Another card has arrived for me. This one has a picture of the Aston Villa squad on it. On the back, Gary has written, To my star player, with a great big team hug! Jed says it’s rubbish (because he supports Liverpool) but it cheers me up loads because Gary supports City. Villa is my mum’s team.
We go over to see Priti (who’s bound to ask him loads of questions, so it’s not like I need to anyway). We’re all sitting in the tree house, but before Priti gets a chance to start the interrogation, Zara comes storming out looking mad as anything. Normally, she spends most of her time in her bedroom talking on the phone to her mates or Tyreese, so we’re surprised to see her striding down the garden – especially with her big pink fluffy slippers on.
‘Uh-oh,’ says Priti. ‘Here comes trouble!’
Zara marches up, hands on hips, and I can tell she’s really angry. ‘What are you doing meddling in my love life, you little brat?’ she says. She doesn’t shout – I suppose she doesn’t want the neighbours to hear – so she’s kind of hiss-whispering.
‘What are you doing going out with a criminal?’ Priti retorts. She also has her hands on her hips and they look like little and large mirror images of each other.
‘Nice slippers by the way,’ says Jed, leaning over the platform of the tree house and grinning at Zara.
Zara just glares at him.
‘Zara still reckons it’s OK to shag the brains out of the guy who knifed her cousin,’ says Priti. I notice she’s hiss-whispering too. She might be mad at Zara, but she’s still protecting her secret.
‘Tyreese did not do it!’ says Zara.
‘You sure about that?’
‘If he’s supposed to have done it, why would the police release him?’ says Zara.
‘They haven’t got enough evidence yet, that’s why!’ says Priti.
‘Because there is no evidence, little sister!’
‘Yes there is and we’re going to find it and prove it to you.’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘If we can prove he did it, will you dump him?’ asks Priti.
She stares at Zara. Zara stares back.
‘I thought he already dumped her?’ says Jed.
‘Like you understand anything about relationships,’ says Zara.
‘They got it back on,’ says Priti. ‘Worst luck.’
‘And my darling sister was so narked about it she decided to send him a text with a picture of me in my wedding gear – headscarf and all!’ says Zara.
‘Sexy!’ says Jed.
‘Not!’ says Priti, snorting.
‘Actually, he thought it was,’ says Zara with a little toss of her head.
‘Which is just plain weird, if you ask me,’ says Priti.
‘What is your problem? Do you fancy him yourself? Is that it?’
‘I don’t go for criminals!’ says Priti. ‘So will you?’
‘Will I what!’
‘Dump him if we can prove he did it?’
I look from Zara in her fluffy slippers and miniskirt to Priti, who’s wearing a polka-dot playsuit that Zara gave her as a hush payment, with striped leggings and a Hello Kitty visor and matching leg warmers. Neither of them looks as if they’re going to budge.
‘Like I’m going to make a bargain with you,’ says Zara.
‘Fine!’ says Priti. ‘I’ll just tell Mum and Dad about you and Tyreese then, shall I?’
‘You can if you like, but you’ll be in just as much trouble as me. And if they’re up for an honour killing, they might as well kill two birds with one stone. They can probably get a discount.’
Zara turns to go. ‘Just keep out of my love life!’ she snaps.
‘It’s been nice looking down your top,’ Jed calls after her. ‘Do I get to cop a feel if I keep schtum about your boyfriend?’
Zara swings round and glares. ‘You say a word about him and I’ll make sure you never get a girlfriend for the rest of your life, you little pervert.’
Then she storms off, tripping up on her slippers as she goes, which spoils the effect a bit.
‘Just wait till we get the incriminating evidence!’ Priti shouts after her. Zara doesn’t even bother to look back.
‘What evidence?’ I ask after she’s gone.
‘No idea,’ says Priti. ‘But I can’t let her get the last word in, can I?’
AUGUST 8TH
It turns out it’s not that easy finding evidence. We don’t have any leads, none of us knows how to do DNA analysis, we can’t talk to any witnesses (even if there were any) because we’re not allowed to go out on our own, and we can’t interrogate Tyreese and force a confession out of him because he’s hardly going to spill his guts unless we know how to do some of that proper torture stuff, and we don’t.
