the maltese angel (23 page)

for?"

Ward soon reached where he was bound for, and it wasn't for the front of The Crown Head but round to the back of it.

At the kitchen door he stopped for a moment, his chest heaving, and he gulped in his throat before banging on the door, and which he continued to do until the voice from behind it cried, "All right! All right!

What is it?"

The door was pulled open; and he stood staring at Holden for a full ten seconds before bringing out on a growl, "You satisfied then?

You've let your breed act for the village, eh? You meant to do her in one way or another, didn't you? "

"In the name of God! What are you talking about, Ward? Are you drunk or daft? What's up with you?"

"Don't tell me you don't know. They came running in, didn't they, after they had shot their bolt? Well, it's the last catapult they'll use. By God! they'll pay for this, or you will through them."

But as Ward's hands came out to grab him Holden struck out at him, the while he yelled, "You're mad! That's what you are."

"What is it? What's the matter?" Winnie Holden was now standing beside her husband, and Ward answered her: "The matter is, you've spawned two murderers, missis. Your devils have killed my wife," he |

cried at her.

"Oh my Godf He watched the big woman put her hand over her mouth, and then turn and look back into the room before saying, and quickly now,

" Come in. Come in, Ward. "

He seemed to need no second bidding: he almost thrust them aside

because he had caught sight of the two lads who had been sitting at the table but who were now standing against the far wall of the room and close together, and he was himself now thrust aside by the Holdens and held against the wall, all the while hearing the older man shouting,

"They never hurt your wife! Listen to me, Ward! but I know who did."

"Shut up! Mike. Shut up!" It was his big brawny wife yelling at him now.

"I won't, woman, I won't. It's our lads he's trying to get at, as if you didn't know."

They were talking now as if they were alone in the room together and not struggling with a man who was behaving like a maniac.

Again Holden cried at Ward, "Stop it, man! Stop it! Quiet! Listen to me, and I'll tell you who it was. The same one as set fire to your crops, and crippled your cattle, the one you threw over for your

wife."

Suddenly Ward became still. His face was close to Holden's and he

whispered a name: "Daisy? No."

"Aye; Daisy Mason. Well, what did you expect, lad? What did you expect? Haven't you ever given it a thought?"

Slowly Ward pushed their arms from him and straightened up; but a doubt still remained and he continued to stare at the two boys who were

crouched close together, until their father said, "Sit down, lads, and finish your breakfast."

As Ward watched them come slowly, even furtively to the table, some part of him was saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Then he muttered as if to himself, "It couldn't have been her, not the fire. She was away at the time in Fellburn."

It was Winnie Holden who now spoke, and quietly:

"She was wily," she said.

"She had it all planned out, like

everything else. She's been goin' mad these last years, but nobody would let on 'cos John and Gladys are a decent couple, and they've had enough on their plate trying to keep her under lock and key most of the time. But everybody in the place seemed to know who was the culprit for your misfortunes, except you, and we've often wondered why it

hasn't dawned on you. And on Saturday gone the lads were in the Hall wood. They shouldn't have been there, but there's some good bleeberry bushes and that's what they were doing, gatherin'. They saw her. She had a catapult, they said, and through the bushes they saw her fire it.

She caught sight of them and whether she meant to chase them or not, they were so scared they took to their heels and didn't stop running until they reached this kitchen. "

There was silence for a matter of thirty seconds, and it was broken by George Holden saying in a fear-filled voice, "Don't tell me. Ward, that your wife's dead!"

Ward didn't answer him, but he moved from the wall, then turned and looked towards the fire. There was a pot on the hob with porridge

bubbling in it, but he wasn't seeing it: he was back near the cemetery wall and her hands were coming out and clawing his face. ;

Why hadn't his suspicions touched on her? They had on one family after another in the village: the Longstaff twins, Mike and Adam. He had never frequented The Running Hare, which seemed, in his state of mind, reason enough to feel they had it in for him. Or it could have been one of Kate Holden's lot? His suspicions had even touched on the

McNabs in the ^ Hollow. Then there were the Wainwrights. They were |

Methodists, and they had four sons, all married and S scattered round about the countryside. No; that was ;| daft thinking: just because he was the Methodist pastor, i Why! he had always spoken to him, he had even bought | his milk. No; he had been blind, stupid, not to put his

| finger on Daisy, after her parting shot. He remembered | her actual words, r!

