Hidden

by Cathy Glass

  I felt another chill of fear. This threat was very real. His words about my ‘nice family’ still rang in my ears; the implicit suggestion was that, unless I did as instructed, my children wouldn’t stay ‘nice’ for long. Images of Paula and Lucy being slashed with a razor flashed across my mind. They were vulnerable, walking to and from school and college, and we didn’t even have Adrian here with us now … what if someone burst in while we were here in the evening? What if they were armed …? I quickly stopped myself; I had to keep calm.

  Tayo’s future with us certainly didn’t look good. If Minty and her ‘friends’ did have my address, then I couldn’t risk our safety by continuing to look after him. I shouldn’t have anything to fear – after all, I’d only ever told the truth and would continue to do so. It was completely outside my powers to ensure Tayo was returned to his mother even if I wanted to. I had no clout. I simply recorded what Tayo said about his past, and his telephone conversations with his mother. Was I being asked to doctor what Tayo said or fictionalise his phone calls to Minty so that he could go back to her? It was ridiculous.

  But this was no joke. If Minty had my address, then I would be locking doors and windows at all times, looking over my shoulder every few minutes when I left the house, and taking Lucy and Paula to college and school in the car, never letting them out of my sight. And, much as I hated the idea, Tayo would have to be moved, and quickly, for all our sakes.

  I couldn’t settle that afternoon. I was half expecting the phone to ring again with more threats. I was on edge the whole time. When the letterbox snapped shut as a flyer was delivered, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Before I left the house that afternoon to collect Tayo from school, I propped a big note on the hall table:

  PAULA

  DON’T ANSWER THE DOOR.

  WILL EXPLAIN LATER

  LOVE MUM x

  Paula would be in from school first and alone in the house before I returned with Tayo, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

  I opened the front door, glanced up and down the virtually empty street, then Chubb-locked the door and got straight in my car, which was parked on the driveway. After locking it from the inside, I reversed out. I looked up and down the street again as I pulled away, then checked in my rear-view mirror that I wasn’t being followed. As far as I could see, it was all clear.

  With a sad and heavy heart, I went into the school to collect Tayo from his classroom. He was ready and waiting, and Mrs Gillings said he’d had an excellent day.

  It’s just a shame it won’t end the same way, I thought, but said only, ‘That’s good. Your social worker is coming at four, so we’d better hurry.’

  Tayo didn’t ask any questions. He knew Sandra would be paying regular visits and I guess he assumed this was one of them.

  Five minutes later, when he noticed I wasn’t my usual chatty self, he asked, ‘Are you OK, Cathy?’

  ‘I’m a bit preoccupied,’ I said and left it at that. Not only was I thinking about the conversation Sandra, Tayo and I would have shortly and its repercussions for Tayo’s future with us, I was also keeping a watchful eye in my mirrors. Minty knew where Tayo went to school, as it was the same one he’d attended when he’d last lived with her, so the threat from her ‘friend’ would just as easily apply on the school run as at home. It would be a simple matter to follow me home. But the car behind me had changed twice since I’d left the school so I didn’t think we were being followed.

  It was three forty-five when we arrived home and Paula was already in and had removed the note from the hall table. While Tayo took off his coat and shoes, I went up to Paula’s room to tell her that Tayo’s mother had somehow found out our contact details and that his social worker was coming at four. I wasn’t going to scare her with details of the threat until I knew more from Sandra about what precautions would need to be put in place.

  ‘If the phone rings while she’s here, I’ll answer it,’ I said. ‘I’m expecting a call,’ I added, seeing Paula’s surprised expression. I usually asked not to be interrupted when social workers were here.

  Sandra arrived at ten past four. Tayo had had a drink and a snack and was reading Harry Potter in the lounge.

  ‘All right?’ Sandra asked me as she came in. ‘No more phone calls?’

  ‘No. Tayo’s in there.’ I nodded to the lounge so that Sandra was aware he was within earshot.’

  ‘I think we’ll go straight through then.’

  ‘Do you want a drink?’ I asked her.

