The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (29 page)

‘Right, I’m going to have a bath
and make the bed. Will you be okay down here on your own?’

‘For Christ’s sake,’ Mark
snapped. ‘I’m fine when I’m alone and you’re at work. It’s your constant
fucking prattling that gets me down.’

Tears stung the back of her eyes.
‘You ungrateful bastard!’ She turned her back and stormed out of the room,
slamming the door behind her.

***

Mark carried on eating his
breakfast as though he hadn’t a care in the world. Later, after Vicky left for
work, he was planning a stroll through the woodland adjacent to Hanover’s
Lodge. He smiled as he thought about his regular afternoon trips, when he’d
watched Jane most days, wheeling the pram up and down the private lane, with
Mellor’s brat riding a tricycle beside her. He was familiar with her afternoon
routine and quite often she walked with Cantello’s tart. He’d eavesdropped on
their conversations as he knelt behind the dense hawthorn hedges and holly
bushes that bordered the lane.

He knew when Mellor was away,
because Jane and the tart would usually be discussing something or other to do
with the group and their promotional tours. Sometimes
the brat would ask for his daddy and Jane would tell him that he was away for
the night.

On one occasion, when the pram
had been left on the back lawn, he’d made sure that no one was watching from
the house and had stolen a quick peep at the baby.
 
She’d stared up at him, her sweet little face
and trusting smile melting his heart. She was so like Jane, apart from her blue
eyes, that it had taken his breath away. Then she’d pouted and begun to cry and
he’d made a quick getaway, squeezing back through the hedge and crouching down
as Jane came outside and manoeuvred the big pram indoors.

He finished his breakfast and
washed the dishes, thinking that he really must phone Charles to confirm his
next visit. The hospital had been good in that they’d allowed him contact with
his family by telephone. Embarrassed to admit he was receiving psychiatric
care, Mark told Charles he was working away and would be in touch as and when
he could and Charles hadn’t questioned it.

***

The Raiders
entourage flew
from Manchester to Munich
for the start of their European shows. Slightly worried by the thought of
flying, Jane had been living on her nerves all week. Leaving the children was a
wrench. She’d never left Jessica for longer than a few hours and felt sick as
they’d unloaded the cot and pram at her parents’ house, convinced she’d never
see her little daughter again.

‘The weather’s good today, Jane.
Flying conditions should be great and it’s only a short flight. We’ll be there
in no time.’ She knew Eddie was trying his best to take her mind off things as
they’d taken Jonny to Nana’s on their way to the airport.

‘Yes, but Munich!
Of all the airports we have to go to for my first flight, it has to be there.’
She shook her head, remembering the tragic Manchester United Team crash in
1958.

As she took charge of Jonny,
Eddie’s mum showed concern when she saw her pale-faced daughter-in-law. ‘Are
you okay, Jane? You’re white as a sheet, love.’

‘She’s alright, Mum,’ Eddie said,
seeing Jane’s eyes filling with tears. ‘She’s feeling nervous about flying, and
we’ve never left the kids for so long before.’

‘They’ll be fine. This is Jonny’s
second home, and I know your mum’s really looking forward to having Jessie
stay. They’re both in safe hands, so go and enjoy yourselves.’

The late afternoon flight wasn’t
half as bad as Jane had feared. The take off was smooth and Eddie held her
hand. By the time she’d had a couple of brandies she was relaxed enough to turn
round and talk to Sammy and Roy who were sitting behind.

***

Mark squatted under a hawthorn
bush, watching curiously as Cantello and Mellor hoisted a cot and pram into
The Raiders
old van. He heard Cantello
telling the brat that Jessica was going to stay with Grandma Enid and he was
going to stay with Nana Lillian while Mummy and Daddy were away with the group.

Mark smiled. Perfect, now he
could do his observations in comfort. Jane and Mellor would be away, but he
could still see the baby and keep an eye on her. He recalled that Jane’s mother
spent most of her day in the back rooms of the house and knew she would
struggle to get a pram so large through the narrow side gate. It would need to
go in and out the front door, which meant the baby would very likely be parked
on the front lawn at some point.

