by Anna King
He tried to ease his conscience by telling himself that Jimmy Jackson could afford to lose whatever money he had left lying in his safe, and also that no one would be hurt in the burglary. Amy had already told him that Jimmy wasn’t due back from France until tomorrow, so the house would be empty until then. All he had to do was somehow get the keys from Rebecca without her knowledge, and put them back once Big George had taken an impression of them. It had sounded so easy as he had lain awake thinking about it, but nothing in life is ever as easy in reality. He couldn’t very well just ask her for them, or the combination to the safe either. He groaned silently. Now, looking into his sister’s trusting eyes, he knew he couldn’t go through with it. He couldn’t betray her and Amy again. He still had some money. He could buy a train ticket out of London and start a new life somewhere Big George would never find him.
Phil sat up straighter, his mind suddenly clear. Yes! That’s what he’d do; in the circumstances, it was the only solution left open to him. It would be hard for him, but at least he would be able to sleep at night, and maybe regain some self-respect; but most of all, he would keep the girls out of the mess he had made of his life.
Then fate stepped in and took a hand, and by doing so changed Phil’s life for ever.
Clearing his throat he replied, ‘Nothing’s the matter. Sorry, Becks. I didn’t get much sleep last night; besides, I’d much rather listen to you two talk.’
‘Well, that makes a change,’ Amy laughed, waving a hand merrily in Phil’s face.
Then, Rebecca, her face alive with pleasure, cried happily, ‘Who fancies some fish and chips? It’ll be like old times, except this time there’s no lamb stew simmering away on the stove.’ She laughed at Phil. ‘And no Maude screeching for her piece of haddock.’
As memories flooded over the three siblings, they all laughed, yet the laughter was tinged with sadness. They all knew that their time spent together, like this, just the three of them, was painfully short.
Phil was about to offer to go and get their supper when Rebecca said, ‘Me and Amy were going out anyway. We’ve got to buy some milk and a few odds and ends to take to the house tomorrow; we might as well pick up our supper on the way back.’ She was already on her feet. Picking up her bag, she rummaged around before taking out a set of keys, saying, ‘I’ll be glad to hand these back. I’ve felt like I’ve been carrying around the Crown Jewels in my bag since Jimmy left.’
Phil eyed the keys nervously. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t move in when you had the chance, Becks. After all, Jimmy’s place would’ve been much more comfortable than this.’ He waved his arm around the shabbily furnished room.
Rebecca grinned wryly. ‘That’s what Amy’s been telling me, but like I told her, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable there by myself. Besides, I haven’t done too badly on my own. Now then, what about our supper? Come on, Amy, the shops will be shutting soon. Phil can make the tea and lay the table while we’re out. Oh, you’d better lay an extra place for Charlie.’ An impish grin touched Rebecca’s lips as she playfully nudged Amy in the side. ‘He’ll be here soon.’ Rebecca took her purse from her bag and they left, their girlish laughter echoing down the hall. But Phil could only focus on Rebecca’s handbag, which was lying on the worn sideboard by the door. His limbs shaking, Phil licked his lips nervously, his mind screaming at him to stop, but the temptation was too great for his weak character to resist. He had been so close to leaving, so close to doing the right thing for a change, and now this had to happen. Before he knew it, the keys to Jimmy’s house were in his jacket pocket. He also found a neatly written number on a piece of paper tucked into the lining of Rebecca’s handbag. The sweat pouring from his body, Phil looked at the numbers, committing them to memory before placing the scrap of paper back where he’d found it.
He was setting the table when the girls arrived back, accompanied by a grinning Charlie. Phil wasn’t fooled by Charlie’s easy-going manner, though that in itself was genuine enough. It was what was underneath that counted. And in Charlie, Amy had found herself a strong man, as had Rebecca with Jimmy, and for that Phil was truly grateful. They’d both had enough of unreliable men in their lives; it was comforting to know his sisters would be cared for by men who would never let them down.
Shortly before eight, Phil rose and said, ‘Well, I’m off back to my lodgings. Thanks for the supper, Becks, and the company.’ His eyes swept round the trio. ‘I really enjoyed it.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to go so soon, do you, Phil?’ Rebecca had also risen, her hand lying on Phil’s arm. ‘I was hoping you’d stay a bit longer. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.’
