Authors: Josephine Cox
The minute she had the door open, Joshua was in. ‘Alice needs you!’ he said breathlessly. ‘Tricia says the babies are on their way and there’s no time to lose…please, Nancy. You’ve got to come. The ambulance can’t get through, and it’s too risky to put her in the Land Rover.’
‘My wife is not going anywhere!’ Tom was adamant. ‘Whether Alice is having her babies or not is none of our concern. So you can go right back where you came from, and tell her that!’
‘You don’t speak for me, Tom Arnold!’ Nancy said quietly but boldly. ‘Did you not hear what Joshua said? Your daughter-in-law is about to have our grandchildren, and the ambulance can’t get through. You can stay here if you like, but as for me, I’m ready to do anything I can to help.’
Still dressed in her nightgown, she ran back to get her shoes and long coat. As it was knee deep in snow along the path, Joshua carried her out to the Land Rover. ‘There’s a blanket in the back,’ he said breathlessly as he sat her in the seat. ‘It’s
an old picnic thing, but I dare say it’ll keep you warm if you need it…’ Reaching inside the back, he got it out and spread it over her knees.
As they drove away, Nancy looked back to see Tom, still standing at the door; a small, solitary figure that made her heart ache. ‘He’s a good man,’ she told Joshua. ‘It’s just that he’s finding it hard to deal with everything that’s happened.’
‘I know.’ Joshua had also suffered a few bad moments these past months. ‘Like you said, Tom is a good man. Just give him time. He’ll come round, you see if he doesn’t.’
Nancy kept her gaze on Tom for as long as she could. ‘I’m sorry, Tom,’ she whispered. ‘There’s already been too much pain and unhappiness. Maybe it’s time we started looking forward.’
When they got to the big house, Alice was wrapped up and beng loaded into the ambulance. ‘We managed to get through in the end,’ the driver said, ‘…but it might help if you were to go in front of us on the way back. We followed your earlier tracks but the road’s still a bit dodgy out there.’
Joshua was only too pleased to do whatever he could, zigzagging and and creating a wider, flatter trail, to give Alice a smoother ride.
On arriving at the hospital, Alice was quickly whisked away.
While she was gone, Joshua, Tricia and Nancy walked up and down. They chatted and talked of Joe, and Alice, and even Frank, while they waited for news of Alice and the babies.
Three hours later, when they were huddled in the chairs, half asleep, they received news that Alice had given birth to two healthy babies. ‘Two perfectly beautiful boys,’ the nurse assured them, and told them that Alice was doing fine.
On realising that everything was well, all three of them shed
a tear. ‘Think of it! Two grandsons!’ Nancy was laughing and crying all at the same time.
‘Dearie me!’ Joshua felt proud of his own part in it all. ‘I was thinking of selling it, but I think I’ll keep that Land Rover now.’ He was that excited he didn’t really know what to say.
Tricia was very quiet.
‘Are you all right?’ Joshua asked her.
With tears in her eyes, she told him. ‘We’re so lucky, you and me. We have a wonderful son in Ronald, and a lovely granddaughter, and now…two new grandsons. What have we ever done to deserve it?’
Her heartfelt comment made them all stop and think.
B
Y A MIXTURE
of luck, accident and devious means, Frank Arnold had avoided capture for many months.
Having kept himself to himself, he took on the lonely life of the modest man he had so callously murdered, and travelled freely up and down the many miles of waterways; showing himself only when needing to earn money in the fields, or to purchase fuel and necessities.
Occasionally he would venture out on a dark night to look for the kind of woman who did not mind spending the night with a stranger.
Wily and cunning, he was also a bitter, driven man. A man who had lost all sense of reality. And the only thing on his mind was revenge on those who had ruined the life he knew before.
‘Alice! That bitch!’ Murmuring her name, he stood at the back of the barge, skilfully shifting the tiller this way and that, gliding along the water as though he was born to it. Having worked with engines all his farming life, and tracked straight lines up and down a field, the barge was not too great a mystery.
His one aim in life was to mete out a just punishment on those who had belittled and deceived him. It was the one thing that kept him going.
He had a plan, and he was biding his time.
He also had a thirst.
That was why he now made his way down to his favourite watering hole.
As he came round the curve, a cavalcade of ducks and swans flew up into the air, quacking and calling and making a flurry in the sky. ‘Gerrout of it, you buggers!’ Frank had no love for birds; they made a mess of his boat, and soiled his washing-line.
