Chatfield was irked. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this tip-off you received regarding Lambeth?’
‘I only got the message as I was about to leave my office, sir.’
‘You might have mentioned it to me.’
‘I was saving it as a surprise.’
‘I don’t like surprises of that nature, Inspector.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘You said you were sure that the information was genuine.’
‘I am, sir. My informant used to be a colleague of Ablatt’s. If he’d worked alongside him at the library, I think he’d recognise him anywhere.’
Marmion was determined to keep Caroline Skene’s name out of the investigation so he’d altered her gender and given her a job at Shoreditch library. Chatfield was suspicious.
‘I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me,’ he said.
‘You know all there is to know, sir.’
‘I wonder.’
‘I have a high regard for your role in this inquiry so I pass on any information we can glean.’
‘Make sure I’m briefed about everything.’
‘That goes without saying.’
‘What are you doing next?’
‘There’s a mountain of correspondence on my desk,’ said Marmion. ‘It’s been prompted by the press coverage. Much of it is useless – if not downright misleading – but there might be a gold nugget in there somewhere. I didn’t have time to go through it all before we met the press.’
‘Let me know what you find.’
‘I will, sir.’
‘Incidentally, what’s happened to Sergeant Keedy? When I saw him earlier, he looked as if he was ready to pass out.’
‘He finally listened to my advice and went home. The sergeant had been on continuous duty for well over twenty-four hours.’
‘That will mean a claim for overtime,’ said Chatfield, fussily. ‘I’ll have to find a way around that. We don’t have an unlimited budget.’
‘You always did keep a tight hand on the purse strings.’
‘It may be the reason I was promoted over you, Inspector.’
Marmion smiled benignly. ‘I’m sure that it was, sir.’
When Alice finished work that evening, there was no offer from Hannah Billington of a lift home in her car. She and Vera Dowling had to resort to public transport. The bus journey back to their respective digs turned, predictably, into a discussion about their day in the Women’s Emergency Corps.
‘I don’t know how you did it,’ said Vera.
‘I had to do it, Vera. We needed that lorry.’
‘You worked on that engine for ages.’
‘I took a leaf out of my father’s book,’ said Alice. ‘When he’s involved in a case, he always talks about eliminating the alternatives. That’s what I did. I ruled out almost everything that it could be, then I was left with what it really was.’
‘No wonder you’re Mrs Billington’s favourite.’
‘Oh, I’m not. There are plenty of women much more competent than me. I’m still learning, Vera. That’s the beauty of this work. You discover skills that you never realised you had.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ said her friend, morosely. ‘I have no skills at all.’
‘That’s simply not true. You worked as hard as I did when we delivered that bedding. And, considering that you understood very little of their language, you handled those children very well.’
‘My teaching experience came in useful there.’
‘Exactly – you have got skills. You just don’t realise it.’
Vera squeezed her arm. ‘Thank you, Alice,’ she said. ‘You always know how to cheer me up. I’d much rather ride back on a bus with you than have a lift in Mrs Billington’s car. When I sat in that, I felt I was trespassing.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’
When the bus reached the next stop, Vera got off. Alice had two more stops to go. It was only now that she was on her own that she became aware of a man sitting at the back of the bus. She could see his reflection in the window. Short, sharp-featured and in his forties, he was staring intently at the back of her head. At first, she tried to ignore him but she remained keenly aware of his attention. Every time she glanced at the reflection, she saw the gleaming eyes and the quiet smirk. Alice was glad when the bus eventually reached her stop but, to her alarm, the man also rose from his seat. Alighting from the vehicle, she set off at a brisk pace. The sound of footsteps told her that she was being followed.
It was only a hundred yards to the safety of her digs but she had to walk down a badly lit road to get there. It was something that Alice had done countless times and there had never been a problem. It was different now. She was being stalked. Every time she quickened her step, the footsteps behind her matched the pace. Indeed, they seemed to be gaining on her. Not daring to look over her shoulder, she broke into a run and quailed as she heard her stalker following her example. She got within fifteen yards of the house before he caught her up. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she was spun round to face the man who had been ogling her on the bus. Alice tried to brush him away but he was too strong and determined. Laughing in triumph, he stifled her scream with a hand over her mouth and used the other to grope her.
His triumph was short-lived. A figure suddenly emerged from the porch of Alice’s house and raced towards them. Her attacker was pulled off her and hit with a relay of punches that sent him staggering against a wall. With blood dribbling from his nose, the man took to his heels and sprinted back down the road. Alice turned to her saviour and gave a gasp of recognition.
‘Joe!’ she cried. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I was waiting for you to come back to your digs.’
‘Thank God for that!’
Keedy grinned. ‘Don’t I even get a kiss?’
The three friends met at Hambridge’s house. Leach was interested to hear that the carpenter had received notification of his appearance before a military tribunal. It was only a matter of time before it was Leach’s turn. Price was still bewailing the fact that he’d captured the man who’d been painting words on the side of the Ablatt house, only to lose him when a detective intervened. He now knew that the man had been identified and arrested.
‘Even Sergeant Keedy could manage that,’ he said with a sneer.
