Page 40 of Right Place, Right Time
‘That’s true. I’ll pop over and see him now, before I go and see Adam. You’ll be all right, will you?’
‘When am I not?’
‘I know, but I don’t want to keep leaving you here on your own on a bank holiday weekend.’
Barney waves his hand at me. ‘Just go. I know you, Eve – you won’t settle when something is on your mind or there’s a mystery to solve.’
‘Ben?’ I call as I push open the door of his shop and step inside. TheClosedsign is still turned on the door, so I’m not sure if he’s actually open or not. His back is to me as I enter the shop.
‘Hello, Eve,’ he says, turning around. ‘How nice to see you again.’
‘I didn’t think you were opening up until after the weekend?’
‘I’m not. I just popped in to sort some stock out. What can I do for you?’
‘I was wondering if you knew anything about some of the past owners of the shops here – particularly the bookshop next door to mine.’
‘Why in particular that one?’
I begin to tell him the story of what happened over the weekend.
Ben simply nods as I talk. Not seeming particularly shocked by anything I tell him.
‘It doesn’t surprise me,’ he says when I’ve finished. ‘This court has been here so long, it was bound to have secrets somewhere within it.’
‘Do you have any idea who might have owned that shop back in the thirties or the forties?’
Ben thinks. ‘Hmm … I was actually around in the forties, although I was just a young boy back then. But I remember the court well.’ He nods thoughtfully. ‘I think it was around the early forties that the bookshop changed hands. I know that because we used to buy our comics there – theBeano, theDandy, that sort of thing. But the new owner started to get some American imports in too, like Marvel comics – where he got them from, I’m not sure, maybe one or two of the GIs stationed here in Cambridge during the war would bring them over for him.’ Ben pauses to think for a moment. ‘But as young boys back then, we were very excited to see them. I still have some of those comics, I bet they’re worth a bit now. Maybe I should fish them out sometime?’
‘Yes, you probably should. Barney is into all that stuff – you should speak to him about them. But the owner,Ben,’ I say, prompting him. ‘You said the shop changed hands. Do you remember who owned it back then?’
‘Oh, yes, of course I do – the second owner, anyway – it was Archie.’
‘Archie? Wait, do you mean the same Archie that’s Adam’s great-grandfather?’
Ben nods. ‘Yes, that’s partly how I got to know George. He used to hang around the shop. Archie didn’t run the shop as such – he just owned it. Someone else ran it for him – it was Gerald’s father, Oswald, Ozzie, we used to call him. Gerald took over from him when he passed away, and I think he might have took over the ownership then too? Anyway, I digress. I’m not sure if it was Archie that got the comics or Ozzie? But we were happy – Ozzie would let us read them before they were sold … We thought we’d died and gone to heaven.’
While Ben reminisces about his past, my mind is racing. Did Archie and this Ozzie put that door in, or did the previous owner? Suddenly this was incredibly important.
‘They sound like happy times for you,’ I say gently, bringing him back to the present once more.
‘There were indeed,’ Ben says, smiling. ‘Very happy.’
‘The shop sounds wonderful, I can just imagine you and George happily reading comics together. But I don’t suppose you have any recollection of the door being put in, do you? Was it Archie who installed it?’
Ben thinks. ‘I don’t remember seeing it when I used to go there with George as a young boy. But you said it was hidden, so I suppose I wouldn’t have noticed it, really.’
‘That’s true. I hoped that if I could find out something about the owner around that time, it might help us to figure out the combination to open the door. I wonder if there’s anything actually behind there? I mean, theremust be, or why would someone put up something akin to a vault door?’
‘There is something behind there,’ Ben says to my surprise. ‘Don’t get too excited, though,’ he adds, seeing my face light up. ‘I don’t know if there’s anything hidden there – but you were right when you first mentioned a building was missing from the court. There used to be a building between your antiques shop and Adam’s bookshop originally. That’s your missing number seven.’
‘How do you know – do you remember it?’
‘Oh, no, I’m sure it was removed before my time. But I do have a really old plan of Clockmaker Court, and on it you can see all the original buildings.’
‘Can I see?’
‘Of course.’ Ben looks vaguely towards the back of the shop. ‘You’ll have to give me a little time to locate it, but I know it’s here somewhere.’
