A Promise Between Friends

by Carol Rivers

  ‘Not yet, boys,’ he muttered, moving close to the open door. He tucked the tip of the weapon inside and pulled gently. No sound. Not a pin dropping. Just the pale light.

  He entered and took a sharp breath. Whoever had been here had been no friend of Brandon’s. And they had left their calling card. The crates that had lined the warehouse had been shattered and piled up, glued together with furs. From the centre came a curl of smoke telling Wally the bonfire had recently been lit. He searched the deserted building, watching for movement, then signalled his dogs. They leaped away, eager to find a quarry, sniffing every inch with the tip of their noses.

  Wally hurried to the smouldering heap and knew that in minutes where he was standing would be ashes. Whoever had done this had been planning on a speedy escape. He’d missed them by inches.

  A dart of alarm went through him as the snarling and growling of the dogs pierced the silent night. He guessed they’d found satisfaction in the office. Hurrying to join them, Wally tempered his curiosity. It could be a trap, but if it was, his dogs weren’t sensing it.

  Pushing at the office door, where he had first met Brandon who had hired him with a convincing promise of payment, he knew at once this was no trick. The body on the floor, now being enjoyed by his dogs as they licked and sniffed, was clearly stone-cold dead. It lay face down, blood congealing on the floor in a pool. He knelt beside it and pushed. There was a hole through the forehead, and another dividing what was once the bald hairline. Someone was a fair shot. And this unlucky bugger had come a cropper.

  Wally stood up, watching his dogs paw and froth at the damaged remains. He glanced swiftly around the small room, then opened the drawers in the desk. Nothing of value, just papers and a woman’s scarf. His eyes travelled to the safe close by. The heavy door swung open. Was it Brandon who emptied it? Or thieves? Either way, Wally knew he wasn’t waiting to find out.

  Calling his dogs, he pulled a rag from his pocket and made his way through the smoke-filled air. He gave a wide berth to the simmering fire, but not before he had scooped up a pelt. Out in the night, he examined it. So this was Brandon’s treasure! More fool those who had ever bothered to burn it!

  An explosion sent Wally stumbling. He cast the fur aside, eager now to be away before the blaze was noticed. But then he realized his dogs were gone. With a punch of alarm to his stomach he listened again. He could hear them snarling. Wally levelled his steel bar, followed the sounds to the rear of the warehouse and stopped when he saw the man. Bundled up against the warming wood, he was shielding his face with his arm. The dogs were all about him, investigating, snapping and biting.

  Wally yelled at them and they stopped. He moved closer slowly, step by step. Eventually he peered into the bloody and battered face. The eyes stared up at him. But he could see no expression. Was it Brandon? No. Was it one of them other clowns? Somehow, he didn’t think so. The story didn’t add up. They wouldn’t have left one of their own here.

  ‘Who are you, pal?’ he shouted.

  An arm was raised, but then the body toppled forward.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It was Saturday morning and Ruby was late up. She rubbed her eyes and looked out of the window. At last the rain had stopped and a bright new day had dawned. The clock on the small table beside her bed said almost nine. She’d overslept. Her mum must have slept late too and her dad gone to work. Pulling on her dressing gown, she went quietly into the kitchen. To her surprise, her dad’s battered tin sandwich box and thermos was on the table. Had he forgotten to take them to work?

  The door to the front room was open. His bedclothes were still on the settee. Last night he’d been very tired and hadn’t even bothered to go to the club. Had he too slept late? Ruby went to her mother’s room. Her dad, wearing his dressing gown, sat beside the bed where her mum was still asleep. Her chin was resting on the bedcover, as if her dad had pulled up the cover.

  ‘Dad?’ she whispered. ‘Did you oversleep too?’

  He looked up at her and said nothing.

  ‘Why ain’t you at work?’

  He took her hand. ‘Ruby, sit down.’

  She pulled up the small stool. ‘I’d better make Mum’s tea.’

  ‘She won’t want none this morning.’

  ‘But she likes her first cuppa.’

  ‘Yes, but not today.’

  Ruby followed his gaze. It was then she saw the grey-blue tinge of her mother’s skin and the peaceful expression which she had at first taken to be sleep.

  ‘I’m sorry, love.’

