Pastures New

by Margaret Thornton

  But Russell was not to be dissuaded. He had wandered to the back of the shop again. She left him there as he couldn’t touch the chocolates behind the glass.

  At last, it was her turn to be served. She bought a crusty loaf, some currant teacakes, a large curt tart as a treat for Sam, two iced fancies for the children, a cream cake for herself and a large fruit cake. The lady who was serving provided her with a carrier bag and she spent a few moments arranging her purchases.

  ‘Come along, Russell,’ she said. ‘Time to go.’

  But he would not budge. ‘Want choccies,’ he said.

  ‘No, they’re not for you. I’ll buy you some sweets when we go to pay the paper bill.’

  Bribery, she knew, but one or two women were watching, no doubt thinking, What a troublesome child! She took hold of his hand and practically dragged him from the shop. Fortunately he was not crying, as some children might do. He was rarely reduced to tears.

  She stepped outside, then stood stock still in shock and amazement. The pram had gone. She stood open-mouthed for a few seconds, then stared around wildly. Had the brake come off? Had it somehow rolled away? But no, it was nowhere in sight.

  She dashed back into the shop. ‘My baby!’ she cried. ‘The pram … It’s gone!’

  Russell, at her side, murmured, ‘Lucy gone!’ but she scarcely heard him.

  There was silence in the shop as the few women waiting to be served looked on in horror. Mrs Gregson came out from behind the counter.

  ‘Sit down, dear,’ she said, leading her to a chair which was provided for people who were not very good at standing. Val was trembling by this time, then she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

  ‘My baby, Lucy … Oh, what can I do? We must find her.’

  ‘Ring the police. Ring nine-nine-nine,’ Mrs Gregson called out. ‘Somebody ring, please.’

  The other assistant, Molly, was making her way to the phone at the back of the shop.

  ‘No, you carry on serving,’ said one of the customers. ‘I’ll ring.’

  ‘Is there someone we can call, dear?’ asked Mrs Gregson. ‘Your husband, maybe?’

  ‘Yes … yes, Sam,’ said Val between her sobs. ‘He’s at work. Whatever will he say? I shouldn’t have left her, but I always do. I never thought …’

  ‘Lucy gone …’ Russell said again, staring around in bewilderment.

  ‘We’ll find her, lovey,’ said Mrs Gregson. ‘The policemen will find her.’ She gave him a hug. ‘And we’ll get your daddy to come and look after Mummy.’

  Val haltingly told her the number of the mill office. ‘It’s Walker’s mill,’ she said. ‘My husband’s Sam Walker, the boss’s son.’ She started crying again. ‘Oh, whatever will he say?’

  ‘Now, don’t start blaming yourself. Prams are left outside here all the time. And you’ve been in here lots of times, haven’t you, dear? I remember you but I didn’t know you were Mrs Walker. Look, try and drink this cup of tea. I think Molly’s put some brandy in it.’

  ‘Yes, so I have, and lots of sugar. It’s good for shock.’

  ‘Molly, would you ring this number, please?’ said Mrs Gregson. ‘It’s Walker’s mill, where this lady’s husband works; actually, he’s Mr Sam Walker.’

  ‘And I’m Val; everybody calls me Val.’

  ‘And I’m Jean,’ said Mrs Gregson. She turned to Molly. ‘It might be better if you say that Mrs Walker has been taken ill and could her husband come here as soon as possible. We can explain when he gets here.’

  ‘I’m dreading telling him,’ said Val. ‘He’ll say I’ve been careless; I’ve neglected her …’

  ‘Indeed you haven’t,’ said Jean Gregson. ‘I’ll put a notice on the door to say we’re closed for half an hour.’ There was a lull at that moment as all the customers had been served. ‘It shouldn’t be long before the police arrive. It seems a long time when you’re waiting but they’ll soon be here—’ Her words were interrupted by the sound of a police siren. ‘Well, now, they’re here already.’

  A police sergeant and a woman constable came into the shop. Val tried to calm herself as she explained, along with Mrs Gregson, what had happened.

  ‘I kept looking out,’ she said, ‘like I always do. I could see the blanket moving and I thought she might be waking up. Then I was busy being served and seeing to my shopping, and when I went out the pram had gone …’ The words caught in her throat and she gave a sob.

