Washed and Shaved and Well Behaved Michael Casey the writer 21st June 21

this is me today after a wash and shave 21st June 21 with loads of layers on and not really that fat and now the pain monster has descended so a photo and no words may be all you'll get today

even though a keyboard with a splash skin arrived today it feels like rubber gloves

In Search of an Indian Princess the climax of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker

In Search of an Indian Princess the climax of  The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker

– June 19, 2021

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hello India here is the climax

In Search of an Indian Princess ©

By Michael Casey

 email only   michaelgcasey@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

          The Butcher , The Baker and The Undertaker (c)

 

 

                            By

   

 

                      Michael   Casey

 

 

Chapter Ten .....Worth More Than Money

***************************************

 

 

 

 

           Paul woke up feeling rough ,  he would have spat out his tongue

  

if it was possible , it tasted so bad . Paul felt under his pillow for his

  

wallet , most men scratch their , well they scratch , Smiling Paul feels ,

  

feels for his wallet .  Smiling to himself he rolled over and was going to

  

go  back  to sleep ,  he stroked his Asterix style  moustache  and  yawned

  

before  putting his tongue out ,  that way he couldn't taste the  horrible

  

thing . Suddenly Smiling Paul sat bolt upright in bed ,biting  his tongue

  

in the process .

 

"I'm rich ,  I'm rich ! " he screamed with a mixture of joy and pain , his

  

tongue was bleeding a little .

 

He  then  danced  around the bedroom ,  such was his joy  .  His  joy  was

  

undeminished  when he banged his toe against the leg of the bed  ,  as  he

  

reeled back in pain and shock he banged his cocix on the filing cabinet he

  

kept next to the bed.  So it was that Smiling Paul was doing some form  of

  

Red Indian dance around his bedroom when the window cleaner started on his

  

windows ....

  

          Patrick woke up too ,  his wife lay beside him , Patrick smiled,

  

he  was  a rich man ,  a very rich man .  If he was a poet he  would  have

  

cried  ,  to be married just when he was about to give up hope of  finding

  

somebody . Patrick sighed , he could have ended up with a compromise wife.

 

Though some would say that it was because he'd compromised June that  he'd

  

married her ,  but he knew different ,  she was the one he'd always  hoped

  

for .  Such happiness was worth more than money , the poets' had the words

  

for it , all Patrick could do was gaze at his sleeping wife ,  soon she'd

  

make him a father ,  they'd be a family .  From emptiness to being married

  

with a child in a few short months ,  life was like a game of roulette  ,

  

only you have to be careful  when your number comes up . Patrick kissed  

  

June hoping not to wake her .

 

"At least brush your teeth first , " was June's romantic reply .

 

         Smiling Paul was in no mood to brush his teeth , he had overslept

  

enough already ,  he had to go to town to collect his winnings . The money

  

was  losing  interest ,  the sooner he had the winnings in  the  bank  the

  

sooner  he'd be making money on it .  So grabbing his wallet Smiling  Paul

  

raced  to Birmingham to collect his winnings .  It was while  he  finished

  

double  locking the last of his many locks that the thought struck  him  ,

  

what  if he was spotted while in town .  He wanted to keep his big  win  a

  

secret after all.  So he caught a bus into Birmingham , the 120 stopped at

  

the  back  of  The Midland Hotel just  by  Ladbrokes  underground  betting

  

palace .

 

          There was a tramp outside begging ,  Smiling Paul gave the tramp

  

a  pound in exchange for the tramp's baseball cap ; it'd be his  disguise

  

so that the bookies couldn't trace him , they could have his name but that

  

was  all  they'd  get .  Smiling Paul didn't believe  in  smiling  winners

  

photos  ,  he  hated winners in fact because normally that meant  he  was

  

paying  out .  So Smiling Paul sneaked into Ladrokes in Stephenson  Street

  

just by the bridge at the back of New Street Station , he had the baseball

  

cap pulled down low , the security cameras wouldn't get him either.

 

           Half an hour later after giving several hand writing  samples

  

Smiling  Paul was giving a cheque for œ250,000 ;  not even the promise  of

  

champagne  over the road at The Midland Hotel could persuade him to  allow

  

Ladrokes to take a publicty photo , the only photo they got was one of his

  

two raised fingers on security camera .  He couldn't resist it ,  so  he'd

  

given  the  fingers as he left ,  the cheek of them ,  asking for  a  free

  

publicity photo .

 

           Smiling  Paul then went over the bridge turned left  down  Hill

  

Street  ,  crossing the road at the junction with Station Street  he  then

  

went  under the Hurst Street underpass and  walked  past  the  nightclub ,

  

just before the Hippodrome  he ducked into William Hills the bookmaker .

  

Spread  your  risk business men were told ,  Smiling Paul had  spread  his

  

winnings .  In William Hills he collected his second cheque , this was for

  

œ250,000 too ,  or about two weeks takings  for that particular bookies  ,

  

estimated Smiling Paul .

  

           As Smiling Paul left the bookmakers he was startled to see  the

  

same  tramp  outside  ,  it was raining so Smiling Paul  handed  back  the

  

baseball cap ,  and another pound note . He was feeling good , he had half

  

a million pounds in his pocket after all . Smiling Paul looked over at the

  

Arcadian , his Chinese friend had said that the family was going to open a

  

restaurant there ,  Birmingham's own Covent Garden it was called . Perhaps

  

he'd  go and take a look ,  but no ,  he had to put his winnings into  the

  

bank first .

 

         "Hello , Smiling Paul how are you ? " a voice said .

 

Smiling Paul spun around , it was Do Quan , he breathed a sigh of relief.

  

"Oh ,its only you ,  I'm not really used to Birmingham I prefer the  Black

  

Country any day , " said Smiling Paul wiping the sweat from his forehead .

 

"Why you in hurry , you no glad to see me ? "

 

"I  want to catch a taxi home ,  then I have to go to bank ,  "  explained

  

Smiling Paul starting to relax .

 

"I  hope it better than our bank ,  it go bust ,  we have  nothing  ,  the

  

family have no money now .  Me I stay happy ,  being sad only make you die

  

from the inside , " said Do Quan .

 

"But what about your plans , for the biggest and best Chinese restaurest ,

  

right  there in the Arcadian ?  " Smiling Paul pointed past the tramp  now

  

wearing the baseball cap , towards the Arcadian .

 

"My sister is telling them that we no buy now ,  the whole family is there

  

to  tell the Ardacian solicitors right now ,  " it was Do Quan's  turn  to

  

point now .

 

Smiling  Paul looked at  the tramp in the street ,  the rain dripping  off

  

his cap and onto his toes which stuck out from his old worn shoes .   

  

"I give you lift in my car ,  next week I sell it so family will have some

  

money again .  You will be my last passenger , " Do Quan smiled at Smiling

  

Paul .

   

          A man thrust a leaflet in Smiling Paul's face , it read "Are You

  

A Good Samaritan" , it then invited him to attend a fellowship meeting .

 

Half  a million in his pocket and all he had been thinking of was  getting

  

the money in the bank fast so as not to lose interest . In front of him a

  

tramp who'd sold him his hat for a pound ,  for a fiver he'd have sold his

  

soul .  Beside him a stranger who'd become a friend  , a good friend . All

  

his life Smiling Paul had taken advantage of fools and soon he had  parted

  

them from their money . He'd even lost the one chance of love because he'd

  

loved gambling more than his girl , he felt dizzy , his head felt heavy .

  

           "NO  ,  "  screamed Smiling Paul  ,  stamping  the  floor  like

  

Rumblestilskin .

 

"You ok , shall I call a doctor ? " asked a concerned Do Quan .

 

"Take me to the Arcadian NOW , " insisted Smiling Paul .

 

So they ran through the rain towards the Ardcadian ,  bumping into several

  

members of the Birmingham Royal Ballet as they ran , they had to get there

  

before it was too late .

 

         "Stop ,  stop ,  stop ,  " screamed Smiling Paul . In his mind he

  

could  hear the words of the girl he had lost all those years ago  ,  "you

  

don't love me ,  you don't love anybody not even yourself all you love  is

  

money and gambling " .

 

The  solicitor  for  the Ardacian looked up from  beneath  his  half  moon

  

glasses , "What's going on , this is a private matter , how dare you ! "

 

Smiling Paul slapped the two cheques down on the table , money talks after

  

all  . And so it did , when œ500,000 sits in front of you  it  certainly

  

talks  loudly  ,  it screams in fact .  Mr Brookes the solicitor  for  the

  

Arcadian smiled .

 

"Forgive me for my rudeness , I do appologise , " he groveled .  

  

"Smiling Paul say he want to help , " explained Do Quan .

 

"Look  25  years  ago I could have married a nice girl  only  I  lost  her

  

because I loved money more than her .  I have had some luck ,  so I'd like

  

to  share it with you .  Please let me help !  " Smiling Paul's eyes  were

  

pleading .

 

"But we cannot accept , we could never repay you , if you were family then

  

maybe it would be different  ,  but you are not even Chinese , " explained

  

Do Quan Ping .

 

Smiling  Paul  did  not  know what to say ,  he'd held  out  the  hand  of

  

friendship  only for it to be rejected .  Do Quan began to argue with  his

  

family .  All Smiling Paul could do was watch their faces ,  he could  not

  

understand  the  Chinese language ,  and now he could not  understand  the

  

people .  An anxious Mr Brookes looked on , all that money and nowhere for

  

it to go . After ten minutes fierce arguement Catherine , Do Quan's sister

  

the accountant spoke .

 

"When  we moved to Birmingham I did not like it ,  I used to hide  in  the

  

Catholic Church that is why I have adopted the English name of Catherine .

 

It was because I advised you that we put our money in that foreign bank  ,

  

now  the  bank is bust .  So it is my fault .  I now say we  take  Smiling

  

Paul's  money ,  even though he is not Chinese .  And I say we make him  a

  

partner too ,  I will teach him Chinese so that he will feel more at  home

  

with us , I will teach him our ways too .  "

 

"Yes , yes , yes , " Smiling Paul was as excited as a child at Christmas .

  

More  arguement  arose in Chinese ,  when it  subsided  Catherine  spoke

  

again.  

  

"In olden times , the girl child would sacrifice her honour for the sake

  

of the family . So if he wills it , I will marry Smiling Paul . "

 

Smiling Paul nearly fainted , Catherine was a beauty to say the least .

 

"Look ,  look  , look , Do Quan and the rest of you have made me welcome ,

  

he even carried me in a chair to Old Forge and Singing Anvil Council House  

  

when  my home ,  my business was under threat .  I am only  returning  the

  

favour , friendship and love are worth more than money . I will risk my

 

œ500,000  ,  because it is money ,  but I will never risk  friendship  and

  

love  ,  I will always be single I will never marry and I will never  know

  

the joys of children , but in you my friends I have friendship which makes

  

up for being all alone .  On my knees I beg you ,  take my money , it is a

  

meer token of friendship . " Smiling Paul sounded like Percy , for him his

  

Road to Damascus had been a rain soaked street in Birmingham's Hurst St. .  

  

Catherine listened to his words ,  they were clear and loud like the  bell

  

of  Saint  Catherine's  which rung over the green dome  of  the  church  .

  

Something stirred within her ,  if only he were younger and Chinese  ,  he

  

was a funny little man looking like Asterix the Gaul ,  but on that  rainy

  

morning in Birmingham he had become a noble man ,  an honourable man  ,  a

  

man worth knowing .

 

"Yes , we will take your offer , partner , " said Do Quan Ping  .

 

Smiling Paul cried ,  he was not alone any more ,  he had family now  ,  a

  

Chinese family ,  but still they were family , his new family . Mr Brookes

  

took charge of one of the cheques , the other he returned to Smiling Paul.

 

"Here ,  you are the accountant you better have this one ,  " said Smiling

  

Paul handing the cheque to Catherine .

 

"Which bank shall I put it in ? " she asked .

 

"Why  not try a Building Society instead ,  how about the West Bromwich  ,

  

its good and reliable and it has a Billion in assets , " suggested Smiling

  

Paul .

 

"Certainly , it is your money , " said Catherine .

 

"Look its the restaurant's money , NOT mine , " insisted Smiling Paul .

  

"Anything you say , " she replied .

 

"One favour I will ask ,  please teach me Chinese ,  starting with numbers

  

then betting phrases , " asked a coy Smiling Paul .

 

"It will be an honour , " she smiled .

 

Smiling  Paul smiled back , learning Chinese and having friends was  worth

  

half a million any day .

 

           Percy  was  waiting for Smiling Paul when he got  back  to  the

  

street , Percy looked calm but his eyes gave Smiling Paul laser looks .

 

"Was it you who bet on the outcome of the election ? Its been on the radio

  

a mystery man won œ250,000 from Ladbrokes , " Percy's eyes were ablaze .

 

"Yes , " said a sheepish Smiling Paul .

 

"That's all I wanted to know ,  " Percy sounded disgusted ,  he started to

  

walk away .

 

Catherine looked at Smiling Paul ,  he just looked at is feet ,  he knew

  

that he might lose his Chinese friends now .

 

"Wait , please wait Sir , " said Catherine grabbing Percy by the arm .

 

Percy waited to hear what she had to say ,  Smiling Paul wished he'd never

  

had made the damn bet .

 

"I'm sorry Percy , it was too good an opportunity to miss , I wish I never

  

made the damn bet ,  " Smiling Paul sounded like a child pleading with his

  

father not to beat him .

 

"Smiling Paul is an honourable man , a noble man , this morning he meet my

  

brother Do Quan ,  he gave all the money to my family .  He saved us  from

  

disgrace ,  he saved me especially .  We have lost our fortune ,  we  work

  

hard for years so that we can open a restaurant of our own ,  then we lose

  

everything when the bank go bust .  Smiling Paul is an honourable man , he

  

save my family , " Catherine began to cry .

  

"It was on her advice that the family put their money in that foreign bank

  

you know the one with connections to the drugs barons ," explained Smiling

  

Paul as he handed his handkerchief to Catherine .

 

"But  Amjit only took his money out of there weeks before it  collapsed  ,

  

its terrible he could have been ruined , " Percy looked shocked .

 

"He is an honourable man , he say friendship is worth more than money , he

  

insist  we  take his money ,  he has saved my family ,  "  said  Catherine

  

before desolving into tears .

 

"You  know  I  lost my chance all those years ago because of  my  love  of

  

gambling ,  it was just that when I heard what had happened to my  Chinese

  

friends I had to give them the money ,  I just had to ,  " Smiling  Paul's

  

eyes were pleading with Percy .  

  

"You gave œ250,000 away , " Percy was incredulous .

 

"He won two bets ,  he gave us œ500,000 . We insist he become a partner or

  

we no take his money .  He is an honourable man , it was my fault that the

  

family  is  disgraced ,  now he come like a White Knight to save  us  ,  "

  

Catherine's eyes were pleading now .

 

"You gave œ500,000 away to save your friends from ruin , " Percy looked at

  

Smiling Paul unbelievingly .

 

"Yes  ,  I  did  it  I have no regrets .  I'm sorry  that  I  used  inside

  

information  ,  I'm sorry I've upset you Percy .  But I'll never be  sorry

  

that  I helped my Chinese friends in their hour of need ,  " Smiling  Paul

  

was beginning to sound his normal self .

 

"He is an honourable man ,  he saved my family ,  him not a greedy man , "

  

Catherine  was  springing  to  Smiling  Paul's  defence  beneath   Percy's

  

unbelieving looks .

 

Percy sighed , this was a day to remember , that was for sure .

  

"And the mark of the man is not what he says but what he does , seeking no

  

reward ,  just the knowledge that he has done the right thing . Out of the

  

dark came the light ,  it banished the shadows and made the burden light ,

  

it made doubts certainties , it turned the greys and blacks into colours .  

  

The old dog has turned into a cat ,  the cat has changed into a noble lion

  

and the lion has begun to roar and roar and roar ,  "  said Percy  quoting

  

from a long forgotten poem .

 

"Does  that  mean you forgive me ?  " asked Smiling Paul who  could  never

  

understand poetry .

 

"Shake  hands  for we are friends , and yes Catherine , Smiling Paul is a

  

noble man , " Percy held out his hand .

 

"Its nice to get one over the bookies for a change , " said Smiling Paul .

 

"He is a man in a million , " gushed Catherine .

 

"Or  half  a  million  !  "  replied Percy  before  walking  back  to  his

  

undertakers .

 

"So  you  know  the full story now ,  " said Smiling  Paul  shrugging  his

  

shoulders .

 

"The past is over , let the present begin , " smiled Catherine .

 

Smiling Paul smiled back , he felt a weight , a worry had been lifted from

  

his shoulders  , he had a family now , a Chinese family .  

  

           Patrick now had a family too , in the shape of the growing form

  

of  June .  Patrick knew that married life meant changes but he was  happy

  

for them to happen all around him ,  it was always calm at the eye of  the

  

storm after all .

 

"When did you last decorate this place ?  " asked June looking around  the

  

flat with a critical eye .

 

"Not long ago , " said Patrick  .

 

"How long is "not long ago" in years ? " asked June tilting her head .

 

"Not  long  really ,  a few years after my dad died ,  "  replied  Patrick

  

looking  up from a three year old copy of "The Kingdom" which  he'd  found

  

under a cushion .

 

"Can you stop reading about Kerry and the Spillane brothers and answer the

  

question please , " demanded June putting her hands on her hips .

 

"Not long , this is interesting ,Pat Spillane's leg's playing up he  might

  

not be able to play next week , " mused Patrick .

 

"Patrick ! " said June raising her voice .

 

Patrick was still emersed in the three year old paper ,  he wasn't  paying

  

too  much attention to June .  Patrick would learn the hard way  that  you

  

always have to pay attention to your wife . June got a pair of sissors and

  

cut a hole in the paper , then she spoke to Patrick though the hole .

 

"About this room , the whole flat in fact , don't you think its  time  to

  

decorate ? " she fluttered her eyelids at him .

  

"Yes  if you say so ,  now give me back that piece I was reading  it  ,  "

  

Patrick held out his hand .

 

"You  can  have it when you tell me how many years it is  ,  "  said  June

  

holding out the piece of paper she'd cut out .

 

"Maybe ten years , " said Patrick holding out his hand .

 

"If you want this you'll have to get it ,  " with that June put the  piece

  

of paper in her pocket .

 

Patrick  got up from his chair and put his hand in her pocket ,  only  his

  

hand got stuck , so June put her hand in his pocket .

 

"What have you got to say about that then ? " she teased .

 

"Nothing but this ,  " replied Patrick putting his other hand in her other

  

pocket .

 

"Think you're smart do you , you forgot that I have a free hand , " said a

  

triumphant June as she started to tickle Patrick .

  

Patrick  wriggled but he couldn't get away as both his hands were  in  her

  

pockets , so they moved back and forth like mating crabs across the living  

  

room  till  finally they fell to the floor .  June was lying on  top  of

  

Patrick  tickling him as he tried to get his hands form her  pockets  when

  

Mrs Murphy came in .  

  

"Glory be to God , what kind of game is this , " wondered Mrs Murphy .

 

Patrick scrambled to his feet ,  as did June .  However in all the fun and

  

what  with  June's  hand in Patrick's pocket his trousers  fell  to  the

  

ground .  As for June she was left with a torn pocket revealing the top of

  

her left leg .  June looked at Patrick ,  Patrick looked at his mother and

  

his mother looked at June . Then the three of them laughed .

 

"I  did knock only you were busy ,  well you were busy ,  " explained  Mrs

  

Murphy before laughing afresh .

 

"What did you want ?  " asked Patrick holding his trousers and his dignity

  

in place .

 

"I brought you a new Sacred Heart picture ,  it has plenty of room for all

  

my future grandchildren , " Mrs Murphy began to laugh , another would have

  

been  conceived  if she had not arrived on the scene  ,  and  June  wasn't

  

pregnant already .

 

"Oh thats great .  By the way we are thinking of decorating the place ,  "

  

said June by way of small talk .

 

"It's  about time too ,  Patrick has turned this place into a pigsty  ,  "

  

said Mrs Murphy casting her eye around the place .

 

Patrick bit his lip , but for his mother he'd have redecorated years ago .

 

Yet  every  time he mentioned the subject his mother had  accused  him  of

  

wanting to waste money , besides did he want to wipe the memory out of his

  

father ?

 

"Yes ,  mom it is about time it was redecorated , " said Patrick pulling a

  

face .

 

"Save your face pulling for your children ,  don't cheek your old  mother

  

or  I'll  give you a slap in the puss ,  " said  Mrs Murphy  heaving  her

  

chest indignantly .  

  

"We could do it ourselves it'd be fun after all , " ventured June .

 

"No you shouldn't strain yourself ,and as for him I wouldn't trust him to

  

paint the old shithouse , " said Mrs Murphy matter of factly .

 

June laughed aloud , Patrick moaned and readjusted his trousers .

 

"If you want the place decorated then send for Winston and Curley ,  they

  

are the best , " advised Mrs Murphy .

 

"I  didn't know they did that ,I thought Pirate Radio was their thing  ,"

  

said Patrick .

 

"You don't know everything , well I must be going then , " said Mrs Murphy

  

as she kissed June goodbye .

 

Patrick  moved  forward  to see his mother out ,  only he let  go  of  his

  

trousers so they fell to the ground .

 

"I'll  see  myself out ,  you  two can carry on whatever it was  you  were

  

doing  before  ,  "  Mrs Murphy left exchanging a twinkle  with  June  her

  

daughter-in-law .

 

            The  next day Winston and Curley came to take a  look  at  the

  

flat .  They stood in the middle of the flat and looked all around ,  then

  

they  moved to the next room and so on .  There were no words just  a  few

  

sighs , Curley tapped the walls in places and shook his head .

 

"Do you want a top class job , or a cheap job ? " asked Winston .

 

"How much is this going to cost ? " asked Patrick almost wincing .

 

"We want a top class job , " interrupted June , using the Royal We .

 

"Then you are talking about 700 cans , " began Winston .

 

"What seven hundred cans of paint ! " screamed an alarmed Patrick .

 

"No , Red Stripe , " replied Winston with a smile .

 

June and Patrick looked totally baffled .

 

"Let me explain ,  we always give a quote in cans of Red Stripe .  When we

  

first  got started we only did little jobs so we got paid in cans  of  Red

  

Stripe . So we've kept the tradition and give quotes in cans , even though

  

we  are a professional team now ,  " Curley smiled and scratched his  bald

  

head .

 

"Sounds ok to me , " said June .

 

"What  size  cans of Red Stripe are we talking about  ,  "  asked  Patrick

  

wondered what the Pounds and Pence cost was .

 

"Never you mind that , if your mother says they are the best then they are

  

the best then they are worth the money ,  or cans of Red Stripe ,  "  said

  

June deciding the matter for Patrick .

 

          So Winston and Curley got to work on the flat ,  to the sound of

  

Radio  Three on the ghetto blaster .  Winston said he needed to stay  calm

  

while he worked but once work was over that was another matter  !  Winston

  

and Curley had only become painters and decorators by chance .  When  they

  

had  started on the Pirate Radio they worked from friends spare  rooms  at

  

first  .  Now a spare room usually has more junk in it that  a  dentist's

  

waiting room ,  and about the same style of decore , 80s yuck . So to keep

  

their sanity Winston and Curley decorated the room they were operating the

  

Pirate Radio station from .  As they had to move about a bit to avoid  the

  

Home  Office  detector  vans they left a trail of  decorated  spare  rooms

  

behind   them  so  that  soon  they  were  known  as  "Paint  brush"   and

  

"Polyfiller" ,  in fact they adopted those names as their radio names . On

  

the  odd  occasion that the Home Office seized the  equipment  Curley  and

  

Winston became full time decorators to raise money for new kit .  So  fate

  

had  made the best Pirate DJ and engineer in Old Forge and  Singing  Anvil

  

into the best decorating team too .  And now Patrick and June were reaping

  

the benefits .

 

           Nothing ever happens on the street without everybody getting to

  

hear about it .  Percy was walking past when he heard Mozart floating down

  

from Patrick's flat ,  along with lots of paint fumes . So Percy popped up

  

to take a look , he was impressed by what he saw .

 

"When  you've finished here come along and see me ,  I think its  time  we

  

decorated  .  That Mozart just hits the spot doesn't it ?  "  added  Percy

  

before he left .

 

"He's cool , " was Winston's reply as he finished off a skirting board .

 

Big Sid arrived cleaver in one hand , a lady customer on the other .

 

"This lady is looking for a painter and decorator , could you two help her

  

out ? " boomed Big Sid .

 

"Certainly ,  just leave a name and phone number , we'll be in touch later

  

tonight , " said Curley .

 

"Thanks , " said Big Sid as he left a note next to a can of paint .

 

            Patrick  and June's flat was nearly completed when  an  urgent

  

message reached Wiston and Curley ,  the Pirate Radio station was going to

  

be  raided  by the Home Office .  So still clutching a paint brush  and  a

  

packet  of Pollyfiller the duo raced off to save their station .  Half  an

  

hour  later  they  returned  with a trunk in the back  of  the  van  ,  it

  

contained their equipment .

 

"We'll have to put it somewhere safe ,  so safe the Home Office man  won't

  

think of looking  , " began Winston .

 

"Yes but he has Xray eyes man , " replied Curley .

 

The pair edged backforwards in Patrick's yard , the trunk swinging between

  

them . They looked like Pirates in search of a place to hide the treasure,

 

Curley with his hugh earring looked the part .  Hairy Amjit appeared ,  he

  

sniffed around the trunk , perhaps there was something in it for him .

 

"I've got it ,  we'll put it in Amjit's shed ,  it'll take a brave man  to

  

look there , " said a relieved Winston .

 

So dragging  the trunk and Curley behind him  Winston  headed  for  hairy

  

Amjit's shed .  Wiston grabbed Amjit's blanket and threw it over the trunk

  

to hide it .  Amjit began to growl softly .  Curley acted quickly to  save

  

the situation , reaching into his pocket he found half a tube of Rolo .

 

"For you ,  my man , but guard this with your life , " said Curley tossing

  

the Rolos to Amjit .

 

Amjit could have cried , Rolos were his favourites , or one of them at any

  

rate . So letting out a howl Amjit jumped on top of the trunk , he'd guard

  

it with his life ,  besides if they wanted their trunk back it'd cost them

  

a full tube of Rolos , he was no fool after all .

 

"Thanks Amjit , give me five , " said Winston shaking hands with the dog .

  

"He's a sweetie really , " observed Curley as they climbed the stairs  and

  

went back to work .

 

"Yes ,  he's a sweetie , sometimes he reminds me of the nodding dog I used

  

to have in the back of my car , " said Winston .

 

"No ,  he looks like that pair of chalk dogs your mom used to have on  the

  

old high brown mantle piece , "  corrected Curley .

  

          When the Home Office man raided the Pirate Radio station all  he

  

found  was a paintbrush and a packet of Pollyfiller .  He knew who he  was

  

after  only  he'd missed them again .  So turning  to  Sgt.Mullholland  he

  

shrugged his shoulders then readjusted his thick black frame glasses ,  he

  

wasn't a happy man , he looked like a sulky Harry Palmer .

 

"We'll go for a bit of lunch then , there's a nice cafe near my station or

  

you could have a pub lunch at the Trader , " ventured Sgt.Mulholland .

 

"I suppose we could , " replied the Home Office man swinging his briefcase

  

dejectedly .

 

           Curley happened to look out the window ,  and what did  he  see

  

only the Home Office man and Sgt. Mullholland going into the Trader . Like

  

greased lightning the duo scampered down the flat stairs , they nearly had

  

Amjit's shed door off its hindges such was their haste .  Only they made a

  

fatal mistake ,  they forgot to knock . Hairy Amjit howled as the Hound of

  

the  Baskervilles howled .  Curley nearly fainted ,  over the road in  the

  

Trader  the  man from the Home Office spilt his beer down his  front  with

  

fright .

 

"Oh its only hairy Amjit , " advised Annie .

 

"Just being a naughty little dog , he's as good as gold normally , " added

  

Betty as she wiped the Home Office man's shirt  with a towel .

 

"But  ,  but but ,  it sounded like a wolf !  " said the Home  Office  man

  

rippling with fear .

 

He took a sip of his drink to steady his nerves .

 

"A very accurate desciption to be honest ,  " observed Sgt Mullholland  as

  

he finished his pint of lime .

 

The Home Office man dropped his glass into his lap ,  he had bad  memories

  

of dogs .

 

"Here wipe yourself down ,  " said Annie throwing the towel into the  Home

  

Office Man's face .

 

"We don't do laps , " added Betty with a grin .

 

          Outside  hairy Amjit was running up and down the street  like  a

  

happy puppy ,  he'd got a Bounty Bar plus a Crunchie out of the Pirates  .

  

Well he didn't come cheap did he ,  he offered a good guard dog service  ,

  

so he had to be paid , besides he didn't like being taken for granted . So

 

Curley  had dashed over to Amjit's store to get hairy Amjit his  chocolate

  

reward  ,  then  and only then did hairy Amjit cease his  guard  duties  .

  

Meanwhile Curley and Winston had carried the trunk up the road to  Percy's

  

undertakers ,  they left the trunk in the preparation room , closing their

  

eyes while Andy held the door open for them .They hoped the trail would go

  

dead there , as far as the Home Office man was concerned .

  

          The  Home Office man had recovered his composure  by  now  ,  so

  

shaking his leg he stepped out into the street .  He just caught sight  of

  

Winston and Curley going back into Patrick's flat ,  he smiled his  wicked

  

smile  ,  so  that's where they were ,  and that's why  they  were  called

  

Paintbrush  and Pollyfiller .  Rubbing his hands together he  crossed  the

  

road and climbed the stairs of Patrick's flat .

 

"You are not trying to avoid me lads are you ?  " said the Home Office man

  

in his best patronising voice .

 

Sgt.Mullholland rolled his eyes , what a pillock he was landed with , only

  

he had to assist the  "Home Office Man " .

 

"Do you want some decorating done Sir ? " smiled Winston .

 

"No , but I do want your transmitter ! " said the Home Office man sounding

  

like the Sherriff of Nottingham .

 

"We  are humble decorators Sir trying to make an honest living  ,  "  said

  

Curley  looking like a cornered Pirate wishing he hadn't put  his  cuttlas

  

down .

 

"Do you mind if I take a look around ? " asked the Home Office man .

 

Sgt.Mullholland  shrugged his shoulders as if to say ,  "sorry lads but  I

  

have to assist this wally" .

 

"We don't mind at all ,  but its Patrick and June's flat ,  nothing to  do

  

with at all , " explained Wiston .

 

"I'm sure they won't mind , " smiled the Home Office man .

 

So he looked around but drew a blank . He was sulking as he left . Winston

  

and Curley smiled their goodbyes , another close shave . They stood at the

  

top  of the stairs and watched him go .  The Home Office man looked up  at

  

them ,  he couldn't hear but he could lip read ," the shed" . So he made a

  

beeline  for it . Winston and Curley watched from their grandstand  , how

  

could he have heard them , not unless he could lip read !

 

"Now lets see what's in this shed , " said the Home Office man with glee .

 

"Woof , woof , woof , howl , howl , howl , " went hairy Amjit .

 

Nobody came into his shed without knocking first , it wasn't too bad if it

  

was  a  friend who gave him chocolate but a total  stranger  ,  he  wasn't

  

having any of that .  So hairy Amjit flew out of his shed like a rocket  ,

  

knocking the Home Office man flat . Hairy Amjit sat on the man and howled

  

and howled and howled .  Winston and Curley laughed till they cried  .  As

  

for  the Home Office man he wished he'd kept his desk job ,  this was  too

  

much .

 

"I  think  you should give him some chocolate  ,  "  said  Sgt.Mullholland

  

trying hard not to laugh .

 

"I'm a diabetic I don't eat chocolate , " squirmed the Home Office man .

 

"Then you're in trouble , " said the Sergeant warming to his work .

 

"Cann't you drag him off ? " asked a panic stricken Home Office man .

 

"I'm not very good with dogs ,  I suppose I could ring the R.S.P.C.A.  and

  

ask  for  advice  ,  "  the Sergeant began to  scratch  his  head  as  the

  

Sergeant's traning manual said he should in situations like these .

 

By now all the street had come to a halt ,  what with hairy Amjit's  howls

  

and  Winston  and  Curley's  laughter  ,   something  worth  watching  was

  

happening .  Big Sid , Wayne , Betty and Annie , Percy , Frank , Peter and

  

the rest all came out of their shops to watch .

 

"He's angry isn't he , " said Big Sid winking to Wayne .

 

"Do you want a cup of tea while you're down there ," ventured Mark .

 

"Well  when  he gets up he'll need a new pair of  trousers  ,  "  observed

  

Betty with a smile .

 

"Perhaps underpants too , " added Annie .

 

After  ten  minutes Big Sid thought it was time to end the Home  Office's  

  

discomfort , so handing a bag of pork scratchings to Jaswinder he wispered

  

in her ear .

 

"Go on , we've had our fun , " said Big Sid with a wink .

 

Jaswinder walked over towards the still barking hairy Amjit .

 

"If  you don't shut up I  won't give you any of these ,  " Jaswinder  took

  

the  bag  from  behing  her  back  so  hairy  Amjit  could  see  the  pork

  

scratchings .    

  

Hairy Amjit stopped in mid bark .

 

"It's not polite opening doors without knocking first .  Say you are sorry

  

to Amjit , " Jaswinder shook her hand at the Home Office man .

 

The  Home  Office man closed his eyes and said he was sorry  .  The  crowd

  

applauded , Winston and Curley laughed even more .

 

"Catch ," said Jaswinder throwing a pork scratching high into the air .

 

Hairy  Amjit leapt high into the air catching the scratching  .  Everybody

  

applauded ,  everybody except the Home Office man who'd decided to get his

  

desk job back .

 

          That  night  Curley  and Winston were back  on  the  airwaves  ,

  

blindfolded they  broadcast from Percy's preparation room ,   they  didn't

  

want  to see the inside of an undertakers preparation room till they  were

  

dead and then it'd be too soon . So with the Home Office in the dark as to

  

their whereabouts they broadcast their usual lively show ,  surrounded  by

  

the trappings of the dead .

 

        The trouble with decorating things is that usually there is mess ,

  

well  if you do it yourself there is .  Patrick and June hadn't  decorated

  

themself so there was no mess ,but the contrast between a clean flat  and

  

old furniture made the furniture look shabby , a mess . Patrick decided to

  

surprise June by ordering new furniture .

 

         "So you see Frank now that the place is decorated  the  furniture

  

really shows its age , " began Patrick .

 

"Are we talking formica or quality replacement ? " asked Frank .

 

"Well  quality of course ,  now that I'm a married man and I'll be  a  dad

  

soon , " replied Patrick .

 

Frank smiled with relief ,  he hated the formica end of his shop ,  he had

  

to provide what people could afford ,  though perhaps of  dubious  quality

  

the formica end was appealing to some . Still smiling Frank led the way

  

to the back of his shop , lovingly touching a piece here and a piece there

  

as a father touches his childrens' heads .

 

"We'll have a drink first ,  " said Frank opening up a bureau to reveal  a

  

fine collection of wines .

 

"I haven't seen this before , " said Patrick .

 

"My  best customers deserve a drink ,  it eases the pain when I tell  them

  

the price ,  quality costs after all ,  but it lasts forever ,  just as  a

  

good wine lingers on the palate .  Your furniture will still be good  when

  

you have grandchildren ! " explained Frank as he passed Patrick a glass .

 

"Oh , this is great stuff , where did you get it from ? " asked Patrick .

 

"From my home village of course ,  on the banks of the River Po ,  we call

  

it the Dom Camillo ,  drink it and you will believe that your dreams  will

  

come true , " Frank closed his eyes and savoured his home village wine .

 

"God its so good I'm sure I'll have to go to confession ,  " joked Patrick

  

"Then so will Fr.Shaw , I gave him a bottle ! " laughed Frank .

 

          Patrick looked all around the quality end of the shop ,  somehow

  

he was drawn to one three piece suite ,  or was Frank guiding him ?  So he

  

sat down on it , Frank sat down next time him .

 

"This seems very strong , " said Patrick patting it .

 

"You won't need any superglue on this , " said Frank with a smile .

 

"God don't remind me ,  I'm the laughing stock of the whole of the  street

  

and probably India if I'm any judge of Amjit ,  " said Patrick shaking his

  

head .

 

"We liked the story too ,  in Italy on the Po Valley , " said Frank with a

  

twinkle in his eye .

 

"Alright , anyway , I'll have this one . Can you deliver it today , I'd

  

like  to surprise June ,  " said Patrick changing the subject before  he'd

  

start to blush again .

