by Cathy Sharp
Ron nodded wisely. ‘Me and Danny will buy her those and you buy the toffee, Ted. We earn money too so we can pay a bit.’
‘Danny only earned three shillings,’ Ted reminded him. ‘You got ten, Ron, so he can’t pay as much as you.’
‘No, I can pay half,’ Danny contradicted. ‘I don’t want anything else this week, Ted. I’ll save the money I’ve got left until next week.’
‘Mmm,’ Ted said, ‘I think the chocs are one shilling and ninepence for a small box – so that is ten pennies and a halfpenny each.’
Ron nodded. ‘Yer can get two ounces of Tom Thumb drops with yer change from the shillin’, Danny.’
Danny grinned. ‘I’ll do that then, and I’ll give them to Sister Rose. She deserves something too.’
Ted nodded thoughtfully. Ron had wanted his friend to have the sweets but Danny never bothered with them much; he hadn’t been given anything like that for years and was content to share a piece or two of the burnt toffee they all liked as a weekly treat.
‘I’m sure she’ll enjoy them,’ Ted said, smiling. ‘I expect she has a lot to do these days.’
‘She was lovely to me in the hospital,’ Danny said. ‘And I like doing stuff for folk, Uncle Ted.’
‘You take after your mother,’ Ted said fondly. ‘She was always helping others too – it used to drive your father mad. He accused her of giving his hard-earned money away every time she baked a cake for someone.’
Danny looked at him. ‘When does he get out?’
‘I think in a couple of weeks,’ Ted said. ‘I’m sure the police will let us know.’
‘Yes …’ Danny smothered a sigh. ‘Perhaps he’s forgotten all about us.’
‘Yes, perhaps,’ Ted agreed, but in his heart, he knew they wouldn’t get away with it that easily. Jim Bryant was a vengeful man and he would want to grab his son and get even for what he considered had been done to him.
CHAPTER 43
‘Good grief,’ Steve said when he listened to the officer on the station phone. ‘Straight out of prison and he commits a far more serious crime – is the man a lunatic?’
A harsh laugh on the other end told Steve his colleague agreed with him. ‘A woman and small boy were the witnesses. They say that Mrs Stokes gave him sandwiches on the train and he must have seen there was money in her purse, because he walked behind her, pushed her to the ground and stole her basket with the purse and other things she’d got.’
‘Is she all right?’
‘No, she’s in hospital with concussion and has not yet recovered her senses – the poor lady is seventy-six and this could be the finish of her.’
‘And then Bryant will be facing a murder charge.’
‘That is about the size of it; at the moment it’s theft with assault, so a two-or-three-year prison term – although some judges would give him at least seven years for it.’
‘That would be a blessing,’ Steve said and frowned. ‘This is serious, Bob, thanks for letting me know. I’d better warn a few people that he’s out and dangerous.’
‘We’ll be putting posters up throughout the East End, because that is where he’ll head,’ the officer went on. ‘People need to be careful. If he has committed theft with serious assault once, he’ll do it again.’
‘Yes, I agree. The sooner he is back behind bars the better for all concerned.’
‘Well, keep your eye out. He is probably coming your way because of the boy.’
‘I’ll pass the word on to my sergeant and he’ll inform everyone.’
Steve replaced the receiver and wrote a report, putting it on the sergeant’s desk. Sergeant Barlow was on duty and he’d taken a violent prisoner down to the cells with another young constable. Leaving the report for him to find, Steve put on his overcoat and headed out to continue his beat. He’d called in to report a traffic accident and grab a crafty cuppa and taken the call by accident, but he would certainly make sure he took the time to tell Ted Phillips at his home and then he’d go over to Beattie Robinson’s on his way home later.
‘Thanks for letting us know,’ Ted said to Steve. ‘You were lucky to find us here on Saturday afternoon – we’re normally out somewhere but we just finished eating our fish and chips and we’re going to the park when we’ve done our chores here.’
‘Just be careful from now on,’ Steve warned. ‘I think he’ll go looking for Danny at Mrs Robinson’s first, but if he doesn’t find him, he may find his way here eventually.’
‘I’ll be ready for him whenever he chooses,’ Ted said grimly.
