Joyce took a gulp of her sherry. If only I hadn"t opened the door that day, my Jessica would still be alive and Frankie wouldn"t have murdered Jed."
Stanley had had a gutful of his wife spouting rubbish. He almost wished he was still round Pat the Pigeon"s house.
Whatever you going on about? You silly old bat."
The gypsy. The one that cursed me on the doorstep years ago when I refused to buy her lucky heather. Gone downhill ever since, my life has, that and the day I married you, you bald-headed old b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Don"t have a go at Grandad, Nan. None of this is his fault," Joey said, annoyed.
Joyce snorted. Don"t be sticking up for him. He"s got some old tart on the firm. Coming home here smelling of some old wh.o.r.e"s perfume. I ain"t putting up with it, I deserve better."
Joey looked at his nan in amazement. Don"t be silly. Who would want Grandad?"
That"s what I thought," Joyce said, bursting into tears.
Stanley stood up and stomped out of the room. He would rather spend the night in his pigeon shed than have to hear one more word from Joycie"s argumentative mouth.
DI Blyth insisted on picking Frankie up from the hospital herself. The girl had been fully checked over and both she and the baby had been declared fit and well.
As DC Burkinshaw followed her along the corridor, Blyth turned to him. I"m going to drive Frankie back to the station alone; you go with one of the other officers. We need to chat, woman to woman."
About to argue that driving a potential murderer back alone wasn"t in the rule book, Burkinshaw quickly shut his mouth. DI Blyth had that don"t mess with me" look on her face.
Once inside the car, Blyth explained to Frankie that her father had been to the police station and had spoken to her.
What did he say when you told him that I"d stabbed Jed?" Frankie asked.
Blyth glanced at Frankie. She was fiddling frantically with her hands and rocking slightly in her seat and Blyth couldn"t believe that the doctors had pa.s.sed her as fully fit.
He was shocked, and very upset that you hadn"t taken my advice and had a solicitor present for your interview. I don"t think you are very well, Frankie. If I turn this car around now and drive back to the hospital, you can tell the doctors that you feel strange and muddled and we might be able to sc.r.a.p that interview you did and do a new one when you feel a bit better."
Frankie shook her head. I"m fine, honest. Can I ask you something?"
Blyth nodded.
Is Jed dead yet?"
Blyth looked at her. No. Why? Do you want him to be?"
Frankie shrugged. I just want my children to be safe and they will never be safe while Jed"s alive."
Knowing she was now getting somewhere, Blyth b.u.mped the car onto a kerb. And why is that, Frankie? What has Jed done to your children?"
Frankie gnawed at her already bitten fingernails. Can I ring my friend when I get back to the police station? You did promise me."
Blyth handed Frankie her mobile phone. She was desperate to understand what had turned a sweet, innocent girl into a violent lunatic.
You can use this, but you mustn"t tell anyone back at the station. I"m not allowed to let you use it and if you tell on me, you"ll get me into all kinds of trouble."
I promise I won"t tell," Frankie said, s.n.a.t.c.hing the phone off her.
It was Joanne who answered.
Don"t tell her Sammy"s took the kids," Kerry whispered, frantically waving her arms. Frankie had enough on her plate and she wanted to break the news that the children had been s.n.a.t.c.hed as gently as she possibly could.
Kerry grabbed the phone. Frankie, I"ve been worried sick about you. Where are you now?"
I"m still with the police, but don"t worry, I"m fine. Jed"s not dead yet, which is a shame. Where are the kids? Are they OK?"
Frankie sounded strange, very unlike her normal self, and instinct told Kerry not to say she had no idea where the kids were.
The kids are fine. Listen Frankie, you have to tell the police about the tape, you"ve got to tell them everything."
No, I can"t. And you must promise me, Kerry, that you never mention it to anybody."
Kerry was bemused. Frankie sounded as though she was high on drugs or something. You must tell them, Frankie. If you don"t, they won"t understand what you did and why you did it."
I"m not going to tell "em, I can"t, and one day I will tell you why, but I can"t really talk properly now. You won"t say anything about it, will you? Promise me, Kerry, that you won"t."
