Johnny Swanson - Eleanor Updale [30]
Winnie understood the signal. There was no prospect of more money from the Langfords; so she tried asking for something else. ‘I’m going to have to get extra work elsewhere,’ she said. ‘I wonder if you could possibly write a letter of recommendation – for me to show to people I ask for jobs?’
Mrs Langford seemed relieved that Winnie had taken the hint. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I’ll do it today. Maybe you would like to come round to collect it? In fact, come anyway – shall we say about four o’clock? I’ve just asked Mr Bennett and his young lady to supper, and you can help me prepare.’ Johnny noted that there was no mention of any payment for the unexpected work. Without waiting for a reply, Mrs Langford turned to call her husband. ‘Come along, Giles,’ she said, not wanting to raise her voice on such a solemn occasion. ‘We’d better be getting home.’ There was no response, so she sent Johnny. ‘Run along and ask my husband to come here, dear,’ she said, and Johnny did as he was told,
The doctor was caught up with chit-chat, but he understood Johnny’s sign language, and Johnny returned to tell Mrs Langford that her husband wouldn’t be long.
Mrs Langford pulled Johnny to one side and whispered to him. ‘About the other day,’ she said. ‘That advertisement and what my husband was talking about. You understand, don’t you – whatever happens, whoever asks you, however much you feel like boasting’ – she squeezed his arm so tightly that he couldn’t doubt her seriousness – ‘not a word.’
‘Of course.’
‘I mean it, Johnny. I’m depending on you. Now get back to your mother. She needs you, today of all days.’
Johnny could see that his mother was exhausted, and sadder than he had ever known her. She walked towards the memorial, took off one glove, and stroked the letters that made up her dead husband’s name. This wasn’t the moment for Johnny to reveal that he could make their lives more comfortable. He would have to wait until he could explain what he had been doing in a way that wouldn’t make Winnie angry. But he was happy, because in his heart he knew things were about to get better.
But then, suddenly, they got very much worse.
Chapter 15
MISSING
The very next evening, Johnny got home from his paper round to find his mother on her hands and knees, sorting out the cupboard under the sink. It was always a bad sign. Whenever Winnie was worried or upset, she would take refuge in unnecessary cleaning.
‘What’s wrong, Mum?’ he asked.
‘Nothing,’ she said unconvincingly. She turned and knocked over her bucket of soap suds. Johnny grabbed the mop and soaked up the water before any harm was done, but Winnie was already in tears.
Johnny pulled out a chair and sat her down at the table. ‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ he said. ‘Now, what is it?’
‘Oh, I’m probably just being silly,’ said Winnie, blowing her nose. ‘It’s the Langfords. They’ve disappeared. When I got to their house this morning the door was locked and the shutters were closed. I rang the bell. I knocked. There was nobody there.’
‘Well, they haven’t cancelled their newspapers. I delivered them as usual, morning and evening.’
‘Did you notice anything?’
‘No. I just put the papers through the letter box.’ Johnny didn’t mention that he liked to get up and down that hill as fast as possible since all the trouble with Miss Dangerfield. ‘Maybe they’ve just gone to visit friends or something?’
‘But I’m sure they would have told me. I was there yesterday afternoon, remember? They didn’t say anything about going away. In fact, Mrs Langford suggested I should leave my basket and my apron there, since I’d be back again so soon. That’s one of the things I’m worried about. I need my basket. I need my apron. I need my money too. They should pay me on Friday. What if they’re not back by then?’
‘They probably will be. And anyway, we’ll manage,’ said Johnny, tempted to tell her about the secret hoard of cash upstairs. ‘I bet you’ll go round in the morning and everything will be just as it should be.’
‘Well, let’s hope so. I’m sorry, Johnny. It’s just with