Free The Cockney Angel by Dilly Court Page A

the wrong girl, Inspector. I’d never peach on my Pa. Now let me go.’
    He stepped aside. ‘You are free to leave if you wish, but I beg you to reconsider.’
    ‘There’s nothing to think about,’ Irene said, pushing past him. ‘I don’t want nothing to do with any of this, Inspector Kent. I’ve got nothing more to say to you – we’re on different sides, and always will be.’

Chapter Four
    THE POLICE STATION and its officers represented everything that she had been brought up to dislike and distrust and Irene could not get away fast enough. She did not stop running until she reached the corner of Cheapside and Wood Street, when a painful stitch caused her to lean against the rough trunk of the plane tree. Holding her side she gasped for breath, but without any warning she was seized from behind and a hand clamped over her mouth.
    ‘Renie, it’s me.’
    At first she thought she was hearing things, but the hoarse whisper certainly sounded like Arthur’s voice and she froze.
    ‘That’s right, it’s me. I’m taking my hand away so for God’s sake don’t scream.’
    She nodded her head and was immediately released. She spun round to face him angrily. ‘Arthur Greenwood, what d’you think you’re playing at? You scared me half to death.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Renie. I had to make sure you didn’t call out. For all I know, they might be following me.’
    ‘Who would be following you? I’ve just been down to the police station trying to find out what happened to you.’
    ‘You shouldn’t have done that.’
    ‘You’ve got some explaining to do, my lad, and not just to me.’ Irene moved out of the shadows, taking a quick look around to make sure that no one was about, and satisfied that the street was empty except for a couple of hansom cabs which clattered past without stopping, she beckoned to Arthur. ‘Come into the shop. Ma’s gone to Emmie’s and Pa is out.’
    Arthur hesitated. ‘Are you sure there’s no one spying on us?’
    ‘Quite sure, you big baby. Come along.’ Impatient now, Irene went round to the front of the shop and unlocked the door. She went inside and was about to light the gas mantle when Arthur scurried in after her. He closed the door, turning the key in the lock.
    ‘Don’t put the light on.’
    ‘For goodness sake, Artie. Stop acting so mysterious and tell me what’s going on.’
    He slumped down on the chair, holding his head in his hands. ‘I’m in trouble, Renie. I’m not up to this sort of thing. A bet or two at the tables or the race course is one thing, but getting involved with the Sykes brothers is another matter.’
    ‘You’d better start from the beginning, Artie. I’ve heard half of it from Inspector Kent, but what exactly has that man forced you into?’
    Haltingly at first, but gaining momentum as he related the events of the past twenty-four hours, he told her how he had been carted off in the Black Maria with the rest of the punters from Potter’s club. They had been kept in a cell for what seemed like hours before being taken out and interviewed one by one. It was then that Kent had offered him the choice of being charged with patronising an illegal gaming club, or being allowed to go free if he agreed to infiltrate the Sykes gang and spy on them.
    ‘I didn’t want my old man to find out about my gambling,’ Arthur said, running his fingers through his already tousled hair.
    ‘He was here earlier, and he wasn’t too pleased with you then. Gawd knows what he’ll say when you go home and tell him you spent the night in the police cells.’
    ‘He’ll kill me,’ Arthur said gloomily. ‘And if he don’t, the Sykes brothers will.’
    ‘I blame Kent for all this. He’s so puffed up with his own self-importance that he thinks he’s God.’
    ‘I suppose he was only doing his job, and he’s got a point. The Sykes brothers run this neighbourhood, and no one stands up to them.’
    ‘You can’t take them on single-handed. Kent might have