Johnny Swanson - Eleanor Updale [32]
Hutch picked up the box and looked up to the shelf. There was indeed a gap in the display.
‘But I paid for them, Hutch!’ Johnny croaked through the tears he had been fighting all the way to the shop. ‘I tried to tell her. I paid for them. They’re mine.’
Miss Dangerfield looked at Hutch. ‘Is that true? Did you sell them to him?’
Hutch fumbled with the box. ‘To be honest, I don’t remember doing that.’
‘It’s a police matter,’ said Miss Dangerfield. ‘The boy should be locked up.’
Johnny, still crying, was trying to explain. ‘You were in the stockroom,’ he sniffed. ‘I had to go on the paper round, so I took them—’
‘What did I tell you!’ cried Miss Dangerfield.
‘I took them, but I put the money under the till. It’s probably still there now.’
‘A likely story!’ scoffed Miss Dangerfield as Hutch ran his hand along the counter and found the two-shilling piece.
‘Here it is!’ he said with relief.
‘Ha!’ said Miss Dangerfield. ‘A trick. The boy’s even more devious than I thought.’
Hutch took control. He opened the shop door. ‘Thank you, madam, I’m sure you were only trying to help, but I will deal with things from here. Leave the boy with me, and I will talk to him.’
‘You should sack him. Don’t forget, I saw him breaking into the Langfords’—’
‘I will ask him about that too,’ said Hutch in a polite, but firm, tone. ‘Goodnight, now, Miss Dangerfield. I really must close the shop.’
She left, mumbling complaints, and Hutch bolted the door. Johnny expected him to laugh about the old woman, but he was furious.
‘After all I’ve done for you! After all that. She says she caught you red-handed. You were trying to break in.’
‘I wasn’t. I was trying to have a look to see if something had happened to the Langfords. Their house is all locked up.’
‘So? Maybe they’ve gone away for a few days.’
‘Why didn’t they say they were going?’
‘How should I know?
‘Suppose they’re locked in? Suppose they’re sick or something?’
Hutch was getting exasperated. ‘Don’t be daft. He’s a doctor. And they’ve got a telephone. What are the chances of them being stranded inside their own house? You’re just letting your imagination run away with you. Miss Dangerfield was right about one thing. It’s none of your business.’ He took a deep breath. He looked stern. ‘Now, I’ve promised her I’ll deal with the matter.’
‘No!’ Johnny’s nose began to run. ‘No! Don’t sack me, Hutch. Please.’ He looked at Hutch with desperate pleading in his streaming eyes.
Hutch was calming down. ‘I’m not going to sack you, but I’m taking you off that part of the paper round, and I’m knocking sixpence off your pay. I’ll deliver Miss Dangerfield’s papers myself until the Langfords get back and all this blows over. You keep away from there.’
‘All right,’ said Johnny.
Hutch handed him the box. ‘You’d better take these. But remember, you’re not going to have so much money in future. You certainly won’t be able to spend it on fancy sweets.’
‘They weren’t for me,’ said Johnny, and he explained about Olwen’s family at the sanatorium, and how the sweets had been a present.
Hutch’s mood softened. ‘And you paid for them out of your own money?’
Johnny sniffed. ‘Yes,’ he said, letting Hutch believe he had been saving up his wages.
‘Well, that’s very good of you, Johnny,’ said Hutch, handing over his handkerchief so that Johnny could dry his eyes. ‘I’m impressed. I think Miss Dangerfield has misjudged you, and if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s people making false accusations. But you keep away from her – and from the Langfords’ house until they get back. She might go straight to the police next time, and trouble with the police is the last thing your family needs at the moment.’ Hutch put the toffees back on the shelf, and gave Johnny his two shillings. ‘Charity begins at home, son,’ he said. ‘Give this to your mother, if you feel you can spare it. Now, get off home, and don’t be late tomorrow.’
Johnny was almost exhausted with relief, but he ran home, hoping to catch Winnie before she left on her long walk to the pub. He met her as she was closing the front door,