by Daisy White
“I want you to have it,” he tells me, his voice hard.
Again I feel a ripple of unease in my stomach, but, unwilling to keep being an ungrateful cow, I thank him profusely for the present.
He beams like a placated child. “Right, I’ve got to go now. I’ll see what I can find out for you.”
“See you later,” I mutter, gently folding the silk squares back into the box.
I corner Johnnie in the back room when I return to the salon and plead my case for Laura Grieves. “I’m sure she knows a lot more, and the fact that she’s coming into the salon means I’ll get a chance to talk to her again. I already said I’d give her the trainee discount, but if you could give her a ‘Summer Special’ as well she might be so pleased, she’ll tell me a bit more about the Collins case. She knows something else, I can tell. I’ll make up the extra fee out of my wages if you like.”
“Don’t be silly, angel, of course she can have her hair done. You will not pay a penny from your wages either. I agree from what you’ve said she could be ready to say a whole lot more. Of course, as a key witness, she might have been aware who was doing the blackmailing. If it was blackmail. From what we know about the whole affair one of the really puzzling things is that someone managed to spirit Ella away in the first place. Everyone knows everything on White Oak, so they could hardly put her in a car and drive off with the neighbours watching, or even lead her away up towards the Downs . . .”
“And that would mean a whole lot more people to blackmail or bribe into silence, I suppose. Could you really keep a whole estate quiet?”
“I don’t know, angel, you’ll just have to keep poking away and eventually something will come out. See you at the show tonight! Maybe you could wear that pretty scarf you just put in your bag . . .” His blue eyes are wide and innocent.
I wonder whether to bring up the subject of Will but Johnnie, despite his mischief-making, seems keen to get going, so I leave it and bustle around getting the towels off the line and taking delivery of a whole five boxes of conditioner. I drag it in through the courtyard and start unpacking, before Catherine calls me back into the salon for another round of shampooing.
As we finish up for the day, I watch Catherine and Eve shrug on their wool coats and collect their bags. Looking at their outfits always makes me wonder what they wear in the winter months.
“Have fun tonight, Rubes!” Mary says brightly as she sets off to retrieve the baby.
“Are you sure you won’t come?”
“Will you all stop asking me that? I swear, I’m looking forward to a nice evening playing with Summer, eating soup and listening to the radio. I can start going out when she’s bigger, but I just want to enjoy her now.”
"Alright, alright." I let it go, give her a hug and run upstairs to change for the night. When am I going to tell her about Will? I need to do it soon, if only to explain the appearance of the Pucci scarf, which I have hidden under a pile of knickers.
I’m meeting the others at a coffee bar before we go down to the Hippodrome, but I have a bit of time, so I spend a happy half hour choosing a dress, hunting out some shoes, and doing my makeup. The blonde in my hair really needs touching up, but I’m still torn between my Marilyn look and going dark again. Sticking with red lipstick, I add mascara and smudge my eyes with brown pencil to make them look bigger. If it wasn’t so hot I’d be trying on Mary’s new jeans. She bought them last week as an incentive to lose the last bit of her ‘baby tummy’ and they are skin tight. Victoria told me she has the same jeans and she shrinks them in the bath every night to make them even tighter before she goes out.
Finally, pleased with my look, I grab my favourite purse, cigarettes, and some money, and run down into the road.
The coffee bar is packed with couples, and a few larger groups have spilled outside onto the pavement. They clutch their drinks, smoking and laughing. I spot James talking to a pretty dark-haired girl and wave.
Pearl appears from the edge of the crowd and gives me a hug. “Hallo, Rubes! Can you believe Kenny wouldn’t come?”
I grin at my cousin, and accept a cigarette. “I heard that he’s scared of magicians.”
Victoria joins us. “Great, you’re here! I said to James that we should get going as soon as you arrived. We don’t want to be right at the back of the queue. Look, Johnnie’s over there!”