‘You can’t blame him, Mansel,’ said Hambridge. ‘When he saw two people fighting in the dark, he wasn’t to know which one was you. You should remember that he was actually there. Just like you, Sergeant Keedy had worked out that the man might come back in the night. If you hadn’t got in the way, he’d have nabbed him.’
Price was livid. ‘I didn’t get in the way.’
‘You tried to do the police’s job for them.’
‘How was I to know that the sergeant was there as well?’
‘You should have had more trust in him.’
‘I wanted to get my hands on that sneaky bastard with the paintbrush,’ said Price. ‘You never know – he might turn out to be the killer as well.’
‘That’s unlikely, Mansel,’ said Leach. ‘If the police thought they’d got the right man, he’d have been charged by now and it would have been all over the Evening News. Instead, there was only a mention of that plumber being arrested. I don’t think he’s anything to do with the murder.’
‘I’d have beaten a confession out of him.’
‘He can’t confess to something he didn’t do.’
‘You can’t solve every problem with your fists, Mansel,’ said Hambridge, sternly. ‘You’ve been in trouble with the police before for doing that. When are you going to learn your lesson?’
Price smouldered. ‘I can’t change the person I am, Fred,’ he said. ‘At least I was trying to take action. All that Gordon’s been doing is looking for a way to get out of being called up.’
‘That’s not what I was doing at all,’ said Leach, vehemently.
‘Yes, it was.’
‘It was … jus
t one option.’
‘I never took you for a coward until now.’
‘I’m not a coward,’ said Leach, jumping to his feet.
‘Then why were you trying to hide behind Ruby?’
‘Don’t keep on about it!’
‘What happened to the promise to stick together?’
Leach brandished a fist. ‘Shut up, Mansel!’
‘If you want a fight, you can have it,’ said Price, leaping up.
Hambridge got to his feet and pushed them apart. He stared angrily at each of them in turn until they lapsed back into their chairs. Both of them were sulking.
‘That’s the last thing we need,’ he warned. ‘If we fall out with each other, we all stand to lose.’ He sat down beside Price. ‘It’s unfair to keep on at Gordon. He made a mistake and he’s owned up to it. He’s not going to get married until he can do it properly in a church. Isn’t that right, Gordon?’
Leach puffed his cheeks. ‘I don’t know, Fred.’
‘I thought we’d made you change your mind.’
‘You did – but I wasn’t the only one.’
Price was roused again. ‘Are you saying that you are going ahead with that plan to get married as soon as you can?’
‘No, Mansel. It’s not what I want. I see that now.’
‘So what’s the problem?’
‘It’s Ruby. She’s decided that she likes the idea, after all.’
‘You’re not going to let a woman tell you what to do, are you?’
‘Be quiet,’ ordered Hambridge. ‘Give him a chance to explain.’ Price subsided. ‘Go ahead, Gordon. Something’s happened, hasn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ said Leach. ‘We had a row.’
‘You’re always having a row with Ruby,’ said Price.
‘This was a serious one. Her family have ganged up on me. They prefer to have a son-in-law who’s at liberty rather than someone who gets locked up in prison. Even though it would be in a register office, Ruby could still wear her bridal dress.’
Price erupted. ‘Then you must do the same!’ he shouted. ‘You can wear sackcloth and ashes as a sign of repentance for doing the dirty on your friends.’
‘I didn’t agree to go along with it, Mansel.’
‘That’s a relief, anyway,’ said Hambridge.
‘I never expected this to happen.’
‘You’ve known the bloody girl for years,’ said Price. ‘You must have learnt the way Ruby’s mind works by now.’
Leach raised his eyes to the ceiling. ‘If only I did!’
‘It’s time you put her in her place, Gordon.’
‘You can’t use force with Ruby. You have to get your way by reason. In this case, unfortunately, she wasn’t ready to listen to it.’
‘You did make her the offer,’ Hambridge told him.
‘I should have kept my big mouth shut.’
‘So what will happen now?’
Leach gestured his despair. ‘I don’t know, Fred,’ he admitted. ‘I honestly don’t know. When I told Ruby that I’d changed my mind, she went mad. At the moment it doesn’t look as if we’ll have a wedding of any kind.’
They went to a nearby café and found a table in a quiet corner. Over a frugal meal, Alice told Keedy about the way that she’d been trailed from the bus stop.
‘I doubt very much if he’ll bother you again,’ he said. ‘I think I frightened him off for good. I should have arrested him, but the priority was to comfort you.’
‘I was so grateful to see you, Joe.’
‘I was hiding in the porch, ready to surprise you.’
‘And there was me thinking I’d never see you while you were tied up in this case. How did you manage to get off work? Daddy usually puts in fifteen or sixteen hours a day on a big investigation – sometimes more.’
Keedy told here about his night-time vigil and the subsequent arrest of Robbie Gill. While she admired his tenacity, she was horrified to think that anyone could want to celebrate the murder of a young man by painting some provocative words on the side of his house. He asked her about her own work and she boasted about the way she’d been able to mend an engine. He took her hand between his palms.
