False fire

by Veronica Heley

  Manisa said, ‘I think I’d better have a chat with Bernice’s mother. To be on the safe side. Can you give me her details?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Leon, pressing buttons again. ‘Bea, can you keep the child here for a few days? Just till Sybil works things out with the school? I’ll be on my way in a minute, since the girls aren’t here. Keep in touch, though, won’t you?’

  Bea told herself she ought to have been expecting that, but she hadn’t. She forced herself to smile and said, ‘Of course’, but really all she wanted to do was to lie down in a darkened room and have a soft-footed maid bring her tea and crumpets and possibly arrange for a massage with heated oils and …

  She laughed at herself. As if she’d ever had a maid! Perhaps she should book herself into a spa hotel for the weekend? If only she didn’t have to look after Bernice, poor mite. She collected some coffee mugs and took them out to the kitchen.

  William followed her with one she’d overlooked.

  She tried to smile. ‘I must warn you; I’m not up to polite conversation.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you had much sleep last night. Neither did I. The girls were so restless, I kept starting awake. When they dropped off to sleep, I didn’t.’

  Bea nodded. She’d gone in to see to Bernice who’d woken and cried out, twice. He’d been fast asleep then and snoring lightly, but she wouldn’t mention that. She’d soothed the child, given her a drink and stayed with her till she’d settled down again, her nose in Teddy’s fur.

  The front door opened. Manisa and Leon were in the hall, preparing to leave. Leon was offering Manisa a lift. She declined. Bea went out to see them off.

  ‘Keep in touch, Mrs Abbot,’ said Manisa. And then the front door closed behind them.

  Peace and quiet. Bea went back to clearing up in the kitchen.

  William said, ‘I used to be able to keep going for thirty-six hours without a break. I can’t do that any more, but I can hang on for another couple of hours if you’d like to get your head down?’

  The dear man! ‘I wish I could but there’s the agency … although my manageress is first class. No, I’d better keep going till Bernice gets back.’ She dropped a mug that she was trying to fit into the dishwasher. Fortunately it didn’t break.

  He picked it up and finished loading. ‘You were magnificent last night. You were the only one who kept their head—’

  ‘Apart from Steve. He had the sense to go for the fire extinguisher.’

  ‘When the curtain went up in flames, I heard Josh choke. I looked at him and he looked at me. I thought he was dying, there and then. That he was saying “goodbye”. Then I saw you were listening—’

  ‘You hadn’t heard the second firework?’

  ‘I had, but it hadn’t occurred to me that it was important till I saw you glance round the table. Then I saw the empty chairs, as you did, and realized. If you hadn’t acted, the girls would have died. Another five or ten minutes. I am indebted to you, Mrs Abbot. For taking us in last night, as well.’

  A long, long sigh. ‘I was terrified. If it hadn’t been for you …’

  ‘Do you think they’ll give us a medal for saving the girls’ lives?’ He said this in such a droll tone that she spurted into laughter.

  ‘One medal each, or one between two?’

  He laughed, too. ‘That’s better. Now, you can trust me to wake you up if anything happens. Go and rest while you can. I promise not to leave the house till you get up again.’

  She nodded. Didn’t bother to thank him. Plodded up the stairs, threw open the door to her bedroom … and recoiled. Phrases such as ‘it looked like a bomb-site’ came to her mind and were rejected as being an understatement.

  Two ten year olds had torn open the bags of shopping which Mel had brought them, and scattered the items over every surface in sight. Plus towels from the bathroom. Plus – Bea wanted to shriek! – Bea’s toiletries.

  Bea sniffed. Plus there was a layer of talcum powder over everything.

  It was enough to make her weep.

  She was too tired for tears. She left everything as it was, drew the curtains, let herself down on her bed – which the girls hadn’t bothered to make – and told herself to relax. First the toes, then the ankles. Then the knees.

  A spot of prayer. Thank you, Lord. I can’t think of the right words. Too tired. That’s a good man, William. He knows how to … how to … can’t think. Doesn’t matter. Oh, bother Leon! Why can’t he just …?