  ‘No, thanks. Let’s get on with it.’ She walked swiftly down the hall and I could tell she thought Tayo was responsible and that she would quickly get to the bottom of it. ‘Hello, Tayo,’ she said as she entered the lounge. ‘How are you?’

  He looked up from his book. ‘Fine, thank you.’

  Sandra and I sat down just as the phone started ringing. We exchanged a pointed glance and I reached over to answer it. We both looked at Tayo, wondering if he had knowledge of the possible caller, but he looked back innocently.

  ‘Hello?’ I said. My heart gave a couple of loud thumps of anxiety, but I felt slightly reassured now that Sandra was with me.

  ‘Cathy.’

  ‘Hi, Jill.’ I breathed a sigh of relief. I saw Sandra relax too.

  ‘I’m back at work part time,’ Jill said. ‘And you’re on my list of people to phone. How’s the new placement going?’

  Until today, I would have said good. ‘Look, Jill, I’ve got Tayo and his social worker here now. Can I call you back later?’

  ‘Of course. Hope it’s not too bad. I’ll be in the office until six.’

  ‘OK. If we haven’t finished by then I’ll call you tomorrow.’

  ‘Fine. Speak later.’

  ‘Jill’s my link worker,’ I said to Sandra.

  She nodded. Tayo was still sitting happily on the sofa, his book now closed, looking expectantly at Sandra.

  ‘How’s school?’ she asked him.

  ‘Good.’ He smiled.

  ‘Are you getting all your homework done?’

  ‘Yes.’ He looked at me for confirmation.

  ‘Tayo’s been doing very nicely,’ I said.

  ‘Excellent. Well done.’ Sandra twiddled at her little finger and I could tell she felt as uncomfortable as I did about what she had to say.

  ‘Tayo,’ she began, direct and forthright, looking straight at him, ‘we’ve got a problem. A rather big one. And I need to ask you about it.’

  His eyes widened to that practised childlike innocence and I knew then that he felt guilty about something, though, of course, it could be unrelated to what Sandra was about to say.

  ‘You remember when you first came here,’ Sandra continued, ‘and Brian brought you in the car?’ Tayo nodded. ‘Do you remember Brian saying to you that your mother wouldn’t have the address or telephone number of where you were saying?’ Tayo nodded again. ‘I understand you asked Brian if your mum would be visiting you here at Cathy’s, and Brian explained that it had been decided it would be better if she didn’t.’

  Clearly Sandra had spoken to Brian since our telephone conversation and had all the details to hand.

  ‘We made that decision,’ Sandra went on, ‘for very good reasons. Your mother was told you were in the area and being well looked after. That was all she needed to know.’ Tayo nodded again. I watched him carefully for any change in expression, but there was none. He continued to look at her, interested and expectant, maintaining his wide-eyed innocence. ‘Unfortunately it seems that your mother has somehow found out where you are, and I’d like you to think carefully and tell me if you have any idea how it happened.’

  ‘She knows my address?’ he asked, surprised.

  Sandra nodded. ‘And the telephone number.’

  Tayo opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again quickly.

  ‘Yes?’ Sandra said. ‘Have you thought of something?’

  Tayo looked from one of us to the other. Clearly he had thought of something and his br
ain was working overtime on the gap between what he’d thought of and what he was going to say.

  ‘I need to know,’ Sandra said firmly. ‘This is important and serious.’

  Tayo thought some more and then appeared to choose his words very carefully. ‘I don’t know how she found out about the address,’ he said slowly.

  ‘No?’ Sandra asked.

  ‘I didn’t tell her, honestly. I didn’t tell her the address.’ His voice had risen to protest his innocence, but Sandra and I had both noticed he had omitted to mention the telephone number.

  ‘Did you tell your mother the telephone number here?’ Sandra asked. ‘Please be honest, it’s very important that we know the truth.’

  Again, he looked between us, then settled his gaze on me. ‘Yes,’ he said in a small voice, ‘but only the telephone number.’

  ‘Are you certain of that, Tayo?’ Sandra asked.

  ‘Yes. Honestly. I don’t even know the address.’

