‘I was so looking forward to this Christmas but now it’s ruined.’ She swallowed a couple of mouthfuls and then settled back in her usual place against his shoulder. ‘That was so selfish of me. I’m sorry, you must think me very shallow.’
‘Don’t be daft, as far as I’m concerned, you’re perfect.’
She twisted her head and smiled up at him. ‘If you’re waiting for me to reciprocate, Squadron Leader Reynolds, forget it.’
He loved it when she referred to him by his old rank – not because he wanted the kudos but because she was teasing him.
‘First Officer Simpson, as you’re now the same rank as a captain, you’re of equal rank to me.’
‘I’m not Simpson, I’m First Officer Reynolds. You’re forgetting that I’m now using my married name.’
‘About time too. I hope you flash your wedding band at all the eager airmen that you meet when delivering your bombers.’
‘Actually, I rarely meet any of those. Mostly ground engineers and admin bods. Anyway, what happens next, do you think?’
‘With Mary?’
‘I was thinking more about the investigation. I should think that everyone at the pool will know about it when we go back tomorrow.’
They drank their cocoa in silence for a while. He shifted so she was more comfortable. ‘What about the party tomorrow night? When a guy went for a Burton, we raised a glass and then the next day carried on as if nothing had happened.’
‘Are you saying we should go?’
‘I’m game if you are. Although we were both fond of her, we didn’t really know her very well, did we? No one will expect us to mope about.’
‘Mary wouldn’t have wanted us to, I know that. So sad to think she had a baby on her own and was forced to have him adopted.’
He drained his mug and sat up forcing her to do the same. ‘There’s something fishy about all this. I wish he hadn’t taken the box as we could have investigated further. I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I really think we must look in the cellar tonight. I’m certain the police will be back tomorrow when they work out what probably happened.’
‘I’m not going down the cellar like this. Neither am I going to get dressed when it’s bedtime. Let’s get up early tomorrow and do it then. The police won’t come before breakfast, will they?’
Something occurred to him and he relaxed. ‘If we’re not here they won’t be able to get in. They probably don’t know that I work—’
‘I’m sure they do as you were in your uniform when they came.’
‘Dammit! If I’m not here then they’ll have to come back in the evening.’
‘But we’ve just agreed we’re going to the party after work.’
‘Exactly – if they want to have another nose around, they’ll have to make an appointment.’
‘Inspector Gardner is going to be very cross, but as long as we’re not charged with obstructing his investigations, I don’t care. I wonder if we’ll find out more about the actual father of this child.’
‘Hopefully we can find out before the police do. I’m beginning to think that her death might have been nothing to do with this witch nonsense, but to do with her son.’
‘I’m thinking the same but I can’t see why she would be murdered because of it. Even if the couple who adopted him have kept it secret, I hardly think that the adoptive parents would be so worried Mary might tell us they would kill her.’
‘Do you remember where the baby was registered?’
He closed his eyes and visualised the paper. ‘Oxford, which is almost certainly the nearest registry office.’
‘My head’s spinning, darling, let’s go up. I’ll do the mugs and the range if you take care of this fire. Which reminds me, I know we said we weren’t going to do any modernisation for the moment but now we’re on our own, do you think we could get it started right away?’
‘Don’t see why not. I warn you, love, it might be difficult to find anyone to do it. And more to the point, I doubt there’ll be any of the materials available that are needed to do it.’
‘Never mind. Let’s forget about it for the moment. We don’t really need a housekeeper either as you’re not going to be away.’
‘The housekeeper no, but we do need a daily lady. We’ve also got to find the ration books, return hers, and start buying our provisions. Thank God we have our own vegetables, eggs and so on.’
‘The man who comes to do the garden might know a local woman who would be prepared to come in for a couple of hours each day. It would be helpful if I didn’t have to worry about shopping and cooking.’
*
Ellie woke first. ‘Let’s just get up and go. The canteen usually opens at seven and we can get breakfast there.’
