A Rose and a Promise, page 12
Turning her attention back to the train, she scanned the passengers who were descending on to the platform, until her attention was caught by a familiar figure. Leaning across the passenger seat for a better look, she gave a whoop of joy before jumping out of the driver’s door and racing round to greet her friend with a hug.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Fiskerton?’ she cried.
‘I thought it might be a nice surprise. Well, that and the fact I couldn’t wait to get here,’ said Cadi.
Poppy beamed at her friend as they got into the car. ‘I can’t wait to see the look on Izzy’s face. Will you be with us for long?’
Cadi sighed happily. ‘The foreseeable, and I’m hoping that means until the end of the war.’
Poppy’s smile broadened as she pulled away from the kerb. ‘This is going to be just like the good old days. What did Jez say? I bet he was disappointed that you weren’t going to Finningley.’
Cadi told Poppy of her earlier phone call to Jez, and the conversation surrounding Micky. ‘So I shall tell Jez of my new posting after I’ve spoken to Raquel.’
Poppy nodded slowly. ‘Jez telephoned Izzy a few minutes before I came to pick you up. She wanted to talk to me as soon as she hung up, but I had to leave in order to meet your train, so I said I’d see her in the NAAFI just as soon as I got back.’
‘Poor Izzy,’ said Cadi. ‘It seems to be one thing after another for her and Raquel.’
‘I must admit, I thought we’d seen the last of the Finnegans. Why on earth have they joined the RAF? I’d have thought that would be the last place they’d want to be.’
‘Me too, but as far as we know it’s only Micky who’s signed up.’
Poppy gave a disbelieving snort of reproval. ‘I doubt it. Those brothers are joined at the hip. It took two of them to come and have a word with Ronnie and Kitty when they were standing outside Hillcrest House – the cowards.’
‘That’s what I said to Jez, yet Micky was definitely on his own when I saw him, and when he went to visit Kitty,’ said Cadi. ‘Not only that, but Kitty said that when he threatened her he didn’t mention Paddy.’
They showed their passes to the airman on the gate duty, and he waved them through. Poppy waited outside while Cadi reported to the office. When she reappeared, she took her kitbag from the car and turned to Poppy. ‘Let’s go and find Izzy. I won’t bother putting my things away until I’ve spoken to her and Raquel.’
They entered the NAAFI to find Izzy sitting at the far end, gazing mournfully into a cup of tea. Hearing the girls approach, she lifted her head, and her face brightened when she saw Cadi.
‘Cadi! Jez never said—’
‘He doesn’t know,’ Cadi interjected. ‘I’ll phone him after we’ve sorted out this business with Micky Finnegan.’
Izzy’s face fell. ‘I felt sick to my stomach when he told me what Micky had done. I don’t suppose you’ve anything to add?’
Cadi shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not. We’re clueless as to how he comes to be in the RAF. I can only assume that something must’ve gone horribly wrong after the night of the fire.’
‘I’m amazed he didn’t have a go at Kitty over setting the place alight,’ said Izzy, ‘especially as it seems to have led to his signing up.’
Cadi mulled this over. ‘You’ve got a point. You’d think he’d be spitting feathers over that fire, yet all he said was he’d return the favour if Kitty reported him.’
‘Sounds like he has bigger fish to fry,’ said Izzy darkly.
Poppy nodded. ‘Doesn’t it just.’
‘There’s no point in us trying to work out what’s going on. If anyone knows, it’ll be Raquel,’ said Cadi. She placed her kitbag on one of the empty chairs. ‘No time like the present. I shall be back shortly.’
She headed for the telephone and asked the operator to put her through to Raquel’s base. It was a minute or two before her mother-in-law could come to the telephone, and Cadi wondered how she would take the news. She wouldn’t be pleased, that was for certain, but other than that …? Her thoughts were interrupted as Raquel’s voice came down the line.
‘Hello?’
‘Raquel? It’s me, Cadi.’
‘Hello, Cadi love. How are you?’
