Читать книгу Josephine Cox 3-Book Collection 2: The Loner, Born Bad, Three Letters - Josephine Cox - Страница 20

IT WAS A hot morning in late July, and the Everly Brothers’ top ten hit ‘Bye Bye Love’ was blaring out all over the fairground as the maintenance team inspected the rides before opening to the public. On Blackpool’s famous Pleasure Beach, Billy Joe’s Fairground was a right crowd-puller with thrilling rides like the Dive Bomber, Cake Walk, Octopus, Jet Planes, Meteorite and Moon Rocket. But it was sheer hard graft to keep the machinery in tip-top order, and no one worked more single-mindedly than the youth the other men knew by the name of Davie.

‘Dear God, man! Must you drive the boy so hard?’

Some people claimed that Eli Clements was as old as Methuselah, but no one knew his true age, for he never divulged it to any living soul. A man of wit and wisdom, he looked pitifully small; his frame was slightly bent and his homely old face was cracked and worn by the elements. His joints creaked as he walked and sometimes he had to stop and catch his breath. But for all that, he could still outwork and outthink any man there. Eli had been around the fairground long enough to know every nut and bolt on every ride, and when the machines broke down he fearlessly scuttled round and underneath these massive structures, as if he was born to it.

The other men employed at Billy Joe’s respected him, and sought his advice whenever it was needed. What Eli didn’t know, they said, wasn’t worth knowing. As a general rule he did not interfere, though on this particular occasion, he could not help but speak out.

‘You’re hellbent on breaking that young ’un,’ he told the foreman, Brian Moult. ‘And he’s never once complained about the heavy tasks you’ve set him. What’s going on?’

The other man bristled. ‘I think you’d best explain what you mean by that.’

Eli was not intimidated. ‘What I mean is that we’ve had plenty o’ young ’uns come and go, and never a worry. So why is it you’ve taken against this particular one?’

‘Don’t talk so much rubbish, man!’ The foreman was clearly ruffled. There were things he didn’t want uncovered, and he knew how once Eli put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. ‘Your brain must be addled. You’re imagining things.’

The old man stood his ground. ‘My brain’s no more addled than yours is,’ he retorted. ‘And I’m not the only one who’s noticed how harsh you are with the lad.’ He glanced across to where Davie was carrying a heavy girder across his shoulders. ‘No man here could have done more than he has.’ His voice stiffened with anger. ‘What the devil have you got against the boy?’

Sighing exaggeratedly, Moult took a moment to look down on the old man. ‘I’ve got nothing against him,’ he replied drily. ‘We all have to pull our weight here, and he’s no different. He’ll do what’s asked of him, or he can take his wages and get the hell out of it. I’ll soon fill his place. There’s allus blokes looking for work.’

He lowered his voice to a more intimate level. ‘Matter o’ fact, old fella, you might do well to remember that.’

Eli was never one to cower and he didn’t cower now. Instead, he squared up to the bigger man. ‘Only a bully would pick on a young lad like that. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!’

Twisted in a cunning grimace, the man’s face bent to his. ‘Young lad, is it?’ he growled. ‘More like an escaped criminal. Where’s he come from, eh, tell me that? Turning up outta nowhere, his arse hanging out of his trousers, thin as a twig and looking like he’d been living out in the wilds. Oh, he works hard enough, I’ll give you that. But who is he, eh? And why does he never talk about himself?’

Eli rose to Davie’s defence. ‘He doesn’t have to “talk about himself”. Who he is and where he comes from is none of your business.’

‘Is that so?’ The big man gave another crafty half-smile. ‘All the same, there’s summat funny about him. He’s far too secretive for my liking … doesn’t mix in with the men and never lets it be known what he’s thinking. I’ll tell you this, matey, whoever he might be, I wouldn’t mind betting he’s been up to no good somewhere along the line. He needs to be watched and kept under, and that’s what I mean to do. So, if you don’t like the way I treat him, you can leave whenever you want.’

Eli enraged him by smiling. ‘Oh yes, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, eh?’ he chuckled. ‘You’d like to see the back of me, so you can carry on with your sly little deals. I know what you’re up to. I’ve had my eye on you for some time.’

