McQueen's Agency (22 page)

No one was watching her. She was just feeling jittery after the strange morning she had experienced.

She looked over to the merry-go-round. It had stopped and Billy was nowhere to be seen. She ran over and asked one of the mothers if she had seen him but the woman hadn’t noticed.

‘I’ve got three kids here and I was busy looking after them,’ she said.

Edna rushed around the playground but there was no sign of Billy. She felt sick with apprehension and worry. Billy would never go off without her. She called out his name but he wasn’t answering.

Edna didn’t want to leave the playground but it was clear that he wasn’t here so she hurried up the path that climbed up to the grassy stretch in front of the Royal Infirmary.

The grass was covered with checked blankets and coats as people settled back in the sun and although there were loads of children, there was no sign of Billy.

By now Edna was crying. She couldn’t think where he was and thought of running for John and getting him to help but that meant leaving the park. Some people were giving her strange looks but she didn’t care. They were sitting with their families tucked in beside them, but her son was missing.

She ran back down to the playground where she found Billy sitting on one of the swings

‘Billy where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.’ She grabbed him from the swing and hugged him.

‘The man said he would show me the big gun, Mummy.’

Edna went cold. ‘What man, Billy?’

Billy looked around him. ‘He’s not here now but he said I could go and see the big gun.’

‘You didn’t go with him? You know what Granny and I have said about going off without us, don’t you?’

Billy looked virtuous. ‘No I didn’t. I said my mum wouldn’t like it and he left.’

‘But where did you disappear to, Billy? I couldn’t find you.’

‘I went and hid in the bushes till he went away and when I came out you were running up that path.’

Edna took his hand. ‘I was looking for you.’ She knelt down beside him. ‘Promise me you won’t ever go off with anyone.’

Billy said he wouldn’t and they made their way home.

Back in the house, Edna told her mother what had happened. Irene was shocked. ‘Do you think it was John who talked to him?’

‘No. I was watching John as he went up the path so it couldn’t have been him.’ Edna didn’t say, but she knew who the man was and was very afraid.

‘I promised Billy that we would have ice cream for our tea so I’ll run out to the ice cream shop on Victoria Road and get some.’ She took a small bowl with her for the Italian man behind the counter to put three scoops into. ‘Mind and get some raspberry sauce over the ice cream, Edna,’ said her mum.

Edna still couldn’t get over the feeling that she was being watched and she knew he was back.

The next morning, Edna warned her mum to keep Billy in her sight all day. ‘I don’t want a repeat of yesterday.’

Irene said she would keep her usual eagle eye on the boy. ‘In fact, I’ll get Brian from downstairs to come up here and play so I can keep my eye on him.’

With that promise in mind, Edna hurried to the Bowbridge Works. She caught the tramcar at the stop outside the Victoria Cinema. Her destination was Moncur Crescent and the bottom of Mains Road. It was only a short walk to the main door.

There were two men in the lodge. One man was small while his companion was tall. The tall man looked like a retired policeman and it was to him that Edna showed her job sheet.

‘I’ve come from McQueen’s Agency as a temporary worker in the office,’ she told him.

‘Right, lass, if you just wait here, I’ll go and get the office manager.’

The other man was brewing a pot of tea. ‘Do you want a cup?’ he asked.

Edna said no, she had not long had her breakfast.

‘Neither have I,’ he said with a crooked grin, ‘but I’ve always got time for another cuppie.’

Edna waited for about fifteen minutes and was wondering where the man had got to when he appeared with another man in tow. This man was tall and thin with a shock of grey hair and a kind face.

He had the job sheet in his hand. Edna had a terrible thought.

‘You say you’ve come to work in the office and that we contacted McQueen’s Agency?’

‘Yes,’ she said, her voice dry and croaky.

‘I’m afraid we have no record of this and I’m very sorry but maybe you’ve got the wrong address.’

Edna was aware that the three men were watching her intently.

‘I can’t understand it,’ she said. ‘This was the address the manager gave to the receptionist yesterday morning.’

