MB02 - Last Tram To Lime Street

by Joan Jonker

  ‘Ah, bless her little cotton socks.’ Nellie bent towards the child, who had curls like Shirley Temple, but unlike the child film star her hair was a rich auburn. ‘Yer mam will come for yer, you’ll see. She wouldn’t want to lose a pretty little girl like you.’

  ‘I’d take her home meself,’ the woman said, ‘but I’m on me own in the shop and I can’t leave it.’

  ‘Does she live far?’ Molly asked.

  ‘No, only the next street. Third door down on the left, number six.’

  ‘We’ll walk her home,’ Molly offered. ‘That’s if yer’ll trust us with her.’

  The woman’s face brightened. ‘Of course I will. It’s very kind of you … and a load off my mind. I’d be grateful if you would explain to Mrs Birchall what happened, and that I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Susan myself.’

  Molly nodded as she held her hand out. ‘Come on, sunshine, yer mam will be worried stiff about yer.’

  ‘She won’t have missed her yet. Robert, her brother, won’t go home until all the sweets are eaten, you can be sure of that. He’s a proper little imp if ever there was one.’

  ‘He sounds it.’ Nellie brought a scruffy purse from her pocket. ‘Give Little Dolly Daydreams a pennyworth of sweets … mix them for ’er.’

  Happy with the bag of sweets in her hand and a smiling lady each side of her, Susan went willingly. ‘I dunno, there’s never a dull moment when I’m out with you,’ Molly muttered as they turned into the side street. ‘This morning I ’ad all me day planned … the bedrooms were going to get a thorough clean-out.’ Shaking her head, she glared at Nellie. ‘I must want me bumps feeling, letting yer talk me into anything. I could have had me bedrooms done by now, all nice and clean. But no, I listen to Helen Theresa McDonough, an’ what happens? I find meself walking down a strange street with a child I’ve never seen in me life before!’

  ‘Oh, stop yer flamin’ moaning! The child did us a good turn, didn’t she? If it hadn’t been for her, we might ’ave been run over by the queer feller’s handcart.’

  ‘Here’s number six.’ Molly gazed at the neatly kept terraced house. The windows were gleaming and the net curtains as white as snow. Susan’s mother was obviously very house-proud. ‘Shall I knock?’

  Nellie put a hand to her mouth to hide the smile. ‘Well, yer could try booting the door in.’

  Molly tutted as she reached for the shining brass knocker. ‘You want yer head seein’ to, you do.’

  The door was opened by an attractive young woman who looked to be in her late twenties. Her auburn hair was naturally curly like her daughter’s, and her appearance was as neat and tidy as the outside of the house. She looked at the two women with surprise, and as Molly was explaining their presence, she swept the tiny tot into her arms and held her tight. ‘Thank you, I’m very grateful. Just wait until that little tinker comes in, I’ll tan ’is backside so hard he won’t be able to sit down for a week.’ Her eyes were curious as she gazed from one to the other. ‘You’re not from around here, are you?’

  It was Nellie who answered, an idea forming in her mind. ‘No, we were on the tram into town when we noticed a scrapyard, the one around the corner, and we decided to have a look-see. Me an’ me mate here, we love rummaging through old junk.’

  ‘I’d keep away from that place if I were you. They’re nothing but bloomin’ robbers.’ Millicent Birchall decided she liked the look of the pair and asked, ‘Would you like to come in for a cuppa? It’s the least I can offer after yer’ve been so good.’

  ‘D’yer know, I could murder a cuppa.’ Nellie avoided Molly’s eyes. What she didn’t see she needn’t worry about. ‘That’s if it’s no trouble?’

  ‘Not at all … I’ll be glad of a bit of company.’ Millicent led the way down the narrow hall. ‘Leave the front door ajar, please, in case Robert comes in.’

  ‘Yer’ve got yer house nice,’ Molly said, scanning the spotlessly clean well-furnished living room. She gave Nellie a dig and pointed to the modern tiled fire surround. ‘Ay, doesn’t that make a difference?’

  ‘We had the old black grate taken out last year.’ Millicent was very house-proud and the compliment brought a smile of pleasure to her pretty face as she lowered Susan to the floor. ‘It used to give me the willies … great big iron monster. It took up half the room an’ was murder to keep clean. That one’s a doddle … only needs a wipe over with a wet cloth.’

  ‘Yeah, it doesn’t half make a difference.’ Molly nodded in agreement. ‘If we hadn’t just decorated I’d be havin’ a word with my Jack.’