Jack didn’t move. She knew he was awake and just ignoring her. ‘I’m going as soon as I’ve washed and dressed. Are you going to let the poor little woman pedal in the dark?’ This was said as a joke but he shot out of bed as if stuck by a hatpin.
‘Jeez – not likely. There’s a murderer in the vicinity. You mustn’t go out alone in the dark until he’s caught.’
She was going to protest but then reconsidered. ‘Makes sense, even though we think poor Mary was killed deliberately, that it wasn’t a random thing.’
It was inconvenient having the lavatory downstairs. She supposed that Jack could pee in the sink in the bathroom but she certainly wasn’t going to and she hoped he never did either. Her lips curved.
‘Jack, do you use the sink or go downstairs?’
He was in the process of getting one leg through his trousers and almost overbalanced. ‘I’ve been tempted, but so far haven’t succumbed. We could always have a pot under the bed. It wouldn’t bother me.’
‘I’ll get the range going and put the kettle on whilst I’m downstairs. I think we might as well have a cup of tea before we go as the police are unlikely to come whilst it’s dark.’
‘I should think any policeman of sense is still fast asleep in bed. Good God, woman, it’s only just after six.’
‘Stop complaining, Squadron Leader Reynolds. There was a time when you were lucky to get any sleep at all, let alone eight hours.’
He threw a pillow at her but she dodged and skipped out of the door laughing. Then a feeling of guilt washed over her that they could be laughing and playing the fool so soon after the tragedy. As Mary had no family as far as they knew then it was down to them to pack up her personal possessions and dispose of them.
She was pretty sure that the WRVS collected unwanted clothes and then redistributed them for those who’d been bombed out in the blitz. Whilst she was riddling the range she glanced around at the overstocked French dresser, at the lovely copper pans that hung from hooks on the ceiling, and decided they could afford to donate quite a lot of the household items they had.
She’d overheard one of the women who cleaned at White Waltham saying she’d been trying to find a new saucepan for more than two months and couldn’t get one for love or money. Where had they gone? She supposed people had donated a lot of their pots and pans to be melted down for Spitfires at the beginning of the war not realising if one wore out, they couldn’t replace it.
Soon they were on their bicycles pedalling slowly side-by-side towards the pool with only the feeble light of the moon to guide them.
‘Are you still okay about going to the party tonight, sweetheart?’
‘I am, but I don’t want to upset the inspector. He could make life difficult for us by getting a search warrant and ripping the place apart. I don’t think they have to put anything back or pay for repairs.’
‘Bugger the inspector!’ What he’d been going to say next was lost as he wobbled dangerously and only by some miracle didn’t go headfirst into the ditch.
‘Serves you right for using such bad language. Mum used to threaten to wash my brothers’ mouths out with carbolic soap. Fortunately, she never carried out her threat.’
In their dark blue uniforms and their scarves tied around their fa
ces they were all but invisible. They were no more than a hundred yards from their destination when a black saloon drove past in the opposite direction. It wouldn’t have seen them. Her heart sank.
‘That was the police, I’m sure it was the same car. They obviously wanted to speak to us before we left. I’ve a horrible feeling they’ll pursue us here when they find us missing.’
‘I don’t see how that will help them. I expect what they want is to get into the house. If they have a warrant then I think they might be able to go in without permission.’
They both waved to the soldiers guarding the gate and pedalled furiously to the admin building and dumped their bikes. As expected, the canteen was open, although you couldn’t see this from the outside as the blackouts were still closed.
‘They won’t have worked out who’s doing what, it’s far too early. I don’t suppose many flyers are in yet as they can’t start until it gets light.’
‘Ellie, if you’ll get us some breakfast, I’ll go and see if I can find Frankie and give him the gen. With any luck he can tell Gardner we can’t be spared and that he’ll have to wait until this evening. I’m afraid we’re going to miss the party after all.’
