It's Now or Never by June Francis Page A

married name.’
    â€˜The Yanks were back at Burtonwood base in forty-eight,’ said Jared.
    â€˜I think it’s his father who knows about Bobby’s mother and that she had a daughter,’ said Betty. ‘I forgot to say that he mentioned his pa gave him a photograph of Lynne when she was a girl.’
    â€˜That doesn’t help us to know whether the father met her during the war or afterwards,’ said Emma.
    â€˜Can’t say I remember setting eyes on any Yanks at any time,’ said Roberta. ‘Although I remember Mum talking about the Russians starting World War Three and finish us all off by exploding the atom bomb. I must have been about six at the time.’
    Jared said, ‘Instead the Russians set up a blockade of the Allies’ road, rail and canal access to their sectors in Berlin, so the Allies had to airlift supplies in. You can read about it in the library if you’re interested, Bobby.’
    â€˜I am interested,’ she said, thinking suddenly of the two youths that she had seen at the library and wondered what they’d been researching.
    â€˜Anyway, enough of this,’ said Emma, accepting her husband’s hand to get up from the sofa. ‘Time to go, for all of us.’
    Roberta expressed her gratitude to Betty for all her help.
    â€˜That’s OK,’ she said warmly. ‘I’ll be interested to know what your mother has to say about Stuart Anderson.’
    â€˜I’m interested, too,’ put in Hester. ‘Your mention of the McDonalds’ place on Mount Pleasant reminded me that my brother’s girlfriend stays at the Lynton Hotel when she’s in Liverpool. The proprietors might know the McDonalds. At the moment she’s in London but should be back soon. If I see her, I’ll ask about them.’
    Roberta thanked her, impatient now to get home and speak with her mother. She was dropped off first and it came as no surprise to see the front door opening as she crossed the pavement.
    â€˜Whose was that car you’ve just got out of?’ asked Lynne, her face pale in the light from a street lamp. ‘I’ve been worried about you.’
    â€˜Sorry, Mam. It’s Betty Booth’s cousin’s car,’ said Roberta. ‘How’s Nan?’
    â€˜Better than she was this morning,’ said Lynne, closing the door behind her daughter. ‘How come he gave you a lift in his car?’
    â€˜He was picking up his wife from Betty’s flat and Hester Walker was there. He was dropping her off, so he gave me a lift too.’
    â€˜What were you doing at Betty’s flat? I thought you were going to the library?’
    â€˜I went to the library but I called in at the coffee bar afterwards,’ said Roberta patiently. ‘And guess what, Mam, there’s a man searching for us who has been in the coffee bar.’
    â€˜What!’
    Roberta dropped her satchel on the floor and shrugged off her blazer and hung it up. ‘He’s a Yank and his name is Stuart Anderson and he’s looking for a Lynne Graham and her daughter. What d’you make of that?’ She watched the colour drain from Lynne’s face. ‘Are you OK, Mam? I didn’t mean to upset you.’
    Lynne fumbled for the doorknob behind her and stumbled backwards as the door opened. Roberta grabbed her arm and only just managed to prevent her mother from landing on the floor. She helped her to the sofa and sat her down before kneeling in front of her.
    â€˜Do you recognize that surname, Mam? Was his father here during the war? Apparently this Stuart was over here during the Berlin airlift.’
    Lynne glanced at her grandmother and then murmured, ‘Fetch me some water, Bobby?’
    Roberta glanced at Nan and then back at her mother. ‘I will in a minute but I want answers first. Tell me who he is and why he is looking for us. I think you know.’
    Nan gripped the arms of the chair. ‘Did this Yank