‘Come on, Mab, we’ll go back and see Jess.We need to let the others know what’s happening too, there’s no point in them wandering about by the lake if George is on his way to Brighton.’Den put an arm around Mab and guided her gently past the queue of people that had built up behind her at the ticket desk, and headed towards the exit, earning himself a grateful look from the officers.DI Smethurst smiled reassuringly and called after them, ‘Try not to worry, Ms Millington; the young bugger probably just fancied a day out and a stick of rock.He won’t have meant to worry you all.We’ll have him back with his mother before she’s had time to miss him.’
‘Huh,’ muttered Mab, ‘they have obviously not met George.Should we just get on a train to Brighton, Den?’
Den stood still and thought for a moment.‘Do you know, Mab, I reckon we should.Do you know George well enough to persuade him to come home?’
‘I’m his godmother, and his mum’s best friend, so I ought to be able to say “Yes” to that question.The trouble is, I don’t know much about kids.’
‘I don’t either, but I used to be one, so I guess we’ll be OK.Come on, if I had to pick someone to whisk off to Brighton for a dirty weekend, you’d be right at the top of the list, pregnant or not.Let’s go.We’ll ring the rest of them when we’re on our way.’
Mab smiled up at him.It was such a relief to be with someone who knew at least part of her story.‘Come on then, Den, bagsy the window seat.’
12
GEORGE
George strutted down the hill from the station in the rough direction of The Lanes, listening to his music and practising his best ‘dude’ walk.His skateboard was under his arm and his bag was slung over one shoulder; he knew he looked cool.Since last month, when he had first thought of coming to Brighton (after a really bad row with DH) George had done his research carefully.Kids on their own ran the risk of stupid grown-ups asking even stupider questions, so the trick was to look as if you knew where you were going.Ideally you were best with an iPhone glued to your ear, but Grumpy Granny had told DH that George was way too young to have his own phone.As if!Nearly everyone in Year Four had got one, except for that skinny girl from the care home, oh, and Tyrone, who was only interested in vintage cars.
Even without a phone, you needed to look as if you were on the way somewhere and you didn’t want anyone to bother you, and whatever happened, you just kept on walking.Eye contact too, that was another thing to avoid.George’s teacher was always going on at him to make more eye contact with her, but for someone who wanted to keep a low profile, it was the worst thing to do.George scowled menacingly, just in case anyone was looking, and an old lady wobbling up the hill on two sticks jumped and seemed to teeter on the edge of the gutter.
As George passed the tantalising sign for the toy and model museum, he paused.He had some spare cash, and it would only take half an hour to have a look in there.But then he thought of the reason for his journey and imagined MM’s face when he saw his son, and it was enough to keep him moving.The sun was dazzling, reflecting off the rows of houses with their white, pale pink and ice blue paint.George loved this town.Everywhere was so bright and… well… funky.People wore what they wanted to wear.He saw a couple coming towards him hand in hand and he could tell by their smiles as they walked past him that the two men didn’t mind that George had noticed their dresses.The boy walking just in front of George had lots and lots of piercings, and he was so thin that George could see his shoulder blades through his t-shirt.George bet the boy’s mum didn’t nag him to eat his mashed potatoes and greens.He bet the boy lived on burgers and fries.Yum.The thought of food made George’s tummy roll alarmingly and he stopped for a moment to check his pockets for change.
Suddenly, there was a crash, and he found himself falling to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement with a sickening crunch.He shouted in pain as his skateboard was wrenched from his hands, his wallet was pulled from his jeans pocket, and a kick, aimed at his head, connected with his chest as he tried to roll out of the way.The boy laughed at the tears which were now embarrassingly running down his cheeks.
‘See you, sucker.Next time watch your back,’ he said, as he sped off down the road on George’s skateboard.
George jumped up, seeing stars, and began to cry as he realised what this meant.DH’s credit card was gone, his precious skateboard was stolen, and all he had left was his backpack and his precious headphones.What would Dad say?George had a feeling he would get that spiky look back, the one he usually saved for the Dickhead and Grumpy Granny.Wiping his nose on his sleeve, George limped on down the road.He really needed to get to Magic Man’s secret hideout now, because he was feeling sadder than he had ever felt in all his eight years.
13
Harry, Josh and Leo returned breathlessly to the shop to find everybody – except for one person, of course – worrying about George.Sophie sat well away from the others, busy on Leo’s laptop with her phone by her side.She was frowning to herself as she tapped away at the keys and seemed to be finding all this fuss very boring.Leo was painfully aware that Sophie had taken an instant dislike to George.Earlier, he had heard Sophie telling Harry that the whole lot of them were mugs for getting in a state about a silly little boy.Didn’t they realise that this was just an attention-seeking stunt from the brat?Excluded from school at eight years old?What was all that about?Leo had not been able to hear Harry’s reply, but soon afterwards he had felt an urgent need for a short walk, and since his return, he hadn’t spoken to Sophie at all but had gone downstairs to ‘check out the crèche’ again.
Leo dug out his painting gear and found his painting overalls where he’d left them, screwed up on the floor behind the sofa.
‘Bugger, bugger, bugger…’ he heard Sophie mutter as he began to get his brushes organised.She had turned the laptop away from the rest of the people in the room and was so deeply absorbed that she didn’t appear to notice Nina wandering towards her, looking for distractions.Both she and Jess had wanted to go out looking for George immediately, but they’d been told by the police to stay put in case George came to the flat and so that they were available to be given more information if he was seen.A WPC was patrolling the area directly round their house so there was no point in staying at home.
‘Sorry, Sophie; did I make you jump?That photograph on the screensaver, is it near where you all live?’said Nina, craning her neck to see the picture.
Sophie pulled a face.‘It’s Tynemouth.Leo loves it but I prefer the city myself, actually.’
‘Why’s that?It looks beautiful there.’
‘Humph.There’s nothing but beach and a few bitty shops.Boooooooooring!’
Nina sat down next to Sophie, who inched further away.‘Are you looking for something in particular?’Nina asked.Sophie shrugged.
‘Not really, but it’s my dad’s birthday soon, so I thought I might get some ideas for his present on here.’
‘No luck?’
Sophie shook her head, flicking her hair back from her shoulders.‘I’m going to keep trying, if you don’t mind.Haven’t you got something you should be doing?Wiping the worktops?Knitting a lovely jumper?Looking for your cutesy grandson, maybe?’She gave a sarcastic little laugh.
Leo saw Nina take a deep breath.She left Sophie to her clicking again, and Leo found himself imagining what that shining curtain of hair would look like if someone was to pour a tin of gloss paint right over Sophie’s head.Had she always been such a bitch?How would he keep her amused when they were living together, just the two of them?He headed for George’s room to start painting.It was the only thing he could think of to do that wasn’t disrespectful to the seriousness of the situation.At least George would have somewhere of his own to come home to if… he corrected himself hastily… when he was found.
As he left the living area, Leo glanced around the room to check that everyone else was reasonably OK.He was beginning to feel like the papa around here, and the responsibility was getting to him a bit now.Josh seemed happy enough.He was now lying on his stomach on the rug, flicking through the TV channels.Jess had curled up with Alex in the corner of the biggest sofa, with George’s ancient comfort blanket clutched to her chest.Her grey, tear-stained face looked unutterably weary and much older than usual.Alex was trying to persuade Jess to drink some herbal tea that he’d brought with him.
‘Come on, love, just a sip.It’s really soothing and calming.You need to keep up your fluids.’
‘No, Alex, I just can’t.I’ll be sick.I hate funny tea at the best of times; I like my PG Tips, with two sugars and full-cream milk.’Alex looked at her with obvious admiration.