Fear rippled over the other man’s face. ‘What the devil are you talking about, you old crow? What little deals?’

Winking, Eli tapped his nose. ‘Never you mind,’ he said. ‘All you need to know is that I’m watching your every move. I’ve said my piece and that’s enough for now.’

‘You’d best watch your step, old fella.’ The foreman was worried; how much did Eli really know? ‘This is a big site.’ His intimation was clear enough. ‘Accidents are bound to happen now and then.’

‘Is that right?’ Eli glanced at the Caterpillar ride; a snaking, iron monster of a thing. ‘Well, there’s your chance,’ he taunted. ‘I mean, I could be spreadeagled underneath the workings, and then …’ He clicked his fingers. ‘One flick of the switch, and I’d be mincemeat.’

Before the other man could respond, Eli called on the young electrician as he strolled by. ‘Isn’t that right, Josh?’ Satisfied that his remarks had been overheard, he registered the occasion in the electrician’s memory. ‘I was just telling the foreman here how easy it would be to shred a man, if he was ever caught underneath the belly o’ one of these rides.’

‘Mebbe somebody who didn’t know what they were doing,’ the electrican replied. ‘But I can’t see you ever being caught out. You’re a canny old devil, Eli. You always make sure you’ve switched off the engines and put all the keys in your pocket.’ That said, he walked on. Like everyone else on-site, he had no wish to stop and pass the time of day with the foreman, because if he did, it was a sure fact he’d find his wages short come Friday.

‘See that?’ Eli’s little ploy had worked as he intended. ‘It’s well-known how extra careful I am when it comes to being safe. I dare say there’d be an enquiry if old Eli was to suddenly get careless.’ He lowered his voice. ‘And once these officials start poking about where they’re not wanted, who knows what else might be uncovered?’

‘Well, I for one would have no worries,’ came the sharp reply. ‘I’ve got nothing to hide.’

All the same, he was wary of Eli. There was no way of knowing how much he knew. But from what he was hinting, the old scoundrel knew something, that was for sure.

‘You’d better watch your back, Eli,’ he warned. ‘There are more ways than one to be rid of vermin.’

With that ominous remark, he walked away, leaving Eli in no doubt but that here was a man who would go to any lengths to suit his own dubious ends.

For the rest of the day, they kept out of each other’s way. But when the day’s work was over, and the men drifted away, Eli made straight for the washroom, where he found Davie at the sink, stripped to the waist and swilling off the grime of the day.

With his mind on other things, Davie didn’t hear him come in, and for a moment Eli stood in the doorway, waiting for Davie to finish washing, yet still scouring the walkways, in case the foreman should happen this way.

He glanced at Davie as he towelled himself, and was amazed to see how the lad had matured these past few months. Cold, hungry and bedraggled, he had arrived one morning, a mere boy of fifteen, with the look of a lost and desperate soul. The skin hung on his back, and his face had the gaunt look of an old man. And there was such pain in his dark eyes; deep-down pain which had still not altogether gone away.

Yet here he was now, his frame muscled and toned by the heavy labour he was made to do. He was capable and confident, and though he kept a discreet distance from them, he was respected by the men who worked alongside him. He was a quiet soul though.

A real loner.

Eli had always thought Davie to be a good-looking lad. At his age, with his thick shock of dark brown hair and the brooding eyes that seemed not to miss a thing, Davie should have been out on the town, or flirting with the girls and planning a future. But there was no sign of it. Moreover, he had made no friends outside of the men he worked with, and when they went off to town, Davie stayed in the caravan, reading, writing and seemingly content in his own company. Eli thought it was an odd, unnatural thing for a boy on the brink of manhood.

But then he reminded himself how he had no way of knowing what had shaped a boy like Davie.

‘Davie?’ Satisfied they were on their own, Eli made his presence known.

Surprised to learn that he wasn’t alone here, Davie swung round. ‘Oh, it’s you, Eli! I didn’t see you there.’

He quickly towelled himself dry and slipping his shirt back on, he walked across the room towards the old fella. ‘I thought everyone would have gone by now.’

