Songbird

They enjoyed the banter a while longer, and then the girls decided they must “pay a visit to the lavvie” before they set off again.

Having got directions from the waitress, they made their way through the next room and down the long hallway; Ellen up front and Maddy waddling in the rear.

The Ladies Room was a revelation. The deep, wide window was set above a curved seat upholstered in plush red velvet. Each of the toilet cubicles boasted pretty oak shelves carrying dishes of dried and perfumed autumn leaves, and spare toilet rolls clad in pink fabric bags. There were old-fashioned brass knobs on the door, and a sample of embroidery depicting two lines from a Wordsworth poem hanging on the wall.

“Wow!” Ellen emerged to find Maddy waiting for her. “It’s even nicer than I remember,” she said.

The two of them were still deep in discussion as they approached the kitchen. “Phew!” Heavy with child and having eaten too heartily, Maddy paused for a breather and remarked on how the heat from the kitchen had made the corridor uncomfortably warm.

“I expect they leave the door open to let the heat out of the kitchen,” Ellen assumed, while looking anxiously at her friend.

As they drew nearer to the kitchen, they overheard a conversation between two men – presumably employees. “He got what he deserved,” one commented. “Pity they ever did away with hanging, that’s what I say.”

“You’re right. If any man needs a rope round his neck, it’s that Steve Drayton and all his kind. Scum of the earth, that’s what they are. But at least that one won’t be walking the streets again till he’s old and gray.”

“Hmh!” His colleague was not so sure. “I wouldn’t count on him being old and gray,” he snorted. “He’ll probably be out in less than ten years, and that’s no justice at all. A life-sentence should mean life.”

The conversation brought Maddy and Ellen to a halt. “Oh, Maddy! Did you hear that?” Ellen saw how pale her friend had become. “We can breathe easier now. Did you hear? They’ve put Steve away for life.”

Maddy felt as though a band of iron had been clamped to her chest, and she could hardly breathe. That man, put away for the rest of his life? She hardly dared let herself believe it.

“Look there!” Ellen pointed to the nearby windowsill, where a newspaper had been discarded. Its glaring headline straddled the top half of the page:

KILLER GETS LIFE

No Mercy For Drayton

Having settled the bill, Grandad came looking, concerned that the girls had been gone such an age. He found them slowly walking down the corridor, heads bent and immersed in earnest conversation.

He instantly noticed Maddy’s pallid complexion, and in a minute was at her side. “What’s happened, lass? Have you had a bad turn? What is it?” His kindly old face was wreathed in anxiety.

Maddy did not hear him. She was still thinking of those glaring headlines and the horrendous thing Steve Drayton had done. Alice was uppermost in her mind, and Jack, and the way she and Ellen had been forced to leave everything and flee for their lives. And even with Drayton put away, the danger would always be there, she thought dully. For as long as she lived, she would never again feel safe.

Ellen was quick to allay Grandad’s fears. “Maddy felt unwell,” she said, “but she’s feeling better now. All the same, we’d best get her back to the car, eh, Grandad?”

Maddy forced a smile. “I’m sorry.” She felt sickened to her stomach. The only thought in her head now was to get as far away from here as she could. “It was just a twinge, that’s all,” she assured them. “Nothing to worry about. Oh look, I know we planned to make a day of it, but I need to get home, if that’s all right with you?”

“O’ course, lass, and don’t you worry. There’ll be plenty of days out that the three – no, four of us – can enjoy together.” Grandad Bob was very excited about the new baby coming. At his time of life, joys of that kind were few and far between.

Leaving Ellen and Maddy waiting in the foyer, he hurried to the car park to fetch the car. A few minutes later, they were all settled into the Rover and were headed for home.

While Ellen chatted away to her grandfather, Maddy remained quiet. She felt strange. Yes, she was elated to know that her ex-lover had got his just deserts, and she hoped he would be made to serve out the full length of his sentence. But, like the kitchen-hand said, he should have been hanged for what he did; not least because he had taken the lives of two good people, but also because in his warped, crazy mind he saw her as being the means of his downfall. And there was no doubt in Maddy’s mind that, while there was breath in his body, he would spend every waking minute of his time inside planning his vengeance on her.

For months now, she had been haunted by images of her fallen friends Jack and Alice, and the monster who had run rampage that night in the alley. Yet somehow, she had coped. She had begun to sleep more soundly; the nightmares had eased, and life had eventually settled into some kind of pattern. Now though, she could not stop trembling. She was hot, then she was cold, and now something was happening that she could not explain. “I need to get out of here,” she said suddenly. Frantic, she scrabbled at the door handle. “Stop – please, stop!”

