Eve of the Isle (25 page)

‘What did she want?'

‘The bloke you said . . . Singh.'

‘So you know him?' Charlie felt a moment's elation. They had finally struck lucky.

The landlord wiped his mouth. ‘I know of him and he ain't the sort any decent woman should be mixing with. He's a lascar and a right old handful to boot.'

The words fell on Charlie like a blow as the landlord continued.

‘No woman with any sense walks into a pub looking for someone like she did. But I couldn't put her off. So I did her a favour and took her out back to where he was 'afore she was relieved of her money, or Gawd help her, somethin' far worse.'

Charlie couldn't keep the anger from his voice. ‘You took her to Singh?'

‘What else was I supposed to do? She was in me
tavern, refusing to go away. Listen, what would you have done, chum? Let her go round askin' others? So I took her aside and gave her a warnin'. It was all I could do.'

‘What happened then?'

‘It was like water off a duck's back. That girl was stubborn as the proverbial mule. I showed her the two doors and she took the one to the back room.'

‘Did you accompany her?'

‘I got a business to run, mate.'

‘Did you see her again?'

‘No, supposed she must've left by the side door.'

‘And the lascars? What of them?'

The man shrugged. ‘S'pose they went too. The room was empty at chuckin' out time. Stunk like a sewer an' all. It's them pipes they smoke, the dirty buggers.'

‘Then why do you allow them in here?'

The landlord laughed. ‘Would you turn away business just 'cos of the smell? Nah, not if you was me you wouldn't, nor any other poor bugger who tries to earn a living in this part of the East End.'

Charlie knew they were a step closer to finding Eve. But what had happened in that room?

‘There is one thing,' said the landlord slowly, creasing his sweaty brow. ‘It ain't gonna be much 'elp. But this character, Singh, is reputed to do a bit of business down on the foreshore.'

‘Where exactly?' asked Charlie, feeling a flicker of hope.

‘A place called Dead Man's Reach. And I can tell
you now that it ain't a place to go to by day, let alone night.'

Charlie's heart raced. What if Eve had gone there? He had to find out.

Eve could smell the river salt through the filthy cloth. She was near water, could hear its movement close by. They had argued, whoever it was that had brought her here. She didn't understand the language they spoke and when they shook her in a demanding way, she knew that they were trying to question her.

If only they had taken off the sack to let her breathe. Now they had left her in some place that felt wet and smelt of decomposed fish. She had tried to move a few minutes ago when she realized she was alone, but her foot had gone through what felt like rotten floorboards. She had fallen on her back, terrified to move again as the sound of the water grew closer. All she could do was lie still while endless, futile questions circled round her mind.

What time was it?

Where was she?

Who had brought her here? Was it the man with brass buttons, the one the landlord of the Drunken Sailor had said was Singh?

She had yelled until her throat was sore. If only she could get the cloth off her head. But her hands were tied behind her back. Why had they done this to her?

She gathered her strength and called out. There was
no response and she tried again. But she was alone, and without her hands or her sight she couldn't escape.

Charlie and Jimmy climbed out of the van and took the Tilley from the back. A weak light flickered over the wood strewn path down to Dead Man's Reach. Broken buildings littered the muddy foreshore. The stench of dead fish and rotting timber was everywhere.

As they picked their way down, Charlie's thoughts went back to the history lessons he'd had at school. The river was a constant source of trade and all his life he had lived near it, watching the boats go up and down and helping his dad to load the flour from McDougall's on to their cart and now into the van to transport to the bakery. The river was a lifeline, the longest road in the world it was called. But the foreshores were places that had a history all of their own. Long ago the men of war had anchored here to offload their contraband. Shadwell had been all marsh and waterways then, the perfect place for piracy and avoidance of the king's men.

Was Eve here? He shuddered at the prospect. This stinking and treacherous eastern boundary was not used now by the commercial boats. Only the smaller ones, a few fishermen and watermen. And at dead of night, the place should be deserted.

‘It's deserted,' Jimmy said breathlessly, voicing his own thoughts. ‘Do you reckon he was lying?'

