THE BONDAGE OF LOVE (14 page)

Sometimes he fell asleep with the earphones on. He had bought it from a fellow for twenty pence, who had said it was worth thirty pounds.

His dad had been angry about it; "Who but a fool would sell an article worth thirty pounds for twenty pence," he jeered at him, 'and who but a fool would pay for something that had been thrown away as

useless? " Anyway, it went at times, and tonight was one of the times: the police had been chasing a load of fellas in a car. He turned the tuning knob to find a local station.

It must be twelve o'clock now because the late news had just started.

He liked listening to the news. It wasn't often they had news on downstairs on the telly, because his da got aggravated about things and would shout about them, so his mother would switch over.

But the news he was listening to now brought him up in his bunk, and he said aloud, "Eeh!" That lad was here on Saturday. He came with the girl and her brother. His da had got on well with the girl; his ma couldn't get over how his da kept talking about her.

His chin dropped lower and lower, as he listened. The police were taking it very seriously and they had found the girl. Not the one who was here, but the adopted sister. She had been drugged. And the announcer was saying that the police ;

thought the young man was in danger. His eyes ;

widened as he listened. It was about drugs. The | police had raided the house and found the girl drugged. She was in hospital now but hadn't come round. They had been searching the river.

He suddenly shut off the man's voice. The river. The river. Yes; he

remembered now. Those men they could just make out in the dim light near the jetty, probably dumping something, before hurrying away in a van. He had wanted to go down straightaway to see what they had been up to, but lean was frightened and she had said, "Don't tell me da but we'll go early in the morning before we go to school and have a look."

He turned on to his knees, then put his thumb in the end of his mouth and gnawed on it. Their Mike had been snoring for the last hour. But but he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't tell somebody, and Mike rarely went for him, like he did for the rest of them.

He dropped down from the bunk and, bending over Mike, shook him gently by the shoulder, saying, "Mike! Mike!"

Mike grunted, made a spluttering noise in his throat, then said, "Who?

What? What is it? Oh, you! You sick? "

"No. No, Mike. Listen!"

"It's too late and I'm tired. Listen to what?"

"It... it could be serious, Mike."

Mike pulled himself up on his elbows and peered at Danny, and he said, "What could be serious? What's the matter with you? Had a nightmare?"

"No. No, Mike. But... but we came by the shore road tonight when we came back from the pictures, and we're not allowed to come that way.

And . and . well. "

By the time Danny finished talking, Mike was sitting on the edge of the bunk, saying, "You heard this on the police news?"

"No, on the local news."

It seemed to Danny there was a long silence before he heard Mike say, "Get into your clothes."

"Yes, Mike."

A few minutes later, he said, "Where are we going?"

"Into Da."

"Into Da?"

"Aye, of course. We're not going out of the house on what could be either a fool's errand or the real thing. We'll leave it to him."

They went quietly out on to the landing and gently opened their parents'

bedroom door and switched on the light.

It was his mother who woke first, saying, "In the name of God! Am I seeing right?" She was peering through sleep-rimmed eyes.

"What's the matter with you two?"

Mike was whispering now, "The young 'un here has heard something on the radio and it's to do with the visitors we had on Saturday."

"Ah! Ah!" It was a grunt from the bed. Then Annie Gallagher, pushing her husband, said, "Wake up there, Len, and listen to this."

Len Gallagher pulled himself slowly up on the pillow and he blinked at the two figures standing to the side of him, and he asked quietly, "What's wrong with you?"

"I want you to listen to this. Da. He'll tell you what he heard on the news just now. But it's the last bit he's got to come out with. He and Jean have been where they shouldn't have been. But they saw something.

Anyway," - Mike nudged Danny 'tell Da."

The boy started where he first heard the announcer. But when he said, "I know we shouldn't go by the shore road at night," Len said, "No, be god You shouldn't.

