‘Crying like a baby is not going to help you, is it?’ a little voice said from the back door.
Ruby looked up to where George was standing, his head cocked to one side and his hands on his hips. Her young son was perfectly mimicking the way her mum had always spoken to him when he cried. ‘You are right, love,’ she said, cuffing the tears from her eyes before starting to chuckle. Stella joined in with the laughter. George was so comical. More banging on the front door caused them to stop. ‘Would you get that, please, Stella?’
Before Stella could move, George had raced past them and was at the door, reaching up to turn the latch. He returned much more subdued. ‘There are policemen at the door, Mummy. Shall I ask them to come in?’
‘It’s all right, love, I’ll get this,’ Stella said, patting him on the head. ‘Why don’t you go back outside to play?’
George nodded his head. He knew something was up and he wasn’t meant to listen.
Stella showed the two uniformed men into the front room and offered them seats. Ruby followed and looked up gratefully as she spotted Frank about to knock on the front door. She felt so much less afraid with her friends around her.
As he stepped over the threshold, slightly out of breath, Ruby held the door open. ‘I take it there’s news about Eddie?’ he asked.
‘Yes. And it gets much worse,’ Ruby said quickly as they both went into the room to see what the policemen had to say.
The senior policeman introduced himself as Sergeant Daniel Jackson. The younger constable looked no older than Ruby, and his red face and perfect uniform suggested he must be new to the job. ‘This is Constable Robert Jackson, who is here to take notes,’ the older man said before giving a slight cough, at which Constable Jackson jumped to and pulled a notebook and pencil from his pocket.
‘Do all policemen in Erith share the same surname, or are you related?’ Stella enquired politely.
‘PC Jackson is my son. He joined the force two weeks ago. However, that is neither here nor there. Do you think you could sit down while I ask my questions?’
Frank quickly brought in three chairs from the other room whereupon they sat down waiting for the policeman to speak. ‘I’m sure I know you from somewhere,’ Frank said to the younger officer as he held out his hand to shake.
‘Possibly the bowls club, or perhaps the police male voice choir. We do have a few members who don’t belong to the force,’ Robert said with a grin.
‘It’d be the bowls club – I’m not much of a singer,’ Frank smiled back. ‘Do you live round here?’
‘Cross Street, with my wife and young nipper,’ he replied. ‘You . . .?’
Another cough from the sergeant brought their conversation to a halt. ‘Mrs Caselton, I need to ask you a few questions about a theft at the cafe where you work. Are you happy for these people to remain in the room?’
‘Please, I’d like them to stay. I have no secrets and Mrs Green has been with me since my mother passed away in the cottage hospital early this morning.’
‘Please accept my condolences,’ he said, looking a little uncomfortable. ‘Would you be able to explain your movements since leaving the cafe on Saturday evening?’
Ruby took a deep breath and explained that she had been at home until Sunday afternoon, when she got word of Milly’s collapse. Stella and Frank chipped in to confirm what they knew.
‘Are these the keys that were left in your possession for you to open up the cafe this morning?’ he asked, pulling the keys Ruby had been searching for from his pocket.
‘Yes – I recognize the knots in the piece of string that keeps them together. I thought they were in my bag. I didn’t get to the cafe to open up as my mind was elsewhere. Since coming back here early this morning, I’ve not left the house.’
‘Can anyone confirm that? Your husband, perhaps?’
‘I was here alone. My son slept over the road at Mrs Green’s house,’ Ruby said, giving Stella a worried look. She hoped he wouldn’t ask about Eddie. Explaining what her husband had done would feel too much like washing her dirty linen in front of these policemen.
‘About your husband, Mrs Caselton . . .’
Ruby froze. What could she say?
‘May I speak, Sergeant?’ Stella asked.
‘If it is relevant to the break-in at the cafe,’ the sergeant said, linking his fingers together on his lap.
‘I feel it is,’ she said, giving Ruby a questioning look. When Ruby nodded for her to continue, she went on to explain how Ruby had found her mother’s money and possessions missing, along with Eddie’s clothes. ‘Eddie Caselton has abandoned his wife, taking valuables and their money with him,’ she said, trying not to show any emotion in her voice in case the police officer thought she was biased in her opinion of Ruby’s husband.
‘This does throw a new light on the situation,’ he said, looking to the constable to see if he’d written everything down. When the younger man looked up and nodded, the sergeant stood up. ‘That will be all for now.’
Ruby was confused. ‘I don’t understand. Are you going to chase after my husband to get my money back? What about the things he took from the cafe? Will you be able to charge him for that? It’s not as if I did anything wrong; I’m just the silly cow left in the lurch now he’s sodded off. I can’t even pay the rent on this place, so me and my son will be kicked out in the street come next weekend when the rent’s due.’
Sergeant Jackson looked embarrassed. ‘Mrs Caselton, you have nothing to blame yourself for. If we can prove Eddie Caselton used the keys to steal from the cafe then we can
