by Cathy Sharp
‘Connolly hasn’t been in since that night,’ Sam had told Billy earlier. ‘I think he knows we suspect him and that’s why he’s stayed away. With three of us in the showroom his rogues wouldn’t be able to smuggle anything out – and now Anna has gone it isn’t easy to take something from the better rails and hide it amongst the faulty goods. Besides, we don’t have that on the showroom rails now and every item has to be written down on an invoice and checked.’
‘He’ll turn his attention elsewhere now,’ Billy said. ‘I think you’ve stopped the pilferin’, Sam – but I don’t think he or his bully boys will give in that easily. Connolly is determined to teach you a lesson and one of these nights they’re going to try a break-in again …’
‘We’ll be ready for them,’ Sam said, ‘but I’m not sure how long I can ask friends to be on high alert …’
It was Ikey who had come to the market stall just before they started to pack up for the night. He’d heard a whisper on the streets that a break-in was planned for that night, and he’d come to warn them.
‘Are you sure?’ Billy frowned. ‘They’re fools if they talk about it – it might just be a sprat to catch a mackerel …’
‘I wasn’t given the tip-off, I just happened to hear them whispering about what they planned, and I’m not sure but I think they intend to do harm once they get what they’re after …’
Billy frowned. ‘What kind of harm?’
‘I’m not sure, but I imagine it was pretty evil, because the one they call Ricky was gloating, saying it would serve that cocky little bastard right … and I’m assuming they meant you, Billy.’
‘He threatened to give me a good hiding next time.’
‘I doubt if his intentions stop there,’ Ikey looked thoughtful. ‘I think it would be a good idea if we all kept an eye out tonight just in case …’
Everyone agreed and Archie had volunteered to help. At first Ikey and Ted had said he would be better off out of it, but Billy had taken his side and put his hand on his shoulder.
‘Are you prepared to hide out in the yard and get really cold?’ he asked. ‘If you see anything, nip round the corner and telephone me and then the police … then just stay out of the way until it’s over …’
‘Thanks, Billy,’ Archie said, feeling proud that Billy thought he was capable of playing a part in their plans. He’d listened to them talking about how much force it would be lawful to use, and Ikey had told them to keep it to a minimum.
‘I’ll be outside keeping watch like Archie,’ he’d said. ‘There’s a few friends I can call on for help and they will be loitering on the streets somewhere – no one takes any notice of a drunk sitting on the pavement and they’ll be discreet, but we’re going to need numbers, if we want to finish this once and for all …’
They were all in agreement, and Archie had listened enthralled. This was the spirit of the old East End he’d heard so much about from his father, everyone willing to help and stand up to bullies. Yeah, he might be just a young lad, but he had a useful job and these people trusted him. He had no intention of letting them down …
Taking up his place in a dark corner of the yard, Archie determinedly shut out the fact that he was cold and tried to ignore thoughts of the warm bed waiting for him at St Saviour’s. He wasn’t there, he was here and of his own free will, and he knew he wouldn’t fall asleep, because he was too tense, too excited. Some of the others suspected that it would all be for nothing, but Archie trusted in Ikey. When Ikey told you he’d heard a rumour he wasn’t making it up; he was an expert at lurking in shadows and Archie hadn’t been able to spot him, even though he knew that he was here somewhere.
Ikey had spent years on the street watching, listening, helping others like him who’d fallen out of the everyday world into a kind of underworld and doing what he could to restore the balance. He couldn’t help them all, all his brothers who slept rough night after night, and many of them didn’t want to be helped; they drank because they wanted to and they couldn’t change, but Ikey helped those he could and did the occasional undercover job for his friend, the posh lawyer that Archie had seen once or twice – and Archie didn’t know what his friend was planning, but he was sure he knew more than he’d let on, even to Billy and the others …
CHAPTER 24
Sister Beatrice replaced the receiver on her telephone. The Children’s Department was struggling to find a place for a brother and sister who had recently lost their parents. Miss Sampson had asked if she could help out for a while and Sister Beatrice felt very virtuous for having handled the situation without showing even a hint of her personal satisfaction. Perhaps at last they were beginning to understand that they needed St Saviour’s to carry on with its work.