  ‘We’ll find her, Mrs Walker,’ said the sergeant. ‘We’ll start a search of the area straight away. I know this is dreadful for you but, believe me, there would be more cause for concern if it was a child of five or six, say, who had been abducted. This is a baby in a pram.’

  ‘More than likely it’s a spur of the moment thing,’ said the woman constable. ‘A woman who has had a miscarriage, maybe, or is unable to have children. It’s very unlikely that your little girl will come to any real harm.’

  ‘But you must find her …’ pleaded Val.

  ‘We’ll do all we can, Mrs Walker. I have every confidence that she won’t be far away.’ The police sergeant, a kindly, middle-aged man, looked sure of himself, and Val began to feel just a little less distraught.

  Sam arrived at that moment, knocking at the closed door. Molly went to open it. He dashed across to Val and put his arms round her.

  ‘Oh, Val, darling; thank goodness you’re in one piece. I thought you’d be lying unconscious, or worse. But you’re upset, aren’t you? Whatever’s the matter? He looked with concern at the police. ‘Whatever is it?’

  ‘Lucy gone …’ Russell said again.

  Val turned on him. ‘Stop saying that, Russell! You’re driving me mad!’

  The policeman explained as succinctly as possible what had happened. ‘But we will find your little girl, Mr Walker. We’ll start our search right away.’

  ‘And it wasn’t Val’s fault,’ said Mrs Gregson. ‘She scarcely took her eyes off the pram. It must have happened in a split second.’

  ‘I’m afraid that’s all it needs,’ said the policewoman.

  Sam held Val close to him. ‘I wouldn’t dream of blaming Val,’ he said. ‘She’s a wonderful mother.’ He looked at Russell, who was unusually quiet and looking contrite. ‘She’s got her hands full, though.’

  ‘It wasn’t Russell’s fault,’ said Val, knowing it would be all too easy to blame him. She had been distracted by him, pestering about the chocolates, but she had also been a while paying and arranging her shopping, and had taken her eyes off the pram.

  ‘We’ll make a start now,’ said the sergeant. ‘Give us your address and phone number and we’ll be in constant touch.’

  ‘And we’d better go home,’ said Sam after the police had gone. ‘Thank you so much for looking after my wife. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.’

  ‘Now, young man,’ said Jean Gregson to Russell, ‘I saw you looking at the chocolates. All the children do. Very tempting, aren’t they? But, like your mummy said, they’re not really for children. You can take some home as a special treat, though. Let’s choose some, shall we? Not caramels or nougats because they stick to your teeth.’

  Russell chose, with Jean’s guidance, a strawberry cream, a marzipan, a fudge and a marshmallow.

  ‘Eat them after your tea, only one at a time,’ she said.

  Russell nodded solemnly. He said, ‘Thank you,’ without needing to be reminded.

  Sam picked up Val’s shopping and they went out to the car.

  ‘I hope they find that little lass,’ said Jean as they drove away. ‘What a nice little family! That lad’s a bit of a handful, but … oh, dear God, please let them find her!’

  ELEVEN

  ‘Oh, how awful!’ said Cissie when Walter told her the news about Lucy’s disappearance from outside the bakery. ‘Poor Val, and Sam, of course, but Val must be going mad with guilt. Well, I know I would be. We’ve all done it, though; left our prams outside when we’ve been in a shop.’

  The news had fil
tered around Walker’s mill – not to everyone, but Walter, being quite high up in the pecking order, had been told quite quickly.

  ‘I’ll ring Val and tell her we’re thinking about them,’ said Cissie. ‘There’s nowt we can do, I know, but at least we can tell them how sorry we are. And happen a little prayer might not go amiss.’ She cast a glance heavenwards.

  Cissie had been brought up to attend Sunday school and church, though sometimes under duress. She rarely went now, but she still believed that ‘Him up there’ might listen.

  They had recently had a phone installed as Walter had had a pay rise, but he was fighting a losing battle trying to stop her from ringing up all and sundry.

  ‘I’m working an’ all now,’ she reminded him.

  Walter had to admit that this was true and it did help a little with the family budget. She was enjoying her job at the market and he had no cause to complain about her neglecting him or the children. She was coping well with her busy life.

