A Lesser Evil - Lesley Pearse [110]
‘You haven’t heard about Stan?’ Johnny asked, looking surprised. ‘I thought you must’ve when Dan was taking him off.’
‘What about him?’ Fifi asked.
‘He’s been taken down the cop shop again.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ Fifi exclaimed. ‘Why can’t they leave him alone?’
‘A woman over in Brixton reported he’d molested her daughter,’ Johnny said. ‘Seems kosher too. She were seven, same age as Angela. And ’e weren’t at work that morning she died neither. ’E never showed up.’
Fifi was so shocked she could only stare at Johnny in disbelief.
‘Are you sure about this, mate?’ Dan asked, suddenly very serious and ashamed he’d been mimicking the man. ‘I can’t believe that of Stan. His own little girls were gunned down in the war.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Johnny said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘I’d have staked me life on ’im being as straight as a die where kids is concerned. But it looks black fer ’im. He lied about being at work that morning, and he empties the bins around Brixton. Then there’s that stuff him and Frank said about killing one of the kids and making it look like Alfie done it.’
‘But that was just a black joke, they weren’t serious,’ Fifi said indignantly.
‘No one wants Alfie to swing for it more than me,’ Johnny said, gesticulating with his hands. ‘I ’ates the geezer. The boys up the nick are sure he’d done stuff to all his girls, so no one wants ’im to walk away from this. But if ’e didn’t actually kill Angela, then someone else did. And the Old Bill ’ave got to nab ’im.’
‘Of course it was Alfie,’ Dan said impatiently. ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’
‘That’s just because you want to believe that,’ Johnny said. ‘We all do.’
‘It couldn’t be Stan,’ Fifi said stubbornly. ‘I just know it.’
‘I certainly don’t wanna believe Stan is a nonce. It just don’t fit right to me,’ Johnny said. ‘But it could be ’e’s never bin right in the ’ead since ’e lost his wife and kids.’
‘Do you know why he didn’t admit he wasn’t at work that morning?’ Dan asked.
‘Stan reckons ’e overslept and ’e didn’t own up to it cos another bloke ’ad clocked ’im in. ’E reckons they do it all the time for one another when they’re late, to save ’em getting their money docked. ’E didn’t want anyone to get into trouble for covering for ’im.’
‘What time did he get into work then?’ Fifi asked. Her good mood had vanished and the old fear and anxiety were coming back.
‘’E joined ’is dustcart around eleven,’ Johnny said.
Fifi and Dan went home after that drink, both subdued and shocked.
‘I don’t, I won’t believe it,’ Dan burst out once they got indoors. ‘Stan’s a decent man.’
‘What about the word of the woman in Brixton?’ Fifi said in a small voice. She was remembering all the times Stan had got shopping for her when she first came home from hospital. She found it impossible to believe such a kind man could molest a child, but if he had really done it, perhaps he had another side she and Dan hadn’t seen.
‘This information could have come from someone who owes the Muckles a favour,’ Dan said grimly. ‘Or just some hysterical woman who’s remembered seeing Stan playing with her kid. I’ve seen him out in the road talking to kids plenty of times. He’s just a lonely man who likes to see children playing.’
It was Fifi who lapsed into silence this time, saying nothing while Dan ranted about how he reckoned Alfie had been in the habit of giving the police backhanders, and this was why they were looking for someone else to frame.
‘Look at the times he’s got away with stuff that would get anyone else locked up immediately,’ he said. ‘If it’s Detective Inspector Roper he’s got in his pocket, Alfie could easily get him to pin this on someone else. Stan’s the perfect patsy, he’s a Pole for a start, with no family. Who’s going to stick