‘A word of warning – protect yourself and the boys, but don’t provoke him and don’t do more damage than you have to, Mr Phillips. The courts may decide to punish you if he claims you attacked him.’
‘Then the law is a fool,’ Ted said. ‘They can lock me up if need be – but he won’t lay a finger on Danny.’
‘I’d feel the same in your place,’ Steve said, ‘but I just want you to be aware.’
‘Thanks,’ Ted said. ‘Why didn’t they keep him inside when they had him?’
‘Well, that was down to the judge – but next time he’ll definitely be in for longer. And the lady he’s hurt is in hospital and might die. If she does, he could hang.’
Ted shuddered. ‘What a fool the man is – why do something like that for a few pounds?’
‘I doubt he even thought about what he might do to a frail old lady. He’s a mindless brute and to my mind he should be put away for good.’
‘Are we still going to Beattie’s?’ Danny asked after Steve had gone. ‘Because he’ll go there looking for me, won’t he?’
‘Probably,’ Ted agreed and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘I promise I won’t let him take you or hurt you, lad.’
‘No, no – I was more thinking about Beattie and Sister Rose,’ Danny said. ‘I don’t want him to hurt them.’
‘Nor do I,’ Ted said and frowned. ‘Well, I think we’ll go over there before we do anything else and warn them, Danny. They need to keep their doors and windows shut and not open them unless they know it is us or a friend.’
‘Yes,’ Danny frowned at him. ‘Ma wouldn’t have liked him hurting that old lady. She liked to help folk.’
‘I’ll never know why she married him,’ Ted admitted. ‘I always thought him a surly brute.’
‘She told me she thought he’d had a rough deal after the last war and she thought she could change him, make him happy.’
‘That was your mum,’ Ted agreed and smiled oddly. ‘I can’t blame her for being kind and thoughtful – she was always good to me after our mum died and our father went off somewhere and we never heard from him again.’
‘So you had a rough time too,’ Danny said, ‘but it didn’t make you bad like my dad.’
‘No,’ Ted said, ‘it didn’t. But there’s no explaining it, Danny. I’m just glad you’re like your mother.’
‘So am I,’ Danny said and smiled at him.
‘I’ve put the plates and cups in to soak,’ Ron said, coming up to them. ‘What do you want me to do next?’
‘We’re going over to Beattie’s. Danny’s father is out of prison and already in trouble and we need to warn her.’ Ted shook his head and frowned. ‘We’ll all have to be on our guard now …’
‘Constable Jones said he would call over this evening,’ Ted told Sister Rose when she answered the back door, ‘but I wanted to let you know at once, because Bryant is dangerous. He’s already put one elderly lady in hospital and stolen all she had with her.’
‘Thank you for telling me, Ted. Beattie is out shopping and I’ll tell her as soon as she gets in,’ Rose said. ‘Be assured we’ll be careful not to leave the doors unlocked and to look before we open them.’
‘We’ll be back later, Rose, but the boys brought these for you and the chocolates for Beattie.’ Ted ran his fingers through his thick dark hair. ‘How is Dr Clark?’
‘Very cheerful this morning,’ Rose said. ‘He was talking about going out in his chair for
a little fresh air this afternoon.’
‘Well, you should. It can get a lot cooler and wetter in September so best get out while you can.’
‘Yes, we will,’ Rose said. ‘Thank you for letting us know about Danny’s father – we’ll be careful.’
‘Good. We’ll be over again for tea but I thought this couldn’t wait.’
Rose frowned as she closed the door behind him and turned the key. Beattie would wonder what had happened when she got back with the shopping but Rose didn’t want to run any risks. Jim Bryant was a dangerous man and, while she wasn’t afraid for herself, she thought of her friends, particularly of Peter. Stuck in the wheelchair he was vulnerable to attack and the last thing he needed was to be fighting for his life from a knife wound or a blow to the head.
‘What was all that about?’ Peter looked up from the magazine he was reading. It was about motor racing and had pictures of expensive cars. He’d purchased it when Rose had accompanied him on a walk to the corner newsagents.