‘I’m very well, thank you,’ said Cadi, quickly adding, ‘and I don’t want you to panic, but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news …’
When Cadi had finished relaying her tale, she waited for Raquel’s response.
‘If one of those two has joined up the other one has as well,’ she said at last, ‘so they must’ve been posted to different parts of the country.’ She hesitated. ‘Either that, or they’ve had the mother of all fall-outs.’
‘But why join up in the first place?’ queried Cadi.
‘They must have been desperate for money,’ Raquel told her. ‘They’d not have done it otherwise, and of course the services could prove highly profitable for the wrong sort of people.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Black market,’ said Raquel simply. ‘The services can get hold of most things, and if I know those two they’ll be pilfering stock and selling it on the side.’
Cadi stood rooted to the spot. ‘One of the fellers in the lunch queue said summat about things going missing after Micky arrived.’
‘There you go.’
‘But why is he telling everyone he’s called Kieran O’Connell?’
‘I can tell you that. It’s because Micky Finnegan wasn’t the name on his papers.’
‘Sorry, you’ve lost me.’
‘Dolly started working for the Finnegans when they first came to Portsmouth. She said when they first arrived she often heard Micky calling Paddy “Seamus”, and she was curious as to why, so she went rooting and found their passports. The one with Micky’s photograph was for Kieran O’Connell, and the other for Seamus O’Connell.’
Cadi nodded slowly. ‘So Kieran O’Connell is Micky’s real name?’
‘It is indeed. They must have changed their names as soon as they got to England. Not sure why, but there again we are talking about the Finnegans, so there’s probably a list of reasons as long as your arm.’
A slight frown furrowed Cadi’s brow. ‘Only why isn’t Kieran using his new alias?’
‘I don’t know, but I’d put money on it that he’s trying to hide from people who knew him in Portsmouth – or even from Paddy.’
Cadi blew her cheeks out. ‘He must’ve done summat really bad to Paddy if that’s the case.’
‘I don’t know why they left Ireland, but I always got the impression that it was summat to do with Micky. He’s a real snake in the grass; far worse than his brother. If I had to guess, I’d say that Micky has double-crossed Paddy somehow. Perhaps grassed him up and done a runner before Paddy can find him.’
‘So you think he’s hiding from Paddy in the RAF?’
‘That’s only a guess, because of course Paddy knows both names, but it’s the only explanation I can think of for hiding from people looking for Micky Finnegan, because his identity is watertight,’ said Raquel. ‘You could say that you know him as Micky Finnegan until you’re blue in the face, but Kieran O’Connell’s passport is kosher, and if they wanted to dig further they’d find that his date and place of birth all check out. Quite frankly, you’d be the one with egg on your face, not him. So he’s nothing to fear from the authorities.’
‘Then why is he so scared? Because he must be, to threaten Kitty the way he did.’
Raquel gave a fleeting, mirthless laugh. ‘Do you really think that Micky – or rather Kieran – will have been honest with his comrades about what he did prior to joining up? Not a chance! He’ll have told them a pack of lies, and not just them, but the women around him. If I know Kieran, he’ll have his feet under the table somewhere and he won’t want his belle finding out the truth.’
‘You can’t really believe he wants to settle down?’ Cadi asked incredulously.
‘If he finds himself a rich woman – and we both know there’re plenty of women from wealthy backgrounds in the WAAF – he’ll marry his way into her money.’
‘I don’t think a woman like that would go for a man like him,’ said Cadi, but Raquel thought differently.
‘We know Kieran for the man he truly is, but to someone who doesn’t know him he’s a charming Irishman with roguish good looks. I should imagine that’s like nectar to many women in the upper classes.’
Cadi spoke slowly, deep in thought. ‘So why fear what I have to say?’
‘Do you know anyone on his base?’
Cadi shook her head. ‘Only Daphne. Why?’
‘He’s obviously worried that she might take your word over his.’
Cadi tutted beneath her breath. ‘She wouldn’t believe me if I told her the world was round.’
‘But he doesn’t know that,’ said Raquel reasonably, ‘and he’ll be worried that you might scupper his plans to wed himself rich. Believe me, once he’s got a ring on some unfortunate woman’s finger, he won’t give two hoots what you say or do because it’ll be too late.’
