‘Damn and bugger it!’
Tearing the calendar off the wall he tore it to shreds. ‘How could I get it so wrong?’ He began pacing the floor. It doesn’t matter! he thought. Because now he knew, and he would need to rearrange his plans.
In turmoil, his mind raced ahead as he frantically started the engine and drew in the mooring line.
Within minutes he was going down the water full speed, talking to himself and making plans that would put him back in charge. ‘I’ll show her!’ he kept saying, ‘I’ll show the lot of ‘em.’
Behind him, the little group were getting ready to leave. ‘Did you see that bloke?’ the woman said.
‘What bloke?’ That was her companion.
‘That fella in a long coat and woolly hat? He left a few minutes ago.’
One of the men chuckled. ‘I saw him,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen him here before…a bit of a loner I reckon.’
‘Damned weirdo!’ she answered quietly. ‘He kept staring at me…real strange like.’
Laughing out loud, the other woman gave her a playful shove. ‘Give over, Sal!’ she said. ‘It’s more like you were staring at him!’
The fat man added to the merriment. ‘We all know you’re on the lookout for the next big romance.’
As they walked away, the woman kept glancing over her shoulder, watching, as the barge disappeared under the little bridge. ‘There’s something really scarey about that bloke,’ she muttered.
Merry from the drink, the fat man laughed. ‘He’s probably thinking the very same about you!’
They all laughed at that, though once they were in the car, she recalled the look in his eyes as he stared at her. Try as she might, she could not get the image out of her mind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‘I HATE PUTTING YOU to all this trouble, Father.’ Alice felt guilty. ‘Every day for two weeks you’ve picked me up and brought me to the hospital. Grandfather said he would take turns, or I could even get on the bus…or get a taxi. I don’t like taking you away from your work. I know how busy you are.’
Ronald shushed her. ‘I only lose an hour in the morning,’ he explained, ‘I don’t intend losing sleep over that! Besides, work will be here long after I’m dead and gone.’
He added, ‘Bringing you to hospital is my pleasure, and I get to see my grandsons. Anyway, I only bring you in. Grandfather collects you.’
He gave a contented grin. ‘So! You don’t need to order a taxi, not when you’ve got your own little taxi service. Besides, your grandfather and I would not have it any other way. Oh, and don’t forget these two little people are very special. Us two men mean to stay close to them…if that’s all right with you?’
‘Well, of course!’ Alice was shocked. ‘Why would you ask such a thing when you know perfectly well, I’d be deeply hurt if you didn’t want to be close to them!’
Ronald smiled at her. ‘Well, there you go then. So stop nagging at me and Grandfather. Doing our bit to help makes us feel useful anyway!’
‘Dad?’
‘Yes?’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Ask away.’
‘You will tell me the truth, won’t you?’
‘Of course.’
Alice paused, unsure as to whether he would even want to discuss it.
‘Well, come on then!’ He negotiated the entrance to the hospital, drove into the space and brought the car to a halt.
Switching off the engine, he asked again, ‘So, what’s on your mind, Alice? I’m anxious to get in and see my grandsons.’
When again she paused, he looked at her, and from her worried expression, he knew what she was thinking. ‘It’s your mother, isn’t it?’
Alice nodded.
‘I’m sorry love. Your mother is very stubborn. I’ve tried to persuade her but she’s not having any of it!’ He gave her a consolatory kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t worry yourself over it, sweetheart,’ he urged. ‘It’s her loss, not yours.’
Alice was saddened, but not surprised. ‘And Pauline?’
He shook his head. ‘The same!’
Seeing how he, too, was upset, Alice tugged at his sleeve. ‘Come on then! Stop hanging about when there are two wonderful little boys waiting to see their grandad!’
As they walked into the hospital arm in arm, Frank watched from his hiding place at the back of the car park.
‘How very cosy!’ he sneered. ‘Pity though! You two had better make the best of it while it lasts!’