  Sandra said what I was thinking. ‘I’m sure you do know the address. This house has the number on the door, and the street name is on a sign at the end of the road. You know which town you’re living in because you’ve been in the area for some time. You’re a bright boy, Tayo, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult for you to put all of these together and come up with an address.’

  Tayo shrugged, unable to deny it. It was clear to all of us that he would have guessed the address at once. ‘But I didn’t give it to her, I promise,’ he said.

  Even though Tayo had been less than honest in the past, I started to believe him and I thought that Sandra did too.

  ‘So how did she find out?’ Sandra asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Really, I don’t. Why? Has she been here?’

  ‘No. But Cathy received a phone call today, a threatening phone call, from a man who said he was a friend of your mother’s.’ Tayo visibly paled. ‘It was not a nice phone call and it shouldn’t have happened. That’s why we make the decisions we do – to keep everyone safe.’

  I could see that Tayo was now as anxious as I had been, although I was now feeling a good deal better since hearing that he hadn’t passed on the address.

  ‘I gave her the phone number,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t give her the address. Even if I knew it I wouldn’t. I don’t want her and her friends coming here. Really I don’t.’

  Sandra looked at him. ‘I hope you’re telling the truth, Tayo.’ But I could see she believed him as well.

  ‘Yes I am, honestly,’ he said. ‘I am, Cathy, cross my heart and hope to die.’

  ‘OK, Tayo,’ Sandra said. ‘So why did you tell your mother the telephone number when you knew she wasn’t supposed to have it?’

  He lowered his gaze for the first time. I knew Tayo well enough to see he was genuinely embarrassed, upset, and even remorseful for what he had done. ‘She made me,’ he said at last.

  ‘How?’ Sandra asked. ‘She’s not here.’

  Tayo looked up. ‘At contact. She said she had to have it.’

  Sandra and I exchanged a glance, and Sandra said, ‘Aisha is with you at contact, Tayo, and she didn’t mention it in her report. I read them very carefully.’

  ‘When we were in the kitchen on Tuesday last week,’ he said. ‘Mum was late because she’d bought sausages and chips for tea and we heated them in the microwave. Aisha went to the toilet while we were in the kitchen, that’s when Mum said I had to find out and tell her Cathy’s telephone number. She gets very angry and upset if I don’t do what she says. So I found out and told her on Friday at contact. I wrote it down and gave it to her so Aisha wouldn’t know.’

  It seemed that Aisha, an experienced contact supervisor, hadn’t anticipated quite how devious and manipulative Minty could be when it came to her son.

  ‘Did your mother ask you to find out the address as well?’ Sandra asked.

  He nodded. ‘But I didn’t give it, honestly. I didn’t want her friends coming here. I like it at Cathy’s, I’ve got food and clothes and my own room, and it’s safe, away from all that lot.’ He began to cry.

  I was sure they were genuine tears of fear and remorse so I immediately went over, sat beside him and rubbed his shoulder lightly. I looked at Sandra who clearly agreed with me.

  ‘All right, Tayo,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. If you haven’t given your mum the address we’ll assume she hasn’t got it, so you’re still safe here. I shall be speaking to her tomorrow, after contact. I’ll also speak to Aisha to make sure you’re not left unsupervised again, although I’m not blaming Aisha. You’re a big lad for your age, Tayo, and I think you could have walked away from your mum if she was demanding the number, or maybe even made up a telephone number. I’m sure you could have done that if you’d thought about it. Sometimes you’re good at making up things.’

  I wondered if this was a bit harsh as Tayo was still crying, but I was leaving it to Sandra to deal with and so far she had done a very good job at getting to the truth.

  I passed him the box of tissues. He blew his nose. ‘If I’d lied to her she would have found out,’ he said. ‘And then I’d be in for it at the next contact. She scares me when she’s in a mood. She shouts and screams and hits people.’

  That was true enough; I’d witnessed it firsthand at the placement meeting.

  ‘Did she hit you?’ Sandra asked.

  ‘Sometimes,’ he said glumly, ‘when she’d been drinking.’

  ‘As I said, Tayo, I’ll make sure you’re not left alone with her, not even for a second. All right?’

