Wartime at Liberty's

by Fiona Ford

  ‘Why?’ she asked bluntly.

  ‘Because …’ Flo trailed off, unable in that moment to think of a good enough reason. As if sensing her distress, Mr Button took that moment to take to the stage and clapped his hands together to catch everyone’s attention.

  ‘Hello, ladies and gentleman,’ he said warmly. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt you on this fine evening, especially when I know you are all eager to enjoy the delicious sticky toffee pudding the talented chefs here have dreamed up for us, so I won’t keep you long. However, tonight is rather special because we are not only here to make a presentation but also to celebrate you. Mr Masters and myself joked earlier that if there were another kind of service, it would be the Liberty service, as you have all worked tirelessly and diligently to raise money for the gala evening, sharing our news with customers, helping make costumes, performing, providing refreshments – I could go on, but we would be here all night.’

  Raucous laughter filled the room as Mr Button paused. ‘I am so proud of you all, which is why it gives me great pleasure to welcome to the stage our very special friend, Princess Valentina, who is graciously going to accept the cheque on our behalf and present it to the war office.’

  As Valentina came to the stage, a vision in pink tulle, her long dark hair swept into an elaborate bun, Flo felt a pulse of excitement. She looked around for Henry and Stan, eager to share the moment with them, but although they were supposed to be on the table next to her, she saw they were nowhere to be found. Glancing around, she realised that she hadn’t seen them since Stan had been singing in the foyer. With a stab of alarm, Flo wondered if the little boy really had been poorly, and Henry had been forced to take him home.

  As her eyes darted furtively across the room, desperately hoping to catch sight of her friend and deputy store manager, she couldn’t miss the sight of Evie Allingham now at Mr Button’s side. She was chattering away in his ear, the store manager seemingly unable to get a word in edgeways. Flo rolled her eyes, unable to help herself at the sight of the woman so obviously trying to ingratiate herself.

  Instead, she turned her attentions back to Valentina, who was just giving her closing remarks. ‘And now, Mr Button, if I could trouble you for the collection please?’ the princess said.

  With that, Mr Button appeared to reach behind him. Only, as he did so, Flo could see that something was wrong. As the applause continued, she could see her store manager’s gaze darting this way and that, but the look of panic on his face was evident as he whispered something in Evie’s ear.

  Watching her scuttle off to the side, Mr Button smiled apologetically at the audience before turning to Valentina. ‘Your highness, I’m afraid I must apologise to you and to our employees. It seems the fundraising money is not where I left it and we’re having a bit of trouble locating it. I’ve suggested to the powers that be that we have a short break while we look for it, so, ladies and gentleman, the good news is that your desserts will be with you sooner than you thought.’

  With that, Mr Button stepped down from the podium, and Flo couldn’t miss the worried look on her store manager’s face. Flo took a sip of her wine and got to her feet. She had a feeling something was wrong and it was time to find out exactly what.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Flo rose and all she could hear were hushed whispers as her friends and colleagues discussed with great excitement the money and where it could have gone. Without telling anyone where she was going, Flo weaved her way through the tables to find the store manager.

  It didn’t take long. In the corner of the room, out of view of everyone else, Mr Button, Rose and Evie were also talking frantically in hushed tones. Rose looked ashen, her beautiful features contorted into a picture of worry, her tortoiseshell glasses sliding down her nose. Evie, meanwhile, was holding court.

  ‘I’m telling you, I saw him do it. Bold as brass he was! Him and that brother of his.’

  ‘Mrs Allingham, we simply cannot go around accusing people without proof,’ Mr Button said in a weary tone.

  ‘The money’s gone?’ Flo gasped.

  ‘That’s right,’ Evie said smugly. ‘And Henry Masters is the culprit.’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ Flo said. ‘Why on earth would he take the money?’

  ‘Why does anyone do anything in this day and age?’ Evie said with a raised eyebrow. ‘Because it was there, because he could, because he’s struggling to raise his little brother and make ends meet, who knows?’

  At that moment, Flo felt a fury course through her bones. Who did this woman think she was? She was just about to say as much when Rose found her voice.

