Love Changes Everything (29 page)

When they parted at the top of Virgil Street she vowed to herself that she would insist on going out more often. Andrew was right, she was eighteen, and no longer a school child. It was time she had a proper life and time to go out with her friends or on her own, as she would have done if she had been going out to work.

Ivy certainly did; she and her new boyfriend Hadyn Hill went out at least twice a week. They usually went to the pictures on Saturday night or else went dancing. Remembering how exciting the Charleston had looked when she'd seen it on the screen made her long to go dancing with Andrew.

When she went indoors she was careful not to make a sound. All she wanted to do was to creep into bed and relive every moment of her wonderful night out. She drifted into sleep, imagining that Andrew's arms were still wrapped around her, holding her close and whispering sweet words of love.

They hadn't made any definite plans about when they would next see each other but the following week when she took Cilla and Jimmy round to see Ella and Ivy they were both excited that Jake had finally finished his apprenticeship at Cammell Laird's.

‘It's going to make a tremendous difference because they've offered him a job there and he'll be getting a man's pay from now on,' Ella enthused.

‘The really exciting thing is that we're going to have a party to celebrate,' Ivy burbled, her eyes shining. ‘We're having it here on Saturday night and you're invited.'

‘Well . . . ,' Trixie hesitated. She wanted to accept because she realised it meant a lot to Jake and he'd done so much for her, but she was hoping that Andrew might invite her out on Saturday night and in some ways that would be even more important than Jake's party.

Ivy took her hesitation to mean she wasn't sure if she could get free. ‘You can bring Cilla with you,' she added quickly. ‘Surely Daisy can look after Jimmy for once?'

‘Jake is insistent about you coming,' Ella added. ‘It's going to be such a really special occasion for him. He's invited Andrew and several of their friends from school.'

‘I'd love to come,' she said quickly, her face flushing at the mention of Andrew's name. ‘I'll try and persuade Daisy and my dad to have a night in and to look after Cilla and Jimmy.'

She waited all week for some word from Andrew about the party and kept telling herself that he knew either Jake or Ivy would be inviting her and that was why he hadn't bothered to say anything.

Daisy and her dad didn't seem to be too pleased about having to stay in again but when she explained why it was so important her dad agreed that finishing your apprenticeship was a real milestone in any bloke's life, so he said they'd do it.

The first person Trixie looked for when she arrived at Horatio Street was Andrew, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ivy introduced her to her new boyfriend, Hadyn, and then left her to talk to Jake while she and Hadyn went into the kitchen to help Ella.

Jake gave her a big hug and thanked her for coming. He seemed to be very pleased about his achievement and talked at length about what a difference his new status would mean to him.

‘I'll have money in my pocket for the first time in my life,' he said happily. ‘I've never been able to afford to go out and spend like Andrew and the others from school. Now, I'll be able to see that Mum has more money for housekeeping and still have plenty left for myself. I'll even be able to take you to the pictures and perhaps we can go dancing again. I enjoyed dancing with you,' he said hopefully.

Although she was smiling and nodding in agreement with what Jake was saying, Trixie knew she shouldn't be building up his hopes because she was far more interested in Andrew. She was wondering when he would arrive and worried in case he didn't.

Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she asked, ‘Did you invite Andrew?'

‘Of course I did. My oldest mate, isn't he? He's supposed to be picking up Maria Perks on his way. Do you know her? She was in our class at school and she works at the same bank as Andrew.'

Trixie shook her head. ‘Not really.' She knew the girl he was talking about; she was very glamorous with short blond hair and dressed in the latest flapper styles with knee-length dresses and high-heeled strappy shoes. She hadn't realised that Maria worked at the same place as Andrew.

When Andrew arrived about half an hour later, Maria was clinging to his arm and laughing up at him as they shared some private joke and Trixie felt a pang of jealousy because she knew that she was absolutely no match for Maria.