‘Most of ’em have,’ Eli replied. ‘I hung back, so’s I could have a quiet word with you.’ He snatched a glance along the path. ‘Davie, there’s something I need to ask you.’

‘OK, ask away.’ Davie liked old Eli. In many ways he reminded him of his grandad.

Eli shook his head. ‘Not here, son,’ he told him. ‘Walls have ears, and besides, you never know who might come in.’

The boy was intrigued. ‘I’m going back to the caravan,’ he said. ‘We can talk there.’

‘Won’t the others be there?’

Grabbing his coat, Davie shook his head, ‘Josh and Pete are doing some overtime to get the rides ready for morning so we’ll have the place to ourselves for a few minutes.’ He grinned. ‘I’ll make you a cuppa tea, if you like?’

Eli groaned. ‘I recall the last time you made me a brew,’ he reminded Davie. ‘The cup was half-filled with the insides of the kettle. Tasted like iron it did.’

Davie laughed. ‘That’s because the kettle was worn out,’ he explained, ‘but I’ve got a new one now. And I make the best cuppa tea on site, or so I’m told.’ In his first few days here, part of his duties was to run errands and make tea. But he didn’t mind; he was glad of the work.

‘Sounds good to me.’ Eli accepted and so they set off together.

Situated at the back of the site, the caravan was small and cramped, but it was cosy enough. All the same, as they entered and Davie threw open the windows, Eli had to confess, ‘I don’t think I could share this poky hole with two burly navvies.’

He laughed aloud. ‘I dread to think what it’s like, the morning after they’ve been out on the town; unshaven, spewing up – and I know for a fact that Josh’s feet smell to high heaven.’ He shook his head. ‘How in God’s name do you put up with it?’

‘I’ve got no choice It’s either sleeping rough – and I’ve had more than enough of that – or it’s bedding down in here. The men are all right. We have an understanding. I like my own company and there are times when I don’t want to mix in with the general talk. But they understand me, and I’m grateful for that.’ Having satisfied himself that there was water in the kettle, Davie set it on the gas-ring to boil. ‘It won’t take a minute.’ He plumped up a grubby cushion and invited Eli to sit himself down. Which Eli did, albeit grudgingly; the couch was filthy and the cushion was covered in what looked like dried egg. At any rate he was glad the windows were open and the air was freshening a bit.

While Eli made himself comfortable, Davie got out two mugs, washed them thoroughly at the sink, and placed them on the drainer. ‘What did you want to ask me?’

Before Eli could answer, the whistle of the kettle sang out, and for a few minutes Davie was preoccupied making the tea. ‘There!’ Placing a mug of steaming tea in front of Eli, he sat at the other side of the minuscule table. ‘So, what is it you want, Eli?’

The older man wondered how he should put his thoughts to the boy, ‘Might as well come out with it,’ he said finally. ‘What do you know about the foreman?’

‘That’s a strange thing to say,’ Davie answered too quickly. ‘What makes you think I know any more than you do? Anyway, why do you ask?’

‘Because I don’t like how he pushes you to your limit, I can’t understand how he gets away with working you like a damned horse … labouring from six of a morning until whatever time he thinks he can keep you sweating. There’s something not right here, and I’d like to know what it is.’

Leaning forward, he looked Davie in the eye. ‘What has he got over you, son? How can he do this to you?’

For a moment, Davie fell silent, and now as he tried to speak, he was flustered and nervous, all the old fears returning. ‘Nothing. I mean … I don’t know. I’m not complaining, am I? I like the work. It keeps me out of trouble … keeps me busy. And besides, I need the money. I don’t intend slaving for someone else all my life. I’ve got plans.’

Eli was adamant but gentle. ‘Look, son, I’m not saying you’ve done anything wrong. I’m just saying that the way he treats you is nothing short of cruel. Oh, I know he can be a right sadistic swine, but I’ve never known him take against anyone the way he’s taken against you. I need you to tell me the truth, Davie. And I’m not leaving this caravan till you do.’

With that he took up his mug of tea, helped himself to a biscuit, sat back on the couch and waited patiently.

