McQueen's Agency

by Reynolds, Maureen

  ‘Just slow down, Mary, and tell me what’s the matter.’

  ‘It was the two jobs that Edna went to. They were both hoax calls and Edna is in a terrible state.’

  ‘Tell me what happened, Mary.’

  Mary related the phone calls with the jobs. The first one was for a wages clerk in the Eagle jute mill, which was a hoax. Then the same man called back to apologise for his mistake and he said the job was in Bowbridge Works, but that also turned out to be a hoax. Mary stopped to catch her breath. ‘You’ll be thinking I took down all the wrong details but I didn’t. I swear it.’

  By now Molly was worried. What on earth was going on?

  But Mary wasn’t finished. ‘Then I got another phone message which I’m sure is from the same man. He wants a clerk at his office on Friday morning. He said he would phone back with the details. What shall I do?’

  Molly, who had a busy day ahead of her tomorrow, had to give this some thought.

  ‘Should I give the job to Edna?’

  Molly’s voice was sharp. ‘No, Mary, don’t mention it to her. Tell her I said to take the rest of the week off and I’ll come through to the office first thing on Friday morning. If this man calls back, tell him we’ll take the job but don’t say who will be going.’

  Mary seemed calmer after this conversation. It was a relief to leave it with Molly.

  When Edna came in the following day, Mary told her what Molly had said and although Edna didn’t seem very sure of having time off, she had to admit she was exhausted after all the drama.

  Molly hadn’t managed to catch Joe and Mike on their own to question them about Rita being on the boat but she was just biding her time. When she turned up at the house the next morning it looked as if that time had arrived.

  Lena and Kenneth were planning to go to the shop for the day. Lena still looked dreadful but said it was just a summer cold and she would be fine in another few days. Joe and Mike were in the sheds and there was no sign of Christie. She heard Joe call out.

  ‘Mike, we’ve to go over to the docks to see if that cargo of furniture and paintings have arrived.’

  Molly saw Joe sitting at the desk. She asked him, ‘Are you going over in the boat?’ Joe looked at her but didn’t reply.

  Molly was determined. ‘It’s just that a young friend of my receptionist was seen on your boat a week past Saturday. Her name is Rita.’

  Still Joe stayed silent.

  ‘She had such a traumatic time that she hasn’t left the house since then.’

  Joe went to walk away. By now, Molly was furious. ‘Don’t you dare walk away from me because I’m going to suggest that she gets the police on to the pair of you. For heaven’s sake, she’s only sixteen. What gives the pair of you the right to scare a young girl like that?’

  Joe stopped and turned to look at her. His expression was more sympathetic. ‘Yes, she came on board because she fancied Mike. She had been swimming and Mike said she could swim back from the middle of the river. He likes to make these jokes. Thinks it makes him big and manly like his idol, Marlon Brando. He didn’t mean it but she got a fright. I knew she was on board but when she burst into the cabin in tears, I made Mike turn the boat around and we took her back to where Mike had picked her up. That’s all that happened, I swear to you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Molly. ‘But you know something, Joe, if you hadn’t been on board I’m sure Mike would have had great pleasure with his threat. Even if he was just fooling around. Rita suspects that as well and that’s why she’s so scared.’

  ‘Well give her another word of warning from me. Tell her to keep away from him. He was in the army during the war and he got used to killing people and shall I tell you something? He liked it. He likes this image of scaring silly young girls but that’s the least of his problems.’ With this statement, he went out of the shed and down to the boat.

  Molly returned to the house. She would be glad when this job was over. It was a good paying position but there was an atmosphere here and Molly suspected Mike was the cause. Was that why Lena looked so haunted and ill?

  She heard the boat’s engine start up and saw it chug away over the choppy water.

  There was a strong wind today and the river looked rough.

  She wondered where Christie was and as she went into the house, she passed him coming out. He seemed cheery enough and didn’t look suspicious but Molly wondered why he was there in the first place. He was certainly a lot more likeable and attractive than Mike, but he was always in the house when everyone was out. He was another shady character. He said he was Canadian but anyone could say that and who would question it?

