‘Thank you sir, thanks for all you have done. Just one thing, I still think Bateman is a toffee nosed bully, goodbye sir.’
‘Goodbye Snell, I’ll give you one thing you have character and spunk, you will go far in life.’ A smile spreads across Mrs. B’s face. As we walk to the cottage, Maisy instructs the driver to follow.
With my hastily packed suitcase in the boot we stand at the front door, saying our goodbyes.
‘Come on Phillip, on your way; whatever am I going to do without my char boy and companion?’ With a thoughtful look, my index finger on my chin I say,
‘I know what you can do Matron, shout Bateman Schnell, I bet he will come running.’
“Go on cheeky, get out of my sight; I will miss you I know, it has been a pleasure to know you Phil, I wish you every success in life, take care of yourself, good bye.’
‘Good bye Mrs. Bainbridge I’ll miss you too, thanks for teaching me how to be a better chess player.’ She gives me a hug and quickly turns away I think she is a bit upset. I’m not, I can’t wait to get home, but I will miss her.
All the questions I have asked about the trial have not been answered. All Maisy says is, I don’t know the full facts, you will have to wait until the Super tells you. The driver hasn’t said a word, not even to Maisy, it is almost as though they have had a row and are not speaking. I’m very excited two and a half months is a long time to be without friends my own age and people who love me, I can’t wait to get home.
‘How many went to prison, will the one that killed Lion be hanged?’
‘For Gods sake Phil, will you stop asking questions, you never bloody shut up, just wait until you see Mr. Langdon.’ Maisy is clearly not happy so I’m doing as she asks, just looking out of the window. I’ve just realized this is the first time I have done this; I’m usually lying down on the back seat. At the clock tower we turn left into Station Street passing the police station on our right and Pop’s house on the left. As we turn into Devonshire road I can see Supers car parked outside our house.
The Super and Reg are seated at the kitchen table; June is in the scullery and turns as I open the door. With wet hands from washing she gives me a limp hug, not the usual bone crusher. ‘Welcome home Phillip.’ The Super rises from his chair, Reg stays seated, ‘Hello Phil are you okay?’ This is not the reception I was expecting, there are no tears, no beaming faces, and it is as though I have just been away at school for the day.
I don’t understand, the only one that is showing emotion is Jet he looks happy but hasn’t bothered to get out of his basket.
‘Hello everybody; you don’t look very pleased to see me, I’ve been counting the days to this moment and you look so sad, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing Phillip, it is just that John has been telling us about the trial and it has upset us a bit, that is all.’
‘I’m dying to know what happened. Did the one that killed Lion get sentenced to death?’
‘June, do you think you could make that cup of tea you promised earlier, and then I will go over it again for Phil’s benefit?’
‘Oh John, sorry about the tea, completely forgot.’ June lifts the cups from the dresser and warms the pot.
‘Some ordeal you have had Phil, you could have made it easier on yourself if only you had attempted to fit in.’
‘Captain I’m sorry, but Bateman is a toffee nosed bully, he stood over me, with his foot on my chest and told me I must come running whenever he called. I wasn’t going to be bullied again. Last time you taught me to box, to protect myself. When it happens again you tell me I should accept it, I don’t know what to believe.’
‘Fagging is a tradition at that school, just like Harrow, you should---”
‘I wasn’t to know, nobody told me, and if they had I would have refused to go there, nobody should be bullied or be a slave.”
‘Okay, you have made your point, it is behind you, and no doubt a lesson has been learnt.’
‘Yes, don’t be bullied, and stick up for yourself. I’d do it again if I had to; anyway, it wasn’t that bad cleaning up after Mrs. B, at least she didn’t tell me she asked, that’s the difference.’
‘Would you like tea Phillip?’
‘Yes please.’ June places a cup at one of the spare chairs and pours; I sit, feeling all hot and bothered after my outburst, Super takes a sip of his tea.
‘We knew that there was a paedophile ring operating in the south of England. Saint Stephen’s, Saint Gabriel’s, and another called Saint Luke’s, in Bromley, were grooming young children to be prostitutes and rent boys. They were supported by a fictitious charity; the only subscribers were the clients of the ring. Once the kids became of school leaving age they were moved to a couple of hostels, in Soho, under the understanding they were going to be given work but, in reality these places were brothels where they were forced to work.
Those who refused were beaten or drugged, so they didn’t know what they were doing, any who tried to escape were subjected to horrific rituals and eventually killed. The disposal of bodies was not a problem because they were all passed off as bomb victims by the pathologist who was part of the organization. Lionel Bates was different; there was no bombing so they seized on the opportunity of him being in the car and being gassed.
The other young lad in with Lionel has still not been identified, but he is one of five others we have found, doubled up in one coffin. After a proper post mortem it was discovered that they had been used for sexual pleasure. Do you understand Phil, how terrible this whole thing has been, and why I went to such lengths to protect you?’
‘I think so, I don’t understand what they made the children do, was it like what Flynn did to Lion?’
‘Yes, and much worse, when you get older you will understand, I am not prepared to go into detail, some things I would not even repeat to June.’