Davie’s heart sank. Realising that Eli meant what he said, he decided to make his confession.

‘If I tell you something,’ he began warily, ‘will you promise that you won’t ever repeat it to anyone? And you won’t go to the boss, and cause trouble for me?’

‘I promise,’ Eli assured him. ‘Whatever you tell me, will stay with me.’

So, Davie told his story.

He described how his mother had torn the family apart, and how, when they were homeless, his grandfather put them up. ‘And not for the first time,’ he told Eli. ‘Y’see, Mam got mixed up in things … men and booze mostly. But it wasn’t her fault. She was weak – she told me that herself. Her own mam was the same, and so I suppose it was in the blood.’

The telling was a difficult thing for Davie. All this time since leaving Blackburn, he had not spoken of it to a living soul. And now, with every word he uttered, it seemed as though he was unlocking a door that he had once firmly shut.

‘The last time was the worst ever.’ He relived the scene. ‘We waited all night for her. Dad even went out looking, but he couldn’t find her. She came home in the early hours, out of her mind with booze – in a terrible state, she was. Dad was waiting and he tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen. Then he told her he was leaving, that she would never change and he couldn’t live like that any more.’

When the memories became too much and the emotion choked him to silence, Eli reached out and touched him on the shoulder. ‘Go on, son,’ he urged kindly. ‘Sometimes it’s good to get things out in the open. If you keep ’em buried deep, they’ll only drive you crazy.’

It seemed like an age before Davie got up from the table and began pacing the floor, head bent and his heart aching. ‘She tried to stop him from leaving, but he wouldn’t listen. He’d had enough. I thought he was being too cruel, but I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’ve come to realise how he must have felt.’

‘So your dad left, did he, son?’

‘Yes.’ Davie nodded. ‘Before he went, they had an argument on the stairs. Grandad was there … he lashed out in anger. Mam was fighting and unsteady, and then she just fell … tumbled all the way down the stairs. Dad tried to help her but she wouldn’t let him. She seemed all right though … not hurt or bleeding or anything like that.’

In his mind’s eye he could see it all happening, every small detail, hear every angry word. ‘Grandad told her to go and stay with one of her boozy friends, because he was too old and frail to put up with her any more. He wanted me to stay, but I wouldn’t. I wanted to be with her. We went to this man’s house … she thought he would put us up, but he told us to clear off, that he wanted nothing to do with her.’ Shamed, he bowed his head, and for a moment it seemed he might not go any further.

Coming back to the table, he sat down without a word. After a while, he looked up at the older man, his eyes haggard and tearful, and his heart turning over and over. ‘Mam said we should go to the church – that someone would help us there. We got as far as the woods,’ he whispered, ‘when … she …’ He dropped his gaze and composed himself. ‘She died, Eli,’ he said in a heartbreaking tone. ‘My mam died, and there was nothing I could do.’

Suddenly, he covered his face with his arms and began to sob.

‘My mam died,’ he kept saying. ‘She left me – and there was nothing I could do … nothing.’

Wisely, Eli made no move. Instead, he let Davie cry it all out. He watched and waited, and his old heart wept alongside the boy.

After a while, Davie wiped his face and gave a long, shuddering sigh. ‘I’m sorry, Eli. I’ve always been able to keep it inside before.’

Eli brushed aside his apology. ‘Then it’s time you let it all out,’ he said gently. ‘No man can bear such grief on his own, let alone a young ’un like you.’

Feeling as though he had shed a great weight from his shoulders, Davie went on, ‘For almost two years I went from place to place – looking for my dad, I think. I never settled anywhere, was always on the run, not knowing where I was going, or even who I was any more.’

‘And did you find your father?’

Davie shook his head. ‘No. I even went to Ireland, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.’ He recalled the long, weary days when he trudged the streets asking questions and getting no answers. ‘It’s as though he disappeared from the face of the earth.’

‘And then you found your way here.’ Eli felt privileged that Davie was confiding in him.

