When Sorry Is Not Enough (15 page)

Starting to order from the menu in Cantonese, he grew excited when Mrs Lee indicated to her husband that here was someone in Leith ordering from their menu in their mother tongue.

After taking possession of his Lemon Chicken dish he casually asked if the Lees remembered the Irish lad who had been found guilty of his wife’s murder. Mr Lee shook his head and waved his hands about. In his native tongue he managed to convey to Luke that he never wished to have the bad men, Luke took this to mean Holmes and Watson, in his shop again. Luke, remembering to be giving ‘Face’ to the Lees, assured them that he was not like them and had no desire to bully them or mistrust them.

By the time Luke had left the takeaway he and the Lees were firm friends. He had also managed to establish that Irish had indeed been looked after by them and at the time of the assault on Marie he had been in a drunken stupor in their back shop.

Luke congratulated himself when he remembered he had taken that information to Bobby. Up ’til then, Bobby wasn’t sure if he would go to appeal for Irish. He had considered it could turn out to be an embarrassing rebuttal. But now with the Lees and the ship’s log saying that Irish could not have been in the takeaway the night before his ship docked, Bobby was more than happy to take on the case that would become high profile. Still gnawing on his thumbs, Luke conceded further that Bobby’s precognition officer had only got the best out of the Lees because he had advised Bobby that the Lees must be given ‘Face’ and when they were given due respect and not embarrassed in any way they then would give their full cooperation.

Luke, deep in contemplation, was still sitting on the bench when his half-brother, John, called out to him. Slowly coming back from musing, Luke looked up and beckoned to John to come and join him.

‘Can only stay a minute,’ John informed. ‘See here, Ellen,’ he said to the little girl who was holding him tightly by the hand. ‘This here is your very own Uncle Luke and he’s home on leave from Hong Kong.’

Luke appraised the little girl. He was trying to see if there was any family resemblance he could identify. That was a vain hope. Ellen had natural blonde hair that was matched with large soulful blue eyes and unlike his undersized sisters, Sally and Josie, she was tall and willowy. Even though he could see no family likeness, he was hypnotised by the child. John smiled when he became aware that between Luke and Ellen there was obviously love at first sight.

‘What’s your name and how old are you?’ Luke asked with a wink.

‘Ellen, and I’m six years old today but if you ask me again next week I’ll be seven.’

John and Luke exchanged a knowing glance before they both laughed.

‘What a lucky guy you are, John, to have an angel like this for a grandchild.’

John was chortling. ‘My lassie Nell’s wee lassie she is. Our dad was just besotted with her before he passed over. Here Luke, seeing you like bairns, have you never thought of getting married and getting a wee brood of your own? Best thing you could do, mate.’

Sucking on his lips, Luke sniffed before replying, ‘I do think about marrying from time to time but I’m a bit too old and set in my ways. But …’

‘I know you, Luke, and without telling me I know there is now someone that has taken more than your fancy.’

‘Maybe, but she’s not from around here and she’s much too young I’m afraid.’

‘Too young?’ John shrieked. ‘Rubbish. You’re a catch for any age now – so go for it boy.’

Ellen who was tired of listening to Luke and John sparring with each other, unceremoniously butted in with, ‘I know you’re an uncle of mine and I was just wondering if you knew an aunty of mine called Josie.’

‘You’ve met my sister Josie,’ Luke replied in mock disbelief.

‘Yes and she gave me extra ice cream for nothing.’ Ellen stopped abruptly and her left hand flew up over her mouth. ‘Oh, that was to be a secret so please don’t tell anyone.’

Crossing his heart Luke replied to Ellen, ‘Your secret is safe with me.’ Turning to John he said, ‘You took a six-year-old out to an Italian restaurant?’

While vigorously shaking his head John spluttered, ‘No.’

‘Then where did Ellen bump into Josie?’

‘In the Odeon Picture House on South Clerk Street.’

‘What was showing?’

‘It was the bairns’ late-afternoon cartoon matinee.’

The conversation was causing Luke to become confused and he drawled, ‘But why would Josie be going to a children’s matinee?’

‘She wasn’t. You do remember I told you she was doing something that seemed odd and you should do something about it?’

‘And what exactly is she doing that needs fixing?’

‘Selling ice creams and drinks on a stick in the interval.’

