The Girls in Blue

by Fenella J Miller

  On arriving at Charing Cross his eyes were drawn to a WAAF pacing up and down under the station clock. His pulse accelerated. Without thinking he was across the station and beside Jane.

  ‘I can’t believe it’s you. What are the odds of us both being here at the same time?’

  ‘Oscar, how lovely to see you. I’m waiting for my friend and am becoming concerned that she’s not going to come after all.’

  Roy joined them. ‘Jane, you’re the last person I expected to bump into. How are you?’

  ‘Tip-top, thank you. Look, could I ask you both an enormous favour? I desperately need to visit the ladies’ room and don’t want to miss Charlotte. Could you possibly wait here until I get back?’

  ‘Happy to help a damsel in distress. What does your friend look like?’

  ‘She’s a WAAF – slightly shorter than me and with dark brown hair.’

  Jane took off like a scalded cat and he exchanged a happy grin with his friend. ‘I can’t believe my luck. If we’d caught a later train I would have missed her.’

  ‘She seemed pleased to see you. I think the Big Man upstairs is looking out for you – no other explanation.’

  They’d not been standing there more than a few minutes when the missing WAAF arrived. She was very attractive, and he saw Roy’s eyes widen in appreciation.

  ‘Excuse me, are you by any chance Charlotte waiting for Jane? I’m Oscar Stanton…’

  The girl raised an eyebrow and laughed. ‘Are you indeed? I can see why Jane was so interested in you. I’m horribly late. I was worried she wouldn’t be here.’

  Roy stepped forward and offered his hand. ‘Roy Cross – delighted to meet you. Jane asked us to look out for you. She won’t be long.’

  ‘I didn’t know she was still in touch with you, Flight Lieutenant. And she certainly didn’t tell me we were going to spend our leave with you both.’

  Jane arrived at a run and the two girls embraced fondly. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know Oscar and Roy would be here. It’s just a mad coincidence. I thought they were both in Debden.’

  ‘We’ve just been posted to Kenley but nothing’s ready for us so we’ve been given a week’s leave. Would you care to join us for lunch somewhere?’

  He thought Jane was about to refuse but her friend got in first. ‘Good idea. We haven’t got anywhere to stay so need to find a cheap hotel or guesthouse first.’

  ‘We’ve booked at the Sanctuary. There must be plenty of places around here. Why don’t you both find somewhere and then we could meet up at that restaurant in Piccadilly?’ He checked his watch. ‘Let’s say at one thirty? That should give us all time to check in.’

  ‘Yes, that’s sensible,’ Charlotte said, but Jane remained silent and he rather thought neither of the girls would meet them again.

  They parted company and he was quiet on the walk to Westminster. He should have asked where she was based, waited and seen what hotel she booked into – but too late to dwell on that now.

  ‘Don’t worry, Oscar, Charlotte will make sure she comes. There was a bit of a spark between us and I think she’ll want to get to know me better.’

  ‘For sheer arrogance you take the biscuit. I’d like to think that you’re right and she will persuade Jane to come. I’ve been given a second chance and I don’t want to waste it. I’m absolutely besotted – a hopeless case – and if I can’t have Jane then I’m just not interested in anyone else.’

  They checked in and then he headed for the Abbey. ‘You don’t have to come in with me, Roy, but I want a few minutes in there if you don’t mind.’

  ‘I’ll come and wander about whilst you commune with whoever. We’ve got half an hour before we need to head to the restaurant.’

  When he left the church he was calmer. Whatever happened today he now believed that one day, if he survived the war, he and Jane would be together.

  They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before the appointed time and he glanced up and down the street but could see no sign of the girls. He looked in but they weren’t there either. ‘Could you go in and book the table, please, Roy? I’ll hang about out here.’

  ‘Doesn’t do to look too keen, old boy; don’t want to put her off again.’

  He was about to reply when he saw Charlotte racing towards him, dodging through the pedestrians, her face white. She was alone. He ran to her and she threw herself into his arms. For a few moments she was incoherent; then she pulled herself together.

