Page 105 of Neighbors at War

They passed the parish school, where she and Babs had been taught, and then the art deco garage. It wasn’t far now. Only another few minutes and they would reach number 3.

‘Oh, no,’ Helen gasped, terror filling her voice.

‘What?’ Peggy asked, trying to see why she had reacted that way.

‘Two soldiers have just come out of that shop.’

They watched as the uniformed men stopped, exchanged words and immediately began following Tony and Bobby. One of them shouted to Tony to stop just as he reached the entrance to Bellozanne Avenue. Peggy could barely breathe as the soldiers ran across the road to where Tony and Bobby were standing.

Why would they stop them? Peggy wondered, horrified.

‘We have to do something,’ Helen whispered, trying to snatch her arm from Peggy’s grip.

Determined not to let Helen’s panic catch the soldiers’ attention, Peggy clung on to her. ‘Stop it,’ she snapped through gritted teeth. ‘You’re going to make things worse if you’re not careful. Tony’s no fool, he’ll know how to deal with this.’

‘And if he doesn’t?’

Peggy knew that if anyone could remain calm and cope it was Tony. She and Helen had a role to play, and she was going to make sure they kept to it. ‘We have to trust him. Keep walking.’

‘If we pass them, I won’t be able to see what’s happening to Bobby.’

Peggy thought quickly. ‘Tony will raise his voice so we can hear him if there’s anything to worry about. But we need to keep our distance in case Bobby calls out to you.’

She sensed Helen’s reluctance, then something distracted her. Peggy followed Helen’s gaze and saw a younger girl coming from the Avenue. She passed the soldiers with barely a glance and walked in their direction. She had a purposeful stride and Peggy wasn’t sure what to make of her.

‘Dulcie?’ Helen said, as if she wasn’t sure, either.

Peggy felt sick. Was this girl friendly? She had the power to alert the soldiers if she wanted to and Peggy was certain she had seen a look of recognition on Dulcie’s face when she spotted Bobby. She hoped they weren’t about to be caught.

The girl reached them. Peggy held her breath as she and Helen stared at each other in disbelief.

‘Where have you been?’ Dulcie whispered.

‘I, er…It’s a long story.’

Just when Peggy thought their plans were about to come crashing down around them, Dulcie hugged Helen. It clearly wasn’t something Helen expected, from the stiff way she was standing. She stared at Peggy over the girl’s bony shoulder, looking shocked.

Dulcie’s arms dropped and she stepped back. ‘No need to tell me now,’ she said her voice low. ‘Where are you headed?’

Peggy had a split second to decide whether to trust the girl. ‘My house,’ she said, hearing one of the soldiers questioning Tony. ‘Over there. Number 3.’

‘Link arms with me. We need to get away from here.’ Helen did as Dulcie insisted and they began walking towards the Hamels’ home.

‘But Bobby – I can’t just leave him out here,’ Helen whimpered.

‘Do not catch their eye,’ Dulcie snapped. ‘Anyway, I can’t see you have much choice.’

Peggy’s heart was in her mouth as the three of them neared Tony, Bobby and the soldiers. Deciding to try and distract Helen, she said, ‘It’s ever so good to see you again –’ she hesitated, trying to recall what Helen had called the girl ‘– Dulcie.’

‘You, too. How’s your mum and dad?’

Peggy tensed at the sound of those two words together in one sentence. ‘They’re doing as well as can be expected.’

‘What?’ Helen glanced at her. ‘Er, how’s your family, Dulcie?’

Before the girl could reply, gunfire rang out, making Helen scream and instinctively lurch towards Tony and Bobby. Peggy clung to her friend. Tony would take care of the little boy. She daren’t let Helen ruin their escape – not when they were almost home.

The soldiers yelled something as a man ran from a property followed by a third soldier. The two who had been questioning Tony instantly forgot about him and joined the chase towards West Park.