  After he had gone, Molly went upstairs on the pretext of going to the bathroom. Kenneth’s door was closed but she went and stood outside it. She felt terrible spying on her employers like this but she had to know if the second painting was here or had Nelly taken it away.

  She turned the door handle and the door opened silently. The two paintings hung side by side on the wall. Molly had her answer. She closed the door and went back to the office.

  Of course, if he was going to marry Nelly then perhaps they would stay in this house and that was why she was buying expensive paintings. Maybe the paintings were his engagement present. After all her engagement ring was a beauty; a large solitaire diamond. A ring like that never came out of a Christmas cracker.

  What Molly didn’t know was that Nelly’s ring had been her engagement present from her first husband.

  Normally, Molly loved the house when it was quiet like this but today the stillness felt unsettling. Still, she would soon be going home. Lena had said to leave early if she managed to finish all the work so she began to tackle the pile of invoices and all the week’s filing. By three o’clock, she was finished and put on her coat.

  She decided she wouldn’t go home but instead go over to the office and see Mary, to sort out the other unsettling incident.

  Mary was on the phone when she arrived, looking slightly panic-stricken. She held up her hand as if to tell Molly to stay silent.

  ‘Yes Mr Archibald, we will send one of our secretaries to see you tomorrow. What is the address, please?’

  She scribbled something down on the message pad. When she put the phone down, she said, ‘That was the same man. He said he had heard good reports about a Mrs McGill and was it possible to send her.’

  Molly looked at the message pad and saw the address was in Union Street. ‘Don’t mention a word about this to Edna. I’ll go tomorrow and see who this joker is.’

  Mary’s face was a picture. ‘Oh you will be careful, won’t you? He might be a murderer or he might have escaped from some asylum.’

  Molly laughed. ‘You read too many detective books, Mary.’

  But Mary still didn’t look happy.

  ‘By the way, Mary, I tackled the men who were in the boat with your friend. Their names are Joe and Mike. Joe said Rita was on board but Mike, the one you’ve met at the dancing, was the one who threatened her. Luckily for her, Joe got him to turn the boat around and she landed safely, but if you get the chance to talk to her, tell her he’s dangerous and to stay away from him.’

  Mary said she still hadn’t seen Rita but when she did, she would let her know.

  Molly couldn’t sleep that night. Her mind was going round in circles. She was worried about the future of the agency and the welfare of Edna. She would have to go and see her and try to get to the bottom of all this mystery.

  If these hoax phone calls kept coming in then there was no way she could send Edna out and if no other work came in then what? She didn’t want to think about that.

  She was also hoping to finish at Cliff Top House. Ever since Nelly had announced the engagement, the atmosphere had been difficult. Lena looked terrible, Kenneth hardly spoke or smiled these days and as for Joe and Mike … they remained their usual surly selves. Then there was Christie; another mystery man.

  Molly must have fallen asleep around five o’clock and when the alarm w
ent off, she didn’t want to get up. Then she remembered her assignment for the day; the meeting with the possible hoaxer. Although she had scoffed at Mary’s suggestion that he could be dangerous, Molly still felt uneasy.

  The ferry trip across the river didn’t help. It was a cold day with heavy rain and a sharp wind. More like autumn than summer.

  She had one amusing thought as the ferry battled its way across the stormy river. Her hand closed around the small box of pepper she had put in her coat pocket. She suddenly wanted to burst out laughing at the melodrama of this precaution.

  Heavens, she thought, it’s as if I’m in an old spy picture like The Third Man. The only thing missing was the haunting zither music.

  Molly reached Union Street a good ten minutes before the appointment. The address was a shabby looking close with a couple of grubby brass plates at the entrance. The writing on both was so faded it was difficult to make out the writing.

  She stood across the road at Henderson’s jewellery shop and viewed the windows above the close, trying to look as if she was looking at the jewellery. Every so often she looked at her watch as if she was waiting for someone.

