by Ali Gardner
Janey suddenly panicked as she remembered that she, too, had stolen something that was very personal to the Pig. “Does that mean I am a suspect and I will go to jail too, Dad?”
“Why ever would you go to jail, Janey?”
Janey burst into tears and told Dad how she had stolen the photographs from the Pig’s house when she had been locked in the cupboard. Dad hugged Janey, and Julie promised her that she had not committed a crime but that she had been very brave and actually helped solve one.
Eventually, Julie suggested that there was little more that could be done that evening, and that she would therefore leave so that Dad could take the girls to see Grandad. She gave Dad a small card with her name and telephone number on it, along with an official badge of her police force. Julie told Dad that he could ring her at any time, but that she would contact him as soon as there was further information.
Dad picked up the girls’ coats and said that they were going to see Grandad in hospital. Janey had to admit that she had half forgotten about Grandad. Suddenly, the guilt of temporarily forgetting about him, along with the thought of seeing him in hospital, brought a lump to her throat, and she felt the familiar sting in her eyes that always hit moments before the tears would fall.
As if having read her thoughts, Dad said to the girls, “Libby and Janey, you have done an amazing job today, and your Grandad is going to be very proud of you both.”
Chapter 19 - Hospitals and Heart-Healthy Diets
Seeing Grandad with lots of tubes attached to his chest and arms made the girls feel quite nervous as they stood very close to Dad. Grandad opened his eyes, and a broad smile lit up his face as he winked at the girls. Although nervous, Janey wanted to touch Grandad, so she bent forward and gently kissed his forehead.
Grandad smiled and whispered into her ear, “Look under the pillow, Janey.”
As Janey lifted the pillow, she saw two familiar white paper bags. Knowing instantly what they were and which was which, she handed Libby her lemon bonbons, whilst she unwrapped her first chocolate éclair. Never have Grandad’s sweets tasted so good, thought the girls. Grandad told Dad that he couldn’t remember what had happened, but said that he thought he had seen a ghost of Mum in the house and he had been so shocked. Before arriving at Grandad’s bedside, the nurse had asked Dad to make sure Grandad stayed calm and to avoid asking him lots of questions tonight, as he was quite confused after the blow to his head. It wasn’t easy for Dad to keep Grandad calm, as the girls insisted on telling him everything that had happened that day and in the weeks before, and how there had been so many police in the house on walkie-talkies and Dad had been handcuffed in the middle of the street. Dad eventually said that it was time to go, and he reassured Grandad that Grandma was being looked after by her sister and that Grandad would stay with himself and the girls when he left the hospital until he was fit enough to go home. As they drove home, Dad explained to the girls that Grandad had suffered a small heart attack, but he would make a full recovery. Dad also explained to the girls that one of the reasons this may have happened to Grandad was that he was not very healthy and was eating too many sugary foods.
Dad said it would be their job to make sure Grandad had a much healthier lifestyle when he leaves hospital. “But I think healthy diets are for tomorrow – and tonight, girls, its Chinese takeaway at the May-Do!” And off they went to order the very same food they always ordered, from the same Chinese takeaway. They waited for the food to be prepared, and Libby and Janey watched the large fish in the oversized fish tank that spread right across the front of the shop.
Dad loved routine just because that was the way he was, but he also knew that routine and familiarity made Libby and Janey feel safe and secure, and this was even more important after their traumatic year with the childminder.
Chapter 20 - Detectives and Discoveries
The next day, Libby woke up early to hear Dad having a very serious conversation on the phone. She crept downstairs, keeping low so that Dad didn’t see her, and listened carefully.
“Yes, I see, that makes some sense,” she heard Dad say, and then he agreed that the police officer could visit later that day.
The police officer must have then asked about the girls, as Libby heard Dad say, “Yes, they are remarkable. I’m very proud of them both.”
Libby smiled to herself; she always loved to please her dad, and felt incredibly happy as she had failed to do so over the past few months. Dad came off the phone and made breakfast for the girls. He told them that the police were very impressed with their detective work, but they needed to come and ask a few more questions about Maggie – “or, as you like to call her, the Pig”, he smirked. The girls gasped at hearing Dad call Maggie the Pig, and giggled a little.
Dad finally said, “Well she is not called the Pig, and she is not called Maggie either, but the police will explain when they arrive.”
The police officer, Julie, arrived with another person who did not have a police uniform on. Julie introduced her as DC Halliwell, and explained that she was a detective and that she dealt with very difficult cases where there was a mystery or puzzle to solve. After settling down with a cup of tea and a biscuit and congratulating the girls on how brave and helpful they had both been, DC Halliwell explained what they knew so far. Helen Kimble was a 35-year-old woman, who had changed her name a year ago to Maggie Field when she had applied for the job as a childminder for the girls. The detective explained that she had moved to the area only two years ago with her finance, Tom Yates.
“Tom! That was the name on the watch that I saw in the drawer,” Janey blurted out. “Was the photograph of Tom as well?” she asked.
