by Kitty Neale
‘But someone must have seen her leaving!’ Pearl cried.
‘No, sorry, love.’
Pearl pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes and Bernie could see that she was close to collapse.
‘Come on,’ he urged, ‘let’s get you indoors.’
‘I can’t just sit and wait. I have to do something to find Johnny.’
She made to run off, but Bernie held her arm. ‘Wait, Pearl. We have no idea which direction Dolly took and all we’d be doing is running around like headless chickens. Leave it to the police. They’ll find her.’
Her huge eyes were wide, her face drained of colour, and suddenly her knees gave way. Holding her up now, Bernie urged her into the café, mentally cursing his wife.
They hadn’t been upstairs for long, Pearl verging on hysteria, when the police arrived. She tried to answer their questions, but had to leave most of them to Bernie. When they left she was unable to sit still, pacing the room, and when Miss Rosen tried to comfort her, she was barely aware of her as she shrugged the woman off, her mind only on her son.
Miss Rosen’s expression was sad, but she sat down again, talking to Bernie now. ‘I seem to have come at a bad time, but surely your wife wouldn’t run off with the baby?’
‘Huh, you don’t know Dolly. When she gets an idea in her head there’s no stopping her. I should have realised that.’
Pearl continued to pace, stopping only to look out of the window every now and then. Eventually she saw Bessie, with Nora by her side, heading for the café. ‘Bessie’s on her way over,’ Pearl told Bernie, glad when he went to let her in.
‘Don’t worry, my dear,’ Miss Rosen said, standing up and moving to Pearl’s side again. ‘I’m sure you’ll have your baby back soon.’
Pearl’s brow creased, wondering again why Miss Rosen had come to see her, but then Bessie came into the room, the thought forgotten as she flew across the space, throwing herself into the old woman’s arms. ‘Oh, Bessie, Dolly’s taken Johnny.’
‘I know, love, but don’t worry, I’m sure the police will find her.’
‘But it’s been over an hour now!’
‘Train,’ Nora said.
‘What did you say?’ Bessie demanded, unravelling Pearl from her arms.
‘Train,’ Nora said again. ‘Dolly get train.’
‘How do you know?’
Nora shrugged. ‘Just do.’
‘Do you know what station she’s gone to?’
‘Big one.’
‘Bernie, call the police, tell them what Nora said. I’ve a feeling she could be right.’
He shook his head. ‘I should think they’re already checking the stations.’
‘I’ll call them,’ Pearl cried as she ran from the room.
‘It’ll be a waste of time,’ Bernie said. ‘The old bill know that Dolly has done a runner, that she’s taken Johnny, and are taking it very seriously. They’re on full alert, and are hopefully checking train stations as we speak.’
‘Bernie, I warned you that Dolly was planning something and I’ve been proved right!’ Bessie said.
Bernie ignored her, his face white with strain, and deciding this wasn’t the time to rub salt in the wound, Bessie turned to Miss Rosen, saying. ‘Do I know you?’
‘Pearl knows me as Emily Rosen, but I don’t think we’ve met.’
‘Do you live around here?’
‘No, I’ve travelled down from Winchester.’
‘Winchester. Blimey, you’ve come a long way.’
Pearl came back into the room again. ‘I told them,’ she said, before staring to pace again. Was Nora right? Was Dolly headed for a railway station? Tears filled her eyes again. It would take ages to check them all, and Dolly could be long gone before they got there. She stopped her pacing for a moment to look out of the window, tears running down her cheeks. Arms wrapped around her, and she turned into them, Miss Rosen holding her close.
Derek Lewis had been on his way to the market when he saw Dolly Dolby. She looked furtive, harassed, and as a taxi drew into the kerb, she climbed inside. Derek was puzzled. She and Bernie were supposed to be moving today, but Dolly was going off on her own. No, not on her own – she had Pearl’s baby with her.
He saw another taxi and, acting on impulse, Derek hailed it, feeling foolish as he urged the driver to follow the one in front. The man’s eyebrows lifted, and he grinned. ‘In all my years as a cabbie, I’ve been waiting to hear that.’
‘Just do it,’ Derek growled.
