‘You can’t, that’s crazy!’ Franny stared at Alfie in horror as Alfie drove at speed, racing along the roads towards the home of Ma Dwyer.
‘Shh, keep your voice down, Taylor’s asleep. You wanted to find Mia, then we need to get there now!’
‘But what exactly did Barry say?’
‘Well he was trying to tell me something about Mia, something about Ma having Mia. I dunno, he wasn’t making sense at the end.’
Panicked, Franny shook her head. ‘Why would he tell you about that?’
‘I don’t know, but he said it, or at least that’s what I think he said.’
‘Well there you go then, you don’t know for certain. Alfie, this is crazy – let’s go home. Please, let’s just go back. It’s been a long day. We can talk about it in the morning.’
Alfie sped around the corner. ‘This is the closest we’ve got to a lead. It might be your opportunity to find out where Mia is. Come on, Franny, it’s worth going to see Ma, even if it’s a dead end. I know you’re scared to get your hopes up about Mia, but we can’t wait till tomorrow. Every second counts.’
Franny spoke urgently, her words rushing out. ‘What about Taylor? He doesn’t need us to be doing this. We need to take him to your friend Claire so she can get him cleaned up and get some food inside him and make sure he has a safe night’s sleep, and like you say, she’ll know the right authorities to contact in the morning. Who knows, as she’s a foster carer she might be able to take him in, but we have to get him there. Come on, Alf, just turn the car around.’
‘No, Fran, say what you like but I ain’t going back. Taylor will be fine – he’s warm and he’s asleep. Christ it’s probably the most peace he’s had in his life; so lying there for another couple of hours ain’t going to hurt him, but what will hurt is missing this chance. If it’s too much for you, I’ll deal with Ma. You can stay in the car, but if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to help you find Mia.’
Outside the mobile home site of Ma Dwyer, which Alfie knew well from when he’d been there with Bree, he parked the car by the hay barn, pulling out the gun from the bag of money.
‘You stay here with Taylor.’
Franny shook her head, her face stricken and pale. She licked her lips, which were dry, panic running through her. ‘No, I’ll come too.’
‘I think it’s probably best if you wait for me.’
Franny snapped, ‘I’m coming. Mia’s my … my friend’s baby, so if Ma has anything to say, I want to hear it.’
‘What about Taylor?’
Fran stared at Alfie. ‘You were the one who said he’s fine, so just lock the car and put the alarm on. He’ll be all right.’
Without waiting for Alfie to answer, Franny opened the door, jumping out and running towards the north side of the traveller site, hearing Alfie shouting after her. ‘Fran! Fran, where are you going? Fran, you don’t know your way around. Just wait!’
Franny ran frantically through the rain and wind, heading towards Ma’s mobile home, knowing that she had to get to her before Alfie did. She remembered her way from when she’d come before, and she hoped for her sake that Alfie was still well behind.
Seeing the pink door of Ma’s caravan coming into sight, Franny ran faster, charging through the mud, fear and dread crushing her.
At the door she gave a quick check over her shoulder, making sure Alfie wasn’t in sight before she began to hammer on the door and on the sides of the caravan.
‘Ma! Ma! Open up! For fuck’s sake, open up!’ Hearing nothing coming from inside, Franny kicked the lock, raising her foot and smashing it down, trying to force the door open. But it didn’t budge and, desperate, she tried again to open it, this time slamming her shoulder against the door. ‘Ma, it’s Franny! Ma, if you’re in there, open up! Please!’
As she raised her foot to kick the door again, it suddenly swung open, and there standing in front of her wearing a flowered blue dressing gown, holding a metal baseball bat, was Ma Dwyer.
Without hesitating, Franny pushed inside, shutting and locking the door quickly behind her. ‘Ma, you’ve got to help me.’
Ma’s bemusement turned into a cackle. ‘Help you? You must’ve lost the fucking plot.’
Franny’s eyes were wide open with fear. She spoke quickly and breathlessly. ‘Please, because any minute now, Alfie will be at that door looking for you. He wants to know about Mia.’
Ma raised her eyebrows. She sniffed and sounded amused. ‘Well that will be an interesting conversation, won’t it? Shall I go and put the kettle on?’
Franny grabbed Ma by her dressing gown. ‘This isn’t funny!’
Ma glared at her, full of hostility. ‘If I were you, I’d let go, especially if you want me to listen to what you have to say.’
Franny dropped her hold and began to pace, talking in an agitated manner. ‘You’ve got to help me. You’ve just got to, and you owe me. You hear me, Ma? You owe me.’
Ma roared with laughter. ‘And how do you make that one out?’
Red with fury, Franny spun on Ma. ‘Because you knew that I was coming for Mia that day. None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you. I could’ve been gone, I could’ve been out of here, but no, you wanted to play games, even though you knew I was good for the money, you let her go.’
‘You were late!’
Franny’s face curled up in a snarl as she held herself back from attacking Ma. ‘I got here as quick as I could.’
‘Not quick enough though!’
‘Have you any idea how it feels knowing Mia’s out there somewhere? Have you any idea how much that hurts?’
