Songbird (32 page)

“Then you’d best get on with it, hadn’t you?”

Danny nodded. In his haste to put space between him and Drayton, he felt a pang of sympathy for Maddy. “Jeeze! You can’t blame the woman for keeping her head down,” he muttered. “Not with that crazy bastard on her tail.”

All the same, because he knew no other trade, and because he desperately needed to earn the trust of others, he would do the job he was being paid for.

Above all else, his reputation — and his livelihood — depended on it.

Behind him, Drayton seemed to have met his match, in the bulky form of prisoner Armstrong.

While Drayton was searched, Armstrong was kept waiting a short distance away, under the eagle eye of the second officer.

It was when Drayton and Armstrong were ushered to the outer door and Armstrong turned to look at him, that Drayton felt the full weight of the other man’s loathing.

The feeling was mutual, and of this Drayton left the other man in no doubt.

So far, they had each managed to stay on the right side of common sense.

But the brooding atmosphere intensifying between them kept all the other inmates at bay.

“Ellen!” poking his
head in through the open kitchen window, Bob shouted for his granddaughter. Abba’s new hit, “Chiquitita,” was blaring out on Radio I, and Ellen was warbling along to it. “
Ellen!
The phone’s ringing! I can’t go in, because I’m up to my neck in it.” With new spring flowers scattered all over the bench, he had part-emptied the flower barrel and was now in the middle of refilling it with fresh soil. “ELLEN!” he bawled. The phone was insistent, and still no sign of her.

“All right! I’m on my way, don’t panic.” With the child in her arms, she ran to the radio, turned it off and snatched up the phone in the hall. “Hello?” A pause, then, “Oh Maddy — how are you? Is everything all right?”

There was a time, not so long ago, when if she heard Maddy’s voice, a smile would light up her face. But not today. In fact, not for these past few weeks. Since she had grown ever closer to baby Michael, the idea of Maddy claiming him back was devastating.

“I’m fine. And how are you and Grandad Bob?”

“We’re both well. In fact, Grandad’s outside in the back garden at the moment, pulling out the winter plants and replacing them with summer ones, and making one hell of a mess in the process!”

“Well, give him my love,” Maddy said, and then, her voice full of yearning, she asked, “So, how’s my baby?” Maddy wanted to know everything. “Is that bothersome tooth through yet? Has his hair thickened up? Oh, and what about—”

“Hey! Hang on — give me a chance and I’ll tell you,” Ellen laughed. “Michael is absolutely thriving. His tooth is just about through, with the one next to it beginning to show. So as you can imagine, it’s sleepless nights for everyone. His cheeks are red, and he’s dribbling so much I have to keep changing his bibs. And he’s chewing on everything in sight. He’s doing so well with his feeding, Maddy. We’ve got him on mashed-up vegetables and gravy and bananas and stewed apple. He eats every scrap.”

“I miss him so much.” Maddy tried hard not to let it show, but the tremor in her voice told it all. “I want to come back. I want to see him, to hold him in my arms.” The tears broke through. “Oh Ellen, I don’t know if I can stay away any more. I’m missing everything: his first tooth, cuddling him and feeding him, hearing his little baby noises. Even the sleepless nights. How long will it be before he starts crawling, then taking his first step?” She burst out sobbing. “Have I made a big mistake in thinking it was better for me to leave and keep you all safe? Every day seems like a lifetime away from him… from all of you.”

Hearing the sobs on the phone, the child in Ellen’s arms began to wriggle and whimper. “Just a minute,” Ellen told Maddy. Putting the baby on the floor, propped up between her feet, she gave him a rusk to suck and picked up the receiver again.

Lowering her voice, Ellen tried to calm her. “Take it easy, love. Think what you’re saying. You were not wrong in going away. You
have
kept us safe in doing that, and what happened a fornight ago makes that crystal clear. You know exactly what I’m talking about: why would the hospital ring up and ask permission to give out our address? Apparently, somebody was asking after you and Michael. That somebody was out to find you by any means. So don’t even think about coming back just yet.”

