CHAPTER ONE "DANIEL'S CAR"
Daniel was a quintessential Cockney, having been born and raised in East London.
He came of age during the 1960s, a time when gangsters like the Kray brothers were infamous.
In his early twenties, Daniel possessed a rifle, and he and his friends would rob local post offices.
Remarkably, Daniel was never apprehended or incarcerated for his criminal activities, as he consistently managed to flee the scene before the police arrived.
It has been suggested that, during the 1970s, technology had not advanced sufficiently to prevent crime in real-time, resulting in many offenses remaining unsolved.
Daniel had observed the entirety of past significant events, including the American War in Vietnam, the Hippie movement of the 1970s, and the elaborate deception surrounding the Moon landing in 1969.
I met Daniel briefly in the late 1990s when he was already forty-nine years old.
Despite his age, he remained an attractive man, with once-blond hair now turned a sandy grey and striking baby blue-eyes.
Throughout the few months we dated, Daniel and I were nearly inseparable.
He would drive me to work each morning in his small yellow FIAT Mini.
On one occasion, Daniel parked his vehicle beneath a sign that explicitly indicated no parking was permitted.
I brought this to Daniel's attention, but as usual, he dismissed my concerns.
"This is not the 1970s, Daniel; this is the 1990s, and your car could be towed to the impound lot," I cautioned him.
Daniel merely shrugged, showing no inclination to respond.
When we returned to the location where he had left his car about an hour later, it was no longer there.
A yellow notice, resembling an official document, was affixed to the signpost.
Upon closer examination, Daniel discovered that his vehicle had been impounded and was now at the car pound.
Using his Nokia phone, Daniel called the number listed on the yellow notice, and the car pound informed him that he would need to pay £100 to retrieve his car, along with an additional £30 for each subsequent day.
Daniel confirmed the car pound's location, and we took a taxi to the address provided on the yellow notice.
At the car pound, Daniel attempted to engage the staff, who remained unimpressed by his attempts at persuading them to release is car free of charge.
Eventually, he requested permission to access his vehicle so as to retrieve his tool box.
The staff at the pound opened the gates, allowing Daniel to enter the area where his car was being held.
Daniel approached his vehicle slowly, beckoning for me to keep pace as I followed behind him.
After a few minutes of feigning interest in the trunk, Daniel took his place in the driver's seat and instructed me to sit in the passenger seat.
The large gates, located thirty meters ahead, remained open.
Daniel ignited the engine; this action caught the attention of the car pound staff, who promptly pressed the button to close the gate.
Daniel pressed his foot down on the accelerator, his eyes reflecting the fierce determination of an experienced bank robber.
The small yellow FIAT Mini surged forward toward the rapidly closing gate, narrowly slipping through just in time to cause a minor collision with the car doors as the gate scraped against them.
We had barely made it, yet we had gotten through.
Daniel had retrieved his car from the impound lot without settling the associated fine, and he was filled with boastful pride.
"Well, that’s that," Daniel declared with a playful glint in his eyes as we sped away toward north of the River Thames.
I was too stunned to respond.
We returned home safely, where Daniel assessed the damage to the car doors, which had been scraped by the gate.
He concluded that the damage was minimal and not particularly noticeable.
During our dinner, we heard a loud and unmistakable knock on the door, followed by the police announcing their presence.
I advised Daniel to let them in, as the tone of voice of the police officer who had spoken suggested they were prepared to enter by force.
Reluctantly, Daniel opened the door, and as I had anticipated, six uniformed police officers entered his flat.
Once inside, one of the officers placed Daniel under arrest, accusing him of stealing his own car from the impound lot.
Daniel appeared somewhat bewildered and, unfamiliar with being handcuffed, looked dejected.
“Don’t fret Danny boy, I’ll have you out of the clinch in no time at all,” I reassured him, promising to arrange for his release.
The police officers regarded me with curiosity, but I provided no explanation for my statement.
The officers then escorted Daniel to the local police station.
As soon as they departed, I contacted my solicitors to inform them that Daniel had been charged with the theft of his own vehicle, a logistical impossibility that I could leverage to advocate for his release.
Consequently, Daniel was released within six hours of his arrest, as it is practically impossible to be charged with stealing one’s own car.
In ddition, since Daniel's vehicle was no longer at the impound lot, the impound company lacked the means to enforce the fine.
Resulting in Daniel, who appeared before a magistrate court to address the issue, being acquitted without any penalties and getting off Scott free.