  Saturday noon

  It seemed she’d only just fallen asleep when something heavy landed on the bed and a voice cried, ‘Auntie Bea! Wake up!’

  ‘Mm?’ She forced her eyelids open.

  Bernice was pressed close to her, one arm round Teddy.

  William put his head round the door. ‘Are you decent? We have a problem. Alicia’s gone missing.’

  SEVEN

  Bea struggled to sit upright. She was tempted to have hysterics. She wanted someone to tell her, ‘There, there! There’s nothing to worry about!’ She wanted this not to be happening.

  But it was.

  Not to mention the chaos in her lovely bedroom.

  Two anxious people stood in the doorway; William was one.

  The other was young Mel. ‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Abbot. We couldn’t find any trainers that Bernice liked and then she had a worrying phone call from Alicia, and she’s tried to ring her back and it’s true, Alicia’s not answering.’

  Bea put her arm round Bernice and Teddy. Bernice’s self-control mechanism had finally tripped. She shook and shrieked into Bea’s shoulder. It was probably good for her to let go like this, if ruination to Bea’s top. Well, tops could be washed or, in the worst case, dry-cleaned.

  Bea held the child tight and rocked her, ‘There, there!’ The bear dug into Bea’s ribs, but that didn’t matter. Teddy needed comfort, as well.

  Bea said, ‘Spit it out, love! Scream hard enough to raise the roof if you can manage it!’

  William, seeing that Bea was properly clad, propped himself up in the doorway and got on his phone. ‘Steve, is that you? We have a small problem here. Yes, I know that … but …’ Silence while William listened to someone talking at the other end.

  Bea said, ‘Bernice, can you tell me what’s happened?’

  Bernice gulped. ‘Alicia rang me. She was crying. She said she wasn’t going back to school without me. Then she rang off and now she won’t answer her phone!’

  Not good news. Bea reached for a box of tissues. The child blew her nose and mopped up. She was regaining her control. There was a nasty damp patch on Bea’s top, which she decided to ignore.

  Bernice said, ‘Uncle William gave us brand-new phones this morning. We charged them up straight away. Her battery can’t have run down yet.’

  ‘Does her phone go to voicemail?’

  An emphatic nod. Bernice handed her phone over. ‘Press the top one. That’s for Alicia. We put the numbers in this morning.’

  Bea tried the number. No answer. Voicemail. She thought about it. ‘Would the school confiscate her phone if they thought she’d been naughty?’

  An emphatic shake of the head. ‘No. They take our tablets away, but not our phones.’

  ‘Would her father or Ninette?’

  ‘They never have. Besides, they dropped her at school ages ago.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘She said she was ringing from the driveway to the school.’

  William shut off his phone. ‘You’d think things couldn’t get worse. I’ve been trying to get Alaric or Ninette but neither are answering their phones. I’ve just tried Steve. He’s at panic stations because Daphne’s supposed to be leaving hospital today and he doesn’t know where to take her. Her own flat has no water till next week, and the family home is … well! I’m not sure she knows about the fire or about her father yet. What a mess!’

  ‘Could she go into respite care somewhere?’

  ‘Steve’s trying to arrange it but he’s afraid she won’t agr
ee. I doubt if Giorgio will be willing to help, and Alaric is out of the picture.’

  Bernice said, in her grown-up voice, ‘Alicia is worried about her mother, too.’

  William took a deep breath. ‘Bernice, there is absolutely no need to panic. The most likely thing is that Alicia’s dropped her phone. Or lost it somewhere.’

  ‘Alicia doesn’t lose things. She said she wasn’t going back.’

  Bea said, ‘William, could you try the school, to see if she’s there?’

  ‘I’m sure she’s all right, but …’ He pressed numbers. ‘Is that … am I speaking to the school secretary? Yes. This is William Morton, Alicia’s grandfather. I understand she returned to school early …’

  He’d been propping himself up against the doorframe. Now he jerked upright. ‘She hasn’t? … Yes, that’s right. Her father and … yes, they were bringing her back by car. They set out this morning … what time? About eleven, I should say …’

  He checked his watch. So did Bea. It was nearly noon. Bernice was right; the school was in Richmond. Half an hour there and half an hour back. And, if they’d had a breakdown in the car, Alaric and Ninette could have used their mobile phones to call for help and let the family know what had happened.

