appeal for anyone who saw any suspicious activity near the Golden Goose recently to come forward. Detectives would be deployed to go from house to house in the area in search of potential witnesses.
‘That outhouse was kept locked,’ said Marmion. ‘How did the bomber gain access to it to plant his device?’
‘And how sophisticated was the bomb?’
‘It was sophisticated enough to do the job, Joe. That’s what really matters. But it will be interesting to see what the experts say when they’ve collected enough bomb fragments. It should tell us if we’re looking for a rank amateur or for someone who works at the factory and is used to handling explosives.’
‘Do you still think someone had a grudge against one of those women?’
‘Yes, I do — against one or all of them. It may be some crank who objects to the very idea of women doing jobs always done by men in the past.’
‘There’s another way of looking at this,’ mused Keedy.
‘Is there?’
‘What if the real target was the landlord? Somebody could have fallen out with him or been banned from the pub. When he blew up that outhouse, he might have been completely unaware of the fact that someone was inside.’
‘It’s an idea worth considering, Joe, but there’s one thing against it.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Anyone who hated Mr Hubbard enough to plant a bomb on the premises would surely want to cause maximum damage. He’d blow up the pub itself,’ said Marmion, thoughtfully. ‘And I reckon he’d do it after dark so that no customers would be injured. If the landlord was the target, the best time to set off an explosion would be when he’s completely off guard, snoring in bed beside his wife.’
‘I still think we shouldn’t rule him out, Harv.’
‘Agreed — we keep every option on the table.’
‘That brings us back to the five victims.’
‘Yes,’ sighed Marmion, ‘and it confronts us with a massive problem. You know how people are when they’re bereaved. They withdraw into themselves. The parents of those girls won’t like it if we start prying into the private lives of their daughters — well, look at the trouble we had with Mrs Radcliffe. She was very defensive. Like her, the others will just want to be left alone to mourn. We’ll be seen as intruders.’
‘There’s nothing new in that.’ Keedy was struck by a sudden thought. ‘Let’s suppose you’re right, Harv, and that one of those six girls
Though they tried to relax, Ellen and Alice were on tenterhooks. Every so often, one of them would go to the window and peer through the curtains. Marmion had rung home from Uxbridge police station. The two women tried to work out how long it would take a car to drive back to the house, assuming that it was keeping to the speed limit. Because her knowledge of geography was poor, Ellen’s estimate was wildly optimistic. During her time with the Women’s Emergency Corps, Alice had driven a lorry all over London and well beyond it. She had a clearer idea of how long it took to get from place to place. She was nevertheless impatient and chafed at the delay. When they heard a car approach the house and slow to a halt, it was Alice who leapt to her feet and rushed to the door. She was in time to see the detectives getting out of the vehicle and ran into Keedy’s embrace.
‘I’m so glad you’re back at last,’ she said, breathlessly.
‘Sorry about this evening, Alice,’ he apologised.
‘There’ll be other times.’
She kissed him on the cheek, then became aware of her father standing there.
‘Don’t I get a welcome home?’ he asked with a slight edge.
‘Of course, you do,’ she said, hugging him. ‘Hello, Daddy.’
The car drove off and the three of them went into the house. Ellen collected a routine peck on the cheek from her husband then took him into the kitchen. Keedy and Alice followed them.
‘There’s a meal in the oven, if you’re not too tired to eat it,’ said Ellen. ‘And there’s more than enough for you, Joe.’
‘I’m starving,’ said Keedy.
‘We haven’t had a thing since we heard the news from Hayes,’ said Marmion, inhaling the aroma that came from the oven as Ellen opened the door. ‘That smells good. Thanks for having something ready for us, love.’
‘I know how hungry policemen can get.’
‘But where’ve you been?’ asked Alice. ‘And why did you go there? Tell me everything. I can’t wait to hear the details.’
‘They’re not very pleasant,’ warned her father.
‘Why is that, Daddy?’
He exchanged a glance with Keedy. ‘Let’s get some grub inside us first.’
‘I second that, Harv,’ said the other, rubbing his hands.
It was not long before all four of them were seated around the table. While Marmion and Keedy devoured their food, the women had yet another cup of tea. It was an odd situation but one which was likely to recur time and again now that Keedy was about to join the family. Ordinarily, Marmion would say very little to his wife about the cases on which he was working. He took special care to keep any horrific details from her but he could hardly do that now. Since his daughter was pressing him for information, Ellen was bound to hear it as well. She gave him an encouraging smile, as if indicating that she had no qualms about what he might say.
Choosing his words carefully, Marmion told them about the crisis that had made them hare off to Hayes in a fast car. Both women were appalled. The idea of one female victim was enough to upset them. The fact that five had been blown to pieces made them shudder. They found it difficult to imagine how gruesome the scene of the crime must have been. Alice was the first to recover from the shock. Ellen was numbed and left all the questions to her daughter.
‘Why would anyone want to murder some munition workers?’ she asked.
‘That’s not what they’ll be called in the papers,’ said her father. ‘They’ll be described as canaries. They’ll be robbed of their dignity and simply be lumped together as munitionettes.’
‘That’s terrible, Daddy. They were five separate individuals.’
‘We discovered that from the survivor,’ said Keedy. ‘She told us how different they all were from each other and Mrs Radcliffe — the mother of one of the girls — told us a little about her daughter. In the normal course of events, all six of them would probably never have been friends. Well,’ he corrected, ‘two of them might have been because they lived so close to each other in Uxbridge, but the rest were scattered all over the place in Hayes. What brought them together was the war.’
‘It brought them together, then killed them,’ remarked Ellen.
‘What a terrible way to lose their lives,’ said Alice, face taut. ‘They went off happily to a birthday party without realising that they were walking into a death trap. It’s dreadful. What kind of a monster could do such a thing?’ She swung round to face her father. ‘Do you have any idea who he could be?’
‘No, Alice,’ admitted Marmion, ‘but his signature tells us something about him. He’s cold, ruthless, calculating and has no concern for the value of human life. The chances are that he was ready to sacrifice innocent young women in order to kill the person he was really after.’
‘And who was that?’
‘We haven’t worked it out yet,’ said Keedy. ‘We’re still at a very early stage of the investigation.’
‘Needless to say,’ cautioned Marmion, ‘everything that we’ve told you has been confidential. Nothing — not a single word — must be repeated to anyone at work, Alice. When your colleagues know that I’m in charge of the case, you’re bound to be asked. You must lie your head off.’
‘That’s not easy for someone as honest as her,’ said Ellen.
‘Yes, it is, Mummy,’ said Alice. ‘When I know how important it is to be discreet, I can be. I won’t tell a soul.’
Marmion put a hand on her arm. ‘Good girl.’
‘But that doesn’t mean I want to be kept in the dark from now on.’
‘What do you mean?’