His foul mood lifted when he saw the old pub before him, tucked back on the towpath, and looking warm and inviting. The Glen in the vale of Stoke Hammond was a haven. This old place was visited by every boatman up and down the canal.
Anticipating that pint glass overflowing with amber nectar, he licked his lips as he came round, gently and easy, taking the barge further up the towpath, so as not to be too easily noticed. Drawing into the side, he threw off his line and moored the barge with ease. Like someone born to it.
Once the barge was secure, he then put on his duffle coat and pulled the woolly hat down over his forehead. As ever, he maintained a low profile, and kept his wits about him.
‘Right, sir! What’s it to be then?’ The barman had seen him arrive. He also knew him to be a man of few words.
Frank sidled up to the bar. ‘A pint of your best.’ As always he avoided eye contact.
‘Bit nippy out there, eh?’
‘You could say that, yes.’
‘Travelled far have you?’
‘Far enough.’ He kept a civil tongue, but in his head he was thinking. ‘Get a damned move on! I’m not here for idle chit chat.’
‘There you go, matey.’ The barman slid the pint over to him, and Frank slid the coins back. Then without another word he walked away to seat himself in the far corner, by the window.
From here he could see the barge, and anyone who dared go near it.
As he tipped the glass to his lips, he heard the murmur of men talking. Seated at a wooden trestle outside the window, they were discussing the time of day and the recent freak storms in Britain that had taken the lives of over four hundred people.
The conversation moved on to which horse might win in a certain race on Saturday; while the women present among them talked of the forthcoming coronation of Elizabeth the second.
Ignoring them, and pleased to be out of sight, Frank again took a long slow gulp of beer, savouring the flavour as it hit the back of his throat.
As the voices wafted up to him, Frank suddenly realised they were talking about him.
‘It’s time they caught that wicked bugger!’ one woman declared angrily. ‘What he did to his wife was unbelievable. He must be mad as a hatter!’
‘Yes, but what I want to know is where the devil is he?’ That was her companion. ‘It’s like he’s vanished off the face of the earth.’
‘You’re right! And it now begins to looks like the police are scaling down the search, more’s the pity.’
A man’s voice intervened. ‘According to the papers, they did arrest somebody, but it turned out to be some poor devil who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
The first woman interrupted excitedly, ‘Apparently, the police are keeping an eye on the maternity unit at Bedford.’
‘Why?’ That was the first man.
‘Well, because according to the papers, she gave birth to twins, and for some reason, that’s where they still are…in Bedford maternity unit. Think about it, Lenny. If he tried to kill his brother and his wife, what’s to say he won’t harm the babies?’
A new voice chipped in, ‘What about the brother…the one he crippled?’
There was a small silence, before someone else said, ‘They don’t say too much about him, do they? It’s like they’re more interested in the woman and her babies; probably because they think it’s her he’ll go after.’
One man had a strong opinion on Alice. ‘I’ll tell you what…she was wrong to sleep with his brother. Any man would go out of his mind if that happened.’
‘She may have been wrong, but that Frank Arnold was worse! He tried to kill three people; all family. As far as I’m concerned, he should be locked up and left to rot!’
When the men began discussing the next Australia versus England cricket match at the Oval, Frank gulped down his drink, and made a hasty exit.
His shortest route was straight out the front door and past the group he had heard talking.
Frank caught the eye of the woman. For the longest few seconds when their eyes met each other’s, the woman felt a cold shiver go through her; while he found delight in imagining his hands locked around her neck, choking the last drop of life out of her.
In the space of a heartbeat, he held her with his hard stare, before quickly turning and hurrying away.
Climbing on to the barge, he went straight to the calendar, which was hanging behind the cabin door.
He carefully studied the fine red line that ran from the date of his wedding, to a date which was two days away.
‘Damn and bugger it!’
Tearing the calendar off the wall he tore it to shreds. ‘How could I get it so wrong?’ He began pacing the floor. It doesn’t matter! he thought. Because now he knew, and he would need to rearrange his plans.
In turmoil, his mind raced ahead as he frantically started the engine and drew in the mooring line.
Within minutes he was going down the water full speed,
talking to himself and making plans that would put him back in charge. ‘I’ll show her!’ he kept saying, ‘I’ll show the lot of ‘em.’
Behind him, the little group were getting ready to leave. ‘Did you see that bloke?’ the woman said.
‘What bloke?’ That was her companion.
‘That fella in a long coat and woolly hat? He left a few minutes ago.’
One of the men chuckled. ‘I saw him,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen him here before…a bit of a loner I reckon.’
‘Damned weirdo!’ she answered quietly. ‘He kept staring at me…real strange like.’
