There was a general laugh of approval. As well as the man in the dungarees, there were two other members of the True British League. One was a short, emaciated, sallow individual in his fifties with a fringe beard flecked with grey. The other was a strapping young man with thick eyebrows meeting each other above a bulbous nose. Like Brad Thompson, he had the wild-eyed look of someone who was keen to exercise his muscles. While both men acknowledged the newcomers with a nod, they left the talking to their leader.
‘I’ll drive,’ said the man in the dungarees, ‘and Brad can sit beside me. The rest of you can travel in the back of the lorry. That goes for the new man as well.’
‘He won’t come,’ said Thompson.
‘Oh yes he will — he believes in our cause.’
‘Lots of people do but they’re too afraid to show it.’
‘I’m not afraid,’ said Gill, stepping forward. ‘We need a group like this in Liverpool. Some parts of it are crawling with Jews, and Manchester’s even worse.’
‘The True British League is here to clean up London and drive the Jews out,’ said the leader. ‘One day, we may be able to carry the message to other cities. I’ve got an idea, Ernie,’ he added, snapping his fingers. ‘Perhaps you could start a branch in Liverpool.’
Thompson smirked. ‘He won’t be going back there in a hurry.’
‘No,’ said Ernie, laughing, ‘I sort of outstayed my welcome.’
‘The coppers are still looking for him.’
Without warning, the door was flung open and Joe Keedy stepped in. He was wearing the same rough apparel as before. He identified the man in the dungarees as the one to whom he’d talked on his first visit. Keedy recognised Brad Thompson as well but the other three faces were new to him.
‘Here I am,’ said Keedy, rubbing his hands together.
‘Brad thought you’d be scared off,’ said the leader. ‘I knew that you wouldn’t let us down.’
‘I wasn’t going to miss out on the fun.’
‘Right, let’s get on our way. Brad’s in the cab with me. You’re in the back of the lorry with Ernie and the others.’
‘Which one’s Ernie?’ asked Keedy.
‘I am,’ said Ernie, stepping forward. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m someone who doesn’t want the country polluted by Jews.’
‘That’s all we need to hear,’ said the leader. ‘Follow me. We’ll go out the back way.’
He took them through a door in the far wall and out into the courtyard. The lorry was waiting. While the leader climbed into the cab, Thompson went to crank the engine. Keedy clambered into the rear of the lorry and sat down. The others got in after him. After a couple of turns, Thompson started the engine then hauled himself up into the cab. The lorry pulled away with four men, two cardboard boxes and some cans of petrol in the back. As it swung into the street and picked up speed, it shot past a car parked in the shadows. Keedy was the only one aboard who knew that it would follow them.
The car turned into the drive and came to an abrupt halt. As the engine was switched off, the front door opened and Miriam Stein came out. Her brother-in-law climbed out of the vehicle.
‘It’s nice to see it back here again,’ said Miriam, running a hand over the bonnet. ‘I remember the day that Jacob bought it. He was so proud of his car.’
‘It’s a lovely smooth drive, Mimi.’
‘We should have thought of it before.’
‘Yes,’ said Stone, ‘it’s the obvious thing to do. Since my own car was destroyed, I should have reclaimed this one from the garage right away. It just never occurred to me.’
‘You’ve had a lot on your mind, Herman.’
‘There’s been one crisis after another. Talking of which,’ he said, glancing at the house, ‘how is Ruth?’
‘She’s surprisingly well. I still don’t understand why she sneaked out of the house like that but she’s come back almost refreshed. She’s even eaten a proper meal at last.’
‘That’s encouraging.’
‘And she’s promised not to run off like that again.’
‘I’ll want more than an apology from her,’ warned Stone. ‘She put us through hell yesterday. I’ll never forget the shock of seeing her bedroom window wide open.’
‘Leave her be for a while,’ advised Miriam. ‘She needs rest.’
‘What Ruth needs is to be under restraint.’
‘That’s the worst thing we could do to her, Herman. It was being watched all the time that made her want to get away. We took away her freedom. Ruth wanted it back.’
‘And what did she do with her freedom?’ he asked, irritably. ‘She went gallivanting off to the West End. Ruth was asking for trouble. What was she trying to do?’ he said, waving an arm. ‘Get herself assaulted all over again?’
Miriam flared up. ‘That’s a terrible suggestion.’
‘We have to be realistic. The streets are full of drunks at that time of night. Anything could have happened to her.’
‘Thanks to the police, she got back home safe and sound.’
‘Yes, but only after she’d given us a fright. I don’t think you should be so forgiving, Mimi. We need to remonstrate with her. If I hadn’t been so busy all day, I’d have spoken very sternly to Ruth.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t do that just now,’ she said. ‘Ruth knows she did wrong. Let’s leave it at that for the time being.’
Stone saw the determined look in her eye. Miriam was asserting herself. After consideration, he agreed to back off from his niece for a while. About to go into the house, he was reminded of the last time he’d left a car on the drive.
‘If you don’t mind,’ he said, ‘I’ll put it away in the garage. For some unknown reason, I’ve obviously become a target for someone.’
Keedy didn’t need to trawl for information. It was readily supplied by Ernie Gill, who couldn’t stop bragging about the way he’d helped to set fire to a synagogue, then destroy an expensive motor car. What he couldn’t confirm was that he and the others had been instrumental in the attack in Jermyn Street. Quite apart from the man’s activities in Liverpool, Keedy had enough to arrest him. Gill had freely confessed. Seated in the back of the lorry, it was difficult to follow the route they were taking. The vehicle lurched round corners and rattled over uneven roads. Keedy kept one eye on the car following them while trying to divert his companions from doing so.
At length, the river appeared on their left. The lorry then went through a maze of streets before juddering to a halt. Late evening shadows turned the buildings into massive dark blocks of stone. The area felt deserted. Jumping out of the cab, the leader banged on the side of the lorry. Gill passed the cans of petrol to him. Keedy watched as the other two men lifted boxes of kindling onto the pavement. When he got out of the lorry, Keedy was standing beside Brad Thompson whose tone was condescending.
‘Keep your eyes open,’ he said. ‘We’ll show you how it’s done.’
‘He wants to join in, Brad,’ said the leader. ‘Right?’
‘Right,’ confirmed Keedy. ‘Where are we?’
‘We’re very close to a warehouse that needs burning down.’
‘Who owns it?’
‘A man named Herbert Stone — except that his real name is Herman Stein and he’s a Jewish immigrant who ought to be driven out of Britain altogether with the rest of his kind.’
‘Why not use the lorry?’ asked Keedy. ‘Why not drive up, start the fire then disappear fast? According to Ernie, that’s what you did at the synagogue.’
‘Ernie should learn to button his lip,’ said the leader, shooting a look of reproach at Gill. ‘It didn’t work at the synagogue. The fire brigade got there too soon. We’ll take no chances this time. The place is guarded. Our information is that there are four nightwatchmen on duty. Brad and the others will take care of them while you and me,’ he continued, jabbing Keedy, ‘will get inside and start a blaze.’
‘I’d rather light the fire,’ complained Gill.
‘You stay with me, Ernie,’ said Thompson. ‘We’ll knock out those nightwatchmen. That’s why I gave you that cosh.’