  William said to the school secretary, ‘You say you were expecting her, but … No, of course you would know if … Well, as you say, I expect there’s some very good reason. They’ve been delayed en route. A puncture or breakdown on the way. Of course that will be it. But, would you be so good as to let me know, on this number, when Alicia finally …? Many thanks. Yes, and a good day to you, too.’

  Bea said, ‘Try Alaric again.’

  William tried. Voicemail. He said, ‘I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it.’

  Mel was very young to be dealing with this. She bit her lip, and subsided on to the nearest chair. ‘Call the police?’

  Bea stifled impatience. ‘No, Mel. We’re not going to panic. Not yet.’ And to Bernice. ‘Ninette said she had something else to do this afternoon?’

  Bernice straightened her back and looked up. ‘The hairdresser’s. She’d promised to take Alicia with her to have her hair trimmed, but she sent her back to school instead.’

  ‘You don’t know which hairdresser’s?’

  Bernice’s face crumpled. ‘Alicia would know.’

  ‘So she would. Bernice, what do you think has happened to Alicia?’

  Bernice gulped. ‘Alicia hates school. I don’t mind it too much, because the maths teacher is really good, but Alicia’s not good at maths and she didn’t want to go back without me. She used to be bullied, you see. And wet the bed sometimes.’

  William breathed out. ‘I knew it!’

  ‘I was lonely, too,’ said Bernice. ‘I was glad to go away to school because I thought I’d catch up on lessons and make friends, and when I got there Alicia was told to take me around. She showed me where everything was and warned me to keep out of the way of the bullies. She said they’re always horrible to new girls and that if I had any pocket money they’d take it off me, because that’s what they did to everyone who wasn’t in their gang. But I knew better than to give in to bullies, so when they started on me I said I’d spit in their milk and I’d crawl into their beds at night and pinch them black and blue and I’d do the same to anyone who tried it on Alicia. So they left us alone and after that we told one another everything. I’d never had a best friend before, and neither had she. She even stopped having nightmares.’ She stared at Bea with eyes that had seen more than their fair share of horrors.

  William held back anxiety to moderate his voice. ‘Bernice, think! What did Alicia have in mind?’

  ‘I don’t know! And then she rang off!’ Bernice buried her head in Bea’s shoulder again.

  Bea held her tightly. ‘Bernice, love. You have to be strong. Alicia is your best friend. I think she’s going to ring you again, soon. You must keep calm and be ready to speak to her when she does.’

  William spat out the words. ‘Bernice! Answer me. Tell me exactly what Alicia said.’

  Bernice controlled herself with an effort. With her head still buried in Bea’s shoulder, she muttered, ‘… run away?’

  ‘How could she run away?’

  Bernice struggled upright. ‘She said Alaric and Ninette were in a hurry to get back and dropped her off by the main gates. She said she waited till they’d driven off and then … she said someone was coming, and she rang off.’

  A sharp intake of breath from William. ‘Where could she go?’

  No reply. A shake of the dark head.

  A chirrupy noise. Was that someone’s phone? Not Bea’s. William hadn’t heard anything? Bea frowned. Had she imagined it?

  Bernice said, ‘I’m going to the loo.’ She withdrew to Bea’s bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.

  William said, ‘I’m ringing the police. If she turns up unharmed we’ll look like fools, but I’d rather it turn out that way than do nothing.’

  Ho, hum! Bea played for time. ‘Wait. Before we ring the police, we must contact her father and warn him. Ninette may well have turned off her phone while she was at the hairdresser’s, although some people never do. Maybe she’s turned it back on again now. Do you have her number?’

  ‘No. Why should I?’

