Let it Shine

by Let it Shine (retail) (epub)

  Betsy had long realised how it was between her sister and Mick; there once was a time when she would have derided her for it, but since that night at the boulevard, when she had fallen as low as could be, Betsy had brought about a change in herself. She was so grateful that no terrible consequences had befallen her after selling her virginity to that squalid stranger. Her view of life would never be the same again.

  ‘You really love him, don’t you?’ she asked now.

  Ellie looked to where Mick was walking across the floor, and her heart turned over as it always did. ‘Yes,’ she answered shyly. ‘I love him so much.’

  Her twin didn’t envy her. It wasn’t her kind of love and never would be. ‘I’ll go ahead then, shall I? Let you and Mick walk back together.’

  ‘Only if you want to.’ Ellie valued her every minute with Mick, but it was dark and a sense of dread rippled through her. She had never felt truly safe at night since the attack on their house in Buncer Lane. ‘No, come to think of it, we’d best all walk back together.’

  But Betsy wouldn’t hear of it. ‘I’ll see you at the tram-stop,’ she said, and hurried away before Ellie could stop her.

  Mick was just locking the office door, when John arrived. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ he told Mick. ‘I’ve had a few difficult collections to make. It’s put me all back.’

  ‘You’ve only just caught me,’ Mick told him. They had long ago patched up their quarrel.

  When he was paid and the book duly signed, John took a minute to pass the time of evening with Ellie, only this time he didn’t flirt or make suggestive remarks because now he had the love of his life, and he was in a hurry to get to her.

  ‘Take care now,’ he told them both, and went away at the dash. The thought of Ruth waiting for him was like wings to his feet.

  As he turned away from locking the main doors, Mick thought he saw someone loitering in the shadows. ‘Who’s there?’ He went forward, but couldn’t see anyone.

  ‘Who was it?’ Ellie had been afraid for him. For some reason her nerves were all on edge tonight. She was afraid for Betsy, too. ‘We’d best get a shift on, Mick,’ she suggested. ‘Betsy went ahead all on her own.’

  With his arm round her, he took her at a quicker pace, along the alley and down towards the canal. ‘There’s not a soul about,’ he told her. ‘I must have been imagining things.’ The reassuring remark was merely to pacify her, because he knew he had seen something, though he wasn’t sure what.

  ‘Hey, you two. Hang on a minute. I can’t keep up!’

  The familiar voice caused them to stop and stare. It was Larry, and he was walking better than ever, albeit with a slow, cumbersome gait.

  ‘Larry!’ Ellie laughed out loud. Running to him, she threw her arms about his waist. ‘What are you doing here in the dark? How did you get here?’

  Mick was relieved. ‘It must have been you I saw out of the corner of my eye,’ he deduced. ‘It’s good to see you walking so well, but, like Ellie said, what in God’s name are, you doing here?’

  Larry’s eyes shone with pride. ‘My legs have been getting stronger and stronger. I had to find out what I was capable of, so I thought I’d come and give you both a surprise,’ he grinned.

  ‘You certainly did that,’ Mick said, giving Larry a hearty slap on the back. ‘You did well, mate, but you mustn’t overdo it and put yourself back again.’ Like Ellie, Mick was thrilled to see Larry so steady on his legs, and he knew just how much effort and determination had gone into bringing him this far.

  Ellie too, had a warning. ‘Another few minutes and we’d have been out of sight.’

  Larry realised that. ‘I didn’t know it would take me so long,’ he admitted. ‘But I got here, and I feel better for having done it.’

  ‘And how do you feel about walking back to the tram-stop?’

  Cuddling her tight, he ordered mischievously, ‘Lead on! And mind I don’t overtake the pair of youse.’

  * * *

  Some way in front, John went his usual route down to Penny Street and the canal, then on towards the tram-stop, where he would catch a tram to Ruth’s street. He had a couple of collections to make there, then he’d go on to Ruth’s house, where he would have his tea with her and the family. By now this had become a regular arrangement, and one which he really looked forward to. He would meet up with Ruth later tonight and take her out after he’d dropped the rent-money off at Summerfield House.

