The Traitor (25 page)

‘I don’t know how I’m gonna get home. Where’s the nearest station?’

Ricky handed Frankie a fag. ‘We’ve got a motor, we’ll drop you back.’

‘Where’s Joey?’ Frankie asked.

‘I dunno. Gone home I suppose,’ Gary replied.

Taking her phone out of her bag, Frankie switched it on and rang her brother. ‘It’s switched off,’ she said dejectedly.

‘Bless ya, you angel. You did a great job in there, your dad’ll be ever so proud of you,’ said a voice.

Frankie hugged her dad’s aunt Joan. ‘How are you keeping?’ she asked politely.

‘All the better for your testimony. You dad’s a good man, Frankie, and whatever anyone else tells ya, don’t you ever forget that. You remember Vi, don’t ya?’

Frankie nodded, kissed both old ladies politely on the cheek, then turned back to Gary and Ricky.

‘Can we make a move? I need to get home to the baby.’

Memories came flooding back as Frankie spotted her dad’s Land Cruiser. ‘I didn’t realise you had Dad’s car,’ she said.

‘He told us to use it. Ain’t much use to him at the moment, is it?’ Ricky replied bluntly.

Frankie sat in the back. Five minutes into the journey the interrogation started.

‘So what really happened to your face, sis?’ Gary enquired.

‘I told you, I fell over.’

Ricky wasn’t driving. Positioning himself, he turned around and faced her. ‘I know you’re lying. While you was in the boy’s room with Gary, I was talking to Joey, remember? He’s worried about you, Frankie, we all are. He was gonna write to Dad, but I told him not to.’

Frankie was furious with Joey. How dare he involve their father in her relationship after everything that had happened? ‘Well, you’re all worrying for nothing. I fell over, I swear I did. Jed’s good to me, he would never hurt me.’

Ricky turned back round. If Frankie wouldn’t admit to anything, then there was sod all they could do.

Gary stared at her in the interior mirror. ‘OK, we believe you. But I’m telling you something now, Frankie: if I ever find out that Jed did that to you, I’ll break every bone in his puny, pikey body.’

With court adjourned for the day, Eddie was bundled into the back of the meat wagon that would take him back to the prison. Thinking of the day’s events, he rested his head against the van’s metal interior. He hadn’t even been able to bring himself to look at his gay son, but Frankie still loved him, he could see it in her eyes, and just knowing that had lifted his spirits no end.

Eddie knew through Raymond that Frankie was back in touch with Joyce and Stanley. Biting his lip, Ed made a decision. As soon as he got back to his cell, he would write Frankie a letter and send it via her grandparents. Perhaps once the court case was over, Frankie could come and visit him. She might even bring the baby with her, if he was lucky.

For the first time since Frankie had given birth, Eddie thought deeply about his granddaughter. What did she look like? What colour was her hair? Did she look like Frankie? Or did she favour him or Jessica?

Eddie had originally vowed never to have anything to do with the kid. ‘It’s an O’Hara, not a fucking Mitchell,’ he’d said viciously to Raymond.

Seeing Frankie today had changed Ed’s mind. Whoever the father was, that kid was still Frankie’s and also part of himself and Jessica.

As the meat wagon got stuck in traffic, Eddie felt a serenity within. Whatever the jury decided, his daughter had stuck her neck out for him today and proved her worth not only as his daughter, but also as a Mitchell.

Sitting in his shed with only his pigeons for company, Stanley thought long and hard about Joycie’s harsh words.

He’d calmed down a bit now and even though he thought it was awful that Frankie had stuck up for her father, he realised that him kicking off wasn’t the answer. Slurping the last of his bitter, Stanley screwed up the can and lobbed it in the bin. He locked the shed and made his way back to the house.

‘Frankie’s just rung. She’ll be here soon,’ Joyce told him.

Lifting his granddaughter off Joycie’s lap, Stanley held her close. He planted a kiss on the child’s forehead.

‘I thought about what you said, Joycie, and you’re right. Losing contact with this little one would break my heart, so I’ll keep me mouth shut and me thoughts to meself.’

Joyce smiled. ‘You’re a good man, Stanley Smith.’

After the initial awkward conversation about her bruises, Frankie had quite enjoyed the rest of the journey. It was good to catch up with her half-brothers and she’d loved telling them all about Georgie.

