The patchwork girls, p.27
The Patchwork Girls, page 27
‘Is he now?’ Richard asked. ‘Would you be able to spare me a few minutes, Helen? I just need to ask you a couple of questions, as something has cropped up.’
‘Of course. I’ll see you back upstairs in the patchwork room later,’ Helen said to Lizzie, as she and Richard left the room and wandered down the hallway to his office.
‘Take a seat,’ he said, nodding towards an armchair. ‘This isn’t a formal interview or anything like that.’
‘I’m relieved to hear it, because I really don’t have anything else to tell you.’
Richard picked up a few sheets of paper from his desk and shuffled them before clearing his throat. ‘I want to apologize to you first . . .’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I feel as though I loved you and left you.’ He looked uncomfortable. ‘It was urgent that I went over to France, and I’ve only just got back.’
‘It must have been important. I hope you weren’t in danger?’
‘I was well taken care of,’ he said, adding with a small smile, ‘You’ve no need to worry about me.’
But I do! she wanted to say, but instead kept her feelings in check. It came as a shock to her at that moment to realize that she loved Richard, and although the thought was exhilarating, she was also keenly aware that her husband had been dead not six months. She felt disloyal to John’s memory, and for a moment dwelt on how her mother would wonder what everyone would say. Giving herself a mental shake, she smiled gently. ‘I worry about all my friends.’
‘I’m glad we can be friends, and you forgive me,’ he answered, although there was a sadness around his eyes.
‘What was it you wanted to speak to me about?’
‘Gavin Davis.’
Helen shook her head. ‘I’ve nothing to say about that man, apart from the fact I find him detestable.’
‘Would you be able to tell me why? I don’t know much about him.’
‘I’d rather not. Do I have to?’ She gave him a desperate look. ‘Speak to my mother instead, she knows more about him than I do . . .’
‘Would it help if I spoke to both of you together?’
‘I really don’t know. She may resent the fact that I’ve asked you to speak to her. Look, Richard . . . I’m only just starting to build bridges with my mother. We’ve never been close. She is not an affectionate woman at the best of times. When my father died, I was a young child; she took it badly, and blamed him for leaving us alone. She saw Gavin as a lifesaver. He was able to pay the bills and keep a roof over our heads after my father’s investments had come to nothing. The house belonged to Mother, but Gavin found out we were in dire straits and came to Mother’s rescue.’ She gave a harsh laugh. ‘Mother called him her knight in shining armour. She always took his side whatever he did, and she would never listen to me. I’ve already told you that I left home as soon as I could – and I don’t think he’s changed one little bit since then,’ she finished, her voice wavering.
‘I’m sorry,’ Richard said sincerely. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘No, it’s fine – you need to know the truth about him. Ask Mother about the bruises on her arm; ask why he lied to her, saying he’d been on bowls club trips that turned out never to have happened. I think he is carrying on with another woman, and if so, that’s his least serious crime against our family. He’s a nasty bully and made my life hell as a child. I have reason to know that he is still nasty to my mother, but please don’t tell her I said so.’
‘Of course; he doesn’t sound a pleasant chap. I’ll do what I can. You do understand that I need to speak to everyone who knew John, don’t you?’
‘I understand completely. I take it you’ve spoken to John’s family? No, there’s no need to answer my question. I shouldn’t have asked; your investigation is private.’ She held up a hand in an attempt to stop him speaking.
‘I can tell you that his mother and sisters were distressed, but had nothing to add to my enquiries,’ he replied. But he had started to shuffle his paperwork again, and wasn’t making eye contact.
Noticing his discomfort, she tried to reassure him. ‘They’ve never liked me. Perhaps if I’d given John an heir it might have been different, but as far as his mother was concerned, I’m some kind of gold-digger. If only she’d known the truth.’
‘The truth?’