  Ruby gave a choked gasp. ‘She ain’t – is she?’

  ‘I came in this morning to kiss her goodbye,’ her dad said in a choked voice. ‘She looked so beautiful, like she was a girl again. I didn’t realize till I bent down and felt her coldness that—’

  Ruby gave a whimper. She jumped to her feet and shook the silent figure under the bedclothes. ‘Mum, it’s time to wake up.’

  ‘It’s no use, gel, she’s gone.’

  ‘She can’t be,’ Ruby said, flopping down on the stool. ‘It was only a cold.’

  ‘Don’t think it was the cold that took her.’

  Ruby stared at the lifeless face. She wouldn’t ever see those eyes open again. She and her mum had only been saying the other day how alike their eyes were.

  Ruby wanted to cry but she couldn’t. I can turn on the waterworks over things that don’t matter, she thought guiltily. Things or people that I can’t have that I think I want. And now, when I have good reason, I can’t.

  ‘Ruby, I loved your mother,’ her dad mumbled. ‘She wasn’t the woman I married, but she still meant the world to me. P’raps if I’d stayed in more, taken more notice, she would still be alive.’

  Ruby stared at her dad. He looked old and grey as if he’d aged overnight. ‘Dad, don’t blame yourself.’

  ‘Who else is there to blame?’

  ‘Me,’ Ruby said huskily. ‘I left home because I couldn’t stand Mum going on about Pete. I just wanted to get away.’

  ‘She couldn’t help herself,’ Dave Payne murmured, staring at his wife. ‘And neither could we help her. But it don’t stop me feeling guilty.’

  ‘I always thought she loved Pete the most.’

  ‘That ain’t true, love. But he was her boy. And when you have kids one day, you’ll know what it feels like to love a son.’

  ‘I know that now,’ Ruby said as she held tightly to her dad’s hand. ‘Mum told me the other day how much you missed us when we was sent to Devon.’

  ‘We was heartbroken.’

  ‘You never wanted to send us away, but you had to.’

  Her dad blinked back his tears. ‘It was cruel,’ he croaked. ‘Being separated from your kids. The government said we’d be responsible for your deaths if a bomb dropped on the house. So we had to go along with it. Like thousands of others. But at least you were evacuated with Kath and Bernie. Knowing you two were with mates gave us some comfort. We knew you’d look after one another and you did.’ He reached for Ruby and she put her arms around him.

  ‘Don’t cry, Dad. You did all you could for us and for Mum.’

  ‘It don’t feel like it. I drowned all my sorrows up the club like a coward and left the poor cow to grieve. I didn’t want to go under, see? I still wanted a life. And now it’s too late to tell her she was the best wife a man could have. All those hours she spent working that blessed sewing machine! She never did have any customers, you know. It was just a way of keeping herself going.’

  ‘You did the best you could,’ Ruby whispered, kissing her dad’s forehead. ‘Mum didn’t really have the heart to go on after Pete. We both wanted to start afresh, but Mum didn’t. I think she was ready to go with him.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘We was talking yesterday,’ Ruby said with a hitch in her voice as she stared at her mother’s still form. ‘Mum told me she’d seen Pete the other night. He stood by her bed and kissed her.’

  ‘She didn’t know what she was
saying,’ her dad replied, wiping the tears from his cheeks with his hanky. ‘People don’t come back from the dead.’

  Ruby held her father close again as sobs racked his body. She had to be strong for him. What harm was there in believing that Pete had come for her mum? The picture she had in her mind of them together helped a little. After all, who was to say that just because you couldn’t see someone they weren’t really there?

  ‘Bernie! Bernie! Open up. It’s me, Kath.’

  Bernie carefully rose from the chair as he heard the banging on his front door. His fingers tightened over the strapping that the nurse had applied to his painful ribs. He took a shallow breath; every movement was jarring. But at least he could just about see through his left eye now. And the hospital nurse had done a fair job with the stitching on his scalp. But he certainly wasn’t going to win any prizes for his charm and good looks.

  He hauled himself slowly to the front door. Kath was standing there. Unfortunately the split on his lip wasn’t healed. His smile was more of a grimace than a welcome.

