by Cathy Sharp
‘Don’t think that I approve of what we did this evening,’ he said as they strode away. ‘It was wrong, Archie, and we stole what didn’t belong to us – but in this case I believe we had good cause. I want you to promise me that you won’t make a habit of breaking into places.’
‘I promise,’ Archie said. ‘When I did it the first time, I just wanted to talk to Sister and if she’d told us where June had gone we wouldn’t have gone there tonight …’
‘Yes, but even a good reason doesn’t excuse what we did,’ Ikey said. ‘I did it only because your sister may not be in safe hands.’
‘What do you mean?’
Ikey shook his head. ‘It’s just a feeling, a sixth sense – but I picked something up from Sister Beatrice when I spoke to her. She didn’t actually put her concern into words, but I believe she is anxious about your sister, Archie. I think a woman like that has a great deal of experience and if she is uneasy about June’s fostering then I believe we were justified in what we did – though she would undoubtedly be angry with us if she knew …’ He was thoughtful, then, ‘I’m going to show these details to someone I know and find out a bit more about Mr and Mrs Bailey.’
‘We only just got away with it,’ Archie said and frowned. ‘You found their address – the people who’ve got June?’
‘Yes, it was on the top of the file, almost as if it were waiting for us to find …’
‘Where do they live?’
‘It’s a quiet place just outside Cambridge,’ Ikey said. ‘I went there once or twice some years back on business. We can take a train to Cambridge and then we’ll have to get a bus … and walk some of the way I expect. Unless I can borrow a car from someone … that would be best, of course,’ Ikey mused.
‘Can you drive?’ Archie asked, looking at him in surprise.
‘Yes, but unfortunately my driving licence ran out a while back and I didn’t renew it … but we mustn’t allow such small things to put us off, must we?’
‘You won’t ’alf be in trouble if they catch you,’ Archie said in some awe. ‘Are you goin’ to pinch a car too?’
‘No, I don’t think I need to be quite that desperate,’ Ikey said with a slight smile. ‘I have a very good friend who will loan me his modest vehicle … and we shall trust to our luck that my driving will not draw the attention of the law …’
Beatrice frowned as she looked at her filing cabinet. Had she left the top drawer slightly open? She could not remember when she’d last been to it and pulled it out, flicking through the files inside. Everything was in its usual place and none of the files was missing. She closed the drawer properly but dismissed the small matter as she reached for her phone. She did not like disturbing the doctor at this hour, but she really needed a second opinion, because she hoped her own was wrong. Dick’s rash might be nothing, of course, but it could be meningitis and that was a terrible disease for a young child. If not treated quickly it might result in all kinds of complications, and even if they were able to treat the child, he could still die.
Reaching for the phone, Beatrice prayed that she was wrong. Meningitis was a killer and she hoped the child she’d just examined just had some kind of a skin rash rather than the horrible disease that might lead in the worst cases to amputation of limbs or even death …
Every child that came to them was precious. Perhaps it was the tragic loss of her own child many years ago that had made her so determined not to lose any of her charges to illness or any other cause. Replacing the receiver after asking a very tired and slightly grumpy doctor to attend her patient, Beatrice frowned and returned to her file cabinet, opening the top drawer once more. She took out the file on June Miller and instantly saw that the letter she’d placed on top had gone. Closing the file with a grim little nod of satisfaction, she made no attempt to search for the missing letter. Beatrice was sure that she knew exactly where it was, and although it was quite disgraceful that it had been taken, she could not help feeling that in this case it might serve her purpose very well … She had a suspicion that the man who called himself Ikey and apparently had no fixed abode was someone – or something – very different. She’d met his kind before and her sixth sense told her that Ikey had his own reasons for championing Archie’s cause …
Archie turned his head to look at the man driving the disreputable old Ford car they had borrowed from one of Ikey’s friends. It made occasional popping noises every now and then and it rattled whenever they went over a bump in the road. Archie wasn’t sure it was safe to be on the road, but he didn’t care because it was exciting to be driven in any car. If you didn’t count that awful time at Halfpenny House, it was his first time out of London, apart from one visit to Southend by train when his father was alive, he found the experience fascinating and watched avidly as the scenery changed and they left the dirty, smoky buildings of London behind and passed through smaller towns and villages, sometimes spending long periods on country roads with hardly anything but fields and the occasional barn to be seen.
