As I walked into the house, putting my bags on the sofa, John quickly came out of the kitchen to greet me. This would have been normal if not for Finn following closely at his ankles. Something had happened. Looking at Johns face confirmed my suspicions. "What's happened?" I asked the pair, slowly taking off my hat, letting my curls fall around me. "Dads here." Finn told me excitedly. John nodded when I looked at him, confirming what the youngest Shelby had said. I took a deep breath as I took off my coat and hung it up on the hook by the door. "Well, no point dawdling in the hallway." I told the pair. Finn took off running back towards the kitchen while John pulled me into a quick embrace. He took my hand and led me towards the kitchen where Arthur Shelby senior was sat at the table.
I was only young when he left but he had not changed. He was still the same slimeball he had been when I was 10. "Dad, you remember Evie?" John questioned, pushing me in front of him and letting go of my hand. "Evelyn Michaels, my my my. You've grown up nicely." he said, looking me up and down. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and shot Polly a look. She was not happy to see her brother in law. "Actually, Dad, it's Shelby now. We got married last week." John told him, proudly putting an arm around my waist. "And they're having a baby!" Finn exclaimed from beside me. Polly shot Finn a look and he shrank into me, taking my hand.
Arthur senior looked at John with his arm around my waist and Finn hanging onto my hand and didn't look pleased. "Well, you have firmly placed yourself into the centre of my family." he said with a laugh. To an outsider it would have sounded welcoming but to us that knew him, it sounded almost threatening.
Arthur junior put a sandwich down in front of his father and sat opposite him. "Bless you, Father, for these bounties we are about to receive-" Arthur senior started before being cut off by Polly. "Jesus Christ." she murmured, shifting on her feet and putting her head in her hand. "Please, woman, not in vain." Arthur senior reprimanded. "Finish your sandwich and sling your hook." She told him, obviously having had enough of him already. "Pollyanna. I'm the guest of the head of this family, so why don't you maybe tend to your mangle or your scuttle?" the man said, spitefully. "The head of the family ain't here." John told him, lowly. He was just as unhappy to see his father as Polly and I. His dad looked at him for a long moment before turning his gaze to me and then Arthur. "Tommy, he sometimes helps me with business, Dad." he tried to explain.
Before Arthur senior could respond, the door opened. I looked up at John and Finn let go of my hand to go and peer around the door frame at his older brother. "Well. Speak of the devil." As Tommy walked in, he stopped in the doorway, clearly not happy to see his father. "How are you, son?" he asked, scraping his chair back as he stood. Tommy shook his head in disbelief before glancing around the room. Once his eyes settled back on his father, you could see the anger there. "Get out." he told him. "Come on, son. I'm a changed man." the older man told him. "This family needed you ten years ago and you walked out on us. Not now. Get out of this house." Tommy told him, his voice no more than a whisper. "Tommy, he's different-" Arthur junior went to explain. "You, shut up." Tommy cut him off. Arthur senior looked between the pair before conceding. "It's alright, son. Arthur Shelby never stays where he's not welcome." he gathered up his coat before looking at me. "Quite something you've become." he said, sucking in his teeth and looking me up and down. I looked back at him, not wavering under his disgusting look. He went to leave, ruffling Finns hair as he went. "Bye, son." Finn leant around to watch his father depart but John quickly pulled him back round, facing the room.
John let go of my waist and took a few steps towards the table, sensing an argument about to happen. "He's our dad." Arthur said, no louder than a whisper. Tommy sighed from the kitchen. "He's a selfish bastard." Tommy told him. "You calling someone a selfish bastard, that's a bit rich, Tommy." Arthur countered, not looking at his younger brother. Polly turned to look at Arthur. "I mean, thanks to you, we're already down a bloody sister." Arthur finished. Tommy turned to him. "You want to see him, Arthur? You want to see him? You go with him." he said, pointing towards the door. There was silence for a moment while Arthur looked towards the door, mulling what Tommy had said before he scraped back his chair, standing up. It looked like he was going to say something to Tommy but thought better of it as he left, avoiding eye contact with all of us. Finn quickly followed, dodging Johns failed attempt to pull him back again.
