A Family Scandal

by Kitty Neale

  Rhona took a step back in amazement. ‘Wow, Mave, I know you used to do a bit of drawing but I never knew you could do stuff like this. It’s brilliant. It’s almost like a photo but better. How long have you been doing this?’

  Mavis looked down in embarrassment. She still felt uneasy when anyone praised her work. All those years of everyone putting her down for being stupid had left their mark. ‘For a while now. I did one of Grace on her own, then one of the boys together, which was really hard because Bobby can’t sit still for two minutes. I can’t bear to think about having to give up this place, so instead of just doing sketches I was thinking of showing these to see if I can get a few commissions. We’ve already pawned everything we had of any value, and now my mum is talking about going back to collecting second-hand goods and selling them on.’

  ‘Oh no, I bet you thought you’d left all that behind,’ Rhona said sympathetically.

  ‘With things so tight, there isn’t any choice. We’ll both do pretty much anything we can to keep this place and now that Tommy’s landlord has taken his flat back, he’ll need somewhere to stay when he’s released from prison. Stan and Jenny had to go and get all his furniture and things to put into storage so I’m damned if I’ll let the bank take this house away from us. Until we can arrange to get married, we’ll just have to live together.’

  ‘I never thought I’d hear you say that.’

  ‘I’ve changed too, Rhona. I was daft to make Tommy wait so long before I slept with him and I realise that now. I was too frightened to put my trust in a man again, but all Tommy ever seems to think about is my happiness. When I went to see him in prison he even said that if he goes down he doesn’t want me to waste my life waiting for him, and suggested that we split up. I wouldn’t hear of it.’

  ‘Of course not, and anyway he’s sure to be found not guilty.’

  ‘That’s what I told him and if the worst happens, which I can’t bear to think about, Tommy is the man for me and if I have to wait for him until I’m old and grey, I will.’

  ‘Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,’ Rhona said worriedly.

  ‘Tommy said there are innocent men who have been convicted and I’m so scared, Rhona. What if that happens to Tommy?’

  ‘That isn’t going to happen,’ Rhona said firmly. ‘You wait and see, he’ll be home soon and then you can start planning your wedding. I hope you’re going to ask me to be a bridesmaid.’

  ‘Of course I will,’ Mavis said, pushing her fears to one side. ‘I haven’t got any sisters and Grace is too little.’

  ‘Mavis, I only suggested that to cheer you up. With my reputation, you won’t want me as a bridesmaid.’

  ‘I don’t give a damn about what’s said about you,’ Mavis said. ‘You’ve been a good friend to me through thick and thin. When Tommy gets out we’re going to have a wedding that nobody will ever forget and I want you there, right behind me. Do we have a deal?’

  ‘Deal,’ said Rhona, giving her friend a big hug. Then she sat back and looked at the oil painting again. ‘Mave, I don’t know much about this sort of thing but your picture really is terrific, it really is. If you show it, I feel sure you’ll get loads of commissions.’

  ‘I don’t know, Rhona. I know this flat is a fair size, but there isn’t a proper studio so I can’t ask anyone here to sit for their portrait. Not only that, I’ve seen how the other mothers look at me now when I go to collect Grace from school and it gave me second thoughts. There’s so much gossip about Tommy being accused of murder, and orders for sketches of children have all but dried up. I think it’s doubtful that anyone will want me to paint their portrait now so I think I’d better stick to helping my mum with selling second-hand goods.’

  Rhona stood up and placed her hands on her hips, arms akimbo. ‘Yeah, right. Do you really want to go out hoicking stuff about now the weather’s getting colder? Come off it, Mave. And people will be a damn sight ruder too, looking down their noses at you. You’ve got a talent, a proper one, and you’ve got to use it.’ She went across to her friend and stared intently into her eyes. ‘Don’t you want to make Grace proud of you? You once said she’s showing signs of talent too and she might just follow in your footsteps, as an artist, not as a bloomin’ hawker.’

  ‘That’s a bit below the belt, Rhona.’

  ‘I’m just trying to make you see sense. It’s not just you, or even the house, it’s for Grace and James too. They don’t want to be seeing you flogging tat down the market or wherever. You can do a lot better than that.’