Jed reckons our best bet is to wait till Mik is babysitting again and then sneak out to the park and hope we bump into him, but we’ve got Shakeel today, so we’ll never get away with it.
It starts raining and we discover that the roof on the tree house leaks so we abandon our lookout and hang out in Priti’s room and talk about how they solve crimes on TV. When we get bored of that, Priti tells us about the party that happens the day after the wedding – the one everyone on the road has been invited to. I reckon it sounds fun, but Priti says it won’t be and that by then she’ll probably have died of wedding boredom anyway.
‘I’m going to agree to an arranged marriage with the elephant man, so long as I can sneak off and do it without all the fuss,’ she says. ‘Mind you, the bride does get loads of new outfits. Maybe I could put up with it for the wardrobe!’
‘So what does Ameenah see in a loser like Shakeel?’ Jed asks. We haven’t been in Priti’s room much because Zara says she doesn’t want smelly boys in there, so I’m having fun looking at all the weird things she has – like fluffy pens with feet and loads of little plastic animals and a collection of cacti with woolly hats on.
‘Dunno,’ says Priti. ‘They’ve just known each other forever.’
‘She’s probably in it for the money,’ says Jed, who’s been checking out all the girlie stuff. Priti won’t let him look in Zara’s underwear drawer, but he’s messing with all her make-up and flicking through her magazines. ‘She knows he’s going to top himself, so she gets a great payout when he carks it,’ he says.
‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ says Priti, who is sitting by the window spying into the neighbours’ houses with my dad’s binoculars, which I’ve taken to carrying round with me for some reason.
Jed gets up and joins her and says he can see Stevie’s mum taking off her bra in her bedroom. ‘That bump is massive!’ he says, ‘What’s she got in there? A baby hippo or something?’
‘Give me back the binoculars,’ says Priti, grabbing them from him and training them on the upstairs window of Stevie’s house. She can’t see anything and, when I have a look, neither can I, so I reckon Jed just made it up about seeing her topless. But he keeps going on about Mrs Sanders’ boobs, and the thought of it makes me feel a bit odd. I can’t stop glancing over at her house in case she decides to do another striptease.
Through the binoculars, we can see Stevie watching TV in the sitting room. Jed reckons it’s the show with the talking flowers, but I say it’s the one with all the fluffy night-time creatures and then he laughs at me because I know the difference.
‘You watch baby TV with your mum!’ he says. Although he’s pretending to be all normal, he’s still in a funny mood.
‘No I do not!’ I say.
‘Yeah. You do. You and your mum all cuddled up on the sofa, watching the dancing daisies and drinking beddy-byes milk. You’re probably still breastfeeding.’
‘I am not!’
‘That’s why you miss her so much.’ Jed laughs and Priti does too.
I stand up. My fists are tingling. I don’t know what I’d have done if Priti hadn’t suddenly said, ‘Shut up, you two! Look.’ She points out of the window. ‘Who’s that?’
I look where she’s pointing and see a woman knock
ing on Granny and Grandad’s door. She looks like she’s been knocking for a while and getting no answer because she’s really banging.
‘Can’t she tell they’re out?’ says Priti, but Jed and I don’t say anything because we both recognise the person.
I haven’t seen my Auntie Karen for a couple of years, but I glance at Jed, who’s gone all pale and his mouth is in a straight line, and then I know it’s definitely her – Jed’s mum.
‘What do your reckon she wants?’ asks Priti, who has no idea and is just enjoying the drama of it. Jed’s mum is shouting something now. ‘I’m going to open the window, so we can hear what she’s on about.’
Before either of us can stop her, Priti props open the window and leans out. Jed’s mum’s not at the front door any more – she’s moved back a few metres down the drive so that she can shout up at the house.
‘Let me see him!’ she’s shouting. ‘I need to see him!’
‘This is great!’ says Priti. ‘The most exciting thing that ever happens on this street is the supermarket delivery van. Hey, do you reckon your grandad is having a steamy affair?’
