Allegation

by R. G. Adams

  ‘What did you expect me to do exactly?’ Kit asked him, needled.

  ‘I didn’t say I thought you were wrong. I’m just pointing out the downside. Now you’d better give Legal a ring and check out where we go with this next, OK?’ He winked at her. Kit was relieved. He wasn’t annoyed with her at all, she realised, he was just covering up that he thought she’d done well.

  Kit spoke to the duty lawyer in the Legal Department, who assured her that she had grounds for an application if the Coopers didn’t cooperate, but warned her that, even so, she could expect a hard time if the case came before Judge Peters. He enjoyed himself by reinforcing this with an anecdote that Kit had already heard numerous times in the past few months, about the time when the judge had spent forty-five minutes bringing one of the department’s most experienced managers to the brink of tears in the witness box after she became hopelessly confused in her evidence.

  ‘Would we be better off just leaving it alone until we know the results of the criminal investigation, then go for a care order if he’s convicted?’ Kit asked hopefully.

  ‘Christ, no,’ the lawyer told her. ‘Turn up asking for an order after leaving the kids unprotected for months? She really would tear you to pieces for that.’

  ‘So, I can’t win then?’

  ‘You’ve got it,’ he said. ‘Just make sure you get them to cooperate is my advice. It will be easier on everyone, including you and me.’

  ‘Great.’ Kit put the phone down and tried to focus on paperwork. She typed up her recording of everything that had happened so far. Then she answered a few emails. Finally, at eleven thirty, her phone rang. At the sound of it, all the staff who were left in the office resumed their listening positions and Vernon reappeared in his doorway as she answered the call.

  ‘I’ve spoken to my husband,’ Annie said, without preamble, ‘and we have decided that we will go along with your ridiculous games for now. My husband won’t contact the children today. But I want you to know that we are keeping a full record of all your actions and, as I have said, we will make complaints at the highest level afterwards. We will be at the meeting tomorrow. We will be represented by Miss Bruce of Bruce Ladd. We’ll see what you think after you’ve had a full discussion with her.’ Bruce Ladd was the biggest and most successful law practice in the town, and Mandy Bruce was widely known as the most persistent and aggressive childcare lawyer in south Wales. Kit had heard that she was fresh from a bitter case that had seen two children returned to their family from the brink of adoption and the social workers concerned referred on to their professional body over concerns about their evidence in court.

  ‘Our position won’t change,’ Kit said. ‘You’re going to have to work with me. I know you don’t like it and I can see why, but that’s the way it is.’

  ‘We’ll see about that,’ Annie replied. She hung up.

  Vernon let out a huge sigh of relief. ‘You played a blinder, kid,’ he told her.

  ‘Hmm,’ Maisie said. ‘I think you could have been a bit more assertive with her.’

  Kit didn’t bother to answer that. She felt in her rucksack for her fags and, once she found the packet, she waved it at Vernon.

  ‘Yes, go on then,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother clocking out this time, but don’t be long.’ Kit smiled at him gratefully. As she made her way across the room, she could hear Ricky speaking.

  ‘Maisie,’ he was saying, ‘I sometimes think your attitude to clients could be a little more conciliatory. And you could be more supportive towards your colleagues, too.’

  Kit closed the office door on the ensuing scene and set off for her fag break. She spent the afternoon catching up on her visits and then she drove home, collected her towel and her swimming costume and drove out to the west of the town. After parking in the council car park at the end of the road, she crossed over and followed the footpath that went out onto the headland. She could see across to the town beach, where throngs of people lay on the sand and bobbed in the water. Her path was deserted; the holidaymakers wouldn’t go anywhere that involved a long walk. Most of them didn’t even know that Rockpool Bay existed.