  ‘Her father’s taken Jane. He appeared at the guesthouse accompanied by two really nasty individuals and they just grabbed her and pushed her into a car.’

  For a second he couldn’t think straight. His eyes blurred. His fists clenched. He had murder on his mind.

  Then his head cleared and he was left with a grim determination to bring this bastard to account. He took several deep breaths and spoke quietly to the shaking girl. ‘How do you know it was Hadley? Did you see who was driving?’

  ‘Of course it was her father – why would anyone else want to grab her off the street? A woman was driving but I didn’t get a good look at her.’

  ‘Let’s go inside. We don’t have to eat but we can get a stiff drink and you can tell me exactly what happened.’

  ‘There’s no time. You have to go after her now. He’s already got half an hour’s start on you.’

  ‘I don’t know where he lives and can’t do anything until I have that basic information. Don’t worry, I’ll get Jane back and can assure you nothing like this will ever happen again.’

  Roy appeared at the door and took one look at the two of them and his expression changed. He didn’t know Jane’s history but the fact that she wasn’t there and her friend was in tears was enough to tell him something was seriously wrong.

  ‘Not in here – too busy. Let’s find a pub. There are several in the back streets.’

  Roy led the way and he followed with his arm around Charlotte’s waist. She was still so shocked he thought she might not be able to stay on her feet without his assistance.

  The interior of the pub was dark and smoky but for once he didn’t comment. ‘The saloon bar will be best.’

  Roy went to the hatch that opened into the public bar and ordered drinks.

  ‘Tell me exactly what happened, every detail, every word spoken by anyone. Take your time. There’s no rush.’ The longer Jane was in the hands of that brute the more likely it was he would harm her. Every second counted but until he knew more there was nothing he could do.

  ‘We found a little guesthouse and checked in. We were just coming out when a man suddenly appeared in front of us. He grabbed her arm. The two men with him got behind them and she was inside a big black car before I could even scream. I saw there was a woman behind the wheel.’

  ‘Did they say anything?’

  ‘That’s what was so terrifying. None of them said a word. Jane was so shocked she didn’t have time to struggle. It was over in seconds.’ She looked up, fresh tears trickling down her face. ‘I don’t understand how they knew where we were. We didn’t even know where we were going to stay tonight.’

  ‘They must have been following you…’

  ‘I knew her father had employed private detectives and they turned up at the Sanctuary Hotel last time she was in London. That’s why she wanted to move. She hadn’t been off the base for weeks just in case. She should never have come to meet me. We both thought she was safe now.’

  Roy had been listening. ‘How the bloody hell did they know she would be arriving at Charing Cross today?’ He sat down and pushed a double whisky in front of each of them. ‘Surely he couldn’t have been paying someone to watch the exit all this time?’

  ‘That’s the only explanation that makes sense. He must have friends in high places and was able to get Jane’s service number. Once he had that it wouldn’t be too hard to track her down. He brutalised her for her entire life. She signed up to escape.’

  ‘I guessed it was something like that. Charlotte, do you have her home a
ddress?’

  ‘No, but I know the name of the vicar and the village as I once posted a letter for her.’ She sat up so abruptly her drink slopped onto the table. ‘The car was an Austin – one of the big ones. Petrol’s rationed so I don’t understand how he could even be driving now.’

  ‘That’s exactly what I needed to know. You’re right, there are so few private cars around now; he should be fairly easy to trace. What’s the vicar’s name?’

  ‘Jackson, the village is called Lattimore – or something like that.’

  ‘We need the telephone number of the vicarage. Stay here with Roy – I need to make some calls.’

  Roy got his drift immediately. His role was to take care of Charlotte whilst he took care of Jane. There was no point in both of them getting cashiered or possibly arrested for murder. His first point of call was Victory House in Westminster where someone in authority would take very seriously indeed the kidnapping of a WAAF involved in something hush-hush.