  Mavis squirmed under her friend’s serious gaze. ‘It’s so hard, Rhona. It’s just me and that box of paints … and now with all the gossip, I don’t have the confidence. I wish I was more like you. You wouldn’t take any nonsense from anyone, but I’m really down after all this with Tommy. I feel sort of raw inside and don’t want to give people an excuse to hurt me even more.’

  Rhona backed off a little, sensing she was pushing Mavis too hard. ‘OK, OK,’ she said. ‘But at least think about what I said. If you show your oil paintings, I’ll come with you if you like to boost you up. And in the meantime I might ask a few people if they’re interested, just in case. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?’

  ‘No,’ Mavis admitted.

  ‘Well, then.’ Rhona stood up. ‘We’re going to get you out of this mess, Mavis. You just wait and see.’

  ‘Mavis not here?’ asked Stan, bending down to fend off Bobby who’d rushed towards him as he came in through the front door. ‘Blimey, Lily, this boy’s going to be a rugby player, he nearly brought me down with a tackle there.’ He rubbed his knees. ‘You knew we were picking up James for the afternoon, didn’t you?’

  ‘Come on through,’ Lily invited. Stan, Jenny and Greg followed as Lily led the way into her sitting room with furniture she’d been so proud of only a few months before. Now she could only look at it and calculate what she might get if she put it up for sale. Pete was sitting silently in the chair beside the window, staring morosely into space.

  ‘Isn’t Mavis here?’ Stan asked again.

  ‘You’re a little bit early and she’s just popped to the shops. She doesn’t go far nowadays because every time she goes out, she thinks people are talking about her behind her back. I don’t like to tell her, but she’s right. Everyone’s gossiping and pointing the finger, like we’re all criminals now.’

  ‘Oh, that’s awful,’ Jenny said.

  ‘James is getting a few things to take with him. He’ll be down in a mo, but in the meantime take the weight off your feet. Greg, you can go upstairs to hurry him up ’cos no doubt he’ll be lost in his own world as usual.’ She sighed as the boy dashed out of the room, followed by Bobby, who couldn’t bear to be left behind.

  Jenny stretched her legs in front of the electric fire where one lone bar was burning dull orange. ‘God, Lily, who’d have thought it. I don’t like to say anything in front of Greg but this just gets worse and worse.’

  ‘Fancy a cuppa?’ Lily tried to act the polite hostess but her heart evidently wasn’t in it.

  ‘No, don’t bother. We’ll have to be off as soon as James is ready.’ Jenny shook her head. ‘I can’t get over it, you know. This doesn’t make sense, keeping Tommy locked up, and yet … and yet …’

  Stan looked at the ceiling as if willing her not to say it.

  ‘What, Jenny?’ Lily stared at the younger woman.

  ‘I can’t get that night out of my head,’ Jenny confessed. ‘You know, when Tommy told us he had a bit of business to do and left before six. He didn’t turn up again until just after we were all in the pub and was I the only person to notice what he looked like? He was all sweaty and he was in a really strange mood. He kept trying to make jokes that weren’t funny and it wasn’t like Tommy at all. Come on, Stan, you know exactly what I mean.’

  Stan rubbed his hands in discomfort. ‘That doesn’t mean he pushed that bastard off the cliff,’ he muttered. Then he met his wife’s stare. ‘All right, yes, of course I noticed. He w
as out of breath when he got to the bar. Said he was too unfit to run, but he’d been out playing football all week and never got out of puff. I knew something wasn’t right, but it doesn’t mean …’

  ‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ protested Lily, trying to give Tommy the benefit of the doubt. ‘Fit or not, people can get out of breath when they run. Take me, for instance, I can hardly get up the stairs to Mavis’s flat if Bobby’s been running me ragged some days. But I know what you mean, he wasn’t himself. It was peculiar and it’s been bugging me, but I didn’t like to say.’

  Pete grunted. ‘Can’t blame a man for having a funny mood.’

  Lily glared at him. ‘I’m just saying. Something wasn’t right, you know that as well as I do.’ She folded her arms and turned towards the meagre warmth of the fire.

  ‘I haven’t told the police about it, and I’m not intending to,’ Stan reassured them, ‘but something about Tommy’s story isn’t right. There’s something fishy about it, though I hate to say it.’

  ‘Say what?’

