The Victim (12 page)

Raymond ran down the stairs and separated the brawling women once more. ‘I’ve looked everywhere. Dad ain’t here,’ he told his mother.

Fiddling about with her messed-up bouffant, Joyce marched into the lounge. She knew what a coward her husband was and she knew a little weasel like him would find somewhere to hide. She saw the two dinner plates on the table and smirked. ‘Stanley, I know you’re in here,’ she yelled.

As Pat tried to run into the lounge, Raymond restrained her.

‘Get your hands off me else I’ll call the Old Bill,’ Pat screamed.

‘Shut it you old trollop, you’ve already done enough damage,’ Raymond spat.

Stanley started shaking as Joyce leaned over the sofa and spotted him.

‘There you are. Now get your stuff, you’re coming home with me,’ she yelled.

Stanley stood up and, as he did, came face to face with Pat. She had just kneed Raymond in the nuts to come to his rescue.

‘Stanley’s going nowhere. He’s told me all about you. You’re always putting him down and making him feel small. He’s a lovely man, is Stanley, and you don’t bloody deserve him,’ Pat informed Joyce.

About to start shouting and screaming once more, Joyce took in Pat’s words and stopped herself. Over the years, she had always put Stanley down, but that was just their relationship. She didn’t always mean what she said, it was just her way of speaking to him. Joyce turned to her husband. ‘Please come home, Stanley. I need you there and I miss you.’

Raymond stood in the doorway holding his groin. Pat had really hurt him and he felt like smacking her one, but he didn’t clump women. ‘Dad, come home and we’ll sort this out indoors,’ Ray pleaded.

Stanley stared at all three of them. His villainous son, who was probably in a rush to get back to do some more dirty work for Eddie Mitchell. His gobby wife, who had encouraged his daughter to marry Eddie and spent the best part of her life mocking him and making him feel two feet tall. Then he turned to Pat. Nice, kind Pat, who treated him with respect, loved pigeons, and enjoyed his company. The decision wasn’t difficult for him. ‘I’m sorry, Joycie, but I’m not coming back home. I’m happy here and this is where I want to stay.’

As Joycie burst into tears and ran from the room, Raymond glared at his father before following his mother outside.

When the front door slammed, Stanley was grateful for the cuddle that Pat gave him. He smiled sadly and looked into her eyes. Seconds later, they shared their first proper kiss.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Georgie put down the spade and urged Harry to follow her over to the back door. They were both dressed in their little Puffa jackets and wellies and had spent the morning digging for worms. They now had loads wriggling around in a plastic bucket and Georgie wanted to ask her dad if they could keep them as pets.

‘Stay outside, yous two, while I have a little chat with the lady. Go on, off you go,’ Jed ordered, as Georgie opened the back door.

Georgie glanced at the nice social worker lady and then shut the door. Her dad had his angry voice on and even though he had been really kind to her and Harry lately, Georgie knew when not to push his patience.

‘Is the lady taking us to see Mummy now?’ Harry asked his sister.

Georgie put her forefinger over her lips to urge Harry to keep schtum. She then pressed her ear against the door to see if she could find out what was going on.

‘The court hearing has been set for January the seventh,’ Georgie heard the woman say.

‘This is ridiculous, and I’m telling you now that I have found the best solicitor money can buy. That bitch who tried to kill me is not seeing them kids. Frankie’s evil and I won’t allow my chavvies to be dragged up to some poxy prison to see scum like her,’ Jed shouted.

‘The court will decide what is best for the children, Mr O’Hara. You will receive a letter in the post confirming the date and time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must dash, as I’m running late for an appointment,’ Carol said. She didn’t like Jed O’Hara one little bit.

‘What Daddy doin’?’ Harry whispered to Georgie.

Georgie turned to him. ‘I don’t think Daddy wants us to see Mummy, but the lady will take us to see her.’

Eddie Mitchell smiled as Stuart sauntered towards him. He’d got to Ford Open Prison early and just staring at the building brought back awful memories of Wandsworth, which mainly involved Jessica.

‘It’s great to see you, boy,’ Eddie said, as his old cellmate flung his arms around him. Stuart was like a son to Eddie and had been a wonderful comfort to him while he was inside, trying to come to terms with his fatal mistake.

‘I hope no one’s watching us. We must look like a right pair of soppy pricks,’ Stuart joked as he pulled away.

Eddie sized his pal up. ‘Christ, you look like a brick shit-house.’

‘I took a leaf out of your book, Ed. I was bored shitless after you got released, and since I got moved, I’ve spent every spare minute training. I thought it would help with me new career.’

Eddie chuckled. ‘Oh, it will, mate, I can assure you of that. I thought we’d stop for a beer then grab a bit of lunch on the way home. Gina’s got all your room ready and she ain’t expecting us back till teatime.’

‘Sounds perfect! I could kill a nice juicy fillet steak.’