  The windows across the road were as neglected as the entrance. Net curtains that had once been white now had a yellow tinge and the windows looked as if they could do with a good wash.

  Suddenly one of the curtains moved and the shape of a man filled the window frame. Molly couldn’t get a clear look at him because he stood behind the curtain. It was just an indistinct image she had. She looked at her watch again and it said nine o’clock. It was time to go.

  She crossed the road and climbed the stairs, which hadn’t seen a brush in a long time and were decorated with balls of fluff and discarded litter.

  She reached the door and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked louder and called out, ‘McQueen’s Agency.’

  All was quiet but she felt something wasn’t right. She tried the door handle and the door opened. She called out again, ‘I’m from McQueen’s Agency.’ Her hand held on firmly to the pepper pot.

  She had taken a dozen steps inside when the door suddenly slammed shut and she heard the sound of feet pounding down the stairs. Running over to the window, she caught a glimpse of a man sprinting down the street. He didn’t look back so she didn’t see his face.

  Molly realised she was in a strange room with a possibly locked door, but when she tried the handle, it opened. She looked around the room but it was unfurnished. It must have been an office at one time because a few wastebaskets lay in the corner and there was a scratched, grey filing cabinet in the other corner.

  Hurrying out, she ran down the stairs into the wet street. The man was long gone so Molly headed for the office. She would have to see Edna this morning to try and get some sort of explanation. This man was obviously following her and she needed help.

  Molly suddenly remembered the policeman who had questioned her last week and she wondered if he could help Edna. Should she suggest it? She wasn’t sure if Edna would want the police poking into her affairs.

  Charlie had come to the end of his enquiries and there was nowhere else he could go to get to the truth about Harry’s death. He knew Tam was adamant that Harry had been murdered but there was no proof and Charlie would have to tell him that.

  Tam was listening to the wireless when Mrs Kidd arrived with his tea. She was wearing her beige waterproof coat with the hood.

  ‘What a day it is with all this wind and rain. I got soaked at the shops.’

  Tam said, ‘You’re not to go out in bad weather just for my messages.’

  Mrs Kidd laughed. ‘Oh, I’ve got to get Jock’s tea as well so it’s no a problem. I’ve got three bridies out of Wallace’s in Castle Street so I’ll heat them up. Do you want me to open a wee tin of beans with your bridie, Tam?’

  Tam said no, the bridie would be fine on its own. He moved to the cupboard to get a tin of dog food out for Rover and filled his dish up.

  As Mrs Kidd brought out the bridie from the oven she said, ‘You’ll have to save up and get one of the televisions that are on sale. Folk are saying it was great watching the Queen’s coronation on it. It would be great company for you, Tam, especially as you live on your own.’

  Tam said he would think about it but at that moment, television was the last thing on his mind. He was trying to visualise the scene from the other day when Rover had gone wild. He could remember a lot of people but no one in particular stood out. Still, that was the worst thing about criminals. They looked normal like everyone else and didn’t look like Hitler or Mussolini, or like a deranged killer.

  Tam had never locked his door before being attacked. He had nothing to steal and his neighbours all looked out for one another but since that first attack he had locked the door every night. On this night of inhospitable weather, he turned the big key in the lock before going to bed and also pushed the big bolt in place. A bolt he had got from Jock who had fixed it in place.

  The figure moved quickly towards the house, glad that the bad weather had kept most people indoors. Thankfully it was quite dark as they moved to Tam’s close and climbed the stairs. Some of the houses still had lights in their windows so the figure waited in the tiny outside toilet, which lay on the curve of the stair.

  Their watch said eleven thirty. Common sense told them to leave well alone and not go near this old man again but it was now a personal thing. That dog had given the individual a nasty bite and now it was time for revenge. Gaining entry would be easy. No one in these tenements ever locked their doors.

  It was stormy outside and Tam didn’t sleep well because of the rain beating down on the window. About eleven o’clock the wind died down and the rain stopped. He got up and looked out. The sky had cleared and a moon appeared between dark scudding clouds.

