A Wanton Tale (28 page)

Jim gripped Florrie tightly around the waist and led her away.

‘We must go Florrie.’

‘Why?’

‘I will tell you later.’

‘That’s the girl who helped us and she is wearing Ma’s ring! We must wait for the ride to stop, I will ask her where she got it!’

‘I know, we will see her again, Sophie will return it to you.’

‘But when?’

Jim shrugged. ‘There is no point waiting here, Sophie will not be getting off the merry-go-round. She has gone!’

Within minutes the ride came to a stop. Her eyes were shut tight then she dared to open them. She was sitting next to her brother on the caterpillar ride, Larry was gone. She was holding her hands up in mid air, the barley twist pillar that she was clinging to was gone. Bertie looked at her curiously. Before he noticed the ring she slipped it off quickly and put it in her pocket.

She could tell by the mode of dress of those around her that she was safely back in 1928. After all she had witnessed, incredibly, she had only been gone for a few minutes. She dismounted from the ride and much to Bertie’s amusement she looked about to be sick. He then handed back her ceramic, black cat prize.

‘What year is it Bertie?’

‘1928 of course, what
is
the matter with you?’

‘I want to go home now Bertie.’

‘This isn’t like you, you always want to hang the latch in the fair, anyway, I want fish and chips! You promised.’

‘The chips are much nicer from the shop near our house and we can eat them at home. Come, we must go!’ Her expression was earnest.

As they walked, she looked up at the sky towards where the Tower had been and was relieved to see it was gone. She could see across the river and could make out the distinctive outline of the Liver Buildings.

She paid little attention to Bertie as they dodged the crowds. She was developing a plan in her head to tell her parents about the atrocious and criminal actions of her uncle, Maurice Shore.

At the same time their father was preparing to leave the house to buy fish and chips for himself and their mother.

‘Look out for the children Arthur, when you’re down there.’

As he parked his Hillman 8, his children were approaching the shop. ‘Hello you two. Fish and chips for lunch?’

‘I’m hungry and she’s acting funny.’ Said Bertie.

Their father smiled and held the shop door open for them. As Sophie caught sight of the lady behind the counter, she was rooted to the spot.

‘What
is
the matter Sophie?’ Asked her father.

Sophie had gone quite pale. ‘Are you Florrie?’ She forcibly asked the lady. She knew it was definitely her but she looked much older.

‘Yes, my name is Florrie, now what’s it to be young lady, cod or haddock?’

As Florrie’s husband came from the back room Sophie blurted out, ‘You’re Jim.’

‘Yes that’s me. Florrie and Jim. What’s your name?’

‘I’m Sophie.’ Her voice was almost a whisper.

Sophie ran from the shop and waited for her father and brother. She sat on the running board of the car, she was deep in thought.

Her father hated scenes and was noticeably annoyed as he opened the car door.

‘Get in now. You were most rude to those people, asking questions in that manner, does it matter what their names are?’

Sophie didn’t answer, a sharp look from her father was enough for her to know it was time to be quiet.

For the rest of the day, Sophie was very subdued. The following day she was determined to go back to the fish and chip shop on her own. She wanted to talk to Florrie and Jim.

As an excuse to get out of the house, she told her mother that she had a headache and fancied a walk on the ‘prom.’ With a determined stride she approached the fish and chip shop. The ‘closed’ sign was facing outwards on the door. It was fifteen minutes before opening time. Sophie saw Florrie through the glass. She was behind the counter, preparing batter in a large ceramic bowl.

Sophie tapped on the window to attract her attention, she then came to the door. Looking slightly irritated, she opened the door and said, ‘Come back in
fifteen
minutes please.’

‘No Florrie.’ She said. ‘It is important that I speak with you. It is about you, Jim, and others. Mostly, I need to talk to you about an evil man called Maurice.’

Florrie’s expression was serious, she froze at the mention of Maurice’s name. ‘Jim.’ Her voice was shaky as she called her husband.

Sophie reached into her pocket and showed the couple the ring.

Florrie backed away from her, steadying herself as she slumped down on a dining chair, her face was ashen. She took the ring from Sophie and burst into tears.

‘How did you come by this?’ Asked Jim quietly with his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

‘It was a long time ago when the old Queen was still on the throne, do you remember me now?’

In turn, Jim and Florrie looked at her quizzically. Florrie had often had a feeling that she had seen this girl before, she was a regular customer. It now dawned on her that it was the same girl that she had encountered all those years ago.

‘You must be the girl who we met many years ago, it must be you because you’ve brought back Florrie’s ring, I saw you wearing it as you were leaving us.’ Added Jim.

‘But you haven’t aged.’ Said Florrie.

‘No she hasn’t, because she came from the future.’ Said Jim.

Sophie told them about the Hales and others. Most importantly she revealed what she knew about Maurice. The man she was ashamed to call her uncle. Painfully, she told them about Alice’s ordeal at the hands of Maurice and recalled his assault on Florrie. They were surprised to hear that she had also been molested by him. As the tale unravelled, they knew for sure that it was Sophie.

‘Florrie, I want to bring this terrible man to justice but to do so I need your help and Jim, we need to find Alice. Do you know where she lives?’

‘Yes I do Sophie, but we need to talk about this.’

‘I
must
tell my parents about this, I will speak to my mother today.’ Said Sophie.

Sophie was desperate to talk to her mother on her own.

She waited for her father and Bertie to go out. As she heard the front door close she turned to her mother. ‘I must talk to you about something. It’s about Uncle Maurice.’