Swallowing loudly, Phil thought swiftly. It seemed as if fate had once more stepped in to lay a helping hand. He had intended to drop the keys back early tomorrow, but what if instead he…! As his thoughts trundled furiously round his head, Phil quickly made up his mind. It might work. If he was quick enough, it just might work. Looking at his watch he exclaimed, ‘Well, look, I’ve got to meet a friend; we’d arranged to go for a drink, but I could go tell him I’m busy tonight.’
‘Oh, yes, do that, Phil.’ Amy was nodding up at him.
‘I might be about an hour, if that’s not too late.’
Rebecca and Amy both smiled.
‘No, that’s not too late,’ Rebecca replied. ‘I work my own hours now, and Lady Muck here doesn’t have a job to get up for.’
*
An hour later Phil was back at the flat, his heart hammering against his ribcage. Instead of his original plan he had been to Jimmy’s house and unlocked the back door, then gone to Big George and told him what he had done. He had also told the bookie the combination of the safe, thinking that the sooner Big George’s men were out of Jimmy’s house the better. This piece of information had earned Phil an extra five pounds. He had been loath to take the offered money, but had decided it would be wiser for him to keep on good terms with the sinister bookmaker. He had also told the menacing figure that tonight was the only opportunity he was going to get, because Jimmy Jackson would be back the following day.
It was close on eleven o’clock before Charlie announced he was going home, and Phil offered to walk with him.
Leaving Amy and Charlie a moment’s privacy to say goodnight, Rebecca took the tray of dirty cups over to the sink, and while her back was turned, Phil, with trembling fingers, quickly took the opportunity to slip the keys back into Rebecca’s open handbag. Then he turned and smiled at her.
‘I’m glad things have worked out for you and Amy, Becks. After all you’ve told me, I’m not surprised you walked out. I only wish we’d all gone long ago, it would have saved a lot of hardship. But that was my fault. I should have looked after you better; both of you, especially Amy. And… and, I want you to know, Becks, that even after the things I’ve done, I’ve never stopped loving you and Amy. Will you remember that, Becks… Please? Always remember what I’ve just said, no matter what happens? Promise me, Becks!’
Rebecca stepped nearer, her anxious eyes boring into his. ‘You sound like you’re going to do another disappearing act. Are you in trouble again, Phil? Is that why you came round?’
Phil heard the deep pain in Rebecca’s voice and felt his shame and guilt rising once more. Now he knew what Judas must have felt like. Yet even Judas had had the decency to take his own life rather than live with his betrayal. Not like him. Oh, no. He, Phil Bradford, would always look after his own skin. But maybe he could start again, only not some place miles away, but here, with his family. He would have to see how things went tonight. Besides which, it would seem very suspicious if he were to vanish the very day after Jimmy’s house was burgled. Feeling a little more confident, he shook Rebecca’s hands in a playful gesture.
‘No, I’m not planning to disappear again, and I’m not in any trouble either. It’s just that I can’t see your future husband welcoming me with open arms, can you? I just feel a bit awkward, that’s all.’
Rebecca’s face cleared. ‘Don�
��t you worry about Jimmy, Phil. I’m not saying you two will ever be the best of friends, but I don’t see why you can’t be civil to each other.’
Bending down, Phil kissed her forehead. ‘Thanks, Becks. It would mean a lot to me. Now then, where’s that little sister of mine? We’d better not leave her too long alone with her young man. It wouldn’t be proper, now would it?’ He winked playfully.
When he parted company from Charlie some fifteen minutes later, Phil turned the corner and leant up against the wall, his breathing coming hard. He had done it. His gambling debts were once again erased, and there was nothing to link him with the breakin. But, oh, dear God! What a nightmare the last few hours had been. Now it was over, and when, for the umpteenth time, he vowed never to get into debt again, his mind sneered back at him, Yeah, of course you won’t. Until the next time!
Pulling himself from the security of the wall, Phil straightened his shoulders and, feeling a little easier in his mind, he walked on.
He wouldn’t have felt so confident if he could have read Charlie’s thoughts.
