The Judge's Daughter (45 page)

She was all right, Ian decided. He finished his cup of tea, said goodbye, then left for home.

It was half past nine. Agnes, having endured many half past nines and beyond, wondered why time had suddenly started to drag to the point of stopping. She could go and live in London with David
and Lydia, but London was not for her. It was full of people who knew no one. She glanced through her window – did she know these people? Hardly. But she was on nodding terms with plenty of
trees and pathways, and had even been known to greet a neighbour in the street. During the police enquiry, three women had taken the trouble to come to her door with home-made scones, pies and
casseroles. She could and would make a life again.

It had been like a football match with a very long half-time, she supposed. That was how Pop had described the twenty-one years between the Great War and the Second – time for a butty and
a cuppa, he had named the interval. Since Denis had died, Agnes’s life had been on hold. For a reason she failed to understand, the burial of his body would open a new chapter for her.
‘But not a chapter seven,’ she said aloud. ‘Never a chapter seven.’

The doorbell sounded. It was a quarter to ten. ‘Who is it?’ she called.

‘Me.’

‘Who’s me?’

‘Mags.’

Agnes froze. Harry would be with her. Harry was the man who had moved Denis’s body down to the cellar. He had also loved Helen and had betrayed poor Mags. ‘Are you alone?’ she
managed eventually.

‘Yes. Very much so.’

Agnes opened the door. Mags, in the company of a small suitcase, stepped into the house. She placed the case on the floor, righted herself and spoke again. ‘He hanged himself,
Agnes.’

‘What?’ A hand flew of its own accord to her throat. She swallowed hard. ‘Harry’s dead?’

Mags nodded.

‘Bloody hell. Come in – sit yourself down. Oh, my God – whatever next? Why, Mags?’

‘He knew he was guilty of helping to conceal the bodies – he was accessory after the crime. And Helen was his raison d’être. I must go back for the inquest, but I had to
come and tell you myself. He won’t be at the court tomorrow, Agnes. The police know what’s happened. I am so tired.’

They sat for over an hour in a companionable silence that was familiar to both of them. Lucy had always been the noise-maker, Mags the quiet one, Agnes the go-between. Two elderly ladies gazed
at a dwindling coal fire, each knowing what would happen next, neither needing to speak. Agnes knew that Mags wanted to come home; Mags knew that Agnes needed to share her living space with someone
she knew and trusted.

‘Shall I put a bottle in your bed?’ Agnes asked finally.

‘Please.’

‘When everything’s done and dusted, you can choose your own wallpaper.’

Mags’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Next door’s selling up,’ she said. ‘I’ve seen the sign and you can put in an offer for me. We can knock through and make it
one big house, or we can keep things as they are. But we’ll be together, won’t we?’

‘Course we will, kiddo. One for all—’

‘And all for one. With Lucy as our beloved nuisance, eh?’

That night, both slept well.

R
UTH
H
AMILTON
is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including
Lights of Liverpool
,
Mulligan’s Yard
,
A Liverpool Song
,
A Mersey Mile
and
Meet Me at the Pier Head
. She has become one of the north-west of England’s most popular writers. She was born in Bolton, which is the setting for many of her novels, and has spent most of her life in Lancashire. She now lives in Liverpool.

A
LSO BY
R
UTH
H
AMILTON

A Whisper to the Living

With Love From Ma Maguire

Nest of Sorrows

Billy London’s Girls

Spinning Jenny

The September Starlings

A Crooked Mile

Paradise Lane

The Bells of Scotland Road

The Dream Sellers

The Corner House

Miss Honoria West

Mulligan’s Yard

Saturday’s Child

Matthew & Son

Chandlers Green

The Bell House

Dorothy’s War

A Parallel Life

Sugar and Spice

The Reading Room

Mersey View

That Liverpool Girl

Lights of Liverpool

A Liverpool Song

A Mersey Mile

Meet Me at the Pier Head

First published 2007 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2015 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-330-54203-6

Copyright © Ruth Hamilton 2007

Figure © Fox Photos

Wall © Martin Child

Tree © Farhad J Parsa

Landscape © Shutterstock

The right of Ruth Hamilton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third party websites referred to in or on this book.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any
form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior
written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Visit
www.panmacmillan.com
to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews
and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.