 

"But my van is elsewhere , will tomorrow not do ? " asked Frank .

 

"I suppose so , " said a slightly crestfallen Patrick .  

  

Just  then Mathew came skipping past the shop ,  Mathew liked to  skip  it

  

made him feel free , free as a deer .

 

"Mathew ,  Mathew come here ,  " yelled Frank running to the front of  the

  

shop .

 

"Listen  Mathew we will carry Patrick's new furniture up the road  to  his

  

flat , it will be a nice surprise for June , " explained Frank .

 

"I've got to give Big Sid the list from mom though , " explained Mathew .

 

"Alright lad , you give Big Sid the list then come back , " said Frank .

 

"So I will get the delivery today after all , " said Patrick smiling .

 

Mathew returned still skipping  , Big Sid ambled after him .

 

"Well many hands make light work , " said Big Sid .

 

So  Big Sid and Mathew carried the settee down the street with  Frank  and

  

Patrick carrying a chair apiece . Jaswinder was standing outside her dad's

  

store  feeding hairy Amjit pork scratchings when she saw the fun she  made

  

her  father  take her over the road .  Once over the road she sat  on  the

  

settee so she could be carried while Big Sid and Mathew moved the settee ,  

  

it was just like being a queen of Egypt .  Her father cleared the pavement

  

for the workers , it was almost like a carnival procession . Paulo one of

  

the lorry drivers en route for Mark's cafe hooted his horn  , he'd  have

  

another tale for the folks back on the Po valley .  When they reached  the

  

stairs to Patrick's flat Jaswinder reluctantly got off the settee  ,  then

  

with Big Sid in the lead he and Mathew carried the settee up the stairs .

 

Amjit  was joking with Patrick about him being some form of  shoplifter  ,

  

literally .  Jaswinder had by now clambered up the stairs behind Mathew ,

  

as he and Big Sid jiggled the settee to get it through the door .

 

"Jaswinder ! " screamed Amjit .

 

Jaswinder had fallen over the top of the stairs . Frank and Patrick looked

  

on in horror . She'd be killed for sure . Mathew threw the settee into  the

  

air , he'd seen her fall .

 

"That's it we're thought now , " said Big Sid from inside the flat .

 

With his hand free Mathew grabbed for Jaswinder , she seemed to be getting

  

away from him ,  Mathew fell to his knees he was leaning backwards like  a

  

limbo dancer . Patrick closed his eyes , he felt sick .

 

"Jaswinder !" screamed Amjit .

 

Frank made the sign of the cross , then closed his eyes .

 

"Daddy ! " screamed Jaswinder her voice seemed distant .

 

Mathew bounced back to his feet , his one hand pushing the settee forward,

 

in his other held tight was Jaswinder . She was safe , Mathew had  pulled

  

the rabbit from the hat .  Mathew and Jaswinder disappeared into the  flat

  

such  was Mathew's forward momentum ,  they sent Big Sid  flying  .  Amjit

  

raced up the stairs followed by Patrick and Frank .

 

"My baby , my baby , " Amjit scooped up his daughter in his arms .

 

"What's going on , " asked Big Sid getting to his feet .

 

"Jaswinder  fell  over the edge of the stairs under the  rail  ,  but  for

  

Mathew she'd be killed , " explained Patrick , his heart still pounding in

  

his ears .

 

Big  Sid looked on incredulous ,  he just thought Mathew was jiggling  the

  

settee  ,  he  was stunned ,  so he sat down on the settee  .  His  Indian

  

Princess could have been killed .

 

"It  was a miracle ,  Mathew bounced back to catch her ,  then forward  so

  

she'd be safe , I saw it all , " explain Frank .

 

"Thank God she was wearing that Arran jumper your mother knitted otherwise

  

we'd all be crying now , " said Amjit as he kissed his daughter's head .

 

"And I said it was silly for an Indian to be wearing an Arran jumper  ,  "

  

Patrick licked his lips , they felt very dry all of a sudden .

 

"I'll  take Mathew for a milkshake ,  can you manage on your own now  ,  "

  

asked Amjit .

 

"I'll come too , " said Big Sid , he'd have one himself .

 

Frank  and  Patrick were left to bring the armchairs in  ,  it  felt  like

  

tidying  up after a wake ,  but thankfully Jaswinder was alive  thanks  to

  

Mathew .

 

          "So but for Jaswinder wearing an Arran your mother  had  knitted

  

she'd have been killed , " repeated a wide eyed June .

 

"God knows how Mathew managed to do it ,  it was like something Bruce  Lee

  

would do ,  a back reach then a forward leap ,  Sid was sent flying  under

  

the weight of the settee and Mathew's forward momentum .

 

June  instinctively felt the growing bulge inside her ,  she looked up  at

  

Patrick , a question on her lips .

 

"What if it happens to our baby ? " she looked accusingly at Patrick .

 

"It won't , I was safe wasn't I ? " said a defensive Patrick .

 

"Accidents  do happen ,  and this flat is only big enough for one  baby  ,

  

what  about  the rest ,  when they come ,  " June had locked her  eyes  on

  

Patrick's he could not get away from her .

   

"I thought you liked this flat , this street , " Patrick glared at her .

 

"I do , but I think we should have a house now , a house with a garden and

  

a cherry blossum tree at the bottom of the garden , " said June all in one

  

breath .

 

"Yes ,  but if we have a house we'd have to move away from here ,  I don't

  

want to move to bloody Harbourne what with your mother nearby , she'd drag

  

us into her lair with her spider's webs , " retorted Patrick .

 

They stood silent , this could develop into their first real fight , only

  

June had other ideas for she'd glanced out of the window . Jumping forward

  

she  kissed  Patick and put both her hands in his  trouser  pockets  ,  he

  

couldn't  escape  her  now .  She smothered him in kisses  and  edged  him

  

towards their new settee , it was time to see if Frank was right , no glue

  

would be needed , after all she'd picked out the furniture the day before

  

Patrick had , she was no fool after all .  

  

           "Patrick its a big yard outside isn't it ?  " said June as  she

  

played with the hairs on Patrick's chest which stuck out from his shirt .

 

"Yes , " replied Patrick mentally thanking Frank , he really wouldn't need

  

glue on this settee , ever .

 

"Its must be big enough for a few houses ,  its worth a lot of money isn't

  

it ? " said June before kissing Patrick again .

 

"Yes but we're comfortable ,  so its pointless selling it , " said Patrick

  

in between kisses .

 

"I wasn't thinking of selling it , I was thinking  of  something  else ,

  

something much more ,  well something constructive , " June sat up and got

  

off  the  settee  ,  she paused to look at Patrick then she  went  to  the

  

window .   

  

"There's a lot of land there , " June spoke slowly .

 

"You sound like a Kerry woman already ,  " laughed Patrick getting off the

  

settee and going to the window .

 

"Well  we ,  could do something constructive ,  " June's eyes locked  onto

  

Patrick's .

 

Patrick  had to give in now ,  he couldn't argue with her ,  it'd be  like

  

argueing with himself .

 

"Go on , what is it ? " Patrick was smiling .

 

"We could build a house right there , " June pointed .

 

"So you have turned into a Kerrywoman ,  mom will be pleased ,  "  Patrick

  

laughed aloud .

 

"Does that mean you'll build me a house ,  a home ?  " June was issueing a

  

challenge .

 

"Of course , you didn't have to bribe me with kisses , " Patrick smiled .

 

"If  I  didn't kiss you first ,  I'd never get any kisses ,  "  said  june

  

putting out her tongue .

 

"Come here you and I'll show you what kind of Kerryman I  am  ,  "  said

  

Patrick as he grabbed June and put his hands in her jeans pockets .

 

This kind of silly childlike behaviour was the kind they enjoyed the  most

  

and they were glad that Frank's settee would never need superglue .

 

         The next day they consulted with David , he was able to recommend

  

an architech , so they went to see him over in Langley . June decided that

  

she  wanted  four double bedrooms and two bathrooms with an  extra  shower

  

room thrown in for good measure . She was thinking to the future after all

  

or  she was no Kerrywoman in the making .  When the architech  smiled  and

  

asked  when they wanted the plans she replied "Yesterday"  ,  patting  her

  

stomach  .  So  the architech set to work ,  a week later the  plans  were

  

ready .              

  

       "So you see Percy the council planning department laughed in  our

  

face  ,  they  say this is a business zone ,  no  housing  ,  "  explained

  

Patrick biting his lip .

 

"Its the Albert Pratt O.  Bloody B.   diehards .  Give me those plans I'll

  

stick a bomb under them , " fumed Percy .

 

Patrick went and fetched the plans and handed them to Percy .

 

"I hope you can do something its just that David is free at the moment  so

  

he could start building straight away .  It could be built in six weeks  ,

  

all we need is the go ahead ,  " Patrick looked like a kid who's kite  was

  

stuck up a tree , he hadn't a clue what to do , adult help was needed .

 

"You'll have planning permission in ten days or I'm no undertaker , " said

  

Percy shaking Patrick by the hand .

 

         In his study Percy got out his diary ,  he looked up  the  phone

  

number for Mr Stone , Mr Stone M.P. for Old Forge and Singing Anvil .

 

"Hello ,  can you put me through to Mr Stone please ,  " said Percy as  he

  

sat down .

 

"I'm  afraid  he's very busy ,  what with being new to Parliament  and  so

  

forth , " said a very business like secretary .

 

"Just tell him its Percy Frost ,  the undertaker ,  he'll speak to me ,  "

  

said Percy quietly .

 

The  secretary  jumped  to  attention ,  she ran  down  the  corridors  of

  

Westminister , Percy Frost was a famous name in the corridors of power .

 

In  fact the day Mr Stone arrived the first thing he said was  that  Percy

  

had immediate access ,  so it was no wonder that the secretary ran ,  that

  

and Percy's voice ,  he sometimes sounded like a Vampire willing people to

  

do things .

 

"What can I do for you ? " asked Mr Stone .

 

"Patrick's  been  refused  planning permission for a  house  next  to  his

  

bakery , I think its the old  Albert Pratt diehards , " explained Percy .

 

"Send me the plans and so forth , I'll do my best , " answered Mr Stone .

 

"How's Parliament then ? " enquired Percy .

 

"I'd sooner trust a navy laying hard core than some of them , but I'm sure

  

I'll get used to it .  Though if this is a building matter perhaps its the

  

Freemasons you should be asking to help , " joked Mr Stone .

 

"I thought all Politicians were Freemasons , " mumbled Percy .

 

"Not  this one ,  anyway send the plans and I'll do my best ,  "  said  Mr

  

Stone before he hung up the receiver .

 

Percy smiled perhaps a little encouragement would speed Mr Stone's work  ,

  

after  all he was a Freemason and so was Mr Kemp ,  so if Frost  and  Kemp

  

combined  then an invite to a Freemason function could be arranged for  Mr

  

Stone .

 

          The next day a large envelope arrived for Mr Stone ,  inside was

  

a  letter marked "for your eyes only" .  The large envelope contained  the

  

plans  for Patrick's house ,  the letter was an invitation to a  Freemason

  

function in Harbourne , a personal invitation from Percy and Mr Kemp .When

   

Mr Stone read the invitation he jumped into the air , Percy was a real man

  

of mystery ; so he just had to do his best for one of his constituents .

 

"Where's that idle American researcher of ours ,  if he doesn't solve this

  

problem  today I'll personally kick him out of Westminister and  onto  his

  

plane for Boston , " growled Mr Stone .

 

The researcher materialised ,  he was told to examine all the bye laws for

  

Old Forge and Singing Anvil ,  find a loophole ,  or the only loop he'd be

  

seeing  was the noose Mr Stone would hang him with .  Duane  was  suitably

  

impressed so he set to work .  Late that night he found the loophole , the

  

workers had to be provided with a place to live ,  and as Patrick was one

  

of  the  workers albeit in his own bakery ,  but since he was a  worker  a

  

place to live had to be found .  It was a byelaw dating back to 1874 ,  it

  

had not been repealed .  Armed with all the imformation Mr Stone went into

  

the Chamber , he wanted to say a few words on the subject .

 

"And so my fellow members and honourable members it really is a case of  a

  

council  trying  to  intimidate  the humble worker  , a  case  of  wanton

  

obstruction on the part of the council ,  and to what end ?  Just to  flex

  

muscle against the humble worker ,  just for the sake of it .  Are we  not

  

here  for Goverment Of The People by The People and FOR The People  ,  NOT

  

AGAINST THEM ,  " blustered Mr Stone , having picked up the technic from a

  

certain Tory memember .     

  

He   went on for a further five minutes ,  then bowing to the  Speaker  he

  

left the Chamber , he wanted to ring Percy with the good news .

 

          A few days later work began on Patrick and June's new house ,

  

hairy Amjit had cocked a leg over the chalk marks ,  which were to  guide

  

the JCB digging the foundations .

 

"X marks the spot ,  " laughed Mrs Murphy full of smiles .  She remembered

  

her home at Kerry Head ,  what fun they'd had in 1934 when the new one was

  

built  ,  the old one being handed over to the cattle .  Yes today  was  a

  

happy  day ,  nearly sixty years on a new family home was in the making  ,

  

but this one in Old Forge and Singing Anvil .

 

            It was also a happy night ,  Percy and Mr Kemp took  Mr  Stone

  

with them to a Masonic Meeting .  Not much can be said about the Masons  ,

  

except  that  they  really do know how to  enjoy  themselves  .  Mr  Stone

  

insisted  on selling at cost all the building materials for Patrick's  new

  

house to Mr Kemp .  Mr Kemp was pleased to accept ,  he knew Patrick would

  

not accept such a gift himself ,  but Mr Kemp was a business man ,  so  he

  

did .  Percy smiled wasn't being an M.P.  all about building community and

  

so forth ,  even if this was somewhat literal example . Together with arms

  

over  each  others shoulders they staggered down Harbourne High  Street  ,

  

Michael  was  passing  so he stopped to give them a lift  before  an  over

  

anxious bobby might arrest them , they were very drunk after all .

 

"I'd get thousands for a photo of this , " mused Michael .

 

"It's o.k. he voted for you too , " reassured Percy .

 

"We'll  I'll take you home first Mr Kemp seeing as you live the nearest  ,

  

but God knows what your wife will say ,  " Michael pulled off shaking  his

  

head ominously .

 

           David was finishing off cutting the foundations when the  first

  

lorry arrived with bricks and timber .

 

"I  didn't order this from you ,  " shouted David above the noise  of  the

  

JCB .

 

"Well  its  all paid for compliments of Mr Kemp ,  " explained  the  lorry

  

driver .

 

At that moment Percy showing no sign whatsoever of wear and tear  appeared

  

to explain ,  " I was out last night with Mr Kemp and Mr Stone our M.P.  ,

  

it was decided to help things along a little , " Percy waved his hand just

  

as another lorry appeared .

 

"You mean everything is coming , the whole lot ? " asked David .

 

"In  a word ,  yes ,  " with that Percy bowed and started to walk  away  ,

  

undertaking was his business , not building .

 

"But  do they know ?  " David motioned in the direction of the flat  above

  

the bakery .

 

"Well its a family matter ,  " said Percy touching his nose , with that he

  

was gone .

 

         Not far away in Smethwick ,in a damp flat lived another couple ,

 

they had a connection with the Street but they were far from happy  .  The

 

man switched the radio off ,  he wanted to scream ,  so the local M.P. was

  

able  to resolve the situation ,  so bloody what .  He'd been onto a  good

  

thing with Danny ,  he'd always been an easy touch ,  now he was  lumbered

  

with a fat girl getting fatter .  A pregnant girlfriend and a damp flat  ,

  

what a comedown from the days of wine and roses ,  now all he had were the

  

whines from the girl .  If only Danny hadn't been sent to Isreal , he'd be

  

in clover now .  Now all he had was a whining fat girl , and Danny had the

  

cheek  to send him a postcard ,  and boast about this girl he'd  met  ,  a

  

soldier in the Isreali army .  God it made him sick ,  he'd like to  punch

  

Danny on the nose .

  

          Mathew , Mark , Luke and John  stopped by the Trader for a drink

  

things were looking bleak for sure .They'd have time on their hands soon .

 

"Why not help David build Patrick's new house , " ventured Annie .

 

"Look  what happened when you helped put this place to rights  ,  "  added

  

Betty .

 

"The pair of you sound like Mrs Murphy , " laughed Mathew .

 

"No , this is Mrs Murphy , " began Annie switching to a Kerry accent .

 

"Ok we give in , just give us another pint first , " said John .

 

So Betty gave them one pint with four straws in it ,  girls will be  girls

  

after  all  .  Not to be outdone the boys took a straw each then  drank  ,

  

these  men could still be boys after all ,  then they blew the froth  from

  

the pint at the girls .

 

"Good job you're Uncles or we'd tell or dad on you ,  and hairy Amjit , so

  

there ,  " said the twins putting their tongues out ,  before starting  to

  

laugh .

 

           So  it  was that Mathew ,  Mark ,  Luke and  John  joined  the

  

plastering kid , David , in building a house .  After four weeks they were

  

ready  to put the roof on ,  five men working fourteen hours a  day  makes

  

light work of house building . Patrick and Mathew helped out too , just so

  

as  not  to  feel left out of it ,  besides Patrick  wanted  to  tell  his

  

children that he had built it .

   

          With  the roof on Winston and Curley moved in  to  decorate  the

  

place  ,  June personally deciding the "look" of the house  ,  she'd  also

  

negotiated the "Red Stripe" price .  So to the strains of Mozart ,  Curley

  

and  Winston  the house was decorated ; Percy would take  a  break  from

  

embalming a body to have a chat with Winston about the various  merits  of

  

Mozart  ,  then  after  half  hour he'd stroll up the  road  back  to  his

  

undertakers  a  smile  on  his lips .  It was nice  to  get  some  serious  

  

converation  after all ,  the dead not being too talkative at the best  of

  

times .

  

           It didn't take long for Curley and Winston to finish the  house

  

as  it is always easier to decorate a newly built house ,  so now  it  was

  

time to carpet the place .  June consulted with Frank , it would be easier

  

to  do the whole house with the same design .  Patrick had  remarked  that

  

bedroom  carpet was impossible to vacuum as it was too "fluffy" ,  so  why

  

couldn't they have living room carpet in the bedrooms , then at least it'd

  

be easy to clean . Frank rung his contact in Kiddimister .

 

"Oh you've saved my life ,  we've got a surplus of carpet .  You see  they

  

changed the design of the hotel at the last minute , they added a ballroom

  

instead  of so many extra  bedrooms ,  " explained the flustered man  from

  

Kiddiminster .

 

"So you want me to take it off your hands , " said Frank .

 

"Well if you could , " said the Kiddimister carpet man .

 

          So June went to Kiddimister with Frank to see if she  liked  the

  

design ,  she smiled when she saw it .  The carpet design was based on the

  

Book  of Kells ,  it was for the Irish Suites of an international  hotel's

  

Birmingham hotel . If it was good enough for a Five Star Hotel it would be

  

good  enough for a Black Country home .  The purchase agreed  June  phoned

  

Patrick to get him to tell everybody they were having a carpet laying

 

evening .

 

"A what ? " asked Patrick .

 

"A carpet laying evening ,  get everybody to come then we'll all go to the

  

Trader afterwards , when the carpet is laid , " explained June .

 

"Ok I'll tell everybody , " said Patrick putting down the phone .

 

         An hour later the lorry arrived with the carpet , Frank had it in

  

two sections ,  one for the upstairs and one for the downstairs .  Leaping

  

from the lorry Frank ran up the road his eyes like flames , he hadn't done

  

a  whole  house in years ,  it was going to be fun .  Frank collected  his

  

tools then ran back to Patrick's and June's new house .  Big Sid , Wayne ,

  

Roger , Mathew , Winston and Curley , Mathew , Mark , Luke and John not to

  

mention  David and the rest were all ready .  Standing on the back of  the

  

lorry Frank explained the plan .

 

"Now a carpet is a thing of beauty , it makes us float after a hard day of

  

walking the hard pavements , " began Frank .

 

"You can say that again , " interrupted Roger .

 

"Now  a  beautiful carpet can be ruining by bad fitting .  It  also  looks

  

better if it is seamless ,so this will be seamless . In years to come when

  

Patrick's grandchildren are born they too will say what a nice carpet this

 

is and wonder how did we manage to lay it so well !  " Frank was sweating

 

he was  so excited .

 

"The sooner we are finished the sooner we drink ! " shouted Wayne .

 

        With those words they began .  Frank handed out carpet gripper and

  

ordered  people to place it at the edge of every room and  corridor  .  He

  

raced  around  like an excited schoolboy making sure it was in  the  exact

  

positon .  This took fourtyfive minutes , then a team was sent upstairs to

  

do  the same while the underlay was fitted downstairs .  Putting  underlay

  

down is an easy job you just spread it , then you run around like an idiot

  

with  a staple gun sticking it to the floor .  As Rodney was  the  nearest

  

thing available it was him who was given a staple gun ,  as far as  Rodney

  

was concerned he was a Fairy spreading goodwill and harmony , just like in

  

his latest play .  In place of a wand was a stable gun , but Rodney did do

  

a goodjob , a very good job .    

  

          Next  came the carpet laying downstairs ,  Rodney  King  of  the

  

Fairies  was  sent upstairs with his staple gun wand to fix  the  underlay

  

there  .  Meanwhile  all  the muscle available was needed  to  unload  the

  

carpet.

 

"Jesus , Mary and Joseph its like the Book of Kells , " said Luke .

 

"So  bright and colourful ,  so detailed ,it must have cost the earth  too

  

what with all the fancy stuff on it , " added John .

 

"Will you stop the admiring for a second and get a move on ,  it weighs  a

  

ton  , " said a practicle Mark .

 

       Ten men carried it in , though it looked as if they were fighting a

  

giant  eel  .  Following Frank's command to the letter they put  one  edge

  

down  ,  this one edge was critical if it was out an inch then  the  whole

  

look of the carpet could be ruined .

 

"Let us begin then , " said Frank .

 

Frank brought out two lethal looking knives one he held in his mouth ,  he

  

looked  like a Pirate ready to board a vessel ,  the other he held at  the

  

ready  .  Let the cutting begin .  To the sound of cutting carpet the  men

  

pulled  and tugged so that the carpet was in position . As the carpet  was

  

trimmed  it was dropped onto the gripper , the gripper was like  so  many

  

sharks teeth .  It was waiting for its dinner , so the Pirate cut with his

  

knives  throwing  his  victim  to the sharks  below  .  Patrick  had  been

  

delegated to press the carpet down onto the gripper , he was the Peter Pan

  

sending  the  reluctant  carpet to the crocodiles  .  Once  one  room  was

  

finished  people  were delegated to sit in the corners to act  as  counter

  

weighs just in case the carpet decided to unwind ,  not that there was any

  

chance of it . Soon the down stairs was complete .

 

"God this is stunning and its so comfortable ,  " said Patrick lying  down

  

on the carpet in the hall .

 

"No doubt we'll find out how comfortable ,  when we're alone ,  "  whispered

  

June .

 

"See we are half finished , " said Frank his eyes still ablaze .

 

            The upstairs was next ,  this was more dificult as the  stairs

  

had to be done too .  Everybody pulled then following Frank's commands  to

  

the  letter  they  found the leading edge ,  then acting  as  human  paper

  

weights  they  sat  on the carpet while Frank's  flashing  knives  trimmed

  

around them .  Step by step and room by room the upstairs was being down .

  

Now  for the final challange ,  the stairs themselves . To a hail of  cut

  

carpet falling like rain Frank came down the stairs , tuck and trim , tuck

  

and  trim  .  People positioned on each step in his wake  ,  human  paper

  

weights .  A twist of the carpet here a twist of the carpet there , it was

  

almost  as if Frank was tying a tie on a stubborn boy ,  but  Frank  would

  

prevail ,  he'd nail the boy . Or grip the carpet , he had it cornered and

  

now  finally  as  he did the last step and met the  ground  ,  he  had  it

  

floored .  Frank stopped , he dropped his knives , the carpet had submited

  

to his will ,  it had been laid .  People were sitting like Tody Jugs  all

  

about ,  there was a trail of human paper weighs everywhere ,  there  were

  

ten people standing on the steps of the stairs .  Everybody looked  around

  

in awe ,  it was seemlees , even at the bottom of the stairs where the top

  

met  the bottom .  June kissed Patrick ,  everybody applauded  ,  so  June

  

kissed Frank too .

  

          The  front  door  opened Mrs Murphy came  in  ,  she  looked  at

  

everybody on the stairs and sitting around as paper weights .

  

"You'll  shame  me Patrick making everybody sit on the stairs and  on  the

  

floor  , you'll have to buy some chairs , " she began .

 

"We will but first we'll buy them all a drink , " replied Patrick  .

 

Everybody filed out and headed for The Trader ,  Frank was last picking up

  

his  knives before leaving ,  it ws only then that Mrs Murphy noticed  the

  

carpet .

 

"Jesus ,  Mary and Joseph did you steal this from the Three Lakes Hotel in

  

Killarney ? " she whispered .

 

"No ,  Sheila ,  its ours ,  Frank and all the rest of them have only just

  

finished laying it .  It was going to be used in a Five Star Hotel but  we

  

ended up having it instead , " explained June .

 

Mrs Murphy walked all about , inspecting the work , then she went upstairs

  

to see that too .

 

"But its seamless and it must be two inches thick , its a pity to walk on

  

it seeing its so nice , " enthused Mrs Murphy .     

  

"We'll have to float then , " laughed Patrick .

 

"Don't cheek your mother or I'll give you a slap in the puss ,  " said  an

  

indignant Mrs Murphy .

 

"Come on Sheila we have to buy everybody a drink , " said June holding the

  

door open .

 

"Alright  then  ,  so long as Patrick's buying but make sure  you  have  a

  

Guinness , its good for your baby , " said Mrs Murphy as she followed June

  

out .

 

          The next day Frank delivered all the furniture from the  quality

  

end of his shop . The house was a showpiece , if you buy things you may as

  

well buy the best ,  they last longer anyway .  Mrs Kemp had decided  that

  

such  a  nice house needed something to make it even better  ,  a  burglar

  

alarm .  So the man from the burglar alarm place came along ,  only  hairy

  

Amjit  wouldn't  let him out of his car .  It was almost as if  Amjit  had

  

smelt a rival in the form of an electronic alarm .  So Amjit jumped on the

  

bonnet  like the lions do at a Longleat Safari Park ,  in fact Amjit  was

  

just  trying his luck ,  he might get some Cadbury's chocolate  ,  it  was

  

handy  it being down the road in Bourneville .  However the man  from  the

  

burglar  alarm company didn't know about Amjit's chocolate track mind  .So

  

he quivering with fear and stayed in his van .

 

"Give him some chocolate then you'll be ok ,  " advised Jaswinder who  was

  

watching all the fun .

 

So  the man from the burglar alarm pushed some chococate out the window  .

  

Only it wasn't one of Amjit's favourites , worst still it wasn't Cadbury's  

  

so as far as Amjit was concerned it wasn't chocolate .  Amjit spat out the

  

foreign  chocolate ,  he was disgusted ,  not only was the man  trying  to

  

bribe  him a nice honest guard dog but he was also trying to  poison  him

  

with  something  which  wasn't  chocolate  ,  couldn't  the  man  read  or

  

something ,  if it didn't say Cadbury's then it wasn't chocolate ,  was he

  

was stupid or something ,  he was only a dog but even he knew that . Amjit

  

began to growl , he wasn't very happy .

 

"That wasn't proper chocolate mister , " advised Jaswinder .

 

"But it was the best Italian chocolate , " stammered the man .

 

"Is Italian Cadbury's ? " asked Jaswinder .

 

"Look  here  get me some from that shop ,  " said the  alarm  man  passing

  

Jaswinder a pound note .

 

Jaswinder  returned with the chocolate ,  "Daddy say's thankyou  for  your

  

custome , please come again , " she said with a smile .

 

Satisfied with his chocolate ,  his real chocolate ,  his Cadbury's  Amjit

  

let the alarm man get out of his van .

 

          The alarm man spent the whole day fixing up an alarm  ,  Patrick

  

and  June thought it was a waste of time ,  hairy Amjit thought it was  an

  

insult  to his nose .  When the man finished he pressed the test switch  ,

  

only  nothing  happened as he'd forgotten to make the final  connection  .

  

Amjit  showed what he thought of the alarm by peeing up the wheels of  the

  

alarm man's van . A few minutes later the alarm test sounded , hairy Amjit

  

barked in unison ,  was this man a devil or something ,  first he tried to

  

poison  him  with pretend chocolate ,  now he was trying to deafen  him  .

  

Didn't  the  stupid human know that an Alstation's ears were  at  least  a

  

hundred times more sensitive than any man's , especially an alarm man's .

  

Pleased with himself the alarm man waved goodbye to June and Patrick ,  he

  

just had to wave goodbye to hairy Amjit then he'd be off home .  Pity that

  

hairy Amjit had other ideas , such as Cadbury's Cream Eggs .

 

            The  Gavin Twins and David didn't get any more  work  for  two

  

months  ,  things were looking bleak ,  but every dark cloud does  have  a

  

silver  lining .  A woman was one her way to Percy's to pay off  the  last

  

instalment on her husband's funeral , usually she got a lift but this time

  

she  caught the bus and walked the last bit ,  so it was that she  walked

  

past June and Patrick's house . She mentioned it to Percy .

 

"I've never noticed that nice new house before , " she paused .

 

"Well Mrs Freeman that's Patrick Murphy's home ,  our M.P. Mr Stone had to

  

use his  muscle before the Council let us build there ,  " Percy paused  ,

  

he didn't have to be a mind reader to see what she was thinking .

 

"It's  only  that my house holds too many memories ,  especially  with  it

  

being  up by the Neurosurgery Hospital ,  where my hosband died  ,  so  it

  

might be nice to have a new place , " she paused again .

 

"Excuse me , I just have to get you a receipt , " said a diplomatic Percy.  

  

So  Percy telephoned June from another room ,  it might put a little  work

  

the way of the Gavin Twins and David after all .

 

"Here's  your receipt ,  I was wondering would you like a viewing of  that

  

new house down the road , " Percy paused .

 

"Are you sure its not too much trouble ? " replied Mrs Freeman .

 

"Not in the slightest ,  we're all one big happy family here ,  "  assured

  

Percy  ,  though  to Mrs Freeman it sounded slightly odd  ,  like  Dracula

  

saying it .  

  

            June  had the kettle boiled and a few sandwiches  ready  when

  

Percy arrived , so Percy made the introductions then left them to it . Mrs

  

Freeman didn't realise just how big the Murphy house was ,  it was far too

  

big for her ,  yet if a smaller version could be built .  Then if she sold

  

her nice house by Smethick Neurosurgery , she might perhaps have enough .

 

"Look give me your phone number , or your address even then I'll get David

  

and the Gavin Twins to get in touch , " said June handing a notepad to Mrs

  

Freeman .

 

          Two weeks later a deal was agreed ,  David would build the house

  

with  the  Gavin  Twins helping out ,  Curley and  Winston  would  do  the

  

interiors  ,  and if Mrs Freeman wanted furnishing then Frank was just  up

  

the  road  .  Percy was pleased to see the wheels of  industry  turning  ,

  

perhaps he should give them another push . So he rang Mr Stone M.P.

 

"Hello its Percy here , I was just wondering about , " Percy began .

 

The  next  week the Liberals announced that in the spirit of  meeting  the

  

people Mr Stone M.P.'s constituency meetings would in future be held at

 

The  Trader ,  and three other Public Houses .  If people didn't  get  any

  

satisfaction then they could always drown their sorrows .  The real reason

  

was that if people came to The Trader then they'd see Patrick's new  house

  

and  then  perhaps some work would spin off for the builders  ,  Mr  Stone

  

being a builder himself jumped at Percy's suggestion ,  besides  Patrick's

  

house was one of Mr Stone's victories  ,  it was good to remind people  of

  

an M.P.'s results !  

  

           Little things do make a difference , so from Percy's suggestion

  

a stream of work was found where one might not have even been thought of .  

  

Little things grow too , Smiling Paul was growing in his love of Chinese ,

  

he  had  mastered numbers after months of hard slogg ,  so  a  trickle  of

  

Chinese punters now appeared at his bookies .  Catherine visited him three

  

times  a week to help him learn the language ,  it was slow and  laborious

  

but  it was her duty after all ,  he had saved her family from disgrace  .

  

Between then they decided that she should make language tapes for him , so

  

Smiling Paul started to wear a Walkman and mumble to himself ,  time after

  

time after time again he listened to the sound of her voice , he  repeated

  

the phrases . It was hard , he had no ear , no flair for language , yet he

  

felt happy never the less ,  he was no longer alone ,  he had a family , a

  

Chinese family .  He had a business too ,  what with the restaurant in the

  

Arcadian  .  Twice a week he was whisked away by Catherine to eat  at  the

  

table  of honour in the restaurant ;  there were whispers in Chinese  just

  

who  was  this funny little man with the Black Country  accent  ,  he  was

  

important  but why ?  Catherine and family did not care what the  whispers

  

said , they knew he was a man of honour , he had saved them .

  

           June's time was getting near ,  in fact one Sunday morning  the

  

baby decided to say "hello" ,  or whatever it is that baby's say , perhaps

  

its "Hello I'm your son/daughter , feed me " . The time had come .

 

"I've got a tummy ache , " said June sitting bolt upright .

 

"I'll get you a Rennie , " said Patrick sliding out of bed.

 

"I don't think its that kind of tummy ache ,  " said June her eyes wide  ,

  

as if doing an impression of the Duchess of York .

 

"You  want  an aspro then ?  " asked Patrick before  scratching  his  bare

  

behind .

 

Patrick went away for an aspro , June  just struggled to get out of bed .     

  

"So you don't want an aspro then ? " said Patrick shaking his head .

 

"I want a doctor ,  I think our bady wants to say hello ,  " said June  as

  

she slumpted in a chair .

 

"You mean its coming , " Patrick's voice broke like a choirboy .

 

"Yes  ,  so get your finger out or it'll be born on this carpet ,  "  said

  

June whincing .

 

Patrick started to run about like a headless chicken ,  he felt cornered ,

  

like  with naked Nancy all those years ago on his milk round .  Should  he

  

get  dressed or should he go downstairs and ring for a doctor  .  He  just

  

went around in circles as if one foot was nailed to the floor .

 

"Get an ambulance , your as bad as Stan Laurel , " said June sickened  by

  

Patrick's  behaviour  ,  why were men so useless ,  or  perhaps  men  were

  

useless so that woman would love them .

 

"What  there's no ambulance because of cutbacks ,  so can I drive  her  in

  

myself .  You must be joking ,  " Patrick dropped the receiver , he didn't

  

wait  for  the controller to tell him if he waited a second  he'd  see  if

  

there was an ambulance after all .

 

Patrick scrambled up the stairs , June was dressed and ready to go by now.

 

"There's a delay with the ambulances or something , I'll have to drive you

  

in , " he explained .

 

"Then help me down the stairs then ,  and bring my suitcase too ,  "  said

  

a calm June .

 

Together they went down the stairs , June thinking what a prat she had for

  

a husband .

 

"You stay there I'll get the car , " said Patrick opening the front door .

  

"I  think you've forgotten something ,  " said June sitting on  the  chair

  

next to the front door .

 

"What the keys are in my hand ,  " answered Patrick standing framed in the

  

open front door .  

  

"You're as naked as this baby will be ,  " smiled June ,  before  whincing

  

with pain .

 

Patrick  looked  down  at  his naked self then slammed  the  door  shut  ,

  

dropping the car keys he ran upstairs ,  tripping as he did so , he really

  

was like Stan Laurel now .  Two minutes later Patrick fell down the stairs

  

literally ,  with his teeshirt on back to front  and his laces undone  .

  

Bruised he sprung back  to his feet and dashed out the front door .

 

"Shit ,  shit ,  shit ,  the car won't start ,  " shouted Patrick from the

  

car.

 

June  closed her eyes and blessed herself ,  it was that or  strangle  her

  

husband .  Then June saw something ,  so putting her fingers in her  mouth

  

she whistled . Michael's taxi came chugging to the rescue . She had got in

  

and told Michael to go to the hospital before Patrick even noticed .

 

"Wait for me , " yelled Patrick .

 

Jumping into the moving taxi ,  the Murphys were on their way to the  calm

  

of the hospital delivery room .

   

            Michael stayed a couple of hours ,  it'd be nice to  find  out

  

what the baby was , the baby decided to tease them though , it decided not

  

to  be  born for a while .  So Michael drove back to The  Trader  to  tell

  

everybody the news .

