Authors: Maureen Reynolds
They had moved up to the flat and the damage looked worse in the daylight. Everything was dirty and she couldn’t even fill the kettle without leaving greasy black stains on her hands. Charlie said, ‘I think the person who’s doing all this is Robina Price and I’m going to see her right away. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve spoken to her.’
Constable Williams drove him to Elizabeth Street and they both stood outside Robina’s door while Charlie knocked loudly. There was no answer and Charlie muttered loudly about the bloody woman never answering the door. He knocked again and then opened the letterbox like he did before and called in. ‘It’s the police, Miss Price, please open the door.’ Everything was silent in the flat. ‘Go and check with the neighbours and see if they have any idea where she’ll be.’
The constable tried the next-door neighbour but she was also out, so he tried the two occupants downstairs. The door was opened by a young woman carrying a baby. ‘We’re looking for Miss Price who lives upstairs. Have you any idea where she might be?’ The nameplate on the door said the occupants were called Davidson. ‘Have you seen her this morning, Mrs Davidson?’
‘No, I haven’t seen her for a few days but she usually goes to the chapel in Forebank Road for mass.’
PC Williams reported back to his boss and told him about the chapel. ‘Right, then, let’s go there and see if we can see her.’
They drove to the chapel and parked the car across the road. The chapel was quiet at this time of the morning. A few parishioners were sitting in the pews and an old woman was lighting a candle on the candleholder by the front door. Charlie quietly made his way down the aisle, trying not to make it obvious that he was looking for someone, but Miss Price was nowhere to be seen.
PC Williams said, ‘Mrs Davidson told me she sometimes went to the chapel two or three times a day.’
‘We’ll check that out but I want to go back to speak to Mrs Davidson. Maybe Miss Price has come back by now.’ Charlie doubted that, as he had a funny feeling that the woman had gone.
Back at Elizabeth Street, he tried the door again and called through the letterbox. This ploy had worked before, but either she wasn’t afraid anymore that her neighbours would hear or else she had scarpered.
Mrs Davidson didn’t seem to mind them coming back to her door and she asked them in. The baby was asleep in a wicker basket by the side of the fire. Charlie apologised for bothering her. ‘We need to speak to Miss Price who lives up the stairs. Have you any idea where she could be?’
The woman looked thoughtful but shook her head. ‘As I told the constable, the only place she usually goes during the day and early evening is the chapel.’
Charlie was puzzled by the way she inserted ‘usually’ into her phrasing. ‘Have you ever seen her go out aside from these chapel excursions? I mean, after services would be over?’
Mrs Davidson didn’t look too happy. ‘I don’t like to eavesdrop or be nosy with my neighbours.’
‘But you have noticed some coming and going?’
‘It’s the baby. I have to get up late at night and sometimes during the early morning.’ She blushed. ‘I don’t have to make up a bottle or anything like that so I usually sit in that chair by the window and give him his feed. I don’t put the light on because I think it puts him to sleep quicker and over the last two or three weeks, I’ve noticed Miss Price coming back very late and a few times it was early in the morning. I didn’t think too much about it, as I thought she was maybe visiting friends or family, especially when she was sometimes brought back by a car. I didn’t hear what was said, but she would lean into the passenger door and talk quietly with the driver. She is a very private woman and keeps herself to herself. Mrs Donald, who lives next door, says she’s a religious woman and her flat is like the inside of a convent; all bare white walls and very little furniture. Mrs Donald says she lives like a recluse.’
Charlie wasn’t interested in finding out how Mrs Donald had managed to get into the flat. Instead, he said, ‘This car, can you describe it?’
Again, she looked doubtful. ‘I’m not very good with cars.’ She gave this some thought. ‘It was a small car and I think it was black.’
Charlie held his breath. ‘Did you see the driver, Mrs Davidson?’
This time she was certain. ‘No, I didn’t. The car wasn’t parked right by the close but diagonally across the road where the streetlight is broken. It’s been like that for ages, even though Mrs Donald has reported it.’ The baby began to cry and she went and picked him up.
‘Thank you, Mrs Davidson, you’ve been a great help.’ Charlie handed her a card with his phone number on it. ‘I know it’s asking a lot of you because you have enough to do with the baby, but is it possible to phone this number if Miss Price comes back?’
