Disordered Minds

Sasha exchanged a glance with Rachel. 'What happened after the boys had gone?' she asked. 'How did Cill clean herself up?'

'She didn't, not then. Lou sneaked off and got her clothes so she could cover up, then the girls left.' He paused. 'I've never been so scared in my life. I tried to go after them, but Lou said she'd drop me in it if I did.'

'Did they say where they were going?'

'No.'

'What time was it?'

'Afternoon ... two-ish.'

'What did you do?'

He raised his head. 'Hid in the park till school ended, then went home. I felt ill from the vodka, but no one noticed. Dad was in the garden, so I went to my room and stayed there till Lou came back. I was shaking like a leaf ... kept thinking Cill had died or something and the police were going to come. Then Lou waltzes in as if nothing had happened- it was weird.'

'Did you ask her where she and Cill had gone?'

'I didn't need to,' said Billy flatly. 'I guessed where she got the clothes from, because she couldn't go to Cill's house or ours in case she was caught. Grace Jefferies,' he explained. 'Had to be. She came back with some trousers that were way too big for Cill. She had to bunch them at her waist to stop them falling down.'

The sun was so strong that George decided they needed hats. Her face had turned the color of beetroot and she reappeared from upstairs with a pink straw confection on her head. 'Friend's daughter's wedding,' she said succinctly. 'Total waste of money. They were divorced years later. Here!' She plonked a cap on his head. 'This was my father's postman's hat. At least it'll keep the sun off your face.'

Jonathan turned it round so that the peak was shading his neck. 'It's the boiling brain that's the problem. The face was bred for this sort of weather.'

She giggled as she sat down. 'You look as if you've got a saucepan on your head.'

He eyed her with amusement. 'And you look great, George! I've always thought red and pink were the perfect combination.'

She giggled again. 'Wasn't it a terrible choice? Some wretched shop assistant told me it suited me, and I believed her!' She tapped the table. 'Here's a question. I was thinking about it upstairs: why did Grace allow the girls to truant in her house? I don't believe that nonsense Louise told Andrew about bruises. Grace was a mature woman. If she was concerned about the girls, she would have phoned the NSPCC, or social services, or the school, even the police ... and she could have done it anonymously. So why didn't she?'

'For the same reason she didn't rat on Howard.'

'And what reason was that?'

'She felt sorry for him.'

George pondered for a moment. 'Any normal grandmother would have busted a gut to find him some help, particularly when he was younger.'

'Perhaps there wasn't any to be had.'

George ignored him. 'The only person who did anything for him was Wynne. She may not have been very effective, but at least she had a go. She dragged him to school by his ear, beat him up to make him stay there, went out to work to support him, took a two-day sickie to help him find a job, tried to get help from the GP.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Don't you think it's interesting that as soon as the two-day job search was over, he went straight back to Grace's house?'

'Not really. It's where he always went.'

George wagged a finger at him. 'Exactly.'

'So?'

'Grace kept undermining Wynne's efforts. Every time Wynne got him up to the mark, Grace seduced him back again.'

'She wouldn't have needed to seduce him. He preferred it there.'

'Then she should have made it uncomfortable for him. It explains why Wynne never went to see her. They probably rowed all the time about Grace ruining Howard's chances. I'd have blooming well rowed with my mother if she'd kept my son from school.' She smiled at Jonathan's continued skepticism. 'Oh, come on! At least try to be objective. She did the same with Louise and Cill ... reinforced their truanting against their parents' wishes. But none of us volunteers for anything unless it works to our advantage. Grace was a recluse. She hardly ever went out, didn't have a job, rarely saw her daughter, couldn't socialize with her neighbors because she had a speech impediment. What does that tell you?'

He shrugged. 'She was difficult? Unlikeable? Divorced from reality?'

'Probably all of those things ... but why did children like being with her?'

'She let them watch her television.'

More finger pointing. 'Right. And why did she do that?'

Jonathan shook his head. 'Pass.'

'She was lonely, Jon. I'll bet Louise could have had a party in there, and Grace would have baked the biscuits.'

He stared thoughtfully down the garden, more taken by one of her earlier points. 'Howard was supposed to be starting a job at the local dairy that Wednesday afternoon,' he murmured. 'Perhaps he was intending to do it until he found Grace's body.'