Kitty Neale 3 Book Bundle. Kitty Neale

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СКАЧАТЬ see him as he almost spilled a pretty red-haired girl from his lap. ‘Dad! What’s up?’

      ‘We need to talk, and in private,’ Frank said, looking pointedly at the redhead.

      ‘Sorry, Gloria,’ Davy said as he pushed the girl to her feet. ‘You’ll have to get lost for a while.’

      She pouted prettily, but then shrugged, saying nonchalantly, ‘Fine, I’ll leave. See you around.’

      Dave followed the redhead out of the room, but he was soon back, smiling with amusement as he said, ‘Gloria pretends she doesn’t care, but she can’t get enough of me.’

      ‘We’ve got more important things to talk about than your love life,’ Frank snapped.

      Dave’s eyes widened, but he only said, ‘All right, so sit down and tell us what this is all about.’

      Frank took a seat, his sons too, before he said abruptly, ‘Your mother’s left me.’

      ‘What?’ Paul exclaimed. ‘No, I don’t believe it.’

      ‘Believe it or not, but I’m telling you she’s gone,’ Frank said as he pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Paul. ‘You’d better read that.’

      ‘What does it say?’ Dave asked.

      Paul read it out, and both looked stunned. There was a pause, as though they needed time to take it in, but then Davy said, ‘So Mum just left, leaving this letter, and we’re supposed to wait until she gets in touch with us?’

      ‘That’s about it,’ Frank said.

      ‘There must be more to it than this. Did you have an argument or something?’ Paul asked. ‘If you did, once Mum has calmed down she’s sure to come back.’

      ‘There was no argument. Just that letter,’ Frank said wearily as exhaustion now hit him. ‘There’s one other thing. Carol was admitted to hospital with food poisoning, but she’s fine. She might be allowed home tomorrow so there’s no point in going to visit her.’

      ‘What did she eat to cause that?’ Dave questioned.

      ‘She isn’t sure, but it was probably a bit of dodgy fish,’ Frank lied. ‘Anyway, I’m bushed, so I’m off now.’

      For the first time, he heard concern in Dave’s voice. ‘Dad, with Mum leaving like that, it must be hard on you. Are you all right?’

      ‘Yeah, I’ll cope.’

      ‘Have you tried Gran’s? Mum might be there,’ Paul suggested.

      ‘She isn’t. It’s the first place I checked.’

      For the first time Paul echoed his brother’s concern. ‘If you need anything, or any help to find Mum, just ask, Dad.’

      ‘You read her letter. Your mother doesn’t want to be found, and to be honest, that suits me fine.’

      ‘You don’t mean that, Dad.’

      ‘Yes I do, son,’ Frank said and after saying goodbye, he tiredly made his way home. He had meant what he said to his son. After walking out on him like that, leaving just a blunt letter, he wasn’t going to run after Daphne. She was looking for a new life, so let her find one. She wouldn’t find it easy without a man bringing home a wage, and with few skills, he doubted she’d get much of a job.

      With a grim sense of satisfaction, Frank imagined his wife living in a grotty one-room flat, probably beginning to miss him and the decent life he’d worked hard to provide her with. She’d eventually come crawling back, he decided, and he would enjoy shutting the door in her face.

      With that thought still in his mind, Frank arrived home, and despite his bravado, he hated walking into an empty house. Still, it wouldn’t be for long. Carol would be home again soon and the two of them would jog along nicely.

      Frank went to bed, his last thought that he’d keep his daughter safe and close to him. From now on he’d make sure that no other man ever laid a finger on her again.

       Chapter Fourteen

      Amy was in bed on that Tuesday night too, unable to sleep as her mind twisted and turned. Any hopes she’d held that Rose hadn’t run off with Tommy’s dad had been quashed. Her mother had been to Rose’s flat on her way home from work and found it empty.

      Added to that, Amy was concerned about Carol and after a restless night she woke on Wednesday, hoping to find out how her friend was before she left for work. When her mother arrived home from her early morning cleaning job, Amy was ready to leave and said, ‘I’m going ask Mrs Cole how Carol is.’

      ‘All right, love,’ Phyllis said as she kicked off her shoes. ‘Let me know what she says.’

      Amy hurried out, surprised when instead of Mrs Cole, Carol’s father opened the door. ‘Err, hello, Mr Cole, I thought you’d be at work.’

      ‘I’ve got a couple of days off.’

      Amy wondered if it was to do with her friend and asked worriedly, ‘Is Carol all right?’

      ‘Yes, she’s fine. It was food poisoning.’

      ‘Can I go to see her this evening?’

      ‘There’s no point. She’ll probably be allowed home later today, or if not, tomorrow morning.’

      Amy hadn’t seen Mrs Cole since Carol had been taken ill, so asked, ‘Is your wife ill with food poisoning too?’

      There was a momentary hesitation, but then he said, ‘Yeah, a touch of it and she’s in bed. That’s why I’m taking a couple of days off.’

      ‘Oh dear, can I do anything to help?’

      ‘Thanks for the offer, but we’re coping. It didn’t hit Daphne as hard as Carol, and as I was just about to make her a cup of tea I’d best get on with it.’

      The door closed before Amy could say anything else and turned to see Mabel Povis on her doorstep, arms folded across her chest.

      Amy tensed, dreading that the news had broken out about Tommy’s dad and Rose, but instead Mrs Povis asked, ‘Well, did you manage to get anything out of Frank Cole this time?’

      Relieved, Amy said, ‘Yes, Carol has food poisoning, but she’s getting over it now, and though Mrs Cole wasn’t as bad, she’s been in bed with it too.’

      ‘She can’t be much of a cook then,’ Mabel said sarcastically. ‘Still, it explains why I haven’t heard a peep out of Daphne Cole for a couple of days. Sometimes her voice is loud enough to hear through my walls.’

      A door opened on the other side of the road, and moments later, tubby, middle-aged Edna Price scurried over to join them, her hair still in curlers and slippers on her feet. ‘Amy, I saw you talking to Frank Cole. What did he have to say?’

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