  ‘At this moment we have no idea who has done what or why. The money could very easily turn up in the blink of an eye, Mrs Allingham, and to go around accusing trusted members of staff is slander.’

  Flo felt proud of her friend for standing up for what was right. She knew this must be awful for Rose; after all, she had masterminded this whole operation.

  ‘Have any of the staff at Lyons seen anything?’ Flo asked suddenly. ‘Perhaps they’ve put the money somewhere safe.’

  Evie let out a hollow laugh. ‘Yes, like Henry’s trouser pocket.’

  ‘For goodness’ sake, that’s enough!’ Flo said with a stamp of her foot. ‘Until you have proof I suggest you keep comments like that to yourself.’

  There was a brief pause, and Rose took a breath. Immediately Flo leaned forward and pulled her in for a hug. She couldn’t help noticing that Rose’s forehead was damp with sweat and her previously neat victory roll was now a dishevelled mess. Just like this whole evening, she thought sadly.

  Then she rallied. ‘Come on, Rose, we’ll sort this out. This is a simple misunderstanding. We just need a plan.’

  Lifting her head she looked pleadingly at Mr Button, who by now seemed to have aged by ten years.

  ‘Mr Button, sir, perhaps you could ask the staff if they’ve seen anything. And, Evie, perhaps you could speak to the heads of department; they may know something as well. Rose and I will scour the backstage area and see if we can find the box; it can’t have just disappeared,’ Flo said authoritatively.

  ‘Good idea, Flo.’ Mr Button smiled at her gratefully. ‘I’ll tackle Miss Ellington, who organised the staffing this evening. And of course someone will need to explain to the staff and to Princess Valentina what’s going on.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Flo sighed. ‘And I’ll check she’s all right.’

  As she turned to go, Flo couldn’t miss the look of spite in Evie’s eyes. ‘I appreciate your need to play Miss Marple, Mrs Canning, but there really is no need: I know who took the money and so does Mr Button – it was Henry Masters.’

  ‘But you can’t know that,’ Rose said, her eyes filled with tears now.

  ‘I do,’ Evie replied forcefully. ‘It’s common bloody knowledge.’

  Her voice was so loud, Flo flinched and as she did so became aware that the noise of the crowd had died down and the four of them had now become the source of entertainment.

  ‘Lower your voice,’ she said, her face twisting with rage. ‘We don’t want to cheapen this mess with idle gossip.’

  Evie drew herself up to her full height, her petite frame doing its best to tower over Flo’s tall one. ‘It is not idle gossip. I saw Henry with the box earlier on. He was setting it down on the stage in readiness.’

  ‘And what does that prove?’ Rose scoffed.

  ‘It proves he knew where the box was and it would have been easy for him to take it.’

  Flo narrowed her eyes. ‘Why are you so keen for Mr Masters to be guilty? You’ve refused to entertain any other possibility.’

  ‘Because there is no other conclusion to draw,’ Evie replied. ‘Once a common criminal, always a common criminal.’

  Evie’s words hung in the air like day-old tripe as Flo stared at her in disbelief. ‘What did you just say?’

  Mr Button laid a hand on Evie’s shoulder. ‘You’ve said quite enough, Mrs Allingham. I think that s
hould be the end of it now.’

  ‘No, I want to know what Evie meant,’ Flo countered.

  ‘Me too,’ Rose added, her voice firm.

  There was another pause as Evie brushed a piece of imaginary lint from her jacket and looked Flo squarely in the eye.

  ‘Yes it’s true. Henry Masters is a no-good crook who has been imprisoned for his crimes. If you ask me, he should never have been given a job at Liberty’s.’

  ‘Mrs Allingham, I will not tell you again—’ Mr Button snapped, only for Evie to cut him off.

  ‘What Mr Button has been trying to conceal from everyone is that he vouched for Henry Masters, knowing he was a criminal. He told the board that he would personally ensure the safety of the store, and that if there were any problems he would take full responsibility.’

  Flo felt her mind was about to implode. ‘Is this true?’

