34

‘Well, that was a waste of time,’ Rose said as she joined Lily and Katie, who were waiting outside the building that held the training school for Nippies and Sallys. ‘I was told Mr Montgomery wasn’t there, but that was only after the receptionist recognized me. Perhaps one of you two could enquire?’

Lily was thoughtful. ‘Katie, do you happen to have your spectacles on you?’

‘You know I always carry them in case I can’t read something, but I hate to wear them; why do you ask?’

‘May I borrow them? And Rose, can we swap handbags? Yours doesn’t look as frivolous as mine. Hang on a minute, let me take out my notebook and pen.’

‘Whatever are you up to?’ Rose asked, frowning as Lily put the spectacles on the end of her nose and swung the black leather handbag over her arm. Poised with the notebook in her hand, she faced her friends.

‘Do I look like a serious person who could well be a police officer, or perhaps a restaurant inspector?’

‘You can’t,’ Katie gasped, while Rose shook her head in disapproval.

‘Just you watch me,’ Lily said as she walked towards the entrance to the training school. ‘Why not go for a walk and window shop? I intend to be a while.’

With her friends telling her to come back, Lily pushed open the heavy doors and entered the building. She was pleased that she had worn her best outfit, a navy blue skirt and matching jacket; with her hair freshly washed and wearing her best shoes, she felt a million dollars.

‘May I help you, madam?’ a young receptionist asked from behind a high counter where she oversaw the entrance area.

‘I’m here to speak to whoever is in charge of personnel for the company,’ Lily said, peering over the rims of her spectacles. It was useless looking through the lenses, as she couldn’t see a thing. ‘It concerns a highly confidential matter.’

‘If you take a seat, I will find the person you wish to speak to. Who may I ask is enquiring . . .?’

‘Sergeant Dalrymple from the Kent police,’ Lily said, giving the girl a look that discouraged questions. She mentally patted herself on the back for using Mildred’s surname, which she felt somehow demanded respect.

She sat down, facing in the direction the receptionist had vanished so as to be prepared for her return along with whoever accompanied her. While waiting, she took the opportunity to write a few questions in her notebook and fold the corner of the page over; that way she wouldn’t open it in the wrong place and show Katie’s notes for a dress pattern.

She was just beginning to think no one would be coming when she heard voices and the receptionist reappeared, accompanied by a rather nondescript man in a grey suit.

‘Sergeant Dalrymple, how do you do,’ he said, extending a hand to Lily as the receptionist returned to her counter. ‘I am Percival Montgomery. What can I do for you?’

‘Is there somewhere we can talk privately? The matter I wish to discuss is rather delicate.’

‘Certainly. Follow me,’ he said. Lily noticed him covertly looking her up and down as he gestured her ahead of him towards a door leading into a small office. Dirty bugger, she thought to herself; I can deal with your type.

Once they were inside and seated, she opened her notebook with a confident air and glanced down at it as if it contained copious notes. ‘I’m here to ask you about a woman who went missing recently. Her family are concerned, as are we,’ she said, hoping her tone was pitched at the right official level.

‘I’ll help if I can,’ Montgomery said earnestly. ‘May I offer you tea?’

‘Not for me, thank you. I would rather get to the bottom of the disappearance of the wife of a war hero.’

He raised his eyebrows with interest. ‘Tell me more.’

‘The lady worked for one of the Lyons teashops until recently; her name is Anya Polinski.’

‘Oh, her,’ he said, looking immediately less interested. ‘I have had one of her colleagues here before, enquiring about the lady. She seemed to think Mrs Polinski was working here as a trainer, which is highly unlikely with her being a foreigner.’

Lily held back from putting the man straight, as it would have blown her cover. ‘I have spoken to her manager and it seems the lady is highly thought of and an asset to Lyons. Now, I would like to draw your attention to a letter that was sent to the manager of the Margate teashop, a Mrs Hargreaves, whose husband is related to the aristocracy . . .’

It was as she’d thought: Montgomery was suddenly interested again.

‘She was the one who came to see me a little while ago looking for Mrs Polinski.’

‘Yes, she said as much when I interviewed her,’ Lily replied, flicking though her notebook as if looking for notes on the interview. She had to try hard not to smile when she spotted a drawing made by Daisy. ‘Ah, yes. You advised her to speak to someone in her family . . . I put it to you, Mr Montgomery, that you have knowledge of where Mrs Polinski might be. Am I correct?’

He shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. ‘What I have to tell you is highly confidential and should go no further.’

‘I am a police officer, Mr Montgomery. Anything I am told in an interview is treated with the appropriate discretion.’

‘Of course,’ he apologized. ‘On occasion, we are asked to give an identity or cover up for a staff member who has to do . . . let us say, work for the government. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, I get your drift,’ Lily said, sitting forward in her chair.

‘That was the case with Mrs Polinski; she never did work here as a staff trainer.’

Lily fought hard to maintain her police officer’s demeanour, when all she wanted to do was jump up and down with excitement. At last she was getting somewhere. ‘But I understand you told Mrs Hargreaves to look to her family. Are you saying that you risked giving away a government secret by . . . showing off to the lady?’

