The Victim (13 page)

‘What a matter, Daddy?’ Harry asked him. His dad had been nice to him recently and Harry decided he rather liked him now. When they’d lived with Mum, his dad used to ignore him a lot, but he didn’t do that any more.

Jed ruffled Harry’s hair. Sally losing the kid was a blessing in disguise, he decided. He could now concentrate on Georgie and Harry more. Just lately, Sally had felt like a fucking albatross hanging around his neck, anyway. Lukey’s death had ruined any closeness between them and in Jed’s opinion, it was definitely time to move on with his life and find himself another bird.

‘Come on, let’s go and find Mr Blobby,’ Jed said, grinning.

Georgie and Harry held hands and skipped along. ‘Blobby, blobby, blobby,’ they chanted happily.

Gina hugged Stuart and told him to sit down, put his feet up and make himself at home. ‘I’ll crack open some champagne, shall I?’ she said.

‘I ain’t much of a champagne drinker to be honest. Do you mind if I just have a lager?’ Stuart asked. He loved the cottage. He had always lived with his mum in council accommodation in Hackney and he was already liking the serenity of Rettendon.

‘Of course you can have a beer, love, but trust me, it won’t be long before you get a taste for the bubbly stuff, especially if you’re going to be working with Champagne Charlie over there,’ Gina joked, pointing at Ed.

Eddie smiled. ‘So, whaddya think of the place?’

‘Oh, it’s lovely, Ed. I’ve never been to this sort of area before.’

Eddie chuckled. Stuart was very blinkered, like Ed’s Auntie Joan, and had rarely ever set foot outside London.

‘Do you wanna see some photos, boy? I got the albums out ready for ya.’

Stuart thanked Gina for the lager and nodded. ‘I can’t wait to see the photos, but do you mind if I give my mum a quick ring first?’

‘You take your time. There’s a phone in the hallway and you can shut this door so you’ve got a bit of privacy.’

When Stuart left the room, Eddie turned to Gina. She’d seen Stu in the nick before when she’d visited Ed, but she’d never really had a chance to speak to him properly.

‘Whaddya think? He’s a nice kid, ain’t he?’

‘He seems lovely and he’s so handsome, bless him. I bet he’ll have girls falling at his feet in no time.’

Eddie grinned. Being a bloke, he’d never really taken much notice of Stuart’s looks, but he had to admit that since he’d toned up, he looked like a man rather than a boy, which is what Ed had always classed him as.

‘Well, he’s tall, dark and muscly, so once I get him in a suit and show him a bit of the old Mitchell charm, I’m sure he’ll do all right with the chicks,’ Eddie said, laughing.

Stuart grinned as he came back into the room ten minutes later. ‘My mum’s fine and she’s so relieved that I didn’t go back to Hackney. She asked me would it be OK if she comes and visits me in a week or so?’

‘Of course. She can stop over, there’s enough room. You can even invite her over for Christmas, if you want. Now, you gonna look at these photos or what?’

Stuart sat down next to Eddie and listened as he explained who was who. ‘Look at the size of your dad’s cigar. He looks as though he were a real character, Ed. He reminds me of one of them old-style villains, a bit like the Krays or Freddie Foreman.’

Eddie chuckled. ‘He was more than a match for any of them, boy.’

‘Was he really that famous?’ Stuart asked innocently.

‘I should coco,’ Eddie replied proudly.

‘Who’s that?’ Stuart asked, pointing at a pretty girl with long dark hair.

‘That’s my Frankie. Get that other album out the drawer, Gina,’ Ed urged.

Stuart was taken aback as Ed showed him lots more photos of Frankie and Joey. Stu had never seen Frankie before. She had visited Ed in prison a few times, but Stu had never had a visit himself on those particular occasions and Ed had always moaned how she’d put on weight and let herself go since she’d been with Jed. Studying a picture of Frankie standing next to her mother, Stuart smiled.

‘They’re both beautiful, aren’t they? Is that Jessica?’

‘Let me get yous boys another drink,’ Gina said tactfully. She could tell that Eddie wanted to speak about Jessica and she didn’t want to make him feel awkward.

Eddie stared wistfully at the photographs, then turned to Stuart. ‘My Jessica was beautiful inside and out. She was a real head-turner and I felt like a king when she agreed to marry me. I loved her dearly and we were so happy together, but shit happens in life, don’t it?’