I promise that I won"t say anything unless you want me to," Kerry replied sadly.
Frankie smiled. Put the kids on, I want to talk to them."
Kerry looked at Joanne. They had rung the police, told them that Sammy had taken the children and they were waiting for someone to come round. The police hadn"t seemed particularly concerned when they had heard that Sammy was the father of two of the kids and the uncle of the other two. Kerry and Joanne didn"t mention that Sammy had been violent earlier. They were too frightened of any repercussions.
The kids are out," Kerry said.
Where? Who with?"
Me mum. She"s took "em to McDonald"s," Kerry lied.
Frankie was bitterly disappointed. She had been so looking forward to speaking to her children; she needed to tell them how much she loved them. Her eyes filled up with tears.
I need you to look after them for me until everything"s sorted, Kerry. Can you do that for me? I will give you my dad"s number, he will give you some money and help you out."
Kerry started to cry. Of course I can. Can I come and see you, Frankie? When are the police letting you go?"
Frankie ended the call without giving an answer or saying goodbye. She tearfully handed the phone back to Blyth.
What do you not want your friend to say anything about, Frankie? Please tell me, I want to help you."
Frankie stared out of the window. Blyth seemed trustable, but what was the point of telling her about the tape when Sammy had run off with it? Without any evidence it was her word against Jed"s and, unless the b.a.s.t.a.r.d died, he would easily convince everyone that she was lying.
Frankie put her head in her hands. Telling her dad about the tape was not even on her radar. He would definitely believe her, but Jed was dangerous and she couldn"t risk her dad doing life in prison or, worse still, ending up dead like her mother had.
Talk to me, Frankie. Please tell me what"s bothering you," Blyth said kindly.
Frankie shook her head. The only thing I can tell you is that Jed is a traitor. The rest is a secret and for my dad"s and my children"s sake, that"s the way it will have to stay."
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.
Aware that Harry was crying again, Alice lifted him up and sat him on her lap. Since Jed had returned from the operating theatre none of the family had left his side, and understandably the kids were getting bored.You"re a big boy now and big boys don"t cry," Alice said, wiping Harry"s nose with a tissue.
Will we be going home to Mummy tonight?" Georgie asked innocently.
Alice"s top lip took up a snarling position. You won"t be living with your mother any more. She"s evil and she"ll be going to live in prison."
Seeing the distressed look on Georgie"s face, Alice softened and urged the child to sit on the chair next to her. Don"t get all upset now. You and Harry can live with me and your grandad, and when your dad gets out of hospital, he can live with us too."
You"re gonna have to toughen them up a bit, especially him," Shannon said, pointing at Harry.
Oh, I will do. Now the doctors have said that Jed"s gonna be all right, he"s bound to get custody of the kids, which means I can have "em whenever I want. I"ll knock little Harry boy into a travelling mush in no time, you just wait and see."
Jimmy stood up. Where the h.e.l.l has Marky b.l.o.o.d.y well got to? The cafe"s only ten minutes away and he"s been gone well over an hour now."
Alice shrugged. I hope he"s on his way back. I"m that hungry, I could eat a scabby horse. Try his mobile again, Jimmy."
I"ve been ringing him. He ain"t poxy answering. If he"s gone home to get his head down without telling us, I"ll have his guts for garters."
Alice, Jimmy, Shannon, Marky, Billy, Sammy and the kids had all spent the night at the hospital. Since finding out that Jed was out of the woods, their mood had turned from morose to jovial, and Mark had offered to get them some much-needed breakfast from a nearby cafe.
Alice leaped out of her seat as a nurse poked her head around the door. For f.u.c.k"s sake, can"t you just let us have some family time? As soon as my Jed wakes up, you"ll be the first to know."
When the nurse made a quick exit, Shannon laughed and tickled Georgie. If you ever see that old wh.o.r.e of a mother of yours again, I want you to tell her that Auntie Shannon"s gonna beat the granny out of her."
Just shut it, Shannon," Jimmy said angrily.
The kids were distressed enough as it was without his trappy daughter-in-law sticking her oar in.