“I am sure it probably was, Janey,” replied DC Halliwell. As the detective continued, she explained that Helen had worked at a children’s nursery for many years, and that further enquiries with her employers suggested that there were never any problems with the way she treated the children.
“Well, there was a big problem with the way she treated us,” piped up Libby, quite defensively.
The detective explained that Helen and Tom had planned to marry at St Chad’s Church six months before Helen had come to be their childminder, but unfortunately, Tom had not arrived at the church on the day of the wedding.
“Yes, he probably realised what a pig she was and decided not to come,” Libby interrupted again.
Julie could see that Libby was getting quite upset by the police officers’ visit, and just put her hand softly on her knee whilst DC Haliwell continued.
The detective informed Dad and the girls that the reason Tom had not made it to the church that day was because he was tragically killed in a car accident on his way to marry Helen. Libby gasped and felt very guilty about her last comments. Julie picked up on this and just squeezed her hand gently. It had been a winter wedding, and there had been a light covering of snow on the roads the night before. On the day of the wedding, there was a severe frost, and many of the roads were frozen and treacherous. Helen had waited at the church for her husband-to-be, but eventually a relative travelling behind had sent a message to say there had been a terrible accident and that Helen should go to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late; Tom had died at the scene.
“That is truly terrible.” Dad empathised, reflecting on his own loss of a partner. “But why did she wear my wife’s dress?”
“I know,” said Janey, “because it looked just like Mum’s. We saw it in the photograph; it had the same buttons on the back, and the same flowers sewn into the skirt.”
“I think you could be right, Janey,” replied the detective. “but there was also another reason.”
On the night Tom had died, DC Halliwell explained, Helen had been so upset and angry that she went home and cut up her own wedding dress into hundreds of pieces, throwing it into the fire. She had deeply regretted doing this the next day, but it was too late; the dress was gone.
&
nbsp; “Your photograph, Janey, was the biggest clue.” The police officers had driven straight to the church and found Helen kneeling down on the ground in Mum’s wedding dress, hugging a gravestone and sobbing uncontrollably.
Janey wiped a tear from her eye. She couldn’t believe that she was actually crying for the Pig – or Helen, as she now knew her to be. DC Halliwell explained that when Helen had returned to work as a childminder, she had intended to make a new start for herself, and believed a change of name would help her forget who she used to be and her love for Tom.
“But why was she so horrible to us?” asked Janey, not quite understanding. DC Halliwell explained that Helen had described waves of anger sweeping through her body when she was least expecting it.
Julia added, “Often, people do feel very angry when someone close to them dies.”
DC Halliwell explained how Helen had soon noticed the likeness of herself to the girls’ mum from the photographs around the house. She had apparently spent hours looking at the similar details of the dress in the photograph on the mantelpiece.
“Yes, and she smashed it on purpose, Dad, and then blamed it on me and Janey, do you remember?”
“But why didn’t you say, Libby?” asked Dad.
“Because you were so upset, and we wanted to be bridesmaids at Kitty’s wedding.”
DC Halliwell continued, “She told me that she had not known the dress was in the house until the day she saw you girls trying it on.”
At this point, Dad looked a little confused and raised half an eyebrow at the girls. Libby pulled her sorry face, but Dad knew this was a minor issue in the scheme of recent events.
DC Haliwell explained that seeing the wedding dress had been just too much for Helen, and she had felt that she had to try it on. She knew it was wrong, but she had felt that everything had spun so out of control and she had done so many other things so wrong that one more could not make things any worse. “When she was caught by your Grandad, Helen apparently panicked and ran out of the house.” DC Haliwell explained that at first, she did not know where she was going, but then suddenly she knew exactly where she needed to be – and she ran as fast as she could to the church where she had buried Tom, the very same church where she should have married him. She headed straight for his grave and fell to the ground, hugging it. She had always wanted to hold Tom in her wedding dress, and realised that holding the gravestone was the closest she was ever going to get to do this.
Dad sat silently, caught between grief and anger. Libby wiped a tear away from her cheek, and Janey angrily shouted, “But why did she hurt my Grandad?! He didn’t do anything to her!”
DC Halliwell explained that this was the bit they didn’t know, as Helen had insisted that he fell down the stairs before she ran past him, and that they needed to speak to Grandad once he felt a little better.
Now that the detective had explained everything they knew about the situation, she needed the girls to tell her everything that had happened while Helen was their childminder. She apologised for the girls having to relive all the horrible memories, but said that it was important that all the facts were known. It was an exhausting afternoon for everyone. Libby and Janey competed to tell all the stories, and as they did so, they all started to see the connections between Helen getting angry and weddings. First it was the photograph of Mum in her dress, then Kitty’s wedding announcement, and then the girls dressing up in the wedding dress. DC Halliwell and Julie struggled to write at the speed the girls were talking. Every now and then, Janey would jump off the sofa and attempt to do a headstand. Dad was trying to stop Janey, but to no avail; in the end, DC Haliwell encouraged Dad to let Janey tell her stories from an upside down position if she found it more comfortable, which she did. Dad was finding it hard to listen to everything that had gone on, and he continually apologised to the girls and shook his head. He felt that he had failed as a father, and promised himself and the girls that he would never disbelieve them again.