‘Danny’s father is out of prison early and already he is in trouble with the police,’ Rose said. ‘He seems to be even more violent than he was when he went into prison. He’s put an elderly woman in hospital so Ted came to warn us … remember, he’s the one that fetched your car for us from the hotel?’
‘Yes, nice chap. It was decent of him to come and tell us.’ Peter put his magazine down and held out his hand to her. ‘It won’t stop us going out, will it?’
‘No, why should it? It’s Danny Ted is worried about – and perhaps us if we tried to stop Bryant getting at Danny.’
Peter frowned. ‘Why couldn’t they keep the man locked up when they had him?’
‘I wish I knew! Ah, I think that’s Beattie trying to get in …’
Rose ran to the back door and let her friend in, explaining why the door was locked. Beattie looked upset.
‘Does that mean Danny can’t come here now?’
‘Ted said they would be over as usual, but I suppose it might be safer if they didn’t come for a while. You could always go to them, Beattie.’
‘If I do, he might follow me there …’ Beattie frowned. She didn’t see a way out.
‘No, I do see that.’ Rose looked thoughtful. ‘Don’t worry, love. I’ll speak to Peter and then we’ll talk to Ted later.’
‘Yes, all right. We’ll talk this afternoon. I’ve bought some sausage meat for tea. I’m going to make balls of the meat with onions and we’ll have them with chips and fresh cabbage chopped up with butter, salt and pepper.’
‘Lovely. Peter really loves your sausage meat and onion balls and so do the children. None of them had ever had anything like that before they came here and they all think it is a real treat.’
Beattie beamed at her. ‘Peter seems a lot better, Rose – have you noticed that recently?
‘Yes, he certainly seems happier,’ she agreed. ‘We’re going out for a walk as far as Button Street later. We can go to the newsagents and the flower shop and there’s a shop selling men’s things he wanted to look in.’
‘It is good he is taking an interest again,’ Beattie said. ‘I’ll keep the door shut until you or Ted arrive and then let you in.’
‘Yes, and don’t forget to lock it after us!’ Rose said and shook her head. ‘Oh dear, why did that horrible man have to come back?’
Jim watched the house. He’d seen that Sister Rose come out, walking beside a man in a wheelchair. They’d gone off down the street and they hadn’t seen him standing in a doorway halfway down the lane opposite.
He wondered who the man in the chair was and decided it must be one of Beattie Robinson’s paying guests. She must be coining it in, he thought enviously. The council would be paying her to have Danny and she’d be earning big money from her lodgers, which she probably kept in cash in the house. Jim could do with a bit of that; he’d got through the money he’d stolen from the old lady in two days. Now he needed more for his whisky.
He’d come with the intention of nabbing Danny and taking him with him, back to the empty shed he’d used before. It was still empty, still as dirty and it stank just as bad, but it was dry and no one had bothered him there. Now, he thought, he might as well see what he could get from the house while he was about it – and if she had money stashed away, he’d take that as well as the boy.
He was hungry standing about in the shadows, and he craved alcohol so badly that it gnawed at his guts. He was about to go and try his luck at getting in Beattie’s back door when he saw a builder’s truck draw up outside and a man and two boys got out. They were all smiling and laughing and Jim’s blood boiled as he saw who it was – bloody Doris’s brother and he’d got Danny and another kid with him, the interfering bugger. He’d punched Ted a few times when he’d argued over the way he’d treated Doris and the boy and he’d soon give him what for if he tried to stop him taking what was his now, but he’d give it a while, see if they came out and he could grab Danny. He could always return for the woman’s money another day.
‘I think you should come home with me,’ Ted told Beattie as she made tea and pushed the plates of cakes in front of him and the boys. ‘Why don’t you move in, love – just until they catch him. The police are looking for him so it can’t be long.’
‘Rose said she would talk to Dr Clark about it and I said I’d talk to you. I just don’t like to leave her alone with Peter. I mean, if she was attacked, he couldn’t help her, could he?’
‘No,’ Ted agreed. ‘But Peter can afford to get paid help and I don’t like you being here unprotected, Beattie. Bryant doesn’t know where I live so we’ll be safe. Even if he’s watching the house now we’ll be going off in the truck and he can’t follow that on foot.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Beattie sighed. ‘I know it’s the sensible thing to do, so if Rose agrees and can get help, I’ll come next weekend.’