She took it with a smile. ‘It’s no problem. I usually go out for a walk with the pram every day and there’s a phone box in Ann Street. I can phone from there if I see her.’
Charlie had to warn her. ‘Please don’t let her know you’ve seen her at night or tell her you’re phoning me.’
She gave him a worried look and held her son tightly. ‘Is it something serious?’
‘No, but I’m finding it hard to see her as she doesn’t seem to like the police and I need to speak to her, that’s all.’ She looked reassured. ‘I’d like to talk to this Mrs Donald. Will she be in?’
‘No, she’s away. She should be home next week. She has these little holidays with Gladys, her daughter. She has a house by the sea in Broughty Ferry.’
‘What about Miss Price’s next-door neighbour. Will they be in?’
‘No, the rest of the flats in the close are rented by young married couples with no children and they are all out at work during the day.’
‘Well, thank you again and that’s a beautiful boy you have.’
She blushed and said she thought so as well.
When they were outside, PC Williams said, ‘Do you want me to check on the chapel again, sir?’
Charlie said, ‘No. We can have another look later, but I have a feeling she’s gone for good, back to Ireland. We’ll get onto the Irish police and they can question her.’
As they made their way back to the station, Charlie thought this move must have been planned for some time. The fire had been on Saturday night and she wouldn’t have been able to clear off as quickly as this if her plans hadn’t already been in place. Not unless she was hiding somewhere. Or someone was hiding her.
Later that evening, he went to see Molly to give her the latest news on the fire but he was taken aback by the amount of people in the flat; they were all busy cleaning. There were mops and buckets and pails of water and although the place still had the strong smell of smoke, it also had a whiff of vinegar like from a chip shop. This mystery was solved when Maisie emptied her bucket in the sink and refilled it with hot water and added a good measure of vinegar. She saw his look and said, ‘There’s nothing better for cleaning wooden furniture than a vinegar wash.’
Judging by the dirt that was on the cloths, it had been a hard night for them all. He was especially amused by Deanna, who looked like she was playing the part of the local char on the stage. She wore a frilly apron and a headscarf, tied gypsy fashion around her blonde curls. But the biggest surprise of the night was when Molly said, ‘We’re all congratulating Edna on becoming engaged today.’
Edna looked like she was ready to burst with pride and pleasure when Charlie congratulated her. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘It’s all happened so quickly that I’ve not really taken it in yet.’
Maisie piped up, ‘Alice, Deanna and I only get other people’s dirt to clean up but Edna gets a walloping diamond engagement ring. It’s no’ fair.’ Still, this was said jokingly and everyone laughed.
Charlie asked Molly if he could see her on her own and they went downstairs to the office. As they set off downstairs, Maisie raised her eyebrows and mimed, ‘Is it another engagement?’
There was still a whiff of smoke in the office but it wasn’t too bad. Charlie quickly put Molly in the picture regarding Miss Price. ‘It looks like she’s gone back to Ireland. However, a neighbour saw her coming back late at night and in the early morning, sometimes being dropped off by car, so it looks like she’s the one behind all these attacks. The problem is the car. I don’t think she is the owner, as this neighbour saw her talking to someone in the driving seat. I don’t even know if she can drive. I’m going to see Frances Flynn tomorrow to see if she can help with her whereabouts and answer questions about the elusive Miss Price.’
‘So I can stay in the flat tonight?’
‘No, I’d rather you went to see Marigold and stay at her house. Anyway, how could you possibly sleep in this place smelling like this?’
Molly was quite happy about going back to Newport tonight because she wanted to bring the car back. She had all her clothes to take to the Sixty Minute cleaners tomorrow and she could hardly stagger through the streets with her clothes. It wasn’t that she owned a huge wardrobe, but everything had to be cleaned and she visualised herself dropping blouses and skirts onto the pavement as she tottered to Thorter Row. ‘You’ll let me know how it goes with Frances tomorrow?’
He said he would but warned her to still be careful. ‘I think she’s gone but in case she’s not, please watch out and tell Marigold the same thing.’ He said goodnight and she let him out of the office door.
