Towards a Dark Horizon (45 page)

The man took out a notebook and once again my worry came flooding back. He said, in stiffly formal words, ‘You were married to a Margot Connors, née Farr, formerly known as Mary Cooper?’

Dad nodded. ‘I knew about her marriage to Harry Connors but not to the other bloke.’

The policeman studied his notebook as if it held all the secrets of the world. When he spoke his voice was flat and official sounding. ‘Yesterday, the said Mrs Mary Farr Cooper was arrested in Edinburgh.’

We both gasped out loud. ‘Arrested?’ said Dad. ‘For bigamy?’

‘Initially she was arrested for deception and theft but bigamy will be added to these alleged crimes. Can you accompany me to the station, Mr Neill, as we have enquiries to make?’

Dad went white but he put on his jacket and left with the constable. As they set off down the stairs, I was mortified. Would the neighbours see him getting into a police car? Would they think
he
was being arrested?

It was a bright clear evening and the Hilltown would be busy with people taking advantage of a nice night. The weather had been cold and wet for most of the month and we had just spent our first winter with the blackout. It was good to be out in the fresh air although the lighter nights now brought the added danger of bombing raids by German planes.

Oh, yes, the street would be busy – I was certain of that.

I had asked the policeman if I could go with my father but he had said no. They wouldn’t keep him long, he said, as it was merely routine.

To make matters worse, they met Rosie and Lily on the stairs and they were both in a state when I opened the door to them.

‘Where’s that bobby taking Dad?’ Lily had cried with tears streaming down her face.

I looked at Rosie who was also visibly upset. I said to her, ‘It’s that damn Margot again. She’s been arrested in Edinburgh and the police want Dad to help them with a few enquiries.’

She nodded dumbly while I wiped Lily’s eyes.

‘Come on, Lily, you can help me make Rosie a cup of tea.’

Although still tearful the thought of doing something useful soon cheered her up.

I quietly told Rosie what the bobby had said but I also added that we didn’t know much about the arrest or where the offence had taken place.

Rosie decided to wait till Dad got back from the police station. ‘I’ve got to find out what’s going on, Ann. That Margot was a real besom and I feel sorry that your father was married to her.’

I felt sorry for him also but I still couldn’t understand how he could have been such a fool to get in tow with her in the first place. But, never mind, I thought, hopefully it would all be behind him and he would settle down with Rosie. He had learned a hard lesson.

It was midnight when he returned. Unfortunately the street was deserted and our neighbours wouldn’t have witnessed his return. They would think he was still in the jail. He looked tired and drawn.

As I made some supper, he said, ‘Margot was arrested yesterday for deception and theft, just like the bobby said.’

As the next day was Saturday, Lily was sleeping in her own room instead of at the Overgate which meant I had to keep a watch in case she heard Dad’s voice and maybe wandered through.

Rosie was puzzled. ‘Where did Margot go when she sold her flat, Johnny?’

‘She ended up in Edinburgh where she got a good job as a housekeeper to a retired judge – using a forged reference, I believe. Imagine Margot with a judge?’ His lips twitched and it was good to see him smile – it transformed his whole face. ‘But it seems she didn’t know he was a judge. She thought he was just some doddery old man that didn’t know his thumb from his pinky but he was far from being dottled. He noticed that large sums of money were going missing. Every time he went to the bank he locked the money he withdrew in a drawer in his desk. Of course Margot was full of sympathy and she even went round the house with him, suggesting how a burglar might have got in.’

At that point he did burst out laughing, much to Rosie’s surprise. ‘Och, I’m sorry, Rosie, but it’s priceless. I can see her floating around full of sunshine and light – sweet Margot with her employer’s welfare at heart. But she made one big mistake. She got greedy. Instead of being happy with the money she had already pinched she had to steal some more. What she didn’t know was it was a trap set up by the police. She always swore blind that she never went into this room on her own but the old man had a good sense of smell and he could identify her perfume. Well, the police found the money under a mattress on her bed but she’s still denying it. Of course Margot would because she thinks she can get off with anything.’

The story stirred a memory in my mind. The smell of scent – the day I thought I heard the noise and found the twenty-seven pounds missing.