 

"So  Patrick  was panicing ,  June just put her fingers in her  mouth  and

  

whistled me down , so I drove them to the hospital , " explained Michael .  

  

"I  always knew she'd be steady ,  Patrick needs a calming hand  ,  June's

  

just what he needs , " said Betty .

 

"That and a straightjacket , " added Annie .

 

"So its not born yet , keeping them waiting , so its bound to be a girl in

  

that case , " offered Wayne .

 

"That's sexist that is , " screamed Annie .

 

"Girls don't keep you waiting , its just a myth , " added Betty .

 

Wayne headed for the santuary of the back room ,  he didn't his  daughters

  

playing  him up after all .  Though with a baby on the way the  girls  did

  

have  an  idea  .  In the evening the pair of them wore  nappies  and  had

  

enormous  dubbies  dangling in front of them ,  they took it in  turns  to

  

whail too .

 

"God ,  I thought you grew out of that years ago ,  " said Wayne as he put

  

some cotton wool in his ears .

 

"Its in honour of Patrick , "  said Betty .

 

"I'm sure he'll be pleased , " laughed Wayne .

 

"Do  you think he'll let us babysit ,  " pondered Annie as she  rearranged

  

her nappy .

 

"I hope so ,  it'll be an education for you ,  changing nappies and having

  

sick all down your back , " said Wayne with glee .

 

"We'd have to dress up as Swedish Au Pairs then , " retorted Betty .

 

Wayne closed his eyes at the thought , he silently prayed that Patrick had

  

a son .

 

           The next day after a 22 hour labour Michael brought the news  ,

  

June  had had a daughter ,  Wayne cosoled himself with the thought  that

  

at least it wasn't twin girls !  Betty and Annie on hearing the news found

  

their Swedish Au Pair look , and wore it . It was at times like these that

  

Maureen wished she had a shotgun ,  as for Wayne he was shocked and  angry

  

for  a moment ,  but then he laughed ,  what else could a father  of  such

  

girls do . A happy Big Sid wrote the birth weight up in his shop window ,

  

12  pounds 6 ounces ,  little wonder that it was a 22 hour  labour  .  The

  

whole  street was happy ,  George and Brownie went about like worker  bees

  

spreading the good news .  It was a happy day for the street .

 

         Hairy Amjit had stood guard over his masters house , the door had

 

been  left wide open such was Patrick's haste ,  in a way hairy Amjit  had

  

been  glad of the opportunity to prove he was better than  any  electronic

  

alarm .  Just why didn't any burglar come along , that would have made his

  

day  ,  but  no burglar was that stupid .  So hairy Amjit had  to  content

  

himself with being fed pork scratchings by Jaswinder .

 

"So Patrick has a little daughter ,  I hope she'll hurry up and get big so

  

that I can play with her , " Jaswinder confided with hairy Amjit .

 

          The whole street was happy even hairy Amjit ,  a new member  had

  

put in an appearance . There was one unhappy person on the street though .

 

Martin had been to sign on the dole , only to be told he'd not be paid any

  

more  as  he had refused several jobs ,  his benefit would  be  stopped  .

  

Cursing his luck Martin drove home ,  only roadworks had diverted him onto

  

the  street .  He hated this street ,  Danny had lived here  ,  Danny  had

  

always given him money , he'd been a soft touch . Now what did he see only

  

the  whole bloody street celebrating .  Martin could see that Indian  girl

  

too  ,  she  was feeding that dog .  He hated that dog ,  he'd  have  made

  

thousands if that bloody wog and that bloody dog hadn't stopped him at the

  

fair . Martin cursed them , he'd like revenge .  He  was  going  to  be  a

  

father too , but they'd be nobody to celebrate , no bloody street parties.

 

          Jaswinder  had  tied hairy Amjit to  a lamp post  so  she  could

  

lecture him while she fed him pork scratchings , her large Teddy , Patrick

  

the Teddy was also in attendance .

 

"So you see nice doggie you'll have somebody else to  talk to  , another

  

girl to feed you and hugg you , " Jaswinder stroked the dog .

 

Behind her Martin stopped his car and opened the door to speak to her .

 

"Hello ,  why is everybody looking so happy and the sign in the  butcher's

  

window ,  what's it all about ,  little girl ,  " Martin sounded like  the

  

wolf from Little Red Riding Hood .

 

"Patrick's  wife has had a baby ,  when it gets big I'll have a friend  to

  

play with , " explained Jaswinder toying with her pig tails .

 

Hairy Amjit began to growl softly ,  he recognised the smell of that man ,

  

he  hadn't yet remembered where he'd smelt him before but he knew the  man

  

was not a nice man . Jaswinder smacked hairy Amjit accross the nose .

 

"Don't be rude , its not nice to growl at people , " she said .

 

Hairy Amjit contented himself with baring his teeth .

 

"Well  get inside my car and I'll take you to see your new  playmate  ,  "

  

said Martin smiling , showing his teeth .

  

"Oh that would be nice , to see June's new baby , " Jaswinder moved a step

  

nearer the car .

 

Hairy  Amjit  had  remembered who that man was ,  even  if  Jaswinder  had

  

forgotten , so he barked .

 

"I'll  just tell mummy first ,  then it'll be ok won't it Amjit  ,  "  she

  

looked at Amjit .

 

Amjit jumped forward ,  his teeth first ,  it was time to bite this man  ,

  

he'd put a place to a smell . That man was bad , he needed biting . The

   

last  thing Jaswinder saw was the leaping form of hairy Amjit .  Sadly  by

  

tying him up Jaswinder had unwittingly sealed her fate ,  her doom , Amjit

  

could not reach the car and the man driving it .  The choke chain  dragged

  

hairy  Amjit  to  the ground .  Quitely Martin drove  away  ,  a  startled

  

Jaswinder next to him .

 

          Hairy Amjit began to howl , he began to howl with all his might,

  

he wriggled to free himself from in his choke chain .  After five  minutes

  

he was free ,  he raced up the road after the car .  Amjit came out of his

  

shop as soon as he'd dealt with his last customer .

 

"Jaswinder  what are you doing to the poor animal ,  he'd wake the dead  ,

  

Jaswinder where are you ? " Amjit walked to the lamp post .

 

All he found was a choke chain still looped around the lamp post , next to

  

it  a half eaten bag of pork scratchings ,  Patrick the Teddy  had  fallen

  

over  .  It was strange ,  Jaswinder would never leave Patrick  the  Teddy

  

behind  .  Perhaps  she'd  gone to Big Sid's for a fresh  supply  of  pork

  

scratchings , scratching his head Amjit walked to Big Sid's .

 

"Is  Jaswinder here ,  she left her Teddy behind and hairy Amjit seems  to

  

have disappeared too  , " asked Amjit .

 

"No , the last I saw of her she was feeding Amjit , Amjit , " said Big Sid

  

before bringing his axe down .

 

"Thanks I'll try Franks , " Amjit looked puzzled .

 

"No ,  I've not seen her ,  I did see hairy Amjit racing up the road as if

  

his tail was on fire ,  something had annoyed him that was for sure ,  the

  

way he was barking , " was Frank's reply .

 

"Fine , I'll try the shoe shop , " Amjit was even more puzzled .

 

"No  she wasn't in today ,  she was in last week trying on the high  heels

  

but today not a sign of her . Is anything the matter ? " asked Tracy .

 

"No ,  nothing , " answered Amjit , though his heart was beginning to beat

  

faster now .

 

So  Amjit  headed for Mark's next ,  he founded  himself  hurrying  ,  but

  

Jaswinder was safe on the street , so why was he hurrying ?

  

"Not  seen her today ,  she was in here two days ago with  Mathew  ,  they

  

tried to see who could blow the most bubbles in their milk shakes . She'll

  

pop up somewhere ,  she's safe around here anyway , " explained Mark as he

  

poured cups of tea for his customers .

 

She was safe around here anyway ,  but what of hairy Amjit and why had she

  

left Patrick the Teddy behind . Amjit felt a breeze blow over him , though

  

the air was still .  He'd go back to the shop , perhaps she was playing in

  

the storeroom .

 

         "Balbinder ,  Balbinder is Jaswinder about , she's left her teddy

  

in  the street and hairy Amjit's gone too ,  " his voice was  higher  than

  

usual .

 

"She must be in one of the shops ,  Sid's getting pork scratching for that

  

monster dog of Patrick's , " reassured Balbinder .

 

"I've  tried  everywhere  .  Look you try upstairs  ,  I'll  look  in  the

  

storeroom , " their was a shade of urgency in his voice and eyes .

 

Balbinder looked at Amjit , he looked away , she rushed to look upstairs .

 

There was no sign of Jaswinder .

 

"I  cann't  see her ,  " Balbinder scoured Amjit's face ,  was  he  hiding

  

something from her .

 

Amjit was trying to hide his fear , his misgivings , his gut feelings .

 

The phone rang ,  they ignored it . It rang again , they ignored it , they

  

stood staring at each other . They knew but they didn't want to admit it ,

  

not to each other , they couldn't upset one another .

 

"I'm sure she'll turn up ,  you better answer the phone ,  " Balbinder was

  

trying to sound unconcerned only her eyes gave her away .

 

Amjit snatched at the phone , "Yes , what do you want . "

 

"Looking for your daughter , " a smugg Martin said .

 

"Yes , have you found her ! " Amjit sounded relieved , Balbinder smiled .

 

"Yes , I've "found" her , " teased Martin .

 

"Great ,  where are you ?  " Amjit smiled to Balbinder ,  they could relax

  

everything was fine now .

 

"If you want your daughter ,  you'll have to pay , " Martin had decided on

  

his revenge .

 

"Of  course ,  I'll pay for the taxi ,  just send her home ,  " Amjit  was

  

slightly flustered but he was relaxed , Jaswinder had been found .

 

"You don't understand , if you don't do as I say , then you won't see your

  

daughter again , " Martin paused to let his message sink in .

 

Amjit's mouth gaped , he felt as if he'd just received the knockout punch,

  

he  went  weak  at the knees ,  he had to hold onto the  counter  to  stop

  

himself falling over . Balninder watched , what had he heard , what had he

  

just heard , she sucked the end of her Sari . It was bad , she knew it was

  

bad , but what was it , she had to hear , but she was afraid of what she'd

  

hear .

 

"Amjit , what is it ! " her eyes pleaded .

 

"Are you still there ?  " asked Martin ,  he was smiling ,  he was pleased

  

with himself .

 

"Yes I'm here ,  just tell me that my child is safe ,  " Amjit closed  his

  

eyes , and gulped .

 

Martin put Jaswinder on the phone .

 

"Daddy ,  daddy ,  he said he was taking me to see Patrick's new baby ,  "

  

said Jaswinder before Martin pushed her away from the phone .

 

"So you see ,  I have your daughter ,  and if you want her back you'll  do

  

exactly as I say , " Martin paused , he was beginning to enjoy himself .

 

"What is it , tell me , tell me , " Balbinder shook her husband .

 

"Jaswinder has been kidnapped ,  " Amjit spoke softly , as if it'd hurt  

  

his wife less .

 

"Yes that's right , " said Martin from the other end of the phone .

 

Balbinder went screaming and whailing into the back of the shop .

 

"Of course ,  it wouldn't be wise to say a word , and I mean a word to the

  

Police ,  that's if you value your child's , well you know exactly what I

  

mean , " said Martin gazing down at Jaswinder .

 

"I just want my child , " said Amjit tersely .

 

"I'll be in touch , " with that Martin hung up .

 

           Balbinder and Amjit's parents came from the back of the shop  .

  

Amjit explained the situation , they spoke in mother tongue ,mother tongue

  

is always best in times of trouble , it was like "Mother" herself .  Amjit

  

explained , he repeated everything he had heard ten times over . Each time

  

he  explained  was like stabbing his wife , his mother and his  father  to

  

death . But he had to explain , they had to know , they wanted to know and

  

he had to tell them . He felt like an assassin , he was just the messenger

  

but  he felt like the man pulling the trigger .When Balbinder had come  to

  

England  he promised he'd never hurt her ,  he'd make her proud and  their

  

children would be doctors and dentists ,  or anything they wanted to be  ,

  

but they'd always be happy . Now he felt he had betrayed them , it was all

  

his fault ,  it was all his fault .  His mother began to whail , Balbinder

  

whailed too ,  his father cursed England and the Black Country ,  the evil

  

country that had stolen his granddaughter from him .

 

          Two customers came in ,  Balbinder and old Mrs Amjit fled to the

  

santuary of the back room , Amjit trying hard to smile  served them .

 

"Have you some curry powder , our neices are making us an Indian meal , we

  

said we'd bring the curry powder , " explained the first lady .

 

"A mild one though , we are not used to it , " added the second lady .

 

"Here this one should be ok , " Amjit handed them a packet  .

 

"Thank you goodbye , " said the first lady .

 

With that they left the shop , they were content with their purchase .

  

Their voices drifted back into the shop .

 

"Its good having a shop open when you need it ,  these wog shops sell  all

  

manner of stuff , "  said the first .

 

"Yes ,  they open all hours and even Sunday ,  they are not Christian  you

  

know , their only religion is money , "  said the second lady .

 

"Yes  you  are right ,  money is what they worship ,  they're  not  decent

  

Christians like us , " said  the first .

 

Amjit was angered by what he heard ,  " Its a white "Christian" like  them

  

that  has  taken my daughter .  I'd give anything  ,  everything  for  her

  

return .  I work hard to make a living for myself and my family and I have

  

to  put up with ignorance like that .  Do us "wogs" abandon our old  ones

  

and shove them in a home . If these white "Christians" want success , then

  

let them work for it , " Amjit's eyes were ablaze , banging  the counter.   

  

he began to cry ,  to cry like a baby , he just wanted his daughter back ,

  

the  love of family was always top of his list , never the love of money .

  

His old father leaning on his walking stick placed a consoling hand on his

  

son's shoulder , they both prayed that Jaswinder would be safe .

 

 

  

  Michael G Casey email only michaelgcasey@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

          The Butcher , The Baker and The Undertaker (c)

 

 

                            By

            

 

                      Michael  Casey

 

 

Chapter Eleven   In Search Of An Indian Princess

*************************************************

 

 

            The next morning dawned ,   the sparrows enjoyed  the  morning

  

sunshine ,  dancing in the air stopping only to sing while perched on  the

  

telephone lines .  It was going to be a nice morning ,  the sparrows could

  

tell ,  so they sung their morning song from the telephone lines  .  Amjit

  

pulled back the curtains , a pidgeon fluttered off his windowsill , it was

  

a typical morning ,  like thousands of others . The sun was in the sky and

  

the  birds  were greeting it with their birdsong , Ken  the  postman  was

  

weaving  his  way  back  and forth  delivering  the  morning  mail  .  The

  

streetlight went out ,  night had officially given way to day ,  it was  a

  

typical day .

 

           But it was not !  Amjit wanted to scream ,  behind him lay  his

  

wife sucking at her sari . They had spent the night crying , holding  each

  

other in their arms ,  by turns one was brave and the other was sad  ,  by

  

turns one cried and the other comforted .  By turns tears and brave  false

  

smiles ,by turns one died and the other offered hope ,  by turns one  went

  

mad  while  the other offered a comforting hand .  All by turns   all  the

  

night long till morning had broke , Amjit could cry no more but behind him

  

Balbinder was gently crying ,  a mother's tears never know an end .  Amjit

  

had  to  be  brave  for Jaswinder's sake ,  he had  to  open  the  shop  ,

  

everything  must seem normal .  So kissing his wife Amjit went and  washed

  

his face ,  then he'd open the shop , he didn't care that his clothes were

  

all crumpled, it did not matter , it did not matter .

  

            Amjit had opened the shop when his old dad came down stairs  ,

  

he'd  not slept either ,  how could he tell his wife that  her  grandchild

  

might be dead , might never be returned . That's what they were affraid of

  

but didn't want to admit it .

 

"You have a shower and a shave , my son , I will watch the shop , you must

  

look smart at all times it is most important , " said old Mr Amjit .

 

Amjit didn't have the strength to argue , so he did as he'd been told . It

  

was while he was shaving that old Mr Amjit cried , he had to be strong for

  

his son's sake ,  he had to be strong ,  he couldn't be weak .  Decades of

  

hard  work  had  sapped his strength ,  now in his old age he  had  to  be

  

stronger than at any time in his life .  Old Mr Amjit sighed and held  his

  

walking  stick  tight ,  he heard his son coming so he quickly  wiped  his

  

tears away .

 

"Its  ok father ,  look after the women ,  I will mind the shop ,  "  said

  

Amjit .

 

So  Amjit's  day began ,  upstairs he could hear faint whailing  from  his

  

mother  and  wife  ,  he closed his eyes ,  he prayed he would  be  strong

  

enough to face whatever was to come .

 

         About noon Patrick arrived all smiles clutching photos of his new

  

baby , his daughter Sheila .

 

"It was really great ,  so exciting ,  really good .  Mind you I stayed at

  

the talking end of things , " gushed Patrick .

 

Amjit just looked at the floor .

 

"Yes ,  really great . Twelve pounds six ounces too , a real big un . Me a

  

father  ,  I  feel  so proud ,  it must have been the same  for  you  when

  

Jaswinder was born , " continued Patrick .

 

Balbinder who had come into the shop when she'd heard Patrick's voice  now

  

began  to cry ,  all this talk of children .  Patrick started to show  the

  

photos to Amjit , Balbinder cried even more .

 

"I  don't blame her it is very emotional stuff having babies and so  on  ,

  

just between the three of us , I cried a little too , " Patrick continued.

  

Amjit pretended to look at the photos , only he had started to cry too .

 

"Yes its really great being a dad , but you know about that already . Mrs

 

Kemp hugged me , I could hardly believe it , she hugged me ! "

 

"I am pleased for you , " said Amjit sounding as if in pain .

 

"We are calling the baby Sheila after my mother ,  Sheila Murphy ,  sounds

  

good don't you think ? " Patrick was admiring the photos of his daughter.  

  

Tears began streaming down Amjit's face ,  he made no effort to wipe  them

  

away .

 

"Yes  ,its really great being a da ,  " Patrick stopped in mid sentence  ,

  

he knew something was wrong .

 

Balbinder  opened her mouth as if to say something ,  a glare  from  Amjit

  

make her close her mouth again . Balbinder went into the family quarters ,

  

there  was  shouting and arguing then Balbinder and Amjit's  parents  came

  

out.

 

"We  must tell him ,  for the sake of his own child ,  " Balbinder  looked

  

afraid but was defiant .

 

"No , think of Jaswinder !" shouted Amjit .

 

Patrick had never seen Balbinder and Amjit argue before ,he was confused ,

  

he began to put his photos away , he knew they weren't interested .

  

"What's  this about "for the sake of my child" and "Jaswinder" ,  come  on

  

tell me , you can trust me whatever it is , " Patrick sounded anxious .

 

"We don't know who we can trust , " said Amjit the look in his eyes almost

  

calling Patrick a Judas .  

  

"Your child is not safe on the street ! " blurted Balbinder ,  a  mother's

  

womb speaking .

 

Amjit cursed his wife  ,  a fierce arguement broke out in Indian , Patrick

  

was ignored . After five minutes harmony was restored to Amjit's family .

 

"Swear on you child's life that you will not tell anybody outside your own

  

family , swear it on your child's life ! " Amjit was nearly shouting .

 

Patrick was confused , what was going on , just what was going on .

 

"I swear , " said a hesitant Patrick .

 

"Jaswinder has been kidnapped , " explained Amjit .

 

"J e s u s , " whispered Patrick , the wind had been taken from his sails.

  

"You must keep you child away from the street , just in case the man comes

  

back for your child ,  but you must tell nobody . Or Jaswinder might be in

  

danger , " continued Amjit .

 

"I'm  sorry ,  I don't know what to say .  June's coming out  of  hospital

  

tomorrow I think , I'll get my mother to look after her . The street isn't

  

safe anymore , " said Patrick shaking his head .

 

Balbinder  began  to cry afresh ,  she knew only to well that  the  street

  

wasn't safe anymore .

 

"I'm a shit , " said Patrick closing his eyes .

 

"No ,  you are a friend ,  a good friend ,  " said Amjit fighting back the

  

tears .

 

There was a noise amongst the canned foods ,  Amjit spun around ,  it  was

  

George and Brownie , they'd not been noticed .

 

"Just  the one tin of peas please ,  we don't eat many of them  ,  "  said

  

George handing over the money .

 

"Yes we dn't eat much peas , " echoed Brownie .

 

Clutching their peas the street's gossips left Amjit's store .

 

"The last people on earth I'd want to overhear me , and its them , " Amjit

  

began pacing back and forth , should he run after them or what ?

 

"They're  old  ,  they probably didn't hear ,  " said  Patrick  placing  a

  

reassuring hand on Amjit's arm .

 

"I  suppose  you are right ,  they are old ,  they wouldn't have  heard  ,

  

besides  they cann't have been in the shop long ,  " Amjit was  trying  to

  

reassure himself .

 

"I still feel like a shit , like a jester at a funeral , " sighed Patrick.

 

"No  you are a good friend ,  together we will bring Jaswinder  home  ,  "

  

Amjit smiled though his tears , there was always hope , there had to be .

 

           George and Brownie wanted to look back over their shoulders  to

  

Amjit's shop but they daren't ,  they needed time to think .  So  standing

  

outside  Bid Sid's shop window pretending to look at the meat they  mulled

  

things over .

 

"Jaswinder  kidnapped  and Patrick's baby not safe on  the  street  ,  its

  

terrible , " George pointed at some liver .

 

"Amjit shouted at his wife too ,  she looked in a terrible state  ,  she's

  

always so pretty but her eyes looked like muddy pools with all the  makeup

  

running everywhere , " Brownie pointed at some chicken .

 

"We've got to help , we just have to , "George pointed to some pork chops.    

  

"We're old though , what can we do ? " Brownie pointed to a rabbit .

 

"We  must do something though must'd we ?  "  George pointed to a  leg  of

  

lamb .

 

"Yes we must lover , all for one and one for all , " Brownie kissed George

  

on the cheek .

 

"I'm glad you said that ,  I'd never be able to live with myself if we did

  

nothing , "  George kissed Brownie on the cheek .

 

Together they went into Big Sid's butchers  , they felt nervous , but they

  

had to tell him ,  they just had too ,  they were old , they needed help ,

  

Jaswinder needed help , lots of it .

 

"I thought you were buying the whole shop window the way you were pointing

  

at everything , " boomed Big Sid a smile on his lips .

 

"Can we go into the deep freeze , we couldn't  see what we were after in

 

the window , " lied Brownie .

 

Once in the deepfreeze George dropped the bombshell .

 

"No , no , no , no , not my Indian Princess ! " Big Sid had to hold onto a

  

side of beef to support himself .

 

"And that's about it ,  I really am sorry but we had to tell you ,  " said

  

an appologetic Brownie .

 

"Come  on please tell me this is some kind of sick joke and Jeremy  Beadle

  

is outside ,  oh please tell me its a joke ,  tell me its a joke , come on

  

tell me your vegetarians or something ,  just tell me its a joke ,  "  Big

  

Sid slid down the side of beef till he was on his knees , holding his head

  

against the carcass he began to cry .

 

George and Brownie waited for his tears to stop .

 

"Sid  nobody  must know ,  it has to be a secret or Jaswinder will  be  in

  

danger  ,  so  no outbursts or anything ,  " Brownie put her hand  on  his

  

shoulder .

 

Big  Sid  pulled himself up ,  wiping his tears away on the  edge  of  his

  

apron.   

  

"I'm  sorry  it  was  such a shock ,  I mean  we're  all  supposed  to  be

  

celebrating Patrick and June's new baby ,  not a kidnapping ,  " Sid  blew

  

his nose .

 

"Are you ok now ? " asked George .

 

"Yes I'm fine ,  you better go and tell everybody ,  we can meet in Mark's

  

tonight to discuss it , just make sure you're not overheard , " sighed Big

  

Sid .

 

The  three  of  them left the solitude of the deep  freeze  ,  George  and

  

Brownie felt like messengers of death ,  but they had to do it ,  the  die

  

had been caste .  Outside  some  teenagers with time on  their  hands  had

  

decided  to  taunt Henry the roadsweeper ,  they were dropping  peices  of

  

paper  and pointing to them ,  creating more work for Henry and sport  for

  

themselves  .  Big  Sid  happened to glance outside  ,  he  saw  what  was

  

happening , he couldn't stop himself his emotions had to be vented . Big  

 

Sid stormed out of his butchers and caught the ringleader by the throat .

 

"Think its funny hey ,  teasing Henry as if he's not got enough work to do

  

already .  I'll show you funny ,  do you want me to cut your bleeding head

  

off  ?  " shouted Big Sid waving his meat cleaver under the spotty youth's

  

nose .

 

"No ,  Sir ,  sorry Sir , " mumbled the spotty youth his eyes fixed on Big

  

Sid's cleaver ,

 

"Well start growing up sonny before it's too late or you'll never be a man

  

no  matter how tall you get .  And if you don't clean the whole street  up

  

I'll CHOP YOUR BOLLOCKS OFF !  " Big Sid shook the tall spotty youth , for

  

good measure he pressed the cold steel against the youth's spotty face .

 

The youth nearly faint , his friends stood rigid and open mouthed .

 

"Well get on with it ,  clean up your mess , and if there's just one sweet

  

wrapper left I'll chop your head off !  " screamed Big Sid before  pushing

  

the spotty kid to one side .

 

Big Sid stood menacingly in his doorway while the teenagers grew up ,  and

  

fast  . The teenagers scurried about like demented Wombles almost  wetting

  

themselves  with  fear  when they couldn't get some chewing  gum  off  the

  

pavement . Henry leant on his broom and had a fag , deliberately he threw

  

the  match  to the ground ,  the teenagers fell over themselves  in  their

  

haste to pick it up and put it in the rubbish bin .  After fifteen minutes

  

the street practically shone , the teenagers were all sweating , a hint of

  

fear still in their eyes . Having a final drag on his fag Henry smiled .

 

"Well piss off then , I think you just about know what Keep Britain Tidy

 

means now ,  " Henry felt like Clint Eastwood , totally in charge , he had

  

no magnum just a broom , and a very big friend with a meat cleaver .

 

           George and Brownie went to see Percy next ,  Percy would  know

  

what to do .

 

"Oh God no , " Percy just looked at them , hoping they'd made a mistake .

 

"What  are we going to do ?  Big Sid thinks we should all meet  in  Mark's

  

tonight , " continued Brownie .

 

"He's right ,  we must think coolly , we must not let our emotions get the

  

better of us , for Jaswinder's sake , " Percy began to show them out as if

  

he was unconcerned .

 

"We'll see you tonight then , " said Brownie .

 

"Oh yes , tonight then , " Percy replied absent mindedly .

 

Percy's  mind was on funerals ,  a child's funeral ,  a  friend's  child's

  

funeral .  He had to bear it in mind ,  as horrible a thought it was ,  he

  

had to keep it in mind . If the worst came to the worst .

 

           At the Post Office George and Brownie slid in ,  trying not  to

  

look suspicious ,  but looking suspicious in the process .  There were one

  

or  two  customers  in the Post Office so George  pulled  out  a  Passport

  

application  form and started to fill it .  As soon as the  last  customer

  

left  Brownie bolted the door ,  they did not want to be  overheard  after

  

all.

 

"If  I  didn't know you two better I'd say you were going to rob  me  ,  "

  

joked Wendy .

 

"Jaswinder has been kidnapped , " said George slowly , each word a pain .

 

Wendy looked from George to Brownie then back again . She began to tidy up

  

her counter , almost to Spring Clean .

 

"Yes , but what do you really want , " Wendy half smiled .

 

"Jaswinder has been kidnapped , we're all meeting tonight in Mark's to try

  

and see what we can do ,  but for Jaswinder's sake no stranger must  find

  

out , " explained Brownie .

 

Again Wendy began to tidy up her counter , to rub at the pencil marks , to

  

sharpen her pencils ,  to weigh a parcel ,  to reweigh it .  She  must  be

  

hearing things , it couldn't be true , she must get on with her work , she

  

couldn't be delayed by idle chatter ,  the work of the Post Office must go

  

on .  Brownie reached over the counter and clasped Wendy's hands , Brownie

  

had been the same when her first husband had died ,  she'd tried to  carry

  

on as if nothing was wrong , as if everything was normal .

 

"Wendy ,  be strong ,  we all have to be strong for Amjit's sake  ,  think

  

what he's going through ,  think of Balbinder . Be strong for them Wendy ,

  

be strong for them , " Brownie looked Wendy in the eye .

 

Wendy began to sob ,  she knew it was true now ,  Jaswinder was gone  from

  

them .  Brownie waited for the tears to stop ,  George stood about feeling

  

akward he started to fill in more of the Passport application .

 

"It's ok , I'm ok now , its such a shock that's all , " said Wendy dabbing

  

at her tears .

 

"We'll be going then , chin up dear , " Brownie smiled .

 

Discarding  his passport application George followed Brownie out  ,  Wendy

  

still  slightly flustered knocked all her pens and pencils  over  ,  after

  

first stamping George's Passport application form .

 

           Frank was the next to hear the news ,  he'd been polishing  his

  

favourite  peice ,  a small occasional table with a fancy inlay design  on

  

the  top .  It was never for sale ,  it was a form of talisman for  him  ,

  

Frank sometimes talked to the table when the shop was empty ,  it was  his

  

baby . Frank felt dizzy when he heard the bad news , so he sat down on the

  

table , the table gave way under the weight and Frank went crashing to the

  

floor .

 

"Are you ok ? " asked a concerned George offering a helping hand to Frank.

 

"It was such terrible news , I was expecting a laugh , a joke or some kind

  

of  story  from you ,  you know the usual sort of gossip  .  But  this  is

  

terrible , really terrible , " said Frank as he dusted him self down .

 

"We'll we'll leave you then ,  we have to tell the others ,  don't  forget

  

not a word to anybody , everything must seem normal for Jaswinder's sake ,

  

so stay calm , " advised Brownie .

 

Arm in arm George and Brownie left Frank's Furnishings ,  as for Frank  he

  

kicked  at the pieces of the occasional table .  It has been his  talisman

  

for  nearly twenty years ,  perhaps he'd be able to glue it back  together

  

again . But what of Jaswinder , she couldn't be glued back together again,    

  

Frank felt a shiver down his spin .  He hurriedly picked up the pieces and

  

put them in a hope chest ,  perhaps when everything was resolved he'd glue

  

the table back together again .  Right now though he wanted to get it  out

  

of his sight ,  he began to polish the furniture in his showroom ,  if  he

  

kept busy his mind would not dwell on Jaswinder , it was too much to think

  

about , too heavy , too dark a thought .

  

            Brownie dashed into the clothes shop ,  then she waved  George

  

in , then together they went all over the shop as if looking for a bomb or

  

something . Ann and Mary looked on bemused and slightly amused .

 

"Come on we give in , what is it ? " asked Mary .

 

"Yes come on , you look like store detectives or something , " added Ann .

  

"Jaswinder is missing , " began Brownie .

 

"Got lost you mean ? " asked Mary .

 

"Worst than that , kidnapped , " explained George lowering his voice .

 

Mary and Ann looked at each other , this must be a joke , but why had they

  

began to shiver .

 

"Say , say , s say , say that again  , " slurred Mary .

 

"Kidnapped , " said Brownie .

 

Ann screamed ,then burst into tears , before running to the toilet at the

 

back of the shop .

 

"I'll see to her , " said Mary .  

  

"Just be at Mark's tonight , and remember to act normal , nobody must know

  

about this or Jaswinder's life could be in danger , " said George .

 

Brownie gave Mary a comforting hugg before she followed George out of  the

  

shop . Mary watched them go , this was terrible , it was like hearing that

  

a friend had been raped . It was so shocking , and why , and why oh why ?  

  

          They decided to tell Mark next , he'd be the host after all .

 

Gillian screamed and dropped a tray ,  Mark reached under the counter  and

  

poured some whisky into their teas . He looked at George and Brownie as if

  

to ask was it really true , but unfortunately their faces said it was true

  

it was really true .

 

"Can I make you a bite to eat ? " offered Mark .

 

"I'm not hungry ,  what about you Brownie ?  " asked George as he slumpted

  

in a chair .

 

"Me neither , lets go home , " Brownie got up .

 

"See you later then , " whispered Mark feeling suddenly so weak .

 

"See you later then ," said Brownie over her shoulder , as she linked her

  

arm into George's .

 

Outside  George and Brownie looked at each other ,  they felt  like  crows

  

picking the worms from  freshly dug graves ,  but they had to tell , they

  

had too , Amjit needed help , and the street would help .

 

"I don't know about you but I think I'll have a good cry when we get home,

  

a cup of tea and a good cry , " said Browie her eyes filling with tears .

 

"Me too , I'm just so weak , so old ,so useless , I just want to cry and

  

cry and cry , " said George sighing .

 

"Let's get home first ,  lover ,  " said Brownie giving George a consoling

  

kiss .

 

            That evening the street gather at Mark's cafe ,  they were  in

  

somber mood .  Everybody looked ,  almost glared when Smiling Paul brought

  

Catherine  along  .Percy stood and welcomed her to the family  ,  to  the

  

street family ,he said no more , he did not have too . Smiling Paul nodded

  

his thanks to Percy , Catherine could be trusted , she was one of them .   

  

           Big Sid brought a reluctant Patrick and Amjit to the meeting  ,

  

sombre faces greeted them .  Sid stood with his back to the door so nobody

  

could come in , nor could they leave .

 

"What's  up  ,  you don't want to see my photos do you ,  "  said  Patrick

  

nervously reaching into his pocket .

 

Amjit looked at the faces ,  they looked away from his gaze ,  they looked

  

almost guilty ,  afraid to look him in the face .  Patrick put the  photos

  

back in his pocket ,  he looked upcompreheningly at the people gathered in

  

front  of him .  Everybody stole glances at each other ,  waiting  to  see

  

who'd speak first ,  they were like children in a classroom ,  hoping that

  

the teacher wouldn't ask them a question ;  they had to be there they just

  

wished  they  weren't  .  Patrick noticed that Betty and  Annie  had  tear

  

stained faces ,  and they were dressed plainly ,  Patrick looked at  Amjit

  

opening his mouth as if to speak . But it was Mark who spoke .

 

"As it is my cafe ,  I'd better speak first ,  " he paused and took a deep

  

breath , " we know . "

 

"Well Sheila is a nice name for a child , " Patrick's voice croaked .

 

Turning to look directly at Amjit Mark spoke again , "we know ."

 

"Judas ! " hissed Amjit before spitting in Patrick's face .

 

Amjit moved towards the door ,  only Big Sid barred his way . George could

  

stand it no longer he jumped up from his seat , he had to say something .

 

"It was me ,  I overheard ,  I told everybody ,  " George sounded like the

  

guilty schoolboy owning up .

 

"It was us , WE did it , WE only wanted to help , " added Brownie .

 

Amjit  looked  at the faces ,  all of his friends  gathered  there  ,  all

  

wanting to help .

 

Percy stood up , strong words were needed , "Amjit you are amongst friends

  

not a word will leave this room .  Please let us help .  We respect  your

  

decision , the Police will not be informed , but let US help , we are your

  

friends . Jaswinder is not our flesh our blood , but we love her as if she

  

was ,please let us help .  Let us prove the deepth of our friendship ,our

  

love for her and for you and your family .  At the dark hour it is friends

  

who bind us , who give us strength , who lend us hope when our own is low.

  

Here is my hand , here is my strength , here is my hope , here is my love,

  

just take it and use it .  Are we not friends ,  then lean on me , lean on

  

all of us ,  we are many the burden will be made light .  Together we  can

  

banish  the shadows of fear ,  we have nothing to fear but fear  itself  .

  

When  I needed a friend Patrick was there for me ,  when Patrick needed  a

  

friend we were all there for him and the home , when all our homes were in

  

peril we stood and fought . Have no fear for we are all friends , together

  

we  have greater  strength  than our sum total ,  for  we  are  united  in

  

friendship  and in love .  We all have nothing to fear ,  there is  always

  

hope ,  Jaswinder will be found ,  she will return to play on the street ,

  

for  we  are united in love and friendship .  Take my hand it is  at  your

  

command ,  shake hands for we all are friends ,  " Percy held out his hand

  

for Amjit to take .  

  

Amjit stood silent , again he examined the faces , they were pleading with

  

him , all they wanted was to be allowed to share the burden , the pain .

 

Big  Sid  was crying ,  like a teddy bear who'd been  discarded  for  some

  

plastic toy ,  he'd always respected Percy but now ,  how could he put  in

  

words  ,  he was no Percy ,  no poet .  For five minutes Amjit  stood  and

  

looked at all the faces , like spring flowers waiting for the scythe .