His face turned red as he tried to loosen his collar. ‘No, not at all. I simply advised her to ask elsewhere.’

‘Who were you thinking of when you advised Mrs Hargreaves to ask elsewhere?’

‘Miss Ruth Hargreaves.’

Lily closed her notebook with a snap and rose to her feet. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Montgomery,’ she said, before escaping from the building as rapidly as possible to find her friends and share the news.

Rose stirred her coffee for the umpteenth time. ‘So Ruth has known all along? To be fair, she has hinted, but if only she could have told us where Anya was, it would have saved so much worry on our part.’

‘Do you think Anya and Mildred are together?’ Katie asked.

‘I’d bet my bottom dollar,’ Lily said in an American drawl, before glancing up at a clock on the wall of the small cafe where they sat. ‘Is there time to confront Ruth before we head off to the theatre? Katie spotted a show she’d like to see while we were waiting for you earlier,’ she said, waving a copy of the Evening News, ‘and I must say it sounds a hoot.’

Rose looked over her shoulder. ‘Blithe Spirit; I’d adore to see it, if you think we can pick up tickets on the door. Margaret Rutherford is supposed to be very funny. Come on, let’s grab a taxi and get over to Ruth’s; it shouldn’t take long to confront her and get an answer.’

‘Miss Ruth is in; shall I tell her you are on your way up, ma’am?’

Rose gave the doorman a big smile. ‘No thank you, we will go straight up and surprise her. Come along, girls.’

She used her own key to enter the apartment and they found Ruth lounging on a sofa with a cocktail in her hand. ‘What a lovely surprise, come along in. I’ll make you all one of these,’ she smiled. ‘Are you here for a reason?’

‘We are going to take in a show,’ Katie said, rather shy in the opulent surroundings.

‘But first we need to talk to you about Anya Polinski,’ Rose said, without smiling or going towards her sister-in-law for her customary welcoming kiss. ‘We know what’s been going on.’

The look on Ruth’s face showed she knew the game was up. ‘At least sit down and have a drink,’ she sighed as she went to the cocktail cupboard. ‘Be assured we had no choice but to send Anya out to France.’

‘Ah, so she is in France. Along with Mildred,’ Lily said accusingly.

Ruth dropped a glass and it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the marble floor. ‘Bugger,’ she swore, pushing a brass button on the wall. A bell could be heard ringing in another room and a maid came running. ‘I’m sorry, Grace, I’ve made an awful mess.’

‘Not to worry, miss, I’ll have it cleaned up in a jiffy. Would you like me to bring some food through for your guests? Oh, hello, Mrs Hargreaves, I didn’t see you there.’

‘Hello, Grace,’ Rose smiled at the maid. ‘Please don’t bother on our account as we are off to the theatre shortly.’

Grace bobbed a small curtsey. ‘Very well, ma’am. I hope you have a lovely evening,’ she said before hurrying away, returning moments later with a broom and dustpan.

The women discussed the show the girls hoped to see until Grace left the room, whereupon all eyes turned to Ruth.

‘Please tell us as much as you possibly can,’ Rose urged her. ‘You know we are trustworthy.’ She went on to explain how they had discovered that Anya’s disappearance was connected to Mildred’s, and that there were two young Frenchmen looking after the Saucy Milly in Ramsgate harbour. ‘Mum discovered it is an open secret among the local fishermen that Mildred is more than playing her part rescuing people from France. It’s about time someone rescued her and Anya.’

‘Has something gone wrong?’ Lily chipped in.

Ruth ignored Lily’s question and spoke directly to Rose. ‘You say her boat is in the harbour? That doesn’t seem right at all . . .’

‘It was still there when we left for London this morning. I spotted it from Sea View.’

Ruth looked shocked. ‘The last I heard, it should have gone back to pick them up. What the hell has gone wrong . . .?’

Katie was angrier than her friends had ever seen her. ‘But it’s been weeks. Haven’t you wondered what happened to them?’

‘Well . . . I . . .’ Ruth looked ashamed. ‘We have a number of operatives out in the field at any one time and . . .’

‘And you forgot about them. Even though they are friends of your family.’

‘That’s a bit harsh,’ Ruth said. ‘But I do understand how you feel.’

‘What are you going to do to get them back here?’ Lily demanded. ‘That’s if it isn’t too late.’

Katie burst into tears. ‘This is why she was adamant that Jack and I should look after Alexsy if anything should happen to her and Henio. I can’t bear it,’ she sobbed into her handkerchief.

Ruth looked between the three friends, wishing she could tell them the truth about Anya and Mildred’s mission and what had really become of them. To begin with, it had seemed so straightforward . . .

‘Look, I want you to go off and see your show and then come back here. There’s plenty of room for you all to stay the night. I’m not listening to your protests,’ she said as the girls started to argue. ‘I’ll not only have some supper ready for you, but will have got things moving to bring them home. I promise I will put this right. Now, who’s for a cocktail before you head off to the theatre?’ she asked, almost certain that before long she would find herself delivering the worst possible news about their missing friends.