‘John needed the voting public to think of him as a family man with an agreeable and dutiful wife. Working in his office, he spotted me and decided I fitted the bill. I was fool enough, after my miserable childhood, to believe he cared for me. Just like Mother, I thought I’d found my knight in shining armour,’ she said bitterly.
‘The man was a fool,’ Richard muttered angrily before composing himself. ‘Can you tell me anything else about Gavin?’
‘There is something. I was going to look into this myself – more out of curiosity than anything else. He may well tell you that he was some big noise working for a London council, but it seems he left suddenly and never explained why. Knowing that he’s lied to my mother about the bowls club trip, I’ve been wondering if he could be hiding something darker? But this has nothing to do with John’s death; it’s just something that has been bothering me.’
‘It would be good to get to the bottom of it,’ Richard agreed, ‘if only for your peace of mind. I’d like to help, but first I’ll have a word with him. I’ll not say anything that makes him turn on your mother, or you. I’ll just have a general chat about things. I can catch him at the airfield, and later I’ll let you know what he has to say.’
‘Thank you, Richard, I appreciate your help. If that’s all – I must get back to my group,’ she said, hoping for one fleeting moment that he would kiss her.
‘Any time,’ he said as he watched her leave the room. He wanted to tell her that he would move heaven and earth to see her happy; but perhaps it was far too soon to declare himself.
Richard wasn’t one to let the grass grow under his feet, and as he had an appointment at the airfield the next morning, he decided to seek out Gavin Davis and have that little chat.
Poking his head around the door of the administration block, he asked if he could be pointed to Gavin’s office.
The WAAF behind the desk laughed. ‘Do you mean that chap who’s running one of the maintenance teams? He doesn’t have an office, but you’ll find him down the end of the field. There’s a problem with one of the drains. If he’s skiving, which does happen quite often, he’ll be in the hut where the tools are stored. He enjoys a cup of tea in there.’
Richard gave the girl a wink and thanked her before taking the footpath around the perimeter of the airfield in the direction she’d pointed out. He stopped occasionally to talk with people he knew. Mostly it was to say hello and ask after the staff he’d worked with on previous cases. It made him think about the number of cases he’d investigated, and whether he saw this as a career to take him into middle age. He’d been headhunted by Scotland Yard; perhaps after the war was over, he would reconsider his future. For some reason, Helen Wentworth came to mind. He’d very much like her to be part of his future too, but first he needed to sort out Gavin Davis.
Up ahead, he could see some men standing around a freshly dug hole. This must be him, he thought to himself as he approached the first of the men, who was leaning on a spade.
‘Excuse me, I’m looking for your supervisor – Mr Davis?’
‘Supervisor, you say? Next he’ll be calling himself the prime minister,’ the man chuckled, with several of his nearby companions joining in.
‘So he’s not in charge of the team, then?’
‘Well, he’s probably more experienced than some of us, but I wouldn’t say he was the boss around here. We answer to one of the suits back at the office,’ the man explained, indicating the building Richard had just visited on the other side of the airfield.
‘Does that mean he’s not here?’
‘It’s his turn to brew the tea. You’ll find him over there in the hut.’
Richard thanked them and knocked on the door of the hut before stepping through the door. Gavin Davis was sitting on a bench reading a newspaper while a kettle steamed away on a single gas ring. He looked up and did a double take. ‘Aren’t you the chap that came to our house looking for Helen?’ he asked.
‘I am. But this time, I’m here to speak to you.’
Gavin frowned. ‘Why would you need to see me? I am working, you know.’
‘Yes, I’m aware of that. I want to talk to you about Helen and her late husband. I am the investigating officer working on the case. Is there anything you can tell me about John Wentworth?’
‘She changed, you know, after she met him in London. Never had any time for her mother or me. After all I did for her when she was younger,’ Gavin snarled.
‘Can you elaborate?’ Richard pulled out a notebook and pencil.
