The Roots of the Tree Page 13

  ‘I thought I might be able to get some information from the regiment that Edward served in, but they said they can only release details to the next of kin,’ she explained. ‘I feel as though I may be approaching that brick wall. David’s following up one idea today, to see if we can trace the de Lacey family that Edward used to work for to see if they remember anything, but if that falls through I don’t know where else to look.’

  ‘Well, I just stopped by to ask you if you’re free for lunch tomorrow. There’s something I would like to talk to you about.’

  ‘Sure, I’d love to,’ said Suzie.

  Daniel came running out of his classroom into the playground and Suzie hugged him. ‘Hello sweetheart,’ she said. ‘Have you had a good day?’

  ‘Wicked!’ said Daniel. ‘Molly’s having a pirate party and I’m invited. I like Molly. She’s fun.’

  Suzie smiled as she remembered Daniel’s comments about Molly just last week. Children have such short memories, she thought. If only adults could learn to forgive and forget so quickly.

  ‘That’s nice,’ she said. ‘Have you all got to get dressed up, wear eye patches, a parrot on your shoulder and walk with a wooden leg?’

  ‘No, I’m going to be a mean pirate,’ Daniel announced proudly. ‘I want a skull and crossbones flag and tattoos.’

  Suzie looked doubtful at this last announcement.

  ‘I’ve got to have tattoos, Mummy, please.’

  ‘I’ll have to see what we can find,’ she conceded. ‘The joke shop will probably have some of those that wash off straight away afterwards. Anyway, come on, we’re going to see Grandma and Great Aunt Emily for tea before we go home tonight.’

  ‘Cool,’ agreed Daniel.

  Emily heard Suzie’s car pull onto the drive and greeted them at the front door.

  ‘And how is my favourite little man?’ she teased Daniel. ‘Come on into the kitchen. I’ve been baking and I just might be able to find some chocolate cake for you.’

  Daniel shrieked with delight and needed no second invitation to follow Emily. Once seated with a large slice of chocolate cake on a plate on his lap and Cartoon Capers on the TV, Suzie and Emily took a pot of tea and three mugs into the lounge where Annie was sitting in her usual armchair with Marmaduke on her lap. She hadn’t changed since lunch and was still wearing her colourful, but clashing outfit. Her hand shook as she accepted the cup of tea Emily poured.

  ‘How was Dad and lunch?’ asked Suzie.

  ‘You know your father,’ said Annie. ‘Always thinks he has all the answers to everything. But he was very sweet.’

  ‘He’s only trying to help. He’s worried about you,’ said Suzie. ‘We all are.’

  ‘You’ve no reason to worry about me,’ Annie snapped. ‘In fact, I think I’ll go back to work tomorrow.’

  Suzie and Emily exchanged a glance.

  ‘You don’t have to rush, Annie,’ said Emily. ‘They will understand at work that you’re troubled at the moment. You need to take your time and get properly better.’

  ‘I think I’ll decide when I’m ready to go back.’

  ‘Whatever you want, Mum,’ said Suzie. ‘Well, I must be getting home.’

  Emily followed her to the door. ‘It might help her to go back to work,’ Suzie said. ‘She’ll have to focus on something other than all of this. But will you find an excuse to stay on with her for a while yet?’

  ‘Of course I will, because I’m not convinced about this at all.’

  Suzie’s telephone was ringing as she arrived home. She dashed across the hall and grabbed the receiver before it rang off.

  ‘There you are finally,’ Jack’s voice boomed down the telephone at her. ‘You’re late back from work.’

  ‘I called in at Mum’s on the way home. Heard about your lunch. Don’t think she’s appreciating being told what to do.’

  ‘Well at least we’re getting a reaction out of her, which is better than her just sitting there like a mute.’

  ‘True,’ Suzie couldn’t help but agree.

  ‘She’s really suffering. If only we’d found out about all of this before Frank died. I would have given him a large piece of my mind.’

  ‘I can imagine,’ said Suzie. ‘But we didn’t and you can’t and that’s not going to help us or Mum now. She says she’s going back to work tomorrow.’

