by Rosie Clarke
‘This is your first pregnancy,’ Maureen smiled. ‘I remember finding the first time a bit daunting – but you look really well.’
‘Yes, I am – and I’m excited and nervous at the same time. ‘I’ve found a nice cot, almost new, and a pram…’
‘Good. I was meaning to ask, because I had a lady who had one to sell in the shop the other day.’
‘I’ve found most things I’ll want – nappies and blankets, and a shawl. It’s mostly clothes I lack…’
‘I expect you will get a lot of presents when the time comes. I did…’
‘I want everything to be ready on time…that’s why I need that wool…’
‘Wait for a while, because I may be able to get the wool you put by soon…’ Maureen paused. ‘I’m goin’ to try and take over the lease of Mabel’s shop when the police have finished with it. Obviously, it will be put up for rent again – and I’d like to carry it on more or less as it is. I’ve got a few ideas to make it more profitable…’
Anne was surprised. ‘Could you face goin’ round there after what happened?’
‘Mabel was my friend,’ Maureen said and looked her in the eyes. ‘We got on so well and I don’t believe her ghost will rise up in anger because I take over her shop. I think she would be pleased – and we don’t want any more empty shops in the lane.’
‘Who will run it?’ Anne was curious now.
‘I’ll advertise for a woman,’ Maureen said. ‘We don’t want a very young girl – but perhaps a war widow who needs a home and a job she can manage. She would have to know about the murder, but if she’s the right one she won’t be put off by what happened…’
‘You seem to have thought it all through,’ Anne said in wonder. ‘Well, I hope it works out for you. I’ll see what I can find elsewhere, but I should like that wool I put by – if you do get the lease and the stock. I wonder who that belongs to?’ She frowned. ‘Did Mabel have any family?’
‘That’s something we have to discover,’ Maureen said. ‘I know we haven’t even had the funeral yet and it would be too soon to think about things like this normally, but I should be sorry to see the shop close down. We’ve got two empty shops in the lane as it is… and once they’re left for a few years it’s very expensive to do them up.’
‘Yes, that bakery is a shambles,’ Anne said. ‘Peggy told me she had a look round it a few weeks back, but it’s in an awful state. You’d think whoever owns it would have kept it in better shape.’
‘Some people just don’t bother.’ Maureen shook her head. ‘Who wants to spend money on a property that might get bombed?’ Since February the German planes had been attempting to raid the docks and factories, but the RAF was shooting most down before they got near.
‘We haven’t had any raids locally for a while,’ Anne said but crossed her fingers. ‘Perhaps Hitler is fed up with us because we’re too stubborn.’
‘I doubt he can spare the manpower at the moment,’ Maureen said, falling into step beside her as they walked up the lane together. ‘But I wonder what else he has in store for us. The papers are warning he has a powerful new weapon – just when can we expect Hitler to unleash that, I wonder.’
Chapter 24
‘I’m just going out for an hour or so, Peggy,’ Laurie said. ‘I’ve got a couple of errands to do. Would you mind looking after the bar for me? I shan’t be long…’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ Peggy said. ‘The twins have tired themselves out at last and they’re both sound asleep. I’ll be glad to have a little time behind the bar for a change.’
‘I’ll listen out for them,’ Nellie said and nodded to Laurie. ‘No need to rush, Mr Ashley. Me and Peggy can manage…’
‘Good. I just need to speak to someone,’ Laurie said. ‘Anythin’ you need from the shop, Peggy?’
‘No, I’m fine. Tom is bringing my order this evenin’…’
‘Right, I’ll see you later then.’
Laurie took his scarf from the hallstand and his heavy Army coat, shrugging it on as he left through the bar and went out into the lane. No need to tell his wife that he was going to the doctor yet. That cough he got, mainly in the night, was a bit of a nuisance, but Peggy either hadn’t noticed or she hadn’t mentioned it to him.
He saw Maureen and Anne standing just outside the old bakery, talking and smiling together, and he was about to call out a greeting when something alerted his instincts. A man was staring fixedly at the two women from across the road and, as Laurie hesitated, the man suddenly made a run at one of them, his arm upraised.
