'Oh my God, how terrible.' Lil was shocked to the core and Annie knew that if she was pregnant this occurrence would affect her more than usual. Dead babies or dumped babies were not that uncommon where they lived.
'Fucking hell. Are you sure that's the truth?'
Colleen and Christopher both nodded vigorously.
'We saw them carry it to the ambulance. It was only small and they had wrapped it in a white blanket.' Colleen's dramatic nature was now to the fore and she was milking the fact that she was the centre of attention, as always.
The boys were relieved. They had both thought for a few moments that the filth were after them and were going to raid the house.
'Well, that poor baby saved our bacon tonight. Lance thought it was the filth coming for us!'
Lance was annoyed then. 'No I didn't. But for the same token, we both got the wind put up us.'
Lil saw Kathleen walking slowly down the hallway.
'You all right, love?' Her voice was low and full of compassion for this daughter of hers who was so easily hurt and who would suffer for the rest of her life because of it.
'Did I hear you say that a baby was dead?' Everyone nodded.
'That's terrible! So bloody awful…'
Kathleen was crying but then she did cry all the time over the slightest thing. This time though her eyes were even sadder than usual and she was sobbing into a tartan tea towel she had picked up off the draining board. She sounded so distraught it was upsetting the younger kids just listening to her.
Lance went to her then. Turning her around, he placed his arm around her shoulders and walked her slowly back up to her room. He was talking softly to her and calming her down. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when she disappeared from view.
Annie started putting her coat on then and Lil and the boys looked at each other in exasperation.
'Where you off to, Nan?' It was Colleen who, as always, asked the pertinent question.
'I said I would pop over to see Gladys. Might as well get it over with, you know what she's like.'
They all grinned then, glad of the light relief.
'You get over there, Mum, in case you miss something.' Annie pursed her lips in anger but she didn't say anything. She knew that for all their talk they would be relying on her to find out what had really happened.
It was freezing outside and as Annie walked along the road towards the flats, she wondered at a young man like Patrick who had brought about such a change with his release from prison. He was going to make everyone sit up and take notice, she was sure. He had that kink in his nature that his father had possessed. She only hoped that it didn't turn out to be the death of him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
'Come on, Lil, let's be having you!'
Jimmy Brick's voice was as miserable as it had always been but seeing Lil had put a measure of pleasure in it that was hard to detect unless you knew the man very well.
Lil turned in her seat to face him and she saw immediately that the years had not been kind to him. After Patrick's murder he had been on the scene for a while and then he had just seemed to drop off the face of the world. No one seemed to see him or hear about him. He had just disappeared. He wasn't in clink, she knew that much. It seemed he had sold up and moved on.
Jimmy looked what he was, an old bruiser; someone who was displaying all the characteristics of an old fighter. He could still hold his own and he certainly looked capable of causing a row on a whim.
Lil's face had lit up with pleasure and that pleased him no end. He had seen her from across the pub and he had recognised her immediately. Even though she was older she had not really changed that much. In fact, he was amazed at how little she had changed since the last time he had seen her. He pushed that from his mind. If Lil brought it up, he would discuss it. Otherwise he would leave well alone.
Life in Spain had finally got to Jimmy and he missed London more than he would ever have believed. He had ended up hating it out there. It was filled with has-beens, wannabes and grasses. He had been called back to England like many others, through missing the weather, the women and the opportunities it afforded men like him. As he sat in the Crown and Two Chairmen pub in Dean Street and looked at Lily Brodie the past seemed so recent and yet he knew that was only because the memories were so vivid. If he lived to be one hundred years old he knew that day would be as fresh then as it was now.
'Bloody hell, Jimmy. Long time no see.'
Jimmy smiled. His balding head that he now shaved bald, rather than have the thinning hair on show, made him look old and yet his tanned skin and expensive clothes appealed to Lil and she told him that. 'You look bloody well, Jimmy. Where have you been?'
Jimmy pulled up a chair and, as he sat beside her, he caught her distinctive scent; a mixture of Estée Lauder perfume and Revlon lipstick.
'You look good yourself, girl. I've been living in Spain. I'm over for a while and maybe back for good. I ain't made me mind up yet.'
'I bet that's a lovely place to live.'
Jimmy sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair and surveyed her. Lil knew he was making a production of the look, but that was Jimmy. He had always had a soft spot for her.
'Spain is a glorified shithole, Lil. No one would live there permanently unless they were in serious danger of getting their collars felt. I suppose it's all right if you have a family or whatever, but on your Jack Jones it's no good.'
She grinned and Jimmy noticed her even teeth. She had a lovely smile and the best of looks, as far as he was concerned.
'You couldn't settle anywhere else. You're a Londoner like me and we can't seem to settle elsewhere.'
Jimmy laughed with her and then they were quiet. The atmosphere between them was heavy with unspoken thoughts, making them both feel shy, suddenly.
'Well, I am Hank Marvin', Lil. Fancy a bite to eat?'
'Why not? I just have to meet my boys and then we can shoot off.'
Jimmy was getting them a drink when he saw the boys arrive. The eldest, Pat Junior, was the living image of his father and on first sight he felt his heart constrict with the shock. It was like looking at Patrick again; he had the same stance, the same walk, everything. The younger boy, Lance, was still a strange-looking cove as far as he was concerned. But he hid his feelings and as Lil introduced him, he felt the pull of them all. They were a family that had been devastated overnight but it was plain to him that they had pulled through it somehow.
Pat Junior sat down and, peering at the older man with interest, he said quietly, 'I remember you, Jimmy. You were a great mate of my father and it's a pleasure to see you once again. He loved this pub, I know. When I was away I met a lot of his old cronies and heard all the stories about him. They spoke highly of you.'
It was a simple statement but it began a friendship that was already obvious to both of them. Pat felt the older man's emotion at being reunited with his old friend's sons and Jimmy Brick was reminded of the man he had been close to for so many years.
Lil watched the exchange and she was pleased to see the way the two of them seemed to take to one another. She also saw that Lance, as usual, was quiet and keeping his own counsel. She felt the usual distaste at being in his company but tried to make sure he didn't realise it. Lance was someone she saw as an outsider. She couldn't help it and she had tried to suppress her feelings but she couldn't. He sat there and she felt nothing for him except a deep and abiding distaste.
Every time she saw Janie, she was reminded of just what this son of hers was capable of and, even though she knew it had been forgotten by most of the people she knew, she would never forget what he had done and she would never forgive him. The only saving grace he had was how he was with Kathleen. Although Lil loved her dearly, Kathleen irritated her if she was around her for too long. She wanted the girl to pull herself together and stop being such a weak and powerless individual but she knew that was something that would never come to pass. Kathleen was always going to be a weakling; it was in her nature and Lance had been the only one over the years who had the patience to spend time with her.