by David Adkins
It was over and I had done it. I had saved Max Lucas and I felt elated. We all made our way out of the court and I was one of the first back in the foyer. I was soon joined by Cassie who threw her arms around my neck. “We have done it Steve, we have done it.”
“And we still have time to have dinner and then go to the Gaiety. Did you get those tickets?”
“I sure did and I have a further surprise for you.”
Before I could ask what it was we were joined by James Butler and Jenny Morgan. He shook my hand. “Congratulations, Steve. You have won and saved an innocent man.”
“Congratulations to you too, for you won the case.”
The general feeling of exuberance was still in full flow when we were joined by Max Lucas himself, the man of the moment. Cassie threw her arms around his neck as she had mine. “Max, you are free. I am so pleased for you.”
“So am I,” I said and shook his hand warmly.
“I would not be free without you two. I am so grateful to you both.”
James then took me to one side. “I will be in the office in the morning. Will I see you then for we still have things to discuss — such as are you really leaving us?”
“I will come in and talk with you in the morning, but I do not think I will change my mind.” I laughed. “Actually, I am not allowed to change my mind.” Nevertheless, I would not be entirely happy until Smith’s cheque was in my hand and the money in my bank account. I could not help noticing that while I was talking to James that Max had seemed a little upset with something Cassie had said.
“What was that about?” I asked her when I got a chance.
“Nothing really, Max wanted me to go to dinner with him to celebrate his release. I told him that I was going out with you for you were my new boyfriend. I told him I had helped him but now it was over.”
Her words sounded like music to my ears but then I felt a little guilty. “Where is he sleeping tonight?”
“He is staying with Reg, one of the stagehands at the Gaiety, until he finds his feet.”
“Good and what was it that you wanted to tell me?”
“I will tell you over dinner,” she smiled and I was captivated all over again.
I once again shook hands warmly with Max Lucas who seemed to have got over the disappointment of not having dinner with Cassie. Perhaps he still harboured feelings for her and I could not blame him for that. People were now filing out of the Old Bailey and I felt a sense of achievement that was most satisfying. I had defied the corrupt establishment to free an innocent man.
“I really fancy some fish and chips.” Cassie interrupted my self-satisfied reverie.
“Fish and chips it is then,” I smiled.
“I know one where you can eat in down a side road by Aldwych Station and then it will be an easy walk to the Gaiety Theatre.”
“I think I know where you mean,” I replied looking at my watch to see how quickly we’d been let out. It had seemed a long day, but it had been a successful one and with a night out with Cassie to follow, it was about to get even better. It was a short walk to the chip shop and the smell of fried batter greeted us in the entrance. We both ordered cod and chips and a lemonade and we relaxed after the trying day to chat a little.
“So what did you wish to tell me?” I asked.
“I may get my old job back. I spoke with Sid Bishop when I was at the Gaiety yesterday. I explained that my disappearance was due to my involvement at a big murder trial at the Old Bailey. He sort of accepted that and he said there could be a place for me back in the chorus line.”
“That is wonderful news. He knows you are the prettiest girl with the best legs so how could he refuse?” I did not mention that I would soon be asking her to leave the country. I was saving that until I had the money in my bank account. I still did not entirely trust Smith and so I did not want to promise something that was not one hundred per cent certain.
“Thank you kind sir,” she beamed. “There was something else.”
“I am all ears.”
“I bought a bottle of champagne and it is waiting to be drunk in my lodgings. I hoped we would have something to celebrate and we have.”
“When do you propose we drink it?” I asked with enthusiasm.
“After the performance.” She hesitated. “It’s a long way back to Lewisham so I thought you might come back with me.” She shot a sly look my way. “Do you prefer a long journey by train to Lewisham or a short walk to Tottenham Court Road?”
I pretended to ponder her question while devouring a large chip. “I do enjoy the scenic train journey but at that time it will be very dark so perhaps a walk to your lodgings would be preferable.”
“We will have to be careful. My landlady is not like the dragon at the George Inn, but I am not sure she would approve of me taking in a strange man.”
I pretended to be hurt. “I am not all that strange,” I protested. “But I will be as quiet as a mouse.”
“She usually goes to bed early, but better safe than sorry.”
I nodded agreement. “The day gets better and better.”
“What is the time, Steve?”
I looked at my watch. “It is ten to seven and we have been chatting for ages.”
“We have to go! They open the doors at seven o’clock. I managed to get two stall tickets for us. It will be a change to be a member of the audience rather than a performer.”
It was a very short walk from the restaurant to the end of the Strand and the Gaiety Theatre. “Do you wish to see any of your friends?” I asked.
“No, I will just be a member of the public tonight, a girl on a night out with her boyfriend. I saw them all last night.”