Maureen screamed and jerked back as the man struck at her with what looked very much like a long knife. Laurie didn’t hesitate or pause for thought. He rushed towards the man and tackled him from the back, his arm around the throat of the assassin. Maureen was staring at them, her face white and unable to move, but Anne had run into the cobblers’ shop and was yelling to Bob Hall to call the police.
Laurie knew that the man who had tried to injure his wife’s best friend was younger and stronger than he and he was in a fight for his life. The man threw Laurie off his back, muttering obscenities as he turned to face him. His eyes were wild with a kind of madness and in that moment Laurie recognised Peter Morris, and that he’d meant to kill Maureen, because of what she’d seen the night Mabel was murdered.
‘Don’t be a bloody fool,’ Laurie panted as Peter stabbed at his chest with the knife. ‘The coppers will throw away the key when they get you…’
Peter didn’t answer. His face was contorted with ungovernable rage and Laurie thought he probably wasn’t aware of what he was doing. Hunted by both the police and the Army, he must have brooded on his wrongs and let them fester inside him. Laurie might have felt sorry for the bloke if he hadn’t tried to kill an innocent woman. No decent man could let him get away with that.
Laurie cried out with pain as he felt the knife stab his chest, but he refused to let go of his opponent as they grappled for the weapon. He caught Peter’s arm and tried to twist it, to force the blade from his grasp, but the younger man was so much stronger.
‘You’re a damned fool,’ he grunted, but his breathing was harsh and he could hardly find energy enough to continue the fight. Laurie knew that his strength was waning and unless help arrived soon he would come off worse in this fight. ‘Give up before the cops get here.’
Suddenly, there was the sound of a police whistle. Laurie didn’t have time to look round but felt relief because he knew that he was losing the struggle. Peter had heard the piercing noise, but he was determined to inflict as much pain on his opponent as he could and he plunged his blade into Laurie’s chest just as the whistle sounded again, much closer, and then, someone in an Army uniform, charged at Peter’s back and struck him with a lump of wood between the shoulders.
Peter grunted, turned to meet the new opponent and caught the full force of the next blow in his face. It felled him and he went down, falling between Laurie and the person who had delivered the blow.
‘Tom Barton…’ Laurie muttered, astounded at the sight of the lad dressed in his uniform just as the faintness swept over him and he fell forward to be caught in Tom’s arms.
‘Tom, are you all right?’ Maureen said, coming up to them.
‘I’m OK; he didn’t touch me,’ Tom said. ‘It’s Mr Ashley that’s badly injured…’ His eyes went over her. ‘Are you all right, Maureen? I saw that devil run across the road, but I didn’t realise what he was after until I heard the screams and shouts.’
‘His eyes…’ Maureen was pale as she saw Tom turn to Bob Hall and ask him for help in supporting Laurie Ashley, who was bleeding profusely. ‘The look in his eyes… I think he was half crazy.’
‘Are yer all right, mate?’ Bob asked of Tom. ‘You’d best bring Mr Ashley into my shop until the police and ambulance get ’ere. We don’t want him frightenin’ the ladies next door…’ He jerked his head towards the pub, but he was too late. After asking Bob to call for the police, Anne had run into the pu
b and Peggy was coming towards them, her face white with shock.
‘Bring him inside,’ she said, looking anxiously at the blood seeping down his arm and on his hands. ‘I’ll try and stop the bleedin’.’
Just as Peggy spoke, they heard the sound of more police whistles and this time two burly police officers came charging up the lane. Everyone started to talk at once until one of them blew yet again. They asked a lot of questions, and then handcuffed Peter, who was just beginning to stir. By the time the constables got round to permitting Peggy’s request to remove Laurie to the pub, an ambulance had pulled into the lane.
Laurie was now lying on a blanket on the ground with Peggy bending over him. She’d pressed a tea towel that someone had given her to the wound inside his coat, but it wasn’t helping to stop the blood, because the knife had gone deep. It had fallen from Peter’s grasp when Tom hit him and one of the policemen had now picked it up and wrapped a handkerchief round it.
Alice had brought the blanket out and was busy telling the police that she’d witnessed everything, from Peter Morris’s attempt on Maureen’s life to Laurie’s gallant effort to stop him, and Tom’s brave charge to the rescue.
