by R. G. Adams
As the three of them made their way up the Coopers’ drive, Kit saw a movement at one of the downstairs windows and a face appeared. Kit met Matthew Cooper’s eyes and she registered his expression. It was fleeting but she saw no hint of surprise. Was it nonchalance, or a touch of arrogance?
Beth rang the bell. Kit hung back, still hoping to stay in the background. The door was opened by a small girl with a pretty face and a wild tangle of blonde curls. This must be Chloe, Kit thought.
‘Yes, can I help you?’ Chloe said. She seemed totally unfazed by the appearance of three strangers at the door. Kit suppressed a smile. She liked the child immediately.
‘Can we come in, sweetheart?’ Beth asked. ‘We need to speak to Mam or Dad.’
‘Who shall I say is asking? Because you are strangers, aren’t you?’ Beth was caught off guard by this, Kit could see. She didn’t want to have to tell Chloe that it was the police and social services at the door.
‘You must be Chloe,’ Kit said, reluctantly taking the lead. ‘My name’s Kit. You are quite right not to let strangers into the house, Chloe. Would you tell your mum or dad that there are three people here to talk to them, please? We’ll wait out here while you do.’
Chloe stood, swinging the front door back and forth, weighing things up.
‘Who is it, Chlo?’ Mr Cooper interrupted Chloe’s deliberations, appearing behind her in the hallway. His face wore a questioning expression now. He came to the door and Chloe darted back into the house and left them to it.
‘Are you Matthew Cooper?’ Beth asked.
‘Yes. What can I do for you?’
‘Can we come in?’ Beth flashed her badge at him. ‘D.S. Beth Mackay, CID.’
Matt Cooper hesitated. ‘Nothing wrong, I hope?’
‘Might be best if we come in, sir. It’s not really something to discuss on the doorstep.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Matt Cooper stood back to let them into the house. The hallway was cool and dim, and the sudden change in temperature made Kit shiver as the sweat chilled on her damp back. The house was full of the smell of dinner cooking, something spicy. Matt Cooper led them into a living room, where his wife sat on the end of a brown leather sofa watching the news, a glass of red wine in her hand. On the floor, a little boy was playing on an iPad.
Mrs Cooper looked up as they trooped in. She looked at the three of them in turn, her gaze finally resting upon Kit, taking in her skinny jeans and her Superdry coat. Mrs Cooper herself was turned out like a catalogue model, in a lilac tunic top and cream palazzo pants. Her silver earrings matched her necklace and her long blonde hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. She wore high-heeled lilac sandals with straps around the ankle, the sort that Kit knew bit into your flesh at every step. Annie Cooper didn’t want to spoil her look with a pair of slippers, Kit realised. She could certainly see where the common ground lay between Mrs Cooper and Jean Collins.
‘Cameron, go and do that in your room, please,’ Matt Cooper said. Cameron tutted but he got up and left without further argument, showing a nine-year-old boy’s complete lack of curiosity about adult affairs. Matt Cooper waved his hand at the sofa and two armchairs. They sat down, Dai and Beth taking the sofa next to Mrs Cooper, while Kit ended up in the chair directly opposite her. All three perched uncomfortably on the edge of their seats. Sitting back would seem relaxed, and therefore too friendly. Kit’s skin prickled as she waited for someone to speak. She suppressed another shiver. Matt Cooper stood by the bay window, one hand on the windowsill and the other in his trouser pocket, either very calm or very determined to appear it.
‘Annie, these are police officers, CID—’ Matt Cooper started.
‘What’s wrong? Has something happened?’ his wife interrupted him. ‘Is it my mum?’
‘Actually, this is D.S. Davies from the Public Protection Unit, and Miss Goddard here is a social worker,’ Beth said. The Coopers both looked at Kit, and again, Kit felt Mrs Cooper appraising her. Returning the stare, she took the opportunity to study Annie Cooper’s expression. She could see that Annie had no idea what was coming next. Her brow was furrowed, and her hand still held the glass of wine in mid-air.
