The Informant by Susan Wilkins Page B

certainly resented all the years when Ellie had checked out and left her kids to fend for themselves.
    Joey caught the direction of his sister’s critical gaze. ‘Bit of a turn-up, eh?’
    ‘How’d it happen?’
    ‘Dunno really. When the old man had his stroke, Brian was driving her, y’know, taking care of things generally.’
    ‘I didn’t imagine it started before that. He’d’ve killed ’em both.’
    Joey didn’t reply, he didn’t have to. Their father’s violence had always been part of their lives, it didn’t merit any discussion.
    Kaz turned to her brother and scanned his face. ‘So when’s someone gonna tell me about Natalie?’
    Joey avoided her eye at the mention of their sibling. Natalie was their baby sister, twelve years old when Kaz went down.
    ‘Ain’t no secret babes. She and Mum had their ups and downs. Nat moved out last year.’
    It sounded innocuous enough, but Kaz could sense from his tone that there was more to it than that.
    ‘Where’s she living now then?’
    ‘Down Southend.’
    Kaz nodded, she could see this was going to be hard work, but she persisted. ‘On her own?’
    Joey’s jaw visibly tightened. ‘With some fella.’
    He jumped up, strode over to Ashley, who was patiently guiding Terry’s mechanized wheelchair round the garden. ‘Go on mate, get yourself a beer. I’ll take over.’
    Joey pointed the wheelchair in the direction of the shrubbery. Kaz watched them go, Terry’s inert bulk hunched in the chair, Joey walking beside him, controlling the joystick with one hand
but staring straight ahead, completely ignoring his father.
    Ellie was laying the table so Kaz got up too and went to help her.
    ‘Bet you don’t recognize this old garden. Joey knew this lad from school, got his own landscape gardening business. He done the whole thing. They brought in plants by the lorry
load.’
    Kaz smiled at her mother’s pleasure. ‘It does look great.’
    ‘Cost a fortune. But Joey didn’t care, paid for the lot. Y’know, since your dad was took bad and with Sean inside, he’s stepped up to the mark has Joey. I think quite a
few people have been surprised. Truth be told, I was meself a bit. You seen these?’ Ellie held up a fine porcelain plate. It was a good fourteen inches in diameter and had a gold band round
the circumference. ‘I love these plates. Got a whole set from John Lewis.’
    She chattered on, laying out the plates, arranging knives, forks, napkins, on the table. Everything matched, most of it looked new. One thing was clear to Kaz: Joey had decided to give his
mother the life that Terry had promised but never really delivered.
    ‘You see much of Natalie then?’
    Ellie’s busy hands stopped. She shrugged off the question. ‘Now and then.’
    ‘So what’s she get up to down in Southend?’
    Ellie became preoccupied with adjusting all the place mats. ‘How the bloody hell should I know? She’s eighteen, she don’t talk to me. And if I recall, you was the same at that
age.’
    Kaz did recall. At eighteen she’d been strung out on a cocktail of crack, coke, booze and a myriad of other drugs. Being the daughter of Terry Phelps had carried one advantage: when it
came to getting your hands on illegal substances no one said no to you. More often than not they just gave you the stuff for free.
    Brian carried a huge platter of meat from the barbecue over to the table. ‘Who’s ready for a nice juicy steak? Come on, ’fore it gets cold.’
    Kaz helped Ashley set chairs round the table. Ellie flapped her arms and shouted, ‘Joey! Come on lovey, we’re ready to eat.’
    Joey steered the wheelchair back in the direction of the patio area and parked Terry up at the head of the table. Finally they all sat down.
    Ellie looked round beaming, her face flushed. ‘I been so looking forward to this day. Kaz coming home. The family all together. It’s as it should be.’
    Kaz looked at her father, his empty carcass still a baleful presence. She thought