‘What do you mean, Mr Love? You’ve been taken to’—she couldn’t say clink so she said, ‘you’ve been to jail, I mean put in jail, tonight?’
‘Yes, this very night, ma’am. But I didn’t go there alone, I can tell you. And it’s a good job those bobbies came in time ’cos I lost me head an’ there wouldn’t have been much left of that fat swine by the time I’d finished with him. But there we were, both in the clink. And it took me some time to convince the pollis that this was one of the two that had tried to do your man in.’
‘You’ve found the man…the man who was…behind all this?’
‘The very one, ma’am. It’s a good job there weren’t the two together else I doubt if I would have managed ’em. As far as I can gather from what I got out of that bloke an’ then the pollis after, it was his mate, the big ’un who liked to use the knife and lead piping. You see, it was like this, and I could kick meself black an’ blue when I think those two could’ve been picked up ages gone if I’d listened to the young ’un. But no, I was away washin’ the glasses at the Duck and Drake. I feed him an’ clothe him, threaten him about school, swear at him about cussin’, and all told consider I’ve done me duty. That’s how I have felt, but now I could kick meself, for just this very mornin’ he told me where he had seen these two fellas. ’Cos I always said these were the ones that took one of the lads’ cars. You remember? I’d seen ’em in the pub that night. They weren’t the usual customers an’ they looked odd bods, one big an’ one small but both hefty. Well, the young ’un had seen ’em at the taggerine yard when he had taken some bits he’d got from the tip. He said they were livin’ in the old mill behind the sheds that Gallagher uses for an office an’ where he keeps his prize pickins for the huckster shop dealers or the market stall wallahs to look over. Anyway, there’s a field and some scrub behind the old mill an’ the ditch that used to carry water long ago. An’ so I got in this scrub an’ I waited. Then across the field came the smaller one. The lad said they went out the back way, so I thought that’s the way they’d come in. The plan in me mind was to see them both in there, then scarper an’ ring the pollis; it wasn’t me intention to tackle ’em together. But when I saw there was just the one, and I made sure there was just one an’ nobody else inside before I let go. But I can tell you this, ma’am, I didn’t come off scot-free. He could use his feet that ’un, as he admitted later to the pollis. It wasn’t him that stuck the knife in or battered the boss’ head. He said he used his feet an’ that was all. But when he used ’em on me he did something to me, ma’am. I almost battered his brains out. It was Gallagher, hearin’ the ructions, who rang the pollis. An’ that’s how we were both hauled in. They wouldn’t believe a word I was sayin’ until I demanded…aye, I did; I threatened the sergeant what would happen to him when the truth came out and to get the Chief Constable down there ’cos there was another murderer at large and he’d be goin’ back to that hideout, and that if Gallagher told him what had happened to his mate the fella would scarper. Well, missis, you never did see such a kerfuffle when they finally believed me. There was a young reporter hangin’ about as usual, an’ the Chief Constable warned him to keep his mouth shut till they got the other one.’
For the moment Fiona felt herself wide awake and she asked, ‘Did the man say who had engaged them to do this…I mean, who was paying them?’
‘Oh, he started to gabble, ma’am, but it was all double Dutch, too airy-fairy, I think. It seems it was the other one that did the business. He went up to London every now an’ again an’ picked up money from a post office in a letter like with a note tellin’ ’em to continue, but it was never signed. He said it was all a funny business.’
‘And he didn’t know who it was?’
‘Well, if he did he wasn’t sayin’, ma’am. But whoever it was they had their knife in for the boss. By God, they had! And at first they got at him through the lads, the firm like. But him bringin’ off that big deal must have been too much for whoever the swine is. I’d like to bet the son of a bitch was one of those big boys that was also after the contract, ’cos who else would be up in London, have their headquarters there like? I’ve worked it all out in me head, ma’am. It must have been a big boy. Oh, aye. An’ they’ve paid those two to try everythin’ in the book, from simple car pinchin’ to near murder. If there’d been a woman involved they’d have tried rape.’
