She"s at work, darling. Stacey"s got a job in Topshop in Romford. How"s things with you? Have you had the baby yet?"
Yeah, I had a little girl. I"ve called her Georgie. When"s the best time to contact Stacey? Is she around in the evenings?"
Stacey"s mum laughed. She"s rarely in, Frankie. She"s always out pubbing and clubbing with Demi and Paige. They"ve all got jobs now and they"ve just booked a holiday. Going to Lloret de Mar in Spain, they are. Me and her dad are worried sick, but hopefully they"ll all come back unscathed."
Frankie forced a laugh. I"ve got to go now, the baby"s crying," she lied.
As she ended the call, Frankie sank to her knees. She would have loved to still have a mum who cared about her, a dad who wasn"t in prison, a job in Topshop and a holiday to look forward to. As Frankie cried, her sobs were raw and pure. Everybody else was getting on with their lives, including Joey, and hers seemed like a living h.e.l.l.
With the jury now whittled down to twelve, Ed was finally satisfied with those chosen. He had always prided himself on having a sixth sense when it came to people"s characters that"s why he"d had the c.o.c.ky-looking dark-haired geezer removed earlier.
I"m sure I know that bloke. I think I had a tear-up with him in a boozer in East Ham years ago," Ed had told his solicitor. He was lying, of course. Eddie had never seen the geezer before in his life, he just hadn"t liked the man"s persona or his smarmy face. The bloke had wrong "un" stamped all over him.
The judge cleared his throat. Would the defendant please stand."
As the charges, along with his wife"s name, were read out, Eddie stared the judge straight in the eye without flinching.
He had been through enough suffering over what had happened to Jessica, and he was determined to get away with her murder, however many lies he had to tell.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
DI Blyth was not a happy woman. She had been on maternity leave for the past six months and things had gone to pot in her absence. Reading over the papers and statements of Eddie Mitch.e.l.l"s court case, Blyth scratched her head.
On the night of Jessica"s murder, Eddie had apparently confessed to killing her, claiming it was a case of mistaken ident.i.ty because he"d gone to Tilbury to shoot his daughter"s boyfriend, Jed O"Hara. DS Lineker had taken a short statement, but after being told by a doctor that Eddie was too ill to be properly interrogated, had arranged to come back the following day.
Eddie later denied giving his original statement and because there was no solicitor or tape recorder present, it was just Lineker"s word against Mitch.e.l.l"s. The police had originally thought that because Eddie was badly injured himself, he was also a victim, but that was not the case. By the time the police returned the following day, Eddie had his solicitor present and said, No comment," in answer to every question.
As DI Blyth studied Lineker"s report of the evening in question, she shook her head in disbelief. Frankie, Eddie"s daughter, had been there on the night of her mother"s murder, therefore should automatically be a key witness in the case.
Blyth almost laughed out loud as she read the doctor"s report on why Frankie was unfit to be a witness. What a load of old b.o.l.l.o.c.ks," Blyth mumbled as she threw the papers on the table and grabbed her handbag. Frankie Mitch.e.l.l should be testifying against her father and if anyone could make that happen, she could.
Eddie Mitch.e.l.l was now into the fourth day of his trial and it was a case of so far so good. The prosecution had tried to slate him as a person and slander his name, but Ed was as cute as a b.u.t.ton when it came to digging himself out of a hole. When he was a kid, his father used to tell him he had an answer for everything, and over the years Eddie had honed this talent. His brain was as sharp as a razor and it would take more than some dumb-a.r.s.ed coppers and a w.a.n.ky prosecution team to catch him out.
Eddie was thrilled by the performance of the QC that Larry had found him. James Fitzgerald Smythe was worth his weight in gold. He had just finished questioning the prosecution and not only had he picked ma.s.sive holes in their version of events, he had also managed to portray Eddie himself as some kind of saint.
While Smythe addressed the jury, Eddie stared at their faces. Their expressions gave nothing away and, not for the first time in his life, Eddie wished that he could read people"s minds.
Alice O"Hara had had a terrible fear of coppers ever since she was a young child. She"d been nine years old when the police had raided the gypsy site and arrested her father. She had never seen her dad again. He had died of a heart attack while in police custody and Alice swore to this day that the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had killed him and covered up his death.
Alice was listening to her Patsy Cline tape and doing the washing up when she heard the sound of tyres on the gravel. She ran over to the window. Jimmy had gone to visit one of his brothers in hospital and Frankie and Jed were in their trailer with the baby.
As the woman stepped out of the burgundy Ford Granada, Alice knew exactly who she was. She and Jimmy rarely had visitors during the day and Alice could spot a copper a mile away.