  Mr Button nodded, his face ashen. ‘I’m afraid it is. Henry made a mistake some years ago but I believe everyone deserves a second chance. Until I hear otherwise I will continue to consider him a man who is thoroughly decent and true.’

  ‘Decent and true!’ Evie laughed incredulously. ‘Henry Masters took advantage of his mother and embezzled money from the factory where she was employed. How does that make him decent and true, Edwin? The police and the courts didn’t seem to think so or they wouldn’t have sentenced him to three years for theft.’

  ‘He served three years in prison?’ Flo echoed, feeling as if the ground was being swept from under her.

  ‘As I live and breathe,’ Evie replied triumphantly. ‘Henry Masters is a con man. He did it once and now he’s done it again.’

  ‘It’s not that simple, Mrs Allingham,’ Mr Button said, his face contorted with anger. ‘May I remind you that you are a temporary guest of Liberty’s and I’ll thank you to know your place and stop gossiping immediately.’

  ‘Gossiping? It’s common knowledge. Everyone at Botheringtons knows for a start.’

  ‘Only because you told them after I swore you to secrecy,’ Mr Button thundered. ‘You found that out by eavesdropping on a personal conversation Henry and I had in my office several months ago.’

  ‘If it was private you shouldn’t have been talking so loudly.’ Evie retorted, her eyes ablaze with self-righteousness.

  ‘My office door was closed. You had no right to listen. I considered you to be a religious, moral woman, Mrs Allingham, but I must say your sense of decency is very misplaced.’

  Once again, Evie drew herself up to her full height. ‘My sense of decency is entirely where it should be. It was a good job I did eavesdrop, so I was aware of the deputy manager’s lack of moral fibre.’

  At that Mr Button paused and Flo could see the anger flash in his eyes.

  ‘Whatever you may think, Mrs Allingham, the important thing is that we return to the matter of discovering with certainty who has taken this money.’

  ‘Yes, I agree,’ Rose said.

  There was another pause as Flo found herself struggling to take all of this information in. How could Henry not have told her? She’d thought they were friends; she’d thought they trusted each other.

  ‘So it is true then? Henry went to prison?’ She looked at the store manager for confirmation.

  Mr Button looked briefly heavenward before turning back to Flo and Rose. ‘Yes it’s true, Flo, but I know Henry of old. He is a decent, trustworthy individual.’

  ‘But just because he went to prison, that doesn’t mean he took the money now,’ Flo said desperately. ‘I mean, you said yourself it was a long time ago.’

  ‘And that’s what I believe,’ Mr Button said firmly. ‘Now I suggest we all get on with finding out who really took the money before we sully Henry’s good name any further.’

  With that the group spun around to find Henry walking towards them. Startled to see him, Flo took a moment to drink in his appearance, then she realised he was holding the dark wooden box they had been looking for.

  ‘I found the money,’ he called delightedly. ‘It was outside in the street.’

  ‘Convenient,’ Evie snapped, taking the box with one hand and the key to open it from Rose in one swift moment. ‘Empty,’ she snarled, casting it to the floor.

  Henry coloured. ‘But I didn’t take it. Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with this? I just found the box! Edwin, please?’

  Flo looked from Henry to Mr Button and saw him refusing to meet Henry’s gaze. Instead his face was aghast, as though he was finally allowing the very real possibility of his own misjudgement to sink in.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  More than a week had passed and the mood in the store was still a sombre one. None of the staff could quite believe that the money they had all worked so hard to raise had been stolen. Equally nobody could quite believe that the much-respected Henry Masters was the one who had cheated them of their efforts and taken it.

  Flo found it very difficult to grasp and kept going over events in her mind. After Henry had been caught red-handed he had stood protesting his innocence. Much as she hated to admit it the evidence was clear, he had been holding the box and there was no money inside. And if he had been in prison for theft before then it all added up. Did Henry really expect them to believe he had found the box on the street as he said? It was too much of a coincidence.