Well, she considered her restraint deserved a nice pot of tea and since they were short of help these days, she would go down and make it herself. When she got to the kitchens she discovered that Sandra Miller was there and appeared to be making a tray of cocoa. She looked a little awkward when she saw Beatrice, her cheeks flushed.
‘Staff Nurse Wendy was busy with one of the children. A little boy came to her complaining of stomach pains and he was vomiting when I left them. Wendy asked if I would make cocoa for the children and her and I thought as you’d offered me a job here it would be all right …’
‘Muriel is a little jealous of her kitchen,’ Beatrice said and smiled. ‘It’s best to ask during the day when she’s here, but at night we have to look after ourselves. During the war we had to be so careful with the rations, because things were in such short supply, but now it’s not as difficult, though I’m afraid that we still have to be careful because of our limited budget, but that doesn’t apply to cocoa or tea and biscuits …’
‘I should have thought a place like this would be government-funded these days?’
‘Under the state umbrella there is presently a mixture of state-run and independent institutions for the care of children, because they simply do not have the funds to cope without the independents. St Saviour’s is still an independently run charitable organisation. However, we are regulated by the Children’s Act, as is every other orphanage in the country, and quite frequently suffer impertinent supervision visits, and ridiculous memos, telling us things we already know. I think the council people see us as a thorn in their sides, because they would prefer to run everything themselves. However, because of public opinion, we still have a place here in the East End and the care of the children is down to us. We often have difficult cases referred to us through the Children’s Department, but the local police more often than not come to us first when children are in need of immediate help, because the council just doesn’t have the right facilities. If we were not here, it would be a choice between a police cell and hospital until the Children’s Department organised a place for them.’
Sandra nodded her head as she stirred the sugar into the drinks. ‘Both Archie and June speak well of you, and I’ve decided that I should like to take your offer up, at least for a while, until I can manage to get a house where we can all live together …’
‘Archie hasn’t told you that he wants to go and live with Mr Hastings then?’ Beatrice arched her brows. ‘Your son has grown up, Sandra. You will find him changed a great deal. He knows what he wants to do with his life and I fear he will prove difficult if you try to impose your will.’
Sandra frowned, seeming as if she would say something rash or angry, but then she sighed and inclined her head. ‘He is so like his father – my husband knew what he wanted and you couldn’t change him whatever you said or did …’ She shook her head and looked sad. ‘What happened to my son while I was in prison, Sister Beatrice?’
‘I don’t believe he was abused or harmed himself, but he saw things and he felt responsible for his sister and what happened to her. He’s made up his mind that he’s a man now and won’t be told what to do or used … eventually, he may ask your advice again, if you’re patient. He will come back to you, if you have the strength to
let him go.’
‘Is that what it takes?’ Sandra asked, her face pale and her eyes dark with emotion. ‘I want to hold him and comfort him and tell him I love him, as I have June, but there’s a barrier. I’m not sure that he trusts me now …’
‘Archie trusts very few people,’ Beatrice said. ‘I let him down but I redeemed myself in his eyes – but I know that he loves you and he believes in you. He was so angry about what happened to you.’
‘Archie is a good son, he always was,’ Sandra said. ‘Sometimes I was a bit hard on him, because I was so afraid of losing him. After I lost my husband he was all the more precious, you see.’
‘Absolutely. A son is the most precious thing a woman can ever have …’ Beatrice’s voice was steady though it carried such pain that Sandra felt it in her breast. ‘And to lose that son is the worst thing that can ever happen …’
‘You lost a son?’ Sandra said and reached out to touch her arm. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘It was a long time ago, and time makes it easier to accept, though the pain never goes,’ Beatrice said. ‘Take my advice, Sandra. Be loving towards him and try to understand that Archie needs freedom to grow.’