  ‘My God!’ Kath exclaimed, her eyes wide in alarm. ‘What’s happened to you?’

  ‘This is me new look,’ he muttered. ‘All the blokes are going for it.’

  ‘Oh Bernie!’ Kath exclaimed and was about to launch herself at him when he put up his hand.

  ‘Better not, Kath. I’m still pretty sore.’

  She stood still, staring at him. ‘Have you had an accident?’

  ‘Come in, make yourself at home.’

  Bernie slowly led the way to the front room. ‘Sorry there’s nothing much in here.’

  ‘You sit down on the armchair. I’ll find myself something.’

  Kath hurried out and was soon back with a grubby wooden chair. She fussed over him, making him comfortable with the cushions. ‘Now, what sort of trouble are you in?’ Kath said, seating herself beside him. ‘I thought you’d left those days behind you.’

  ‘I have, or thought I had,’ Bernie said grimly. ‘How much do you know about Ruby’s boyfriend?’

  ‘Nick? Not much really. Other than he’s done a runner from his flat.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Ruby went there. She’s so blindly in love with him, she’d do anything to keep him.’

  ‘He’s in deep trouble, Kath.’

  ‘I guessed that.’

  Bernie took another slight breath, trying not to flinch as he did so. ‘The bastard never intended to be straight with her. He was using her to put up a front for his business. He was fiddling some big crooks like Garry McBride.’

  ‘Is that who did this to you?’

  ‘Could be. I went over to the warehouse to sort out Brandon. When I get there, this geezer jumps me. He thinks I’m the night watchman so I gave him a bit of aggro, then his mate turns up. Sounded like it was McBride, because someone yelled “Garry”. Together they put the boot in. It was Wally the night watchman that eventually turned up and found me. Took me to the hospital and they stitched me up. He told me he’d gone to sort out Brandon, same as me. But all him and his dogs found was a body.’

  ‘A dead one?’

  ‘Well, it certainly wasn’t sitting there telling gags. He had two holes in his head. And I know for a fact that Brandon kept a shooter in his safe. Whatever went on there that night, the safe was left empty and a fire was lit. We only just got away in time before the whole place went up.’

  ‘My God, Bernie, you shouldn’t have gone there alone.’

  ‘I wanted to get my hands on him.’

  ‘Instead someone got their hands on you. How bad is it?’ Kath leaned forward to open his shirt.

  ‘Just a few cracked ribs and cuts.’

  ‘And a black eye and a gash on the top of your head where your hair used to be,’ Kath added ruefully. ‘Did you or the night watchman inform the police?’

  ‘That’s a daft question. No one but a fool wants to be involved in arson or murder. And there’s another scam he had going. Crates full of fur, all cheap wolf. Wally found them on the fire. So his intention was to fiddle others like he did the Russian.’

  ‘Do you think Garry McBride found Nick?’

  ‘No, I reckon McBride sent in his man, the big bald bloke, and Brandon blew him away. Then made his escape. He’s got more lives, that geezer, than Houdini.’

  Kath sighed. ‘Poor Ruby. She never knew the half. Bernie, you don’t think he’ll come after her, do you?’

  ‘Don’t think so. He’s got McBride after him. Not just the coppers.’

  ‘I’ve something to tell you,’ Kath said after a few minutes. ‘Prepare yourself for a shock.’

  Bernie gripped the arms of the chair. ‘Is it Ruby?’

  ‘She telephoned me this morning to tell me her mum had died.’

  ‘What, Mrs Payne?’ Bernie stared at his sister. ‘When?’

  ‘Yesterday morning. Mr Payne found her. She died in her sleep. Although she did have a cold, it wasn’t enough to kill her.’

  Bernie sat without speaking. Eventually he said, ‘How’s Ruby?’

  ‘Don’t really know. Her money ran out in the telephone box. So I jumped on the bus to come over to you.’

  ‘I’ll drive us over there now.’

  ‘You can hardly move, let alone drive,’ Kath protested. ‘And what will Ruby say when she sees your face? You can’t tell her about the warehouse. Not with her mum dying.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.’ He pushed himself up from the chair. ‘Just get my jacket from the hall stand, will you?’