Every day for a whole week he had watched the very same scene. Alice’s father bringing her in the morning, then her grandfather taking her away at night.
Having previously found a way inside without confrontation he had managed to gain knowledge of the layout, he had taken the trouble to make sure there had been no changes in and out of that place.
On each of his little exploratory trips he had skilfully dodged the police presence, and even found his way to the maternity unit.
And now after careful planning, he was almost ready to strike.
Chuckling to himself, he wended his way out of the car park, then down to the bus stop, where he boarded the bus.
Some time later, he got off at the canal bridge. Glancing furtively about, he then walked down the towpath and climbed on to his barge.
Once inside the cabin, he went straightaway to the far corner, where he turned the carpet back and drew out a fold of paper, which he then took to the galley, laying it out carefully on the drainer.
Flattening the creased paper with the palm of his hand, he took a minute to familiarise himself with it; making certain he had missed nothing out. After being painstakingly careful and devious, he did not intend failing now.
Sketched on to the paper was a map of the hospital. Now, using the tip of his finger, he traced every corridor, every exit and entry, and when he touched the outline of the maternity unit, where he knew Alice’s babies to be, he smiled, a deep and devious smile that betrayed his intent.
After a while, he took a pen from his pocket and began writing in untidy scrawl, alongside the map:
ALICE
MORNING
Arrives with father at eight-thirty. (He stays 15–20 minutes.) He leaves. She stays on.
EVENING
Grandfather collects her at eight-thirty. (He stays 30 minutes.) They both leave.
HOSPITAL STAFF
Baby care unit
MORNING
First nurse arrives at seven. Leaves at nine. (Give or take fifteen minutes.)
Second nurse arrives at ten. Relieves first nurse. Stays two hours – leaves midday – (give or take 10 minutes.)
AFTERNOON Too many people. (Morning; 9a.m.-10a.m.) is best. No nurse. Brats quiet. Alice goes for a little walk for fresh air.
The barge swayed back and forth as he danced around the cabin. ‘Ha! Thought they were rid of me did they?’ He had waited so long. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll be the one doing the visiting! I’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget!’
Pent up and excited, he could hardly wait. ‘In and out…quick as a wink. They won’t even know what’s hit ‘em!’
The next thing to do was to take the barge nearer to the hospital in order to make a quick getaway. ‘Now then…where’s the best place to be?’ he asked himself. ‘Out of sight of prying eyes, yet with a clear run out of the area.’
A smile whispered across his face. ‘Ah, yes! The very spot!
‘See where kindness gets you, eh, Jack?’ he giggled. ‘It gets you a final resting place in the deepest part of the canal. Poor Jack. Never to be seen again.’
In no time at all the engine was quietly ticking over, and the barge moved forward, silently slinking through the water.
Softly whistling, he steered the tiller left and right, before taking up a middle course, away from the towpath, where strolling lovers might grow curious.
The following morning, unaware that her sons were in danger, Alice walked with her father to the car. ‘I can’t believe how well
they’re doing,’ Ronald remarked. ‘After Father’s mad dash through the snow, and the race to get you here, I never thought the babies would thrive like they have.’
He put an arm round her as they walked on together. ‘Alan Joshua…and Michael Ronald.’ He gave a proud nod of the head. ‘Fine names for fine boys.’ Though he asked, ‘I thought you didn’t want names that could be shortened?’
Alice had changed her mind. ‘Maybe they won’t be shortened, and if they are, well I won’t really mind Ron and Al, they’re manly names don’t you think?’
He agreed. ‘Yes, I think so, and I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind at all.’
After seeing her father off, Alice returned to the unit, where the nurse was busy weighing the babies one by one. ‘My! But they’re doing just fine!’ Nurse McDonnell was a little Scottish person with a heart of gold, and a smile as wide as the Mersey tunnel. ‘If they keep gaining weight like this, they’ll be walking themselves out of here before you know it.’
