The sound of the key turning in the lock stopped her short. ‘Oh, my Gawd, he’s here!’
Merry from the drink, Peter came down the passage. ‘Ruth? Ruth!’ His voice reached all four comers of the house. ‘Get your best frock on. We’re going out celebrating. Do you hear me, woman? I’ve done the best deal of my life – bought a whole heap of properties cheap. In my own name too.’ He chuckled. ‘It might be my dear mother’s money that paid for it, but the name on that contract is mine!’
There came the sound of doors opening and closing. ‘Ruth! Where the hell are you?’ He could be heard running up the stairs, then down again. ‘Where the devil have you got to now?’ Then he was at the kitchen door. ‘Daisy, where is she?’
Her throat closing with fear, Daisy made herself stay calm. ‘She went out shopping, sir. She told me she wouldn’t be long, an’ she weren’t. Then she went out again – to the pub for some drink for the supper table. That’s what she said.’
For what seemed an age he studied her face, seeming to look for the lies beneath. ‘What time was that?’ Suspicion sharpened his voice. ‘What time was it when she went out again?’
Instinctively, Daisy glanced at the clock. ‘About half an hour ago, sir.’ Later she would have to visit the church and confess all her sins. ‘She said she’d be back in no time.’
Following her gaze he looked up at the clock. ‘A quarter past ten,’ he noted. ‘I’ll give her ten more minutes, then I’d best go and find her.’ The merriness he had come home with was now a sourness that glared at her from the door.
‘I’ll be in the drawing room,’ he growled. ‘Seeing as there seems to be no other drink worth having, you’d best fetch me a pot of tea.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And be quick about it!’
‘Right away, sir.’ When he’d gone, Daisy fell into the nearest chair, weak with relief. ‘It’s all right,’ she whispered jubilantly. ‘He believed you.’
Then, realising he would be after her if she didn’t deliver the tea in sharp time, Daisy leaped up and began running about, boiling the kettle on the range, tipping the tea leaves into the big earthenware pot, setting the tray with cup, saucer and jug of milk… her hands trembling so much she twice spilled the milk and had to wipe the tray clean each time.
Taking the tray she went at a quickened pace along the passage and into the hall. She was about to open the door with one free hand, when suddenly there was a blood-curdling cry. The door flew open, the tray and its contents went hurtling across the carpet.
Startled out of her wits, Daisy was caught by the scruff of her neck and swung from her feet. ‘WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, EH?’
When Ruth’s letter was thrust before her eyes, she began to cry. ‘I don’t know, sir. I don’t know nothing,’ she wept.
‘You’re a bloody liar!’ Shaking her as though she was a rag doll, he pinned her against the wall, his face so close to hers, she could see the small pink veins in his eyeballs. ‘I don’t like liars, so you’d best tell me the truth. WHERE IS SHE?’
‘I don’t know, sir.’
His fist came up and crashed against her temple. ‘Does that help you remember?’
Daisy looked up at him, the blood teeming down her face. ‘Don’t hurt me,’ she pleaded.
‘I’ll have to hurt you, Daisy – unless you tell me where she’s gone.’
The girl shook her head. ‘Honest to Gawd, I don’t know.’
‘Did she take anything of mine with her?’
‘I never saw… she didn’t tell me…’
He stopped her by putting his two hands round her neck and squeezing. ‘Useless bitch! You’re no good to me.’ His hands were so tight round her throat she could feel her senses slipping away. Suddenly, mercifully, his hold slackened. ‘The safe! My God, the safe!’ He went at a run towards the office.
Loosened from his grip, Daisy slithered to the floor, where she lay, bloodied and half-senseless. In the back of her mind she could hear him crashing about, his voice raised to the roof. ‘THE BITCH! THE DEVIOUS LITTLE BITCH!’
Out of the corner of one eye, Daisy saw him stride away. ‘I’ll have you, Ruth Clegg!’ he muttered. ‘There’s no hiding place for you. I’ll find you – and when I do…!’
His manic laughter lingered long after he was gone, out the door and into the night, his unforgiving heart set on revenge.