As the Land Cruiser pulled on to the drive, Frankie urged Gary and Ricky to come and say hello to her grandparents. ‘And you can meet Georgie. She needs to know who her family is,’ she told them.

Gary and Ricky felt awkward as they stepped into their dad’s old home. They hadn’t seen Stanley since the day of Jessica’s funeral and they didn’t really know what to say to him.

Joyce invited them in and, sensing their awkwardness, was friendly and warm.

‘Stanley, make the boys a nice cup of tea,’ she ordered.

Gary felt all choked up as Frankie placed Georgie in his arms. ‘She’s a little darling, bless her,’ he said lovingly.

Ricky smiled. ‘She definitely looks like a Mitchell, Frankie. She’s dark, like Dad.’

Unusually for Gary, his eyes welled up. ‘The old man would just love her. You must take her to see him, Frankie.’

Ricky agreed. ‘It would cheer him up no end. We’ll drive you to Wandsworth if you like. And we’ll wait for you and bring you home.’

Frankie smiled. It felt so good to have her family around her once more. ‘OK, let’s arrange it.’

Less than a mile down the road, Jed O’Hara was seriously annoyed. ‘She must be out of court by now. Why ain’t the silly cow got her phone on?’ he said, as he cracked open another can of lager.

‘Because she can’t be trusted. I told you you should have never settled down with her. You should always stick with your own, Jed,’ Alice piped up.

Ignoring his mother, Jed handed his father another beer and sat on the sofa next to him. Apart from his annoyance over Frankie not having her phone switched on, he and his dad had had a bloody good day today. They’d bought a fine horse, sold a dodgy one, drank loads of beer up in Southall and then continued their drinking session on their return.

‘Now, what do yous boys fancy to eat? I’ve got some nice lamb chops and steak out the freezer,’ Alice said.

‘Just do us a mixture. We don’t want a proper dinner. Just cook us a big plate of meat,’ Jimmy replied.

Jed waited for his mother to leave the room, then turned to his father. ‘Frankie wants us to move and I’ve promised her I’ll find us a place on a site somewhere.’

Jimmy looked at his son in horror. His Alice had been like a different woman since the baby had come into their lives. She was happy and content. ‘Your mother will be devastated, Jed. She adores that chavvie. Why don’t you tell Frankie you can’t find anywhere? You don’t want your mother getting depressed again, do ya?’

Jed felt torn. He loved living close to his parents, but he’d also made a promise to Frankie. ‘I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have a chat with Frankie and see if I can get her to change her mind.’

‘You’re the man, Jed, the breadwinner. Women are second class to us, you know that, son. You choose where you wanna live – don’t let some dinlo woman start ordering you about,’ Jimmy retorted.

Hearing a motor pull up outside, Jed ran over to the window. ‘It’s Frankie, she’s back.’

He bolted to the front door just in time to see the motor disappear down the drive. ‘Who was that? It weren’t the gavver’s motor,’ he asked, as he ran towards Frankie.

‘Gary and Ricky. They dropped me off home.’

Jed grabbed the carrycot. ‘Why ain’t you had your phone on? How did it go?’

‘I couldn’t do it.’

Holding the cot with one arm, Jed grabbed Frankie with the other and swung her around to face him. ‘Whaddya mean, you couldn’t do what?’

Seeing Jed’s irate expression, Frankie looked him defiantly in the eye. ‘I couldn’t say anything bad about my dad. Don’t get on my case, Jed, because I’m not in the mood. You wouldn’t stand up in court and slag off your dad, would you?’

Jed shook his head in disbelief. ‘You stupid cow! If your dad gets a light sentence, he’ll come back to haunt us, and when he does it’ll be all your fault. You’re a dinlo, Frankie, a proper fucking dinlo.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Furious with Frankie, Jed sodded off out the following day. Getting off his face and shagging some old slapper was the only way he could deal with his girlfriend’s betrayal, but by Friday morning, he was ready to return home and make things right once again.

As he drove towards Rainham, Jed stopped at a florist, and picked up a bouquet of flowers. He’d spent the previous day with Sammy boy. They’d got well mullered and the two old tarts they’d woken up with in Tilbury this morning were not only old enough to be their mums, but were also haggard and pig ugly.

Jed pulled up outside the trailer and picked up the bouquet. He’d already prepared his lie and, as usual, it was good. He opened the trailer door.

‘All right, babe? I got you these.’

