Allegation

by R. G. Adams

  She closed her eyes and rested for a minute, but a shiver rose up her back. It was starting to get chilly. She untied her hoody from her waist. It smelt a little damp. She thought back to the last time she’d worn it; it had been the day she’d heard the case against Matt Cooper wasn’t proceeding. She’d been sitting on the promenade and got soaked in the rain; she’d taken the hoody off and thrown it into the back of the car and forgotten to pick it up when she got home.

  She was really cold now, so she shook it out and put it on anyway; it definitely smelt weird but she’d chuck it in Menna’s washing machine when she got back. She pushed her hands into the pockets where the fingers of her left hand connected with a folded piece of paper. She remembered she’d found it in there when she wore the hoody that day on the promenade. But then there had been a storm and she’d put the drawing away without looking at it. She remembered Chloe, intent on her picture of the house, insisting on an extra room for Lucy. Kit didn’t feel like looking at it now. In fact, she felt sick of that bedroom, and of trying to work out what might be going on in that house.

  She closed her eyes again. Her mind had gone into a groove now and images of Lucy’s room filled her head. Then there was the near-replica at Len and Jackie’s, the stuffy room that Lucy hadn’t occupied for a while. A couple of months, Matt had said. But no one had replaced the calendar, even though there was a new one there ready and waiting. Something about this still didn’t feel right – why have the calendar there for Lucy and not put it up? Unless . . . had Lucy not actually been at her grandparents’ since December? If she wasn’t due a visit, maybe no one had bothered with the calendar.

  This rang a bell somewhere else, too. Annie had said that Chloe had been sharing Lucy’s room since Christmas. Kit had accepted the explanation about Chloe being scared of Santa without question at the time, but actually, it didn’t sound like Chloe at all. Lucy and Chloe were very close – thick as thieves, Fay had said. Fay had taught the girls to communicate; had Lucy managed to tell Chloe that she was afraid? She could easily see Chloe as a tiny sentinel, keeping watch.

  But none of this would explain why Lucy was avoiding going to her grandparents’ house. Even as she thought this, Kit knew that she was stretching to keep Len in the frame, such was her instinctive dislike of him. There was no way to fit Len and Matt together in one picture. It was an either/or. She needed to stop skewing it with her bias against Len. If she took him out of the equation, looked at it a different way, maybe she could make sense of it. If Lucy wasn’t avoiding Len, why was she so determined to stay at home?

  An answer began to rise in her mind, out of focus but insistent. She pulled Chloe’s picture out of her pocket and opened it up, smoothing it out on her knee. She had remembered that it showed Matt, a stick figure on the put-up bed in Lucy’s room. Lucy’s bed had been empty and it still was. But the drawing showed something else, something Kit didn’t remember seeing before. Kit recalled how Chloe had carried on scribbling after she’d been asked to stop. She’d added something to the drawing. Kit remembered how she had spoken to Lucy that day alone in her room. Saying things she shouldn’t have, practically inviting the child to say something about her father. And how she had heard footsteps in the hall and wondered if Chloe had been listening. Then, at her next visit, Chloe had dismissed the sign Lucy had made when Kit showed it to her. Kit thought of the way she’d got out of the car and run off quickly. Too quickly, she saw now. Sweet little Chloe, so desperate for attention.

  Understanding came to Kit then, arriving in a flood of adrenaline before the words could form. And she realised in an instant that she had misread the Cooper case completely. She had failed to see the clues.

  She stood and called Jess to her, and they ran across the beach together and started up the cliff path. Kit struggled but she hurried on. Reaching the top, she stopped to put Jess on the lead and catch her breath, and then they ran to the gate, through the garden, and in through the back door, where she dropped Jess’s lead in the kitchen and then sprinted up the stairs into Huw’s office.

  Huw had left his computer on after checking his racing results. Kit sat down and brought up a Google Image search. She typed in ‘Makaton signs’ and began scrolling through the pictures. Nothing looked quite like the sign she’d seen Lucy make. To her frustration, she found most of the websites required a hefty paid subscription before one could get at the main content. She found a free website that showed some basic signs and checked all the ones that seemed possible, all the words that she thought Lucy might have been trying to say. But still nothing looked right.