"I'll have my own back on you, Ward Gibson. I swear before God I will.

You and yours. Do you hear me? "

And she had carried out her threat. She had killed Fanny, his beloved Fanny. Oh! Fanny, Fanny. There was a strange feeling in his head.

For a moment he felt as though he might burst into tears like a woman, or howl like some animal, such was the pain of her loss. And he

realised that this was only the beginning ..

He turned his gaze from the fire towards George Holden, who had caught his attention with the words, "You and yours will never be safe, Ward, as long as she's about. She should be put away where she cannot do any more harm."

You and young. These were her words again. He had two girls, he had two daughters .. you and yours will never be safe as long as she's about.

He swung round as if he were going to leave the room, but, turning again, he said simply, "I'm sorry."

"That's all right. Ward. That's all right. We understand." And they moved to the door with him, and on its being opened they were as

surprised as Ward to see, standing in the long dray yard, Philip

Patten, Carl, Fred and his father, and a number of other villagers.

It was the doctor who moved towards him, saying, "Come on home.

Ward."

Ward looked at the doctor and around the small crowd and when he spoke to Philip Patten his voice gave no indication of the rage that was rising in him, as he said, "I'm going home, Doctor; just leave me alone for the time being ... Come, Carl." And with that he walked through the villagers, seeming not to notice Fred's outstretched hand.

Ward did not now run back through the village, but his step was quick and firm, as was Carl's. Once past the church and well out of sight of any of the villagers, however. Ward stopped and, looking at Carl,

said, "Go back home and see to things." And before Carl had time to put any kind of question to him, such as, "Can't I come i93

with you, master? " Ward had jumped a ditch to the side of the road and was once more running across his field of stubble ... The work so far at Beacon Farm had been carried out according to the usual daily routine: the first milking had been done, the byres swilled out, and Seth Mason had just finished harnessing the two shires and was leading one from the stable, when the sight of Ward Gibson stopped him in his tracks. And after glancing swiftly about him as if looking for

someone, he left the horse and began to run to where Ward was nearing the kitchen door, crying as he ran, "Here! Wait a minute. Don't go in there. What d'you want, anyway?"

And to this Ward answered grimly, "You know what I want," which impelled Seth to spring forward and confront him, the while yelling,

"Pete! Pete! Here!"

As Ward's forearm thrust Seth staggering back against the wall of the house, Pete Mason came racing across the yard, and as he barred Ward's way to the kitchen door, he cried at him, "Get yourself to hell out of here, and quick!"

Again Ward's arm came out, straight this time, but the blow just grazed Pete Mason's cheek, and now he retaliated with his own fists, only to be stopped by the kitchen door being dragged open and his father's hands on his shoulders pulling him back, as he yelled above the melee,

"Stop it! For God's sake! What's come over you all?"

The two combatants were now glaring at each other when Mr. Mason again spoke.

"What brings you here, Ward?" he demanded.

"You're not welcome;

you know that. "

"Huh! In the name of God! listen to the man: I'm not welcome. And what brings me here, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Mason, what brings me here. Just a small matter of having your daughter put away for murdering my wife. That's all. That's all." The last words seemed to rattle in his throat, and the three men looked at him aghast and in silence. Then Pete and Seth Mason turned to look at their

father, who first put one hand to his head, then with the other felt, as if for support, for the stanchion of the door, and there was a note of both fear and disbelief in his voice as he said, "No! No!

What d'you mean? What d'you mean? "

"Just what I say. My wife died this morning from a catapult shot that carried a flint."

It was a thin voice that seemed to pipe in as Seth Mason said, "People don't die from catapult shots."