  When she reached the tiny bay, she slipped into a cave to change and hide her car keys and clothes, then emerged onto the scalding-hot rocks, picking her way across them until she found a point from which she could make a clean dive into the icy water. She swam out until the cold sting subsided on her skin. Then she turned onto her back and used her arms and legs to keep herself afloat. The tightness that always seemed to lie in her chest these days had loosened. She felt so good that she found herself grinning idiotically. It always worked; the sheer physical pleasure of being in the water was the only thing that could stop her fretting in its tracks. No one was around to see her, so she continued to float and swim in turns, laughing and singing quietly, until she had driven her job out of her mind and she felt like herself again. She padded back across the rocks just before darkness fell, and when she got home, she fell into bed without bothering to eat and slept until morning between damp, sandy sheets.

  Chapter 4

  ‘Court, funeral, or giving it all up to become a silver-service waitress?’ Vernon asked as Kit walked into the office on the day of the legal meeting.

  ‘The last one, if she’s got any sense. It’d be a treat compared to working for you,’ Maisie muttered, making her way to the coffee area.

  ‘Feel free to give it a try yourself any time you want,’ Vernon snapped back at her. ‘Right, so, come on then, Kit-Kat, what’s the outfit in aid of?’

  ‘It’s for the Coopers’ legal meeting.’ She had stopped short of putting on her one and only skirt; she wasn’t going to court, after all. But she had wanted to look more professional and confident than she felt. So, she had found a pair of black trousers and a plain black shirt in the back of her wardrobe; she had ironed them both carefully before putting them on, and after looking through her entire shoe collection, she had added a pair of flat-heeled leather boots. She had even found her most sensible earrings, a pair of silver studs, and had put them in the lowest hole in her lobes, leaving all her other piercings out for once.

  Vernon nodded. ‘Ah right, I’m with you. Well, I won’t be dressing up for it myself, if it’s all the same to you. They can take me as they find me.’ He was looking particularly untidy today, dressed in baggy grey trousers and a mustard shirt that had worn so thin across his stomach that it looked as if it might disintegrate at any minute. Kit wondered what the Coopers would make of him. She wasn’t worried, though. It was common for people to underestimate Vernon, based on his appearance. It always turned out to be a mistake.

  ‘Watch your backs, everyone,’ Vernon said, looking over Kit’s shoulder. ‘Looks like we’re up for a visit from the senior clerk.’

  This was Vernon’s name for Cole Jackson, the head of Child Services. Mr Jackson’s background was in administration, and his rise into senior management had irritated Vernon beyond belief. He disliked every single thing about Cole Jackson, from his lack of a social-work qualification, to his Porsche, his loud ties and his overenthusiastic use of aftershave. On his pinboard, Vernon kept a memo that Cole Jackson had sent out, asking that staff should refrain from greeting him in the corridors, because responding to them was taking up too much of his time. If anyone suggested in Vernon’s presence that Cole Jackson had any redeeming qualities whatsoever, he would unpin the memo and wave it at them, as irrefutable evidence to the contrary.

  Kit turned to watch Cole Jackson making his way across the office towards them. Following closely behind him was a tall woman in her early sixties, dressed in dark blue from head to toe. She was wearing a square cloth hat, which sat very high up on her forehead, increasing the imposing effect of her height and drawing attention to the severe bone structure of her handsome face.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Kit whispered to Maisie.

  ‘Councillor Desiree Palmer. Vice Chair of the
Social Services Committee. Looks like we’re in for it. Wonder what Ricky’s done now?’

  Kit’s heart sank. She knew this wasn’t about Ricky. It had to be about the Coopers. There wasn’t another case going on at the moment high profile enough to draw Cole Jackson onto Vernon’s territory.

  ‘Vern, good morning.’ Cole Jackson arrived in their team area, bringing with him a waft of something with quite a lot of citrus in it, which caught in Kit’s throat and set Maisie rummaging in her wicker basket for her asthma pump. Kit saw that Vernon didn’t make eye contact with Cole Jackson, but that he gave Councillor Palmer a warm smile, which she returned.

  ‘Vern, could Councillor Palmer and myself have a quick word with you and Ms Goddard?’

  ‘Certainly. Fire away, Cole.’ Vernon crossed his arms, on the defensive at once. Cole Jackson gave Maisie a disdainful look, lingering for a few seconds on her leopard-print leggings. ‘In private, Vern, if I can ask that of you? It’s a highly sensitive matter.’ He nodded towards the door of Vernon’s office.