With a shrug the driver pulled off, Derek leaning forward anxiously, and relieved to see that they hadn’t lost the other cab. They crossed the Thames, driving through London, Derek’s thoughts racing. He could be making a fool of himself and should have checked things out with Pearl before chasing after Dolly. Maybe there was a reason for all this, but if so, why was Dolly acting so suspiciously?
They finally turned into Euston station and in his haste to keep track of Dolly, Derek almost threw his fare at the driver, hurrying into the station in time to see her heading for the ticket office. This wasn’t right, he was sure of it, and increasing his pace, Derek grabbed her arm.
She jumped like a startled rabbit, her eyes wide. ‘Derek, what are you doing here?’
‘I’m trailing you, Mrs D, and I’d like to know where you’re taking Pearl’s baby.’
‘Er … well … it’s like this,’ Dolly said, her eyes now darting from side to side as she obviously fought for words. ‘Pearl has decided to come with us, and … and she stayed behind to supervise the removals. I … I’m going on ahead, and taking Johnny with me. Pearl and Bernie will travel later.’
Derek cocked his head. She was lying, he was sure of it. ‘Do you mind if I ring the café to check this out?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Now get out of my way. I have a train to catch.’
‘No, Mrs D, until I’ve had a word with Pearl, you ain’t going anywhere.’
‘How dare you? Let go of my arm!’
Her yell startled Johnny and he began to squall, but still Derek held on. There was a shout, the sound of running footsteps, Derek still refusing to let go as three policemen surrounded them. He had no idea how they had come to Dolly’s rescue so quickly, but as he loosened his grip on her arm, she tugged it away. Dolly then turned to run, but one of the constables barred her path.
‘Mrs Dolby?’ he asked.
‘No, I’m not Mrs Dolby,’ she protested.
‘Yes she is,’ Derek said loudly.
Another officer appeared, this one female and, moving to Dolly, she said firmly, ‘Give me the child.’
‘No,’ Dolly snapped.
The policewoman endeavoured to pull Johnny from Dolly’s arms, but she shrieked, clutching him to her. ‘No! No, leave him alone. He’s my baby, my son! You can’t take him!’
A tussle ensued, a male officer joining in, and soon they were surrounded by a crowd, all watching the scene with avid interest. ‘Help me,’ Dolly yelled, her eyes frantic with appeal. ‘They’re trying to take my baby.’
No-one moved forward to help, and at last the male officer was able to pull Johnny, kicking and screaming, from her grasp. Her arms empty, Dolly went mad. She reared like an angry bull, lashing out at the policeman, her fist connecting with his nose. Derek heard his ‘oomph’ of pain, but the man had the presence of mind to turn away, shielding Johnny in his arms before passing him to the policewoman.
‘That’s enough, missus!’ another officer shouted, trying to pin Dolly’s arms.
‘Get off me!’ she screamed, her strength amazing as she shook him off.
With the help of his colleagues, the policeman tried again, this time managing to cuff her, yet still she fought, kicking out with her legs.
Derek’s legs had felt glued to the spot, but at last he moved. ‘Mrs D! Stop! This isn’t doing any good.’
Maybe it was his voice that penetrated Dolly’s fury – Derek didn’t know, – but suddenly her struggles ceased. Johnny was still screaming, his
face red, nose running, but seeing his grandmother, he held out his arms towards her in appeal.
Sobbing, Dolly tried to move forward, but was held tightly, one of the officers calling, ‘Get that kid out of here.’
The policewoman nodded, hurrying away. ‘Kevin! Kevin!’ Dolly screamed in anguish, but as they went out of sight, her legs folded and she collapsed.
Why had Dolly said the baby was her son? Why had she called him Kevin? Derek moved forward, appalled to see her suddenly convulsing, foam forming on her lips. She looked mad, rabid. ‘She’s having a fit – she needs help.’
The constables were kneeling by her side, but one looked up, ‘Don’t worry, sir, she’ll be taken care of.’ He then rose to his feet, leaving his colleagues to attend to Dolly. ‘We’ll need to take a statement from you.’
‘What about the baby?’
‘He’ll be returned to his mother.’
Derek nodded. Yes he’d give a statement, but judging by the look of Dolly, they wouldn’t get much out of her.
When the telephone rang, Bernie hurried out to the hall to answer it, returning with a wide smile on his face.