‘Get in the motor and I’ll fill you in on all the gossip. You won’t believe the shit I’ve had with them O’Haras and rest assured, once my Frankie’s out and gets them kids back, we’ll have more than fucking fillet steak to kill.’

Frankie Mitchell sat opposite her solicitor and twiddled her thumbs nervously. Larry had just informed her that Jed was contesting the appeal for Frankie to have visiting rights with her children.

‘So what happens now?’ Frankie asked miserably. She had been so looking forward to seeing Georgie and Harry and she couldn’t believe, after everything that had happened, Jed would have the balls to try and mess it up.

‘Jed has appointed a solicitor by the name of Malcolm Thompson. I don’t know the man personally, but his reputation is of high quality. We still have a great chance of winning this case Frankie, especially with Carol Cullen on our side. Carol is very highly respected in her field and her evidence will be very much taken into consideration. Obviously, the end decision will be made by the judge or magistrate, but I’d say we have the edge with this one. As for your trial, I spoke to your QC over the weekend. He is positive that he can get you a not guilty, but he needs you to dish some more dirt on Jed. Both you and I know that you haven’t yet told us why you did what you did, and the quicker you start spilling the beans, the better. The truth might hurt, but surely it’s better than being stuck in prison and losing your children.’

Frankie’s lip trembled, so she bit it to stop herself from crying. The truth did hurt, but if she admitted what had really happened, it would cause absolute bloody mayhem. ‘I’ve told you the truth already. There is nothing else to add,’ Frankie lied.

Disappointed at his client’s lack of co-operation, Larry stood up. He was sick of trying to help people who had no intention of trying to help themselves. ‘Goodbye Frankie, and if I were you, I’d think very deeply about admitting the truth. You can be your own worst enemy at times and in the end that could cost you severely.’

To lighten his mood, Jed O’Hara had taken the kids and his parents out for lunch to a boozer in Basildon that had a children’s play area.

‘So, tell me everything that old whore said again,’ Alice asked as she sipped her Guinness. She and Jimmy had been out food shopping when Carol Cullen had dropped by, and Alice wished she had been at home, so she could have given the stuck-up tart a piece of her mind.

Jed repeated word for word what Carol had said. ‘If Frankie gets visiting rights, I’m gonna fuck off somewhere and take Georgie girl and Harry with me. No court in the land is gonna tell me what’s best for my chavvies and if they can’t protect them from their shitcunt of a mother, then I will.’

Alice nudged Jimmy. ‘If he goes, then we’re going with him.’

Jimmy nodded, then smiled as he spotted Harry thump some little boy. He had been teaching Harry how to box earlier in the week and his efforts had obviously paid off. ‘He’s shaping up a bit, Harry boy, ain’t he?’ he stated.

Jed and Alice both chuckled as the little boy hit Harry back and Harry retaliated once more.

‘Yeah, he’s becoming a proper little bruiser now. He used to spend too much time with Frankie and she used to baby him. He would have turned out to be a right nancy boy if I hadn’t split with her.’

‘Harry, come over here,’ Jed shouted.

Harry ran towards his father and was surprised to receive a cuddle. ‘What happened with that boy?’ Jed asked him.

‘He hit Georgie, so I hit him,’ Harry replied.

Jed smiled and kissed his son on the forehead. Since Lukey had died, Jed had grown fonder of Harry with every day that passed. ‘For being such a good boy, Daddy will take you to the toy shop when we leave here and buy you whatever you want.’

‘Can I have Mr Blobby?’ Harry asked excitedly.

Jed laughed. He was desperate to turn Harry into a proper little travelling lad and the cost of that didn’t matter. ‘You can choose whatever you want, boy.’

Eddie treated Stuart to a nice slap-up meal in a steak-house in Canning Town, then drove towards the Flag. He had no intention of going in there. His pal, John, had retired years ago and the pub itself brought back so many memories of his dad, Harry, that any time Ed had been in there since his death, he’d felt like bloody well crying.

‘See that boozer, Stu? That’s the Flag where me, me dad and me brothers used to frequent. The old guvnor, John, ain’t there no more, but we had some top nights in there years ago. It was sort of our headquarters in a way, I suppose.’

Stuart nodded. Eddie had mentioned the Flag a few times in prison and he remembered the name. ‘Have you found out any more news about your dad, Ed?’

Eddie shook his head sadly. Even after six years, his dad’s murderer still hadn’t been found. ‘No one knows fuck-all, mate. I sent Gary and Ricky sniffing around again a few weeks back, but it’s a stone-cold trail. As for the Old Bill, they won’t admit it, but I’m sure they’ve closed the case. My old man was a thorn in the filth’s side for years and I personally believe they were glad to see the back of him.’

Stuart put a comforting hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Even in the nick, Ed had found talking about his dad’s death difficult and Stu could see how upset he was now. ‘Let’s find a quiet pub and have a beer, eh, mate?’