Laughing out loud, the other woman gave her a playful shove. ‘Give over, Sal!’ she said. ‘It’s more like you were staring at
him
!’
The fat man added to the merriment. ‘We all know you’re on the lookout for the next big romance.’
As they walked away, the woman kept glancing over her shoulder, watching, as the barge disappeared under the little bridge. ‘There’s something really scarey about that bloke,’ she muttered.
Merry from the drink, the fat man laughed. ‘He’s probably thinking the very same about
you
!’
They all laughed at that, though once they were in the car, she recalled the look in his eyes as he stared at her. Try as she might, she could not get the image out of her mind.
‘
I
HATE PUTTING YOU
to all this trouble, Father.’ Alice felt guilty. ‘Every day for two weeks you’ve picked me up and brought me to the hospital. Grandfather said he would take turns, or I could even get on the bus…or get a taxi. I don’t like taking you away from your work. I know how busy you are.’
Ronald shushed her. ‘I only lose an hour in the morning,’ he explained, ‘I don’t intend losing sleep over that! Besides, work will be here long after I’m dead and gone.’
He added, ‘Bringing you to hospital is my pleasure, and I get to see my grandsons. Anyway, I only bring you in. Grandfather collects you.’
He gave a contented grin. ‘So! You don’t need to order a taxi, not when you’ve got your own little taxi service. Besides, your grandfather and I would not have it any other way. Oh, and don’t forget these two little people are very special. Us two men mean to stay close to them…if that’s all right with you?’
‘Well, of course!’ Alice was shocked. ‘Why would you ask such a thing when you know perfectly well, I’d be deeply hurt if you
didn’t
want to be close to them!’
Ronald smiled at her. ‘Well, there you go then. So stop nagging at me and Grandfather. Doing our bit to help makes us feel useful anyway!’
‘Dad?’
‘Yes?’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Ask away.’
‘You will tell me the truth, won’t you?’
‘Of course.’
Alice paused, unsure as to whether he would even want to discuss it.
‘Well, come on then!’ He negotiated the entrance to the hospital, drove into the space and brought the car to a halt.
Switching off the engine, he asked again, ‘So, what’s on your mind, Alice? I’m anxious to get in and see my grandsons.’
When again she paused, he looked at her, and from her worried expression, he knew what she was thinking. ‘It’s your mother, isn’t it?’
Alice nodded.
‘I’m sorry love. Your mother is very stubborn. I’ve tried to persuade her but she’s not having any of it!’ He gave her a consolatory kiss on the cheek. ‘Don’t worry yourself over it, sweetheart,’ he urged. ‘It’s her loss, not yours.’
Alice was saddened, but not surprised. ‘And Pauline?’
He shook his head. ‘The same!’
Seeing how he, too, was upset, Alice tugged at his sleeve. ‘Come on then! Stop hanging about when there are two wonderful little boys waiting to see their grandad!’
As they walked into the hospital arm in arm, Frank watched from his hiding place at the back of the car park.
‘How very cosy!’ he sneered. ‘Pity though! You two had better make the best of it while it lasts!’
Every day for a whole week he had watched the very same scene. Alice’s father bringing her in the morning, then her grandfather taking her away at night.
Having previously found a way inside without confrontation he had managed to gain knowledge of the layout, he had taken
the trouble to make sure there had been no changes in and out of that place.
On each of his little exploratory trips he had skilfully dodged the police presence, and even found his way to the maternity unit.
And now after careful planning, he was almost ready to strike.
Chuckling to himself, he wended his way out of the car park, then down to the bus stop, where he boarded the bus.
Some time later, he got off at the canal bridge. Glancing furtively about, he then walked down the towpath and climbed on to his barge.
Once inside the cabin, he went straightaway to the far corner, where he turned the carpet back and drew out a fold of paper, which he then took to the galley, laying it out carefully on the drainer.
Flattening the creased paper with the palm of his hand, he took a minute to familiarise himself with it; making certain he had missed nothing out. After being painstakingly careful and devious, he did not intend failing now.
Sketched on to the paper was a map of the hospital. Now, using the tip of his finger, he traced every corridor, every exit and entry, and when he touched the outline of the maternity unit, where he knew Alice’s babies to be, he smiled, a deep and devious smile that betrayed his intent.
After a while, he took a pen from his pocket and began writing in untidy scrawl, alongside the map:
ALICE
MORNING
Arrives with father at eight-thirty. (He stays 15–20 minutes.) He leaves. She stays on.
