by Rosie Clarke
She shook her head. ‘No, not yet. I’ll say goodbye when they bring him back to – to the funeral parlour.’ She couldn’t have him in the house. She wouldn’t, whatever people thought.
‘I’ll take you back then,’ her father said ‘Your mother will stay with you tonight – unless you’d rather come home with us?’
‘I’d rather do that, if it’s all right?’
‘Yes, of course it is. We should all stick together at a time like this…’
*
Beth lay awake long after her children were tucked up in bed and her parents had said goodnight. Both her father and mother had given her some odd looks, as if they expected her to weep or have hysterics. Beth felt like laughing hysterically, because the whole situation was so farcical. Everyone thought her nice kind husband was a hero and the truth was that he was a cheat and a liar and worse…
Beth couldn’t mourn the man who’d raped and humiliated her and made her children’s lives a misery: Matt was so afraid that he’d screamed whenever Bernie bent over him. Yet she couldn’t celebrate her release either, because a man had died and three innocent girls had been injured. Beth felt numb and uncertain of the future, because although Bernie couldn’t hurt her anymore, she was going to carry the memory of what he’d done for a long time.
Chapter 21
‘Oh, Beth,’ Lizzie said when Beth went to her the next day, and they embraced. ‘You shouldn’t feel guilty, love – none of this is your fault.’
‘I know, but he did try to save those girls… how can I tell anyone what he was really like, Lizzie?’
‘You can’t for the moment,’ Lizzie agreed.
‘Yes, I know,’ Beth agreed. ‘What should I do, Lizzie? Everyone is talking as though Bernie is a hero, but he was a nasty bully – and I wish I’d never trusted him. My marriage was the worst thing I’ve ever done. He was a bully and a crook…’
‘Will you attend his funeral?’
‘I don’t see how I can avoid it; I’m his wife…’
‘If you go I’ll be with you,’ Lizzie said and hesitated. ‘Why don’t you let Ed give those things you found to your father? I think he would be upset if he knew you’d hidden it all from him. Ed knows more than we realize, but he won’t tell me details. Shall I ask him to talk to your father?’
‘I think I’ll tell him this evening and if he believes me he can ask Ed for the books and money and decide what he thinks is the best thing to do.’ Beth drew a shaky breath. ‘I’m sure Bernie has asked someone to kill you – the police ought to know that…’
‘You don’t know who it was?’ Beth shook her head. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be careful – besides, why would they bother now Bernie’s dead? If he paid them, they’ve got the money for nothing, and if he didn’t they wouldn’t get paid.’
Beth sighed with relief, ‘Do you really think it’s all right?
‘Yes, I think so.’ Lizzie was thoughtful. ‘I guessed he was behind those other attacks and I was in danger then but they’re both gone now.’
‘It’s all horrid,’ Beth shuddered. ‘To think I married a man mixed up with such dirty things; it makes me feel sick and… unclean.’
‘You couldn’t have known,’ Lizzie said and gave her arm a squeeze. ‘We all make mistakes, love. Yours was in trusting a man who wasn’t worthy of your trust.’
Beth grimaced. ‘I don’t seem to have much luck in men, do I?’ She shook her head. ‘It was my own fault. I thought marriage to Bernie was the easy way out and I should’ve known better.’
‘Well, make a clean breast of it to your father and let him decide, Beth. Your parents wanted you to marry Bernie; they encouraged you and it’s right that your father at least should know the truth. I’ll come round and be with you if you like?’
‘No, it’s all right,’ Beth said and raised her head. ‘I can tell him – after all Bernie is dead and Dad can’t go charging round there after him now…’
*
‘The filthy pig!’ Beth’s father exploded with fury as she haltingly reached the part in her story where her husband had raped and abused her. It wasn’t easy confessing such awful things to her father but she’d had to tell him everything so he understood. ‘If you’d told me I’d have killed him.’
‘And where would that have left Mum and all of us?’ Beth smiled at him mistily because he’d believed her immediately and she’d been afraid he might think she was making it up. ‘I didn’t want you to hang for Bernie, Dad. I wanted to tell you and Mum so many times, but I couldn’t – and it isn’t the worst of it.’
