Peace In My Heart

by Freda Lightfoot

  ‘Come on, let’s find a telephone box and give them a ring.’

  To her dismay Joanne discovered that Megan had not yet arrived. She tactfully pointed out that her sister was very likely on her way. Aunt Annie was greatly surprised to hear that Megan would soon be returning, not having told them. ‘Night is almost upon us so a train may not be available. She could be stuck on some platform or other. I promise to keep a watch out for her and suggest you ring again first thing in the morning, or later tonight if you like,’ Annie said, which they readily agreed to do.

  Joanne and Bernie then hurried over to Victoria Station, searching the platforms and waiting rooms but sadly found no sign of her. ‘You do sometimes have to change trains, so she could be stuck at another station, Wigan, Preston or wherever as Aunt Annie suggested. She could have fallen asleep and got lost some place. I’ll hang around here and catch the first train I can to check out those possible stations and various platforms. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find her,’ Bernie said, giving Joanne a comforting hug. ‘I’ll ring you at the hotel when I do.’

  ‘Thank you so much. I’ll keep looking for her here, and check the library.’

  Not having received a much-needed call from him, the next morning Joanne rang Aunt Annie again. She was greatly disturbed to hear Megan still hadn’t arrived, the two landladies’ response increasingly concerned. Joanne explained how they were still desperately looking for her and that Bernie was checking various stations and might arrive soon. Promising to ring again, she handed over the hotel number in case they received any news.

  Joanne then rushed to the flat, finding her mother restlessly walking round and round in an obvious state of anguish and looking utterly exhausted, as was she too, having suffered a mainly sleepless night. ‘So far we’ve failed to find Megan anywhere,’ she sadly informed her, going on to explain how and where they’d searched and the response from the dear landladies.

  ‘Then I’ll go off to the library to see if she was indeed so busy reading in a corner that she found herself locked in,’ Evie said, pulling on her coat.

  ‘Good idea. I’ll investigate the various parks where she loved to play games, in case she had an accident there, and I’ll again ring the aunts.’

  ‘You search for her too, Danny,’ Evie called as she dashed off.

  Turning to Joanne, Danny said, ‘Actually, I’ll go and speak to Willie. The last time I spoke to him was when I tried to get his help to stop his father from insisting that Mam continue working for him. He said the reason was probably because he felt in sore need of freely employing a woman to do domestic jobs in the house, provide him with good food and take care of him. Since Mam obviously refused that, mebbe his father is attempting to persuade Megan to work for him instead.’

  ‘What a terrifying thought,’ Joanne said. ‘Are you suggesting that Mam and I should tackle Harold Mullins and see if that’s what he’s up to?’

  ‘No, don’t you do that. Mam has gone off to the library, which might be the solution. You can check if those landladies have any news yet, as well as visit those parks for the reason you mentioned. I’ll speak to Willie again to see what he knows and ask for his help. Then we’ll decide what to do next.’

  Sharing a nod of agreement and a deeply anxious gaze, they each set off in search of Megan.

  ‘What would I know?’ Willie tartly remarked. ‘As I said, I don’t get on well with my father. He largely ignores me, just treating me like a servant to do all the chores Mum used to do.’

  ‘Has he taken our Megan to mek her do such work? That’s what’s worrying me,’ Danny snapped.

  Willie shook his head. ‘I haven’t seen her around, although I do understand why you’re anxious about that possibility. I’m sorry to hear that she’s missing, being a pretty little girl.’

  ‘You’re almost as bad as him, ’appen worse, considering what you did to my young sister. It’s time to grow up and get over such nonsense and the nasty things you did.’

  ‘Stop accusing me of such rubbish,’ he roared. ‘I do regret what I jokingly did when I saw her by the canal that day, probably as a result of the mess my family was in during the war. My mum having been tragically killed did leave me in a state of mental anguish.’

  Knowing he’d heard his mother tell him this, Danny couldn’t really see why Willie was mentioning it right now, but felt he must be a little sympathetic. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. I assume she was bombed wherever she lived or worked?’

