Diamonds in the Dust (4 page)

‘Yes?’

‘Well, Dad once said he’d been orphaned at sixteen and didn’t have any relatives that he knew of. He always joked saying that Mum married beneath her when she took up with him.’ Dora’s eyes swam with tears as she looked at Stan, her expression anguished. ‘She’s dead, isn’t she? She’d never leave us like this.’

‘We don’t know that,’ he said gently. But she was only voicing his fears. ‘Tell me about your mother.’

‘Well,’ Dora sat up straight and ran a hand over her eyes to clear away the moisture. ‘She’s always laughing and singing. She’s got a good voice and Dad always said she should have been on the stage. We lived in Limehouse before coming here. It was a dump, and Mum was determined to get us out of there. She worked two jobs, in a laundry and evening waitress, until she’d saved enough for us to move here. Dad was a good carpenter, but he didn’t earn much. They were happy together, and he said he understood her need to live in a better place. Mum had had a good education and we’d spend every Sunday afternoon doing lessons she’d worked out for us. Mum was heartbroken when Dad was killed, and that’s when she started working at night – so we thought – to make sure we had a good standard of living.’

A picture of the Bentley family was taking shape in Stan’s mind. The mother was evidently prepared to work hard for her children, and he felt sure that she would never have left them like this. The more he heard, the more uneasy he became.

‘Mr Crawford?’

He started at the sound of her voice. ‘Sorry, I was thinking. And you must call me Stan. I’ll go through the notebook tonight and hope it reveals some clues. Do you know your mother’s maiden name, and where she came from?’

‘Sorry, and she never mentioned where she was born.’ Dora glanced at the clock on the dresser. ‘I’ll have to go. Tom and Lily will be home from school soon.’

‘I’ll let you know if I find out anything.’ Stan watched her walk back to her house, deep in thought. Poor little devils. They must be out of their minds with worry.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing!’

He turned his head and looked at his sister standing by the back door. He hadn’t heard her arrive. ‘Meaning?’

‘You know what I’m on about. Mrs Bentley’s disappearance should be reported to the police.’

Leaning heavily on the stick, Stan faced her. ‘They’ve reported it to me. And how the hell did you find out? Have you been eavesdropping?’

‘That doesn’t matter. What you’re doing is wrong! If Reg knew about this he’d insist that the police be told. That woman might be in trouble somewhere, Stan, and the police could find her much quicker than—’

‘She’s already dead.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘A loving mother doesn’t abandon her three children like this. Those kids are frightened someone will come along and split them up. They’ve asked me for help and I’ve given my word. Don’t breathe a word of this, Winnie.’

‘I won’t. I don’t agree with what you’re doing, but I hope you find her alive.’

‘So do I.’

‘Don’t you want your tea, Lily?’ Dora sat beside her sister, concerned by how pale and unhappy she was. ‘Mum wouldn’t like it if you made yourself ill. Mr Crawford’s started looking for Mum and I’m sure he’ll find her soon. Not knowing what’s happened is very upsetting, but we’ll be all right, sweetie. We’ve got each other.’

‘I’ve been a naughty girl,’ Lily whispered. ‘You’re going to be very angry with me.’

‘When have I ever been angry with you?’ Dora teased, keeping her tone light. ‘You going to risk telling me what you think you’ve done, eh?’

‘I told June our mum hasn’t come home and we don’t know where she is.’ Lily grabbed Dora’s hand as Tom groaned. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Please don’t be angry with
me! I tried not to say anything, but it just came out. I’m frightened! Where is she?’

When Lily’s little body began to shake as the tears streamed down her face, Dora gathered her sister into her arms. ‘Shush, sweetie. We’re all frightened, but we’ve got to be brave.’

‘Course we’re all scared.’ Tom was running his hand over Lily’s back as she clung to Dora.

Lily turned her head to look at her brother. ‘Nothing scares you.’

‘It does, but I just don’t let anyone see it.’ He grinned at Lily. ‘Come on, mop up the tears and eat your tea. What’s done is done, and we’re not going to be angry with you.’

‘I told June she mustn’t tell anyone.’ Lily wriggled back onto her chair, darting anxious glances at Dora and Tom.

‘And do you think she’ll keep her mouth shut?’ Tom asked.

Lily shook her head. ‘She can’t keep a secret.’

‘That’s it then!’ Tom put Lily’s spoon in her hand. ‘Eat up, and then we’ll talk over what we should do next.’

Much to Dora’s relief, Lily finished every bit of her stew, and the colour had returned to her cheeks.

‘Right, let’s get this lot cleared up.’ Tom began to scoop up the plates. ‘Dora, you wash, I’ll dry, and Lily can put everything away.’

As soon as the last dish was stacked, they sat around the table again.

‘What do you think we should do, Dora?’ Tom asked.

‘Now someone knows besides Mr Crawford it
changes things.’ Dora squeezed Lily’s hand reassuringly. ‘I doubt we could have kept Mum’s disappearance a secret for very long anyway, so I suggest we bring it out into the open.’

