‘I’m so glad you’re back at last,’ she said, breathlessly.

‘Sorry about this evening, Alice,’ he apologised.

‘There’ll be other times.’

She kissed him on the cheek, then became aware of her father standing there.

‘Don’t I get a welcome home?’ he asked with a slight edge.

‘Of course, you do,’ she said, hugging him. ‘Hello, Daddy.’

The car drove off and the three of them went into the house. Ellen collected a routine peck on the cheek from her husband then took him into the kitchen. Keedy and Alice followed them.

‘There’s a meal in the oven, if you’re not too tired to eat it,’ said Ellen. ‘And there’s more than enough for you, Joe.’

‘I’m starving,’ said Keedy.

‘We haven’t had a thing since we heard the news from Hayes,’ said Marmion, inhaling the aroma that came from the oven as Ellen opened the door. ‘That smells good. Thanks for having something ready for us, love.’

‘I know how hungry policemen can get.’

‘But where’ve you been?’ asked Alice. ‘And why did you go there? Tell me everything. I can’t wait to hear the details.’

‘They’re not very pleasant,’ warned her father.

‘Why is that, Daddy?’

He exchanged a glance with Keedy. ‘Let’s get some grub inside us first.’

‘I second that, Harv,’ said the other, rubbing his hands.

It was not long before all four of them were seated around the table. While Marmion and Keedy devoured their food, the women had yet another cup of tea. It was an odd situation but one which was likely to recur time and again now that Keedy was about to join the family. Ordinarily, Marmion would say very little to his wife about the cases on which he was working. He took special care to keep any horrific details from her but he could hardly do that now. Since his daughter was pressing him for information, Ellen was bound to hear it as well. She gave him an encouraging smile, as if indicating that she had no qualms about what he might say.

Choosing his words carefully, Marmion told them about the crisis that had made them hare off to Hayes in a fast car. Both women were appalled. The idea of one female victim was enough to upset them. The fact that five had been blown to pieces made them shudder. They found it difficult to imagine how gruesome the scene of the crime must have been. Alice was the first to recover from the shock. Ellen was numbed and left all the questions to her daughter.

‘Why would anyone want to murder some munition workers?’ she asked.

‘That’s not what they’ll be called in the papers,’ said her father. ‘They’ll be described as canaries. They’ll be robbed of their dignity and simply be lumped together as munitionettes.’

‘That’s terrible, Daddy. They were five separate individuals.’

‘We discovered that from the survivor,’ said Keedy. ‘She told us how different they all were from each other and Mrs Radcliffe — the mother of one of the girls — told us a little about her daughter. In the normal course of events, all six of them would probably never have been friends. Well,’ he corrected, ‘two of them might have been because they lived so close to each other in Uxbridge, but the rest were scattered all over the place in Hayes. What brought them together was the war.’

‘It brought them together, then killed them,’ remarked Ellen.

‘What a terrible way to lose their lives,’ said Alice, face taut. ‘They went off happily to a birthday party without realising that they were walking into a death trap. It’s dreadful. What kind of a monster could do such a thing?’ She swung round to face her father. ‘Do you have any idea who he could be?’

‘No, Alice,’ admitted Marmion, ‘but his signature tells us something about him. He’s cold, ruthless, calculating and has no concern for the value of human life. The chances are that he was ready to sacrifice innocent young women in order to kill the person he was really after.’

‘And who was that?’

‘We haven’t worked it out yet,’ said Keedy. ‘We’re still at a very early stage of the investigation.’

‘Needless to say,’ cautioned Marmion, ‘everything that we’ve told you has been confidential. Nothing — not a single word — must be repeated to anyone at work, Alice. When your colleagues know that I’m in charge of the case, you’re bound to be asked. You must lie your head off.’

‘That’s not easy for someone as honest as her,’ said Ellen.

‘Yes, it is, Mummy,’ said Alice. ‘When I know how important it is to be discreet, I can be. I won’t tell a soul.’

Marmion put a hand on her arm. ‘Good girl.’

‘But that doesn’t mean I want to be kept in the dark from now on.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well,’ she said, eyes glistening with interest, ‘this case is fascinating. It’s all about six young women of my age or thereabouts. I have some idea of how they might think and act. It’s the one advantage I have over you and Joe. I don’t want to be co-opted on to the investigation — that would be impossible — but I would like to know about any developments. Who knows? I might be able to offer some useful ideas.’

Marmion was caught momentarily off balance and Keedy looked less than enthusiastic about her offer. Both of them were having second thoughts about the wisdom of discussing the case so freely with her. Alice wanted to be included. They traded a look of mild desperation, neither of them knowing quite what to say.

Alice was forceful. ‘What have you got against me?’ she demanded. ‘I might actually be able to help. I’m in the police force as well, remember.’

CHAPTER FIVE

Since neither of his daughters was leaving the house that day, it was Eamonn Quinn who was the first to get up. He liked to get to the coal yard early so that he had the pick of the bags. After he’d had a swill in the kitchen sink, his face was relatively clean. It would be black by the time he came home in the evening. Like his elder daughter, he had a job that changed his colour completely. The difference was that Maureen’s yellow patina could not be washed off with cold water. On his visit to the privy, he had his first cigarette of the day and reflected on the distressing events at the Golden Goose. They’d give Maureen a worrying prominence. He’d feel the effects himself as his customers bombarded him on the doorstep with questions about what exactly had happened and how his daughter was coping with the fraught situation. It was the kind of interest that he’d never willingly seek. Others might bask in it but Quinn was a man who shunned attention.

By the time he returned to the kitchen, he found the kettle on the gas stove and his wife preparing his breakfast. Diane was still sleepy, moving as if in a dream and yawning intermittently. She tried to shake herself fully awake.

‘It feels funny, doesn’t it?’ she said.

‘What does?’

‘Most mornings, Maureen would have left hours ago. She’d be at work before either of us got up. It seems strange having her still here.’

‘It’s not strange, Di, it’s necessary.’

‘I know that.’

‘She’s had a terrible time. She needs to recover.’

‘Maureen was shivering all over when I put her to bed last night.’

‘I blame them,’ said Quinn, curling a lip. ‘Those coppers were wrong to keep on at her like that. They wore the poor girl down.’

‘What do I do if they come back, Eamonn?’

‘Keep them away from her.’

‘But they’re from Scotland Yard.’

‘I don’t care where the buggers come from,’ he said, rancorously. ‘I don’t want them battering her with questions again. Maureen is not up to it.’

‘She’s stronger than she looks,’ said Diane, turning off the gas and pouring hot water into the teapot. ‘Working in that factory has made her grow up fast. Well, you’ve noticed it yourself. Maureen used to be very shy but she’s got a lot more confidence now.’

‘That doesn’t mean she’s up to being interrogated by those two.’