  ‘Won’t yer sit down, er …’ Millicent grinned. ‘I don’t even know yer names.’

  ‘I’m Nellie, an’ this is me mate, Molly.’ Nellie was eyeing the couch with apprehension. If she sat on that she’d never get up. ‘D’yer mind if I sit on one of the wooden chairs? As yer can see, I’m a big girl an’ yer’d need a block an’ tackle to get me off the couch.’

  ‘Be my guest.’ Millicent made her way to the kitchen, saying over her shoulder, ‘Make yerselves at home while I put the kettle on.’

  While the tap water was running, Nellie said softly, ‘Nice ’ouse, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is,’ Molly hissed, ‘but what the ’ell are we doing in it?’

  ‘Oh, stop yer moanin’, will yer? Sit back, relax an’ enjoy yerself.’

  Susan’s eyes were moving from one to the other as she sucked on a bull’s-eye. ‘Where’s me bruvver?’

  ‘He’ll be home any minute, sunshine.’ Molly stroked her thick, glossy hair. ‘You’ll see.’

  ‘He took my sweeties.’

  ‘Yes, that was very naughty of him. But Auntie Nellie bought you some sweeties, didn’t she? An’ I bet you’ve got more than him.’

  Millicent came through carrying a wooden tray covered with a pretty embroidered cloth and set with dainty china cups and saucers. ‘He’s probably skulking in the entry, frightened to come in.’ She poured milk into the cups before lifting the teapot. ‘He’s a handful, is Robert. A real boy, always into mischief.’

  ‘You don’t need to tell us, we’ve been through it.’ Molly took the proffered cup and saucer gingerly. Tea always tasted nicer out of a china cup, but when it belonged to somebody else the fear of breaking it took the pleasure away. She’d have been much happier with an old chipped cup. ‘We’ve both got boys, haven’t we, Nellie?’

  ‘Yeah … and right little horrors they were.’ Nellie was perched on a small dining chair, her tongue peeping out of the side of her mouth as she tried to get her plump finger through the handle of the delicate cup. In the end she gave up. ‘Yer’ll ’ave to forgive me manners, Millicent, but I’ll ’ave to hold the cup in me hands.’ After waiting for a nod of understanding, she said casually, ‘Yer were tellin’ us about the scrapyard. Waste of time us goin’, is it?’

  ‘I wouldn’t go near it.’ Millicent took a hankie from the sleeve of her navy-blue cardi and wiped Susan’s red-stained, sticky mouth. ‘A man an’ his son have it, an’ they’re horrible. Mind you, the way the father carries on, he thinks he’s God’s gift to women. There’s a broken-down old shed at the back of the yard and he’s always got some woman in there, chattin’ them up. All I can say is, their taste must be in their backsides because he’s a slimy little toad … yellow teeth, greasy hair, smelly … ugh, he’s horrible.’

  ‘Yer don’t say!’ Nellie glanced at Molly and her eyes spoke volumes. ‘He sounds a right little twerp.’

  ‘It’s not only that … I mean, after all, no one can help what they look like.’ Millicent sat back and crossed her shapely legs. ‘But they’ve got a terrible name around here for thieving. I think half the stuff they sell is knock-off. Loads of things ’ave gone missing from houses and yards, and although we know it’s down to them, we can’t prove anythin’, ’cos the things are never in the scrapyard. My husband thinks they steal to order an’ the goods are whipped away quick in the handcart.’

  ‘This is all very interestin’, isn’t it Molly?’ Nellie g
ave a sigh of relief as she carefully placed her cup and saucer on the tray. They were very nice, but too delicate for her clumsy hands. ‘Sounds like someone we know, eh, girl?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Molly chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds, then nodded. ‘Go on, tell her.’

  That was all the encouragement Nellie needed. Without pausing for breath she told the startled Millicent the real reason for their visit to Westminster Road. ‘We didn’t know what good it would do, but we ’ad to do something. Yer can’t just sit back and let sods like that get away with it. I mean, it’s not as though he’s Robin Hood … stealin’ from the rich to give to the poor.’

  ‘I can’t believe it!’ There was amazement on Millicent’s face. ‘Fancy you comin’ all this way and ending up in my house! What a coincidence!’

  ‘If you knew my friend,’ Molly said drily, ‘yer’d know nothing is a coincidence with her. There’s a method in everythin’ she does. Oh, I’m not sayin’ she knew we’d end up in your house, but sure as eggs, and by hook or by crook, she’d ’ave found someone who knew the Bradleys.’