  Nobody had heard Mavis come in, and they turned to see her standing in the living room doorway, her arms full of bags of painting materials. Her hair was wild, as if blown by the wind.

  ‘Say what?’ she repeated. ‘No, don’t bother. I heard some of it. I can’t believe it. Not you as well? Surely, even if the rest of South London is against Tommy, you don’t think he’s a killer too?’

  Jenny’s hand flew to her mouth and Stan flushed beetroot red. Lily, however, hastened across to her daughter. ‘No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,’ she said. ‘We were just wondering what was going on with Tommy that last night.’

  ‘Don’t.’ Mavis stopped her with one word. ‘Don’t you badmouth Tommy. He’s a good man, and he had nothing to do with Alec’s death. If you don’t believe that, you’re no family of mine.’ She whirled around but Lily caught her by the arm.

  ‘We don’t think he killed the man, but if we can’t say what we saw with our own eyes within these four walls, then where can we?’ Lily flashed. ‘We all noticed something was up with him, that’s all.’

  ‘So what?’ Mavis cried. ‘So he was a bit agitated, and he admits he saw Alec on those cliffs, but that doesn’t mean he killed him! I know in my heart that he’s incapable of murder, I just know. He … he’s my soul mate, and I’d know if he lied to me.’ She dropped her bags to the ground with a dull clatter. ‘Tommy is a good man, you all know that and we’re all he’s got. We have to stick together to get him out of there.’ Her chest heaved and she fought to take a breath. ‘He’s innocent. You know it in your hearts as well as I do so don’t talk about him as though he’s guilty.’

  ‘Mavis, don’t take on so,’ Lily appealed.

  ‘But, Mum, there isn’t a shred of truth in those accusations, and somehow we’ve got to prove it. He must be set free, he just must, and then we’re going to have our big wedding, you see if we don’t.’

  It was Jenny who gave way to tears. ‘Mavis, despite what you heard, I don’t for one minute think that Tommy is guilty. I know my cousin and I too know he’s incapable of killing anyone.’

  ‘Then I don’t understand why you’re all questioning what happened that night,’ Mavis cried, and with that she bent to pick up her bags and left the room.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jean walked over to Rhona in the canteen when they were on their lunch break. She was halfway through a packet of crisps, and she offered them to the younger woman. ‘Go on, you still need building up. Mind if I sit here?’

  ‘Of course not and thanks,’ Rhona said as she took a handful. She’d chosen a big bowl of oxtail soup, keen to warm up after hours standing in the chilly packing room. ‘Well? Did you ask him?’ She’d suggested to Jean that her fiancé might like a portrait done of her now that their wedding was drawing closer, not sure if he’d dismiss the idea as nonsense.

  Jean beamed. ‘I did. And guess what? He said yes. He was dead keen, and was really lovely about it. He said he wants to remember how I look now when we’re old and grey together. Isn’t that romantic? Don’t pull that face, Rhona, he’s a kind man and I love him, even though I know he’s too staid to be your type.’

  ‘Type? I don’t have a type. I’m off men,’ insisted Rhona, flicking her hair, but secretly she was delighted. She was a little embarrassed that she hadn’t managed to hide her opinion of her boss’s boyfriend, but by the looks of things Jean didn’t hold it against her.

  ‘Of course you are.’ Jean gave her a meaningful glance. ‘You sort out when your painter friend is free and I’ll get my best twinset ready. Might even put on a bit of lippy.’

  Rhona paused in the act of dunking a bread roll in her soup. ‘Never seen you in lippy, Jean. Didn’t even know you had any. What about mascara? Do you want to borrow my false eyelashes too? I don’t have no use for them now.’

  Jean threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’ve got to be joking. Those old things? Ugh, thanks but no thanks. But yes, of course I’ve got lippy. There’s just no point in wearing it round here, the dust will only stick to it.’ She gave Rhona a determined look. ‘I’m going to get all dressed up then your friend can go to town and make me look gorgeous for posterity.’

  ‘Oh, hark at you,’ Rhona laughed. ‘Posterity! Have you swallowed a dictionary and gone all posh now that you’ve been promoted?’

  Jean just smiled and Rhona finished her soup, wiping the bowl with the rest of the roll. So her idea had been a good one after all. She’d keep on asking around to see how much business she could drum up for Mavis. If they ended up losing the house it certainly wouldn’t be for lack of trying.