  Vernon led the way. Cole Jackson and Councillor Palmer followed him, Kit last. She found Vernon already seated behind his desk, while Cole Jackson and Councillor Palmer had taken the other two chairs. Kit had no choice but to stand in the corner next to Vernon’s desk. She took the opportunity to open the window on her way through, hoping to lessen the citrus tang, which was now dominating the confined space.

  ‘Thanks for this, Vern,’ Cole Jackson started, leaning forward and interlocking his fingers in front of him. ‘We’ve got a bit of a thorny issue, quite frankly, and I’m hoping we can engage you in a resolution.’ This was the kind of jargon that got on Vernon’s nerves in a big way. Not a good start, Kit thought.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I gather you’ve had some involvement with the Cooper family.’

  ‘That’s right. We’ve got the legal meeting this morning as it happens.’

  ‘Can I ask where you’re going with the case, Vern?’

  ‘Father out of the house and then straight into care proceedings if it’s up to me. And come to think of it, it is up to me actually. Why do you ask?’

  Kit knew that they were nowhere near care proceedings as yet. Vernon was overstating his case, to emphasise from the start that he was in charge.

  ‘I’m not sure if you’re aware that the Coopers intend to make a formal complaint about your involvement.’

  Vernon snorted with derision. He had been complained about so many times over the years that the process held no fears for him. ‘They can do what they like. There’s three kids in that house, one severely disabled and a similar age to the alleged victims at the time of the offences. If those children need safeguarding, that’s what we’re going to do. Any problem with that, Cole?’

  Cole Jackson shook his head. ‘I’m with you on that, Vern. You know my track record on safeguarding issues.’ Kit cringed, but luckily Vernon let the point pass without comment. ‘Obviously the children’s safety is the priority,’ Cole Jackson continued. ‘But how reliable are these allegations against Mr Cooper? My understanding is that they’ve been cooked up by a couple of rather damaged women who are hoping to wring some money out of the Coopers? Isn’t one of them from the Coed estate?’

  ‘We’ve got no proof of that whatsoever and where they live is irrelevant. The fact is, the allegations have been made, the police are investigating, and we have a responsibility to ensure that the children are safe in the meantime.’

  ‘Vern, the situation is quite delicate. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your decision-making in any way. Your integrity is well known within this department and I hope you know how much I respect that. But I need you to help me out here. The Coopers are a well-respected family and Len Cooper is very upset indeed about what’s happening to his son. Would it not be more balanced, under the circumstances, to await the outcome of the criminal process before taking action?’

  Vernon, predictably, was having none of it. ‘No. Absolutely not. We don’t do that with any other family, so why should we do it for the Coopers? If this case gets into care proceedings later, the judge will have my guts for garters if I’ve sat on my backside doing nothing while I’ve waited for the police and the CPS to get their act together. You can go into court and explain it to her if you like, but if it’s up to me, no, sorry, it’s just not happening.’

  Cole’s face dropped slightly at the thought of having to explain himself in court. It was a position Vernon had put him in before, and the rumour was that Mr Jackson hadn’t come out of it well. But after a few seconds, Cole rallied and went in for another go. ‘You clearly feel very strongly about it. I don’t want to insist, Vern, but you’re placing me in a difficult position here.’

  Cole’s gleaming white smile had disappeared now, and his tone was becoming fractious. It had no effect on Vernon, though.

  ‘You can insist all you like,’ he said. ‘Over my dead body do we close that case. If you are implying that you will make me do it, I’m telling you right now, I refuse. Discipline me if you want. In fact, sack me. Get an agency manager in, see how long they last in this job, even at three times my hourly rate.’

  Councillor Palmer cleared her throat. ‘I don’t think it needs to come to that, Vernon,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure the department would manage without you.’

  Cole Jackson’s dental work was back on display, his mouth hanging open in surprise as he recognised the existence of a past acquaintance between Councillor Palmer and Vernon.

