by Anna Jacobs
He repaired the worst leak temporarily, but he’d have to come back with the things to do it properly. He would also do a couple of other small jobs here over the next week or two. It’d be a shame to let this lovely house deteriorate.
When she protested, he said, ‘I’ll just do it whenever I’m in the area and have an hour or two free. I’ll expect a cup of tea from you, mind.’
‘You’ll deserve it. And a piece of cake or biscuit to go with it.’
‘I won’t say no to that.’
She was dabbing at her eyes as she closed the door.
Not wanting to go home yet, Wilf ate his sandwich and decided to go and show Charlie the van and tools. He was, he admitted to himself, reluctant to go home.
Charlie studied the vehicle and its contents, then slapped the side of the van with one hand. ‘The chap who told me about it was right, wasn’t he? It’s a grand little van and the tools have got to be worth a lot more than two pounds.’
Wilf smiled. ‘I’m right set up about it all, I must admit.’
‘Come in and have a cup of tea with me to celebrate. And I’ve got some shortbread fingers in the biscuit tin.’
‘I never say no to a cup of tea.’
They went into the back of the shop and sat in Charlie’s office, waiting for the woman who worked there to bring them some tea.
‘What did your wife say about the van? I bet she was pleased.’
Wilf didn’t know what to tell him, then decided on a brief summary of the truth. If Charlie was going to go into business with him, he deserved to know how things stood.
‘Actually, she’s upset about it.’
‘What the hell for?’
‘She hates getting into debt.’
‘You’ll have that van paid off within six months, Wilf lad, probably less, if I’m any judge.’
‘I know I will, but she can’t seem to believe that. The bad years have made her very nervous about money.’
Charlie stared at him in compassion. ‘Eh, I’m sorry, lad.’
‘Yes. So am I. It’ll all work out in the end and she’ll realise I’m bringing in more money than before, but it’ll take a while. I’m not giving up my plans.’
‘No. You shouldn’t do. You’re a clever chap and you’ll get on in the world, given half a sniff of a chance.’ He added with his usual cheeky grin, an urchin’s grin for all Charlie was in his late thirties, ‘And what you earn will make me a bit of extra money as well. Ah, tell your wife not to worry. I’ll help you find plenty of jobs now you can travel further.’
Wilf forced a smile. He’d known Charlie would find him jobs. They’d shaken hands on it, hadn’t they?
The woman brought in tea, and Wilf forced himself to eat a couple of pieces of shortbread.
He wasn’t giving up his dream. Not for anyone or anything.
But deep down he felt sad, very sad. He’d so wanted to share that dream with Enid, to rejoice together over every step taken. Even a stranger like Mrs Morton had been pleased for him.
23
T hat morning, Jo woke with a start, unable for a moment or two to figure out where she was. Then last night’s horrors came flooding back to her and she allowed herself to lie in bed for a little longer, praying for the strength to do whatever was necessary to help her young relative.
She looked round and grimaced. How many more strange beds was she going to wake up in before she found somewhere to call home again?
Well, this was undoubtedly going to be a difficult day, but she couldn’t put off facing it any longer. She got up and hunted in her luggage for her dressing gown so that she was decently covered before she left the bedroom.
Peeping into the back bedroom to check on Tess, she was pleased to see that the girl was still asleep, though the tangle of bedcovers bore witness to a restless night. No, not child, young woman. She must remember that.
The bathroom still felt damp, presumably from Nick’s ablutions. He must have been very quiet, because she’d heard nothing. She tried to be quiet, too, so that she’d not wake Tess. After freshening herself up, she got dressed in the first skirt and blouse that came to hand, dragging on a cardigan over the top of them, anxious to talk to Nick before Tess got up.
When she reached the kitchen she paused in the doorway to watch him. He was frowning into space. What a nice, comfortable sort of face he had! She’d not be afraid to tell this man anything. She didn’t know why she felt so sure of his help and support, but she did.