I watched Tommy for a moment before speaking. "I need to go over something in the books with you." I told him. He nodded, gesturing towards the door to the shop. I placed a gentle hand on Johns back as I passed him, feeling his eyes on us as we walked through to the shop. Tommy followed me into his office and closed the door behind me. "What do you need to show me?" He asked, taking off his coat and draping it over the back of a chair. I turned to him. "I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you didn't shop Freddie." I told him, leaning on his desk. He rolled his eyes and scoffed. "And why are you going to believe me now over the last twenty times I've told you?" He asked, lighting a cigarette.
I noticed John had gone into the shop and was trying to discreetly watch us through the glass. "Because I've been working on some other theories but I need you to look me in the eye and promise me you didn't do it." I told him, my eyes drawing back to him. He rolled his eyes but came over to me, taking my face in his hands and crouching down slightly so that he was eye level with me. "I promise to you, I did not shop Freddie Thorne." he told me, holding my face for a few more moments before releasing me and going back to his full height. "Then I think I know who did." I told him, watching his reactions carefully.
"Did you tell Grace that Freddie was there?" I asked. His face shifted, knowing where I was going with my questioning. "It weren't her." He responded. I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to take that as a yes. So the only people that knew were me, you, Ada, John, Arthur, Polly and Grace." I counted the people on my fingers as I spoke. "So, I think it is safe to say Ada didn't shop her own husband and we both saw Polly's reaction, it wasn't her." I put down two fingers. "I know for a fact that it wasn't me and you just looked me in the eye and told me it wasn't you." Two more fingers went down. "John and Arthur can barely stand to be in the same room as you and neither of them are very good actors, so I'd say safe to assume it wasn't one of them." Two fingers went down.
"Look, I am telling you. She didn't fucking do it." he told me, voice raising in anger. "There's a phone in the pub, isn't there?" I asked, my voice calm. He looked at me for a few moments and I could see him piecing it together in his head. I crossed my arms against my chest and waited for his response. "I will deal with this." He told me, going to pick up his coat. "You better do it quickly." I replied, giving him a stony look. "Have you told anyone else about this?" he asked. I shook my head. "Good, you're not to tell anyone." he told me. "No, that's not going to work. John is going to ask what we spoke about and I am going to tell Polly. She has put this entire family in danger and the family deserve to know." I told him, giving him a stony look. "Alright, just give me a day." he responded, turning to get his coat. "Not going to work for me either, Tommy. I've kept a lot of your secrets over the years but I am not keeping this one. I will be telling them after we have finished." I told him. He turned back to me, giving me a steely look. The look lasted a moment before he left, slamming the office door behind him.
I waited a few moments before also leaving the office, heading back to the kitchen to find Polly. She was reading the paper when I walked in. "The pot's fresh on the stove." she told me, not looking up. I helped myself to a cup as I heard John closing the shop doors. "What was that about? Tommy looked ready to rip your head off by the end." he asked, leaning against the back of a chair and putting his cap on the table. "I think I know who shopped Freddie to the coppers." I told them, taking a sip of the warm tea. Polly put her paper down and turned in her chair to look at me. "Who?" she asked, confused. "I think it was Grace." I told them, watching closely for their reactions. I could see them both mulling it over.
"What did Thomas say when you accused her?" Polly asked me. "He told me to keep it between us. Not to tell anyone else in the family." I admitted, "I told him that wasn't going to work with me." Polly nodded. "At least someone in this family has a good head on their shoulders." she said, turning back round to her paper. "He said he'll deal with it but I am not sure. I haven't seen him like this since before the war." I told them, sitting at the table next to Pol. "We will keep an eye on the situation. Don't do anything and don't tell anyone else. God knows what is going on with Arthur at the moment but it'll be easier to keep him out of it." She told me. John and I nodded at her, agreeing.
"Right, you get back in the shop." Polly told John. "We need at least one of you saving face." he nodded, agreeing with her. He pressed a kiss to my head, picking up his cap, before going back through to the shop. "You go put those bags away. John'll have a fit if he sees how much you've bought." I laughed, standing and heading for the door. "I'm guessing Ada didn't come out?" she called. "No. Not even shopping could pull her out." I told her, continuing through the door.
A/N Evie figured out that it was Grace! Was she right to tell Polly and John straight away?