Chapter Twelve
Upstairs in the office, the two men stood by the window, looking down on the workforce beneath. ‘How’s it all going?’ the boss wanted to know. ‘Will we have the order out as promised, do you think?’
Mick pointed to Ellie, who was examining the shoe she had just polished. ‘If she has anything to do with it, we will.’ He smiled, proud of the way his friend had fitted in.
Nodding in agreement, Mr Brindle stroked his face, his eyes intent on Ellie. ‘She’s a good girl,’ he answered. ‘A hard worker, that’s for sure – and she takes a pride in what she’s doing. Oh, I know we have plenty of good workers here, and I’m not saying anything different, but these days it’s unusual to see a young lass actually enjoying what she does – taking such an interest, like. More often than not, they can’t wait to get home and be off out with their mates.’
‘I don’t think Ellie has any mates,’ Mick said quietly.
‘Oh? Bit of a loner, is she?’
‘Not so much a loner – just quiet, like.’ Frowning, Mick moved away from the window. ‘You know about her mam and dad, don’t you, sir?’
‘I’ve heard tell about it.’ The older man shook his head. ‘A shocking business.’ Crossing the room, Mr Brindle sat himself behind the desk. Picking up a pencil he twiddled it round and round in the tips of his fingers. ‘Burned alive in your own house. Dear God! It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
‘Aye, well, I’m sure Ellie thinks about it all the time.’ Mick had often seen that faraway look on her face, and he guessed she was back there in Buncer Lane, on that Christmas night of horror. ‘It’s no wonder she pours her heart and soul into her work,’ he mused. ‘It must help put that dreadful business from her mind.’
‘There was talk of some madman who got inside the house, so they say?’
‘That’s right.’ Mick’s heart lurched as he recalled the chaos. ‘They thought Betsy was hysterical and who the devil wouldn’t be, after what she’d been through? But Ellie backed her every inch of the way. According to Ellie, the man was intent on murdering the pair of them. Until the house was afire and he had to make good his escape.’
‘And they’d never seen him before, isn’t that what they said?’
‘That’s right. They never caught the bastard neither!’ A look of hatred crossed his young face. ‘Never mind hanging,’ he muttered. ‘If I ever got my hands on him, by hell I’d make him pay for what he did to that lovely family.’
‘The young fella, your mate Larry – how’s he doing these days?’
At this, Mick’s face softened. ‘He’s doing fine. Last week he took four steps all on his own, without holding onto the bars or anything. His legs are getting stronger, and they reckon he’ll be out of hospital in less than a month. O’ course he won’t be up and walking altogether, but it’s only a matter of time. Mind you, it’s been nearly three years.’ He sighed. ‘Still, it’s a bloody miracle the way he’s come on.’
‘Hmh.’ Deep in thought, the little man nodded. ‘If he’s anything like that lass downstairs, he’ll make it eventually, I’m sure.’ Getting out from behind his desk, he strolled across the room, where he stood at the window again, watching Ellie, thinking what a grand little lass she was. ‘Mick, lad?’
‘Yes?’ His foreman came to stand beside him, his eyes, too, drawn to Ellie.
‘As you know, I like the new ones to work the full month before upping their wages. I like them to prove what they’re made of.’
‘I know that.’
‘All the same, I’ve a mind to raise her wages now. What do you reckon to that?’
; Mick smiled, his eyes on Ellie and his heart warmed by the sight of her. ‘I reckon she’s earned it.’
‘And do you reckon she’s earned a move along the bench?’
Mick had no hesitation. ‘It doesn’t matter where you put her, sir, she’ll do well. I’d stake my life on it.’
‘Hmh!’ Folding his hands behind his back, Mr Brindle took to pacing the floor. A moment passed, before he stopped. ‘Do you think she might cope with Quality Control? We had Alice leave last week. By! She was good at her work. I had thought to take on somebody with the same experience, but I believe young Ellie might train up well.’
Mick was bursting with pride. ‘Quality Control, eh?’ He knew how meticulous they had to be in that department. ‘Give Ellie a chance, and she’ll not let you down. She’ll do a good job, you can have no fear of that.’