He’d have a stroll round to Rosedean
Gardens first thing tomorrow and
see how the land lay. If Jane’s mum spotted him, he’d say he was taking a walk
and just happened to be passing.

As Mellor ushered his family
aboard the laden van and it bumped away down the lane, followed by Cantello and
his tart in their own car, Mark stood up and stretched his cramped limbs. He
assumed the house was now empty and pushed his way through the hedge. He
hurried across the front garden and looked in all the downstairs windows. There
was usually an upstairs window left open at the back, hopefully they’d have
forgotten to close it in their rush to get away. He stared into the living room
with its fancy sofas and fittings and had an urge to smash his fist through the
window. The thing that stopped him was the thought that Jane might hurt herself
on the glass.

The back of the house had a low
sloping roof above the kitchen and as he gazed up he saw that the first floor
window had been left ajar. He pulled a dustbin across to the kitchen window,
climbed onto the sill and gained a foothold on the drainpipe. He scrambled onto
the sloping roof and inched his way towards the open window.

He reached inside and lifted the
latch. His heart thumped and his palms were sweating as he eased the window
wide and lowered himself into what appeared to be a music room. A portable
organ on a stand occupied one corner and a couple of guitars were propped
against the wall. Pity Mellor’s drums weren’t here, he could have wrecked them.
There was an easel under a small side window and he took a look at the pastel
sketch that was sitting on it. Must belong to Cantello’s tart, she was the arty
one. He opened the door a crack and peered out. Silence.

He glanced into the nursery. Now
empty of Jessica’s cot; the child’s bed that remained was an untidy jumble of
the brat’s toys. He stopped outside the door opposite the nursery, his hand on
the brass knob, took a deep breath, turned the knob slowly and the door swung
open. The bedroom was neat and tidy, the big brass bed attractively made up and
not a thing out of place. The smell of perfume hung in the air. It wasn’t the
same perfume she used to wear, he thought, this was a more expensive scent. But
it was feminine, evocative and very her. He sat on the bed and ran his hand
over the cream satin bedspread. The thought of Mellor fucking her in this very
bed made his guts tumble.

He lay down and rolled onto his
side, trying to recapture the memory of lying beside her. Her long silky hair
had tickled his face when she’d bent to kiss him on the nights they’d ventured
up to his bedroom for a petting session.

It had been on one of those
occasions that he’d asked her to marry him and she’d said yes. He buried his
face in the pillow and could smell her. He lifted the pillow, found a silk
nightdress, held it close and breathed in her scent. He curled into a ball and
sobbed into her pillow.

‘Why did you change your mind,
Jane? Why don’t you love me anymore?’ he howled into the emptiness. Afterwards,
he lay exhausted for what seemed like hours. He checked his watch, sat up,
folded her nightdress and placed it back under the pillow. He was tempted to
take it with him.

He rolled off the bed and
smoothed down the bedspread. A wicker laundry basket stood under the window and
he lifted the lid, rooted through mainly Mellor’s T-shirts and jeans then found
Jane’s stuff underneath. He pulled out two pairs of dainty, lace knickers, held
them to his face then slipped them into his pocket. Small enough to hide from
Vicky’s prying eyes he thought, and probably wouldn’t be missed.

He smiled as he left the room and
made his way downstairs. The tears had cleansed him and he felt stronger as he
prowled stealthily through the house, looking in all the rooms to get a sense
of where she now belonged.

The lock on the front door was a
simple Yale. He didn’t have to climb back out through the window after all.
There wasn’t even a bolt on the door. Then a thought struck him and he walked
back into the kitchen, which he’d noticed had a door with a latchkey
and
double bolts.

Beside the door was a key hook on
which hung several Yale keys. Mark took three off and made his way back to the
front door. The second key he tried fitted and turned easily. He slipped it
into his pocket with Jane’s knickers and returned the other keys to the hook.
Now he could visit each day while they were away. He would go and see the baby
in the mornings and come and lie on Jane’s bed in the afternoon. He’d take a
couple of items a day with him and then when she joined him and the baby she
would have some clothes to wear.

