Read Online Crying in the Dark by Shane Dunphy - Free Book Online Page B

few months they’d been in care. I doubted it would cause them to behave any differently. I was right.
    Screams and whoops were the only response these remarks received.
    I suddenly noticed that the three were standing back, slightly behind me. It seemed they wanted to see what I could do.
    ‘Why don’t you try talking to them?’ Bríd whispered. ‘They might respond better to a stranger.’
    Everything I knew about childcare told me this was not true, but I took a deep breath and moved over closer to the table. I hunkered down so that I could see them. They were identical twins, very much alike, the only real differences the varying patterns of the scarring all over their bodies from years of savage beatings, the different sexual organs and the fact that Francey’s hair had been kept long, while Larry’s had been closely cropped. I scooted over nearer to them so that I was just at the edge of the table, reached into my pocket and took out two sugar-free lollipops. If in doubt, resort to bribery.
    ‘Hey, kids, you don’t know me. My name’s Shane. Listen, I’m going to be coming here for a while, to hang out with you. I’d like to be friends …’ I held out the lollipops.
    ‘Isn’t this rewarding bad behaviour?’ muttered Bríd, loudly enough that the children could hear it.
    ‘No, Bríd, this is me not being judgemental about the behaviour of two obviously distressed children,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘Now let me work!’
    The twins were eyeing me nervously, lumps of half-chewed bread sticking out of their mouths. I took the plastic wrapping off the lollipops and held them out again. With a loud gulp, Francey swallowed her bread and leaned her head forward, sniffing the air. The posture of the two children was unusual. They were right down on their haunches. Their heads were bent low, so that their shoulders were rounded. Their demeanour suggested that they were far more comfortable on all fours than they were when upright. I heard a trickling, fluid sound, and realized that Francey had just urinated where she was sitting. Her facial expression had not changed. She hadn’t voided her bladder from fear – she had done it because she wanted to. The acrid aroma of the urine wafted up to me, but I gave no sign of noticing it. I kept my eyes on the children. Bríd, on the other hand, groaned and sighed loudly, and stomped over to a cupboard, producing a mop. I’m going to have some serious problems with that one, I thought.
    ‘Lookit what him’s got there.’
    It was said in a whisper, but I caught it.
    ‘Them’s sucky sweets, them are.’
    Larry had spat out his mouthful of bread and was eyeing the lollipops greedily.
    ‘Him’s a quare one,’ Francey said quietly. ‘Lookit him’s longish locks! Him’s liken a girl, so he is.’
    The speech patterns were indeed peculiar. There were aspects of the kind of dialect children from the traveller community use, but there was a very definite old-fashioned inflection. Their accent was not that of Oldtown; it was almost rural. I was anxious to hear more, and edged forward a little, ducking my head so that I was just under the table too. It was cramped and uncomfortable, and I felt my boots sloshing through Francey’s fresh urine, but I was now close enough for them to reach the sweets without having to move out of their bolt-hole.
    ‘You’re talking about my long hair,’ I said, keeping my tone calm and conversational. ‘You haven’t seen long hair on a man before?’
    They ignored the fact that I was talking, still eyeing me but only addressing each other.
    ‘Him’s hair’s liken a girly all right,’ Larry said. ‘But lookit, there’s a fuzz outen his face. Girls don’t got no fuzz onna their faces, Francey.’
    Francey reached out a hand toward the lollipops. I didn’t move. She thought better of it for a second, pulling her arm back in, but then seemed to change her mind and edged forward. In a sudden burst of motion she was right up