‘Are we lost?’ he asked as Ikey pulled into a layby on the side of the road.
‘No. We’re not far from our destination now,’ Ikey said. ‘We’ll take a break for a sandwich and have a talk about what we need to do when we get there …’
Archie opened the packet of sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper and bit into one. It was cheese and shop-bought pickle, and he ate hungrily.
‘This is good,’ he said, ‘but not as good as the piccalilli my mum used to make …’
Ikey nodded and munched in silence for a while, then took out a flask and poured tea into two mugs, offering one to Archie.
‘It’s like a picnic,’ Archie said, but his smile disappeared as Ikey spoke.
‘You have to realise that they may not let us see June, Archie. We don’t have an appointment, but I doubt if they would have let us visit her even if I’d written an official letter.’
‘I’ll see her somehow,’ Archie said. ‘I have to know she’s all right so I can tell Mum when I visit her.’
‘That’s another thing,’ Ikey said. ‘I’ve made inquiries about visiting and they don’t permit youngsters into the prison, but I’ve asked for a visiting order to see your mum and I’ll take anything you want in with me … sweets, letters …’
Archie scowled. ‘I’m not a kid. I’ve left school and I can work.’
‘I know that but according to the law you should be at school for another two years, and you’re considered a minor when it comes to prison visits,’ Ikey said. ‘However, you can’t win even if you kick against it. What we’ve got to try and do is prove your mum isn’t a thief, Archie, and then we can get her out – but that’s for another day. Today we’re here for June, to see if she’s happy or – not …’
‘What do we do if she isn’t?’ Archie asked. ‘I know June. She isn’t easy to please, but whatever she is, I care what happens to her.’
‘Yes, I know, that is why we’re here,’ Ikey nodded grimly. ‘Let me do the talking at first, Archie. I’ll tell them we’ve come from the Children’s Department and have a permit to see June …’
‘What do we do if they ask you to show them the permit?’
‘I thought of that,’ Ikey said. ‘Keep quiet until we get to see her and leave everything to me. It’s important that you don’t do anything to arouse their suspicions or they’ll just slam the door in our faces.’
‘Is that why you’re wearing that suit?’
Ikey had come dressed in a navy-blue pinstripe suit that looked to be a few years out of fashion but was made of good cloth and fitted him well, except that the waist on the trousers was a bit big and had to be pulled in tight with a leather belt; his shirt and tie looked respectable, as did the polished black leather shoes, and he was carrying a briefcase, which he’d put in the back of the car.
‘Yes, I was loaned it for the occasion,’ Ikey said. ‘I look as if I might work in a council office, don’t I? Respectable but not highly paid …’
‘Yeah,’ Archie said and grinned. ‘You scrub up all right, Ikey.’
‘Ah yes, my name is Mr Malvern for the purposes of our business today, Archie. Don’t forget. I’m a probation officer and you’re in my care and on an official visit to your sister. I’m not your friend and you probably resent me a bit – do you think you can manage that?’
‘Yeah, I reckon,’ Archie said. ‘I’ll think about that rotten woman who took June away.’ He scowled and Ikey laughed and nodded.
‘Just right, but don’t overdo it,’ he said. ‘We don’t want to frighten them off …’
He brushed his hands, put the sandwiches away and switched the engine on again. It spluttered for a moment and Archie thought it wasn’t going to start, but then the engine made a coughing sound and came to life.
The scenery once they left Cambridge behind was mostly fields and a few houses straggling along the sides of the road, with farm buildings on the horizon and what was left of an ancient windmill, its sails broken and hanging limply despite the breeze. When Ikey turned off the main road they passed a row of houses and came into a village with a sign proclaiming it to be Waterbeach, but there was no sign of a beach or any water, just a bit of a green surrounded by a few shops and houses, with roads and lanes leading off. Ikey seemed to know exactly where he was going and turned off into a small lane that had houses on one side faced with trees and fields. The semi-detached houses were flanked by a hedge, a dyke and then more trees and beyond that farmland and a barn.
