All Through the Night

by M. P. Wright

  “That’s what Theo said was going to happen to me if I didn’t stay put and out of sight in my hiding place back at the swimming baths.”

  I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and wiped the ice cream from her mouth and dabbed the burgeoning tears from her eyes. “Tell me, what did Theo say, Truth?”

  “Theo told me that it wasn’t safe for me to stay at the orphanage any more. That one day the bad men would come and smuggle me away. He said they’d come and take me away in the night. Theo said the bad men always came and took the children in the night.”

  15

  I sat alone with my head back in a deckchair outside of Benny and Estelle’s to work out my next move. I watched the white flicker of lightning in the distance as it broke out of the darkening skies around me. The air was humid and smelt of damp moss and the fragrant honeysuckle that climbed up and along the back wall of the cottage. I slowly sipped at the glass of rum that Estelle had brought out to me earlier while Truth’s chilling words about the mysterious bad men who took the children in the night rolled uneasily around in my head. There were so many unanswered questions about the child. So much that just simply didn’t weigh up. Christ, I didn’t even know Truth’s surname. Getting the girl to talk was like pulling hen’s teeth; whatever secrets were locked away inside of her weren’t going to be let go easily. I realised that I had to go easy on the child if I was to successfully coax out of her exactly what had been going on back at the orphanage. What had made Truth so special to Ida Stephens? Whatever it was, the administrator had been prepared to either pay handsomely or use some hefty force to get her back.

  Across the meadow out in front of me, a rolling rumbling of thunder echoed as the last of the evening’s light began to fade. I sank back in the deckchair and downed the remainder of my rum in a single gulp then cursed myself under my breath at what a fool I’d been earlier in the day. Taking the little girl down to the beach had been a mistake. I’d not thought things through before taking her out, I’d not considered what kind of jeopardy I’d be putting the two of us in. After all, I was trying to keep Truth out of harm’s way. What if we’d perhaps been spotted by one of the locals or, worse still, a keen young copper on his rural beat? We’d stuck out like a sore thumb. A middle-aged black man hand in hand with a young white kid was hardly something you saw every day. Thankfully the harbour village had been both remote and quiet. With the exception of the elderly shopkeeper I’d bought the ice cream from for Truth, the child and I had luckily seen no one else.

  I felt a sharp chill run through me and looked at my wristwatch; it was just after eight thirty. Estelle had bathed Truth earlier for me and I’d tucked her up on the mattress at the bottom of my bed and told her I’d go check on her in half an hour. That was forty-five minutes ago. I hauled myself up out of the chair to go see if she’d fallen asleep just as the telephone began to ring loudly. I felt my guts tense then churn as I began to walk back inside the house, an unwelcome response to hearing the trill call of the phone, and perhaps a forewarning that the caller did not have good news to convey.

  I found Benny standing in the cramped hallway as he silently listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. His normally jovial face had become contorted with deep frowning lines, his eyes filled with anger. I watched his expression become increasingly more enraged as the nameless caller continued to communicate with the big man. Finally Benny took the phone away from his ear and held the receiver up in front of my face, his huge hand shaking with temper.

  “It’s a friend o’ Loretta’s, name’s Prudence MacDonald. You know her, Joseph?”

  “Cutpurse Pru? Yeah, I know her.”

  “Well, you need to hear what this woman got to say.” Benny handed the phone over to me then leaned himself against the hall wall, staring down at his feet and balling his fists together. I slowly held the phone to my ear and listened to the repetitive pips as coins were frantically pushed into the money slot of a call box before Pru could speak again.

  “Pru, can you hear me? What’s going on?”

  “Ellington, that you?” The cagey shoplifter bellowed at me from down the other end of the telephone.

  “Yeah, course it’s me, ya old fool. Who the hell you think it was gonna be? Where’s Loretta at?”

  “Don’t be callin’ me no fool, you bastard. You gone an’ caused a shit pile o’ trouble back here, you hear me? I’ll tell you where Loretta’s at: she in the hospital, and in a real bad state too.”

  “What you talkin’ ’bout, hospital? What the hell’s she doing in hospital, Pru?”

