Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson Page B

the point. We can’t be seen to be lax about security, not if we want to maintain the reputation of the club. If word gets out about this, the membership is bound to suffer.’
    â€˜We’ll do all we can to put a stop to it before it gets out of hand, Miss Bannerman, and what you’ve told me today has been very helpful.’ He turned to Josephine. ‘Inspector Penrose didn’t even tell me you were in London,’ he said, feigning indignation. ‘I’ll have to have a word with him when I get back to the Yard.’
    Josephine looked guilty. ‘He didn’t know himself until last night, Bill. I had the chance to come down a day or two earlier than planned,’ she explained, hoping that she could rely on Celia not to be more specific, ‘and I’ve had a lot of work to catch up with.’
    â€˜A book or a play?’ he asked cautiously.
    â€˜A book,’ she said, knowing that this would please him. Fallowfield was a great fan of her novels and an avid reader of detective fiction in general, but he didn’t ‘hold’ with plays and privately considered that she was wasting her talents in writing them. ‘Actually, Bill,’ she added, looking at him thoughtfully, ‘you might be able to help me.’ Fallowfield was in his fifties, although he looked younger, and would know from experience what policing was like at the time she was investigating. ‘Do you know anything about the Finchley Baby Farmers?’
    He looked intrigued. ‘Sach and Walters, you mean? Blimey, that takes me back. I haven’t heard their names mentioned in years.’
    â€˜Takes you back?’ Josephine prompted, scarcely daring to hope.
    â€˜Yes, Miss,’ he said. ‘It’s funny you should ask about them—Iwas in the car that took the Billingtons into Holloway the day before they hanged them.’
    â€˜You drove the executioners into the prison?’ she asked, resisting the impulse to hug him.
    â€˜Yes, with my sergeant at the time. There were always two of us on a job like that in case of any trouble. Thirty years ago or more, that must have been.’ He shook his head, as if he couldn’t imagine where the time had gone. ‘I hadn’t been in the force long, and it was one of the first jobs I was given—certainly the first job like that. I’ll never forget it.’
    His words echoed Celia’s, and Josephine was struck by how many people—young, impressionable and just starting out in their careers—had been affected by the crimes of these two women. ‘Would you tell me about it when you’ve got time?’
    â€˜Of course, Miss. I’d be glad to help, and I might be able to find you a few more people to talk to, as well—I’ve kept in touch with some of the lads from back then.’
    Celia cleared her throat. ‘As long as the sergeant has some time left to concentrate on crimes that haven’t been solved yet,’ she said archly. ‘Petty theft isn’t as glamorous as baby farming, I know, but it seems a little more pressing to those whose belongings are at risk.’
    Having delivered such a satisfactory parting shot, she went back into the club with a purposefulness that suggested others might also do well to get on with their work. Josephine and Bill looked at each other, and Bill raised an eyebrow. ‘Now why do I feel like I’m back at school?’ he asked.
    â€˜Imagine how I feel,’ Josephine confided. ‘She really did teach me.’
    â€˜Oh?’
    â€˜Yes, and she was Sach’s wardress in Holloway. In fact, it washer that got me started on all this. She was there at the execution.’
    â€˜Crikey,’ Bill said, looking after Celia with a new respect. ‘That’ll teach me to assume that people who run posh clubs don’t know about the real world. It takes some guts, looking after someone in the condemned cell. Makes our part of