Authors: Maureen Reynolds
Jimmy held Donna’s hand when he told her. ‘I’ll take you all up to the infirmary in the van.’
It was a terrible journey. Donna wanted to know what had happened and he told her about the accident, keeping back the information of the cut brakes and the fact that Peter might be dead. He parked in the car park near the front door and they all hurried into the accident and emergency department. There was no sign of Peter or the ambulance but when Donna asked the nurse on the enquiry desk, she quickly summoned the doctor. He took Donna into a small side room while Jimmy sat with the girls. Janey was sobbing loudly while Andrea was almost rigid with shock.
The doctor was sympathetic and quiet spoken. ‘Your husband has had a very bad accident with his pushbike. He has two fractured legs, a dislocated shoulder and broken wrist and a bad cut to his head. He may also have some internal injuries. He is in the theatre now and we won’t have any news till the operation is done. You can wait here if you like but you won’t be able to see him till later. I suggest your two girls go home with you and you all come back in the afternoon. We should have news of any other injuries then and his broken bones will be set.’
Donna was distraught when she came out and Jimmy steeled himself for the news of his friend’s death but when he heard he was still alive he let out a huge deep breath. ‘The doctors will do their best for him. Let me take you all home and we’ll come back in the afternoon.’
Donna said, ‘What about your work?’
‘Jack said to take all the time off I needed to see you and look after you all.’
When they got back to the flat, he made them all some hot sweet tea and spread some bread with strawberry jam, but no one felt like eating. Donna sounded weary. ‘I better nip down to the baker’s and let them know why I’m not in and maybe they’ll phone Andrea’s work to tell them.’
Janey had stopped crying but her face was all blotchy and her eyes red and swollen. Jimmy had never felt so inadequate in his life and he was glad when Donna appeared. ‘One of the girls in the shop said they would phone D.M. Browns and let them know, Andrea.’
Jack had said to let him know about Peter’s injuries so he said, ‘Donna, I have to go back and report to Jack but I’ll be back in an hour.’ The three white, pinched, haunted faces looked at him numbly but Donna nodded.
When he got back to the yard, Jack was in conversation with a man in a grey overcoat and a young looking policeman. ‘Jimmy, this is DS Johns and Constable Williams.’
‘So you found Mr Walsh?’
Jimmy said he had. ‘I came round the corner and he was lying on the road, with the bike wheel all twisted.’
D.S. Johns said it would be better if they moved into the office. ‘Was he conscious when you found him and did he say what had happened?’
‘Yes, he came to briefly and said it was a car and his brakes didn’t work.’
Charlie Johns looked out of the office window. A few of the joiners were moving about in silence. The usual banter was gone. ‘Could he have made any enemies here?’
Jack said no, he had loyal and hard-working employees who all got on with one another. The detective decided to take this statement as gospel, at least for now. He looked at Jimmy. ‘Are you friendly with him?’
‘Yes, I am. Even although he was older than me, we got on great.’
‘Do you know if he had fallen out with anyone, maybe over a gambling debt or something similar?’
In spite of his distress, Jimmy laughed. ‘Peter didn’t gamble. For one thing, he never had the money to spare. His one addiction was his cigarettes but he was even finding these hard justify with the rising prices. He was saying just last week that he was giving up …’ He stumbled to a halt, unable to carry on.
‘Where would he keep his bike when he was working?’
Jack pointed to a corner of the yard where there were four bikes lined up. ‘Just over there.’
‘Mr Flynn, do you know where he kept it at home?’
‘Yes, there is a small shed in the backgreen, but sometimes he kept it on the landing by his door.’
The two policemen thanked them. ‘Mrs Walsh lives at 28 Alexander Street, is that right?’
‘Yes,’ said Jack, ‘But do you mind if Mr Flynn goes along? He promised the family he would take them back up to the infirmary this afternoon.’
Charlie Johns said that was all right with him. Jimmy managed to reach Alexander Street first but just by a few minutes. ‘Donna, there are two policemen coming to see you about Peter’s accident. They want to ask some questions.’
Donna was puzzled. ‘But why to the police want to know if it’s just been a road accident? I don’t understand.’
He took half a crown from his pocket. ‘Andrea and Janey, go down to the shop and get some biscuits in case the police want a cup of tea.’ Janey jumped up but Andrea gave him a strange look. However, she did as she was told.