  And in any case, what help would it be? She was rushing about as if she knew what could happen next, propelled by her sudden realisation. But actually, what could she do? She had no one to turn to. She imagined trying to explain the whole thing to Georgia Pritchard or Cole Jackson. She knew there was no way that could turn out well. She couldn’t bother Vernon with it. Once again, it all came down to Annie. Kit knew she couldn’t risk so much as setting foot in the Coopers’ street with this complaint hanging over her. Annie would have her job off her then, for sure.

  ‘Bollocking, bollocking fucking bollocks,’ she muttered to herself.

  ‘Your language is getting as bad as mine. What’s the problem then, Kitty?’ Huw had slipped into the room behind her, a glass of port in his hand. He slumped into the armchair next to the desk, stretched out his wiry legs and regarded her with amusement.

  ‘It’s the family I was telling you about. I just realised something. It’s a bit of a long story, but I need to find out what the daughter was trying to say – she’s very disabled and she made a sign. I think she was saying something about what was going on. I should have followed it up at the time, but I didn’t, and now I think it was important. In fact, I think I had the wrong end of the stick all the way along. I’ve done something very stupid and I need to put it right.’

  ‘What kind of a sign?’

  ‘Makaton.’

  ‘Go on then. Show me.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve picked up a bit of Makaton in my time. We fostered a fair few kids with disabilities, you know?’

  Of course. She had forgotten all about that. Huw and Menna had been respite foster carers, too, giving families with disabled kids a weekend break once a month or so. They could have helped her understand more about Lucy all along. She kicked herself for not having thought to ask for help, for thinking she could do it all herself.

  ‘OK, well, it was something like this.’ Kit made the sign as best she could. It had been hard to see, and Lucy had been very quick in her movements, but she thought she had it pretty close.

  Huw narrowed his eyes and sipped at his port. ‘That doesn’t look quite right. Are you sure it wasn’t more like this?’ He made a slightly different movement, tapping at his nose twice, and Kit saw at once that this was the sign that Lucy had made.

  ‘That’s it. I’m sure that’s it. What does it mean?’

  ‘Well, that is the sign for “sister”. Is that any help?’

  ‘Yes, it is. She does have a sister. And if my theory is right, that makes sense.’

  ‘Well, there you are then.’

  ‘But it’s weird at the same time. Why would she refer to her as “sister”? Why not just sign her name?’

  Huw thought for a minute, enjoying the intrigue. ‘Kids often use just an initial to sign someone’s name, like someone in the family or someone they see a lot of. So, I was always ‘H’, you see? Easier for them to learn than spelling out a whole name, and quicker for them to do as well. But it only works up to a point, because obviously sometimes people have the same initials. So Menna was never “M” because the kids we had with us on respite already had a “Mum” at home. We had to use her middle name. G for Gladys. She always hated it. Moaned like hell. Anyway, could that be it?’

  ‘Yes. You’re right. Thank you. That is it.’ Kit could bare
ly take it all in. She realised Lucy knew the truth. Lucy had known all along.

  ‘So now you know what she was saying, what are you going to do next?’

  ‘I have no idea. I’m completely screwed. I’ve closed the case and I’m not even in work at the moment, technically. The parents hate the sight of me and they are just looking for an excuse to get me sacked. I can’t go near them right now.’

  ‘Sounds like you’re right then. You are screwed. Maybe you should leave it, eh?’ Huw got up and padded over to the door. ‘Now I’m off for a refill.’

  Kit knew she couldn’t leave it. Because she had got it wrong, and now she had to put it right. There was nothing she could do tonight. She needed to think it through. She went down to the kitchen for a glass, and, after a few minutes spent saying goodnight to Jess, got herself a strong vodka from the drinks cabinet and went up to bed. Even after the vodka, she lay awake most of the night, turning everything over in her mind, and by the time she sat up and watched the first trickle of light silvering the beach, she had decided she had to take a risk. Ricky had not been totally wrong when he said she had made an enemy of Annie Cooper. But she had to communicate with Annie somehow, and there might be a way to do so.