‘My God John, do we have to hear any more?’
‘No, there is not much more that I am prepared to reveal, but to answer Phil’s question about sentencing. No one has been sentenced for Lionel’s murder, we were unable to produce conclusive evidence, but the driver has been sentenced, to three years for man slaughter, because he locked the boot knowing Lionel was in there, and a further three years for his attempt to knock down constable Harper. Altogether we arrested twenty eight people, of those, seventeen have been sentenced to prison, five have been given suspended sentences, and six got off Scot free. We know they are guilty so will just have to keep a close watch on them. They will slip up and then we shall have them.’
‘What about Flynn, did he get off, what about Mam?’
‘No; Murdock, alias Flynn, is in Wormwood Scrubs for the next five years and Alice Miller is doing three years in Holloway.’
‘That’s fantastic; I hope they both rot there.’
‘Phillip that is not a very nice thing to say, just lets hope they learn from the experience.’
‘They won’t June, it is part of their make up, and they just can’t help it. Keeping them locked up keeps them away from kids, but it is almost certain they will offend again. We will then have to start the whole process again to keep them off the streets.’
‘Captain; now Saint Stephens is closed, what has happened to Mr. Simmons, and the others that weren’t crooks?’
‘Well, Simmons, not his real name, was an undercover man from Scotland Yard; he is probably doing what he is good at somewhere else. As for the other staff, I have no idea, probably got local jobs, there is plenty of work about now the war is over.
‘Wow, a spy, I’d like to be a spy that would be fantastic.’
‘I’m sure it would Phil, but it would involve you in things you might not like doing,
then how would you deal with it. Well I must be off, thanks for the tea June.’
‘Thank you John, for taking care of this young man.’ Captain stands and shakes everyone’s hand.
Thank you all for your cooperation; I’ll see myself out. By the way, Phil should be safe now, just keep a
n eye on him, for the next couple of weeks. Don’t let him go to the baths on his own. See you there Thursday night club night, don’t forget.’ Captain opens the back door and climbs the iron steps, looking very tired.
‘I can’t believe you threw away an opportunity to be educated at one of the best public schools in Britain, all because of your misguided pride. What is more, you were getting it free, the parents of those boys pay several thousand pounds a year for the privilege and you threw it away, you foolish boy.’
‘Reg leave it, I’m sure Phillip realizes the error of his ways.’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about, what mistakes, what errors did I make? I punched a bully and I’d do it again. As for education, I got that every day, with the boys that their dads paid for. I had the company of a very nice lady who taught me to play chess, and I didn’t have to clean the boots of bloody Bateman, where did I go wrong? If you don’t believe me take a look at my school books, you will see how well I have done. If you want to make me into a toffee nose then-------‘I can feel myself about to cry with anger, grabbing my suitcase from the floor I race upstairs to my room, where I throw myself on the bed.
I’m hungry but I’m not going down, I have no idea of the real time, the alarm clock had stopped at ten past two. At first I thought the hand had fallen off again but, when I moved them I could see they hadn’t. I have tried to work out what time it could be, we finished school lessons at four, fifteen minutes to see Mr. Saville, twenty minutes to pack and say goodbye, half an hour to drive home then say, an hour to hear about the trial. I’ve been up here about half an hour. I decided to set the clock at half six, it now says twenty to eight, no wonder I’m hungry.
I am battling with myself, one half is telling me to go down and get something to eat, and my other half won’t let me. I think I get my stubbiness from Gran; she wouldn’t go to the doctor when everyone said she should. I am fed up with swinging the aeroplanes, looking around the room I notice two added pictures where Mum and Dads photo’s are.
A closer look shows them to be a certificate for breaking the under twelve breast stroke record the other is a gold winner’s medal, with my name engraved on it. I feel happy and the half of me that wants to go downstairs has won.
I am just about to open the door when, I hear June on the stairs; just managing to dive back into my bed to save face, I hear her pause at the door before she knocks.
‘Phillip, are you asleep, can I come in?’
‘Come in, I’m not asleep, should I be; what time is it?’
‘Twenty five to nine, I thought you would come back down. I’ve brought you a sandwich and some cocoa you’re bound to be hungry.’
‘Thank you, I’m starving actually.’
‘Missing one meal doesn’t make you starving. Reg wants you to apologize for your outburst, he is not used to being spoken to like that, so follow me back down and say sorry.’
‘I will only if he apologizes for calling me a foolish boy.’
‘Don’t you think you were, throwing away such an opportunity?’
‘No, because every one is calling me foolish when they do not know the facts, they weren’t there to see what happened.’
‘Then come back down and explain your position, then we can all decide if we have misjudged you; then we will be able to put this thing to bed, do you agree?’
‘I agree, I’ll be down in a minute, I want to gather my school books to prove I’m right.’
Reg is sitting by the fire; he looks like a sad cartoon character when they draw them with a cloud over their head. As I walk in he turns to me, ‘Well what do you have to say to me’
‘I’m not going to say sorry, I want to explai----’
‘Don’t be insolent, I demand an apology.’