The Hippodrome is in Middle Street so it doesn’t take long to walk across, and the queues are short. We are quickly seated, and I’m squeezed between James and Pearl, with Victoria and Johnnie further along the row. Pushing any thoughts of missing kids and murders to the back of my mind, I settle back to enjoy the holiday atmosphere. The lights dim and we wait impatiently for Hector and Eva to be announced. I’ve never seen a magic show — in fact I haven’t really seen any shows, so I tell myself that childish excitement building in my stomach is definitely allowed.
The compere, in his black suit and hat, cracks a couple of jokes and then beams at his audience. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce Hector and Eva’s Magic Show. Returning to their hometown after a very successful European tour, this mystical pair will enchant and entrance, and for those who don’t believe in magic . . . you will after this act! I give you — Hector and Eva!”
The stage is still dark, drums roll and then a single spotlight flickers spookily across the audience, making some of the girls scream.
James leans in to whisper in my ear, “If you get scared, Rubes, just let me know and I’ll hold your hand!”
I whisper back, “I think I’ll manage to control myself, but if it makes you feel better I’ll hold your hand in the scary bits.” I notice as I turn that the dark-haired girl he was talking to earlier is watching us from two rows behind. Clearly hunky James has made another conquest.
Hector — tall, dark, and dressed in a swirling black velvet cloak — walks out on stage, followed by Eva. She carries a chair, a box and a hoop, and dances her way to centre stage, her silver costume clinging to every curve.
It’s a clever show, beginning with Eva balancing on the chair, and leaping lightly onto Hector’s shoulders. She holds the hoop aloft and from somewhere behind them six white doves fly out and perch on its delicate rim.
Eva bows, then begins to dance around the box, her movements languid and seductive. Finally, she climbs inside, closing the lid. The lights dim, and there is another drum roll — one that goes on for so long that my heart is pounding. The stage is dark as dusk, and Hector is standing very still. What’s going to happen? I wonder. Has something gone wrong? Then, with a great flourish, Hector reopens the box and picks it up: Eva has disappeared.
His wide, black-lined eyes stare into the audience in wonder and fear. My fingers are aching from gripping onto my handbag.
“Where is she?” James whispers, as Hector points his wand at the box, looking nervous.
But before I can reply, Eva has burst from the box, calm and smiling. She and Hector begin to dance, and I breathe out at last. James laughs and begins to clap.
As a finale, Eva, with the doves flying around her, dances around the stage, with Hector pointing his magic wand at the ground. Where her feet touch, a giant shimmering bubble appears. I clutch the seat back in front of me, leaning closer to the stage, entranced. The combination of rippling music, eerie lighting and entrancing performances is making this one of my best nights out.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You have been a great audience, and we are delighted to be back in our home town!” Hector has a deep, stagey voice that booms right back to the last row of seats, and echoes around the room.
Eva just nods, then bows, smiling and twirling her hoop. They exit to huge applause, with the doves flying behind them, and the bubbles vanishing into the blackness of the backdrop. The huge red curtains swing back across the stage, and I find I’m still buzzing with the thrill of the show.
“Great show! I’ll just nip out for a moment — got to make a call,” Johnnie tells us quickly, and strides
off towards the doors.
I stare after him, slightly puzzled, but then I meet Pearl’s gaze and she shrugs. “Let him do his thing, sweetheart. Don’t worry, Johnnie can take care of himself.”
“I know. He just seemed a bit down, earlier — something about his brother coming home, and he hasn’t been partying in London recently . . . Anyway, what did you think of Hector and Eva’s magic? I thought that show was amazing!”
“It was really good!” Pearl says, sounding slightly surprised. “I’ve seen magic shows before where you can see how every trick is done, but this one was very clever. Anyway, I’m going to have to keep an eye on the time myself as I’ve got a nightshift. Thank God I have the Lambretta now, or I’d never get back in time.”
“Just as well they were pretty good, I’ve got to get a quick interview with them afterwards. They're having a little aftershow party — I can get us all in if you like?” James suggests.