She ran to the phone and dialled Jed"s mobile number. Dordie, boy. The gavvers are "ere, send "em away," she screamed.
Telling Frankie to stay put, Jed composed himself and opened the trailer door. He, Sammy and his dad had been making a mint for months now by ringing stolen vans, lorries, horse-boxes, trailers and anything else they could get their thieving hands on. Whatever they nicked, they would get rid of the cha.s.sis number, then mould two similar vehicles into one to hide the stolen one"s ident.i.ty. They would then sell it on with false or no paperwork depending on who was buying it. They kept nothing locally. Anything they ch.o.r.ed was kept in a couple of yards belonging to a friend of an uncle up in Norfolk. Praying that their profitable little scam hadn"t come on top, Jed held his composure and walked towards the tall, dark-haired woman.
I live here. Can I help you?"
DI Blyth smiled. She was an expert at playing the softly-softly approach. She held out her right hand. h.e.l.lo. You must be Jed. I"m Detective Inspector Blyth and I"m here to have a little chat with Francesca Mitch.e.l.l. It"s about her father"s court case."
Relieved that he and his old man were in the clear, Jed shook DI Blyth"s hand and invited her inside his trailer. She hates being called Francesca she prefers Frankie," he said.
Frankie was feeding Georgie as the woman appeared beside Jed. What"s wrong?" she asked, her voice sounding edgy.
Jed urged Frankie to hand him the baby. This lady wants to have a chat with you about your dad"s court case, Frankie."
As DI Blyth formally introduced herself, Frankie nervously shook her hand. Feeling awkward, Jed excused himself. I"ll take Georgie into Mum"s for a bit. She can finish feeding her," he said.
What a beautiful baby, Frankie. Your boyfriend seems like a lovely lad as well," DI Blyth said, smiling. She could sense that Frankie was nervous and was eager to calm her down before she asked her any difficult questions.
Frankie nodded. Georgie"s adorable, everybody loves her and Jed"s brilliant with her. He"s my fiance; we"re hoping to get married in the next couple of years."
Congratulations. What sort of wedding are you planning?"
Frankie shrugged. To be honest, we haven"t really discussed it in detail. We"re ever so young. Jed"s only just turned seventeen and I"ll be eighteen this summer."
DI Blyth nodded understandingly. Noticing that Frankie"s hands had now stopped shaking, she cleared her throat. Frankie, your dad"s court case is going on at the moment and I"m afraid I need you to appear as a witness. I know you haven"t been well and I can"t begin to imagine what you"ve been through, but you need to stand up in court and tell the truth about the way your dad felt about your relationship with Jed."
Startled, Frankie shook her head. I can"t face my dad. I can"t go to court."
DI Blyth sat next to the distraught girl and put a comforting arm around her. Your dad is denying that he went to Tilbury to hurt Jed that night. We know that he didn"t mean to kill your mother, but you and I both know that what happened to your poor mum was meant to happen to your boyfriend. Now, I don"t expect you to say that in court, Frankie. All I want you to do is tell the jury the truth about the way your dad felt about you and Jed being together and how upset he was when he found out that you were pregnant by Jed."
But I haven"t been well. I can"t leave my baby. I don"t want to think about my mum being killed. I can"t, I won"t," Frankie sobbed.
As Jed walked back inside the trailer, Frankie rushed towards him and threw herself at him. Jed had thrust the baby at his mother and had been earwigging outside for the past couple of minutes.
Whatever"s the matter, babe?" he asked innocently.
Frankie clung to him like a limpet. The lady wants me to face my dad in court, Jed. I can"t do it, I know I can"t."
Even though he played about with other birds, Jed still had extremely strong feelings for Frankie. He knew her inside out and this was a perfect opportunity for him to secure their future together and ensure that her father got his comeuppance.
Can you give us five minutes alone?" he asked DI Blyth.
Blyth stood up. She was well aware that Jed had been earwigging outside, she"d seen him through the window, and she could see through his caring persona as clearly as she could see through a recently cleaned pane of gla.s.s. I"ve got to make a few phone calls, so I"ll wait in the car," she said tactfully.
Jed sat Frankie down on the sofa. He took two cans of lager out of the fridge and urged Frankie to drink one.
I"m not thirsty," Frankie wept.
You"ve had a shock, just drink it," Jed ordered.
Jed sat down next to her, sipped his own lager and spoke in a soft, comforting voice. You have to do as the gavvers say, Frankie. If you don"t, they"ll force you to go to court anyway. You gotta remember, they know you were at Tilbury that night, so in their eyes you"re a star witness."