When she now glanced up at Alice and saw her wipe away the tears, she placed the second baby in the cot and slid an arm around Alice’s shoulders. ‘Aw, hen…you shouldn’t be crying! You should be shouting from the rooftops. My babies are strong and well!’
Alice laughed through her tears. ‘Ssh! You’ll wake them all up!’
‘Ah, but your two are the only ones in this unit now,’ the nurse told her. ‘The other wee ones are back in the main unit. They’re coming on in leaps and bounds and, as you know, tomorrow they’re also due to go into the main unit.’
Alice hugged her back. ‘I can’t thank you all enough,’ she said. ‘With them being early like that, it really frightened me.’
‘Aw, they weren’t all that early. Besides, they’re chunky little fellows. That’s why they were fighting to come out…because there wasn’t enough room for them in that little frame of yours.’
Like everyone else, the nurse had followed the story in the papers. Having met Alice though, she saw a gentle soul, and someone who had suffered terribly for her mistakes.
‘You must be so thrilled,’ she told Alice now. ‘These babies are a credit to you. Another few days and I wouldn’t be surprised if the doctor didn’t tell you to take them home…’ she laughed out loud, ‘…before they start climbing out of the cots and making for the door!’
Just then the door in question opened and in bustled Nurse Baker, a tall thin person, the exact opposite to her jolly comrade. ‘Have they been bathed?’
‘Yes.’
‘Fed?’
‘All done.’
‘So, it’s just a change and weigh?’
The Scottish nurse winked at Alice. ‘That’s it, yes. Oh, and it’s just the twins. The others are already back in the main unit.’
‘Well, thank you, looks like you’ve already done most of my work.’
‘Aw, not at all! Since the other two have gone, it’s left me with a spare time, which I expect will be used up the minute Matron finds out.’
‘Well, it suits me today, because I’ve been told to report to Matron the minute I’ve finished here. And don’t ask me what it’s about, because I don’t know.’
Nurse McDonnell had a wicked sense of humour, which had got her into trouble on more than one occasion. With another wink at Alice, she quipped, ‘I expect Matron’s found out you keep disappearing into the cupboard with Doctor Jackson.’
With a straight face and pretending she had not heard, the other nurse told her sharply, ‘You might as well go now. I’ll take over from here. Thank you.’ And before she could change her mind, Nurse McDonnell scurried away.
Leaning over the cots, the nurse looked from one baby to the other, remarking thoughtfully, ‘Just look how they’ve come on! Such handsome little fellows, one blue-eyed, the other brown-eyed and from my experience, that’s not altogether usual.’
She smiled at Alice. ‘Mind you, I’ve only ever seen two sets of twins, one set of boys, totally identical in every way, and another with one of each sex, so I suppose it’s a bit silly of me to compare, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose so, yes.’ Alice had not liked this nurse the first time she met her, and she didn’t like her now. ‘While you’re seeing to the babies would you mind if I took a little walk to the front door and back?’
The nurse appeared relieved. ‘Not at all! I expect you’ve been here since early on. It’ll do you good to get a bit of fresh air and a cup of tea…though the tea from the machine isn’t the best in the world.’
She glanced at the babies, kicking their legs and twisting their little fingers against the cot side. ‘They’re no trouble,’ she told Alice. ‘Once they’re all weighed and changed and smelling nice, I’ll leave you to it.’
Alice went to her sons and stroked their heads, talking baby talk and thinking what a fortunate woman she was to have two such beautiful, healthy sons. ‘Nurse?’
‘Yes?’
‘I’d rather stay and help, if that’s all right?’
‘Oh, no, dear! That’s quite unnecessary,’ she answered condescendingly. ‘It’s best if I just get on. The sooner I’m done, the sooner you’ll be able to give them another cuddle or two, eh?’
Alice leaned over the cot to kiss her babies and softly tell them that she would be back very soon. Then reluctantly, she left, with the intention of being no longer than half an hour.
That was more than enough time for a cup of tea, and a breath of fresh air, and besides, she would much rather have stayed with her babies if that surly nurse had allowed her.