  He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the two men sidle up behind him. By the time he noticed them and felt a first prickle of fear, they were already on him, fighting him to the wall and holding him there. ‘Where is she?’ The bigger of the two men held him in a stranglehold by the neck of his shirt.

  ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he gurgled. At first he feared they had grabbed him to steal the money in his bag. Now though, he knew different. It was far worse than that. They were after Ruth. Peter Williams was behind it, he was sure. Somehow or another, that madman had found out he was seeing her.

  ‘Oh, you know what we mean right enough,’ the big fella snapped. ‘And if you don’t feel like talking, there’s ways and means to make you talk, and we know every single one of ’em.’ Sniggering, he turned to his colleague. ‘Ain’t that right?’

  The other fella nodded. ‘That’s right enough, yeah.’

  But John would not talk. He would not put Ruth in danger, even if his own life was at stake. So they set about him, and showed no mercy.

  As Ellie and Mick turned the corner on to Penny Street, Mick caught sight of them; they had the smaller man on the ground and were taking it in turns to kick seven bells out of him. ‘Hey! What the devil d’you think you’re doing! Leave him be!’

  Without thought for himself, Mick ran forward, at the same time giving instructions to Larry. ‘Keep away,’ he cried. ‘Take Ellie and get away home.’

  But they had no intention of leaving him there.

  As Mick ran forward, with Ellie and Larry close behind, the two thugs ran in the other direction, leaving their victim seemingly lifeless on the ground. Falling to his knees, Mick was appalled by the injuries that met his eye. ‘John!’ Behind the blood and torn skin, he could only just recognise who it was. ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What have they done to you?’ Cradling the young man in his arms, he thought he was holding a corpse.

  ‘Good God!’ Like Mick, Larry was incensed by the violence of the attack. Ellie, too, was so shocked she couldn’t take it in. All she could do was kneel down and talk to John, much the same as Mick had, to reassure him, and to tell him she was going for help.

  Leaving Mick and Larry there, that was just what she did. She ran to the nearest pub and told them what had happened. While help was being summoned, she dashed back, and as she ran, she prayed John would be all right.

  Realising that his Ruth was in terrible danger, John struggled to speak. ‘It’s all right, mate,’ Mick said comfortingly. ‘Ellie’s gone for help. The ambulance will be here soon.’

  ‘No… o…’ Straining towards Mick, John whispered, ‘Ru… th…’

  Realising he had something desperate to tell him, Mick bent his head and listened. In a series of gasps, the wounded man told him how his attackers meant to get Ruth. He begged Mick to go and save her. And when he heard the address, Mick could hardly believe his ears. That was where his father lived!

  He exchanged a worried look with Larry.

  ‘I’ll get the police, and you warn Ruth,’ said Larry, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Mick, and he began to walk away as Ellie returned. She was too frightened for John to ask where her brother had gone.

  A few minutes later, the ambulance arrived, its bell tinkling, to take John away. ‘I’ll see to it,’ Mick promised when John’s stricken eyes sought him out. ‘Don’t worry.’

  As quickly as he could, without seeming too frantic, he took Ellie to the tram-stop. The usual tram had already gone, with Betsy on it. ‘Try not to think too much about it,’ Mick told
her, but it would be a long time before Ellie got the terrible scene out of her mind.

  Having seen her safely on the tram, Mick lost no time in making his way to his father’s house. Answering the knock on the door, Ernie Fellowes was amazed to see his son standing there. ‘Mick!’ His face creased in an astonished smile. ‘Oh, Mick…’ Then his gaze fell on Mick’s coat, which was stained with blood. ‘What’s happened? Are you hurt?’ The smile fell away. ‘Come inside, lad, quick!’

  Ernie could see now that Mick wasn’t hurt as he’d first thought. Yet he didn’t know what to think as he let Mick through the door. His son was here, at his home, after all this time. It was a miracle.

  ‘I need to talk with Ruth.’ Mick had no time to explain, only to come straight to the point.

  Opening the parlour door, Ernie ushered him in. As Mick brushed by, there was a tear in the older man’s eye. ‘I can’t believe it,’ he kept saying. ‘You’re in my house. I can’t believe it.’ In his heart, he prayed it might be a new beginning.