As Harry started crying again, Alice handed him to her husband. Can you take him for a walk or something? He"s doing my head in with his whining."
Sammy and Billy followed Jimmy out of the room. Minutes later, Alice grabbed Shannon"s arm. He"s waking up. Dordie, thank you G.o.d. He"s gonna be OK. Jed, it"s Mum, can you hear me?"
Where am I?" Jed whispered.
Alice moved her chair and squeezed his hand. You"re in Basildon Hospital, boy. The old wh.o.r.e stabbed ya, didn"t she? Don"t you worry, the police have locked her up now. She"s in a cell, where she belongs."
I"m so thirsty," Jed croaked.
Alice had tears in her eyes as she held a cup of water to his lips. You had to have an operation. Internal bleeding you had and a punctured bowel. Laparotomy or something, the doctor called it."
Shannon stood up. I"m gonna see if I can find the boys, tell "em Jed"s awake."
Don"t tell them nurses yet. I wanna spend some time with my boy before they start poking their trunks in," Alice said.
What exactly did the quacks say, Mum? That b.i.t.c.h ain"t done me no permanent damage, has she?"
They told us you"ll make a full recovery, boy. No thanks to that evil wh.o.r.e, though. What type of woman tries to murder the father of her chavvies, eh? I hope they give her f.u.c.king life."
Daddy, talk to me, Daddy," Georgie shouted.
Alice lifted her granddaughter up and sat her on her lap. Now you mustn"t touch Daddy "cause he still ain"t very well."
Jed smiled. h.e.l.lo, Georgie girl," he said, stroking her arm.
Georgie was too young to understand exactly what had happened, but she knew that her mum had done something bad to her dad. Where is Mummy?" she asked.
Where"s Dad? Is Harry here as well?" Jed whispered, swerving Georgie"s question.
Alice nodded. Billy, Sammy and your dad have been up here all night. Harry kept whinging, so they"ve taken him out to get some fresh air. Marky was here as well, he went to get some grub and then disappeared into thin air. I wanted to contact Sally, Jed, but none of us have got her number. I"m sure her and Lukey boy would want to be here."
I don"t know her number off by heart, Mum. Sammy will sort it, I"ll get him to contact her. Has Frankie been charged yet? Has anyone told you anything?"
Your father asked earlier and one of the gavvers said she"ll be up in court later today, but will probably get bail. She ain"t coming near them chavvies, Jed. I"ll f.u.c.king kill her if she comes within two hundred yards of "em, on my Georgie girl"s life, I will."
You"ll have to look after Georgie and Harry for me until I get meself sorted, is that OK?"
Alice smiled. That"s no problem, boy."
Georgie had picked up snippets of the conversation and was now more confused than ever. She tugged on Alice"s skirt. Can I see Mummy tomorrow, Nan?"
Shannon and Sammy returning saved Alice from having to answer the awkward question.
It"s mayhem out there. Someone said there"s been a bad road accident. I found Sammy on me way back. Jimmy and Billy have taken Harry to the cafe with "em. They"ve given up on Marky, they"re getting our food themselves."
Can I have five minutes alone with Sammy?" Jed croaked. He was tired again now and needed to speak to his cousin before he drifted back off into the land of nod.
Alice lifted up Georgie. I wanna stay here with Daddy," she pleaded.
Daddy"s tired. Come with Nanna and she"ll buy you a chocolate bar."
As the door closed behind his family, Jed turned to Sammy. Where"s the tape?"
In me pocket. Do you wanna see it?" Sammy teased.
Jed was fuming. That tape contained enough information to put them inside for donkey"s years. What was Sammy trying to do, kill him off?
Get rid of it, you dinlo. The hospital"s probably swarming with Old Bill as we speak. I can"t believe your brains, Sammy boy, ain"t ya got none?"
Sammy laughed. He was absolutely thrilled that his cousin was out of the woods, but still couldn"t resist winding him up. He pulled out a see-through plastic bag from his pocket that contained nothing but ashes and a charred piece of plastic.
There"s the clever Frankie"s f.u.c.king tape," he said c.o.c.kily.