  Bernie watched his sister hurry out. He’d have to keep all he’d found out to himself. This wasn’t the time to tell Ruby she was mixed up with a number one shyster. And maybe – just maybe – if McBride got to Nick Brandon first, the south London face would save him and the coppers the trouble.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Ruby stared at the empty bed as Maggs tucked over the clean cover, a dark blue candlewick fitting for the occasion. ‘We’ll leave the window open, but draw the curtains together as a mark of respect,’ she said softly to Ruby. ‘Now, is there anything else I can do for you or your dad?’

  Ruby shook her head. ‘No, nothing, thank you.’

  ‘Have you thought about the funeral?’

  ‘The undertaker said yesterday it would probably be the Monday after next. She’s being buried in East London Cemetery. There is a plot next to where Pete is.’ Ruby swallowed.

  Maggs put her arm around Ruby’s shoulders. ‘It will be very fitting, I’m sure.’

  ‘Can you come?’

  ‘Yes, course. Would you like me to make dinner for you and your dad before I go?’

  ‘No thanks. Neither of us feels like eating.’

  ‘You’ve got to keep your spirits up.’ Maggs patted her hand. ‘I’m only down the road if you want me.’ She paused, looking into Ruby’s pale face. ‘Your mum was a lovely lady. I’ll miss her.’ Maggs sniffed and Ruby nodded.

  ‘You was a good friend to her, Maggs. Stuck with her when she got ill.’

  Maggs sighed and taking her handkerchief from her pocket she wiped a tear from her eye. ‘Look after yourself now. And your dad. I’ll call by in the week.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Ruby waited until she was alone. She wanted to think about her mum. She said softly, ‘I know you’re with Pete, Mum. I know you’re safe now. But I miss you.’ She held back the tears. ‘I know you’re there and always will be. But Dad don’t. So look out for him, won’t you?’

  It was a while later when Ruby heard a knock on the door and went to open it. ‘Kath, Bernie, what are you doing here?’ she said as she embraced them.

  ‘I was worried when your money ran out,’ Kath said.

  ‘I wanted to let you know what happened.’

  ‘Sorry to hear about your mum,’ Bernie said as they stepped in.

  When they were all seated, Ruby looked at her two friends and remembered what her dad had said that morning. The four of them had been evacua
ted together, had looked out for each other and eventually come home together. She hadn’t realized before just how much she valued Kath and Bernie. Even if Bernie drove her to distraction and Kath had been so clingy, they were still here for her, and she loved them for it.

  ‘Have they taken your mum away?’ Kath asked, tears brimming in her eyes.

  ‘Yes. The funeral will be on Monday week.’

  ‘Is she going to be buried with Pete?’

  ‘Dad and me didn’t want him disturbed. So we asked for a place close by.’

  ‘Did the doctor say what was wrong with her?’ Bernie asked.

  ‘She did have a cold and she hadn’t been eating. It was as if she just drifted away.’

  ‘Is there anything we can do?’

  Ruby shrugged. ‘Don’t think so. But you could go out and have a word with Dad, Bernie. He’s in the yard, clearing up the mess.’

  ‘What’s he doing that for?’ said Kath.

  ‘To keep busy,’ Ruby replied. ‘He was very upset and tearful, so I told him to go out in the fresh air. It is, after all, a fine day.’

  ‘I’ll see if he wants a smoke,’ Bernie said, getting to his feet.

  ‘What happened to your face?’ Ruby asked.

  ‘Cut meself shaving.’ Bernie was gone before she could ask more.

  ‘Now tell me what happened,’ Kath said, reaching out to touch Ruby’s hand. The small gesture brought tears to Ruby’s eyes. She held them back.

  ‘Mum just went in her sleep.’ The flames of the fire sparkled and crackled, the only noise in the room. ‘There was no time to say goodbye. That’s what hurts the most.’

  ‘There’s never a good time to say goodbye, not when you love someone.’

  ‘Mum told me she’d seen Pete by her bed.’

  ‘Did she have a fever?’

  ‘Don’t think so.’ Ruby suddenly gave a sob. ‘I don’t want to start crying. I might never stop.’

  Kath took her in her arms. ‘There, there. There’s nothing wrong in shedding tears,’ she whispered, sniffing back her own. ‘We’ve shed enough between us, ain’t we?’