Fourteen
Jack expected to be greeted with handshakes and condolences but those that were there just treated him as usual. Either they didn’t know about Mary or had decided the death of a housekeeper didn’t warrant offering commiserations.
There were no pilots about, they didn’t have to be in until eight o’clock, but the canteen was no doubt busy with ground staff, office staff and other bods. Frankie was, for once, in his office.
‘Take a pew, old thing. Tell me what’s happening.’
When Jack finished there was silence as his CO processed the information. ‘So, you see, Frankie, we want to investigate the cellar before the police. There might be something down there that could bring disaster to several families. From what I gather, Mary was quite open about her strange interests but the other members of the group remained completely anonymous.’
Jack had omitted the information about the missing baby as this wasn’t something he thought should be bandied about.
‘Shocking, quite shocking. Bad enough when I thought the old dear had been run over, but to be murdered? Bloody awful.’
‘Will you try and persuade the inspector that after missing yesterday I’ve got too much vital work to do to be allowed another day off?’
‘I’ll do my best. Does this mean that you and Ellie won’t come tonight?’
‘At the moment we’re intending to come but things might change. Where’s Ellie going today? Is she the taxi driver?’
‘No – there’s a Halifax coming in first thing for onward transit to Heslington Hall, that’s in Yorkshire in case you didn’t know. Then a damaged one to be delivered to the MUs at Eastleigh. The forecast for late morning in Yorks isn’t great so she might have to hang around a bit. The taxi Anson will pick her up from the Mus. With luck, she’ll be back tonight.’
‘Thanks. I’m going to get breakfast in the canteen but will be at my desk in half an hour.’
The canteen was busy with like-minded people, but he only saw one pilot amongst them. Ellie waved him over to the table she’d found for them in the far corner of the room.
‘What did he say? Is he going to help us avoid the police?’
‘He’ll do his best. You might be out overnight, but let’s hope not.’
‘As they’ve already decided what I’m going to be doing, I might as well get the paperwork organised now. That means I’ll be able to get away smartly. I wonder who’s my flight engineer today.’
*
Every time he heard footsteps outside his office Jack tensed expecting an irate policeman to arrive and demand entry to the house. However, no one, apart from a couple of office girls, bothered him and he ploughed through the backlog of work and, by missing lunch, had completed the day’s tasks in good time.
He rang St Albans and spoke to Fiona. ‘How horrible for you both. Don’t let it spoil your first Christmas, I’m sure your housekeeper wouldn’t want you to be sad on her behalf.’
‘You’re probably right. How are you?’
‘I’m tickety-boo, thank you. Charlotte is an absolute angel and takes care of Neil so I can rest whenever I want to. We’ve decided to buy something larger when this baby arrives as this house isn’t really big enough for our growing family.’
‘Will Charlotte come with you or does she intend to stay where she is?’
‘Goodness me, nothing we can say will persuade her to leave here. She’s made so many friends and is busy with the WRVS and the Women’s Institute, as well as the church. George has said that we’ve got to find someone to help in the house when we do move.’
‘I’ve got to go, give her my love and my best wishes to George. We’ll come and see you when your baby arrives.’
He put the receiver down and realised he didn’t know where Fiona and George were intending to move – presumably not too far away from the devoted grandma. George had inherited a massive fortune from his grandfather so it made sense for him to find himself his own place and not live under the same roof as his mother.
Usually someone from the office collected the manila folders but as he had finished for the day, he decided to carry them down himself. After dropping them off he went in search of Frankie to see if Gardner had actually come looking for him. The blackouts were already down; if Ellie didn’t get in soon she wouldn’t be here tonight.
There was no sign of his CO and he didn’t intend to spend the next half an hour wandering about the place looking for him. He no longer used a locker and had returned his flying gear; he kept his outdoor garments on the peg behind the door in his office.