Eyes now bulging, Luke expounded, ‘Are you saying she’s doing an usherette’s job?’

John nodded. ‘She is and with poor Sally run off her feet trying to keep the Four Marys and everything else afloat, do you not think Josie should be called back to her old job? I mean she’s a wizard at it and I’m sure Sally pays her more handsomely than the Odeon management.’

Luke nodded. He looked again at Ellen and fishing in his pocket he brought out a fistful of change which, without counting, he then pressed into her hand.

‘Granddad, Granddad,’ she exclaimed while starting to count the money, ‘You said he was my very own uncle but you never said he was a millionaire!’

Both John and Luke laughed uproariously before Luke said, ‘Look, John, I would give you a lift to wherever you’re going but I just have to get up to South Clerk Street.’

‘That’s okay, mate,’ John replied. ‘Besides, we’re going in the other direction and look, here comes the number sixteen bus.’

‘You’re a good bit late for the first house and much too early for the second,’ the nippy cashier told Luke when he had asked for a ticket.

‘That’s okay,’ he replied quickly, ‘I really don’t wish to see the film, I just want to buy an ice cream from the sales girl at the interval.’

Thinking that she had a right one here the assistant began ever so loudly drumming her fingers on the counter. ‘If you only want an ice cream,’ she repeated so loudly she alerted the male under manager, ‘could I suggest you try the shop round the corner or you could get one in the café on the other side of the road.’

‘Aye, you’re right there,’ Luke responded, slapping down a ten-shilling note, ‘but it’ll no be served up by the lassie. I just have to have a word with in her shell-like ear.’

‘Here,’ the woman expounded loudly, ‘you’re no this guy that’s so madly in love with her that he stalks her?’

‘Me?’ exclaimed Luke.

The woman now scrutinised Luke before drawling, ‘Right enough. You’re a bit on the young side to have earned enough to be going to retire to the south of France.’

This statement from the cashier did not shake Luke. He had more than enough experience to know that Josie had taken the poor deluded woman for a trip up the yellow brick road. However he was more than a bit put out when the woman added, ‘By the way, Josie was a bit under the weather so she left for home half an hour ago.’

Sheer frustration caused Luke to lift up his money and turning on his heel he fled the foyer.

Luke had just turned down into Restalrig Road and had to slow down as a thirty-five bus drew out in front of him. He was just about to signal his annoyance to the driver when he noticed that Josie was now standing at the front of the bus waiting to alight at the next stop which was around the corner in Lochend Avenue.

Drawing to a halt further down Restalrig Road, Luke waited until Josie started the final leg of her journey home to Ryehill.

When she drew level with Luke’s car he leaned over and opened the passenger door. ‘Right, Josie,’ he cried, ‘in you get.’

Josie appeared to freeze with fear. Eyes bulging she stuttered, ‘Oh, it’s you, Luke. You fair scared me. Thought you were … well never mind who I thought you were.’ Hesitating for a minute, her demeanour very quickly changed from that of presenting herself as an alarmed rabbit to one of a flighty, naughty bird. ‘Oh, Luke,’ she teased, ‘you’ve caught me out. Just sneaking down to Ryehill, I am, to make sure everything is all right and then I’ll be in a hurry to get back to my love nest in William Street. Oh, I do so hope Victor isn’t worried about where I am.’

Luke was now out of the car, and seizing Josie by the arm he bundled her into the passenger seat of his car. ‘Just give it a rest, Josie,’ he exploded. ‘I rumbled what you were doing from the start. Now just hold your wheesht until I get you down to your house. And my lady, when we get there you and I are going to sit down and draw up a plan to get you out of the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.’

‘You are wrong. Victor …’

‘Victor has a long-suffering wife. He has no intention of marrying you or any of his other playthings.’ Luke started up the car but before he released the brake he spat, ‘And get real because Victor, although he won’t admit it, is nearly over the hill so he will never
ever
leave Anna.’

‘He will,’ she protested vehemently.

‘No he won’t! And that’s because, besides them being staunch Catholic, she’s a good meal ticket for him.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just that any paramour can be replaced but Anna and her family’s money is his insurance policy for a comfortable old age. And Anna, God bless the fool that she is, will never divorce him. Bet when she vowed to stay with him for better or for worse she always knew it would be for worse.’