Beth kept her eyes on Matt Cooper’s face. ‘Mr Cooper, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to the station—’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’ Annie Cooper broke in. She stood up and placed her glass of wine on the mantelpiece. Then she turned towards Beth, her face furious.
‘I am sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs Cooper, but we need to speak to your husband in relation to an investigation that we are conducting.’
‘What investigation?’
‘Annie, sit down,’ Matt Cooper said quietly. His wife looked at him with surprise, but she did as she was told, sinking back onto the sofa where she fixed Beth with a simmering stare.
‘Could you explain what this is all about, D.S. Mackay?’ Matt Cooper asked. He smiled warmly at Beth. ‘I’m sure you must be able to give me some idea. Is your superior officer fully aware of what’s going on here, I wonder? D.I. Kirk, isn’t it? I’ve known her for some years, of course.’
So, Mr Suave he might be, Kit thought, but he wasn’t above delivering a veiled threat. He was definitely someone who was used to getting his own way, and especially with women. It wasn’t going to wash with Beth, though; she was unmoved by him, and what’s more, she was already running out of patience.
‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more than that right now, sir,’ she said firmly, treating the remark about her D.I. as if it had never been said, which Kit thought was a great tactic and one that was certain to infuriate Matt Cooper. ‘But if you would follow me to the station, we can discuss the matter there. D.S. Davies and Miss Goddard will stay here and speak to your wife separately and they will tell her what they can. I am sure you will understand the need for that, Mr Cooper. I hope you aren’t going to cause us any difficulties. Not the best thing for the children, I am sure you would agree.’
Beth held his gaze. The moment lengthened as everyone waited to see which way Matt Cooper would fall.
‘All right then.’ His voice was taut with anger, but he clearly knew better than to turn it on Beth. ‘Let’s get this nonsense sorted out, whatever it is. I need to make a phone call first, just to make sure this really is necessary. I don’t know what all this is about, but I will be taking legal advice.’
‘Yes, of course, sir, that’s no problem at all and you will certainly be needing legal advice. Why don’t you make the call and then we can leave; you can follow me to the station and perhaps you can ask your lawyer to meet us there.’
Kit continued to watch Annie, whose incomprehension was deepening as she registered her husband’s acceptance of the situation. Matt Cooper walked to the door, where he stopped and turned to his wife. ‘Don’t worry, darling,’ he said. ’I’m sure this is something that can be sorted out in no time. It will be some kind of a mix-up, that’s all. Pure incompetence, no doubt. I’ll go and give Geoff a ring now. He’ll sort it.’
Matt Cooper left the room. Annie Cooper remained frozen in her seat, not speaking, looking from Kit to Dai and back again. Matt Cooper’s voice could be heard on the phone in the hall, but Kit couldn’t make out his words. Minutes ticked by. Kit had no idea what to say. She desperately wanted to smile at Annie Cooper, to try to make her feel better, but she knew that would look like reassurance, and that was hardly fair given what they were about to tell her. Dai sat in silence, regarding the floor, apparently unaware of the tense atmosphere. He had the ability to do this, Kit had noticed, disappearing into some alternative state when it suited him, no matter what was going on around him. She found it frustrating, but she envied it too, and she didn’t imagine that she would ever achieve it. Beth fiddled impatiently with her bunch of keys, smacking them into her palm repeatedly, a gesture which Kit thought had unfortunate connotations in the circumstances. It was
one of the most awkward situations that she had ever been in. She started to wish that someone would throw a couple of chairs.
‘Right, Geoff Lane will meet us there. He’s a very experienced criminal lawyer, as I am sure you know.’ Matt Cooper was addressing Beth as he came back into the room.
‘Criminal lawyer? What the hell . . . and what is she doing here anyway?’ Annie Cooper’s anger had settled on Kit now. ‘Jean Collins is our social worker, she knows us very well – we have a disabled daughter. So you get Jean on the phone right now, she’ll tell you there’s no problem with our children. We don’t need you here, so you can get out of our home.’
