by Dawn Harris
‘Do as he says,’ Johnny urged.
Muller mocked, ‘Still the perfect English gentleman, eh Alverstone? But not for much longer. I think I’ll start with the kneecaps. Excruciatingly painful, I’m told.’ Observing I was still standing beside Johnny, he bellowed at me, ‘I told you to move.’
Johnny gave me a little push, clearly wanting me out of the way. I knew instinctively that he meant to tackle Muller, probably the instant the gun was lowered in the direction of his knees. I also knew this vicious Nazi would be too quick for him. I was the only one who could stop Muller now, and I had to get it right first time. There wouldn’t be a second chance, for either of us. Thus, I moved slowly, to the spot Muller indicated, and in the hope of allaying any suspicions he might have that I could still thwart his plans, I got on my knees, put my hands together as if in prayer and sobbed, ‘Please,’ I begged. ‘Let us go.....please.....’
He just laughed and ordered me to keep quiet. ‘I’ve waited a long time for this.’ But the instant he took his eyes off me and began to move closer to Johnny, I slipped my right hand into my pocket, round the small pistol I’d brought with me and removed the safety catch. In one swift movement, I pulled the pistol out of my pocket and fired at him twice in quick succession. He crashed onto the floor, his gun going off as it dropped from his hand. I ran over, kicked it out of his reach, looked down at him, and turning to Johnny, announced in surprise, ‘Good God, I think he’s dead.’
Johnny roared with laughter. ‘You shot him. What else did you expect?’
‘Well, I’m not sorry.’
‘To be honest, my darling,’ he murmured, pulling me into his arms. ‘I’m absolutely delighted.’
‘At least it cured his cold,’ I pointed out with a giggle.
‘That just leaves Pratt.’
‘You can forget about him – we cured his cold too.’
I was explaining how Al had jammed Ebenezer’s arm in the car door when we heard someone approaching. As we broke apart, Inspector Nabber put his head round the door, and Johnny exclaimed in great delight, ‘You’re just the man we need, Inspector. We have a dead body for you to deal with.’
The Inspector came right in, took one look at Muller and grinned. ‘Good. The world will be a better place without him. Who shot him?’
‘I did,’ I said. ‘He was about to shoot Johnny.’
‘Ah, well, that explains it then. Best thing you could have done, cariad.’
Johnny’s eyebrows shot up in amusement at the endearment, but before he could say a word, Jean and Arthur appeared. I saw the relief on their faces that we were both safe, and between us Johnny and I explained what had happened. I ended by saying, ‘The Germans are going to be pretty upset when they learn I’ve shot one of their diplomats.’
‘Don’t you worry about them,’ Inspector Nabber informed me kindly. ‘Germany is at fault, not us. Britain will make an official protest, pointing out that Muller was responsible for the deaths of three British citizens, attempting to murder you, and kidnapping Mr. Alverstone. And that Muller was shot in self defence when he tried to murder two of our agents.’
‘The Inspector’s quite right, Liddy,’ Arthur said. ‘Besides, it’s time we stood up to these Nazis.’ And turning to Johnny he asked how he’d allowed himself to be kidnapped.
Johnny gave a wry grimace. ‘I had an early afternoon appointment and I was walking back to the office afterwards when this Mercedes drew up beside me, and a woman – as I thought then – got out and asked, in a strong foreign accent, for directions to Hertford House, wanting to see the Wallace Collection. Well I started to tell her, but she said it sounded complicated and asked me to write it down, insisting I sat in the back of the car while I did so. She gave me paper and a pen, and as I began to write, she got in beside me and stuck a gun in my ribs.’
Arthur shook his head at Johnny and teased mockingly, ‘Fancy falling for a trick like that. And in broad daylight too.’
‘I know,’ Johnny said, laughing. ‘Should be shot for it.’
‘You nearly were,’ I pointed out.
The Inspector said, ‘True, but thanks to you, Mrs. York, it’s all ended happily.’ He and Arthur talked about the situation for a few minutes, discussing what needed to be done, and once that was settled, the Inspector said to me, ‘Now I must stay here and sort things out, but there’s no reason why you and Mr. Alverstone can’t go home.’
Arthur urged us to take the inspector’s advice. ‘You both look all in.’ And he immediately offered, ‘Why don’t you come back with us.’
‘Good idea,’ the Inspector said. ‘After what you two have been through you need a little cosseting. I’ll get Lane to drive your car home, Mrs. York.’
‘Oh, but there’s no need for..........’
‘Don’t deprive him, cariad. He’s always wanted to drive a Rolls. It will be a little treat for him.’