You haven't, have you? "

There was a pause before Danny admitted softly, "Aye, Da. After we came out of the early pictures we went that way." But before Len could come back with any reproach, Mike quickly put in, "They saw men carrying something under the jetty down to the water-line. And it's high tide tonight, or this morning, and I think we should inform the polls. What d'you think?"

"Yes, we should, and quick, because, you, boy, know more about that jetty than is good for you. But at this moment, perhaps we should be thanking God.

Let me get up and get into me things."

"You're not doing any such thing, Len. You're not going out this night, not in that freezing cold. It would finish you."

"Ma's right. Da. But look; we've got into our things; I'll take the lad to the station. It might be a wild goose chase and they'll laugh in my face."

Then he muttered, "But for their own sakes, I hope they don't."

"Now, now, our Mike. Whatever happens, keep your temper. You know the polis."

"Oh, yes, Ma, I know the polis."

"And ... and you wrap up, both of you."

Len put in, quietly, "Take my top coat off the back of the door, it's thicker than yours."

"I'll do that, Da."

"And put another scarf around Danny there," said his mother.

"Anyway, I'll come down and let you out the back door, because you don't want to

waken Daisy, for as sure as two pins, she'll be down to the station with you. And don't either of you speak until you're out of the house.

If they hear me, they won't get up, any of them, 'cos I'm used to trotting about in the middle of the night looking after your da, aren't

I? "

Within a matter of minutes they were in the street, and ten minutes later they were entering Fellburn's main police station.

The night policeman stared at them, and said, "Yes? What's your trouble?"

And Mike, being Mike, had to retort, "It isn't our trouble, it's your trouble, and we may be able to help. I don't know, but we thought we'd

better take a chance."

"Well, if you tell me what you want me to decide on, then I might help you, sir."

That 'sir' got Mike's dander up immediately. God! How he hated these

buggers.

The brother here, saw something that wasn't for his eyes apparently, when coming along the beach road earlier on the night: men dumping something rather heavy. It could have been rubbish or it could have been a body. He was listening to the midnight news when he should have been asleep, and he hears the announcement about the missing young lad and the girl, and being bright he puts two and two together. How bright he really is remains to be seen, but I thought I should come and tell you. Have you got that? "

The policeman stared at him for a moment and said, in a different tone now,

"Take a seat over there, please. I'll get in touch with the sergeant."

Five minutes later the sergeant came into the office and, addressing Mike, he said, "Good evening, sir."

Dear, dear! What a change of front. Mike made no retort to this and the sergeant went on, "The officer tells me that your brother might have some lead that will help us in our search for this missing young man?"

"Aye, that's why we're here."

The sergeant was looking down at Danny and he said, "Could you take us to the exact place and the particular jetty where it happened?"

"Yes, sir."

The sergeant now turned from him, said something to the officer, who then picked up a phone, and it would seem that almost instantly the door opened and two policemen entered.

"Take this gentleman and this boy to the car," the sergeant said.

"I'll be with you in a minute." He again turned to the night officer and said, "Get Fuller and Stoddard. Tell them to meet us on the shore road, the jetty end."

Within fifteen minutes, Danny and Mike were leading the policemen down the bank to the jetty, and Danny was seeing it as he had never seen it before, illuminated by headlights and powerful torches. The tide was within twenty minutes of reaching its height when they climbed through the girders. The sergeant flashed his light from side to side, but saw nothing at first, then concentrated his light along the edge of the rough rising water i43

splashing against the timbers, and almost immediately let out an

exclamation: there below him, already half-covered with sea water and moving slackly, was a long black bundle, distinguished only by a lighter patch sticking out at one end. He was up to his calves in the mud and water when he yelled, "Come on! Get down here!"

It took three pairs of hands to drag the bundle from the hungry incoming tide and over the mud to where Mike and Danny were standing as though rivetted, their mouths open, as they stared down at half of the illuminated,

dead-looking face.

All the lights were on in the house. Fiona and Nell and Katie were in the drawing room. But the door was open to the hall while they waited for the sound of the car.