They were opening the doors as we arrived at the theatre and we entered and took our place about fifteen rows back in the centre of the stalls. I held Cassie’s hand as the theatre started to fill up. I felt a happiness that I had not known before as we waited for the performance to begin. The chorus line appeared on stage and started their routine off with a bang. “None of them strut their stuff as well as you did when I watched you,” I whispered.
She squeezed my hand. “All this flattery will get you everywhere.”
The show was entertaining and boisterous. There was much more rowdy participation with the audience than at the last show I had attended. It was all lost on me for I was really just waiting for the curtain to go down for I could have skipped the show and gone straight to Cassie’s lodgings. Finally the show ended and we all stood for God Save the King.
It had turned cold when we emerged into the night air. We walked along the Strand and past the bright lights of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square. We crossed Oxford Street and entered the more dimly lit Tottenham Court Road. I knew we were now just minutes away from Cassie’s flat and my heart was racing. We were still holding hands and chatting as we approached her building. “Now we will have to be very quiet and no talking, Steve.”
“No talking,” I grinned.
She placed the key in the lock and opened the door. She stepped inside and looked around before signalling for me to follow. I took off my shoes and crept up the stairs after her. She took another key out of her bag and opened the door to her flat and quietly we entered, closing the door behind us.
“Mission accomplished,” she grinned as she kicked off her shoes.
I kissed her on the lips. “You are quite amazing,” I complimented her.
“We have all night,” she informed me as she pulled away laughing. “You sit down and make yourself comfortable.” She went into another room which I assumed was her bedroom.
I sat on the comfortable sofa and I looked about me at the compact sitting room. The flat was small but it was quite comfortable and seemed to be just a sitting room with a tiny kitchenette off it, a bathroom and the bedroom. A photograph caught my eye of Cassie, and another girl, taken when she was a little younger. “A nice photo,” I called out.
“That was me on my twentieth birthday and no longer a
teenager,” she yelled back.
“Who is the other girl?”
“My best friend Laura. She’s the one I was staying with in Farnborough.”
Cassie returned to the sitting room in a pink, towelling bathrobe which looked both comfortable and inviting. She tightened the belt as she strode over to the cabinet and took a record out of a drawer and placed it on a modern looking gramophone. The soft tones of Nat King Cole flooded forth from the speaker.
“Very romantic,” I commented.
“Indeed.” She gestured, asking, “Would you like some of that champagne?”
I had spotted the champagne and glasses on the cabinet near the gramophone. “Shall I pour out two glasses,” I suggested.
“You sit still. This is your night. You are the hero.”
“Hardly,” I laughed.
She poured out two glasses and offered one to me. “To the freedom of an innocent man,” she suggested.
“To the freedom of an innocent man and to us,” I replied.
She nodded and sat down on the sofa next to me. We sipped at our drinks and I could not help staring at the bright painting above the fireplace, seemingly out of place with the rest of the decor. She noticed my stare and explained, “It came with the flat.”
I looked at her face. It had altered little since the photograph had been taken though perhaps there was now just a hint of maturity which made her even more beautiful. Her blond hair looked so healthy and I ran my fingers through it. She relaxed into the deep cushions and smiled. We did not speak for a while and I sat contentedly sipping the champagne.
“You look nice when you are relaxed,” she said.
“You look nice all the time,” I responded.
She lifted her hand to stroke my face and her cuff fell down to reveal a slender, white arm. I looked down and saw that the bathrobe had also opened up a little to show a naked, enticing thigh. As my eyes feasted on her exposed limb and my hand sought it she raised her mouth to mine and brushed my lips gently. I placed my glass back on the table, and as I did so she tenderly pulled me towards her again. I dropped to my knees and we kissed again, exploring one another. My hand had now entered her bathrobe and the kiss dropped its uncertainty and became passionate.
“The bedroom,” she gasped.
I took her slim and alluring body in my arms and carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the bed. I was out of my clothes in seconds and her bathrobe floated to the bedroom floor. She was perfection. The uncertainty had vanished. Exploration and pleasure was all that mattered. Passion was rampant and the night was still young.
Chapter 13
Saturday 3rd to Monday 5th March
It was almost nine o’clock when I woke up on a wonderful Saturday morning. I felt a happiness and contentment that was almost unknown to me, certainly since before the war. Cassie was already up and once again was in her pink bathrobe. “I am sorry but I have only coffee and biscuits to offer you,” she called from her little kitchenette. “I only just moved in.”
“That is absolutely fine,” I assured her as I contentedly watched her making the drinks through the open bedroom door.
She entered the bedroom and placed a mug of coffee in my hand and placed a tin of biscuits on the bed. She walked around the bed and sat next to me propping up her pillow with one hand while she held on to her coffee with the other.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening, Steve.”
I laughed. “I am the one who should thank you. You really are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”
She placed a finger over my lips. “Don’t get to gushing. I do not deserve it.”
“That is a matter of opinion,” I corrected her.
