by Sam Michaels
Charlotte nodded. ‘Can I take the car? Tim knows I can drive but haven’t got a licence.’
‘No, shanks’ pony.’
Charlotte rolled her eyes. She’d always been a moody young woman and didn’t like being kept in the dark. But Georgina preferred to keep things close to her chest, at least until after her plans had been executed. Her pulse raced. This was it. As long as Charlotte managed to get Tim to be at Mary’s at five on the dot, tomorrow morning she could finally discard George and be herself again, safe in the knowledge that the police would no longer be searching for her.
*
Jacob Flowers clutched a bunch of slightly wilted flowers as he hurried through the hospital to collect his wife. His heels clicked on the polished floor, the sound echoing in the narrow corridor. He’d insisted that Elsie be discharged today even though it was quite unusual on a Sunday. But he’d reasoned with the nurse that the beds were needed for injured soldiers and his wife was better convalescing in the comfort of her home. She’d had a word with the doctor who had agreed and now Jacob couldn’t wait to get her out of here. Once he had her home, he knew he could rest easy. As it was, he’d hardly slept the past two nights. Instead, he’d been lying in his bed, tormented with images of his darling wife cavorting with the young doctors. No, it wouldn’t do to have her in hospital a second longer than was required, he thought, picking up his pace to rush to her ward.
When he pushed the door open and marched towards her bed, a rather flustered looking nurse stepped in front of him.
‘Oh, Mr Flowers. Thank goodness you’re here,’ she said, her face ashen.
‘Is something wrong with my wife?’
‘No, well, not in that sense. I’ve been calling you but obviously you didn’t answer because you’re here.’
Jacob glared at the woman. ‘What is the problem?’ he asked impatiently.
‘It’s your wife, sir, Mrs Flowers.’
‘What about her?’
‘She’s, erm, gone.’
‘What do you mean, gone?’ he demanded to know. She couldn’t be dead, surely? She’d only had a broken arm and a few bruises.
‘I mean, erm, she’s gone. Left the hospital.’
‘Where? When?’
‘We don’t know. She must have slipped off in the night. We were hoping that she had returned home.’
‘No, she hasn’t. What sort of incompetence is this? I want to see your senior… NOW!’
The nurse scurried away, mumbling something about how sorry she was.
Jacob stamped his foot, furious that they had allowed this to happen. He threw the flowers angrily into a wastepaper bin and saw the nurse approaching with the ward sister.
‘This situation is unacceptable,’ he ground out, jabbing a thin, gnarly finger at the sister. ‘I left my wife in your hands and now I’m being informed that she has gone. Gone! No one seems to know where. How can you allow your patients to simply walk out in the middle of the night?’
‘I can assure you, sir, that we were as surprised as you. But this is a hospital, not a prison. Our patients are free to leave if they wish to do so.’
‘Incompetence! Utter incompetence! Where is she? I demand to know where my wife is.’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but your wife is only our responsibility while she is here under our care. Mrs Flowers left a note on her pillow saying she had discharged herself. She did not state to where. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have patients to attend to. Come along nurse.’
They walked off, leaving Jacob fuming. He stamped from the hospital, his mind in turmoil. Where could Elsie be? Had she tried to come home and been kidnapped or had an accident? No, that was unlikely. The truth was plain to see. She’d discharged herself to run away from him. But Elsie was penniless without him. She wouldn’t get far without money. Unless, of course, someone was helping her. But who? She had no friends; Jacob had made sure of that. Maybe someone from the church? He doubted it because Elsie would know it would be the first place he’d look. But someone had to be hiding his wife. Who? Who could she have turned to? And then he was struck by a thought that stabbed at his heart… Johnny Dymond.
He’d seen the covert glance his wife had given the man. And she’d lingered too long at the street door when she’d shown him out. It had to be Dymond, he was sure of it. And he was sure that Dymond had fancied Elsie too. Not that he could blame the man, Elsie was a beautiful creature. But she was his beauty. His creation. She belonged to him, not some upstart in flash clothes. He’d make Dymond pay for this! And Dymond’s boss, Georgina Garrett. He’d make them both pay! And once he got his hands on him, he’d make his treacherous wife watch as he skinned Johnny Dymond alive.