Stuart put an arm around his pal’s shoulder. ‘It’s time to move on now, mate.’

‘I have and I love Gina very much. She’s my life now,’ Eddie replied, with tears glistening in his eyes.

Stuart turned the page and stared at another photo of Frankie.

‘You like my daughter, don’t ya, boy?’ Eddie said knowingly.

‘Don’t be silly. She’s very pretty, but I would never think of her anything other than your daughter, Ed. I’m not like that, you know I’m not.’

Gina walked back into the room and handed Ed and Stuart a beer each.

Eddie chuckled. ‘Stuie’s got the hots for my Frankie, Gina.’

‘No I haven’t,’ Stuart said, blushing.

Eddie laughed and threw his arm playfully around his pal’s neck. ‘If my Frankie had ended up with a bloke like you, I’d have been truly fucking elated. Instead the silly little mare ended up with that pikey piece of shit, and with three kids by him, she’ll be lucky if a decent geezer ever looks at her again.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Eddie arranged a meeting at his Auntie Joanie’s house the following weekend so that Gary, Ricky and Raymond could get to know Stuart properly. Ed could sense Gary and Ricky’s reluctance at employing another pair of hands, and the situation reminded him of when Raymond had originally joined the fold many years ago. At the time, the firm had only consisted of Ed, his dad, Uncle Reg and his two brothers. It was Ronny and Paulie who had kicked up a stink over Raymond’s arrival. They classed him as an outsider, but were soon proved wrong, and Ed had no doubt that Gary and Ricky would be, too.

‘How long has your aunt lived here?’ Stuart asked, as they pulled up outside Joanie’s house.

‘Donkey’s years. I used to sort of live with her when I was a kid. After my mum died, Auntie Joan did everything for me and my brothers. A real fucking diamond she is and I love her dearly.’

‘And how’s my favourite nephew?’ Joanie asked as she opened the front door.

‘I’m fine, Auntie. This is Stuart, who I told you about. He’s gonna be working with me and the boys from now on.’

Joanie smiled as Stuart kissed her politely on the cheek. Eddie had spoken fondly about the lad in his letters and when she’d visited him in prison. ‘You go up. The others are already here and I’ll bring yous some sandwiches up in a bit.’

Eddie introduced Stuart to everybody, then sat down at the head of the table. Gary had a face like a smacked arse and Ed had to restrain himself from clumping him one.

‘You got a problem, boy?’ he asked angrily.

‘No, Dad,’ Gary replied sensibly.

Eddie had warned Stuart on the way over that Gary and Ricky had doubts about him taking someone new on. ‘We’re a close-knit bunch and it’s mainly always been family, but act keen, prove yourself and they’ll change their tune in no time,’ Eddie urged him.

Stuart listened intently as Eddie described the situation with Colin Griffiths and the outstanding loan.

‘Stu needs to learn the ropes, so I suggest we all have a day trip to Milton Keynes tomorrow and show him how we work.’

‘OK, but why don’t you let Stuart confront Griffiths. I take it he’s on trial until proven,’ Ricky said sarcastically.

‘No problem. I’m happy to do whatever it takes to prove myself,’ Stuart said ambitiously. Prison had taught Stu not to be frightened of anyone, and the quicker he demonstrated his worth and got Eddie’s sons off his back, the better.

Raymond grinned. He liked Stuart; he reminded him of himself when he’d first joined the firm. At twenty-six, Stu was older than he had been at the time, but he had the same glint in his eye, a look of steel and determination.

‘Brings back memories of me and me butcher’s knife, don’t it?’ he said, chuckling.

Remembering the demise of Mad Dave, Eddie laughed loudly. Raymond had only been a youngster, but he’d seen off Mad Dave all right.

‘What’s happening with the O’Haras? Any more news?’ Gary asked his father.

‘Not much, apart from Jed trying to stop the kids visiting Frankie. Once she’s out and she’s got them kids back, we’re gonna shut that little fucker up for good. Until then, we can’t do anything.’

‘Is Ronny and Paulie OK?’ Ricky asked.

‘Yep, they got beaten up as planned and then they were moved. I think they’ve been shoved on a wing with all the nonces.’

‘I bet they love that,’ Raymond said jokingly.

Eddie chuckled. ‘Like it or lump it, at least they’re safe, and that’s the main thing.’

Hearing Joanie’s voice, Eddie jumped up and opened the door. Introductions over, it was time to eat.