Matt Cooper crossed the room and crouched down in front of his wife, taking her hand in his and speaking gently. ‘Annie, listen. It’s obviously a mistake, isn’t it? We haven’t got anything to worry about. So just stay here and talk to them and I’ll go and get it all sorted out at the police station. You have to stay calm, Annie, because otherwise the kids will hear you and they’ll be frightened. We need to cooperate for now, and we will be making our complaints known first thing tomorrow morning.’ He touched the side of his wife’s face. The gesture was tender and reassuring, and Kit warmed to him a little, in spite of herself.
‘OK, I will,’ Annie Cooper replied, calmer now.
‘Wise words, Mr Cooper. Right, let’s make a move then, shall we?’ said Beth.
‘Sure.’ Mr Cooper followed her to the door. He turned and spoke to his wife again. ‘I’ll see you in a bit, Annie. God knows what this is about, but it’s a hundred per cent sortable, I promise. Now, just make sure the kids are OK.’
She nodded and watched him go. When the door shut behind them, Kit was glad to have something to say that was relatively easy. ‘Mrs Cooper, could I ask you first whether you need to see to the children?’ she asked. ‘We will want to speak to you for quite some time, I’m afraid, and it’s not something that you will want them to overhear. I know that Lucy has special needs, will you need to make any arrangements for her while we are speaking to you?’
Annie Cooper got up. ‘My daughter’s carer is still here. I’ll see if she can stay a bit longer and give them their tea.’ She left the room. She was gone for a few minutes, during which time Dai absented himself again. The sound of female voices carried from the kitchen and Kit thought she detected a muffled argument involving Chloe. It stopped after a few seconds and Annie Cooper returned to the room.
‘Right, now please tell me what is going on here.’ She didn’t sit down but took up her husband’s previous position by the window.
The room fell silent as Kit and Dai both waited for the other one to start. Kit wanted to grasp the right words, but they kept slipping away. She knew that these were the last few seconds of Annie’s ‘before’ – the biggest ‘before’ of her life. No matter how much she might front it out, Annie was about to lose her certainty. In this second, she still felt sure about what she knew. That was about to go up in the air. By the time Kit and Dai left her home that evening Annie would have lost any firm boundaries between what she knew and what she thought or felt or suspected about her husband. She might push it all down inside her, eventually, but she would always have a shred of doubt. She would never reset the clock back to this moment.
Dai spoke, his voice gentle. ‘Mrs Cooper, my name is David Davies. As my colleague said, I am a detective sergeant in the Public Protection Unit. Miss Goddard here is from the First Response Team. We need to talk to you about what is happening with your husband.’
Annie Cooper looked at him, but she didn’t speak. She looked pale and her breathing was coming quickly. She was terrified, Kit could see that. She wished she could comfort her, take her hand or just make a move towards her, but she knew it wouldn’t be well received.
‘Mrs Cooper,’ Dai continued, ‘this is going to be very upsetting for you. Miss Goddard and I will do our best to help you, but there isn’t going to be any easy way to say this.’
‘Please just tell me what you mean,’ Annie Cooper said.
‘I’m afraid an allegation has been made.’
‘What do you mean?’ Annie Cooper was getting impatient now, and Kit didn’t blame her. She knew Dai was trying to be kind, but it was time to get to the point.
‘It’s an allegation of a sexual nature,’ Dai said. Annie Cooper stared at him for a few seconds, then she shook her head.
‘Who on earth would say something like that about Matt? It’s disgusting.’
Dai started to clear his throat carefully and Kit could see that another detour round the houses was in the offing. She decided to take charge. ‘Mrs Cooper – or can I call you Annie? And please call me Kit. The thing is this. Two women have accused your husband of sexual assault.’
Annie Cooper gasped and put her hand to her mouth.
‘I’m afraid it is just as serious as it sounds, Annie. These women have alleged that your husband sexually abused them about seventeen years ago. They were aged thirteen and fourteen at the time.’ Kit stopped to let the information sink in. She waited, but Annie was silent, her face blank. ‘We need to talk to you about the implications of this for your family. Do you have any questions first?’
