A Lesser Evil - Lesley Pearse [87]
To all intents and purposes, it looked as if the house was now deserted. But there had been at least a dozen men inside it earlier, and less than half had left. Fifi felt for those left inside that stinking house of hell. Two of them slipped out and went down to the coal yard, presumably to lie in wait for Alfie in case he tried to escape that way. She had to assume there were more police positioned up by the shop and pub, and in the road behind Dale Street.
Every one of Fifi’s muscles grew tauter as if she were preparing to run a race as the clock slowly moved on past ten o’clock. Dan was the same, leaning forward in his chair, eyes fixed on the corner shop.
There was no one left out in the street now, but Fifi was very aware that almost everyone was watching and waiting as they were, for windows that were usually brightly lit were in darkness.
A tripping sound of footsteps made Fifi lean forward.
‘It’s Yvette,’ Dan whispered. ‘I’d forgotten about her! Has she been out all day? If so, she won’t know what’s going on.’
Fifi had told the police Yvette had been out when she knocked earlier, but she hadn’t given her a thought since. She whispered this to Dan, and added that Mr and Mrs Balstrode, who lived above her, would soon fill her in with the news.
‘Poor woman, she looks so weary,’ Dan said.
He was right, Fifi thought. Yvette looked as if she was finding it hard to put one foot in front of the other. ‘She must have been finishing off the wedding outfit she was working on in her client’s home,’ Fifi said. ‘She never stays out after dark normally because she’s so nervous.’
‘Living next door to the Muckles must be more dangerous than being out in the dark,’ Dan said grimly. ‘I wonder if she heard anything this morning?’
They watched Yvette go in through the front door. She switched on her light and they saw her illuminated in the window for a couple of moments while she drew the curtains.
Ten minutes later, just as Fifi’s attention was beginning to waver because of the brandy she’d drunk, Dan gripped her knee.
‘They’re coming,’ he hissed.
Fifi was immediately tense again. She got up to see better, and sure enough there were the Muckles coming down the road, both Alfie and Molly wearing some kind of seaside hat. They were arm-in-arm, perhaps drunk, the three children trailing behind them and Dora and Mike, carrying the bags, bringing up the rear.
Seeing Alfie walking down the street apparently without a care in the world, when she knew he’d raped and killed his youngest daughter just that morning, was too much for Fifi. If Dan hadn’t suddenly grabbed her, perhaps realizing what she might do, she would have run down the stairs, out on to the street and attacked him.
‘No, sweetheart,’ he whispered, holding her tightly. ‘He’ll hang for what he’s done, and the police will give him the kicking of his life before that. Just watch him get captured, with me.’
‘Bloody quiet tonight,’ they heard Alfie say to Molly. ‘Reckon we ought to liven things up, girl.’
Molly cackled with laughter, and the sound was an even bigger affront to Fifi’s senses.
She held her breath as the Muckles approached their front door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the officer down by the coal yard come out of the shadows, and at the same time a police car turned into the top of the road.
Alfie unlocked his door and went in. A light came on in the hall, and suddenly the silence of the street was broken by yelling, swearing and scuffling.
That noise was the signal for everyone to turn on their lights and spill out on to the street again, many of them shouting abuse and waving fists at number 11.
Alan Muckle had not yet got through the front door, and hearing the noise and commotion he tried to run for it. He was swiftly caught by the man at number 14 who twisted his arm up behind his back and brought him back to be handed to the police.
‘Child killers!’ someone shouted, and suddenly everyone was chanting it, over and over again.
‘If they knew what else they’d done they’d tear them apart with