After they left, Jimmy said, ‘Donna, someone cut Peter’s brakes on his bike. It was a deliberate thing to do and the police want to find the culprit.’
Donna was shocked and she had to sit down. ‘I don’t understand, Jimmy. Who would want to hurt Peter?’
‘I don’t know but tell the police everything. Any little incident that happened might have a bearing on this.’
There was a loud knock on the door and the police, Andrea and Janey all arrived together. The officers didn’t want tea but they sat by the unlit fire. ‘Mrs Walsh, have you any idea why someone would harm your husband?’
She shook her head and started to cry. Constable Williams shifted slightly in his chair. This was one part of the job he didn’t like; having to ask questions when someone was anguished and distressed. ‘Did he have any worries, or was he maybe frightened of someone?’
Donna shook her head again. ‘Oh, we had the usual worries about money and bills coming in, but there wasn’t anything unusual in that.’
‘Have there been any strangers or has he mentioned meeting with someone he doesn’t know well?’
Donna said no, life was just the same as it always was. Then Janey piped up, ‘What about that woman who came to see Dad?’
Donna said, ‘But surely a woman didn’t do this.’
‘Do you know who it was who came to see him?’
‘Yes, she left a card.’ She went over to the sideboard and brought back the small card. For a moment, Charlie Johns thought he would explode. However, when he spoke he sounded quite normal. ‘This Molly McQueen, what did she want?’ It was now the turn of the constable to look up from his notebook with a sharp look of surprise.
‘She said she was looking into the disappearance of a girl called Etta Barton who vanished from home in 1930 and has never been found. Peter once went out with Etta when they were teenagers, but it only lasted a few weeks. Peter hasn’t seen or heard from her in all these years so he couldn’t help. Still, we were pleased to help her as she was very pleasant and sympathetic.’
Charlie Johns said, ‘I think that’s all for now, Mrs Walsh. We’ll have to speak to your husband but not until tomorrow and see if he’s able to help us.’
When they reached the car, the constable asked, ‘Is this the same Molly McQueen who was involved in that strange case last year?’
Charlie Johns looked grim and very annoyed. ‘Yes, it is. What has she got into this time? That woman seems to invite trouble. Right, let’s go and pay her a visit.’
Back in the house, Donna and the girls got ready to go back to the infirmary. ‘I’ve got the van outside, Donna,’ said Jimmy, going ahead of them and hurrying down the stairs.
Although they looked calm, it was clear that tears weren’t far away. Jimmy drove carefully and they reached the infirmary just as the clock was striking twelve. They sat in a corridor for what seemed ages but only an hour had passed. Every time a nurse or a doctor appeared, they raised hopeful faces to the passing staff, but no one came to tell them how Peter was.
Just before two o’clock, the doctor arrived and took Donna and Jimmy into his office. ‘The good news is that your husband has no internal injuries but he has two bad leg fractures, a broken wrist and dislocated shoulder, plus a deep cut on his head which we’ve stitched up. He’s sleeping now and I expect he’ll be very sore when he wakes up, but we’ll control his pain.’
Donna cried out, ‘I thought he was dead.’
‘No, he isn’t. He’s a strong young man and he’ll take a while to recover, but he’ll be fine.’
‘Can we see him?’
‘Well, just for a few moments.’
Donna, Jimmy and the two girls crept silently into a side room. Peter was lying pale and still on the crisp white bed, wrapped in white bandages, his legs and arm in a stookie. Donna gave a small cry and sat down beside him, taking his good hand in hers. ‘Oh Peter, who did this to you?’
Peter was lying motionless and sound asleep. The doctor did say that the anaesthetic hadn’t worn off yet, so they sat for a few moments more. The girls said a quick cheerio to their dad while Donna promised to come later that night.
When they were outside, Jimmy said, ‘You haven’t had anything to eat. Put the kettle on, Donna and I’ll go and get some pies from the baker’s.’
He arrived back a few minutes later, carrying a bag with four hot pies, and in spite of saying they weren’t hungry, the three women ate every crumb and drank the hot tea. ‘I have to get back to work, Donna, but I’ll come back tonight and take you all up to the ward.’
Donna was flustered. ‘We’ll manage, Jimmy. I don’t want to put you out.’
