Authors: June Francis
Then suddenly Ben was there jumping out on her and saying, ‘Stick ’em up!’
Kitty caught him by the shoulder and shook him violently. ‘What have I told you about wandering off?’ she yelled. ‘You’ve had me worried sick!’
‘It was only a game!’ He stared up at her with wide reproachful eyes.
‘A game! How did you get past without me seeing you?’
‘I crouched down and pulled me coat over me head and hid among the others. I was being a bandit that’s all,’ he said, clutching at her. ‘Don’t be angry with me, Ma.’
‘There’s enough bandits around! I want you to be good, good!’ She seized his hand and hurried him along, trying to behave normally but inside she was trembling. Then she received another shock. Outside her hotel a car was parked and Teddy was talking to a woman and a girl.
‘It’s Celia from the pet shop,’ said Ben, and hid behind his mother.
‘Ma, this is Mrs O’Neill,’ said Teddy as Kitty approached. ‘She wants to speak to you privately.’
Kitty wished she had not been caught out like this. Mrs O’Neill wore dainty boots, the latest pull-on hat and a dog-toothed patterned suit in brown and cream which hugged her waist and hips and made her look real smart. Kitty felt like a frump in her wellies and old winter coat. ‘You’d best come in,’ she said stiffly, releasing Ben’s hand and leaving him with Teddy.
Without waiting for the other woman’s response, she led the way indoors, slipping off her wellies in the vestibule and carrying them into the empty kitchen.
‘You’re cross with me,’ said Mrs O’Neill, following her in.
‘Not really,’ said Kitty, startled by her forthrightness. ‘I’ve just had a fright and I wasn’t expecting you.’
‘I’m sorry about that. But I thought it best if I just came along. I went to see Celia and she told me about you and your sons.’ She stared at Kitty from curious green eyes. ‘John’s never mentioned you.’
‘Perhaps he didn’t think me worth mentioning,’ said Kitty.
‘Oh no! I don’t think it’s that,’ said Mrs O’Neill, smiling. ‘May I sit down?’
‘Sorry.’ Kitty reddened. ‘I should have taken you into the Smoking Room. It’s more comfortable there.’
‘This’ll do fine.’ The other woman seated herself. ‘Perhaps I’d better explain that I’m not a widow. I have a husband and three children and it’s due to my husband that I know John.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’ said Kitty awkwardly as she poked the slumbering fire so that the coal flared up.
‘Because of the way you put the phone down. I thought, this woman is proud. She doesn’t like asking for help but she’s turned to John which means she must know him well enough to believe he would help her.’
Kitty stiffened. ‘You’re right. Although I don’t know him that well.’
‘That makes it even more interesting.’ The other woman gazed expectantly at her but Kitty was more interested in hearing what Mrs O’Neill had to say about John. After a pause the other woman continued, ‘Your son tells me you’re in trouble.’
‘Did he now?’ Kitty was surprised. ‘And did you tell him you were a friend of Mr McLeod’s?’
‘I told him I’d heard you were in trouble from Celia and that I was here to help. He said you’ve been threatened by someone called Charley, who sounds like he’s trying to get a protection racket going. Celia filled in the gaps. She’s seen him in action. It was then your son explained about John’s involvement.’
Kitty took a deep breath, even so her voice trembled when she spoke. ‘I’m not blaming John. How was he to know Charley would come here and threaten me with a knife and steal from me and then break my windows?’
‘That bad! Poor you. Do let me help?’ Her tone was so sympathetic that tears filled Kitty’s eyes.
She looked away hurriedly and said unsteadily, ‘I told myself I wasn’t going to let him frighten me but then Ben played a stupid trick on me today and I was terrified that Charley had got to him. I was ready to give him anything as long as he left my children alone.’
‘You really believe he might harm your sons?’
‘I wouldn’t put anything past him.’ She rubbed her eyes with the back of a hand.
‘You’ve thought of the police?’
‘Yes. But—’
‘You’d rather keep them out of this?’
Kitty nodded. ‘Guests don’t like disruptions. Especially if it involves the police. I just don’t know what to do. There’s my uncle but he’s no match for Charley and I can’t involve the neighbours.’
‘You don’t think Charley would try and turn the screws on them?’
Kitty stared at her. ‘I never thought of that – but he’s only one man isn’t he? I mean it’s one thing threatening a woman without a man but he might be taking on more than he can chew if he tried threatening other people.’
‘He might think of it, though. And he might think of enlisting other thugs like himself.’