Joycie Smith had never felt so lonely in all her living years. Even when she’d married Stanley, she’d been sure she never really loved him, but now he’d gone for good, she knew what love actually was. There was an old saying, ‘you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ and Joycie couldn’t stop thinking about him. She wasn’t angry any more, just sad, tearful and full of self-loathing. Stanley leaving her for another woman was all her fault and she knew it. If only she had treated him better, spoken to him with respect and told him she loved him now and again.

Pouring herself another brandy and Baileys, Joyce stared forlornly at the photo album. In one of the photographs, Stanley was holding Raymond as a baby. He looked so happy, a real proud dad. It was just after Raymond was born when Joyce had stopped having sex with her husband. She’d only ever wanted a couple of kids and being lucky enough to have one of each spelled the end of her and Stanley’s sex life. Determined that her husband wasn’t going to have his wicked way with her ever again, Joycie had even stopped sleeping in the same bed as him. She’d forced Stanley to move into the spare room and he’d stayed there.

The shrill ring of the phone snapped Joyce out of her reminiscing.

‘How are you, Mum?’ Raymond asked. Since Joey had given him a talking-to, Ray was determined to be a better son.

‘Not good, love. I miss your dad so much,’ Joyce mumbled before bursting into tears once more.

Raymond sighed. He and Polly were meant to be visiting friends this afternoon, but he couldn’t turn his back on his mum in her hour of need. It might help if he spoke to his dad, man to man. It might make the silly old sod see sense.

‘I’m gonna go and see Dad right now and then I’ll drive straight over to yours. Keep your chin up, Mum, the old man will come home at some point, I know he will.’

Over in Holloway, Frankie was having an interesting conversation with Katie Cooper. ‘Freeflow’, was the word the prison authorities used to describe the times where all prisoners on the wing were allowed to mix together, and Frankie had spent the last few days in this period getting to know Katie better. Frankie hadn’t asked her to get a message to Jed yet, as she was still dubious as to whether Katie could be trusted or not.

‘So, what happened with you and Jed? Do you wanna talk about it?’ Katie asked kindly.

Frankie shook her head. She had no intention of spilling her guts to Katie.

Katie squeezed Frankie’s hand. She knew what the poor girl had been through, as she and her sister had both suffered in the same way. ‘Look, I know you don’t trust me because I’m a traveller, but I ain’t like Jed and his family. Some of us are decent people and my mum always brought me and my sisters up in the proper way. That’s why what happened was so awful. My sister hasn’t recovered from what Jed did to us, even to this day. Neither have I, to be honest, that’s why I’ve ended up in here.’

Intrigued to know more, Frankie clasped Katie’s arm. Instinct told her that this girl had something spicy to say and the more ammunition she had against Jed, the better. ‘Do you wanna talk about it?’ she asked.

Katie nodded and dragged Frankie towards her cell. Once inside, she urged the screw to leave them be and pushed the door to.

‘I was fourteen and Debs, my sister, was fifteen when Jed moved onto our site in Basildon. It was only a small site and there were few lads our age there, so he was an instant hit with all us girls. Jed was only about thirteen then, but he was old for his age. He was good looking, a real charmer even then, and he had this old pick-up truck that he used to drive about in. He used to take me and me sister for rides up and down the lane outside, then try and snog us both before he took us back.’

Frankie nodded knowingly. Visions of her meeting Jed in the Berwick Manor flashed through her mind. ‘He could charm the birds out of the trees when I first met him, so I know where you’re coming from,’ she said.

Katie had tears in her eyes as she carried on talking. Speaking about what had happened was extremely difficult for her, but she was determined to tell Frankie, she wanted her to know the truth. ‘My sister started to date Jed properly when she was sixteen. My mum wasn’t happy; she didn’t trust Jed, and she hated his mum, Alice. My mum was a real lady compared to most travelling women. She never swore or drank and she kept herself to herself. Anyway, one night Jed and his cousin Sammy took me and my sister over to Tilbury in the truck. Jed’s dad had a trailer there and he said we were going to a party. Me and my sister thought loads of other people would be there, but when we got there, it was just the four of us. The trailer was on an old scrapyard in the middle of nowhere, so there was no way we could escape.’

Frankie felt tears running down her own face as memories of her mum infiltrated her mind.

‘Are you OK?’ Katie asked, squeezing her hand.

‘My mum died at that trailer,’ Frankie whispered.

