Heartwarming and emotional story of one girl's courage in WW2 Fenella Miller (best books for 8th graders txt) 📖

She looked puzzled. ‘I’ve no idea. Joe arranged it, I wasn’t involved. I expect it’s all above board.’

He doubted that very much. ‘If you don’t mind I’ll speak to your dad and find out exactly what the arrangement is. When would be a good time?’

‘He’s far too busy to see anyone at the moment – it’s harvest time you know. Maybe in a couple of months he’ll be able to spare you an hour or so.’

Why didn’t she want him to meet him? ‘Forget about it. I’ll give him a bell some time. Right, let’s leave it there, shall we? Your next pupil is just arriving.’

She stood up and smiled, but there was no warmth in it. ‘Thanks for the rise. Actually, Joe puts most of my money in the bank for me. I don’t want it at the moment and I’ve no idea how much I’ve got in there. He just gives me a few bob when I need it.’

‘You could always look in your bank book.’

‘Bank book? I’ve never seen it – I expect Joe keeps it in the safe.’ The door banged and she was gone. How could someone so intelligent be so stupid?

His uncle had been pocketing her wages and cooking the books. He doubted there was a bank account for Ellie. If his suspicions were correct then he would put things right with his own money. He might not like the girl but she didn’t deserve to be cheated like this.

He spent the next hour carefully examining the contents of the safe and he was unsurprised to discover he was right. In fact, things were far worse than he’d expected. If he’d known the true state of affairs he’d never have agreed to become involved. He glanced at his watch. Even farmers went home for lunch so if he nipped up there now he could speak to her dad and get matters straight.

Sid was in the hangar working on the older Moth. ‘I’m off out for an hour. Can you answer the phone?’

‘Sorry, I don’t go in the office. Ellie will be back shortly and she’s got no one else until two o’clock when her two solos are coming. I’ve got to get on – she needs this to be ready by then.’

Jack nodded and continued towards his car. There was no point in arguing and he didn’t want to upset such a valuable member of staff. According to the wages book there were two ground mechanics, an apprentice plus two instructors and a receptionist working here. This was complete crap. Fond as he was of his uncle, the man was an out and out crook.

He was using this business to filter his illegal cash. Joe wasn’t a fool – he’d have known that his dishonesty would be discovered so why the hell had he left him in charge? This was something he’d find out tonight when he went home.

On the short drive over to the farm he decided he would employ the staff who should already have been working there and make sure everything was above board. If the police came to investigate he wanted to be certain his name wasn’t dragged into the dirt as well.

As he turned into the yard a tractor chugged up and three hot and sweaty men jumped down from it. He didn’t need to ask which one Mr Simpson was. Ellie looked just like him.

He ducked out of the car and strode across with his hand outstretched. ‘Mr Simpson, I’m sorry to disturb you. I’m Jack Reynolds, Joe’s nephew. I’ve taken over the airfield.’

The older man didn’t look at all surprised to see him. ‘You’d better come in, lad, you can talk to me whilst I eat.’

The kitchen was suffocatingly hot and there was no sign of a Mrs Simpson. One of the labourers pushed a kettle onto the heat and the other snatched up two sets of cutlery and put it on a waiting tray.

‘Go through. I’ll just have a bit of a wash, collect my lunch, and we’ll go into the study. It’s the third door on the left.’

Jack did as he was asked and was relieved it was much cooler this side of the house. He wondered where the wife was but it was none of his concern. He pushed up the window at the far end of the room and a welcome breeze drifted in.

The study had a well-used look. There were a couple of ancient armchairs in front of the fireplace, a wireless on the mantelpiece and a desk with a stack of papers on it. There were a couple of attractive watercolours on one wall, the other covered by overflowing bookcases. He didn’t have time to examine the titles as Mr Simpson elbowed his way through the door.

‘Take a seat, young man. I’ve brought you a cup of tea but can’t find you anything to eat. The wife has a migraine.’

‘I’ll get straight to the point, sir, my uncle has handed the business over to me because he’s about to be arrested.’

‘Guessed as much. Is my Ellie going to be involved?’

*

Neil and Greg arrived as the second solo flight was taking place – the first had been completed successfully and the delighted young man was hopping from one foot to the other as he watched his friend in the air.

Ellie glanced across and waved but then turned her full attention to the circling plane. She always warned her students to expect the aircraft to feel much lighter with only one person in it and therefore it would travel faster. They had to do three circuits and landings and as long as one of these was perfect he would be cleared to continue solo.

This didn’t mean they were fully trained and free to fly wherever they wanted. The next step would be to learn to navigate using a map and the landscape. They had also to learn to do a forced landing and deal with bad