‘Right!’ George Brindle had done well in business, and had learned to trust his instinct. He trusted it now, as he trusted Mick. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘The girl has the makings of something special. Send her up, Mick. I’ll have a word.’
He glanced back at the main office. Betsy had just come through the door and was making her way down the steps to the factory floor, a sheaf of papers in her hand. ‘Her twin, Betsy, she’s a hard little devil. No doubt it’s due to what happened – but someone needs to have a word with her on one or two little matters. I’d have her in when I’ve spoken to Ellie, but I must be off early. Things to do and all that.’
After a recent row between Betsy and one of the drivers, Mick had been expecting something of the kind. ‘I’ve already had a word,’ he admitted. ‘I’m sure she’ll have taken in what I said.’ He had done his best to protect her from herself and her own bad temper, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the girl was summoned to the top office. And now, the time had come. ‘Betsy’s a good worker,’ he said in her defence. ‘It’s just that she gets a bit above herself now and then.’
The other man gave a wry little smile. ‘And we can’t have that now, can we, eh?’ His sharp eyes followed Betsy as she went along the factory floor and on towards the loading bay. ‘No, Mick. You’ll need to speak with her again before you leave for the evening. See to it, will you, lad.’
And, to his despair, Mick knew he had little option. ‘I will,’ he promised.
As he went down the steps to Ellie, he followed Betsy out the corner of his eye. You’re a silly little bugger, he thought. You’ve got the chance to make it good here. Don’t throw it away with your high and mighty manner!
Making a beeline for Ellie, he passed on the boss’s instructions. ‘Mr Brindle would like a word with you, Ellie. You’re to make your way up to the office.’
‘What does he want?’ she asked fearfully. ‘Have I done summat wrong? Will I get the sack?’ Looking up, she saw the boss staring down on her, and her heart missed a beat.
Mick immediately put her mind at rest. ‘It’s nothing like that,’ he assured her. ‘You’ve been here a month next week, and it’s the normal procedure for the boss to see how you’re fitting in.’
Ellie relaxed. ‘For a minute I thought I might be about to get my marching orders.’
‘Not a bit of it.’ Mick gazed on her pretty face and those dark, sapphire eyes and he knew he could never love anyone else for as long as he lived.
‘Am I to go now?’
‘This very minute.’
‘Can’t I finish polishing this pair of shoes?’ she asked. ‘If I let this one dry, the other won’t match up proper.’
‘Go on then,’ he agreed, because he knew she was right. ‘Then it’s up the steps and into the office with you.’ Knowing that only good news awaited her, he was enjoying every minute.
While Ellie finished polishing the other shoe, Mick took a walk over to the loading bay, where Betsy was talking to the driver. He could hear the man protesting. ‘I’m telling you that docket was signed and handed in along with the others. If you can’t find it, then somebody else has lost it, not me!’
Betsy was equally adamant. ‘Well, I’ve looked high and low. It couldn’t have been handed in.’
‘Look, miss! No offence, but I’ll not argue with a snotty-nosed young lass. Let me have a word with somebody in authority.’ The driver was clearly upset. Now, when he caught sight of Mick striding towards them, he stepped forward. ‘Mick, will you tell her, for Chrissake! I handed the docket in last night, along with the others.’
‘No, he didn’t,’ Betsy argued. ‘He couldn’t have.’
‘God Almighty!’ The driver rolled his eyes to heaven. ‘She’s calling me a liar. It’s not the first bloody time neither!’
Mick took him aside. ‘We can do without the language in front of the girl,’ he reprimanded.
‘Aye.’ Fred was a family man and knew better. ‘I’m sorry about that, but what right has she to tell me I didn’t hand the damned thing in, when I know very well I did! I put all the dockets together, same as usual. I even put a band round them – that’s the way I’ve allus done it. Now she’s trying to say there’s one missing. What’s her game, that’s what I’d like to know? Is she claiming I’ve done summat underhand with a load o’ shoes, or what?’
‘No, of course she isn’t. She’s learning the job and getting a bit carried away with it, that’s all.’