‘Regular ’ero, Tom were,’ Alice said. ‘He went fer the bugger like anythin’.’
Now the ambulance men took over. Laurie was tended to and placed on a stretcher before being carried into the ambulance.
‘You go with ’im, Peggy,’ Nellie said. She’d followed Peggy out, as had most of the pub’s customers. ‘We can manage for a while. Don’t worry about anythin’.’
‘I’ll stay and ’elp Nellie,’ Alice said. She looked at the police constables. ‘You’d best come inside, officers. It’s bloody freezin’ out ’ere and we can tell yer just as good inside…’
One of them looked at her as if he was about to protest, but everyone had made a general move towards the pub, and a Black Maria had arrived. Three officers jumped out and Peter Morris was half carried, half shoved into the back before it drove off again, leaving the first two officers on the scene in charge of taking statements. All the lunchtime customers of The Pig & Whistle were gathered at the door watching and there was a babble of voices as they rushed to praise Laurie Ashley and Tom Barton for their courage and to decry Peter Morris for his wickedness.
‘Bloody hero, Laurie Ashley was,’ one of the customers said. ‘And Tom – bloody good job, mate. He would’ve done for Ashley if yer ’adn’t charged ’im from behind.’
‘I tried blowin’ the whistle a police officer gave me,’ Tom told one of the constables. ‘I hoped it would scare ’im off, but when it didn’t I went for him, because he was tryin’ to kill Mr Ashley…’
‘It was lucky that Mr Ashley was walking down the street,’ the constable said, ‘and even more fortunate that you heard what was goin’ on, Mr Barton.’
‘I didn’t see him go for Maureen, but I heard her scream and I grabbed the lump of wood I keep handy in case anyone tries to rob the till…’
‘I see…’ the officer scribbled busily. ‘Fond of takin’ the law in yer own hands, are yer?’
‘No – but you need to be prepared in case the Germans invade,’ Tom said, realising he’d been too frank.
‘In the Army reserves, are yer?’
‘Yes, I am,’ Tom said proudly. ‘I put me uniform on today because I’m goin’ trainin’ when I leave off work this evenin’.’
‘Proud of it, I should think,’ the other officer said. ‘Leave it out, Bill. This young man is the hero of the day; don’t be makin’ him out to be a wrong’un. I know him well…’
‘Right…’ The constable turned his attention to Bob Hall. ‘You raised the alarm, sir?’
‘Yes, but my nephew’s wife came and told me to ring the police. She was with Mrs Hart when she was attacked and ran to me for ’elp. As soon as I’d let your people know, I went out to see if I could do anythin’, but Tom had already knocked the bugger down.’ Bob hid his hammer behind his back, knowing that the police wouldn’t take kindly to his choice of weapon.
The police officer was busy scribbling. ‘We heard the rumpus and came as quick as we could, but you’d already done our work for us – as far as I’m concerned you should have a medal for this, Tom Barton. We need men like you on the force…’
‘I’d be in the Army if they’d have me,’ Tom said. He looked at Maureen, who was still very pale and sitting down, listening. ‘Are you all right? You should have gone to the hospital too. You’ve had too many shocks lately. We don’t want you losin’ the baby…’
Maureen took a small glass of brandy that Janet had just brought her and sipped it. ‘It was frightening – but I owe Laurie Ashley my life. I do hope he isn’t badly hurt. We’ve had enough death round here…’ Her hand was trembling.
‘Yes – you discovered the body the night Mrs Tandy was murdered…’ the constable said and his smile had gone. ‘You reported that you saw a man come rushing out and that’s why you investigated, and that man was the same one that attacked you just now. I think we all know why. He blamed you for bringing the law on him and wanted revenge. From what I’ve learned of the man he seems to be that sort…’
‘Oh, Maureen… I’m so sorry…’
No one had noticed Ellie enter the pub, but now everyone turned to look at her. She was crying and looked terrible, her face white and streaked with tears.
‘It isn’t your fault, Ellie,’ Maureen said. ‘I know what Peter is like because Mabel told me – and he attacked me because he realised I’d seen him running from the scene of his crime.’
