LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘They’re wasting their time.’

      ‘Don’t be so sure. And are you forgetting what he did to that old man? He’s lucky he hasn’t been charged with attempted murder.’

      ‘How many times have I got to tell you that he didn’t do it?’

      ‘And how many times have I got to say that he was caught red-handed? If that copper hadn’t turned up when he did, Kevin would have killed that old man. There’s no getting away from it, Dolly. Even if Kevin gets off a charge of raping that young woman, he’ll still go down for robbery with violence.’

      ‘He can’t … he won’t,’ Dolly cried, tears filling her eyes. She leaned forward, her sobs turning to wails as she rocked back and forth.

      Pearl and Bernie looked at each other, both floundering. This wasn’t the Dolly Dolby they knew. The once-strong woman was almost choking on her own tears, and neither knew how to react.

      ‘Oh, Bernie, Bernie,’ she sobbed.

      With a small shake of his head, he sat beside her, placing an arm around her shoulder. ‘Come on, old girl. If you carry on like this you’ll make yourself ill.’

      She fell against him and, feeling like an intruder, Pearl quietly left the room.

      Johnny was still asleep, but she lifted him from his cot. She needed comfort too, someone to talk to, and only one person came to mind: Bessie.

      She’d only managed to see the old lady a couple of times since Kevin’s arrest, and now wondered if she’d heard about the latest charges. It didn’t take Pearl long to get Johnny ready and, popping her head around the living-room door, she was surprised to find Bernie alone.

      ‘Dolly’s in an awful state. I should have kept my mouth shut. She’s gone to lie down, but I can’t get her to stop crying.’

      ‘Maybe you should call the doctor.’

      ‘You could be right, but I know Dolly and she won’t thank me. Instead she’d probably go potty. It might be safer to wait and see how she is in a couple of hours. Where are you off to?’

      ‘I’m just popping out to see Bessie.’

      ‘All right, but before this you’ve only been to see her when the market was closed for the day. Tongues are wagging and it might be a bit rough for you.’

      Bernie was right. It was awful walking through the market. Heads turned, murmurs could be heard, but Pearl ignored them all until a hand touched her arm. She raised her eyes, stunned to see Derek by her side.

      ‘I’m so sorry, Pearl. You’re having a rotten time of it and I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Mind you, in the light of this latest news I’ve got more doubts about how you got pregnant. I think you took the blame, but you can tell the truth now. Did Kevin rape you too?’

      Tears filled her eyes. She had badly hurt this man, but here he was, offering her sympathy. ‘No, Derek, he didn’t.’

      ‘Are you sure about that?’

      ‘Yes, I’m sure.’ And, unable to bear his kindness, she moved quickly away from him, almost running to the second-hand shop.

      ‘Oh, Bessie,’ she cried as she rushed inside, relieved to find that there weren’t any customers. ‘Derek just offered me his sympathies. Wasn’t that nice of him?’

      ‘Yeah, he’s a good bloke.’

      Pearl sank onto an old chair. ‘I suppose you’ve heard that Kevin’s been accused of rape as well now?’

      ‘Yes. It doesn’t take long for bad news to spread around here.’

      ‘You knew it was going to happen, didn’t you?’

      ‘No, love.’

      ‘You told me you saw Kevin surrounded by police, but you saw more than that, didn’t you?’

      Bessie heaved a sigh. ‘There wasn’t much more, and I once told you that I’d misinterpreted a vision I had about Connie Lewis. Since then I’m loath to say anything unless I’m a hundred per cent sure.’

      ‘What did you see, Bessie? It’s happened now so there’s no harm in telling me now.’

      ‘All I missed out was that I had a bad feeling about it. I felt that Kevin was up to no good and would be caught, but I don’t think it had anything to do with rape. I think I saw the robbery.’

      ‘Oh, Bessie, it’s bad enough that Kevin attacked that old man, but now there’s a woman too. When he’s found guilty of either offence he’ll probably go to prison for years.’

      ‘I notice that you said when he’s found guilty – not if.’

      ‘He was caught red-handed at the jeweller’s, and somehow I just know he attacked that girl.’

      ‘I warned you against Kevin from the start. I told you he’d come to no good, but you wouldn’t listen.’

      ‘I know, but I loved him, Bessie, and I didn’t take any notice of your warning.’

      ‘Well, you ain’t the only one. As I’ve told you before, people only hear what they want to. Anyway, if you’re right and Kevin goes down for a long time, what are you going to do? Have you given any thought to your future?’

      ‘Well, no, but all this has been such a shock.’ For a moment Pearl was quiet, pondering the old woman’s words. ‘I’d like to get out of this area. It would be awful for Johnny to grow up hearing his father talked about as a man who nearly killed someone and, not only that, raped a woman too.’

      ‘Yeah, I can understand that, but where will you go?’

      Pearl stared at Bessie, her mind racing. There was no doubt that Kevin would go to prison, and for many years. She’d be alone again, and even if she could get out of Battersea, how was she going to survive on her own?

       Chapter Thirty-Four

      In an effort to identify Kevin, the police had brought a few people to an identity parade. There was a publican from a country pub, along with a customer, and also the girl’s employer, but as the attack had happened some time ago, none had been able to positively identify him. There was no forensic evidence either, and now the charges had been dropped.

      Hearing this news, Dolly had rallied a little, but Kevin remained on remand for the charge of robbery with violence. Nearly three weeks had passed, but still the café remained closed, Dolly’s thoughts only for her son.

      Then, at six o’clock that evening, they heard a banging on the café door.

      ‘I’ll see who it is,’ Bernie said. Soon he returned upstairs with Gertie and Madge.

      Without preamble, it was Madge who spoke. ‘Dolly, we’re worried about our jobs. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but when are you going to open the café again?’

      ‘I can’t think about that now, Madge.’

      ‘Look, I can understand how you feel, but me and Gertie can’t afford to wait around much longer. If you ain’t gonna open up soon, we’ll have to start looking for something else.’

      Dolly at last reacted, her neck stretching as though on a stalk. ‘Neither of you have shown your faces until now, and you, Madge, are family. Your lot could have called round to offer us a bit of support, but we haven’t seen hide nor hair of you.’

      ‘We knew you’d be going through hell and didn’t like to bother you,’ Madge blustered.

      ‘Nor me,’ Gertie agreed. ‘I mean, from what we’ve heard, the jeweller’s in an awful state and I can’t understand how

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