Stormy Days On Mulberry Lane

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘Well, she has made up for it since then,’ Able said. ‘She took nearly a whole apple pie up to her room early this morning.’

  ‘So that’s where it went,’ Peggy murmured. ‘I thought you’d probably eaten it.’

  ‘I don’t get much chance with that girl in the house. If you leave half a pie in the larder, she snatches it and takes it to her room.’

  ‘Yet she eats hardly anything at table, says she would rather eat standing up or just pick at bits.’ Peggy frowned. ‘She is a strange girl, Able. I should like a specialist doctor to examine her – her mind, really, I suppose, but she wouldn’t go to a doctor like that – she hates men anywhere near her.’

  ‘Maybe that’s why she takes all my apple pie,’ Able said with an odd look.

  ‘I’ll make a fresh one specially for you tomorrow.’

  ‘Thank you, darling,’ he said with his special smile, ‘but you know I don’t grudge food to anyone – it’s the secrecy and the malicious intent of some of her actions that I can’t, and won’t, allow.’ His gaze narrowed as he looked at his chest of drawers. The top drawer had been left with something caught in it. ‘Did you leave that like that, Peggy?’

  She looked at the drawer and shook her head. ‘No, Able, I didn’t. I put your things away in the bottom three drawers, but that top drawer is personal to you. I know you have some private things and I wouldn’t open it unless you asked me to fetch something.’

  ‘I normally keep it locked, but this morning I couldn’t find my key—’

  He went to the drawer and opened it, frowning as he saw his things had been disturbed. His wallet was not where he’d left it and some photographs had been moved and were not in the same order. He searched the drawer and looked through his wallet.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Peggy asked him.

  ‘Yes, there is.’ He looked annoyed. ‘Five one-pound notes have gone from my wallet and I had bought a gift for you – a pretty ring. It has disappeared.’

  ‘Oh, Able,’ Peggy cried in distress. ‘No! That is awful.’

  ‘It must be that girl,’ Able replied, looking angrier than she ever recalled seeing him before. ‘The malice and spite were instances that we couldn’t truly prove – but this is theft.’

  ‘I’m so sorry. It’s my fault for bringing her here!’

  ‘You did what you always do in such circumstances and I wouldn’t have you any different, hon. If that girl has let you down, it isn’t your fault. I should have done something about her as soon as she put that salt in the cake.’

  ‘I’ll speak to her in the morning.’

  ‘No, I don’t think this can wait. I think we need to speak to her now – and we need to search her room, Peggy.’

  ‘Able…’ Peggy sighed, but she could see that he was determined and he was right. They couldn’t allow this sort of thing to go on, because if she’d stolen from them, the next thing might be thefts from the guests’ rooms and that would ruin their business. ‘Yes, you are right.’

  She pulled on her dressing robe. Able was still in his clothes. He hadn’t yet taken them off and he led the way. He knocked at Gillian’s door, but there was no answer.

  ‘Gillian, it is Able and Peggy,’ he said. ‘We need to talk to you—’

  When there was still no answer, Peggy knocked again. ‘Gillian, we need to come in – don’t be frightened…’ She opened the door and snapped on the electric light. The scene that met her eyes shocked her. All the bedclothes had been dumped on the floor. Two figurines had been smashed, as had a bedside lamp. The wardrobe was empty and some small dressing-table ornaments were missing.

  ‘She’s gone,’ Able said. ‘My God – the little wretch! Look what she’s done to your things, Peggy. That bedspread has been ripped to pieces…’

  Peggy felt sick, her spine chilled. What kind of mentality would make someone do this? She looked in one of the drawers that were seemingly empty and found half-eaten bits of cake and three uneaten slices of apple pie that had begun to go mouldy. ‘This room is going to need a thorough clean in the morning,’ she said and Able nodded. He turned to leave and Peggy touched his arm. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To make sure the kids are all right and to see what else she has stolen,’ Able said grimly. ‘We might as well know the worst – and she must have left a door open when she left…’

  ‘Yes.’ A shiver ran through Peggy. She felt fear as she realised that she’d opened her home to a girl who was both a thief and, worse, vindictive – she’d trusted her, leaving her access to her pantry and the petty cash box in the kitchen that she kept for quick trips to the shop. ‘I shall have to check the pantry carefully. Who knows what she might have done?’ Peggy felt guilty because her ready generosity had brought trouble to their home.

