Chapter 60

As she approached the market square, Nellie’s eyes were focused on the café. The front remained unchanged, the damn plastic window dull, even with the sun shining on it. But what made the breath catch in her throat was the smoke billowing from behind the gabled roof and blowing across the market square.

She stumbled to a halt, unable to catch a breath, as panic swept through her. After the years and years of struggle through the Great War and beyond, the café had been her anchor. She’d come here as a bride of eighteen, but her love for the place ran as deep and as true as if she’d been born there. It was hers! It represented everything that was important to her: family, security, hope for the future – and that still held true, despite the recent tragedy. Piece by piece the town was falling down around their ears, but the café had stood steadfast through it all, sheltering all who came within its walls. If it fell, Nellie couldn’t help feeling that the town would fall too. It was her talisman and her touchstone. Without it, who was she?

How had this happened? It was nothing new to see a home destroyed, a future changed forever. Up and down the country, this was people’s new reality, the burden of dread and fear they all carried. But there were no bombs or shells today, and she had followed her usual careful safety checks before she left. Unless one of the French kids had done something? But they’d seemed so grateful and sweet . . . What if it wasn’t a person? The thought made her shiver. But surely a vengeful spirit couldn’t cause such destruction?

Cissy caught up with her and took her arm. ‘Nellie, come on, love. Whatever it is, we’ll manage together, all right?’

She nodded, but she didn’t really hear her. Because suddenly all she could hear was Mrs Bancroft’s voice: Vengeance.

Jasper came up to her then and put his arm around her shoulder. ‘It’s gonna be all right, Nellie,’ he said gently. ‘The fire brigade came quickly, and they’ve got it under control.’

Nellie looked up into his face. His eyes were watery and bloodshot from the smoke, but his expression was steady, reassuring. Unlike Cissy, Jasper understood all too well what this place meant to her. He’d been with her through thick and thin, and if he said everything was going to be all right, then she trusted that he was telling the truth.

‘The thing is . . .’ he said carefully, as he led her round to the back of the café. ‘They found Edie out cold outside the gate. And what she’s sayin’ makes no sense.’

Nellie gasped. ‘Edie?’ she whispered. ‘Is she all right? Where is she?’ She started to run now. On Church Street, water was arching towards the fence from the fire hoses, where a few stubborn flames still flickered, bright orange against the blackened wood, the strong wind slanting them towards the café. She spotted Edie huddled with Marge on the steps of the umbrella factory. Her face was white as paper and a large bruise had formed on her temple. Nellie hurried towards her.

‘Oh love? What happened?’

Edie shook her head slightly. ‘I don’t remember,’ she whispered. ‘I opened the gate and this . . . figure rushed at me and knocked me over. I saw them running away from me, but I couldn’t say who . . .’ She frowned and closed her eyes, leaning her head against Marge’s shoulder.

‘You just rest now, Edie.’ Jasper knelt down beside Nellie. ‘Soon as it’s safe to go in, you go lie down and we’ll talk more later.’ He helped Nellie to her feet.

‘But—’

‘Leave her for now. Let Marge look after her.’

Nellie sighed and nodded. This was the first time Edie had spoken to her without anger in weeks, but she’d be stupid if she thought things had changed between them. Turning away, she went to stand beside a grim-faced Rodney, who stood with his arms folded across his chest as he watched the firemen. Beside him, Marianne was leaning heavily into Alfie’s side, while Donny stood quietly, his face pale with shock.

Rodney put his arm around her and squeezed her reassuringly. ‘Thank God those kids were here,’ he murmured. ‘They were the ones who found Edie as well.’

‘So you don’t think they might have done this? Maybe it was an accident?’

Rodney shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’

Nellie spotted Louis and Elodie, standing by themselves, faces streaked with soot. Walking over, she pulled them both into a tight embrace, reflecting on how a series of unrelated events could slot together like this. From the moment their boat had left France, to their rescue, to the air raid that had forced them to shelter in her basement and left them in the house when whoever had done this thought it was empty . . . And maybe another series of events had led to someone hating her so much, they wanted to destroy her. Just thinking about all of this made her feel dizzy and disorientated.

‘It could be worse,’ Jasper said. ‘It’s just the fence and the privy. I’ve told Marge to take Edie inside and get her warm. Hopefully, once she’s had a bit of a rest, she’ll remember more.’

‘You go in too, loves.’ Nellie gently pushed Louis and Elodie towards the café. After they’d gone she stared at the blackened remains of the fence that had once separated her backyard from the street. The old privy had been entirely destroyed and the flames had licked along the side fence and blackened the bricks of the main building, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

‘Was it them foreign kids?’ A harsh voice startled Nellie out of her contemplation, and she looked round to see Lou Carter watching the firemen. ‘You can’t trust no one these days, Nell. Least of all a bunch of foreigners that wash up on the shore.’

‘If it weren’t for them being here the whole place could’ve gone up.’

‘If it weren’t for them bein’ ’ere then none of this would’ve happened,’ the other woman retorted.

‘They had nothin’ to do with this. My money’s on this being the work of your bloody son!’

‘Oh, it always comes back to him, don’t it? My Terence has done more for you than most anyone I know, so don’t you dare accuse him of this!’

‘More for me? Are you havin’ a laugh! You know well enough that the food I got from ’im weren’t for me. Yet I paid full whack for it, cos God forbid he’d ever put his hand in his pocket to help. Then the minute I run into difficulties, this is what he does!’