  ‘No way,’ said Jack. ‘She’s not up to it. You should have seen how she looked today.’

  ‘I think I probably did.’

  ‘And the way she was talking – when I provoked her into talking – was as if she’d been in the way, as if she hadn’t been loved by him at all, that he took her on because he had to and lying to her was all part of some sort of conspiracy to keep him in control. She has a lot of anger bottled up inside her.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do, Dad. I can’t stop her from going back to work and maybe in a strange way it might help because it will give her something else to focus on. I’ve persuaded Aunt Emily to stay on for the time being. In the meantime, I’m making some progress. I’ve unravelled the mystery behind why Elsie and Edward felt they couldn’t tell their parents about their relationship.’

  As Suzie brought her father up to date with developments, with the receiver propped under her chin, she deftly threw some fish fingers and frozen chips into the oven for Daniel’s dinner. He was happily entertaining himself with the Lego box in the lounge; she could hear the crashing of towers as he built them and knocked them down.

  ‘Let her go back to work, give it a few days, and then perhaps we should have another family evening and hope that Mum’s feeling a bit better by then.’

  ‘Good idea,’ agreed Jack. ‘I have to go. Take care.’

  ‘How did it go with Bertie?’ Suzie asked David as soon as he walked in the door, barely giving him the chance to take his coat off. She had not had a chance to speak to him all day.

  ‘Fantastic,’ he replied. ‘We had a great lunch, enjoyed each other’s company and he had plenty of information about the de Laceys, the crux of it being that they still retain a local firm of solicitors, to whom I have spoken this afternoon, and if you write a letter to the family explaining the nature of your query, they will forward it to them. Of course, they can’t guarantee you’ll receive an answer, but we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed for that. Let me get changed and I’ll give you all the details over dinner.’

  ‘You’re a star,’ said Suzie.

  Later, she sat at the kitchen table drafting a letter.

  ‘How does this sound?’

  Dear Sir/Madam,

  Please forgive me for contacting you like this, but I am trying to find a long lost relative whom I believe worked for you before the war at Chaddington Manor and may have returned to you after the war. His name was Edward Johnson and I believe he may have been employed as a chauffeur.

  My family only recently discovered his existence and it is all a bit of a mystery at the moment, but I believe he may have had a relationship with my grandmother before the war and may be my true grandfather. My mother is finding the stress of this discovery quite difficult to cope with. There is no one still living in our family who remembers what happened and we are very anxious to trace him or his descendants, if indeed there are any, to uncover the truth.

  I would be very grateful for any help you feel able to give me on this matter.

  Yours faithfully

  Suzie Henderson

  ‘Hmmm, desperate,’ teased David.

  ‘Don’t,’ Suzie retorted. ‘I know you’re teasing, but I’m serious. This has to sound genuine and not as though I have some dodgy purpose for wanting to find him.’

  ‘It’s perfect,’ said David. ‘And now it’s bedtime.’

  ‘Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to mention,’ said Suzie, standing up and heading for the stairs. ‘Tom has asked me to have lunch with him tomorrow.’

  ‘Why?’ asked David.

  ‘I really have no idea,’ replied Suzie.

  12


  Back to Work

  Annie couldn’t sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, she finally gave in, got out of bed and wrapped herself in her dressing gown. She couldn’t find her slippers so she padded barefoot downstairs and into the kitchen to make some coffee. She couldn’t sleep anyway so what harm would a dose of caffeine do? Marmaduke followed her, intrigued about this night-time trip to the kitchen and hopeful of a between-meal snack.