Suddenly seeming to sense her presence, he turned to stare solemnly across the table at her. ‘Are we still engaged?’
‘Do you want to be?’
‘Very much. And you?’
It was out before she could stop herself. ‘Yes, very much indeed.’
His face brightened. ‘That’s a good start to my day.’
She tried to face facts. ‘I may still have to go back to Australia because of Tess. I can’t desert her. And I doubt she can make a decent new life here.’
‘I’ve been thinking about that. If you do have to go back, I’m coming with you. I’m not going to abandon you, not now, not ever.’
‘But you’ve only just started your business here.’
He held out his hand in a mute invitation to join him. ‘You’re far more important to me than any business, Jo, surely you know that? I lay awake last night, thinking about Australia, and though I admit I’d rather stay here, I’ll not do that if it means giving you up.’ He put a mock fierce tone into his voice as he added, ‘And you won’t change my mind about that, whatever you say or do.’
She walked forward and took the hand he was offering. How could she not? ‘Oh, Nick, I hate to ask you to make such a sacrifice.’
‘You didn’t ask me. I volunteered. And it may not be necessary.’ He pulled her to sit on his knee and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.
And heaven help her, she kissed him back.
‘How about we buy a special licence and get married next week?’ he asked.
She gaped at him. ‘That quickly?’
‘Yes. I’d do it tomorrow if we could but if I remember the marriage laws correctly, you have to wait seven days, or is it seven working days? I’ll have to find out.’
He eased her off his knee and stood up. ‘Now, let me pour you a cup of tea and offer you a slice of toast. That’s all I have in my nearly empty pantry for breakfast, I’m afraid, but the strawberry jam is delicious.’
‘Sounds fine to me. I’ll do some shopping later and put a few more provisions into the pantry here. What time does Todd get into work?’
‘About nine o’clock, but he’s coming in a little later so that he can spend some time with his wife. He has a meeting after work, you see. He’s on the town council and that keeps him busy.’ He grinned. ‘He’s still madly in love with her. It’s lovely the way he talks about her.’
She looked out of the window. ‘It’s not going to be very warm today. Look at those dark clouds. Good thing I bought a card saying OPEN. We can put it in the window and keep the front door closed.’
‘You’re good at details, aren’t you?’
‘I try to be. Now, let’s get that toast made. I’m good at being hungry in the morning, too.’
The gas cooker was quite new and had a built-in grill at eye level, so they had no need to light a fire to do the toast. That was real progress for you, she thought, admiring the cooker. Such equipment must make millions of people’s daily lives easier. Then she smiled ruefully and mentally amended it to ‘millions of women’s lives’.
There was the sound of footsteps on the landing and Jo ran to the foot of the stairs to stop Tess coming down to join them. ‘Stay upstairs! You could be seen if anyone came into the house.’
‘Even this early?’
‘I’m afraid so. It’d look strange if we kept the door locked on a working day, wouldn’t it? We can’t take any risks when dealing with a ruthless murderer. Oh, and don’t flush the lavatory if you hear anyone else downstairs.’
‘All right. Do you have a book I can borrow?’
Nick came to stand in the hall, looking up at Tess. ‘There’s a makeshift bookcase of planks and bricks in my bedroom. You’re welcome to borrow any book you fancy. I have a few Agatha Christies. I really enjoy her Hercule Poirot detective stories. Have you read any of them?’
‘No.’
‘Then you might like to start with The Mysterious Affair at Styles . That was her first book.’
‘Thank you.’
Jo took over. ‘In the meantime, how do you like your tea? I’ll bring you up some and a couple of pieces of toast as well in a few minutes.’
‘Tea would be wonderful, but I’m not hungry.’
‘Force a piece of toast down, though,’ Jo coaxed. ‘You have to keep up your strength. We don’t want you fainting on us.’ The poor girl looked so wan and unhappy, Jo couldn’t help it. She ran up the stairs to hug Tess, then pushed her gently towards the bedroom. ‘Remember, don’t show yourself at the window, either. Best to keep the curtains drawn, I’m afraid.’
