Josephine Cox 3-Book Collection 1: Midnight, Blood Brothers, Songbird. Josephine Cox

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СКАЧАТЬ having the joy of a wife like Eileen. He couldn’t help but wonder whether Libby’s father might have changed. If he’d been there for them just that bit longer, would he have learned to cherish these two wonderful people? And who knows, there might even have been other children over the years – a brother or sister or both for Libby.

      It was a sobering thought. But he reminded himself of the old saying: ‘Once a bad ’un, always a bad ’un.’ Maybe that was true, and this particular ‘bad ’un’ would never have changed his ways. In which case, Libby and the lovely Eileen were well rid of him.

      It cut him deep, though, to think of Eileen, made to raise a child on her own, with no man to support her, eking out the days with her savings and doing other folk’s ironing and mending. And Libby, never really knowing her father.

      It was a sorry situation; one which he had tried hard to soften over these long years, by starting to love Libby as a daughter, and looking out for Eileen. He never dreamed that he would come to love her so dearly. At first it was just him being a good neighbour – cutting the grass, trimming the hedges and generally helping out. With the passage of time, though, he had learned to truly love Eileen.

      When Libby looked up and saw Thomas at the kitchen door, she told him softly, ‘She’s all right, Thomas, really. She just got a bit emotional, that’s all. She’ll be fine.’

      Eileen’s mood swiftly changed. ‘When we’ve heard the songs, can we have fish and chips, Thomas? You promised that we could have fish and chips.’

      Thomas grinned. ‘If I told you we’d have fish and chips, then we shall have fish and chips!’

      Libby played her part, ‘You two get along and enjoy yourselves. When I’ve tidied up, I’ll go down to the fish-shop. If it’s all right with you, Thomas, can I have my tea with you two?’

      ‘Absolutely! Me and Eileen would have it no other way!’

      Delighted, Eileen clapped her hands together. ‘We can have the music playing, and eat our fish and chips as well. It’ll be like a party, won’t it?’

      A short time later, after finishing a small pile of ironing, Libby called round next door, to find her mother sitting in the armchair, tapping her feet and singing along to the old tunes.

      Thomas was in the kitchen, putting plates in the over to warm. ‘I’m off to the fish-shop now, Thomas. Would you both like your usual – medium cod with chips?’ They confirmed that they did.

      ‘Ask if he’s got any crackling,’ Eileen called out. ‘I do like a bit o’ crackling!’

      Thomas walked Libby to the door. ‘I’m sorry about earlier,’ he said. ‘The odd thing is, Eileen’s never asked me to dance with her before. Oh, she’ll dance on her own till the cows come home, but that was the first time she’s ever asked me to join in.’

      He looked across at Eileen, who was softly singing. ‘It’s good to dance. Me and my wife had a passion for it. A man loves to feel a woman in his arms.’ He sighed. ‘I miss that.’

      When the music came to an end, Eileen began yelling, ‘It’s gone! The music’s all gone!’

      Thomas hurried across the room. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘I’ll soon have it back on again, don’t you worry.’

      On leaving, Libby called to her mother, ‘I won’t be long, Mum. You just enjoy the music, and I’ll be back with your fish and chips before you know it.’

      Outside, the rain was falling fast. She stopped to pull up the hood of her anorak. It was a typical English summer!

       Chapter Sixteen

      OUTSIDE, ON THE opposite side of the street, Jack stood under a dripping tree, sheltering from the rain beneath an umbrella. After much soul-searching, he had finally plucked up the courage to come down to Bower Street. It was only a mile or so from Buncer Lane, but that short walk had seemed like the longest journey of his life. At one point, his courage failed him, so he dodged into the nearest pub for a pint and a quiet moment to think about what he was doing.

      After a while, he reminded himself of his reasons for coming back to the North – not for the glory of managing the new showrooms, because that was an opportunity and a bonus. He had come back because of the nightmares, and because he needed to find out if the psychiatrist was right. But how was he going to do that? As yet he hadn’t quite worked out the details. But he would – and soon – because it was constantly playing on his mind.

      All these years, so many unanswered questions . . . If, as he truly believed, the psychiatrist was indeed right, then where else should he look, if not the very place where his dreams had started?

      More than anything, he had come back because he knew instinctively that if he was to go forward, then he must first go back, to the place where it all began.

      After leaving the pub, he had quickened his steps towards Bower Street. Within minutes, he was actually standing across the street from his old house. He found himself travelling back through the bad memories. He felt like a young lad again. He had felt vulnerable back then; and he felt vulnerable now too.

      ‘Go on, Jack!’ he urged himself. ‘Knock on the door – just tell them you used to live in that house; that you’re back in the area and you were just curious.’

      He smiled to himself. ‘They’ll probably think I’m mad, or call the police – and I wouldn’t blame them.’

      He thought of knocking on the door of Thomas’ house. Now, that was a better idea. Thomas wouldn’t think he was mad if he knocked on his door. But he might not live there any more, of course.

      At that moment he was surprised to see what looked like a young man dressed against the elements, and going down Thomas’s garden path, towards the door. So another family must now be living there. Jack was disappointed.

      Not realizing the ‘young man’ was actually Jack, Libby decided to call it a day. ‘Next time I’m here,’ he said to himself, ‘I’ll knock on that young man’s door. Maybe he or his parents will know where Thomas has gone. They might even have an idea as to where Eileen and Libby are.’ It was a comforting thought, but for now, he just wanted to get out of the rain.

      Jack had a lot to think about. The fact that Thomas appeared to have moved out of Bower Street was a bitter blow, as he’d been so looking forward to seeing him again. He had not forgotten the help and support Thomas had given him when he needed it most. He wanted to thank him for his help and advice.

      Naively, he had even harboured the hope that Thomas might hold the key to his nightmares. Maybe just to sit and talk with Thomas might somehow open a door in his mind – a door that would reveal the truth and give him peace.

      Jack was fast becoming obsessed with the idea that he was close. He could not imagine what he might find when he began to probe deeper, but he had to believe. Because he could not live the rest of his life wondering. Never knowing . . .

      Jack suddenly decided that he wasn’t ready to go back to his rented house. Fired by a need to revisit old haunts, he made his way towards King Street and Whalley Banks. And as he walked, a feeling of warmth and belonging took hold of him. But the further along he went, the more he began to realise how everything had changed. There used to be a row СКАЧАТЬ