“I have a busy weekend ahead of me. I promised Sid Bishop that I would spend the weekend at the Gaiety Theatre. I think if I spend the entire weekend showing remorse for leaving he will re-employ me permanently.”
“I promised James that I would go into the office this morning. If you are really busy all weekend, can I see you on Monday — though I am not sure I can wait that long?”
“I promised Laura that I would go to Farnborough for the day on Monday. Can you wait until Tuesday?” She looked apologetic.
“Of course.” I was a little disappointed but Tuesday was only a few days away.
“I will come to your office on Tuesday morning at ten and collect you. Perhaps we could go out for the day if you can get the day off work.”
“I’m sure I can. I hope that by then I will have some great news to tell you. Are you sure you can get away from the Gaiety for the day?”
“It may be difficult under the circumstances, but I will try my hardest.”
Her words restored my slightly flagging spirits. I was well aware that I was so infatuated that I could not bear to be out of her presence. However, I knew that I must curb my desires until Tuesday for I did not want her to think I was too possessive and it seemed I was on the promise of another night in Cassie’s bed. “That sounds good then, Cassie.”
I finished my coffee and kissed her passionately on the lips. She tasted so sweet and so good. She kissed me back and smiled. “You should go. I have to leave soon and James is waiting for you.”
I had a quick wash, dressed, and put on my coat. In twenty minutes I was ready to depart. I felt a bit scruffy for I had no razor and could feel the bristles on my usually clean-shaven face.
“I’ll look outside and make sure nobody is about. Then you creep downstairs and make sure you shut the door behind you. I have a reputation to protect,” she grinned.
“I can be furtive when needed,” I grinned back
She opened the door and surveyed the stairs and hallway. “Nobody around, now go, quickly!” she said and hurried me out of the door.
I stole one more kiss and grinned. “See you on Tuesday, Cassie.”
I stealthily made my way down the staircase unseen. I quietly opened the front door and softly closed it behind me. I stepped out onto the street rejuvenated by the proceedings of the previous night. I had gone too long without the pleasure of intimate, female companionship. Now I had Cassie, who in my entranced mind would have put the Mona Lisa in the shade, and after what had just happened between us I was sure that she would come to California with me. It was less than half an hour’s walk to my office, and I happily undertook the journey and arrived like an all-conquering Titan.
Victor was already there when I arrived, but James entered ten minutes after me. Two clerks were working hard and that was the full contingent for this Saturday morning early in the month of March. On the arrival of James we both joined Victor in his office for the chat about my imminent departure.
James opened the conversation. “You are looking pleased with yourself, Steve.”
“I am pleased to have the trial and the Smith business successfully behind me.”
Victor then went straight to the point. “James tells me that you intend to tender your resignation.” He always had a formal nature about him even at such moments as this.
“Yes, I will leave as soon as possible. I have to put my house up for sale and make some arrangements but I hope to leave within a week or two.”
“So you do not intend to work out a month’s notice,” Victor said.
“I am not able to. I have been informed by MI6 that I must leave the country as soon as possible. If I do not do so my life might well be in danger.”
He stared at me in shock. “My God, I told you both to leave this case well alone. Are you seriously in danger?”
“Yes the things I now know place me at risk.”
“Is James in danger too?” he asked, looking most concerned.
“No. He does not know the things I know, so there’s no risk.”
“Thank God for small mercies,” he retorted.
James spoke next. “Steve, I was going to try to persuade you not to leave, but it seems from what has been said so far that I would not be able to do so.”
I shook my head. “I have to go
and as quickly as possible.”
“What will you do?” he asked.
“I intend to begin a new life in California, but I will keep you informed and keep in touch. You have been a good friend.”
Victor interjected getting down to business as usual. “Under the circumstances we will pay you a month’s salary as if you were working out your full notice.”
“It does not matter but if you wish,” I said not wishing to tell them about the financial side of the deal with MI6. “I am grateful, Victor and I am most sorry for the trouble I have caused.”
“So as of now you are no longer working for us?” said Victor.
“Correct. I will get my things together and leave this morning. If I may I will return on Monday morning for I am expecting a visit from Mr Smith to cross the t’s and dot the i’s. I will also come in briefly Tuesday morning when I am expecting to meet up with Cassie Mitchell. Then I will be gone for good.”
“I will not be in on Monday and I have no wish to see this Mr Smith after what James has told me about him. I will not be in until Tuesday afternoon and so I will wish you well for the future, and I hope you have a good life in California Steve.” I could not remember Victor previously calling me Steve.
“Thank you Victor and I wish you a happy retirement.” His retirement was only a short time away. Victor left the room looking a little relieved that the current problem seemed to be going away.
“I will be in on Monday morning so I will see you then. Thanks for all the work you have done for Butler and Robinson in the past five years,” said James smiling.
I shook his hand warmly. “It is fitting that on our last job together we saved an innocent man from the gallows.”