‘Sophie, your father spoke to him that day. Maurice was a little drunk and said he didn’t mean any harm, he denied touching you inappropriately. Nevertheless, your father told him not to do it again. He hasn’t been back here since, so what
is
the matter now?’

‘Well it wasn’t on just one occasion. He did it twice after the wedding incident. I told you at the time, he deliberately touched me in an indecent manner. He put his hands under my clothes, another time he made me touch him. But I know even more bad things about him.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He is a very evil, nasty man who has harmed at least two women when they were young girls. One was the woman who runs the fish and chip shop, her name is Florrie.’

‘What?’

‘Not only her but there is another one, a girl called Alice. We all deserve justice. We need to go to the police.’

Mrs. Shore could see tears in her daughter’s eyes and knew she was telling the truth. ‘Tell me everything darling. We will have to speak to your father about this, but do you realise the seriousness of what you are saying?’

Sophie nodded. ‘Florrie and Jim are the couple who own the chip shop. Uncle Maurice tried to rape Florrie when she was only fourteen. Jim’s sister, Alice, was raped in a brutal attack by Uncle Maurice in 1886 when she was just twelve.’

May Shore went pale. ‘Twelve? How do you know these things? Sophie all this happened a long time ago, you weren’t
even
born. Maurice is an old man, if he did these things, as you say, the police will need to find proof. Your father will be horrified.’

‘Alice and Florrie will be able to give evidence against Uncle Maurice and others who have been involved in this ghastly affair. I know how serious this is, but the women will be able to identify Uncle Maurice. They want to tell the police what he did. I want to tell them what he did to me as well. I will stand up in court. I know it will be embarrassing for us all. It will be a difficult thing to go through, but we must punish him for the evil he has done. It might encourage other girls and women to come forward. Not only against Uncle Maurice but against other men who violate young girls.’

When her father came back with Bertie, May sent the boy up to read in his room. She sat next to Sophie on the settee, holding hands. May asked her husband to sit and listen to what their daughter had to say.

When she finished her tale, Mr. Shore got up and walked around the room in silence. Sophie’s eyes followed him anxiously.

In the end Mrs. Shore said, in a loud voice, ‘For heaven’s sake Arthur. Sit down and listen to us.’

Arthur sat down, ‘This is an outlandish story Sophie, a wanton tale.’ He said, clearly shaken, ‘I do hope you are telling the truth and it is not one of your stories.’ But somehow he knew that couldn’t possibly be the case.

Arthur was much younger than Maurice. Arthur had previously heard sordid tales about his elder brother from the estate workers of their family home in Cheshire. He knew that Maurice had forced himself on two innocent housemaids which resulted in them being sacked. Sadly this had landed them in the workhouse. His callousness at Bramble Hall was legendary. He blamed two grooms for getting the women into trouble. Their father had paid Maurice to leave the estate for blackening the family name. He was fully aware of his reputation for spoiling women, drinking and gambling. He was a debt ridden leech and Arthur wondered why he had ever had anything to do with him, let alone invite him to a family gathering. He had always known the nature of the beast. The fact that he had tried it with his own daughter, was pushing him to explode in anger. But Arthur wanted to make sure he had all the facts.

‘Arthur. Every word is the truth.’ Said May firmly. ‘Sophie knows the consequences of all that she is saying. No young girl on the brink of womanhood would tell such a story if it was not true.’

‘How did you know what happened to the lady from the chip shop? And what was her name? Alice?’ Arthur was shaken by the gravity of the accusations.

‘Father, you are going to have to trust me when I say that I can’t tell you in a way that you will believe. It’s their statement to the police that matters.

Arthur sat looking at her for some time. Suddenly, he appeared to make a decision.

‘Very well.’ He said, ‘Firstly I need you to take me to meet the people involved in these allegations. Florrie and Jim? Also, there is a senior policeman at my club, I will talk this through with him and will act on his advice.’

Sophie had convinced her parents, with the help of Jim and Florrie. Her vile Uncle Maurice was now seventy years old. No one was too old to be punished for such a heinous crime.

Jim’s sister Alice was now fifty four. She had never married and lived in New Brighton, she was a respectable woman. Jim introduced Alice to May Shore. She told May what had happened to her all those years ago.

The other two sisters Rachel and Ruby were married and had children of their own. They lived in Liverpool. Jessie, was still living locally, she and her husband had their own bespoke tailoring business. Their father Charlie was dead. Minnie Ryan was getting on in years but still ‘living her own life.’

In sentencing Maurice Shore the judge said, ‘Too many sexual abuse cases involving young girls were dismissed or dealt with as common assault at petty sessions and I congratulate the magistrates at earlier hearings for referring this case to a higher court, where it has been dealt with responsibly. Any decent person listening to this trial would experience shock, revulsion, anger and incredulity. You, in consort with others, plumbed to the depths of depravity. I would praise the witnesses in this case for their bravery. They all share a debilitating horror of the acts perpetrated on them for your evil gratification. I praise the jury for understanding that it was difficult for the victims of your vile molestations, in particular a child, to reveal the full horror of your actions. Without their courage, in the witness box, we would have been unable to do justice.

We will keep children safe by identifying, convicting and removing child molesters from our midst. I sentence you to life imprisonment for the rape of Alice Boyle, 20 years for the attempted rape of Florrie Ryan and 15 years for the numerous assaults on the person of Sophie Shore. These terms will run consecutively.’

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Copyright © Paula Marie Kenny 2015

The right of Paula Marie Kenny to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with Section 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988