Private Sorrow, A (26 page)

‘I can only say thank you very much. The two girls were dreaming of having a bedroom each and Andrea just loves the bathroom. You know what young girls are like.’

‘When you do come back to work, you can travel with Jimmy in the van. I don’t want any more cycling to work.’

During all this conversation, Jimmy had hardly said a word but he was really pleased for Peter’s family. The bell sounded for the end of visiting time and Jack stood up. ‘Hurry up and get well, lad,’ he said as he made for the door.

Jimmy saw his chance. ‘I’ll see you in a minute, Jack. I just want a quick word with Peter.’

Peter gave him a puzzled look. ‘The night I lent you the van, Peter, and you got that dent in it – did you knock someone down with it?’

Peter looked confused. Jimmy was going to explain when a nurse came bustling in. ‘Visiting time is over.’ She didn’t exactly push him out but the threat was there. He had no option but to leave, which meant another sleepless night worrying over this.

Mary and Norma were going to Kidd’s Rooms. She half expected Stan to be there but she felt guilty about her feelings for him, especially with Phil away in the army. She knew Phil was just a friend but it seemed so disloyal somehow to have these feelings for his friend.

Stan wasn’t there when they reached the dance floor and she was disappointed. Norma had made loads of friends at this Saturday night dance and she was asked up to dance almost immediately. Suddenly, a voice at her shoulder said, ‘Hullo, Mary.’

Mary was dismayed to see it was Linda but she seemed to be alone. She smiled. ‘Linda, how are you?’

‘I’m fine. Have you heard from Phil since he went into the army?’

Mary wasn’t sure about answering this but she said, ‘Yes, I have. He writes every week and he should get a leave soon.’

Linda looked wistful. ‘I wish he would write to me and give me all his news.’

Looking at her sad face, it suddenly struck Mary that she was really in love with him, not just full of petty jealousy. ‘I can give you his address if you would like to write to him, Linda.’

Her face brightened. ‘That would be great.’ Then she became downcast again. ‘He’ll not want to hear from me. He stopped seeing me, and after I thought we were getting on great.’

Mary made up her mind to tell the girl the truth. ‘Linda, send him a letter with all the news of the sweetie factory, all the little bits of gossip. Keep it simple. You can say you are all missing him around the factory. If you keep it light and nothing dramatic like undying love, he will want to answer and then when he’s due home, you can say how great it would be to meet up for a coffee and a chat about his army experiences. Make it a date for two and don’t invite all your pals along. I think if you play a bit hard to get, he may be interested in starting a relationship again.’

Linda was puzzled. ‘But what about you? Won’t you be jealous?’

Mary thought, oh yes, I would, but only if I was in love with him, which I’m not. ‘We’re just friends, Linda. I’m not in love with him but you are, so best of luck.’

‘Thanks, Mary. I’ll write to him tonight.’

Norma, who had overheard most of this conversation, said, ‘You sounded like Evelyn Home’s agony aunt column in the magazine.’

Mary laughed. ‘That’s where I read about a similar case and that was the reply she gave to the lovelorn lass who wrote in.’

‘But are you going to give up a gorgeous guy like Phil without a fight?’

‘Good looks aren’t everything, Norma. I like Phil very much but not in that romantic sense.’ She smiled. Stan had just walked in.

On Saturday, Molly had had a very busy day in the office, dealing with invoices and the roster for next week. Jean had wanted the day off, so that meant she was in the office on her own.

Deanna had come in earlier that morning. She was bursting with joy at how well the play was going. ‘The newspaper critic has said it is a wonderful performance and all the actors have been praised as well.’

Molly was very pleased for her although she could have done with Deanna being able to help out with some of the jobs that were coming up. If the work was going to come in like this, then she would have to hire another woman, but she decided to leave it till after the new year. Thankfully, she had Maisie and Alice who were quite eager to take on extra work. It would soon be November and Molly recalled how the jobs had slumped a bit at that time last year, so she would wait a few more weeks and see how things were going.

