‘I don’t want any money,’ said Grace stoutly.
‘What you do with the money is up to you, my dear,’ said Mrs Finley. ‘But the law says it’s rightfully yours and it should have been given to you to help with the upkeep of your child.’
Grace offered her another cup of tea and poured it. Her mind was in a whirl. She could have kept her baby. All these years without him and it was his grandfather’s wish that she should keep him.
‘Now I will get to the crux of the other matter,’ said Mrs Finley. ‘Your daughter and John have become great friends. You may be shocked to know that Bonnie has a child, but Shirley is a delightful little thing who is coming up for two and a half now.’
Grace stared at her in shocked surprise, her hand over her mouth and her eyes glistening with tears. ‘George Matthews?’
‘Yes, dear,’ said Mrs Finley. ‘John and Dinah are to be her godparents which is so touching, don’t you think?’
Grace swallowed hard. ‘Was that why Bonnie went away?’
‘She and George were planning a new life,’ said Mrs Finley. ‘When he didn’t show up, Bonnie thought she had been deserted, but it appears that George met with an accident.’
‘Now I have a shock for you, Mrs Finley,’ said Grace quietly. ‘I am convinced that George was murdered and I’m rather afraid that Mr Finley may be involved. I happen to know that right now the police are looking for him.’
There was a small silence then Mrs Finley smiled. ‘Oh good.’ Grace was speechless with surprise. After a second or two she took a deep breath. ‘If this is the time for being honest,’ she began, ‘then I have something to tell you. I’m not proud of what I did, but believe me when I say I felt I had no choice.’
Mrs Finley raised a hand. ‘You don’t need to tell me, my dear,’ she said. ‘I can guess. Norris had half the women of Worthing sleeping in his bed. Frankly, so long as he stayed away from my bed, I didn’t care what he did. He can only get them by coercion or blackmail, and I know from bitter experience he’s very clever at that.’
Grace looked her full in the face. ‘You must have suffered a great deal.’
‘You too, my dear.’
‘Part of me wants to make him pay for what he has done,’ Grace said quietly.
‘And you will, my dear. John’s forged birth certificate will be a good place for the police to start and once they have my husband under the spotlight, I am sure everything else will be revealed. It only takes the removal of one to make the whole pack of cards fall.’
‘You want me to expose your husband?’ Grace said cautiously.
Mrs Finley smiled.
Grace couldn’t resist a small smile too. ‘Can I … is it possible for me …’
‘To meet John?’ Mrs Finley finished the sentence for her.
Grace gave a breathy, ‘Yes,’
There was another knock at the door. Grace was halfway out of her chair as Mrs Finley pulled on her gloves and said, ‘That’ll be Sebastian. I expect he’s wondering how much longer I’ll be.’
But when Grace opened the door, it wasn’t Sebastian. It was Bob all out of breath from running.
‘Mrs Rogers,’ he blurted out. ‘There’s been an accident. Rita’s all right but she’s been taken to hospital.’
The doctor in casualty insisted that Rita stay overnight on the ward.
‘You can’t be too careful with a head wound,’ he said as thenurse wheeled her to the ward.
If she was honest, Rita was a little bit relieved. She had a thumping headache and when the police came to take a statement, she was glad that the ward sister shooed them away. They gave her some pills and she’d slept until late afternoon. When she got up to go to the toilet, she felt a bit stiff but apart from a bruise on the back of her head and a graze on her arm, she was none the worse for wear.
Visiting time was six to seven. As the nurse opened the swing doors to let them in, Rita settled down and closed her eyes. She wasn’t badly hurt and she would be out tomorrow, so when the nurse said her mother had rung up, she’d told her to tell Grace not to come in. There would be no visitors by her bedside tonight.
She kept thinking about Bob. How could she have been so blind? She thought back to all the times he’d been there and she’d never really noticed him. Not once. Her heart fluttered whenever she thought about him now, and every time she closed her eyes, she dreamed of that kiss.
Someone touched her arm. She opened her eyes and Bob was looking down at her. Her heart lurched at the sight of him. How come she had never noticed how handsome he was before?
She pulled herself to a sitting position. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to come.’
‘You try and keep me away,’ he said taking her hand. He put an orange onto the bedside locker.
Rita smiled. Her heart was thumping now.