‘Yes, I’ll try,’ Sandra smiled at her. ‘I’m not sure I can let go but I will try …’
Archie was so cold and tired that he wasn’t sure he could keep his eyes open much longer. Surely it was too late now? No one was coming, because it was morning now and the church clock had struck two ages ago. Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if he went home to bed …
Even as he was about to leave his vantage point, he sensed something beside him and then a firm hand slid over his mouth and a voice whispered in his ear.
‘Don’t move, lad; they’ve just arrived …’
Archie nodded and Ikey removed his hand. He hadn’t heard his friend move behind him, hadn’t been aware that he was close at hand, and he certainly hadn’t seen the dark shadows that now appeared in the yard. He calculated there were six or seven of them … no, eight. A shiver went through him as he watched their stealthy movements.
‘Go now, walk behind those crates and ring Billy,’ Ikey’s voice hissed in his ear. ‘He may be aware but we want him alerted, and then wait ten minutes before you ring the police.’
Archie didn’t answer, just inclined his head. He moved carefully, slowly, always keeping behind the crates, which were stored in the leather manufacturer’s half of the yard. His nerves were jangling and he could scarcely breathe as he heard the tapping sounds; the thieves were doing something but he wasn’t sure what, because he’d expected them to use force to break down the door or smash windows.
Out in the street, Archie sprinted to the red telephone box at the end of the street and pulled open the door. He halted in disgust as he saw it had been trashed by vandals and was unusable. What was he going to do now? Several people in the area had phones for their businesses, but he was uneasy about knocking them up in the early hours of the morning. He had to do something! Suddenly remembering there was another box two streets away, Archie started to run.
He’d never run as hard in his life. His chest was heaving and he was terrified. Supposing this box was out of use as well? What happened if he couldn’t let Billy know or the police?
By the time he reached the next phone box he was panting and his chest hurt. Everywhere was so dark and the light in the box was like a beacon; he’d never felt so relieved when he saw the phone was still in use. With hands that wouldn’t stop shaking, he felt for his pennies and dialled the number he’d memorised. Billy’s phone rang but there was no answer. Archie let it go on ringing for a while, but still no answer.
How long had it taken him to run here? He didn’t have a watch and he’d lost all sense of time. Those men could have got in and attacked Billy. Supposing he was lying hurt inside? Supposing Ikey and the others weren’t enough to stop them?
Billy dialled 999 and asked to speak to the police as an emergency.
‘Police, how can I help you, caller?’
‘There’s a gang of men breaking into the clothing factory at the corner of Folgate Street …’
‘Right, can you give your name, caller? Please tell me who you are and what exactly you saw.’
‘About eight of them attacking the back of the clothing factory, next door to the leather manufacturer’s … You want to get there quick or they’ll hurt Billy the night watchman.’
‘We need more details, sir. Please, can you give us your name and exactly what you saw?’
‘Tell Sergeant Sallis Archie Miller rang and said Sam’s place is being attacked again …’
Archie replaced the receiver as he’d been instructed to do and left the phone box, running back the way he’d come at a slightly slower pace. He was thinking hard, trying to decide what to do next. Should he just hang around at the front or go to the back and see if he could help? He’d been told not to return after he’d made his call, because they didn’t want him involved in the rough stuff, but Archie was uneasy. Billy hadn’t answered and he wondered if he’d been too late to warn him. Supposing Billy had fallen asleep and they’d caught him unawares …?
Deciding to go round the back, Archie was shocked at what he saw. Several fights were going on in the yard, fists and batons being wielded by a crowd of angry men and there was a lot of shouting and yelling as well as a few screams; some men were already lying on the ground, moaning and obviously injured.
Archie wasn’t sure who was who so he couldn’t join in the fighting, because he didn’t want to hinder Sam’s friends, but he saw that one of the windows had been completely smashed in and decided to go inside and investigate.
