“Is Granny Belbin your real granny?” Kathleen asked, as they walked back to the sanctuary.
“No, Miss Kathleen. I never knew my parents, or my grandparents. I grew up a bit away from here, closer to the center of Five Points. Tommy and me was with some other kids. Granny lived there, too. She used to feed us and look after us. She used to make us have baths. You can’t imagine it now, but she used to chase us around the courtyard with her broom, until we washed our ears and necks. She was a wonderful woman, but, oh man, her temper was awful. We was more afraid of her than anyone else. Guess that’s why me and Tommy didn’t get in trouble with the law. Granny would have killed us,if we landed in jail. I never knew she had moved here. Feel bad I haven’t been checkin’ in on her.”
“You were lucky she cared so much about ye. What about her child?”
“She ain’t never had children, least not that I know of,” Mike said.
“But I thought you said the priest threw her out of the church?” Kathleen asked.
“Aye, he did, but she never had the baby. It died. But that wasn’t why that priest hated her. See, she protected us from everyone, even those who were supposed to be looking after us, if you know what I mean.”
Kathleen wasn’t exactly sure she understood, but, sensing he was embarrassed, she changed the subject.
“Mike, how are we going to find Kenny? Granny said she had sent the boys from the tenements out looking. If they couldn’t find him, how will we?”
“I don’t rightly know, Miss Kathleen. That’s something we got to pray about. God will send his answer. We just need to make sure we hear it.”
Stunned by his devotion, Kathleen fell silent. Of course, she believed in God and would pray for his help, but she couldn’t sit waiting at the sanctuary, when a child was in need. She would speak to Lily and Charlie, in case they had more ideas. Richard would help her too. He dealt with many children at the hospital, so he might know of more places where Kenny might be hiding out. She would also speak to Inspector Griffin. If the police knew the places Kenny’s ma might have frequented, maybe they could find the boy there.