CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

 

Jack had reserved a cabin for Oona on the night crossing, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. She couldn’t relax. Stuck in a cabin by herself would send her crazy, so she graciously declined, preferring to sit it out with Jack for the seven hour journey. An hour out to sea, she couldn’t stop her head from lolling, and eventually she fell asleep on Jack’s shoulder. When she woke, the ferry was docking in Liverpool and she found herself stretched across the seat, her coat covering her legs, her head resting in Jack’s lap. Embarrassed, she got up and straightened her clothes. ‘Why didn’t you wake me?’

‘You needed sleep. Besides, it’s only gone six and we have to hang around for the car.’

All around them people were stirring, gathering their belongings, and a haphazard queue was forming in preparation for disembarkation. ‘If you want to freshen up, it’s that way.’ He pointed. ‘I’ll collect the luggage and meet you back here.’

She joined the queue for the women’s toilets. Her head ached badly, and she had a permanent ache in her stomach that intensified with each passing hour. She splashed cold water on her face and glanced up into the mirror. She hardly recognized the woman with red eyes and dejected appearance now staring back. Not bothering to run a comb through her hair, she hurried back to where Jack was waiting.

Finally they were off the ferry and making their way towards the waiting room.

‘Will we have to wait long for the car, Jack?’

‘Not long, I hope. It depends on what cargo they have to unload first. It’s draughty in here. I’ll get us some tea; there’s not much else.’ While Jack waited at the tea counter, she kept getting up and going to the window.

He came back and handed her the hot drink. ‘Sip this, Oona. We shouldn’t be much longer now.’

Waiting was driving her mad. ‘What time is it, Jack?’

‘Seven-thirty’

‘What? It feels like we’ve been here ages.’

‘Look, you sit here with the cases. I’ll go and phone Mum, let her know we’ve arrived.’

‘Sorry, what did you say..?’

‘I said… there’s a phone over there. I won’t be a minute.’

She watched him walk down the room to the telephone and empty loose change from his pocket. She could hear the noise of a train screeching to a stop, and soon the waiting room filled with people she guessed were waiting to board the ferry. She stared into space; everything around her seemed alien. Someone asked if she was all right. She nodded. Her mind was consumed with Sean. If he was in Liverpool, how was he coping in a strange city?

Jack was back at her side. ‘That’s settled. Mum’s making up a bed for you. I thought we could stay the night before driving to Leicester. Is that all right?’

She nodded. ‘Is it far?’

‘About a mile. Near to the university, in the Kensington area. They’re looking forward to meeting you. I told her briefly why we’re here.’

‘Do you think they will have heard the news about Sean?’

He glanced down at her. She was twisting her hands, one over the other. ‘Mum didn’t say. Oona, we’ll find Sean, even if we have to search the length and breadth of the country.’ He clasped her hands in his.

With nothing much to do but wait, she felt drained. And when Jack’s car was finally unloaded and they could be on their way, relief washed over her.

Driving away from the dock, in the distance she could see large cranes swaying back and forth, lifting heavy crates from the ship. Soon they could see the Liver Building towering high in front of them. Glad to be on the move again, Oona was desperate to start searching for Sean. But where would they begin? The city was teeming with people. She glanced up at the Liver’s large clock face, her sense of time disoriented.

‘That clock is bigger than Big Ben,’ Jack said, as a matter of interest, knowing it was Oona’s first visit to the city. She made no comment. But Jack kept up a constant chatter, regardless of the fact that her mind was somewhere else and her first glimpse of Liverpool was being seen through a haze of emotional turmoil.

The sun was warm and she felt her blouse sticking to her back. She wondered what Sean was wearing. What he was doing? Was he happy, getting enough to eat or being looked after properly? She remembered what Vinnie could be like; his mood could change at the slightest provocation.

‘That boy! Quick, Jack! Stop the car! I’ve seen Sean.’

Jack almost swerved, before turning down a side street. Oona leaped from the car and ran back through the crowds towards the boy. Jack pursued her. ‘Oona, wait?’

She grabbed the boy’s arm and swung him round. ‘Se..!’ The words died on her lips.

‘I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,’ she said again, when she saw the frightened look on the young boy’s face. She could hear strange concerned voices around her.

Breathless, Jack was at her side. She glanced up. ‘Oh, Jack. What’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘He looked so like Sean; the same green satchel slung over his shoulder.’

‘It’s okay, love. It’s perfectly natural, given the circumstances. Come on.’ He took her arm and they retraced their steps back to the car. ‘We’ll call at Dale Street Police Station. It’s only five minutes away.’

She nodded. She trusted Jack more than she trusted herself. But he wasn’t Superman. She swallowed to relieve the tension tightening her stomach.

At the police station, Oona felt uplifted by the treatment they received from the officer they spoke to. ‘Ah sure, we’ve been on the lookout since news of the boy came through from head office, Mrs. Quinn. We’ve checked the ports this side and found no-one fitting the descriptions. But sure, in a crowd it’s always possible to miss someone. It would be grand if you had a photo of the boy, otherwise it’s like looking for an ant in a haystack.’

‘You’re Irish?’

‘Ah sure, there’s plenty of us in Liverpool. They call it the capital of Ireland.’ He chuckled.

She opened her bag and took out a photo of Sean in his football kit. It was her favourite, and tears welled up in her eyes.

‘That’s grand. We’ll have copies made and have it made bigger to stick in shop windows.’

‘So, it makes sense that Kelly, or whatever he calls himself, would have come this way?’ Jack asked.

‘Yes, indeed. If he travelled at night, like. Would he have flown with the boy, do you think?’

‘The Irish police checked but came up with nothing,’ Jack said.

‘He could have smuggled the boy in.’

She knew Vinnie would avoid arrest at all costs. The thought that he may have smuggled Sean over made her feel faint, and she gripped Jack’s arm. Noting how pale she had gone, he quickly sat her down by an open window.

‘I’m sorry, Mrs. Quinn. I’ve children myself,’ the officer said. ‘Eventually someone will spot them and phone in. We will, of course, keep looking. Have you got a number where we can contact you?’

Jack wrote down his mother’s number and passed it to the man. ‘We’re on our way there now. You can contact that number any time.’

Back in the car, Oona felt reassured. ‘Are you sure your mother won’t mind? I mean…’

‘She’ll be pleased to see us.’ He reached across and squeezed her hand. ‘Don’t worry. You’ll like Mum, and she’ll love you nearly as much as I do.’ He started the car and drove up the hill. ‘And Dad, well, he might just come up with something we’ve overlooked.’

‘That’s wonderful, Jack.’ She wondered what his mother would make of it all. Would she think her a bad mother to have allowed such a thing to happen? She felt shattered, so calling on his parents would be a break before driving all the way to Leicester.

They passed the museum and the Mersey Tunnel, and Oona frowned at the grey houses that looked like run-down holiday homes.

‘They’re called prefabs, emergency housing built during the war,’ Jack told her. ‘We’re almost there.’

Oona began to tidy herself. She took the Alice band from her hair and shook it free. She hadn’t put a comb through it since she left Dublin. After several brush strokes, it sprung to life and looked freshly washed. Then she flicked open her compact, powdered her face and coated her lips red.

‘You look lovely. How do you feel?’

‘Better, thanks. I’m feeling more optimistic, Jack.’ She half-smiled.

Tomorrow they would both feel refreshed and she could get her brain into gear for what lay ahead. She wouldn’t let herself contemplate the fact that they might not find Sean, but the thought was lurking there, somewhere in the far regions of her mind; somewhere she dare not let herself go.