Davey Love now chastised himself: That was a damn silly thing to say because she was involved. It could have been her next, or before. Oh aye. It’s a wonder they didn’t think that one up. But the spite seemed all levelled at the boss. He paused now, then said, ‘You look very tired, ma’am. And you know, as me mother used to say, she took me to be inoculated against whooping cough but they made a mistake and used a gramophone needle on me. But don’t you worry, ma’am, I’ll leave you now and you can get some kip…sleep. I’ll be round first thing in the mornin’. And you know where my lad is the night?’
Fiona didn’t answer. She was so tired, so very tired. His voice had almost lulled her to sleep. Yes she just wanted to kip. Yes, she just wanted to kip.
‘He’s round at yer place. Aye, he is, stayin’ the night. Bert’s wife fixed him up. Eeh, you know, when I got in from work an’ couldn’t find him an’ there wasn’t a sight nor hint nor hair of him, I threatened to murder him, I did honest to God, ’cos he always has the kettle on an’ the fryin’ pan on the stove an’ the table set. An’ there it was, the place, as cold as charity. Aw, ma’am, there I go again. Look, I…I must be off.’ He bent towards her and patted her hand. ‘It’s because I’m excited inside. I’m so relieved. You know, I made a bargain with the Almighty’—he pointed his finger to the ceiling—‘an’ now I’ve got to keep it. Aye, I did, I made a bargain with Him. Let’s find the boss alive, I said, and I’ll go to Mass every Sunday for a year. I didn’t promise longer ’cos I didn’t know whether I would last further than that.’
‘Oh, Mr Love, Mr Love.’ There was something rising in her, a great burst of laughter. ‘Go on,’ she said. ‘Go on. I don’t want to laugh. Go on.’
‘Aye, I will, ma’am. Aye, I will. You can laugh the morrow when he comes round. Goodnight to you. Goodnight.’ He backed from her and didn’t turn until he reached the door. Then about to say something more, he gave his mouth a whacking clap and went out.
And Fiona, like a mother who had just seen her amusing child leave the room, began to rock herself. The gurgle was mounting, but when it reached her throat it stuck there. And when her mouth opened wide she gasped for air. A current of water seemed to spray from her eyes, nose, throat, and she threw herself on the bed and buried her face in the pillow.
Chapter Ten
Fiona opened her eyes but closed them again quickly against the glare of the sunshine. She was dimly aware of a face hanging over her and a strange voice saying, ‘I’ve brought you a cup of tea, Mrs Bailey.’
She had been dreaming she was at home. She muttered, ‘What…what time is it?’
‘Just on eight.’
‘What!’ She pulled herself up sharply in the bed. ‘On eight! I…I haven’t slept all night?’
‘Yes, you have; and you needed it. You’ll feel better for it.’
‘How…how is he? Is he round?’
‘Yes. Yes, he’s round to some extent, and he’s all right. Don’t scold yourself; there’s plenty of time. Have a wash and make yourself pretty’—she smiled—‘because at the moment you look all eyes and teeth.’
Fiona smiled in return; then, pushing the white quilt from her, she said, ‘I’ve been sleeping in my clothes, I must look a sight.’
‘I don’t suppose he’ll really notice, just your face…’
Just five minutes later she entered the side ward. He was lying in the same position, and looked exactly the same as he had done last night. She stood by the side of the bed and said softly, ‘Bill.’ And when he slowly lifted his lids and she saw the deep blue of his eyes seeming to sparkle for a moment, she said again, ‘Bill.
Oh, Bill!’
‘Hello…love.’
‘How…how are you feeling? Oh, that’s a silly question.’
‘Fiona.’ He made as if to move his hand towards her, then grimaced, his eyes tight shut and his lips squared from his teeth.
‘Oh, my love, don’t. Don’t. Lie quiet, please.’