‘We couldn't take the chance.' Charlie stood still peering across the dark water, at the fleeting reflections
of the south side of the river. ‘It's the only link we have to Eve.'

‘Why would they bring her here?' Jimmy asked. ‘And what for?'

‘I don't know,' said Charlie heavily as they stopped, peering into the darkness. ‘Eve must have struck on something. If only she'd come to me first.'

‘Yeah, well, if only I hadn't told her about that beggar.'

‘We can't put back time, but—' Charlie froze. He turned to Jimmy. ‘Did you hear that?'

‘Thought it was a gull.'

Charlie listened again. There wasn't much breeze, so the noise was carrying from close by. ‘Raise the lamp, Jimmy, there's something to our left.'

Jimmy held it high. ‘What's that over there?'

Charlie moved forward. ‘It looks like an old fisherman's hut.' They began to climb over the debris. There were no steps up to the jetty, just a mossy boulder.

‘Give me your hand.' The lamp rocked as Charlie grabbed Jimmy and helped him up. The wooden planks of the jetty creaked under their feet and water swirled beneath.

‘Stop!' Jimmy pointed. ‘Look, the jetty's smashed.' He lowered the lamp. ‘See? A blooming great hole.'

Charlie bent down to examine it. ‘You're right. And freshly done too.'

‘But why?'

‘To prevent anyone going further,' replied Charlie as he removed his jacket and boots.

‘Christ, Charlie, what're you doing?'

‘If I fall in, I don't want my clobber on.'

‘You ain't going to jump? This place ain't called Dead Man's Reach for nothing.'

‘Just hold the lamp high.'

‘But Charlie—'

He didn't wait to hear the rest. He knew that at the end of the jetty he would find something – or someone. If it was Singh, then a collar wouldn't be easy under these circumstances, but it wasn't impossible either. If it was Eve – and he couldn't bring himself to think of her as anything other than alive – then God willing, she was all right.

Chapter Fifteen

T
he wriggling she had done trying to loosen her bonds had caused the timbers to snap. Inch by loud inch the rotting wood broke under Eve's weight. As she fell her head hit something and ripped away the cloth. She could see the mossy struts of the jetty as she tumbled down.

The water was freezing. It crept over her body sucking at her clothes and pulling her into the weeds. Her feet were caught in them. She kicked out, holding her chin up for a last gasp of air.

Her heart seemed to stop as she slipped below the surface. Eve knew she was about to die. She couldn't swim without the use of her arms. Her last thoughts were of her sons; their faces, their smiles that seemed to be with her now in the eerie silence. There were regrets, all tumbling one after the other. She had wanted to see them grow up. She had so many hopes and dreams for them, had intended to make them all come true for her boys.

Why had she thrown her life away?

Her lungs felt as though they were going to burst. The taste of the filthy water filled her mouth. She struck out with her feet in a last effort to survive. But the water filled her boots, sucked her clothes and dragged her down. She remembered the stories of Old Father Thames. She would be lying alongside him soon.

The pain inside her chest increased. Her body arched, borne aloft in a strange lightness. And then Eve felt another presence. Was it the spirit of the river? Was this how it felt to drown?

It felt as if she was entering another world.

Charlie heard Eve's scream. As he raced to the hut and flung open the door, he could hear the water below. Without pause he took a deep breath and jumped. As he sank beneath the dark surface he was enveloped in freezing cold blackness. The weeds were thick and tangling as he kicked out. It would be a small miracle if he found her.

The cold sapped all his strength. He was a good swimmer, had swum the breadth of the river from Island Gardens to Greenwich when he was young once as a dare and many times after for pleasure. Even before he entered the Force, he was an accomplished swimmer. A copper had to be able to rescue a drowning man. During their training they had been put to the test one freezing cold morning at the open air baths. One loud blow on the whistle had them stripping off and diving in, swimming hell for leather for a marker. Robbie had
never liked the exercise and somehow managed to avoid it. He said it was better to let some fool jump in first. Wait for a hero to arrive on the scene. And Robbie maintained there was always one who did.