‘I did everything for that girl when I took on her and her mother. Every time I reached out to her she was rude and nasty. They are the only words I can think of for her. In fact, she’s such a bad influence in the house that I eventually had to ask her to leave. She’s moved on somewhere, mucking out at a dog kennels I was told. A bit of a comedown for the young madam, isn’t it?’
‘Did you ever meet John Wentworth?’
‘He once came to the house to ask my wife for the girl’s hand in marriage. My wife? I told him he should’ve asked me. I gave him what for, I can tell you, jumped-up little Hitler.’ Gavin laughed viciously. ‘In fact, the way people talked about him being prime minister material, he could well have been our equivalent of Hitler.’ He roared with laughter at his own weak joke. Richard merely clenched his teeth and kept writing.
‘Did you ever visit Helen and John’s home?’
‘I wouldn’t have been welcome,’ he answered quickly.
Richard paused and looked up from his note-taking with a questioning frown. Something wasn’t right. ‘Is it not true that you tried to get to see John Wentworth a few times and were shown the door?’
Gavin’s eyes narrowed. ‘I did have trouble getting past that snotty-nosed porter, just because I was in my work clothes.’
‘So it wasn’t a family visit?’
‘No. I called in on the off chance to see his nibs. It was business,’ he added, clearly trying to impress Richard.
‘How so?’
‘I was planning to run my own business. I’d left my previous job as I wanted to set up on my own, but I needed some financial assistance. I thought after all I’d done bringing up Helen, I could ask her old man for a loan.’
‘How long ago was this?’
He thought for a moment. ‘Must be six or seven months ago now.’
‘And did Mr Wentworth help you?’
‘He told me to come back with some figures,’ Gavin scoffed. ‘Figures – I ask you! I work with my hands. I’m a qualified, time-served craftsman, I’ll have you know.’
‘I was under the impression you were in management at the council,’ Richard said mildly.
Gavin shrugged, but he looked angry. ‘Are you trying to catch me out or something? I worked my way up through the ranks. They lost a good worker when I left.’
Richard looked back down at his notes, pencil poised. ‘Did you argue with John Wentworth at any time?’
‘If you mean did I give him a piece of my mind, yes, I did. Then she returned to the flat and they nigh-on kicked me out. I told him I’d come back some time when she wasn’t there, and I’d be telling her mother what a little mare she was.’
One of the men stuck his head in the door and called out for his tea.
Seeing Richard frown, Gavin was quick to explain. ‘I’m not normally the tea boy, we’re just short-staffed today. Rather than have one of them pack up work, I’m making it so they carry on working and don’t skive off.’
Richard understood. ‘That makes sense; so what is it you’re laying out there?’
Gavin stood up to pour the boiling water into a large enamel teapot. ‘We’re running a new water pipe across to one of the hangars.’
‘So your time served was in plumbing, was it?’
Gavin laughed. ‘No, no, no, my trade is gas work. I was indentured as a lad and served a full apprenticeship. That’s what took me up in the world; if you’ve got a gas problem, I’m your man,’ he bragged. ‘Would you like a cuppa?’
Alarm bells started to ring in Richard’s mind. He thought back to the hours his team had spent dusting for prints, checking gas records, the two autopsies and knocking on doors in Cadogan Mansions, even though not every resident had been home. ‘No, thanks. I’ve got to be on my way. If you can think of anything about Helen and John that would help my investigation, please let me know,’ he said, leaving a card on the edge of the bench where the tea was being brewed. ‘Thank you for your time.’
18
28th March 1940
‘It is so kind of you to transport us to John’s memorial service,’ Hillary Davis said as she took the front passenger seat of Richard’s vehicle. ‘I fear it will be a very difficult day for me, thinking of my late son-in-law and what might have become of him and his career had he lived. How very sad that an explosion brought an end to such an important career.’
Lizzie, who was sitting in the back seat alongside Helen, whispered, ‘Have you not told her what really happened?’
‘No; the opportunity never arose. To be honest, I couldn’t face dealing with her tears and consoling her.’
‘Surely she should have been the one consoling you?’