  Back in Lyons, Mr Button had taken charge of the situation and told Henry to wait while he addressed the staff. He said that it was clear the money had been stolen and that an investigation would be launched to find it. He apologised to Princess Valentina for wasting her time. As ever, she had been more than gracious, simply saying that she would love to return to make the presentation to the war office when the missing money was found.

  Flo had been grateful for that. Valentina was always so optimistic. Afterwards Mr Button had escorted Henry from the premises, picking up Stan on the way. Nobody had much of an appetite for dessert or dancing after that, and so everyone had made their way home sad and disappointed at the way their evening had ended.

  The only person who looked satisfied was Evie. For some reason she looked overjoyed at the news, and for the life of her Flo couldn’t understand why.

  Since the night of the dinner, Henry had been suspended pending an investigation but that didn’t stop Evie telling everyone else her theory. Walking across the wooden floor, through gifts and beauty, Flo could hear Evie’s plummy tones before she saw the woman.

  ‘Of course I knew Masters was bad news the moment Mr Button told me that he had been inside. You can tell just by looking at him that he was untrustworthy.’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ came a quieter voice that Flo recognised as Judy Bates from beauty.

  ‘Well, I do,’ Evie replied indignantly. ‘I bet he took that money to pay for some other crime he’d become mixed up in, gambling or hooch most likely. Or perhaps it’s something to do with that brother of his. It’s in the genes, immoral behaviour like that.’

  As Evie paused for breath Flo halted. She stood rooted to the spot, quaking with anger. No matter whether Henry was guilty or innocent it wasn’t on to speculate like that. Stalking across the floor towards Evie, she smiled briefly at Judy before gripping Evie firmly by the elbow.

  ‘Mrs Allingham, a word,’ she said, all but dragging the woman across the floor and back towards fabrics.

  Flo didn’t speak until they reached the stockroom, and once the door was shut firmly behind them, she rounded on Evie, her heart racing. ‘How dare you talk about Henry Masters like that. You have no proof of anything!’

  Evie let out a droll laugh. ‘You really think he did nothing? Come on, Flo, I know you’ve got a soft spot for him, but really. The man was in prison. It is our duty to shine a light on those who have no moral fibre. They let society down.’

  ‘We don’t know he had anything to do with this,’ Flo hissed. ‘The evidence is hardly damning. And even if he is as guilty as Hitler the least you can do is shut up about it.’

  �
��I beg your pardon?’ Evie cried, her face full of indignation.

  ‘You heard me,’ Flo fired. ‘You’ve no business going around stirring up rumours and creating more trouble just because you like a good gossip. You looked positively joyful when Mr Masters was suspended.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Evie fired, hands on hips. ‘I was merely pleased to see the culprit had been caught. You forget, Florence dear, I am a good deal older than you and remember when the Liberty name meant something. Having someone like Masters on the payroll does you no good at all.’

  ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the precept “innocent until proven guilty” operate in this country?’ Flo replied evenly. ‘As for our reputation, I think you’ll find it is more than intact. You only have to take a look at the visitors’ book to see that. Now, I don’t want to hear any more from your lips on the subject of Mr Masters. If anyone is letting Liberty’s down it’s you, Mrs Allingham, with your caustic tongue and nasty little comments. Any more from you and I shall take great pleasure in recommending to the board you are sacked forthwith.’

  With that Flo turned on her heel and walked back up to the shop floor. She had a lot to do before her shift at the school began.

  The mood in the school hall was precisely what Flo needed later that Tuesday lunchtime. She stepped inside and the sight of so many delighted, excited and happy children, putting their hearts and souls into singing, was the perfect antidote to the stress of the last few days.

  Lifting her eyes from the sheet music for ‘Summertime’ she sought out Stan among the sea of faces. Locating him in the second row, Flo searched his face for any signs of distress but there were none. He looked just like all the other little boys, happy and carefree, and she hoped it would long continue.

  As the song came to an end, so did the class, and the moment Flo shut the lid on the piano and stood up she was surprised when the children let out a cry of disappointment.

  ‘Mrs Canning will be back soon,’ Celia called over the din. ‘You can all practise your very best singing for her then.’