***

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SEPTEMBER 1965

Enid
manoeuvred the large Silver Cross pram down the garden path and pushed it onto
the lawn beneath the bay window. Jessica was still sleeping so Enid
pulled the cat net up. She looked over her shoulder to see if the ginger tom
from next door was lurking under the bushes. The blasted cat was a beggar for
jumping on the pram.

Satisfied the tom was nowhere in
sight, she knocked lightly on the front door and placed a warning finger to her
lips as Molly exclaimed with delight when she answered.

‘I thought you weren’t coming
today. You’re a lot later than usual.’

‘We’ve had a bad night. I think
she’s teething,’ Enid said. ‘I had
a lie in this morning while she was sleeping. I’ll bring her indoors when she
wakes. There’s a bottle in the pram, so you can feed her if you like.’

‘That would be lovely.’ Molly led
the way through to the kitchen. ‘Sit yourself down while I brew the tea. I’ve
made a nice Victoria Sandwich, so we’ll have a slice of that as well.’

‘Have you heard from Sammy
today?’ Enid asked, removing her
coat and sitting at the table.

‘She called first thing. Said she
wasn’t feeling too well.’

‘Oh dear! I hope she’s not caught
that flu bug Eddie’s had. Jane said he was really off colour. Anyway, he’s a
lot better by all accounts and they’re in Paris
for the next few days.’

‘The tour’s going well, according
to Sammy,’ Molly said as she poured two mugs of tea and handed one to Enid.
She cut two slices of cake. ‘Help yourself. It’s not often we have a whole cake
to ourselves. Tom usually demolishes them before they’ve even cooled.’

Enid
bit into the feather light sponge and rolled her eyes. ‘Beautiful. Mine never
taste this good. You must give me the recipe.’

They sat in companionable silence
for a few minutes, enjoying their tea and cake.
 

Enid
licked her fingers and stood up. ‘I’ll see if Jess is awake.’

‘I’ll get her. You sit yourself
down in the lounge and have a rest while I bring her in,’ Molly said, jumping
up.

‘I’ll rinse the mugs and plates
for you, then. Put the cat net back up or that tom will be peeing in the pram.
The bottle’s wrapped in a nappy under the storm cover and there’s a bib there,
too,’ she called over her shoulder as Molly disappeared down the hall.

Enid
ran water into the sink, and then turned off the tap as she heard Molly calling
her name. ‘I’m coming.’ She wiped her hands on a tea towel and hurried to the
front door. ‘I’ll swing for that bloody cat if it’s on the pram.’ She stopped
short as a white faced Molly pointed to the empty space where the pram had been
parked.

Enid
looked around, ran to the gate and stared up and down

The woman nodded slowly. ‘Coach
built, chrome wheels?’

‘Yes,’ Enid
said. ‘That’s it.’

‘Posh prams them! You must have
plenty of money if you can afford one like that.’

‘Have you seen it?’ Enid
cried.

‘Why, have you lost one?’ The
woman screwed up her face as though thinking.

‘Someone’s taken my
granddaughter,’ Enid screamed at
the infuriating woman. ‘HAVE YOU SEEN A PRAM LIKE THAT?’

The woman backed away from Enid,
fear registering on her face at being confronted by a mad woman. ‘No, love,
sorry, I haven’t.’

‘You time wasting cretin!’ Enid
shrieked as she ran on and rounded the corner, Molly hot on her heels.

‘Enid,
slow down. A woman on the avenue said she saw a young man pushing a navy blue
pram about ten to fifteen minutes ago. He was going in the direction of the
town centre.’

‘A man? Oh Lord, why on earth
would a man take a baby? We’d better go back to your house and phone the
police.’

They made their way back to
Molly’s where she helped a shaking Enid
to the sofa and quickly dialled 999.

‘They’re sending someone right
away,’ she told Enid who was now
crying hysterically.

‘What if this man hurts her?
She’s only a tiny baby. Jane and Eddie will never forgive me for this. They’ll
not allow me to look after her again. We need to phone them, tell them what’s
happened.’

