Beware This Boy by Maureen Jennings Read Free Book Online Page A

you haven’t got a penny, aha’penny will do. If you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you
. And
bang, bang
on the door.”
    “They were very tolerant.”
    “You told us finally that they were Jewish.”
    “That’s right. Their real name was Cohen.”
    “You told us because you found out we were singing the bad version of the song.” He shouted again, “
If you haven’t got a ha’penny, you’re a skinny old Jew
.”
    Eileen sighed. “Shush. You’re making a lot of noise.”
    He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I sang that. They never said anything. Always gave us a shilling and some cake Mrs. Cowan had made. They used to give us homemade eggnog at Christmas. Do you know what, Auntie?”
    “Yes?”
    “They were holding hands. The wardens had to carry them out together. I hid in the parlour when they came. I couldn’t think, so I stayed in the house, hoping something would happen.” He made an attempt to smile. “And it did. Jackie found me and here we are.”
    She got to her feet. “Come on. Let’s have a conflab inside.”
    He didn’t protest and Eileen led the way back to her room, both of them tiptoeing like thieves as they crossed the kitchen.
    Jack was sitting in the armchair, and he jumped up when they came in, looking warily at his brother.
    “Why don’t you take that chair, Brian,” said Eileen, keeping her voice low. “Jack, is there any cocoa left?”
    Jack shook the Thermos. “Some. Here, Bri.”
    He thrust the drink over but Brian pushed his hand away. “I’m okay. I wouldn’t mind a slug of that brandy, though.”
    Without a word, Eileen poured a hefty shot and he tossed it back as if it were water. She hoped it wasn’t going to have an adverse reaction with the Benzedrine he’d been swallowing.His pupils were dilated and there were flecks of saliva at the corners of his mouth.
    He plopped down in the armchair and leaned back. “Whew. Maybe I’m more tired than I realized.”
    “Why don’t you close your eyes for a minute.”
    “Don’t mind if I do.” Within seconds he was asleep.
    Eileen’s heart went out to him. Beneath the frenetic energy he was completely exhausted. She took the quilt off her bed and covered him up.
    “What are we going to do, Auntie?” whispered Jack.

    Even in the pitch darkness, Jack was pedalling dangerously fast. His Auntie Eileen had sent him home, making him swear to secrecy, but he’d dropped his rucksack in the Cowan house and he’d had to retrieve it. Donny had told him that, no matter what the hour, he had to report in when he’d completed his task. He was already much later than they would have expected and he was afraid of what he would encounter. His mind felt numb. He couldn’t think of an explanation for the amount of time he’d taken. He was almost out of breath when he reached the street where Donny lived. As he turned the corner, he ran over some debris that was strewn across the road. The jolt threw him forward onto the pedals, banging his already scraped knee. He dismounted to inspect the damage. His shin was stinging and he pushed down his sock so he could see what he’d done. Then he had an idea. He reached for a nearby chunk of brick and, before he could reconsider, he rubbed it really hard up and down the bone, aggravating the scrape and tearing the skin even more. He wanted to yell in pain but bit his lip so hard he drew blood there too. Tears sprung to his eyes. Tentatively he straightened out his leg and got to his feet.As he flashed the beam of the torch, he could see that a swelling had shot up at once.
    He set off again. Would Donny punish him for being so late? Would the loot satisfy him? He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. What a mess he was in. Donny’s house was the end one in a mean row of back-to-backs on Water Street. Jack leaned his bike against the wall. It must have been almost two in the morning, and so dark he might as well have been standing in a coal pit. He didn’t dare knock but