CHAPTER 75
I didn’t see much of Di after that night, largely because she was off doing married woman stuff, wifing with her husband. That didn’t mean it was all quiet at the House.

My first warm moment was when Charlie and Tiff, after sharing experiences with some of the other girls, asked if it would be possible to go to what I thought of as a Tech college. Neither of them was exactly stupid, but they would never be high-fliers like my first two students. They resumed their GCSEs, interrupted by their wonderful domestic experiences and a certain wonky-eyed shit, and the courses they chose were hairdressing for Tiff, which didn’t exactly surprise me, and social studies, or whatever it was called, for Charlie. That one had puzzled me, until Charlie explained.

“New life, Nana, isn’t it? All down to you. And Diane’s lot, of course. Just thinking, once everything’s, you know, sorted, I could get a job.. Do what you do, yeah?”

So I had another two girls out of the House during the day, but home to their safe place every evening, and I could see my life taking on its own pattern. Girls arrived, each with their own needs, each a different challenge, but they grew through and past those challenges, and then they flew free. If only… Serena and Andrea would always be there, a scar on my soul

You can’t win them all, Debbie Petrie Wells, so hold to the ones you have.

If Diane wasn’t so frequent a visitor, Paula stepped in. Always with Paul Welby, she was nervous at first, and I could see in her so much of the fear I still felt at sounds like footsteps on stairs, and any sudden movement near her left her flinching as if from an imminent blow. She was emerging from the haze of her addiction, though, and I began to see what had drawn Paul to her, as the intellect and brightness of soul showed through the dark clouds she had lived in since meeting a certain big man in a car. She surprised me one evening, asking for a word after she and Paul had shared a meal with us.

“Could I have a word, Debbie? Just the two of us?”

I found a room for us, taking a couple of mugs of tea in, and settled down opposite her.

“Problems, Paula?”

She shook her head, energetically.

“How could there be problems, Debbie? Bastard’s locked up, big style, and…”

She picked up her own cup and took a sip, before shaking her head as a slightly twisted grin emerged.

“Never supposed to be like this, you know? Superior school, bright girl; go to the right parties and dinners, meet a Captain of Industry or some other tosser, a white wedding, brood of Piers and Jemima, holiday cottage in the Dordogne or Tuscany, that was the plan. Not a smackhead whore in Splott, in love with a bloody copper”

I raised an eyebrow, and she smiled, far more gently.

“Yes. I mean that. Never led him on, and he never pushed it, but he was always there for us, all of us, yeah? Always treated us… No. Always SAW us as people. Big thing, that is, when you are at the bottom of everything”

She looked off through the wall for a few seconds, then turned back to me.

“Paul had an idea, and he said I should talk to you about it, number of books you have. Debbie, you ever done any writing, proper writing, not just a letter to someone?”

Memories of days in the van with books Mam had found in Canterbury, tucked into some Kentish woods, or in Cannock, trying to work out how words went together before my own exams.

“Yeah, I have. Done a bit, trying to match what I was studying. I think we all do it, we see something that looks easy, and then we find out it is actually bloody hard, but the attempt, it shows you how someone with talent does it. Why do---oh. What have you done so far, love?”

“Paul’s idea, really, but he thinks I’ve got a good story”

“Bloody astonishing one, if you can get it onto the page! What do you need?”

“Someone to give me tips, really. And second-guess what I write. An idea of structure would help”

That book came to mind once more, Steven Elliott’s horror story. I had seen how the thing worked, so I tried to get the ideas across to Paula.

“You got a title?”

She grimaced.

“I though ‘Whore’ might work, but that might also cause problems. Thinking of calling it ‘Tom’ at the moment”

“Right. Warts and all, then? Okay. Just an idea, but you start it on a shitty night, looking for trade, make it sound as nasty as possible, then jump back in time, and next thing the reader finds is you on your way to a posh school, all knee-socks and blazer. Get the scene set, plant a hook in them from page one, then settle down to the story”

No, Petrie: she does not need to read that particular book, in which Elliott’s first chapter had been an account of a rape. Cultivate that light shining from her, rather than bury it in even more shit.

I could see her aim, and I remembered Inspector Powell’s mumbled comment about shining a light under a bed, into the dark places, to make the bogeymen vanish and slay the dragons. This could be her torch.

It wasn’t that many days that Diane asked for a meeting, and once more Paula and Paul were due round. It was awkward, because Nita had just asked me if I could handle an urgent pick-up.

“Whereabouts, Nita?”

“Brecon. Girl is in a cell at the moment”

“What did she do?”

“Nothing except meet another version of Joe Evans”

“Oh shit!”

“Yeah. He got nicked, and she was left adrift. Local boys are doing me a favour, and she’s in a spare cell until we can sort her a place of safety, and the chaser is in the same nick right now. We need her away as soon as”

“What’s she got, kit, luggage, clothes?”

“What she was standing up in, Debbie”

“Not the bike, then. I’ll take the van. Details?”

