by Cathy Sharp
‘No,’ he said in answer to Ikey’s question. ‘I can’t look after her and work and she can’t cope with staying in the places we do …’
‘If you promise not to run off I’ll speak to Sister first,’ Ikey said. ‘I’ll get her to promise that she will keep you safe while we sort out the people that hurt June – and if she insists on sending you back, I’ll take you away from London for a while. I give you my word I shan’t let them send June away again.’
‘But what can you do if they insist?’ Archie asked. ‘They wouldn’t listen to me and I’m her brother …’
‘I’m asking you to take my word and just trust me for a bit longer,’ Ikey said. ‘I didn’t always load wood on the Docks and I know a bit about what we need to do – and I know people who can help us.’
‘All right,’ Archie said. In his heart he knew that he had to trust the man who had befriended them, because there was no other choice. He couldn’t look after June without Ikey’s help and she wouldn’t stand up to life on the streets; she’d been badly damaged and she needed help. Sister Beatrice would know what to do to help her – if she was willing. ‘We’ll stay here until you come back …’
‘Good lad,’ Ikey said. ‘What the pair of you need is your mother home to look after you – and if you’re sensible now, I’m going to get that for you as soon as I can manage it.’
Archie stared at him, a tingle at the back of his neck. ‘Who are you really – or what were you, a bloomin’ lawyer – or are you a copper workin’ undercover?’ His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
‘Yes,’ Ikey laughed and gripped his shoulder. ‘I knew you were a bright lad, Archie. That’s exactly what I used to be until I got drunk once too often and they threw me out …’
‘Is that why you’re called Ikey?’
‘My middle name is Ezekiel; it’s a Bible name and my mother liked her Bible stories. My friends called me Ikey as a joke and when I went on the streets I decided to use it – I didn’t want anyone to trace me. Especially when I started to do important work …’ He paused and then nodded to Archie. ‘I’ve been after a criminal for a long time, lad. He runs a protection racket – do you know what that is?’
Archie nodded, ‘Yeah. They ask for money to protect you and if you don’t pay they smash your place up …’
‘That’s right,’ Ikey said grimly. ‘Well, a trader I knew who helped me when I was on the streets was beaten so badly that he died. He gave me a name before he died – but the man had an alibi. His thugs did the beating but he’s the criminal behind it, and I vowed to get him. My friend at the station asked me to help them unofficially, because undercover I’ve been able to help them with a lot of unsolved crimes. My quarry has been too clever so far but I’ll get him one of these days …’
‘I bet you will,’ Archie said. ‘Can I help you?’
‘We’ll see,’ Ikey promised with a smile. ‘Now you know my story – are you going to believe I shan’t let you down?’
Archie nodded, ‘Yeah, thanks, Ikey. I knew you weren’t a down-and-out all along; I reckon me and Billy saw you leave the nick once and you looked different until you turned into an alley and started to slouch as if you were drunk – I thought you were up to something but I just didn’t know what you did …’
‘Well, now you do, just keep it to yourself …’
Beatrice was at her desk when someone knocked at her door. She looked up impatiently from the report she was struggling with and invited whoever it was to enter. As the door opened and the man entered, she got to her feet a little warily.
‘Yes, what do you want? Have you come to return what you took from me?’
Ikey smiled and removed a folded paper from his pocket, placing it on the table. ‘It was very useful, Sister Beatrice. Borrowed is the word I would use. I always intended to return it, as I shall your errant children if you give me your word that you will not separate them or return the girl to those abominable people … I took her by force and Mrs Bailey may have been slightly injured as I drove away, but I would do it again in such a case …’
‘So I was right?’ Beatrice gasped. ‘I was afraid of it … I don’t know why because they were passed as foster parents and searches must have been made on their background, but something inside told me it was all wrong. It should never have happened and I’ve already set in motion an action to have the order overturned on the grounds of irregularity. I am their guardian and I was not informed.’
‘If you wish for it, I can give you further grounds – evidence from June’s own lips that is damning of the people who commit these foul acts and the flaws in our system, when half-trained women take the law in their own hands. I speak of Miss Ruby Saunders, Sister Beatrice, not you, of course … I believe you have the experience that is needed now to care for this sadly damaged child and her very angry brother. This man has been preying on vulnerable kids for a while. We had him once but the girl was retarded and her evidence didn’t stand up. His name was Constable then – David Constable …’
‘Of course! I knew the face but not the name. The child he abused was brought here until they transferred her to a home for the mentally unstable. I knew I’d seen that face … I remember being furious because he got off scot-free.’
‘Will you take Archie and June back and try to understand if they are difficult at first? Archie resents you, unfortunately …’
‘Yes, Archie will be very angry,’ Beatrice agreed. ‘Who can blame him in the circumstances? I am angry myself. Their mother was sent to prison on the flimsiest of evidence. You might like to tell Archie that a friend of mine has found evidence to suggest that Sandra Miller was innocent of the charges against her and the thief is very likely another person in her office …’
‘Reg Prentice, I presume,’ Ikey said and saw the surprise in her eyes. ‘Yes, I set a few inquiries in hand myself when Archie told me his suspicions. The man is a bully and a lecher. Three other women at that firm have complained of his unwanted attentions, and I have every reason to believe one of them is about to give evidence concerning a stolen cheque that has been cashed since Mrs Miller was sent to prison …’
‘How do you know all this?’
