For the next half hour, the three of them sat and talked about Lenny’s market-stall, and his plans to open a shop one day. ‘I know how to buy cheap stuff and sell it out for a profit,’ he said proudly. ‘I learn summat new every day.’ He helped himself to a couple of leftover jelly babies.
A short time later, the three of them took a lazy walk to the spinney, and when they came out the other end, they sat on a fallen tree by the river’s edge and dipped their bare toes in the water.
‘I love it out here,’ Lenny confided. ‘I’d like to build a house right in the middle of a field, somewhere nice and peaceful, with plenty of animals, and I’d put a great big fence round it, so no one can get in.’
‘Except me?’ Annie hinted hopefully.
He laughed. ‘All right, except you…and Judy.’ While he talked to Annie, he was thinking of Judy, and when they walked on again, he walked next to her, while Annie pushed up to him on his other side. But he didn’t mind that.
‘Has anyone heard from Davie?’ he wanted to know.
‘Not yet,’ Judy answered. ‘Although he was at his mam’s funeral today. I didn’t get a chance to speak to him, though. But I might be going to see his grandad tonight. Happen he’s heard something.’
‘I’ll walk you there if you like?’
‘I’ll come too,’ Annie offered. ‘We could have fish and chips on the way back.’
‘That would be nice,’ Judy agreed, ‘but I expect I’ll be going with Mam and Dad.’
As always, Annie never missed an opportunity. ‘You can walk me to the chippie later if you like?’ she told Lenny. ‘I might even buy you a bag o’ chips.’
He laughed. ‘All right, if you like. I’ve got nothing else to do, and I hate staying indoors.’ He had good reason for preferring to be outdoors. But he could not discuss that with anyone.
Annie continued to flirt shamelessly with him, while he kept glancing at Judy. Annie seemed too intent on Lenny to notice, and Judy was lost in thoughts about Davie.
At the mouth of the river they went their separate ways. ‘See you outside the corner shop on Derwent Street at six o’clock!’ Annie wasn’t about to let him forget. ‘You haven’t changed your mind, have you?’
‘I said I’d be there and I will.’ It would give him a chance to find out how Judy felt about Davie, he thought. Annie had a big gob on her, and she couldn’t keep a secret. He said his goodbyes and took his leave. With his fishing rod slung over his shoulder, and his wicker basket swinging from his fist, he made a fine figure of a young man.
‘He kept looking at you,’ Annie told Judy. ‘If I didn’t know how besotted you are with Davie, I might have to fight you for him.’
When Judy looked taken aback, Annie flung an arm round her shoulder. ‘Sorry. I wouldn’t fight you, not even if you were to rip out my eyes and leave me for the crows,’ she laughed. ‘All the same…hands off Lenny. He’s mine!’
‘Annie?’
‘What?’
‘Where do you think Davie is now?’
‘Dunno.’
‘Do you think he’s safe?’
Annie shrugged. ‘Dunno,’ she repeated. There followed a brief silence, before she added cheerfully, ‘Look, I know how fond you are of Davie, but there are plenty more fish in the sea. You’ll soon forget him.’
But having said it, Annie knew different.
Judy would never forget Davie.
Even if, in the whole of her life, she never saw him again.
PART TWO
Blackpool, 1957
On the Run
CHAPTER TEN
IT WAS A hot morning in late July, and the Everly Brothers’ top ten hit ‘Bye Bye Love’ was blaring out all over the fairground as the maintenance team inspected the rides before opening to the public. On Blackpool’s famous Pleasure Beach, Billy Joe’s Fairground was a right crowd-puller with thrilling rides like the Dive Bomber, Cake Walk, Octopus, Jet Planes, Meteorite and Moon Rocket. But it was sheer hard graft to keep the machinery in tip-top order, and no one worked more single-mindedly than the youth the other men knew by the name of Davie.
‘Dear God, man! Must you drive the boy so hard?’Some people claimed that Eli Clements was as old as Methuselah, but no one knew his true age, for he never divulged it to any living soul. A man of wit and wisdom, he looked pitifully small; his frame was slightly bent and his homely old face was cracked and worn by the elements. His joints creaked as he walked and sometimes he had to stop and catch his breath. But for all that, he could still outwork and outthink any man there. Eli had been around the fairground long enough to know every nut and bolt on every ride, and when the machines broke down he fearlessly scuttled round and underneath these massive structures, as if he was born to it.