  “She in there cos she took herself a beatin’ on account o’ your sorry ass. The police paid her a visit last night, came axing questions ’bout you an’ some white pickney they said you gone an’ snatched from some home. They wanted to know where you might o’ taken off to. Loretta said there was two of ’em, said one was the old bastard that had been giving you grief last year and that the other was a nasty-looking shit with a chip on his shoulder.”

  “Police? That’d be Fletcher and Beaumont from Bridewell station. You saying the two o’ them beat up on Loretta?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “No, not that pair o’ fuckers, they slung their pissy hooks after Loretta fobbed ’em off by tellin’ ’em you got yo’self drunk and was crashed out on her sofa after the two o’ you had bin playing cards. Said she hadn’t set eyes on you since you walked outta her gate door night befo’ last. The law came back ’bout two or more hours ago. Only this time I tink it was the younger pig you just mentioned and he was with some other guy that Loretta said was givin’ her the creeps no sooner than she set eyes on him. Said he was cruel-looking an’ spoke like a Yank, she said he was more like GI Joe on his day off than a copper. The Yank slapped her around some when she told ’em to piss off. Then they beat on her like she was a dog. Broke a couple o’ her ribs and knocked her face ’bout. The bastards threatened to take Carnell Jr away from her unless she told ’em where you were.”

  “How’d you found out she’d been hurt, Pru?”

  “Loretta crawled out her back door and called out to her neighbour; when they seen her covered in blood, sprawled out in the yard, they called an amb’lance and then got their pickney to come get me. I’m in a call box outside o’ the infirmary. She told me I had to git in touch with you as soon as I could. She said to tell her uncle Benny that he had bent law comin’ to stay across the road at the Ship Inn, said he’d know what to do. She told me to tell you that she was sorry ’bout dropping you in it and that you was to git yo’self as far away from wherever you are as quick as you can, you hear me?”

  “Yeah, I hear you, Pru. Where’s Carnell Jr now?”

  “He’s back at my place. I got my eldest child, Marianne, lookin’ after him. He’ll be fine with me and my kin till Loretta git herself back on her feet.”

  “Is she gonna be OK? How is Loretta, Pru?”

  Another series of pips sounded, interrupting the call just as Pru was about to reply to the most important question I needed to ask her. The line went dead. I stood rooted to the spot and listened as the static humming noise on the end of the line rang through my ears, coursing its way into my soul to meet my burgeoning shame head on.

  Benny moved towards me. The expression on his face was engorged with anger, his eyes moistened by a thin film of tears that he was suppressing. He took the receiver out of my hand and gently eased me backwards by my elbow towards the open hallway door so that he could use the telephone. I could feel Estelle’s nervous presence as she stood quietly behind me. We both watched as her husband dialled a number on the phone then waited for it to be answered. The big man’s face looked a little less savage when a welcome voice answered his call.

  “Lazarus? Lazarus, man, it’s real good to hear your voice. It’s me . . . Benny, Benny Goodman . . . Yeah, I know, it’s bin a long time, fo’ sure. Look, I ain’t gonna beat ’bout the bush with you. I need ya help. You know that favour you always said I could call on you anyti
me fo’? Well, I need to cash it in tonight if that’s all right with you, brother.” Benny suddenly cupped his hand around the mouthpiece, his voice turning to a low whisper as he continued his conversation. When he finished the call, he stared back at me and jabbed one of his stubby fingers towards the stairs.

  “Joseph, listen to me: we ain’t got ourselves a lot o’ time here. You go git your shit packed and we need to git on the road now.”

  Benny hurriedly began to make his way back through the house towards the kitchen door. Confused, I called after him.

  “On the road? On the road to where, Benny?”

  Benny turned back and snapped at me. “Don’t you worry ’bout where you headin’, son, just you do as I say. Go grab your stuff while Estelle here gits Trute up outta her bed. We’re leaving in the next ten minutes.”

  Estelle had gone ahead of me to wake up a sleepy Truth. She was just starting to dress her when I came into the bedroom to collect our belongings. I quickly pushed all our clothing into our case while Estelle tied the laces of Truth’s shoes then pulled a large grey woollen blanket around the child’s slender shoulders. Estelle sat the little girl on the edge of my bed and ran her fingers through the child’s long blonde locks.