Davie nodded. ‘I couldn’t stay with any job for more than two minutes,’ he confessed. ‘I just kept moving. Sometimes I didn’t even know where I was.’ He took a moment to relive those awful times. ‘I became a thief, Eli,’ he said shamefully. ‘I stole food and clothes, and once I nearly got caught by the police. Then I got in with a bad lot. One night they promised me a lot of money to go with them and help break into this big house … The owner was away, they said … A pig of a man, they reckoned. They claimed that one of them had been beaten black and blue by him – put into hospital for weeks, they said.’

‘I see.’ Eli recognised how they were probably just using Davie – taking advantage of his situation. ‘Older than you, were they?’

Davie nodded. ‘By a good many years, I should say.’ But he wasn’t excusing his own part in what happened. ‘I knew they were up to no good,’ he assured Eli. ‘But it didn’t seem to matter at the time.’

‘So you went with them, did you?’ he asked. ‘You broke into this man’s house while he was away?’

Davie sighed. ‘It all went horribly wrong. Mr Graham hadn’t gone away at all; nor, as it turned out, was he an ogre. I found out later that he’d chased one of them off when he caught them hanging about the back of the house. So they had decided to teach him a lesson. They knew he’d be there, all right.’

‘What happened?’

‘They dragged him out of bed and beat him terribly, and when I tried to stop them, they set about me. Some time later, when I came round, the old man was lying on the floor … scarcely breathing.’ Davie had a lump in his throat, recalling the panic he had felt at the sight of the old man sprawled beside him. ‘There was blood everywhere.’

‘So, what did you do?’

‘I tried to help him, but he was so still, and he was cold. I put a blanket round him, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. They’d kicked me in the head and I couldn’t see out of one eye. I kept vomiting, too. Eli, I just lost my wits. I was terrified! I ran … I just ran through the house, and as I shot out of the door, the police were everywhere.’

At first he couldn’t understand why they were there. ‘I thought a neighbour must have called them, then I wondered if the others had shopped me. I tried to get away, but they caught me. I told them what had happened, but they said I’d have plenty of time to explain myself in court. They took my name and then they threw me into the car and drove me to the police station.’

‘And when you went to court, they believed you, is that it?’

Davie shook his head, wincing. ‘I never went to court. I jumped out of the car when we got to the police station. I could hear them shouting for me to stop, but I kept going … I just ran and ran, until I couldn’t hear them any more.’

Eli was shocked that Davie could have gone along with those thugs, and even more saddened by the fact that a man had probably died. ‘Dear God, Davie, what were you thinking of? You should never have run away. The best thing would have been for you to tell the court exactly what you’ve just told me … and then take your punishment.’

‘I know that now. I was scared they wouldn’t listen. Scared they’d hang me for murder.’ He shuddered.

‘So, where did you go?’

Pacing the floor as he talked, Davie went on, ‘I travelled day and night, always looking over my shoulder. They knew my name … they knew what I looked like. I was afraid they’d find me. But then, when a year had gone by, I felt safe. I decided to get a proper job and that’s how I came to be here.’

Putting two and two together, Eli asked, ‘Does Brian Moult know all this? Is that part of the reason why he thinks he has a hold over you?’

Davie told him exactly what had happened, the day he arrived in Blackpool. ‘I took a coach here, thinking that Blackpool was an ideal place to hide, full of holidaymakers and casual work. I was walking along the seafront, saw Billy Joe’s and ducked in here to enquire about a job. Then, just as I was coming through the gates, I saw a police car pull up. Two officers went into the office and I saw them through the window, talking to Mr Moult. Then they came out and I waited for a while. I wasn’t sure what to do. What if the police had somehow followed me here?’

‘Hardly likely,’ Eli said. ‘Unless you told somebody where you were headed. Did you?’

Davie cast his mind back. ‘I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure. Y’see, there was a farm some way back … I worked on the land for a time. The family there fed me and let me stay in the barn. I don’t remember saying anything about my plans. I always keep myself to myself.’

Eli had noticed that, and he had been curious as to why a personable young fellow like Davie would want to keep a distance between himself and those around him; even though he shared a caravan, he was always out first and in last. ‘You’re a loner, son,’ he said kindly. ‘I sensed that from the start.’

