Terry smiled. Thanks, darling, I"ll pop back later."
He was now waiting in the lay-by outside and he would wait here however long he had to. Resting his bonce on the headrest, Terry sat bolt upright as he heard the clip-clop of horse"s hooves. He had no idea what Jed actually looked like, but when the horse and cart came into sight, he knew immediately that the lad on the cart was the culprit.
As Jed and Frankie trotted towards the house, Alice ran out to greet them.
Georgie"s asleep. I"ve just fed her. Did you have a nice time?" she asked.
Jed laughed. Yeah, blinding. Me and Frankie fancy a bit of time alone, so you all right to carry on babysitting, Mum?"
Yous two enjoy yourselves. Don"t you worry about Georgie, she loves being with her Nanna Alice."
Go and get undressed, I"ll be ten minutes," Jed whispered seductively to Frankie.
Alice nudged Jed. A mush came here looking for you earlier, said he had some grys to sell ya."
Jed was instantly suspicious. He waited until Frankie was safely inside the trailer, then he turned to face his mother. What mush?"
Hearing the conversation, Terry Baldwin leaped out from behind a tree. This mush, you dirty little b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Jed was taken completely by surprise as the thick-set man lunged at him with a cosh.
Alice screamed at the top of her voice as he repeatedly whacked it around her son"s head. Get off him, leave him alone," she shouted, as she ran towards the man and jumped on his back.
Hearing a commotion outside, Frankie threw her jeans and T-shirt back on. She opened the trailer door and screamed as she saw a big man hitting her boyfriend with some kind of object.
Patience had never been one of Eddie Mitch.e.l.l"s virtues and today was no different. Waiting for anything did his head in, and here he was sitting alone in a cell waiting to see if twelve complete strangers were about to dish him out a life sentence. Hearing footsteps, Ed looked up. It was his lawyer, Larry.
What"s up?" he asked worriedly.
The jury haven"t been able to make a decision, Ed. The judge has adjourned until Monday."
Eddie put his head in his hands. The thought of spending the weekend in prison while still awaiting his fate didn"t appeal one iota. Thoroughly p.i.s.sed off, Ed grabbed the cell bars and banged his head against them.
f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k!" he shouted.
Eddie wasn"t the only person shouting; back in Rainham, his daughter was absolutely hysterical.
Leave him alone. He"s my boyfriend," she screamed, as Jed lay on the floor and curled himself up in a protective ball.
I"ll kill you, you s.h.i.tc.u.n.t," Alice yelled, as she picked up a broom and clumped Terry Baldwin repeatedly with it.
Jed"s face was battered. It was covered in blood, and pain shot through his right leg where he had fallen awkwardly.
Aiming one more kick at Jed, Terry grabbed the broom from Alice and tossed it away.
You f.u.c.king a.r.s.ehole, my Jimmy"ll have you for this. He"s only a young mush, look what you"ve done to him."
Terry turned to Frankie. He was well aware that she was Eddie Mitch.e.l.l"s daughter. I"m sorry you had to see that, love, but you wanna leave that piece of s.h.i.t while you still can."
Frankie crouched down and held Jed"s battered face in her hands. She turned to Terry. You animal. What"s he meant to have done to you?"
Terry felt sorry for the innocent-looking young girl, but he had to be brutal, she needed to know the truth. My daughter is carrying your sc.u.mbag of a boyfriend"s child. Told him she was pregnant, my Sally did, and that little s.h.i.t told her to get rid of it. No one takes the p.i.s.s out of my little girl, I won"t f.u.c.king stand for it."
Seeing Jed looking at him, Terry couldn"t resist giving him a sly kick in the b.o.l.l.o.c.ks. You ain"t seen the last of me. You"ll be paying maintenance once that baby"s born, I"ll make d.a.m.n sure of it."
As Terry walked away, Frankie stared at his back with her mouth open. It couldn"t be true, surely not?
I ain"t done nothing wrong, Frankie. I swear on our baby"s life, I ain"t cheated on ya," Jed cried.
Guessing that there was a good chance that the accusation was true, Alice decided to intervene. If Frankie left Jed, then Alice wouldn"t see baby Georgie at all and she couldn"t risk that happening.