But he was adamant. Later, as he drove away, he suddenly remembered Gemma and his date with her that night. Hopefully she would understand and go out with him another time. When he reached the yard, Jack Cooke came out. His face was grey with worry. ‘What’s the news?’ he asked.
Jimmy told him and Jack’s face lost its worried frown. ‘That’s good news. I really thought he was dead when I saw him lying there.’
Jimmy mentioned the policemen and Jack said the same thing as Donna. ‘Who could have done this to Peter? I mean he’s an inoffensive, hard-working guy. A man that I would say doesn’t have an enemy in the world.’
Although Jimmy stayed silent, he remembered the dent in the van. Peter hadn’t told him how it happened and he wondered if he had got himself mixed up in something.
Later, when they all went back to see him, he was still sleepy but he was able to whisper, ‘I think I’ve been dropped from the top of the Law Hill.’
Now that they knew he was going to be all right, the girls were amused to see his dark hair had been shaved to let the doctor put five stitches in his head wound. ‘You’ve got a baldie spot, Dad,’ said Janey.
No one mentioned the sabotaged brakes.
Molly had two places to go to this morning. Her first call was Vera’s house. Vera was still in bed but she got up to answer the door. The room was untidy and last night’s dishes were still in the basin. The room was cold, so Molly began raking the ashes from the fire while Vera gazed at her with a blank look. Once the fire was lit, Molly said, ‘Are you getting dressed, Vera?’
She shook her head. ‘What’s the use of getting dressed when I’m afraid to go outside?’
‘We’ll both go out and get some food in the house for you.’ Molly looked in the cupboard but it was almost bare. The bread looked like it had shrivelled up and died, while the milk lay congealed in the bottle.
Vera eventually made the first move to put on her clothes. Molly was dismayed to see her jumper had a large stain on the front. She leant over and took it from her. ‘Where do you keep your jumpers, Vera?’
She pointed listlessly to a chest of drawers in the bedroom. Molly found a reasonably clean one and handed it to her. Molly couldn’t help comparing the Vera who had initially hired her to this pathetic, unkempt woman who now sat opposite her. ‘Put your coat on and we’ll go out to the grocer’s shop across the road and get some fresh milk and bread.’
Vera was like a small child. She stood up and put on her coat and waited until Molly found the message bag. Once outside, she walked by Molly’s side and she stayed silent in the shop, much to the owner’s curiosity. Filling the bag with some essentials, Molly paid for them from her own purse while Vera gazed into space. The shop owner could contain her curiosity no longer. ‘Are you feeling ill, Mrs Barton?’ Vera simply smiled and walked out of the shop, followed by Molly.
Back in the house, where it was much warmer now that the fire was lit, Molly asked her, ‘I hate to question you when you’re not feeling well, Vera, but there’s something I should have asked you earlier. What was your maiden name?’
Vera seemed to come out of the stupor and looked surprised. ‘My maiden name? What’s that got to do with anything?’
‘Well then, what’s the surname of your sister Robina?’
Vera looked really annoyed and Molly realised she must have taken a sleeping pill last night that made her act like a zombie. ‘Look, Vera, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.’
The annoyance disappeared and was replaced by a stubborn, sulky look. ‘I don’t like to talk about my sister. I haven’t seen her in years and good riddance.’
Molly lost her temper. ‘Fine, but just tell me her surname.’
‘If you must know, it’s Price, Robina Price.’
‘Thank you. Now, Vera, I have to go. Will you promise me you’ll cook some breakfast for yourself? I’ll come back later, so don’t go out on your own.’
Molly hurried down to catch the Kirkton bus. She had to see Frances Flynn immediately. The bus seemed to take forever as it drew into every stop but soon she was making her way to the house.
Frances opened the door right away. ‘Oh, I was expecting my son Jimmy. His boss phoned the shop next door to tell me one of his colleagues had been injured in an accident and he would be home late.’
Molly wasn’t listening to this story. She wanted Miss Price’s address. Frances was still going on. ‘Poor Peter Walsh, he fell off his bike at work this morning and he’s badly injured.’
Molly stopped dead. ‘Did you say Peter Walsh?’
‘Yes, I did.’
Molly had to sit down on one of the new chairs in the living room. This was terrible news. She was hoping it was a simple accident but a small voice in her head said it wasn’t. What was going on, she wondered. Who was doing all this? She had taken a simple case of a disappearance and now people were being hurt.