Alice wasn’t in the mood for tea.
Instead she went out the front entrance, where she leaned against the wall, breathing in the cool, clean air. Biding her time until she could go back in and be with her babies. ‘Miserable thing!’ she muttered, ‘I wouldn’t get in the way. All I want is to be near my babies.’
She gave a little secret smile. ‘I wonder if she really does keep disappearing into the cupboard with that doctor?’ Somehow she could never imagine that woman being warmblooded enough to want a man anyway.
It wasn’t long before her thoughts brought her to Joe. And as always, the longing started. Nancy told her the other day that he was walking on his own two feet with much more confidence now, and Alice thought that was wonderful.
She had never stopped missing him, or loving him.
But somehow or another she had to reconcile herself to the fact that he did not want her. So, it looked like it was just her and the babies, and the family who loved them.
She thanked the good Lord for that much at least.
Alice was deep in thought when suddenly everyone seemed to be running about in a panic.
When she heard someone shouting, ‘HE’S GOT THE BABIES!’ she ran back inside to grab the policeman who was running down the corridor towards the baby unit. ‘What’s happened? What’s going on…what’s this about the babies…’ Even as she was screaming the questions at him, she knew. Her every instinct told her that it was Frank. He had somehow got past the police and taken her babies. ‘Oh, no…please…don’t let him harm them…’
She was running now as fast as she could towards the unit. When she saw the policeman throw open the door, the nurse she had left in charge of her sons was sobbing in a corner. Nurse McDonnell was comforting her.
When she turned to speak with the policeman, she saw Alice. Running forward she took hold of her. ‘I’m sorry, Alice! I’m so sorry…’
Behind her the other nurse was gabbling her story to the policeman. ‘He looked respectable,’ she said choking back tears. ‘He told me he was looking for Alice, and that she told him to wait in the unit, that she’d be back in a minute. He asked me if he could look at the twins and I showed them to him, but then he threw me to the ground. I couldn’t stop him. He took the babies…’
She was hysterical. ‘It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know…he just knocked me down. Like a crazy thing he was…’
The policeman turned to Alice. ‘Mrs Arnold, do you know who th
is man was?’
‘It’s Frank. It must be Frank. He’s crazy! He’ll hurt them, I know he will. Please! You have to get my babies back!’ she cried helplessly.
Within minutes more police had arrived. Alice was taken aside and a policewoman tried to calm her. ‘Come away,’ she said. ‘You come with me. Leave them to do their job…they’ll find him. You come with me.’
Alice tried to run outside, and when the policewoman grabbed her back, she fell into her arms, sobbing like her heart would break. ‘Please…get my babies back…he wants to hurt them, and they’re so tiny.’
‘We will. He can’t have gone far, and they’re after him now. You let me take you home now. Your family will need to know what’s happened. All right?’
Alice didn’t want to leave. ‘I need to stay. I need to be here when they bring them back.’
Eventually, it was Nurse McDonnell who persuaded her. ‘We had your father’s number, and I’ve telephoned him,’ she told Alice. ‘He’s aware of what’s happened, and he says he’s on his way to fetch you right now.’
By the time Ronald arrived, Alice was in pieces. ‘Come on, sweetheart.’ He thanked the policewoman. ‘I’ve got her now,’ he said. ‘Her grandmother’s waiting for her at home.’
When the policewoman explained that they were fearful that Frank Arnold might go after Alice too, Ronald agreed that the policewoman should accompany them.
Settling Alice in the back of the car with the policewoman beside her, Ronald got into the driving seat and quickly left, relieved to be getting Alice away from the heightening chaos.
Back at the Police Station, the woman from the pub was adamant that the man who had stared at her was the same man who they were looking for. ‘I saw him,’ she said. ‘It played on my mind. In the end, I rummaged in the drawer and got some old newspapers out that I keep for lighting the fire. It’s him! It’s Frank Arnold, I tell you! He got on this barge and went away, but it was definitely him…look!’
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