McQueen's Agency (24 page)

Molly hadn’t given this much thought but she tried to put an age to him. ‘I think he’ll be almost forty, Kenneth will be about forty-five and Lena will be …’ she hesitated.

On the very first meeting with her, Molly had estimated her to be ages with herself at twenty-seven but she had to admit that Lena now looked about forty.

‘I’ve no idea how old Mike is, perhaps twenty-nine and Christie is about thirty I would say, but I could be wrong.’

Marigold smiled. ‘Our colonial friend Christie,’ she said, turning to Peggy. ‘He comes from Canada.’ She looked at Molly. ‘Have you started to write in your new diary yet. The one you got from Australia?’

Molly was flustered. ‘Oh the diary. I’d forgotten all about it. I’ve left it in Mary’s drawer in the office.’ She didn’t mention all the hassle that had been taking place there, hence the reason for not remembering it. ‘I must write and thank Nell for it.’

Peggy was wanting to hear about her parents’ adventures in Australia. ‘I think it’s absolutely wonderful that they’ve gone to the other side of the world at their age. And how is your sister and her husband?’

Molly said their last letter had been full of their travels and now that they were with Nell and Terry. They had described the house and the area, how wonderful it was and, although it was winter over there, how the sunshine was better than a Scottish summer. Molly had to laugh when reading this letter as her parents were describing everything she had witnessed personally. It was almost as if they had forgotten she had been in Australia with Nell.

After the meeting Molly had lots of invoices to make up and was thinking about bringing forward her plan to recruit another receptionist. Mary was shaping up well. She had done a good job filling in for Edna at John Knox’s house and her handling of the hoaxer had impressed Molly. She thought she would put an advert in the paper at the end of August or September.

She was sitting in the living room with her typewriter on a small table. She had totally forgotten all about the diary but made a mental note to bring it home next week. Thinking about the diary brought back the memories of that dreadful Saturday and the party when Nelly had announced her engagement to Kenneth.

Then there had been the break-in when nothing had been stolen. And that strange smell in the living room. The more she thought about it, the smell had been Dettol. It had been an antiseptic smell; like a hospital odour. And what, she wondered, was she to make of Detective Sergeant Johns and the dead steward? She remembered him clearly from the homeward-bound ship and how kind he had been. She was sorry he had come to such an awful end.

Still there was no use sitting thinking about things, as she had to finish her paperwork before the start of the new week. She was glad that the grocer’s shop job had materialised again, and it would keep Edna safe for at least two weeks. Although Molly had not accepted Edna’s resignation, she was realistic enough to realise that if the problems continued then she might have to let Edna go.

She had been sitting with her back to the window but after an hour of typing she got up to stretch her legs and wandered over to the window and got the shock of her life when she saw Kenneth sitting in the van outside. She stepped back into the shadow of the room.

It was clear that he was looking towards the house.

Did he have a message he wanted to pass on, she wondered? But surely he would have phoned? The Lamonts had the phone numbers of both the office and the house.

She moved nearer the window but he had disappeared. Perhaps he was on his way to the ferry and had stopped to pass on some message about next week’s workload. It was going to be a heavy week work-wise. A large consignment of paintings and furniture had been bought from a large house sale in Perthshire, that had been a grand stately home until the First World War. Now it was up for sale along with its contents.

Kenneth and Joe had gone to the auction last week and everything was being stored in a warehouse in Dundee. The plan was to transport the items in their own van so maybe that’s where he was going. Still it was strange he hadn’t come to the door.

The sight of Molly appearing at the window had taken Kenneth aback. He had stopped on an impulse, debating whether to go and knock on the door and see her. But he didn’t.

He felt he was being boxed in with his life and there was little he could do about it. Nelly was demanding they set a date for the wedding but he had told her he wasn’t going to marry her, or anyone else for that matter. She had simply looked at him with astonishment.

Then there was the worry about Lena. He had told her she should go back to the hospital about her arm, but she said the doctor had told her it would take a few months to heal. But she seemed to be in constant pain. Then there was Joe’s sore arm where he had stumbled on the beach. He said it was getting better but Kenneth had noticed a spasm of pain on his face while lifting something heavy.