Frankie had just bathed and was now dressing baby Georgie. ‘Where have you been, Jed? Your phone’s been switched off and I’ve been worried sick about you.’

Jed sat on the edge of the bed and kissed his gorgeous baby on the forehead. Tickling Georgie’s chin, he smiled at Frankie. ‘I’m sorry, Frankie. I’ve been everywhere trying to find us somewhere to live. Me battery went dead on me phone and I’ve been driving around like a blue-arsed fly. There ain’t no spaces on any sites at present, but I’ve put our name on the waiting list in ten different areas,’ Jed lied.

Frankie picked up Georgie and sat down next to Jed. She could smell the booze seeping through his pores, but decided not to say anything. She knew he’d been upset by what had happened in court and, as long as they were OK now, she didn’t care if he’d got himself pissed and stayed out all night.

‘Let me hold her for a bit.’

Frankie placed Georgie on his lap and sighed. ‘So what happens now? How long will we have to wait for a place on a site?’

Jed shrugged. After the conversation he’d had with his dad the other evening, he had no intention of upsetting his mum and moving away at the moment. ‘It could be weeks, it could be months. The sites are banged out, Frankie, and there’s a waiting list on all of ’em.’

‘What about if I go up the council? We might be able to get a flat or a house,’ Frankie suggested.

Jed immediately shook his head. ‘I ain’t no gorjer, babe, and I can’t live like one. We’ve got a beautiful trailer and I want us to live in this.’

Frankie had originally enjoyed the novelty of living in a trailer, and had found it exciting, but since Georgie had been born, she no longer liked it as much. She squeezed Jed’s hand.

‘Please let me go to the council, Jed. If we can get a little house, it’ll be lovely for Georgie. She’ll be walking before we know it and she needs a garden or somewhere to play.’

Jed had always known how to play women. His sad expression was, and always had been, his ace card. ‘I’m a travelling boy, Frankie, and I can’t be cooped up in a house or flat. Bear with me, babe, and I promise you faithfully that once I’ve got enough wonga, I’ll buy us the most beautiful piece of land. Georgie will have acres to play in then and, hopefully, by that time she’ll have brothers and sisters to play with her.’

Frankie smiled. ‘OK, we’ll forget the council, but do keep trying to get us a place, Jed. I’m desperate for us to live on our own now.’

Jed kissed her on the lips and tilted her chin. ‘You have my word.’

Over at the Old Bailey, Eddie watched with interest as Gina, the private detective, took the stand.

The previous day had been a good one for Ed. Dougie and John had each given him a great character reference. The bent, now retired chief inspector they had blackmailed had had no choice but to speak glowingly about him, and Raymond’s evidence had been absolutely faultless.

‘Jessica was my sister. I loved her more than anyone and I know for a fact that Eddie would never intentionally hurt her. Yes, he was obviously annoyed when he found out his sixteen-year-old daughter was pregnant, but what father wouldn’t be?’ Ray convincingly told the prosecution. ‘He went to Tilbury to pay Jed money to leave Frankie alone. When he wasn’t there, he decided to frighten him. I know Eddie Mitchell as well as anyone does and I know that violence isn’t part of his nature.’

As Gina began to speak, Eddie thought how attractive she was. He’d known that she had a crush on him when he’d first hired her, but due to his love and loyalty to Jessica, he had never before noticed her beauty. Eddie looked away as he caught her eye. She was fairly well-spoken, obviously intelligent and, with her mass of long, dark, wavy hair, she certainly had the impetus to turn heads. Gina had an English accent, but with a surname like Mulcahy, Eddie realised she had to be of Irish origin. Ed was unsure of her age, but guessed she must be late twenties, early thirties. Gina reminded him of a lawyer and he imagined that most men would find her quite intimidating. She had ball-breaker stamped all over her.

Eddie had ordered Raymond to pay Gina a visit the previous week. The two of them both had to give an account of the evening in question and they needed their answers to be similar.

‘So is it true, Miss Mulcahy, that Mr Mitchell paid you to follow his daughter, Francesca, and her boyfriend, Jed O’Hara?’ the prosecution asked.

‘Yes, sir. Mr Mitchell paid me to find out who his daughter’s boyfriend was. Francesca had become extremely secretive and, being a caring father, Mr Mitchell was very worried about her.’

‘And were you aware that Mr Mitchell was planning to use violence to get his own way, Miss Mulcahy?’ the prosecution asked.