“She’s called Clara. Main desk at Brecon nick, on the Cambrian Way. Ask for Sergeant Maxted. If you’re okay with picking her up, I’ll get the paperwork sorted”

“I’ll be off straight away then. You’ll be giving Maxted my name?”

“If that’s okay, my friend”

“Of course. I’ll ring you if there’s any problems”

I passed the word to the girls who were at home, and set off for the other side of the Beacons, giving thanks the weather was half decent. Nita had clearly briefed her tame Sergeant, who was actually very welcoming.

“Nice man, he is. Been charged with unlawful, etc, etc, and PeeWit, so if you can let us have an address for a statement from the girl?”

“Nope. Go through Anita Harris for that one. And peewit?”

“Possession of drugs with intent to supply. That’s why we put his door in, didn’t even know the kid was there. Had a load of coke in the house, scales, deal bags, even a bloody account book!”

“Shit. Sorry about the address, but, well, a refuge, aye?”

He nodded, clearly understanding my meaning.

“Makes life a little more complicated, but dim ots. I’ll take you to the child, aye?”

The well-worn script played out, as Clara reacted in the same old way to the idea of a ‘home’, and it took a little while before my assurances calmed her. She was in a really short dress, and it seemed I had been absolutely right to have come by van rather than bike. I kept the heater on for the whole of the trip back, and as I pulled into the back lane, Charlie and Tiff arrived with Diane. I introduced the three to Clara, then sent her off to a spare bed with Tiff.

“Another one picked up by a chaser, Di. Didn’t want to say that in front of Tiff. Charlie, love, could you do the kettle?”

Once Charlie had gone into the kitchen, I asked the obvious question, as while I now saw Diane as a friend, it was a very rare thing for her to visit without an agenda of some kind.

“And tonight’s starter for ten is…?”

“Got a proposal, girl. I’ll leave it till after, if you don’t mind. I want a clear head to see what Paula’s up to. And Charlie and Tiff out on their own now?”

There had clearly been quite a chat between Diane and my two. I forced my smile.

“Aye! They’re really coming out of their shells now, what with the threats gone, they’re feeling easier, but I still have to set boundaries. They’re not stupid, though, neither of them”

“I know that very well, and I also know they’ve got heart and soul. I’d be happy to do some coaching if they want or need it”

“Thanks, Di. They’d appreciate that. Now, you stopping for a meal?”

“Well they said they were cooking tonight, so will it be safe?”

Oh, no change in those two!

“Cheeky lying sods! Gemma prepared it yesterday; they just have to divvy it up and whack it into the microwave. Only cooking they are doing is boiling potatoes and carrots. Come on; have a cuppa, see what the new girl needs, and we’ll talk later”

“Sounds good to me”

I took her straight through to the second house, Charlie already busy in the kitchen, bless her, calling out, “Spuds and carrots cooking, Tiff will be down with Clara in five. She just wanted a wash”

Other girls were coming home, and I settled Di into a chair as tea was produced. Clara was down a couple of minutes later, starting to look more relaxed as tiff prattled away, and right on time, the doorbell went. Paul knew we would be in the main dining room, so wasn’t wasting time banging on the other kitchen door. He would still head round to that door, though. I turned to the new girl once more.

“Clara, that will be our liaison officer PC Welby. He is a good man, a real friend to us. You do not have to be here for this; if you’d prefer, you can wait in your room till he’s gone. We could bring your tea up there if you prefer”

I could see the fear still there, as well as some real determination, and she asked me in a quiet voice.

“You say he’s one of the good ones?”

“Yes. Absolutely. But he is a bloke”

“Can I stay and see how it goes, then?”

“Of course, love. I’ll just go and get him”

I went to let the two in, because of course they were joined at the hip, and as Charlie dished out Gemma’s solid stew, I did the introductions. Diane was solicitous, but she spent a lot of time talking to Paula. As that woman smiled through her answers, I was watching Clara, and seeing the familiar expressions crossing her face.

Safe. People like me. Girls like me. Girls who understand. I gave her a little wave as she savoured Gemma’s cooking.

“See what we have here, love? People who’ve stopped being victims, that are taking back control. You want in on that?”

The first real smile I had yet seen from her was followed by a simple declaration.

“I think I do, Deb!”

That brought a wave of smiles and hugs, so I left the girls to their bonding, taking Diane back to the airlock.

“That’s them settled now, so we have a few minutes. What’s on your mind, girl?”

Her nerves were off the scale, but she was as determined as ever.

“I have a possible offer to you, Deb. My boss needs to confirm it upstairs first, but if we can I’d like to come along with me to an interview. I think I know what Sammy is trying to get for us, and it would mean you watching the thing by video link. You be up for that?”

Fuck. It had to be him she was speaking of.

“This interview, Di. Would it by any chance be in Carlisle?”

“Yes. You wouldn’t be allowed to hear it, but it would be an opportunity for you to see the suspect. If we go to trial, your evidence has to be untainted, but I thought that seeing him as he is now might lay some old ghosts”

I don’t know why, for I already knew the answer, but my traitor mouth still asked the question.

“You are talking about Charlie Cooper, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I might have one other with me”

What on Earth dd she mean by ‘one other’?