Bill, Willie, Mark and Bert Ormesby had been out searching since seven

o'clock, when Katie had come home in distress, saying she had waited and waited for Sammy until six o'clock when Mr. Fenwick closed the shop. So, something was wrong.

When Bill had come in, he had phoned Mr. Fenwick and heard that gentleman relating how young Master Love had hurried out of the shop as if he were running after somebody he had just missed. But the two previous customers to leave the shop had been just young girls.

The lead had started there, because when Fiona got in touch with the school to say that they would be a little late picking up Mamie, she had been

informed that Mamie had left school at the usual time. And, no, there had been no rehearsal arranged for that evening. This new piece of information given to the police, who had been informed i45

that the young man and the girl were missing, had led them to Mrs. Polgar's house, only to find the house empty, but with signs of a hurried departure showing. It was when they broke into the joinery factory that they found the particular windowless room behind the joinery shop, and the girl, drugged and trussed up.

Bill had phoned to tell them this. Also that he was at the hospital, as were the police, waiting for Mamie to recover. She had been washed out; other wise she would have surely died.

Fiona was saying to Katie, "You go to bed, dear;

you've got to go to school tomorrow. " And to this, Katie replied quickly, "

I am not going to school tomorrow, Mam. If anything's happened to Sammy, I'll never go to school again. I mean that. I mean that. "

Both Fiona and Nell stared up at her.

"He's been my friend," she was saying vehemently, 'the only real friend I've got, or had. If anything's happened to him, I'll give up, because then

there'll be nothing decent or good in the world. His father had to go, but he had experienced life. But Sammy had hardly started on his, and he had so much to give. You don't know, you don't know. We talked. "

"Yes, dear, I know you did." Fiona had risen to her feet.

"You're going to be in no fit state for anything tomorrow if you don't have some rest. We'll all have to rest."

When the phone rang, Katie darted from them and into the hall, and there, picking it up, she said, "Yes? Yes?"

"Katie?"

"Yes, Dad. Yes."

There was a long pause before Bill said, "They've found him."

"Oh, Dad! Oh, Dad! Where? How is he? Is he all right?"

"We don't know yet. He's in hospital. He's been knocked about somewhat, but he's--' There was another long pause before Bill said, " He's alive. But listen, put your mother on the phone. "

Fiona was already standing at Katie's shoulder and she took the phone, and she said simply, "Bill."

"Yes dear; they've got him. Is... is she still there?" Fiona turned and looked to where Katie was walking slowly towards the drawing room, her head held in her hands, and she said, "No, Bill."

"He's ... he's in a very bad way, dear. They haven't got much hopes of him.

He's been heavily drugged and he was left in the freezing mud waiting for the tide to take him out."

"Is he in the hospital?"

"Not in Fellburn; we're here in Newcastle, the General, and there's a lot of fuss going on. It'll be in the morning's paper. You won't believe it.

There's reporters already kicking around. They must never sleep, these

fellas. I'm tired of trying to be civil to them. Listen, dear, Bert and Mark are coming home. I wanted Willie to go with them, but he won't." He did not add, "I'm staying, too," because she would know that went without saying.

"Can ... can you get some rest?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, woman. They've i47

put nice big leather reclining chairs into the waiting room for us.

They've been very good. But anyway, I . I want to be here when he comes round. I'm sorry that I have to put it like this to you, Fiona if he comes round. God! " - she heard the break in his voice " How that lad got under my skin right from the beginning. I'm going to say this to you, Fiona. We have a daughter, you and I, and you have sons and a daughter, but . but I feel and always have done from the day I first met up with him that he could be mine, my son. "

There was silence on the line, and then she said quietly, "Oh, I've always known that. Yes, I've always known that ... When he comes round, or if

there's any change, will you phone me?"

"Of course, of course. Good night, love."

"Good night. Bill."

The tears were running down her face as she turned to Nell, and Nell said,