‘That’s not what beautiful hands like these should be doing, Alice.’
‘I had no choice. Someone had to get that lorry working.’
‘Are you still enjoying the WEC?’
‘Yes, Joe,’ she replied. ‘No two days are the same and I’ve made a lot of new friends. It’s much more exciting than teaching. My one regret is about Mummy, of course. Daddy and I have left her stranded in the house.’
‘I don’t want to sound harsh but you must think of yourself. Much as I like Ellen, she was holding you back. You needed space of your own.’
‘I realise that now.’
‘It means you’ve been able to do things that were just not possible before.’
Alice laughed. ‘That’s certainly true.’
‘Does your mother suspect anything?’ he asked, releasing her hand.
‘No, she doesn’t.’
‘Ellen has always sniffed things out in the past.’
‘Not this time, Joe.’
‘And you’ve said nothing to her?’
‘Of course not,’ she said with a frown of indignation. ‘It’s what we agreed, isn’t it? Besides, what is there to tell? We’ve only seen each other three or four times.’
‘Five – you’re not counting this evening.’
‘The one thing that Mummy really wanted to know was where I’d spent New Year’s Eve. I told her the truth. I went to a party with friends. What I didn’t say was that you happened to be one of them.’
Keedy chuckled. ‘It was a wonderful night!’
‘I remember every second of it.’
They ate their food and drank their cups of tea, content simply to be in each other’s company. Alice liked to think that being in the WEC had toughened her and made her able to cope with any contingencies. The incident with the stalker had taught her that she was still vulnerable. All over London there were attractive young women who’d lost their husbands or their boyfriends to the army and who lacked the protection they gave. Alice had been assaulted by one of the predators who roamed the suburbs in search of their perverted pleasure. She’d been lucky. But for Keedy, she could have been in serious trouble.
‘Carry a weapon with you next time,’ he advised.
‘That’s illegal, Joe.’
‘I’m not talking about knives and guns.’
She giggled. ‘So what do you recommend – a knuckleduster?’
‘No, Alice. I meant something you probably have in your handbag already. Next time you think you’re being followed, take out a pair of scissors or a nail file and hold them ready. One good jab will scare most men off.’
‘I’ll settle for a sharp kick in the shins. That’s what I should have given him this evening. While he was hopping on one leg, I could have reached my front door.’
‘Where someone was lying in ambush, remember.’
‘Yes, but I wouldn’t have had to fight you off.’
They gazed into each other’s eyes and had a long, silent conversation. Alice had known him for years but never really seen him in romantic terms.
‘What would Ellen say if she knew?’ he asked.
‘I want to make sure that she doesn’t.’
‘Would she be for or against it?’
‘Oh, I think she’d be very much in favour of it.’
‘I’ve got one parent on my side, then.’
‘Daddy would be against you, Joe. If he discovered that you and I had been seeing each other in secret, he’d go berserk.’
‘I don’t believe that. Harvey never goes berserk. Whatever the crisis, he always stays cool, calm and collected. I sometimes think he has ice in his veins.’
‘You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen him lose his temper. You only know him as a detective. I’ve seen him as a father.’
‘What has he got against me?’
‘Do you really need to ask me that?’ she said, nudging his ankle under the table. ‘Let’s be honest, Joe. Where women are concerned, you have a reputation.’
‘I like them.’
‘Yes, but you’ve liked rather a lot of them, Joe.’
‘They’ve always liked me in return,’ he countered. ‘I’m not a philanderer. I’ve only ever had one girlfriend at a time.’
‘That doesn’t matter. To my father, I’d only be the latest in a long line.’
‘Come off it, Alice. It’s not all that long.’
‘All right,’ she said. ‘Let’s just say that I’m not the first.’
‘But you might be the last.’ He beamed at her. ‘That’s much better.’
Alice was taken aback by the sudden announcement. Was it some kind of covert proposal? Or had it just popped out? From the expression on his face, she couldn’t tell if he was serious or merely joking. Her emotions were in a whirl. She liked Keedy very much and believed that he was extremely fond of her. But her feelings had never been any deeper. The mere hint that he was declaring his love for her made her heartbeat quicken. She had to make a supreme effort to control herself.
‘There’s another reason why Daddy would be angry,’ she said.
‘You don’t need to tell me what it is, Alice.’
‘It would be a real blow to his pride.’
‘That’s easy to understand,’ said Keedy, wrestling with a clash of loyalties. ‘Harvey Marmion is one of the best detectives I’ve ever worked with. Imagine how he’ll feel if he discovers what’s been going on. It was right there in front of him but he didn’t even see it.’
Though evening had long since evanesced into night, Marmion was still at his desk in Scotland Yard, crouched over a map as he tried to plot the possible routes that Ablatt would have taken to get from Lambeth to Shoreditch. The fact that he’d made a detour to Caroline Skene’s house in order to tell her about his achievement at the meeting of the NCF showed how important she was to him. Caroline came first. The three friends waiting for him would have been deeply upset to realise that. Keeping the truth from them would be an act of kindness. It would lessen Ablatt in their eyes.
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