  22

  Jane had been paralysed by fear. Just seeing that man had returned her to a place she’d never thought to be. Before she was able to utter a word of protest she was bundled into his car. He was gripping her arm so painfully it was hard to think straight.

  Instinctively she closed her eyes – as she had always done – hoping if she couldn’t see what was coming, it wouldn’t be so bad. Then slowly sanity returned and with it came a remnant of the courage and confidence she’d achieved over the past few months.

  ‘Let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.’ She was pleased her voice sounded firm – no sign of the terror she was feeling. This was the first time she’d had the temerity to speak back to him and he was so shocked that his fingers loosened and she was able to tear her arm away.

  She pushed herself straighter on the seat, wishing she could make herself thinner, create a gap between herself, that man, and the obnoxious person who had been following her around these past few weeks. Despite the thickness of her uniform she was aware of the heat coming from the thighs pressed so hard against hers. Her stomach was churning. She had to remain calm if she was going to survive this.

  She kept her eyes firmly to the front. The other so-called detective was in the front passenger seat. Then despair overwhelmed her. The driver of the car was her mother. Why was she involved in this abduction? Although her mother had known about the beatings, Jane had never thought she would actually be complicit in something as dreadful as this.

  There was blood in her mouth. She’d bitten her lip. The metallic taste was horribly familiar. Why had he wanted her back? If they hated her so much they should have been pleased when she’d left them.

  The sound of the engine roaring, as the accelerator was pressed down, filled the car. No one spoke. Their silence was unnerving. Then she remembered that Charlotte had been there when she’d been abducted. She wasn’t entirely alone. Her friend would go to Oscar and Roy and between them they would rescue her.

  Her heart was thudding in her ears. It was impossible to think straight. Were they going back to Lattimore? Slowly she regained a modicum of control and the hammering subsided. Without turning her head she began to take note of what was zooming past the car windows. She hadn’t known her mother could drive. There was so much she didn’t know.

  Having never travelled by car anywhere but around the village, the jumble of streets and houses that flashed by were meaningless to her. Her eyes blurred. She blinked to clear them. It didn’t help that they were travelling too fast to make anything recognisable.

  It would take more than an hour to reach the village. No point in worrying now. She would pretend to sleep and hope that one of them might say something that would help her later. It took all her resolve to slump sideways so her head was resting against the shoulder of the detective. He might be malodorous but still preferable to being closer to that man.

  Having something concrete to do helped. They didn’t know she was a different person – stronger and braver – they would think her the same pathetic, cowering girl she’d been until last September.

  Breathing in and out slowly was, for some reason, wonderfully calming. Whatever happened to her in the next few hours she would endure as somehow Oscar would come for her.

  She continued the pretence. The car continued to roar; occasionally they slowed to turn a corner and the gears crunched. Her mother wasn’t a good driver. Eventually her patience was rewarded.

  ‘What if that girl reports what she saw, Sydney? What will you do if the police come?’

  ‘Keep your eyes on the road, woman. Don’t ask stupid questions. Do as you’re told.’

  Nothing else was said for another few miles; then her mother spoke again. ‘She’s a WAAF, Sydney. She will be considered absent without leave and the military police might come to arrest her.’

  Jane almost gave herself away. Why hadn’t she thought of this? Being AWOL, especially when one was doing something so secret and important, would be taken very seriously. Her lips curved slightly. These people didn’t know she wasn’t an ordinary WAAF, but a highly trained and skilled plotter who was going to be essential to the war effort once things got started.

  The shoulder she was leaning against smelled of tobacco, alcohol and body odour. She hoped she didn’t gag and give herself away. The car continued to lurch. The brakes were suddenly applied violently and she was flying forwards unable to prevent herself from crashing against the back of the driver’s seat and into the floor well.

  The car skidded, spun and then shuddered to a halt. She was firmly wedged behind the seats. Breathing was difficult. Everywhere was painful. Her head was fuzzy. The man she’d been leaning against was slumped across her, moaning softly. That man recovered first.

