A Cuckoo in Candle Lane (37 page)

Climbing into the truck, he grinned at his new friend, and as they drove off, he didn’t look back.

S
ally was sitting with her feet up when she heard the telephone, but before she could get up, her aunt answered it.

‘Sally, I’ve got a bit of a problem,’ Mary told her, her face drawn with anxiety as she returned to the sitting room. ‘That was Sheila on the phone. Harry’s been released from prison and has been round to her house demanding to see his son.’

‘Oh, no! I hope she called the police.’

‘She’s frightened, Sally. Apparently Harry has changed dramatically. He was very abusive and almost violent. Yes, she called the police, but by the time they arrived he’d gone. She wants me to stay for a while, just until she sells the house and can move away.’

‘Oh, I didn’t realise the house was hers. I assumed it was rented.’

‘She inherited it from her parents, and as she and Harry weren’t legally married, he hasn’t got a claim on it.’

‘When are you going, Auntie?’

‘I can’t leave you on your own.’

Leaning back in her chair, Sally’s eyes closed in thought. Her aunt had to go to Sheila’s, the poor woman must be out of her mind with worry. And what about Linda? The child must be terrified, having to face Harry again. ‘You must go, Auntie. I’ll be fine on my own,’ she assured her.

‘Sally, you’re over six months’ pregnant, and I have no idea how long I’ll be away. No, if I go someone will have to come to stay with you.’ She paused, frowning worriedly, then her eyes lit up. ‘I know, what about Ann?’

‘Yes, good idea, I’m sure she’ll agree. I’ll go and give her a ring now.’

Her aunt looked up hopefully as Sally came back into the room. ‘All arranged. Bert’s going to bring her over and they should be here within an hour.’

Sighing with relief her aunt stood up. ‘I’ll give Sheila a ring to tell her I’m on my way, then I’d better pack. Now are you sure you don’t mind, Sally? I feel awful leaving you like this.’

‘Of course I don’t mind. Sheila hasn’t got anyone else to turn to, and as for poor Linda, she’s probably only just started to get over Harry’s abuse. God knows what effect this will have on her.’

Ann settled in happily. Tooting was closer to Billy’s home in Battersea and she went out with him twice a week. Tonight they were going dancing at the Hammersmith Palais.

Sally turned her head as Ann came into the room. ‘How do I look?’ she asked, twirling around to show off her pretty dress.

‘Great,’ Sally told her.

Smiling happily, Ann threw herself onto the sofa. ‘Billy won’t be here for about another half an hour. Does my hair look all right?’

Sally smiled gently. Even though Ann’s eyes were perfectly straight now, a slight cast only showing when she was tired, she was still uncertain about her appearance. She had backcombed her dark brown hair into a bouffant style that gave her added height. ‘Your hair is fine,’ she told her. ‘That style really suits you.’

‘What about my make-up?’

Sally studied Ann’s face. ‘It’s fine,’ she assured her. ‘You always look nice. By the way, has your mum had another letter from Arthur yet?’

Ann’s face fell. ‘No, and she’s getting more and more upset. Honestly, I could kill him, worrying her like this. She even tried writing to Jenny, but she hasn’t replied either, and—’ She paused, hearing a knock at the door. ‘That’ll be Billy,’ she said, jumping to her feet.

‘Will you be all right, Sally?’ Ann asked as she led him into the room. ‘We could stay in if you like.’

‘Don’t be daft, I’m fine. I know I look huge, but I’ve still got another eight weeks to go yet,’ she assured her.

‘Well, if you’re sure. I’ll see you later then. Come on, Billy,’ she said, grabbing his arm.

The door had only just closed behind them when the telephone rang. Sally heaved herself off the sofa, waddling into the hall to answer it.

‘Hello, how are you?’ her aunt asked.

‘I’m fine. Is everything all right? Harry hasn’t been round again, has he?’

‘No, not a sign of him. The court injunction seems to have done the trick.’

‘Oh good. How’s the sale of the house going? Has Sheila found a buyer yet?’