  Ruth and her mam looked up as Mick walked in. ‘I’ve come with a message from John,’ he said urgently, and to their horror, began to relate what the wounded man had told him. The two women, one pregnant and nearly at her time, clung together in fear.

  Outside, in the lonely dark street, Ellie lingered on the pavement. Mick had been so frantic to get her on the tram home that she had sensed there was something he wasn’t telling her. Convinced that something had gone on between him, Larry and John when she was away summoning help, it occurred to her that he might be in some kind of danger and didn’t want her involved. With this in mind, the minute his back was turned, she had sneaked off the tram to follow him on foot.

  ‘Something’s not right,’ she murmured fretfully. ‘I’m not leaving here without Mick!’ Raising her clenched fist, she was about to knock on the door when Peter Williams sprang out of the darkness and sent her flying. ‘If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep well out of my way!’ he warned, as she lay, hurt and shaken, on the ground. Then, standing back, Peter sent his two henchmen in to kick down the door.

  In the parlour, Mick was already yelling out instructions. ‘Take the women out the back,’ he told his father. ‘Get as far away as possible. I’ll keep the buggers busy as long as I can.’

  Peter and his men burst into the room before Ernie could take Ruth and Freda to safety. Mick stood his ground, ready for the fight of his life. The two thugs made straight for him, and there followed a long, brutal exchange of blows. Mick gave as good as he got, and for a moment it seemed he might even come through the victor. But when one of the men hit him hard across the back of the head with a chair, he went down like a felled ox. Peter Williams stood back, his eyes on Ruth who, with Freda and Ernie, had kept their distance. Now, seeing his son bloodied and broken on the floor, Ernie gave a blood-curdling scream and launched himself at the two men. But he was no match for them and soon he too had buckled beneath their fists.

  When Freda ran to help him the two thugs grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away; not even the sound of her sobbing could touch their miserable souls.

  Cold-hearted and merciless, Peter took Ruth by the throat. ‘I had a mind to have you back,’ he murmured sweetly in her ear. ‘Now though, seeing the company you’ve been keeping, I don’t think I could ever take you to my bed again.’

  Convinced he was about to kill them all, Ruth pleaded with him. ‘Don’t hurt them any more,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll do whatever you say.’

  Laughing in her face, he growled, ‘You don’t understand, do you? You’ve humiliated me. I don’t want you!’ His two hands closed around her throat, and he leered at her as she began to lose consciousness. In the background Freda began to scream, then stopped abruptly as she was smacked hard in the mouth.

  Suddenly the sound of Ellie’s voice rang in Ruth’s head. ‘LEAVE HER ALONE! GET OFF HER!’ There was a scuffle, but Ellie continued to shout and threaten; she was not so easily silenced.

  In his dazed mind, Mick heard Ellie’s cries. He opened his eyes to see one brute tearing at her blouse while the other held her skirt high, showing her underclothes. ‘Seems a shame to waste a pretty young thing like this,’ he was saying.

  Enraged, Mick found the strength to shake off his pain and confusion. Scrambling to his feet, he leapt across the room, astonishing the two men who instantly threw Ellie aside. But they had not reckoned on the wrath of a man who had seen his father lying beaten on the floor, and the woman he adored being manhandled by filth not worth naming. With the cry of a madman, Mick flung himself through the air at them, startling Peter, who relaxed his grip on Ruth’s neck, giving her the chance to run from him. Mick’s first blow knocked down one of the thugs and, driven by rage and hatred, he was like a giant, pinning Peter to the wall with his fists while the second brute flailed helplessly at his back. Ellie grabbed the poker from the fireplace and was about to strike Mick’s attacker from behind when suddenly she was embraced by Larry, and the room filled with policemen.

  When the three men had been handcuffed, Ruth told the police she believed Peter Williams was responsible for the deaths of Ellie’s parents. At that moment, Ellie relived the full horror of that Christmas night, and she knew that Ruth’s words rang true.

  Larry looked at the smug grin on the face of Peter Williams, and read his guilt. It took three officers to keep Larry off the monster who had murdered his parents and nearly destroyed his life.