After a few hours, DC Halliwell said that the girls had been very helpful and that she had a lot of information, and it was time that she left the girls to enjoy their Saturday together.
She suggested that Dad might want to take them somewhere nice for the rest of the afternoon.
“The swimming pool,” the girls screamed in unison, as they laughed at the fact they had both had the same idea.
“Well, that’s decided,” replied Dad, and off they all went.
After a couple of hours in the swimming pool – which mainly involved various activities and challenges underwater, including trying to talk to one another and doing handstands – the girls and Dad went to visit Grandad. They stopped on the way to buy him a couple of gifts and a ‘get well’ card. Janey had picked out a couple of Grandad’s favourite chocolate bars and some spicy crisps that she knew he liked, but Dad refused to buy them, explaining that Grandad now needed healthy gifts – so they took him some grapes and a magazine called Healthy Living. Janey didn’t think the magazine looked like something Grandad would like, but she didn’t say anything. Dad explained that it had lots of tips for exercise and healthy recipes that Grandad would need to start using so that he could get better.
Chapter 21 - Homecomings and Healing
Grandad was so much brighter than the day before as he told Dad that he had spoken to DC Haliwell and remembered what had happened at the top of the stairs. He said that he had been trying to surprise the girls and, as he reached the top of the stairs, he thought he could see Mum in her wedding dress. He had been so shocked, as he thought it was a ghost – but then when the ghost turned around, Grandad said he was even more shocked, as the ghost had the wrong face. He said he had felt a sharp pain in his chest, and that he remembered falling backwards and that he couldn’t stop himself. So it was now confirmed that the Pig had not pushed Grandad down the stairs. Grandad came home a few days later, and Libby and Janey had painted a ‘Get Well Grandad’ message on an old sheet that Dad had given them. Libby and Janey had made Grandad’s room look very special, with a few flowers from the garden and a bowl of grapes by his bed. Libby had prepared an exercise plan for Grandad, with some very gentle activities that she had found on the Internet for older people recovering from a heart attack. It was in the form of a spreadsheet with one column naming the activity, one to record when it was completed and an additional column for any comments.
Grandad laughed when he saw it and said, “Oh, I wonder where she got the idea for a spreadsheet from; I had better make sure I stick to it then, hadn’t I?” They all laughed. Soon, things got back to normal, although it was hard for
Dad to think about employing another childminder. Grace and Hope’s mum said she would help look after the girls for the last few weeks of term so that Dad could have a bit more time to think about it. Libby and Janey were thrilled by this idea.
A week later, DC Halliwell came to speak to Dad in private about the next steps. She explained that Helen was very sorry for all the pain she had caused, and that she was currently in a rehabilitation unit for people suffering from depression. There had been a medical report to suggest that Helen was suffering from a mental illness called post- traumatic stress syndrome disorder following the sudden loss of Tom, and she was currently receiving treatment.
Dad needed to think about whether he wanted the police to press charges or not. Dad said he didn’t want to make it harder for Helen, as he could appreciate how the loss had affected her, but he was worried about her working with other children in the future. DC Halliwell assured Dad that there were ways to stop this happening, and she agreed that it might be better to avoid the girls having to go through a court case and talking about it again and again. She offered Dad support in helping the girls to deal with the events of the last year. Dad thanked the detective, but said that after all the hard knocks that the girls had faced in the last couple of years, they just needed to get their little family back, working towards
a new future.
Chapter 22 - Love and Lanterns
“One more sleep to go and it will be the wedding,” cried Janey as she burst into Libby’s room early on Friday morning. Libby and Janey had a very exciting weekend ahead of them. They were to leave school one hour early that day and drive to their old house to stay with Carol, their old next-door neighbour, before the wedding on the Saturday. Dad managed to get the girls to school while organising all the bags, outfits, shoes, hair brushes, bobbles, etc. At 2pm, he picked them up from school, which was very exciting for the girls as they marched out of class early with their teachers and friends wishing them well.
Driving back to their old home felt strange, and the first thing Dad wanted to do was go to the grave, but he was worried about whether this was the right thing to do with the girls.
As he was thinking about what would be right, Libby piped up. “Dad, we are going to see Mummy first, aren’t we?”
Dad secretly smiled, and said that sounded like a great idea. They all went to the grave with some flowers, and told Mum about their exciting year and then about the wedding. Dad was so proud that the girls could just chat away to their mum, and although a little tearful in places, the girls coped and were pleased to have visited.
Friday evening was great fun for the girls, as they got to tell their exciting stories again and again as friends visited them at Carol’s house. Carol had prepared sandwiches, crisps and cakes, and invited all their old friends to pop in. Libby and Janey’s old friends laughed at their new accents, and kept asking them to say things again and again.