‘Yes. A couple came to view it yesterday and have put in an offer.’

‘That’s great.’

‘Sheila and I have decided to rent a place together. She wants to invest the money from the sale of the house to give her an income. If we find a place with a reasonable rent we can split it between us, saving us both money.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Sally told her. ‘But have you decided where?’

‘Yes, in London, but it’s got to be somewhere that Harry can’t find us. And we’ve decided to change our surnames to make it harder for him.’

Sally laughed. ‘How clever of you. So have you any idea when you’ll be coming home?’

‘No, not really. As soon as the sale of the house goes through, I expect. Now, how’s your pregnancy coming along? Any problems?’

‘I’ve still got swollen ankles, but it was my last day at work today so I’m hoping they’ll go down. I wanted to carry on working a little longer, but as my blood pressure is up, Sid insisted that it’s time for me to stay at home. He was wonderful, paying me a month’s wages, and giving me a lovely present too, a complete baby layout.’

‘Oh, that was kind of him. He’s going to miss you, Sally.’

‘I think he’ll be all right. He takes a lot more interest in the shop now, and I finally persuaded him to advertise for another assistant.’

‘What if you want to go back after you’ve had the baby?’

‘That’s just what Sid said. But I don’t know if it would be practical taking a baby to work, and I wouldn’t be able to afford a childminder. I just couldn’t give him a firm answer, Auntie. Anyway he needs an assistant now, he really can’t cope on his own.’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right. Now, has your mother been down to see you this week?’

‘She’s coming with gran tomorrow,’ Sally told her.

‘Well, that’s all right then. Give them my love. I had better ring off now, darling. I’ll talk to you again next week.’

‘All right, Auntie. Give my love to Sheila and the children.’

‘I will, my dear. Goodbye.’

The house was quiet, and after making herself a hot drink, Sally settled in front of the television. She looked down at her tummy, thinking about her baby. Would it be a girl or a boy, she wondered, resting her hand on the large mound. A wave of loneliness swept over her and once again she found her thoughts turning to Arthur. Jenny must have given birth to her baby by now, so why hadn’t he written to his parents? It didn’t make sense.

God, she still missed him so much. Was he happy? Did he ever think about her? She had tried so hard to put him from her mind, knowing that she would never see him again, but sometimes when she was alone, it was impossible.

Stop it! Stop thinking about him, she admonished herself, shaking her head. The baby kicked and she stroked her tummy again, swivelling sideways to put her legs up on the sofa. They looked awful, she thought, swollen and ugly.

There was the sound of a key in the lock, footsteps across the hall, and she looked round as the sitting-room door opened. ‘Hello, forgot something, did you?’ she asked, expecting to see Ann. Her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t Ann standing on the threshold. ‘No, oh no,’ she gasped.

‘Hello, Sally,’ Harry said, with a menacing smile as he dangled a set of keys. ‘It was a bit remiss of Mary not to have changed the locks, wasn’t it?’

‘What do you want? Why are you here?’ Sally whispered, feeling her heart thudding with fear when she saw the look of utter hatred in his eyes.

‘I came to see you, of course,’ he said, advancing further into the room.

‘You’d better go, my friends will be back in a minute,’ she told him desperately.

‘Don’t bother to lie. I’ve been watching the house and saw them leave. It was easy enough to follow them and they boarded a bus ten minutes ago.’

Feeling as though she was moving in slow motion, Sally managed to stand up, but could feel her legs trembling. ‘What do you want?’ she asked again, backing away as he moved slowly towards her.

‘You ruined my life, Sally – do you know that? I had everything once. A wife and daughter who loved me – a beautiful son. But now, because of you, I’ve got nothing. Nothing!’ he spat.

‘I … I … didn’t ruin your life,’ she gasped, and as he almost reached her, she edged sideways, trying to aim for the door.

He moved too, blocking her path, standing right in front of her now. Then, looking down, he eyed her stomach, and with a sardonic smile on his face, said, ‘So you’re pregnant. How nice, and how would you like it if your baby was taken away from you?’