The manager looked at a loss for words. ‘I don’t know what to say, Mrs McGill.’

Edna took the job sheet. ‘I’ll go and check with the office to see if they’ve given me the wrong place.’

The manager looked relieved, the small man stirred more sugar into his tea and the other man, the one who looked like a retired policeman gave her a strange look.

Edna escaped out on to the street and promptly burst into tears. She tried to dry them with her handkerchief but she was too distressed. She didn’t realise the tall man was standing at her side

‘Come back inside and have a cup of tea and tell me what this is all about.’

The small man, whose name was Ron, hurried to make another pot of tea.

Edna told them all about the mistake yesterday and now this one today. The tall man, whose name was Alex, looked angry. ‘It looks like somebody’s playing a nasty trick on you, lass. Have you any idea who could be doing this rotten thing?’

Edna said no but she knew all right. But there was no way she could explain to these two strangers, although they were both being kind and helpful.

She would have to see Molly and hand in her resignation. She couldn’t take any more of this and Molly wouldn’t want all this trouble. That was now two jobs that the office staff knew about and the name of McQueen’s Agency would become associated with blunders.

Edna knew that Molly was running the agency on a shoestring at the moment and it was surprising how quickly word got around about blunders and sloppy working practices. No, she would offer to leave and take this horrible problem with her.

She made her way down the Hilltown, barely registering the people who were going to the shops or to work.

Molly had given her a key for the office so she decided to go there as she didn’t want to alarm her mother with this latest development.

The office was cool and quiet. Edna made her way upstairs and washed her face in cold water and then gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her face looked gaunt and drawn and she was annoyed that she didn’t have her make-up bag with her. Maybe a little touch of lipstick would have helped.

She thought about the two threats to Billy and the voice warning her to stay away from John. Well, she had done that but it hadn’t stopped the torment.

She then went downstairs to wait on the office opening and after Molly accepted her resignation then she would have to face this threat on her own and deal with it.

These two job offers hadn’t been blunders, she now realised that. Someone had gone out of their way to send her on two hoax calls.

She suddenly felt sick with worry.

Back at the Bowbridge Works, the manager and Alex, the man from the porter’s lodge were deep in conversation.

‘I don’t understand why that agency sent someone to work here,’ said Mr Marr, the manager.

Alex, who was indeed a retired policemen, had an angry gleam in his eye.

‘Oh I think whoever sent her knew what they were doing and it’s a dirty nasty trick to play on a young woman. There’s a lot of malicious and criminal people out there.’

Mr Marr walked away. He was still shaking his head at the morning’s events while Alex made his way back to the cosy porter’s lodge and Ron who gave him a quizzical look as he entered.

‘Did the young lass find out who made the mistake?’

Alex shook his head. ‘I wonder if she knows herself but I hope she gets some help with this as it’s some malicious and nasty beggar who needs to be sorted out.’

Molly took the frantic phone call from Mary on Tuesday night when she arrived home from Cliff Top House. She was crying and Molly, who was immediately filled with misgivings, had to tell her to calm down.

‘Just slow down, Mary, and tell me what’s the matter.’

‘It was the two jobs that Edna went to. They were both hoax calls and Edna is in a terrible state.’

‘Tell me what happened, Mary.’

Mary related the phone calls with the jobs. The first one was for a wages clerk in the Eagle jute mill, which was a hoax. Then the same man called back to apologise for his mistake and he said the job was in Bowbridge Works, but that also turned out to be a hoax. Mary stopped to catch her breath. ‘You’ll be thinking I took down all the wrong details but I didn’t. I swear it.’

By now Molly was worried. What on earth was going on?

But Mary wasn’t finished. ‘Then I got another phone message which I’m sure is from the same man. He wants a clerk at his office on Friday morning. He said he would phone back with the details. What shall I do?’

Molly, who had a busy day ahead of her tomorrow, had to give this some thought.

‘Should I give the job to Edna?’

Molly’s voice was sharp. ‘No, Mary, don’t mention it to her. Tell her I said to take the rest of the week off and I’ll come through to the office first thing on Friday morning. If this man calls back, tell him we’ll take the job but don’t say who will be going.’