  He went back to bed and must have fallen asleep at once. He was woken by the sound of someone trying the door.

  ‘Is that you, Jock?’ he called out. Someone pushed hard against the door and Rover started to bark loudly. He ran to the door and began to scratch at the base of the door as if trying to get out.

  Tam was frightened but he called out again, ‘Who’s there?’

  Meanwhile Rover’s barks became even louder and Tam tried to stop him. ‘Be quiet, Rover.’

  Rover moved back to his basket but continued to growl loudly. Tam got up and moved to the window. He opened it and leant out. A dark cloud had covered the moon but he caught a glimpse of a figure running down the road towards Dock Street.

  Molly arrived at the office and Mary looked relieved. ‘Did anyone turn up?’ she asked. Molly nodded. ‘I have to go and see Edna but I’ll not be long.’

  But she was just picking up her handbag when Edna arrived. She looked surprised when she saw Molly.

  ‘I thought I would come in and see if there was anything for me,’ she said hesitantly.

  Molly asked Mary to make some tea and bring it down into the office. Mary did as she was told but she looked disappointed at being asked. Molly reckoned that this would be the quickest pot of tea on record.

  Molly decided the best way was to tell Edna all about this morning. As she related the incident, Edna’s face turned white.

  ‘Mary recognised the man’s voice so that’s why I went. You’re in danger, Edna, and I think you should go to the police. I know someone I could put you in touch with.’

  ‘I think I should hand my notice in, Molly. You have enough work running this place.’

  ‘Nonsense, Edna. I don’t want you to leave but what’s going on?’

  Mary arrived back and looked at the two women with undisguised interest.

  ‘I can’t tell you at the moment,’ said Edna, ‘But I know the man and want to meet him face-to-face. I can’t live like this. I don’t want the police coming round.’

  Molly had worked it out. ‘What I’ll do is this. I’ll send Mary out on the jobs and you can stay working in the office, just until this is sorted out, or until I’m sure the job is gen
uine.’

  Edna said that would be fine while Mary beamed at the thought of going out on assignments.

  ‘Take today and tomorrow off, Edna, and we’ll sort something out for next week.’

  As she watched her walking up the Wellgate, Molly wondered about the other weeks. How long would this last?’

  She was about to leave to go home when the phone rang. Mary answered it while Molly held her breath. Mary wrote down all the details and said that someone would be there on Monday morning.

  When she put the phone down, she said, ‘That was Albert’s Stores asking if Edna could do another two weeks. The clerk is off work again.’

  ‘Do you think it was that man’s voice, Mary?’

  Mary said no.

  ‘Well I’m going to check it out to see if the grocer did ring and make sure that Edna will be safe with that job. At least there’s all the staff and customers to watch over her there.’

  Mary looked disappointed. She realised that Edna wouldn’t be manning the phone if the job turned out to be genuine.

  Molly noticed this and said, ‘Never mind, Mary. In a few months time I’m thinking of hiring another school leaver and you can join the outside jobs. After all, you were very clever at recognising that the man’s voice was the same as the hoax caller.’

  This pleased Mary and she felt an important part of the business.

  Molly caught the tramcar and was soon at Albert’s Stores on Arbroath Road. There was just the one customer and she waited until the cheery looking man behind the counter served her.

  She introduced herself and said she had got the call about a replacement for his sick clerk.

  ‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘I’d like Edna back if that’s possible. She’s a great worker and good with the customers and my assistant,’ he pointed to a slim young man with red hair, working at the far end of the shop, ‘especially Eddie,’ he said with a wink. ‘My clerk Nancy is a proper wee hypochondriac. Now she’s got a cold and tells me she can’t count properly because of her headaches. Quite honestly she can’t count without a headache but that’s just my opinion. In fact, I would sack her but she’s my niece and my brother would kill me if his precious daughter was on the dole.’ He laughed loudly and Eddie looked at him.