  Millicent let out a high-pitched laugh. ‘Yer know, you two are hilarious!’ She studied Nellie’s huge body before letting out another shriek of laughter. ‘It’s not as though yer’d go unnoticed!’

  ‘Ay, we’ll ’ave less of that.’ Nellie pushed out her bosom. ‘Don’t yer know we’re in disguise? I’m Charlie Chan an’ this,’ she jerked her thumb at Molly, ‘is me sidekick.’

  Millicent doubled up. ‘Oh, you are funny. I’m really glad our Robert was naughty … so glad, I’ll probably give him a hug when he comes in, instead of a clout. Just wait until I tell me husband, he’ll have hysterics. He can’t stand the Bradleys … had many a set-to with them … an’ he’ll be made up to know you’re on the warpath.’

  Molly knew what was coming when the chair Nellie was sitting on started to creak, but Millicent wasn’t prepared for the loud guffaws that filled the room. And although she didn’t know the cause of the big woman’s mirth, it was so infectious it wasn’t long before her high-pitched laugh joined the guffaws.

  Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, and gasping for breath, Nellie wheezed, ‘Tell your feller he can hire us if he wants. We don’t come cheap, mind, but we’re good detectives. If he gets us, he’s gettin’ the best. For tuppence an hour, we’ll trail the villains until we catch them red-handed. An’ to set his mind at rest, yer can tell him we’re so good the Bradleys won’t even know they’re being followed.’

  ‘Oh, dear God, please help me.’ Molly’s sides were aching with laughter and she dug her curled fists into each side of her waist to numb the pain. ‘Nellie, yer’d stick out like a sore thumb! Yer might as well say nobody would notice a ruddy big oak tree standing between the tram lines in Scotland Road.’

  Millicent felt in her sleeve for the hankie to wipe away the tears running down her cheeks. But when she opened it up and saw the sticky mess she shoved it back in her sleeve and used the backs of her hands. ‘D’yer know, you two are as good as a tonic. It’s ages since I laughed so much.’

  ‘It’s laughter makes the world go around, girl. Better than a bottle of milk stout any day.’

  ‘It’s a good job we’ve had a laugh, ’cos otherwise it would ’ave been a wasted journey,’ Molly said, remembering why they were here. ‘We know no more about the Bradleys than we already knew.’

  ‘There is somethin’ you don’t seem to know. An’ I’m not tellin’ tales out of school, either, ’cos everyone round here knows about it.’ Millicent paused long enough to make sure she had their undivided attention. ‘A woman down the street had a baby to Mr Bradley about eighteen months ago.’

  ‘Go ’way!’ Nellie leaned forward so quickly she nearly overbalanced. Just in time she managed to grab the end of the table to stop herself falling head first into the fire. ‘Is that gospel?’

  Millicent nodded. ‘Yeah, she makes no bones about it. The hard-faced so-and-so makes my blood boil. There’s no shame in her, she walks around as though she owns the place.’

  ‘Hasn’t she got a husband?’ Molly asked.

  ‘She’s got one, but where he is is a mystery. He did a disappearing act about three years ago an’ I don’t blame him. She was carryin’ on with every Tom, Dick and Harry behind his back … man-mad she is, chases anything in a pair of trousers.’

  ‘An’ does she admit it’s Bradley’s baby?’

  ‘Admit it … she told everyone! Not that anyone needed telling, mind you, because he slips down to her house every afternoon for a few hours. And beside that, the baby’s the spittin’ image of him.’

  ‘Ooh, er!’ Nellie’s eyes were bright with excitement. ‘I wonder if ’is wife knows?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know. Nobody has ever seen his wife.’

  ‘Ay, Molly.’ Nellie’s brain was racing ahead. ‘That would put the cat amongst the pigeons, wouldn’t it?’

  Molly grinned. ‘Yer right there, sunshine.’ Her grin widened when she looked at Millicent. ‘If yer knew his wife yer’d understand what we’re on about. She’s a real firebrand, is Mrs Bradley. Common as muck an’ as tough as old rope. I’ve got a feelin’ she doesn’t know about her husband’s extramarital affair, an’ if she were to find out there’d be skin an’ hair flying.’

  ‘Now, Molly, yer surely not wicked enough to snitch on him, are yer?’ Nellie was in her element. It hadn’t been a wasted journey after all. ‘That would be a lousy, underhanded trick, that would.’

  ‘I’m not goin’ to snitch! But I know someone who would, an’ she’s not a million miles from me now.’ Molly winked at Millicent. ‘Meet the biggest stirrer-up in Liverpool … Helen Theresa McDonough.’

