‘Yes,’ Jane said quickly. She didn’t want to reveal she was investigating an armed robbery.
‘The youth of today have no respect for anyone, or anything — they make me sick to the stomach, the way they behave. That Broadwater Farm is a terrible place to live. I know Emma regrets ever moving there. When she first told me about the abuse, I helped her draft some letters to the council requesting a move, but to no avail.’
‘It’s to your credit that you care for your employees’ well-being, Mr. Dobbs. Can you tell me which department Emma works in, please?’ she asked, eager not to waste any more time.
‘Drapery. It’s like a home from home for Emma — she makes all her own clothes.’ He looked at an employee work chart on the wall. ‘She will be at lunch just now in the staff canteen.’ He opened the door. ‘If you’d like to follow me, officer, I’ll take you upstairs. Emma’s quite reserved and tends not to socialize with the other ladies, but she has a heart of gold. It’s unusual for her to complain about anything, and I can only imagine that she reported this latest abuse because she was at breaking point. Actually, come to think of it, now the police are involved I should write another letter to the council. Perhaps they might finally listen and move them off the Broadwater.’
As they climbed the stairs, Jane suspected she might have dug a hole for herself by lying to him about why she’d come to see Emma.
‘It’s probably best to speak to Emma first and see if that’s what she wants you to do.’
‘Good point, I’ll speak to her later.’
There were several employees in the canteen, chatting and laughing while eating their lunch. The women were all dressed in white frilled blouses and black skirts, and the men wore dark suits, white shirts and ties. Jane noticed a woman in her fifties sitting alone in the corner of the room reading a book.
‘Is that Emma over there?’ she asked.
‘No, that’s her over there, putting her dirty plate and cutlery on the trolley.’
He nodded towards a woman with her back to them. She was dressed like the other employees and had shiny black hair neatly tied up in a bun.
He raised his voice. ‘Miss Wilson, could I have a word, please?’
Emma turned around and Jane was surprised to see a young woman of about her age, not the middle-aged woman she’d imagined. Although she only wore a little make-up her olive skin had a soft glow, which made her lips stand out. She had a slight Mediterranean appearance, with an hourglass figure, petite nose and brown doe eyes.
‘Yes, Mr. Dobbs?’ she asked with an engaging smile as she walked over.
‘Let’s go sit over there, shall we...? Away from prying ears.’ Dobbs pointed to a table in the far corner.
Jane spoke first in a soft and reassuring manner.
‘Hi, Emma, I’m Jane Tennison from the CID. I went to your flat earlier but as there was no one in I spoke to a neighbor who told me you work here. I wanted to speak to you about the crime report you made at Tottenham Police Station.’
‘Yes, certainly... Pleased to meet you.’ Emma put out her hand and Jane shook it.
Dobbs sat back and got a packet of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, offering one to Jane. She wanted to be alone with Emma and didn’t fancy plumes of cigarette smoke billowing around while they spoke.
‘No thanks — I would love a cup of coffee though. Would you like one, Emma?’
‘A cup of tea would be nice, thank you,’ she replied.
Dobbs put the cigarettes back in his pocket as Jane opened her shoulder bag, but Dobbs said he’d get the drinks and asked Jane if she would like anything to eat. She looked over at the counter, saw some teacakes on a plate inside a glass dome cover and asked if she could have one with some butter and jam on it.
As Dobbs got up and left the table, Emma leaned towards Jane and whispered, ‘Does Mr. Dobbs know why I went to the police station the other night?’
‘Do you want him to?’
She shook her head. ‘No, my sister told me not to tell anyone other than the police for now.’
Jane decided it was best to be honest.
‘He was concerned about why I wanted to speak to you and mentioned you’d suffered verbal abuse from some local kids who also threw food at you. I told him a little lie and said it was about that — but he now thinks it’s happened again.’
Emma looked concerned. ‘Do you think I should tell him the truth?’
‘That’s up to you, but for now I think it’s best we keep it between the two of us and stick to the verbal abuse story.’
Emma nodded. ‘I understand, officer.’
‘Please, call me Jane. Have you actually reported the abuse incidents to the police?’
‘Um, no, we were worried if we did the police would have to speak to the boys and it would only make things worse for us.’
Dobbs returned with the food and drinks.
‘I got you a teacake as well, Emma, and I’ve just arranged for someone to cover for you in drapery, so there’s no need to rush.’
He sat down and took a sip of his coffee.
Jane got out her pocket notebook and pen and put them on the table, wondering how best to get rid of Dobbs.
Before she could say anything, Emma gave him a forlorn look, then leaned towards him and whispered, ‘I don’t wish to appear rude, Mr. Dobbs, but the officer wants me to tell her about the disgusting language the boys used when they abused us, which as a woman I’d rather not repeat in your presence... if you don’t mind.’
‘I totally understand, Emma. I’ll leave you to discuss it with Sergeant Tennison.’ He stood up.
She looked up at him and spoke softly. ‘Thank you for being so understanding, Mr. Dobbs.’
He smiled, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.
‘I’ll be in my office if you need me, Emma. Perhaps the two of us can draft another letter to the council about the ongoing abuse.’
‘Thank you, Mr. Dobbs,’ she said, and he left.
Jane wondered from their body language if there was more than just a working relationship between them. She was also surprised at how naturally Emma had lied to him.
Jane smiled. ‘I don’t think Mr. Dobbs will be too pleased when he finds out I lied to him — and neither will my boss if he reports me,’ she said, and sipped her tea.
‘I believe you told the duty sergeant you heard some men in a cafe talking about a robbery.’
Emma dabbed the cake crumbs from her lips with a napkin.
‘No, it was my sister Rachel.’
Jane was confused. ‘Your sister spoke to the sergeant?’
‘No, she didn’t want to go into the station, so I spoke to him about what happened in the cafe. I’ve never been in the cafe — Rachel was, and the men were sitting a couple of tables away from her.’
‘Then they must have been talking loudly if she heard what they were saying in a busy cafe?’
Jane was beginning to wonder if Emma was confused about what had happened, or even making things up to get some attention.
‘Rachel didn’t actually hear what was said — she saw what was said.’
Jane put her pen down and sat back in her chair.
‘I’m finding this a bit confusing, Emma. Did you tell the duty sergeant you were there on behalf of your sister?’
‘In a way, yes. I told him Rachel is deaf and she thought she saw some men talking about a robbery in a cafe. I assumed he’d passed it on, but clearly not.’
Suddenly Jane understood. ‘Your sister can lip-read.’
Emma looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
‘Yes, but only me and a few close friends know — including you, now.’
Jane was pleased that Emma was confiding in her.
‘Thank you for telling me. But I will have to tell my boss if it turns out to be connected to our investigation.’