‘Number 19,’ Ikey said and pulled up a couple of places back on the opposite side of the road. ‘It’s the house at the very end …’
Archie looked and saw a yellow-brick house with one window downstairs, a door and a glass panel, two windows upstairs; it was set back with a small garden, a lawn and a flower bed at one side, bushes and a wooden garage to the left side. A newish-looking Morris car sat on the drive in front. Somehow, its very ordinary look was disconcerting. Archie had expected something different, a bigger house perhaps, though he wasn’t sure why. He was fearful as Ikey got out of the car and took his briefcase from the back, signalling him to follow him.
Archie’s stomach clenched with apprehension. Sup-posing June was happy here and liked her foster parents? Ikey would think he’d made a fuss over nothing, and his mum would be upset – and angry because he’d let his sister be taken away from them.
He lagged behind Ikey, feeling nervous, and had no difficulty in feigning unease as the door opened in answer to Ikey’s knock. It was opened by a plain-looking woman in a print frock and apron, wearing velvet slippers on her feet and no make-up.
‘Mrs Bailey? I am Nathaniel Malvern and I’m a colleague of Miss Ruth Sampson … Welfare Department?’ He tipped his hat to her as she looked puzzled. ‘You got my letter requesting a visit to June Miller of course …’
‘Letter?’ The woman shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not Mrs Bailey. I’m her charwoman. I come in most days to cook and clean when she’s at school … She didn’t say nuthin’ to me about a visit from the Social.’
‘We’ve come down especially from London,’ Ikey said and opened his briefcase, taking out a sheaf of papers. ‘We have the right to see this boy’s sister. Mrs Bailey must have been told that we would need to make inspections until we’re quite satisfied that June is being properly looked after – and any attempt to stop us may result in the girl being taken away. I suppose she is here today?’
‘Yes, ’cos she’s off school with a cold,’ the woman said. ‘She’s always off with somethin’ if you ask me. You’d better come through to the sitting room then … though I don’t know what Mrs Bailey will say, and I don’t hold with things like this …’ She sniffed and stood back, allowing them to enter and directed them to the back room. ‘I’ve got things to do; I ain’t paid to stand around and watch you.’
‘Yes, please get on with your work, ma’am – what was your name?’
‘Mrs Jelly …’ The woman shot a look at Archie and went off upstairs grumbling away to herself and scowling.
‘That’s a bit of luck,’ Ikey said but Archie was already ahead of him and in the back room. It was square and furnished with old-fashioned stuff, a bit scruffy and not at all what he’d imagined. His sister was standing looking at the window and as soon as he saw her, Archie knew he’d been right to come; there was something defeated in her stance and, as she turned with a look of fright in her eyes, he felt a surge of anger against the people who had done this to his June.
‘Archie?’ She stared at him in disbelief, bursting into tears as she ran to him, clutching at him and sobbing as his arms closed around her. ‘Have you come to take me away? Please take me away from them, please … I hate it here … I hate them both but him worse …’
‘What have they done to you, June?’ Archie asked but she shook her head, her face buried in his chest as she wept and mumbled something about it being horrible and wanting her mother. ‘Look at me,’ he insisted and turned her chin up so that he could see her eyes. ‘Tell me what happened, June? Have they hurt you … hit you or beaten you?’
She nodded her head, her cheeks red. ‘Not beaten …’
‘What then? You can tell me, love …’
June looked beyond him to Ikey and shrank against Archie. ‘Don’t let him touch me. Don’t let them do it again … it hurts and I hate it. I won’t stay here, I won’t …’
‘Ikey is my friend,’ Archie said. ‘He won’t hurt you; he’s here to help us, June. What do you mean it hurts? Tell me …’
Her cheeks were flaming and she shook her head. ‘It’s dirty …’ she whispered so that only he could hear. ‘What he makes me do and she says I’ve got to please him … she holds me down sometimes if I struggle …’
‘Did he touch you, interfere with you … under your knickers?’ Archie said, because it was obvious June didn’t know how to put what had happened to her into words. She nodded, lowering her voice to a whisper he could hardly hear.