  Bea tried to think. ‘You said that Steve is with Daphne at the hospital. Do you think he might have Ninette’s number? Steve and Gideon may have turned their phones off if they’re sitting with Daphne, but this is an emergency and surely we can tell the nurses that we need to speak to Steve on an urgent family matter? Either Steve or Gideon can be fetched out to take our phone call. Maybe one of them will know how to contact Ninette. Whatever happens, we must set a deadline. We warn the family and the school, everyone involved, what we’re going to do. We say that if Alicia doesn’t turn up in the next hour, we are going to ring the police. We also tell the fire investigator.’

  ‘Why her?’

  ‘Because the family desperately want to put the blame for the fire on the children and if one of them disappears of her own free will, they’ll take that as a confession of guilt.’

  His jaw sagged. He hadn’t thought of that. Then he straightened up. ‘I’ll get on to my solicitor, as well. If Alaric left Alicia in the middle of nowhere, without seeing her safely inside, then he’s responsible for her disappearance. But I’ll need proof.’ He pressed buttons. ‘Is that the hospital? I believe you have a patient called …’

  Bea swung her legs off the bed, and got to her feet. William was doing the right thing; the family must be informed first. And then the police.

  As for Bernice? Ho, hum. The child was handling the situation well. Wasn’t she?

  Bea started to pick up the girls’ clothes and put them in a neat pile. Mel, glad to have something to do, joined her. Together they created some sort of order. Bea sent Mel downstairs to find a duster and some wipes, while she seated herself at her dressing table, brushed out her hair and worked on a broken nail.

  Bernice returned to sit on the bed, nursing Teddy. Eyes down, shutting herself off from the world.

  Bernice was no longer hysterical. Why?

  Bea decided to renew her nail varnish, and did so. Rhythmical movements aid thinking.

  William had settled in the chair by the bedside, to make his phone calls. Bea acknowledged that he knew how to get things done.

  Mel returned, asked Bernice to get off the bed so that she could make it. Bernice wandered around the room, blank-faced, until Mel had finished, and then got back on to it.

  Mel folded up the spare duvet William had been using, returned towels to the bathroom and set about wiping talcum powder off every surface.

  Bea tuned back in to William’s voice. He hadn’t been able to reach either Steve or Gideon yet, had he? Well, he would keep on trying. That was one thing you could count on; William would keep on trying.

  William hadn’t considered what scenario Bernice plus Alicia plus money might create. Yes,
there was a slight risk in playing for time. Scare stories about white slave traffic flitted across Bea’s mind and were dismissed as ridiculous. An hour’s grace should be sufficient.

  William had reached Steve. Good. Bea applied a little make-up. Not a lot. Mostly around her eyes. Her dear husband Hamilton had called them her ‘eagle’s eyes’ because they were long-tailed and saw more than most people’s did.

  Mel had restored order to Bea’s bedroom but didn’t know what to do next. ‘What else, Mrs Abbot?’ Mel was out of her depth but doing her best to be helpful.

  Bea smiled, wryly. She thought that if Mel was too young to know what to do, she herself was too old. Definitely.

  Bea checked her watch. In a moment she would have to go down to the agency to deal with super-nanny, but what should she do with Bernice? Leave her with Mel? No. The agency girl had behaved well, but was not trained for this.

  William had not convinced Steve that the situation was serious. ‘But Steve, you do understand that we have to inform the police if the child can’t be … No. No, of course the child is not your priority … No, I didn’t know Daphne was still feeling so poorly. But they’re not keeping her in? … Yes, of course. Ring me as soon as … yes. Yes.’

  He shut off his phone, met Bea’s eyes, and shrugged. ‘Gideon is there with him. The hospital want to discharge Daphne today, even though she’s not responded as well as they would like to her first lot of antibiotics. They’re trying a different lot, and she should be going home … no, not home … Steve’s arranging for her to go somewhere she can be looked after for a few days. There’s no sign of Alaric or Giorgio, and Steve has no idea where they might be. Steve doesn’t have Ninette’s number but he thinks Gideon might have it. He’ll find out and let us know.’

  Bea took one of the children’s new hairbrushes and started work on Bernice’s long hair, plaiting it to keep it tidy. The child was relaxed, looked as if she were going to fall asleep. No longer under stress.

  Bea said, ‘I have an appointment downstairs at noon. Mel, how are you fixed? Are you free this afternoon?’