He had arranged to collect this latest consignment from the warehouse and transport it to the house because most of the items already had prospective buyers. He knew he was lucky to have this lucrative business, but what did money amount to without happiness?

Yes, he should have marched up to Molly’s door and told her how he felt about her. He smiled grimly. What would her reaction have been he wondered? After all, he was almost twice her age and a young woman like her must have a man in her life, although she had never mentioned anyone. But then again, would she have mentioned her private life? He thought not.

Lena was waiting for him at the warehouse. She had come over with Mike and Joe on the boat. He was the only one who didn’t like the boat, much preferring to travel on the train or the ‘Fifie’. Joe said the boat was safer than the rail bridge because that had fallen down once and could maybe fall again. Quite honestly, the way he felt today he wouldn’t have minded if it had.

Joe said, ‘We’ll take some of the smaller bits of furniture and some of the paintings today and come back tomorrow for the rest. I’ve left Christie sorting out the sheds to make room for this lot.’

Kenneth took the key for the warehouse from his pocket and they made their way into the building. It wasn’t a large warehouse, more of a converted shed, but the pieces of furniture were stacked against the wall, covered by protective covers.

Kenneth was concerned about Lena. She looked terrible and she should have stayed at home. Christie could have come and helped. They could have done with another man to help carry everything to the van.

After three hours’ hard work, the van was full and Kenneth set off to catch the ferry. He wasn’t looking forward to the return journey. The boat was full of families with noisy children running around, making for the shores of Newport to have picnics and enjoy the sunny weather.

He usually liked the sound of children’s laughter but not today. His mood was too dark for any frivolity and it was all because of Nelly. On most trips across the river, he normally stayed inside the van but today, maybe because the sun was shining, he wandered up to the top deck. For a moment he couldn’t believe his eyes. Molly was sitting by the rail. She looked beautiful in her yellow dress.

He went over to sit beside her. She turned with a look of surprise. ‘Kenneth how nice to see you. I saw you outside the house, you should have come in.’

‘I did stop with the intention of dropping in to see you but then I thought you might be busy.’ He hoped this explanation would satisfy her. ‘I’ve been over to get some of the stuff from the sale last week. It’s in the van. The rest is coming back by boat. I think Lena, Joe and Mike should live aboard that ship as they are never off it.’

Molly said, ‘I didn’t realise that Lena liked sailing.’

‘Oh yes, she used to do a lot of sailing when she was young and although she can’t use her arm just now that doesn’t stop her being a passenger.’ He looked at her. ‘Have you been over on business as well?’

‘Yes, I’ve been to the office, just for a quick visit to leave all the invoices with Mary, my receptionist.’ Actually this wasn’t the whole truth because she had gone over to pick up her diary, which was tucked into her roomy handbag. ‘Kenneth, how long do you think you’ll need me working for you?’

Kenneth was stricken. ‘I’ve no idea. Until Lena’s arm gets the all clear from the hospital, I suppose. I’ve told her to get it checked out soon. Why, do you want to finish?’

‘Oh no, I just wondered,’ she said.
Did
she want to finish, she asked herself? On one hand, she did but the money was good and it was keeping the agency afloat until it became better known with more customers.

Edna’s job with the grocer’s shop certainly helped as well. It was these longer spells with one employer that made the money.

‘Why do they call this ferry the ‘Fifie’?’ he asked.

‘It’s just an affectionate name because it crosses the Tay to Fife. I suppose it could have been called
The Dundonian
by the people of Newport.’

‘Your father worked with these ‘Fifies’, you said?’

‘Yes, he worked in the ticket office at Craig Pier but as I told you, he retired this year. I’ve put his painting away until my parents get back from Australia.’

By now, the ferry had docked and Molly went to the lower deck where the van was parked.

‘Let me give you a lift home,’ said Kenneth.

Although she didn’t live too far away from the pier, Molly was still grateful for the lift.