  “When you leave here, you just take good care o’ this child or you’ll have me to answer to, Joseph, you hearin’ me? I don’t doubt that you and Benny can take care o’ yourselves, no matter what happens, but this little ting, she needs to feel safe and looked after. For now, all she’s got is you.” Estelle laid her hand on my arm and smiled at me. “I’m gonna go pack Benny a bag with some overnight stuff. You better get the two of you on downstairs, he’ll be waiting for you. One ting gets Benny’s hackles up more than anyting else is bein’ kept waitin’.”

  I quickly zipped up the case then leant across the bed and slyly slid my hand underneath the pillow to retrieve my Smith & Wesson revolver. With my back to Truth, I snapped open the .38 and checked that it was as I’d left it. Happy that the five shells were still in the cylinder, I carefully closed it then set the hammer onto the empty chamber. I clicked on the safety then hooked the gun into my trouser band and covered it with my jacket, its heavy bulk weighing awkwardly against my stomach for a moment. I turned back to Truth and smiled at her before bending down and lifting her up off the bed. She looked at me, her eyes stared into my own, the bewildered expression on her sleepy face mirroring my own sense of uncertainty. She put her face close to my ear and spoke in a trembling and hushed tone, and her whispered enquiry with all its prophetic knowing sent a shiver down my back.

  “They’re coming, aren’t they, Joseph? The men are coming.”

  “Ain’t nobody coming for us, Truth. We’re just going on a night-time trip with Uncle Benny. He says he’s got a surprise lined up for us.”

  I tucked the top of Truth’s head under my chin and drew her in tight to my chest then bent down and picked up our case. As I carried the child downstairs a heavy roll of thunder growled from the sky and the first splatter of raindrops began to hit the front door of the cottage.

  Benny already had his Land Rover pulled up by the garden gates, the engine running and the rear door of the bulky motor slung open. He and Estelle stood embracing each other in the kitchen. Benny looked at me and made a backward motion with his head towards the vehicle outside.

  “Go put Trute in the car, Joseph, git her settled fo’ our ride, yeah?” he said.

  Estelle smiled tenderly at the two of us as I carried Truth past them and out to the car. I hurried across the garden as the rain, coming down fast, bounced off my head and the back of my jacket. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and as I sat Truth on the back seat, the little girl grabbed at the sleeve of my coat and pulled me towards her. I saw her mouth begin to tremble and her wet eyes looked into mine with the realisation that she believed I could not help her, that no one could. Truth knew I had lied to her about the men. She knew that we were running and that the men she feared were close. At that moment the expression on the little girl’s face told me that the world she had been born into was a far more terrible one than I could have ever imagined.

  Truth’s tiny fingers held onto mine for a moment. I leaned into the car and gently touched her cheek with the back of my hand then smiled at her. She forced a smile back then looked over my shoulder back out into the rain. Another roll of thunder grumbled above us as I turned to see what she was looking at. Standing in the downpour behind me was Momma Cecile. She held out her arm to me and opened up the palm of her hand. I wiped the rain off my face, attempted to focus my eyes in the fading light and tried to make out what she had in her hand: it looked like a piece of jewellery.

  “Here, take it, man.” Cecile pushed her frail hand into my face. I took the small leather cord from her and looked at it. A small silver sixpence with a hole drilled through its centre had been threaded onto it. I looked back at the old woman and began to thank her, but she impatiently waved her hand at me, interrupting my gesture of gratitude.

  “We ain’t no time fo’ that. You tie that round the child’s ankle now. It’ll keep the juju away from her.” I did as Cecile told me and stuck my head into the back of the Land Rover to tie the cord around Truth’s ankle. As I did, I felt the old woman’s hand touch my back and her body move closer to my own. She held her face against my arm and began to talk in the same way she had on the upstairs landing the night before. Rather than being spoken, her words seemed to sing inside of me.

