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Delderfield,” continued Desmond, shaping his words with knife-edged precision, “not only was one of the boys stealing, he also inflicted considerable damage on valuable property. Do you understand?”
    “Completely. But there is no proof that he was stealing. He’d had no opportunity to go to the till and pay for the goods – a bar of chocolate worth tuppence, I might add. The manager made a totally uncalled-for assumption.”
    “Hardly that –”
    “Excuse me, sir, an uncalled-for assumption. As for the breakage, as Mr. Delderfield himself has admitted, that was an accident. Surely the damage to some cheap cups and saucers is hardly comparable to the damage that might occur to the minds of these two boys if you send them to be among true juvenile delinquents.”
    Desmond sat up straighter. The woman was standing only a few feet away from him, and Tyler was reminded of a standoff between two angry cats. If they had each had a tail, they would have been lashing them.
    A moment elapsed, and the magistrate leaned back in his chair. Backing off a little? Hare was chewing on his lip.
    “If you think it would be so detrimental to these boys to go to a reform school, then I, perforce, shall have them returned to their parents.”
    “You can’t.”
    “I beg your pardon, madam. I can and I will if I think it necessary.”
    Mrs. Keogh’s eyes glinted. “What I meant to say is that you
can’t
because we have no idea where their parents are. The boys were sent over to England with the Kindertransport. I assume your worship is familiar with what that is?”
    “Of course I am, madam,” said Desmond. “Children were brought here from occupied Europe by a charitable organization. It was thought their lives were in danger.”
    “Not just ‘thought,’ your worship. They were indeed in danger.”
    Her voice was sharp and Desmond was momentarily taken aback.
    “As I understand it, the majority of the children were German. Are these boys German?”
    “No, they are Dutch of Jewish heritage. Their parents foresaw the catastrophe that was about to befall Holland and secured a berth for them on the very last boat to leave from Amsterdam.”
    “I see.” Desmond’s expression appeared to be softening.
    “That was two years ago,” continued Mrs Keogh. “Their parents stayed behind, and they have not been heard from for over a year. We don’t know if they are alive or not. The boys were sent to London initially but, given the severity of the bombing there, they were forthwith evacuated to Wales. Unfortunately, that family was not able to keep them for health reasons. They were relocated to Ludlow. To myself.”
    “And when was that?’
    “September of this year.”
    Desmond wiped his nose and looked at the Irishwoman through the mask of his handkerchief. “My dear madam, I commend your generosity in taking in these children. But we have been taking in many children since the war began, who are in similar circumstances who do not play Old Harry with our townsfolk if they are thwarted.”
    Mrs. Keogh wasn’t backing down for a minute. “I don’t think ‘thwarted’ accurately describes what happened, your worship. Jan has told me that he and his brother were in Woolworth’s to buy some Christmas presents.”
    “Rather early for that, don’t you know,” interjected Hare.
    Desmond nodded. “Quite so.”
    “They wanted to see what was available. They have saved their pocket money for that purpose. They were not stealing anything, just trying to make a choice. However, the manager immediately assumed they were shoplifting. According to Jan, Mr. Delderfield grabbed his brother, Pim, by the collar. He is a large man, and Pim is a small boy who has been severelytraumatized by past experiences. He became frightened and cried out. Jan went to his aid and a struggle ensued, in the course of which the display of china was knocked down.”
    The magistrate pursed his lips. “Mr. Delderfield says the boy attacked him, as well