‘Who?’
‘A colleague of Verity’s.’
‘Oh Peggy.’ Immediately I could see the implications.
‘Verity phoned this afternoon,’ Peggy continued between sobs. ‘The social services are having a meeting tomorrow morning that Fred and me aren’t allowed to attend. After that she and another social worker are coming to see us. They may take Kiri and Liam into care.’ She broke down and sobbed. My heart went out to her.
Peggy had every right to be distressed, for there was a real chance that Kiri and Liam would now be taken into care. Stevie was being investigated for paedophile activity and Peggy (and Fred) had allowed contact between him – the abuser – and his victims, Kiri and Liam. Of course, that was on top of already failing to protect Kiri and Liam when they’d all lived together and Stevie had taken the indecent images of them. I knew Peggy and Fred wouldn’t see it that way, but the social services would. They had to. They had a duty of care to Kiri and Liam and needed to protect them.
‘Oh Peggy,’ I said again.
‘I know. I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been.’
‘Does Stevie know?’
‘No. Can you tell him? I can’t speak to him now. Tell him what’s happened and that I won’t be able to meet him tomorrow.’
‘I will. What time are Verity and her colleague visiting you?’
‘Two o’clock. She wants to speak to Fred and me before he collects Kiri and Liam from school.’ Her voice broke again. ‘Cathy, do you think they’ll take Kiri and Liam into care?’
‘I don’t know, Peggy, but I think you need to be prepared for that possibility.’
‘I couldn’t bear to lose them.’ She cried openly. ‘I’ve lost my daughter and Stevie. If I lose the little ones too, my life won’t be worth living.’
My eyes filled. What could I say? Like other families who faced having their children taken into care, Peggy was devastated, as I knew Fred would be. Although I’d never met Liam and Kiri, I’d heard so much about them from Stevie and Peggy I felt I did know them. I could imagine the heart-breaking scene in their house if they were taken away, with all of them in tears and begging that Kiri and Liam be allowed to stay. How would they cope in the aftermath? I had no idea. As upsetting as that scene would be, worse was the knowledge that it could all have been avoided. If Stevie had felt able to talk to his grandparents when Joey had first asked him to take the indecent images of Liam and Kiri, and Peggy hadn’t now broken the contact rules, none of this would have happened.
‘I’ll tell Stevie,’ I said.
‘Yes, please, and tell him I’m sorry and we love him.’
‘I will. Phone me if you need to,’ I said.
She said a small ‘thanks’ and put the phone down.
With a very heavy heart, I went slowly upstairs to Stevie’s room, dreading what I had to say. I paused outside his door, summoning the courage to knock. ‘Stevie, it’s Cathy. I need to speak to you.’
‘Come in,’ he called.
I went in, leaving the door slightly ajar. Stevie was sprawled on his bed, watching a video on his laptop. Seeing my sombre expression, he immediately sat upright. I took the chair by the small desk.
‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.
‘Your gran just phoned me. You haven’t spoken to her this evening, have you?’
‘No. I sent a text, but she hasn’t replied. I’m seeing her tomorrow anyway.’
‘I’m afraid you won’t be seeing her tomorrow, Stevie.’ There was no easy way to say this. ‘The four of you – you, your gran, Kiri and Liam – were seen together yesterday by a social worker.’
‘No, I never –’ he began, immediately going on the defensive.
‘Stevie, there is no point in lying. Your gran has just told me she’s been taking Liam and Kiri to see you. A colleague of Verity’s spotted you all together yesterday. This is very serious, Stevie. And after everything that was said to you about not having any contact with Liam and Kiri!’
‘I’m sorry,’ he said with a small, dismissive shrug.
I looked at him carefully and thought he had no idea of the implications of this. ‘Stevie, Verity has told your grandparents that there is a possibility Kiri and Liam will be taken into care.’
The colour drained from his face. ‘They can’t do that! They haven’t done anything wrong.’
‘No, Liam and Kiri haven’t, but your grandparents have, in allowing you to see them.’
‘We won’t do it again, I promise,’ Stevie said, panicking. ‘I’ll tell Verity. I’ll phone her now.’ He grabbed his phone from the bed.
‘She won’t be there now,’ I said. ‘It’s after eight.’
‘I’ll phone her tomorrow morning then. I’ll tell her it was my fault. I asked Gran, and I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.’
I supposed there was a slim chance this might help, but I didn’t want to give him false hope.
‘There’s no harm in phoning Verity tomorrow if you want,’ I said. ‘But I honestly don’t know how much good it will do.’
‘I’ll make her understand,’ he said. ‘I’ll phone Gran now and tell her I’ll make it OK.’ He had the phone to his ear.
‘I’ll be downstairs if you need me,’ I said, and left his room.
Five minutes later Stevie came down. ‘Gran’s mobile is off, so I tried the house phone. Grandpa answered and said Gran was too upset to talk. One of them will phone when they know what’s happening. Grandpa sounded like he was crying.’ Finally, the enormity of what was happening hit him.
Chapter Twenty-One
Stevie looked dreadful the following morning – pale, tired and drawn – so I guessed he hadn’t had much sleep either. He didn’t want any breakfast, just a glass of juice.
‘If you’re still going to phone Verity, make sure it’s not while your phone is supposed to be switched off in school,’ I said. ‘We don’t want any more trouble. If she’s not there, leave a message on her voicemail.’
He nodded dejectedly.
‘And please make sure you go to school,’ I added later as I saw him off at the door. ‘There’s nothing you can do, and we’ll be told when there is any news. Take care and phone me at lunchtime if you want to.’ Head down, with his shoulders slumped and school bag hanging desultorily from one arm, he went down the front path and out onto the pavement. A shadow of his former self. I closed the front door.
Before I did anything, I made myself another coffee. I felt shattered from worry and little sleep. Problems that affect the looked-after child affect everyone else in the family. As far as I knew, Stevie hadn’t told Adrian, Lucy or Paula about this new upset – that he’d been seen with Kiri and Liam – and there’d been no time this morning. I didn’t mention it to them. They were all busy getting ready to go to work or college. If necessary, we could talk about it this evening.
I was expecting Verity to phone at some point and she did at midday, her voice business-like, formal and efficient. ‘I’ve