 

"We are friends , " he whispered .

 

Big  Sid  put a fatherly hand on Amjit's shoulder ,  the plastic  toy  was

  

banished , the teddy bear could return .

 

            They  talked for an hour in hushed tones ,  as  if  they  were

  

talking in church ,  or at a funeral .  It was decided that Patrick  would

  

carry on with his hand holding exercise , though they dared not call it by

  

such  a  name .  As for the rest ,  George and Brownie would  keep  people

  

abreast of events . If a helping hand was needed , all Amjit had to do was

  

whistle so to speak .

 

"But what about your daughter , your wife , " asked a concerned Brownie .   

  

"Well I've been thinking all day , I thought I'd send them to my mothers  

  

and get Mathew to babysit , " Patrick sucked his lip .

 

"They  should be ok at your mothers ,  besides Mathew might give the  game

  

away if he was about , " mused Mark .

 

"Ok  ,  so its all decided ,  if the man contacts you then you let us  all

  

know ,  we'll do exactly what you tell us to do , " said Percy rounded off

  

the discussion .

 

"I'm  sorry I didn't trust you ,  any of you .  But Jaswinder's safety  is

  

paramount , " Amjit sounded almost appologetic .

 

"We are all at your command ,  now go home and try to sleep , " said Percy

  

shaking hands with Amjit .

 

Leaving the cafe Amjit stubbled , he felt so weak , so humbled . He had to

  

lean on Big Sid as he walked back to his own shop . But at least he was no

  

longer alone , he had friends . Percy turned to Smiling Paul and Catherine

 

"Well I suppose that you now know what kind of people we are , you already

  

know  what kind of man Smiling Paul is ,  goodnight ,  " with  that  Percy

  

walked away , he had a corpse to prepare .

 

           Patrick went back home ,  he'd better ring his mother  to  tell

  

her ,  to tell her everything . He got himself a can of lager first , then

  

putting it down  after drinking nearly half of it he rung his mom .

 

"Hello its Patrick , " he paused .

 

"You're  not thinking of an excuse for why you didn't visit your own  wife

  

in hospital today , a fine father you're turning out to be , " scolded his

  

mother .

 

"Mom , " Patrick paused again .

 

"Are you alright you didn't have an accident , " butted in Mrs Murphy .

 

"Mom , " Patrick paused , he needed a sip from his drink .

 

"What's  up ,  did you set fire to the house or something ,  "  asked  Mrs

  

Murphy a sense of urgency in her voice .

 

"Mom , just sit down I have some news , " Patrick gulped .

 

"What's the matter ?  " Mrs Murphy knew something was up , Patrick had the

  

same  tone  of voice as when he broke the glass in her  Sacred  Heart  all

  

those years ago , she just knew something was up .   

  

"Are you sitting down ? " asked Patrick quietly .

 

"You sound like Listen With Mother , " said a sour Mrs Murphy .

 

"Mom ,  I've got some bad news .  Jaswinder has been kidnapped , " Patrick

  

paused and took another sip from his lager .

 

"Mother of God NO ,  she'd just a child almost a baby .  Her poor mother ,

  

I'll be round straight away , " Mrs Murphy was reaching for her headscarf .

 

"No Mom you have another job ,  its not safe on the street , I want you to

  

look after June and baby Shiela . They'll be leaving the hospital tomorrow

  

so  I think its best that they stay with you ,  " Patrick waited  for  the

  

news to sink in .

 

"Of course you're right , but what about Balbinder and Amjit ? "

 

"The street all knows ,  we're going to help in whatever way we can ,  but

  

the Police must not find out , or Jaswinder could be in danger ."

 

"But what if the kidnapper knows about baby Sheila ? "

 

"Just  in  case ,  I'll get Mathew to stay with you .  I'll  tell  him  to

  

protect you all ,  its the best I can do ,  not unless you want to go away

  

somewhere . "

 

"I will not ,  no kidnapper is going to frighten me away from my home ,  "

  

Mrs Murphy sounded defiant .    

  

"I'll see you tomorrow then , God Bless , " Patrick hung up .

 

           Mrs Murphy looked at the phone , Patrick never said "God Bless"

  

but  now he had .  Mrs Murphy stood next to the phone ,  should  she  ring

  

Balbinder and offer her support ,  and what about her grandchild  ,  would

  

she be  safe . She was about to move away from the phone but she was drawn

  

back to it , she dialed Fr.Shaw .

 

"Is  this conversation covered by the seal of the confessional ?  "  asked

  

Mrs Murphy .

 

"Well , if you like , " replied a surprised Fr.Shaw .  

  

"Can you start a Novena then ,  right away ,  " Mrs Murphy sounded like  a

  

conspirator .

 

"Who to , " Fr Shaw was intrigued and a little concerned .

 

"Saint Anthony I supposed , " answered Mrs Murphy .

 

"What have you lost ? " Fr.Shaw sounded on edge .

  

"Jaswinder ,  the little Indian girl has been , " Mrs Murphy looked around

  

her as if she could be overheard in her own home , " has been kidnapped."

 

"I'll start straight away , " Fr.Shaw was shocked .

 

"And  if  you can think of any  other of the "lads" who might be  able  to

  

help then ask them too ,  ask some of the old saints too they might not be

  

busy they might have some time on their hands ,  " added Mrs Murphy before

  

she hung up .  

  

          Mrs Murphy's heart went out to Balbinder and Amjit ,  she wanted

  

to cry too but tears would get in the way , she had things to see to , she

  

had to get ready for June and baby Sheila and not to mention  Mathew . But

  

first  she had something important to do .  She started her own  Novena  ,

  

they take nine days ,  but they never fail .  Sometimes you don't get what

  

you  ask  for  ,  but you get what you need ,  as far as  Mrs  Murphy  was

  

concerned they never failed , so she started hers . First she rooted about

  

looking for her favourite beads ,  the ones she used on special occasions,

  

the beads her mother had given her . Only she couldn't find them .

 

"Are you teasing me ,  I'm going to be asking you important things  ,  and

  

you hide my beads on me . What kind of mischief maker are you . Do I have

  

to pray to Saint Anthony before I can pray to Saint Anthony . "

 

Eventually  she  found the beads in an old shopping bag which  she'd  not

  

used in months , stiffly she got to her knees and blessed herself .

 

"Well you know what I'm asking for , so I'll begin . "

 

So she began her prayers and then three rosaries ,  but somehow it  didn't

  

seem enough ,  praying normally left her full ,  like after a meal ,  full

  

and contented , but somehow she felt empty . She got up from her knees and

  

sat in her chair ,  she had to think ,  looking up at the Sacred Heart she

  

sighed .

 

"Only  a mother could know what its like ,  how can a man even if he is  a

  

Saint know ,  I'm not belittling you Anthony , its just that , well I just

  

wish you were a woman .  The Virgin Mary knows what its like , just think

  

when her son went missing , only to turn up safe and sound in the Temple.

 

Poor little Jaswinder , the Little Indian Princess Big Sid calls her ."

 

Mrs Murphy's gaze fell on an old magazine ,  a smiling face shone at her ,

  

Mrs  Murphy  bent  down  and  picked up  the  magazine   ,  she  smiled  a

  

conspiratorial smile . Blessing herself she began to pray again .

 

"Well  I  know this is a bit of a cheek ,  as I've asked  old  saints  and

  

established saints to help ,  " she paused ,  " well I'm going to jump the

  

gun ,  I'd like a little help from her , " Mrs Murphy held up the photo so

  

that the Sacred Heart could see .

 

"Mother Theresa Of Calcutta ,  or Saint Mother Theresa Of Calcutta can you

 

find Jaswinder ,  keep an eye out for her like you do all those children ,

  

I know I'm being cheeky , the cheek of the Devil , but perhaps thats whats

  

needed to save a Little Indian Princess . "

 

Mrs Murphy felt contented now , she'd continue her Novena to Saint Anthony

  

and some of the other "lads" , but Mother Theresa was on the team now , so

  

everything would be alright .Mrs Murphy had no doubts , she didn't know ,

  

but she had faith ,  and Mother Theresa on her side .  After another three

  

rosaries Mrs Murphy stopped ,  she gave a smile of thanks to the photo  of

  

Mother Theresa .

 

"Well if you pardon me ,I'll just go and make the beds ,  then I'll have a

  

spot of tea ,  praying makes me thirsty ,  " Mrs Murphy smiled , Jaswinder

  

would  be  ok   so long as she kept on praying ,  and as  she'd  keep  on

  

praying till Jaswinder was ok , so there was nothing to worry about .

 

Nodding to the Sacred Heart  Mrs Murphy left the room , she had to prepare

  

the welcome for June  baby Sheila and Mathew .

  

          Amjit and family slept sound that night ,  exhaustion and relief

  

that their burden was being shared ensured they slept well , but when they

  

awoke  they still felt tired ,  oh so tired .  George and  Brownie  didn't

  

sleep much that night though , they cried for Jaswinder , had they put her

  

life  in jeopardy ?  Eventually still holding hands they fell asleep  ,the

  

sound of letters falling through the letter box woke them . Brownie got up

  

and switched on the teasmade , a belated Wedding present from the street .

  

Quietly  ,  without saying a word they had their tea .  When the  tea  was

  

drunk they remained silent for ten minutes , almost in prayer .

 

"Well come on lover , we're not John and Yoko having a love in , we better

  

get dressed ,  somebody has to hold Amjit's hand while Patrick fetches his

  

baby from hospital , " with that Brownie pulled the blankets off George .

 

"You do think we did the right thing ? " George sounded anxious .

 

"Of course we did ,  " Brownie sounded certain ,  though inside she was as

  

uncertain as her husband .

 

"That's  a weight off my mind ,  can I have another cup of tea first  ?  "

  

asked George pulling the blankets back in position .

 

"You'll  certainly picking up so very continental habits since  we've  got

  

this teasmade , " joked Brownie .

 

George  laughed ,  it was good to laugh ,  Brownie always made  him  smile

  

that's why he married her .

 

           Patrick nipped over the road to Amjit before setting  off  for

  

the hospital ,  he was full of appologies , saying he'd only be an hour or

  

two .  Balbinder smiled weakly ,  she understood ,  she felt almost guilty

  

that she couldn't share in Patrick's joy .  So saying sorry for the  tenth

  

time  Patrick  left  for the hospital .  As he  left  George  and  Brownie

  

arrived to carry on the vigil .

 

             Patrick  was a few hundred yards from the  hospital  when  he

  

noticed for the first time that Big Sid had been following him  ,  Patrick

  

looked  over  his shoulder ,  he couldn't believe his mirrors  ,  but  his

  

mirrors didn't lie ,  he was being followed .  Michael was waiting at  the

  

hospital  ,  his  engine running and his doors open ,  Mathew was  in  the

  

passenger seat  sitting next to Mrs Murphy .

 

"Well Mathew ,  I have a very important job for you ,  will you do it ?  "

  

Patrick spoke quietly .

 

"Yep ," replied an eager Mathew , he felt an adventure was in the offing.

  

"I want you to go and stay with my mother ,  and June and baby Sheila ,  a

  

kind of holiday if you like , " Patrick smiled nervously .

 

"Great , will I get milk shakes too ? " asked Mathew .

 

"Twice a day , " promised Mrs Murphy .

  

"Mathew  ,  there's something very important you must do too ,  "  Patrick

  

paused , he lowered his voice before continuing  ,   "  Mathew  there's  a

 

man ,  a nasty man who might hurt mom ,  or June or the baby .  So can you

  

look after them , " Patrick's voice began to croak .

 

"Yep , " smiled Mathew , not understanding the situation .

 

Patrick looked at Michael , then at his mother before placing his  hand

  

on Mathew's arm .

 

"Mathew , if anybody tries to hurt mom ,  or June or baby Jaswinder  ,  "

  

Patrick stopped ,  his thoughts had betrayed him ,  " or baby Jaswinder  I

  

mean , well if they try you must stop them . "

 

Mathew  looked  confused  ,  he looked troubled  .  He  was  expecting  an

  

adventure like when he helped the old lady move house ,  he didn't  really

  

understand what was going on .

 

"Its an adventure Mathew , you look after the women , and if anybody comes

  

too close you growl , like "Jaws" in the James Bond film last night . "

 

Mathew smiled , he could understand James Bond .

 

"But , if anybody gets too close , you must hit them Mathew , you must hit

  

them so hard they won't get up ,  " Patrick smiled trying to make light of

  

G.B.H. .

 

"Remember the nasty man in Wayne's pub ,  the man you hit ,  " Mrs  Murphy

  

was coaxing now .

 

"Yep , " Mathew still sounded uncertain .

 

"Well its a naughty man like that , so you must hit him if needs be  , its

  

ok.  to  hit  naughty  men ,  " Mrs Murphy sounded like  a  priest  giving

  

absolution .

 

"Ok  ,  " Mathew still didn't sounded convinced ,  but if Patrick and  Mrs

  

Murphy both said it was ok. then it must be .

 

           Patrick  got out the taxi and headed for the  ward  ,  Big  Sid

  

followed  two paces behind .  As Patrick approached the ward from  another

  

direction the Gavin twins appeared ,  standing shoulder to shoulder almost

  

blocking the corridor .

 

"We  were just passing by ,  thought we might come and see the  baby  ,  "

  

explained Luke .

 

Patrick looked back at Big Sid ,  so that's what he'd been up to .  Inside

  

the ward June was ready to leave ,  all she had to do was pick baby Sheila

  

up from the cot .  The doctor came to give June some vitamin tablets ,  he

  

raised his eyebrows at the sight of so many hulks .

 

"Friends , " smiled an unsuspecting June .

 

So gathering up Sheila in her arms she left the ward , Big Sid led the way

  

the Gavin twins grouped protectively around her , Patrick was at her side.

 

"It was nice for the boys to come and see me , " smiled June as she pulled

  

faces at her baby , her precious bundle .

 

"They  are  good lads ,  I think Big Sid insisted on  it  ,  "  explained

  

Patrick .

 

They reached the waiting taxi , Michael was reving the engine as if he was

  

driving a getaway car ,  June noticed Mathew and Mrs Murphy in the back  .

  

And why had the Gavin Twins surrounded the taxi , and she was sure Big Sid

  

was fingering a meat cleaver inside that carrier bag he was carrying .

 

"Just get in the taxi ,  I'll follow in my car ,  " Patrick tried to sound

  

as if nothing was the matter .

 

Big Sid came forward and handed the bag to Mrs Murphy .

 

"You'll need to keep your strength up , " he explained .

 

The carrier was full of meat , on top barely covered by another bag was a

  

gleaming  cleaver ,  Big Sid had spent an hour sharpening it ,  you  could

  

shave a man with it ,  or kill a man with it .  Michael drove off  ,  June

  

looked back at Patrick , something was wrong , very wrong .

 

"What's up Sheila , " June knew something was up .

 

"Wait till we get to my house , " began Mrs Murphy .

 

"But  aren't  we  going home ,  and why is Mathew here  ,  "  June  looked

  

worried .            

  

The Gavin twins' lorry sailed past ,  they'd take the lead ,  Patrick  was

  

behind in his car with Big Sid at the rear .

 

"Tell me , " June was insistant .

 

"The street's not safe ,  Jaswinder has been kidnapped ,  " explained Mrs

  

Murphy , everything was going wrong , June was frightened now , and Mathew

  

now knew too .

 

"Jaswinder !" shouted Mathew .

 

June held her baby closer to her , Mathew began to cry .

 

"Look everything will be ok , Mathew will be staying with us , and Michael

  

is  doing to my house via the back streets .  Mathew I'm sorry  we  didn't

  

tell you but you have a very special job , you must look after me and June

  

and baby Sheila .  Patrick and the rest will find Jaswinder , but you have

  

to  look after me ,  here have a sweet ,  " Mrs Murphy held out a  bag  of

  

sweets for Mathew to take one .   

  

          The rest of the journey was spent in silence , when they arrived

  

at  Mrs  Murphy's  Patrick went inside ,  the Gavins and  Big  Sid  stayed

  

outside .

 

"We'll mount a guard here ,  Sid ,  Mathew will be on the inside and we'll

  

be  on the outside .  There's four of us we can cover the 24 hours in  the

  

day easily .  Your place is back on the street , we know how much you love

  

children , but your place is back on the street , " Luke spoke gently like

  

a father to a son .

 

"It's good of you to do this , I knew I could relie on you , its just that

  

if I lost my two favourites I think I'd go mad , " Sid blew his nose .

 

"Go on go back to the street , " said John trying to sound encouraging .

 

         Inside Mathew had quietened down ,  he been told he had the  most

  

important job ,  so he believed it .  At least here Mathew wouldn't  spill

  

the beans accidently , guarding the woman would keep him out of harms way,  

  

Patrick  just prayed that harm didn't come acalling .  After a light  meal

  

which  Mrs Murphy insisted on making Patrick left after kissing  June  for

  

all he was worth .

 

"I'll phone ," with that Patrick dashed to his car ,  it was beginning to

  

rain , he didn't notice that the Gavin Twins' lorry was parked a few yards

  

down the road .

 

           Patrick relieved George and Brownie ,  it was his turn to  hold

  

Amjit's hand now .

 

"How's the baby ? " asked Amjit as if asking how much fun a funeral was .    

  

"Fine ,  she's got June's hair ,  " Patrick felt guilty talking about  his

  

new born daughter .

 

They were both silent for a minute ,  they couldn't look each other in the

  

eye ,like when a doctor has to tell a patient that he is dying , nothing

 

can prepare you for situations like these , you just do the best you can .

 

Patrick decided to offer encouragement .

 

"Look  everything will be ok ,  Percy said it'd be ok ,  its  probably  an

  

amateur ,  its just something silly ,  something well something  .  Anyway

  

Jaswinder's  safe you heard her voice ,  " Patrick's voice trailed off  he

  

was  digging his own grave ,  his mother would know what to  say  ,  she'd

  

laugh and joke ,  she'd spit in the face of fear ,  only he could find the

  

right thing to say .

 

           An hour later the phone rang , Amjit jumped to answer it .

 

"Yes , " his voice was on edge .

 

"Its me , I want money , I cann't afford to feed your little wog daughter,        

  

she's such a pain in the arse , " said a voice , the kidnapper's voice .

 

"How much ,  when do I get her back ?  " Amjit struggled to keep his voice

  

low , to stay calm .

 

"Just leave the money , then I'll be in touch , " replied the voice .

 

"Where , where ? " Amjit's voice was getting higher .

 

"There's  a  phone  box at the junction of Haverly  Street  and  Shorttree

  

Street  in  the  Abbington area ,  leave œ300  inside  the  telephone

  

directory , " explained the voice .

 

"Can I speak to my daughter ?  " Amjit's voice sounded weak now ,  he  was

  

fearing the worst .

 

"No . "

 

"Just for a second . "

 

"No."

 

The phone went dead ,  Amjit held the receiver tight as if Jaswinder would

  

come to the phone , he cleared his throat then looked at  Patrick .

 

"œ300 in a phone box , he wouldn't let me speak to Jaswinder ," tears were

  

forming in his eyes .

 

"Percy  was right then its an amateur ,  he'll slip up and Jaswinder  will

  

soon be home , " Patrick was trying to sound encouraging .

 

"Do  you  think  so ?" Amjit looked like somebody who'd been  stood  up  ,

  

trying to believe a friends comforting words .

 

"I know so , " lied Patrick .

 

             Martin put down the phone , he felt good , he had power now ,

  

real power . With Danny he had to lie and boast and trick , but now all he

  

had to do was phone ,  soon he'd have œ300 , well worth the price of a 10p

  

phone call . This little wog was going to be a meal ticket . He went back

  

to the car , his girlfriend was waiting for him .

 

"We've got to collect our first instalment , just five minutes away , " he

  

smiled ,he was pleased with himself , he should have taken up this line of

  

work ages ago .

 

"Do you think she'll be ok on her own , " asked the girlfriend .

 

"Of  course  she will ,  besides you gave her a cushion to sit on  when  I

  

locked  her  in that cupboard ,  we'll not running a hotel  after  all  ,"

  

Martin leant over and kissed his girl ,  everything was coming up roses  ,

  

it was if Spring was in the air .

 

            Jaswinder was all alone ,  locked in the cupboard with just  a

  

cushion for comfort ,  the girlfriend had whispered "sorry" as she  locked

  

Jaswinder in there ,  but it was so confusing ,  she'd been promised  that

  

she'd be taken to see Patrick's new baby , so why was she in the cupboard.     

  

Jaswinder hugged the cushion , it felt soft just like her big teddy , just

  

like Patrick the Teddybear .

 

"Don't  be afraid teddy ,  daddy will find me ,  then we can go and  visit

  

Patrick's new baby , " Jaswinder kissed the cushion .   

  

            Patrick drove Amjit to the dropoff point ,  they  had  decided

  

that  they'd try and find somewhere to hide ,  perhaps they'd be  able  to

  

trail the kidnapper . Amjit went and put the œ300 in the phone book in the

  

telephone box , he noticed a bus shelter a few yards from it and a shop on

  

the corner over the road , they'd be perfect places to watch from .

 

"Ok  ,  I'll hide in the shelter ,  you can watch from the shop ,  "  said

  

Patrick .

 

         Amjit picked up a basket and started to do some shopping , taking

  

his time , reading or pretending to read all the labels , just as a health

  

freak  does .  He could see the phone box clearly from his  vantage  point

  

inside the shop .  A very pregnant girl went  into the phone box and  then

  

waddled  away  after making a call ,  she was the only person to  use  the

  

phone  box in the thirty minutes Amjit was watching .  Somebody  had  been

  

watching Amjit too , the shopkeeper had been watching .

 

"You a shoplifter or something ?  You've got five items in that basket and

  

you've been reading all the labels , " growled the shopkeeper .

 

"I'm careful about what I eat , " answered a defensive Amjit .

 

"Well it hasn't made your eyesight very good , you were reading those last

  

two  labels  upside  down ,  or are you an  Australian  ?  "  sneered  the

  

shopkeeper .

 

"I'll pay now then , " said Amjit putting his basket down at the checkout.   

  

"What's  your  game ,  do you think I was born yesterday  ,  I've  been  a

  

shopkeeper  for ten years ,  " the shopkeeper was very suspicious  and  he

  

didn't like the look of the "Australian" in front of him .

 

"I'm a shopkeeper too , " smiled Amjit hoping that it'd clear the air .

 

"So that's your game , you're trying to undercut me , is your mate outside

  

in that phonebox ,  you've got a walkie talkie and your sending the prices

  

out to him , " the shopkeeper was biting at the bit now .

 

"Are you going to take my order or not ? " asked Amjit .

 

"No , " spat the shopkeeper .

 

"Keep your basket then ,  " Amjit threw the basket at the man ,  then  ran

  

around the corner ,  away from the phone box ,  he couldn't afford to draw

  

any more attention to himself .

 

          Amjit just hoped that Patrick was having better luck ,  only  he

  

wasn't ,  nothing seemed to be going right . Patrick had hidden in the bus

  

shelter ,  he had a clear view of the phone box from there .  However  the

  

neighbourhood  watch coordinator had a clear view of the bus  shelter  and

  

Patrick , from his house .

 

"I've been watching you ,why are you hanging around here ? " said the old

  

army corporal .

 

"I'm waiting for a bus , " replied an irritated Patrick .

 

"No  you're not ,  three have past in the past 40 minutes and you  haven't

  

got on any of them ,  " the old army corporal edged forward ,  perhaps  he

  

could make a citizen's arrest .    

  

"It's not the one I'm want ,  " Patrcik was getting pissed off now ,  this

  

old man was a right old fart .

 

"Liar , only the 65 stops here , " the self styled hero tightened his grip

  

on his walking stick .  

  

"Look  , just mind your own business ,  " Patrick turned his back on  the

  

man .   

  

"So you're  a kerb crawler then , this area wasn't fit for woman  to  walk

  

until I started the Neighbourhood Watch ,  " the old hero put his hand  on

  

Patrick's shoulder .

 

"Look I'm a married man , my wife's just given birth , " Patrick hissed .

 

"So that's why you're kerb crawling ,  disgusting ,  you should be ashamed

  

of yourself , " the old hero still had his hand on Patrick's collar .

 

Patrick was tempted to smack the old man in the mouth , Jaswinder's safety

  

was at stake and the old fart was accusing him of being a kerb crawler .

 

The bus went by for the fourth time ,  Patrick leapt on it ,  leaving  the

  

old man waving his stick at him .  After two stops Patrick got off ,  then

  

using the side streets he went back to check the phone box . The money had

  

gone .

 

          Patrick went back to his car ,  Amjit was waiting for him . They

  

both sighed , they'd drawn a blank.

 

"I've just checked the phone box , the money's gone , " sighed Patrick .

 

"I checked it too , there was an old man there , he asked me had I  seen

  

you , that's judging by the description , " Amjit sucked his lip .

 

"The daft bugger thought I was a kerb crawler ,  a kerb crawler with a bus

  

pass .  Those neighbourhood watch people should be trained , they're worst

  

than  rooky cops ,  God thinking that I was looking for a prostitute  ,  "

  

Patrick shook his head .

 

"Well I was accused of being an industrial spy ,  the shopkeeper though  I

  

had  a walkie talkie and was sending the prices to somebody hidden in  the

  

phonebox , " said a still indignant Amjit .

 

"I  bet  the  old man is talking to that shopkeeper right  now  ,  "  said

  

Patrick as he headed off for the street .

 

And  he  was  right ,  the shopkeeper  rewarded  the  Neighbourhood  Watch

  

coordinator for helping him foil industrial spying ,  the old soldier  was

  

given  a bottle of equally old wine ,  both of them were well  past  their

  

sell by date .

     

              The  pregnant girl was also on her way  home  ,  her  driver

  

played his ZZ Top cassette at full blast , he was over the moon .

 

"See I told you it'd be  taking sweets from a baby ,  we have to celebrate

  

there's a great  Italian restaurant just up the road , " Martin was like a

  

kid at Christmas such was his joy .

 

"It's a bit early yet , cann't we go for a pint first ? " asked Sue .

 

"Sure ,  anything you like ,  then we're off to the Italia House in  Three

  

Shires Oak Rd ,  " Martin was beaming ,  almost as much as a mother holding

  

her newborn baby .

 

             Hours later they returned to find Jaswinder wet  and  hugging

  

her cushion ,  her pretend teddy .  As for Amjit and Patrick they had gone

  

back to the street to break the bad news ,their cover had been blown, they

  

hadn't been able to spot the kidnapper . The whole street sighed , but they

  

were helpless to do anything else  .  One piece of news did lift all their

  

spirits  , Percy had gone to collect a body ,  Bill was with  him  ; the

  

family  of the deceased decided to come with Percy to pray over  the  body

  

for  a  while ,  so the hearse was being followed by three or  four  other

  

cars , it was on the drive back that Bill spotted Jaswinder .

 

"Look , its Jaswinder , " yelled Bill .

 

Percy swerved slightly such was his shock , " are you sure ? "

 

"Yes  I'm sure she's holding a man's hand ,  being dragged along almost  ,

  

I'm sure its her , " Bill was excited .

 

There was a set of traffic lights ahead , Percy slowed down .

 

"Look  I'll get out and follow ,  you cann't not with the deceased in  the

  

back and his whole family following ,  " without another word Bill slipped

  

out of the car .

 

Percy  carried  on back to his undertakers ,  he just  hoped  Bill  wasn't

  

seeing things , his eyesight wasn't as good as it used to be .

 

            "I followed at a distance for a few hundred yards , then a bus

  

came by ,  I wasn't expecting him to jump on it , I tried to run after him

  

but my old legs couldn't keep up with him .  I tried to find a taxi ,  but

  

it was too late by then ,  I'm sorry ,  " Bill was slumpt in the chair  by

  

Amjit's counter .

 

"You did your best , " Amjit put a consoling hand on Bill's shoulder .

 

"And we know Jaswinder is ok ,  " Percy was trying to sound upbeat  ,  but

  

they all felt like a mouse being teased by a cat , the odds were very much

  

against them .

  

"So we know he had a duffle coat ,  its not much but its a start , " Amjit

  

sighed , a duffle coat what a lead , if it could be called that .

 

          Bill  and  Percy went back to the  undertakers  to  comfort  the

  

greiving relatives ,  Andy was minding the shop so to speak , but in death

  

people  prefer an older person ,  a more mature person .  Patrick  watched

  

Amjit ,  he was like a lion tamer watching the cornered lion ,  when would

  

the lion snarl or lash out , if only he knew which paw to take the  thorn

  

out from then the pain would go , all he could do was watch and wait with

 

his friend . Every now and then Patrick would smile , he couldn't show how

  

sad he was , he had to keep up the facade , he had to try and keep Amjit's

  

spirits afloat ,  but was just being there any use ,  if he could actually

  

do something  then that'd be useful .

 

"Look lets play dominoes ,  I've got a set in my house ,  my mother bought

  

them  at  a  jumble  sale  down the Blind Centre  in  Court  Oak  Road  in

  

Harbourne ,  it'll pass the time after all , " Patrick knew cards were out

  

of  the  question ,  because cards ment gambling and so on ,  so  it'd  be

  

alright to play dominoes after all .

 

Amjit smiled weakly ,he felt he was being tickled , being tickled is nice

  

but  when you are sick or weak or tired ,  then it's like banging  your

  

funny bone , it hurts but its nice too . He shook his head for no but

 

somehow the words came out , "yes . "

 

Patrick dashed over the road for his dominoes , in minutes the two of them

  

were playing ,  old Mr Amjit came from the back room to see what was going

  

on , he smiled only a child would think of dominoes , Patrick was wise .

 

"Don't lose any money to him ,  " joked old Mr Amjit before retreating  to

  

the  back room ,  he had to support the women that was his job  ,  Patrick

  

would look after his son and he would look after the women .     

  

They played for the rest of the evening ,  the dominoes for the blind have

  

raised dots on them somehow for Patrick and Amjit these dots gave  comfort

  

like the touch of something familiar ,  just as for Mrs Murphy the feel of

  

her rosary beads gave comfort even without the actual saying of the words.  

  

At about ten the shop door opened , Amjit had forgotten to lock up .

 

"Hello  ,  are you still open ,  can I have a bottle of milk ?  "  said  a

  

young voice .  

  

Amjit and Patrick looked up ,  a teenager dressed in denim dressed like  a

  

Status  Quo fan stood looking at them .  Only he wasn't looking ,  he  was

  

blind . Patrick dropped his dominoes , Amjit looked at the fallen dominoes

  

then back to the youth .

 

"Sorry ,  yes you can have some milk , we were playing dominoes , I forgot

  

to lock up , " Amjit rushed forward to serve the blind kid .

 

"Don't  rush I'm in no hurry ,  " the blind kid stood there smiling  ,  so

  

young and he seemed so happy , and he was blind .

 

"Here's your milk , " said Amjit putting the milk in the kid's hand .

 

"Here's your money , " answered the kid .

 

"Your new around here , " said Patrick by way of conversation .  

  

"Yes ,  I've just moved into the area ,  I was listening to my Status  Quo

  

tapes , I forgot the time , " smiled the youth .

 

"So did we , I'd forgotten how much fun dominoes are , " said Amjit .

 

"They're fun , though I prefer chess , " smiled the blond haired youth .

 

"Why don't you have a game of dominoes with us ,  if you're not in a hurry

  

my  mother got them from the Blind Centre ,  " Patrick felt he'd  put  his

  

foot  in in by saying the word "Blind" ,  like saying "Mongol" instead  of

  

"Downes  Syndrome" ,  but his heart was in the right place ,  even if  his

  

mouth wasn't .

 

"Sure  why not ,  it'll be fun ,  besides its nice to meet new people  ,  "

  

smiled  the blind kid ,  it seemed strange that he looked so happy  ,  how

  

could he be , he was blind .

 

So  they  played dominoes for another hour ,  Amjit went in the  back  for

  

coffee and samosas , they  all really enjoyed themselves .

 

"Hey  man I'm sure you're cheating let me see your dominoes ,  " said  the

  

smiling kid feeling Patrick's dominoes .

 

"He's a bit of a cheat that's for sure , " smiled Amjit .

 

"You can talk ,  just don't let him give you any Calcutta Surprise curry ,

  

not ever , " explained Patrick .

 

Somehow  having somebody so happy with them cheered them up ,  here was  a

  

blind  beacon  sitting next to them .  laughing and joking  ,  eating  and

  

drinking  and playing dominoes .  As Mrs Murphy fingered her rosary  beads

  

and  almost blackmailed the angels and saints ,  Amjit ,  Patrick and  the

  

blond blind kid fingered the dominoes , perhaps both equal prayers , equal

  

forms of relief .

 

"Well I think its time for bed then ,  " said the blind kid ,  feeling the

  

numbers on his watch .

 

"I'll walk you home ,  it was fun tonight ,  " said Patrick getting up and

  

stretching himself .

 

"Come tomorrow , say at nine , " Amjit found himself saying .

 

"Sure ,but no more cheating , I want to wash those dominoes first I'm sure

  

you  marked  them  with  chalk ,  its either that or  you  two  can  wear

  

blindfolds ! " joked the blond blind kid .

 

"Anything you say , " replied Amjit .

 

Amjit watched Patrick and the blind kid leave ,  he felt better ,he didn't

  

know why but he felt better .  He began to cry but not just for  Jaswinder

  

but for the blond kid , so young yet so happy , and he was blind . But why

  

did he seem like a light to Amjit ,like a night light for a child afraid

 

of the dark ,  he didn't know ,  Amjit shook his head , he was so tired oh

  

so tired .

 

           The next day came , the phone didn't ring , no matter how much

  

they stared at it .  Martin the kidnapper and his girl Sue were having  a

  

lie  in  ,  ringing for more ransom wasn't a priority  ,  sleeping  off  a

  

hangover was .  As for Jaswinder she was locked in a cupboard with just  a

  

cushion for comfort ,  so she whispered encouragement to her pretend teddy

  

and blamed it for her being wet . It was one P.M. before the phone rang ,   

  

Amjit dived for the phone .

 

"Yes . "  

  

"Its me , you can afford more . "

 

"Go on . "

 

"I want œ500 , you can leave in Swans' Book Shop . "

 

"Where exactly . "

 

"Behind the Bibles , " there was laughter in the voice .

 

"All right then . "

 

"Hurry , I've spent your œ300 already . "  

  

"I'll be there . "

 

"You can talk to your daughter if you like , but no Wog talk . "

 

"Ok . "

 

"Daddy , is the new baby a girl ? "  

  

"Yes ,  " Amjit closed his eyes and breathed out ,  it was so good to hear

  

his daughter's voice .

 

"Patrick is here , he is afraid of the dark , I told him to be brave . "  

  

"Patrick ? " asked Amjit .

 

The phone went dead , Amjit put the phone down gently as if he was placing

  

a baby in a crib .

 

"Well ? " asked an anxious Patrick .

 

"He  wants  œ500 now ,  behind the Bibles in Swans' Book Shop  ,  "  Amjit

  

shrugged his shoulders and shook his head , when would it all end .  

  

            Patrick  drove Amjit to the book shop ,  the œ500  was  placed

  

behind  the  Bibles as requested .  Patrick and Amjit then tried  to  lose

  

themselves amongst the forest of books ,  perhaps this time they'd be able

  

to spot and follow the kidnapper .  Patrick casually picked up a book , he

  

dropped it when he read the title ,  "Kidnapped " ,  so he went to another

  

section ,  it was the childrens' section  , he just hoped June and his own

  

baby were safe .

 

            Mrs Murphy had decided that they shouldn't stay locked  up  in

  

the house , they'd go to Mass , it'd help the Novena along , it was in its

  

third  day now .  So picking up the phone she rang for Michael  ,  in  ten

  

minutes  he came  ,  they all got in the taxi and headed for the church  .

  

Behind  the taxi the Gavin Twins' lorry pulled out ,  they followed  at  a

  

distance , the four evangelists were riding shotgun for the Murphy family.

 

Once they got to the church Luke and John slipped into the church a minute

  

after  Mrs Murphy had led her family inside ,  the lads winked at  Michael

  

who  was  listening to Gordon Astley on his radio while he waited  in  his

  

taxi  .  Luke knelt in one corner ,  John in the other ,  Mrs  Murphy  had

  

chosen a bench in the centre next to a radiator ,  little Sheila had to be

  

kept warm after all .  It was early yet Fr.Shaw hadn't put the wine on the

  

altar  yet  ,  Mrs Murphy looked at her watch , not that early , what  was

  

keeping the old priest .  An answer came running towards her . A large man

  

came running out of the sacristy carrying a holdall ,  Fr.  Shaw  followed

  

him nursing a bruised lip .

