‘And how is life treating you?’
Leanne shrugged. ‘Okay. I just keep my head down and get on with it.’
Ruth nodded.
‘I was just telling Ruth about our music,’ Tina said to Leanne. Then to Ruth, ‘It was Leanne who got me into these bands.’
‘Do you girls have somewhere to go?’ Ruth asked.
Leanne nodded. ‘I just came to collect Christina. There’s something on television we wanted to watch.’
‘Is there?’ asked Tina. ‘I can’t remember. What is it?’
‘It’s on in ten minutes,’ Leanne replied. ‘We should go now.’
‘Well, I have to be going anyway,’ Ruth told Tina. ‘I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.’
‘At the trial,’ Tina said. She fidgeted, suddenly looking very young and very scared.
Ruth took her by the shoulders. ‘It’ll be okay, love. Your defence team are doing a good job, and I’ll be there, and Karen Fitzgerald. Remember Karen?’
Tina nodded. ‘She’s nice.’
‘And your mum.’
Leanne snorted. Tina looked at the floor.
‘She’s still your mum,’ Ruth said, ‘and she might have a funny way of showing it sometimes, but she loves you.’
‘Yeah, right,’ Leanne sneered. ‘Christina, come on, we’ll be late.’
***
As soon as Ruth got back to the station, she dug out the contact details Mary had given her and rang the number for Jenny Thomas. She was in luck: the phone was answered and Ruth explained who she was and why she was calling.
‘Leanne Davidson is a strange one.’ Ruth heard Jenny Thomas settle back in her chair. ‘The family are habitual criminals going back several generations, so her role models haven’t been the best.’ She barked a laugh. ‘To say the least. She’s also a manipulative kid. If you’ve been around her, you’ll already know what a sneaky little thing she can be.’
Ruth thought of how each time she’d visited Tina in the YOI, Leanne had shown up as if by magic. ‘Yes,’ she agreed. She remembered Penny’s description of her. ‘She’s like smoke.’
‘That’s a good way to put it. She almost seems to seep into a room. She does the same with people’s heads, by the way. Insinuates herself into their hearts, minds and lives. Then, once she’s in there, she starts to fuck about with them.’
‘Is that what happened at your place?’ asked Ruth.
‘Pretty much. She attached herself to a girl called Tessa Clarke. Tessa’s a bit older but nowhere near as smart as Leanne. One day she’s hanging around, trying to be a part of Tessa’s gang, next thing you know, they’re having an affair.’
‘Mary McCluskey said it was a crush.’
‘Mary McCluskey’s a bit naïve. It went much further than that. Leanne wanted to be Tessa’s girl because Tessa had a gang and with that went power. Where she tripped up was, she tried to manipulate Tessa and to make her fall out with her close pals. She drove a wedge between Tessa and a couple of the other girls before Tessa realised what was happening. Once she did, she and Leanne had a massive fight and the next thing you know, the girls in here are in two distinct gangs that are at each other’s throats. Leanne was loving it. She feeds on chaos.’
‘How did she cause the rift in the first place?’
‘She’s a little shit stirrer. She’ll say to one girl, “You know, so and so laughs at you behind your back”, then say the same thing or something similar to the other. Next thing you know, the two girls in question are eyeing each other up and spoiling for a fight. What they don’t do is ask each other if it’s true. She plays on people’s weaknesses and sets them up to fight just so she can enjoy watching the show.’
‘She’s very close to a kid in the new place.’
‘Well, if she’s a kid you give a damn about, you want to look for a way to split them up, and soon. Oh, and just so you know, Leanne was also known to be the primary resource for the pill poppers. We think her brother brings them in, but we never caught either of
Leanne shrugged. ‘Okay. I just keep my head down and get on with it.’
Ruth nodded.
‘I was just telling Ruth about our music,’ Tina said to Leanne. Then to Ruth, ‘It was Leanne who got me into these bands.’
‘Do you girls have somewhere to go?’ Ruth asked.
Leanne nodded. ‘I just came to collect Christina. There’s something on television we wanted to watch.’
‘Is there?’ asked Tina. ‘I can’t remember. What is it?’
‘It’s on in ten minutes,’ Leanne replied. ‘We should go now.’
‘Well, I have to be going anyway,’ Ruth told Tina. ‘I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.’
‘At the trial,’ Tina said. She fidgeted, suddenly looking very young and very scared.
Ruth took her by the shoulders. ‘It’ll be okay, love. Your defence team are doing a good job, and I’ll be there, and Karen Fitzgerald. Remember Karen?’
Tina nodded. ‘She’s nice.’
‘And your mum.’
Leanne snorted. Tina looked at the floor.
‘She’s still your mum,’ Ruth said, ‘and she might have a funny way of showing it sometimes, but she loves you.’
‘Yeah, right,’ Leanne sneered. ‘Christina, come on, we’ll be late.’
***
As soon as Ruth got back to the station, she dug out the contact details Mary had given her and rang the number for Jenny Thomas. She was in luck: the phone was answered and Ruth explained who she was and why she was calling.
‘Leanne Davidson is a strange one.’ Ruth heard Jenny Thomas settle back in her chair. ‘The family are habitual criminals going back several generations, so her role models haven’t been the best.’ She barked a laugh. ‘To say the least. She’s also a manipulative kid. If you’ve been around her, you’ll already know what a sneaky little thing she can be.’
Ruth thought of how each time she’d visited Tina in the YOI, Leanne had shown up as if by magic. ‘Yes,’ she agreed. She remembered Penny’s description of her. ‘She’s like smoke.’
‘That’s a good way to put it. She almost seems to seep into a room. She does the same with people’s heads, by the way. Insinuates herself into their hearts, minds and lives. Then, once she’s in there, she starts to fuck about with them.’
‘Is that what happened at your place?’ asked Ruth.
‘Pretty much. She attached herself to a girl called Tessa Clarke. Tessa’s a bit older but nowhere near as smart as Leanne. One day she’s hanging around, trying to be a part of Tessa’s gang, next thing you know, they’re having an affair.’
‘Mary McCluskey said it was a crush.’
‘Mary McCluskey’s a bit naïve. It went much further than that. Leanne wanted to be Tessa’s girl because Tessa had a gang and with that went power. Where she tripped up was, she tried to manipulate Tessa and to make her fall out with her close pals. She drove a wedge between Tessa and a couple of the other girls before Tessa realised what was happening. Once she did, she and Leanne had a massive fight and the next thing you know, the girls in here are in two distinct gangs that are at each other’s throats. Leanne was loving it. She feeds on chaos.’
‘How did she cause the rift in the first place?’
‘She’s a little shit stirrer. She’ll say to one girl, “You know, so and so laughs at you behind your back”, then say the same thing or something similar to the other. Next thing you know, the two girls in question are eyeing each other up and spoiling for a fight. What they don’t do is ask each other if it’s true. She plays on people’s weaknesses and sets them up to fight just so she can enjoy watching the show.’
‘She’s very close to a kid in the new place.’
‘Well, if she’s a kid you give a damn about, you want to look for a way to split them up, and soon. Oh, and just so you know, Leanne was also known to be the primary resource for the pill poppers. We think her brother brings them in, but we never caught either of
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