  ‘No, she wasn’t. She drowned when the barge we used to live in crashed into a bridge. Dad was always quite mocking and would tell me off whenever I showed a gloomy response over the loss of my lovely mum, claiming I should put her out of my mind and concentrate on the future. He doesn’t miss her, as I told you, the pair of them never having got on terribly well. Absolutely wrong in my humble opinion. How can I ever get over losing her? As a consequence, I do suffer the odd nightmare and have had some depression and psycho problems.’

  Danny felt slightly surprised by all that he’d just heard and the anguish still glittering in this lad’s eyes. ‘I can understand that. You’ve sadly done loads of stupid mad things over the years, to me as well as to my younger sister.’

  An echo of guilt flickered in his eyes. ‘I know, that’s partly because I’ve allus felt a bit jealous of you and your family, being much closer than mine. Sorry about that. But as I said when we had that previous conversation, I’m not as guilty as my dad.’

  ‘According to my mother he was a difficult man to work for, mainly because he’s involved in betting, which is illegal, and allus horrible to her when she didn’t deliver sufficient of the money owed him. Not at all as bad as your nasty tricks. I’ve certainly been told of what you did to my younger sister back in Keswick when she was just a young lass.’

  ‘What the bleedin’ hell are you talking about?’ Willie snarled. ‘You and I did have problems back then and I admit to being responsible for that thieving of fruit and veg, still being in a savage mess because of the tragedy I’d suffered and not wishing to be nicked. But I never saw or touched Megan back then, not as I stupidly did by way of a joke when I saw her by the canal, and do apologize for that.’

  ‘Oh aye, and you did touch her by the lake in Keswick, grabbed her bum then displayed a part of yourself.’

  Willie fell into a stunned silence for some minutes, then sternly remarked, ‘I never did. That could have been my dad. He came to visit me on the odd occasion when I was living there.’

  ‘What?’ Danny stared at him aghast. ‘Are you suggesting your father is a pervert, not you?’

  ‘I am. Like I say, I’ve never done owt as bad as he does. I did once suspect he fancied your sister Joanne, so I followed her on occasions to check she was safe.’

  ‘I never knew that. We allus assumed you were the problem. Why would it be him?’

  ‘Because he’s an idiot and, as you’ve pointed out, something of a pervert. I did see him once attempt to fondle your mother when he was talking to her in the Dog and Duck about that shoplifting you were charged with. I was sneaking a look through the window, reckoning I might be charged too but fortunately wasn’t. He obviously fancied her.’

  ‘Good Lord, what a nightmare if what you’ve said about his attack on Megan in the past is true. So if he has taken control of my sister again, she could be in serious danger. Where the hell do you reckon she might be?’

  ‘Not sure I can answer that. I could take you to have a look in our house, just in case she’s there, then I’ll mebbe come up with other possibilities. We could give it a go. I certainly feel willing to be your mate and help.’

  Danny met his open-eyed gaze with an element of surprise in his own, then seeing Willie put out his hand he readily shook it. ‘Right, I’m desperate to find her so show me whatever you can and I’ll see if I can start to trust you.’

  Evie found no sign of Megan in the library. Speaking to the librarian she was told that they did know her quite well since she frequently c
ame to read there, but hadn’t seen her for some days. Evie desperately explained how her daughter had supposedly set off to come to the library then gone missing. ‘If she wasn’t here then she may have returned to Blackpool, where she’d once been evacuated.’ Feeling the need to express her fears she went on to say how she dreaded the prospect that Harold Mullins, her former employer, might have kidnapped her daughter as a punishment for abandoning her job. ‘Sorry, to bother you with all of this, but that’s what I must go and investigate.’

  ‘Ah, I can see that’s a possibility since he’s a difficult man who tragically lost his wife. I have details of her death, were you interested to read it,’ the librarian said. And going over to a section of the bookshelves containing old newspapers, handed her one. Evie read what she showed her in stunned dismay, remembering her dear friend Jane, then she slammed it shut, thanked this kind lady and dashed off.

  ‘Have you found her?’ Evie yelled when she bounced into the flat finding Joanne waiting impatiently for her.

  Her daughter shook her head. ‘I’ve looked everywhere but found no sign, and again rang the landladies and spoke to Aunt Sadie this time. She said Aunt Annie is out searching for her too.’

