A Promise Between Friends (32 page)

‘Please Ruby, just tell me how you came to be here.’

Ruby relaxed a little. He seemed very genuine. Could he have known of Pete? ‘My brother had a picture framed at the Cuthbertson Studio. His girlfriend wrote on the back. She signed herself
as J, but we know from Pete’s diary she was Joanie. I thought, well, no I hoped, she could shed some light on why he took his own life.’

Johnnie stared at the house. ‘Yes, I think Joanie could.’

Ruby sat bolt upright. ‘Do you know her? Did you know Pete?’

‘Bear with me a little longer. Did you recognize the house over there?’

Ruby took a sharp breath. ‘Yes, I went there once when I was—’

‘When you were almost fifteen.’ Johnnie gazed at her steadily with his sad, intense expression. ‘It was a Sunday and Pete made a big fuss of his little sister. You shared tea
and scones and Pete showed you round the house.’

Ruby took a startled breath. ‘How do you know that?’

‘I was there too.’

‘You were? But why didn’t Pete introduce us? Did you live here with him? Did you know him well?’ Ruby asked, more confused than ever.

‘Yes, I knew him,’ Johnnie said quietly. ‘I recognized you at Larry’s party. You see, Pete often spoke about you. He told me you were beautiful and he certainly
didn’t exaggerate. When you told me that your brother’s name was Pete, I knew there was only one Ruby – you.’

‘But why didn’t you say at Larry’s party?’ Ruby demanded.

‘Your friend came along. She was quite drunk and so I decided it wasn’t the right time.’

‘So what made you decide on now?’

‘I’m going away, Ruby. I wanted to tell you before I went.’

‘Tell me what?’ She was angry but she was also excited. At last she had found someone who knew Pete and had even been in this house when she’d visited.

‘Ruby, please don’t be upset. You see, I’m the Joanie you’ve been looking for.’

Ruby felt a punch to her stomach. ‘What kind of joke is that?’

‘It’s no joke.’ He gently put out his hand. ‘It was me who wrote on the back of that picture.
For Pete, my love, my world. Forever yours, J. 1951
.’ His dark
eyes didn’t flinch as Ruby drew in a breath. ‘Pete’s idol was Winston Churchill as I’m sure you know,’ he continued. ‘The dog and hat was a private joke between
us. I loved your brother very much. And he loved me. But we were always scared about being found out. I’m sure you’re aware that a relationship like ours is illegal.’

Ruby sat in shocked silence. She looked at this handsome man beside her and knew instinctively he was telling her the truth. He couldn’t guess at the wording on the back of the picture
either. Nor that Pete’s hero was Winston Churchill.

‘We knew each other for five years,’ Johnnie explained in a subdued voice. ‘We met through Ronnie Raymond, our mutual boss.’ He looked down at his well-manicured hands.
‘Ronnie encouraged us to be ourselves, as if he sympathized with and approved of our relationship. We were fooled of course and went on our merry way, until the day dawned when we both
realized that he knew everything about us. From dates and times, to photos and personal information. He told us that he had enough evidence to send us to prison for many years. That was how he
blackmailed us into his dirty work.’

‘W-what sort of work?’ she stammered.

‘We looked after Mr Raymond’s clients.’

‘What does that mean?’

He looked up, his eyes full of unshed tears. ‘I think you can guess.’

‘Pete drove Mr Raymond around,’ she insisted.

Johnnie smiled sadly. ‘Yes, but that was a very small part of his work.’

Ruby felt like hitting him. How dare he insult Pete like this? Tears filled her eyes. She was so angry she could scream.

‘I’m sorry, Ruby. I really am. But the reason we never told anyone was because of the way you’re feeling now. And yet we were just two people who had fallen in love. We
couldn’t help being the same sex. I thought you might understand. After seeing you so friendly with Larry and Stuart, I was hoping you would.’

‘You’re talking about my brother.’

‘Yes, and I loved him and miss him too. More than you could ever imagine. You can’t imagine what it feels like to be in love and never be able to express it in public.’

Ruby felt so many conflicting emotions she couldn’t reply. Pete had loved this man? Her Pete? Her beautiful, perfect brother?

‘Pete and I were forced to work for Ronnie Raymond,’ Johnnie said after a while. ‘He would fix us up with people, often wealthy ones like Lady Granger who you saw me with at
the party.’

Ruby swallowed. ‘So you’re still seeing her?’