  ‘But I know Mr Cooper’s father has been speaking to the police and the CPS,’ Desiree Palmer continued. ‘And he’s expecting to get the decision about prosecution expedited. So surely you can just hold off until then? If the decision goes the other way, you will have my full backing to take whatever action you need to, of course.’

  ‘Nope, sorry, no can do.’ Vernon sat back in his chair, folded his arms and stared at the two of them. Kit could see that Cole Jackson was furious. He exchanged glances with Councillor Palmer.

  ‘This really is puzzling me,’ she said. ‘From where I’m standing, it looks as if you have made up your mind on these allegations before due process has taken place. I’ve known Len Cooper a long time, and my Griff was at school with Matthew; he was a lovely boy and there is no way—’

  ‘Desiree, forgive me, but you cannot possibly know that. From what I understand, this is nasty stuff, and the police seem to think it’s credible. We’re talking about a young man of twenty-three and two vulnerable teenage girls. Lots of grooming, really careful, long-term planning. The way they tell it, they were manipulated by an expert. Now we don’t know which way the whole thing is going to go, but I’m wary about this one. I’m not taking any chances, just because of who the Coopers are and who they know. It could blow up in our faces, and none of us want that, do we?’

  ‘For God’s sake, Vernon, it’s blowing up now!’ Cole Jackson leant forward and smacked his hand down on the edge of Vernon’s desk. ‘Len Cooper’s climbing the bloody walls. He’s been on the phone to everyone this morning, all our councillors, the Children’s Commissioner, assembly members, the lot. I’m under siege in my own office.’

  Vernon shrugged. ‘Well, I expect there’s something in your pay packet for that, Cole. Now, I don’t know how many other ways I can say it to you two but let me be crystal-clear this time. I don’t give a rat’s arsehole what Len Cooper does, who he phones, or what he says about any of it. I am not closing this case.’

  Councillor Palmer closed her eyes for a moment and stroked her forehead with an elegant navy-nailed forefinger. After a few seconds she looked at Vernon. ‘I’d thought better of you, I have to say. You are overreacting and treating this poor man like a criminal when there’s nothing to say he has ever put a foot wrong. Surely we could at least avoid putting the Cooper children’s names on the register?’

  ‘Christ almighty, Desiree, let it rest. You know I
can’t agree to that. It will depend on Kit’s assessment.’

  They all looked at Kit, having seemingly forgotten that she was in the room.

  ‘Could we at least get the case allocated to someone more experienced?’ Cole Jackson asked, looking Kit up and down. ‘I understand the Coopers are very upset that they appear to have been given the most junior member of the team as their social worker. They feel it says something about the low priority you are giving to the case.’

  ‘I know your background isn’t in social work, Cole, so perhaps that’s why you’re making a mistake there,’ Vernon said. ‘What you need to grasp is that Kit is not Mr and Mrs Cooper’s social worker at all. She’s the children’s social worker. So, no, I won’t be reallocating the case. Kit’s a very able member of my team. She can work with those kids and that’s what is needed here. I don’t care whether Matt Cooper likes her or not.’

  Cole Jackson opened his mouth to object, but Desiree Palmer cut across him. ‘All right. I can see we are getting nowhere here. Let’s leave it at that for now. Cole, you and I had better have a chat.’ They all stood up and Cole Jackson held the door open for Desiree Palmer. She turned in the doorway.

  ‘I just hope you know what you are doing. I’ve never doubted it before, but I’m not so sure this time.’

  ‘You don’t need to worry on that score, Desiree. Good to see you, as always.’ Vernon smiled at her, and Councillor Palmer returned it, but Kit could see it was an effort. She left, Cole Jackson following her without a word.

  Vernon was chortling. ‘He’s got his tail between his legs now. Right, time to get to this legal meeting then.’

  ‘Good to see you as always? Desiree? What’s that all about?’

  ‘Len Cooper’s not the only one who goes back a long way with some important people.’

  ‘Really? And what does Nell make of you having history with the glamorous councillor?’