‘It’s good news, love,’ he said, moving to wrap an arm around Pearl’s shoulder. ‘They’ve found Dolly. She was at Euston station, and Derek was with her.’
‘Derek! What was he doing there?’
‘I dunno, love.’
‘And Johnny?’
‘He’s been seen by a doctor and he’s fine. He’s being driven here as we speak. Dolly had some sort of fit, and I’ve got to go and see her. Oh yes, and the police want to know if you’re going to press charges.’
Pearl flew from the room, dashing downstairs and outside to wait for the police car. Her eyes flicked the street anxiously, just wanting it to arrive, to hold Johnny in her arms.
After a few minutes a costermonger came to her side. ‘Have they found him, love?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ Pearl said, but her eyes were still on the road.
‘That’s good.’
Pearl hardly heard the man as she saw a police car approaching. She dashed forward as it drew into the kerb, a policewoman climbing out. She was holding Johnny, and Pearl’s heart soared. He’d been crying, his eyes red and his nose caked with mucus, but his arms went out when he saw her, a smile now lighting his face. Pearl took him, holding her son closely, her eyes once again filling with tears, but this time of joy.
Johnny lay against her for a moment, but then struggled, pushing back, his eyes now darting curiously around the market and the crowd that had gathered. One of the costermongers stepped forward, patting the boy on the head. ‘I’m glad you’ve got him back, love.’
Pearl smiled her thanks, but then the policewoman said, ‘We’ll need to talk to you.’
As they went inside, Pearl asked, ‘Please, can you tell me how Derek Lewis was involved in this?’
‘From what he told us, it appears that he followed your mother-in-law, and it was lucky he did. He was able to hold her up until we got there, preventing her from catching a train.’
‘He did! Oh, I must thank him.’
They stepped into the living room, everyone crowding around Pearl,
‘Mrs Dolby, we need to know if you intend to press charges against your mother-in-law,’ the officer said.
‘Please, I’ve only just got my son back. Can it wait?’
The policewoman looked doubtful for a moment, but with so many people in the room she nodded. ‘All right, we’ll come back in an hour.’
As the constable left, the others all made a fuss of Johnny for a while, but as they moved away Pearl saw Miss Rosen hovering in the background. She again wondered what had brought the woman here, but at the moment all she wanted was to hold her son, to keep him close and never let him out of her sight again.
‘Look, I’ve got to go, love. What they said about Dolly is worrying me and I need to see how she is,’ Bernie said.
Pearl’s lips tightened, but Bessie broke in and didn’t give her a chance to speak. ‘And we’ll go back to the shop,’ she said. ‘Come on, Pearl, you don’t want to stay here. What about you, Miss Rosen, would you like to join us?’
‘Emily, please call me Emily, and thank you, but no. I think that Pearl has been through enough today. If it’s all right, I’ll come back tomorrow.’
‘Yeah, do that, love,’ Bessie said.
She moved to Pearl. ‘We’ll talk tomorrow, my dear.’
‘Yes, all right.’ But then Johnny started to cry, Pearl distracted as she comforted him.
When he quietened, there was only one thing uppermost in Pearl’s mind. The police would be back for her decision. Did she want to prosecute Dolly?’
41
When they arrived at the shop, all trooped upstairs, Pearl immediately asking Bessie’s opinion. ‘Do you think I should press charges against Dolly?’
‘From what Bernie said, it seems that Dolly’s had some sort of fit. She must have been mad to think she’d get away with kidnapping your baby, but I can’t advise you, love. It’s got to be your decision.’
Pearl chewed on her bottom lip. Dolly had tried to kidnap her son. Now her relief at getting Johnny back was replaced by anger. Fit or not, Dolly would recover. She’d bounce back as she always did. ‘If I let her get away with it I’ll have to spend years looking over my shoulder in case she tries it again.’
‘I don’t think even Dolly would be daft enough to do that. Come on, you’ve been through enough and let’s forget it for now. I’ll make us all a cup of tea and, by the look of you, you could do with one.’
Bessie bustled off, and Nora began to amuse Johnny, pulling her usual faces whilst Pearl’s mind continued to churn. She couldn’t forget it. The police would be back soon for her answer. She couldn’t let Dolly get away with it. She’d have to press charges.