  She went softly along the hall to Alice’s room while Able went first to the children’s rooms to make certain they were safe and then downstairs to investigate. Knocking, she was invited to enter.

  Alice was sitting up against the pillows reading a story by Ethel M. Dell, one of her favourites, and she smiled as Peggy entered. ‘Is something wrong?’ she asked. ‘I heard something smash earlier – I hope no one is ill?’

  ‘Gillian smashed a few things before she left – and she stole some money and things from Able. You haven’t lost anything, Alice?’

  Alice looked upset. ‘So that is where it went…’ she said. ‘I had a pretty little turquoise brooch I left on my dressing table. I know I should always lock my door when I leave, Peggy, but I never thought it necessary…’

  ‘It isn’t as a rule,’ Peggy told her. ‘I’m sorry she stole from you, too. I thought she liked you so you might have been safe.’

  ‘I told her she was a naughty girl the other day,’ Alice replied. ‘I caught her putting salt in the sugar pot, Peggy. She pretended she thought it was sugar – but I emptied it out and washed the pot and filled it with sugar again so that you wouldn’t use it for cake making by mistake. Perhaps that is why she took my pin, but there wasn’t anything much for her to take. What little money I have is in my purse, which I keep in my pocket in case I need to pop to the shops – not that I have very much.’

  ‘But you lost a pretty brooch that was of value to you.’ Peggy felt a surge of anger against the girl she’d brought into her home. What had any of them done that she should turn on them like this?

  ‘It was a gift on my wedding day,’ Alice replied. ‘From an elderly aunty, so it was very old, but I liked it.’ She sighed. ‘It doesn’t matter, Peggy dear, perhaps she needed it more than I did.’

  ‘Oh, Alice…’ Peggy’s heart caught. This funny, kind-hearted lady had suffered more than most in her life and she loved her. Somehow it hurt more that Gillian had stolen something precious from her. ‘You’re a dear – but she doesn’t deserve your kindness.’

  ‘How can we know what she has suffered and what made her the way she is?’ Alice asked. ‘I think she told lies, Peggy, but then, most of us do now and then. She loved you and wanted you to love her, I think – but something must have changed for her to run off with Able’s money. Has she taken much of yours?’

  ‘I haven’t checked yet,’ Peggy said. ‘I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Alice. Would you like a cup of cocoa to help you get to sleep? I’m going to make some for Able and me.’

  ‘Well, if you’re making it…’ Alice smiled at her fondly. ‘You’re so good to me, Peggy. Don’t worry about that naughty girl. I dare say she knows just where she is going and what she intends to do.’

  ‘I wish I could think so—’ Peggy sighed as she went off to make the cocoa and consult with Able.

  He was frowning as he came from the office. ‘Nothing touched in there, Peggy, perhaps because I make a habit of locking the desk and the cabinet. However, she cleared out the cash box in the kitchen and took that Victoria sponge you made this evening.’

  ‘Alice has a brooch missing,’ Peggy said. ‘Not particularly valuable but precious to her. She caught her putting s
alt in my sugar pot and thinks that is why Gillian took her brooch.’

  ‘We must just hope that all the guests kept their rooms locked,’ Able said. ‘I’ll make a point of asking everyone if everything is all right tomorrow – and I shall report this to the police.’

  ‘Yes, we have to,’ Peggy agreed. ‘If it was just our things – but she took what belonged to Alice and that means it is a crime. I just hope nothing belonging to the guests is missing.’ It could ruin their reputation and their business if Gillian had stolen from the customers.

  12

  Thankfully, no one reported anything missing the next morning. The twins had both had small items taken from their rooms. Fay had lost a string of faux pearls her father had given her on her last birthday and Freddie had lost a scarf he’d liked with the colours of his previous school’s football team, but nothing else that came immediately to their notice. Apart from the money from the cash box, the missing items from the dressing table, Able’s five pounds and the ring he’d bought as an anniversary gift for Peggy, nothing else of Peggy’s had gone – at least that was what she’d thought until she looked for a pretty lace blouse she liked, but that wasn’t discovered until the following week.