Cadi grimaced. ‘I couldn’t imagine anything worse than marrying a Finnegan.’
‘Me neither, and once he’s got his feet under the table the true Kieran will come out, and that poor woman will be in for the biggest shock of her life. The kindest thing you can do is tell this Daphne what he’s really like and ask her to pass the word on. Whether she believes you or not is another matter, but at least you’ll have tried.’
Cadi looked uncertain. ‘But what about you? If Kieran finds out I’ve been speaking to Daphne, he’ll tell everyone about Hillcrest.’
Raquel laughed. ‘Have you not listened to a word I’ve said? Kieran doesn’t want anyone digging into his past, so he’ll keep his mouth shut.’
‘But he won’t have anything to lose once the cat’s out of the bag,’ Cadi reminded her.
‘He’ll call you a liar, deny it to the hilt, and bring it down to your word against his, because to do anything to the contrary would be admitting his guilt,’ said Raquel.
The operator cut across the women, letting them know their time was up.
‘Please, just one more minute,’ begged Cadi. ‘There’s no one wanting to use the telephone this end.’
‘Nor here,’ confirmed Raquel.
The operator grudgingly gave them one more minute, but insisted that would be the limit.
‘What about Kitty? Do you think he’ll take it out on her?’
‘Not a chance,’ said Raquel, ‘because Kitty won’t have anything to lose by reporting him. Kieran thought he could scare Kitty into silence, but it didn’t work, so he’ll steer well clear for fear of what else she might do. His plan has well and truly backfired.’
Cadi smiled. ‘It certainly has, and I can’t wait to scupper his next plans.’
‘Do let me know what happens,’ said Raquel, adding, ‘and make sure you’re not alone should you decide to confront him.’
‘Will do.’
‘Ta-ra, Cadi. Take care.’
‘You too.’
Hearing the click, Cadi replaced the receiver and headed over to the girls, who were awaiting her return with anticipation.
‘You’ve been gone ages!’ cried Izzy.
‘Sorry, but as you can imagine, we had quite a lot to discuss.’
Poppy was on the edge of her seat. ‘What did Raquel say?’
Cadi ran through the entirety of the phone call, finishing with, ‘I promised I’d let her know the outcome.’
‘She’s got Kieran bang to rights,’ beamed Poppy. ‘I hope you give him both barrels, Cadi, because he deserves it.’
‘First things first: I’ll tell Kitty that she has nothing to worry about, and should Kieran come near her she’s to scream blue murder and tell all.’
‘And after that?’
‘I’m not going to confront Kieran, because it’ll be his word against mine, and forewarned is forearmed. I need to speak to Daphne.’ She raised a hand as Poppy started to object. ‘I know she’s not my biggest fan, but she’ll know I’ve got nothing to gain by grassing him up, and I’m hoping she’ll tell his belle.’
‘He’ll just move on to another woman,’ insisted Izzy.
‘Not once word gets out,’ said Cadi, ‘and you know what the WAAF’s like for gossip. Kieran’s goose will be well and truly cooked!’ It was the following day and Cadi was delivering a parcel to RAF Lindholme, via Finningley which happened to be en route. Having telephoned ahead to make sure that Jez knew of her intended visit, she now flashed her ID at the guard and he waved her through.
Jez, who had been waiting for her to arrive, ran over with Annie to greet her as she exited her vehicle. Taking his wife in his arms, he gave her a welcoming kiss.
‘I hope you keep getting jobs like this ’un,’ he said. ‘We’ll get to see a lot more of each other if you do.’
‘Being a sergeant means I can earmark runs like this for myself,’ said Cadi. Reaching down, she gave Annie a welcoming ear rub.
Jez nodded approvingly. ‘Does that mean you’d be able to call by on your way home? Only I thought it would be nice if I could take you out to lunch.’
Cadi threaded her arms around his waist. ‘How could I refuse such a tempting offer!’