If Ellie didn’t get back, he definitely wasn’t going to the party. He shrugged into his coat and with his scarf and gloves in his hand he made his way outside. Nothing else would land tonight – it was too dark. She had her overnight bag and he was confident she was safe. If she wasn’t, he would have heard soon enough. When he walked past the office someone called his name and he went in.
‘Jack, I’m really sorry I should have told you hours ago. Ellie’s stuck at Heslington Hall and won’t be back until tomorrow.’
‘Thanks, I guessed as much.’
He arrived back at the house to find the police car waiting outside.
*
Ellie delivered the Halifax safely but the weather was already closing in. She made her way to the admin building to do the handover of papers and collect the next lot for the damaged bomber she was returning to Eastleigh.
‘I can’t possibly let you take that kite,’ the officer said. ‘Bugger to fly something so damaged even in good weather. I wouldn’t ask any of my chaps to take it until things clear. I’ve made arrangements for you to stay overnight with the WAAFs.’
‘Right, I was prepared to give it a go but if you think it too dangerous, I won’t insist.’
‘Absolutely, First Officer Reynolds. The Met report for tomorrow morning is okay, but you never know up here. Could be sunshine, could be heavy snow or more of this filthy fog and rain.’
‘I hope there’s accommodation for my flight cadet, Toby Morrison. His mother won’t be pleased he’s stuck overnight. Could you give White Waltham a bell so they can let her know he’s safe and staying here?’
‘Of course. How old is he?’
‘Just turned seventeen. He’s joining the RAF next year but working for us until then. He’ll make an excellent flight engineer as he’s already passed the preliminary exams.’
‘Then he’s old enough to bunk in with the airmen. He might as well see how things will be when he enlists.’
She had flown several Halifaxes and a couple of Wellingtons to this base already so knew the layout and had no difficulty finding her way to the separate building in which the WAAF were housed.
‘Ellie, good to see you. You’re lucky, you won’t have to share as one of the of
ficers is in sickbay with influenza,’ Section Officer Peggy Drummond informed her.
‘Sorry to hear that, hope no one else catches it. If you point me in the right direction then I’ll dump my bag, clean up and make my way to the Officers’ Mess.’
‘I’ll come with you. Not much to do at the moment because everything’s grounded. On the plus side at least none of the boys will be killed tonight.’ Peggy’s voice was gruff.
‘I’m so sorry, did your fiancé…?’ She couldn’t complete the question as Peggy nodded.
‘Six weeks ago. They crashed somewhere in Germany. I’m still praying they managed to bail out and are all with the resistance or in a POW camp somewhere.’
‘I hope so too. The waiting must be so hard. What does his squadron leader think? Is he hopeful?’
The young woman shook her head and surreptitiously dried her eyes on her sleeve. ‘Another aircraft saw them go down in flames so he said it’s likely they all perished. They do the air raids at night so it’s just possible people bailing out wouldn’t have been seen.’ She cleared her throat and changed the subject. ‘You must miss being at Hamble as you were there from the beginning.’
‘I do, but I much rather being with my husband and living in our own house for the first time.’ She had no intention of mentioning Mary’s murder. ‘Jack crashed a few weeks ago, he’s absolutely fine now, but has dodgy sight in one eye and can no longer fly. He’s now in admin.’
‘Good show – that means that one of you is safe from harm. I don’t know how you can fly those damaged bombers, I certainly couldn’t.’ They stopped outside the door.
‘Is this my room? I won’t be a tick, if you’re going to wait for me.’
She removed her toiletries and then chucked the bag onto the bed. The communal bathrooms and loos were at the end of the corridor. After a quick sluice to remove the worst of the oil from her face and hands she was ready. On the way past her room she opened the door and threw her things on the bed to join the rest.
The Mess room was scarcely bigger than her own drawing room – but then there weren’t that many WAAF officers here so it didn’t warrant anything larger. If she recalled correctly it was also used by the sergeants and other non-commissioned officers.
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