37
The men at the harbour were working overtime, the entire quay was lit up. Barrows, wagons, barrels and crates were being stacked or unstacked, housed or transported. It was a good set up, systems all in place, every man with something to do. Of course a lot of the men were older than usual, some looked far too young, and over there were two soldiers, one of them a Sergeant. Ken parked the car and told Jerry to wait, then straightening his uniform he walked over to him.
Jerry watched, feeling more and more uneasy. They had gone to the hospital first because he had been unable to let go of the feeling that something had happened to Una. And he had made a promise -they all had- to look out for her, in the days before Father had married Rosemary, when their mother was dying all those long years ago. Mother had picked Una out especially from all four of her children, and said she wasn't strong like the rest of them. And maybe that meant her children should get over their mother's death while Una didn't have to, and maybe they protected, even smothered her. And maybe she became so quiet and mild after all that smothering, that they came to forget she was there.
Una wasn't at the hospital, or the station, or the warehouse thank the Lord. That entire region of Charlottetown was not even somewhere Jerry would like to linger alone. The hotels had no record of her (they wouldn't tell Jerry but they did tell Ken: his uniform still had influence). The churches were locked and Jerry only knocked on the door of one likely Manse and was chased away by a dog.
To the harbour they went and Jerry held out some hope because it was bright with lamplight. He could just see Una making herself at home in the shabby canteen: spreading the merest bit of butter over bread, making sure the tea didn't stew, and sawing some dry slab of cake into perfectly divided slices. She was a doer, was Una, and he wondered when the last time was that anyone did anything for her?
Ken came back, he was shaking his head a little and his eyes were alert and bright. Jerry knew that look. He probably kept it up for over a year when he was in France: Righto lads, let's make this mission count!
"So," said Ken, leaning in the car window. "I have a lead, a good one, but bloody hell, Jerry, if I find your sister there, I'll tar and feather her. Of all the - but never mind. This is what I learned."
It transpired that not all the imports had been shipped to Charlottetown harbour, some were still waiting to come across. Including Una's damn books. They weren't seen as urgent, so they weren't given precedence. Books never are.
"Wait a minute…" Jerry seemed lost for words. "Are you telling me that Una crossed the Strait to fetch them. She left the Island?"
"Apparently there were quite a few boatmen offering their services for anyone prepared to make the journey. That's why the uniforms are here, they've been placed on guard to stop unregulated crossings because they're getting ready to close the borders."
"Hells bells," Jerry struck the dashboard with his fist. "If she can't get back, she'll be stuck in New Brunswick for a month! No, she wouldn't, not Una, she would never risk it, not for some Sunday school books."
"Like I say, it's our best lead and there's no sign of her here."
"Fine, right, agreed," said Jerry leaping out of the car. "We'll have to chance it; we have to find someone to charter a boat so we can get her back."
"I've done it."
"Great, when do we leave?"
"Jerry," Ken placed a hand on his shoulder, "you can't come."
"What are you talking about, I'm her brother."
"They're only doing it for me because, well, I outrank them. And I am trained for this sort of thing."
"Did you make them think you have permission to go over there? Ken," Jerry shook his head, "I appreciate what you're doing, but you're straying into dangerous territory. They're going to make a record of all this, your name will be all over it. We'll go over tomorrow. Or maybe we won't have to. Una - if she's in N.B. which I still doubt - would have made sure she got a return passage. We'll sleep in the car and wait for her and when she turns up then we can tar and feather her."
"I'm going. They're getting the boat ready now. I should get there just before dawn. Listen," he dug into his khakis, brought out his pocket book and handed Jerry a wad of bills. "Take this and go back to that last hotel. What was it called, The Bluebell? They have-"
"A phone. Yes, right. I'll do that. And you'll call me there if you find her."
Ken slapped Jerry on the back. "When I find her," he said.
...
More tomorrow, love you, k