Winter on the Mersey(103)

Georgie beamed up at his idol and Tommy ruffled the little boy’s hair. ‘All right, scamp?’ he said. ‘Sorry it took us a while.’

Nancy looked around the mean little shed. There were some sacks in the corner, pushed into a heap, but not much else. ‘Did you sleep over there?’ she asked anxiously. ‘Are you all right, the man didn’t hurt you, did he? Did he give you anything to eat or drink?’

‘No,’ said Georgie, the corners of his mouth turning down. ‘Mammy, I’m cold and hungry. Have you got any food?’

‘Let’s see,’ said Nancy, but she knew it would be a fruitless search. Her bag contained some money and items of make-up, but she hadn’t thought to put in anything else, anything useful.

Tommy dug around in his pocket and drew out a stick of liquorice wrapped in a paper bag. ‘Here you go, scamp.’

Georgie reached out for it and began wolfing it at once. Nancy raised her eyebrows at Tommy but he didn’t react. Instead he reached into his other pocket and produced a scarf. ‘Here you are, Georgie. When you’ve finished eating you can have this. It’s all right, it’s a spare.’ He paused and then took off his jacket and removed his pullover. ‘As a matter of fact, I was feeling a bit warm walking round in this, so you can have this too. It’ll be a bit big, mind.’

‘You won’t care, will you, Georgie?’ Nancy asked, as she helped her son into what was for him a huge jumper, but the little boy was delighted. Since it was Tommy’s pullover, it was the best in the world. He allowed his mother to tie the scarf around his neck and to put his missing slipper on him. ‘There you are, that’s better, isn’t it?’ She hugged him again, rubbing his arms to make him warm. ‘Tommy, we’d better be going. I don’t want to hang around in here.’

Tommy nodded. ‘Alfie probably thinks it’s all right as nobody will know to come here and that Georgie’s safely hidden as he’s locked in. But we can’t stay here till it gets dark.’ He looked down at the little boy. ‘You’d better let me give you a piggyback, Georgie, then we’ll be faster. I reckon if we head away from the river, we’ll get to a main road and find a bus.’

‘Or a police station,’ Nancy murmured, but didn’t want to frighten the little boy. Now he was warm and had devoured the liquorice stick, he had bounced back to his normal cheerful self, as if unaware that they were in danger. Given the chance to wear Tommy’s clothes and ride on his back, it was almost a treat, she could tell from his face. She had to keep him thinking that way.

‘Okey doke,’ he said.

Violet gazed anxiously out into the street from behind the curtains in Dolly’s parlour. Hours had gone by and they hadn’t heard a thing, apart from a short and unpleasant visit from old Mrs Kerrigan. The woman had been full of venom aimed at Nancy, but Dolly had firmly shown her the door. Now Violet was trying not to think the worst, but her imagination was running away from her, casting up pictures of Georgie lying helpless somewhere, cold and frightened, and of Nancy and Tommy being attacked while trying to trace him. She knew these images were making it worse but she was powerless to stop them.

‘Come away from there, love,’ Dolly said from the doorway. ‘You’ll get yourself in a proper tizzy and then the twins will feel it and start crying. We don’t need that, do we?’ She tried to keep her voice light and positive, but even she was reaching the end of her reserves of cheerfulness. The twins were in fact safely asleep, but mentioning their need was the only distraction she could think of that would outweigh Violet’s affection for Georgie. She dreaded to think what would happen if the worst had befallen him. He’d won the hearts of so many in his short life.

‘When’s Pop due back?’ Violet asked dully.

‘Any time now. The salvage boss won’t make him stay late tonight, not when he’s told them what’s going on,’ Dolly predicted.

‘Then I might stay here till he comes up the street,’ Violet said, turning back to the window.

Dolly came to stand behind her, putting her hand on her daughter-in-law’s bony shoulder. ‘I’ll wait with you,’ she said, not wanting the young woman to be alone, and feeling in need of company herself. Sarah was still asleep upstairs in her old room, time working its healing magic, and so it was just the two of them, standing and watching anxiously, staring into the middle distance as dusk fell over the few houses of Empire Street.

They were still there when the police car drew up, its shielded headlights bright in the gathering gloom. Dolly snapped to attention, jolting Violet out of her daydream, neither of them sure what this could mean. Dolly’s heart was in her mouth, wondering if they’d come in person to bring bad news.

Then the rear door opened and Nancy stepped out, followed by Tommy from around the other side, and then the small figure of Georgie, wearing an enormous pullover with the sleeves rolled up, over and over into thick cuffs. Dolly gave a little gasp and Violet jumped, then ran to the front door and threw it open. She knelt down to Georgie’s level and he ran forward to hug her.

‘I’m wearing Tommy’s jumper!’ he told her.

‘So I can see,’ said Violet, trying her best to sound normal but not quite managing it. ‘Do you want some milk?’

Dolly wiped a surreptitious tear from her eye as Violet led the little boy, apparently none the worse for wear, into the kitchen, then turned to Nancy. ‘So, where have you been? Did you find Alfie? What’s been going on?’