‘Good idea,’ said Fred.
While Jago was away Helena smiled at Fred. ‘So you and him go back a long way?’
Fred smiled too, but shook his head. ‘I’ll let him tell you.’
There was a lot of moving small tables and shifting chairs slightly and seeing Fred was all right before Jago finally said, ‘OK. Well, it was about ten years ago, wasn’t it, Fred?’
Fred nodded. ‘Ten years. I was a relatively fit man then.’
‘And you met where?’ said Helena, who was by this time beside herself with impatience. She was crunching into ginger nuts as if they were the enemy.
‘You’d better start at the beginning, lad,’ said Fred.
‘I don’t know how much Helena knows. There’s stuff on the internet and she’ll have read that,’ said Jago.
‘You tell her,’ said Fred firmly. ‘There were a lot of lies told at the time. She’ll only hear the whole truth from you.’
‘What have you read?’ Jago asked Helena, obviously terribly unwilling to say a word more than necessary.
‘I read about the fire in the block of flats where five people were nearly killed. The fire brigade got awards for saving them. It was thought to be shoddy building work that made the fire spread once it had started. The building company – Relto – was condemned for its bad practice. The head of the company was sued for manslaughter but got off. Clever lawyers, everyone thought. The world was outraged. I actually remember it although I was quite young and didn’t pay much attention to current events.’
‘So was I,’ said Jago, ‘though I was of working age.’
‘You were just a lad, Jonathan, and they tried to blame you for everything,’ said Fred. ‘His uncle’ – Fred addressed Helena – ‘he owned the business; hewas responsible. What he said, went. Young Jonathan was in quite a different part of the business. He was selling the properties that his uncle threw up.’
‘Did you work there too then, Fred?’ asked Helena.
He nodded. ‘I was on the construction side.’
‘So you met through work?’ Helena went on, hoping she’d get the whole story.
‘Not at the time,’ said Jago. ‘I met Fred after it had all gone horribly wrong.’
‘Oh?’ Helena felt she had to keep prompting because both Fred and Jago were so reluctant to tell her what had happened.
‘For some reason,’ said Jago, ‘I got all the flack, the doorstepping, pilloried in the press, all that stuff.’ He paused. ‘Long sessions with the police which actually worked in my favour in the end because I got to know one of the younger ones. He was my contact when I wanted to find out about that Leo your mother was going out with.’
Fred wasn’t interested in any upsides, he was too indignant. ‘You got that because your uncle kindly redirected all the stuff that he should have dealt with to his nephew.’ Outrage gave Fred energy and he seemed to have stopped being old and frail for the time being. ‘He blamed everything on the apprentice who was working his way up from the bottom, to keep himself out of prison.’
‘Is that true?’ Helena was outraged.
Jago nodded. ‘I was in a bad place in every way when I met Fred.’
‘We met at the site of the fire, by coincidence,’ said Fred. ‘I recognised him, we got chatting and I offered to teach him bricklaying.’
Jago grinned. ‘You told me it was time I got calluses on my hands and actually learned how to build. He took me on, and I learned my trade.’ He paused. ‘I decided to change my name by deed poll before I did that. Grew my hair and a bit of a beard. No one recognised me.’
‘I never agreed with you having to change your identity,’ said Fred. ‘It looked as if you’d done something wrong.’
‘Maybe it was cowardly, but I was so ashamed of my name, I didn’t want to be known by it any more.’
‘How did you choose your new name?’ asked Helena.
‘Jago was a nickname from school, and Pengelly was my grandmother’s name. There is a Cornish connection so I’m not a complete fraud. Anyone else for more tea?’
While he was out of the room Fred said, ‘We’ve kept in touch and he’s always helped me out if I’m in bother. He’s supported my family, too. Not with money but with jobs and accommodation once or twice. He’s built a new life for himself. I’m proud of him.’
Helena’s throat suddenly closed with emotion as she realised she felt proud of him too.
