The Victim. Kimberley Chambers

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      Georgie and Harry both nodded. They had chucked the rest of their sandwiches away and, after their marathon walk, were now both starving.

      Joyce walked out into the kitchen and urged Joey to follow her. ‘What are we gonna do? We can’t keep them ’ere, we’ll get ourselves arrested. Should we ring the police?’

      Joey thought momentarily, then shook his head. ‘Not yet. I’m gonna ring Dad, he’ll sort it out.’

      Hearing Georgie and Harry chatting in the other room to Dominic, Joyce placed the sausages in the frying pan. She had missed her great-grandchildren so much and perhaps now they had run to her in their hour of need, something good might come out of this. Perhaps the authorities might let her have some kind of access to them.

      Joyce made two mugs of hot chocolate and added some cold water so the poor little ha’porths didn’t burn themselves. ‘There you go, me little angels,’ she said, handing the mugs to them.

      ‘Can we see Mummy soon?’ Harry asked innocently.

      ‘Mummy isn’t here, love. But she told me to tell you that she can still see you from where she is and she loves you both very much.’

      ‘Daddy says Mummy is in prison and Nanny Alice says she is an evil old shitcunt,’ Georgie said, not quite understanding the meaning of her words.

      ‘If anyone is evil, it’s your Nanny Alice, not your mother,’ Joyce said standing up. She could smell the sausages burning.

      Joey ended his phone call and walked into the kitchen. ‘Me dad said don’t do nothing till he gets there. He’s on his way.’

       CHAPTER EIGHT

      Eddie Mitchell rang his trusted solicitor Larry, then hit a ton as he zoomed along the A13. Gina announcing she was pregnant had been a big enough bolt out of the blue, but finding out that his grandkids had run away and turned up at Joycie’s had literally knocked him for six. What was God trying to do? Give him a fucking heart attack?

      Hearing his dad pull up outside, Joey opened the front door and ran outside to greet him.

      ‘How are they? Are they OK?’ Eddie asked, concerned.

      Joey nodded. ‘Nan’s just made ’em sausage sandwiches and given ’em a hot bath. They was in a right state when they arrived though, Dad. Their clothes were soaked and they were frozen stiff. They could have been snatched by some pervert or anything.’

      Eddie nodded, then put an arm around Joey’s shoulder. ‘Have they said why they ran away?’

      ‘Yeah, they wanted to see Frankie. They said they missed their mum.’

      As tough a man as he was, Eddie felt his eyes well up as he walked into the lounge. Georgie and Harry were sitting either side of Joycie. They both had big white bath towels wrapped around them and were munching on a bowl of crisps that was positioned on Joycie’s lap.

      ‘Look, Grandad Eddie’s here. Go and give him a cuddle,’ Joyce urged them.

      Harry loved a cuddle, so he immediately stood up, and held his arms wide open. He didn’t care that his towel dropped to the floor.

      Eddie picked up Harry’s naked little body and swung him around in the air. ‘Hello, me little bruiser, Grandad loves you, you know,’ he said, planting kisses on his face.

      Georgie sat motionless on the sofa. She knew she had a Grandad Stanley and a Grandad Jimmy, but she didn’t really remember her Grandad Eddie. She was sure she had heard her mum mention him, but he didn’t look familiar to her.

      ‘Give your Grandad a kiss, Georgie,’ Joyce ordered.

      Eddie sat Harry on the sofa next to his sister, then knelt down in front of the pair of them. Apart from a quick glance when he’d knocked at O’Hara’s house, he hadn’t seen Georgie for well over a year, but still felt hurt that she didn’t seem to remember him. He spoke gently. ‘I know neither of you really know who I am, but that’s my fault because I had to go away somewhere. I’m your mum’s dad, your Grandad Eddie.’

      Georgie and Harry glanced at one another. Within seconds, Georgie had worked it all out. ‘What, like my dad is Jed and you are Eddie, Mummy’s dad?’

      Eddie smiled. ‘That’s right, and being your mum’s dad makes me your grandad.’

      Georgie smiled and then hugged him. If this man was her mum’s dad, then she liked him.

      ‘Can we see Mummy now?’ Harry asked again.

      ‘Hopefully you can soon, but you have to do what I tell you to do, is that OK? Will you do that for me?’

      Georgie and Harry both nodded excitedly. They couldn’t wait to see their mum.

      ‘In a little while a man and a lady are going to come here. You must tell them that you ran away from home because you miss your mum so much. The lady will ask you some questions and you must tell her that you don’t like living with your dad, Nanny Alice and Grandad Jimmy. Tell her you want to live with Nanny Joyce, Uncle Joey, or me.’

      ‘Will she take us to see Mummy then?’ Harry enquired.

      ‘Not tonight, but hopefully very soon,’ Eddie replied.

      ‘Why did Mummy leave us?’ Georgie asked sadly.

      Eddie stroked her long, dark hair. ‘Your Mummy didn’t leave you. She would never do that because she loves you and Harry more than anything in the world. Something happened between your mum and dad and the police took your mummy away for a little while.’

      Georgie chewed her fingernails. ‘Is Mummy in prison? Daddy says she is and Nanny Alice says she’s an old shitcunt.’

      Eddie could barely believe what he was hearing. He was no angel, but how could any grandmother teach her four-year-old granddaughter that type of language? ‘Your Nanny Alice needs her mouth washed out with soap. Tell the lady that as well, Georgie, tell her what Nanny Alice said about your mum. Don’t forget, will ya?’

      ‘She said Mummy is an old shitcunt,’ Harry repeated proudly. Neither child was old enough to understand the meaning of such awful language.

      ‘Good boy,’ Eddie said, patting Harry on the head. Larry and the social worker would be here soon, and they needed to get this right. ‘Now, I want you to pretend that I’m the lady and when I ask you a question, you are to answer it like I told you to. Can you do that for me?’

      Both children nodded.

      ‘So, why did you run away from home?’ Eddie asked.

      Joyce, Joey and Dominic all smiled at one another as the children repeated what Ed had told them to say. Georgie was especially convincing, as she answered every question in detail with the answers her grandfather had given her.

      ‘Was that your idea or Larry’s, Dad?’ Joey asked, impressed.

      ‘A bit of both really, but it was Larry’s idea to get the social worker СКАЧАТЬ