  It was late when the doorbell rang and Mavis hesitated as she made her way along the corridor. Pete and Lily were out, and Bobby had jumped at the chance to sleep upstairs, so the ground floor was empty and echoed with her slow footsteps. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know who it was calling at this hour and tensed with nerves.

  The nights were drawing in and at first Mavis could barely make out the shape of the person on the doorstep. By the way he stood he was almost blocking the light from the streetlamp as she opened the door, but then the moon came out from behind a cloud and she could see him more clearly. His hair was greasier and longer than when she’d last seen him and he had put on more weight, but there was no question as to who he was.

  She gasped, pulling her threadbare cardigan more tightly around her. ‘Larry Barnet. What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?’ Nervously she found the light switch and turned on the bare bulb that swung from the hall ceiling. Lily had already pawned the glass shade.

  Larry smiled thinly. ‘That’s no way to greet an old friend, is it? Aren’t you going to invite me in?’ He made as if to step inside.

  Mavis folded her arms and stood her ground. ‘After what you tried to do to me last time, I don’t think so, Larry. Now what do you want?’ She managed to keep her voice from shaking but she could feel her legs were trembling.

  He leaned against the door jamb. ‘So that’s how you want to play it. No skin off my nose, Dumbo. I can do what I came here to do from here or you could make it easier for all of us by asking me to come up to your lovely flat.’

  Mavis shook her head. Every cell in her body screamed out against letting this foul man into her property and any closer to the children. ‘You aren’t coming in, Larry.’

  He shifted his weight slightly. ‘Pity. I’d like to see what sort of love nest you and that murdering boyfriend have got up there. It was so easy to follow you back from the school playground. Didn’t even think to look behind you, did you?’

  ‘Larry Barnet, you stay away from my children,’ hissed Mavis, instantly on her guard where their safety was concerned.

  ‘Or what, Mavis? You can’t get your boyfriend to scare me away a second time?’ He leered at her in the pale light. ‘He’s not here to protect you anymore, is he, nor is he here to tell his snitching tales. No, Tommy can’t help you now.’

  Desp
ite herself she shuddered. ‘What do you want, Larry?’

  ‘What do I want? What do I want? Now there’s a question. I think you know one of the things I want.’ He tried to come nearer but she managed to half-close the door on him. He laughed. ‘That won’t help you, Dumbo. You know I can get in if I want to. Like this.’ He shoved the door and it swung open, leaving the corridor horribly exposed. Mavis wanted to shrink back against the wall but something told her he’d take that as an invitation. Instead, she forced herself to keep still.

  ‘Just tell me,’ she breathed. ‘Let’s not pretend you’re here for a social visit, Larry. Tell me what you’re after then go.’

  He reached forward and stroked her face menacingly. ‘Maybe you will keep, Dumbo. You’ll still be around, won’t you? I can make myself wait. I can come back here any time I like if you ain’t got your protector hanging around.’ He arched his back slowly. ‘So, I need you to pass on a message to your precious boyfriend in the nick. The word is he’s going to be sent down and when he is, one of my very good friends is going to be waiting for him along with a few of his mates. Really looking forward to that, he is. Has a score to settle. Name of Fenton. Got that, have you, Dumbo? I know you can’t write it down, but see if you can get it to stick in that thick head of yours. Fenton.’

  ‘Why should I?’ demanded Mavis, suddenly angry at being told to be a messenger for the man and his criminal mates.

  ‘Because if you don’t you’re going to be very sorry,’ said Larry, leaning in so that she could feel his foul breath on her face. ‘And it’ll be the worse for Tommy too if you don’t. As I said, Fenton and his mates are waiting for him and at least this way Tommy will be prepared. They’ve got a special welcome for him, and they are very much looking forward to it.’

  ‘What … what do you mean?’ Mavis asked, faltering despite herself now. She drew back from his fetid stink.

  ‘They’ve got a few nice weapons stashed away and they’re keen to try them out,’ Larry said confidently. ‘They’ll get Tommy at close range, and as they’ll be behind closed doors, there won’t be anywhere for him to run. So you be a good girl and pass this on to your lover boy the next time you see him.’