‘But if I hadn’t run away, Mabel would still be alive.’
‘We don’t know that,’ Maureen said and deliberately let her gaze travel round the room. ‘Peter was determined to hurt you and he might have killed you, your baby and Mabel if you’d been there.’
Janet went and put her arm round Ellie, drawing her to a chair. ‘Sit down, Ellie, and I’ll get you a drink.’
‘No, just a cup of tea if you have one…’
‘I’ll get it,’ Anne volunteered and went off to the kitchen.
‘Who is lookin’ after Beth?’ Janet asked.
‘Sid is with her. He didn’t want me to come over, but I had to know – is Peter…’
‘Tom knocked him out, but he’s alive,’ Maureen told her. ‘He was seen to attack me and he has injured Mr Ashley. I don’t think the police will let him go any time soon.’
‘You can be sure of that, Mrs Morris,’ the constable said. ‘He’ll be lucky to escape a hanging, if you ask me.’
Ellie accepted a cup of tea from Nellie’s hands, her own shaking, but she only sipped it a couple of times. Tears were trickling down her cheeks and, after a few moments, Alice got up and took her back across the road.
‘Well, I think that’s all pretty clear,’ the friendly police officer said and closed his notebook. ‘We may need to take a further statement from some of you – but I think this is an open and shut case…’
‘And so I should think,’ one of the customers said. ‘I saw it all through the window – and I’ll testify if asked. Peggy Ashley is a good woman and she didn’t need this worry.’
Several others added their voices to his and names were taken. At last the officers left and Janet realised it was long past the mid-afternoon closing, which all pubs were required to do; they would open again at six in the evening. She rang the bell and people started to leave, some standing outside in the lane to further discuss what had happened.
‘I’d better get home or Gran will worry,’ Maureen said and looked at Tom. ‘Are you all right to carry on this afternoon? You didn’t get hurt?’
‘It’s Laurie Ashley’s blood,’ Tom said and looked at Laurie’s daughter. ‘Sorry, Jan, but I held him up for a while… he was still breathin’, that’s all I can tell you.’
‘He’s in the hospital,’ Jan said and sat down heavily. The shock had suddenly hit her and she felt sick. ‘I just hope Mum is all right…’
Hearing
a wail from upstairs, Nellie looked at her. ‘That sounds like Fay. I’ll go, love. You get straight here.’
‘I’ll help you tidy up, Jan,’ Anne said. ‘It’s all been horrid…’ She looked pale but shook her head as Janet told her to sit down. ‘I’m all right. He didn’t even know I was there. It was Maureen he wanted to kill…’
‘Thank God you were in time to help Dad.’ Janet looked gratefully at Tom. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘It’s all right,’ Tom said. ‘I just saw what was goin’ on and went for him. I hope they hang the bugger!’
‘I think we all feel the same,’ Janet said and smiled at him.
‘I’ll be in with your order later,’ Tom said. ‘I’m goin’ to walk Maureen home and then I’ll return to the shop. I just hope I can get this blood off me uniform or the reserves’ officer will kill me.’
He went off with Maureen, grinning like a Cheshire cat, and Janet looked at Anne, and then smiled with relief. ‘Thank goodness for Tom Barton,’ she said. ‘You are all right, Anne? You don’t want the doctor?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ Anne said. ‘Come on, Jan. Let’s get this straight so your mum doesn’t have a mess to come home to.’
*
‘We’ve managed to stabilise him,’ the hospital doctor said to Peggy when she got to her feet at his approach. She’d been sitting on a hard chair in the corridor of the London Hospital ever since they took her husband away. ‘He is still unconscious and breathing with the help of some oxygen, but for the moment he is stable.’
‘Oh, thank God,’ Peggy said and felt her eyes wet with tears. ‘I thought they might lose him on the way here – there was so much blood.’
‘The knife went deep,’ the doctor said gravely, ‘and it just missed his vital organs but the trauma will be significant. However, we’ve done all we can and we have every hope that after a period of sedation he will improve. I suggest you go home to your family and return when he is awake.’
‘Yes, of course, thank you,’ she said. ‘Everyone will be very worried…’