Ma, placing the baseball bat under her arm, shrugged. ‘No, and I don’t care either, but you know what I find really odd about this whole thing? You doing all Bree’s dirty work. I mean, where is she? It’s almost like she disappeared off the face of the earth.’
Franny pushed Ma in her chest. ‘You leave Bree out of this. Why do you think she ain’t here? She can’t cope with it, and she doesn’t want to see you, does she? She told me how you treated her but not only that, Ma, you sold Mia to someone you didn’t even know the name of! So, don’t ask why Bree’s not here – it’s pretty obvious.’
Ma’s face darkened. ‘I’m in the business to be making money, not making friends. I already told you I’d sell her if you didn’t show up on time, and I don’t need to know names.’
‘Ma! Ma! I want a word! Ma! Come out wherever you are!’ Outside, Alfie’s voice was loud and aggressive as he searched for Ma.
Fighting the tears, Franny began to tremble. She whispered to Ma, ‘Please, you’ve got to help me. He’ll be here in a second, and he can’t find out about Mia and Bree.’
‘I’d say that was your problem, wouldn’t you?’
Ma stepped forward to open the door, but Franny blocked her way. ‘Don’t do it! Ma, please! Listen to me – I’ve got money. There’s some money in the car. I won’t be able to bring it to you until later, but I promise I will. I’ll come back with it.’
Ma narrowed her eyes. ‘How much are we talking?’
‘One hundred grand.’
‘You really are desperate, aren’t you, Franny? Make it one-fifty and we have a deal.’
A hammering on the door made Franny jump, she leant her body against it as Alfie shouted, ‘Open up Ma! Otherwise, I’ll kick the fucking door down!’
Terrified, Franny nodded, whispering in panic, ‘Okay, okay, but he can’t find you here.’
‘You better be good for the money though.’
‘I will be. Now hide! Just hide! I’ll be back later, I promise. Just give me a few hours.’
As Franny watched Ma waddle down the hallway, she waited for a moment before unlocking the door. ‘Alf!’
Alfie frowned, surprised to see Franny standing there.
‘Hi, sorry about that, Alf. I locked the door because I didn’t want anyone coming in.’
‘Is she in there?’
Franny shook her head. ‘No … no, I checked everywhere. It looks like she might’ve gone away.’
Alfie glanced behind Franny, looking up the carpeted hallway. ‘Then how did you get in?’
Franny’s voice trilled in an odd sing-song way. ‘Me? How did I get in? I … I … oh for God’s sake, Alf, that’s a stupid question. Can’t you see where I kicked the door? It must’ve been badly fitted because it came open almost straightaway. It can’t have been on the latch properly. I dunno …’ Uneasy, Franny trailed off, holding Alfie’s stare.
‘But how did you know which caravan she was in?’
Franny’s words came tumbling out. ‘When … when I came around the corner, there was a guy. I asked him which caravan. I’m surprised you didn’t see him actually. He told me Ma was away, but I didn’t believe him, so I thought I’d check. You know, be vigilant, because when I thought about it, you were right, Alf, we needed to check this out, and now we have done, we won’t ever wonder, will we?’
Alfie looked at Franny strangely. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes … no … not really. I know I shouldn’t have done, but I got my hopes up. I thought Ma might be here, and we could’ve got some answers … Look, let’s go. Let’s get Taylor to your friend’s house.’
‘Okay, and I’m sorry, Fran, I thought we were on to something too. But like you said earlier, it’s not over yet.’
‘That’s right, it’s not over yet.’
And with that Franny gave a tight smile as she stepped out of the mobile home, closing the door behind her, knowing that she needed to leave London tonight.
Outside Claire’s house, on the south side of Muswell Hill, Franny gave Taylor a big hug. She crouched down as she spoke to him, smiling and speaking with warmth. ‘Listen, sweetie, these people are going to look after you, and I know you’re going to be really happy from now on. Really, really happy. I just know it.’
Taylor answered shyly, his big blue eyes full of mistrust. ‘Am I?’
‘Yes, baby, you are. You really are.’
She gave him another hug before standing up, watching him walk into the house, holding Alfie’s hand.
As Franny turned away to get into the car, she heard Alfie call her back. He ran up to her, a look of concern on his face.
‘Are you sure you’re all right with me staying here awhile, Fran? I just don’t want to leave Taylor straightaway.’
‘Absolutely. You do what needs to be done, Alf.’
‘And you’ll put the money in the safe for me? Maybe I can talk Mr Huang around. Maybe he’ll let me give him half of it back without the crazy interest.’
‘Maybe … Look, I’ll see you.’ She turned back to walk to the car, but stopped and spun around, rushing up to Alfie and throwing her arms round him. She squeezed her eyes closed, stopping the tears from falling, nuzzling her head into his neck.
Surprised, Alfie said, ‘This is lovely, Fran, and I could stay here all day with you like this, but what have I done to deserve it?’
She looked up at him, giving a sad smile. ‘I just wanted to give you a proper goodbye, that’s all.’
Alfie sounded worried. ‘Fran, what’s going on?’
‘Nothing, it’s just been a difficult day.’ She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on his cheek. ‘I love you, I love you so much – never forget that.’
And as Alfie watched Franny drive away, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at his screen. The text read: