‘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 fiancé; 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 glass. ‘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 Mitchell, he had no intention of testifying against him, or anyone else for that matter. Grasses were classed as the lowest of the low in the travelling community and Jed would rather blow Eddie Mitchell’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 fucking killed my mum, I’d wanna see him strung up by his bollocks.’
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 Mitchell. 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 Mitchell’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 Mitchell 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 sunglasses on and as she pretended to read the newspaper, she could see the smirk on the little shit’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 cockily.
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 circumstances 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 Mitchell was a cold-blooded killer; he’d murdered his own wife, therefore the bastard 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 a
ppear 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 hell, 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 prostitute he’d fucked the last time he’d worked away. Remembering how she’d expertly sucked his cock, 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 bloody 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 attitude, 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 Mitchell 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 cucumber 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 Dickens to stand up on his behalf and Ed was desperate to know if Larry’s plan had worked.
In his day, Dickens 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 bastard 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 Dickens’ arm. An experienced retired chief inspector singing his praises would surely help swing the jury in his favour.
‘Lal, it’s me. Well, is he gonna do it?’ Ed asked. Mentioning names on prison phones was a definite no-go, because you never knew who could be listening in.
Larry took a deep breath. He had good news and also some bad news for Eddie and was dreading telling him the latter. ‘The good news is yes, he’s going to do it, Eddie. But I also have some bad news for you.’
‘Spit it out then,’ Eddie said, immediately agitated. He hated bad news and he’d had enough in the past year to last him a lifetime.
Larry sighed. He was scared of Eddie’s reaction. ‘The prosecution have informed me that Frankie has to stand up in court next week,’ he said bluntly.
‘What! No, she can’t,’ Ed yelled.
‘Listen, Eddie. This was always a possibility. I know it’s extremely unfortunate, but there’s very little I can do about it, I’m afraid.’
‘I can’t have her face me in court. Do something Lal, anything,’ Eddie pleaded.
Larry spoke calmly but firmly. ‘It’s out of my hands now, Eddie. I can wangle most things, but not this. My advice to you is just be strong. I know it’s an awkward situation, but you have to face it head on. If you don’t, it could spell disaster for all of us.’
Overcome by the horror of what he’d just been told, Eddie slammed down the receiver and punched the wall in temper.
Back in Rainham, Frankie’s initial shock over Jed’s behaviour had now turned into wrath. How dare he tell her that she wasn’t allowed to take her own baby out with her brother? Frankie decided enough was enough. She loved Jed immensely, but she needed to start standing up to him. If she didn’t, she would regret it in the future when he started treating her like some kind of doormat.
For the past few weeks, Frankie had felt like a prisoner in her own home. Alice hovering around constantly didn’t help matters. It was almost as though Jed had ordered his mother to keep an eye on her in his absence.
Frankie checked on the sleeping Georgie and then stared at herself in the full-length mirror. Since her pregnancy and her mother’s death, she had let herself go somewhat and she didn’t like what she saw in her reflection.
With fire in her belly for the first time in ages, Frankie put on her faded jeans, black ankle boots and black leather jacket. Jed had fallen in love with the girl she once was, not the girl she was now. She hadn’t worn make-up for months because Jed preferred her without it, but today she decided to put on some blue eyeshadow, black mascara and red lipstick. Sod Jed, she was sick of dancing to his tune. Let him dance to hers, for once.
Just about to finish her outfit off by putting on the gold sovereign earrings that Jed had bought her for Christmas, Frankie was disturbed by the sound of Alice’s coarse voice.
‘Frankie. What you doing? You in there?’
Frankie grimaced and unlocked the trailer door. Joey was picking her up in a taxi at twelve and she still had stuff to do yet. ‘Hi Alice. Do you want a cup of tea?’
Alice looked at her future daughter-in-law in horror. S
he was dressed and made up like a fucking tart and was obviously going out gallivanting somewhere.
‘What you got all that make-up on your face for? You’re not going out whoring while my Jed’s out working, I won’t put up with it.’
Determined not to rise to the bait, Frankie kept her cool. ‘My brother and Dominic are picking me up at twelve. They’re taking me and Georgie out for the afternoon.’
Alice shook her head in disbelief. Jed had given her strict instructions to look after her granddaughter and Alice was determined to do just that. ‘Now, you listen to me, you can go where you fucking well like, but that chavvie stays here with her nan,’ she said bluntly.
Frankie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Georgie was her baby and she would decide what was best for her child. Struggling to be diplomatic, Frankie tried to keep the fury out of her voice.
‘Look, Alice, I don’t want to argue with you, but I’m taking Georgie out with my brother whether you like it or not. She’s my baby. I gave birth to her, remember?’
Alice’s lip began to curl with hatred. She’d always told her Jed to find himself a nice travelling girl – and look what he’d ended up with. Gorjer girls like Frankie had far too much to say for themselves and Alice silently cursed her son for not listening to her advice in the first place.
Georgie let out a wail and, quick as a flash, Alice ran over to the cot and picked her up. ‘I’m taking her indoors with me,’ she said, with a face like a rabid Alsatian.
As Georgie started screaming, Frankie began to lose the plot. ‘Give me my baby or I’ll call the fucking police,’ she yelled as Alice opened the trailer door.
As the taxi approached the bend, Joey told the driver to slow down. ‘It’s about fifty yards up on your right, mate.’
Dominic squeezed Joey’s hand. Baby Georgie had become one of their main topics of conversation recently and both Joey and Dom were thrilled when Frankie had rung them this morning. They had cancelled their original plans, which were to go to a gay bar in Greenwich with their friends, Lee and Cliff. The opportunity to spend the day with baby Georgie was just too good an offer to refuse.
The Traitor Page 15