‘All right.’ Ted smiled at her. ‘I knew you wouldn’t leave just like that – but I think it’s time we got married, don’t you?’
Beattie looked at him and then went to kiss him. ‘Yes, I do – this has just made things clearer. Of course Rose can get the help she needs. Dr Clark doesn’t need much and I can’t stay here forever. In fact, he told me the other day that if I wanted to sell this house, he would buy it. And I wouldn’t mind doing that, Ted. I could put the money by for us all if I was living with you, couldn’t I?’
‘Of course, you could, love. It’s your money to do as you like with and if you want to keep some of it for Danny’s future, that’s fine with me.’
‘That’s what I’ll do then. I know what it is worth. I’ll tell Dr Clark – I just can’t get used to calling him Peter – I’ll sell it to him for them because I know Rose would marry him if he asked her.’
‘Yes, of course she would – and that’s more likely to happen if we marry first,’ Ted said. ‘Get him thinking straight.’
Beattie smiled happily and looked at the clock. ‘They should be back soon. We’ll tell them then.’
‘Yes, we will.’ Ted smiled at the boys. ‘Right, the washing-up, you two – start as you mean to go on because Beattie is coming to live with us soon.’
‘Great!’ Ron said and started to clear the table.
‘I’m glad, Mum,’ Danny said. ‘It’s really good coming to see you but it will be better having you all the time.’
Ron looked out of the kitchen window. ‘They’re coming.’
‘Oh good,’ Beattie said. She went out into the garden and saw that Dr Clark had just turned into the back garden in his chair with Rose just behind him, carrying several parcels. Beattie went forward to help her with them, stepping onto the lawn to allow Dr Clark an easy access to the back door, and then she tutted and bent to pull out a weed. When she straightened up, she saw that Rose had stopped to speak to her and then she saw a dark shape launch itself at Rose and try to snatch her bag.
Rose dropped her parcels and turned to wrestle with the dirty creature who was attacking her.
‘Ro
se!’ Beattie cried. ‘Stop it, you! Stop hurting her, you horrid man!’
She moved to go to Rose’s assistance but something hurtled past her and straight into the man, whose back was now turned to the house as he and Rose struggled. Dr Clark’s chair caught Rose’s attacker in the back of his knees and sent him sprawling. His yells, together with Rose’s screams and the man’s curses, had brought Ted and the boys from the kitchen, and as the man got himself up and launched himself at the chair and started to wrestle with Peter Clark, swearing and cursing in a way Beattie had never heard, Ted ran towards them.
‘You rotten devil!’ Ted yelled as he hit Jim Bryant full in the face. ‘That’s about your mark – women and men in a wheelchair. I’ll make you sorry you were ever born!’
‘So, you’ve got the little bastard!’ Bryant muttered furiously as he launched himself at Ted. Something glittered in his hand – the silver of a small penknife and Beattie screamed as he stabbed at Ted’s chest.
‘He has a knife …’
The words had hardly left her lips when, with a superhuman effort, Dr Peter pushed himself upright with his arms and launched himself at Bryant’s back, his strong arms going around his face and his fingers digging right into his eyes. Bryant gave a scream of pain and thrust him off, then, deciding the odds were too great, took to his heels and ran.
Beattie, terrified, saw blood seeping through Ted’s jacket and ran to him, sobbing. ‘You’re hurt!’
‘It’s just a scratch,’ Ted said. ‘I hadn’t seen the knife but the doc saved me.’
Peter was lying on the garden path where he’d fallen after the effort that had taken all his strength. Rose knelt down by his side and touched his face.
‘Peter, are you all right?’ She felt all over him for a wound. ‘Talk to me!’
Peter grinned at her, reached out and pulled her down to kiss her. ‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘Did you see what I did, Rose? I stood up before I launched at him – I actually stood upright for a moment!’
‘Yes, my darling, I did,’ she said and the tears ran down her cheeks. ‘You saved me and you saved Ted – I’m so proud of you, so very, very proud.’