‘Not like that, no. She is a genuinely nice lady and has become a friend, perhaps the only one left from those days who doesn’t expect anything from me, other than my company. She
knew Pete and liked him very much. She kept our secret.’ Johnnie took a deep breath. ‘You see, Ronnie was an opportunist. He got people to like him and trust him and found out their
grubby little secrets. Then he’d make you do what he wanted or vengeance would be his.’

Suddenly Ruby thought of Anna. She had done exactly the same, humiliating and controlling people in any way she could. Pete had fallen into the same trap as Anna had set for her.

‘Ronnie extorted sums of money that would make your hair curl,’ Johnnie said bitterly. ‘He deliberately gave us the use of this house, allowing us to think we had a modicum of
privacy. But the house was not only wired, it had secret cameras too. He didn’t leave anything to chance. That was how he made his millions.’

‘Did you know this when Pete brought me here?’

‘No, not at that time. Pete was so happy, he wanted to share our secret with you. He was convinced that, even though you were very young, you would understand.’ Johnnie sighed and
looked away. ‘But when it came to the time, he got cold feet. I was waiting in a room at the top of the house. Waiting with my heart in my mouth for Pete to explain the facts to you. But he
just couldn’t do it. You were so young and innocent. And he was ashamed. And so you left that day, never knowing that I had been standing only a floor above you.’

Ruby cleared her throat. ‘I knew there was someone else there. I felt it.’

‘I only wish I had known that. Perhaps if I’d come forward first? But Pete always reminded me that we were criminals in the eyes of the law. I didn’t want to lose him and so I
just waited – and hoped he would call me down to meet you.’

Ruby sat trying to put all the pieces together. Her adored brother, who she had thought was a ladies’ man, was nothing of the sort. But why hadn’t she guessed before? He never had
any permanent girlfriends. He was always telling them about his work, but never any real details. He spoke of Mr R as though he was just his wealthy boss. Described all the glamorous parts that he
knew would impress her. And then her mouth opened slightly. ‘Your name,’ she whispered, ‘Johnnie. It is like Joanie.’

‘Take out the letters “h” and “n”,’ he agreed, ‘and replace them with an “a”. Another of our little secrets. And although I never read
Pete’s diary, he said it was safer for him to refer to me as Joanie.’

‘You knew he wrote a diary?’

Johnnie nodded. ‘Pete was very eloquent. I admired him so much.’

Ruby felt more confusion, followed quickly by an overwhelming dismay. This man had known Pete intimately. He’d loved him. Just like Larry and Stuart were in love. And she’d accepted
their relationship. So why was it so difficult to accept Pete and Johnnie’s?

‘Do you know the reason why Pete died?’ Ruby could hardly bring herself to ask that question.

Johnnie pulled up the collar of his camel coat. ‘I believe it was that monster Ronnie Raymond. He wasn’t satisfied with prostituting us, he intended to make us his prisoners forever.
It was all about money with Ronnie. We weren’t people to him. We were animals. To be trained to do as he wished.’ Johnnie looked into the distance. ‘One day, Pete told me
he’d had enough. He was braver than me. I was always the coward.’ Johnnie sniffed back his tears. ‘So Pete went to Ronnie and said it was the end of the road. He could do his
worst. We were in love. And we were going away together, out of his reach.’ Johnnie’s handsome face crumpled. ‘It was, of course, a bluff. Ronnie didn’t fall for it. After
all, he had photographs, information, ugly, plenty of despicable evidence at his disposal. The dirt would follow us wherever we went. Why should he let us go? And so he threatened to go first to
your parents.’

‘Oh God,’ Ruby whispered. ‘Poor Pete.’

‘He took it very badly. That was his worst nightmare. He loved his family so much. So Pete became a beaten man. He knew we’d never escape Ronnie’s clutches. I – I blame
myself for not guessing he might do something terrible. But he hid his emotions. Just like he hid everything else. He was a professional. And so he took the only way out.’ Suddenly
Johnnie’s shoulders sagged and he cupped his face in his hands. His sobs rocked his body and Ruby felt like crying too.

Now the truth was dawning on her. Pete had been living a lie and was too ashamed to confide in her. But the knowledge that he almost had, that he had wanted to, was in a way liberating. For the
past three years she had lived with a question mark in her life. That question had now been answered. And for all its implications, she at last knew the reason for Pete’s tragic passing.