‘Shut up,’ says Jed.
‘No need to be ageist! Old people have girlfriends too, you know,’ she says.
‘Shut up,’ I say.
‘What?’ Priti turns round and looks at us both. ‘What’s up with you?’ she says to Jed. ‘You look well weird.’
The woman is shouting louder now: half screaming, half crying. ‘I have a right to see him. I’ve got a court order to prove it. Please let me see him.’
‘What’s she on about now?’ asks Priti.
‘Just close the window,’ says Jed.
‘Why? This is class! Do you reckon I should shout out and tell her they aren’t in?’
‘Shut the window,’ says Jed again. His face is so pale it’s like all the blood has gone out of him.
‘Please! Please! Have pity!’ Jed’s mum shouts again. ‘I need to see him. I need him to know how much I love him.’
‘Who’d have thought anyone would fancy your grandad? She’s pretty too, and way younger than him! Dirty dog!’
‘Shut the window, Priti,’ I say, but she’s still leaning out of it making it impossible for either me or Jed to reach the handle.
‘What is with you two today?’
Then Jed lunges for her and, for a second, I think she’s going to fall out of the window. But he pushes her to one side, grabs the handle and slams the window shut. Priti is sent flying on to the bed below.
‘What the hell are you doing? Trying to kill me and break the window at the same time?’ she shouts.
‘Just close the curtains,’ says Jed. I notice that his hands are shaking. I jump up and pull the curtains shut.
‘Why do we need to close the curtains?’ says Priti. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Because I don’t want her to see me.’
‘Why? What’s going on? Who is she?’
‘Just how thick are you?’ says Jed.
Priti looks at me with a confused expression.
‘That’s Auntie Karen,’ I say quietly. ‘She’s Jed’s mum.’
‘Oh!’ says Priti, eyes as wide as saucers. ‘I see.’
None of us says anything for a moment.
‘She doesn’t look much like you,’ Priti blurts out. ‘I guess your dad cut your mum out of your gene pool as well as your life.’
Jed doesn’t reply.
I peek through the curtains. Auntie Karen has stopped shouting. She sits on the wall and cries. I wonder if she knows all the neighbours are watching her and how that makes her feel.
‘She looks all right to me,’ says Priti, peering out from behind me. ‘Nice shoes.’
‘What would you know?’ says Jed, who is sitting on the bed, refusing to look out.
‘She looks well upset too. Can’t say I’d be that gutted if I never got to see you again.’
‘I wish,’ says Jed.
‘If you want to go out and see her, I’ll go with you,’ I say.
‘No thanks,’ says Jed.
‘We wouldn’t tell anyone,’ says Priti. ‘I could run down and tell her to go meet us in the park then keep lookout in case your granny and grandad come back. Like with Zara and Tyreese.’
‘I said, no thanks,’ says Jed again.
‘But don’t you want to see her even a little bit?’ she asks.
‘No.’
Priti doesn’t seem like she’s going to drop it even though Jed is getting really annoyed, but then I spot Granny and Grandad’s car turning into the cul-de-sac.
‘Shh!’ I say. ‘Granny and Grandad are back.’
Priti turns her attention to what’s happening outside and even Jed comes to see what’s going on.
The little car turns into the drive and I’m not sure if they’ve seen Auntie Karen because they get straight out of the car and then there she is, standing right in front of them.
The funny thing is that Granny and Auntie Karen look quite alike. Granny’s older, obviously, and her hair is grey and white while Auntie Karen’s is gold and brown, but they’re both short and petite and have sweet faces.
Jed draws the curtains and opens the window a little bit to try and hear what’s going on.
Granny is trying to say something, but Auntie Karen is talking over her. She takes Granny’s hand and holds it in hers.
‘Just get rid of her,’ I hear Jed mutter under his breath.
But Granny can’t get her hand free and Grandad is coming round from the other side of the car and he is waving his arms and shouting something. But still Auntie Karen is holding Granny’s hand and she seems to be pleading with her. Granny looks like she wants to cry.