As Frankie went to storm off, Alice grabbed her by the arm. Don"t believe that nutter, Frankie. I know my own son and I know that he loves you more than he"s ever loved anyone. Why would he want a beef burger when he"s got fillet steak indoors, eh love?"
Frankie didn"t know whether she was coming or going. Little things flashed through her mind. She thought of all the nights Jed had stayed out, the make-up and lipstick she"d seen on his clothes, the distinct smell of women"s perfume on that new shirt she"d bought him for his birthday. She"d confronted him at the time, but he had sworn blind that the evidence had been his aunts and cousins making a fuss of him.
Frankie glared at her boyfriend. If he had cheated on her, she would leave him tomorrow, but only if she was one hundred per cent certain. Say she left him, but Jed was telling the truth? If that happened, she would never forgive herself.
As Jed struggled to stand up, Frankie watched him.
My head hurts," he whined.
Alice helped her son get up. Let"s all go inside. That man was a b.l.o.o.d.y lunatic. We"ll ring your dad he"ll know what to do."
Jed looked at Frankie with pleading eyes. I swear Frankie, I ain"t got no girl pregnant."
Frankie started to cry. So you don"t know no one called Sally?"
As his mum walked away, Jed hugged Frankie. He had to think up a convincing lie and he had to think of one quickly. If I tell you something, you have to promise you won"t tell anyone."
I promise."
I know who Sally is. Me old man was knocking her off. It"s me dad"s baby, not mine."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.
With his lies spiralling out of control, Jed decided that the quicker he and Frankie left Rainham, the better. Telling his mother had been awful. Alice had sobbed her heart out, but had fully understood why he had to go.
Petrified of Sally"s father coming back, Jed rang his brother Billy. Is that plot still available on your site?"
Billy told him that it was, so Jed arranged for his trailer to be taken to Hainault the following Monday.
Frankie and Jed were up at 6 a.m. on the morning in question. There was so much to do and very little time to get things organised.
What about your horses? Are you gonna leave them here?" Frankie asked Jed.
Nah, I"m putting "em in the field where me brother keeps his. Dad"s gonna bring "em over in the horse-box tomorrow."
At the mention of Jed"s father, Frankie glared at her boyfriend. She was furious that Jimmy had got away scot-free with his infidelities. He should have got a good hiding, not poor Jed, whose head, face and body were still covered in bruises.
I still think that someone should tell your mum. I know me and her have been known to argue, but she needs to be told that her husband is a pervert and has got some young girl pregnant. I"d wanna know if you ever did anything like that to me."
Jed put down the box he was holding and gave Frankie a cuddle. He was annoyed with himself for making his dad look like a nonce. He should have told Frankie that his cousin Sammy had got the girl up the duff, but he"d just blurted out the first thing that had come into his head.
Look, I"ve spoken to me dad and he promises me it"s all over with that girl. It"ll break me mum"s heart, Frankie, if she ever finds out, so swear you"ll never say anything."
It should be your job to tell her Jed, not mine. If I"d ever caught my dad messing about with young girls, I"d have told my mum immediately."
Jed gave Frankie a peck on the nose. Maybe I will tell her one day, but not now. She"s upset that we"re leaving and I don"t want her to get all depressed again."
By the time they had finished packing anything breakable in boxes and had eaten some breakfast, it was gone 9 a.m.
Alice had offered to look after Georgie while Jed and Frankie moved the trailer and got themselves organised. She was devastated they were moving and before they left she wanted to spend as much time with her granddaughter as possible.
As Jimmy walked towards them, Frankie turned away.
I"m gonna come with ya. I"ll give you a hand," he said brightly.
Disgusted by her soon-to-be father-in-law"s appalling behaviour, Frankie urged Jed to go without her. I"ll wait here with Georgie and your mum," she hissed, walking towards the house.
Jed ran over and grabbed Frankie"s arm. He couldn"t risk her saying anything. His dad would kill him if his lie ever came to light. I mean it, Frankie, if you say one word to my mum, I"ll never forgive you, and me and you will be finished for good."