Mary seemed calmer after this conversation. It was a relief to leave it with Molly.

When Edna came in the following day, Mary told her what Molly had said and although Edna didn’t seem very sure of having time off, she had to admit she was exhausted after all the drama.

Molly hadn’t managed to catch Joe and Mike on their own to question them about Rita being on the boat but she was just biding her time. When she turned up at the house the next morning it looked as if that time had arrived.

Lena and Kenneth were planning to go to the shop for the day. Lena still looked dreadful but said it was just a summer cold and she would be fine in another few days. Joe and Mike were in the sheds and there was no sign of Christie. She heard Joe call out.

‘Mike, we’ve to go over to the docks to see if that cargo of furniture and paintings have arrived.’

Molly saw Joe sitting at the desk. She asked him, ‘Are you going over in the boat?’ Joe looked at her but didn’t reply.

Molly was determined. ‘It’s just that a young friend of my receptionist was seen on your boat a week past Saturday. Her name is Rita.’

Still Joe stayed silent.

‘She had such a traumatic time that she hasn’t left the house since then.’

Joe went to walk away. By now, Molly was furious. ‘Don’t you dare walk away from me because I’m going to suggest that she gets the police on to the pair of you. For heaven’s sake, she’s only sixteen. What gives the pair of you the right to scare a young girl like that?’

Joe stopped and turned to look at her. His expression was more sympathetic. ‘Yes, she came on board because she fancied Mike. She had been swimming and Mike said she could swim back from the middle of the river. He likes to make these jokes. Thinks it makes him big and manly like his idol, Marlon Brando. He didn’t mean it but she got a fright. I knew she was on board but when she burst into the cabin in tears, I made Mike turn the boat around and we took her back to where Mike had picked her up. That’s all that happened, I swear to you.’

‘Thank you,’ said Molly. ‘But you know something, Joe, if you hadn’t been on board I’m sure Mike would have had great pleasure with his threat. Even if he was just fooling around. Rita suspects that as well and that’s why she’s so scared.’

‘Well give her another word of warning from me. Tell her to keep away from him. He was in the army during the war and he got used to killing people and shall I tell you something? He liked it. He likes this image of scaring silly young girls but that’s the least of his problems.’ With this statement, he went out of the shed and down to the boat.

Molly returned to the house. She would be glad when this job was over. It was a good paying position but there was an atmosphere here and Molly suspected Mike was the cause. Was that why Lena looked so haunted and ill?

She heard the boat’s engine start up and saw it chug away over the choppy water.

There was a strong wind today and the river looked rough.

She wondered where Christie was and as she went into the house, she passed him coming out. He seemed cheery enough and didn’t look suspicious but Molly wondered why he was there in the first place. He was certainly a lot more likeable and attractive than Mike, but he was always in the house when everyone was out. He was another shady character. He said he was Canadian but anyone could say that and who would question it?

After he had gone, Molly went upstairs on the pretext of going to the bathroom. Kenneth’s door was closed but she went and stood outside it. She felt terrible spying on her employers like this but she had to know if the second painting was here or had Nelly taken it away.

She turned the door handle and the door opened silently. The two paintings hung side by side on the wall. Molly had her answer. She closed the door and went back to the office.

Of course, if he was going to marry Nelly then perhaps they would stay in this house and that was why she was buying expensive paintings. Maybe the paintings were his engagement present. After all her engagement ring was a beauty; a large solitaire diamond. A ring like that never came out of a Christmas cracker.

What Molly didn’t know was that Nelly’s ring had been her engagement present from her first husband.

Normally, Molly loved the house when it was quiet like this but today the stillness felt unsettling. Still, she would soon be going home. Lena had said to leave early if she managed to finish all the work so she began to tackle the pile of invoices and all the week’s filing. By three o’clock, she was finished and put on her coat.

She decided she wouldn’t go home but instead go over to the office and see Mary, to sort out the other unsettling incident.