Eddie took the handbrake off and pulled away. He shouldn’t have come here, but he had wanted Stuart to see the gaff. ‘There’s a whore house down the road. Shall I take you there?’

Stuart looked at Eddie to see if he was serious or mucking about. He was serious. ‘Fuck off, Ed. I could do with letting off a bit of steam, but I ain’t that desperate. To be honest, I’m quite choosy when it comes to birds and I’d rather bide my time till I find one I like. Made a right ricket with the last one, didn’t I? And I can’t afford to do that again. I’d rather just concentrate on work from now on.’

Eddie glanced at Stuart and was glad to see him smiling. Stuie had done bird for killing a geezer who had raped his ex-girlfriend, Carly. The boy had expected to do his bit of bird then spend the rest of his life with Carly, until one day she’d sent him a ‘Dear John’ letter telling him she’d met someone else and was up the spout by her new beau. Stu had been devastated and it had taken him a while to snap out of his depression, but he seemed OK about it now, thank God.

‘Do you know what, Ed, why don’t we just head back to yours and have a beer indoors? That champagne at the restaurant has already made me feel a bit light-headed and I wanna enjoy my first day out. I like a beer and that, but I’ve never been one for getting shit-faced.’

Eddie grinned and headed towards home. Stuart was extremely sensible and with an attitude like that, he would definitely become a valuable asset to the firm.

Since her conversation with Larry, Frankie had felt as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Babs was a great listener and Frankie had just explained to her what had happened earlier.

‘So, what do you think I should do? I mean, if I had evidence, like the tape, I would have told the truth in the first place, but say they don’t believe me? Also, even though me and my dad have fallen out again, I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. If he finds out Jed killed my grandad, he will lose the plot, I know he will.’

Babs hugged her friend. ‘If I was you, sweet child, I would get in touch with Jed and tell him to back off. You tell him if he stops Georgie and Harry from having contact with you, then you are gonna tell everyone, including your dad, what he did to your grandfather. Threatening him should do the trick, I reckon.’

‘I can’t ring him. My dad always told me never to talk about anything untoward on these prison phones and I can’t write to him, ’cause he can barely read.’

‘Well, you’ll have to get a message to him via someone else,’ Babs suggested.

‘But who? I can’t expect Kerry to go round there on her own and, apart from you, she’s the only one that knows the truth.’

‘You can get Kerry to ring him or, if you don’t want to involve her at all, see if that travelling girl in here can get a message to the bastard. She didn’t look like no monster and she was no fan of Jed’s, was she?’

Frankie thought of her chat with Katie and shrugged. ‘She sounded like she hated him, but how do I know I can trust her? I’ve never met a decent traveller yet.’

Babs smiled. ‘You don’t know if you can trust her, but that’s the chance you take. Listen, lots of white people swear that all black people are bad, but not all of us are. The same probably goes for travellers or gypsies, whatever they’re called. There is good and bad in every race, Frankie, and if I were you I would see if that Katie girl can get a message to Jed for you. I mean, if you can’t ask your family or Kerry to do it, what choice do you have?’

Frankie nodded. ‘OK, I’ll ask her if she can do it.’

* * *

Jed dropped his parents back in Rainham, then took the kids to Lakeside to get them some toys. Both kids were currently obsessed with Mr Blobby, a character that had become famous on
Noel’s House Party
, a Saturday-night variety show, and since Mr Blobby had released a song the previous week, both Georgie and Harry had done nothing but sing it constantly.

‘Please can we have the record, Daddy?’ Georgie begged.

Jed had already bought the kids three toys each in the first shop they’d been in, but he liked to see them happy, so agreed. Jed had a CD player over at his mobile home in Wickford, but since he’d been stabbed, he hadn’t been back there. His cousin Sammy owned the trailer next door, they shared the piece of land, and Sammy was keeping an eye on things for him in his absence. One day Jed would return there, but at the moment he needed all the help with the kids that he could get, so staying with his parents suited him.

‘Blobby, blobby, blobby,’ Harry sang happily.

Crouching down, Jed smiled at both of his children. ‘I’ll make you a deal. Nanny has only got a cassette recorder, so I’ll buy you a CD player that you can take up to the bedroom. But I don’t wanna hear Mr Blobby, neither does your nan and grandad, so you only play it upstairs, OK?’

Georgie and Harry both nodded.

Hearing his mobile ring, Jed stood up and answered it. It was Sammy. ‘What? Are you sure?’ Jed asked in shock.

‘Yeah, I had to take the boys back to Kerry and she was proper going into one. Apparently, Sally got taken into hospital yesterday and she’s definitely lost the baby. Her father’s blaming you, apparently, so is Kerry, obviously.’

Jed ended the call and sat down on a nearby bench. Luke dying had broken his heart, but he felt nothing over this miscarriage. How can you be upset over something that wasn’t even properly formed yet? he thought. It wasn’t as though he could picture the kid’s face or had memories of playing with it like he had of Luke.