  ‘Oh, my goodness, what a mess she could be in. Would you believe what I’ve just learned from the librarian?’ As she started to speak of what she’d been shown in that old newspaper, the door opened and Danny and Willie came dashing in. She quickly stopped talking to run over with an appeal in her eyes for good news, only to find Danny sadly shake his head.

  ‘We’ve searched Mullins’s house, thanks to Willie here, and found no sign of her. I take it you two haven’t either, so where do we look next?’

  ‘Heaven help us, I’ve no idea,’ Joanne said, filled with despair.

  ‘Hasn’t Bernie gone looking for her too? Have you heard from him?’

  Joanne shook her head. ‘Not yet, he’s probably busy checking Wigan and Preston.’

  ‘So why hasn’t he rung you? Could it be that he’s run off with her?’

  ‘What?’ This suggestion filled Joanne with alarm. Bernie and Megan were good friends and her sister was quite fond of him. But bearing in mind how he treated her like a young sister, and how close he’d come to herself yesterday evening, why would she consider such a possibility? It was a sensation she instantly banished from her mind. ‘Don’t talk nonsense. He would never do that. Bernie fully respects her and fears Megan may have fallen asleep and missed getting off the train at the right place. He is busily searching for her at various stations.’

  ‘Let’s hope you’re right but what if you don’t hear from him soon? How can you prove he’s not the guilty one?’

  ‘Because he’s a kind and caring friend.’ Joanne felt most grateful when her mother put her arm about her and assured her son that she believed Bernie to be a most pleasant young man who would never do such a dreadful thing. It was then that she heard Willie give a little cough. Looking into his pale face she was shocked by the guilt she saw enveloping it.

  ‘Are you the one who ran off with her?’ Evie asked.

  Taking a deep breath, he gave a firm shake of his head. ‘No, I’m as innocent as hopefully that Bernie fellow is. But feel there’s more I should tell you, Mrs Talbert. I heard what you started to say about my mum when we walked in. I should perhaps inform you that I saw her drown. She’d been having a row with Dad about a woman he’d been having an affair with. In fury, he knocked her off our barge. She fell backwards into the canal and when she screamed, not being much of a swimmer, he made no attempt to save her, just spun the steering wheel round and smashed the boat into her.’

  ‘Oh, my God, what a dreadful story.’

  ‘And now I’m thinking that with my father’s liking for women and young girls, and the fact that he is no doubt the one who assaulted Megan back in the past, it could mean he has taken her away some place.’

  ‘The prospect of her being assaulted by Mullins, as I was, is too dreadful to contemplate,’ Evie said, looking frozen in horror. ‘Or could she too be killed as she would never allow him to assault her?’

  ‘Heaven help her, where could she be? We must find her.’

  ‘As he still owns a barge, that’s where she could be,’ Willie said. ‘Come on, I’ll take you there now.’

  The expression on her mother’s face showed her desperate wish to believe that Willie was entirely wrong and Megan would come home soon or else had safely arrived in Blackpool. Joanne leaped to her feet, eager to join Danny and Willie in this search. Insisting her mother stayed home in case Megan did turn up, she instructed her to call the police if they were not back soon. Then the three of them hurried off in search of her beloved sister.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Joanne couldn’t help thinking what a worrying suggestion Danny had made implying Megan might have run off with Bernie some place. Why would he do that and surely she could trust him? Whether she could trust this young lad, Willie, was very much open to question. Could he be the guilty party or was his accusation of his father absolutely correct? What a terrifying horror to think Harold Mullins might have kidnapped and assaulted her. Was that possible and where on earth could Megan be? What a nightmare this was. Whatever she’d suffered from Teddy, that GI, was nothing by comparison to what her dear sister could be facing now.

  They ran between smoke-blackened warehouses and tumbledown sheds, stepping over the criss-crossed railway lines that linked the various wharfs. Fog from the canal rolled around the lamplights as they hurried along the street. The darkness of the alleyways around the canal basin filled Joanne with nervousness and she found herself taking in gulps of cool evening air, but the sour stink of the canal did her no good at all. She was also alarmed to hear the squeaking of rats as they scuttled under the bridge, and to see sections of the black swirling canal water glinting in the light from a pale moon. The possibility Megan might be dumped in the canal, as that man’s wife had been, was too terrifying to contemplate.