Ikey smiled. ‘I believe the original instructions came from a Mr Edward Hendry, a country solicitor?’
‘You’re the man the London police officer uses to do his undercover work?’ Beatrice was disbelieving. ‘Is that why you rescued Archie – and took it upon yourself to snatch June from her foster home?’
‘As it happened, Archie was already under my wing when I was asked to make inquiries about his mother – and of course I knew all my friend Jonathan Carter had to tell me. Jon kept faith in me even when I lost my own, Sister Beatrice, and he saved me from drinking myself to death. He told me he needed help with a case concerning a down-and-out, and I was instrumental in proving that the man was not a murderer, even though he had fallen into a life of degradation. I’ve had a lot of experience in these kinds of cases since then, believe me – and I suspected something was wrong when I learned that you claimed not to have been kept informed of the order for fostering. Although even before that I was determined to help Archie fight the injustice he believed had been handed out to him … I do not like injustice or the way the law can be such an ass …’
‘I knew there was something about you when you first came here,’ Beatrice said and nodded her satisfaction. ‘You didn’t seem to me typical of the majority of down-and-outs that sleep rough on our streets …’
‘I’ve done enough of that,’ Ikey said and offered her his softest smile. ‘Sometimes even now I sleep out under the arches, just to remind myself why I no longer practise the law as a police officer …’
‘Ah …’ Beatrice smiled. ‘Yes, of course. You were in the force yourself. May I ask what happened to you?’
‘You may ask but I reserve the right not to tell you at the present time …’
‘Very well. We are all entitled to our secrets,’ Beatrice said. ‘What do y
ou suggest we do now?’
‘If I bring the children here, can I rely on you to keep them here until we get things sorted out?’ Ikey frowned as she hesitated. ‘You think there will be trouble because Archie and I snatched his sister from the foster parents?’
‘If I were ordered to hand them over …’ Sister Beatrice shook her head. ‘Nothing will make me give them up, short of a court order – and your arrest for assault …’
Ikey laughed, throwing back his head in delight. ‘You may set your mind to rest on that one, Sister. I don’t think Mr and Mrs Bailey will be reporting me to the police. In fact, the local police will be receiving a visit from a friend of mine about now with the details of their abuse. June will give evidence if need be but both Archie and I heard her sorry story and I’ll risk going to prison if it means getting that pair behind bars …’
‘Then I hope you succeed and I shall of course do my very best for the children.’ Beatrice rose to her feet and offered her hand. ‘You have my word that I shall not allow them to be parted again if I can prevent it, more I cannot say. However, I think after our joint evidence is presented, we may be sure that the Miller children will remain here for the foreseeable future.’
‘Archie is no longer a child,’ Ikey said. ‘He has been helping me by working with me on the Docks, but I believe his heart is set on a career in market trading and I think it might be as well to encourage it for the future.’
‘Perhaps that decision will be his mother’s rather than ours,’ Beatrice said. ‘However, I shall make no attempt to force him to do anything in the meantime – and June will clearly need special treatment …’
‘Yes, she will, and that’s why I wanted to bring her here. If you had not agreed to do your best for them I should have spirited them away somewhere and you would not have seen them again …’
‘So, Archie, what have you to say to me?’ Beatrice asked when the children had been bathed, fed, and June had been seen to bed in the sick ward to be fussed over by Nurse Wendy Beatrice and Archie were in her office. ‘I understand from your friend that you feel you wish to leave school as soon as you’re able – is that so?’
‘I want to work on the market with Mr Hastings on Saturdays and holidays,’ Archie said, raising his head to look her in the eyes. ‘I’m not sure if he’ll take me, because you sent me away without giving me time to tell him – and I daren’t go and see him in case he told you or Billy Baggins. I saw them talkin’ and I daren’t go near …’
‘Yes, well, I must apologise to you and your sister for what happened that day. I assure you that it was not my intention to part you like that and I am doing all I can to set things straight as far as I can – though I know nothing will ever make up for what happened to June.’
‘No, it can’t,’ Archie said and glared at her. ‘But I’m sorry I hurt you that day. I thought you would help me but you didn’t – and that’s why we took the letter from your folder …’
‘Which Ikey has now returned,’ Beatrice said and smiled. ‘You need not feel too badly about that, Archie. It was in my mind that you and your friend might decide to take matters into your own hands … Try the cabinet now, if you like …’
Archie eyed her doubtfully as he went to the cabinet and discovered it was locked. ‘You’ve locked it …’
‘I normally lock it when I’m not using it, apart from a few days when it was deliberately left open …’
Seeing the twinkle in her normally stern eyes, Archie gasped. ‘You knew what we intended to do …’
‘I thought you might and though I could not give you the address, I had no reason to obstruct you, though I must admit that your subsequent actions were rather more … shall we say decisive than I had imagined?’