  Tayo sniffed and nodded.

  ‘Now dry your eyes, love,’ I said. ‘There’s nothing to be worried about.’ I could say that now I knew that Minty and her ‘friends’ didn’t have my address, but it had been a different matter half an hour ago when I’d felt Tayo’s fear of what his mother and her associates were capable of.

  Sandra smiled. ‘Tayo, one more question before I go, and I know Cathy wants to hear the answer to this as much as I do. A truthful answer please.’ Tayo looked from one of us to the other and nodded. ‘How did you get Cathy’s telephone number? She never says it when she answers the phone, and it’s not on any of the handsets.’

  ‘I heard her say it in the car on Thursday,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘Her mobile went off and I didn’t know who she was talking to, but she said, “Would you call the landline when I have my diary to hand, please.” Then she gave the number and I remembered it.’

  ‘What? Eleven digits?’ Sandra asked. ‘I doubt I could remember eleven digits after hearing them once.’

  ‘I knew the first five already,’ Tayo said. ‘It’s the area code, so I just had to remember the last six.’ And to prove it he rattled them off.

  I looked at Sandra and nodded, then added dryly, ‘Tayo’s good with numbers. His maths is excellent.’

  ‘Obviously,’ Sandra said.

  With a final warning to Tayo about not releasing the address to his mother, Sandra asked Tayo to read his book in another room so she could talk to me. He went out and I closed the door. We both had smiles on our faces, a mixture of relief that my address was safe and Tayo wouldn’t have to be moved, and also an acknowledgement that Tayo was a pretty smart cookie.

  ‘I’ll have to go shortly,’ Sandra said. ‘I’ve got another child to see who’s been up to mischief.’ I glanced at the carriage clock, it was after five. Sandra worked well beyond the call of duty. ‘I’ll speak to Aisha first thing in the morning and make sure Mum can’t get at Tayo again. I also won’t pull any punches with Minty when I see her. If there’s another phone call like the one this afternoon I’ll have her arrested for harassment. Hopefully there won’t be after I’ve warned her. I’ll take a security guard with me to emphasize the point. Are you happy about continuing the placement?’

  ‘Yes. I’m pleased we can.’

  ‘Thanks. Just be a bit careful with answering the phone until I’ve had a chance to see Minty tomorrow.’ I nodded. She stood ready to leave. ‘The phone contact T
ayo is having with Minty – are you able to put it on speaker phone?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Do it then, please, from this Wednesday, I’ll have to tell her we’re doing it, and I’ll make it clear why, when I see her tomorrow.’

  ‘No problem.’ I walked with her to the front door.

  ‘Thanks for all you’re doing,’ she said. Then she called, ‘Bye, Tayo.’

  A small and chastened voice replied from his bedroom. ‘Bye, Sandra. Sorry.’

  We said goodbye and she went off into the night.

  Tayo was very quiet and, apart from coming down to eat, stayed in his room all evening.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I said, as I kissed him goodnight. ‘We all make mistakes.’

  He nodded, managed a smile, and then pointed to his fore-head for another kiss.

  ‘Two?’ I said with a smile.

  ‘It’s to make up for all the ones I didn’t have before I came here,’ he said. ‘D’you know, Cathy, my mum never kissed me goodnight. But my gran used to, I remember.’

  ‘That’s a nice memory then, isn’t it?’ I said and gave him the second kiss on his forehead. ‘Goodnight, sleep tight.’

  ‘And don’t let the bed bugs bite.’

  I came out and closed the bedroom door. Could Tayo really remember his gran kissing him? Or was it a made-up memory – a snapshot from the album of a perfect childhood he’d never had? I thought of the mother who never kissed her son goodnight, and went downstairs.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hidden Children

  Although our address appeared to be safe, I still looked both ways, up and down the street, as I left the house the following morning to take Tayo to school. It was all clear, and there had been no threatening phone calls so I was starting to relax.

  Tayo had obviously been thinking along the same lines because once we were in the car, he said, ‘I’m so pleased Mum’s friends can’t come to the house.’