  ‘Hello …’ said Val’s anxious voice when Cissie phoned her. ‘Oh, it’s you, Cissie. Every time the phone rings we think it might be news about Lucy.’

  ‘We’re really sorry, Walter and me,’ said Cissie, ‘but they’ll find her, you know. I think our police are great. And how’s Russell? I hope he’s being a good boy. You’ve got enough to worry about.’

  ‘Actually, he’s being very good. He’s very quiet, though, as if he thinks he might have done something wrong. Thanks for ringing, Cissie. I don’t feel like talking much, to be honest. We’ll let you know when we hear anything.’

  ‘That’s OK, I understand. We’ll be thinking about you – me and Walter. And I’ll say a little prayer tonight.’

  Sam had stayed at home for the rest of that day. They had made makeshift meals although neither of them had felt like eating.

  Russell was bathed and now in bed. He had shaken his head when Val said he could have one of his chocolates after tea.

  ‘No, don’t want it, Mummy.’

  He had listened half-heartedly to the story of the gingerbread man that Sam read to him. Val thought she could hear him moving around now. She went upstairs and, to her amazement, he was sitting up on the bed, whimpering.

  ‘Want Lucy …’ he said.

  ‘I know you do, darling.’ Val put her arms round him, feeling a tenderness for him that, to her shame, she did not always feel. ‘We’ll find her; the policemen will find her.’ She tried to sound more positive than she was feeling.

  ‘Where’s she gone?’

  ‘We don’t know, darling. We think somebody – probably a lady – just decided to take her, maybe because she wanted a baby and she didn’t have one of her own.’

  ‘That’s naughty …’

  ‘Yes, it is; very naughty, like when you want another little boy’s car and you run off with it.’

  Russell nodded solemnly.

  ‘But this is worse,’ Val went on, ‘because Lucy’s a real live baby, not a toy.’

  ‘But she’ll come back …?’

  ‘I’m sure she’ll be back … quite soon. Now you snuggle down and go to sleep.’ She kissed his cheek and stroked his hair. ‘Night night, Russell.’

  ‘Night, Mummy,’ he murmured.

  He looked so angelic when he was tucked up in bed, it was hard to believe that this was the same child who could be so obstreperous, causing trouble at the playgroup, demanding attention and determined to have his own way. There had been a change in his behaviour today since Lucy had disappeared. Val regretted that it had taken such a crisis to bring about an improvement. Would it last? But what did that matter, so long as Lucy was returned safely to them.

  Both sets of grandparents had been distraught at the news. Joshua Walker had told his wife, half expecting her to make some sort of derogatory comment about Val’s carelessness but she did not do so. Beatrice was fond of Val and remarked that she was a very good mother.

  ‘And Lucy’s such an adorable child,’ she added. ‘What a wicked thing to do.’

  ‘Probably some woman who wanted a baby,’ said Joshua. ‘That’s what the police think.’

  ‘That’s no excuse. I hope they catch whoever it is and that she gets what she deserves.’

  ‘It’s more important to find Lucy, Beatrice. That’s all that Val and Sam are concerned about.’

  ‘Yes, I know that … and I hope that little lad’s behaving himself. Valerie has quite enough to put up with.’

  Sam drove round to tell Val’s mother what had happened early in the afternoon. She was inconsolable at first, and Sam made a pot of tea and stayed with her for a while, assuring her that the police were on to it right away.

  After Bert had arrived home from work and they’d eaten a meal that they didn’t really want, they caught a bus up to Queensbury to see Val and Sam.

  They arrived just after Val had tried to reassure Russell about his sister. And a few moments later, the policewoman who had been with them in the morning rang the doorbell.

  ‘No news yet,’ she said, shaking her head as Sam opened the door, and she saw the momentary light of optimism in his eyes.

  ‘But there’s a house-to-house search going on in the area right now,’ she told them as they sat drinking yet another cup of tea. ‘It’s a large area to cover and we have several policemen and women engaged on the search. We’re hoping that the pram will be a significant factor. It’s a big thing to hide. They are asking if there is anyone new in the area with a baby, or if they’ve heard sounds of a baby’s presence that wasn’t there before. I know it’s agonizing while you’re waiting but we really believe that your little girl will come to no real harm.’