In the end it was Bernie who stayed Pearl’s hand. Dolly was ill, he said, when he came to see them. Her mind was unhinged. Pearl saw the deep sadness in her father-in-law’s eyes as he spoke.
‘I should have realised she wasn’t quite right, Pearl, but now she seems to have lost it completely. Maybe those tranquilliser pills the doctor prescribed held it off, but she must have stopped taking them. She’s raving, Pearl. She thinks that Johnny is Kevin and that the police were taking him away from her.’
Confused, Pearl shook her head, but Bernie continued, ‘I had to speak to a psychiatrist and he asked me lots of questions. I told him about Kevin and then he spouted bloody theories that Dolly couldn’t face up to what Kevin had done, or losing him to a prison sentence. He said the catalyst must have occurred when the police snatched Johnny. His theory was that Dolly slipped back to a time when Kevin was a baby, and that her mind couldn’t cope with losing him twice.’
Pearl sighed heavily. ‘I suppose it makes some sort of weird sense. Did you have to give permission for her to be sectioned?’
‘Yes, but even if I’d refused, it would have been taken out of my hands. Anyway, seeing the state Dolly’s in, it wasn’t a hard decision. She needs help, a lot of help, and at the moment a psychiatric hospital is the best place for her.’
‘What will you do now, Bernie?’
‘I dunno, love. With the café being in Dolly’s name, I couldn’t halt the sale, but I’ll stay around here. The psychiatric unit is in Tooting, and I want to be close by.’ He rose to his feet. ‘Anyway, I’d best be off to sort to find myself a bed for the night. Can I pop in to see the nipper now and again?’
‘Yes, of course you can,’ Pearl said, her heart going out to Bernie. He looked awful. With his shoulders stooped, suddenly he was like an old, old man.
‘Thanks, Pearl.’
As Bernie left, she slumped back and closed her eyes, feeling mentally drained.
‘Are you all right, Pearl?’ Bessie asked.
‘I’m just tired.’ Pearl said, forcing her eyes open again. It was only five o’clock, but felt much later.
There was another knock on the door.
Bessie returned with Derek behind her and Pearl rose swiftly to her feet. ‘Oh, Derek, I was going to come to see you, to thank you. How did you know what Dolly was up to?’
‘I didn’t, but it seemed odd that she was going off with your baby. I followed her, and I’m glad I did.’
‘Me too,’ Pearl said, impulsively giving him a hug.
His arms tightened around her and she leaned against him, feeling his strength. This man had stopped Dolly from kidnapping her son. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. ‘I … I can’t thank you enough.’
‘It was nothing, love, and anyway, the police weren’t far behind me.’
‘Hark at him, playing it down,’ Bessie chuckled. ‘From what we heard you held on to Dolly until they arrived. I reckon you deserve a medal.’
Pearl was still in his arms, but before drawing away she heard words said almost under his breath: ‘Sod a medal, I’d rather have Pearl.’
She pretended she hadn’t heard, but her mind reeled with confusion. Derek still loved her, still wanted her, and as she looked up at his face she realised that she cared for him too, maybe more than cared.
‘I’ve got to go, Pearl,’ he said. ‘I’m due at the gym.’
‘Yes, of course. I … I’ll show you out.’
Derek called goodbye to the others, and then Pearl led him downstairs. She paused before opening the door. ‘Are … are you still seeing that woman?’
‘No, love, it didn’t work out.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’
‘Is there any chance for me, Pearl?’
She wanted to say yes, but held back. She felt something for Derek, but was it love? He held none of the passion that she had felt for Kevin, but there was something, like a seed that had been planted yet needed water to flourish. ‘I don’t know, Derek. Maybe, but so much has happened and I don’t think I’m ready for another relationship. Perhaps if you give me a little more time and then ask again …’
‘I’ll wait, Pearl,’ he said eagerly. ‘You can have all the time in the world, and I’ll still be waiting.’
He looked like a big, soft bear and Pearl had to smile. She stood on tiptoe, giving him a swift kiss. ‘Thanks, Derek.’ Then impulsively she added, ‘And … and I don’t think I’ll keep you waiting for long.’