EVENING
Grandfather collects her at eight-thirty. (He stays 30 minutes.) They both leave.
HOSPITAL STAFF
Baby care unit
MORNING
First nurse arrives at seven. Leaves at nine. (Give or take fifteen minutes.)
Second nurse arrives at ten. Relieves first nurse. Stays two hours – leaves midday – (give or take 10 minutes.)
AFTERNOON Too many people. (Morning; 9a.m.-10a.m.) is best. No nurse. Brats quiet. Alice goes for a little walk for fresh air.
The barge swayed back and forth as he danced around the cabin. ‘Ha! Thought they were rid of me did they?’ He had waited so long. ‘Tomorrow,
I’ll
be the one doing the visiting! I’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget!’
Pent up and excited, he could hardly wait. ‘In and out…quick as a wink. They won’t even know what’s hit ‘em!’
The next thing to do was to take the barge nearer to the hospital in order to make a quick getaway. ‘Now then…where’s the best place to be?’ he asked himself. ‘Out of sight of prying eyes, yet with a clear run out of the area.’
A smile whispered across his face. ‘Ah, yes! The very spot!
‘See where kindness gets you, eh, Jack?’ he giggled. ‘It gets you a final resting place in the deepest part of the canal. Poor Jack. Never to be seen again.’
In no time at all the engine was quietly ticking over, and the barge moved forward, silently slinking through the water.
Softly whistling, he steered the tiller left and right, before taking up a middle course, away from the towpath, where strolling lovers might grow curious.
The following morning, unaware that her sons were in danger, Alice walked with her father to the car. ‘I can’t believe how well they’re doing,’ Ronald remarked. ‘After Father’s mad dash through the snow, and the race to get you here, I never thought the babies would thrive like they have.’
He put an arm round her as they walked on together. ‘Alan Joshua…and Michael Ronald.’ He gave a proud nod of the head. ‘Fine names for fine boys.’ Though he asked, ‘I thought you didn’t want names that could be shortened?’
Alice had changed her mind. ‘Maybe they won’t be shortened, and if they are, well I won’t really mind Ron and Al, they’re manly names don’t you think?’
He agreed. ‘Yes, I think so, and I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind at all.’
After seeing her father off, Alice returned to the unit, where the nurse was busy weighing the babies one by one. ‘My! But they’re doing just fine!’ Nurse McDonnell was a little Scottish person with a heart of gold, and a smile as wide as the Mersey tunnel. ‘If they keep gaining weight like this, they’ll be walking themselves out of here before you know it.’
When she now glanced up at Alice and saw her wipe away the tears, she placed the second baby in the cot and slid an arm around Alice’s shoulders. ‘Aw, hen…you shouldn’t be crying! You should be shouting from the rooftops. My babies are strong and well!’
Alice laughed through her tears. ‘Ssh! You’ll wake them all up!’
‘Ah, but your two are the only ones in this unit now,’ the
nurse told her. ‘The other wee ones are back in the main unit. They’re coming on in leaps and bounds and, as you know, tomorrow they’re also due to go into the main unit.’
Alice hugged her back. ‘I can’t thank you all enough,’ she said. ‘With them being early like that, it really frightened me.’
‘Aw, they weren’t all that early. Besides, they’re chunky little fellows. That’s why they were fighting to come out…because there wasn’t enough room for them in that little frame of yours.’
Like everyone else, the nurse had followed the story in the papers. Having met Alice though, she saw a gentle soul, and someone who had suffered terribly for her mistakes.
‘You must be so thrilled,’ she told Alice now. ‘These babies are a credit to you. Another few days and I wouldn’t be surprised if the doctor didn’t tell you to take them home…’ she laughed out loud, ‘…before they start climbing out of the cots and making for the door!’
Just then the door in question opened and in bustled Nurse Baker, a tall thin person, the exact opposite to her jolly comrade. ‘Have they been bathed?’
‘Yes.’
‘Fed?’
‘All done.’
‘So, it’s just a change and weigh?’
The Scottish nurse winked at Alice. ‘That’s it, yes. Oh, and it’s just the twins. The others are already back in the main unit.’
‘Well, thank you, looks like you’ve already done most of my work.’
‘Aw, not at all! Since the other two have gone, it’s left me with a spare time, which I expect will be used up the minute Matron finds out.’
‘Well, it suits me today, because I’ve been told to report to Matron the minute I’ve finished here. And don’t ask me what it’s about, because I don’t know.’