Her father’s expression grew grimmer by the second as she continued her story of corruption and brutality.
‘I’m almost certain it was Lizzie he was planning to kill and that he had her premises attacked and that awful man shadowing her; she was attacked but a young soldier on leave stopped her being badly hurt…’
‘He might have succeeded in having Lizzie killed. It’s a pity you didn’t let me go to the police, Beth…’
‘Yes, I know,’ Beth said a little sob in her throat. ‘You and Mum were so keen on Bernie and I thought you might not believe me.’
‘And you were frightened of him, of course,’ her father nodded. ‘I’m to blame as much as you, Beth. If you’d known you could rely on me, you would’ve come to me at the start – but I haven’t always been fair to you. When I heard that you were pregnant I was so angry with you for letting me down. You know I love you, Beth. One shouldn’t have favourites, but you were mine – and that’s why it hurt because my precious little girl had stopped being a little girl and become a woman overnight…’
‘Oh Dad,’ Beth gave a cry of relief as he took her into his arms and held her close for a moment. ‘I’m so sorry. I never meant to let you down, but I loved Mark and…’
‘Shush now. It’s over and I’ve forgiven you – how could I not forgive when you’ve given me those beautiful grandchildren?’
Beth gulped and let him wipe the tears from her cheeks. ‘Thank you – so you’ll talk to Ed then?’
‘Yes, and we’ll look at the notebooks and then we’ll take them and the money to the police. You know they will confiscate it if it’s from unlawful earnings?’
‘I don’t want a penny of it, Dad. I don’t want anything of Bernie’s – not his house or his money.’
‘Well, we’ll see what the law has to say about things when they’ve investigated. You may be entitled to something as his wife.’
‘If I am I’ll give it to charity.’ Beth’s chin went in the air. ‘I don’t need dirty money.’
Her father smiled and nodded his head approvingly. ‘I’m proud of you, Beth. Leave it to me now – and the funeral. You won’t need to attend. I’ll go to represent you. I’ll tell people you’re not up to it – and when the scandal breaks, they’ll know why you didn’t go.’
‘People will think I knew what he was when we married – and perhaps I should have guessed about the black market racket he was involved in.’
‘I was fooled and so were most. Folk won’t believe it for the start, but I’ll make sure they don’t blacken your name… You’re my daughter, Beth, and if you want you can stay here with your mum and me. She’ll look after the twins for you, at least some of the time.’
‘Lizzie told me I can live with her and work for her again – and she’s giving me a quarter share in Oliver’s workshops. I told her it was too much, but she insisted she wanted to do it and I’m grateful. I’ll do part-time; it will give me more time with the children, but I’ll still get the pleasure of going to work and seeing Lizzie often. Now that she’s got two workshops to look after, she will be busier than ever.’
‘What will happen when her husband comes home?’ Beth’s father asked. ‘It’s all right you living there while he’s away but he won’t want you and the twins there when he gets back.’
Beth frowned. ‘I’m not sure, Dad, but I’ll have a bit of money coming in by then and perhaps I’ll find a house of my own. Who knows what might happen.’
‘It’s a pity you didn’t marry Tony,’ her father said. ‘He’s got that nice little shop of his with its own flat – but I heard he was going to marry the girl that looks after it for him…’
‘Yes, well, I expect they’ve grown close,’ Beth said and swallowed the pain her father had unknowingly inflicted. ‘Besides, Tony made it clear that he didn’t want me after I had the twins… he’s even less likely to once he hears what kind of a man I married…’
Her father stared at her hard. ‘I’m sorry, Beth. I didn’t know you still cared for Tony.’
‘I don’t,’ she said and blinked hard. ‘Of course I don’t. I doubt if I could ever love or trust any man as a husband again.’
He touched her face gently, sympathy in his own. ‘If Bernie wasn’t dead, I’d strangle him with my bare hands… I’m sorry I didn’t look after you better, love.’