‘I don’t know if he’s got the brains,’ said Kitty, her brows knitting. ‘That would take organising.’
‘Well, let’s stop him how, just in case. We can’t get in touch with John but we can enlist my husband’s help. He has men he can call on. Unfortunately he won’t be home from New York until tomorrow but as soon as he arrives I’ll explain the situation to him.’
Kitty was dumbfounded. ‘Why are you offering to help me like this?’ she said in a low voice. ‘Why should you and your husband want to get involved?’
Mrs O’Neill wriggled her nose and toyed with her gloves. ‘John’s a friend and the most he’ll ever take from us is a bed for the night. I’ve no idea how you met but the fact that he hasn’t mentioned you I find interesting. He’s been here several times I believe?’
‘Yes,’ said Kitty. ‘He did some work for me. I sort of offered him a permanent job but—’
‘You’d really have him to stay despite the way he lives?’
Kitty smiled. ‘I’d expect him to change his lifestyle. There would be no need for him to busk and go wandering if he had a permanent roof over his head.’
‘If only you could get him to do that,’ said Mrs O’Neill fervently. ‘Daniel’s been trying to get him to settle down for ages but he keeps saying he’s happy as he is.’ She rose to her feet. ‘I’d best be going. I’ve left the girls with my maid, Hannah, and she isn’t the most patient of people.’
‘I should have given you a cup of tea,’ said Kitty apologetically.
‘It doesn’t matter.’ The other woman smiled. ‘Come and have tea with us when the weather improves. In the meantime I won’t forget to speak to Daniel but don’t forget to lock all your doors and windows tonight.’
‘I certainly won’t,’ said Kitty, returning her smile. She saw her visitor out, scarcely able to believe that soon her trouble with Charley would be a thing of the past. That was if the beautiful Mrs O’Neill’s husband really could be depended on to help a perfect stranger. It almost seemed too good to be true.
The rock came through the basement window just as Kitty arrived downstairs after seeing Ben to bed. It sent glass flying onto the linoleum and startled the cat out of its box.
‘Blinking heck!’ Teddy shot to his feet and the book slid from Mick’s knee onto the floor. They stared at Kitty, wide-eyed as she reached for the poker and made for the area door. This could not be happening when she had believed it over. It was two days since she had spoken to Mrs O’Neill and they had not been disturbed by Charley in that time.
‘No, Ma, it’s dark out there,’ hissed Teddy, grabbing hold of her arm. ‘He might be waiting to get hold of you.’
Still clutching the poker, Kitty sank onto a chair feeling sick with apprehension. She stared at the curtains fluttering in the cold air coming through the hole. Swine! She could murder him for giving her a shock like that but thank God he had not chosen to break one of the guests’ windows. But why hadn’t he? And why hadn’t Mr O’Neill done something about him? Perhaps his wife had been wrong about his willingness to get involved?
There came a scrabbling noise at the area door and instinctively she rose to her feet. ‘What’s he up to?’ whispered Mick.
‘I’ll have a gander out of the window,’ muttered Teddy. But before he could do so there came a keening noise which caused the hairs to rise on the nape of his neck.
‘What was that?’ whispered Mick.
‘Get out of my way,’ said Kitty, gripping the poker tightly and heading for the door. Mick and Teddy followed close at her heels as she drew back the bolts.
A large bundle lay in a heap on the threshold but Kitty could see no one as she glanced outside and up through the area railings onto the pavement. The keening sound came again and she looked down at the bundle at her feet. It moved. She bent to have a closer look and her blood seemed to run cold. ‘Help me, Mick,’ she said, thrusting the poker at Teddy.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
Kitty’s feelings threatened to choke her but she managed to gain control of her voice. ‘It’s Annie. Help me lift her.’
‘What’s he done to her?’
‘Don’t ask questions! Just lift!’
They managed to get their arms under her and to lift. Annie’s eyes remained shut but that keening cry issued from her swollen lips again, unnerving them so much that they nearly dropped her. They shuffled over to the sofa and placed her down. ‘Teddy, shoot those bolts,’ ordered Kitty. ‘Then the pair of you go and look in the yard for a piece of wood to board up the window.’
They vanished through the door which led to the back basement as Kitty gazed at her cousin, noting her bloodied face and scratches with a sick heart. She blinked back tears. The top buttons had been ripped from her coat which gaped open revealing the torn blouse beneath. Her stockings were laddered and there was blood and fluid smeared down her legs. A lump rose in Kitty’s throat and she pressed her lips to her cousin’s cheek before hurrying to fetch water and a cloth.