‘Who the hell are they? Who has said that about my husband?’ Annie asked.
‘Their names are Nicolette Baxter and Stephanie Harman.’
‘I’ve never heard of either of them. Matt doesn’t even know them. It’s a pack of lies.’ Annie was spitting her words out now, her panic making her livid.
‘Could I ask how long you’ve been married?’ Dai asked her.
‘Fifteen years,’ she replied.
‘Well, you see, Annie, as Kit said, the allegations go back a bit further than that. Seventeen years, in fact. So perhaps you hadn’t met your husband then?’
‘No, I hadn’t,’ Annie snapped. She had taken it in now and was starting to process it, and her anger was rising even further. ‘But he has never so much as mentioned those names to me and I can assure you right now that Matt would never do anything like that. This is absolutely outrageous. I don’t know who these two sick individuals are, but this is slander. Are they after money? I think you will end up regretting it very much if you pursue this any further.’
Kit knew that the news was only going to get worse for Annie. Here goes, she thought. ‘Annie, I need to be clear with you about why I am here.’
‘Yes, why don’t you do that? Why don’t you explain yourself? Because I can assure you, I will be making a formal complaint about you, and I will take it all the way. I will be on the phone to Jean first thing tomorrow morning. Heads will roll over this, Miss Goddard, and yours will be the first.’
Kit ignored this, trying out Beth’s strategy. ‘As we have said, the alleged offences relate to two women who were under the age of consent at the time,’ she went on. ‘Your husband would have been about twenty-three, and they were thirteen and fourteen when the offences are reported to have started. So, these are child-sexual-assault allegations and that does have implications for your own children.’
‘Implications? Meaning?’
Kit felt in her coat pocket and drew out the envelope containing the letter she had collected from Legal before she left the office. She held it out to Annie, who snatched it from her and stood with it in her hand, refusing to look at it and staring at Kit belligerently.
‘Annie, that is an invitation for you and your husband to attend a meeting with myself and a lawyer from our Legal Department this Wednesday. You are asked to come along with your own lawyer to discuss the arrangements for your husband’s contact with the children.’
‘I really haven’t got the faintest idea what you are talking about,’ Annie said.
Kit realised that she was now the one skirting round the difficult bit. She braced herself. ‘Annie . . .’ she started, but she then she hesitated, unable to find the words.
‘Your hu
sband is going to be arrested at the station tonight,’ Dai broke in, rescuing her. ‘If he is released after his interview, he will be subject to bail conditions. I’m afraid he won’t be able to live here in the family home, at least until Kit has conducted an assessment and put in place whatever arrangements are necessary to protect the children. The only alternative would be for the children to be cared for elsewhere – with family members or in foster care.’
At this, Annie Cooper crossed to the sofa and sank down opposite Kit. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said quietly. ‘Where will he go?’ Her head was bent, and her face was partly hidden, but Kit could sense that, for a moment at least, her rage had swung back to fear.
‘What we are saying is that your husband is accused of serious sexual offences against children. We can’t allow him to have unsupervised contact with your children until we are sure that it is safe. I will need to make an assessment and I will work with you to see whether we can agree arrangements for him to see the children until the outcome of the whole thing is known.’
‘He isn’t coming home?’ Annie asked, her head still bent.
‘Not for the time being, no,’ said Kit. ‘He will need to come up with an alternative bail address. Family members or a friend, perhaps. If you will come along to the meeting on Wednesday, we will talk to you then about how we are all going to work together to manage contact.’
‘Work together?’ At that, Annie’s head came up and the anger was back in her eyes. She was enunciating every word with exaggerated care. ‘You really haven’t taken in a word I’ve said, have you? What are you – twenty, twenty-one? You’re just some scruffy kid. And you think you can barge in here with your ridiculous accusations and start throwing your weight around, do you? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Well, let me tell you, you have picked the wrong family here. You are not going to break us up. You don’t tell me what to do, and you certainly don’t tell my husband. You are going to be so very sorry that you ever tried, I can promise you that. Now, both of you, get out of my house.’