15
‘You will look after my baby, won’t you miss?’ Babs croaked from the sofa in Georgina’s old house.
‘Yes, Babs, I promise you. Steven will have the best life.’
‘I wish I could have spent his first Christmas wiv him.’
Georgina crouched beside Babs and took her limp and scrawny hand in her own. ‘I know you do, but he won’t remember it. He’ll have a lifetime of wonderful Christmases and I’ll make sure he knows all about you and how much you loved him.’
‘Thank you, Miss Garrett. I can die in peace knowing my Steven will be cared for,’ Babs said softly then cried out in pain. ‘Oh, miss, it hurts me so much.’
‘I know, love. Here, take these,’ Georgina said and slipped four tablets into her hand.
Babs looked as though she was using all her strength just to put the pills on her tongue. Georgina put a glass of water to her mouth and told her to sip slowly.
‘I’m scared, miss, really scared.’
‘There’s nothing to fear, Babs. The pills will make you fall asleep. You won’t feel a thing.’
‘You’ll stay wiv me ’til I fall asleep, won’t you?’
‘Of course I will. Shush now, close your eyes.’
A tear slipped from Babs’s eye. ‘Tell him every day that I love him.’
‘I will. Try and relax now. You’ll be with your mum soon and if you see my Lash up there, let him know I miss him.’
‘Oh, miss, me head feels funny,’ Babs said, her words beginning to slur.
Georgina softly stroked the woman’s fair hair from her brow, her heart breaking at the sight of what was left of poor Babs. The cancer had ravished her once curvaceous body and left her nothing more than a skeleton. She kissed her clammy cheek and gently squeezed her hand.
‘I’m here, Babs. I’m here with you,’ she said reassuringly.
Babs quietly groaned as the pills took effect and she began to fall asleep.
‘That’s it, Babs. You can go now. Steven will be safe.’
She sat with her for a few moments longer until she was sure that Babs was in a deep sleep. When Johnny had helped her bring Babs to the house, he’d assured her that two pills would be sufficient to make her sleep heavily. But Georgina had wanted to be doubly sure and didn’t want Babs to suffer or feel any pain.
It was sad. So tragic. Such a young life about to be taken. And leaving a baby behind too. And though Georgina felt a stab of guilt, she knew this was the best for both of them. After all, Babs would have been lucky to have survived until Christmas. And at least by Babs offering herself as a sacrifice, she’d ensured her child would be taken care of and spared an upbringing in a brutal orphanage.
She turned away from Babs and glanced around at the familiar front room. The boarded windows shut out any light but even in the darkness, it felt like home. She pictured her gran, Dulcie, sitting in the chair. Her dad, Jack, whirling her round the room in high spirits. Her children, Alfie, with his stuffed horse, and Selina sleeping in a cot by the hearth. Lash, looking at her lustfully and taking her up to bed. So many memories she’d hold dear forever, close to her heart. This would be the last time she’d ever see this room again.
Georgina sighed heavily and gathered her thoughts. ‘Back to work,’ she said and carefully scooped Babs into her arms.
The woman was as light as a feather and Georgina easily carried her up the stairs and laid her on the double bed.
She checked the time. Her heart pounded. Ten minutes. ‘You’d better be on time, Charlotte,’ she whispered as she went back downstairs. She reached into her pocket for a box of matches. ‘Here we go,’ she said, her hands shaking as she struck the match and held it to the bottom corner of the curtains in the front room. The material scorched but didn’t burn and the flame from the match stung her fingertip. She struck another and held the flame in the same place. This time, the material sizzled into life as the fire ate its way upwards and across the curtain.
As the fire grew, smoke twitched her nostrils and she dashed from the front room and into the hallway. Here, she placed a newspaper on the floor under the heavy curtain that hung over the street door. She’d never understood why her gran had hung it there. Dulcie had said it was to keep out the draughts. But the curtain had never been drawn, except to clean it.