  By that time some of the hurt and shock had gone. Her room had been scrubbed clean and the bedclothes washed and replaced. Everything in the pantry had had to be checked and, once again, salt was in the sugar pot Peggy used for cooking. All in all, Able said they had got off lightly.

  ‘It could have been so much worse, hon,’ he’d said when they talked about it after his visit to the police. ‘I’m just thankful she didn’t steal from your guests.’

  Peggy was relieved. She was glad now that Gillian had just stolen a few things and gone. Clearly, she’d realised that her spiteful tricks had been noticed and she would be asked to leave, so she’d gone before Peggy could speak to her, doing what damage she could before she ran away.

  Able had reported the incident to the police. He’d been given a lecture about taking in strangers, but as far as any information concerning Gillian, he’d come away empty-handed. Without her second name, they said it was impossible to trace her.

  ‘We get all sorts of reports about missing girls,’ the desk sergeant had told him with a wry look. He’d held up a thick black book. ‘This is full of missing children, missing girls, girls who’ve run off because of an argument with their fathers, girls who’ve stolen from their employers and vanished into the night, servants who stole the table silver and disappeared without trace. We get these reports all the time – and we clear up perhaps a tenth of them, if we’re lucky. Usually, someone catches them in the act and then we realise they’re in our book at least once and perhaps more…’ He’d flicked through the pages and pages of handwritten reports, placing it on the desk for Able to see.

  ‘Yes, I see you have a problem,’ Able had said. ‘As I reported, we didn’t lose a great deal – we were more concerned that the girl is ill. Her acts of spite concern me more than the thefts, Sergeant Poole. I think she is fragile mentally – and she had definitely been ill-treated when my wife found her fainting on the street. I was hoping you could find her for her own sake.’

  ‘I appreciate that, sir—’ Sergeant Poole had frowned over a report that had fallen open when he lay the book on his desk. ‘This just caught my eye – it is similar to your story in a way.’

  Able had arched his eyebrows and the police officer had looked closer, nodding to himself. ‘This concerns a young girl of about sixteen. Fair hair, greenish-blue eyes… hmm, yes, her description is much as you described Gillian, but her name was J. Carr…’ He’d frowned and jabbed at the report with his finger. ‘I don’t know who took the details down, but they didn’t get her first name. Nine months ago, this girl’s father handed her over to an employer. She was to have been his servant, but when he’d been drinking, she stuck a knife in him and ran. This fellow lost a lot of blood and he was very seriously injured, but in fact, he didn’t die and reported her to us. He is suspected of using young girls for sex, Nate Parker… what did she call the man who beat her?’

  ‘Barker – that does sound similar—’ Able had replied with a frown. ‘The description is mostly accurate, though I’d say her eyes were more green than blue, but her features are thin and pale—’

  ‘Barker didn’t describe her much and her father was vague about her appearance when we interviewed him, didn’t want to know, it says here. One of my constables told me the man she stabbed is known for harassing young girls into becoming prostitutes. We interviewed him after he recovered, but since he left the hospital, he has disappeared. The father’s story varies from yours, but it would, of course. Besides, he’s drunk most of the time and an unreliable witness…’ He’d frowned. ‘That does sound like your girl – what do you think?’

  ‘Yes.’ Able’s gaze had narrowed. ‘She says she is seventeen and her story is more or less the same, though she left out the bit about stabbing him, of course.’

  Sergeant Poole had frowned. ‘This girl’s name begins with a J according to her father and the victim of the stabbing.’ He shook his head. ‘I suppose she might easily change her name…’

  ‘What’s in a name?’ Able had observed thoughtfully. ‘If Gillian is this J. Carr, we had a lucky escape, Sergeant Poole. She might have injured someone instead of just stealing and making a mess.’

  ‘Yes, quite possibly,’ he’d agreed. ‘We’ve been looking for her for over nine months now – but she seems to be able to stay hidden. I can’t help wondering how she is managing alone on the streets. There aren’t so many derelict places for the down-and-outs to stay these days – and the men that do use them would be a danger to any girl even if she did stab her employer.’