A nurse came in and took his temperature and his blood pressure, wrote on a sheet, then went out again.
Another nurse came in and replaced the almost empty blood bag. The surgeon came in accompanied by two young doctors, the sister and a nurse, and after he had indicated she remain seated, he stood looking down on Bill. Then he said, ‘There’s a lucky man if ever there was one.’ And turning to the sister now, he asked, ‘What has he had already?’ And when she told him, he said, ‘Oh well, he should go off again presently.’ Then looking across the bed at Fiona, he said, ‘You could go home, Mrs Bailey, and give your family the news, because it will be better for him to sleep. Come back this afternoon. And he’s likely to be in a similar condition for a few days, you know.’
She rose from the chair now, saying, ‘He’ll be all right though?’
He raised his eyebrows, then pursed his lips and said, ‘Unless there are complications he should do well, but it’s going to take time. As I said, he’s a very lucky man…Now will you follow my advice and take a short time off, eh?’
‘Yes, doctor, if you think he won’t be round.’
‘I can assure you he won’t. And that is the best thing for him you know, sleep. It’s the cure now, sleep; all we have to do is just stand by and watch.’
All those present in the room stood aside to let the great man pass. And they did treat him as if he were a great man. She had noticed this before when she was in the hospital: surgeons were as gods. Nevertheless, she thanked the God she had been praying to for days that there were such men.
She bent over Bill now and gently laid her lips against his blue ones, and she felt sure they moved; but perhaps it was just imagination. She lingered a moment longer before leaving the ward. Then she picked up her coat from the visitors’ room, spoke her thanks to the sister and the nurses and said she would be back later, then made her way out and into the bright sunshine. She threaded her way through ambulances and milling cars and was about to walk out of the hospital gates to try to locate a taxi when a voice hailed her from a parked car. And she turned to see Rupert waving to her and Sir Charles’ head poking out of the rear window.
Making her way towards them, Sir Charles immediately said, ‘How is he?’
‘I’ve left him sleeping peacefully, Sir Charles. The surgeon said he’ll be all right, but it’ll take time.’
‘Where are you going?’ Rupert said.
‘I was going to find a taxi.’
At this he seemed to jump from his seat, then hurriedly go to the far rear door, which he opened, saying, ‘Get in.’ And she got in and sat beside the old man who said, ‘You want to go home?’
‘If you please, Sir Charles.’
‘How bad is he really?’
‘Well, very bad I should imagine. Apparently he’s had a knife into his stomach and a blow to his head, it’s split open at the back. Do you know they have caught one of the men?’
She watched his blue-veined hand go to his mouth, and it was some minutes before he spoke, when he said, ‘They’ll know then about…about Eva?’
‘No.’
‘He hasn’t split…told?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think so. Mr Love came to see me last night.’ And she told them the gist of what Davey had related to her. And when she finished the old man lay back against the upholstery of the Rolls. But that was only for a moment, for now, sitting upright again, he turned to her and said, ‘But Bailey won’t let this pass. He can’t, can he? Nor you. Because it’s been a near thing, it’s touched on murder. And…and I’ll understand, because in Bailey’s place I would feel the same.’
Her voice quiet, she now said, ‘It will be up to Bill, Sir Charles.’
‘Yes, yes, I understand, my dear.’ His voice had been quiet, but now he was leaning forward thumping Rupert on the back as he said, ‘And don’t say I will try to talk anybody round, because in this case I won’t, I’ll let justice take its course. I’ve told you, I’m finished with her.’
‘I’ve never said a word.’
‘No, but you’ve been thinking plenty. I can read you like an open book.’
‘Clever…fellow.’
‘Now watch your tongue.’
‘I’m watching the road, Sir Charles, and if you don’t stop thumping me in the back there could be an accident at any minute.’
When the old man sat back he turned and nodded to Fiona, saying, ‘Some people get too big for their boots.’
And when the voice from the driver said, ‘You must finish it, sir: when their toes pinch they find they are walking in their bare feet.’
