Trader Jack -The Story of Jack Miner (The Story of Jack Miner Series) Read Online Free Page A

I lounged on the battered sofa and opened up the case. There was a knock on the door. It was Gill.
    'What a thoroughly unpleasant man,' she said wearily.
    She glanced at the landscape print on the wall and Mum and Dad's wedding picture on the mantelpiece.
    'Make sure that you don't leave anything personal. He's going to have an auction.'
    'Won't get much money for this lot.'
    'The creditors will get nothing. Not even the bank. All of this will go to Bailey & Baton,' she said.
    'They don't call them liquidators for nothing. What do you think of the flat?'
    'Tidy . . . clean! I'm impressed . . . I meant what I said . . . You can stay here until I find another tenant.'
    'Thanks. I'm not sure what to do.'
    'Is one of your relatives taking you in? Martin? John?'
    'Don't think so.'
    She was silent, obviously disgusted.
    'If the worst comes to the worst, you can move in with me.'
    I gave her a cup of tea and offered her a few of the leftover biscuits from the wake. We sat on the sofa and she noticed the open leather suitcase filled with photos and letters. She picked up a picture of me as a baby.
    'Sweet. Can I take a look?'
    'Sure.'
    We laughed as we sorted through the old family pictures, especially me as a kid. I opened a letter that Mum had written to Dad.
     
    Darling Bill,
    Thanks for your letter, which I received this morning.
    Cornwall is lovely and we miss you. Yesterday, we were at the tip of Land's End and looked out towards the sea. It was a beautiful day, not the drizzly weather you're having in Yorkshire.
     
    The letter went on and was signed, Much love, Jane. Lots of kisses from Jack and I.
    I passed it to Gill: 'Nice handwriting. Pity mine's not the same.'
    Gill read it and looked up at me. Her eyes had tears in them. I felt my eyes getting watery. I tried to stop, but I couldn't help myself. It just came, like a sort of coughing fit, on and on, my shoulders up and down. I wiped off the tears on my forearm.
    'Thirty nine when she died, now Dad at fifty two,' I managed to choke out.
    Gill put her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I could hear her heart beating underneath her big soft bosoms.
    'Let it out Jack . . . Don't try and stop it . . . Nothing to be ashamed of . . .'
    I was angry with myself: 'Sorry, I'm being stupid.'
    'No you're not . . . You've been very brave . . . Just turned sixteen and both parents gone. Who do you think you are? Superman?'
    We were both crying by now. She kissed me on my cheek.
    'I was depressed for months after my parents died . . . I'm also an only child . . . Don't bottle it up . . . Let it out Jack . . . Just let it out.'
    She went into the kitchen and put the kettle on: 'No arguments . . . I'm taking you out for lunch.'
     
    *   *   *
     
    After lunch with Gill, I began thinking of Sandy again. My mobile had run out of credit. So I stopped at a phone box and found her cousin Sue's number. One of Sue's brothers answered. He told me that Sue and Sandy had left for London. Sandy had managed to get tickets for the Lord's cricket test. Her cousin was playing for Australia. He thought that they were staying in Hampstead in north London, but he didn't know the address. Wouldn't give me Sue's mobile number. I kicked myself for forgetting to ask Sandy about her plans.
    Jazz and I hadn't eaten so much in a long time and were feeling full, so we went for a walk along the promenade. We reached a paddling pool, close to the beach below. It had been raining. I found a Yorkshire Post under a beach hut, put the newspaper on the wet bench and sat on the sports pages.
    The cloud had lifted and it was getting light again. A little kid, wearing just a T-shirt and a nappy, was in the water. His mother and father looked on proudly as he paddled from one end to the other. I tried not to laugh when the boy slipped and nearly fell.
    While I was watching, I felt some paper in my back pocket. I had forgotten about Bill's letter. I hadn't read it properly. For the first time, I realised that Dad had