Billy was now in bed and Edna was getting ready for her new assignment in the morning. Molly had left the job sheet in the letter box and she had read it when she returned from the beach.
She had laid out her suit and white cotton blouse and the new pair of nylons she had bought in D. M. Browns. She had never been in a jute mill before so this new job promised to be a challenge. Seemingly the wages clerk was off ill so Edna would be in charge of overseeing the pay packets of hundreds of mill workers for next Friday’s shift.
It was still as hot the following morning and she debated about wearing a dress instead of the suit but she wanted to give a professional image on her first morning. The hours were seven thirty till five thirty so Billy was still asleep when she left the house and walked quickly along Victoria Road to the jute mill.
The mill road was as busy as the beach had been yesterday, as hundreds of mill workers converged through the gates. Edna wasn’t sure where she had to report but she found the lodge and asked the man in charge of the timekeeping machine where the office was. He pointed to a long corridor which had windows along one side and said the office was situated half way along.
Edna wasn’t usually so unsure of herself but she felt her stomach churning as she knocked on the door. It was opened by a tall woman with grey hair and a grey dress.
‘Yes, can I help you?’ she said politely.
Edna held out the job sheet, which Molly had typed out. ‘I’m the agency worker who’s covering for your wages clerk. The one who’s ill.’
The grey-haired woman looked surprised. ‘Our clerk?’
‘Yes,’ said Edna. She a little worried by this cool reception. ‘I work for McQueen’s Agency and this firm requested a temporary clerk to make up the wages. It was to be a two or three-week job.’
The woman said, ‘You’d better come in.’ She ushered Edna into a large office. There were quite a few people already working at the desks. ‘Please take a seat while I get Mr Davidson.’
Edna felt self-conscious as she sat down but no one paid her much attention. This didn’t feel right, she thought, and hoped Mary hadn’t taken down the wrong address.
After ten minutes, the woman returned with a small, stout man in tow. He was bald with a round, pink face, and was wearing a pin-striped suit with a waistcoat which had a watch and chain across the front of it. He looked important.
The grey-haired woman was still holding the job sheet. ‘This is Mrs McGill,’ she said, then left and went to sit at one of the desks.
Mr Davidson introduced himself and said, ‘We’re at a loss about this appointment, Mrs McGill. We never contacted your agency about a job and Miss Evans,’ he indicated the grey-haired woman, ‘Well, she’s our wages clerk.’
Edna was speechless. Mary must have made a mistake and now she would have to go and sort out this mess.
She said, ‘I’m very sorry, Mr Davidson. There must have been a mistake at the office. It must be some other jute mill that’s needing some office help.’ She stood up to go. The quicker she was out of this terrible situation the better.
Mr Davidson walked with her to the door, full of apologies. Edna found herself standing outside on the sunlit pavement, totally flummoxed.
She walked to the Wellgate and into the office. Mary was busy typing and looked surprised when she saw Edna.
Edna could hardly contain her annoyance but she didn’t want to accuse Mary of making a mistake until she had heard what the girl had to say.
‘Mary, you did say this job was at the Eagle jute mill today, didn’t you?’
Mary said it was. ‘Have they changed the work times, Edna? They did say to start this morning.’
Edna slumped down on the vacant chair. ‘Well, I turned up for work at seven thirty this morning to find that they have no record of being in touch with this agency, or any other agency for that matter. The wages clerk is a grey-haired and very efficient woman and she doesn’t look the least bit ill.’
Mary remained silent during this speech then she got out the diary and showed it to Edna. It stated quite clearly: ‘Wages clerk for two or three weeks at Eagle jute mill, Dens Road.’
‘Do you think you could have taken down the wrong name, Mary? Maybe it was another mill with a similar name.’
Thankfully, Mary didn’t look offended. ‘No, Edna, I wrote it down right away as the person on the phone was saying it. They said you couldn’t get lost because it was at the end of Victoria Road and was well signposted. I remember the man being quite clear in his instructions.’
Edna tried to recall if she had seen any men in the office but she couldn’t remember.
‘Well that’s one job that doesn’t need done. Have you anything else on the books?’
Mary looked embarrassed. ‘We did have but Jean and Betty are away doing them. I’ll have to phone Molly but she’ll be at her work at Cliff Top House. I won’t be able to get her until she gets home tonight. I’m really sorry.’
Edna felt for the girl. ‘It’s not your fault, Mary. Maybe the original mill office will call back wondering why I haven’t turned up. If that happens, can you let me know?’
Mary said she would and Edna left to go back home. Her mother was surprised to see her. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked.
Edna said there had been a mix up with jobs and Mary was going to try and get hold of Molly tonight. Billy wasn’t in the kitchen. Edna asked, ‘Where’s Billy, is he still in bed?’
Irene said he was downstairs playing with his friend and the Meccano set.
‘Can you not go back to the office this afternoon and see if anything else comes in?’ suggested Irene.
Edna said she would do that. She felt very unsettled about this whole chapter and hoped it wasn’t going to be the start of a lot of job mix-ups because she really needed the regular wage coming. Still Molly would sort it out when she got to hear of it.
