bell above the shop door rang as Sarah opened it to leave, but once outside, her stomach flipped as she realised her brother was nowhere to be seen. ‘Tommy,’ she frantically called, ‘Tommy …’ Her eyes darted up and down the deserted street, and she began to panic. It wasn’t like him to wander off alone, and she wondered what could have happened to him.
A middle-aged woman appeared on her doorstep. ‘Are you looking for the young lad in the army coat?’
‘Yes, my brother. Have you seen him?’
‘He ran off up the street with a couple of other boys. You’ll probably find them round the back. There’s an old warehouse there that the kids like to play in.’
‘Thank you,’ Sarah replied, feeling some relief. She ran along the street and around to the back of the houses, and soon found the disused warehouse, just as the woman had described. She noticed the windows were smashed, and, from what she could see, half the roof was missing. She didn’t think it looked like a safe building for children to be playing in, and could feel her heart hammering hard in her chest.
Sarah pulled open a metal door that was hanging only by its upper hinges. The concrete floor was littered with dead leaves, and she was startled by a pigeon taking off from its roost. ‘Tommy,’ she called again, and listened as her voice echoed through the derelict building. ‘Tommy, I know you’re in here, so stop playing silly beggars.’
She heard some giggling from around a wall, and young voices saying, ‘Shush’. As she turned the corner, she found herself locking eyes with Tommy, who was obviously oblivious to the fear he’d just caused her.
‘You little bugger,’ she said through gritted teeth, then stomped towards him, grabbed his arm, and laid three hefty whacks on his backside.
The other boys ran off, leaving Tommy sobbing.
‘I was only playing hide and seek with my friends,’ he cried.
Sarah suddenly felt awful for hitting the child. She’d never laid a hand on him before, and memories of her mother snapped into her mind. ‘I know, I’m sorry for smacking you, but you scared the living daylights out of me. You mustn’t ever run off like that again, do you understand me?’
Tommy nodded his head and wiped his snotty nose on the cuff of his coat.
‘And who are those boys? You don’t even know them. They’re not your friends.’
‘They is Jerry and John and they said I could play with them.’
‘Well, next time, you ask me first,’ Sarah said in a softer voice.
Both calmer, Sarah led Tommy back to the street and they walked in silence to the post office. She’d seen a red telephone box outside, and was keen to ring the number for the room rental, hoping it was still available.
Once they found the telephone box, Tommy squeezed inside with Sarah. ‘I’ve never been in a telephone box before,’ he said, and breathed on one of the small glass windows. The window misted up and Sarah watched as he amused himself by drawing pictures with his fingers in the condensation.
She was relieved when she got through to Mrs Preston, who had placed the advert, and found the room was still available. The woman agreed to meet Sarah immediately at the house, though she didn’t sound over-enthusiastic at letting out one of her properties to an unemployed woman caring for a young child. She told Sarah she’d require a significant payment of rent in advance, and, with little choice, Sarah agreed.
When they arrived at the terraced house, Mrs Preston was waiting outside. Sarah could tell by the woman’s attire that she was wealthy. Her gloves were pristine white, and on her grey hair she wore a smart hat with a diamond pin. Her car was parked outside, and Sarah noticed a man in an official-looking cap sat at the steering wheel.
‘Mrs Preston, pleased to meet you. I’m Sarah Jepson and this is my brother Tommy.’
‘Yes, well, I don’t have time for chitter chatter.’ She opened the front door, and led them to a good-sized room with a window above a sink that overlooked the street.
Sarah instantly smelled the damp, but the room was cheap and it would have to do.
‘As we discussed, I will require six weeks’ rent in cash,’ Mrs Preston said, holding a white handkerchief to her nose.
‘Yes, that’s fine. We’ll take it,’ Sarah replied, and counted out the money.
Mrs Preston took the cash and wrote a receipt which she handed to Sarah, saying, ‘In future, Mr Terence will collect your rent, due fortnightly. I don’t normally visit the properties myself, but Mr Terence is unavailable today. If you cannot pay, you will be evicted. I am not a charity, and I will not tolerate any sob stories.’
‘I understand,’ said Sarah, noting that the woman was looking down her nose.
With that, Mrs Preston handed Sarah the keys and walked off in a haughty manner. Sarah closed the room door, then turned happily to Tommy. ‘This is ours. This is our new home.’
‘But where are the beds?’
‘All in good time, we’ll make do for now. Anyway, who cares about beds and stuff? No more sheds for us, we’ve got our own home.’
Sarah was pleased to see Tommy smile, and felt proud of herself for providing a home for him, though she was worried that the rent she’d paid had left her with very little money.
‘Can we have something to eat now? I’m so hungry that my belly thinks my head has been chopped off.’
Sarah laughed. ‘I’ll tell you what, how about we put this old blanket on the floor, go and get some food, then come back and have a picnic?’
‘Yes,’ Tommy said with delight, ‘can we have cake?’
She fumbled the remaining coins in her coat pocket. They’d eat like kings tonight, but tomorrow would be a different story.
The next day, Sarah sat on a bench in a churchyard close to the Thames. She liked it there. It was quiet and tranquil, which gave her time to think clearly.
‘I’m bored, can we go now?’ Tommy asked.
He’d been wandering around looking at the headstones, but now sat next to Sarah on the bench.
‘In a minute,’ she answered.
‘Can we go back to the bridge and look for more treasure?’
‘That was a bit of a fluke the other day. I doubt there would be anything else there now.’
‘Please, Sarah. It’s much more fun than sitting here with all the dead people in their forever boxes under the ground.’
He had a point, she thought, and reluctantly stood up to leave. She didn’t expect there would be anything in the mud again, but she’d humour her brother, if only to stop him moaning.