  Annie couldn’t think clearly. Usually so decisive and able to cut through any problem, she found herself completely unable to focus on what was happening in her life and come up with anything constructive. Her thoughts were a jumble, going round and round in never-ending circles – her mother, Frank, Edward, what happened and why. Why had nobody thought about her and how she might feel if she ever found out the truth? Her usually clear and focused mind felt anything but at the moment. She felt vague and uncertain. She was unsure of who she was and felt isolated. She somehow did not have the power to think rationally any more and the more she tried, the angrier she felt.The anger was just building up inside her until she felt certain it must burst out, but it didn’t. She thought about what Jack had said about needing to let go of the anger. She knew he was right, but she didn’t know how to do it. The only thing she was sure would work wasn’t an option that was open to her; to shout at the people responsible, ask them why and demand an explanation would have the dual benefit of making her feel much better and providing the information she craved, but as she didn’t believe in the spiritual mumbo jumbo of trying to communicate with the dead via seances or a psychic she needed to come up with an alternative plan.

  Annie didn’t know how long she’d been sitting at the kitchen table when Emily came in. Her coffee was cold and she felt stiff and tired. Emily gently removed the mug from Annie’s tight grip and refilled the kettle.

  ‘I’ll make us a fresh one,’ she said.

  ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Nearly seven.’

  Annie glanced up at the kitchen clock and noticed it had stopped at 3.45 a.m. Funny, she hadn’t realised it wasn’t ticking.

  ‘Goodness, I’ll need to get a move on if I’m going to get to work on time,’ said Annie, struggling to her feet.

  Emily turned to look at her. ‘You don’t have to do this, you know. Go back to work I mean. I don’t think you’re ready for it.’

  ‘Oh don’t you start as well. I know what I’m ready for and I’m fed up of people telling me what I should do.’

  ‘I’m only thinking of you, dear. Everyone understands that you have had a big shock and you need time to come to terms with it.’

  ‘I need answers, not time,’ replied Annie wearily. ‘But I’m not going to get them so I’m just going to have to get on with things anyway. Thanks for the tea. I’ll take it with me to the bathroom. Better have a shower and wash this hair.’

  Emily watched as she walked lethargically out of the kitchen towards the bathroom. ‘Fighting talk, indeed,’ she thought to herself. ‘But you don’t fool me.’

  An hour later and Annie was ready to leave. Emily was still in the kitchen, having emptied the dishwasher, tidied up and replaced the battery in the clock. She was busy tackling some ironing as Annie appeared in the doorway.

  ‘I’ll be off then,’ she said.

  Emily looked up and noted Annie’s freshly washed hair and carefully applied makeup. She also noticed that her blouse was buttoned up wrongly and her earrings were odd, but she said nothing.

  ‘Have a good day. I’ll cook us something nice for dinner.’

  Tom had elected to take Suzie to a small Italian restaurant in a nearby village, some fifteen minutes’ drive from Barminster. He was driving and Suzie, always a nervous passenger, had both hands clenched tightly on the seat at either side of her as Tom, completely oblivious to her concern, performed one dubious overtaking manoeuvre after another while maintaining a one-man diatribe on the government’s latest non-initiative on immigration. Eventually, he realised Suzie wasn’t contributing much to the conversation.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked finally.

  ‘Just not a good passenger,’ she conceded. ‘Do you think you could just slow down a bit?’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ he said, genuinely surprised and immediately eased off the accelerator pedal.

  Suzie breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the restaurant safely and without incident. It was a former coaching inn built in warm stone with creepers running riot, freely and unchecked around the walls and an archway which led through to a cobbled courtyard with a series of outbuildings on one side, which would once have been the stables where the horses were tethered and fed. The courtyard had been converted into an attractive terrace for outdoor dining and the stables appeared to be bed and breakfast rooms. It was a warm day, so Suzie and Tom elected to sit outside. Suzie ordered grilled fish with a side salad and Tom a homemade burger with chips. They decided to share a bottle of Chablis.

  ‘I expect you’re wondering what this lunch is about,’ said Tom. Social lunches between the editor and staff were rare at the Barminster Chronicle. ‘You know Carl is leaving?’ It was more of a statement than a question. Carl was his deputy editor, an ambitious young man who did not share Tom’s ethics on modern journalism.

  ‘Yes, I had heard,’ replied Suzie. ‘He’s going into PR or something isn’t he? Bit of a strange move I thought.’