Grandad is shouting at Auntie Karen and then he tries to push her away, but it’s Granny who trips and falls. Auntie Karen goes to help her, but Grandad blocks her way.
He’s really shouting now and we can make out the words, ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ and, ‘Haven’t you done enough damage to this family already?’
Auntie Karen steps aside as Grandad helps Granny indoors. ‘I’m sorry!’ she’s saying, or I think that’s what she’s saying.
‘Just go away and leave this family alone!’ shouts Grandad, slamming the door in her face.
Jed winces.
‘Wow!’ says Priti. ‘Your grandad does not like her!’
‘He’s just looking out for me,’ says Jed.
‘What do you reckon she’ll do now?’ says Priti, still watching Auntie Karen. ‘Bet she falls down on the grass and starts crying. Or maybe she’ll chain herself to something so the police have to come and cut her free. That would be cool! Well, not cool, but . . .’ She glances at Jed, who is still staring at the floor. ‘I mean, it’s dead sad and I feel totally sorry for her – and for you – but . . .’
‘Well, don’t,’ says Jed.
‘I just reckon if I were her, I wouldn’t go down without a fight,’ says Priti.
But Auntie Karen doesn’t fall down weeping or chain herself to anything. She just picks up her bag and takes something out of it – something small and white – an envelope maybe. Then she glances up at Priti’s house. Right up at the window from where we’re watching. We all dart down quickly beneath the windowsill.
‘Did she see us?’ asks Jed.
‘I don’t know.’ I peek over the windowsill then duck down again quickly. ‘She’s still looking up here.’
‘What’s she doing now?’ asks Jed.
I lift my head a little and watch as Jed’s mum bends down and places the envelope beneath a bush, where it can only be seen from our vantage point – not from Granny and Grandad’s house. She keeps glancing up at the window. Jed has raised his head a bit so he’s watching her too and as she turns to go, she blows a kiss up at him.
‘She saw us then,’ says Priti as we watch Auntie Karen walk off down the cul-de-sac.
I nod. Jed doesn’t say anything. He’s watching his mum walk away. At one point she glances back at the house
. Me and Priti duck, but Jed stays standing, watching her. For a moment, I almost think he’s going to wave. But he doesn’t.
He does go and get the letter though. Or rather he sends me to go and get it. Priti wants him to open it there and then, but he won’t. He says he’s not going to open it at all; he’s just going to bin it, and the only reason he wants to get it is to stop someone else snooping into his business.
We go back home and Grandad makes the lunch because Granny has hurt her hand in the fall. Grandad doesn’t make us food very often, and he tells me and Jed we have to help too. For once, Jed is really helpful, clearing the table and doing the washing-up without moaning. Nobody mentions Auntie Karen, but everything is weird and different.
After lunch, I go upstairs to our bedroom to draw. I’m sitting on my bed, trying to come up with the next frame for the Bomb-busters cartoon, but for some reason I can’t think of anything. I stare out across the room, and that’s when I notice something peeking out from under Jed’s pillow. It’s the letter from his mum – he hasn’t thrown it away after all. I wonder if he’s read it.
It makes me think about my mum, and the cards, and her not calling, and all that other stuff that I try not to think about most of the time.
THINGS I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT MY MUM
1. What’s it like – the hospital she’s in? Is it like a hospital with beds or more like a hotel only with nurses? Does she lie in bed all day or can she walk around and read and draw and do stuff (she hates having nothing to do)? She’s not really wearing a straightjacket is she?
2. Does everyone there have the same thing as her or is it full of people with other sorts of problems? Are any of the other people scary or dangerous?
3. Who is making sure she eats? And how do they do it? Do they force her to eat? Because I don’t think she’d like that. Or do they let her do it the way she needs to?
4. Why isn’t she desperate to see me, like Jed’s mum is with him? Is that part of her being ill? And will it ever change?
5. What if she never gets better?
6. Where will I go if she dies?
7. Can I catch her illness? I think I read somewhere that kids are more likely to get it if their parents have had it.
We Can Be Heroes Page 16