Bob pulled up a chair. She didn’t mention that kiss, but she found herself unable to meet his eye as she thought of it. It never should have happened.
‘I thought I’d killed you, Rite,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. They sent me home for the rest of the day.’
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ said Rita. ‘And don’t worry. I’m fine.’
The swing door to the ward opened and her mother came in. Bob stood up and offered Grace his seat. Grace embraced her daughter and looked at her anxiously.
‘I’m fine, Mum,’ said Rita. ‘They just wanted to keep an eye on me that’s all.’
‘I’ll go,’ said Bob.
‘No, no,’ said Grace. ‘Don’t go on my account.’
Bob went to fetch another chair from the stack at the end of the ward.
‘He looks nice,’ said Grace, when he was out of earshot.
‘I’ve been an absolute idiot, Mum,’ said Rita.
‘You could say that,’ Grace grinned. ‘It took you a long time to see what everyone else has known for ages.’
‘I love him,’ said Rita. ‘I know it’s too quick, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone.’
Grace laughed softly. ‘After what you’ve been through, I’m glad. You enjoy it.’
Bob came back and they told her what had happened on the bus. Eventually she asked, ‘Does anyone know who was in the car?’
‘One of the passengers said it was Norris Finley,’ said Bob. ‘Whoever it was, the police are going to get him for dangerous driving.’
Grace suppressed a smile. Oh dear, she thought. You are in trouble, Norris.
‘What time will you be out tomorrow?’ Grace asked.
‘The doctor comes around at about ten,’ said Rita. ‘I should be out by lunchtime.’
‘I’ll borrow a car and come and collect you,’ Bob announced.
When the visiting times were over, a nurse came in with a school bell and walked down the ward clanging it loudly.
Grace stood and kissed Rita goodnight while Bob took the chairs back. ‘Get well soon,’ said Grace and then she left them to it.
Bob leaned over the bed and took her into his arms. As she felt Bob’s strong body through her thin hospital nightie, Rita could feel her own body surging with desire. Was this what it felt like? Was this really love? Resting her head on his chest, she willed her pounding heart to slow down and savour the moment.
‘Now that I’ve got you,’ he told her, as he kissed the top of her head, ‘I’ll never ever let you go.’
Norris Finley had had a terrible day. He’d driven back from London like a maniac, narrowly missing a collision with a double-decker bus at Findon, and arrived back at his house to find Major Freeman on the doorstep. He’d forgotten that he’d arranged to come to the house for his answer. Norris’ heart sank. He still hadn’t got that bloody letter and without that, there was a very real danger that something might come out of the woodwork. He’d have to bluff his way through this.
‘Come in, come in,’ he’d said congenially. ‘I’ve no idea where the wife is, but I’m sure you could do with a drink.’
‘If you’re offering another glass of that malt whisky,’ said the major, ‘I wouldn’t say no.’
I bet you wouldn’t, Norris thought darkly. They went to the den and Norris was surprised to find his drawers open and some papers scattered across the desk. Somebody had been riffling about in here. He could feel himself getting angry but he didn’t want to create a scene while the major was around.
‘I apologise for the mess,’ he said gruffly. ‘I had to go up to London in a bit of a rush and I forgot to tidy up. I don’t allow the wife or the maid in here.’
The major threw himself onto the chesterfield sofa. ‘Lovely bit of leatherwork this.’
‘I’ve just got it recovered,’ said Norris. ‘Archie Warren. He’s got a place near Worthing Central. Capital man.’
The major was in no mood for chitchat. He got straight to the point. ‘The Lodge meets tomorrow. Do you want me to put your name forward?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Norris. He hadn’t meant to sound keen. It looked a bit bigheaded but he’d have to take a chance. Everything else had been taken care of. His tenants all had proper rent books now and the factory was whistle-clean.
‘Good, good.’ The major downed his drink in one. ‘I hope you’ll share some of your overseas contacts with us when you’ve been voted in. We all help one another in the Lodge.’
So that was it. At last Norris understood why the major was so keen to have him join. He and his cronies had obviously found out that his factory was exporting to Canada and the States and wanted a piece of the pie.
The doorbell rang.
‘Must dash,’ said the major. ‘Got a dinner at the golf club tonight.’