*
Watching the broad figure of Phil Bradford walk away, Charlie’s eyes were wary. There was something about the bloke that troubled him. For a start he had been on edge all night long, then when he’d come back from meeting his so-called friend, he had been distinctly agitated. Neither of the girls had noticed anything amiss, but then they hadn’t been looking. Charlie, like Jimmy, had been brought up rough on the East End streets, and was used to observing the signs to a man’s character or behaviour. The instinct to know who you were dealing with wasn’t born into a person, it was something you learnt at an early age, particularly if you had been bred in an environment where your life could hang in the balance if you didn’t have your wits about you.
Shrugging off his mood, Charlie strolled on, his thoughts returning to Amy, and the imminent arrival of his governor. Walking faster, Charlie passed his lodgings, making for Jimmy’s house a few streets further on. The girls were bringing round some milk and a few bits of food in the morning, just in case the boat and trains arrived a bit earlier than expected. Bessie would be in a bad enough mood after being forced onto a boat again, without her coming home to a house with no welcoming cup of strong tea waiting for her. Whistling softly, Charlie turned the corner and let himself into the large, darkened house. Jimmy had asked him to open all the doors and windows to let in some fresh air before Bessie got home. Charlie had planned to come here first thing in the morning, but knowing how bad he was for oversleeping, had decided at the last moment to spend the night at the house. Then if he did sleep in, at least the girls would be around early, and their arrival would surely waken him. For though he might sleep soundly, the slightest noise would wake him up – yet another legacy of his early upbringing.
Charlie was halfway up the stairs when he was hit forcefully from behind. The attack came so quickly, Charlie never heard a sound, nor felt the impact as his body hit the stairs one by one, as he rolled down the steep staircase. When he hit the last step, his body jerked in the air before landing with a sickening thud in the middle of the dark, spacious hallway.
Charlie didn’t hear the urgent whispers and arguments coming from the disturbed intruders, nor did he hear them leave; he never heard a sound.
*
‘Never again. I’m telling yer now, lad. Never again. Me insides feel like they’ve been pulled through the mangle.’
Standing by the Hansom cab with James asleep on his shoulder, and their luggage piled high on the pavement, Jimmy growled back, ‘Yeah, and so do my nerves. You ain’t stopped moaning since we left France, you miserable cow. Now, do you think you could get the door open while I pay the cab – if it’s not too much trouble, of course.’
Bessie bridled at his tone, though deep down she knew herself to be at fault. Nevertheless she shot back sarcastically, ‘Well I would, if I had me keys, but yer told me ter give ’em ter Charlie, didn’t yer, so he could come round early and give the place an airing. Huh! That was a waste of time, wasn’t it! Seeing as how we’ve arrived back in the middle of the night.’
Shifting James’s weight a little further up his shoulder, Jimmy groaned silently before replying in a clipped voice, ‘It’s broad daylight, you daft…’
‘Only ’cos it’s summer. If it was winter, it’d be pitch black at this time of the morning. Bleeding hell! It ain’t even five o’clock yet. And ter me, mate, that’s the middle of the night.’
Giving up the argument, Jimmy rummaged in his pocket for his keys. ‘Here, take mine. Just get the door open, and give it a rest, please, Bessie. Just give it a rest.’
Still indignant, but knowing she was pushing her luck, Bessie took the keys, while Jimmy paid off the grinning cabbie.
‘Cheers Guv’nor!’ The man’s eyebrows rose in pleasant surprise at the generous tip. ‘D’yer want me ter carry the cases in fer yer? Yer seem ter ’ave yer hands full… Wiv the little ’un, I mean.’
‘Thanks, that would be a help. As you say, I’ve already got my hands full.’
Instantly the cabbie jumped to the ground, and was just about to pick up the heaviest looking case when Bessie’s screams almost lifted him off his feet.
Jimmy, too, jumped in fright. Without stopping to think, he thrust the sleeping boy into the startled cabbie’s arms and raced into the house. He hadn’t had time to think what he might find, but he never expected to see the crumpled body of young Charlie lying in the hallway.