Edna tried to get on with some housework but her heart wasn’t in it. Irene was putting on her coat to go to the shops but Edna said she would do the shopping.
‘It’ll take me out of the house,’ she said.
She walked to Willie Low’s grocery shop on Victoria Road and got some bread, cheese, eggs and milk. As she passed the Wellgate steps she decided to go and see Mary, to see if the mistake had been sorted out. Not that she held any hope because it was barely ten o’clock and she knew Mary couldn’t get in contact with Molly till the evening.
When she went into the office, Mary said, ‘Oh, I was coming round to see you at dinner time, Edna. I’ve had the manager of that job this morning at the Eagle jute mill on the phone and he apologises for getting the name wrong. He meant to say the Bowbridge Works, on Main Street. Can you start there tomorrow morning at seven thirty?’
Edna was puzzled. ‘Why did he say the Eagle jute mill?’
‘He explained that. He said he was the manager there up till two months ago when he moved to the Bowbridge Works, and he must have had a slip of the tongue.’
Mary seemed pleased that it had all been sorted out and Edna was relieved as well. Now that she had a definite job tomorrow, she could enjoy the rest of the day off.
She would take Billy to Dudhope Park later and let him play on the swings to give her mum a rest.
Billy was excited at the thought of the outing. The swing park was busy with children playing but Billy managed to get a swing and Edna pushed him.
‘Push me higher, Mum,’ he said. ‘I want to go right over the bar.’
Edna laughed. He didn’t know what that meant and was just copying the other children who were shouting while trying to swing higher and higher into the air.
‘That’s high enough Billy,’ she called but his little legs thrust forward and backwards and this was taking him higher.
Edna became alarmed and frightened he would fall off and she tried to grab the wooden seat to slow it down. She couldn’t quite catch it but a man stepped in beside her and grabbed the swing, almost bringing it to a halt.
Billy
wasn’t pleased. ‘I wanted to keep swinging.’
Edna turned to thank the man and was surprised to see John Knox.
‘Hello again,’ he said. ‘How are you keeping?’
Edna was flustered. ‘John. How nice to see you.’
Billy was swinging idly with his feet still on the ground.
Edna said it was time to go home and Billy ran to her side.
‘It was nice seeing you again, John. I heard Mary did a great job with your book.’ John said, yes she had.
‘Well, I’d better get this wee lad home for his tea.’
John looked at her and said he’d better be getting back home also, then he turned and walked away. Edna gazed after him but he didn’t turn round.
Billy was running towards the merry-go-round. ‘I want to go on that,’ he said.
‘I don’t want you to be sick.’ Edna had vivid memories of days gone by when she had always been sick riding this circular swing.
Her mind was in turmoil. Why hadn’t she been more welcoming to John? Why hadn’t she suggested having a walk along some of the paths with him and Billy?
Well, it was too late for regrets now. She probably wouldn’t see him again. Billy was having great fun sitting beside the large group of children who were going round in circles. Their screams and childish voices floated over to where she was standing.
Suddenly she felt cold and sensed someone was staring at her. She turned around but there were only the other mothers and one or two fathers either pushing swings or sitting on the benches.
She looked to see if John was watching her but she saw his figure marching up the path as he made his way home. She almost shouted out to him then felt stupid.
No one was watching her. She was just feeling jittery after the strange morning she had experienced.
She looked over to the merry-go-round. It had stopped and Billy was nowhere to be seen. She ran over and asked one of the mothers if she had seen him but the woman hadn’t noticed.
‘I’ve got three kids here and I was busy looking after them,’ she said.
Edna rushed around the playground but there was no sign of Billy. She felt sick with apprehension and worry. Billy would never go off without her. She called out his name but he wasn’t answering.
Edna didn’t want to leave the playground but it was clear that he wasn’t here so she hurried up the path that climbed up to the grassy stretch in front of the Royal Infirmary.
The grass was covered with checked blankets and coats as people settled back in the sun and although there were loads of children, there was no sign of Billy.
By now Edna was crying. She couldn’t think where he was and thought of running for John and getting him to help but that meant leaving the park. Some people were giving her strange looks but she didn’t care. They were sitting with their families tucked in beside them, but her son was missing.
She ran back down to the playground where she found Billy sitting on one of the swings
‘Billy where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.’ She grabbed him from the swing and hugged him.
‘The man said he would show me the big gun, Mummy.’
Edna went cold. ‘What man, Billy?’
Billy looked around him. ‘He’s not here now but he said I could go and see the big gun.’
‘You didn’t go with him? You know what Granny and I have said about going off without us, don’t you?’
Billy looked virtuous. ‘No I didn’t. I said my mum wouldn’t like it and he left.’
‘But where did you disappear to, Billy? I couldn’t find you.’
‘I went and hid in the bushes till he went away and when I came out you were running up that path.’
Edna took his hand. ‘I was looking for you.’ She knelt down beside him. ‘Promise me you won’t ever go off with anyone.’
Billy said he wouldn’t and they made their way home.
Back in the house, Edna told her mother what had happened. Irene was shocked. ‘Do you think it was John who talked to him?’