‘Tell the police, you mean?’ Tom looked doubtfully at Lily. ‘I don’t like that idea, Dora. It could cause us a lot of trouble … you know …’

Dora knew what her brother feared – that as soon as it was known that they were living here on their own, the authorities might come in and try to interfere. There was no way they would allow Lily to be taken from them, even for a short time. ‘I’ll be eighteen soon, and I’ll fight if someone tries to come in and tell us what to do. I’m sure Mr Crawford will help us deal with the authorities, if need be.’

There was silence around the table. Dora said, ‘That’s my opinion. Your turn next, Tom.’

‘I can see that it might be for the best, or else rumours could start to fly, and that would cause even more trouble. Stan’s a nice bloke, but he’s hurt bad and might not be able to manage the running around needed. You told us when we got home that he hadn’t been able to find out anything today. We don’t know where Mum went every night. It might be a district covered by another station, and Stan can’t go to all the police stations asking questions.’ Tom lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘I don’t see we have much choice.’

Dora turned to Lily. ‘And what do you think, sweetie?’

‘Dunno. What will Mr Crawford say?’ Lily fixed her
eyes on the floor. ‘We ought to tell him what I’ve done.’

Dora smiled reassuringly at her distressed sister. ‘I think we ought to as well. We’ll go and talk to him now, shall we?’

Lily nodded, not looking up. ‘Will he be angry with me?’

‘No! Of course not.’ Tom lifted her chin and smiled. ‘You haven’t done anything bad. He’ll understand, and it’ll probably make things easier for him now he doesn’t have to keep it a secret. He wanted us to tell the police anyway, so I expect he’ll be pleased. Come on, let’s go and see him.’

As they walked up to Stan’s front door, Tom said, ‘Neighbours are going to start wondering why we keep coming here all of a sudden.’

‘Let them wonder.’ Dora dismissed the thought. She had enough to worry about at the moment.

After knocking they waited, expecting Stan to take time reaching the door, but it was opened quickly.

The woman standing there took Dora aback. ‘Er … we’d like to see Mr Crawford, please. If it isn’t convenient we’ll come back another time.’

‘No need for that. I’m his sister, Winnie Tanner.’ She smiled. ‘Please come in.’

Winnie didn’t give them a chance to turn away, but took hold of Lily’s hand and ushered them inside.

When Stan saw them he began to get to his feet. Dora held up her hand. ‘Please stay where you are. We’re sorry to bother you, but we need your advice.’

Winnie was smiling down at Lily. ‘Hello, Lily. Do you
remember me? I’ve seen you at the school, and June’s told me all about you.’

‘We’re friends,’ Lily whispered, glancing anxiously at her brother and sister for support.

‘June likes you very much.’ Winnie stooped down in front of Lily. ‘She told me your mother hasn’t come home.’

‘Oh …’ Tears filled Lily’s eyes as she rushed to Dora.

‘It’s all right, sweetie,’ Dora told her. ‘Don’t get upset again. Everything’s going to be all right.’

‘Ah.’ Stan stood up. ‘I see what the problem is. Put the kettle on, Win. We’ll all have a strong cup of tea while we talk this over.’

They trooped into the kitchen and sat around the table while Winnie and Dora saw to the tea.

‘It’s no good you looking at me like that, Stan,’ Winnie said, ignoring her brother’s pointed glances from her to the door. ‘I’m staying.’

He sighed as the cups were handed round. ‘Is that all right?’ Stan asked. ‘She already knows, and you can trust my sister.’

Dora noted the firm line of Mrs Tanner’s mouth and decided that it would be daft to argue. Brother and sister were very alike. Both determined people. She nodded.

‘Right.’ Stan took a gulp of tea. ‘Tell me what you want to do about this.’

Dora told him about their discussion, and how they’d decided that it might be best to bring it out into the open. When she finished there was silence. ‘We wanted to talk to you before we did anything.’

‘Hmm.’ Stan stood up and propped himself against the sink, deep in thought.

Lily became agitated again as the silence stretched. ‘I didn’t mean to tell. It just came out. I’m frightened. Where’s my mum? Why hasn’t she come home? What’s going to happen to us? Where is she? I want my mum!’

Winnie was the quickest to react, gathering the distressed child into her arms and rocking her gently. ‘There, there, my dear. Nothing bad’s going to happen to you. We’re all here to look after you.’

Seeing that Lily was clinging desperately to Mrs Tanner, Dora went and stood in front of Stan. She was shaking so badly she could hardly stop her teeth from chattering. ‘We’ve got to ask the police to look for Mum. We can’t go on like this. It’s too much for Lily.’

‘It’s too much for all of you.’ Stan held Dora’s shaking hands in a firm clasp, his large hands swamping hers.

She looked down at his long fingers curled around her delicate hands, felt the strength coming from him, and was comforted. This was an absolute nightmare, but they weren’t alone.

Tom had joined them, looking as pale as Dora felt. ‘We were daft to think we could keep this a secret, weren’t we?’

Lily’s wails became louder and all attention focused on her.

Dora spun away from Stan and went to comfort her sister. ‘Ah, sweetie, don’t take on so. We’ll tell the police and get a big search going for her.’

‘Suppose they can’t find her?’ Lily gasped between her sobs.