‘In that case I will go back up to my room.’ I turn to go out of the door but June grabs my arm
‘Will you two hot heads calm down, nothing will be resolved like this; Reg, please listen to what Phillip has to say then, if you still feel angry, you can tell him so.’ Reg grunts, I take it to be a yes, taking a deep breath I can see I have Reg’s attention.
‘I arrived at the school at a quarter to eleven, I spent ten minutes with the Principal, nothing was mentioned about fagging or tradition, even if he had, I wouldn’t have known what it meant, they would have had to explain it to me. I was then shown to my bed in a dormitory, where three other boys were already asleep. I was woken; it was still dark, by someone shaking me, this person that sounded as though his mouth was full of marbles, was asking me who I was. I attempted to sit up but he put his foot on my chest and pushed me back down and told me, because I was the youngest, I was to come whenever he called, to do whatever he demanded. I told him to get lost; he removed his foot to hit me. I hit him first; he knocked me out and kicked me when I was on the floor. Nobody said anything about tradition, all I was doing was defending myself. I was then sent to live with the Matron, where I did all of the house work, entertained myself by doing exercises to keep fit, because I wasn’t allowed to mix with the toffs, except in class, where I did my lessons every day, doing exceptionally well. I learnt so much. Have a look at my school books if you don’t believe me, how does that make me a fool?’
Reg looks at me without saying a word, I can see he has softened, that little cloud above his head has disappeared, June takes hold of me and gives me a hug,
‘Phillip, you are an extraordinary boy what do you think Reg?’
‘I’ll reserve judgment until I have seen the school books.’ I can see he is only saying that to save face. Spreading my books on the table, I hand him the top one which is English. Reg says nothing, he just looks at each book in turn, June and I stand there waiting for some reaction, the silence is deafening. Reg puts down the last book, extends his hand and we shake.
‘Thank God that is over, would you two like a cup of tea?’
‘I’d like a whisky, please June.’
‘Can I have another cocoa please?’
Chapter Seventeen
Another school, this time it is the Grammar, I don’t like it very much. There are twenty eight in my class, the school work is similar to the private school, but probably a little behind, I’m going over things I have already done so I’m finding it boring. I started off by putting up my hand when a question was asked, until one kid called me a smart arse, my first reaction was to hit him but thought better of it, so I have decided to wait until they catch up with me;
I have made friends with another Michael this time a Michael Stanton. He is not in my class, he is in 1A. He lives up on the Ridgeway and comes to school on a bike, I wish I had one. It is only three weeks to Christmas, I’ve been hinting, and saying, if I saved all my pocket money I wonder how long I would have to save to buy a second hand one. Who knows, Father Christmas may have heard me.
For me to go to Michael’s house I will have to catch a bus, he came to mine last Saturday but there is’nt much to do here in this house as we are not allowed to make a noise. I don’t know why, there are no guests anymore. Michael doesn’t like swimming so we went down the beach and skimmed stones. It was cold and not much fun, then he had to get home before it got dark, therefore he had to leave at three thirty.
My bedroom at the top of the house is freezing, and the wind howls over the gable roof, rattling my dormer window, I don’t like it. I’m not scared, but I must admit that Ted and I hide under the blankets. When I get up at seven thirty it is still dark, I am freezing. By the time I’m dressed my teeth are chattering, I can’t get down to the kitchen fast enough, it is the only room in the house that has a fire lit. Next Saturday I am moving down to the first floor, to a big bedroom, across the landing from June and Reg. It won’t be mine, but it will be warm because there is a fireplace in it.
June is working full time at a clothes shop, she leaves with me when I go to school but doesn’t get home until gone six, and she is always very tired. Reg is looking after the house, but there is little to do because there are
no guests. They have all been posted elsewhere, or have been sent home, demobbed I think they call it. Reg hardly ever talks to me, he seems very worried and is always complaining if some one leaves open a door, he shouts ‘Shut that damn door do you think we have coal to burn?’ I thought that is what you did with coal, but I know what he means.
I have spent a couple of evenings with Pop, it is nice and cosy in his house because it is a lot smaller, there is always a good fire burning. I told Pop that I don’t think June and Reg really want me now. He told me not to be silly; they are going through a bad patch, with no guests and no sign of any coming. It is a big house to look after and, without income, it is only natural that they are worried. I’m wondering if they can afford to keep me, and send me to university like they said they would.
What if that horrible lady from the council finds out, then what, where will I be sent? I really do wish I was with the others at Dr Barnardos; at least I would be with friends. I miss Rachel, I wonder if she is missing me. I would write to her but I don’t know where she is, Barnardos in Kent, but there is probably more than one. I wish I had taken notice of where we were going before I was smuggled out.
I have asked June, she said she would find out, but that was weeks ago. When I reminded her she said she hadn’t forgotten, and would do it when she had time. Reg has a lot of time, when I asked him he said, June is looking into it. I’ve decided to find out myself, I’m not sure where to start, but I think the Super must know so, on my way home from school tomorrow, I’m going to the police station.
Barefoot and Lost Page 25
