The Betrayer Read Online Free PDF Page B

the table and nodded.
    ‘Well, I’m off home. You can lock him up and throw away the key for all I care. I have another son indoors, a decent one that needs me. My priorities lie with him now, not this fucking waster.’
    Head held high, Maureen marched out of the interview room.
    ‘Please don’t leave me, I’m scared, Mum. Come back, please come back.’
    As Maureen heard Tommy screaming for her, part of her wanted to hug him and assure him everything was gonna be all right. Wiping away her tears, she carried on walking. Sometimes in life you had to be cruel to be kind. Tommy had made his own choices and now he had to face the consequences. She couldn’t be there for him while he was banged up, so best she cut the apron strings now.
    Pete, Sandra’s old man, was charged with assaulting a police officer. The other three, including Ethel, had been let go with a caution. The police had originally planned to charge Ethel with assault as well, but due to her big mouth spouting non-stop and lack of cell space, they chose to let her go. After all, they had bigger fish to fry.
    Ethel gave the Old Bill a barrage of abuse as she walked out of the station. She’d wanted to stay and wait for Tommy and Maureen, but wasn’t allowed. The police told her she’d have too long a wait. They also said that if she wasn’t off their premises in five minutes flat, they’d have no alternative other than to rearrest her. ‘Fucking arseholes,’ Ethel muttered, as she trudged down the road.
    Sandra, Brenda and the other girls had made the house look as clean as a whistle. They had taken down the cards and banners, put the food away and cleared up any traces of the party. ‘It’s best she’s not reminded of it,’ Brenda insisted.
    When Ethel arrived she had no update on Tommy’s arrest, and no idea where Maureen was. Sandra made her a cup of tea and told her the little they knew. Ethel, being Ethel, was still furious about her own arrest. ‘Fucking load of cunts. What a fucking liberty,’ she kept repeating.
    Maureen’s heart was beating nineteen to the dozen as she neared her house. What the hell was she meant to tell everyone? It was such a close-knit community; everybody knew everybody. Mary Smith might live in Bethnal Green, but it was only down the road and she was still part of their community. The East End wasn’t perfect, it was littered with thieves, wide boys and scoundrels, but there was one unwritten rule: ‘You don’t shit on your own doorstep.’
    Taking a deep breath, Maureen put her key in the lock. It was time to face the music.
    Sandra was the first to greet her. ‘Well? Where’s Tommy?’ she asked expectantly, as Ethel and the others stood behind her.
    Maureen could barely look at them. ‘Get me a drink, summink strong. I need to sit down.’
    James had lain awake for hours. He was so worried about his big brother. Why had the police taken him away? And when was he coming back? Hearing his mum return, he crept onto the landing. He needed to earwig and find out what was going on.
    Maureen gulped the whole glass of brandy and put her head in her hands. Ethel guessed what had happened and decided to help her daughter-in-law out. ‘Don’t bother trying to explain, we can guess. The little bastard’s guilty? He killed Terry Smith?’
    Between sobs, Maureen somehow managed to speak. ‘Yes, Mum. Our Tommy’s a murderer, he’s admitted to it.’
    Sandra, Brenda and the other girls all glanced at one another. No one said a word.
    James frantically ran back to his room. His brother was the best, he couldn’t be a murderer. The policemen must have made a mistake. Remembering the new toy his uncle Kenny had brought him, he pulled it out from under the bed. He’d always had a thing about police cars. ‘I’m gonna be a policeman one day when I’m a big boy,’ he’d told everyone. Well, not any more – he hated them now. They’d taken away his beloved brother.
    James opened the bedroom window, ‘I hate