too bad. Well, unless she’s in a bad mood.’
‘And that’s every other day,’ Derek said with a chuckle.
‘Derek tells me you live in a bedsit.’
‘Yes, I’m renting it from Nobby Clark.’
‘Is he that tyke you used to knock around with, Derek?’
‘Yeah, that’s the one.’
‘Huh, he’s nothing but trouble. When he was left the shop he could have done all right, but from what I heard he got hooked on gambling. It’s a mug’s game and the shop went under, all the profits going to the bookies. All right, he was only nineteen at the time, but that’s no excuse. You were running the stall on your own, and you’ve done well. What’s Nobby up to these days?’
‘Nothing honest, that’s for sure.’
Pearl thought about the cartons of cigarettes she had seen, wondering if she should mention them, but then Derek stood up.
‘I’m just going out back for a Jimmy Riddle.’
‘A what?’
‘You explain, Gran.’
‘Jimmy Riddle – piddle, its cockney rhyming slang. He’s gone to the outside toilet,’ Connie said, and as the door closed behind him she leaned forward, her eyes now hardening. ‘How old are you, Pearl?
‘I’m sixteen, nearly seventeen.’
‘Christ, you’re just a kid. Look, I know you’ve become friends with my Derek, but I don’t want him hurt. He likes you, I can tell, but you’re a bit young for him.’
‘We … we’re not courting. We’re just friends.’
‘That’s as maybe, but I still think he’s looking for more than that. I don’t want to cross-examine you, but I can’t see why you’ve latched on to Derek. Surely you’d prefer friends, girls of your own age?’
‘I don’t know any girls, and those that come into the café seem to be a bit stand-offish.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s probably because you talk like you’ve got a plum in your mouth. You stand out as different, an outsider, and they’re bound to be suspicious.’ Connie leaned back and sighed heavily. ‘All right, I’ll say no more, but if you don’t want things to go any further with Derek, it might be better if you stop seeing him.’
‘Gran!’
Connie’s head shot round. ‘Derek, I didn’t know you were there.’
‘That’s pretty obvious. Now what’s going on? I only heard the tail end of what you were saying, but why are you telling Pearl to stop seeing me?’
Connie hung her head. ‘I don’t want you hurt.’
‘Gran, I’m a grown man. I like Pearl, and she likes me, but I know she’s only looking for friendship. Now if you don’t mind, I think you should keep your nose out. Come on, Pearl, I’ll take you home.’
‘Oh, please, don’t fall out over me.’
‘It’s all right, dear. Derek’s right and I had no business interfering.’ Connie stood up, going to her grandson’s side and laying a hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry. Pearl’s a nice girl, and I like her. I was just trying to protect you, that’s all.’
Derek’s face softened as he looked down at the tiny woman. ‘Do I look like I need protection? Now come on, let’s start again, and how about cutting me another slice of cake?’
Pearl heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing the loving look that Connie Lewis was giving her grandson, she felt a twinge of envy. It must be wonderful to have someone to love you like that, unconditionally. Maybe she could think of Derek as more than a friend – maybe she could become part of this small family. She would have a home, Derek would always be there to look out for her, and she would never have to be afraid again. Yet even as she considered it, Kevin Dolby’s face flew into her mind. Stop it, stop dreaming, she berated herself.
Nobby Clark threw open the door of the empty bedsit with a flourish. ‘There you are, and it’s a guinea a week rent.’
The balding, flabby man looked around before testing the bed. ‘Yes, it’s all right. Is there a bathroom?’
‘There’s one further along the landing.’
‘How many tenants will I have to share it with?’
‘Only one. A young woman lives on the floor below, but she’s a nice quiet girl.’
‘What about my car? With the market set up every day, I can’t see anywhere to park outside.’
‘This is one of the few premises with a side entrance. You can drive round the back and park in the yard, but don’t come in through my shop. There’s another door that leads into the downstairs hall. You can use that.’
‘Right, I’ll take it and I’ll pay a month’s rent in advance.’
Nobby grinned, pleased to have a bit of extra money coming in. They were still planning the next job and things were a bit tight. ‘What do you do for a living?’
‘I work in insurance.’
‘And what’s your name?’
‘Trevor – Trevor Bardington.’
There was something about this bloke that gave Nobby the creeps, but with a month’s rent in his pocket he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’d put a bet on, one that was heavily tipped, and maybe the bad luck that dogged him would change. Yeah, perhaps he’d be on to a big winner.
‘Thanks,’ the man said as Nobby handed him a rent book and keys. ‘I’ll pick up my things and be back later.’
As both men left the room to go downstairs, Pearl Button was on her way up. They waited until she reached the landing, Nobby saying, ‘Hello, Pearl, you’re just in time to meet Mr Bardington. He’s moving in to the room above yours.’
‘Hello,’ she said shyly.
The man nodded, saying nothing and, once again thinking he was a strange one, Nobby led him down to the street door, showing him out before going through to his shop.
It wasn’t long before Kevin Dolby and Dick Smedley turned up, looking furtively behind them as they walked in.
‘Are we nearly set to do the job?’ Nobby asked.
Dick answered, ‘I’ve seen a van and have been watching the driver’s movements for several days. He parks it up in the same spot every night, and as he’s got a ladder stashed on the top it solves another problem. I doubt he’ll notice the van’s gone until the following morning, so we’ll have done the job and dumped it before it’s reported missing.’
‘Sounds good,’ Kevin said. ‘And is it the usual buyer, Nobby?’
‘Of course it is. I daren’t offer it to anyone else – you know that. Anything that isn’t small time is always fenced through Vince.’
‘He must be raking it in.’
‘Yeah, but he ain’t one to cross. He’s got the borough sewn up, and if we offered it to anyone else his boys would turn us into mincemeat. I don’t fancy storing the booze overnight, so we’re to take it straight to his club. He’s gonna wait for us, and after unloading we can get rid of the van. Now it’s just a matter of deciding when we hit the warehouse.’
Dick pursed his lips. ‘I reckon tomorrow night. They get a delivery today, and nothing gets sent out again until Monday morning.’