Helen laughed quietly. ‘One would think so; but I’m afraid my mother is one of those people who needs to be the centre of attention. You must have met people like her?’
‘Oh yes, most certainly. A distant relative who came to visit me once while I was in hospital. It was nothing serious,’ Lizzie added, seeing the concern on Helen’s face. ‘But this woman arrived and declared she felt faint because she didn’t like hospitals – so there was I, hopping out of my bed in my best nightdress to fetch her a glass of water and fan her with a knitting pattern.’
‘A knitting pattern?’
‘It was on my bed. I’d been knitting before she arrived.’
‘Gosh,’ was all Helen could say.
Richard raised his voice so that they could hear him in the back seat. ‘I know there is a small reception after the service, but I wondered if I could take you ladies out to dinner afterwards? I have booked a table, but if it’s inconvenient I can easily cancel.’
Helen felt a little dismayed. She’d hoped to slip away after the reception and pay a visit to the offices of Lambeth Council. She wanted to find out more about her stepfather and his time working there, supposedly in the important job of overseeing a department. This little investigation wasn’t something she wanted to tell her mother about – or Lizzie, come to that – but she simply couldn’t shake her suspicion that Gavin wasn’t telling the truth about his past life. The thought had crossed her mind that he might have a mistress, or even another wife. She wanted to find out, for her mother’s sake.
‘What do you say?’ Hillary called out loudly. ‘It’s so kind of Mr Gladstone to treat us to dinner, don’t you think?’
Lizzie looked at Helen’s face. ‘Is there a problem? If you’re thinking of all the work we’ve got to go back to, well, we can always work harder tomorrow.’
Helen realized she had to make a decision. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, she smiled and said that would be wonderful. ‘Thank you very much, Richard. Are you sure we’re not putting you out?’
‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I only have a desk full of paperwork to get back to, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I would rather spend the evening with three delightful women.’
Hillary gave a girlish giggle which had Helen and Lizzie trying hard not to laugh out loud themselves.
‘I hope this awful weather doesn’t spoil the day,’ Hillary said, leaning forward to peer through the windscreen. ‘It must be a challenge to drive in these conditions.’
Richard assured her he was fine, and went on to tell her about driving overseas on mountain passes. Hillary soon changed the subject.
‘Have you attended this church before?’ she called out to Helen, who noted that her mother seemed to be putting on a posh voice just because she was going to the Palace of Westminster.
‘Yes, Mother, I have, but sadly that was also a memorial service.’
‘I’m led to believe that it’s a great honour for a Member of Parliament to be remembered in such a way,’ Richard said. ‘The Chapel of St Mary Undercroft is rarely used.’
‘That’s right,’ Helen replied, leaning forward and resting her arm on the back of her mother’s seat. ‘John’s colleague, who organized the service, had to put forward his request to Black Rod and also the dean of Westminster Abbey. It was quite complicated in the end. That’s why I was happy to step back and let those who know the ropes organize the service.’
Lizzie was fascinated. ‘We have nothing like this back home. Was this allowed because John was a Member of Parliament, or are his family part of the landed gentry?’
‘Ha! His mother would like to think so. John wasn’t one to speak of his ancestors, but I understood there were a few important people among them. His mother liked to remind me they were a special family. You’d get on with her well, Mother,’ she couldn’t help saying.
‘I only met her once, at your wedding. She didn’t seem very interested in chatting, and left soon after the service. It will be pleasant to have a proper conversation with her today and pay my condolences.’
Helen leant back in her seat. At one time, it would have irked her that her mother displayed emotion to other people but never to her. Of late, however, she’d started to see a softer side to Hillary, and she liked that person very much. Consequently, she’d made a promise to herself not to argue and just let whatever her mother said wash over her.
‘I must thank you for all your hard work in arranging the sale of works at the airfield, Hillary,’ Lizzie said. ‘It has been a great weight off my mind knowing somebody who can organize such things is in our circle.’