 

"Stop , stop ! " shouted the old priest .

 

Mathew looked up to see the man running away from the priest , but towards

  

Mrs Murphy and June and baby Sheila . Mathew did not know what to do , but

  

Fr.Shaw  did have a cut lip ,  Patrick's words came back to him  "hit  him

  

hard" . So Mathew got up and ran towards the man carrying a holdall , half

  

closing his eyes Mathew swung both his fists , then he caught the man in a

  

bearhug and squeezed and squeezed and squeezed .

 

"NO ! " screamed Mathew . The man's body went limp , Mathew dropped him to

  

the ground ,  the man lay sprawled there .  Luke and John emerged from the

  

shadows .

 

"He was going to hurt June and the baby , " Mathew said defensively .

 

"You did right ,  son ,  he's just a thief ,  look at the holdall ,  " Mrs

  

Murphy pointed .

 

"He must be the one who's been robbing all the churches ,  " added Fr.Shaw

  

dabbing his lip with his handkerchief .

 

"It's a good job Mathew was here ,  " said June holding her baby close  to

  

her .

 

"Do we call the Police ? " asked Fr.Shaw .

 

"No ,  we'll take him to the hospital ,  we'll have a word with him too on

  

the way , " butted in Luke .

 

"If you are sure ? " Fr. Shaw wasn't quite sure himself .

 

            So Luke and John went in Michael's taxi to the hospital  while

  

Mark and Mathew Gavin went inside the church for the Mass ,  Luke promised

  

that they'd be back before the Mass was over .  He wasn't the only one who

  

made  a  few  promises ,  the burglar was persuaded  to  give  up  robbing

  

churches  ,  or they would report him to the Police .  As for Patrick  and

  

Amjit  they had been  browsing in the bookshop ,  only everywhere  Patrick

  

looked a childrens' book or a book about kidnapping seemed to leap out  at

  

him , it made him shiver .

 

           Amjit felt just as bad ,  worse even ,  waiting for his  own

  

child's  kidnapper .  A little old lady accosted him ,  could he help  her

  

find  an atlas ,  her grandson was in Bogota on a language  course  ,  she

  

wanted to see where it was .  The atlas was on a top shelf ,  so Amjit had

  

to reach on tip toe for it ,  then he had to look for Bogota ,  he knew it

  

was in South America , but where exactly .

 

            An  eager  sales  assistant encouraged  Patrick  to  buy  some

  

childrens' book ,  so he bought Picture books for Sheila and books with  a

  

few words in them for Jaswinder .  So it was while Patrick and Amjit  were

  

all tied up that a man in a duffle coat came in ,  it was Martin , he felt

  

behind  the Bibles and found his money .  With a spring in his step and  a

  

smile on his lips he was gone . Amjit peered though the shelves to steal a

  

look at the Bibles ,  they'd been scattered ,  the money had been taken  .

  

Amjit rushed to the Bibles ,Patrick was at his heels , the money was gone,

  

The   Good  News Bible was open at Revelations .  Amjit  swore  ,  Patrick

  

swore too ,  a nun tut tuted .  Still cursing under their breath they left

  

the book shop ,  the shocked nun had picked up The Good News Bible and was

  

smiling now .

  

"I  think we need more people to help us observe ,  " said Patrick  as  he

  

started the engine .

 

"You're  right ,  but not Big Sid he'd stand out too much ,  "  Amjit  was

  

looking down at his shoes , where his spirits were .

 

"Ok ,  we'll get George and Brownie to help ,  nobody would suspect a pair

  

of pensioners after all ,  " Patrick sighed , it was like being teased all

  

this kidnap stuff , like being teased when you didn't want to be .

 

"There's a pub over there , " Amjit sounded faint .

 

"Ok , we'll have a couple , then we'l get back to the street , it'll be ok

  

Amjit  ,  it'll be ok ,  besides if I know my mom she's  blackmailing  the

  

saints , " Patrick laughed , he'd give anything to cheer Amjit up .

 

So they stopped at the Duke of Edinborough for a pint ,  just as they went

  

in  the front door Martin came out the back way through the  yard  ,  he'd

  

bought some drugs , he wanted to celebrate The Good News after all .

 

           Back at the flat Martin held up a wad of notes in one hand  and

  

the  drugs in the other .  He was pleased  with himself ,  he'd found  his

  

true vocation , and it didn't envolve any work , the perfect job for him .

 

"What's to eat ? " asked a triumphant Martin .

 

"I thought we'd eat out , to celebrate like , " said Sue in between puffs  

  

of her fag .

 

"Fine by me , " Martin had already opened the door ready to go again .

 

"I'll have to feed her first , " Sue pointed to the cupboard .

 

"She can do without ,  we are not running a restaurant after all ,  " said

  

Martin haughtily .

 

           So they went out ,  Jaswinder was left in the dark with just  a

  

cushion , a pretend teddy for comfort , only the water , her water seeping

  

under  the  door gave proof of her existance .  Percy had gone out  for  a

  

plush dinner with members of his Lodge ,  he didn't feel like going but he

  

went .  It was while he was in the restaurant that there was a disturbance

  

at the door .  A scruffy man in a duffle coat had tried to come in ,  when

  

he  was  told  the restaurant was booked for a  private  celebration  he'd

  

produced a wad of money to prove he could pay .  But still the scruffy man

  

in the duffle coat was not let in ,  nor was his very pregnant girl  .  So

  

Martin  and Sue went to the Italia House in Three Shires Oak Rd  instead  ,

  

Martin pretended he wanted to go there anway .

 

"I showed him the money , only the sod in the penguin suit wouldn't let me

  

in , " sulked Martin .

 

"Some people are so prejudiced , " sympathised Sue .

 

Martin splashed out that evening in the Italia House , as if proving  his

  

own  worth to himself ,  a sure sign of his inadequacy .  He left the  car

  

parked where it was ,it didn't matter if it blocked St.Gregory's , besides

  

Martin wanted to splash out with a taxi .

 

"Madame , your carriage awaits , " burped Martin bowing low .

 

"Ta love , " answered Sue as she squeezed her bulge into the taxi .

 

           Jaswinder was crying when they got in ,  she was sitting in  a

  

pool of water ,  her own .  Martin threw a towel at her ,  Sue gave her  a

  

bottle of milk , then the door was locked on her dungeon .  As  for  Amjit

  

and  Patrick they'd told everybody what had happened ,  the  whole  street

  

seemed to be suffering from a colective hangover ,  only there had been no

  

celebration beforehand .

 

           At nine Barry the blind kid arrived with a tap to  the left and

  

a tap to the right as he tapped his way into the shop and made his way  to

  

the counter .

 

"I'm going to beat you cheats tonight , " smiled Barry .

 

Patrick stole a glance at Amjit ,  Patrick decided to try and lift Amjit's

  

spirits .

 

"Ok , I'll go and fetch some  water , you can wash the dominoes yourself ,

  

how does that sound ? " Patrick was trying to sound jolly , he realised he

  

was behaving just like  his mother did , it made him smile more .          

  

         So the dominoes were washed and the game began , Barry was really

  

pleased  to  have found some new friends .  Amjit went  and  fetched  some

  

samosas and a pot of coffee ,  Old Mr Amjit looked on from the back ,  the

  

smiling  face  of Barry so happy ,  like a dawn after  the  dark  of  the

  

winter's  night .  Even though  Amjit and family were in the  dark  ,  not

  

knowing ,  just waiting ,  playing dominoes seemed such a relief ,  it was

  

hard to explain ,  even harder to understand but laughing and arguing over

  

dominoes was so much better than brooding on Jaswinder .

 

"Hey ,  are you sure you didn't switch these dominoes for another set ,  I

  

still think you're cheating , " said Barry looking straight at Patrick .

 

"Honest , " said Patrick with a smile .

 

"Alright then , I'll believe you , " beamed Barry .

 

So  on they played ,  it was midnight before they stopped ,  it  was  like

  

having a favourite uncle visit you enjoyed his company you never want him  

  

to leave , so you carry on , just one more game just one more game .

 

"Well I'll have to go now , " said Barry snapping shut his watch .

 

"I've  enjoyed our game tonight ,  come again tomorrow ,  as early as  you

  

like , " Amjit found himself saying .

 

The  shadows  were creeping in on him ,  the warmth  ,  the  innocence  of

  

Barry's face ,  the smile somehow they warmed Amjit ,  as Barry left Amjit

  

felt  guilty  was it wrong to be playing games while his daughter  was  in

  

danger .  Amjit's dad put his hand on his son's shoulder ,  it was good to

  

play  dominoes ,  it made him strong again ,  and he had to be strong  for

  

Jaswinder . Patrick walked Barry home .

 

"There's no need really ,  I've memorised the route now ,  I know how many

  

turns to the left and turns to the right it is , " explained Barry .

 

"No you're ok , I need a breath of fresh air , it'll blow the cobwebs away

  

and it'll be good exercise , " sighed Patrick .

 

"You're a good friend to Amjit aren't you ,  that's why you're letting him

  

lean on you , " Barry said it so matter of factly .

 

"What what do you mean , " stammered Patrick .

 

"It's hard to spot at first ,  if I could see perhaps I wouldn't notice  ,

  

but  you are being supportive of him .  It's in your voice ,  its  in  his

  

voice ,  every word is almost a sigh , well not quite every word but it is

  

noticeable , " continued Barry .

 

Patrick stopped dead in his tracks ,  Barry carried on , a tap to the left

  

a  tap to the right .  Patrick regained his composure and caught  up  with

  

Barry .

 

"So I'm right then ,  stopping was a dead give away you know .  It's ok  I

  

won't intrude ,  its none of my business ,  at least you won't be asking

  

me what I'm staring at , " joked Barry .

 

"Sorry , well but , well , " Patrick was lost for words .

 

"It's  ok ,  I like you two ,  even if you are cheats at dominoes  .  I'll

  

explain  it for you ,  you're dying to know how I know .  I wasn't  always

  

blind  and one thing I noticed when I could see was that if you  have  the

  

radio on and hear the news it sounds loud and clear , but on the televison

  

the same words aren't as loud or clear , the pictures , your sight gets in

  

the  way  of the words ,  the sound .  Its almost as if on the  radio  the

  

volume is much higher ,  and on the television the volume seems lower  but

  

the  volume  of the pictures is higher ,  " Barry paused  like  a  teacher

  

waiting for the penny to drop for the children .

 

"I'll have to try that ,listen to the radio and then the same thing on the

  

tv , it'll be really strange if you are right , " pondered Patrick .

 

"I  am right ,  anyway so after the accident ,  I noticed another thing  ,

  

well after I stopped bumping into things that is . I noticed that I had my

  

radio  ears  on all the time ,  things seemed louder or rather  I  noticed

  

sound more , because I didn't have any sight to get in the way any  more .

  

Which  means I can tell that you are jollying Amjit along ,  and that  you

  

two like me too , " Barry smiled .

 

"Even if we do cheat at dominoes , " mumbled Patrick .

 

"Yes ,  we're here now ,  I'd invite you in for a coffee only there's  no

  

light  bulbs in the flat ,  I mean what would I need them for  ,  "  Barry

  

chuckled .      

  

"And you don't want me stumbling around like a blind man , " said Patrick.  

  

"You got it in one , anyway I'll see you tomorrow at Amjit's , don't worry

  

I  won't let on that I know ,  I'm just glad to have made two friends  who

  

don't treat me like a child just because I cann't see , " so with a tap to

  

the left and a tap to the right Barry went inside .

 

Patrick shook his head , the poor kid , it must be even worse if you could

  

see and then you were in the dark permanently . Patrick rubbed his arms it

  

was getting cold , he hurried back home and to bed .

  

           The  phone  refused to ring no matter how hard  or  long  Amjit

  

stared at it ,  Patrick though of one of his mother's many sayings  ,  the

  

one about the watched kettle never boiling .  Finally in the afternoon the

  

phone rang , Amjit had the receiver to his ear before the third ring .

 

"Yes , " he said .

 

"It's me . "

 

"How much ."

 

"œ800 , we have to buy some clothes for your little wog daughter , she wet

  

herself . "

 

"I'll have to go to the bank , I don't keep that sort of money in the shop

  

it would be dangerous . "

 

"It might be even more dangerous if you don't hurry up ,  you have an hour

  

or I want an extra œ200 , " Martin loved being in control .

 

"Ok ,  ok , I'll have your œ800 for you within the hour , " Amjit tried to

  

keep his calm .

 

"Leave it in a plastic bag in the tank of the third toilet along near  the

  

door in the toilets in Clemford High Street ,  make sure the money doesn't

  

get wet , " Martin ordered .

 

"Aren't those they the , " blurted out Amjit .

 

"Yes the gay ones , " interrupted Martin with laughter in his voice .

 

"Can I speak to my daughter ? " Amjit almost begged .

 

"No , she's having a bath , she stinks , " Martin hung up .

 

Amjit hung up the phone ,and took a deep breath before turning to  Patrick

  

to say ,  "he wants œ800 or œ1000 if I don't hurry , we've got to leave it

  

in the toilets , in the tank , the toilets in Clemford High Street . "

 

"But those are the queer ones , " Patrick couldn't understand .

 

"Ok , I'll get  George and Brownie , " Patrick raced out the door .

 

"Fine , I'll tell Balbinder and get my bank book , " said Amjit as went in

  

the back .

 

           In  Mark's  Percy  was telling George  and  Brownie  about  the

  

previous nights events at  the restaurant .

 

"So  you  see this scruffy man in a duffle coat tried to get in  with  his

  

very pregnant girlfriend , when he was told the place was full up he waved

  

a wad of notes at the head waiter , " Percy paused when Patrcik came in .

 

"Come on quick ,  George and Browie we need your help , " Patrick held the

  

door open for them  .

 

"Can we help ? " asked Percy .

 

"These  two should be enough ,  nobody would suspect these two .  We  just

  

want to follow the little bugger , he's a slippery customer . He won't get

  

away this time , its a public toilet , so there is only one way in and one

  

way out , we'll get him this time , " with that Patrick was gone .

 

           Patrick drove first to the bank ,  then he headed for  Clemford

  

High Street .

 

"As Patrick said , its a public toilet , the one in Clemford High Street ,

 

so we should be able to catch him ,  to follow him ,  there's only one way

  

in and one way out , " Amjit smiled at George and Brownie  .

 

"But aren't those the queer ones , I don't want my George catching AIDS or

  

something , " said a concerned Brownie .

 

"Its ok ,  I'd do it for Jaswinder ,  I've had a good life ,  we'll  catch

  

this man and free Jaswinder ,  my life is on the last chapter anyway  ,  "

  

said George trying to sound brave .    

  

"You won't catch AIDS , George , though the stench might make you throw up

  

or want to ,  " explained Patrick ,  " Amjit will be in one cubicle you'll

  

be in another ,  when he takes the money you follow him ,  I'll follow  in

  

the  car ,  you follow on foot or catch a bus ,  whatever is  needed  ,  "

  

Patrick finished , he hoped it would be as easy as he'd just explained .

 

"What about me ? " wondered Brownie .

 

"You stand outside ,  as if you are waiting for your husband to come out ,

  

which is exactly what you're doing . Nobody will suspect you . "

 

George  and Brownnie were content ,  they knew their parts now  ,  Brownie

  

decided to tell Percy's gossip , it was better than staying silent .

 

"Did we tell you what happened to Percy yesterday , " began Brownie .

 

"What? " asked Amjit .

 

"Well a young man tried to get into this swanky restaurant Percy was in  ,

  

only  it was full up ,  the man began to shout and say he was as  good  as

  

them , he waved a wad of money in the air . He said he had œ500 in cash to

  

pay , " explained Brownie .

 

Patrick braked suddenly .

 

"What did he look like , " asked Amjit sparks flying from his eyes .

 

Brownie looked at George , she'd sruck a raw nerve .

 

"Well  Percy said he was scruffy in a duffle coat ,  a very pregnant  girl

  

was with him , " said George slowly .

 

"It could be a coincidence , " said Amjit turning to Patrick .

 

"Or it could be the BASTARD  we are after , " Patrick put his foot down to

  

the floor .

 

"WE know our enemy now , " said Amjit turning to George and Brownie .

 

           At the toilets Amjit placed the money in the water tank of  the

  

third one along , then he hid in one cubicle while George hid in another .

 

All  they had to do was wait ,  as soon as the bait was taken  they  could

  

catch the man ,  it was simple .  George wanted to be sick ,  a mixture of

  

nervous tension plus the stench of the public toilets .  A man came in  he

  

went into the third cubicle alone ,  a minute or two later so did  another

  

man .  George was sick ,  he seen a lot in the army during the war  ,  but

  

this was too much . A few minutes later all was silence .

 

"Are you alright George , " hissed Amjit .

 

"Sorry  ,  but I was sick I've never dreampt of such things  ,  "  mumbled

  

George .

 

"Sush , there'd somebody coming , " whispered Amjit .

 

George  was  sick again ,  but at least ,  well .  Amjit listened  to  the

  

footsteps going one way then another , finally they went into a cubicle .A

  

few more people came in to use the toilets ,  what about the man ,  had he

  

gone  into  the third cubicle along ,  Amjit couldn't tell what  with  the

  

noise  of flushings and George being sick again .  At least George  had  a

  

perfect cover , an old man being sick , and he wasn't pretending . All was

  

silent again ,  Amjit didn't couldn't tell if the money had been taken  or

  

not ,he'd have to check .  

  

"Are you ok , George ? " hissed Amjit .

 

"I'm fine now , its just a bit much , it was unheard of in my day , has he

  

been ? " asked George as he wiped his mouth with his handkerchief .

 

"I'll look , " whispered Amjit as he sneaked out of the cubicle .

 

The  third cubicle along from the door was in use ,  Amjit  couldn't  hear

  

anybody inside though ,  so he knocked on the door . There was no answer ,

  

so  Amjit pushed ,  it was locked .  Amjit kicked at the door ,  the  door

  

opened , the tank cover had been moved . The money had gone .

 

"Shit , " swore Amjit .

 

That  cubicle  had a window at the back ,  Amjit stood on the  toilet  and

  

climbed up and out . Outside he followed a trail of water , then just by a

  

high wall he found the soaking carrier bag .  The carrier was empty ,  the

  

money  was  gone ,  so was the kidnapper .  Amjit looked about  which  way

  

should he run .  He looked up , the top of the wall was wet , Amjit pulled

  

himself  up ,  he was looking at a railway line .  Long abandoned  by  the

  

trains it was now a nature trail ,  only the trail had gone dead as far as

  

Amjit  was concerned .  So getting down from the wall ,  he picked up  the

  

still wet carrier and went back to the car .

 

          George and Brownie  were mulling over events when Amjit arrived.   

 

"He squeezed out the window alright , he's gone along the old railway line

  

we've missed him again , " explained Amjit .

 

"But what about the other man in the duffle coat ? " asked Brownie .

 

"What do you mean , " asked a slightly confused Amjit .

 

"A man went in with a duffle coat , I blew my nose as a signal for Patrick

  

when  he came out the toilets Patrick followed him on foot ,  "  explained

  

Brownie .

 

"Well it cann't of been him then , " sighed Amjit .

 

Amjit felt so tired , confused ; Patrick returned he was all downcaste .

 

"He's not our man ,  I followed him to a building site ,  I got a look  at

  

his face ,  he's worked with the Gavin brothers before ,  so it cann't  be

  

him , " explained Patrick .

 

"He's not the one ,  the kidnapper is a sly sod , he squeezed out the back

  

window above the toilets .  But we do know he does wear a duffle coat  and

  

I think its a safe bet that the pregnant girl is his girlfriend , "   said

  

Amjit as he kicked an old cola can .

 

"He's cocky too trying to spend the money in flash restaurants ,  "  added

  

Brownie .

 

           Back  on  the  street George and  Brownie  spread  the  word  ,

  

everybody cursed ,  they were up against a slippery customer that was  for

  

sure  .  Amjit and Patrick decided that they'd need more people to  follow

  

the man in the duffle coat ,  so they asked everybody to stand by , at the

  

drop  of a hat or rather a ring of the phone from the kidnapper  they  all

  

had to be ready to follow . Amjit felt almost embarrassed to ask , he just

  

felt so tired ,  so very tired .  With brave words of encouragement in his

  

ears Amjit went back to his shop .

  

          Later on Barry arrived , with a tap to the left and a tap to the

  

right  ,  his blond hair and shining smiling face again resembling  Autumn

  

sunshine pushing the grey clouds away . While Barry shuffled the dominoes   

  

Amjit went for the coffee and samosas ,  Patrick squeezed Barry's arm  and

  

whispered "thanks" .

 

"These are great samosas , where do you buy them from ? " asked Barry .

 

"My wife makes them , " answered Amjit .

 

"I've  not met her yet ,  is she looking after the children ?  "  wondered

  

Barry as he sipped his coffee .

 

Amjit's lip quivered ,  a tear slipped down his face , he gulped before he

  

answered , " yes . "

 

Patrick looked into Barry's unseeing eyes ,  thank God he was blind , then

  

Patrick closed his eyes ,  Jesus what was he thinking ,  thank God he  was

  

blind , Patrick sipped his coffee .  Amjit and Patrick exchanged glances ,

  

they had both thought the same thing , thank God Barry was blind .

 

"Here have another samosa , " Patrick said hurriedly as if Barry knew what

  

he'd thought .

 

"Thanks , but no amount of bribery will stop me thinking you  two  are

  

cheating ,  have you got a mirror behind me so you can read my dominoes  ,

  

come on be honest , " asked Barry .

 

"No we haven't , " laughed Patrick .

 

"Do you want me to put a mirror behind me , so you can cheat , " Amjit had

  

said the words but regretted them immediately .

 

He  closed  his eyes ,  and then hesitated slightly  before  saying  ,  "I

  

shouldn't have said that , I'm sorry . "

 

"I know you shouldn't have said it ,  its a great idea ,  hey Patrick  put

  

a mirror behind Amjit so I can cheat , " Barry began to laugh .

 

So  finding a makeup set on the shelves ,  Patrick positioned  the  mirror

  

behind Amjit , so that Barry could cheat .

 

"Can  you move it another inch to the left ,  " said Barry motioning  with

  

his hand .

 

"Is that ok ? " asked Patrick .

 

"Fine , perfect , I'll win tonight , " answered Barry giving a thumbs up .   

  

          So on they played ,  Barry winning the majority of the  games  ,

  

aided  by the makeup mirror positioned behind Amjit .  Every now and  then

  

Barry would make a show of looking in the mirror ,  then with relish  he'd

  

slap  down his dominoes .  It could have come straight out of  Laurel  and

  

Hardy ,  only it was happening in a Black Country shop ,  yet it was  just

  

what  the  doctor  ordered .  Barry was laughing at  his  weakness  ,  his

  

disability , laughter made him strong , and it made Amjit strong too .

 

When the game was over Patrick walked Barry home again , at the gate going

  

into Barry's flat Patrick shook his hand .

 

"Its nice to feel useful ,  you get to feel that your whole life is on the

  

scrapheap when you are blind , or deaf , or any of those things which stop

  

you  being  NORMAL ,  " Barry was looking Patrick straight in  the  eye  ,

  

though he'd never see Patrick's face .

 

"I cann't explain ,  we never will be able to ,  just thanks , thats all ,

  

even if I could explain I wouldn't have the words ,  " mumbled ,  stumbled

  

Patrick .

 

"It's ok ,  Amjit was crying though ,  so it must be something serious , I

  

won't  pry ,  its the dominoes and the company I'm interested  in  ,  well

  

goodnight then as I said I won't invite you in . "

 

"Because  I'd only bump into the furniture ,  as you don't have any  light

  

bulbs , cheerio . "

 

Patrick walked home ,  he liked Barry  ,  he was no hostage to fate  ,  he

  

came out fighting and laughing , every time the bell rung .

 

            The  phone  didn't ring ,  not in the morning  ,  not  in  the

  

afternoon , not till six in the evening , then it rang .

 

"It's me , I want œ1400 this time . "

 

"But the banks are shut ,  cann't it wait till tomorrow ,  " Amjit  cursed

  

himself for what he'd just said .

 

"Listen to this . "

 

Amjit  heard  a loud slap ,  then he heard his daughter  ,  his  Jaswinder

  

crying .

 

"Ok , ok , I wasn't thinking "

 

"You have fourty minutes , leave it on the 38 bus get on three stops after

  

the terminus ,  leave the money on the ledge at the back of the bus  ,  on

  

the right hand side . "

 

"At the very back , on the 38 bus , " repeated Amjit .

 

"Thats it bye ,  will you stop crying you little wog bitch ,  " the  phone

  

went dead .

 

Amjit  closed  his eyes ,  then took a deep breath before hanging  up  the

  

phone , slowly he turned to Patrick .

 

"He  hit  her  ,  he made her cry .  I'm worried Patrick  ,  "  Amjit  was

  

quivering .

 

"Come on Amjit ,  the whole street's on our side .  How much and where ? "  

  

Patrick shook Amjit .

 

"œ1400 , on the 38 bus , in fourty minutes time  " Amjit said in between

 

deep breaths .

 

"Ok ,  you stay there I'll round everybody up ,  it'll be ok Amjit , it'll

  

be ok , " with that Patrick dashed out the shop .

 

He went straight to Smiling Paul's , catching his breath he blurted it all

  

out , "Quick we need money , we've only got fourty minutes . "

 

Smiling Paul leapt to his safe and started throwing out bundles of hundreds

  

to Patrick .

 

"That's enough , see you , "  Patrick said as he ran out .

 

"Can I help any more ,  " Smiling Paul was almost pleading ,  but Patrick

  

didn't hear him .     

  

"I love her too you know , she's my Indian Princess too , " he mumbled .

 

"Each will help to his ability ,  though it may not always be recognised ,

  

you are a good man ,I know it , " Catherine put her hand on his shoulder .

 

          Patrick  ran up and down the street like a  madman  ,  everybody

  

gathered inside Amjit's shop .

 

"Look we have to leave the money on the 38 bus at the back on the ledge  ,

  

so  if  we  all follow him we'll see him take  the  money  ,  "  explained

  

Patrick.

  

"I think we should take turns at being in the lead , so as not  to arouse

  

suspicion  ,  one car follows right behind the bus for two stops  then  it

  

drops  back  so another car can follow right behind and so on  ,  "  urged

  

Percy , he knew caution was everything .  

  

"Right we'll do that , when he gets off the bus  we'll carry on following

  

him in the same way , " agreed Patrick .

 

"We know he wears a duffle coat and he has a very pregnant girlfriend , so

  

he should be easy to spot , " added Amjit .

 

          So they all set off ,  Percy  in his hearse ,  Andy in  a  white

  

Rolls  ,  Michael in his taxi and Patrick in the lead in his old VW  .  On

  

their  way across town Michael spotted George and Brownie at a bus stop  ,

  

so he slowed and picked them up .

 

"No time to explain , I just want you to get on the 38 bus , the kidnapper

  

wants his money left there , " said Michael as he sped off .

 

"And you want us to watch him , " said Brownie .

 

"That's  it  ,  we'll get the bastard this time ,  " said  Michael  as  he

  

signaled and put his foot to the floor .

 

Michael soon caught up and overtook all the cars ,  it was not part of the

  

plan but it'd improve on it ,  all he had to do was put George and Brownie

  

on the bus .

 

             At  the terminus George and Brownie waited for the 38  bus  ,

  

Amjit arrived , they ignored him . The three all got on , Amjit placed the

  

money  at the back on the ledge ,  then got off after one  stop  .  George

  

winked  but  otherwise  as far as he was concerned Amjit  didn't  exist  .

  

People got on the bus , people got off the bus , but no sign of the man in

  

the  duffle coat .  Behind the hearse and the Rolls exchanged positions  ,

  

but still no sign of the kidnapper . After ten stops he got on , he sat in

  

the middle for a while then calmly got up and went and sat at the back  on

  

the right . Brownie squeezed George's leg , the kidnapper was right behind

  

them .

 

"That's the bastard ,  right there , see he's flicking at the bundle , its

  

him for sure , "  said Patrick spitting out the words .

 

Michael took the lead and Patrick's VW dropped back ,  flashing his  brake

  

lights as a signal to the others ,  the mouse had taken the cheese  ,  now

  

all they had to do was spring the trap . They's follow him , get Jaswinder

  

back and perhaps have some revenge ,  the waiting was over at last . Percy

  

took the lead , a police car came sailing by , Sgt. Mulholland was driving

  

he was too busy to acknowledge Percy . There were more police cars coming,

 

their blue lights flashing , Percy slowed , Andy took the lead .

 

"Shit , shit , shit , " swore Andy .

 

The  bus had stopped in all the traffic ahead ,  the kidnapper   opened

  

the fire exit on the back at the right of the bus ,  he ran into all the

  

crowds ,the crowds of football supporters .

 

"The bastard ,  he knew the Cup Tie was on tonight , we'll never catch him

  

in all the crowds , " Andy slowed and parked .

 

And  so  he  had ,  the 38 bus goes right past the  ground  ,  Martin  had

  

disappeared like a rabbit down a hole . Patrick saw the rabbit escape , he

  

wanted to leap out of his car and give chase ,  but a police car was right

  

beside him , so all he could do was curse , the policeman smiled at him he

  

was used to crowds after all .  George and Brownie got off the bus at  the

  

next stop , Michael picked them up and drove them back to the street .

 

            "Well thanks for your help ,  we'll just have to try harder  ,

  

we'll  get him ,  he's too cocky he's bound to slip up ,  " said  Patrick

  

trying to sound upbeat .

 

"Don't worry tomorrow is another day , " consoled Percy .

 

Amjit and Patrick waited for Barry to turn up , but he didn't , he'd got a

  

chance to go to the Cup Tie .  So while Amjit and Patrick played  dominoes

  

Barry was savouring the atmosphere of the Cup Tie ,  tomorrow was  another

  

day , tomorrow was another day .

 

 

  

  

  Michael G Casey email only michaelgcasey@hotmail.com

 

 

              The Butcher , The Baker and The Undertaker  ©

   

 

                            By

 

 

                      Michael    Casey

 

 

 

 

Chapter Twelve  A Mother's Tears

*********************************

 

           The next day dawned bright and cheerful with the morning breeze

  

seeming  to play catch with the clouds moving them across the blue  sky  ,

  

the  sun was smiling too stretching itself over the horizon  ,  soon  it'd

  

chase  the  night away .  One last corner of darkness seemed  to  put  its

  

tongue  out at the rising sun before runing away from the growing light  ,

  

for  a last time the dark put its tongue out at the sun ,  it was  running

  

away now but come night time it'd return .

 

          On the street the shops all began to open ,  a kind of yawning

  

a kind of stretching motion ,  as if they all wanted to stay in the warmth

  

of the bed .  But the day had to be faced ,  the clock couldn't be  turned

  

back ,  life had to go on .  Each time they had tried to catch or  observe

  

the kidnapper they'd been out manouvred ,  if only they could stay  curled

  

up in bed , if only they'd wake up and find it had just been a bad dream .

 

Only this nightmare went on .

 

           Patrick's  mother rang early before Patrick had  even  put  the

  

kettle on .

 

"How's  Balbinder and Amjit ?  " asked Mrs Murphy ,  still  fingering  her

  

beads .

 

"They are coping , only the kidnapper gave us the slip . "

 

"Again . "

 

"How did you know ? "

 

"Frank came and told me , he loves little Sheila too . "

 

"Who ? "

 

"Sheila , your daughter ! "

 

"Sorry , I'm not with it this morning . "

 

"Don't worry Patrick , the Novena never fails . "

 

"Thanks mom , I better go now . "

 

"Patrick don't be afraid , everthing will be ok , trust your old mom . "

 

"Bye mom . "

 

            Mrs  Murphy hung up the phone ,  she'd said a  decade  of  the

  

rosary  while talking to her son ,  she'd have time to said  another  full

  

rosary before she got the breakfasts ready .  She just hoped  St.  Anthony

  

would hurry up ,  ah well , there was always Mother Theresa , she knew she

  

loved children .

 

           Patrick left his coffee cup in the sink with the pile of  other

  

cups , he hadn't got the energy to do any washing up these past few days .

 

So giving hairy Amjit a tin of food Patrick crossed the road to begin  his

  

day's vigil with Amjit .  George and Brownie were already there ,  Brownie

  

spitting in the face of fear .

 

"Hello  ,  well the weather looks nice ,  " began Patrick trying to  sound

  

happy .

 

"It's nice enough for a picnic , " said George taking up the theme .

 

"Yes ,  normally we go for an adventure when its as fine as this , " added

  

Brownie .

 

"How do you mean ?  " said Patrick stoking the conversation ,  he knew any

  

talk was better than silence ,  silence was dark and cold , and gave you a

  

chance to think the worse of Jaswinder's situation  .

 

"Well ,  we jump on one bus ,  then get off and jump on another , then get

  

off and jump on a third one , " began George .

 

"We've got to know the Black Country and Birmingham quite well by doing it

  

we even have discovered a few nice little parks and cafes ,  " interrupted

  

Brownie warming to the conversation , it almost felt like normal , but for

  

Amjit's weak smile .

 

"That's good ,  its nice to get out , my mom does the same thing only with

  

her its the churches she roots out , " Patrick smiled at the thought .

 

"Why don't you do it today ,  its a nice day ,  you should get out , feel

  

the sunshine on your faces , " encouraged Amjit .

 

"But we couldn't , well we didn't mean to say that , " began Brownie .

 

Amjit put his hand on her arm , he motioned to the door , "just go out for

  

a run , it'll blow the cobwebs away . "

 

"Are you sure you don't need us , " George felt guilty , as if he'd fallen

  

asleep on guard duty .

 

"Hey ,  go ,  or do I have to throw you out , here have a bunch of bananas

  

too , " Amjit then held the door open for them .

 

Brownie nodded to Patrick , then gave Amjit a motherly peck on the cheek .

 

           "I hope he didn't think we don't care about Jaswinder  ,  she's

  

our Indian Princess too , " said Brownie as they got on the first bus .

   

"It's  ok  ,  besides once the cobwebs are blown away then we'll  be  more

  

useful  to  them .  Even a soldier has to have rest  and  recreation  ,  "

  

replied George .

 

         After playing leap frog with the buses George and Brownie came to

  

O'Toole  Park  ,  it wasn't really a park just an area of boggy  land  not

  

worth the expense of draining .  Old houses had been knocked down ,  their

  

back  gardens had been incorporated into the park ,  including  the  trees

  

which used to be in the back gardens of the houses , nearby new houses had

  

been  built .  With a pathway added and a few benches a new park had  been

  

formed  ,  The  O'Toole  Park ,  named after a  former  councillor  ,  the

  

councillor had subsequently been found guilt of accepting bribes , but the

  

park  still bore his name ,  everything couldn't be renamed after  all  ,

  

that's  left  for  Historians and Journalists to  do  . So  finding  their

  

favourite bench they sat down , sighing , not talking for half an hour .

   

         "Here have a banana , " said Brownie proffering one to George .

  

"If only I was a younger man ,  I'd be scouring the streets ,  and when  I

  

caught  the little bastard who took Jaswinder I'd give him what  for  ,  "

  

said George in between bites of the banana .

 

"Don't upset yourself we've done our bit ,  " said Brownie before  handing

  

George another banana .

 

"I feel so useless ,  it was like this during the war , I couldn't wait to

  

give Hitler and the Nazis what for ," George was snapping at  the banana.

  

"Be careful or you'll break your false teeth , you know there's a crack in

  

them already , " Brownie sqeezed George's knee .

 

"Cheer  up  ,  Jaswinder must be alive ,  otherwise he wouldn't  carry  on

  

asking for money , " Brownie unpeeled another banana for herself .

 

"I  hope  you're right ,  she could be dead ,  " George was staring  at  a

  

puddle .

 

Brownie turned to look George in the eye ,  " but you don't mean he'd kill

  

her then carry on asking for money ? "

 

"I  hope I'm wrong ,  but we cann't be sure ,  if only we could see her  ,

  

then it'd be some relief ,  " George took his teeth out and began to  suck

  

the banana from them .

 

"The evil bastard ,  if I catch him ,  I'll kill him  myself ,  "  Brownie

  

pulled her collar up , she felt cold .

 

           At the other side of the park ,  a happy family was enjoying  a

  

stroll in the sunshine , a man , a woman and their daughter . The daughter

  

was skipping ,  she seemed to be enjoying herself .  George put his  teeth

  

back in and burped , bananas always made him burp .

