“What can I get you?”
“Nothing actually. I’m here to see you.”
Charlie looked worried, her mind perhaps jumping to conclusions.
Andrew put his hands up to reassure her that he wasn’t after her number or anything else as inappropriate or weird. “I just wanted to ask you a question, that’s all. Nothing big.”
She relaxed a little, her shoulders lowering. “You want to ask about Frankie, don’t you?”
Andrew nodded.
“He came in here last night, right before closing. Ordered fish and chips just like you did. I thought it was a coincidence.”
“It wasn’t,” said Andrew.
Charlie leant forward on the counter and let out a sigh. “I really don’t want to get involved. I told you to be careful.”
Andrew stepped forward. “I know you did, because you’re a nice, caring person. I need you to keep being that way, because this animal is endangering my family.”
Charlie looked up from the counter and made eye-contact with him. Her eyes were blue and seemed to shimmer with sadness. “What do you want to know?”
Andrew scratched at his head. “I don’t know really. How do you know Frankie?”
“Went to school with him.”
“And?”
Charlie shrugged. “And he was a nightmare. Beating other kids up, vandalising anything he could get his hands on, stealing, drinking, shagging. You name it and Frankie Walker did it. Eventually he went down for something or other. Assault I think.”
“He went to a young offender’s home?”
“Yeah, he was only a kid at the time.”
Andrew laughed. “That’s all he is now. They should have kept him locked up.”
“I agree.”
“So what is he doing around here? I’ve never seen him before recently.”
“He lives around here,” said Charlie.
Andrew shook his head. “No way. This is a nice area.”
“Used to be. Council brought some of the property around here for ‘social housing’. Remember my dad kicking up a big fuss about it at the time; got a petition going and everything.”
Andrew leant forward onto the counter and let the weight off his legs. “I can’t believe they would put someone like Frankie in a nice part of town.”
“Where else should they put him? Keep the poor with the poor, right?”
Andrew straightened back up. “No…I don’t know what I think at the mument. I guess I just thought all council houses were grouped together.”
Charlie shrugged. “I think that’s how it used to be. My dad said the Government wanted to space out council properties to avoid creating ‘ghettos’. That’s the right word, yeah?”
Andrew nodded. “Yeah, ghetto is right. Except now it seems that we’re all getting a little slice of ghetto to call our own.”
The shop’s door opened behind Andrew. Charlie performed her greeting smile as a customer walked in.
Guess everyone gets the smile. Not just me.
“Look,” said Charlie, leaning forwards conspiratorially. “Like I said, I don’t want to get involved. But I can tell you that Frankie lives somewhere on Tanner’s Avenue. I know because a girl who used to be my best friend is now a drugged-up skank, thanks to him. I haven’t spoken to her in months, but that’s where she used to go see him when we were still friends.”
Andrew nodded and said thanks, but the girl was already serving the customer, acting as though their conversation had never happened. Probably for the best, thought Andrew as he left the shop and headed home.
So Frankie lives nearby? Perhaps he has parents there? He’s still just a kid, so someone should be in charge of him. Maybe someone that has a little bit of control over him.
Andrew didn’t hold up much hope, but it was a possibility. Perhaps Frankie would leave him alone if his own family knew of his behaviour. Andrew considered making the journey to Tanner’s lane later that evening.