Jez beamed. ‘If you give me a call before you set off, I’ll come down to meet you at the gate.’
Cadi gave him a brief peck on the lips. ‘Will do.’ Getting back into her car she wound the window down. ‘TTFN!’
Leaning in through the open window, Jez kissed her goodbye before standing back. ‘Ta-ra, queen. See you soon.’
Waving goodbye, Cadi pulled on to the main road. With Lindholme only being a short drive away from Finningley, she arrived at her destination only ten minutes later. Taking the package into the office, she was delighted to learn that she wasn’t required to wait for a response, and was heading to the NAAFI to telephone Jez when the wail of the air raid siren split the air.
Holding her cap to her head, she rushed over to the safety of the nearest bunker. Diving through the door, she held her breath as she listened keenly, and to her relief she heard no sound of thrumming engines, or gunfire. If they were lucky, it was another false alarm.
After they had been in the bunker for a good twenty minutes, Cadi turned to the Waaf next to her. ‘I wish they’d give us a clue as to what’s going on. I’d have thought they’d have let us out by now.’
The Waaf nodded. ‘It’s a pain in the proverbial, but better to be safe than sorry. Are you in a rush to be off?’
Cadi grinned. ‘My husband’s taking me out to lunch. He’s based at RAF Finningley, and I’m to ring him before I set off.’
‘I see!’ The woman pulled a face. ‘I can’t imagine they’ll keep us here much longer.’
‘I hope not, because I hate being in shelters,’ Cadi confessed. ‘It reminds me of the time we got bombed in the B&B where I used to work. Worst day of my life.’
The Waaf made a clicking noise with her tongue. ‘I can see how that could make you claustrophobic.’
The two women continued to chat about their lives, and after a further twenty minutes the all-clear sounded. As they emerged, Cadi waylaid a man who was jogging past them. ‘What was all that about?’
‘False alarm, or at least that’s what it looks like,’ said the airman.
Cadi furrowed her brow. It seemed a long time to keep them underground if it was a false alarm. She cast an eye to the sky above her. If someone hadn’t made a mistake, it meant the Luftwaffe could still be in the area and she could be driving across open country with a Messerschmitt haunting the skies.
‘Are they sure?’
He shrugged. ‘We’ve not heard owt to the contrary.’
Thanking him for the information, Cadi hurried over to her car, where she started the engine before settling into the driver’s seat. She was about to drive out of the gate when she heard someone yelling at her to wait, and realised she had forgotten to ring Jez. She put the car into neutral and opened the door to get out, smiling as the woman she had been talking to in the shelter came pelting towards her. ‘I know. I forgot—’
The woman cut her off. ‘It was RAF Finningley.’
Cadi nodded, but the woman shook her head. ‘They were the ones the Luftwaffe were attacking.’
Chapter Five
It seemed to Aled as though the world and his wife had been outside when the air raid sounded. The Messerschmitt had been on them before they had a chance to take action, and with the main targets being the runway and the fighter planes all hell broke loose as pilots scrambled to get their kites off the ground before the Messerschmitts could destroy either.
Those who had a job to do ran to their posts, but others, such as the bomber pilots and the mechanics, ran for shelter. Every fibre in Aled’s being wanted to run to the Ulysses, but a heavy bomber was no match for an agile fighter plane.
Ducking into the safety of the bunker, he was quick to cast an eye round for Jez and Annie, until he remembered that Jez had been meeting Cadi. He glanced at the watch on his wrist, and felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly. He was certain Jez had said he was expecting Cadi around eleven thirty, and it was only ten to twelve. What if she was running late? What if she was just arriving? An image of Cadi exiting her car as the Luftwaffe descended entered his mind. He turned to the woman beside him.
‘Did you see Jez or Annie?’
The woman shook her head. ‘I know they weren’t on the runway, because he’d gone to meet his wife by the gate, but that was ages ago.’
‘Didn’t he come back?’
‘Not that I know of, but he certainly wasn’t at his post when the air raid sounded.’
Removing his cap, Aled ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes kept darting towards the exit as he struggled to stop himself from running outside.