The rain was falling steadily when Bobby arrived home and he raised his briefcase over his head so he could shelter from the worst of it as he raced to get indoors.

He didn’t require his keys to gain entry to his home as Lois was standing in the open doorway to welcome him. Throwing down his briefcase he exclaimed, ‘You saw me coming?’

She beamed. ‘I’ve been standing in the drawing-room window for half an hour just willing you to put in an appearance.’

‘Oh,’ he replied, removing his sodden raincoat, ‘from that remark I take it your two-day trip to Inverness has been eventful.’

She nodded. By now they were seated facing each other at the large kitchen table. Bobby grimaced. ‘I know how you feel. I haven’t had an easy time either with this Joseph Kelly’s appeal.’

Lois got up and poured herself and Bobby a cup of freshly brewed coffee. ‘Right,’ she began, ‘as the meal will take another half hour to cook itself how about you and I go through to the drawing room and sit down and you tell me what your worries are?’

Bobby was sitting beside Lois on the sofa when he started to speak. ‘You see, the more I go into Irish’s, as Luke calls him, case the more I get sucked into the mire.’ Bobby was now unconsciously twisting a lock of Lois’ hair through his fingers. ‘There’s just so much that is wrong. So much that has been botched and in trying to be fair to Joseph Kelly, and he is my client so I have to be, I may have to see a brother solicitor brought before the Law Society.’

Lois remained silent while she considered what Bobby had just imparted to her. Pensively she said, ‘No names. I don’t wish you to identify the person, just acquaint me with the problem.’

‘Alcohol!’

Nodding steadily she allowed a solitary ‘Ah’ to escape her mouth before she became just a listener again.

‘He was qualified. Very much so, and more experienced than I am to take on the defence of someone accused of murder, but,’ Bobby sighed, ‘why had it to be that when he most needed to be on his toes he was completely befuddled by booze?’ Blowing out his lips Bobby allowed a long pause before he continued, ‘You see he should have known and pointed out to the jury that Joseph Kelly was still aboard his seagoing ship on the night that the Leith detectives, Washington and Watson, managed to bully the Lees into saying he had been in the takeaway.’ Still toying with Lois’ hair Bobby stopped deliberating while he thought again.

Lois knew that the best way she could assist him with his dilemma was to remain sitting silently beside him. Eventually, in a faltering voice Bobby went on, ‘You see, the opening up again of this case could result in the destruction of at least three people’s careers – but I have a duty to ensure that any miscarriages of justice are put right – so I do not intend to warn anybody of the grounds I am preparing the appeal on. They know what they have done and what the consequences will probably be. And if they were in my shoes they would also follow procedure.’

Bobby turned then to Lois and smiled. ‘How selfish of me, now my darling, you have my full attention so what was it you wished to discuss with me?’

‘Just that I need your full attention in the kitchen. Our evening meal should be well and truly cooked.’ Leading the way out of the room she allowed her laughter to ripple as she advanced into the kitchen. ‘Well done, did I say?’ she continued as she rescued the dish from the oven. ‘Some might even say well fired.’

* * *

Luke and Josie were sitting at the kitchen table refreshing themselves with coffee. Without warning Josie spluttered, ‘It is not what you think, Luke. Okay, I was led up the garden path by Victor and he’s now a closed book. Taking that into consideration I am managing very well.’

Luke gave out a long sarcastic cackle. ‘So you are! And how many jobs do you have and how much do you make from selling choc ices?’

There was no immediate verbal reply from Josie but she did signal by raising three fingers on her left hand to indicate the number of different work places she was servicing.

‘And where and what are they?’

‘Alfredo’s at lunchtime but,’ she squirmed, ‘that will only be for another two days as I am only filling in for Anna. I promised her I’d stay until she gets back.’ She grimaced. ‘Two more days is all that I have.’

‘And?’

‘The usherette’s job and, okay, the pay is basic but Luke,’ Josie garbled while becoming animated, ‘it has its perks.’

‘Such as?’

‘I don’t have to pay to watch the pictures, and if an ice cream is melting …’

‘For heaven’s sake, Josie, you are how old?’

‘Mid-forties … but I pass for late-thirties, don’t you think?’

Rolling his eyes to look at the ceiling, Luke despaired. ‘To be truthful, the way you are carrying on you could pass for ten. And the other job?’