He followed Norris to the door. The maid must be out. She didn’t answer it anyway. When he opened the door Norris nearly died. Two policemen, one in uniform, stood on the doorstep.
‘May we come in, sir? We need to talk to you.’
Norris glanced at the major who had gone a strange colour. ‘It’s not convenient right now,’ he said stiffly as the major pushed past him onto the driveway.
‘We could do it here, or down at the station,’ said the plainclothed policeman.
‘Not now!’ Norris snapped.
‘In that case,’ the policeman began again. ‘I am arresting you for questioning as accessory to the murder of George Matthews on November 12th 1947 or thereabouts.’
Norris gasped in horror. The major was climbing into his car. ‘Shan’t be calling again, Finley,’ he snapped. ‘Our business is at an end.’
When Grace got back from the hospital, there was a soft knock on her door. A young couple stood on the step. The woman smiled. ‘Hello, we meet again, Mrs Rogers.’ It was Dinah Chamberlain.
‘Come in, come in,’ smiled Grace. ‘How nice to see you again. I’ll get the kettle on.’
They came in sheepishly and the young man with her looked around.
‘Sit down,’ smiled Grace as she busied herself with filling the kettle. ‘Make yourself at home.’
‘Mrs Rogers,’ said Dinah. Grace kept her back to them. She knew what was coming and yet she was totally unprepared. She was supposed to be going to the hospital to fetch Rita in the morning. She took a deep breath and made her hands into fists as she fought to keep control of her feelings.
‘Mrs Rogers,’ said Dinah again. ‘This is John.’
Grace didn’t move. Her heart was pounding. She wanted to look at him but she couldn’t. She never should have let him go but at the time she was a young girl and she didn’t know what to do. She should have fought for him. She should have taken him and run, and now he was all grown up and it was too late. She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She turned around and looked directly into his face. He was so good looking, so like his father. He had his nose and his strong jaw. Her tears blinded her and she blinked them away.
She gulped back a sob. ‘You’re so handsome,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’
‘Don’t cry,’ he said softly. ‘It’s all right.’
Grace was aware that Dinah had taken over the making of the tea. She continued to look at John. ‘I should have fought harder … I wanted to do what was best … Norris told me you wouldn’t want for anything.’
‘Shh, shh,’ he said.
They sat at the table. She couldn’t take her eyes from him. Her boy. Her baby, all grown up. Dinah pushed some tea in front of her but John had hold of both her hands and was looking at her. ‘Bonnie has told me so much about you,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.’
‘I wouldn’t want to hurt your mother,’ Grace said. She let go of his hands to search for a hankie.
‘You won’t,’ he said.
‘She came here yesterday,’ said Grace. ‘She was wonderful.’
‘My mother is an amazing woman and full of surprises.’
Dinah kissed the top of John’s head. ‘I’m going to leave you two to get acquainted, darling,’ she said. ‘I’ll be back in an hour.’
Norris had woken up with a headache. His solicitor had told him to keep quiet but once the police confronted him with what Manny had been telling them, he had to make sure they had his side of the story.
‘The kid recognised Manny from a photograph he’d been given at one of the camps,’ he told them. ‘Manny worked with Mengele.’
DS Nyman looked Norris straight in the eye. ‘How come you got involved with this man?’
‘Manny and I met before the war,’ said Norris. ‘Then after the fall of Germany they asked us to help some of the German high command to escape. We used the cold room as a hiding place until we could move them on.’
‘Tell us what happened that day,’ said Nyman.
‘George rang me,’ said Norris. ‘He said he’d seen an ex-Nazi at the station and he didn’t know what to do.’
‘How did he know the man was a Nazi?’
‘George liberated some concentration camp and one of the inmates gave him an old photograph.’
‘The photograph in his case,’ Nyman mused. ‘Why did he tell you and not the police?’
‘Because I was his boss, I suppose.’
‘Go on.’
Norris put his hand on his forehead. ‘As soon as he told me, I rang the station and spoke to Manny. I told him I’d arranged for George to meet me at the old factory. Manny said to keep him there. He told me there was some whisky in the first aid cupboard. He told me to give some to George, get him drunk if I could, but not to have any myself.’
‘And you gave it to him.’
‘I never knew what was in it,’ cried Norris. ‘It wasn’t until Manny got there that he told me he’d laced it with cyanide.’