But Charlie had never experienced these kind of conditions. Black water, the freezing cold and the shock to the body. He felt the tight restriction on his lungs. His supply of air was diminishing and he'd have to go up for another refuel if he couldn't find her. But that would mean he would almost surely have lost her.

Pulling hard with his arms he dived deeper. The water was even colder. He had about thirty seconds of air left he reckoned.

Maybe not even that.

Then his fingers touched something. It was floating, soft to the touch. He almost recoiled. He had found a body. It was clothed. Was it Eve? As his hands grasped the shoulders, he kicked out with his feet. His movement was impeded by the tangle of weeds. He tried not to think he was almost out of air.

If only he could reach the surface in time.

His lungs seemed to fill the entire space of his chest as he thrust both himself and the body upwards.

Somehow he broke the surface, rasping cold air down his throat. He pushed out, supporting the limp weight, but made a grim discovery, small hands that were bound at the base of the spine! Fortuitously the water had slackened the bonds. It was no great effort to slide them off and set the arms free. Then summoning the last of
his strength, he struck out for shore. Was it Jimmy's light he could see? Or a vision? Were they being washed downstream – out into the estuary and towards the sea? In that moment he glimpsed the pale face on his shoulder. Eve's skin was washed to china whiteness in the light of the moon.

Peg was asleep by the fire when the sound of the key being drawn through the letterbox woke her.

She sat up, her eyes wide and staring. Everything came pouring back. Eve, Charlie and Jimmy. Where were they?

‘Peg! Peg!' Jimmy burst in. His spiky brown hair was standing on end over his black eye.

Peg wondered if she was still dreaming. ‘Christ, lad, what is it?'

‘We've found her! We've found Eve!' he cried, running towards her. ‘She fell in the old shake and shiver!'

Peg went ashen and reached out to steady herself.

‘But Charlie saved her. You should have seen—'

Peg gulped in a breath. ‘Slow down, lad. I can't take it all in.'

‘Honest to God I thought she'd drowned, but he got her breathing again!'

‘She nearly drowned?' Peg repeated feeling faint. She slumped back on the chair.

‘Here, take a sniff of this.' He reached for the smelling salts.

‘Just tell me this, is she all right?'

‘It was touch and go. She must have swallowed half the river. Charlie's bringing her in. Said I should give yer a bit of warning.'

Peg pushed herself up. ‘I'll put some water on and we'll get her in a hot bath.'

She stumbled to the kitchen, trying to think what to do first. Eve had nearly drowned. How had it happened? With shaking hands she filled the saucepans and put them on to boil. The tin bath was hung on a nail on the closet door. Peg didn't have enough strength to bring it in. Her bones felt weak with shock.

Slowly she lowered the pulley and took off the drying towels. When she returned, Charlie was laying Eve on the couch.

‘Out of the way you two,' croaked Peg, pushing them back. ‘Make yourselves useful and bring in the bath, then bugger off as I want to get these wet clothes off her.' She looked into Eve's ashen face. ‘It's all right, ducks, you're safe now,' she whispered as she began to undo the buttons. But she didn't get far before Eve's hands reached out to hold her as the tears fell.

Eve felt as though she was drifting in and out of reality. She lay in bed under the warm covers still feeling cold even though the sunshine was streaming in the window. She couldn't stop thinking about those mossy green struts sticking up from the river bed as she fell between them and the strange feeling of otherworldliness before the water had rushed up from her lungs. It was as though
she had been there, watching the scene as Charlie tried to make her breathe. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to tell him she was all right but then suddenly she was in Charlie's arms, feeling the cold, and the terror that she wouldn't see her boys again.

‘How are you, love?' Peg came in with a tray. ‘Look what Joseph's brought down for you.'

Eve eased herself up on the pillows as the bowl of steaming stew was placed before her. ‘What day is it?'

‘Monday.'

‘I've lost track of time.'

‘Seeing as you was nearly drowned, it's not surprising.'