She felt her heart jolt at the implied threat. What could she do? How could she get away? ‘Look, I know you’re angry,’ she placated, ‘but I don’t see how you can blame me.’

‘You don’t see!’ he yelled, making her jump in fear. ‘Let me tell you, I’ve thought long and hard while I was in prison. After all, I had plenty of time. I soon realised that Sheila would have forgiven me for marrying her without divorcing Mary. She loves me and I could have talked her round. Your aunt was a cold fish, and becoming as mad as a March hare. She wouldn’t have given me a divorce, just out of spite, and I’m sure I could have convinced Sheila of that.’

‘But you didn’t ask her for a divorce,’ Sally protested.

‘No, because I knew what her answer would be. But let’s talk about what
you
did, shall we? You told Sheila that I was molesting Linda,’ he spat, eyes narrowed in anger. ‘And now she won’t take me back. She even reported me to the police, and obtained a court injunction to keep me away from my son.’ He shook his head, his voice rising again. ‘
And
she’s got Mary staying with her. Mary, of all people! All because of you and your big mouth.’

‘But I had no choice! Surely you realise that?’

‘I wasn’t hurting Linda. I love her, and she loves me.’

She felt a wave of nausea. He must be mad, she thought, turning her head and desperately looking for a means of escape.

‘And I loved you too, Sally,’ he continued. ‘I didn’t hurt you, did I? Like Linda, you enjoyed it.’

At that her temper flared. ‘My God, you’re disgusting,’ she cried. ‘Of course I didn’t enjoy it! You nearly ruined my life. I was terrified of men after what you did to me.’

‘Oh, don’t give me that. You’re pregnant, for God’s sake. You girls are all the same, crying that you don’t like it, when all the time you love it really. But now I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done to me,’ he snarled.

Sally recoiled. She tried once more to make a dash for the door, but he grabbed her arm, yanking her violently back. She screamed then – screamed in terror.

‘Shut up,’ he hissed, holding his hand over her mouth. ‘If you scream again you’ll be sorry. Now I’m going to take my hand away, but I’m warning you – keep quiet. Do you understand!’

She nodded her head frantically, and as he removed his hand she staggered away from him.

‘You’ve got to be punished, Sally. You do realise that, don’t you?’ he said, his voice heavy with menace as he moved towards her again.

She backed off until she could go no further, feeling a chair against her legs. He was almost level now, and she could see madness in his eyes. Oh God, my baby, she thought, clutching her stomach protectively. ‘Leave me alone, please! Leave me alone!’ she cried.

‘You’ve been a naughty girl, Sally,’ he told her, a cold smile on his face as he reached out.

She collapsed onto the chair, feeling the room spinning. I’m going to faint, was her last thought, as the room tilted.

‘You’re all right now, miss. Come on, wake up.’

Sally opened her eyes, and feeling a wave of nausea, clamped a hand over her mouth.

‘Can you tell us who the man was?’

Sally’s vision cleared and she looked at the policeman crouching by the side of the chair. ‘Harry, it was Harry,’ she gasped. Then, unable to hold it, she leaned forward and was violently sick.

‘Perhaps we should call another ambulance.’

The voice came from behind her, and turning she saw a second Constable. Wiping a shaking hand across her mouth, she protested, ‘No, please, I’m all right,’ and as her eyes frantically scanned the room, she cried, ‘Has he gone?’

The two Constables exchanged looks, one shaking his head slightly. Sally’s brow creased. They were hiding something, but what?

She tried to stand up, but finding that her legs wouldn’t support her, she slumped back down again.

‘You shouldn’t be on your own, miss. If you won’t let us call an ambulance, is there someone we can contact?’

‘My mother isn’t on the telephone. Could you call Elsie Jones? Her number is on the pad in the hall. But, please, will you tell me what’s happened?’

‘All in good time, miss. Now, are you up to answering a few questions?’

‘Yes, but I need to go to the bathroom, and could I have a drink of water?’