‘Wait until the police arrive.
They’ll get word to Jane and Eddie quicker than we can,’ Molly said, patting
her shoulder.

***

‘Now just take your time, Mrs
Wilson,’ the officer, who introduced himself as PC Jones, said. ‘How long was
Jessica outside before you realised she and the pram were missing?’

‘Well,’ Enid’s
voice wobbled, ‘no more than fifteen minutes. Wouldn’t you say, Molly?’

Molly nodded. ‘About that, ten to
fifteen, no longer.’

‘And neither of you saw nor heard
a thing?’

‘Nothing,’ Enid
replied as Molly left the room saying she would make some tea. ‘We were in the
kitchen at the back of the house.’

‘Was there anyone hanging around
the avenue when you arrived? Anyone you thought looked suspicious?’

‘Not a soul, it was deserted,’ Enid
sobbed. ‘And I certainly wouldn’t have left her alone if I
had
seen
anyone lurking around.’

‘And you say Jessica is three
months old, weighs around twelve pounds and has dark hair and blue eyes? What
is she wearing?’

‘Erm, a pink cotton dress, white
knitted jacket with matching bonnet and booties,’ Enid
replied, wiping her eyes.

‘And the pram is a navy blue Silver
Cross model?’

‘Yes. High coach built with
chrome wheels. The bedding’s white and the cover is a pink and white knitted
blanket. There was a small, pink knitted teddy pinned to the hood of the pram,’
she said, a sob catching her throat.

‘Okay, you’re doing very well.
This can’t be easy for you.’ PC Jones smiled encouragingly. ‘Ah, here’s your
friend with the tea.’

Molly placed the tray of mugs on
the coffee table and handed one to Enid.

‘I’ve put extra sugar in and a
drop of brandy. It’ll steady your nerves.’

‘Thanks, Molly,’ Enid
sniffed. She turned to the police officer. ‘Is your colleague with the lady who
saw the young man with a pram?’

‘Yes, he shouldn’t be too long.
Ah, speak of the devil, here’s PC Swindells now.’ He nodded as a second officer
entered the room.

‘The front door was open,’ PC
Swindells began.

‘That’s okay,’ Molly said. ‘I
left it ajar for you. Sit down and have some tea. Any news from my neighbour?’

PC Swindells reached for a mug
and helped himself to a ginger snap.

‘Mrs Franklin, from number 26,
said she was out walking her dog when a young man careered into her with a
large navy pram as she rounded the corner of the avenue. She gave the time as
eleven-thirty, or thereabouts.’

‘Well that was only a couple of
minutes after I arrived here.’ Enid
put down her mug. ‘So he would have had a good ten minute advantage over us
when we went outside to bring Jess indoors. Oh God, he could be anywhere by
now.’

‘Mrs Franklin shouted after him
that he needed L plates, but he ignored her and carried on in the direction of
the town centre. She described him as being in his early twenties. He was
wearing a long, brown leather coat; has untidy brown hair and she said his eyes
could have been blue or grey, she wasn’t that sure. But she said they seemed to
stare right through her.’

‘We need to let my daughter and
son-in-law know what’s happening,’ Enid
said. ‘They’ll be devastated by this.’

‘
We
can do that,’ PC Swindells offered. ‘Where
are
Jessica’s
parents?’

‘They’re in Paris.
My son-in-law is Eddie Mellor. He’s the drummer with
The Raiders
. The group are on tour and my daughter Jane has gone
with them.’

‘Ah yes,
The Raiders -
My Special Girl,
’ PC Swindells nodded. ‘If you
let us have the hotel address where the band is staying we’ll get word to them
immediately. I don’t wish to alarm you, Mrs Wilson, but in view of Jessica
being Eddie Mellor’s daughter, it could throw a whole new light on the
abduction.’

‘What do you mean?’ Enid’s
hand flew to her mouth. Molly put a comforting arm around her shoulders and
offered to furnish them with the hotel address and phone number.

‘You think Jessica’s been taken
by someone who knows she’s Eddie’s child and they may demand a ransom?’ Molly’s
tone was incredulous.