It seemed ages before he managed to disentangle himself from Maria and come over to her and even when he did, he was still chuckling over something that had been said between them.

As the evening drew to a close Trixie was dismayed when Jake came over and put an arm around her waist and said, ‘Andrew has promised to see Maria home since he brought her, so I said I would make sure you got home safely.'

‘Thanks, Jake.' She tried to smile but she felt bitterly hurt.

‘He lives almost next door to her,' he added by way of explanation, as though sensing her disappointment.

It had been an enjoyable evening and at least she'd spent some time in Andrew's company, she told herself. Nevertheless, she felt cheated that it wasn't Andrew who was seeing her home and that it meant that she would probably have to wait a whole week before they could go out together again.

The following weekend made up for everything. They went to the pictures and all her fears that he might like Maria better than her vanished as they sat in the back row and Andrew was more amorous than ever.

His kisses were eager, almost hungry, and when he suggested they left before the big picture ended because he wanted to be alone with her she readily agreed. He could make her do anything he wanted, she reflected.

As they found a sheltered seat and he unbuttoned her coat and pulled her into his arms she felt an unbearable excitement that filled her with longing and alarm.

As his love-making became more and more intimate and demanding she felt flustered and tried to push him away but he was stronger than her and very insistent.

As she looked up at the night sky, a star-splattered canopy above their heads, she knew they had something special and that it was a night she would remember for ever.

When she got home, she was so caught up with her plans and dreams about what the future could bring that it wasn't till she was about to go into her bedroom that she realised how quiet it was. She smiled to herself; Daisy and her dad must have decided to have an early night. With any luck, she thought optimistically, they might even start to like staying at home one or two nights a week.

As she placed the candle on the chest of drawers and started to undress, she realised that Cilla wasn't in bed. Frowning, because she knew that meant that she was in Jimmy's room, even though Daisy had forbidden it, she pulled her dress back on, picked up the candle, and went along to collect her.

As she'd thought, they were curled up together, but even as she moved towards the bed she felt a sense of unease. They weren't lying side by side. Cilla was lying on top of Jimmy and the pillow which was under her head was completely covering his face.

She placed the candle down safely before she lifted Cilla up to take her back to her own bed. As she did so, it dislodged the pillow and it fell on to the floor but Jimmy didn't stir; he didn't move at all. Very gently she touched his face hoping it wouldn't disturb him. When she found that it was cold and moist she recoiled, gripped by a feeling of fear.

She took Cilla to their room and put her into bed, then went back to check again on Jimmy.

She held the candle and held it so that she could see his face more clearly; his lips were almost white and tinged with blue. She lifted one of his hands and it felt cold and lifeless. When she lifted his arm and then let go it dropped back on to the bedcovers. She tried to pick him up but his arms and head dropped lifelessly and she knew it was too late to try and revive him.

For a moment Trixie didn't know what to do, her brain seemed to stop functioning. Moving Cilla had wakened her and she had come back into Jimmy's room and was standing against the side of the bed yawning and sleepily rubbing her eyes but saying nothing.

Telling her not to move, Trixie took the candle with her as she rushed across the landing and banged on her father and Daisy's bedroom door. When there was no answer she pushed it open. Holding the candle high she could not only see that they were not there, but also that the bed hadn't been slept in.

Immediately she suspected what had happened and she felt angry and frightened. They'd gone to the pub as usual leaving Cilla and Jimmy on their own. Jimmy had probably heard them leave and started crying and Cilla had gone in to him and tried to get him off to sleep.

She looked down at Cilla who was sucking her thumb. ‘What happened, to Jimmy, luv?' she asked gently.

Cilla shivered convulsively. ‘I'm cold,' she complained, avoiding Trixie's eyes.

‘Were you trying to stop Jimmy from crying?' Trixie said softly. Cilla nodded.

‘Shall we go and sit by the fire?' Trixie said, putting an arm round her sister's shoulders. ‘Come on, it will be lovely and warm and you can tell me all about what happened,' she said as she guided the trembling little figure out of the bedroom.