  “That girl’s got ghosts hangin’ on her spirit, mister, bin there since that pickney took her first gasp o’ air. They bin cursin’ her kin too fo’ as long as they bin walkin’ on the earth. Listen to what I be tellin’ you now. Be strong, brother. When you gotta be travellin’ wid that child in the days to come, then do yo’ journeying through the night. The night-time can be yo’ ally as well as yo’ enemy, remember that. If you afraid o’ the dark, the dark it’ll know it and it’ll bring you down like a pack o’ hounds after rich meat. Yo’ let the night be yo’ companion. Yo’ trust it, Mr Ellington.”

  When I turned back to face the old woman, she had gone. The damp air around me smelt of sulphur and the rain. A sharp gust of wind blew a spray of lukewarm rainwater against my face and chest. I wiped at my face with my fingers as another crack of lightning flashed above my head. A deluge of water began to fall from out the blackening sky. I looked down at the ground where Momma Cecile had been standing moments earlier. It was still dry.

  16

  I watched Benny through the rain-spattered passenger window of the Land Rover while Truth sat in the back. He stood at his kitchen door talking to Estelle then drew his wife towards him and held her in his big arms, kissing her on the forehead before turning on his heels and running through the downpour to join us in the car.

  It was just after nine fifteen and pitch dark as we set out. What started as heavy rainfall was now developing into a real nasty storm. Huge hailstones bounced off the bonnet and roof of the car as Benny drove out of Porlock village. The wind buffeted the side of the big vehicle as we headed out into open countryside, and rain, hail and loose leaves whipped in a frenzy at the windscreen as the rubber wipers struggled to clear what was being thrown at them. We drove in silence for about three miles before Benny glanced in his rear-view mirror and called over to Truth.

  “Hey there, baby doll, don’t you be worryin’ ya pretty head ’bout all this blowin’ an’ howlin’ you be hearin’ outside. This ain’t nuttin’. Just Mother Nature having herself a tantrum, that’s all. Befo’ you know it, sun gonna be up and shining. Now, why don’t you to lie yo’self down on that back seat. You pull that warm blanket Aunt Estelle gone an’ gave you up round yo’ face, and shut yo’ eyes, git yo’self some rest. Me and Joseph here, we gonna get you outta this here nasty little squall real soon, honey.”

  Benny wiped at the inside of the steamed-up windscreen with the palm of his hand then wound down his side window a couple of inches to let in a little air. Tiny drops of rainwater flew thr
ough the gap, hitting the big man in the face. Benny cursed under his breath and wound the window up again. He nodded his head out in front of him and laughed to himself.

  “This turning out to be a muthafucka o’ a storm fo’ sure, Joseph. We gonna be driving across some pretty wild country fo’ ’bout an hour an’ a half or more. Keep an eye on that pickney back there, make sure she don’t bounce off that seat if we start pitching up against some potholes in the road.”

  I looked over at Truth, who had done as Benny had told her and snuggled herself up underneath the blanket. Quiet and curled up into a ball, the little kid truly amazed me. No matter what seemed to be thrown at her, she took it square on. She might not say a lot, but the girl had strength of character way beyond her years. I glanced back at Benny, who was staring out of the windscreen, a look of heavy concentration on his face.

  “What did Loretta mean when she told Pru to let you know that there was bent law coming to stop at the Ship Inn?”

  Benny nodded his head slyly then smiled to himself. “Joseph, whoever the hell it is that’s lookin’ for you and Trute, they think you gonna be holed up at the Ship Inn on Porlock High Street. That’s gonna be the first place they look after Loretta told ’em you’d be there. She and Carnell loved to drink in the Ship when they came down to visit me and Estelle. Loretta isn’t stupid, son, she knows not to send strife to my home and she knows the Ship well enough to realise the place is like a den o’ thieves, only it’s got rooms for ’em to bed down in. Hell, I do all my under-the-counter bidness in there. Before we left I made a call to Sid the landlord, told him anybody come snoopin’ ’bout, askin’ if a black guy and a little white girl had been stoppin’ in the place, that he was to say yes and tell ’em that the two o’ you had moved on earlier today. I told Sid to tell ’em where you were headin’ to.”

  “And where was that?”