‘No. I was watching John as he went up the path so it couldn’t have been him.’ Edna didn’t say, but she knew who the man was and was very afraid.
‘I promised Billy that we would have ice cream for our tea so I’ll run out to the ice cream shop on Victoria Road and get some.’ She took a small bowl with her for the Italian man behind the counter to put three scoops into. ‘Mind and get some raspberry sauce over the ice cream, Edna,’ said her mum.
Edna still couldn’t get over the feeling that she was being watched and she knew he was back.
The next morning, Edna warned her mum to keep Billy in her sight all day. ‘I don’t want a repeat of yesterday.’
Irene said she would keep her usual eagle eye on the boy. ‘In fact, I’ll get Brian from downstairs to come up here and play so I can keep my eye on him.’
With that promise in mind, Edna hurried to the Bowbridge Works. She caught the tramcar at the stop outside the Victoria Cinema. Her destination was Moncur Crescent and the bottom of Mains Road. It was only a short walk to the main door.
There were two men in the lodge. One man was small while his companion was tall. The tall man looked like a retired policeman and it was to him that Edna showed her job sheet.
‘I’ve come from McQueen’s Agency as a temporary worker in the office,’ she told him.
‘Right, lass, if you just wait here, I’ll go and get the office manager.’
The other man was brewing a pot of tea. ‘Do you want a cup?’ he asked.
Edna said no, she had not long had her breakfast.
‘Neither have I,’ he said with a crooked grin, ‘but I’ve always got time for another cuppie.’
Edna waited for about fifteen minutes and was wondering where the man had got to when he appeared with another man in tow. This man was tall and thin with a shock of grey hair and a kind face.
He had the job sheet in his hand. Edna had a terrible thought.
‘You say you’ve come to work in the office and that we contacted McQueen’s Agency?’
‘Yes,’ she said, her voice dry and croaky.
‘I’m afraid we have no record of this and I’m very sorry but maybe you’ve got the wrong address.’
Edna was aware that the three men were watching her intently.
‘I can’t understand it,’ she said. ‘This was the address the manager gave to the receptionist yesterday morning.’
The manager looked at a loss for words. ‘I don’t know what to say, Mrs McGill.’
Edna took the job sheet. ‘I’ll go and check with the office to see if they’ve given me the wrong place.’
The manager looked relieved, the small man stirred more sugar into his tea and the other man, the one who looked like a retired policeman gave her a strange look.
Edna escaped out on to the street and promptly burst into tears. She tried to dry them with her handkerchief but she was too distressed. She didn’t realise the tall man was standing at her side
‘Come back inside and have a cup of tea and tell me what this is all about.’
The small man, whose name was Ron, hurried to make another pot of tea.
Edna told them all about the mistake yesterday and now this one today. The tall man, whose name was Alex, looked angry. ‘It looks like somebody’s playing a nasty trick on you, lass. Have you any idea who could be doing this rotten thing?’
Edna said no but she knew all right. But there was no way she could explain to these two strangers, although they were both being kind and helpful.
She would have to see Molly and hand in her resignation. She couldn’t take any more of this and Molly wouldn’t want all this trouble. That was now two jobs that the office staff knew about and the name of McQueen’s Agency would become associated with blunders.
Edna knew that Molly was running the agency on a shoestring at the moment and it was surprising how quickly word got around about blunders and sloppy working practices. No, she would offer t
o leave and take this horrible problem with her.
She made her way down the Hilltown, barely registering the people who were going to the shops or to work.
Molly had given her a key for the office so she decided to go there as she didn’t want to alarm her mother with this latest development.
The office was cool and quiet. Edna made her way upstairs and washed her face in cold water and then gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her face looked gaunt and drawn and she was annoyed that she didn’t have her make-up bag with her. Maybe a little touch of lipstick would have helped.
She thought about the two threats to Billy and the voice warning her to stay away from John. Well, she had done that but it hadn’t stopped the torment.
She then went downstairs to wait on the office opening and after Molly accepted her resignation then she would have to face this threat on her own and deal with it.
These two job offers hadn’t been blunders, she now realised that. Someone had gone out of their way to send her on two hoax calls.
She suddenly felt sick with worry.
Back at the Bowbridge Works, the manager and Alex, the man from the porter’s lodge were deep in conversation.
‘I don’t understand why that agency sent someone to work here,’ said Mr Marr, the manager.
Alex, who was indeed a retired policemen, had an angry gleam in his eye.
‘Oh I think whoever sent her knew what they were doing and it’s a dirty nasty trick to play on a young woman. There’s a lot of malicious and criminal people out there.’
Mr Marr walked away. He was still shaking his head at the morning’s events while Alex made his way back to the cosy porter’s lodge and Ron who gave him a quizzical look as he entered.
‘Did the young lass find out who made the mistake?’
Alex shook his head. ‘I wonder if she knows herself but I hope she gets some help with this as it’s some malicious and nasty beggar who needs to be sorted out.’
24
Molly took the frantic phone call from Mary on Tuesday night when she arrived home from Cliff Top House. She was crying and Molly, who was immediately filled with misgivings, had to tell her to calm down.
McQueen's Agency Page 17