  ‘For Christ’s sake, you stupid bitch, you could have killed us. Get this bloody car back on the road and moving before some interfering bastards get involved.’

  Hearing him use such profanities should have shocked her but she already knew his pleasant urbane exterior was a lie.

  ‘Get yourself back, Brown, and stop whingeing. My wife can’t drive with you sprawled across the back of her seat like that.’

  That man must have grabbed the semiconscious detective as he certainly didn’t make any effort to remove himself. As soon as the weight was lifted she sucked in a mouthful of air and immediately her head cleared.

  She was about to wriggle free when her shoulders were gripped in a vicious hold and she was heaved onto the seat. If she’d broken anything this could have been catastrophic – but that man wouldn’t care how much he hurt her.

  ‘Don’t say a word. Don’t move. I’m going to deal with you when we’re home. You’re going to regret having run away and putting me to this trouble.’ His whispered words sent her spiralling back to the days when she’d been in terror of offending him.

  She was about to start apologising, begging for his forgiveness, promising she’d be a good girl and not upset him again when the car reversed noisily and returned to the road.

  She closed her eyes and bit her lip until she regained control. She wasn’t the same person. She was braver. She was a WAAF and whatever he did to her she’d never grovel to him again. Oscar would find her. All she had to do was survive until rescue came.

  As the journey proceeded she became increasingly concerned about the man beside her. Did she dare to suggest to her abductors that they should stop at a hospital? Things couldn’t be any worse and she feared the man might be seriously injured – could even die if he didn’t have immediate medical attention.

  ‘The detective is dying. You’ll be murderers if you don’t take him to a hospital.’

  ‘Shut up.’ She didn’t see the blow coming. A shaft of agony exploded in her head and everything went black.

  *

  Oscar hurtled through the streets dodging around pedestrians when necessary and arrived at Victory House scarcely out of breath. Pilots carried a revolver in case they were shot down in enemy territory. He wished he had it with him now.


  No one challenged him as he took the steps at the double. He must stay focused – not think about what might be happening to the woman he loved. He skidded to a halt beside the most senior officer he could see. The man had the insignia of a wing commander.

  ‘Sir, a WAAF has just been abducted. She’s on special duties, working at Bentley Priory.’

  ‘Good God – come with me, Flight Lieutenant, we need to get something organised immediately.’

  Oscar had deliberately not said it was Jane’s father who’d done the abducting. If the bigwigs thought she’d been kidnapped by German spies they would be desperate to get her back. He doubted they would have reacted so swiftly if they’d known the truth. He gave them the description of the car and told them that Jane had seen someone following her the last time she was in London.

  ‘Excellent. We’ll get somebody looking for the vehicle straightaway. Are you a close friend of Miss Hadley?’

  ‘Miss Hadley and I went out a couple of times but I’ve not seen her for several weeks. Flying Officer Cross and I bumped into Miss Hadley and her friend by chance at Charing Cross station.’

  ‘We have no home address for her. Do you know why she put a hotel down as her residence?’

  He had to come clean. Jane would hate her personal business being discussed but he had no choice. ‘She was brutalised by her father all her life. With the help of the local vicar, the Reverend Jackson and his wife, she was able to escape and sign up when war was declared.’

  The three officers looked suitably shocked. ‘Her home address – do you know it?’

  ‘I know that bastard’s a bank manager in St Albans and the village she lived in is called Lattimore.’

  The direct question was coming and he couldn’t lie to his superiors. ‘Do you think it could have been Hadley who snatched her?’ The Win Co stared right through him.

  ‘I think it could be, but the man would have to be insane. Why would he go to so much trouble? He can hardly keep her prisoner and she won’t remain with him willingly.’

  ‘Nasty business. Can’t abide physical abuse. However, like you, I think it unlikely the man is so deranged he would do such a thing. I suggest that you investigate in Lattimore and leave us to explore other avenues.’