One bit of good news was the new contract with John Knox. He had been discharged from hospital a few days ago and one of the first things he had done was to reinstate Edna. Molly didn’t know all the details of this rift but she was glad to have him back on the books. Edna was overjoyed at this news and planned to start work on the Monday morning. She had been apprehensive to begin with when Molly told her about the new contract. ‘I don’t know how he’ll get rid of Sonia. He says he can’t throw her out, but he’s hoping she’ll find another place to stay.’

‘Everything will be fine, Edna. He must have made up his mind how to deal with this while he was in hospital and look how quickly he wants you back.’

Alice and Maisie had come in early that morning before setting out for work. They collected their wages and Molly asked Alice how things were at home. ‘Victor hasn’t come back since the night he broke the window, so hopefully he’ll stay away for good now,’ she said. ‘Is it all right if I run across to Henderson’s furniture store to pay my weekly payment for my three-piece suite?’ Molly said that was fine as the shop was only yards away and the new job didn’t need Alice until 9:30 a.m.

Molly wondered how the case was coming on. Charlie Johns hadn’t come back to see her but she knew he would be busy with other cases, not just Etta’s. That was why she was surprised when he appeared at teatime. She was just thinking of closing up when he came in, his overcoat wet with the rain that had started to fall in the afternoon. ‘I was wondering if you could make me a cup of tea while I bring you up to date with the case,’ he said.

Molly quickly closed and locked the door and as they climbed the stair to the flat, she turned out the office light. ‘I’ll make you something to eat if you’re hungry,’ she said, looking hesitantly at the packet of bacon and six eggs that she had bought that morning.

‘That would be great, but only if it’s not a nuisance.’

She put on the frying pan and began to cook the bacon. ‘Do you want me to set the table?’

She nodded but kept her face turned away from him. The flat had warmed up with the electric fire and by the time they were sitting down to the meal, everything was cosy.

Later, when they were drinking their tea on the couch, he said, ‘I haven’t made much headway with the case. I keep going round in circles with the people you’ve interviewed and I suppose they’ve mentioned it to other people. Yet, however the information reached them, we have a dangerous person in our midst. These weren’t coincidental accidents – they were deliberate attacks. The day Mrs Barton had her accident with the bus, she came here afterwards in the company of an elderly woman. Did you see her before she went along Victoria Road?’

Molly said she hadn’t. ‘The first thing I knew about the accident was when Vera half stumbled into the office. She said someone called Bella had helped her.’

‘I’d like to trace this woman but we’ve no idea where she lives. We have a witness who saw an elderly woman driving a small black car after Peter Walsh’s accident, and then we have an elderly woman who was around when Vera almost landed under the bus. It could mean nothing at all but I’m not sure about this Bella. Vera remembers that she wore nail polish and I’m not sure if older women paint their nails. What do you think, Molly?’

Molly wasn’t sure. ‘I suppose she could be a woman who likes to keep herself looking good. Did Vera say how she was dressed?’

‘Yes, a coat that looked too tight for her, a woollen hat and scarf, which she didn’t take off in the café, and red polished nails.’

Molly looked doubtful. ‘It doesn’t sound like a woman who takes care of her appearance. Did Vera describe anything else about her?’

Charlie said, ‘No. She says she was in too much shock and then agitated at not finding the letter writer or the letter.’

‘Well, that makes sense. Vera looked totally shocked when she came here. She didn’t even notice her stocking had a large ladder in it and her coat was all grey and dusty. I think she’s been taking sleeping pills for a while now and she probably felt groggy that morning.’

‘It makes you wonder if it was just a genuine accident but she swears she felt a big push from behind. I’ve been checking up on some of the women you interviewed. Anita wears red nail polish, Vina wears pale pink and Frances didn’t have any painted nails but she did have the traces of red at the edges of her nails. It looked like she had used remover but didn’t get into the corners. Oh, and by the way, you’ll be pleased to know Vera’s not taking the pills any longer.’

Molly was relieved by this news. She had switched the wireless to discover it was a music programme. Charlie settled back on the couch with his cup in his hand and sighed. ‘You’ve made this place look really fantastic. I suppose I’ll have to make a move and go out in the storm.’