  ‘He’s like so many of the young people today. Believes the grass is greener on the other side and his path up the ladder is too slow. But he’s ambitious and he realises that while I’m going nowhere at the Barminster Chronicle, for different reasons, so is he. I would like you to consider applying for the job.’

  Suzie said nothing.

  ‘I know your priorities are family – mainly Daniel – first, and I respect that. But in spite of that, you’re still one of the most conscientious, committed and productive people we have ever had on the editorial team at the Barminster Chronicle. Plus, the fact that you’re not driven by ambition is a positive as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to invest time, money and energy in training someone who will simply move on in eighteen months to take another step up that career ladder that promises so much but often delivers so little real happiness. I want you as my deputy and I am prepared to work around your family commitments in whatever way is necessary. Just name your terms.’

  ‘Tom, I don’t know what to say,’ she eventually managed to reply.

  ‘You don’t have to say anything right now – although “yes” would be good. Take some time, think about it, talk to David and let me know what I have to agree to in order to get you,’ he smiled.

  Their food arrived and for a moment they sat in silence as they started to eat.

  ‘So, that’s the formal part of the lunch out of the way,’ said Tom. ‘I wanted to bring you away from the office and any of the usual haunts to talk to you about the job. Now tell me how David got on yesterday with Bertie.’

  Suzie explained that they had found a way to contact the de Lacey family and that she had already written a letter to request any information they may have.

  Tom smiled. ‘See, it wasn’t a brick wall after all, and I may have something else for you.’

  Suzie looked at him questioningly.

  ‘Yesterday afternoon, after you’d left to collect Daniel, I did a bit of research. I remembered hearing or reading something about some war archives being made available as open records – “open” meaning the general public can inspect them. I wasn’t sure what records they were or even whether my memory was accurate or not, so I made some calls.’ He paused.

  Suzie waited with her fork halfway to her mouth. ‘And?’ she was eventually forced to ask.

  ‘And, I was right,’ said Tom, enjoying keeping her in suspense. ‘The National Archives at Kew now has registers of some thirteen thousand allied prisoners of war, both military personnel and civilians captured and held by the Japanese during World War Two.’

  Suzie pu
t down her fork and stared at Tom. He held up his hand to stop her interrupting.

  ‘There’s more,’ he said gently. ‘Apparently there are also thousands of cards which provide more detail of prisoners of war and thousands of liberation questionnaires, which were kind of like a debrief after the prisoners were freed. These would contain lots of personal data as well as their thoughts and comments about other prisoners and how they had been treated.’

  Suzie was stunned.

  Tom watched her from across the table.

  ‘That’s amazing,’ she finally managed to stutter. ‘You mean I could just go down there and ask to look through these cards until I find him.’

  ‘In theory, yes,’ said Tom. ‘But I would urge you not to get your hopes up too high; these records are by no means one hundred per cent complete so you still might not find him.’

  ‘Yes, but it’s a chance,’ Suzie replied enthusiastically. ‘Tom, you are amazing. I can’t thank you enough. I need to go down there as soon as possible. I mean, will it be okay if I take a day’s holiday on Friday and go down there?’

  Tom smiled. ‘I anticipated that. Of course. I’ll go with you if you like.’

  ‘Thanks, Tom, but I couldn’t expect you to come, too. You’ve already helped so much.’

  ‘Nonsense. In truth, the lure of spending a day trawling through archives that have until very recently been inaccessible to the likes of you and me is almost more than I can resist. In fact, I think I will make it a condition of you taking a day off – that you take me with you, that is.’

  Suzie laughed. ‘Okay, it’s a deal. I would really love you to come, too.’

  ‘That’s agreed then. Now, let’s get back to the office and you can let me have your verdict on my proposal on Friday as well.’

  Annie felt drained. She pushed open her front door and forced herself to put one foot in front of the other until she reached the kitchen table and could collapse into a chair. Emily heard the front door click and came through from the lounge to greet her.

  ‘You look exhausted,’ she said. ‘Let me get you some tea.’

  Annie had her head in her hands. ‘I would prefer a Scotch,’ she muttered.