‘He comes when I’m in bed and pulls the sheets down and lifts my nighty and he does things … sometimes he pokes at me and it hurts …’ Tears were rolling down her cheeks. ‘Please let me come with you, Archie … don’t leave me here …’
‘Can we?’ Archie said but before Ikey could answer someone entered the house and walked into the room. A smartly dressed woman in a grey suit with black shoes and a white blouse stood looking at them, her manner startled, shocked as she saw them. Her expression went from surprise to fear and then to anger.
‘Who are you?’ she demanded. ‘How did you get into my house?’
‘Your daily let us in,’ Ikey said. ‘You must have had my letter, Mrs Bailey. You knew that we should want to visit June sometimes to make sure she is safe and properly looked after …’
‘You’re from the Children’s Department …’ For a moment the colour drained from her face. ‘I didn’t get a letter. Why are you here? Has someone been saying things? What did she tell you?’ She shot a look of venomous dislike at June. ‘That little devil would say anything to get her own way. We’ve done nothing but spend good money on her – look at that dress and those shoes; they didn’t come from the market. I bought that dress in Roses’ fashions in Cambridge – it cost me five pounds, but is she grateful? If she has been telling you lies, I’ll give her a good smacking …’
‘Don’t leave me here,’ June begged, clinging to Archie.
‘Well, I think we shall have to investigate this further,’ Ikey said. ‘I shall be taking Miss Miller with me, Mrs Bailey, and you may apply to the department in writing to have her restored to you. I think we need to have her examined by a doctor …’
‘No! You’re making a big mistake. My husband is a respectable man and on the local council, and he has influential friends. This little liar is making it up, I tell you. She will do anything to get her own way … that is why she was taken into care. Miss Sampson told me …’ She paused, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. ‘Why isn’t she here? Why hasn’t she
come herself? I don’t believe you’re who you say you are. Get out of my house before I call the police …’ Her hand descended on June’s shoulder, gripping her tightly. ‘Go upstairs, girl, and stay there until I say you can come down. You will feel the back of my hand when I have time to deal with you …’
‘Run for it, June,’ Archie yelled and kicked the woman’s shins. She gave a scream and let go of June, grabbing at her ankle and jumping out of the way as Archie aimed another kick at her other ankle.
June darted past her, through into the small kitchen and out into the back garden, Archie avoiding the woman’s grasping hands followed her. She ran as fast as she could, across to the open ground, panic lending her speed. Archie had difficulty in catching up with her. At last he managed to grab her around the waist and she screamed.
‘It’s all right, June,’ he said. ‘It’s me, it’s Archie. Ikey’s got a car waiting. Look, he’s getting in it, he’s reversing towards us. Come on, we have to get in before that witch comes after us …’
The woman had come down her path and was yelling at the top of her voice. She tried to throw herself at the car door, but Ikey just kept reversing at speed and she stumbled and fell back. Ikey reversed right over the garden at the side of the house; Archie pulled open the back door, shoved his sister inside and tumbled in after her. Ikey put the car into first gear and shot forward as Archie managed to pull the door shut. He saw Mrs Bailey loom up in front of the car as if to stop them but she must have realised that they weren’t going to stop because she jumped back out of the way as Ikey brushed past her, just touching her and knocking her to her knees. Several people had come out on to the street and were looking at her, but Ikey had reached the corner and drove round it with all the speed he could muster, putting distance between them.
Archie sat back and looked at his sister. She was staring out of the back window as if frightened that they would be pursued, her eyes wide and scared. Archie felt scared himself. He knew Ikey was in a lot of trouble for what he’d done, knocking that woman down and snatching June from her legal guardians. He could easily go to prison for it if June’s foster parents went to the police or made a complaint; the realisation made him feel sick and shaky. His friend had put himself in danger for their sakes.