‘It wouldn’t be the first time
something like this has happened,’ PC Swindells replied. ‘We’ll get back to the
station and make sure a news bulletin is issued within the next hour. We’ll run
you home, Mrs Wilson and maybe you could let us have a photograph of Jessica so
that we can circulate her details nationwide.’

Enid
nodded and jumped to her feet. ‘I’ve a framed photo that was taken last month.
It’s a very good likeness and she hasn’t changed that much. I just hope to God
whoever has her knows how to look after babies. She’ll be ready for feeding and
changing now
and
she’s teething. Oh
Lord, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.’

Molly handed PC Swindells a piece
of paper with the name and address of the Paris
hotel. He rushed outside to his patrol car, telling Molly and Enid he would
relay the information to headquarters immediately. Molly followed Enid
and PC Jones to the door as PC Swindells came back down the garden path.

‘A message
is being sent to Mr and Mrs Mellor as we speak and we’ll fly them home as soon
as we can. Please try not to worry, Mrs Wilson. Whoever has taken your
granddaughter has probably done it for money and won’t harm her. I’m sure we’ll
have her back safe and sound within the next few hours.’

‘Well I hope whoever
has
taken her rots in hell,’ Enid
cried. ‘That little baby is the heart and soul of my family and the apple of
her daddy’s eye. Eddie will kill whoever has done this, you mark my words!’

***

Vicky checked her watch and
placed the cover over her typewriter. She collected the stack of letters from
her out tray, deposited them on her supervisor’s desk, took her jacket and
handbag from her locker and hurried out of the office. She kept her head down
on the walk to the bus station so that she didn’t catch anyone’s eye. She
wasn’t in the mood for friendly chitchat. Her mind wandered back to the
conversation she’d had with Mark that morning.

He’d told her out of the blue
that he was changing his car today, trading in his Sprite for a larger vehicle.
She’d bitten her tongue to avoid the inevitable argument that would follow if
she reminded him that he wasn’t supposed to be driving while taking his
medication. He wouldn’t listen to her advice anyway, so what was the point.
Especially as he seemed to be in a reasonably good mood for a change.

‘Why do you want a bigger car?’ she’d
asked.

‘I can’t get much in the Sprite’s
boot. It’s too small and I can only take one passenger. It’s not a very
substantial car for a family.’

‘You don’t have a family,’ she
said.

‘Yet!’

‘But you don’t want to commit to
me, Mark. We can’t start a family without commitment, it wouldn’t be right.’

He shot her a cold look and his
good mood disappeared instantly. ‘Who said anything about starting a family
with
you?
’

She jumped up, scraping her chair
back on the kitchen lino. ‘Well who else do you have in mind? I’m
the
one looking after you and sharing your bed. It was me who picked up the pieces
after Jane dumped you and again when the Beth affair blew up in your face. And
who else in their right mind would put up with your awful mood swings?’

‘You know what to do if you don’t
like it, Vicky. Fuck off! I don’t need you. Tony looks after me, too, don’t
forget. Anyway, I thought you were working all day again now. Isn’t it time you
went?’ He turned his back and lit a cigarette.

She clenched her fists and left
the kitchen before she landed him one. Upstairs in the bedroom they shared,
framed photographs of he and Jane, that he still insisted on keeping by the
bed, seemed to mock her. She must want her bloody head feeling, staying with
him. She dressed hurriedly and left for work, slamming the door behind her as
hard as she could, knowing the action would really piss Mark off. But serve him
right, she’d just about had enough.

Eight hours later, she was still
fuming inwardly and had a banging headache to boot. The bus was crowded and she
found a seat upstairs for the short journey. Her footsteps dragged as she
walked down

Vicky squinted through the grimy
garage window, no car in sight. She could just about make out the shape of
something with chrome wheels in the gloom at the bottom of the garage. Probably
an old pram that Maude had hung on to, buried for years beneath the junk Mark
had recently disposed of.

She let herself into the house
and called his name. No reply. In the lounge she switched on the lights and
drew the curtains. Tony wasn’t home from work yet and the house felt chilly and
unwelcoming. She kicked off her shoes, switched on the new gas fire and
strolled into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.