‘I’m so sorry, perhaps I shouldn’t tell you any more. I really didn’t mean to upset you,’ Katie said apologetically.

Frankie wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sweatshirt. ‘I’m OK now. You carry on.’

‘Me and my sister were both virgins. Outsiders always think that travelling girls are slags, but nothing could be further from the truth. We do tend to get married young, but that’s because we are taught never to sleep with a boy until we have a ring on our finger. Travelling boys all sleep around, but that’s why they go out with gorjer girls, ’cause they can’t get what they want off us. Being a virgin on your wedding night is a must for a travelling girl.’

‘Really?’ Frankie asked, surprised. She’d always thought that travelling girls were tarts and was shocked by how little she really knew about them.

‘Honest, it’s classed as a sin to have sex before marriage in our community. Anyway, going back to that night, Jed and Sammy tried to get us drunk on vodka. Me and Debs weren’t big drinkers, but we drank quite a bit just to be polite. We were quite enjoying ourselves until Jed dragged Debs into the bedroom and left me with Sammy.’

Frankie immediately knew the outcome of the story. ‘You don’t have to tell me no more. I can guess the rest. Jed raped your sister, didn’t he?’

Katie nodded tearfully. ‘I remember my sister’s screams as though it were yesterday. I begged Sammy to do something to stop Jed hurting her, but he laughed and then did the same to me.’

‘What, Sammy raped you as well?’ Frankie asked, horrified.

‘Yeah, then they threatened us afterwards. Jed and Sammy told me and Debs if we ever breathed a word about what they’d done, they would kill our mum.’

‘And did you tell anyone?’

‘No, not for ages, but then my mum noticed me getting really fat and that was when I found out I was pregnant. Even then, I didn’t tell her the truth. I was frightened of her getting killed, so I told her that I’d consented to sex with some boy I’d met in Pitsea market.’

‘So, did you get rid of the baby?’ Frankie asked her.

‘Yeah, but not until after I’d given birth. His name is John and he lives with my aunt in Kent. I was too far gone to have an abortion, so we moved away and my aunt is now bringing him up as her own.’

‘Do you still have any contact with him?’ Frankie asked nosily. The story sounded a little far-fetched for her liking.

Katie burst into tears. ‘No, when he was first born I couldn’t even look at him, but then one day I went to see him and he was so gorgeous. He looked nothing like Sammy – he was as blonde as Sammy is dark. My mum went mental when she found out I’d turned up at my aunt’s trailer. Our relationship has never been the same since she found out I was pregnant and she’d made me promise that I would never try to contact John. That’s why I ended up in here. I so wanted him back that I kidnapped him and ran away to Scotland.’

‘But how can they lock you up if John’s really yours?’ Frankie asked suspiciously.

‘I never told the police that he was mine. My sister said she would never forgive me if I opened up a can of worms and I, stupidly, listened to her. I got two years for his kidnap and I’ve already done six months of that. When the solicitor told me that I was looking at a custodial sentence, I had a couple of flings, hoping that if I got pregnant they wouldn’t put me away. That’s how I ended up with this little one,’ Katie said, patting her swollen belly.

‘Can you do me a favour?’ Frankie asked bluntly. She wasn’t sure whether to believe Katie’s yarn or not, but she had no other way of getting a message to Jed.

Katie shrugged. ‘What?’

‘Do you know anyone that can get a message to Jed for me? My kids ran away from him recently to find me, and my solicitor is taking the case to court so I can have visits with them. Jed, being Jed, is contesting it. He doesn’t want them to see me ever again.’

‘My cousin Danny still sees Jed. What is the message?’

‘Tell your cousin to tell Jed that if he stops me seeing Georgie and Harry then I’m gonna tell the police the truth about everything.’

‘And what is the truth?’ Katie asked sympathetically.

Frankie was saved from answering by a screw opening the cell door.

‘Come on, Mitchell, back to your own cell. Freeflow is over now.’

Squeezing Katie’s hand, Frankie stood up and walked away. She glanced back at her. ‘See what you can do for me, Katie.’

Katie nodded. ‘I’ll sort it, I promise.’

Raymond had little joy in tracking his father down, so he got up early and drove back to Orsett the following morning. Eddie had understood when he’d explained his predicament.

‘Listen, I like Joycie, so you do what you can to make her happy again. Me and the lads can still go to Milton Keynes. It’s silly five of us going, anyway,’ Ed insisted.