“I’m coming!” Victoria says enthusiastically, kicking the woman next to her in her haste to exit the row of seats. “Oh sorry, so sorry . . .”
“Don’t worry love, it was the high heels that tripped you up. You want to get some like mine. I can walk miles in these.” The woman sticks out a foot and we all peer down at her sensible brown lace-up shoes.
“Yes, I might just do that. Thank you,” Victoria smiles sweetly.
I giggle as I follow the jostling, good-natured crowd. Victoria getting sensible shoes is as likely as me meeting the Beatles in the street outside.
Chapter Eighteen
We reach the top of the exit queue and file out, Pearl yelling her goodbyes and racing off to work the night, and the rest of us following James.
James leads us past the bar, showing his card to the man at the door, and on into a large room, packed with people. It’s a great party, with free drinks and a jazz trio at one end of the room. They are soon joined by a singer, who starts belting out covers from Skeeter Davis, Elvis and the Angels. She’s very good, with a raw, powerful voice, but my mind is totally focused on the wonders of the magic show and the novelty of a night out.
James wanders over, drink in hand, accompanied by a curvaceous blonde in a tight-fitting orange top. “Ruby, this is Alice. I didn’t realise she was coming tonight — she’s just started at the paper.”
Alice is small and hard-faced, with a massive head of back-combed blonde hair. A cigarette hangs from her lip as she speaks. “I want to get some of my stuff in the entertainment section, but officially James is covering this one.” She sends him a smouldering glance from under black lashes.
Hmmm, she seems to have fallen hard for James, but although he is smiling at her, he doesn’t respond to her comment. “Did you enjoy the act?” I ask her, filling the slightly awkward gap in conversation.
“Yes. It’s funny, I told my mum that Hector and Eva were doing a show, and she said she still remembers when they were selling ice cream on the estates. I mean, good for them, but how do you go from giving out lollies to sawing people’s heads off in a magic show?” Her voice is sharp and clipped, but her eyes constantly swivel from one to the other of us as she talks. Not as relaxed as she makes out, maybe . . .
James smiles at her. “Might make a good story. Oh look, they’re coming over . . .”
Johnnie reappears suddenly, breathless, pulling his jacket straight and fiddling with the buttons. His eyes glitter but he is smiling so it can’t be bad news. I smile back and tell myself to mind my own business.
Hector and Eva are heading our way, and Johnnie waves while James takes out a notebook and does the introductions. He fires a few smooth questions and scribbles the answers at high speed.
“We loved your act!” I tell them enthusiastically as James turns to a new page, and the pair beam at the rest of us. Up close they both look older. Hector has lines that don’t show on stage, and Eva’s heavy makeup only half disguises her wrinkles. Her hazel eyes are tired but the scarlet mouth smiles at us, showing off very white, even teeth.
“Thank you. We're really happy to be back in Brighton for a few months,” Hector says. His voice is softer, lower than it was on stage, and his whole demeanour is gentler and more approachable.
James asks a few more questions about their act, and then mentions that Alice is interested in writing a piece too. “Maybe an extra article to go with my review?”
Eva smiles. “Of course. We can arrange an interview if you like, Alice, or you can meet us at the theatre one night?” She has a slight foreign-sounding accent that surprises me. Unlike her husband, she seems to have stayed in character.
“That would be great,” Alice says, glowing with an enthusiasm that seems totally at odds with what little I have seen of her personality. She continues in that same girlish, over-excited vein. “I would love to ask you how you made a change from running the ice cream van to creating such a successful magic show. My mum was saying she used to look forward to you driving up the road when she was little. She lived on the White Oak estate, so maybe you remember . . .” She trails off, confused by the response.
The magical couple are frozen, expressions of horror flitting from one face to another as we all watch, fascinated.
Hector visibly hauls himself together, squaring his shoulders. “I’m afraid we only do interviews about our current occupation. We very briefly had an ice cream van in the early fifties, but moved away and joined a group of touring players in 1953, wasn’t it, Eva?”