There was jagged glass still in the frame, so Archie took off the overcoat he’d been given at St Saviour’s and pulled it up over his face and head as he climbed in. At first it was very dark but he could see light ahead of him and he crept out into the passage, listening for what was going on. Some of the rogues had got in here, that much was clear, and he could hear loud voices coming from the stockroom.
‘That’s it, smash everything, and rip the clothes,’ he heard a man say. ‘We’ll destroy the whole place … and that cocky bugger Baggins an’ all.’
‘This stuff is worth good money. We ought to get some of it out …’ another voice objected.
‘Nah, Connolly said to trash the lot and get out – teach the buggers who’s the boss around here …’
Archie froze in his tracks as he heard the sound of breaking glass and rails being overturned. There was nothing he could do to stop what was happening here, but he had to find Billy, to warn him they were out to get him …
He turned back and went up the stairs as swiftly as he could. There was no light on up here and it was a while before he could adjust to the darkness, but he stumbled up the stairs to the landing, and called out, hoping that Billy might hear him.
‘Where are you, mate? Billy, can you hear me?’
No one answered. Archie felt for the switch at the top of the stairs and clicked it, bringing light to the landing immediately. He’d known that the work of restoration had been completed but he wasn’t sure that the electric was on yet. Relief rushed through him as he ran from room to room, switching on lights and calling Billy’s name. After searching each room, he was satisfied that Billy wasn’t here and he went back to the head of the stairs, running down them and straight into the arms of a huge man he’d never seen before.
‘What the bloody hell are you doing here?’ the man demanded and gave him a rough shake.
‘Looking for Billy,’ Archie answered defiantly. ‘I know you bastards have smashed everything up and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying hurt up here …’
‘He’s all right,’ the man answered and gave him a grin in which most of the teeth were missing. ‘Get out of ’ere, lad, and leave this to the men …’
‘Are you on our side?’ Archie said and grinned back.
‘Git afore I give you a thick ear,’ his captor said and thrust him towar
ds the back door, which now stood open. ‘I’ve got work to do.’
Archie ran into the yard and saw that the fighting seemed to be over here, though from the screams and shouts inside, it was still going on there. Ikey was directing events from what he could see and a couple of bewildered-looking police constables had turned up. Several men were lying on the ground and some of them were groaning. Seeing Sam, he went up to him.
‘They’re smashing up your stuff,’ he said. ‘I heard them say Mr Connolly told them to do it to teach you and Billy a lesson …’
‘You heard them say it?’ Sam’s gaze narrowed. ‘You’d better tell the police.’
‘Yeah, all right …’ Archie went with Sam to the constables, one of whom was busily writing in his notebook.
‘What are you doing here?’ Ikey said. ‘You were told to go home as soon as you’d phoned for the police.’
‘I had to go to the next box, two streets up because they’d broken this one,’ Archie told him. ‘Billy didn’t answer and I thought they must have caught him …’
‘Billy is all right. He was downstairs when the phone rang and it’s due to him that we managed to get in in time to stop them completely trashing this place.’
Archie was relieved. ‘He’s all right then?’
‘Well, he’s got some bruises and a black eye. He’s here somewhere … trying to sort this lot out …’
‘Archie heard them talking as they were throwing the stuff about,’ Sam said. ‘Tell Ikey and the constable what you heard, son.’
Archie repeated what he’d heard and the constable duly wrote it down. Billy came up to them, frowning as he saw Archie standing there.
‘I thought we told you not to come back when you’d done your job?’
‘Archie was worried because you didn’t answer the phone,’ Ikey said. ‘He went back in to look for you – that’s why all the lights are on upstairs …’
‘I forgot to put them off,’ Archie said guiltily and Billy laughed.
‘Cost me a fortune in electric bills you will,’ he said and ruffled Archie’s hair. ‘You’re a brave lad …’