‘She must wear her scent awful strong for the man to smell it,’ Rosie said doubtfully.

‘Aye, she did and it wasn’t a flowery scent she wore. It had a strong musky smell but I’ve no idea what it’s called.’

‘Probably something expensive,’ I said. I mentioned the money I had lost. ‘Do you mind when I wasn’t well, Dad, and you asked me for money for Lily?’

He nodded.

‘Did Margot know where it was? In the tin I mean?’

He looked dubious. ‘I don’t think so – unless Lily mentioned it but I can’t see that.’

‘I found twenty-seven pounds missing a few days after you’d gone and there was a faint perfume in the room although I couldn’t place it.’

Dad suddenly said, ‘Come to think of it, she could have known. When I got home that day, I told Lily that there would be no more money from the tin. I wonder if she overheard it?’

‘It doesn’t matter now but I think she pinched my money as well.’ I didn’t add that, for ages, I’d thought he was the culprit.

He was very angry. ‘She was a bad woman right enough but hopefully she’ll get her comeuppance. I think she thought that your legacy would land in her lap, Ann. She thought you would be some placid wee lassie that she could hoodwink into parting with the money but she came up against the wrong person. You stood up to her and she didn’t like it.’

I knew that. At least I had only lost a few pounds and it had been worth it to get rid of her.

Dad walked Rosie home while I got ready for bed. The next day was Saturday and Danny would be leaving on the Sunday. In the evening, he would probably catch the night train back south. Then what?

I soon found out on the Sunday afternoon when they both appeared at the house. Maddie didn’t look as ecstatic as she had done on the Friday night but Danny looked much the same. I soon found out the reason for Maddie’s downcast face when he mentioned this forty-eight-hour pass was actually embarkation leave. He didn’t know his eventual destination but it was to be overseas.

‘I’ll probably get sent to France,’ he told me. ‘The French army is fighting the Germans and loads of regiments are being sent to help, I believe.’

I glanced at Maddie and she returned my look with sadness. Her blue eyes were shadowed and she looked miserable.

‘Hopefully, it’ll not be for long, Danny,’ I said cheerfully, which was an act as I felt far from being cheerful.

‘That’s what I keep telling Maddie but she won’t believe me,’ he said with a smile.

I wouldn’t have believed it either if I was in her place but I wasn’t going to say that.

I told them the story of Margot and their eyes widened with shock. At least it was a diversion from the talk of war.

‘She’s been arrested?’ said Danny.

I nodded while Maddie looked on in disbelief.

‘What will happen now?’ he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. ‘I’ve no idea, Danny. Maybe she’ll get carted off to jail.’

Maddie spoke. ‘But your father will still be able to marry Rosie?’

I said I hoped so – for Rosie’s sake more than anything.

Then it was time for them to leave. I said another goodbye to Danny and told Maddie I would see her soon. I then watched as they set off down the Hilltown and my heart was heavy with sorrow. Danny was maybe going to France – going to some unknown horror and fear that Maddie and I could never even begin to fathom. Going to his own dark horizon.

Maddie was expecting a baby. The Pringles and Hattie were over the moon with her news, as we all were. It was the end of May and the baby was due around the end of the year – or Hogmanay, according to Bella.

The dark blot on her happiness was Danny. He had gone to France and, although she had received a few letters from him since his leave, she hadn’t heard for over a month now. As a result, he didn’t know about the baby.

She had given up her work at the nursing home because she hadn’t been feeling well. Most mornings she suffered from morning sickness that was so bad it left her weak and trembling. Still, she was adamant she wasn’t going to stay with her parents so I spent every night with her. After leaving Lily with Granny, I would head to the flat at Roseangle to keep her company until I had to go to work early in the morning.

Hattie would then arrive as soon as I left which meant she had to cope with the symptoms of the sickness. She was telling Granny one day, ‘Poor Maddie is so ill every morning. It lasts until midday or even the early afternoon.’

Granny was sympathetic. ‘Aye, the morning sickness is a beggar, right enough, Hattie. Still, most expectant mothers suffer from it and few escape it.’