Beth sniffed and swiped her hand over her eyes. ‘Forget it, Dad. I’m not a child. I should’ve known better than to trust that worm…’
Her father nodded, then, ‘Well, I’m going to have a chat with Ed and then I expect we shall go the police with the evidence, so you’re going to have to be a big girl, Beth, because it isn’t going to be pleasant for a while for any of us. You’d better tell your mother, at least some of it, but spare her the sordid details, because it would upset her too much. Just let her know what to expect, because it isn’t something we can keep a secret…’
*
Beth’s mother wept when she retold the story she’d told her father, leaving out a few of the details she hadn’t spared him, as he’d suggested. She groped for her handkerchief and wiped her face, and then got up and embraced Beth.
‘I’m so sorry, love. I should have thought more, because I suspected he was dabbling in the black market, but I was so worried about Mary and I thought you were lucky to get a chance for a new life – if I’d only known about the other stuff…’
‘You couldn’t have known, Mum, no one did,’ Beth said. ‘I didn’t want to tell you any of it, but you have to know. Dad says we can’t keep this quiet…’
‘No, we can’t,’ her mother agreed. ‘Nor should we try. You were blameless, Beth. Your husband was a scoundrel and I’m not going to pretend he was a hero just because he pushed those girls out of the fire.’
‘I can’t pretend to mourn him or to think he was a hero either.’
‘Nor should you! To think of all the misery, he caused you, as well as Lizzie – and we all blamed Harry’s uncle for what happened to her. Well, it just shows you can’t judge a man by appearances. Who would have guessed what he was really capable of?’
‘We knew he must buy from the black market, Mum,’ Beth said. ‘I suppose we should’ve been warned.’
‘Yes, but a lot of people buy an extra bit of sugar or dried fruit if they can,’ her mother reasoned. ‘They aren’t all bad, Beth.’
That was true and Beth didn’t want to argue the point. She just wanted to forget her marriage had ever happened, but the police were going to want to question her, and if it all came out in the papers she’d be questioned by reporters and photographed in the street as the wife of the villain Bernie Wright.
Beth cringed at the thought, because she felt humiliated enough as it was and she didn’t want people thinking she’d condoned Bernie’s activities – but she didn’t want them to pity her either.
She was on thorns until her father returned looking grim. The news he brought was worrying, because the police had not only believed her story but told her father that they’d been investigating Bernie for some time. They’d taken the notebooks and the money, listened to his story and told him that someone would come to interview Beth in the morning.
‘They don’t want you to go down the station, Beth. You’re not under suspicion, love, but they will ask you to confirm everything I’ve told them – and then we shall have to wait and see…’
Chapter 22
‘I’ve been told not to leave London, as the police might want to interview me again,’ Beth said to Lizzie the next afternoon when she arrived at the workshops after her visit to the police station. ‘They made me feel as if I’d done something wrong, though the Inspector did say that I’d acted properly in handing important evidence to the police.’
‘Oh, that’s just their way, Beth. It isn’t pleasant, but I suppose they have to be suspicious of everyone; it’s their job.’
‘If I’d been involved with Bernie’s nasty little rackets I wouldn’t have handed over the money I found,’ Beth said bitterly. ‘I suppose I have to be thankful that they didn’t come at one in the morning with a warrant to search the house.’
‘If the incident at the factory hadn’t happened, it might very well have been their next step.’
‘Yes…’ Beth shuddered. ‘I can still hardly believe what sort of man I married, Lizzie…’
‘You didn’t know what he was,’ Lizzie said but Beth still looked upset.
‘I didn’t know some of it, but I did know he was into the black market,’ she said at last. ‘It should’ve told me that he wasn’t honest… I ought never to have married him…’ Beth choked back a sob.
‘Oh, Beth love,’ Lizzie comforted as best she could. ‘Try not to dwell on things, because there’s nothing you can do now…’
‘I know…’ Beth flicked the tears away with the back of her hand and picked up a sketchbook lying on the desk. ‘You’ve been busy I see…’
‘These are designs for my winter collection…’ Lizzie said. ‘I draw whatever I feel like and then Ed helps me work out if they are possible. I miss him being here. If I could find someone else to look after Oliver’s place, I would rather have Ed working with me.’
