its money running wool mills. The mills and the money have gone.

What he is doing or thinking

Teddy is surprised by the level of resentment he feels. His aunt plainly imagines he drives to work in BMW. "Perhaps your girl could take it round for me," Ella said.

She can't remember where he lives. When friends from work visit, she asks them, "And how do you like our clean air?" or "Stoke Newington? We drove through there once didn't we?" When they've gone she forcefully suggests that Teddy might like to have some more local people around. Jenny Morriat, perhaps. The Morriats owned mills too. Jenny is on heroin.

Ella has no money, and can't shake the flu. Teddy doesn't mind helping her. Its just... she makes him feel like such a failure for learning how to live with a changed world.

A teddy bear. Does she really think it's worth anything?

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