The other men employed at Billy Joe’s respected him, and sought his advice whenever it was needed. What Eli didn’t know, they said, wasn’t worth knowing. As a general rule he did not interfere, though on this particular occasion, he could not help but speak out.
‘You’re hellbent on breaking that young ’un,’ he told the foreman, Brian Moult. ‘And he’s never once complained about the heavy tasks you’ve set him. What’s going on?’
The other man bristled. ‘I think you’d best explain what you mean by that.’
Eli was not intimidated. ‘What I mean is that we’ve had plenty o’ young ’uns come and go, and never a worry. So why is it you’ve taken against this particular one?’
‘Don’t talk so much rubbish, man!’ The fore-man was clearly ruffled. There were things he didn’t want uncovered, and he knew how once Eli put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. ‘Your brain must be addled. You’re imagining things.’
The old man stood his ground. ‘My brain’s no more addled than yours is,’ he retorted. ‘And I’m not the only one who’s noticed how harsh you are with the lad.’ He glanced across to where Davie was carrying a heavy girder across his shoulders. ‘No man here could have done more than he has.’ His voice stiffened with anger. ‘What the devil have you got against the boy?’
Sighing exaggeratedly, Moult took a moment to look down on the old man. ‘I’ve got nothing against him,’ he replied drily. ‘We all have to pull our weight here, and he’s no different. He’ll do what’s asked of him, or he can take his wages and get the hell out of it. I’ll soon fill his place. There’s allus blokes looking for work.’
He lowered his voice to a more intimate level. ‘Matter o’ fact, old fella, you might do well to remember that.’
Eli was never one to cower and he didn’t cower now. Instead, he squared up to the bigger man. ‘Only a bully would pick on a young lad like that. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!’
Twisted in a cunning grimace, the man’s face bent to his. ‘Young lad, is it?’ he growled. ‘More like an escaped criminal. Where’s he come from, eh, tell me that? Turning up outta nowhere, his arse hanging out of his trousers, thin as a twig and looking like he’d been living out in the wilds. Oh, he works hard enough, I’ll give you that. But who is he, eh? And why does he never talk about himself?’
Eli rose to Davie’s defence. ‘He doesn’t have to ‘‘talk about himself’’. Who he is and where he comes from is none of your business.’
‘Is that so?’ The big man gave another crafty half-smile. ‘All the same, there’s summat funny about him. He’s far too secretive for my liking…doesn’t mix in with the men and never lets it be known what he’s thinking. I’ll tell you this, matey, whoever he might be, I wouldn’t mind betting he’s been up to no good somewhere along the line. He needs to be watched and kept under, and that’s what I mean to do. So, if you don’t like the way I treat him, you can leave whenever you want.’
Eli enraged him by smiling. ‘Oh yes, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, eh?’ he chuckled. ‘You’d like to see the back of me, so you can carry on with your sly little deals. I know what you’re up to. I’ve had my eye on you for sometime.’
Fear rippled over the other man’s face.
‘What the devil are you talking about, you old crow? What little deals?’
Winking, Eli tapped his nose. ‘Never you mind,’ he said. ‘All you need to know is that I’m watching your every move. I’ve said my piece and that’s enough for now.’
‘You’d best watch your step, old fella.’ The foreman was worried; how much did Eli really know? ‘This is a big site.’ His intimation was clear enough. ‘Accidents are bound to happen now and then.’
‘Is that right?’ Eli glanced at the Caterpillar ride; a snaking, iron monster of a thing. ‘Well, there’s your chance,’ he taunted. ‘I mean, I could be spreadeagled underneath the workings, and the n…’ He clicked his fingers. ‘One flick of the switch, and I’d be mincemeat.’
Before the other man could respond, Eli called on the young electrician as he strolled by. ‘Isn’t that right, Josh?’ Satisfied that his remarks had been overheard, he registered the occasion in the electrician’s memory. ‘I was just telling the foreman here how easy it would be to shred a man, if he was ever caught underneath the belly o’ one of these rides.’