Tess nodded and went slowly back into her room, her whole body drooping.
Jo shook her head sadly as she walked downstairs again. ‘This is going to be very hard for her, Nick, sitting around doing nothing, on top of mourning her mother.’
‘At least she’ll be safe here.’
‘For a while, yes.’
He put his arm round her waist as they returned to the kitchen and they stood together by the window as they chatted.
‘The quicker Sergeant Deemer catches the murderer, the better. That poor girl won’t be truly safe until the villain’s behind bars. Does she have any idea who’d been visiting her mother that night, Jo? Was it Rathley or one of the other men interested in the girl?’
‘It’s my guess she does know but she gets upset when I ask her. I think she’s afraid of him. I’d guess it was Rathley, though, wouldn’t you? It’s a terrible thing to lose your mother, but how much worse must it feel to know your mother’s been murdered?’
‘I think we should tell Deemer we believe she knows something.’
‘It would feel like a betrayal and I’m only just starting to gain her trust.’
‘Better to feel betrayed than be murdered like her mother, don’t you think?’
Jo nodded reluctantly.
The sergeant was coming to the same conclusion as he finished off his breakfast. His wife, bless her, knew him well enough not to interrupt his thinking by trying to chat.
He was certain Tess was holding something back and unfortunately the slow-witted man he was keeping at the police station for his own safety couldn’t seem to talk sense, still kept repeating, ‘He’s killed her.’
Someone had to have seen Moira’s last visitor, who had to be the person most likely to have killed her, but who apart from Big Donny? The daughter had been at the park under Constable Hopkins’ eyes at the time of the murder and couldn’t possibly have seen how it happened or who did it.
But who was the customer who’d driven her from the house? The trouble was, prostitutes didn’t usually sit around and chat to their customers. They wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible. So two or even three men might have visited Moira while her daughter was out.
He’d been considering seeking help from a couple of men in Rivenshaw who passed on information to him occasionally for small sums of money. He could suggest they keep their eyes and ears open, and ask around carefully, not saying why they were interested. Maybe he’d offer to pay them twice as much as usual for any piece of information that proved useful. Yes, even the inspector would surely approve of doing that if it led to a conviction.
When he opened the front door of the police station, which was attached to his house, Deemer saw Constable Hopkins walking down the street towards him and nodded approvingly. The lad was a good timekeeper, never late without a good reason, and had the makings of a good policeman. You could always tell.
He sent Hopkins straight out again to take a walk round the town centre and see if he could find the informants, whom he also knew. It was usually easy enough to find them, because they spent a lot of time loitering near or in the town square, offering to carry bags for travellers coming out of the railway station or to run errands for shopkeepers, anything to earn a penny or two.
The constable was back within half an hour, looking pleased with himself.
‘I found both men, sarge, but neither of them was near Packman Alley, so they didn’t see what happened or who went in there. They said they’d ask around, though, when I told them you’d pay a bit extra to get genuine information quickly. It made them eager to help.’
‘Good. I’m going back to Moira’s house now. I intend to check every inch of it. You’d better come with me. Two pairs of eyes are always better than one. I’ll lock this place up. If something’s urgent, people can knock on the house door and leave a message with my wife. I reckon catching a murderer is a lot more important than finding lost objects or even lost pet dogs.’
‘I agree, sarge. What about Moira’s daughter? Will you allow her to go back and live at home once we’ve gone over the house?’
‘No, of course not. She’s too young to live there on her own. I’ve left her with a family I trust and no, I’m not going to tell you who that is. I’m not going to tell anyone. We don’t want the murderer going after her, do we?’
‘I’d not reveal the information,’ the constable said indignantly.
‘Better if you aren’t able to let anything slip.’
‘Will the inspector let you keep it secret where she is?’
