The children relaxed. ‘Oh, that’ll be Mrs Royston’s at number sixty-seven.’ They all pointed. ‘She takes gels in.’
‘And she’ll have a room spare. She’ll be looking for someone to fill the upstairs front now,’ the girl added knowingly. Head on one side contemplating the stranger, she came to a decision, grinned and confided: ‘Don’t offer her a penny more than five bob a week, all in. She’s a mean old bat. She’ll screw more out of you if you don’t stand up for yourself.’
‘Well, thanks for the advice!’ Lily said cheerfully. She lowered her bottom to perch casually on the window ledge of number 42 and took off her hat as a gesture of ease. The children gathered round, intrigued. ‘I wonder if you know my friend? She’s called Anna and she’s got dark hair and she’s very pretty. She works up west in a big hotel.’
Their faces fell and they looked at each other again. Finally, the girl offered: ‘Well, you’re out of luck. Annie’s gone. Legged it. Right after the rozzers was ’ere.’
‘No! You must have got that wrong. Annie’s never in any trouble … she’s a good girl, Annie. Hard worker. Honest as the day is long. I’d go bail for her any day.’
‘Oh, she’s in trouble all right,’ the boy said portentously. ‘Five of them there were. Four uniform and one in plain clothes. Knocked us up before six. Ma and Pa were having their breakfast. Ethel and me — we listened on the stairs. Wanted to know where a certain Anna Peterson was, they said. Come over real nasty when Pa told ’em where to get off.’
‘Pa don’t like the law,’ the girl explained. ‘No one round here does. Always on the take. Bent as a hairpin, my ma says. They banged Pa up in the nick once. Fitted him up for receiving. He never deserved it. It were only a dish o’ tripe as no one else wanted. He don’t forget! Sent ’em off with a flea in their ears.’
‘Good old Pa,’ said Lily. ‘That’s the stuff to give ’em. And they had no idea where Annie was?’
‘Naw! They banged on a few doors …’ Jim indicated the houses on either side and immediately opposite, exactly the houses Lily would have tried herself if she’d been on police duty, ‘but nobody in this street’d split. “Don’t know nuffin’! No idea what you’re on about!” that’s what they all said. Even crabby old ’erbert at number sixty-five told ’em to sling their ’ook. They never tried Mrs Royston’s. Annie got clean away. She must have heard the ruckus. Waited an hour and ten minutes, she did, before she done a runner.’
‘But how do you know she was leaving, Jim?’