‘We’ll find her, little one.’ Stan swept Lily away from Winnie and the little girl nestled her head on his shoulder. ‘We’re all here for you. You’re quite safe.’

‘She was quite calm at first.’ Tom was struggling to hide his distress.

Winnie nodded. ‘The realisation that her mother’s missing has probably just hit her.’

Like Tom, Dora fought with her emotions. They both hated to see their sister upset, but this was a terrible crisis, and it was understandable that she was so distressed. Lily was allowing herself to be passed from one person to another, grasping at comfort wherever she could find it.

The awful sobs were fading now and Dora swept a hand over her own eyes to clear her vision. Lily was in Stan’s arms, her face tucked into his neck, holding on as tightly as she could. Dora couldn’t help being struck by the strength of the man comforting her sister. Lily was no lightweight, but he was holding her with ease. He was able to do this by leaning on the sink and taking the entire burden on his good leg. Her heart went out to him in sympathy. Before being injured in the war he must have been a man to be reckoned with, and a good policeman. How frustrated he must be with the restrictions he now faced. And she must face this nightmare with the same courage he was showing.

Winnie turned Lily’s head until she could see her face. ‘Listen, my dear, until your mother is found you can come and stay with me, if you like.’

Lily shook her head. ‘Dora and Tom look after me.’

‘Of course they do.’ Winnie smiled at Dora. ‘The offer will always be there, and you must promise to come to me if you need any kind of help. I live in the next road, number fourteen.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Tanner.’ Dora accepted gratefully. Stan and his sister were almost strangers – their mother had never mixed with neighbours, or encouraged them to do so – and yet they were willing to help. It was so very kind of them.

After putting Lily down, Stan sat at the table again, and Dora didn’t miss the flash of pain in his eyes as he moved to the chair. She was beginning to watch him with concern. ‘Can’t they do something about Stan’s leg?’ she whispered to Winnie, as they collected up the cups.

‘Only cut it off, and he won’t let them do that.’ There was sadness in her voice when she spoke. ‘I lost one brother in that blasted war, and the other came home with his body and life shattered. But by asking Stan for help you’ve given him a purpose and made him feel useful and needed again. If I can ever help you in any way, Dora, then you must come and let me know.’

‘I’ll do that, Mrs Tanner.’ Anger raced through Dora, as it always did when she thought about the blighted lives the war had caused. Young men like Stan would have to live with the consequences of that madness for the rest of their lives. ‘I’m sorry about your other brother.’

Winnie nodded. ‘Harry was the eldest, and we miss him so much. But you know all about loss, don’t you?
Stan told me your father was killed in France – and now your mother has disappeared. How terrible for you, my dear.’

‘Not knowing what’s happened is just awful.’

Stan put a stop to their quiet conversation by turning his head and looking at them. ‘Stop whispering back there and put the kettle on again, Win, and find a drink of milk for Lily, while we sort this out.’

They settled once again, all eyes fixed on Stan, waiting.

‘It should make things easier now we don’t need to keep this a secret any longer. Though I understood your reasons for doing so. Your mother’s been missing long enough for the police to take her disappearance seriously. We need to widen the search, and we can’t do that without help.’

All heads nodded in agreement.

‘What I suggest is that I report this as a concerned friend. I’ll talk it over with my brother-in-law first. He’s Winnie’s husband and a policeman at the local station. If I can get Reg involved then we might be able to keep this low-key for the time being. He’ll want to talk to you, but I’ll be there when he does.’ Stan glanced around at the white-faced youngsters and asked gently, ‘Is that all right with you? If not we’ll try to think of another way.’

Dora looked at her brother and sister for approval, but in all truth, they didn’t have any choice in the matter now. When they nodded, she said, ‘We agree. And thank you very much for your help and understanding. We’re feeling so lost and confused that it’s hard to think straight.’

‘That isn’t surprising,’ Winnie told them. ‘You can safely leave everything with Stan. You go home and try to get some rest. Lily’s almost asleep.’

When they’d gone, Stan and Winnie watched them walk back to their house.

‘Do you think Mrs Bentley’s done a runner, Stan?’

‘That was my first thought when they came to see me, but now I know more, I believe that’s unlikely. She’s a good mother and the children love her. She’s always worked hard to give them a better life, she even taught them herself at weekends to make sure they had a good standard of education. It’s inconceivable she would leave them like this.’

‘She’s well educated then?’

‘Seems like it. Those youngsters are well spoken, and they’re no fools.’

‘How long have they lived here?’

‘About two years.’ Stan turned from the window and lurched for a chair, falling into it with a grimace. ‘But we don’t know anything about Mrs Bentley, do we?’

‘No, she kept to herself, and she never spoke when she picked up Lily from school – except to say good afternoon politely. But this is the first time I’ve ever met Dora and Tom.’

Stan nodded. ‘Odd, isn’t it? But Mrs Bentley obviously had secrets, that’s why she kept aloof from everyone. And that’s what’s worrying me. Once this investigation gets under way, what the hell are we going to uncover?’

‘You call on me, Stan. Those poor children are going to need all the support they can get. What do you think the chances are of their mother still being alive?’

‘Slim. Very slim.’