‘He won’t know I’ve done it unless you tell him. I’m trusting you about this, lad. Just keep telling folk you don’t know where the daughter is. The more people hear it, the more they’ll believe it. Even if I get in trouble about it later, you won’t, because I won’t let on that you ever knew anything. Loyalty works both ways.’
He didn’t trust the inspector, though, reckoned the man couldn’t see anything beyond the rule book and the end of his own nose. How he had gained such a high promotion baffled Deemer.
Hopkins gave a solemn nod, looking so young and fresh-faced, so untouched by life and tragedy that Deemer felt sorry for what he would see and do as a police officer over the years. He wondered how that would affect Hopkins. It wore some officers down. You could never quite tell who’d stick it out.
‘Well, let’s drive up to Moira’s house, then, eh lad?’
When they got to Packman Alley they found no sign of the two lads who’d been left to keep watch on Number 3. Deemer frowned. ‘Not like them lads to leave a job without being paid.’
When he touched the front door, the only way into the house, it swung open, even though he’d locked it and taken away the key. ‘Someone’s broken in.’ He bent to check the lock. ‘Scratched. They picked it. It must have been someone those lads are afraid of.’
‘Tread carefully when we—’ He pushed open the door, which led straight into the living area. ‘Oh, hell!’
Deemer walked grimly round the inside, followed by a shocked young constable. Everything was in chaos. Someone must have searched every drawer and cupboard in the place and simply tossed their contents on the floor. Broken crockery and spilled sugar in the kitchen, powder and lipstick and an upended slop bucket – ugh! – in the main bedroom.
‘They were looking for something, lad, not just burgling the place.’
When they came downstairs he began to go through the mess on the floor.
‘What do you think they were looking for, sarge?’
‘I don’t know. But it doesn’t look to me as if they found it. They’ve searched every nook and cranny, not missed a single shelf, even. If they’d found what they wanted early on in the search, they’d not have continued, would they? What’s more, there are objects here they could have sold, but they haven’t bothered with them. So they weren’t here to burgle the place.’
‘Whatever it was must no longer be here, then.�
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‘I don’t know. They could have taken it away or it could have been exceptionally well hidden. I wonder if the daughter knows what it might be and where her mother hid her valuables. Have to ask her.’
‘I felt that sorry for the poor lass yesterday, skriking like a babby, she was, sarge.’
‘You’d have cried if your mother had been murdered. But I felt sorry for her, too.’ The sergeant sighed. Death came soon enough without dealing it out on purpose. No one had the right to take a life.
He paused for a moment to think it through. It wasn’t likely to be a poor man who’d come visiting. Poor men wouldn’t be able to afford Red Moira’s prices. But rich or poor, if her visitor had done it, he deserved hanging and Deemer hoped to see the day that happened. He’d feel a failure if he didn’t solve this crime and the nearer he got to retirement, the less he wanted to leave something undone behind him.
Only a few more years to go. What he’d do with his time then he’d not been able to work out, but you had to retire at a certain age, whether you wanted to or not. Stupid, that was.
Todd left work early to go to a special meeting of the council that evening, so they could lock the front door. But even with that done and the curtains drawn, Jo wouldn’t allow Tess to join them downstairs.
What’s more, she insisted that tomorrow they had to create a hiding place for the girl in case someone broke in. Anyone who’d stab a woman and leave her body sprawled on the floor wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to her daughter.
After tea, Jo sat chatting to Nick for a while, then went up to collect Tess’s meal tray and have a little chat.
She found the girl weeping and not much of the food had been eaten.
Tess looked up at her from the bed, wiped away the tears with the back of one hand, then started sobbing. More tears ran from her swollen red eyes and she dabbed at them with a soggy handkerchief.
Jo sat beside her and gave her a cuddle, shushing and rocking to and fro as if Tess were a small child. Gradually the tears subsided but Tess still kept hold of her hand.