had our dessert yet, darling. Granddad is picking you up from our house later.’
‘I don’t want no dessert. I don’t like Georgie and Harry. They’re nasty and they scare me,’ Brett said, his lip wobbling.
Frankie crouched down. ‘Your brother and sister can’t help the way they are, love. Unlike you, who was brought up in the correct manner, poor Georgie and Harry were dragged up by not-so-nice people. It isn’t their fault, and even though I know this is difficult for you, we must all try to be patient with them and get along. Can you do that for Mummy?’
Knowing it would upset his mother greatly if he told her Harry regularly punched him in the ribs and broke his toys, Brett Mitchell simply nodded sadly.
Vinny Butler sauntered back from the bar. After a hard day’s graft with their mother ordering them about like a pair of skivvies, both he and Michael felt they deserved a drink.
‘Cheers, bruv. I reckon Mum’ll be happy there ya know, in time. Such a nice area, compared to Whitechapel. And with her arthritis, being in a bungalow’ll make life so much easier for her,’ Michael said.
‘Early days yet, but fingers crossed. Any more news on the boys or Roxanne?’
‘There is actually, but I don’t think we should tell Mum until after the funeral. I got a letter in the post from Lee this morning. He’s gone abroad to start afresh with Daniel. Reckons he won’t be coming back to England. He must’ve posted it on the way to the airport or something.’
‘Whereabouts are they?’
Michael shrugged. ‘Didn’t say. Gutted, I am. It’s not quite sunk in yet, but it looks like I’ve lost my sons for good.’
Vinny sighed. He’d been really close to Daniel, and hoped his nephew would stay in contact. It was all such a mess, it really was. Daniel had thought Roxanne was the girl of his dreams; he was so in love with her that when she told him she was pregnant, he’d asked her to marry him. He’d been about to slip the ring on her finger when Michael’s ex, Nancy – who everybody thought had committed suicide years earlier – ran into the registry office screaming, ‘He’s your brother!’ It turned out Roxanne was fifteen, not eighteen as she’d told Daniel, and nobody bar her deceitful mother had known she was Michael’s daughter – and Daniel’s little sister. Vinny shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe everything that’s happened these past few weeks. Even a zonked-out soap writer could not make it up. You spoken to Nancy since it happened?’
‘A couple of days ago. There’s still no word from Roxanne, and Nancy’s worried sick. Nancy mentioned involving the Old Bill again, but I managed to talk her out of it. No way do we want our kids splashed all over the front page of every newspaper. The press would have a sodding field day.’
‘Too right they would. Let’s hope Roxanne’s seen sense and got rid of the baby by now, else it’ll be too late to abort it. What’ll you do if she bastard well keeps it?’
‘Cheer me up, why don’t ya, Vin? Nah, she won’t keep it. What sort of bird chooses to raise their own brother’s child? I know she lied about her age, but you gotta remember Roxanne didn’t have a clue she and Dan were related until Nancy showed up.’
‘I wouldn’t bank on her getting rid of the kid. If you ask me she takes after her mother: a nutjob and a compulsive fucking liar.’
Eddie Mitchell handed his least favourite grandson a card. ‘Happy birthday, boy. I didn’t know what to get you, so thought if I got you vouchers your mum could take you to Lakeside and you could pick something out yourself.’ Eddie hated calling the child Harry. He knew who he’d been named after and why, and that made him feel sick to the stomach.
‘Ta. Can me and Georgie go outside now?’ Harry asked his mother.
‘Yes. But put your jackets on. It’s nippy out there.’
‘Not if you were brought up as a traveller it ain’t. We don’t feel the cold like you gorgers. Come on,’ Harry ordered, grabbing his sister’s arm.
‘And if them blokes come anywhere near us I’m gonna kick ’em in the balls. You can’t keep us here like prisoners for ever, you know,’ Georgie yelled, before slamming the back door.
Eddie glanced at Stuart. They’d been pals long before Stuart had got together with Frankie and both were uncomfortable with the current arrangement. It just wasn’t right.
When Eddie had first snatched the kids from a gypsy site in Scotland, Frankie and Brett had been happily sharing a house in Brentwood with her pal Babs, and Babs’ son, Jordan. The arrival of ‘the devil’s spawn’, as Eddie sometimes referred to Georgie and Harry, soon changed all that. They led poor Jordan a dog’s life, so much so, Babs moved out with her son within a month of their arrival. Frankie couldn’t cope on her own, so Stuart moved in to help out, but every time their backs were turned, Georgie and Harry tried to do a runner. Brentwood station was the last place Eddie had found the banes of his life. They’d been about to board a train when he’d grabbed hold of them from behind.
Frankie had pleaded with her father to find them somewhere more secure, so Eddie had rented a big gaff not far from him. The house had acres around it, and was surrounded by CCTV and six-foot metal railings and gates. He’d also hired a security team and had a little office built near the entrance so the kids could not escape.
‘Georgie does have a point, babe. Reminds me of Colditz, and the lease runs out in eight months. This was only ever meant to be a temporary measure. You’re gonna have to trust ’em at some point. They need to go to school and mix with other kids if they’re ever gonna turn out half normal,’ Eddie advised.
‘No way! Georgie hated school when she was little and ran away even back then. If I send them to school they will just disappear again, I know they will,’ Frankie’s voice was panic-stricken.
Stuart put an arm around his wife-to-be. He’d proposed three months to the day he and Frankie had first got together. They’d been friends for a long time beforehand, but because of all the upheaval surrounding Georgie and Harry, they’d yet to set a date or even discuss the actual wedding. ‘Frankie wants to hire a tutor and teach them from home, Ed,’ Stuart said, raising his eyebrows to show his displeasure.
Eddie was desperate for his daughter to see sense. ‘Ruined everyone’s lives, that pair of little fuckers have. Why d’ya think Brett is upstairs in his bedroom as we speak, Frankie? And why do you think he wants to stay at mine and Gina’s all the time? Because the poor little sod is desperately unhappy, that’s why. Brett’s a shell of his former self and it’s about time you started putting him, yourself and Stuart first, girlie. Let the little bastards run away and see how far they get. The O’Haras no longer live on that site near Glasgow. A desolate piece of land, that is now. And before you ask how I know, I had someone check it out for me. You got to be cruel to be kind sometimes, so if Georgie and Harry think the grass is greener in Scotland, let ’em have a mooch up there. They’ll soon come back with their tails between their sorry legs. You mark my words.’
‘You don’t know Jed like I do. He’ll never let them go. He’ll be waiting and watching in the wings, then as soon as an opportunity arises he’ll snatch Georgie and Harry and take them away. I know you said he’ll never bother me again, Dad, but I’m telling you he will. He’s pure evil.’
Eddie and Stuart shared a knowing look. Nobody bar those present on that fateful night knew exactly what had happened, but perhaps now was the time to let