‘Couldn’t you just sell Oliver’s?’
‘That wouldn’t be fair to Aunt Miriam. The workshop was left to me for a reason, because he wanted it to continue and grow – besides, one day I may need it.’
‘You mean if your designs become so popular that you can’t manage all the production here?’
‘Something like that,’ Lizzie agreed, and then hesitated. ‘I suppose basic hats will always be wanted, but I want to concentrate on designer hats – so I’ll just let Oliver’s go on with the Government contracts and have the more expensive hats here. And whatever I do, I want you to be a part of it, Beth.’
‘Thank goodness for you, Lizzie. I was feeling as if I wanted to tear my hair out when I came round, but I feel better now.’
‘It isn’t going to be easy for you, love. Once the story gets out about Bernie, people will gossip – and you know what vicious tongues some of them have.’
‘Yes, I do, and I know what happened to your business when people saw the insults painted on your premises and Bert Oliver was spreading lies about you.’
‘Some of that was down to Bernie, though Harry’s uncle did try to ruin my business.’ Lizzie sighed and then brightened. ‘Well, that’s over now. We’ve got the future to look forward to…’
*
‘How are you, love?’ Lizzie asked when Beth entered her office, after a further meeting with the police a week or so later. ‘Has anything else happened?’
‘I’ve been warned not to say anything about Bernie or what he is suspected of having done. The police are investigating his affairs and they’ve uncovered a couple of houses that were being used for prostitution and gambling. Both have been closed down and the property confiscated by the Crown’
‘Oh, Beth, how awful. I mean the black market is one thing… but this other is nasty…’
‘It makes me feel dirty… to think that money paid for the clothes we wore and the food we ate…’
‘Will they confiscate everything – what about Bernie’s house? Does that belong to you, Beth?’
‘It came to Bernie through his father and since there’s nothing known about him it seems I could inherit the house – if I want it…’
‘Surely you can sell it? The money would be useful, Beth.’
‘That is what my mother says, but I’m not sure I want anything that belonged to Bernie, Lizzie.’
‘Well, that’s up to you, but I think he owes you – even if you put the money away for the twins.’
‘I suppose I could do that,’ Beth said. ‘Yet it goes against the grain somehow…’
‘You deserve something for what he did to you…’
‘I suppose so…’ Beth said. ‘Sometimes I get so angry about it all – but that’s a good thing. It stops me feeling sorry for myself.’
‘I think we all feel a bit sorry for ourselves sometimes,’ Lizzie said and laughed softly. ‘What with rationing on almost everything, the awful news from the war in the papers – and everyone living in dread of a telegram, we aren’t exactly having a good time, any of us. Even though the Luftwaffe have stopped bombing the hell out of us every night, we still get warnings and the occasional raid, if not in London on the coast somewhere. The threat is still there all the time…’
‘I suppose I have to think myself lucky we’re all alive and have got a roof over our heads,’ Beth said. ‘Would you mind if I moved in with you again soon, Lizzie? I won’t live at Bernie’s and don’t want to live with my parents. I’ve been waiting until this business with the police blows over, but I think they’re going to bury it in their archives.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘The Inspector,’ Beth said. ‘He says that they’ve gone as far as they can in the circumstances, but since Bernie is dead there’s no point in bringing a case against him.’
‘So that’s the end of it.’
Beth frowned. ‘Do you recall that man they fished out of the river several weeks ago – had his head bashed in?’
‘Yes…’ Lizzie frowned, ‘Why?’
‘Inspector Groves told me believes Bernie killed him. A witness has claimed he saw it happen but was too frightened to tell them at the time…’
‘Bernie killed him?’ Lizzie felt a cloud of doubt lift; she hadn’t been responsible for a man’s execution as she’d feared when she’d asked Jack to help her get rid of her shadow. ‘Are you sure?’