  ‘Has this sort of thing happened before?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Not just recently. There was an incident about a year ago. That was a younger baby, snatched out of the pram. The woman had suffered a miscarriage and was suffering from depression. Unfortunately her husband worked away from home and he had just gone back. It was a neighbour who informed us about a baby crying. The child had come to no harm; the woman was well prepared with nappies and baby clothes and feeding bottles, ready for her own baby.’

  ‘And … how long was it before the baby was found?’ asked Val.

  ‘Oh, less than a week; five or six days, maybe.’

  ‘Six days! That’s a very long time.’ Val wondered how she could possibly survive six days of waiting.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure it must sound like a long time,’ said the policewoman, ‘but we will be doing everything in our power to find Lucy, and if you want to contact me then just ring up and ask for me. I’m Hazel, by the way.’

  Val nodded. ‘Thank you. I know you’re doing your best. And we are Val and Sam; it’s less formal, isn’t it?’

  She was starting to regard the attractive young policewoman as a new friend, one who understood the agony they were going through. Val was trying hard to believe that Lucy would be found soon, hopefully safe and well.

  ‘I must leave you now,’ said Hazel. ‘I know it’s no use to tell you not to worry, but try to think positively if you can. It’s early days – less than a day yet – and we won’t give up till we’ve found her.’

  Val’s parents stayed for a little while, although it was difficult to make any conversation that did not relate to the crisis they were going through. Sam offered to run them home and they accepted gratefully.

  Sally hugged her daughter. ‘Think positively, darling, like that nice police lady said. We’ll say a little prayer for you and I’m sure lots of other folk will do the same. Now go to bed early and try to get some sleep. Take a couple of aspirin – they’ll help to settle you down.’

  Val nodded. ‘Thanks, Mum and Dad.’

  Bert, with tears moistening his eyes, kissed her cheek. ‘Ta-ra, love; we’re always here for you, you know.’

  Val could not answer for the lump in her throat. She tried to smile at him, then took a deep breath, not wanting to give way to another bout of uncontrollable weeping.

  They w
ent to bed when Sam returned and both fell asleep, exhausted by the traumas of the day.

  The next day was Saturday, a day when Sam did not go to the mill. They went through the motions, preparing and eating meals, then clearing away, ears constantly alert for a knock at the door or the telephone ringing.

  Hazel called to give them an update. A message had gone out on the local radio and there had been a few callers regarding the sound of a baby crying, but they had proved to be false alarms.

  Janice called from Harrogate to say how concerned they were about Lucy’s disappearance. Cissie had called, full of distress, to tell her the news. Both Cissie and Janice were godmothers to the little girl and Phil was her godfather.

  ‘We’re thinking of you all the time,’ said Janice. ‘It’s hard to concentrate on anything else at the moment. I can’t imagine how we would feel if it was Sarah.’

  ‘We’re trying to think positively,’ said Val. ‘The police seem very hopeful that she will be found safe and well. What about you? Is everything going according to plan with your extension?’

  ‘Yes, we still hope to be ready by the end of May … We’ll let you know, and we’ll look forward to seeing you – all of you – when we reopen. Thanks for asking, but you’ve too much on your mind to be thinking about us. I won’t keep you any longer, Val; just wanted to tell you how concerned we are … Bye, Val …’

  Val heard the sob in her friend’s voice as she rang off.

  Sam’s parents invited them for Sunday tea and Val knew that it would be churlish to refuse, although her inclination was to stay at home. Beatrice, to give her her due, was full of sympathy and genuinely concerned about Lucy.

  ‘I had a word with our vicar this morning,’ she said. ‘He told the congregation about Lucy, although a lot of them already knew, and he said a prayer asking God to keep her safe and to be with both of you … and Russell, in your time of trouble … I must say that Russell is being a good boy,’ she added, a note of surprise in her voice.

  ‘Yes, he’s missing his sister,’ said Val. ‘He’s been quite upset about it.’

  Russell turned to look at his mother for a moment, without speaking, then went back to his game. They had finished their tea and he was playing along quite amicably with Rosemary, helping her, in his own way, to complete a jigsaw puzzle of a farmyard.