Davie admitted, ‘I’ve been on my own for too long, and sometimes I find it hard to talk with people.’ Since that awful night at Derwent Street, followed by the death of his mother, he had been unable to communicate much with anyone. What was the point? They would leave him, wouldn’t they? Sooner or later, everyone would leave. Best to keep yourself to yourself: expect nothing and depend solely on your own resources. If he didn’t stick to that, he’d have spent every waking moment looking over his shoulder, waiting for the next big hurt to come along.

‘So, even though you were worried the police might be on your trail, you still came into the office and asked for work?’

‘I had no choice, and anyway, I made myself believe the police were here on some other errand.’

Eli had been thinking the very same. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if Moult hadn’t used the police against the boy for some devious reason of his own. And with Davie’s next words, his suspicions were strengthened.

‘I was starving hungry, and it was so bitter cold, I couldn’t face the idea of sleeping outside again, and like I said, I couldn’t recall telling anyone where I was headed. I didn’t even know myself, where I might end up. So I took a chance and went after the work.’

He finished, ‘I waited for ages, and when I thought it was safe, I went up the steps to the office, and as I made to knock on the door, I overheard a conversation between Mr Moult and another man. They were talking about some money they’d got stashed away. From what I could gather, they made it by cheating the owner of Billy Joe’s … something about buying cheaper parts and such, and billing the company for twice the amount. They were saying that if they kept on the way they were and nobody any the wiser, they’d be able to “wrap it all up, and live a life of luxury”.’

With a triumphant cry, Eli thumped the air. ‘I knew it!’ His suspicions were borne out. ‘I had a feeling he was up to summat, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then today, I bluffed him into believing that I knew exactly what he was up to. I was just stabbing in the dark. I didn’t know anything, not really. Oh, but I do now!’

‘Eli!’ Davie was aware of the bitterness between the two men. ‘You promised not to say anything to him.’

‘And I won’t,’ Eli assured him with a mischievous grin. ‘But like the man said, “there are more ways than one to be rid of vermin”.’

‘I don’t want him riled,’ Davie added. ‘If he thought I was making trouble for him, he’d have me put away and no mistake.’

‘So, go on then,’ Eli urged. ‘What happened, exactly?’

‘Well, I heard them plotting and planning, and I had half a mind to sneak away and look elsewhere for work. Then the door was suddenly flung open and Brian had me by the collar. He dragged me inside and asked me what I’d heard. I told him I hadn’t heard anything, and that I just wanted work. But he knew I’d heard it all. I think he could tell I was on the run, from the way I looked. He told me the police had just been there, and that they were looking for me. They were turning the country upside down, and all he had to do was pick up the phone and they’d be straight back to take me away. I just panicked – didn’t try to find out if it was true.’

‘Bastard!’ Eli was determined to teach the foreman and his partner-in-crime a lesson. ‘So, he’s been blackmailing you ever since, is that it? Making you do twice the hours and more than your fair share of work?’

Davie nodded. ‘He said he’d keep quiet about me, if I kept quiet about what I’d overheard. But he wanted me here, where he could keep an eye on me. If I ever said a word to anyone, or tried to make a run for it, he swore that he’d track me down … said there’d be no escape. That he’d find me and keep me, until the police came and took me away.’

Eli was beside himself. ‘Well, he won’t get away with it, don’t you worry. I’ll see to that!’

‘No, Eli!’ Davie turned on him. ‘Let it be. I don’t mind the work, not really. Besides, you gave your word not to say anything.’

Eli assured him, ‘Your secret is safe with me, although I’m convinced that at some stage you ought to turn yourself in and tell the police about that night. You can’t live on the run for the rest of your life.’

‘I will.’ Davie had been giving it some thought, too. ‘But not yet. I’m biding my time until I can go in search of the other two. I need them to come with me and tell the truth of what happened.’

The old man gave a wry little laugh. ‘Sorry, son, but from what you’ve told me about that pair, they’re not about to turn themselves in. If that man died, they could be hanged for it.’

Davie turned deathly pale. ‘So, what can I do?’ He was frantic. ‘I’m trapped, but I can’t stay here like this for ever.’