  Kit got up and left a note for Huw and Menna. Then she wrote her mobile number on the back of Chloe’s drawing and went out to the car. She drove back to Sandbeach. The traffic was light and she arrived in the town far too early. She was starving and on top of the sleepless night, it was making her feel thick-headed and slow. She stopped at the services at the motorway junction and bought a Subway and a Costa. Then she headed for the Coopers’ estate.

  When she arrived, Kit saw that Matt Cooper’s car was on the driveway. It made no difference anyway. It wasn’t as if Annie would have asked her in for coffee and a chat if he hadn’t been around. Kit parked diagonally opposite the house and put her hood up. She sat and drank her Costa and ate her meatball marinara and stared at the house.

  After half an hour, the door opened. Kit slid further down in her seat and watched as Matt Cooper came out, carrying his briefcase. She caught a glimpse of Annie Cooper in the doorway behind him, dressed in her usual smart but sombre clothes: black trousers and a plain black top. Kit waited for a while, to be sure Matt had gone. Then she got out of the car and felt in her pocket for Chloe’s drawing. She unfolded it carefully as she walked over to the Coopers’ drive and then up to the door, forcing herself to knock straight away so she wouldn’t have the chance to bottle out. Although she’d seen Matt leave, she couldn’t help glancing around behind her, anxious he would come back for some reason and catch her here.

  After a few seconds, the door opened. Annie stood and stared at Kit, her face the usual picture of puzzlement followed swiftly by outrage. From the kitchen behind her, Kit could hear Chloe and Cameron engaged in a loud argument. Kit knew she had to get in quickly, before Annie started performing.

  ‘I’m sorry to disturb you. I don’t need to come in. I just wanted to return something.’

  As Kit had hoped, Annie was caught off guard by this unexpected opening. Kit held Chloe’s drawing out to Annie. She knew Annie might well shut the door in her face, and that would be that. But on the other hand, she might be curious enough to look at it. Kit waited, every muscle tight and her breath held in her mouth. Annie glanced at the picture. She was engaged; not hooked completely, but showing just enough interest to give Kit a window to get in there.

  ‘It’s Chloe’s drawing. I came to return it. I’m not here for anything else, it’s just I thought Chloe would be upset if she didn’t have it. After she spent so long on it, you know?’

  Annie had gathered herself now. ‘What nonsense is this?’ she snapped. ‘You do know we have made a complaint about you? You are not to come near us, we have made that perfectly clear. Our case is closed, and we won’t be having anything to do with you or your department again. Why would Chloe want this, for God’s sake? What on earth are you up to?’

  Kit held the paper out to Annie again. ‘As I said, it’s Chloe’s drawing. I thought she would want it back. Perhaps you’ll want to take a look at it yourself before you give it to her, though. Chloe drew the picture very carefully. It explains why Chloe wanted to sleep in Lucy’s room, and why Lucy wouldn’t go to her grandparents’ anymore. She didn’t want to leave Chloe alone.’

  Something hit home. Kit felt it in the air between them, and she saw it on Annie’s face, a click, a fitting together. Annie looked down at the paper again and Kit held it further towards her.

  ‘Just look at the drawing. Listen to Chloe. Chloe’s telling you now, Annie, not me.’

  Annie’s hand came up to the level of Kit’s. For a moment, it looked as if she would just let the paper drop. It fluttered in between their fingers, but then Kit felt it tugged away from her, and saw Annie had taken hold of it properly.

  ‘And there’s something else. That sign that Lucy made, the last time I visited?’ Kit demonstrated the sign quickly. ‘Do you know what that means? I looked into it, and it means “sister.” Lucy wasn’t asking me to help her at all. She was asking me to help Chloe. If you look at Chloe’s drawing, I think you’ll see the same. I just thought you ought to know what Lucy knows. For both their sakes.’