  ‘Here it is,’ Willie said, reaching a barge hooked up to the towpath. ‘I’ll go in first, and you follow me when I give you a shout.’

  It was a long narrow boat, painted green at the prow, a row of four windows down each side and the stern with a steering wheel at the back, the roof trimmed with blue. Joanne itched to go in with him but hid with Danny beneath a nearby tree quite close to the barge, carefully listening for him to call. They waited for some long moments, hearing nothing.

  ‘What if Willie’s been lying to us and it’s him who’s locked Megan up and is now going to hurt her?’ Joanne eventually whispered.

  Danny glanced at her in dismay. ‘Lord, I hadn’t thought of that. I’ve never trusted him either so why would I do that now? Come on, let’s go.’

  ‘Quietly, right?’ Joanne said.

  They crept over and climbed onto the prow. Leaning close to the door, they attempted to listen to whatever was going on inside. She could hear some harsh mumbling, sounding as if Willie was engaged in a row with his father, but couldn’t quite get a grip on what was being said. ‘I haven’t heard him call out for us, have you? Can you hear what they’re saying?’ she whispered to Danny.

  ‘I heard his father say, “don’t you boss me, lad, I’ll do what I wish.” The thing is, how can we trust either of them?’ They heard a loud bang and glanced at each other in shock. The conversation went silent after that, save for a weird sound of scraping and clattering.

  ‘There could be a problem so we’re going in now,’ Joanne snapped and, pushing open the door, stepped into the cabin.

  She saw Willie lying on the floor, looking unconscious, Harold Mullins apparently in the process of dragging him through the far door. Looking up, he stared at them in shock. ‘What the bleedin’ hell are you doing here?’

  ‘We’re searching for my missing sister,’ Joanne firmly stated. ‘Do you know where she is? Willie did suggest we should call here to search for her.’

  ‘And what have you done to your son?’ Danny as
ked.

  ‘He fell, so that’s his fault. And why would I know where your sister is? Nowt to do wi’ me.’

  ‘Oh, I think it is,’ Joanne sternly remarked. ‘Willie suggested you might have kidnapped her as a punishment for my mother’s refusal to keep on working for you. Why would she wish to do that when you’re an absolute bastard, constantly harassing and threatening her with assault? If that’s the case, hand her over right now. If we don’t take her home soon, Mam will call the police.’

  He snorted. ‘She’d never have the courage to do that.’

  It was then they heard a loud whistling out on the towpath.

  ‘Ah, I reckon they might have arrived already. Well done, Mam,’ Danny said.

  Turning on his heel, Mullins shoved him aside and dashed out of the door. Seconds later they saw him charging off along the towpath being pursued by the police. Having fortunately come round, Willie struggled to his feet, looking a bit dazed, then took them along to a tiny cabin at the far end of the barge. ‘I saw Dad heading for this cabin when I arrived and I challenged him, asking if this was where Megan was locked up. We had a row then he yanked me away, gave me a thump and knocked me over. I felt a tumult of fear that he might chuck me in the canal, as he had done with my mum, and was so glad to see you two arrive.’

  ‘How do we get in that cabin if it’s locked?’ Danny quickly asked.

  ‘I know where the keys are kept,’ Willie said and rushing to a board grabbed the necessary.

  Unlocking the cabin door, they found Megan tied up with rope and a scarf stuffed in her mouth, looking entirely unconscious. Danny swiftly unfastened her and Joanne gathered her close in her arms to gently wake her. Seeing her sister’s pale blue eyes flood with tears when she saw them, Joanne gave her a soft kiss. ‘Don’t cry, lovey, you’re quite safe now.’

  A policewoman came hurrying in with two ambulance men and Megan was lifted onto a stretcher and taken to hospital, Joanne and Danny accompanying her. Willie too was taken with them, having been hit over the head. What a relief Joanne now felt in her heart, although still an anxiety that Megan could have been harmed by that dreadful man.