‘I can promise you this ain’t got nothin’ to do with him. But maybe you should think about payin’ him the money you owe.’

‘I told him I would, didn’t I? And even so, he threatened me!’ she shrieked.

‘Not the same as givin’ it to him, though. Promises don’t fill your belly, do they?’

Just then, Cissy interrupted them. ‘Ethel’s taken Marianne over to hers, cos she’s not doin’ so good. Donny and Alfie have gone with them.’

‘The baby?’ Nellie gasped.

‘Don’t worry. Far as I can tell, she’s just overwrought and needs a lie-down.’ She looked between Nellie and Lou. ‘Now, are you gonna tell me what all this talk of threats is about?’

Lou shrugged. ‘I ain’t threatened anyone.’

‘But your boy did! So where is he now? Last coupla days I can’t sneeze without ’im being there sneering at me. And, funnily enough, where d’you think he was this afternoon? Standin’ outside the town hall, that’s where. My guess he was checkin’ up on us. But if he thinks he’ll make me pay up quicker by damagin’ my business, then he’s more stupid than he looks.’

Lou’s eyes flashed. ‘My boy’s no saint, but this ain’t his style.’

‘Not his style! He’s a crook, Lou, and he’s gone too far this time. I’ve a good mind to go to the police.’

Lou narrowed her eyes. ‘You try it, Nell, and you’ll soon understand what threats mean. Cos if he goes down for this, then you’ll have a lot more to worry about than a burned-out privy.’

Nellie’s brow furrowed in confusion. ‘What d’you mean?’

Lou smiled mirthlessly. ‘Come on, Nell, I’d’ve thought you’d be quicker on the uptake –you know better than most that though men might think they’re in charge, when it comes to stealth and deception, us women are streets ahead.’

‘Are you tryin’ to tell me that you and Terence are in it together?’

Lou guffawed. ‘What I’m tellin’ you is that I’m the boss! It’s always been me. Now, you an’ me ’ave been mates for years and I don’t take these things lightly. And I promise you my boy didn’t do this. And here’s another promise. If it turns out it were him, then the winder’s yours. No money to pay.’

Turning on her heel, Lou lumbered away, leaving Nellie staring after her in astonishment.

‘Don’t tell me you owe that woman money?’ Cissy gasped.

Nellie slumped down on the pavement and put her head in her hands. Her mind was reeling with the thought that Lou was the criminal mastermind behind the Carters’ operation. Had it always been her? Or did she only take over when Terence senior had died?

‘Bloody hell, Cissy!’ she gasped. ‘What am I gonna do?’

Cissy sat down beside her. ‘One thing at a time, Nell. But you should’ve said you was in trouble.’

Nellie rounded on her cousin. ‘And why would I confide in you! The woman who ran out on me the minute life got tough, and who’s been too chicken to show her face ever since.’ Nellie held up a hand when Cissy opened her mouth to protest. ‘Don’t even start with the “Ernie said . . .” It weren’t up to Ernie, it were up to you! I understand you couldn’t leave your girl, but after? You could’ve come then, Ciss. But you chose to hide your head in the sand, like you always have. Life has to be all roses for you, don’t it? And if you couldn’t see the bad stuff, then it wasn’t happenin’! Well, welcome to life, love. Cos bad stuff happens. People steal, fight, blackmail, set fire to houses ’ – her eyes drifted to the cafe – ‘and they murder little kids cos they don’t like the way they pray.’ She got up and marched up to the firemen, who were winding the hoses back onto the truck.

‘You was lucky we got here when we did,’ one of them said.

‘Was it deliberate?’ she asked.

‘Found the remains of a candle on the floor of the privy, so looks likely someone threw it onto the roof.’

Although it was what she had suspected, a chill ran over her to have it confirmed. She looked over at Jasper and Rodney, indicating that they should go in, then stepping over the steaming, soggy mess of what had once been her smart green fence, she led the way inside, and went straight upstairs to the girls’ bedroom on the top floor.

Easing the door open, she found Marge sitting by Edie’s bed. Marge held a finger up to her mouth. ‘She needs to rest, Mrs C. I’ve sent Elodie and Louis to bed. I asked them if they saw anything, but they didn’t hear a thing. It was the smell of smoke that brought them out to investigate.’

Smiling her thanks, Nellie tiptoed over to the bed and gazed down at her daughter’s pale face. Briefly, she held her hand to her cheek, revelling in the chance to touch Edie one more time. Then she and Marge crept back out and went down to the sitting room.

‘Go on down and join the others, love,’ she said to Marge. ‘I just want to check everything’s in order.’ It had occurred to her that whoever had done this might have come inside, and if anything had been stolen or moved then it gave weight to Jasper’s argument that there was no ghost haunting the café: someone was deliberately trying to scare her. She glanced sharply round the living room, but all was as she’d left it.

From the kitchen she could hear the usually comforting sounds of clinking crockery and the murmur of voices, but it did nothing to calm her nerves today as she glanced over at her bedroom door. A shiver of fear coursed through her as she went over and put her hand on the knob, her heart hammering against her chest and Mrs Bancroft’s words running through her mind.

Things you think are true are false . . . vengeance.

‘Mum, you better get down here!’ Rodney’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. Dimly she became aware of shouting coming from the square. Going over to the window in the sitting room, she gasped, and ran for the stairs.