Fiona wanted to laugh, as she had wanted to laugh last night at Mr Love. But her laughter was still too near to tears to be given a free rein. ‘Would you like to come in for a moment?’
‘What about it, Rupert, have we time?’ The question was quiet and polite.
‘Yes, Sir Charles. You’ve got a good half hour to spare before you meet her ladyship in Newcastle.’
‘Then we’ll come in.’
A large car was parked immediately outside the house, and three men were talking to the policeman at the gate. And so Rupert stopped beyond. The men turned to look enquiringly, and when Fiona emerged on the pavement side, one of them moved forward, saying, ‘Good morning, Mrs Bailey. May I have a word with you?’
‘No, you can’t! And get yourself to the devil out of it.’ And Sir Charles guided Fiona through the gate, still muttering, ‘I know this lot, television snoops. And I know him’—pointing back to the man who had spoken to Fiona—‘that’s the one with the funny name.’
Rupert and Fiona exchanged glances and smiled. And when Rupert said, ‘That one with the funny name did a nice piece on you last year, sir. And, if I recall you pressed drinks on him and practically carried him out of the house.’
‘You’re asking for trouble, Rupert, aren’t you? It’s one of those mornings.’
‘Most mornings are the same, sir. And look, the time’s going on. You have now only twenty-five minutes to spare before you meet her ladyship.’
The old man, walking now towards the door with Fiona, nodded at her as he muttered, ‘I’ll get rid of him. Yes, I will.’ But there was a twinkle in his eyes as he said it. And Fiona knew that both of these men, the old man and the young one, enjoyed this daily exchange. There was a similarity between the two of them, like Bill and one of his men. The only difference was in the tone of voice.
‘Mam! Mam! We gona be on television.’
‘I sat in the front.’ Mamie was jumping up and down now.
‘And I stood at the back,’ Mark mimicked her, as he pretended to bounce. ‘And dear Katie there’—Mark now pointed—‘mightn’t be on at all. She wasn’t on the first lot because she would go upstairs and change her dress. She must look pretty, pretty, pretty.’
‘I’ll throw something at you, our Mark. Yes I will.’
Only Willie said, ‘How did you find Dad, Mam?’ And this quiet question brought them all round her, saying, ‘Yes, yes, Mam. How is he? How is he?’
She looked over their heads at Nell; then before answering she said, ‘Don’t you see we’ve got visitors.’
‘Morning, sir. Morning, sir.’
‘Hello.’ This from Mamie.
‘Morning, Sir Charles,’ from Mark.
The only one who hadn’t spoken was Sammy. He was standing among them yet apart. And he looked at her and she looked at him. And as she addressed her family she continued to look at him as she said, ‘You wanted to know how your father is. Well, he’s alive, but it’s only thanks to Sammy here.’
‘You’re a brave little fellow.’ Sir Charles was now patting Sammy’s head. ‘And I’d
like to shake you by the hand.’
It was noticed that Sammy had to push the sleeve of Willie’s coat back before he could take the proffered hand. And when it was grasped by Sir Charles’ long thin fingers, Sammy said, ‘The sleeves are too long, it’s Willie’s. Me clothes were all mucky last night.’
‘Yes, of course, they would be. That’s a very large and dirty refuse heap. Do you often go there?’
‘Aye. Ya get some good pickins. I got Mrs Bailey a nice teapot from it, didn’t I?’ He turned and looked up at Fiona. And she said, ‘Yes, you did, Sammy; and I’ll always treasure it. That is one thing I’ll never part with.’
Withdrawing his fingers from the tight grip of the old fellow, Sammy said, ‘I’ll be on television the night an’ all. They took me by meself. I wanted to be with them’—he pointed to the children—‘but they said, no, I had to stand by meself. An’ they wanted me to smile or laugh and I told ’em I didn’t smile or laugh unless I had somethin’ to laugh about.’
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