‘Mebbe somebody who didn’t know what they were doing,’ the electrican replied. ‘But I can’t see you ever being caught out. You’re a canny old devil, Eli. You always make sure you’ve switched off the engines and put all the keys in your pocket.’ That said, he walked on. Like everyone else on-site, he had no wish to stop and pass the time of day with the foreman, because if he did, it was a sure fact he’d find his wages short come Friday.
‘See that?’ Eli’s little ploy had worked as he intended. ‘It’s well-known how extra careful I am when it comes to being safe. I dare say there’d be an enquiry if old Eli was to suddenly get careless.’ He lowered his voice. ‘And once these officials start poking about where they’re not wanted, who knows what else might be uncovered?’
‘Well, I for one would have no worries,’ came the sharp reply. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide.’
All the same, he was wary of Eli. There was no way of knowing how much he knew. But from what he was hinting, the old scoundrel knew something, that was for sure.
‘You’d better watch your back, Eli,’ he warned. ‘There are more ways than one to be rid of vermin.’
With that ominous remark, he walked away, leaving Eli in no doubt but that here was a man who would go to any lengths to suit his own dubious ends.
For the rest of the day, they kept out of each other’s way. But when the day’s work was over, and the men drifted away, Eli made straight for the washroom, where he found Davie at the sink, stripped to the waist and swilling off the grime of the day.
With his mind on other things, Davie didn’t hear him come in, and for a moment Eli stood in the door way, waiting for Davie to finish washing, yet still scouring the walk ways, in case the foreman should happen this way.He glanced at Davie as he towelled himself, and was amazed to see how the lad had matured these past few months. Cold, hungry and bedraggled, he had arrived one morning, a mere boy of fifteen, with the look of a lost and desperate soul. The skin hung on his back, and his face had the gaunt look of an old man. And there was such pain in his dark eyes; deep-down pain which had still not altogether gone away.
Yet here he was now, his frame muscled and toned by the heavy labour he was made to do. He was capable and confident, and though he kept a discreet distance from them, he was respected by the men who worked alongside him. He was a quiet soul though.
A real loner.
Eli had always thought Davie to be a good-looking lad. At his age, with his thick shock of dark brown hair and the brooding eyes that seemed not to miss a thing, Davie should have been out on the town, or flirting with the girls and planning a future. But there was no sign of it. Moreover, he had made no friends outside of the men he worked with, and when they went off to town, Davie stayed in the caravan, reading, writing and seemingly content in his own company. Eli thought it was an odd, unnatural thing for a boy on the brink of manhood.
But then he reminded himself how he had no way of knowing what had shaped a boy like Davie.
‘Davie?’ Satisfied they were on their own, Eli made his presence known.
Surprised to learn that he wasn’t alone here, Davie swung round. ‘Oh, it’s you, Eli! I didn’t see you there.’
He quickly towelled himself dry and slipping his shirt back on, he walked across the room towards the old fella. ‘I thought everyone would have gone by now.’
‘Most of ’em have,’ Eli replied. ‘I hung back, so’s I could have a quiet word with you.’ He snatched a glance along the path. ‘Davie, there’s something I need to ask you.’
‘OK, ask away.’ Davie liked old Eli. In many ways he reminded him of his grandad.
Eli shook his head. ‘Not here, son,’ he told him. ‘Walls have ears, and besides, you never know who might come in.’
The boy was intrigued. ‘I’m going back to the caravan,’ he said. ‘We can talk there.’
‘Won’t the others be there?’
Grabbing his coat, Davie shook his head, ‘Josh and Pete are doing some overtime to get the rides ready for morning so we’ll have the place to ourselves for a few minutes.’ He grinned. ‘I’ll make you a cuppa tea, if you like?’
Eli groaned. ‘I recall the last time you made me a brew,’ he reminded Davie. ‘The cup was half-filled with the insides of the kettle. Tasted like iron it did.’
Davie laughed. ‘That’s because the kettle was worn out,’ he explained, ‘but I’ve got a new one now. And I make the best cuppa tea on site, or so I’m told.’ In his first few days here, part of his duties was to run errands and make tea. But he didn’t mind; he was glad of the work.
