Songbird

“’Course not. It’s taken me years to get back in.” The hired killer looked indignant.

“Then do the job, and do it well. Afterward, I’ll make sure everybody knows how they can always rely on you. That you haven’t lost your touch… that you’re still as good as you ever were.”

Danny felt physically sick. “How do you know she didn’t get rid of the kid when you two split up? She might’ve had an abortion – gone to one o’ them Harley Street clinics.”

Drayton gave a snigger. “No way. I know her better than that. She would no more get rid of that kid, than I could walk out that door without being tackled to the ground and handcuffed.”

Leaning forward, Danny whispered, “About the kid – are you really saying you want me to…” Disturbed by the very thought of murdering a child, he glanced nervously at the patrolling officer.

“Look,” Drayton snapped, “the kid isn’t mine, all right? She was carrying on with some other man and when she got caught out, tried to use it to snare me into marrying her.”

Danny would have said something in return, but Drayton gave him that look, so he remained silent and listened.

“Sharpen your ears, Danny Boy. I need you to hear what I’m saying.” His voice inaudible to others, he instructed, “I want the bitch found, and soon. I want her hurt bad before you finish her off. And if the kid happens to be with her, then you know what to do… don’t you?”

When the little man fell silent, he glowered. “Cat got your tongue?”

“I know what to do, yes.”

“And is that a problem for you?”

“No, not a problem at all.” Though his stomach turned over at the very idea.

“Then you’d best get on with it, hadn’t you?”

Danny nodded. In his haste to put space between him and Drayton, he felt a pang of sympathy for Maddy. “Jeeze! You can’t blame the woman for keeping her head down,” he muttered. “Not with that crazy bastard on her tail.”

All the same, because he knew no other trade, and because he desperately needed to earn the trust of others, he would do the job he was being paid for.

Above all else, his reputation – and his livelihood – depended on it.

Behind him, Drayton seemed to have met his match, in the bulky form of prisoner Armstrong.

While Drayton was searched, Armstrong was kept waiting a short distance away, under the eagle eye of the second officer.

It was when Drayton and Armstrong were ushered to the outer door and Armstrong turned to look at him, that Drayton felt the full weight of the other man’s loathing.

The feeling was mutual, and of this Drayton left the other man in no doubt.

So far, they had each managed to stay on the right side of common sense.

But the brooding atmosphere intensifying between them kept all the other inmates at bay.

Nineteen

“Ellen!” poking his head in through the open kitchen window, Bob shouted for his granddaughter. Abba’s new hit, “Chiquitita,” was blaring out on Radio I, and Ellen was warbling along to it. “Ellen! The phone’s ringing! I can’t go in, because I’m up to my neck in it.” With new spring flowers scattered all over the bench, he had part-emptied the flower barrel and was now in the middle of refilling it with fresh soil. “ELLEN!” he bawled. The phone was insistent, and still no sign of her.

“All right! I’m on my way, don’t panic.” With the child in her arms, she ran to the radio, turned it off and snatched up the phone in the hall. “Hello?” A pause, then, “Oh Maddy – how are you? Is everything all right?”

There was a time, not so long ago, when if she heard Maddy’s voice, a smile would light up her face. But not today. In fact, not for these past few weeks. Since she had grown ever closer to baby Michael, the idea of Maddy claiming him back was devastating.

“I’m fine. And how are you and Grandad Bob?”

“We’re both well. In fact, Grandad’s outside in the back garden at the moment, pulling out the winter plants and replacing them with summer ones, and making one hell of a mess in the process!”

“Well, give him my love,” Maddy said, and then, her voice full of yearning, she asked, “So, how’s my baby?” Maddy wanted to know everything. “Is that bothersome tooth through yet? Has his hair thickened up? Oh, and what about-”

“Hey! Hang on – give me a chance and I’ll tell you,” Ellen laughed. “Michael is absolutely thriving. His tooth is just about through, with the one next to it beginning to show. So as you can imagine, it’s sleepless nights for everyone. His cheeks are red, and he’s dribbling so much I have to keep changing his bibs. And he’s chewing on everything in sight. He’s doing so well with his feeding, Maddy. We’ve got him on mashed-up vegetables and gravy and bananas and stewed apple. He eats every scrap.”