Ruby looked at the distressed young man sitting beside her. He said he had loved Pete and that Pete had loved him and they had shared the guilt and heartache together. Ruby
felt that pain too as she thought of a criminal like Ronnie Raymond and the untold evil he had done. ‘Thank you,’ she said softly. ‘For having the courage to tell me.’

‘P-Pete would have wanted you to know,’ Johnnie stammered. ‘And though we were forced into an intolerable situation, our love remained strong right up to the end.’

It was some while before either of them spoke as they sat on the bench under the leafless trees of the square.

Finally Johnnie composed himself. ‘What can you think of me?’ he said quietly. ‘I wasn’t even at Pete’s funeral. I was so afraid.’

‘You loved him and that’s what counts.’

‘Do you really mean that?’

Ruby nodded. ‘But I wish Pete had told me on that day at the house. I would have been shocked. But I would have understood – eventually.’ Ruby added with a husky sob,
‘And perhaps I might even have stopped him from taking his life.’

‘No, Ruby. Ours was a forbidden love. It was destined to end badly. And both Pete and I knew it.’

Ruby dried her eyes on a handkerchief, then passed it to Johnnie. ‘What are you going to do now?’

‘I’m leaving the country. Pete and I were planning to go to Spain on the money we made for that bastard. We intended to buy a villa. He hoped that one day you would join us.’
Johnnie dabbed at his eyes. ‘We had so many dreams. I think of Pete everywhere I go in London. You can’t choose who you fall in love with,’ Johnnie said bleakly. ‘Now I have
to find a way to live without him.’

‘I hope you find happiness.’

‘Pete was the only one. Always will be.’ He sniffed, returning her hanky. He looked over to the house. ‘I hope Ronnie Raymond burns in hell, just as his house has.’

‘You know Ronnie Raymond died in the fire?’ she asked.

For a long moment he said nothing, then looked into her eyes. ‘Oh yes, Ruby. I know. Ronnie couldn’t be allowed to live, you see. He had to pay for Pete’s death. Someone had to
put a stop to all his evil.’

She shuddered, feeling a coldness go over her. Had Johnnie had a hand in Ronnie Raymond’s death? Had he deliberately set the fire? Is that what he was saying? She couldn’t bring
herself to ask. The expression in Johnnie’s eyes was now pure hatred. She was glad when he stood up.

‘Thank you for meeting me today, Ruby. I’ll give you a lift back to the East End.’

But Ruby shook her head. ‘No thanks, I’ll make my own way.’

‘If that’s what you want.’

‘Good luck, Johnnie.’

‘Good luck, little kitten.’ He smiled. ‘Yes, your brother always called you that. But I can see that the little kitten has now grown into a beautiful cat.’

Again tears were close as Johnnie Dyer walked away. She watched his tall, upright figure disappear into Greek Street. And then she sat down again on the bench.

She wanted to think about Pete, about how much he had wanted to share his secret with her. This knowledge was bitter-sweet. For she wished he had. She knew that she would have loved him all the
more for sharing with her and tried to help him solve the problems that had eventually led him to take his life.

It was late afternoon before Ruby left the square. Thinking over all she now knew, she, too, saw that Johnnie and Pete’s love had been doomed. If it wasn’t for her
dear friends Larry and Stuart she would never have met Johnnie and the true story of Pete’s life would never have been revealed. Pete had lived in a shadowy, sordid world and Ronnie Raymond
was the reason Pete had taken his own life. There had been no satisfaction for Raymond though, as Johnnie had taken it into his own hands to meet out justice. The punishment, it seemed to Ruby, had
been fitting for the likes of an evil man like Ronnie Raymond.

She found herself looking up at the historic monument of Marble Arch. She had walked miles, her feet taking her towards the shops of Oxford Street and their sparkling lights. The dusky afternoon
made them seem even brighter. Over her head the decorations were illuminated. People were rushing here and there for their last-minute shopping.

This was where she had come so often, buying anything she desired, spending money like water. Anna had encouraged her. Just like Ronnie Raymond had encouraged Pete.

It wasn’t long before Ruby had turned towards the Edgware Road. She knew she had to see Dower Street one last time. With each step, she remembered the life of luxury she had enjoyed at
Anna’s – and had chosen to give up.

As she turned the corner, she saw number 10, standing elegantly in the gloom. Ruby shivered in the cold, grey evening. Hidden in the shadows, she paused on the other side of the road. The lights
of number 10 were switched on and there was movement inside the house.