There was a long, painful pause, during which Maddy realized that Ellen was talking sense. “You did what we agreed, didn’t you?” she asked in a trembling voice. “You told them they were not to give out the address under any circumstances?”

“Of course! I already told you. I said I was moving to Scotland the very next day, anyway, just to put them off the scent. And like I said, they assured me they would do as I asked — me being you, of course.”

“And you’ve heard nothing since?”

“Not a word. But it doesn’t mean to say they won’t try another way to find you. So, for now, Maddy, you must stay where you are. Promise me you won’t think about coming back — not until we’re sure they’re not watching the place.”

Maddy took a moment to answer. Then: “Ellen, I’ve been thinking about something. In fact, it’s been on my mind a lot lately.”

“Go on then, tell me.”

“Well, I’ve been wondering — what if you came here? Bring little Michael, and the three of us could spend a few days together.”

“Maddy! Are you crazy?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, they don’t know where I am, do they? You could travel at night… Oh please, Ellen! I miss you and Michael so much. I look at the photographs you send, and I see how he’s growing, and I can’t bear it.” The main worry she had, was, “If he doesn’t see me soon, he won’t know who I am. And that scares me.”

“Listen to me, Maddy,” Ellen began. “I didn’t tell you this before, because I didn’t want you to worry.” She was amazed at how easily the awful lie came to her mind. “The last time me and Grandad took Michael out, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we were being watched.”

Having begun the lie, she elaborated, “I can’t explain it, and as far as I know, we were not followed. But it’s worrying all the same. They obviously know you had Steve Drayton’s child. And I dare say they’ll keep scouring the area to find you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” This was the last thing Maddy wanted. “Thankfully, they’re obviously looking for
me
, not you, and hopefully the ones who are looking will not know you by sight. But you should have told me. I need you to tell me every little thing that happens. I don’t want to be kept in the dark.”

Her ploy had worked. Ellen felt desperately ashamed, but she couldn’t risk losing “her” baby. “So now you can see why I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to travel down to see you. And the reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t want to frighten you. But, like you just said, I’m probably not on his list, and hopefully, they won’t know me by sight. So, as long as I keep a low profile and we all stay away from each other, we should all be safe.”

She added a sweetener. “We will come and see you one day, I promise. But not yet.” Before Maddy could comment any further, she skillfully changed the subject. “What about you, Maddy? How’s it going?”

Still uneasy after Ellen’s warning, Maddy told her that, “It’s going okay. This is such a lovely place, and my boss, Brad, is kind and generous, as are the neighbors, especially Sue, who is the mother of Dave, Robin’s best friend.”

“So you’re keeping busy then?”

“I’m working every minute I can. It helps keep me sane. I’m earning decent money, which I can put away, because the cottage is rent free. The only real money I spend is what I send you and Michael, so my savings are building up really well.”

Anticipating Ellen’s next question, she added, “I haven’t opened a bank account, because I don’t want to use my real name So, I put the cash safely away, where I can find it quickly if I need to.”

“This Sue sounds like a nice person.”

“She is — they all are. Even so, the loneliness is awful. It’s not so bad during the day, but when my work is done and I go back to the cottage, I shut the door behind me and I’m so alone. I can’t stop thinking about you all back home. I want to be with my baby; I need to see you and Grandad. The truth is, even though Brad is a lovely man, and a dear friend, I can’t help but feel isolated.”

They chatted on, with Maddy asking a myriad questions about life at number 8 Ackerman Street, and even about Nosy Nora next door.

“Oh, and Raymond rang again.” Ellen was always cautious when mentioning Raymond. “He asked again where you were exactly, but I told him he should send all his messages through me.”

“Did he understand why? Did you tell him that the fewer people who know, the better?”

“Yes, and he fully understood.”

“And did you give him my love, like I said?”

“I did, and he sends his back. Also, he says you’re not to come back here, until such a time as Drayton might stop looking.”

“Oh.” Maddy was surprised. “Does Raymond really think he will stop looking, one day?”

“Well, he reckons that if they search long enough and still don’t find you, Drayton just might turn his mind to other matters. Besides, it’s bound to be costing him an arm and a leg paying for these people to track you down.”

