On the morning of her court case, Frankie was up with the larks, and started packing her worldly goods together. Part of her wondered if she was tempting fate by doing this, but Larry seemed so certain that she would get bail this time, that it seemed extremely lazy to leave the job for somebody else to do.

Babs sat up, picked up her son and smiled as he clamped his mouth around her large, swollen breast. Kelvin’s father was the pervert who had raped her beautiful daughter, Matilda, and Babs had been worried that she wouldn’t bond with her son for that very reason. She couldn’t have been more wrong though, as the moment Kelvin had been placed in her arms, she had felt nothing but unconditional love for her child. He looked nothing like the dead monster that had helped create him, and Babs thanked God for that small mercy. Kelvin was very dark, considering his dad had been white. He was almost as black as she was.

‘Good morning, sweet child. I hope you gonna spare a thought for poor old Babs when you wake up in a nice cosy bed in some warm house tomorrow morning.’

Checking that Brett was breathing OK while he was sleeping, Frankie sat on the edge of Babs’ bed. ‘If I do get out today, I ain’t ’arf gonna miss you, mate. I’m so glad you got your trial date through and I promise if I’m still on the outside, I will attend the court every day to support you.’

Babs smiled. The thought of life inside prison without Frankie didn’t bear thinking of, but she didn’t want to dampen her friend’s spirits by telling her that. She was truly thrilled that her pal was more than likely going home and, hopefully, in four months’ time Babs would join her on the outside.

‘Why the ifs, Frankie? You goin’ home today and that’s where you deserve to be. As for me, don’t you dare worry that pretty head of yours. I’ll call you every day and that nice solicitor man, Larry, swears blind that now I’ve told the truth I will walk free. In four months’ time, sweet child, me and you can share that house with our children like we always dreamed about,’ Babs said brightly.

‘I am worried about going home though. Say Jed tries to kidnap Brett as well? I just wish I knew if the bastard was alive or dead. I’ll never be able to sleep at night until I have proof that he’s six feet under.’