She nods quickly, but when she speaks the accent has slipped, and she sounds uncannily like Brighton-born Catherine from the salon. “Yes, we went first to London, and then all over Spain and France. It was very exciting, and of course we developed our act over the years. Alice, wasn’t it? Nice to meet you. We’ll be in touch, or do just pop into the theatre. We’re here until the end of September.”
They nod at us all and step away into another group of well-wishers.
“Is it just me or was that very odd?” James lights another cigarette, and his turquoise eyes narrow in the smoke. “Normally people only get like that when you ask them something very personal. Wonder what they’ve got to hide?”
“Well, I can understand it, I suppose. If you are a fairly well-known magician you don’t want people dragging up the fact you used to drive an ice cream van for a living,” Johnnie says reasonably.
I’m staring unseeing at a group of dancers who have invaded the room and are singing along to an Ella Fitzgerald number. Instead of the sweaty, noisy teenagers, I see the photograph of Ella and her friends, this time with an ice cream van in the background. I can hear Annie saying “Well, I remember the ice cream van was there because Martha said they all had a cone. Such a sweet couple who used to run it. The children loved them . . .”
Even though I’m standing in a noisy, smoky room with crowds jostling my elbows, all I can see now is Ella and her friends playing in the sunshine on the road outside her house. I watch the ice cream van pulling up outside. The van that everyone knows, run by the people everyone trusts. It parks up next to the trees and the children laugh and queue impatiently for their treat.
Beverly said, “She loved ice cream. They used to do a special one for her if she waited until last — ice cream with a biscuit crumbled on top.”
As I watch, the children are running back to play now, carrying their dripping cones. The sun shines down, and nobody really notices that Ella and the ice cream van have both gone. So that was how Ella vanished so easily. There is no other explanation. It fits. But where did they take her? And why didn’t the police find this out?
“Hey, Ruby, are you alright?” Victoria has her arm around my shoulders, shaking me gently. “Rubes?”
With an effort I focus on her face. Her blue eyes are concerned. “Sorry, I’m fine. Just a bit hot in here. The show was great but I should really be getting back to Mary.” I won’t tell anyone until I’ve spoken to the police, or maybe I should talk it over with Kenny . . .
“Well, if you’re sure. You look a bit pale
. . .” Victoria frowns, biting her lip as she studies my face. “I assume Mary is feeling a bit better? Sorry, Pearl did mention she was struggling a bit — I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not. She seems much happier. I am really sorry, I would have called Pearl to tell her, but I didn’t know when she was working . . .”
“It’s fine, Rubes, I think she was just hoping not to get a panicked telephone call saying Mary was worse, that’s all. It’s good she’s feeling better. I suppose some women just take longer than others to adjust and it is a very emotional time. Not to mention the lack of sleep! You can call us any time, you know that. We won’t be out for a couple of weeks as the exams start, but after the sixteenth we’ll be back in town.”
“Thanks, Victoria, and good luck with the exams! Can you say goodbye to the others for me, please? I’ll just head back now.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk with you?”
“Don’t be mad, Vic, it’s only two streets away, and then you’d have to walk back on your own. I’m honestly fine. Thanks for a great night.” I kiss her and catch James' eye long enough to wave on my way out. He’s standing close to Alice and she seems to be showing him her notebook. Or is she showing off her impressive cleavage? I'm so glad James and I are just friends.
The walk back to Ship Street in the warm night air clears my head. Will doesn’t appear from the darkness, and I have my thoughts to myself. That blinding moment of clarity has left me a bit shaken, and I know I’m right. It fits too well.
Perhaps, as kids do, Ella thought it was all a big adventure. The van made it simple to transport the child to her final destination. My brain skitters away from that one. For some reason I can’t see the magical pair as the shadowy figures behind Ella’s kidnapping and Beverly’s set-up. They are too scared, too normal — but then again it wouldn’t have been hard to conceal a child on the road.