  Millicent gazed at Nellie, her eyes wide. ‘Are yer goin’ to tell her?’

  ‘Ooh, I’ll have to put me thinkin’ cap on for this.’ Nellie tapped the side of her head. ‘Can’t rush into an operation of this size without a lot of planning. Besides, my feller’s got no sense of humour and if he found out I was up to somethin’ he’d have me guts for garters.’

  Susan, the now-empty sweet bag in her hand, pulled on her mother’s skirt for attention. ‘I want to wee-wee, Mummy.’

  ‘All right, darling, I’ll take you down the yard.’ Millicent lifted a finger. ‘Not a word till I get back.’

  ‘She’s a nice woman.’ Molly watched Millicent pass the window carrying her daughter. ‘I’ve enjoyed meself the last hour.’

  ‘An’ we’ve learned somethin’ to our advantage.’ Nellie’s chins did a quickstep. ‘I don’t know what we can do about it, but it’s a card up our sleeve.’

  ‘We’ll do nothin’ till we see Corker,’ Molly warned. ‘I’m not gettin’ meself mixed up with people like that.’

  ‘What can Corker do? He’s been away a month, an’ according to Ellen he doesn’t know when he’ll be home.’

  ‘I don’t care, Nellie, I’m not gettin’ involved. An’ don’t try an’ talk me into anything, ’cos this time I mean it.’

  They heard the latch on the back door click and Millicent’s voice carried through to them. ‘I’ll pull yer knickers up properly, darling, just give me time. We can’t leave our visitors sittin’ on their own, ’cos it’s bad manners.’

  ‘Tell ’er the truth,’ Nellie bawled, ‘that yer frightened of missing anythin’.’

  Millicent was grinning when she led her daughter into the room. ‘She’s never spent a penny so fast in all her life.’

  ‘Yer could have let her take her time, there’s been no great plot hatched while yer were away.’

  Millicent lifted her daughter on to the couch. ‘Yer mean you haven’t come up with anything exciting?’

  Nellie sat hunched forward, her elbows resting on her knees, her thumbs circling each other. ‘I’m game, but me mate isn’t. She’s frightened of gettin’ into trouble.’

  ‘What she means is, I don’t relish ending up in hospital or jail.’ Molly nodded her head vigorously. ‘An’ she’s right, I don’t!’
>
  Nellie suddenly sat up straight, the expression on her face resembling someone who had just found the right answer to a crossword clue. ‘I’ve got it! The perfect plan! How about it if we send one of those enon … amon … oh, what’s the word I’m lookin’ for? Yer know, when someone sends a letter an’ doesn’t put their name on it?’

  Millicent raised her brows. ‘Yer mean anonymous?’

  ‘That’s it, girl, that’s the word!’ Nellie clapped her hands in glee. ‘What it is to be educated, eh?’

  ‘Hey, that’s a great idea!’ Millicent was suitably impressed. ‘You’d get away with it, too! No one would dream it was you, with not livin’ around here … I mean, it’s just a sheer fluke you called at my house, isn’t it? An’ if you posted the letter in a postbox in this area, they’d think someone around here had sent it.’

  ‘Just a minute, hang on!’ Molly lifted her hand. ‘I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but I’ve got to say I don’t think you two are thinkin’ straight.’ She appealed to Nellie, ‘What good would it do us if Bradley’s wife did find out about the baby? Seein’ as one of her children is supposed to be illegitimate, she can hardly play the wronged wife, now can she? She’d probably raise ructions, batter him senseless, but at the end of the day they’d still be livin’ in our street, still thieving from our neighbours.’

  Looking deflated, Nellie pulled a face at Millicent. ‘Yer know, for a while there, girl, I was really enjoying meself. Thought I was a proper clever-clogs … the bee’s knees. But Molly’s right, it wouldn’t do us no good.’

  ‘I’m not saying forget the idea,’ Molly told her. ‘I just think we should wait an’ ask Corker.’

  ‘Corker? Who’s Corker?’

  ‘You tell her,’ Molly said, thinking it would cheer her friend up. She’d enjoy it too, ’cos no one could tell a tale better than Nellie. So she sat back to listen and smile as her friend’s hands moved as quickly as her mouth. Helen Theresa McDonough, she thought, you don’t half exaggerate! Corker was a big man, no doubt about that. But according to Nellie, he was about nine feet tall and had to bend double to get through doors. She had his beard down to his tummy, his hands the size of ham shanks, and he could fight half a dozen men at the same time.