‘June begged us not to leave her,’ Archie said. ‘She ran out of the door and Ikey backed across the garden to get her. That old witch threw herself at the car but he wouldn’t stop and she fell into the road … but he didn’t run over her.’
‘Yes, that was sensible of him, even though we might wish it otherwise …’
Archie stared at her suspiciously. ‘Sister! You don’t mean that …’
‘Well, perhaps that might be rather too brutal, but one fears that her punishment may not fit her crime, and physical retribution is satisfying, even though in a civilised world we must not condone it.’
Archie grinned. ‘You’re all right, Sister B …’
‘I feel very angry at the way we’ve both been treated, Archie.’ She smiled at him. ‘Now, I have some good news for you. I intend to visit your mother in prison tomorrow. Your friend Ikey is to accompany me – and you may send anything you wish for her. I can give you some money if you wish to purchase anything?’
‘I’ve got a bit saved from working with Ikey,’ Archie said and blinked hard as he tried to keep back his tears. ‘I’ll get her some fudge, but I wish they’d let me and June see her …’
‘If the various efforts being made on her behalf succeed, she may be home sooner than you believe. However, this is not certain yet so it’s best to keep it to yourself. June is too fragile to be disappointed. You, Archie, are a young man, and I’m sure you understand that while we have hope nothing is certain until the release papers are signed.’
Archie nodded, although his throat was tight and he didn’t feel grown up at that moment. He wanted his mum so badly, but he had to be strong for June’s sake. He looked at Sister Beatrice and saw her for what she truly was for the first time, an understanding, compassionate woman who combined discipline with a compelling desire to protect the children in her care. She’d spoken to him as if he were an adult, joking over serious things, because she knew he needed help to adjust to what had happened to his sister.
‘Thank you,’ he choked. ‘I know you didn’t mean some of that stuff about running that old witch over, but you knew how I felt and you wanted to help me. I reckon you’re a good woman, Sister B – and I’m glad we’re back here with you …’
CHAPTER 20
‘Sam wants to see you,’ Mary Ellen told Billy that evening. ‘He says he’s got a favour to ask of you. I’m not sure what, but he wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important …’
‘All right, I’ll call in tomorrow before I set up my stall,’ Billy said. ‘Are you coming to the club tonight?’
‘Just for an hour,’ Mary Ellen sighed. ‘I’ve got to revise, Billy. My first exam is coming up soon.’
‘All right,’ he said but she could hear the note of annoyance in his tone. ‘I suppose I can find something to do …’
‘I’m sorry. You do know I want to be with you?’
Billy nodded and bent to kiss her softly on the lips. ‘It’s all right. I just get a bit fed up sometimes – you know I’ll help if I can …’
‘I knew you’d say that,’ she smiled up at him. ‘I told you we’d had more stuff pinched despite the mirrors, didn’t I? Sam’s nailed them to brackets now so they can’t be swung round. I didn’t think people could be so rotten. What has Sam done that people think they can just pinch his stuff?’
‘I suppose most wholesalers get a few things pinched. Mr Connolly warned me about keeping an eye out for thieves on the market; people crowd round the stall and then nick something when you’re not looking … at least that’s what he says.’
‘Have you lost anything?’
‘Nah,’ Billy grinned at her. ‘I reckon they know I’d knock their blocks off if they touched my stuff …’
Mary Ellen nodded and gave him a quick hug, remembering that when they first went to St Saviour’s he’d been shorter than her, but now he was several inches taller, and very strong. Billy’s arms closed about her, his lips caressing hers in the softest of kisses.
‘Where is Rose?’ he asked, realising that there was no sign of her sister.
‘She’s been out three nights this week,’ Mary Ellen said. ‘Marion thinks she’s got a man, but Rose isn’t that sort; she doesn’t often go out with men – at least I’ve never known her t
o talk about a boyfriend. She always seems to think only about her nursing …’
‘Well, maybe she’s realised she’s gettin’ older,’ Billy winked. ‘Is Marion out as well?’
‘Yes, she’s gone to the pictures with some friends …’ Mary Ellen laughed and moved closer. ‘Are you thinking we’ve got the place to ourselves?’
‘I was …’ Billy looked down at her, his eyes quizzing her. ‘Did you want to go to the club tonight?’
‘I think we could give it a miss for once in favour of a night in on the sofa …’ she gurgled with laughter. ‘Oh, Billy, let’s …’
‘I love you so much,’ he said and sat down, pulling her on his lap and proceeding to kiss her with more passion than he usually allowed himself. ‘It’s the first time we’ve had a chance to be alone like this …’
Mary Ellen snuggled closer, her hands moving at the back of his neck, fingers reaching into his hair, caressing. They went for walks by the river sometimes, trying for a space of their own where they could kiss and cuddle, but there were usually others about. Even in the back of the pictures, it wasn’t really like being alone, although they snatched a kiss in the dark now and then.
‘It’s really nice being here on our own,’ she said as Billy’s kisses trailed down her neck right to the opening of her blouse. He undid a couple of buttons and teased gently with his tongue at the valley between her breasts just discernible above her bra. ‘Do you want to take it off?’ she asked, trembling slightly, because she was both excited and yet afraid of going further than they ever had. ‘Do you want to …?’