They'd only just been in the living room a short while when there was a noise on the stairs and the door burst open and Daisy and Sam almost fell across the threshold as they stumbled inside. Daisy was in a merry mood, singing and laughing, but Sam was belching and cursing.

‘It's all your fault; you went out and left them,' Trixie accosted them accusingly.

The anger in her voice momentarily silenced them as they stared back at her. ‘What the hell are you talking about, what's happened?' Sam's voice rose angrily. What's she doing up?' he asked, nodding in Cilla's direction.

‘What have the pair of them been up to, now, the little devils?' Daisy chortled. ‘We left them both sound asleep when we nipped out for a quick bevvy.'

‘Yes, and as you left you slammed the door behind you,' Trixie said accusingly.

‘What's that supposed to mean? Of course we bloody well shut the door,' he father answered.

‘So loudly that it must have woken Jimmy up. He was probably crying and that was why Cilla must have gone into his bedroom to try and console him . . .'

‘And?' her father prompted, his face mottled with rage when she hesitated, shaking her head and biting her lip as if at a loss for words to explain what must have happened after that.

Daisy pushed past them and made her way into Jimmy's bedroom. Her shriek when she found his lifeless body sent shudders through Trixie and scared Cilla so much that she burst into noisy sobs.

‘Sam, Sam,' Daisy screamed. ‘Get in here, there's something dreadfully wrong with little Jimmy.'

When Sam reached the bedroom he found Daisy standing at the side of Jimmy's bed sobbing uncontrollably. She had picked up the pillow and was clutching it between her two hands and swaying unsteadily as she stared down at the child.

‘What the hell have you gone and done?' Sam gasped as he snatched the pillow away from her.

‘I haven't done nothing,' she screamed back at him, ‘but I'm pretty sure that someone has. That pillow has been pushed down over his face, I'm sure it has, he . . . he . . . he's been smothered.'

After that it was pandemonium. Sam shouted and cursed; Daisy screamed and sobbed; Cilla clung to Trixie almost as if she knew they were going to blame her and needed protection. Trixie's mind was in a whirl although she was perfectly sure that she was right about what she thought had happened.

They all knew it was too late to do anything to save Jimmy but they didn't know what they were supposed to do. They hesitated about sending for a doctor so late at night because they knew it would be futile and he could do nothing to help them.

‘I don't suppose it's any good taking him into hospital, either,' Sam said, suddenly sober, and running his hands through his hair in despair.

‘We should send for the police,' Daisy insisted. ‘They'll know what we ought to do, and what to do about her, the murdering little bitch,' she added glaring at Cilla.

‘That's not fair, trying to put the blame on Cilla,' Trixie defended. ‘The real culprits are you two going off out and leaving the two of them on their own.'

‘Huh! Don't you try all that mightier-than-thou-stuff with me,' Daisy said furiously. ‘She was the only one here and someone smothered my little baby with that pillow,' she sobbed hysterically. ‘That's unless you did it.' She pointed an accusing finger at Trixie. ‘You got home before us, you could be the culprit. You were the one who should have been here looking after them, that's what we keep you to do.'

‘Bickering between ourselves isn't getting us anywhere,' Sam said wearily.

‘Then do something.' Daisy was trembling and sobbing hysterically, her face raddled with tears. ‘Go and fetch a policeman or a doctor or else take little Jimmy along to the hospital and see what they have to say,' she gulped noisily, clutching at Sam's sleeve.

‘I'll go and find a scuffer; there's bound to be one patrolling in Scotland Road. There's nothing anyone can do for the kid now, but at least we can tell him that the poor kid died in his sleep before anyone gets the wrong idea.'

‘What do you mean by that?' Daisy screeched, her face mottled with rage. ‘That's not what happened to our little Jimmy and you know it as well as I do; that little bitch did it on purpose,' she added, pointing an accusing finger at Cilla.