She knelt on the rug and dabbed gently at Annie’s face. Her cousin’s eyelids flickered open. ‘It’s OK, luv,’ said Kitty. ‘I’ve got you.’
‘Kit!’ Annie started up, clutching the front of Kitty’s cardigan and gazing at her with wide frightened eyes. ‘He-he-he-he,’ she stammered.
Kitty dropped the towel and hugged her. ‘Hush now, hush! It’ll be all right.’ That keening cry issued forth from Annie again and Kitty wanted to weep. ‘You just hang on to me,’ she said unsteadily. ‘You’re going to be all right.’
‘He – he raped me,’ gasped Annie, ‘and I was saving meself for Jimmy.’ She burst into uncontrollable weeping.
Kitty rocked her back and forth, wanting to scream out the truth about Jimmy and the woman he had gone off with but what would be the point? The truth would hurt Annie unbearably. She let her cousin cry and eventually she lifted her head. ‘What am I going to do, Kit?’ Her voice wobbled and her eyes brimmed with tears once more. ‘What am I going to do? How can I tell Mam and Dad what that swine’s done to me?’
‘You have to tell them,’ said Kitty.
‘I can’t! It’ll upset them terrible.’
Kitty took a deep breath. ‘I’ll tell your mam.’
‘No!’
‘Yes, Annie. What if you have a baby?’
Annie started up. ‘I’ll kill meself if that happens.’
‘Don’t talk like that,’ said Kitty, her own voice shaking.
‘I will! I’ll kill myself,’ said Annie frantically, swaying backwards and forwards. ‘I wish I could get him! He deserves to die for what he’s done to me.’ She began to sob again. ‘I was going to go to Rhyl in summer to see Jimmy but he won’t want me now.’
‘Forget about Jimmy,’ said Kitty. ‘He left us remember.’
‘So did the big fella. This is all his fault.’
‘He wasn’t to know this would happen,’ protested Kitty. ‘Listen, love. I’ll see you home after I’ve made the supper drinks and speak to your mam.’
‘I don’t want to go home. I can’t go home.’
‘You have to! Your mam’ll be worried about you.’
‘I can’t! I look a mess! I can’t walk through the streets like this. I want to stay here with you. I’m frightened to go out. He might be there waiting.’
Kitty realised there could be some truth in that. ‘OK. You can stay here. Go and have a wash and a lie-down upstairs. If your dad comes looking for you he can—’
‘I’m not letting me dad see me like this! He might try and do something and that fella’d make mincemeat out of him. Dad’s only little!’
‘OK! OK! What’d you want me to do?’
Annie clutched at Kitty’s cardigan again. ‘Say I’ve been sick.’
Kitty smiled despite the desperate situation she felt them to be in. ‘What do we blame? My cooking? Besides your face is a mess. It’ll have to be something else.’
‘Say I fell down the steps! That I’ve broken me leg!’
‘Now you’re getting carried away. You’d be—’
‘Mrs Ryan!’ The voice was male and caused the women to clutch each other. It came again. ‘Mrs Ryan, I’m Daniel O’Neill. You’ve met my wife. Can you let me in?’ It was an Irish voice. It had music in it and was like hearing a voice from heaven now she knew whom it belonged to.
‘Hold on.’ Kitty covered her cousin’s legs with a towel and hurried towards the window. She glanced through the hole before going to the door and sliding back the bolts.
‘I hope I didn’t frighten you?’ said the man outside.
She could barely see the face which showed faintly between a crop of curling dark hair and a navy blue fisherman’s jumper. ‘You did. But come in, Mr O’Neill. I’m glad to see you but I wish you’d come earlier. He got to my cousin.’
‘I’m deeply sorry. He knew the back streets better than my men and now we’ve lost him, dammit!’ He stepped inside wiping his feet on the coconut mat.
‘You’ll get him, though?’ she said, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. Now she could see him more clearly she was in some way reminded of her dead husband Michael who had been dark-haired and of sturdy build when they had first met. He’d also had that Irish lilt to his voice.
‘Sooner or later. If he tries to get back home we’ve got him,’ said Mr O’Neill. ‘The police might be afraid to walk the back alleys of Scottie Road but my men aren’t.’
‘And if he doesn’t go back home?’ insisted Kitty.
‘We’ll keep looking – but don’t you worry we won’t leave you and your family unprotected. I’ll have someone watching this place.’
That relieved her mind. ‘Thank you.’
He held out a hand. ‘I wish we could have met under happier circumstances, Mrs Ryan.’