  ‘She must have found somewhere safe for a while,’ Able had suggested. ‘Had she not been so jealous of Peggy and started to cause trouble through her spite, we might have kept her with us for months.’

  ‘It is possible that she found someone else to help her when she was missing before,’ the sergeant had frowned thoughtfully. ‘I’ll spend an evening at home going through my incident book, sir. I’ve got your address. I’ll pop round and see you one day when I’m off duty and have a chat – but I’ll see what I can discover first.’

  ‘You’ll always be welcome, sergeant.’

  ‘Your wife is quite famous in these parts, Mr Ronoscki. Peggy of Mulberry Lane. During the war I had reason to call in at the Pig & Whistle a couple of times and she always gave me a half of bitter and a piece of whatever she’d cooked. Her reputation for taking folk into the cellar during a raid and the meals she served despite the rationing were legendary in the East End in those days.’

  Able had smiled and nodded. ‘Someone has nominated her for the landlady of the year – we had the letter come recently. It was done by a customer and we have no idea who it was.’

  ‘Well, I never – now that is nice,’ the sergeant had said, smiling. ‘It takes all sorts, sir – and maybe you were lucky to get away with the loss of a few pounds…’

  Peggy stared at Able in horror when he told her what the police officer had said about a young girl being sought for physical harm and attempted murder.

  ‘No, it couldn’t be Gillian,’ she said, her face drained of colour. ‘She was such a little thing, Able. I know she did spiteful things and she stole from us – but to stab someone…’

  ‘It is surprising what some people are capable of if pushed,’ Able said. ‘Gillian told you she escaped when he was drunk – well, that was probably true, but she didn’t tell you that she stabbed him when he was lying on the ground…’

  ‘If it is the same girl…’

  ‘Yes, it is only speculation, of course, but it was odd the way the book opened at that report. I think Sergeant Poole had looked at it a lot of times and that’s why it fell open as it did on the counter. He seems a conscientious man and he is going to try and discover if he can find something that might tell him what she did between escaping
from that brute and fainting in front of you.’

  ‘Yes, she would need to have been somewhere for at least part of the time.’ Peggy nodded. ‘I wondered how she could survive—’ She closed her eyes for a moment. ‘Oh, Able, if she is that girl, we could have lost so much more…’ She shivered.

  ‘Perhaps she only strikes back if she is hurt,’ Able said. ‘She didn’t take much from you – I think her anger was directed more at Pearl – and me. What she did seems random and done out of temper, meant to upset more than harm. She wanted you to love her, perhaps just her – but she wanted more than you could ever give her, hon. You share your love with so many.’

  Peggy’s eyes wet with tears. ‘Poor child… Yes, she is, Able. To need to be loved so badly – and to have been hurt so much. I think she has been hurt over and over again and that is why she retaliates in the only way she can…’

  Able looked thoughtful. ‘Yes, you may be right, but she needs proper help, Peggy – help from a psychiatrist, I think.’

  ‘Yes, I know, though I’m not sure what good they can do,’ Peggy said and squared her shoulders. ‘I’m sorry for her, but I’m glad she has gone. My family comes first.’ Peggy reached out and hugged him. ‘She might have attacked you, Able. Just think what might have happened if she’d used one of my cooking knives on you!’

  The horror of what Gillian might have done made Peggy go white and Able laughed, lifting her chin with his finger. ‘The Germans tried to kill me several times in the war,’ he reminded her. ‘If they couldn’t do it with all their bombs and guns, I don’t think one small girl could – do you?’

  ‘No,’ Peggy laughed as he’d intended, but he saw the worried expression in her eyes and half-regretted telling her what he’d found out at the police station. However, he’d felt she must know, because if Gillian was the girl the police sought for attempted murder, she was dangerous, and Peggy must be on her guard. Able didn’t think Gillian quite the innocent Peggy had done and he could only hope that the girl was long gone, run off to another part of London, where she could do his family no harm. Peggy was looking at him now, regret and anxiety in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Able. I’m sorry I brought her here to this house without consulting you.’