Within minutes, that curtain too was burning and the house soon began to fill with foul-smelling smoke. Covering her mouth with a damp cloth, Georgina was surprised at how quickly the flames had taken hold and as she ran back up the stairs, she saw the fire roaring across the front room ceiling.
Desperate for fresh air now and hoping that Charlotte and Tim were nearby, she opened the sash window in the bedroom and kicked down one of the boards. She stuck her head out the small gap and sucked in great lungfuls of clean air.
Stretching her neck out further, she was pleased to see Charlotte and Tim rounding the corner and approaching the house.
Black smoke billowed up the stairs and Georgina could feel the heat rising. She was no stranger to fire. Billy Wilcox had once tried to burn her to death. She’d escaped but poor Hilda had lost her life.
She looked round at Babs sleeping on the bed. The woman didn’t stir. Thankfully, the pills had worked. The fire was raging now. She could hear it roaring, almost growling like a rabid beast. Turning back to the window, she took a deep breath and screamed.
‘Help me… Fire…’ she shouted.
Charlotte and Tim ran towards the house and she saw Tim was removing his coat. Please don’t try to be a hero and rescue me, she thought, hoping that the fire downstairs would beat him back.
‘GEORGINA!’ Charlotte yelled, looking frantic.
‘I’m trapped,’ she called back.
Tim was now running at the front door. The heat must have been intense. He pulled back and then tried again.
Georgina glanced over her shoulder and out the bedroom door. Through the thick, black smoke, she could see the fire was coming up the stairs, licking the wooden bannisters.
She heard Charlotte call her name again over the howl of the fire.
‘GEORGINA… JUMP… KICK THE BOARDS OFF AND JUMP OUT THE WINDOW.’
She took a final long gasp of air and ran through the bedroom door. The smoke was blinding and stung her eyes. The searing heat of the fire made her skin feel hot. Although she couldn’t see what she was doing, she knew exactly where she’d placed the chair under the loft hatch and clambered up into the attic, quickly closing the cover behind her.
Wiping sooty sweat from her face, she inched her way over to where Mary’s husband had skilfully made an escape route for her. This wasn’t what the opening to Mary’s house had been intended to be used for. But none the less, Mary had agreed that Georgina’s plan to set the house alight had been a good one, even if it did risk damage to her own. But of course, Georgina had promised that Mary would be generously compensated.
She slid the makeshift brick-painted board to one side, kicked through the bricks and crawled through the small space into Mary’s loft. As she reached through the opening to move the board back into place, she saw smoke creeping in through the loft hatch. She’d made it, and just in the nick of time.
Making her way across Mary’s loft, Georgina paused for a moment and smiled to herself. She’d emerge from Mary’s house as near enough a free woman. PC Timothy Batten had witnessed her last breaths at the bedroom window. The police would assume the charred and burned body of a woman on the bed was her own. The search for her would be over. She smiled with relief, though felt sad for Babs. But Babs had begged her to take care of Steven and when Georgina had explained her terms, Babs could see the sense and through her tears had readily agreed.
Georgina looked through Mary’s hatch. The house was quiet but she could hear a racket from the street. Mary would be out there, with Steven in her arms. She’d be crying, saying poor Georgina and the neighbours would be shaking their heads. Mary’s husband, the fire warden, would be holding everyone back. Charlotte would be beside herself and be furious with her when she’d later discover that Georgina was still alive. A wicked grin touched her lips. Gawd, she was going to get a mouthful from the girl! But she couldn’t have divulged her plan to Charlotte. She needed Charlotte to be genuinely terrified. The girl had to be believable in front of Tim. There was no room for error.
Georgina crept down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she quickly changed into fresh work clothes that Mary had prepared. Her husband’s trousers were a little short on Georgina but the shirt and jacket fitted a treat. She washed her blackened face and hands and slipped out the back door. As she hurried through Mary’s yard, she looked back over her shoulder to see orange flames spewing from Alfie’s bedroom window. Fire engine bells rang out along the street but it was too late to save the house or the life of Georgina Garrett. The world would think her dead. Some would grieve, others would cheer. But as Babs died in the flames, George died along with her and Georgina walked into the alley behind the houses and to her freedom.