Maddy fell silent, her mind going back over that night and the words he had uttered as he was taken away. She muttered them now:
“Keep looking over your shoulder… wherever you go, I’ll find you.”

“Maddy?” Ellen’s voice echoed down the receiver. “Maddy, are you still there?”

“I’m here. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About what Raymond said… that
he
might call a halt because it’s costing him money.” There was no doubt in Maddy’s mind; “Raymond is wrong. The cost of tracking me down won’t bother a man like
him
. It’s a matter of principle, as far as
he’s
concerned.”

“But surely he can’t keep a contract out on you forever?”

Maddy enlightened her. “If he has to, yes. Especially when he’s so sure I blew the whistle on him. That is something he
can’t
let go. Believe me, Ellen, however much it costs him, and however long it takes, he won’t stop until he finds me. I
know
him. Alice knew him, too. His enemies know him even better, and they would tell you the same. He is a man feared by many people, and for good reason. He’s never been known to issue a threat, and not see it through. It’s a pride thing — a show of power to keep the troops in order. No, Ellen, trust me. That bastard will never let it rest.”

There was a moment of silence at each end, as the two of them contemplated Maddy’s foreboding words.

In a quiet, shaking voice, Ellen broke the silence. “Maddy, from what you’ve just told me, you must realize, you can
never
come back here. We have to find another way. We have to try and outwit both him, and his cronies. Let them scour this area all they like but it’s only a matter of time before they realize you’re not here any more. That’s when they might look elsewhere — so when their guard is down, we’ll make our move. We’ll keep them foxed if we can.”

“All right, Ellen.” Maddy gave a deep, heartbroken sigh. “Meantime, please… be careful. Look, I’d better go. I’m in the phone box on the village green, and there’s someone waiting to use it.”

They said their goodbyes and for a long time, Ellen remained by the phone as the baby gurgled at her feet. It made her heart sore to think that Maddy might one day take him away from her.

The more she thought on it, the more panic-stricken she became.

With all the tenderness of a mother, she gathered the sleepy baby into her arms and began to quietly rock him, removing his bib and wiping his sticky hands with it. “Your other mammy wants you back,” she murmured, lovingly stroking his face with the tip of her finger. “She wants to take you away from me. But we can’t have that, can we? Especially when it was her who put you in danger, when she got on the wrong side of
him
— that monster, your daddy. And now he wants to kill her
and
you! But I won’t let him. I’ll keep you safe… like I always do.”

The look of love she gave him was all-enveloping. “She went away — and now she thinks she has a right to reclaim you. And that’s a shame, because she can’t have you.
You’re mine now, my own little boy
.

Chucking his chin, she made him smile, that curiously wonky smile that babies make. “You see, she gave up all rights to you when she went out the door. So now, it’s only fair that you belong to me. You’re
my
baby… not hers!
I’m
your mammy now, and that’s the way it should be.” She kissed the top of his downy head, and his little nose.

Grandad Bob opened the kitchen door and called through: “Was that Maddy on the phone?”

“No.” In her misguided belief that she had a right to keep the child, Ellen was becoming an accomplished liar. “It was just a wrong number.”

“Oh dear. So that makes a fortnight since we heard from her. Do you think everything’s all right wi’ the lass?”

“Perhaps she finds it hard to get to a phone.” Ellen did not want to raise his suspicions, though she was not averse to letting him believe that Maddy had started to shift away from her son. “Mind you, if it were me, I’d move heaven and earth to find out how my son was.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s anything to do with her not wanting to ask after him.” He was shaken by Ellen’s comment. “Happen her aunt has taken a turn for the worst and she doesn’t want to worry us.” His voice fell to a mumble. “All the same, I can’t understand why we haven’t heard from her in almost two weeks, when prior to that, she was calling every other day.”

Ellen was secretly disappointed that her grandfather had dismissed her comment as unbelievable. “Never mind how fond he is of her now,” she told the child, carrying him upstairs for a nappy change and a sleep, “at least the seed is set. The more I work on him, the sooner he’ll come to believe that you’ve been well and truly deserted.”