By now the wind was blowing rain on the window. For one out-of-character moment she thought of asking him to stay. After all, he could easily sleep on the couch, but then he stood up and put his coat on. ‘Thanks for the meal and the company, Molly. I’ll be back when I have more news, but please watch out for yourself. I don’t like the way this case is going.’

Molly was going to let him out by the street door but that meant taking him through the bedroom, so they went downstairs and through the darkened office. At the door, Charlie shook her hand. ‘Thanks again.’

He made his way down the Wellgate to wherever he lived. Molly had no idea where that was, but maybe he was going back to the police station. It was only eight o’clock and the Wellgate was busy with people hurrying to the cinema, the pubs or the dance halls. She shivered in the cold night air and locked up. The flat seemed empty and quiet now that he was gone. She thought about the evening and smiled. Last year, he had been furious with her over her involvement in a case and she hadn’t really cared for him. But now he was showing a different side to his character and she blushed when she thought about how much she liked him.

The woman was fed up with waiting in the rain. What did the policeman want now with McQueen? Well, it certainly wasn’t to question her, as the woman saw her locking the door and putting the light out. So he was invited up to the inner sanctum was he? Wonders would never cease. She reviewed her plans. There was still quite a bit to deal with but she would manage it. Once again, she was furious that all the memories had been brought to the surface, but these people would pay for their interference. Oh yes, there was no doubt about that. Here he comes, looking like he wanted to stay, but the upright Molly McQueen wouldn’t have had it. Actually, the woman quite fancied him for herself and one never knew how things would pan out. Maybe if he got to know me better, she thought, he would like me. But there wasn’t going to be a chance for that.

Molly finished some more work and then decided to have an early night after Charlie had gone. She thought about her impulse to ask him to stay but she was glad it had come to nothing. He was just doing his job and because she was involved, it was natural for him to visit every now and again.

She tried to read her book but it was another boring tale and she couldn’t be bothered with it. She lay for a long time listening to the people pass by on the street but soon she was fast asleep. A fit of coughing woke her up and she couldn’t get her breath. Wide awake now, she was horrified to see the room was thick with smoke and she stumbled and struggled to get out of bed. Her eyes were stinging and her throat felt on fire but the worse thing was she couldn’t make out where the door was. Stay calm, she thought.

Finding the end of the bed and then the cupboard, she managed to make her way down to the outside door but as she went to unlock it, she realised the key was hot. The fire must be outside this door, she realised, so she retraced her steps and found the stairs into the office. She half stumbled down the stairs and found the office was also starting to fill with smoke. By now she was almost collapsing but she managed to crawl to the front door and unlock it.

She sprawled like a wet fish on the rain soaked pavement in front of a group of young lads who were on their way home. Molly could only whisper that there was a fire at the side door. One of the lads draped his coat around her while the rest hurried along Baltic Street. They found a fire was built up outside the door, mainly with rubbish and some wood, but there was a small burning tyre on top. The thick wooden door had managed to keep the fire out and the lads tried to kick the burning debris away from the door, dispersing the fire’s fuel into the street where it fizzled in the rain. ‘We’ll have to get the doctor and the police,’ said one lad.

‘I don’t think we’ll need the fire brigade because the fire’s almost out.’

‘What if there’s also a fire inside?’ said his pal. ‘Maybe we should investigate.’

By now, Molly was propped up in the doorway. She was still unable to speak. While two of the lads went inside, another one ran to the phone box but he met a policeman on the beat. The policeman said, ‘Where’s the fire, son? Where are you going in such a hurry?’

‘There is a fire, constable, down there.’ He pointed to the Wellgate.

They both ran to the agency and the constable hurried back to the police box at the foot of the Hilltown to report it. They all managed to get Molly back inside the office, which was now reasonable clear of smoke. She was shivering in her wet nightdress and the jacket wasn’t much warmer.

Within half an hour, a fire engine and an ambulance had arrived. Molly protested she was feeling better but she was whisked off to the infirmary. The policeman promised to lock up the office and the lads stood around looking helpless with their faces, hands and clothes blackened by the fire. Before she went away, Molly tried to thank them but they said they were only glad they were able to help.