Birds Of A Feather Episode 29
Jess turned away as Frank got back in his van. She wanted to run after him and beg him not to go, but she didn’t.
Jess felt an aching sense of loss as she watched Frank’s van ease its way towards the exit, the cheery yellow sunflowers on the rear doors a stark contrast to her mood.
Had she let the Ryans get too close? No. They hadn’t wanted to know her.
But she had been guilty of letting the idea of having a family get too close.
She’d begun to dream about getting to know her parents by talking to people who’d known and loved them.
It would have added a few missing pieces to the jigsaw of her childhood.
Her heart lurched as she saw the van suddenly stop. Had Frank changed his mind?
The flicker of hope died when she saw a police car blocking Frank’s exit.
The policeman got out and went up to him.
“Get out of the van, please, sir,” he demanded.
Jess gave a start as she recognised Ben’s voice.
“Ben!” She hurried towards them. “What’s all this about?”
He gave her a warning glance and took her to one side.
“I’m on official business, Jess,” he said in a low voice. “Stay well out of it.”
Frank climbed out of the van.
“What’s the problem?” he asked, his tone polite but his eyes wary.
“I’m following up a report about a number of cattle going missing not far from here,” Ben said.
“And you’ve come to check if I’ve got them stowed away in my van, is that it?” Frank said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“You’re welcome to check it out. I don’t suppose you’ve got a search warrant.”
“Do I need one?” Ben asked as the two men faced each other.
“Ben, don’t be ridiculous,” Jess said.
He ignored her.
“Do you have permission of the landowner to camp here?” he asked Frank.
“We’re not camping,” Frank replied evenly. “I was about to leave before you blocked the exit.
“The other van had broken down and I came here to fix it.”
“So how long have you been here?” Ben asked.
“About an hour.”
“And him?” He pointed at Sam.
Frank shrugged.
“Sam?” Frank beckoned him over. “The officer wants to know how long you’ve been here.
“Some cattle have gone missing. Have you been playing cowboys?”
“Of course I haven’t,” Sam muttered. “I’ve been here all the time.”
Ben folded his arms and stared at Sam, who flushed and kicked the toe of his trainer against the ground.
“Is that right?” Ben asked. “Because we have reports of a person matching your description beside the field just before the cattle were taken. Was that you?”
Sam’s eyes were scared. He looked to Frank for reassurance.
“Was he with you all morning?” Ben turned to Frank.
“I’ve only been here an hour,” Frank replied. “I’ll tell you this for nothing, though.
“He wouldn’t go within a mile of cattle. Scared to death of them.”
“And he couldn’t have been at Back Lane at half past eleven,” Jess added, taking pity of Sam.
“I saw him at Billington Grange. He was talking to Kevin Brigstocke.
“I’m sure he’ll be able to confirm that, if you ask him.”
“Don’t.” Sam was panic-stricken. “I wasn’t anywhere near Billington Grange. If you want to fit me up for the cattle, so be it.”
Jess stared at him in astonishment and Sam shot her a look that would have frozen boiling oil.
“Don’t listen to her, officer. I swear I was nowhere near Billington Grange.”
Ben took out his notebook and wrote something down.
Then he walked across to the vans and took down their licence plates before turning back to Sam.
“I might want to talk to you again. Your full name?”
Sam sighed.
“Samuel Michael Weston.”
“Address?”
Sam shrugged. He looked across at Ed’s van.
“Don’t have one,” he muttered. “I was staying with my brother and his wife in Glastonbury, but they kicked me out.”
“And you?” Ben turned to Frank, who pointed to his van. “Do you have a permanent address?”
Frank shook his head.
“Any relatives where you can be contacted?” Ben went on.
“Frank’s my grandfather,” Jess declared. “Frank and Maureen Ryan are my father’s parents.”
Ben’s lips tightened, his eyes shadowed by the peak of his cap.
He took her arm and walked her a distance away from Frank and Sam.
“We need to talk. I’ll call you later, OK?”
Jess shook her head.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
He stared at her and was about to say something when his radio crackled into life.
He moved away to answer it, then got in his car and drove off without looking back.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Frank said to Jess as they watched the car disappear.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but you didn’t need to tell him about our relationship.
“Although I do appreciate the way you tried to stand up for Sam and me.”
“She didn’t do me no favours,” Sam growled. “She’s probably got me into a whole load of trouble!”
“He was just on a fishing expedition,” Frank replied.
“Happens all the time. Whatever goes wrong, we always get the blame.”
“It’s not him,” Sam began, then shrugged and walked away.
Frank turned to Jess.
“We’re going to have to hang around the area for a few more days.
“If we set off now it’ll look like we did have something to do with those missing cattle.”
“That’s great –” Jess began, but he cut in.
“No,” he said gently. “This changes nothing. You’re not of our world, Jess, and you never will be.”
He broke off with a sigh.
“Go on.” A lump as hard as a golf ball had formed in Jess’s throat and she forced herself to meet his gaze.
“I wish I’d known about you sooner. I wish we’d been there for you.”
“You still can . . .” Jess began to say, but stopped.
It was already too late.