Johnny and I were soon in the back of Arthur’s car, holding hands, and far too happy to talk. As Inspector Nabber had said, everything had turned out well in the end. Mr. Taverner would be released, and Monica could get on with her life. She would never forget Peter, but I was sure she’d find love again one day. Jean, no longer threatened with arrest and prison, or with the fear of Arthur having to resign, would throw all her energies into helping Jewish refugees.
Driving through those mean streets made me think of my playing field project. I’d really be able to concentrate on setting that up now. It would take time, but the east end kids would love it, and I’d be happy just watching them enjoying themselves. They deserved it too; as Inspector Nabber said, if that boy hadn’t told us where Pratt lived, we might never have found his flat. And nothing could have saved Mr. Taverner then.
I thought too about Al and Connie. Life wouldn’t be easy for them if they married, but I believed they would rise above any problems they encountered. What Lang would do, if they did marry, I couldn’t imagine, but that was up to him.
Snuggling up to Johnny, I gave a sigh of sheer joy and murmured in a soft dreamy voice, ‘Everything has come right in the end. Isn’t life wonderful?’
I lifted up my face to him and he kissed me, then he said, ‘You do realise I haven’t washed for a week?’
I laughed out loud. ‘That hasn’t escaped my notice. Just as long as you don’t make a habit of it.‘
Jean mentioned to Arthur that we were about to go past the road where Emily lived, and I was just thinking how wonderful it would be if they had no more problems, when Jean screamed at him to stop the car. ‘There’s a house on fire down her road.’ Her voice shook, fearing that this was another Blackshirts’ attack on Emily’s family. The car screeched to a halt, and the lack of traffic at this late hour enabled Arthur to back up quickly and then race down Emily’s street.
When the fire came into clear view Jean shrieked, ‘Oh God......’ It was Emily’s house, and three Blackshirts standing outside ran off the moment we appeared. I expected to see neighbours coming to help, but there wasn’t a sign of anyone. It was almost one in the morning and presumably everyone was fast asleep.
As the car came to a halt we saw Emily staggering out of the house, carrying her little sister. Arthur reached her first and taking the child from Emily’s arms, he gently placed her on the back seat of his car. Emily, helped by Jean, got in beside her sister and comforted her.
Jean asked urgently, ‘Where are the others, Emily?’
‘Upstairs,’ she croaked, barely able to speak. ‘It’s the smoke.....’ she explained with a gasp and burst into a fit of coughing.
‘You stay there,’ Jean said, and shutting the door to protect them from the swirling smoke, she started to run towards the house. To do so she had to run round the front of the car, but Arthur stopped her before she’d gone more than a few yards. She pounded her fists on his chest yelling at him to get out of her way. He grabbed her wrists and said, ‘If we’re to save them we must keep our heads. We’ll get them out, I promise you.’ To my surprise this had a
n immediate calming effect on Jean, and I remembered her saying that Arthur always kept his promises.
Satisfied that she believed him, Arthur turned to Johnny. ‘You and Liddy find a telephone box. Call the fire brigade and an ambulance. We’ll deal with things here.’
Jean pointed down the road. ‘There’s a telephone outside the post office.’ And yelled at us, ‘For God’s sake, hurry.’
Johnny and I began to run down the road, but after a few seconds he had to stop. ‘You go on,’ he gasped. ‘I’m as weak as a kitten.’
It was a good five minute run to the telephone box. Once I’d called the fire brigade and an ambulance, I hurried back to Johnny, who was leaning weakly against a lamp-post. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I can walk, but running’s out, I’m afraid.’
I hadn’t realised what a terrible state he was in, and despite walking back slowly, we had to stop a couple of times for Johnny to rest. We heard the fire engine arriving, but it was some time before we got back to the house. By then the firemen were desperately trying to get the fire under control, and I was hugely relieved to see the whole of Emily’s family were safely out on the street. Emily was standing with them staring at the flames engulfing her home. I couldn’t see Jean, and hurrying up to Emily, I asked, ‘Where’s Mrs. Carmichael?’
She turned to me and I saw she was crying. ‘She’s still in there.’
‘What?’ I gasped, as one of the beams crashed to the ground. No-one could live in that inferno.
She tried to brush away her tears but they just kept coming. ‘She and Mr. Carmichael got everyone out. My......’
Her father finished the sentence for her. ‘I was last out and Mrs. Carmichael told me to run for it. Which I did, Mrs. York. I honestly believed she was right behind me, but when I got outside and looked back, I couldn’t see her. I turned to go back for her when Mr. Carmichael said he’d go, and I was to look after my family.’
‘Have you told the fire brigade?’
‘Yes. The instant they arrived.’