‘Well, she’d best learn a bit bloody quicker, ’cause if she comes at me again, I might just hand in me notice. I’ll not be put on trial by no young lass, I can tell yer that!’
Mick did his best to defuse the situation. ‘Look, Fred, you’re one of our best drivers. You’ve been with us the longest and you’re trusted by every one of us. You know that without me telling you, so calm down and let’s see if I can get to the bottom of it.’
The driver took a deep breath. ‘All right. But you’d best ’ave a word with her, ’cause if she’s the one gonna be dealing with the dockets, she’d best find a better manner when talking to the drivers.’ He looked at Mick and knew he could speak frankly to him. ‘You’ve come up through the ranks yourself,’ he recalled, ‘but right from when you first started here as a scrawny kid, you’ve allus had the right manner, and the instinct for what is and what isn’t.’
His glance shot to Betsy who was tapping her feet impatiently. ‘Sort her out, Mick, else I’ll be gone, and I mean it. I’ve worked here man and boy, and I had hoped to keep the job till I retired in ten years’ time. But I’ll not put up with being called a thief, you can be sure of that!’
Mick had never seen him so rattled. ‘Come on now, Fred, she weren’t calling you a thief.’
‘As good as!’
‘Look. Have a break, mate. Get yourself a cup of tea from the back office, and I’ll see you later. I’ll sort it. Don’t you worry.’
The man nodded. ‘Right. I’ll leave it with you then.’ And off he went.
While Fred was cooling his heels, and his temper, in the canteen, Mick took Betsy outside, where no one could hear what he was saying. ‘Do you want to keep your job here, Betsy?’ he asked outright.
When the girl stuck out her chin, as she did now, it was a sign that she was about to be difficult. ‘He’s lying. He said he turned in his docket, but he didn’t. If he had turned it in, it would have been here with the rest of them, but it’s nowhere to be seen. So where is it, tell me that?’
‘I’ll tell you this!’ he answered steadily. ‘You’re wrong about Fred. And you’re wrong about that loading-docket. Fred is no liar. He’s a good, honest man. And he’s worked here long enough to know the ropes. If he said he turned in that docket, then he did!’
Trying desperately to remember that she was Larry’s and Ellie’s sister, he kept calm, his voice sounding tolerant rather than reprimanding. But even so, she had no doubt but that he was angry. ‘Now then, Betsy. I want you to go back and search that office from top to bottom. I want you to look in every corner, drawer and cupboard. Turn the waste-paper baskets inside out, if you have to.’
‘I’ve already done that
and it’s not there!’
‘Not good enough, Betsy,’ he chided. ‘Do it again… and again, until you find it. And when you do find it, I’ll expect you to have the decency to apologise to Fred. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘I won’t find it, because it’s not there.’
‘Betsy!’ Frustrated by her manner, he took a step closer.
‘It won’t be there! It wasn’t there when me and Miss Turnbull searched before, and it won’t be there now. Because it was never given in.’
Taking her by the shoulders, he held her there. ‘Tell me something.’
‘What?’ She wriggled angrily away.
‘Are you happy working here?’
‘I expect so.’
‘And do you “expect” to do well? Do you “expect” to take over some of the responsibility, when Miss Turnbull retires?’
‘This month she’s training me to take over the docket-filing, and next month I’m to be shown how to make the delivery routes. Miss Turnbull said she would gradually teach me all the office procedures, then I’ll know as much as her. She said that when she retires in two years, I should be in charge of the office – if I keep my nose clean… that’s what she said.’
‘And she could be right. But remember this, Betsy. She is not the boss, and she is in no position to make that kind of decision. The best she can do is to train you up and, if you do well, she might put you up for promotion. But it won’t be her who has the last word.’ His wary glance went to the upper office, where the boss was looking down. ‘It’ll be Mr Brindle.’
‘I know that.’
‘Then you had better know this, too. You need to improve your manner with the drivers, or there will be no responsibilities for you, and no promotion.’
‘What do you mean?’ Unfortunately, Betsy could see no failings in herself.
‘I mean that your attitude is all wrong. You’re aggressive, and rude, and now Fred is convinced you’re calling him a liar.’
‘Well? He is a liar!’
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