When they reached her house, he said, ‘It’s a lovely house, Molly.’

She laughed out loud. ‘It isn’t as grand as Cliff Top House.’

His face became sad and she was sorry she had been so flippant.

‘Come in and have a cup of coffee or tea.’

For a moment she thought he was going to accept but then he said, ‘I’d love to come in but I’ve got to get all this furniture back so that Christie can pack it away. I have to do another trip tomorrow, so it’ll be a busy day for you too. And I’d better be back before the three intrepid sailors reach shore. Also, Ronald and Betty are coming to the house next Sunday. They want to have a look at the new stuff we’ve bought. There’s a lot of good quality furniture and art and you know what they’re like? It’s only the best for their new house in Edinburgh. Still they are great customers and have bought quite a lot of our stock.’

But he was back for over an hour before they arrived and had just placed the last of the paintings in the shed when he heard the sound of the boat chugging in to the jetty. I could have had that cup of coffee with Molly, he thought bitterly.

The figure walked up the Wellgate. Even though it was a Sunday, the street was busy with people walking into town. Passing the agency, the person glanced into the windows of shops as if killing time, then they walked back slowly, took the duplicate key from their pocket and slipped inside the agency. Everything was quiet. A quick look around downstairs produced nothing. A pile of invoices had been left on the desk beside the typewriter, and the diary only showed a list of jobs and customers.

The pile of invoices slipped from their hand. Shoving them back on the desk the figure resumed their search.

There was no sign of what they were looking for and it hadn’t been in the house either, because the person had already searched there.

Upstairs, they were taken aback by the unfinished look of the two rooms with the little sink at the window and the small cooker. Otherwise, everything was neat and tidy.

The figure slipped out, locking the door behind them.

Edna was glad to still have her job. She really thought it had been touch and go last week after the terrible hoaxes played on her. Thankfully, Molly hadn’t gone to the police but she knew everything would have to be sorted out soon.

She had no doubt that her tormentor would be in touch again. Little did she know that as she walked to work on the Monday morning, he was nearer than she realised.

The man was puzzled about her destination but was determined to find out where she was going as soon as possible. He couldn’t understand why the other woman had turned up for the job. He had specifically asked for Mrs McGill and had gone to the bother of enquiring about renting the empty office in Union Street, just so he could meet her.

He had had a long wait until he was sure the other woman had left before going back and locking up. He planned to wait a week or so before making another move but now he wanted to see what Edna was up to. He smiled to himself when he thought of her going to the two non-existent jobs in the jute mills. These little acts gave him pleasure; made him feel powerful.

Edna reached the shop and was greeted cheerfully by Eddie who was working at the counter.

‘Albert is in the back shop,’ he said, ‘but it’s good to see you again, Edna. We’ve missed you.’

‘I’ve missed you all as well,’ she said. His face went red.

Dolly appeared. ‘It’s like I always say, Edna. There’s a Lord in heaven looking after grocers’ shops.’

Edna and Eddie laughed as she put her white overall on.

‘What can I get you, Dolly?’ asked Eddie.

‘A tall, rich man with loads of money and good looks for a start, Eddie, but failing that I’ll settle for a quarter pound of cheese.’

The man had stationed himself across the road. Standing in a convenient close entrance, he was able to view most of the activity in the shop. So this was the new job he thought, a grocer’s assistant.

He waited for a half an hour then left. He would come back at closing time and follow Edna home.

Charlie decided to go and see Tam, who told him about the intruder at the door and Rover’s behaviour at the Victoria Arch.

Charlie looked worried and asked if Tam had any relations he could go to until this was cleared up but Tam shook his head.

‘No, there’s just me left.’

‘Well I have to be honest, I haven’t managed to get any further forward with Harry’s investigation.’

‘I’ll be careful,’ said Tam. ‘Rover is a great watchdog. He barks really loudly so whoever it was, he got frightened and ran away.’

Charlie asked if he got a good look when he opened the window but Tam said no. ‘The weather was awful with wind and rain and it was just the figure of a man running down the road towards Dock Street.’