Johnny went off to speak to the officer in charge, and when he came back the answer to the only question that mattered was written all over his face. ‘It seems their bodies were found together,’ Johnny told me. ‘Jean was pinned down by a heavy beam, and Arthur lay beside her, holding her hand. They were incredibly brave. I was told the fire brigade wouldn’t have got here in time to save Emily’s family.’
I thought how only the other day Jean had said she couldn’t seem to do anything right lately. Well, this time, she had.
Inspector Nabber came to see me the following morning, and Lang ushered him into the drawing room. When I joined him he declined to take a seat, saying, ‘I can’t stop cariad, there’s been a murder in Kensington, and I must get down there. But I wanted you to be the first to know. Mr. Taverner will be released shortly. And that’s official.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful news,’ I said thankfully. ‘Does Monica know?’
‘I’ve sent Sergeant Lane to tell her.’ And he explained, ‘It has to go through the proper channels, of course, but the evidence in that Book of Psalms is irrefutable. And if Muller’s gun isn’t the one that killed Charlie Jones, I’ll eat my hat.’ He held out his hand to me and I shook it. ‘It’s been a privilege to know you, Mrs. York. I couldn’t have solved this case without you.’
I smiled at him. ‘You always were a flatterer, Inspector.’
‘Nonsense. You guessed the Greenes had gone to the Isle of Wight. If you hadn’t, they would have got away, Ginger wouldn’t have collected that last letter from Mrs. Carmichael, and we would never have found Ebenezer.’ The mention of Jean brought tears to my eyes, and he patted my shoulder. ‘There, there, cariad. She made a bad mistake but did everything she could to put it right. How many of us would do that? She was a very brave woman. Just you remember that.’ He was right, but it would be a long time before I’d be able to think of her without filling up. I would miss her and Arthur so much.
I saw the Inspector out of the house myself, suddenly realising that I might never see him again. He was a good policeman, kind and intelligent, and I liked him. As I watched him drive off up the road, thinking how much I would miss him, I saw Johnny’s little MG coming round the corner. He drew up outside, got out rather slowly and greeted me with a happy smile. I led him into the drawing room, shut the door and took his hands in mine. ‘You ought to be resting.’
‘I’m much better this morning,’ he said. ‘And I had to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind.’
‘About what?’ I grinned, jiggling my eyebrows at him.
‘This,’ he said, pulling me into his arms and kissing me.
When I got my breath back, I teased, ‘W-e-ll, I may need a little more convincing.’
He laughed. ‘Is that so?’ And proceeded to comply with my wishes. It was a considerable time before either of us said another word.
Eventually we sat together on the sofa, hand in hand, and Johnny said, ‘Inspector Nabber called on me first thing this morning and told me the huge part you played in solving Peter’s murder. I’m so proud of you, Liddy. But why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?’
‘I was going to, only you already had more than enough on your plate, with the Blackshirts and the spy in the secret service – it didn’t seem right. And I didn’t know the murders were connected to your investigation until last Thursday evening, when I realised the information going to Berlin came from Jean’s letters to Mosley. I was going to tell you on Friday at the celebration.’
‘The day I was kidnapped,’ he murmured. ‘Yes, I see. That was also the day I realised who the spy really was.’
‘You knew?’
‘I guessed. By then I knew the stuff getting through to Berlin came from Arthur’s department, but I simply couldn’t believe he was a spy. What puzzled me was how trivial that material was. That’s what made me think of Jean. I’d heard her say, more than once, that Arthur told her everything. I knew she was very friendly with Mosley, and she’s never exactly hidden the fact that she supported his views. So I fed Arthur two plausible, but untrue, pieces of information on the same day. One trivial, the other classified as highly secret. The trivial one reached Berlin, but the other didn’t. Arthur might mention unimportant things to Jean, but never highly secret matters. I was still trying to work out how the information was being passed to Berlin when I was kidnapped. Then, the other night, Muller told me how. Full of it, he was.’
I explained that until last Sunday, when I’d told Jean what was going on, she hadn’t known about Ebenezer, or that her letters were going to Berlin. ‘But everything was going to be okay, Johnny. She wasn’t going to be charged. And now-----’ I jumped up and went over to the window, as tears began to run down my face. He followed me over, put his arms round me, and I sobbed into his shoulder.
He waited until my tears had subsided and gently dried my face with his handkerchief, before saying, ‘The day will come when the Nazis will get their comeuppance.’
‘It can’t come too soon for me.’
‘Or me. I wish it could be done without going to war, but I don’t think that’s possible.’
‘Neither do I. But, as long as we’re together, I can face anything.’ I hugged him tightly and said, ‘Hold me Johnny, and don’t ever let me go.’
THE END