I knew this was true. Although I had no first-hand knowledge of it, I remember hearing our neighbours Rita and Nellie suffering from it. Even my own mother had experienced a few months of feeling unwell when she had been expecting Lily. The only good thing about it seemingly was the fact it didn’t last long.

‘She’ll feel much better after three months, Hattie,’ Granny said, trying to sound helpful.

Every morning, Maddie went to look for a card or a letter from Danny and each time she was disappointed. We tried, Hattie and I, to explain how hard it would be to write while being in France but she fretted every day.

Hattie would make some delicious little snacks for her but as soon as she ate them she was sick. I was worried about her and that was the truth. I told Granny my worries. ‘She’s not eating enough to keep her alive, Granny, never mind keeping the baby nourished.’

To my surprise, Granny wasn’t in the least alarmed. ‘Och, don’t you bother about Maddie. She’ll be keeping enough food down for the two of them, believe me.’

‘I wish Danny would write. That would make her feel better – I’m sure of it.’

‘Well, it is a war, Ann, and I’m sure he would write if he could. He’s not doing this out of spite or anything like that.’

I knew that but it didn’t help.

Then, in June, the news came through about Dunkirk. Connie was white faced one morning as I went into the shop. The papers were still lying in their bundles on the counter. ‘Are you all right Connie? You don’t look well.’

She sat down and I hurried to make her a cup of tea. She pointed to a paper on the counter. The headlines were stark – ‘British Army Retreat from Dunkirk’.

‘My neighbour’s laddie is in the army and he turned up at the door at four o’clock this morning.’

I was about to ask if he had a forty-eight-hour pass but the look on Connie’s face stopped me.

‘The laddie was wearing an old pair of trousers and a jersey. He didn’t even have on a pair of socks – just an old pair of sandshoes. He was at Dunkirk and he told his mother he was one of the lucky ones. He was in the water for hours. The Germans were shooting at the retreating men but seemingly a fleet of small boats crossed the English Channel to get the soldiers back to Britain. As I said, young Jack was lucky because he was picked up quite quickly but he thinks most of the men didn’t make it. He says the death toll will be high.’

I felt sick. ‘Oh, no, Connie! Danny is in France as well.’

Connie looked sad. ‘Well, Ann, unless he’s got out like Jack …’ She stopped because to continue would have brought me even more horror.

I thought of Maddie and the coming baby and I almost cried. But tears wouldn’t do any good in these circumstances. She would need all the help and support we could give her.

Connie continued, ‘The Germans managed to cut off the troops and then the Belgian Army surrendered on orders from King Leopold and that left a huge hole in their defences. Jack was telling us that the Germans are shooting refugees as well as men from the forces. According to him, it’s just one big massacre.’

Then Joe came in, his face as white as Connie’s. ‘You’ll have heard this awful news, Connie?’ he said. ‘Still, it’s a miracle that they’ve managed to save thousands of men from the beaches because of the armada of wee boats.’

Connie nodded. ‘Aye, so Jack said. He was picked up by a holiday cruiser. It could only carry a dozen men but he said there was hundreds of small boats coming over the channel. Jack’s clothes were ruined but the voluntary women were handing out spare clothes to let the lads travel home for a few days.’

Joe was pessimistic. ‘You wait and see, Connie. France will be the next country to surrender to the Jerries. Yon Hitler is just tramping over everybody and the amount of folk getting killed is horrendous. In the last war, it was the men on the battlefront that got killed but not this time.’

‘Jack was telling his mother that there’s a big battle going on at St Valery and those soldiers haven’t managed to get out. He saw lots of men being treated in a casualty unit at Dunkirk and said that the doctors are drawing straws to see who goes and who stays. Jack said it was full of badly injured soldiers and the only reason he saw it was because one of his mates had a broken ankle. He managed to get him to the beach but he was in so much pain that he took him to the hospital unit and he had to leave him behind. He was crying when he told his mother that.’

I couldn’t listen to this horrible saga any longer and I asked her if I could go to see Maddie for a half hour.

‘Aye, you can, Ann. I only hope Danny has also been one of the lucky men and is sitting at home.’

As I was putting my coat on, I overheard Joe speaking. ‘Of course, the men who are injured will be taken to prisoner-of-war camps – that’s what the Geneva Convention says.’