Frankie felt sick to the stomach. But you were there that night. Can"t you offer to go to court in my place? Please Jed, I beg you to do this one thing for me. Tell that woman you"ll stand up and speak and then I won"t have to go."
Jed shook his head. He"d been long gone that night by the time the Old Bill had arrived and as much as he hated Eddie Mitch.e.l.l, he had no intention of testifying against him, or anyone else for that matter. Gra.s.ses were cla.s.sed as the lowest of the low in the travelling community and Jed would rather blow Eddie Mitch.e.l.l"s brains out with a shotgun than stand in a courtroom and put him inside by snitching on him.
Jed held his girlfriend tightly. Now if Frankie put her old man inside, that was a different matter. I think you"re gonna have to go through with it, Frankie. Now the gavvers have come "ere for ya, you ain"t got a lot of choice, babe."
I can"t, Jed. I know what my dad did was wrong, but he"s still my dad. I can"t say bad things in court about him. I won"t do it."
Jed decided to try a different tactic. Listen, say the jury believes your old man and he gets away with it. He might come back and finish me off or something. And what about your poor mum? You can"t let your dad get away with that, Frankie, it ain"t on. I love my dad, but if he f.u.c.king killed my mum, I"d wanna see him strung up by his b.o.l.l.o.c.ks."
Frankie knew in her heart that Jed was right, but she still had strong feelings for her dad. He"d been a good father for many years and it was impossible to wipe out so many happy memories. If I do it, Jed, I ain"t saying nothing bad about my dad. All I"ll say is that he never got on with your dad, so he wasn"t happy when I got with you."
That"s all you"ve gotta say. The DI ain"t asked ya to say any more than that, has she?"
DI Blyth sat patiently in her car. She"d finished her phone calls, checked the messages on her pager and was now thinking about Frankie Mitch.e.l.l. As an experienced member of the police force, Blyth had seen a lot of bad things over the years. Murders, rapes, muggings: she"d dealt with them all. She had hardened up over the last decade especially, but even so, her heart went out to young Frankie.
Eddie Mitch.e.l.l"s case was very unusual, to say the least. Blyth had dealt with husbands murdering their wives before, but it was usually premeditated, not accidental.
Blyth had remarried only two years ago, and Frankie reminded her of her stepdaughter, Sophie, who had also recently fallen pregnant at a young age. Her own husband, Keith, had hit the roof at the time, even though the boy was a decent lad with good prospects and a good family.
Blyth didn"t like Jed O"Hara one little bit. His politeness hadn"t fooled her an inch and she could guess what was happening inside that trailer right this very moment. Over the years, Blyth had arrested and dealt with at least a dozen or so travellers. They were always cute when it came to dealing with the police, very wily, she thought, but considering he was only a young lad, Jed came across as the most cunning of the lot.
Blyth sighed. She didn"t really know Eddie Mitch.e.l.l as a person, but she could understand the man being upset over his daughter"s involvement with the likes of Jed.
As the trailer door opened, Blyth pretended not to notice Jed approach her. She had her sungla.s.ses on and as she pretended to read the newspaper, she could see the smirk on the little s.h.i.t"s face.
When Jed tapped on her window, Blyth immediately opened her car door. Is Frankie OK now?" she asked in a businesslike manner.
Jed looked extremely pleased with himself, but Blyth could sense he was trying not to show it. I"ve had a chat with Frankie and I"ve made her see sense. I told her she needs to abide by the law and she"s ready to speak to you again now. She"ll stand up in court, I"ll make sure of it," Jed said c.o.c.kily.
Blyth stepped out of her car. Her opinion of Jed, Eddie, Frankie or anybody else, for that matter, was unimportant in a case like this. Conviction was the key, the end result was crucial.
Throughout her career as a dectective, Blyth was and always had been the ultimate professional. Personal feelings had to be put to one side, no matter what the circ.u.mstances were. She hadn"t climbed the ladder and got to where she was today by getting to like and dislike people.
Blyth entered the trailer and sat down next to Frankie. Eddie Mitch.e.l.l was a cold-blooded killer; he"d murdered his own wife, therefore the b.a.s.t.a.r.d deserved to be locked up for life.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
The following morning, Jed was up at the crack of dawn. He, Sammy, his dad and two other blokes were off to Norfolk for the weekend. It was work, not pleasure, as they had two lorries and two caravans to cut and shut.
As Jed filled the kettle with water, he was surprised to see Frankie appear by his side. What you doing up this early, babe?"