“I miss him so much.” Maddy tried hard not to let it show, but the tremor in her voice told it all. “I want to come back. I want to see him, to hold him in my arms.” The tears broke through. “Oh Ellen, I don’t know if I can stay away any more. I’m missing everything: his first tooth, cuddling him and feeding him, hearing his little baby noises. Even the sleepless nights. How long will it be before he starts crawling, then taking his first step?” She burst out sobbing. “Have I made a big mistake in thinking it was better for me to leave and keep you all safe? Every day seems like a lifetime away from him… from all of you.”

Hearing the sobs on the phone, the child in Ellen’s arms began to wriggle and whimper. “Just a minute,” Ellen told Maddy. Putting the baby on the floor, propped up between her feet, she gave him a rusk to suck and picked up the receiver again.

Lowering her voice, Ellen tried to calm her. “Take it easy, love. Think what you’re saying. You were not wrong in going away. You have kept us safe in doing that, and what happened a fornight ago makes that crystal clear. You know exactly what I’m talking about: why would the hospital ring up and ask permission to give out our address? Apparently, somebody was asking after you and Michael. That somebody was out to find you by any means. So don’t even think about coming back just yet.”

There was a long, painful pause, during which Maddy realized that Ellen was talking sense. “You did what we agreed, didn’t you?” she asked in a trembling voice. “You told them they were not to give out the address under any circumstances?”

“Of course! I already told you. I said I was moving to Scotland the very next day, anyway, just to put them off the scent. And like I said, they assured me they would do as I asked – me being you, of course.”

“And you’ve heard nothing since?”

“Not a word. But it doesn’t mean to say they won’t try another way to find you. So, for now, Maddy, you must stay where you are. Promise me you won’t think about coming back – not until we’re sure they’re not watching the place.”

Maddy took a moment to answer. Then: “Ellen, I’ve been thinking about something. In fact, it’s been on my mind a lot lately.”

“Go on then, tell me.”

“Well, I’ve been wondering – what if you came here? Bring little Michael, and the three of us could spend a few days together.”

“Maddy! Are you crazy?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, they don’t know where I am, do they? You could travel at night… Oh please, Ellen! I miss you and Michael so much. I look at the photographs you send, and I see how he’s growing, and I can’t bear it.” The main worry she had, was, “If he doesn’t see me soon, he won’t know who I am. And that scares me.”

“Listen to me, Maddy,” Ellen began. “I didn’t tell you this before, because I didn’t want you to worry.” She was amazed at how easily the awful lie came to her mind. “The last time me and Grandad took Michael out, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we were being watched.”

Having begun the lie, she elaborated, “I can’t explain it, and as far as I know, we were not followed. But it’s worrying all the same. They obviously know you had Steve Drayton’s child. And I dare say they’ll keep scouring the area to find you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” This was the last thing Maddy wanted. “Thankfully, they’re obviously looking for me, not you, and hopefully the ones who are looking will not know you by sight. But you should have told me. I need you to tell me every little thing that happens. I don’t want to be kept in the dark.”

Her ploy had worked. Ellen felt desperately ashamed, but she couldn’t risk losing “her” baby. “So now you can see why I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to travel down to see you. And the reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t want to frighten you. But, like you just said, I’m probably not on his list, and hopefully, they won’t know me by sight. So, as long as I keep a low profile and we all stay away from each other, we should all be safe.”

She added a sweetener. “We will come and see you one day, I promise. But not yet.” Before Maddy could comment any further, she skillfully changed the subject. “What about you, Maddy? How’s it going?”

Still uneasy after Ellen’s warning, Maddy told her that, “It’s going okay. This is such a lovely place, and my boss, Brad, is kind and generous, as are the neighbors, especially Sue, who is the mother of Dave, Robin’s best friend.”

“So you’re keeping busy then?”

“I’m working every minute I can. It helps keep me sane. I’m earning decent money, which I can put away, because the cottage is rent free. The only real money I spend is what I send you and Michael, so my savings are building up really well.”

Anticipating Ellen’s next question, she added, “I haven’t opened a bank account, because I don’t want to use my real name So, I put the cash safely away, where I can find it quickly if I need to.”

“This Sue sounds like a nice person.”

“She is – they all are. Even so, the loneliness is awful. It’s not so bad during the day, but when my work is done and I go back to the cottage, I shut the door behind me and I’m so alone. I can’t stop thinking about you all back home. I want to be with my baby; I need to see you and Grandad. The truth is, even though Brad is a lovely