‘Sounds good to me.’ Eli accepted and so they set off together.
Situated at the back of the site, the caravan was small and cramped, but it was cosy enough. All the same, as they entered and Davie threw open the windows, Eli had to confess, ‘I don’t think I could share this poky hole with two burly navvies.’
He laughed aloud. ‘I dread to think what it’s like, the morning after they’ve been out on the town; unshaven, spewing up – and I know for a fact that Josh’s feet smell to high heaven.’ He shook his head. ‘How in God’s name do you put up with it?’
‘I’ve got no choice It’s either sleeping rough – and I’ve had more than enough of that – or it’s bedding down in here. The men are all right. We have an understanding. I like my own company and there are times when I don’t want to mix in with the general talk. But they understand me, and I’m grateful for that.’ Having satisfied himself that there was water in the kettle, Davie set it on the gas-ring to boil. ‘It won’t take a minute.’ He plumped up a grubby cushion and invited Eli to sit himself down. Which Eli did, albeit grudgingly; the couch was filthy and the cushion was covered in what looked like dried egg. At any rate he was glad the windows were open and the air was freshening a bit.
While Eli made himself comfortable, Davie got out two mugs, washed them thoroughly at the sink, and placed them on the drainer. ‘What did you want to ask me?’
Before Eli could answer, the whistle of the kettle sang out, and for a few minutes Davie was preoccupied making the tea. ‘There!’ Placing a mug of steaming tea in front of Eli, he sat at the other side of the minuscule table. ‘So, what is it you want, Eli?’
The older man wondered how he should put his thoughts to the boy, ‘Might as well come out with it,’ he said finally. ‘What do you know about the foreman?’
‘That’s a strange thing to say,’ Davie answered too quickly. ‘What makes you think I know any more than you do? Anyway, why do you ask?’
‘Because I don’t like how he pushes you to your limit, I can’t understand how he gets away with working you like a damned horse… labouring from six of a morning until whatever time he thinks he can keep you sweating. There’s something not right here, and I’d like to know what it is.’
Leaning forward, he looked Davie in the eye. ‘What has he got over you, son? How can he do
this to you?’
For a moment, Davie fell silent, and now as he tried to speak, he was flustered and nervous, all the old fears returning. ‘Nothing. I mean…I don’t know. I’m not complaining, am I? I like the work. It keeps me out of trouble…keeps me busy. And besides, I need the money. I don’t intend slaving for someone else all my life. I’ve got plans.’
Eli was adamant but gentle. ‘Look, son, I’m not saying you’ve done anything wrong. I’m just saying that the way he treats you is nothing short of cruel. Oh, I know he can be a right sadistic swine, but I’ve never known him take against any one the way he’s taken against you. I need you to tell me the truth, Davie. And I’m not leaving this caravan till you do.’
With that he took up his mug of tea, helped himself to a biscuit, sat back on the couch and waited patiently.
Davie’s heart sank. Realising that Eli meant what he said, he decided to make his confession.
‘If I tell you something,’ he began warily, ‘will you promise that you won’t ever repeat it to anyone? And you won’t go to the boss, and cause trouble for me?’
‘I promise,’ Eli assured him. ‘Whatever you tell me, will stay with me.’
So, Davie told his story.
He described how his mother had torn the family apart, and how, when they were homeless, his grandfather put them up. ‘And not for the first time,’ he told Eli. ‘Y’see, Mam got mixed up in things…men and booze mostly. But it wasn’t her fault. She was weak – she told me that herself. Her own mam was the same, and so I suppose it was in the blood.’
The telling was a difficult thing for Davie. All this time since leaving Blackburn, he had not spoken of it to a living soul. And now, with every word he uttered, it seemed as though he was unlocking a door that he had once firmly shut.
‘The last time was the worst ever.’ He relived the scene. ‘We waited all night for her. Dad even went out looking, but he couldn’t find her. She came home in the early hours, out of her mind with booze – in a terrible state, she was. Dad was waiting and he tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen. Then he told her he was leaving, that she would never change and he couldn’t live like that any more.’
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