Maisie’s face was a picture when she returned without him. As the women hadn’t been home for their evening meal, Molly and Mary went out for fish and chips while Maisie put the kettle on and Alice and Deanna set the table. Jean was finishing off cleaning the small bathroom and Edna had finished washing down the wallpapered wall. With a bit of luck, it could be saved. Everything was now ready for Ronnie and his paint pots in the morning. They all said it was a terrible shame to have happened to a lovely person like Molly, but they were all pleased by their efforts.
Stan had long since given up the pretence that he was just friends with Mary and to his delight, she said she felt the same. The only thing worrying them was Phil’s reaction when he came home on leave. Would he think they had both betrayed him? Stan hoped not. They had been friends since their schooldays but he had to tell him. He would write to Phil and tell him how things were between Mary and him.
On the Monday night, as soon as he got back from his work and before he had his tea, he sat down and wrote a short letter. He would get his mother to post it tomorrow and then it was just a matter of time before he got an answer. ‘I remember how lonely I felt when I first went into the army,’ he told Mary when they were having a coffee on Saturday evening. ‘A few of the guys got letters like this from their girlfriends and it was a shame to see them take it so badly. Now I’m doing the same thing and I feel terrible.’
That worried Mary. ‘Do you think we should wait till Phil comes home on leave, Stan?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but he did say we were just friends.’
But the letter was now written and posted. Norma came round to see Mary that Monday night and she couldn’t understand why Mary had given up such a handsome man in favour of Stan. She thought Phil looked like a film star. ‘If Phil had been going out with me, I would never have found someone else,’ she told her. ‘I mean, he’s just the most gorgeous looking man in the whole wide world.’
‘Well, sometimes good looks aren’t everything Norma. I do like Phil, but Stan means so much more to me and I can’t explain it.’
Mary was finding everything a bit stressful. The agency was all on edge with this latest and awful thing happening to Molly. She was frightened that Molly might give up and go to see her parents and sister in Australia and she might even decide to stay there. The agency was successful but there always seemed to be something happening to Molly. Last year it had been that awful job and now the same thing was happening all over again. The only bit of good news was Edna’s engagement and even that had been touch and go. Edna had been in the throes of misery when she thought John cancelled the contract but it was all well now.
She was glad when Norma went away home. Even her mum sensed her apprehension. She asked her, ‘Is everything going well at work, Mary?’
Mary smiled brightly. ‘Yes, Mum, it is.’
Another woman was feeling the strain as well. Sandy had told Alice that the divorce papers had been served on Victor. He had been like an enraged bull at work when he got them and had told Sandy he would fight this divorce and that scheming wife of his would be sorry she ever started this. ‘You’ve done the right thing, Alice, so don’t worry. If he comes back here, don’t let him in, and get Maisie to call the police. It’s just as well he doesn’t know I’m seeing you every night. At least this way I can listen to his threats and either tell him he’s daft to act like this, or I can warn you what he’s going to do.’
Alice was just beginning to enjoy life again but she couldn’t relax, not with Victor on the horizon. She enjoyed her job but she had also been affected by the tension at work and she knew all the other staff felt the same. Maisie had said only yesterday, after they had helped to clean the flat, ‘Somebody tried to kill her, Alice. I know the fire wasn’t a huge blaze, but that smoke was a killer. Did you see how black everything was in the flat? Aye, she was a lucky woman.’
Alice wondered why life couldn’t be happy with everyone getting along with one another. Earning a living was hard enough and most families were doing their best, just like she was. She looked around her house and felt so proud of what she had achieved since Victor left, but now he was like a dark shadow hanging over her. One little hope was the fact that he had joined a boxing club and Alice hoped and prayed he would get some of his anger and aggression out in the open with his opponents in the ring. At least they would give him as good as they got. She felt terrible when she realised the thought of that happening cheered her up.
Charlie made a late call on Frances Flynn. He was hoping to see Jimmy and his mother to see if they had any knowledge about Robina Price’s movements. He waited until he thought they would be finished with their tea. Maggie Flynn answered the door and shouted for her mother. ‘Mum, there’s a policeman here who wants to speak to you.’