Frankie had barely slept a wink. The visit from the DI had completely unnerved her and she was dreading having to appear in court. She threw her arms around Jed"s neck. Do you have to go to Norfolk today, Jed? Can"t your dad just go with Sammy? I feel really down in the dumps and I need you here with me."
Jed shook his head. As much as he cared for Frankie and enjoyed her being reliant on him, she could be overbearingly clingy at times. That"s why he messed about with other girls. He was a travelling lad, who hated being smothered, and dipping his wick in other places gave him the sense of freedom that he sometimes craved.
As he hugged Frankie, Jed glanced at his watch over her shoulder. If he skipped breakfast, he had just about enough time to dip his wick in her. He slipped his hand inside her dressing gown and into her knickers.
I have to go up to Norfolk, babe. We need the money. We"ll never save up enough to get married and buy our own piece of land unless I work hard, will we?"
Needing to feel loved and wanted, Frankie nodded and allowed Jed to lead her back into the bedroom. Since the birth of the baby they hadn"t had full intercourse, because Frankie had felt too sore down below.
She winced as Jed entered her. Are you OK?" he asked, concerned.
Frankie nodded. It hurt like h.e.l.l, but she would rather suffer the pain than risk Jed going off with other girls. Men had needs and Frankie was determined to satisfy Jed"s herself.
Jed bounced up and down on top of Frankie as quickly as he could. Time was knocking on and he needed to shoot his load quickly, else his old man would be on his case. Determined to hurry things up, he shut his eyes and pictured the prost.i.tute he"d f.u.c.ked the last time he"d worked away. Remembering how she"d expertly sucked his c.o.c.k, Jed groaned with ecstasy as he came. As he rolled off her, Frankie propped herself up on one elbow.
I think I might ring Joey and Dominic. If they"re not busy, they can take me and the baby out somewhere for the day."
Jed felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. Invite "em over "ere if you want to see "em. You can"t go partying while I"m out working, Frankie."
I"m not going out b.l.o.o.d.y partying. I only want to go out for lunch or something," Frankie replied indignantly.
Jed shook his head. I"d rather you didn"t. What about me mum? She was looking forward to spending the day with you and Georgie."
Frankie was annoyed. She didn"t want to tell Jed that Joey and Dominic had refused to come to their trailer any more in case it caused a big argument. Look, Jed. Joey"s my brother and if I want to go for lunch with him, then I will."
Jed got out of bed and put his jeans back on. He picked up his keys and glared at Frankie. If you wanna go out with the gay boys, then go, but you ain"t taking my chavvie with you. You leave Georgie with me mum, do you hear me?"
Upset by his att.i.tude, Frankie ignored him and pulled the quilt over her head.
Jed could hear his dad calling him outside, but he ignored him and angrily ripped the quilt off her. I"m going now. I"ll ring you later and if I find you"ve taken my daughter out without my permission, I swear, Frankie, you"ll pay for it."
As the trailer door slammed shut, Frankie felt herself and the walls shake simultaneously.
Over in Wandsworth, Eddie Mitch.e.l.l was in a reasonably good mood. His court case seemed to be going quite well and although being reminded of Jessica was gut-wrenching, he had somehow managed to hold his emotions together.
The prosecution had continually tried to trip him and his QC up, but so far they had had very little joy. The witnesses would be called next Monday and Eddie was especially looking forward to this.
His defence team had arranged for both his sons, Gary and Ricky, to speak on his behalf. Dougie and John, his pals, were going to do the same, and when Raymond was questioned, he was going to tell the jury what a dedicated husband and father Eddie had been.
Eddie was looking forward to Gina, the private detective he"d once hired, giving her evidence. Gina was as cool as a cuc.u.mber and Ed knew that she wouldn"t let him down.
Ed and Stuart laughed and joked while they waited patiently in the queue to make their daily phone calls. Larry, Eddie"s brief, had all but blackmailed the now retired Chief Inspector d.i.c.kens to stand up on his behalf and Ed was desperate to know if Larry"s plan had worked.
In his day, d.i.c.kens had been as bent as a nine-bob note. Eddie"s dad, Harry, had lined the Inspector"s pockets for years and now it was time for the b.a.s.t.a.r.d to give something in return.
When they reached the front of the queue, Eddie urged Stuart to use the phone first. It was Stu"s mum"s birthday today and Ed knew how desperate the boy was to speak to her.
As the other phone became vacant, Eddie said a silent prayer that Larry had twisted d.i.c.kens" arm. An experienced retired chief inspector singing his praises would surely help swing the jury in his favour.