Nurse McDonnell had a wicked sense of humour, which had got her into trouble on more than one occasion. With another wink at Alice, she quipped, ‘I expect Matron’s found out you keep disappearing into the cupboard with Doctor Jackson.’
With a straight face and pretending she had not heard, the other nurse told her sharply, ‘You might as well go now. I’ll take over from here. Thank you.’ And before she could change her mind, Nurse McDonnell scurried away.
Leaning over the cots, the nurse looked from one baby to the other, remarking thoughtfully, ‘Just look how they’ve come on! Such handsome little fellows, one blue-eyed, the other brown-eyed and from my experience, that’s not altogether usual.’
She smiled at Alice. ‘Mind you, I’ve only ever seen two sets of twins, one set of boys, totally identical in every way, and another with one of each sex, so I suppose it’s a bit silly of me to compare, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose so, yes.’ Alice had not liked this nurse the first time she met her, and she didn’t like her now. ‘While you’re seeing to the babies would you mind if I took a little walk to the front door and back?’
The nurse appeared relieved. ‘Not at all! I expect you’ve been here since early on. It’ll do you good to get a bit of fresh air and a cup of tea…though the tea from the machine isn’t the best in the world.’
She glanced at the babies, kicking their legs and twisting their little fingers against the cot side. ‘They’re no trouble,’ she told Alice. ‘Once they’re all weighed and changed and smelling nice, I’ll leave you to it.’
Alice went to her sons and stroked their heads, talking baby talk and thinking what a fortunate woman she was to have two such beautiful, healthy sons. ‘Nurse?’
‘Yes?’
‘I’d rather stay and help, if that’s all right?’
‘Oh, no, dear! That’s quite unnecessary,’ she answered condescendingly. ‘It’s best if I just get on. The sooner I’m done, the sooner you’ll be able to give them another cuddle or two, eh?’
Alice leaned over the cot to kiss her babies and softly tell them that she would be back very soon. Then reluctantly, she left, with the intention of being no longer than half an hour.
That was more than enough time for a cup of tea, and a breath of fresh air, and besides, she would much rather have stayed with her babies if that surly nurse had allowed her.
Alice wasn’t in the mood for tea.
Instead she went out the front entrance, where she leaned against the wall, breathing in the cool, clean air. Biding her time until she could go back in and be with her babies. ‘Miserable thing!’ she muttered, ‘I wouldn’t get in the way. All I want is to be near my babies.’
She gave a little secret smile. ‘I wonder if she really does keep disappearing into the cupboard with that doctor?’ Somehow she could never imagine that woman being warmblooded enough to want a man anyway.
It wasn’t long before her thoughts brought her to Joe. And as always, the longing started. Nancy told her the other day that he was walking on his own two feet with much more confidence now, and Alice thought that was wonderful.
She had never stopped missing him, or loving him.
But somehow or another she had to reconcile herself to the fact that he did not want her. So, it looked like it was just her and the babies, and the family who loved them.
She thanked the good Lord for that much at least.
Alice was deep in thought when suddenly everyone seemed to be running about in a panic.
When she heard someone shouting, ‘HE’S GOT THE BABIES!’ she ran back inside to grab the policeman who was running down the corridor towards the baby unit. ‘What’s
happened? What’s going on…what’s this about the babies…’ Even as she was screaming the questions at him, she knew. Her every instinct told her that it was Frank. He had somehow got past the police and taken her babies. ‘Oh, no…please…don’t let him harm them…’
She was running now as fast as she could towards the unit. When she saw the policeman throw open the door, the nurse she had left in charge of her sons was sobbing in a corner. Nurse McDonnell was comforting her.
When she turned to speak with the policeman, she saw Alice. Running forward she took hold of her. ‘I’m sorry, Alice! I’m so sorry…’
Behind her the other nurse was gabbling her story to the policeman. ‘He looked respectable,’ she said choking back tears. ‘He told me he was looking for Alice, and that she told him to wait in the unit, that she’d be back in a minute. He asked me if he could look at the twins and I showed them to him, but then he threw me to the ground. I couldn’t stop him. He took the babies…’
She was hysterical. ‘It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know…he just knocked me down. Like a crazy thing he was…’
The policeman turned to Alice. ‘Mrs Arnold, do you know who this man was?’
‘It’s Frank. It must be Frank. He’s crazy! He’ll hurt them, I know he will. Please! You have to get my babies back!’ she cried helplessly.
Within minutes more police had arrived. Alice was taken aside and a policewoman tried to calm her. ‘Come away,’ she said. ‘You come with me. Leave them to do their job…they’ll find him. You come with me.’