  The door closed on her but Kit had seen Annie’s face and she knew it was enough. She should be pleased, but instead she found her heart racing and her limbs shot through by bolt after bolt of stinging adrenaline. She had convinced Annie of what she believed to be true and now the family was going to come apart. Matt Cooper would probably go to prison. And she’d been the cause of it. She got into her car and started to drive back toward Huw and Menna’s, trying to calm down. After forty minutes, her phone buzzed. She pulled over and saw a text from an unknown number.

  please come back I need your help

  She hesitated, unsure whether this was some kind of a trap and Annie and Matt would be waiting ready to give her another dressing-down or looking for some way to get her into even more trouble. But she knew that was unlikely. The text could only mean that Annie had finally caved.

  She turned the car round and headed back. When she arrived, she saw that Matt’s car was on the drive and she began to see what Annie was going to do. As she walked up to the front door, she was reminded of the first visit she had made with Dai and Beth, just three weeks previously. She remembered Matt’s face appearing at the window, and the way she had felt sure he had known they were coming. The image was stamped on her mind, and as she re-examined it now, she knew she had been right in her first instinct. In that brief moment, his chin had been lifted just a touch too high, betraying his arrogance. Cocky, that was the word. He’d known they would come, he’d known why, and he’d thought he could win.

  Annie opened the door to Kit’s knock. She stood aside wordlessly to let her in and Kit could see that in spite of needing her help, Annie was still no great fan of hers. It didn’t matter. They had a job to do and the silent agreement between them was that they would do it together. They didn’t need to like each other.

  Kit waited for Annie to close the door and followed her into the living room. Matt was sitting on the sofa, still dressed in his suit and tie. He was sat back against the cushions, his body spread out and relaxed. His face fell into a frown when he glanced up and saw Kit behind Annie.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ He sat up straight as she came into the room.

  Annie indicated for Kit to sit down. ‘I asked her. I told you to come back from work because I have something to say to you and she is here to witness it.’

  ‘Witness it? What do you mean?’ Matt’s composure was teetering. Annie felt in the pocket of her trousers and took out Chloe’s drawing. Kit remembered it as Matt scanned it. A stick-figure Matt still sitting on the bed, but now with the addition of a tiny figure next to him, which could only be Chloe. A child’s drawing, but with one careful detail. Matt’s fingers laced in Chlo
e’s hair.

  Kit watched Matt take it in and she registered the pause before he lifted his head. The pause that was too long by a fraction of a second. He’d had to stop and think. The master manipulator, hesitating over which switch to throw. Game up.

  ‘What’s this about? I don’t understand. What’s going on here?’ he asked, half smiling. Too late, mate, Kit thought, looking over to Annie, who was standing by the mantelpiece.

  ‘Don’t bother,’ Annie said, her voice calm. ‘I’m not going to argue with you about it. That’s not the purpose of this conversation. I am going to tell you how it is and how it is going to be. Kit’s going to listen to it all, just to make sure she knows I can protect my children and myself and so that there’s no argument later down the line about what I said. I don’t want any problems in the divorce court. Or any other court, as a matter of fact.’

  Matt opened his mouth to speak.

  ‘No. I am not interested.’ Annie cut across him. ‘We all know what that picture is telling us. But in case you think there’s any doubt, I’ve spoken to Lucy and she told me what she could. She doesn’t completely understand, but Chloe told her enough and she knew something wasn’t right. She knew Chloe needed her help.’ Annie held up her hand as Matt tried to speak. ‘No. You may think that Lucy isn’t a reliable witness, but I’ve spoken to Chloe, too. I showed her the picture and I talked to her about telling the truth. I told her that I would always believe her and that was all it took for her to tell me. I know what you’ve done, and I know how you manipulated her.’

  Kit thought about cute, funny Chloe, and let herself understand all this properly for the first time. She felt her eyes brimming with tears. The little girl who wanted so much to be special, an easy target for Matt’s manipulation, especially when everyone thought Lucy was the vulnerable one. She’d turned to her older sister for help, moved into her room to keep herself safe. And that was why Lucy had stopped going to her grandparents; she wasn’t avoiding Len. She was looking after Chloe. Kit had almost got it completely backwards, just because she had had a stupid hunch about Len Cooper.