‘There’ll be no need.’

‘How come?’

‘Well, now you’ve confided in me, it’s given me a chance to turn the tables on that bully Moult.’

‘But that would mean putting yourself in danger.’

Eli gave a knowing wink. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, son. You see, there’s nothing he can blackmail me with. But, given what I now know, I can make his life very uncomfortable … if I’ve a mind to.’

Davie was still concerned. ‘If he knew I’d told you, he could cause all kinds of trouble for me.’ He hoped the foreman hadn’t seen Eli come to his caravan.

Eli understood Davie’s fears. ‘Tell me something, lad; if all this hadn’t happened, would you still be scouring the country, searching for your father?’

The youth sighed. ‘No, Eli, I wouldn’t. I’ve given up. I’ve spent nearly two long years searching for him, and now, I think if I spent another two years searching I still wouldn’t find him.’

His voice fell to a whisper. ‘He gave me a piece of paper with the name of a man on it; he said if ever I wanted to contact him, I should get in touch with this man, because he would always know where to find my dad.’

‘And did you?’

Davie shook his head. ‘I never even read it. I were in that much of a state, I lost it. One minute I had it, folded up tight in my pocket, the next, it was gone.’

‘And you’ve no other clue as to where he might be?’

‘None. Unless he went back to Ireland.’ He had long ago given up the idea that one day he would walk around a corner and there would be his father. ‘It’s been so long, Eli. He might have a whole new life – children and such. I can’t help but wonder if he even wants to be found. You see, I didn’t.’

It was the first time that the youth had voiced this truth. He hadn’t even written to Judy, his best pal. Somehow, it got harder, the longer he left it. He’d been in shock, he knew now – a much deeper shock than anyone could understand – and it had lasted a long, lonely time. He hoped she would forgive him.

‘Mebbe he does and mebbe he doesn’t. And mebbe he hasn’t got a regular woman nor children, and doesn’t want them. Mebbe he’s still in love with your mammy.’ Old Eli felt for Davie. ‘Look, son. You must never give up searching for him. In case he doesn’t know, he has every right to find out what happened to his wife, because until then I don’t suppose he can even begin to think about a new life.’

‘You’re right,’ Davie said. ‘That’s why I need to find him. To tell him what happened after he’d gone, and to let him know that I don’t blame him.’

‘Good lad!’ Eli was encouraging. ‘It could be, now that some time has passed, your dad longs to see you as much as you do him. You just have to keep hoping and searching. I also think you should get in touch with your grandad. He may have heard something. Your dad may have contacted him. But first, and most importantly, you need to get right away from here.’

Davie was surprised that Eli could even put such a thing to him. ‘It’s impossible! How can I ever get away from here?’ he asked. ‘You know what Brian Moult is like. He meant every word he said.’

‘You leave Moult to me.’ Reaching into his waistcoat pocket, Eli took out a small pad and a pencil. He began scribbling, advising Davie at the same time. ‘You must get a good night’s sleep, then in the early hours while everyone’s still abed, you’re to quietly make your way to this place.’

Tearing off the top sheet of paper, he handed it to Davie. ‘My old pal’s name is Ted Baker. He farms some hundred acres outside of Bedford, in the area called Goldington. Greenacres Farm is the name of his place.’ He smiled at the memories now flooding his mind. ‘Years back, a fore the war, me and Ted went from farm to farm, working the land and having the time of our lives; until the years caught up with us. When Ted was offered management of Greenacres, he jumped at the chance. Then he got married, and so did I, and in the end, we went our separate ways … though we never lost touch.’

He scratched his head. ‘Mind you, come to think of it, I haven’t heard hide nor hair of him this past year. But then I’m not concerned, because that’s how it’s been. We write every month or so for a time, and then it’ll be a whole year before we contact each other again. Farmers are busy people, and they don’t get too much time for letter writin’.’

‘So, how do you know he’s still there?’ the boy asked.

Eli laughed at that. ‘Because he’s too deeply rooted in the land to do anything else. Farming is all he knows, and all he ever wanted. Old Ted has found his bit of Paradise. Believe me, son, he’ll be there, you mark my words.’