  PART FOUR

  NEW YEAR’S DAY 1936

  FULL CIRCLE

  Chapter Eighteen

  The old year was over and now, with the dawning of a new year, the bad things seemed a long way off. Gathered round the big table in Jonas Carter’s office, Ellie and her sister, together with their grandad and Larry, were about to hear the Last Will and Testament of their grandmother, Ada Williams.

  Before he went any further, Jonas told them how he had been summoned to the hospital, and there found Ada sinking fast. ‘She was determined to talk to us,’ he said. ‘Between the three of us, myself, the doctor, and Ada, she managed to communicate everything, little by little. It took a long time, but we managed it.’ He pointed to the will set out in front of him. ‘Your grandmother was a very special lady,’ he said. ‘There was never anything wrong with her mind, as you will see when I read out her last wishes.’

  He then proceeded to read the following message:

  … I have never been happy with what I did all those years ago. Leaving my baby daughter Sylvia has haunted me throughout my later life, and when I set about putting things right, a terrible tragedy took her from me.

  At first I imagined it was a fitting punishment for my sins; then after a time I began to suspect that my son had killed her, so he would not lose the inheritance he believed was his.

  Sadly, therefore, my beloved daughter is not able to enjoy the money I am leaving behind.

  I, Ada Hermione Williams, leave all my worldly belongings to my two granddaughters Betsy and Ellie Bolton, and to my grandson Larry Bolton who I now know was hurt badly in trying to save his parents. I pray they will be happy and content in a more secure future.

  I ask that they will spend the money wisely, and try not to think of me too harshly…

  Ada’s hand, he told them all, was held by him while she signed this last document.

  Afterwards, with two nurses and a second lawyer present, the letter was signed, dated and witnessed by both the solicitor and two doctors, who certified that the patient was of sound mind.

  Betsy was so excited she could hardly sit still. ‘All that money!’ she gloated. ‘Whatever will I do with it?’

  Larry and his grandfather sat quietly, thinking.

  Ellie was stunned. She had never known her grandmother, and now she was gone, so she would never get the chance. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ she asked her grandfather, and when he began to cry, she was mortified. ‘It’s all right.’ She put her arms round him. ‘I know you did what you thought was
right.’ Let the past go now, she thought. There was nothing to be gained by raking it up.

  Mr Carter offered any help they might need once the money had come through. ‘There will be a lot of red tape,’ he warned. ‘It may take some time.’

  Bertie shook his hand and thanked him for being such a good friend to Ada. ‘And for being there at the end, when none of us could be.’ There were tears of sorrow in his eyes; relief too, in a strange way. Ada had haunted him for so many years, and now she was gone.

  ‘In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise that her son Peter was not there,’ the solicitor said compassionately. ‘Otherwise, who knows what might have happened?’

  Larry stood up on his own two legs and walked across the room to shake Mr Carter’s hand. ‘Thank God that monster is away behind bars, where he belongs. To think he can claim kinship to us as our uncle – ugh! I hope they string him up from the highest tree for what he’s done.’

  Thankfully, with the recovery of his strength, the all-consuming hatred had finally gone away. But the memory of the night he had finally run the bastard to ground would stay with Larry Bolton for ever.

  When the business was concluded, Mr Carter showed them out. ‘I’ll be in touch,’ he said, and they went away, deeply thoughtful and a little saddened.

  All but Betsy, who kept on about how she would make sure Peggy and Ted had everything they had ever wanted, and how she would pack in her job at the factory the very next day. Ellie laughed sadly, despite herself. Some things never changed! And one of them was her incorrigible twin sister!

  * * *

  Three days before the twins’ sixteenth birthday, the legacy from their grandmother came through.

  On the day of the actual party, everyone was there. John, who still had one arm in plaster, had recovered really well after the terrible beating. On his good arm was Ruth, as bonny as ever, cuddling her three-month-old son, Nathan John. Freda and Ernie were there, full of smiles, Grandad with his Tilly, Betsy and Peggy and Ted, hugging each other and exuding a happiness at their new closeness.