Unaware that his daughter was currently moving home, Eddie Mitch.e.l.l was led into the courtroom. He felt sick with nerves. The jury had spent the weekend holed up in a hotel and he just hoped and prayed that they had come to a decision, because the not knowing was horrendous.
Ed glanced towards the gallery. Gary, Ricky, Auntie Joan, Vi, Paulie, Ronny, Reg and Raymond were all there to support him. So were Dougie, Flatnose Freddie and John, the old guvnor of the Flag in Canning Town.
The judge urged the foreman of the jury to stand up. Has the jury reached a decision on all three charges?"
Yes, your Honour."
On the charge of murder, how do you find the defendant: guilty or not guilty?"
Eddie held his breath. He could feel his legs shaking and the sweat dripping down his face.
Not guilty."
Gary and Ricky jumped up and hugged one another. Auntie Joan stuck her two fingers up at the devastated prosecution team. Bunch of a.r.s.eholes," she shouted.
Silence in court," the judge yelled, before continuing.
And on the charge of manslaughter, how do you find the defendant: guilty or not guilty?"
Eddie looked towards Gary and Ricky. They all knew he was going to get found guilty for manslaughter; it was a forgone conclusion.
Not guilty."
Eddie gasped. He almost expected Jeremy Beadle to pop up from somewhere; it was like a scene from the TV programme Beadle"s About.
Neither Larry nor Eddie"s QC could quite believe their ears. How could they not find Mitch.e.l.l guilty of manslaughter? It was a mistake it had to be.
Get in there. Well done, Ed. We all love you, boy," Auntie Joan screamed.
Silence in court," the judge ordered sternly.
As the courtroom fell quiet again, he continued.
And on the charge of being in possession of a firearm, how do you find the defendant: guilty or not guilty?"
Guilty."
Stanley and Joyce had been pottering about indoors all day, trying to keep themselves busy. Joey and Dominic had both taken a week off work and had invited themselves over for lunch.
Go and get changed, Stanley, the boys will be here soon."
Why do I have to b.l.o.o.d.y well get changed to sit in me own bleedin" house?" Stanley snapped.
The shrill ring of the telephone stopped their argument. Raymond had promised he would call as soon as a verdict was announced.
Answer it then, Stanley," Joyce yelled.
As Stanley picked up the receiver and heard his son"s voice, he felt his hands go like jelly. What? I don"t believe it!" he yelled.
Without saying goodbye, Stanley slammed down the phone and turned to his wife. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d got away with it. I hope our Frankie"s ashamed of herself. This is all her doing."
What do you mean, got away with it? They must have found him guilty of manslaughter."
With tears in his eyes, Stanley shook his head. They found him not guilty. What sort of people do they put on these juries, eh, Joycie?"
Joyce was gobsmacked. So has he been let free?"
He got charged with possessing a firearm. Seven years, he got. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d"ll be out before you know it. The Devil looks after his own, I"ve always f.u.c.king said that. We"ve got no justice for our Jessica whatsoever."
Eddie felt a relief within as he was driven back to the prison. He would never forgive himself for what he had done to Jessica, but at least now he could try to move on with his life.
The whole courtroom had been astounded when he"d got the not guilty for manslaughter verdict. That"s got to be the biggest travesty I"ve ever had the misfortune of being part of," Ed heard the prosecution QC say to one of his team.
James Fitzgerald Smythe, Eddie"s QC, and Larry, his brief, had both been totally dumbfounded by the verdict. Both men had told him all along that he had no chance of getting off the manslaughter charge. Getting a not guilty for murder is what we have to aim for, Eddie," they"d insisted.
Eddie wondered if the bent chief inspector or the judge"s summing up had swung things in his favour. The bent Inspector had been blackmailed into giving him a glowing reference, but obviously the judge hadn"t. Or maybe it was his emotional outburst at the end that had won the jury"s hearts.
What happened was an act of extreme violence, but if there is any doubt in your minds that what Mr Mitch.e.l.l did was actually a terrible accident, then he should be found not guilty," the judge had told the jury.
Thinking of how elated his family had been, Eddie grinned. With the time he"d already served, he could be out in as little as four years.