 

"It's nice to see people enjoy themself ,  make the most of the sunshine ,

  

that's what I say . "

 

Brownie was looking at the couple too ,  " her baby must be due very  soon

  

judging by her size . "

 

"I haddn't noticed ,oh you are right now that we can see her sideways on,

  

their  daughter is a lover too ,  what with her pigtails bouncing  in  the

  

wind ,  she's got a nice smile too ,  " George was screwing up his eyes to

  

see better , it was hard to see as the sun was in his eyes .     

  

Brownie did not answer  ,  she was looking at the couple's daughter ,  the

  

skipping daughter with the pigtails .

 

"Yes ,  look at her skip , she's so happy , its nice to see happy children

  

, its cheers me up , " George looked at Brownie .

 

"She's  an Indian ,  and her parents are white ,  " Brownie wanted to  say

  

more .

 

"Oh ,  I think you are right ,  perhaps she's a friends child and they are

  

baby sitting , do you want this last banana , its a shame to waste it . "

 

"She looks familiar , " Brownie began to stand .

 

"Yes you may be right , these bananas are very good , " mumbled George .

 

Brownie was on her feet now , "Its Jaswinder ! "

 

"Don't upset yourself ,  she does look a bit like her ,  but they are  far

  

away ,  here I've saved you a bit of banana ,  " George held out the  last

  

portion of banana .

 

Brownie knocked the banana from his hand , " I tell you it is her ! "

 

George looked at the girl covering his eyes with his hand ,  " I'm not too

  

sure . "

 

"It's her I tell you , " Brownie sounded excited .

 

"They are coming this way we'll soon see , " George sounded aprehensive .

 

"Its her , I'm certain , " Brownie was defiant .

 

"Look sit down , " George pulled at Brownie's elbow .

 

Together they watched as the couple came nearer , and nearer , and nearer.  

  

"You're right ! " George sounded relieved , Jaswinder was alive !

 

"What are we going to do ? " Brownie sounded worried now .

 

"We could grab her and make a run for it ,  " George sounded just like the

  

old soldier he was .

 

"No  ,  we're too old ,  we'll follow just like Patrick and Amjit do  ,  "

  

caution Brownie .

 

"What if Jaswinder recognises us ,  we could put her in danger ,  " George

  

was worried now , were they putting Jaswinder's life in danger .

 

"It's too late to make a run for it , quick kiss me  . "

 

"What ? " George was amazed .

 

He was even more amazed when without further ado Brownie lunged for him  ,

  

she kissed him as if he was the first man she'd ever loved , ever kissed ,

  

she  kissed him just as Maureen O'Hara had kissed John Wayne in The  Quiet

  

Man the night before on telly .  Jaswinder came skipping by ,  the  couple

  

followed , they laughed when they saw George and Brownie kissing .

 

"Do you think we'll be like that at their age , Martin ? "

 

"I hope so Sue , I hope so Sue . "

 

Brownie  kissed George for all she worth till the couple had gone  out  of

  

earshot .

 

"I told you it was her , " Brownie was triumphant .

 

"It's  her  ,  she's alive ,  " George mumbled  ,  still  recovering  form

  

Brownie's battering .

 

"Come on ,  we'll follow them ,  " George leap up from the seat ,  only to

  

slip on the banana skin Brownie had knocked from his hand .

 

"Sorry I kissed you ,  only I had to do something ,  otherwise they'd  see

  

our faces , " Brownie blushed slightly .

 

"Just warn me next time , " replied George beginning to blush .

 

They  tried the best they could to keep up ,  but they were old ,  even  a

  

heavily pregnant woman could walk faster than them .  Martin and Sue  with

  

the skipping Jaswinder were getting further and further away .

 

"Go ahead George ,  my veins are slowing down ,  just go ahead ,  "  urged

  

Brownie and she slumpt down on a bench .

 

So George hurried after the kidnappers , he made up some of the distance ,

  

but  though no longer slowed by Brownie's varicose veins he still had  no

  

hope of catching up ,  he was too old ,  too old to go racing after people

  

almost  fifty years younger than him .  Huffing and puffing  George  could

  

hear the squeel of tyres and the smoke from the exhaust , he'd lost them .

 

George  was still cursing when Brownie came up behind him ,  she took  his

  

hand and squeezed it .

 

"At  least  we know she's alive and skipping ,  its a great  relief  after

  

all , " Brownie knew she had to cheer her George up .

 

"I  just feel so useless ,  I'm old and useless now ,  a few years  ago  I

  

could walk ,  I used to be a good walker ,  now I'm good for nothing  ,  "

  

George kicked at an old cola can .

 

"No  your  not  ,  we did our bit ,  come lets get back to  the  street  ,

  

Balbinder will be pleased to know Jaswinder is ok ,  " Brownie kissed  her

  

George again ,  just as she had on the park bench , he was good enough for

  

her , all she had to do was make him believe in himself again .

 

           So  the  pair left the O'Toole park ,  if  they  caught  a  bus

  

straight  into  town and caught another back out again they'd  be  on  the

  

street  within  an hour .  They arrived at the bus stop just  as  the  bus

  

arrived , their luck was in , only it wasn't after two stops the bus broke

  

down .  George held the rail on the seat in front ,  he squeezed it hard ,

  

he wanted to scream .

 

"Let's get off ,  there's a taxi place half a mile up the road ,  "  urged

  

Brownie  ,  they couldn't just sit there the sooner they got back  to  the

  

street the sooner Balbinder would know her child was alive .

 

So they got off and started to walk the half mile to the taxi place  ,  it

  

was  all uphill and at their age it was as if they were walking  in  thick

  

snow .  Behind them the passengers had got off the bus , all cursing their

  

luck .  George glanced back at the passengers ,  then out of the corner of

  

his eye he saw something .

 

"Quick take your scarf off and wave it , " commanded George .

 

As  quick  as  a flash Brownie did as she was  told  ,  Percy  slowed  and

  

stopped .

  

"I'd ever thought I'd be glad to see a hearse , " began George .

 

"Quick take us home , we've seen Jaswinder , she's alive and skipping  ,"

  

gushed Brownie .  

  

"Thank God ,  I hope you'll excuse my passenger ,  " Percy motioned to the

  

coffin in the back .

 

With that Percy was off ,  his tires squeeling ,  the passengers from  the

  

bus were left to scratch their heads , a funny kind of taxi a hearse .

 

          On the way Brownie explained how they'd ended up at O'Toole park

  

only  to  find Jaswinder skipping towards them .  Percy  left  George  and

  

Brownie out at Amjit's store ,  he had to attend to the corpse  .  Brownie

  

bounced through Amjit's shop's door a spring in her step ,  she was about

  

to  blurt  out the news when she saw some customers .  For what  seemed  a

  

lifetime  she held her tongue ,  when the customers had gone ,  the  damn

  

burst .

 

"We've  seen Jaswwinder ,  she's alive and skipping .  We were in  O'Toole

  

park , its not really a park just a bit of boggy ground with the old back

  

gardens of knocked houses added on to form a kind of park , anyway we were

  

sitting  on  a  bench  eating your bananas when  who  should  we  see  but

  

Jaswinder skipping with her pigtails bouncing about . "

 

"And  we know the names of the kidnappers ,  the man who wears the  duffle

  

coat is called Martin ,  he's got ginger hair ,  the girl is called Sue  ,

  

they saw us kissing you see , " George stopped he felt embarrassed .

 

"I thought they'd recognise us from being on the bus the other night ,  or

  

that Jaswinder would say something , she could have been in danger . So I

  

kissed  George for all I was worth ,  Jaswinder's safety demanded it  ,  "

  

explained Brownie .

 

Amjit laughed ,  it'd been the first time he'd laughed since Jaswinder had

  

been taken from him ,  Patrick laughed too .  Balbinder came out from  the

  

back , what was this laughter she was hearing . Amjit explained in Indian.

  

"Is  it  true ,  is it really true ?  " Balbinder  scoured  Brownie's  and

  

George's faces for confirmation .  

  

"Yes ! " Brownie smiled .

 

Balbinder  kissed  Brownie's hand ,  Brownie hugged Balbinder  ,  "Hey  be

  

happy  ,  keep  your pecker up chuck ,  everything will be ok  ,  "  cooed

  

Brownie .

 

Balbinder went in the back to tell her inlaws ,  a cheer went up ,  though

  

it still sounded like a sigh .  Balbinder  came  back  out  ,  she  hugged

  

Brownie  by way of thanks ,  then she kissed Amjit ,  the first time  ever

  

she'd kissed him in public .

 

           They all stood around , a glow of relief about them , Jaswinder

  

was  alive that was something ,  but why were this Martin and his girl  in

  

O'Toole park ?

 

"He was looking in the waste bins too , he smiled to himself as if he knew

  

a secret , well it seemed like that , " Brownie said , not wanting to seem

  

stupid .

 

"Looking at waste bins ,  it could be that ,  " Patrick paused , his heart

  

was beating faster , he was afraid to say the words .

 

"Could be what ? " Amjit's eyes were pleading , he knew what Patrick would

  

say only he wanted Patrcik to say it first .

 

"He's planning the next drop off , he'll tell us to leave the money in the

  

park , " Patrick spoke slowly .

 

"Yes that's it , of course it is , it must be , " Brownie sounded excited.

  

"Do you think so ? " Amjit felt uncertain now .

 

"I'd place a bet on it , " said George slapping his hand on the counter .

 

"It must be the park , " pronounced Patrick .

 

Amjit looked at them in turn ,  then he spoke ,  "I was too afraid to  say

  

it ,  I don't know what to say ,  its just ,  " Amjit's words drifted into

  

nothingness , he was afraid to hope .

 

Patrick looked at his friend ,  Amjit looked so weak the sparkle had  gone

  

from his eyes , if only his mother was here she'd know what to say , she'd

  

soon have Amjit smiling again . Only she wasn't there , Patrick would have

  

to do the best he could .

 

"Look , it MUST be the park , we've got the advantage now , we're ahead of

  

the little bastard .  We'll set a trap , the whole street will help , when

  

he calls next we'll all be ready and waiting in the park , so when he goes

  

to collect the money we'll grap Jaswinder back . And if she's not with him

  

we'll  follow  ,  Jaswinder will be back  with us ,  soon very  soon  ,  "

  

Patrick spoke the words as his mother would have , full of fire and hope ,

  

where this hope came from only God knew .

 

"Yes , we can set a trap , just like we did for the Gerries in the war , "

  

George felt young again , he felt useful .

 

"Yes ,  we'll get him this time ,  " Brownie joined in to form a chorus  ,

  

Amjit needed fire in his belly , she'd do her bit just like her George .

 

"Are you really sure ? " Amjit looked at their faces one by one .

 

"Mark  my words ,  its the park ,  " Patrick placed his hands  on  Amjit's

  

shoulders , "listen my friend , Jaswinder will be home , she'll be able to

  

see my daughter , everything will be ok . "

 

Amjit smiled weakly , a faint , a dim sparkle returned to his eyes .

 

"But what are we going to do ? " asked Brownie .    

  

"First you and George go and tell everybody to be ready ,  everybody to be

  

at the park by nine tomorrow morning .  You two know the layout so talk to

  

them  all ,  everybody to hide ,  then if we see Jaswinder we'll all  jump

  

him ,  if he's on his own then we'll follow ,  " Patrick sounded excited ,

  

and he was Jaswinder would be free , Jaswinder would be free .

 

          So George and Brownie went from shop to shop , a spring in their

  

step , hope in their hearts . Jaswinder would be free , Jaswinder would be

  

free , they had the initiative now . Jimmy came in Amjit's shop , his head

  

bowed , he didn't want to look Amjit or Patrick in the eye .

 

"George and Brownie told me the good news ,  only its not good news ,  you

  

see I know this Martin , " Jimmy looked them in the eye for a second .

 

"What , but how , " Patrick couldn't understand .

 

"He's a friend of my son Danny , he's a drugs user and pusher , I told him

  

that  if  he ever came near my son I'd kill him ,  " Jimmy stared  at  his

  

feet .  

  

"It's not your fault ,  Jimmy , " Amjit said the words but in his heart he

  

felt hate .  

  

"He won't give Jaswinder any drugs if that's what you are thinking ,  he's

  

too  mean to do that ,  he's always on the scrounge ,  a born  loser  ,  "

  

continued Jimmy  as if reading Amjit's mind .

 

"But Danny might know where he lives  " Patrick said .

 

"He's in Israel , remember , I sent him there so this Martin wouldn't have

  

any influence over him , " explained Jimmy still looking at his feet .

 

"Well  ring him up ,  the phone's there ,  " Patrick passed the  phone  to

  

Jimmy .

 

So Jimmy rung Israel , speaking in Yiddish he asked to speak to his son ,  

  

only he wasn't there , Jimmy slowly put the receiver down .

  

"He's gone camping with this girl he met , he won't be back for a week , I

  

told  them  to get him to ring as soon as he came back  ,  "  Jimmy  spoke

  

slowly , he felt so guilty , the sins of the son visited on the father .

 

"You  did  your best ,  you'll be there tomorrow when we spring  the  trap

  

won't you ? " asked Amjit mellowing slightly .

 

"Of course ,  I'm just so sorry ,  that's all , " Jimmy started to leave ,

  

still looking at his feet .

 

Patrick shouted after him , "this is just between the three of us , Martin

  

is an evil bastard , him knowing your son doesn't count . "

 

"Yes , sure , anything you say , " mumbled Jimmy with a heavy heart .

 

"We play dominoes in the evening , if you're not busy then come along , "

  

ventured Amjit .

 

Jimmy turned and looked Amjit in the eye , "thanks , I'd like that . "

 

When Jimmy had left the shop Patrick spoke , " you amaze me sometimes . "

 

"There's  too  much pain already ,  why make him suffer  ?  "  said  Amjit

  

shrugging his shoulders .

 

           In the evening Barry arrived , with a tap to the left and a tap

  

to the right , Amjit had the coffee and samosas ready .  

  

"Sorry  I  didn't  turn up last time ,  only I got a  chance  to  see  the

  

football , so I went along to the match  , " explained Barry .

 

Patrick  and  Amjit shook their heads ,  hadn't they lost  Martin  in  the

  

crowds at the same match .

 

"I nearly didn't make it though ,  some pratt ran right into me  , he sent

  

me flying .  A pratt in a duffle coat it was ,  his face was as red as his

  

hair he was really running fast , " continued Barry .

 

Patrick groaned ,  Amjit looked to the ceiling and sighed ,  it was  worse

  

than being teased . Jimmy came in to join the game .

 

"This  is Barry ,  he's our dominoes coach ,  " said Patrick motioning  to

  

Barry .

 

"Hello ,  and who are you ?  " smiled Barry , turning towards the sound of

  

Jimmy's footsteps .

 

"I'm Jimmy , from the jewlers , " said Jimmy holding out his hand .

 

He put his hand down when Barry didn't take it , it was only then that he  

  

noticed the white stick resting against the counter .

 

"Can  you put the mirror in postion for me ,  but a bit more to the  right

  

this time , " asked Barry .

 

"Sure , " so Patrick put the mirror in position , so Barry could cheat .

 

"Its the only way I can get a fair game ,  " explained Barry ,  turning to

  

Jimmy .

 

"Er , yes , " mumbled Jimmy .

 

"We'd win otherwise , " explained Patrick .

 

Barry began to laugh ,Patrick and Amjit joined in , Jimmy thought they'd

  

been drinking , but he found himself laughing too .

 

"I'd  love to see your face ,  you must have thought we were  bonkers  ,  "

  

laughed Barry .

 

Jimmy laughed even more ,  his guilt over Martin soon lifted . So the four

  

played dominoes . It was strange how a simple game gave so much pleasure ,  

  

as  if they had returned to childhood ,  returned to innocence with not  a

  

care  in  the  world .  Amjit found himself crying  ,  not  for  sorrow  ,

  

Jaswinder would be found tomorrow so his tears weren't for sorrow .  Jimmy

  

shed a tear too ,  tears of relief ,  Amjit had forgiven him , with a look

  

over the dominoes Amjit had forgiven him . Forgiveness was such a relief ,   

  

they  were free to be children ,  free to play their  dominoes  .  Patrick

  

could sense the relief ,  he wanted to say something but couldn't think of

  

the words , he knew his mother must be praying hard .

 

          His mother was praying hard , she had the book of the saints out

  

in front of her .  One by one she asked them to do their bit ,  one by one

  

they were recruited to her cause ,  one by one the prayers were said , one

  

by  one  they  were egged on ,  one by one they were  encouraged  to  find

  

Jaswinder .  All the time she had Mother Theresa's photo in front of her ,

  

from  a mother to a mother she spoke ,  a mother's tears she  shed  ,  she

  

pronounced her faith ,  she pronounced her hope .  Now was the time to set

  

things right ,  now was the time to banish the night , now was the time to

  

open the door ,  now was the time to prove her right , now was the time to

  

set wrongs right ,  now was the time for a child to be free ,  now was the

  

time she asked , she begged on bended knee , just set Jaswinder free .

 

            The next morning came ,  bright and blue ,  just a faint  dark

  

cloud on the horizon ,  but every cloud has a silver lining , this morning

  

they were sure of that .  Amjit was nervous ,  he was pacing backwards and

  

forwards in front of the counter .

 

"Are you sure it'll be O'Toole park ?  " Amjit sounded like a child asking

  

would Santa really come .

 

"Trust  me ,  my mother said she was certain it'd be the park when I  told

  

her the news , " Patrick tried to sound like a father to a son .

 

"You  are  sure ?  " Amjit again sounded like a child wanting  proof  that

  

Santa would really come .

 

"Yes , I'm sure , " and Patrick was .

 

But still Amjit paced , he flexed , he was like a swimmer waiting for the

  

starting  gun , like a diver waiting to leap off the high board . They'd

  

exchange smiles , Patrick certain ,  Amjit slightly afraid ,  afraid  for

  

his  child's sake .  Patrick was like a parent sitting by a child's bed  ,

  

just until it slept ,  then the ghosts couldn't get the child .  The phone

  

rang , Amjit leapt for it , only Patrick's hand was clampt over it .

 

"Just act dumb ,  remember you don't know its going to be the park  , just

  

act dumb , " Patrick then took his hand off the phone .

 

"Hello , " Amjit forced himself to breath slowly .

 

"It's me , I think you can afford more . "

 

"How much ? "

 

"œ3000 , that's how much . "

 

Amjit mouthed the figure to Patrick .

 

"Thats a lot . "

 

"Do you wogs put a price on your children , isn't she worth it ? "

 

"Of course she is , and more . "

 

"More , in that case I want œ5000 . "

 

Amjit closed his eyes and bit his lip , he sighed .

 

"Ok , ok , just give me back my baby . "

 

"Deliver it to O'Toole park ,  over Hemford way .  Put it in the waste bin

  

near the swings , " ordered Martin .

 

"Where's that ? "

 

"You have an A to Z , use it , or don't you want your daughter back ? "

 

Amjit didn't know what to say ,  he didn't want to argue ,  he just wanted

  

his little girl back .

 

"Are you still there ? "

 

"Yes , I just feel ill . "

 

"So long as the money is there by 1PM . "

 

"Ok . "

 

"And remember no Police . "

 

"Can I speak to my daughter ? "

 

"NO , she'd asleep , she wore herself out yesterday in the park . "

 

"When do I get her back ? "

 

"When I see the money , you'll see your daughter . "

 

The phone went dead , slowly Amjit replaced the receiver .

 

"Well ? " asked Patrick .

 

"It's the park alright , he wants œ5000 this time , he told me to leave it

  

in the waste bin by the swings . Patrick , I'm afraid . "

 

"Then we'll have him and Jaswinder ! " Patrick sounded triumphant .

 

"It just doesn't feel right Patrick ,  perhaps we should let him have  the

  

money , " Amjit was uncertain ,.

 

"We cann't trust a man who steals a child , Jimmy told us what he's like ,

  

we have to go on , " Patrick wished he could say more , but he couldn't .  

  

           Michael came in with a large envelope , he handed it to Amjit .

 

"We had a whip round , so they'd be no delay , there's thousands in there,

 

just give him what he needs .  I better be going to warn everybody , it is

  

the park isn't it ? "

 

"Yes , and thanks , " Amjit felt weak , weak and humbled .

 

"Go  and tell Balbinder ,  then I'll drive you to the drop off point  ,  "

  

said Patrick .

 

Balbinder  hugged her husband ,  Amjit's parents said their prayers  were

  

with him ,  without wasting any more time Amjit left the shop .  Jaswinder

  

would be safe before the day was out .

 

          At the park everybody had been in position for hours , all the

  

entrances and exits had been covered , they'd had plenty of time to get in

  

position  ,  nothing could go wrong .  Percy had parked his hearse at  the

  

back of the park by a church ,  it used to be Anglican ,  now the Midlands

  

Orthodox church had taken it over . A hearse parked outside a church would

  

not  arouse any suspicion ,  so Percy switched Radio Three on and  settled

  

back to wait for any sign of Martin .

 

           Frank  had decided he'd get a good view of the  park  from  the

  

local launderettes ,  so brought a bag of clean clothes with him , then he

  

washed  them and washed them and washed them and washed them .  He had  an

  

unobstructed view of the park from where he sat , he'd not miss a thing .

 

           A few doors up the road from the launderettes was a garage  and

  

car park ,  Jimmy had decided he'd wait there .  He just walked up to  the

  

attendant and said he'd be using the car wash all that morning ,  he  then

  

slapped  œ50 on the counter saying he was selling his car to a very  fussy

  

person  .  The attendent didn't care she was busy reading a book on  Irish

  

History  for her Degree course ,  he could bath in it for all she cared  ,

  

she just wanted some peace to read her history book .  So Jimmy sat in the

  

car wash and waited , and waited and waited .

 

           Ann and Mary from the clothes shop were also at the park  along

  

with Annie and Betty from the Trader ,  the four of them had decided  that

  

they'd  walk  around  and  around  the  path  that  bordered  the  park  ,

  

occasionally they'd stop and talk as if they'd bumpt into each other .They

  

also  decided  that  a  change  of  clothing  would  help  disguise  their

  

identities ,  so Ann and Mary wore the latest reversible coats , after two

  

laps  of the park the pair would duck into some hedges and  reverse  their

  

coats  .  To a casual viewer they were now two different people ,  as  for

  

Betty  and  Annie they had brought some of their props along  too  ,  they

  

followed the same procedure ,  a few laps of the park then a dive into the

  

bushes to change clothes . It would have been fun if it were a first night

  

of a farce , but this was no farce , it was deadly earnest .   

  

           George  and Brownie were on the same bench as  before  ,  again

  

Brownie  smothered George with kisses every time a child appeared  on  the

  

horizon ,  just in case it was Jaswinder ,  she had to be within grabbing

  

distance , so Brownie took no chances , she smothered George in kisses .

 

Betty and Annie smiled when they saw how Brownie was over reacting  ,  but

  

they were doing their bit .  Michael had come on ahead and hooted his horn

  

as a signal , it was the park , be ready for action . Big Sid had insisted

  

that he should be there ,  only he couldn't find anywhere to hide , he was

  

just too big , too big by half . So Sid took a desparate step , he hide in

  

a pile of manure which was going to be spread over the bushes and plants ,  

  

when the workmen got around to it .  

  

          Everybody had been ready for hours , they all held their breath,

  

they  watched as Amjit walked into the park and placed an envelope in  the

  

waste  bin by the swings .  Amjit walked back to Patrick's car  ,  Brownie

  

winked as he past by .  Once in Patrick's car he crouched down so he'd not

  

be seen , as for Patrick he had a hat on and was reading a news paper , he

  

had the radio on loud too ,  nobody would suspect somebody making so  much

  

noise , well that was Patrick's theory anyway .

 

          The girls walked round and round ,  round and round  the  garden

  

like a teddy bear , one step two step , and let the kidnapper beware . The

  

one  grey cloud from the morning had now mustered its troops ,  the  greys

  

had now turned to black , it started to rain , a storm was about to break.

 

Percy held his breath as a man in a duffle coat walked by , it must be the

  

kidnapper , it had to be , whoever it was he was whistling , he was happy.  

  

           The girls spotted the man ,  it must be him ,  they hated him ,

  

they twitched their fingers ,  if only their nails were flick knives  .  A

  

ripple of hate went over their wombs , that was the bastard for sure .

 

"It's him , " whispered Brownie .

 

"Quick give me a banana , " urged George .

 

"You don't thing I should kiss you , " asked Bronie as she handed George a

  

banana .

 

"No ,  well ,  just wait till he gets close ,  I suppose we have to appear

  

the same as yesterday , " George unzipped his banana .

 

          Behind them from another direction a tramp , a drunken tramp was

  

staggering along the path , there was a dossers' shelter the other side of

  

the park ,  he was on his way home .  George was on his second banana when

  

Brownie saw the tramp .

 

"Oh no , the tramp's looking in the bins , " Brownie closed her eyes .

 

"He won't look in all of them , they never do , " soothed George .

 

"Shall we warn him off ,  or should we give him money ,  " Browmie  didn't

  

know what to do .

 

"He'll only swear at us and do the opposite ,  " George took his teeth out

  

some banana had got stook behind his top set .

 

The tramp continued with his browsing in the bins ,  he walked past George

  

and Brownie , he staggered to the next bin but decided to ignore it .

 

"See  I told you he'd not look in them all ,  " said George as he put  his

  

teeth back in .

 

A rumble of thunder echoed over the park ,  the tramp hurried on ,  he was

  

heading straight for the bin by the swings .  George closed his eyes , the

  

flash of lightning siloetted the tramp putting an envelope in his pocket.

  

The  tramp left the path and went over the grass ,  the quick way  to  the

  

doss house .

 

           Martin had been making sure nobody would spot him ,  he'd  been

  

pretending to do sit ups and pull ups on the exercise trail which followed

  

the path around the park . Now with the second flash of thunder he decided

  

he didn't want to get wet ,  all he wanted was his money .  So he began to

  

sprint , like a hare out of the trap , straight for the bin by the swings.

  

To the sound of thunder Martin emptied the bin ,  he shook it ,  he kicked

  

it ,  he picked it up and threw it into the bushes .  There was no money ,

  

he'd been cheated ,  he raced back the way he'd come .  The hare caught in

  

the photo finish of lightning , the rain came down , the rain came down .

 

George and Brownie closed their eyes , it was all their fault , it was all

  

their fault .

 

"Quick get on the bench and wave your scarf , " urged George .

 

Leaning on George for support Brownie took off her scarf and waved it  for

  

all she was worth .

 

"Catch him , catch him ," yelled Brownie .

 

          Big Sid awoke from his slumbers ,  the weight of manure had made

  

him  fall asleep ,  rising like Frankenstein he lumbered in the  direction

  

Brownie was pointing . He bumpt into a vandal pulling sapplings down , the

  

same vandal who'd pestered Henry with litter , the kid fainted with shock.   

  

Big  Sid  ran for all he was worth ,  the manure falling  off  him  ,  the

  

thunder roared and the lightning flashed , Big Sid had risen from the dead

  

to help catch a kidnapper .

 

          Annie and Betty lifted up their skirts to run ,  dressed as nuns

  

they raced to the back of the park , George and Brownie went to the street

  

side ,  again Brownie waved her scarf ,  catch the kidnapper ,  catch  the

  

kidnapper .

 

           Percy started his hearse ,  he waited for Martin to get ahead ,

  

he didn't want to give the game away ,  he started to pull out .  A  lorry

  

carrying  hundred weight sacks of cement arrived ,  it blocked his  way  ,

  

what Percy didn't know was that the Orthodox church had moved on , now the

  

former  Anglican  church was used as a builders yard  .  Betty  and  Annie

  

appeared  in their black stockings with their skirts hitched  up  ,  Percy

  

pointed and the girls raced off around the corner after Martin .

 

           The girls could see him get in a car and drive off ,  the  rain

  

was really heavy , their costumes were weighting them down .

 

"Quick through the park again ,  he's got to get  to the main road ,  "

  

yelled Annie .

 

Again  the girls dashed though the park ,  nuns showing their knickers  as

  

they ran .  The vandal had awoke by now ,  he smiled it was better than  a

  

dream  , two nuns in black stockings running towards him . As he smiled he

  

reached out to touch them ,  only Annie wasn't having any of this , so she

  

kicked him hard in the nuts ,  and so did Betty .  Jaswinder's life was at

  

stake , so they gave the smiling pervert what he deserved .

  

          Frank had seen Brownie waving her scarf ,  so he dashed out  the

  

launderette , his van keys at the ready , there was a car speeding by with

  

a man in it , he was wearing a duffle coat .

 

"You've forgotten your jeans mister ,  " an old lady said grabbing him  by

  

the arm , she wouldn't let go .

 

Annie  and Betty came running out the park towards the car  wash  ,  Jimmy

  

pushed  open  a  passenger door so they could jump  in  ,  he  turned  the

  

ignition  .  Only the car wouldn't start ,  all morning in a car wash  had

  

drowned the engine , Jimmmy swore , the two nuns swore .

 

           Amjit  and Patrick were about to leave the car  park  when  the

  

first of ten tinkers caravans arrived , O'Toole park was like  a  second

  

home to them ,  they felt safe there . Amjit cursed , Patrick cursed under

  

his breath ,  he knew it was never wise to upset a tinker . So it was left

  

to  old  Michael to follow ,  he'd had a bacon sandwich and a cup  of  tea

  

before going back into his taxi ;  when he saw Bettie and Annie dressed as

  

naughty nuns he'd followed the dirty yellow Datson with the duffle  coated

  

man , the kidnapper in .  

  

         The thunder roared , and roared and roared , the lion had escaped

  

the  circus .  The lightning flashed ,  flashed and flashed again  ,  like

  

sparks from a devil's workshop .  But the weather was nothing compared  to

  

Martin's fury , he'd been tricked , he was angry , he'd have revenge . A

 

lifetime of driving allowed Michael to keep up ,  raw anger kept Martin in

  

the lead .  The rain came down , the rain came down  . A car came out of a

  

driveway ,  no indicator , no nothing , the usual bad driving , the Datsun

  

swerved to avoid it only to head straight for a lorry ,  the lorry swerved

  

too , only God or luck prevented a collision . The lorry went in a pothole

  

throwing  up a fountain of water against the Datson ,  the Datson  swerved

  

the  other way ,  scraping against a parked ice cream van  .  Michael  was

  

close behind , he braked , he swerved , he skidded , he stopped behind the

  

ice  cream  van with only inches to spare .  Michael hurriedly  moved  off

  

again  ,  the rain had now washed the dirt from the Datson  ,  the  number

  

plate was clear . If only he could read it , Percy had said he had friends

  

who could trace it for him .Up ahead the Datson had another close  shave ,

  

with a dustcart this time ,  Michael struggled to overtake a bus , finally

  

he did .  He'd lost the Datson ,  he'd stick to the main road ,  what  was

  

that up ahead , it was the Datson . Michael bobbed and wheaved , bobbed

  

and  wheaved  till  he was right behind ,  so he could at  least  get  the

  

registration . A set of traffic lights were up ahead , if only they'd turn

  

to red , they did . But the Datson shot through them , Michael had to wait

  

till they changed ,  it took him three minutes to catch up again . Michael

  

closed in , he could read the registration now . Michael then noticed that

  

the  man was not wearing a duffle coat ,  in fact he was wearing a  collar

  

and tie ,  or rather a collar .  It was a vicar . Michael cursed like he'd

  

cursed in the army ,  only the rumble of thunder  drowned his curses , the

  

vicar ahead could lip read though .  So he gave Michael a severe look  and

  

in  return  Michael gave him two fingers .  The traffic lights  changed  ,

  

Michael turned the corner and parked .

 

"Shit , shit , shit , " swore Michael .

 

A policeman on point duty came over to Michael's taxi to investigate .

 

"Anything the matter , Sir ? "

 

"No ,  its my darts team ,  we lost , " lied Michael pointing to the radio

  

which was switched off .

 

"If that's all I'll get back to directing traffic , but do drive carefully

  

in all this rain , " the P.C. saluted and went back to his position in the

  

middle of the road .

 

          Back on the street everybody had gathered in Mark's cafe ,  they

  

sat hunched over their teas ,  stiring and stiring ,  as if the tea  could

  

become an Oracle  ,  as if by looking at the tea Jaswinder's fate would be

  

revealed ,  things looked bleak .  Nobody dared look another in the face ,

  

they all felt guilty ,  each felt that it was their fault and their  fault

  

alone  that  Jaswinder wasn't free because they had failed to  follow  the

  

kidnapper .  So there they all sat hunched over their teas all hoping  and

  

praying  that  the tea would turn into an Oracle  and  reveal  Jaswinder's

  

whereabouts .

 

Patrick spoke first ,  though his voice sounded like laughter at a funeral

  

all  everybody wanted to do was stare at their tea ,  as they  stired  and

  

stired and stired .

 

"It was all planned ,  and still the bastard got away , " Patrick finished

  

off his third tea , hoping it'd wash away the bad taste in his mouth .

 

Gillian came an gave Patrick a refill ,  she stroked his hair ,  hoping to

  

comfort him .

 

"And he didn't get his money ,  " added Amjit looking up from his tea , he

  

bit his lip ,

 

Gillian  squeezed his shoulder as she poured him another tea ,  it was all

  

she could do , but what more could she do , if there was more she'd do it.

  

"I should have realised my car would stall ,  hours in the car wash  ,  it

  

was inevitable ,  I'm a fool , its all my fault , " Jimmy banged the table

  

he was thinking about the part his son had played in all this ,  the  sins

  

of the son had been visited on the father .

 

"Its our fault ,  we were stupid to dress up as nuns ,  its our fault ,  "

  

began Annie .

 

"We  should have know better ,  " said Betty barely able to hold back  the

  

tears .  

  

"It was so terrible , the church had been deconsecrated years ago , it was

  

a builder's yard ,  not a church ,  I could have put her life in danger  ,

  

its my fault , " sighed Percy as he stired his tea .

 

"We should have stopped the tramp ,  we could of , we could have given him

  

a few bob , or struck up a conversation with him , but we didn't so he got

  

to the waste bin first ,  its our fault ," said George .

 

" He looked angry when he didn't get his money , " added Brownie .

 

Amjit felt a shiver go down his spine ,  he looked about for reassurance ,

  

he was like a frightened child .

 

"Next time he rings you'll have to tell him that anybody could have taken

  

it , " said Sid .  

  

"I'll have to tell the truth , that we set a trap , "  Amjit spoke slowly.   

  

Everybody looked at each other , was Amjit suggesting treason , or what ?  

  

It was left to Patrick to urge caution , "do you think that's wise ? "  

  

"We  have  to ,  for Jaswinder's sake ,  " Amjit stired his  tea  for  the

  

thousandth time .

 

"Just  ,  just say you waited ,  hoping to catch a glimpse of Jaswinder  ,

  

don't tell him about the rest of us , " advised Big Sid .

 

"Yes that's right , if you must tell the truth then tell just part of it ,  

  

be  economical  with the truth as they say in Politics ,  "  said  Patrick

  

trying to sound his most persuasive .  

  

"He's right  ,  be economical with the truth as Judges say ,  " Percy was

  

sounding more like his old self now .  

  

"I don't know ,  " Amjit looked at their faces one by one , he felt like a

  

schoolboy who was going to twit on his pals , but he had to , didn't he ?

 

"Do  what you think best and we will all support you ,  " Big Sid  sounded

  

like a father .

 

Amjit closed his eyes  and gulped , " thanks , thanks all of you . "

 

"I think you should have a bath now , Sid , it was a great disguise at the

  

time  but  now  go and wash it off ,  " said  Patrick  hoping  to  lighten

  

everybodys' mood .

 

"Ok , I'm going , I know when I'm not wanted , " nodding to Amjit Sid left

  

the cafe .

 

Gillian sprayed the air freshner after him ,  everybody smiled , but still

  

they stired their teas .

      

           They  all remained where they were ,  nobody wanted to  make  a

  

move  ,  it  would be like rushing away from a graveside to go  off  to  a

  

party ,  so they stired their teas and consulted the Oracle hoping for  an

  

answer  ,  so long as it wasn't the one they feared most .  The  chugg  of

  

Michael's taxi could be heard , then with one spit then another they heard

  

Michael open the cafe door .

 

"Sorry  I got delayed ,  " explained as he cleared his throat and spat  in

  

his handerchief .

 

"Here  get this down you ,  " said Mark handing Michael a mug of  steaming

  

tea .

 

"Ah , that's better , have you got something to perk it up a bit ? "

 

Mark reached under the counter and put some Calvadose in Michael's tea .

 

"Thanks  ,  my chest is playing up in all this damp and rain ,  "  Michael

  

again spat in his handkerchief .

 

"None of us had any luck , " explained Percy .