"No?" The bark made Seth Mason retreat a step and he muttered, "Well .

well, I mean ..."

"She ... she wouldn't do that. Mischief, yes, mischief:

she gets up to mischief, but not that, not that. "

"Mr. Mason--' Ward's voice seemed strangely calm as he now went on,

'that flint burst a blood vessel in my wife's brain. And I have only this morning been awakened to the fact that all my ill-fortune over the past years: fires, maiming of my animals, shooting innocent little dogs, and all other irritations I've had to put up with, have come from the hand of your daughter. Everybody seems to have known this, but they have been protecting you. Well now, murder cannot be protected.

If I had my hands on her this minute, there would be another one. This I promise you. But that would be letting her off lightly. What I've come to tell you is, I'll have her certified before this day's out."

"No, no. Oh Ward, no, no."

The voice caused them all to turn and look at the frail figure of

Gladys Mason; and when her husband gripped her shoulders crying, "Go back! Go back!" she answered him, "Leave me be, John. I must speak to Ward." And she pressed herself from his hands and, moving to the threshold of the door, she looked at Ward and pleaded, "Please, don't do that, Ward. I beg of you. I'll ... I'll see that she causes you no more trouble."

"What more trouble can she cause me, Mrs. Mason? She has killed my wife. Didn't you hear? she has killed

^

my wife. Your mad daughter has killed my wife. You say she can cause me no more trouble. I have two girls, remember, and she'll not rest until she gets them an' all, if not me before that. Can't you take it in, woman? She's mad; and she won't stop at one. "

"Don't you speak to my mother like that."

Before Ward had time to respond, John Mason cried at his son, "Shut up!

you. Shut up! If you had kept your eyes open and done what you were

..." He again put his hand to his head; then, as if a surprising thought had struck him, he said sharply, "What proof have you got, Ward, that Daisy has done this thing? There's hardly a lad in the

village that hasn't got a catapult."

"Granted. But George Holden's sons, young Peter and Alan, saw her."

"Oh, those two." It was the thin voice of Seth Mason piping in again.

"They are noted liars, and thieves into the bargain. We caught them raiding our chicken run only a few weeks ago. Didn't we, Pete?"

"Aye, we did that. And either of them would say anything to save their own skin."

"She was in the wood. They saw her. She chased them."

"Aye, she could have, likely because they were using the catapult.

Ward' John Mason's bent shoulders seemed to straighten 'she's been up to mischief, I admit, and there's something to be said on her side, as you only too well know. What you did turned her brain. But murder?

No. No. I won't have it. Anyway, she hardly ever leaves the room up above, except to go for a short ramble now and again. And then one or two of us keep an eye on her as much as He stopped .. then he pointed to Seth, saying, "Go up and tell her she's wanted downstairs."

As Seth was about to pass his father to enter the house, he paused for a moment, saying, "What if she won't ... ?" Only to be cut short by his father's voice crying at him, "Bring her down!" Then turning to Ward, he said, "Come indoors a minute, will you, and we'll clear this thing up one way or another. There's one thing I'm sure of, she won't lie to me." And he stepped back, at the same time pressing his wife aside to allow Ward to enter before them.

It seemed to Ward that the kitchen hadn't changed in any way since the last time he had sat at the long, white kitchen table and had eaten a good meal amid laughter and joking about different members of the

church community. The breakfast crockery was there on the table now.

He stood some distance from the end of it, waiting, as were Mr. and Mrs. Mason and their son, their gaze directed towards the door at the far end of the room. No-one spoke and the silence became eerie until it was suddenly pierced by a high female voice, crying, "Leave me be!

will you? Leave me be! "

When the far door opened it seemed that the bulky figure had been

thrust into the room and that it was about to turn round again in

protest, when it stiffened. Ward saw the head slowly turn to look at him, and the expression on the face seemed to be no different from the one he had looked on at their last meeting all those years ago, except, as the body had, so it had swollen to almost twice its size: