McQueen's Agency

by Reynolds, Maureen

  ‘Oh John, I’ve missed you as well. You’ve no idea how rotten I felt when I stopped coming here to work. I love your company and this warm and homely house but I had to protect Billy, you do understand don’t you?’

  John was overcome with emotion. ‘Oh I do understand Edna but you’re here now and nothing can change that. That horrible man is in the past and he won’t bother you again. Not if I have any say in it.’

  Edna suddenly felt so protected and loved by this man.

  At four o’clock he said he would walk her home. When she protested, he said, ‘Just in case he’s still around. I don’t want him bothering you again.’

  Molly decided to stay in the office and send Mary out to a job in Rough and Fraser’s bakery in Kinghorne Road. The clerk had taken ill again and this was the second time they had used the agency. Mary was delighted to be out and about and this job would give her some experience.

  It was also near her house so she could walk to work every morning.

  Jean had come in a few days previously and said she could no longer work. She had heard of the trouble that Edna had experienced and her husband wasn’t keen on her going out to strange places where anybody could be lurking. Those were her exact words and Molly had to agree with her, so she paid her out of the petty cash box and she left.

  ‘That’s one down, only the rest to go,’ she said to herself.

  She planned to put another advert in the Courier and Evening Telegraph that week to see if that would bring in some more work. If that failed, well she would have to seriously review the entire business.

  The phone rang. ‘McQueen’s agency,’ said Molly in her best confident and business-like voice.

  There was silence on the other end and Molly repeated herself.

  ‘Is that you, Molly?’ said a quavering voice.

  It was now Molly’s turn to be hesitant. ‘Yes, it is.’

  ‘It’s Lena here.’

  Lena, what did she want? Molly wondered.

  ‘Hello, Lena. How are you?’

  ‘I’m a lot better now, but I’m phoning to ask if you could work on Saturday afternoon and evening. We’re putting on another party and I need some help.’

  Molly wasn’t sure what to say but she needed the work and Saturday was available. But then so were Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday come to that.

  ‘Yes, that will be fine, Lena. What time do you want me to come?’

  Lena seemed to give this some thought as the line went silent. After a few moments, she said, ‘About three o’clock and then on to the evening.’

  When Molly put the phone down, she realised she would see Kenneth again and she felt a mixture of emotions at the thought. He had seemed so friendly to begin with but had suddenly turned cool. Almost as if she had done something to displease him. However she had no idea what had caused the rift. She suddenly felt sad that the friendship had faltered.

  She decided to reorganise the office. Having something to do would fill the day while she waited for any clients to ring in. She moved the two armchairs nearer to the window and dusted the desk and telephone. She was looking around for some more housekeeping jobs when Mary appeared.

  ‘The manager of the bakery has asked if I could do some extra time, Molly. The office girl will be off for another week at least, as the doctor has signed her off from work.’

  Mary looked apprehensive. A look that was noticed by Molly.

  ‘Is something wrong, Mary?’

  ‘Oh no, I love the job. It’s just that I wondered if you wanted to take it over seeing it’s going to last longer than planned.’

  Molly assured her that she had no intention of taking over. ‘This will give you valuable experience, Mary. I’m actually thinking of keeping you on as an agency worker. I can stay in reception until I get someone else to look after the office.’

  Mary looked as if Christmas had arrived and hurried out with a smile.

  On Saturday, Molly chose her outfit with care. She thought her grey suit was professional-looking, especially teamed with the red spotted blouse she had bought from Grafton’s fashion shop on the corner of Church Street and the Wellgate.

  She decided to wear flat shoes instead of her usual high heels as Lena’s parties could last well into the evening.

  She had been watching the weather from the window and the mist was so thick it was impossible to see the end of the garden. It was a thick haar that had drifted in from the North Sea.

  At last, she gathered up her handbag and gloves and went towards the garage to drive the Anglia to Cliff Top House.

  Molly was reminded of the first day she had taken this assignment. The mist had been just as thick on that day as well. She drove slowly, watching the edges of the road, frightened she would land in a ditch or maybe scrape one of the drystane dykes that bordered the fields.

  The mist hid the opening to the drive but Molly was familiar with the run now. She turned off the road and drove slowly along the rutted track. The house seemed to loom out of the mist like an apparition and soon Molly was parked safely in the courtyard.

  There was no sign of the van or any of the men. Everything seemed to be deserted but Molly reckoned it was the weather that had deadened all the usual sounds of the place.

  She walked towards the back door, her heels making clicking noises on the paving stones. The kitchen was empty but everything was cosy and there was a pot of coffee on the stove. She saw the note as she took off her jacket.

  I’ll be down in a few minutes. Have a cup of coffee while you wait. I won’t be long.

  Lena

  She picked up a cup from the dresser. The aroma from the coffee was tempting but she had not long had a hot drink so she filled the cup with cold water and drank that. There was another cup and saucer on the draining board so she rinsed it out and placed her cup beside it.

  It was such a murky day that the kitchen lights were on but there was no sign of any activity for tonight’s party. Perhaps Kenneth and Christie were in Dundee, collecting the food, she thought.

  She wandered into the office and was surprised to see a film of dust over the typewriter cover and the surface of the desk. It seemed as if no one had been in here since she left. Maybe the invoices were being typed in the sheds because Lena still had her plaster cast on. Molly didn’t know how long a broken arm took to heal but Lena seemed to have had her cast for weeks.

  After drinking the water, Molly needed to use the bathroom so she quietly climbed the stairs. All the doors were closed and everything was silent. She opened the bathroom door and was almost overcome with a strong antiseptic smell. A large opened bottle of Dettol had landed in the washbasin and most of its contents had spilled down the plughole. She was surprised by this show of sloppiness in this pristine house but she replaced the cap and put the bottle on the glass shelf.

  As she made her way downstairs, she wondered if she should let Lena know she was here. Perhaps she was still sleeping. Molly glanced at her watch. It was after three o’clock. Surely Lena wasn’t still in her bed.

  Although she didn’t relish the thought of meeting Mike in this mist, she decided to go out to the sheds. It was like The Marie Celeste. The kettle had been boiling because the steam had misted up the window and there was a cup with milk and sugar in it.

  She called out, ‘Joe, are you there? Mike? Christie?’

  She had turned to leave when she heard an agonised groan. It came from the back of the shed and she made her way warily towards the sound. It came again only louder.

  ‘Help me. I’m trapped.’

  Molly ran to the rear of the shed and almost fainted when she saw Mike lying under a huge metal rack. There was blood on the floor and his leg was lying at an unnatural angle.

  ‘What happened?’ she said, trying to move the rack but it was too heavy. ‘I’m going to phone for an ambulance. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  She hurried into the office and dialled 999, explaining the accident and giving the address. ‘I think his le
g is broken and there’s a lot of blood coming from a cut on his head.’

  The cool, professional voice at the other end of the line said an ambulance would be on its way as soon as possible.

  She glanced up the stairs again but there was no sign of Lena. Where was she? Molly wondered. She called out loudly, ‘Lena, are you there?’

  Silence.

  Not wanting to leave Mike alone, she darted back to the sheds. He seemed to be semi-conscious. She had grabbed a towel from the kitchen, which she placed under his head. He tried to focus on her. ‘It’s going to be all right, Mike. I’ve sent for the ambulance. It’ll be here soon. I can’t find Lena, do you know where she is?’

  Mike grabbed her arm. ‘Look out for Joe.’ His voice was weak.

  ‘Joe’s not here, Mike.’

  ‘Watch out for him.’

  Molly didn’t know what to think about this warning. There was no sign of Joe or any of the others. She hurried to the door so that the ambulance men would see where to come.

  The mist swirled around like a wet blanket, soaking her blouse and her hair.

  It was then she heard the scream. Paralysed by the shrill sound for a brief moment she tried to figure out the direction it had come from. She ruled out the house because she was sure it had come from the river.

  Then she remembered the boat. Oh my God, she thought. Lena’s fallen in the river.

  She ran down the length of the lawn, struggling to keep from slipping on the wet grass. The lawn ended abruptly and she almost fell down onto the beach. Gingerly stepping down the set of steps that were cut into the cliff face, she landed at the foot of the drop and saw the boat at the end of the wooden jetty.

  The scream came again and she almost skidded along the slimy surface and landed in the boat, which rocked violently with the momentum of her landing on its deck.

  There was no sign of Lena and she called out, ‘Where are you?’

  It was like a scene from a nightmare with the swirling mist blotting out all the surrounding scenery.

  Molly made her way towards the back of the boat. A dark shape lay on the deck and she realised it was Joe. The wet deck was slippy but she managed to reach him.

  She shook his shoulder. ‘Joe, are you hurt? What’s happened?’

  He looked dead and she tried to check for a pulse. No, he was alive but she had to get help for him. Where was Lena?

  She had risen to her feet when she saw a blur of movement by the wheel then the coughing sound of someone trying to start the engine up. It was Lena. The sound came again and Molly ran to the side to escape back onto the jetty. She had one leg over the side when the engine fired up and the boat began to move.

  Thrown off-balance she landed with a heavy thud back onto the deck. Then she heard men shouting as they ran down the jetty. It was Kenneth and Christie.

  Kenneth threw himself almost at her feet and the boat rocked violently again.

  Kenneth called out. ‘Stay with Mike, Christie, and call an ambulance.’

  ‘I’ve already called one, Kenneth, but Joe is injured and Lena is steering the boat.’

  ‘Yes I am,’ she said, ‘so come and sit over here where I can keep an eye on you.’

  Kenneth moved towards her. ‘Lena, take this boat back to the jetty.’

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do, Kenneth,’ she said, stressing his name into two long syllables.

  Lena was dressed in a warm jumper and cardigan with a thick tweed skirt while Molly was freezing in her short-sleeved blouse. The boat picked up speed. Lena must be mad she thought, to head into the mist like this.

  She remembered her father telling her of the treacherous sandbanks on the river. ‘Lena, you’d better slow down. You don’t want to hit a sandbank at this speed.’ Molly’s teeth had started to chatter but she tried to control it. It wouldn’t do to make Lena think she was afraid. But she was very frightened and puzzled at this turn of events. She had been hired to help with a party and now she had landed in the middle of another domestic scene.

  Kenneth had made his way to look at Joe and he came back to stand in front of his sister.

  ‘What did you do to Joe?’

  Lena laughed. ‘Oh he just drank a couple of cups of my coffee then fell asleep.’ She looked at Molly. ‘And very soon you’ll be asleep yourself, my dear. You see I put strong sleeping pills in the jug of coffee and when I checked the kitchen saw your cup on the draining board, along with Joe’s cup. Now I want you to hand over the key, Molly. The one you stole from my room.’

  Molly opened her mouth to say she hadn’t drunk any coffee but then decided to remain silent. What was all this about a key?

  ‘I don’t have any key. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  Lena gave a high-pitched laugh. ‘Of course you’ve got the key. I searched your house and your office but it wasn’t there. So where is it?’

  Molly remembered the night she thought someone had been in the house. The night she had almost had the accident because she was so tired.

  Kenneth grabbed Lena’s hand. ‘Turn this boat around at once. What do you think you are doing? You’re insane Lena. Stop all this now.’

  ‘I’m sorting everything out, that’s what I’m doing. I’ve worked it all out. This is our chance to get away from Nelly and the business. When the bodies of Joe and Molly are found, or maybe not found, the police will think it’s us, Kenneth. We can then make a new start … a new life like we planned years ago. That’s why I had to kill the sailor and shut the old man up and I should have killed his stupid dog when I had the chance.’ She faced Molly and started to shout at her, ‘I want my key, the one you stole. Give me my key.’

  Molly couldn’t believe her ears. Lena was planning to drown both her and Joe. Lena probably thought she was drugged and that it would be easy to topple both bodies over the side but she hadn’t drunk the coffee and she wasn’t going to sit in this freezing wet boat and let herself be killed. Also, she had no idea what key Lena was talking about. She had never seen any of the house keys let alone stolen one.

  She stood up and marched over to Lena, grabbing her arms and trying to pull her away from the wheel.

  Taken aback, Lena gasped and realised she had miscalculated her foe. Molly grabbed at her arms again while Kenneth came over and helped. There was a strong smell of antiseptic and Molly saw that Lena was no longer wearing her plaster cast.

  Kenneth grabbed his sister by the shoulders and her cardigan came off to reveal a large suppurating wound on her lower arm, which looked as if it hadn’t had any medical attention. Molly was almost overcome by the pungent smell of Dettol.

  Lena suddenly twisted the wheel and the boat slewed sharply to the left, throwing Molly and Kenneth off-balance. Getting back up was a painful process but she had to stop Lena carrying out her murderous plan.

  Molly launched herself at Lena again, trying to force her towards the little cabin. Hopefully, she and Kenneth could lock this door if they succeeded in her plan.

  Because of Lena’s injured arm, Molly had the advantage. She was also younger than her adversary and much stronger.

  Kenneth came towards them but before he could reach the two women, the boat gave a violent lurch and they both fell overboard.

  Molly hit the water with a feeling of shock. It was freezing cold and strong currents tugged at her body. She began to sink, but with an almighty struggle managed to keep her head above the water.

  She was a good swimmer but that was in a swimming pool or at the beach, not in the cold grey waters of the River Tay. Molly looked around her but because of the mist she felt she was alone a world of water and fog. She couldn’t see any landmarks, not even the boat.

  Lena’s voice carried over the water and Molly heard splashing like someone trying to keep afloat. The noise got louder and suddenly Molly felt herself being dragged down under the water. She felt Lena’s sharp fingernails grab the back of her neck as she held onto the collar of Molly’s blouse.

  Molly tried to hold he
r breath but the woman kept pulling her under and because Lena was holding onto the back of her neck, she couldn’t prise Lena’s hand away. In desperation she suddenly jerked her elbows backwards and was gratified to know they had struck Lena a sharp blow. She let go of Molly’s collar and began wheezing in the cold water. It looked as if Molly had winded her.

  Turning in the direction of the noise, Molly tried to aim a kick at Lena but only managed a half hearted blow. Later on, after it was all over, Molly suddenly remembered that she should have swam downwards as the other person wouldn’t follow. This was how it was taught in Australia but at this particular time all reasonable thought had deserted Molly’s brain and she was acting on sheer survival mode. Her first thought was to push Lena away and escape.

  She went under the water again and panicked when she tried to think ahead.

  Molly felt her arms and legs go numb and she knew she had to get away from Lena. She swam up to the surface and gasped for breath, her lungs on fire and her head throbbing. She was also so cold that she knew she couldn’t last much longer. The struggle with Lena had left her weak and breathless but she knew she had to swim as far away as possible from Lena. She couldn’t make out any landmarks but Lena was making a great deal of noise and splashing about in the water so Molly swam in the opposite direction. Lena began to shout and call out and Molly wondered if she had lost all sense of direction like herself. There was no way she was going anywhere near her because she had deliberately tried to drown her.

  She tried to remember if the tide was in or out. If it was ebbing then there was the chance of being swept out to the North Sea. The strong currents tugged at her body and she decided to swim. But in what direction?

  She heard a voice calling. ‘Molly, where are you?’

  It was Kenneth.

  ‘I’m over here.’ Her voice was weak but she hoped he had heard her. She tried calling more loudly, ‘Kenneth, I’m over here.’

  She heard the sound of someone swimming but was afraid it was Lena, but she almost cried with relief when Kenneth’s strong arm encircled her waist.