16
‘I say, you look quite enchanting,’ Lord Hamilton said as his eyes roamed over Georgina’s smart red skirt suit. Her fitted jacket was trimmed with black piping and shiny black buttons down the front. It nipped in neatly at the waist, emphasising her shapely figure. She’d finished off the outfit with a pair of black heels and a red wide-brimmed hat.
‘I had Dina choose it for me. She’s got a good eye for clothes.’
‘I’ll say! Ravishing, absolutely ravishing!’
Georgina could feel her cheeks burning to match the colour of her jacket. She’d never been very good at accepting compliments.
‘I don’t know why you’re being nice to her after what she put me through,’ Charlotte huffed as she threw herself onto the sofa with her arms folded tightly across her chest.
Georgina looked at Charlotte’s sulking face and tried not to chuckle. ‘Not this again,’ she groaned.
‘Can you believe she let me think she was burning to death in that house?’ Charlotte asked Lord Hamilton.
He too, seemed amused. ‘Actually, yes, I can. The more I come to know about Georgina, the more I’m in awe of her.’
Again, Georgina could feel herself blushing.
‘So, tell me, why have I been summoned? I do hope it’s something terribly naughty,’ Lord Hamilton asked.
‘If you don’t mind waiting for the others to arrive, then I’ll explain everything. Charlotte will make you a cup of tea.’
‘Others?’ he questioned.
‘All will become clear,’ Georgina answered as Charlotte stamped to the kitchen.
Lord Hamilton smiled in Charlotte’s wake. ‘You do know that she’s only behaving like this because she was terribly upset at thinking she’d lost you? The girl adores you.’
‘Yes, I know. She’ll get over it. Charlotte’s always been a moody girl, especially when she doesn’t get her own way. Anyway, she’s putting on an act of grief for Tim’s sake.’
‘I hear that they are getting on swimmingly.’
Charlotte marched back in. ‘Yeah, that’s right, we are. But he ain’t gonna be very happy when he finds out that she’s still alive and I’ve been lying to him.’
‘If he loves you, he’ll understand and he’ll forgive you. Now, go and answer the door and stop banging around with a face l
ike a smacked arse.’
Lord Hamilton laughed at Georgina’s term of phrase. ‘Smacked arse,’ he repeated through chortles.
Charlotte showed in Benjamin Harel, soon followed by Johnny Dymond and then Ned and the Barker twins. Dina joined them too. Finally, Brian Harris arrived.
Georgina stood in front of the window and proudly surveyed the faces crammed into the room. These were her loyal and trusted people. Men and women who would lay down their lives for her. A fraction of the workforce she’d once commanded, but she had every intention of building her business again.
‘Thank you for coming, and—’
Ned interrupted. ‘Georgina Garrett is back, thank gawd,’ he declared. ‘I wasn’t keen on seeing you dressed like a bloke, but now you look like the boss again, miss.’
‘Well, this is why I’ve called you here today. A lot has changed while I’ve been away. Most of you are making a living and getting by without me. But, as you quite rightly said, Ned, I’m back. Things will never be as they were but if you’re willing, I’d like to have you back on my payroll.’
‘Count me in,’ Ned chirped. ‘When we was working for you, we never had it so good.’
‘Yeah, us an’ all,’ Nobby said, speaking for his brother too.
‘You don’t need to ask me,’ Johnny added.
‘Or me, I suppose,’ from Charlotte.
Georgina looked across to Lord Hamilton.
‘Oh, yes, most definitely,’ he enthused.
‘Pew,’ Dina spat. ‘I vill work for you but I never sleep wis man.’
‘That’s fine, Dina, you don’t have to,’ Georgina assured her. ‘Right, starting with the newly refurbished café on Lavender Hill, my office will be in the back. No one will think twice about people coming and going through a café. Charlotte, you will manage the café for now.’
‘Me! Oh, come off it. Can’t I do something else?’