 

"I  did  ,  I  followed his car ,  " Michael said  before  having  another

  

reviving sip from his fortified tea .

 

"Great ! " shouted Patrick .

 

Every face shone with hope , everybody stopped stiring their tea , as if a

  

surge  of  electricity  had  gone through them  ,  bringing  them  all  to

  

attention .

 

Michael  put down his tea ,  " I almost had him  ,  he was driving like  a

  

maniac , it was hard but I managed to keep up . His car was so dirty , but

  

what with all the rain it was as if it was in a carwash ,  " Jimmy  closed

  

his eyes ,  Michael continued , " I tried  to read the number plate as the

  

rain  washed  the  dirt  from it ,  only when  he  nearly  crashed  I  got

  

distracted , I nearly went into something myself . Anyway I lost him , but

  

I stayed with the main road hoping to catch up . I thought I had caught up

  

when I saw a yellow Datsun ahead , only it wasn't him , it was a vicar . "

 

"At least you tried ,  if only we could get the number plate ,  then  we'd

  

have him , I have friends , " sighed Percy .

 

"But we cann't go to the Police , " Amjit didn't understand .

 

"Just trust me ,  if we get the number plate then we can trace him  ,  the

  

Police will have nothing to do with it ,I have friends ," Percy touched

  

his nose .  

  

"I  just  hope  he's not angry about the money ,  " Amjit  looked  like  a

  

child asking his mother would his dad beat him for being naughty .  

  

"Everything will be ok , chuck , " said Brownie giving Amjit a hug .

 

          When  Martin got home he was fuming , he was wet , his  car  was

  

damaged and he hadn't got the money , not a penny .

 

"Where is she ? " snapped Martin .

 

"In the bedroom , "  answered Sue , she was frightened .

 

Martin stormed into the bedroom pulling his wet coat off ,  Jaswinder  was

  

playing , bouncing on the bed .

  

"You look like Yorzal Gummidge ," she giggled .

 

Martin replied by slapping her face ,  "your daddy doesn't love you  ,  he

  

didn't even bother leaving any money , your daddy doesn't love you . "

 

Again he slapped Jaswinder , Sue hurried to intervene , to place her fat ,

  

her pregnant body between Martin and Jaswinder .

 

"You'll kill her , you'll kill her , leave her alone , " screamed Sue .

 

Sue got hit instead ,  Jaswinder hid under the bed , all she could see was

  

the struggling feet of Martin and Sue .  After a while Martin stopped , he

  

just reached for a handful of pills ,  of drugs , he'd rest then he'd plan

  

his revenge . Sue grabbed Jaswinder and stuffed her in the cupboard out of

  

harms way , as for Martin he lay on the bed and dreamed .

  

           Hours later Martin had a plan formed ,  he'd have his revenge ,

  

he'd make Amjit pay .  Grabbing the kitchen knife he made Sue give him the

  

key to the cupboard ,  Sue knew she couldn't stop him ,  her lip was split

  

already , she closed her eyes , so long as it was over quickly .

 

"I'll show them , and I'll still get money too ! " Martin was smiling .

 

As he opened the cupboard with the knife raised Sue fainted , now at least

  

she wouldn't be a witness , only Martin was to blame .

 

           Big Sid had gone home to have a bath ,  then a  shower  ,  then

  

another bath ,  then another shower . Hours spent under the pile of manure

  

had  left him stinking ,  Big Sid scrubbed and scrubbed till his skin  was

  

raw . All the time he thought of Jaswinder , all alone , he thought of her

  

picture  on  the  wall of his butchers ,  he thought  of  the  space  he'd

  

reserved  for the photo of Patrick's new daughter Sheila .  He thought  of

  

the  past ,  the first photo on his butcher's wall all those years  ago  ,

  

he'd  seen the babies grow up till their own babies's photos were  on  his

  

wall , he even had one granddaughter on his wall . It was all so nice , so

  

innocent , so peaceful . Only now one of those photos , one of those flesh

  

and blood photos was in danger ,  his Indian Princess was in danger .  And

  

it  was  all his fault ,  it was all his fault ,if only he  hadn't  fallen

  

asleep under the pile of manure . It was all his fault , he thought of the

  

past all the laughs he'd had with his "girls" in his shop ,  the photos of

  

their daughters and sons on his wall .  But what of the future ?  Big  Sid

  

turned the hot tap on again ,  he felt so cold . What of the future , what

  

of  the future .  The sound of the water over flowing onto the floor  woke

  

Big Sid from his thoughts and fears .

 

           But at least little Sheila was ok ,  Mathew was guarding her  ,

  

the  Gavin Twins were guarding her ,  she was safe ,  she had a  future  ,

  

there was a space on the wall for her photo .  Sid got dressed ,  at least

  

she was ok ,  at least the little innocent Sheila was ok . Sid was worried

  

he'd just go and pay a visit ,it was about time he saw little baby Sheila,

     

a drive would do him good . Sitting at home he felt like a cow waiting his

  

turn at the slaughter house ,  yes he'd go and pay a visit on Mrs Murphy ,

  

he'd see the new baby ,  the new hope . It'd take his mind off Jaswinder ,

  

it'd help him stop feeling guilty , for falling asleep at the chosen hour.  

  

       Big Sid sighed , he had the window right down , the air was fresh,

  

it felt so good ,  a nice drive to see a new baby .  The perfect end to  a

  

day ,  Jaswinder would be ok , tomorrow was another day . Tonight he'd see

  

the  new  baby  ,  he'd  even get a photo off Mrs Murphy  to  put  on  his

  

butcher's  wall .  Big Sid felt better ,  new babies always made him  feel

  

good ,  even now .  Sid could see the Gavins' lorry parked down the road ,

  

so parking outside Mrs Murphy's he got out of his van and crossed over  to

  

have a few words before he went to see the new baby .

 

"Hello lads , thanks for standing guard , " Big Sid sounded appologetic as

  

if he was thanking them for doing something they hated .

 

"Its ok Sid , we don't mind its the least we can do , " said Luke .

 

"You've heard today's news ? " asked Big Sid .

 

"No , what's up ? " wondered John .

 

"We were all ready for him , the whole lot of us in O'Toole park , only he

  

didn't have Jaswinder with him ,  otherwise we'd have snatched her back  ,

  

well  the money was in a waste bin like he asked only a tramp  came  along

  

and  took  it  .  George and Brownie are  killing  themselves  with  guilt

  

because they didn't stop the tramp ,  but it was my fault as well , I fell

  

asleep while waiting for the kidnapper . "

 

"Don't blame yourself , Sid , " Mathew touched Sid's elbow .

 

"But it is my fault , " Sid looked at the ground .

 

"She'll  be  ok don't worry ,  look the light's gone on  in  Mrs  Murphy's

  

bedroom  she's blackmailing and bribing the saints as we speak  ,  "  Mark

  

pointed over Sid's shoulder .

 

           Mrs  Murphy began her prayers ,  if she could keep two  set  of

  

beads on the go at the same time she would have .

 

"Well lads , you know what I'm asking , and you know the Novena is nearing

  

its  end  so don't go letting me down , do you hear  me  ?  Saint  Mother

  

Theresa  of Calcutta is joining you all on this one ,  well to  be  honest

  

she'll  be leading you all ,  so don't let me down .  Hail Mary full  of

  

Grace The Lord is With You ... , " prayed Mrs Murphy .

 

       "All  we know is that he wears a duffle coat ,  we think he  has  a

  

pregnant girlfriend too ,  we aren't positive but we are very certain , he

  

was seen with Jaswinder and the pregnant girl you see , " explained Sid .

 

         "Lord hear us ,  Lord save us ,  Lord protect us .  And  Mary  if

  

you're listening as one mother to another can You use your weight , I know

  

you're very busy what with the state of the world and so on .  I know  I'm

  

rushing you , but didn't you do the same thing yourself at Caena . Ask Him

  

to  show  an interest ,  " Mrs Murphy was coming to an  end  of  tonight's

  

prayers .

 

         Luke Gavin looked up the road ,  he could hear footsteps ,  a man

  

and a woman were coming towards Mrs Murphy's house . The man was wearing a

  

duffle coat , the woman was fat , very fat , pregnant even .

 

"So  all  you know is that he wears a duffle coat and he  has  a  pregnant

  

girlfriend , " repeated Mark Gavin .

 

John Gavin looked to see what Luke was looking at .

 

"Yes that's it a duffle coated man and a pregnant woman , " repeated Sid .

 

Mathew Gavin looked next , what were his brothers looking at .

 

        The man in the duffle coat had his hand on Mrs Murphy's  doorbell,

  

the  bell  sounded .  Still holding baby Sheila in her hand June  went  to

  

answer the door ,  "I'll answer it Sheila ,  finish your prayers ,  " June

  

shouted up the stairs .

 

        Sid spun around what were the Gavins looking at ,  again the  door

  

bell rang ,  "I coming ,  " said June .  Mrs Murphy blessed herself ,  her

  

prayers were over for another night .

  

"No , No , " screamed Sid .

 

The Gavins errupted like a volcano ,  it was the kidnapper ,  the wolf was

  

at the door .  June juggled with baby Sheila as she struggled to undo  all

  

the locks on the front door .

 

"No , No ! " screamed Sid , who was now running after the Gavin Twins .

 

Mrs  Murphy looked startled ,  that was Sid's voice ,  she rushed  to  the

  

window  .  Why were the Gavins's running towards the house  ,  she  looked

  

down , on her doorstep she could see a duffle coated man .

 

"June don't open the door ,  " screamed Mrs Murphy wide eyes with terror ,

  

not for herself but for her grandchild and for June .            

  

Mrs Murphy raced out of her bedroom ,  snatching at the dressing table  as

  

she went .

 

"June don't answer the door , June don't answer the door . Mathew , Mathew

  

save us ,  Mathew ,  Mathew ,  save us .  June don't answer the door  ,  "

  

screamed Mrs Murphy as she ran along the landing

 

The Gavin Twins raced over the road ,no more the four evangelists  ,  no ,

  

like the Four Horsemen of the Appocolipse they raced . The time had come ,

  

it was the kidnapper or baby Sheila , all or nothing .

 

"June don't answer the door !  , Mathew , Mathew , Mathew ! " screamed Mrs

  

Murphy  as she turned the top of the landing and stood at the top  of  the

  

stairs .

 

Mathew was roused from his television watching ,  Mrs Murphy was screaming

  

, what was the matter .

 

"Mathew save June , save baby Sheila , " screamed Mrs Murphy .

 

June had the chain off the door was already opening , Mrs Murphy flew down

  

the stairs .

 

Mathew came running from the back ,  he had to save June and baby Sheila ,

  

just as he had in the church he had to save the baby ,  he had to save the

  

baby . The door opened wider .

 

         Outside the Gavins still had yards to go ,  Sid was running after

  

them  he  could see the door opening ,  June was in the  doorway  she  was

  

holding baby Sheila .

 

"No ,  No ! " screamed Sid as he raced faster , as fast as his bulk would

  

let him .

 

The Gavins charged , another pace or two and they'd dive .  

  

"Mathew  ,  Mathew !  " screamed Mrs Murphy as she came hurtling down  the

  

last steps of the stairs , squeezing her rosary for all it was worth .

  

June looked outside ,  in terror she she saw a duffle coated man and a fat

  

woman ,  wasn't the kidnapper always in a duffle coat and didn't he have a

  

fat or even pregnat girlfriend .

 

The door was still opening wider ,  Mrs Murphy screamed again , Mathew was

  

right behind June and baby Sheila ,  but the kidnapper was right in  front

  

and didn't he have something shiny in his hand .

 

June  screamed  ,  she clutched baby Sheila closer to her  .  Mrs  Murphy

  

screamed  ,  Mathew growled .  Mathew reached to grab June away  from  the

  

door , Mrs Murphy was right behind Mathew .

 

"Jesus save us ! " screamed Mrs Murphy .

 

Big Sid could see all the photos falling from his shop wall , he could see

  

the shadow of a duffle coated man pass over his photo wall , down came the

  

photos down came Big Sid's family , down came his life . It was all over .

 

"No , no ! , " Sid screamed .

 

Like a roar of thunder Sid screamed ,  the Gavin Twins leaped , it was now

  

or never , but what was that flashing in the kidnappers hand .

 

"No , no ! " screamed Bid Sid .

 

Big  Sid thought he'd have a heart attack ,  his heart was beating in  his

  

ears , he could hear the thump the thump the thump of his heart . He could

  

feel the tapping of his meat cleaver in his apron pocket .

 

"No ! " screamed Big Sid .

 

"Jesus ! Mother Theresa ! " screamed Mrs Murphy .

 

Mrs Murphy was at June's elbow , Mathew had both hands out as he leapt at

  

June and baby Sheila . The Gavins leap as one , June closed her eyes .

 

Big Sid leapt into the air ,"No!" his full eighteen stone was behind it as

  

he threw his cleaver .  He could see the kidnapper still moving forward  ,

  

with something flashing in his hand .  Sid'd cleaver spung through the air

  

light a bolt of lightning ,  handle blade ,handle blade ,handle blade ,

 

handle  blade  ,  handle blade .  His cleaver was faster than  the  diving

  

Gavins ,  faster than the kidnapper .  Blade handle , blade handle , blade

  

handle  ,  handle duffle coat blade door .  Sid's cleaver had  pinned  the

  

kidnapper to the door by the hood of his coat .  In the split second  that

  

the kidnapper noticed the blade he was swept to the ground ,  four  Gavins

  

on  his chest .  Mathew had come running out from the back of the house  ,

  

like a spinning top he'd picked up June and threw her onto the  settee  in

  

the  front room .  Mrs Murphy shot out the front door ,  leaping over  the

  

fallen kidnapper .  Her rosary in one hand ,  the borrowed meat cleaver in

  

the other Mrs Murphy grabbed the woman by the throat .

 

"Come on you old whore , where is she , " she screamed like a banshee .

 

Sid  loomed up  at the front gate to emphasise the point  .  The  pregnant

  

girl was too shocked to speak ,  and she couldn't anyway as Mrs Murphy was

  

strangling her .  The Gavins pulled the kidnapper up ,  ready to draw  and

  

quarter him with their bare hands .  Sid reached up and pulled his cleaver

  

from the door , the hood fell to the ground .

 

"This is the last time I'll ask , where is she ? " Sid put his cleaver  to

  

Martin's throat .

 

Martin spoke ,  "but Sir we are from the Children Of God ,  we're  looking

  

for converts , we only arrived yesterday from America  "

 

"Yes thats right , " added Sue .

 

Sid  looked at the floor ,  there was a rolled up leaflet  ,  on  shinning

  

silver paper . And they did have American accents .

 

Everybody  was  silent ,  June peered out of the front  room  from  behind

  

Mathew . He'd been like a tornado , picking her up and setting her down in

  

safety .

 

"So you really are from America , " June edged forward holding her baby .  

  

"Yes ! " replied Martin . Only he wasn't Martin and it wasn't Sue either.

 

Mrs Murphy lowered the cleaver that Sid had given her for protection , Sid

  

lowered his cleaver too . The Gavins dropped the man , Luke handed him the

  

hood from his duffle coat .

 

"We're good Catholics ,  we don't want Moonies in this country ,  do we  ,

  

Mathew , Mark , Luke , John ? " smiled Mrs Murphy showing her rosary .

 

"Yes we are all Catholics , " smiled Sid .

 

"Fine , sure thing Sir , " said the man .

 

"Sorry  for  the misunderstanding ,  will you have a cup of tea  ?  "  Mrs

  

Murphy was trying to make amends .

 

The  man looked at her disbelievingly ,  a mad woman with a rosary  and  a

  

cleaver was inviting them in for tea ,  and her husband and five  deranged

  

sons  were all smiling at them .  Only the daughter looked  sane  ,  Duane

  

looked at Mary-Beth , then carefull he spoke .

 

"If you don't mind we have a plane to catch . "

 

           So  Duane and Mary-Beth went on their way ,  the  Adams  family

  

waving them goodbye .

 

"Sorry about that , its my fault , " said Sid .

 

"Its ok ,  come on in , we'll have some tea , " said Mrs Murphy as she put

  

the cleaver in the hallstand .

 

"We'll  put up a new door , a metal door with a spy hole up afterwards  ,  "

  

said Luke seeing the damage Sid's cleaver had done to the door .

 

         Back on the street Amjit was feeling low ,  Patrick stood  beside

  

him ,  he knew words were no use ,  so he just stood there , smiling every

  

time Amjit looked at him . Barry breezed in , his usual smile on his face,

 

how  could he be happy when he couldn't see .  Amjit said that  he  didn't

  

feel like dominoes and did Barry mind . Barry didn't , he could tell Amjit

  

was upset ,  words crawled from Amjit's mouth they didn't jump or leap  or

  

bounce or even walk ,  they just crawled from Amjit's mouth and dropped on

  

the floor . Amjit said that he'd get the coffee and samosas , he'd just be

  

a minute ,  Patrick squeezed Barry's arm ,  Barry nodded ,  anybody  could

  

tell  Amjit  was feeling low ,  you didn't need radio ears  .  When  Amjit

  

returned  Barry began telling blind jokes ,  like how he always  used  the

  

ladies toilets when he wanted a laugh ,to hear their screams was such fun.

  

The way they complained , then bent over backwards to appologise when they

  

realised  he  was blind ,  he'd made a few friends by using that  trick  .

  

Amjit laughed as Barry went into the detail ,  Barry was fun that was  for

  

sure  ,  he was so full of life ,  and he was blind while still  young  .

  

Barry  spent the rest of the evening telling stories ,  how  shopping  for

  

clothes  was  fun too ,  he'd always ask people to tell him  if  a  cerain

  

colour suited him and so on . Barry loved to catch security guards out too

  

if he was feeling down ,  they'd stop him for shop lifting ,  he'd say  it

  

wasn't his fault , he couldn't very well see everything or anything in his

  

trolley for that matter , could he . Barry laughed a lot when he told that

  

one ,he had to make amusement for himself didn't he .  He couldn't  watch

  

the  world  go by could he ,  he couldn't watch the autumn  leaves  change

  

colour  and finally fall .  People didn't stop and chat at bus stops  with

  

blind people , it was very lonely being in the dark all the time ,  so  he

  

had to use tricks to get people to talk to him .  If only people  bothered

  

to think ,  then they'd talk to him and other blind people .  Though  some

  

people  pretended they were blind ,  hiding behind newspapers on trains  ,

  

avoiding eye contact ;  but if they didn't have the choice ,  if they were

  

forever hid behind the newspaper ,  then they'd change , then they'd say a

  

few  words .  But Barry wasn't bitter ,  he'd had sight once  ,  that  was

  

better  than  being blind from the start .  Amjit squeezed Barry's  arm  ,

  

Barry  was so brave  ,  and he didn't even know it .  Barry told  a  final

  

story before going home ,  he told how sighted friends had said how pretty

  

this  girl  was  .  Barry only knew her by her perfume ,  so  one  day  he

  

deliberately bumped into her ,  it was a way to strike up a conversation ,

  

so now the girl was a friend .  His friends had called him a sly bastard ,

  

Barry just smiled ,  being blind did have its advantages .  So feeling the

  

time on his watch Barry said goodnight , again Patrick walked him home .

 

"Thanks for being a friend ,  I'll tell everybody on the street to talk to

  

you every time they see you ,  you'll have plenty of friends in future , I

  

can guarantee it , " Patrick patted Barry's shoulder .   

  

"There  is one disadvantage ,  if I don't like somebody I cann't see  them

  

coming or pretend to look the other way , " Barry laughed .

 

Patrick  went on his way ,  Barry's laughter ringing in his ears  ,  Barry

  

reminded  Patrick  of  his mother ,  she'd never give  up  ,  she'd  never

  

surrender  to anything ,  she spat in the face of difficulties  just  like

  

Barry , just like Barry .

 

          Morning came , it was drizzling , horrible drizzle .    It   got

  

everywhere ,  everything was damp ,  everything was horrible .  It was the

  

kind  of day when a look out the window would make you decide to  stay  in

  

bed hid under the blanket listening to the radio . But Patrick couldn't do

  

that  he  had to continue his vigil with Amjit ,  no  matter how  much  he

  

wanted to hide under the blankets .

 

           Ken came in ,  his collar up against the weather ,  his back up

  

because of the kids ,  "Bloody Postman Pat ,  the BBC has a lot to  answer

  

for " .  Leaving the post on the counter Ken left , swearing he'd strangle

  

the next person to call him "Postman Pat" .  Amjit ignored the post  ,  he

  

could  tell it was mainly bills ,  the brown envelopes gave it all away  ,

  

the large white ones were always the junk mail ,  the big padded  envelope

  

that  was another matter .  But Amjit wasn't interested in the mail  ,  he

  

wasn't  interested in anything .  For the hundredth time that  morning  he

  

asked Patrick the same question .

 

"Do  you  think Jaswinder's ok ,  do you think it'll be enough  to  say  I

  

waited to see if I could catch a glimpse of Jaswinder ,  or should I  tell

  

him we set a trap ? "

 

Amjit was half hoping to shift the responsibility , to pass the buck , but

  

he knew it was all up to him , he was all alone , even though everybody on

  

the street was on his side , he was still all alone .

 

          George and Brownie came in , they had to do their bit , they had

  

to  be  with him ,  even if they were old and grey ,  they  offered  their

  

shoulders to lean on .  Balbinder came out to exchange a few words  ,  she

  

felt  caged ,  cornered in a cage with only her prayers for comfort  .  As

  

Brownie hugged Balbinder Amjit flicked at the post ,  he decided to  open

  

the big padded envelope .  Putting his hand inside he felt something  soft

  

and  long  ,  he pulled it out of the envelope ,  his eyes were  still  on

  

Balbinder . Amjit pulled the thing from the envelope , Balbinder looked up

  

at her husband , she saw what was in his hand . Long and black with a pink

  

ribbon on the end ,  Balbinder opened her mouth to scream , she broke from

  

Brownie's embrace . Amjit looked at what he had in his hand , his mind did

  

not register what it was at first ,  the shock of Balbinder's scream  hit

  

him  ,  he knew what he was holding .  One of Jaswinder's  pigtails   that

  

Balbinder had platted ,  the pink ribbon was Jaswinder's favourite . Amjit

  

dropped the pigtail ,  Balbinder screamed again and again . Amjit screamed

  

now too ,  Brownie spun around , she looked at the counter . She could see

  

a pigtail with a pink ribbon still attached , it was Jaswinder's pigtail .

 

Brownie felt faint ,  George had to steady her . Old Mr Amjit came running

  

from  the back ,  his walking stick raised to strike ,  old Mrs Amjit  was

  

behind  him  .  Amjit's  parents saw the ribbon  ,  they  screamed  too  .

  

Everybody  screamed .  Patrick grabbed the pigtail and put it back in  the

  

envelope ,  Balbinder snatched the envelope back from Patrick . Holding it

  

close to her Balbinder retreated to the back room ,  tears streaming  down

  

her  face .  Patrick grabbed a bottle of Johnny Walker and pulled the  top

  

off ,  he made Amjit drink it ,  then George and Brownie , then finally he

  

had a drink himself , before making them all drink again .

 

"Jesus , he must be really angry , " Patrick whispered .

 

"I must tell him everything , " said Amjit through his tears .

 

"Do whatever you think best , we are all behind you , " said George .

 

Between them they finished the bottle of whisky ,  it gave them no comfort

  

no joy , they just needed something warm inside them .

 

"It was so sudden ,  no warning ,  Balbinder shouldn't have seen it  ,  my

  

parents  shouldn't  have had such a shook ,  " Amjit still  leant  on  the

  

counter to steady his jangled nerves .

 

"My brother died in the war , you expect that , but this , " Brownie shook

  

her head and sighed .

 

"It's  all  my fault , I should have snatched her back when we  had  that

  

chance that time in the park , " said George as blew his nose .

 

"It's nobody's fault ,  only this Martin , if he hurts Jaswinder I'll kill

  

him , " Amjit spat out the words .

 

           They waited for hours for the phone to ring ,  but it didn't  ,

  

the  only noise came from Balbinder ,  moans and cries and prayers as  she

  

held  Jaswinder's  pigtail close to her heart .  Martin had been  out  the

  

previous night , but not to kill the first born , not to get baby Sheila ,      

  

just to post a package .  He hadn't even sent a message with the package ,

  

he  didn't  need to ,  the lone pigtail had the effect  he  desired  .  He

  

wouldn't ring that day either ,  he'd make them sweat ,  but he was making

  

them do more than that , much much more , he'd sent  them to Hell .  

  

           George  and Brownie left ,  the rain was  geting  worse  ,  the

  

kidnapper  wouldn't ring that day they knew it now ,  now that they'd  got

  

their breath back .So they crossed the road to tell Big Sid the bad news ,

  

the sad news .  Taking him into the deep freeze ,  just in case a customer

  

came in , Brownie told him .

 

"Amjit had a parcel a while ago ,  it had Jaswinder's pigtail in it ,  the

  

bastard cut her pigtail off , " she said .

 

"No ! " screamed Sid banging his fists on a side of beef .

 

His mind swam ,  all the pain of the past week ,  he'd fallen asleep while

  

waiting  ,  then the false alarm last night ,  it was all too much  .  The

  

volcano inside had to errupt .

 

"You think its funny ,  me covered in shit , while you laugh at me , while

  

you  hurt  Jaswinder  ,  BASTARD ,  " Sid was out of his  mind  he  lunged

  

straight for Brownie .

 

Only  it wasn't her ,  but the smiling face of a pig in his deep freeze  ,

  

Sid  strangled the smiling face .It was the kidnapper he was  strangling ,

  

the duffle coated kidnapper , the thief , the teaser , the child snatcher.   

  

The  sound of cracking bones broke Sid from his anger ,  blood was  coming

  

from his fingers , he cracked the skull of the pig and cut his hands .

 

George took Sid by one arm and led him out the deep freeze , Brownie still

  

shocked followed .

 

"I'm  sorry  ,  its  just  that I felt so angry ,  so  angry  and  yet  so

  

helpless , just like a new born baby , " mumbled  Sid .

 

Brownie wrapped her handkerchief around  Sid's bleeding fingers ,  Sid let

  

her do it just as a child lets his mother kiss his wounds better . Brownie

  

stroked his face and smiled .

 

"Better out than in ,  but no more outbursts , for Jaswinder's sake ,  all

  

right chuck , " Brownie smiled weakly .

 

"No more outbursts ,  I'm sorry ,  " Sid looked down at his feet ,  he was

  

like a child who'd just wet the bed .

 

          George and Brownie left Sid to nurse his wounds , all his wounds

  

while they braved the weather outside ,  they'd go home and have some hot

  

cocoa for themselves .  Then they'd have a cry ,  a real good cry .

  

          In the cafe down the road the phone rang , it was  Mrs  Murphy .

  

Gillian  listened and wrote down the request ,  then shaking her head  she

  

put down the phone , before turning to Mark her husband .

 

"That  was Mrs Murphy ,  she said can we prepare a buffet ,  and a bit  of

  

fancy cake too , baby Sheila's being Christened the day after tomorrow . "

 

"But doesn't she know about Amjit's parcel ? I mean is this the right time

  

for all that ? " Mark couldn't understand .

 

"She just said a Novena never fails , never , " Gillian voice croaked .

 

"I just hope she's right , the false alarm at her house was bad enough and

  

then the parcel this morning , either she'd totally mad or , "

 

"She has a mother's hope ,  no surrender ,  never ,  " there was a tear in

  

Gillian's eye .

 

Mark  hugged  her ,  he knew his wife was afraid ,  so was  he  ,  so  was

  

everybody , only Mrs Murphy showed no fear .

 

"We  better  get cracking then ,  it'll keep us occupied  ,  the  rain  is

  

keeping  most people in anyway ,  " Mark pointed outside ,  the  rain  was

  

really coming down now , so the cafe was deserted .

  

            That  evening Barry came again for the dominoes  ,  but  again

  

Amjit didn't feel up to it ,  so Barry just talked .  His jokes and  tales

  

and conversation were like the sing song rhythm of a mother's voice  which

  

calmed a baby .  The voice ,  the contact ,  the connection all seemed  to

  

form  a  lifelife ,  it prevented Amjit from sinking beneath  the  sea  of

  

sorrow .  And on Barry spoke , till the coffee and samosas were all gone ,

  

then feeling the time Barry went home , Patrick walked with him .

 

"Thanks  Barry ,  I don't know what to say ,  but ,  well but  ,  "  began

  

Patrick .

 

"It's  ok  ,  it must be something real bad ,  I'll think of  him  tonight

  

before I go to bed , " smiled Barry .

 

"Thanks , well just thanks , " mumbled Patrick .

 

"That's what friends are for , see you , " Barry waved goodbye , then with

  

a tap to the left and a tap to the right he was gone .

 

           When  Patrick got home to his new empty house   the  phone  was

  

ringing , it was his mother .

 

"I hope you've got a clean shirt for the day after tomorrow ,  " began Mrs

  

Murphy .

 

"Why ,  what for ?  " Patrick couldn't understand ,  he was so tired ,  so

  

very tired .

 

"For baby Sheila , " Mrs Murphy was speaking as if her son was an egyt .

 

"A shirt for Sheila ? " Patrick looked confused .

 

"Sheila's  being Christened the day after tomorrow ,  just make  sure  you

  

have  a clean shirt ,  you could put your suit on too ,  "  explained  Mrs

  

Murphy .

 

"But cann't it wait , I mean , " began Patrick .

 

"We're  not Prods ,  or Royalty ,  you were Christened two days after  you

  

were born , if anything we've left it a little late for baby Sheila , just

  

make  sure you have have a clean shirt ,  " Mrs Murphy wasn't  having  any

  

excuses .

 

"But what about last night at your house ,  and the parcel Amjit got  this

  

morning , don't you think the Christening can wait ? "

 

"Everything  will be ok ,  just find a clean shirt for yourself  ,  "  Mrs

  

Murphy hung up .

 

Patrick shook his head ,  he needed a drink ,  there was a can left in the

  

fridge he'd have that .

 

          Mrs Murphy went upstairs to bed , she'd just have a quick prayer

  

before she went to sleep .

 

"Well lads you heard me ,  I said everything will be ok , so it had better

  

be .  And as for you Anthony call yourself a saint ,  the dog's arse is

 

more  of a saint than you fancy letting him cut Jaswinder's pigtail off  .

  

You better get your act together ,  you'd make your mother ashamed of you

  

do you hear me ?  Theresa its all up to you now , show this lot how a real

  

saint works will you , please please . "

 

Mrs Murphy caught her breath ,  the tears were welling up inside her , but

  

she had no time for tears . So she started a rosary , she was still saying

  

it when she fell asleep .

 

          Martin slept well that night too ,  he knew the pigtail  would

  

make them sit up ,  when he was ready he'd call and demand œ10000  ,  then

  

they  could  have the little wog back ,  he was fed up of her  crying  and

  

wetting . Once he had his money he'd be off , perhaps he'd go to Bristol .  

  

          Mrs  Murphy  awoke ,  she was still praying  ,  looking  at  the

  

religious picture of Anthony she said "sorry" . She got out of bed and got

  

dressed  ,  today Fr.Shaw was saying a special Mass ,  she'd make a  bit  of

  

breakfast for them all then the'd go to Mass .

 

          At the church Fr.Shaw quivered with emotion ,  some thought  he

  

was having another bout of Maleria , but Mrs Murphy knew the real reason .

 

The four Gavins sat in the bench behind Mrs Murphy and family ,  they were

  

taking no chances after the false alarm ,  as for Mrs Murphy she had Sid's

  

gleaming cleaver in her shoping bag .

 

          On the street Patrick had resumed his vigil with Amjit .

 

"He's  making  us sweat because he didn't get his money last  time  ,  but

  

we're  all ready this time ,  Smiling Paul gave me œ10,000 in  cash  ,  he

  

pushed  it  through  my letter box with a note  ,  "  Patrick  tapped  the

  

envelope on the counter in front of him .

 

"Do  you  think  he'll give Jaswinder back to us ?  "  Amjit's  eyes  were

  

pleading .

 

"Of course he will ,  he's probably fed up by now ,  all he wants is money

  

then he'll disappear , " Patrick told Amjit what he wanted to hear , there

  

was no point in sending Amjit over the edge .

 

Every  ten minutes Balbinder came out to look at the phone a  question  on

  

her lips ,  "has it rung" ;  it was getting all too much for Patrick ,  he

  

could see his friends cracking up in front of him , if only his mother was

  

here  she'd think of something ,  if Amjit could hold out till Barry  came

  

then he'd be ok . Patrick felt useless , like a stranger at somebody elses

  

funeral , he didn't know what to do , what to say .

 

"Come on ,  we're going to Mark's to see how the preparations for Sheila's

  

Christening is going ,  we can sample the Christening cake , perhaps he'll

  

let me lick the mixing bowl ,  " Patrick didn't know why he said it  ,  it

  

just came out .

 

Amjit and Balbinder just looked at him weakly ,  they felt as if they were

  

being tickled while they were weak and ill ,  they were almost too weak to

  

answer .

 

"Yes ,  go to Mark's I can answer the phone ,  go ,  go ,  " chided old Mr

  

Amjit .

 

"Are you sure ?  I don't know ,  " Amjit felt weak ,  he felt as if he was

  

deserting his post .

 

"Do as your old dad says ,  you must get some fresh air ,  go to Mark's  I

  

will fetch you if the phone rings ,  " old Mr Amjit almost pushed his  son

  

out of the shop .

     

          So it was that Amjit ,  Balbinder and Patrick came  into  Mark's

  

just as he was putting down the mixing bowl .

 

"Don't wash that ,  I'm going to lick it ,  " shouted Patrcik reaching for

  

it .

 

Gillian spun around when she heard his voice ,  then seeing Balbibnder she

  

rushed  to  embrace  her  ,  Mark poured the teas  topping  them  up  with

  

Calvadose . Old Michael came in for a warming cuppa , he joined the huddle

  

which tried to warm Amjit and Balbinder . George and Brownie came in a few

  

minutes after that , Brownie hugged Balbinder for all her worth , then she

  

sat   down  next  to  her  holding  her  hand  and  whispering  words   of

  

encouragement  .  Then as one they fell silent ,  a silent  vigil  ,  only

  

broken by Michael spitting in his handkerchief .

 

           Half  an hour later the door opened ,  Henry  shut  it  quickly

  

behind him , the dark clouds had started to fall as heavy rain .

 

"Its terrible weather this , almost as bad as the other day , can I have a

  

piece of cake with my tea ,  Mark ,  " asked Henry as he stampted his feet

  

together .

 

"How's life treating you then ,  " asked Mark as he put the tea and  cake

  

on the counter .

 

"I'm  fine  ,  though this rain and damp does get on my chest  ,  "  Henry

  

cleared his throat before sipping his tea .

 

"Yes the weather can be bad , " observed Mark looking out the window .

 

"Its  drivers who are bad ,  I could have been killed the other  day  ,  "

  

began Henry as he tried the cake .

 

"How come ? "asked Patrick putting down the mixing bowl he'd been licking.

 

"I was helping out the dustcart crew ,  we had had this storm like , you'd

  

think  people would drive slowly in a storm but not this guy ,  God  alone

  

knows how he didn't hit us , " Henry finished off his cake .

 

"Where was this ? " asked Michael .

 

"Over  by O'Toole Park on the other side of town ,  " Henry picked up  his

  

tea to drink it .

 

Patrick leap forward knocking the mixing bowl off the table ,  he  grabbed

  

Henry's arm , "Did you see the car ? "

 

"Of course I did , it was a yellow Datson GDB 874M , the daft buggar could

  

have  killed  us ,  he was driving like a madman ,  he  was  swearing  and

  

everything ,  his face was red with anger ,  it matched the colour of  his

  

hair ,  he had a duffle coat on too ,  I won't forget his face , I thought

  

it'd  be the last thing I'd see on this earth ,  the stupid bastard  could

  

have killed us , " Henry finished off his tea .

 

Patrick  and Amjit raced out of the cafe up the road through all the  rain

  

to  Percy's Undertakers .  Andy had been washing the Rolls when  the  rain

  

came down so he got inside of it to avoid getting wet , Patrick leapt into

  

the passenger seat .

 

"Where's Percy , where's your dad ? " Patrick's eyes were bulging .

 

"He's gone to pick up a deceased he'll be back soon , " stammered Andy .    

  

"Shit ! " swore Amjit .

 

"Tell him we'll be in Mark's ,  we've got the registration number ,  its a

  

yellow Datson GDB 874M ,  " Patrick banged the dashboard ,  their one last

  

hope and Percy wasn't there ,

 

Dejectedly  Patrick  and Amjit started to walk back to Mark's  ,  out  the

  

corner of his eye Amjit could see Roger sheltering from the rain in  Sid's

  

doorway .

