Johnny Swanson - Eleanor Updale [66]
Change Your Appearance Permanently.
Unhappy with the way you look?
Transform yourself Instantly and For Ever.
Send 1/– to Box 102.
With only a moment’s hesitation, he popped it in the envelope alongside Hutch’s personal ad about Mrs Langford. He sealed the letter and took it downstairs just in time to catch the postman, who was collecting the outgoing mail.
The response to both advertisements was quick and surprising. A week later, Hutch answered the phone in the kiosk by the shop door. People who had no phone at home occasionally arranged to take calls there, but at that moment (as was so often the case since Hutch had taken Johnny in) there were no customers in the shop.
‘Hello,’ said Hutch.
There was a pause while the person at the other end spoke.
Hutch replied in his ‘post office’ voice. ‘I’m sorry, that’s quite impossible. The identity of a box holder is a confidential matter …’
Johnny was weighing flour from a huge sack into three-pound bags, and it took a little while for him to notice that Hutch’s tone had changed, and that he was leaning out of the phone booth, clicking his fingers to attract Johnny’s attention.
‘… but as it happens,’ Hutch was saying, ‘the lady is in the shop at the moment. I’ll put her on.’ He called across to Johnny, hoping he’d take the hint that the person on the phone was calling in response to the advertisement about Mrs Langford. ‘Ada!’ he shouted. ‘Ada. You have a telephone call.’
Hutch handed Johnny the phone, but stayed close, listening in.
‘Hello?’ said Johnny, hoping that his voice sounded more like a woman’s than a boy’s. ‘Can I help you?’
‘You can help yourself, darling,’ said a man’s voice at the other end. ‘You must be mad if you thought I wouldn’t spot that new advert in the local paper. Langford. Any news? Well, there’s no news, and there won’t be any. I told you before. Keep your nose out if you want to stay safe. Do you hear? And remember. I know where you are.’
The line went dead. Johnny was scared. It was true. The caller knew where Ada lived, even if he was unaware that she didn’t exist. And if he came to Stambleton, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding the post office. He might use force to get Hutch to say who Ada really was. Things could turn nasty. But the man on the phone had given Johnny and Hutch some important information too. He was the author of the threatening letter; he was involved in the Langford case; and, most importantly of all, he had a Welsh accent.
Almost as soon as he had posted the Change Your Appearance Permanently advert, Johnny had regretted it. He had made a solemn promise to Hutch to stop the advertising scams, and he had broken his word the first time he was tempted. He prayed that no one would reply, and dreaded the arrival of a package from the Welsh newspaper, even though it might contain information about Marie Langford. He could picture Hutch’s rage if he found that the contents of Box 102 was a haul of postal orders and stamped addressed envelopes. So he was relieved that Hutch was out on the paper round when a fat letter arrived from Wales.
Johnny took the packet upstairs to open it, sensing that Change Your Appearance Permanently had been one of his greatest successes. He was right, but the old feeling of excitement was mixed with a sense of shame as he split the seal. No one had answered the personal ad, but there were thirteen replies to the other one. Despite his promise to Hutch, Johnny knew he would secretly write out the answer thirteen times and stash the postal orders inside his rabbit. He shuffled through the stamped addressed envelopes. Most of them were cheap little things, the kind Hutch sold for 4d. a dozen. One was thicker, with scalloped edges