He wrote a second note, and in it he told his old friend that Davie was the hardest-working young man he’d ever come across, and that he needed work and a place to stay. He explained how Moult had got his claws into him, and how, once Davie was safely out of the way, he intended giving the bullying foreman a taste of his own medicine.

He finished the letter by promising that he would make an effort to visit, sooner rather than later, and that he hoped all was well with his old friend. We’ll drink the drink and revisit the old days, he wrote, and when the letter was finished, he folded it over and passed it to Davie. ‘Give this to him,’ he instructed. ‘He’ll help you – I know he will.’

Davie carefully placed both slips of paper into a neat box with a sliding lid that he had fashioned on his travels. After the experience of losing his father’s contact’s details, he was determined never to lose anything else.

Eli got up and said his goodbyes. ‘My old lass will be wondering where I am,’ he said. ‘Don’t forget to let me know how you’re doing, lad – and don’t concern yourself about Moult.’ Again he gave that knowing smile. ‘Putting that pipsqueak in his place will give me a great deal of pleasure.’

For a long time after Eli left, Davie lay on his bunk, thinking and planning, and hoping that the old man wasn’t about to get himself into trouble on his account. Deep down though, he had a good feeling about it all. Eli must know what he’s doing, he told himself. ‘I could do worse than trust his judgment.’ All the same, unlike Eli, he could not be certain that Brian Moult would let him go so easily. If the police became involved … Davie dare not even think about it.

When a mood of restlessness threatened to settle on him, he decided not to wait for the others to return. If he didn’t go now, he’d never find the courage, he thought.

Throwing on his donkey-jacket and cramming his few belongings into a duffel bag, he opened the door and peered out. The machines had all been turned off and the crowds had gone. In the stillness of night, and from somewhere in the distance, he could hear his two workmates laughing and chatting as they made their way back to the caravan.

Now was his chance. Eli had urged him to get a good night’s sleep, but Davie was too churned up for that. Right now, his instincts were urging him to leave, and to trust that wily old fella Eli to deal with the repercussions.

With the laughter of his two colleagues edging closer with every minute, he grabbed up his bag and left that place. Soft as a fox in the night, he crept away, down the steps and round behind the caravan. Then he ran along by the perimeter of the site, hoisted himself over the fence, and he was free as a bird.

‘Did you see that?’ Having enjoyed a drink or two in a lively seafront pub, the two workmen ambled along, delightfully drunk and disorderly. ‘There’s somebody there,’ full of gas and booze, Josh belched long and hard.

Pete sniggered. ‘Seeing things, are yer, mate? That’s a bad sign, that is. You’ve got the gallopin’ DTs!’

‘No! I’m telling you. Look over there – somebody’s climbing the fence.’

‘You gormless bugger, there’s nothin’ out there!’ Pete said, going to urinate against a tree. ‘You must be seein’ things.’

The two of them went away laughing. ‘You never could take your booze, could yer, Josh. One sip of Newcastle Brown and your imagination runs riot.’ Pete’s raucous laughter echoed across the site. ‘It’ll be monsters coming out the sky next.’

‘Ssh! Stop your noise. I’m taking over from the night-watchman in half an hour, and if that blasted foreman finds out I’ve been boozing, I’ll be on me way, no doubt with you in tow, first thing tomorrow morning.’

The prospect of no work and no wages quietened them for a while. But it wasn’t long before they were again poking fun at each other, helpless with laughter as they fell up the steps to the caravan; so addled with booze, they didn’t even notice that Davie was long gone.

Doggedly pushing ahead, Davie wended his way to the open road, where he hoped he might cadge a lift south. He would not rest easy until he had put as much distance between himself and Billy Joe’s Fairground as he could.

Having grieved to the full for his mother, and been unsuccessful in the search for his father, he was now more than ready for a new chapter in his life.

He felt as though, with this help, he had turned a corner, and maybe, just maybe, there were good things ahead for him.

With that in mind, and with every step he took, his heart felt lighter than it had done in a long, lonely time.