Bessie had the dark head cradled in her lap, her face, streaming with tears, looked up at Jimmy as she cried piteously, ‘I can’t wake ’im up, Jimmy. I can’t wake the lad up, an’ his head’s bleeding. Get some help, lad. Quickly, get some help.’
Jimmy hesitated for a few seconds, his instinct urging him to go to his friend’s side, but Bessie was right. Spinning on his heel, he turned and found the cabbie staring in at the front door, his eyes stretched wide at the scene he was witnessing. Then the child was taken from his arms as Jimmy, his face and voice urgent, said, ‘I want you to go to eleven Chapman Place, and fetch a Dr Barker back here with you. Quickly, man, it could be a matter of life or death.’
The cabbie’s big frame seemed to swell as he took on the mantle of a man on a mission. With an air of importance that was unfamiliar to him, the cabbie said tersely, ‘Yer can rely on me, Guv’nor,’ then he was back up in the driving seat, urging the horses towards the address he’d been given.
‘What’s the matter, Dad?’ James, his voice sleepy, sat up in Jimmy’s arms and rubbed his eyes. ‘What’s wrong, Dad?’
Swiftly gathering his son to his chest, Jimmy averted the boy’s eyes from the distressing scene. ‘Nothing, son. Nothing for you to worry about. Look, let’s get you up to bed, eh. Then you can have a proper sleep, all right?’
Talking rapidly, Jimmy pressed James’s face into his shoulder as he negotiated a pathway around the weeping Bessie and the silent form of Charlie. Anxious to get James safely tucked up in bed before Tom and the police arrived, Jimmy held his breath as he lowered the small figure onto his bed. He needn’t have worried. The moment the child’s head hit the pillow, he went instantly back to sleep. Jimmy waited a few moments to make sure James wouldn’t awaken, then, confident that the boy would sleep for a good few hours, he closed the bedroom door.
Out on the landing Jimmy could hear Bessie’s heart-wrenching sobs as she rocked the young man’s body in her arms, and felt his eyes prickle with unshed tears. Slowly he descended the staircase, his mind filled with dread at what he might find at the bottom.
But whatever the outcome, the men responsible would pay – and pay dearly.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Jimmy Jackson was on the warpath!
Word was out on the street that a big reward was waiting for anyone who could give a lead into the burglary at the Jackson house, and the subsequent attempted murder of young Charlie Bull. With his money and influence, Jimmy cast his net wide, calling in all favours owed, from high-r
anking officials to the lowest street runner, yet the perpetrators remained at liberty.
Now, a week on, neither the police nor Jimmy were any closer to finding the men responsible. The only consolation was that Charlie was going to be all right. He had taken a bad knock to the back of his head, and the fall down the stairs hadn’t helped. The only reason he’d survived was because he had been found quickly. As Tom Barker had told Jimmy, another few hours and it could have been a very different story. Even so, to all intents and purposes, the men who had attacked Charlie had left him for dead and, to Jimmy’s mind, that was as good as murder.
He was still thinking along the same lines as he stood waiting outside the dress shop for Rebecca to finish work, his foot tapping impatiently as the minutes ticked slowly by. Tutting beneath his breath, Jimmy peered into the shop window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rebecca, and instead caught the attention of a middle-aged woman whom he assumed was one of the ladies who owned the shop. This was another state of affairs he hadn’t bargained on. He had been slightly miffed when Rebecca hadn’t taken the opportunity to move into his home, opting instead to take up residence in a small, shabby flat. And while he had admired her independent nature for refusing to take the easy option, he nevertheless had imagined that once he was home, Rebecca would give up her job and devote her time to him and James. It was a selfish wish on his part, he admitted to himself, and he was beginning to realise that Rebecca’s newfound employment was more than just a job to her. It wasn’t going to be easy to persuade her to give it up. Pursing his lips, Jimmy let his thoughts wander. Once they were married and the first child was on its way, she would probably be only too eager to stay at home. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt an uncomfortable twinge of shame and guilt, for even by thinking such a thing, he had subconsciously lumped her with the majority of women he had encountered over the years; and Rebecca was worth far more than any of her predecessors. In an effort to counteract his disparaging thoughts, Jimmy concentrated on the reason he was here.