 

"He'll help us ! " Amjit ran towards Roger .

 

Amjit hussled Roger inside Sid's shop . Patrick at his heels .

 

"Look Roger ,  you just have to help us .  Can you trace a yellow  Datson

  

registration GDB 874M ,  its very important ,  " panted Amjit .

 

Roger had back tracked from Amjit's advances only to find himself walking

  

into Sid ,  he was now in a sandwich , Sid on one side , Amjit and Patrick

  

on the other .

 

"Yes ,  of course I can ,  I can just saunter into the Police station  use

  

the computer just like you use the games the amusement arcade , " answered

  

Roger bitchily.

 

"Look  we  have no time to waste ,  Sid its the car ,  we  can  trace  the

  

bastard now , " explained Amjit .

 

"In  that case ,  " Sid went into the deep freeze in seconds  he  returned

  

with a whole pig ,  the one with the crushed face , "have I ever shown you

  

my party trick ? "

 

Sid reach under the counter for the biggest cleaver he had ,  Roger tried

  

to run away but Amjit held him fast . Holding the pig aloft Sid raised the

  

cleaver and in one blow chopped the head off the pig ,  the head flew  off

  

and slid along the floor till it hit Roger's feet .

 

"He  wouldn't  ?  " Roger looked at Amjit ,  then  Patrick  ,  then  the

  

menacing Sid .  

  

"Trace that number or you're next , you have two minutes ! " shouted Sid .

 

Amjit let go of Roger , Roger fled in terror , Sid shook the cleaver and

  

shouted again , "two minutes . "

 

"Thank's Sid ,  we'll go and tell everybody ,  we'll be in Mark's , " said

  

Patrick as he left the butchers .

 

          Amjit nearly had the door off the hinges as he ran into Mark's .

  

"Roger's getting the address now ,  then we'll be on our way ,  "  blurted

  

out Amjit , he gave Balbinder a hug and whispered in her ear .

 

"Sid  persuaded  Roger  to help ,  its all over now  bar  the  shouting  ,

  

Jaswinder will be free ! " Patrick wanted to leap and shout with joy , but

  

he waited , he had to wait , just a little longer .

 

There  was a gust of wind the cafe door opened ,  hairy Amjit  howled  and

  

howled again .

 

"How did you get out ?  I thought you were in your shed ? " Patrick patted

  

the dog .

 

The dog went and licked Balbinder's feet ,  then he sat down besides her ,

  

he  could sense the tension ,  he rubbed his nose against Balbinder  ,  he

  

tried  to cheer her up .  The cafe door opened again ,  Sid  was  standing

  

there a piece of paper in his hand  .

 

"I've got it ! We can get Jaswinder now ! " Sid was beaming .

 

Hairy Amjit began to howl , his tail shot up , his ears strained .

 

"What's the address ,  where is my baby , where is Jaswinder ? " Balbinder

  

croaked snatching the piece of paper from Big Sid .

 

Again hairy Amjit howled , he howled again and again and again .

 

"Fairview Gardens , flat 5 , Bishops Gate , " Balbinder read it aloud .

 

"I've never heard of it , " sighed Patrick in desperation .

 

"Nor me , " said George .

 

"Nor me , " echoed Brownie .

  

"Nor me , what about you ? " wondered Mark .

 

"Not  me  either ,  " answered Gillian nervously toying with  her  wedding

  

ring .  

  

Balbinder began to cry , so near yet so far , hairy Amjit began to howl to

  

yap  to  bark .  Michael came back from the toilet still  pulling  up  his

  

braces ,  he reached into his pocket for his handkerchief , then spat into

  

it .

 

"What's the matter ? " he asked .

 

"We  have the address ,  we know where Jaswinder is ,  but we  don't  know

  

where the address is , "  Patrick banged the counter , it wasn't fair , it

  

wasn't fair .

 

Hairy  Amjit howled ,  he howled for his friend Jaswinder .  Michael  took

  

the piece of paper with the address on ,  he looked at it , he spat in his

  

handkerchief again before speaking .

 

"I know it ,  its on page 35 of the A to Z , by a wood , " Michael put the

  

paper back on the counter .

 

Hairy Amjit howled ,  there was no stopping him now , no amount of threats

  

from  Patrick could stop him .  His tail had been down for a week  ,  he'd

  

been as quiet as a cat for all that time , but now he was a dog again , so

  

he howled and howled .

 

"Who's got an A to Z , " shouted Sid above the hairy Amjit's howling .

 

"There's  no time for that ,  Michael its up to you ,  take us there  !  "

  

Patrick was pushing and shoving Michael out the door .

 

Amjit kissed Balbinder , old Mr Amjit patted Amjit on the back , then with

  

a final look back Amjit raced after Patrick . With a leap and a howl hairy

  

Amjit followed , he was not going to be left behind .

 

"No , go home ! " Patrick swore at his dog .

 

But  the dog would not leave the taxi ,  Michael settled the arguement  by

  

moving off ,to the sounds of howling the taxi went on its way .  It was up

  

to Michael now ,  it was up to Michael ,  he spat out his taxi window , it

  

was all or nothing now . Because of him they'd not found Jaswinder before,

  

he'd lost the Datsun ,  he'd failed ,  he hadn't kept up , he had failed ,

  

he had failed .  Now was his chance to stop being a failure , the  traffic

  

lights ahead were changing to red ,  Michael began to slow ,  hairy  Amjit

  

howled ,Patrick groaned , Amjit died again , Michael had his hand on the

  

gears ready to change down .  But he did not ,  he changed up ,  his  foot

  

pressed down ,  right down to the floor .  They shot through the red ,  as

  

far as Michael was concerned all the traffic lights would say green  ,  it

  

was green all the way now ,  he spat out the window . The lights were with

  

him all the way now ,  red ,  amber , or green , all were green , all were

  

green ,  they had to be ,  for Jaswinder's sake they were all green now  ,

  

red ,  amber ,  or green they were all green now .  Michael could feel the

  

dog's warm breath on his neck ,  urging him on ,  urging him on ,  as  the

  

lights went red hairy Amjit howled and Michael's foot went to the floor  ,

  

the lights were green ,  the lights were green .  Hairy Amjit howled ,  he

  

howled  his  greeting ,  his howl was his calling card  ,  he  was  coming

  

acalling on Jaswinder ,  he was coming for Jaswinder ,  he was coming  for

  

Jaswinder , again he howled , again he howled , again Michael's foot went

  

to the floor ,again Michael's foot went to the floor . And on they drove

  

through the rain ,  the rain came down ,  the rain came down ,  the clouds

  

had finally burst , the rain came  down , the rain came down . But on they

  

drove , and on they drove , and on they drove .

 

           Percy returned with a deceased ,he splashed through  the  back

  

into the courtyard behind ,  Bill came running out to help him unload  the

  

body .  Percy thanked Bill then went into the office , his mind was not on

  

his duties ,  all his thoughts were with Jaswinder .  One of her  pigtails

  

had been cut off ,  perhaps she was dead , perhaps the body would be found

  

and then he'd have to perform the last duties ,  the duties an  undertaker

  

does  for  the  dead .  Percy was standing in front the  portrait  of  his

  

grandfather , he looked up , the eyes were so alive , old Donald Frost had

  

been a great man ,  Percy could remember how he read poetry to him when he

  

was just a child .

  

"Dad ,  dad ,  they have the car registration ,  they're all in Mark's , "

  

said Andy as he rushed into the office .

 

"Good  ,  "  Percy snatched at something from the table in  front  of  his

  

grandfathers picture as he raced out the office .

 

Percy  ran through the rain down the street towards the cafe  ,  his  eyes

  

were  ablaze ,  his eyes were his grandfather's .  Thunder rumbled in  the

  

distance , the rain came down , the rain came down , but on ran Percy , on

  

till he reached the cafe . A gust of wind opened the cafe door before him,

  

the lightning flashed ,  Percy was framed in the door ,  he had come ,  he

  

had come to do his duty . Brownie looked up in shock to see Percy standing

  

in the doorway , he had something in his hand too  .

 

"Give  me the car registration ,  then with one phone call I'll  have  the

  

addess ,  I have friends , " Percy moved forward trailing something in his

  

hand .

 

"We know where it is ,  but we don't know where it is ,  is ,  " explained

  

Big Sid as he struggled with an A to Z .

 

"Shit , page 35 is missing , " groaned Mark .

 

"What's the address ? " comanded Percy .

 

"Fairview Gardens ,  flat 5 , Bishops Gate , " said Gillian , as she toyed

  

nervously with her wedding ring .

 

"I know it ! Sid are you ready ? " Percy sounded like a Freemason .

 

Sid looked Percy in the eye , he was ready , "Yes ! "

 

Without another word the two left the cafe , what would be would be , and

  

they  were ready .  From inside the cafe everybody could see Big  Sid  and

  

Percy  shake  hands ,  then Percy raised the something in his  hand  ,  he

  

raised it high then brought it down fast .

 

" Andy , we ride !  " shouted Percy as he cracked the whip ,Percy  cracked

  

his grandfather's whip , the Frost whip .

 

Together Big Sid and Percy ran to the hearse , in seconds they were away ,

  

Andy followed at their heels driving the Rolls , Bill was at Andy's side ,

  

Bill  had  saved Andy's life now the four were out to save the life  of  a

  

child . Sid could see the fire in Percy's eyes , the same fire that was in

  

Andy's eyes ,  the fire that was in grandfather Donald Frost's eyes ,  the

  

same fire that Percy had when he rode his coach at the Seige Of Old  Forge

  

and  Sinding  Anvil ,  the fire which had raised the  Frosts  from  common

  

gravediggers to respected undertakers . But Big Sid knew if the worse came

  

to  the  worse  ,  today  they'd be  gravediggers  ,  gravediggers  for  a

  

kidnapper .     

  

        And on hurtled Percy ,  sixty ,  seventy ,  eighty ,  ninty ,  one

  

hundred , one hundred and ten , one hundred and twenty . There were no red

  

lights for coach drivers ,  no lights at all ,  the lightning flashed  and

  

the thunder roared .  Sid looked at the whip lying on the dasbhoard  ,  it

  

was like a coiled rattle snake ready to strike ,   sliding  one  way  then

  

another as Percy drove .  Sid could feel the electricty ,  the tingling up

  

and  down his spine ,  he could feel the hairs rising on the back  of  his

  

hand  ,  the spirits were abroad .  In the rear view mirror Sid could  see

  

Andy in the Rolls , his eyes ablaze , just like Percy's his father .

 

            Back  at  the cafe Mrs Murphy  arrived  ,  shelting  under  an

  

umbrella  ,  the four Gavins formed a human umbrella around June and  baby

  

Sheila ,  Mathew brought up the rear . Everybody looked shocked , why were

  

they here , and now .

 

"I want a milk shake , a banana one , and a strawberry one for Jaswinder ,

  

here I've got money , " announced Mathew .

 

"But but , " stammered Mark , leaning on his counter .

 

"He  didn't sleep at all last night ,  he said he'd have a milkshake  with

  

Jaswinder , he made us come here after Mass , " began Mrs Murphy .

 

"We know where Jaswinder is ,  Patrick and Amjit left minutes ago ,  Percy

  

followed with Big Sid , " whispered Gillian .

 

"Great !  " smiled Mrs Murphy , but she slid her hand into her pocket , in

  

seconds the frog began to jump as Mrs Murphy started to say her rosary .

 

"Can  I  have my milkshake then ,  and one for Jaswinder  too  ?  "  asked

  

Mathew .

  

Gillian  prepared the milkshake ,  she felt useless all she could  do  was

  

make a milkshake ,  and out there in the storm Jaswinder's life was on the

  

line  .  Fr.Shaw came in ,  all in black ,  like a crow ready to pick  the

  

worms from a freshly  dug grave ,  Gillian shivered . Mrs Murphy now stood

  

next  to old Mrs Amjit ,  they exchanged smiles ,  both without missing  a

  

beat to their prayers . Gillian wanted to scream .

 

          Keith Butterfield and Mick Bisiker from  the  Bell  and  Pump

  

decided to pull in and have a cuppa ,  the weather was bad , they'd have a

  

refeshing cuppa then they'd be on their way .  So clutching their  guitars

  

they went inside Mark's cafe .

 

"Two  teas  please ,  oh do you want one as well ?  " Mick turned  to  ask

  

Keith .  

  

"Yes  ,  I'll have one ,  "  said Keith as he blew his nose  .  

  

"Three teas then , " smiled Mick .

 

"Who's the other tea for ? " asked Mathew as he slurped his milkshake .

 

"Ever  since  the accident I always have two teas ,  but  what  about  you

  

you've got two milkshakes ? " Mick pointed .

 

"I'm expecting a friend , " answered  Mathew .

 

Before Mick could ask any more questions Gillian had ushered Keith and  

 

Mick to  a table .

 

"Ah , this teas good , " said Mick wiping the froth from his moustache .

 

"How do you want the sound for that new song ,  A  Nation Of Shopkeepers ,

  

that fancy thing you've done , " asked the ever practical Keith .

 

"Well , if you can give me , " began Mick .

 

          Michael could see the sign for Bishops Gate ahead  ,  he  slowed

  

down as he went through his final red light .

 

"There that's it up ahead , its up to you now lads , " Michael pointed .

 

"We'll be back in five minutes , " shouted Patrick .

 

Howling for all he was worth hairy Amjit dragged Patrick along  ,  Michael

  

had  lent his tie to form a sort of lead for him .  When they reached  the

  

right building Patrick slapped Amjit's snout , they had to be silent now .

 

Michael could see them race into the building ,  he felt so useless , just

  

like an observer ,  he felt old and useless .  If only he could help ,  if

  

only he could help . He found himself picking up the  radio in his cab ,

 

"Hello ,  this is Michael ,  I'm at Fairview Gardens ,  Bishops Gate , I'm

  

calling a 29288 , " Michael spat , then switched off his radio .

 

A  29288 meant driver in trouble needs assistance ,  he knew he  shouldn't

  

have done it , he'd let the cat out the bag , but he had to , he had to .

  

"Hello , this is control , say again please "

 

The manager's ears were pricked ,  he leant over the radio girl taking the

  

microphone from her ,  " Hello this is control , is that you Michael , say

  

again  Michael ,  "  but there was no reply ,  Michael had switched his  

 

radio off .

 

The manager ran to the rest room , " move it , Michael's called a 29288 ,

  

he's at Fairview Gardens , Bishops Gate . "

 

The seven drivers all jumped up and dashed out , they were  doing  sixty

  

when  they  got to the speed bumps at the end of the road  ;  the  manager

  

dashed back to the radio room , he was sweating , what was the matter with

  

Michael  ,  " Hello ,  this is Big Dick here ,  listen the lot of  you  ,

  

Michael has called a 29288 ,  he's at Fairview Gardens , Bishops Gate , so

  

move it ! "

 

Big  Dick sat down and wiped his forehead ,  if anything had  happened  to

  

Michael  they'd  be Hell to pay ,  and it'd be all his fault ,  he  lit  a

  

cigarette .

 

The seven soon became twenty seven as the radio alert was heard ,  Michael

  

was a legend in the taxi world ,  other taxi firms joined in too ,  they'd

  

accidently heard the message , they'd help too . On they raced through the

  

mud  and  rain ,  while back at the office Big Dick tried  frantically  to

  

raise Michael on the radio .

 

           Gillian was feeling helpless too ,  what if the  kidnapper  got

  

away ,  she saw three  taxis race past outside  their lights blazing . The

  

CB  crackled  behind her ,  it was one of the drivers making  an  order  ,

  

telling her to put the kettle on he'd soon be "home" .

 

"Allo C'est Henri , J'arrive . "

 

Gillian looked at Balbinder the tears in check , Mrs Murphy and  old  Mrs

  

Amjit were like flying butresses supporting her , and what was she doing ,

  

making teas ,  teas and sympathy ,  that was not enough .  Gillian's  womb

  

boiled ,  it grew hot ,  till it couldn't be contained no more , it flowed

  

over .  Only a woman can really know the pain ,  the hurt of children ,  a

  

woman  ,  a mother shares her childrens pain ,  would there ever  be  joy

  

again . The damn burst , Gillian's womb exploded in watched pain , she had

  

to  do  something  .  Snatching at the radio ,  her womb  burst  over  the

  

airwaves .

 

"Help stop theif , a yellow Datson , " she screamed in French , in Spanish

  

and Italian  .

 

Mark looked on in horror ,  but Gillian had a knife in her hand , her womb

  

was speaking ,  her wombing was crying ,  her womb was full of hope as she

  

asked  for help .  She told her drivers to block the roads around  Bishops

  

Gate ,  a thief had stolen her wedding ring . Mark took the receiver away

  

from  her  ,  Gillian  let  the knife fall to the  ground  ,  he  knew  he

  

understood ,  it was all or nothing now.  And old Mrs Amjit and Mrs Murphy

  

prayed on .

  

          Patrick followed Amjit up the stairs ,  up and around ,  up  and

  

around  ,  up  and around .  Till they came to flat five ,  for  a  second

  

Patrick  did not know what to do ,  Amjit gave him an answer as he  kicked

  

the door off the hinges .  Sue screamed in shock ,  Martin looked startled

  

as hairy Amjit began to howl , Martin grabbed Jaswinder by her remaining

  

pigtail and dragged her into the bedrooming slamming and locking the  door

  

after him .  

  

"I'll kill her , I'll kill her I have a knife , " screaming Martin .

 

"Don't hurt her I'll pay , " begged Amjit .

 

"Daddy ! " screamed Jaswinder .

 

"Let's  rush  him  ,  " urged Patrick ready to kick  the  next  door  down

  

himself .  

  

"I'll kill her I have a knife ,  I'll kill her I have a knife , " screamed

  

Martin like a cornered rat , Jaswinder screamed in terror .

 

Amjit knew a cornered man was at his most dangerous ,  so he held  Patrick

  

back .

 

"I'll pay , I'll pay just give me back my daughter , " pleaded Amjit .

 

There was silence from inside ,  then Martin spoke ,  " let me think  just

  

give me time to think . "

 

"Ok , ok you have all the time in the world , just don't hurt my daughter,

 

I'll give you whatever you ask , " begged Amjit his breathing heavy .

 

"Ok ,  ok just give me time to think , " yelled Martin , holding Jaswinder

  

by the throat , his knife at the ready .  

  

           The lorry drivers heard the call ,  and they answered  as  they

  

descended on Bishops Gate ,  the air waves echoed to their shouts  ,  each

  

would take a seperate road ,  once there they would block it .  The  taxis

  

were flying too , from all parts of Old Forge And Singing Anvil and beyond

  

they came .  Old Michael was in trouble ,  the last from him was the sound

  

of him spitting , and then his radio went dead . Passengers demanded where

  

they were going , only to be told they were going the quick way , and shut

  

up this ride was free , as the taxis hit ninety .

 

          There was still silence from Martin ,  Amjit was getting worried

  

what was happening to his daughter ?

 

"Jaswinder ! " he yelled , there was no sound from behind the door .

 

Patrick  put his ear to the door  , then he looked through the keyhole but  

 

the key was in the lock so he couldn't see much .

 

"Jaswinder ! " screamed Amjit his fears overcoming him .

 

Patrick  kicked  down the door ,  his dog leapt forward  howling  for  his

  

friend .  The window was open ,  they dashed to look out of it ,  all they

  

could  see was Martin hobbling away dragging Jaswinder after  him  .  He'd

  

climbed down the fire escape , falling the last few feet .

 

"Come on the stairs is quicker , go on boy find Jaswinder," urged Patrick

  

as the three of them  ran out the room  .

 

Sue was left on the floor clutching her stomach , all the excitement had

  

induced labour , her baby was ready to be born . Down the stairs they ran

  

down and around ,  down and around , down and around , hairy Amjit howling

  

all  the way .  Michael could see them dash out the house and  around  the

  

back towards the woods .

 

             Percy slowed ,  over the next hill and they were there  ,  he

  

could see Michael's taxi ahead ,  he slammed on the brakes , his whip slid

  

off  the  dashboard and fell onto Big Sid lap .  Sliding to a  halt  Percy

  

grabbed his whip from Sid then ran over to Michael , as for Sid he brought

  

out his favourite cleaver , he joined Percy by Michael's taxi .

 

"They've gone into the woods ,  but what if he doubles back and looks  for

  

his car ? " wondered Michael .

 

"Leave  it  to me ,   " Sid said as he dashed off in search  of  a  yellow

  

Datson  .

 

Andy and Bill arrived ,  they chased after Percy into the woods . Sid soon

  

found  the  Datson ,  with a scream Sid slashed all the tires  ,  then  he

  

thought  what if he still tries to drive away .  So bending down  Big  Sid

  

reached  under  the car ,  then with a mighty heave he turned  it  over  ,

  

Martin couldn't drive it now could he .  Sid lumbered off into the woods ,

  

the Datson was left like an upended turtle .

 

           In  the woods the chase was on ,  no more sitting  by  a  phone

  

waiting  for  it to ring ,  no more dying deaths .  Hairy Amjit  howled  ,

  

Martin  was his prey ,  but then a crack and a flash of grey .  A  squirel

  

dashed out in front ,  hairy Amjit ran after it ,  squirels were fun ,

  

great fun to chase .

 

"You stupid bastard dog ,  my mom was right you're only good for eating  ,

  

you stupid bastard dog , " cursed Patrick .

 

"Look there's something ahead ! " Amjit pointed .

 

They raced into the gloom ahead , "Daddy ! " , screamed Jaswinder .

 

They  couldn't tell where the sound came from ,  there was a crack  of  a

  

branch ahead , they spurted forward .

 

"Oh Shit ! , its only you Sid , " cursed Patrick .

 

"Daddy ! " echoed through the trees .

 

They dashed towards the sound , Sid had his cleaver at the ready , he chop

  

his head off if Jaswinder was hurt , that was for sure .

 

          Percy did not run ,  he stalked his prey ,  he walked slowly and

  

listened , his whip at the ready .  He took another step ahead , his foot

  

stood  on  something  ,  he  bent down to pick it  up  .  It  was  one  of

  

Jaswinder's  bangles ,  Percy put it in his pocket ,  he was on the  right

  

track . Up ahead was a clearing , a Midsummer's Nights Dream had once been

  

played there years before , but this was more like a nightmare .

 

        Martin  dragged Jaswinder after him ,  slapping her  to  make  her

  

quiet ,  he put his hand over her mouth to quieten her , perhaps he should

  

kill her ,  that'd put them of his trail . No she wriggled too much , he'd

  

just  get rid of the wog bitch ,  he'd tie her to a tree in  the  clearing

  

ahead , they'd soon find her .

 

 "There he is , in the clearing ! " screamed Andy .

 

"Yes its him , " echoed Bill .

 

From another direction came Patrick and Amjit ,  they had him surrounded ,

  

Sid came lumbering up from the rear . Jaswinder could see her father .

 

"Daddy , daddy ! " she screamed .

 

Martin spun around dropping his scarf , the one he was going to tie her up

  

with .

 

"I've got a knife I'll kill her ! " he yelled more in fear of his own life

  

that a threat on Jaswinder's .

 

He  fumbled in his pocket for the knife ,  he held it on her  cheek  right

  

next to the eye .  It was stalemate , Martin was surrounded by Patrick and

  

Amjit on the left with Andy and Bill on the right .And the rain came down,

  

and  the rain came down ,  more help was on its way ,  the sound of  taxis

  

their horns sounding could be heard .  The cavalry was on its way , but it

  

was no use ,  Martin had a knife against her cheek ,  one slip and her eye

  

would  be  out .  Sid came lumbering and screaming out the  forest  ,  his

  

cleaver held high .

 

"NO !  SID NO ! " screamed Patrick  jumping in the way then grappling with

  

Sid .

 

Sid  wanted  to kill Martin then and there ,  for a  full  minute  Patrick

  

stuggled to bring Sid's arm down , finally reason saw the day  .

 

"Tell him to drop it or I'll kill her ,  I will ! " screamed Martin now in

  

mortal fear of his life .

 

Reluctantly , very reluctantly Sid dropped his cleaver .

 

"Bastard !Hiding behind a child ! " Sid screamed as Patrick held him fast.

 

"Look give me back my child ,  you can have your money ,  " Amjit  reached

  

into his pocket and threw a wad of notes at Martin .

 

Martin's eyes lit up ,  as the notes fell at his feet ,  he was rich ,  he

  

was rich . He loosened his grip on Jaswinder . It was then that the rattle

  

snake  struck ,  Percy lashed out with his whip ,  sending Martin's  knife

  

flying .  At the same moment hairy Amjit leapt teeth first ,  with a  howl

  

and a leap , but especially his teeth  he leapt . Martin's right hand felt

  

as  it it was on fire from where Percy's whip had hit him ,  so he  raised

  

his left to protect himself from hairy Amjit . But it was no use  ,  Amjit

  

had  his  revenge  for the time at the children's fair  ,  Amjit  had  his

  

revenge on Martin .  He tore into Martin ,  biting to the bone  ,  letting

  

loose he howled his victory before biting again .

 

"Help ,  help ,  he's killing me !  " screamed Martin as he fought for his

  

life .

 

"Daddy ,  daddy , I missed you , " Jaswinder hugged her father for all she

  

was worth .

 

And on howled hairy Amjit ,  as he bit and snapped at Martin ,  his duffle

  

coat was now in shreds  .

 

"Daddy I'm afraid ,  make him stop , " Jaswinder covered her eyes from the

  

blood letting .

 

Amjit hugged his daughter , he soothed her , she was safe , she was safe ,

  

thats  was all that mattered .  Hairy Amjit howled again ,  he  howled  in

  

triumphant , his little friend was safe , his little friend was safe , and

  

biting baddies was much more fun than chasing squirels .

 

"Stop it , call him off , " Amjit shouted to make his voice heard .

 

"He deserves it ! " snapped Patrick .

 

"Stop call the dog off ,  he'll never do it again ,  call the dog off ,  "

  

again Amjit shouted above Martin's screams and the howling dog .

 

Percy  raised his whip and cracked it above hairy Amjit's head  ,  "Sit  ,

  

come here boy ,  sit " Percy sounded like a lion tamer , and he needed too

  

this lion had gone wild .

 

"Sit  boy down ,  come to uncle Sid ,  " urged Big Sid seeing that  hairy

  

Amjit was reluctant .

 

Taking a final nip at Martin , hairy Amjit went and sat down at Sid's feet

  

, then began to lick the handel of his meat cleaver .

 

"You  are banished from Old Forge and Singing Anvil ,leave ,  "  commanded

  

Percy pointing with his whip .  He cracked it above Martin's head to speed

  

him on his way .  "If I ever see you again , I'll kill you , I'll kill you

  

I'll kill you , " Percy cracked his whip again and again and again .

 

"And I'll bury you ! " boomed Sid , the thunder to Percy's lightning .

 

"Quick , lets get out of here , before the police come ! " urged Patrick .

 

         So they ran from the woods ,  Amjit carrying the prize , the game

  

was won , they had the prize , they had the little Indian Princess , Amjit

  

had  his daughter Jaswinder ,  safe and sound .  As they emerged from  the

  

woods  taxis slid and slithered to a halt all around them  ,  the  cavalry

  

were there , but thank God they weren't  needed .

 

"Are you all right Michael ,  are you alright Michael ? " asked Johnny the

  

first to arrive .

 

Michael looked over Jonny's shoulder ,  he could see Jaswinder ,  she  was

  

alive , she was alive . Michael felt quite faint , he reached for his asma

  

inhalor and took some .

 

"I just came over funny but I'm fine now ,  I'll be ok ,  see my friends ,

  

my family are coming ,  see they are coming ,  " Michael pointed to  Amjit

  

and  Jaswinder ,  to Patrick and Big Sid ,  to Andy and Bill and to  Percy

  

with his whip held high .

 

Johnny  looked arounded ,  they were all smiling they were all laughing  ,

  

Michael began to cry ,  it was too much for him .  He'd driven the race of

  

his life ,  he'd been in time ,  he'd beaten time itself ,  Jaswinder  was

  

alive ,  Jaswinder was safe ,  he'd won the race .  Patrick came and shook

  

hands with Michael .

 

"You did it Michael ,  you did it Michael ,  everythings ok ,  everythings

  

just fine , " Patrick squeezed the life from Michael's hand .

 

"Are  you  ok ?  " asked Johnny on behalf of the mast ranks  of  the  taxi

  

drivers .

 

"Yes I'm fine now , Patrick here will drive my taxi , I'll get a lift from

  

Percy here , " Michael pointed to Percy .

 

"Yes , jump in the Rolls Andy will drive you back home , come on quick now

  

or we'll all catch a cold in this rain , " smiled Percy .

 

So  after telling all the drivers in turn that he was fine now  ,  Michael

  

got  in the Rolls and sat next to Amjit and Jaswinder ,  to ride  home  in

  

style .  Percy and Sid shook hands ,  "You'd make a great butcher , " said

  

Sid .  "And you'd make a great undertaker ,  " said Percy .  Then  holding

  

back their heads they laughed ,  they laughed till they cried ,  real  men

  

crying like children , because a child was safe , a child was alive .

 

          The taxis raced away , like a fanfare of fireworks , their irate

  

passengers nagging them from behind ,  but as the drivers said ,  it would

  

be quicker this way , the scenic route , and so it was , going ninety nine

  

and  on the pavement at times .  Andy drove with his foot to the  floor  ,

  

this  time his father followed him ,  he had to get Jaswinder home to  her

  

mother , to end a mother's tears . He not gone far when he braked suddenly

  

a lorry was blocking the road ,  the  driver looked angry ,  Andy was sure

  

he had a shotgun in his hands .

 

"He HAS got a gun , " Andy slowed and stopped .

 

Patrick  pulled  up behind ,the taxi screeched to a halt  ,  hairy  Amjit

  

howling in his ear .  Percy put his head out the window to see what was up

  

"It's Jaques ,  he one of Mark's continentals ,  " Percy leapt out the  

  

hearse to remonstrate .

 

"I  stop  here ,  Gillian say somebody has stolen her jewels ,  he  has  a

  

yellow Datson , I stop here , " explained Jaques .

 

"But  WE  have the jewels ,  " Percy pulled Jaswinder's  bangle  from  his

  

pocket , he'd explian things later , for now this would do .

 

"I don't understand she said it was a ring ,  " Jaques  took his beret off

  

and put it back on again .

 

"Give me your radio , " Percy climbed into the cab , it was as high as the

  

old coaches his grandfather used to drive , Percy could feel his throat go

  

tight and dry as he pressed the transmit button , he took a deep breath .

 

"This is Percy here ,  " he stopped again to catch his breath , he wiped a

  

tear  away then he spoke ,  then he spoke ,  " Percy here ,  we  have  the

  

Jewels  ,  we have the jewels ,  repeat we have the jewels ,  we have  the

  

little Indian Princess ,  Jaswinder is free ,  Jaswinder is safe !  We are

  

coming home ! " Percy dropped the radio .

 

Jaques looked up at him , his finger on the trigger .

 

"We've just saved Jaswinders life , " whispered Percy .

 

Jaques fired his gun into the air , both barrels .

 

"Come on Jaques , move your lorry , lets get home , " Percy leapt from the

  

cab , a final flash of lightning capturing him as he leapt .

 

          As for Martin , he hobbled back to the flat and started throwing

  

some  clothes into a bag ,  he was off ,  he was emigrating .  He  ignored

  

Sue's pleas for a doctor ,  it was her fault that she was pregnant  ,  it

  

probably wasn't his anyway ,  so thankyou and goodnight .  A neighbour had

  

heard all the noise and breaking doors ,  so had called the police  ,  the

  

police took a while in coming what with all the false alarms caused by the

  

bad weather . As Sgt. Mulholland raced up the stairs to flat five , Martin

  

was saying thankyou and goodnight .

 

"Hey hang on a sec , do you live here ? " said the sergeant .

 

"Who me no , " answered Martin as he ducked past the sergeant and out into

  

the landing .

 

"Hey  come back ,  why are you all covered in blood ?  " the sergeant  ran

  

after the suspect .

 

Sue screamed out in pain , her baby was going to be born any second now .

 

"Hey come back ? " yelled the sergeant .

 

Martin  caried on running ,  at that moment sombody opened their  door  to

  

see what was going on .

 

"Stop him , " yelled the sergeant .

 

The neighbour put out a hand ,  Martin swerved to avoid being caught , but

  

he tripped on his tattered duffle coat .  Tripped and fell ,  tripped  and

  

fell was what the autopsy would say .Sgt. Mulholland could see Martin fall

  

down and around , down and around , down and around , he knew his neck was

  

broken  ,  there was no point in checking for a pulse .  Sue  screamed  up

  

above ,  duty called ,  the dead would have to look after themselves ,  he

  

had to help deliver a baby ,a new life , a fresh start , Martin was dead ,

  

it was all over for him .    

  

          "Percy here , we have the jewels , " the rest of his message was

  

drown out by the cheers .  Mrs Murphy and old Mrs Amjit were no longer the

  

supporting flying buttresses ,  no ,  the butresses flew into the air with

  

joy .

 

"She's safe ,  she's safe ! " screamed Mrs Murphy , here Kerry Head accent

  

shouting the sea down .

 

Mick  Bisiker nearly fainted with the shock ,  Keith the  soundman  looked

  

around , what was the demented woman going on about .

 

"Will you give us a tune lads , seeing as you have your guitars with you I

  

mean  its  not much to ask ,  see I'll give you a sweet  ,  "  Mrs  Murphy

  

reached  into  her shopping bag and put the borrowed meat cleaver  on  the

  

table so she could find her boiled sweets .

 

"Yes give us a tune , " said the Gavin twins as one .

 

"Can I have another milkshake now that Jaswinder is coming home ,  " asked

  

Mathew .

 

"You can have a million , " smiled Gillian .

 

After taking all of two seconds to decide that "no" was not a good  answer

  

to  give a little old Irish lady with a meat cleaver and four  very  large

  

sons ,  Mick and Keith ,  half of the Stones as they were know on the Folk

  

scene took out their guitars and played .

 

"Two teas for you , and one for the sexy soundman , " said Gillian .

 

"And here's the sugar ,  " added Mark as he put a full bottle of  calvedos

  

on the table .

 

"I  suppose I could sing you the new song ,  I was saving it for the  Bell

  

and Pump ,  but somehow I thing Ian Campbell and Aiden Forde will have to

  

cover ,  " mumbled Mick into his moustache ,  well at least the sugar  was

  

good .  

  

         Over the horizon , eighteen wheelers were joining the procession,

  

they hooted their horns , their headlamps lit up the twilight . The circus

  

was coming to town ,  the circus was coming top town , and tonight for one

  

night only the undertaker would be the clown , he had his whip ready , his

  

hand  was  steady  ,  the circus was coming to town .  And  so  it  was  ,

  

Jaswinder was safe so tonight , they'd all party .

 

           The  Rolls pulled up quietly at Mark's  door  ,  Balbinder  was

  

standing in the doorway waiting for the waiting to end .  The door  opened

  

and  Jaswinder skipped out ,  hairy Amjit howled ,  Balbinder  kissed  her

  

daughter , the party could begin .

 

"Well  I suppose it'd be alright to eat the food you prepared  for  little

  

Sheila's christening ,  " sighed Mrs Murphy before throwing another  sweet

  

at Mick Bisiker .

 

"We've started doing that already to be honest , " laughed Gillian .

 

"I blame Patrick , he makes a baby before he makes somebody his wife , now

  

he has a Christening reception before a Christening ,  he's cat  altogther

  

that's  all I can say ,  " continued Mrs Murphy before throwing a  sweet  at

  

Keith the sound man .

  

          The  party  went  with a swing  ,  Wayne  rolled  out  a  barrel

  

literally , the lorry drivers brought out weird and wonderful instruments

  

and began playing .  One came from Provinance ,  where all the folk  songs

  

come  from so naturally he got on really well with Mick and  Keith  .  One

  

very tired lorry driver arrived late but he was made welcome , he sat down

  

next to Barry and Mrs Murphy .

 

"You look tired  ,  have you been on the road long ? " asked Mrs Murphy as

  

she handed Barry a sweet .   

  

"Yes  ,  I've been on the road a very long time ,  nine days in fact  ,  "

  

replied the little Indian with the shining smile .

 

"And where do you come from ? " asked Mrs Murphy  .

 

"Calcutta . "

 

 

 

                        The   End

 

 

 

 

  This was a film pitch a few years ago the final 3 chapters of

 

The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker

  

  

 WELL. INDIA WILL MY STORY BE ALL OVER YOUR INTNET