Lime Street Blues by Maureen Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

strangers with Liverpool accents, very different to the soft Lancashire burr of Ailsham.
    One Liverpool couple bought two handbags, a blue teddy bear, a pile of comics, and a pair of glass candlesticks.
    ‘How much is that lot, luv?’ The man had kind eyes and a warm smile.
    ‘Three and sixpence.’
    ‘That’s cheap at the price. Have you got change of a pound?’
    ‘Yes.’ Rita carefully counted out the change and the couple went away, well satisfied with their purchases.
    Jeannie was busy serving someone else and Rita felt herself go hot, then cold, as she crumpled the note in her hand into a tight ball. She’d never stolen anything in her life before, but when she thought of what she could do with a whole pound, the temptation was too hard to resist.
    Mam would love some jewellery, a string of pearls, even if they weren’t real, and that long white scarf with a fringe was the sort of thing that would appeal to Sean. There was a handbag that Jeannie said had been made out of a real crocodile she wouldn’t mind for herself. Most importantly, she’d buy cigarettes, forty, to see Mam through the weekend, and say she’d won the treasure hunt to explain where the money had come from.
    First, she’d have to change the note. It would look suspicious, handing Jeannie a pound.
    ‘I promised to buy Mam some ciggies,’ she said. ‘I’d better get them now, in case the shop shuts. I won’t be a minute.’
    ‘OK, Rita, but hurry. The baby show will soon be over and there’ll be a rush. I wonder why Mum’s taking so long?’
    Rita sped towards the shops on the far side of the green. The Oak Tree pub was doing a roaring trade, the tables outside packed and drinkers lounging on the grass.
    ‘I don’t sell cigarettes to under-eighteens,’ Mrs Harker said curtly when Rita asked for forty Woodbines.
    ‘Oh, let her have them,’ Mr Harker put in. ‘We know who they’re for, and it’s not Rita, is it, girl?’
    Rita mutely shook her head. Minutes later, she raced back to the stall, perspiration pouring down the inside of her arms, and felt horribly guilty when she found Mrs Flowers had bought the girls a cup of tea and a fairy cake each.
    ‘It’s by way of an apology,’ she said. ‘I should have come back ages ago, but I could see you both coping admirably. I’ve had a lovely afternoon lazing in the marquee with my friends.’
    ‘I’d like to buy some things to take home,’ Rita mumbled.
    ‘Help yourself, dear.’
    The crocodile handbag had been sold in her absence, but there was a big red plastic shoulder bag that Rita liked almost as much and it had its own purse. She put the pearls and the scarf inside, and the remainder of the money, nearly seventeen shillings, in the purse.
    For the rest of the afternoon, Rita felt unusually happy. She kept imagining the way Mam’s face wouldlight up when she saw her present, not to mention the money and the ciggies. Sean’s reaction to the scarf was more doubtful. It depended what sort of mood he was in.
    When the Flowers arrived home, Max was in the garden with Spencer curled up on his knee, studying a history book. His father gave him a curt nod and Rose wanted to know if he’d had anything to eat.
    ‘Not a bite,’ Max said with an injured air. Rose went indoors to make him a sandwich, and Gerald ran to the pond to see if his frog spawn had developed.
    When only he and his sister were left, Max grinned and showed her a science fiction novel hidden inside the text book.
    ‘You haven’t been studying at all!’ she cried.
    ‘I haven’t been reading long, either. I’ve been to the fête, though I stayed well out the way.’ He smacked his lips. ‘I went to the Oak Tree and drank a whole pint of scrumpy. The landlord was too busy to notice who he was serving. I feel a bit drunk.’
    ‘I hope no one saw you. If Dad finds out, he’ll have a fit.’
    ‘I don’t care if he has ten fits,’ Max said belligerently. ‘Did you notice the way he walked round the