Seeing how flushed and ill Maddy looked, Ellen said, “Pull over, Grandad… quick.”

With traffic front and back, and no obvious lay-bys, it was not an easy thing to do, but he managed it. When they got Maddy out of the car, she stumbled on her feet and looked about to pass out.

“Easy now, lass.” Grandad slipped his arm round her waist, while Ellen supported her from the other side.

“Maddy, what is it?” Ellen cried. “Are you in pain?” Like Grandad, she was deeply alarmed.

Maddy’s first thought was for the baby. Every instinct told her there was something wrong, and though she had a tight, strangling feeling across her chest, she was in no real pain. “I can’t breathe.” It was as though her throat was closing up. “What’s wrong with me?”

She gulped the fresh air, and then she was talking to herself. “Come on, Maddy, breathe easy. Don’t let him win.” Seeing that headline had been a shock, yes, but this was something else. Something was not right.

A short, sharp pain almost brought her to her knees. “Oh, God! I think the baby’s coming. I can’t…” As she turned toward them, she felt the darkness envelop her.

As Maddy slumped forward, Grandad and Ellen caught her in their arms, and half-carried her back to the car, step by gentle step.

“The Infirmary’s nearest.” Having settled her in the back seat with Ellen holding onto her, Grandad lost no time. Shifting the car into gear, he put his foot down and made for Blackburn Infirmary.

In the back, Ellen was praying that all would be well. If, as Maddy suspected, the baby was on its way, that could not be good. The poor little thing wasn’t even due for another month.

On arrival at the Infirmary, Maddy was rushed straight to the maternity ward.

“The baby is in difficulties.” The consultant was specific. “We have to perform an emergency caesarean.”

The next three hours were a nightmare for Ellen and Grandad. “I blame myself,” Grandad said as he relentlessly strode up and down. “Only a madman would take a woman across bumpy lanes in an old bone-shaker when she’s eight months’ pregnant.” Raising his arms in frustration, he ran his two hands through his red hair. “I’ll never forgive myself if anything goes wrong with her and the child.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Ellen entreated. “It was nobody’s fault. Maddy is a strong, determined girl. They’ll be fine, you’ll see.” She could not bring herself to tell him the truth – how she and Maddy had escaped London in fear for their lives, and now it was all brought back by what they had seen and heard.

It was a ghost from the past which had obviously caused Maddy to go into premature labor.

Certainly, none of this was Grandad’s fault, and Ellen could not let him believe that. Yet he must not know the truth, in case he reacted in a way that would put his life in danger as well as Maddy’s.

Everything had happened too quickly for Maddy to be afraid. But now, as they wheeled her to the operating room, the fear was like a tangible thing. Though it was not for herself, because as things were now, if there was no baby, there would be little reason to live. “The baby… will it be all right?” she mumbled. Already the pre- med was beginning to take effect. “Please… Don’t let my baby die.”

As the anesthetic took hold and her senses fell away, she heard the doctor assuring her, “Relax now. We haven’t lost one yet.”

Having been informed of the situation, Ellen and Grandad were directed to the small waiting room beside the maternity ward, where they waited nervously.

After what seemed a lifetime, the doors swung open and the doctor arrived to tell them the news.

“Just to let you know, Mother will be fine. As for the baby, he’s in an incubator; it’s too early to say whether there will be any long-term problems. We just need to keep a wary eye on him.”

“So, it’s a little lad then, is it?” Grandad asked shakily.

“Six pounds four ounces,” the doctor informed them cheerily. “And look, try not to worry. He managed to fight his way into this world, so now, all we can do is hope he can overcome anything untoward. He’s a strong little fella, don’t forget that.”

Ellen had a question. “Does Maddy know about the baby being in an incubator?”

“Not yet. She will be told though, as soon as she wakes.”

“So, she doesn’t even know that she has a son?”

“No.”

“When can we see her?”

“Soon.” The doctor was noncommittal. “Give it a few hours, then we’ll see.” He urged them to go home and come back later. “You might want to bring her toiletries and such?” he suggested.

“There’ll be time enough for all that.” Grandad was adamant. “But for now, it might be better if we’re here when she wakes. If that’s all right?”

“Of course. In that case, I’ll see if we can rustle you up a cup of tea. Try not to worry too much,” he repeated. “The incubator is merely a precaution, but you must