Page 132 of The Stranger in Room Six

‘I don’t know. I kept it in my room to hand over to the manager when she was back but then it disappeared.’

I feel awful about lying but I don’t know what else to do.

It’s clear that he sees me as either a nutcase or a suspect. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Belinda,’ I say. ‘Wall,’ I add reluctantly.

‘We will look into it. Thank you. I expect the police will want to talk to you. You’re not going anywhere, are you?’

I feel even worse now. What if they find out that I supplied the information to Mouse? If it wasn’t for my daughters’ safety, I would confess everything on the spot.

But now I’ve put myself right under the microscope. The police will investigate my background – it’s what they do to people who give information, isn’t it? I’ve just risked my family’s life for an old lady who might be as guilty of breaking the law as I am.

Mabel

‘Who could have given the papers that information?’ Harry asks.

It’s on the tip of her tongue to say ‘Belinda’ but she knows her dear friend wouldn’t do that.

‘I don’t know,’ she says.

‘One of your carers mentioned the note you received. It appears to have “disappeared”, rather conveniently. I’ve just telephoned the police but they say they can’t do anything without physical evidence. You should have come to me first.’

‘But you’re always busy with work,’ she protested.

He makes a ‘you’re right’ gesture. ‘Please stay in your room, Mabel, for safety.’

Yet she can’t bear it. She needs fresh air.

But everyone stares at her wherever she goes. The dining room. The communal lounge. The games room. The gardens. ‘I’m not living in a place with Nazi connections,’ says one woman.

Residents start to talk of leaving. Mabel gives a radio interview with Harry next to her, explaining she had no idea that her parents were working underground for the illegal BUF but not denying this fact either. She also added that she had not even known they were her parents at the time.

Numbers look set to plummet. ‘Sunnyside’s going to go into the red at this rate,’ Harry says when he visits again.

Mabel squeezes his hand, wanting to say something. But all she can think of is Clarissa’s body, the word TRAITOR under the stone beside her.

Supposing someone tries to kill her too?

The Stranger in Room Six

My phone pings with another text from my boss.

Newspapers are asking for physical documentary proof. We need that list of names in order to erase Bedmont’s name before someone else finds it. You’ve got twenty-four hours.

That’s it. He doesn’t say any more. He doesn’t need to. I’ve seen what happens to those who don’t deliver.

They are found in car scrap yards. Discovered at the bottom of lakes.

Or they disappear without trace.

Mouse,I tell myself, in a voice that sounds like my mother’s,you’ve bitten off more than you can chew this time.

I almost feel sorry for myself. But hell, twenty-four hours is twenty-four hours. I can do something in that time. I’ve got to.

Outside, they’re putting up the banners for tomorrow’s summer barbecue, which is always held on Mabel’s birthday. But through the window, I can hear grumbles.

‘I don’t know why we’re doing this for her.’