A Dark Secret: Part 2 of 3. Casey Watson. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Casey Watson
Издательство: HarperCollins
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Жанр произведения: Биографии и Мемуары
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9780008298630
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attended school only intermittently, I wondered where he had heard about it. Sunday school? Somehow I doubted it.

      But there was no time to do so as the doorbell then rang. I would have to park it and leave it for later. Moments later I was opening the door to ‘Sampson’ himself – not so much big and strong as tall and reedy. Which didn’t preclude him being strong, of course, but he didn’t look the type to be taking on random lions. But that was fine too, because it was the establishment I was hoping he’d be taking on for me; a different kind of beast altogether. He also looked to be in his late twenties – thirty tops, I reckoned – and, with establishments, the energy of youth was usually a big plus.

      ‘Come on in,’ I said. ‘Sam has been looking forward to meeting you. Look, he’s even brushed his hair for you.’

      Colin Sampson laughed as he followed us through to the dining area. ‘Well at least that’s one of us with neat hair today,’ he said, smiling down at Sam as he ran his hands through his own windswept locks. ‘I imagine I must look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. March winds, eh?’ he added as he took off his quilted jacket.

      ‘You know, Sam,’ Colin said, ‘I think I might like that. In fact, when I was at school, all my best friends used to call me Sampson.’

      Sam’s look could have melted glaciers, let alone ice cubes. ‘I knew it!’ he said happily. ‘Casey, will you tell Sampson all about my really good stars?’

      ‘I will do exactly that,’ I said. ‘In fact, in a bit, we’ll all go into the kitchen and we’ll even show him. But right now, I’m going to pop off and make some coffee and get the best biscuits out, while you two get to know each other a little bit better. Okay?’

      With both happy to do so, I left the pair of them to it, feeling only the smallest pang of jealousy at Colin’s holiday tan. Much as I missed the shot of sunshine I’d been looking forward to so much, it was at least spring now, and I was sure to get my mini-break eventually, and even more cheering was my first impression of Colin, which was overwhelmingly positive. He seemed cheerful and positive and, as I listened to them chatting and laughing in the other room, clearly a natural at getting along with troubled kids. Though I also found myself wondering if he’d read all my frantic emails already and was now forming the conclusion that I’d been making mountains out of molehills, as I’d done myself, once or twice, with Kelly.

      I passed a mug of coffee across the table and took a seat myself. ‘He is indeed,’ I confirmed, ‘and, you know what? I’ve just had a thought. I was thinking that if you wanted to win a pizza delivery with that movie, Sam, then maybe you could sit quietly for just fifteen minutes in your room now, while me and Colin get the boring paperwork out of the way.’

      A shadow passed across Sam’s face. He looked decidedly unconvinced by this new development. Even a little anxious. Something that was confirmed by his response of ‘I don’t have to do any counting, do I?’ Which made me curse myself for not forewarning him about how the meeting was going to be conducted.

      So I laughed. ‘Heavens no, Sam! Just fifteen minutes of quiet reading while we go through all the dreary stuff. Why don’t you take up the encyclopaedia and a couple of biscuits?’ I pushed the plate towards him. ‘Go on – any two you like.’

      ‘Really?’ he said, grabbing the two with shiny wrappers on (kids being the same everywhere) before toddling off up the stairs, great big book tucked under his stringy little arm.

      ‘Full of beans, isn’t he?’ Colin said, after he was safely out of earshot. ‘And the counting thing – I’d read about it in your emails. Interesting business. How’s it going? Are things still proving challenging?’

      ‘You, the world and his wife,’ Colin said, nodding ruefully. ‘And, look, I’m so sorry I was away when Sam was allocated. But I’m on the case now – ahem – literally. So, what can I do to help? Is there any extra support I can give you? I’m obviously more than happy to start taking him off your hands for a couple of hours when I visit. All very well me reading emails and taking notes’ – he had a notebook in front of him and had already been scribbling – ‘but from what you’ve already told me I’m guessing some practical help wouldn’t go amiss either.’

      Which was also fine. It was their job to manage their various cases the way they felt most appropriate, but, every once in a while, a ‘Colin’ came along – someone you just knew not only strove to understand and help the children they worked with, using their training and education, but also went the extra mile to empathise with us, the ones working at the coal-face, and to try and make our lives that little bit easier also.

      I might have been way off-beam in my assessment, of course, but by the time we’d gone through the main events of the last couple of weeks, and the strategies I’d put in place for addressing them, I definitely had a good feeling about Colin Sampson.

      ‘And, listen,’ I said, ‘now the team is complete, I’m feeling really positive. We’re managing okay, I think – though some regular outings would be fallen upon with gratitude, as you can imagine – but now you’re here, perhaps we can begin taking steps to get him into some form of education. Which I know means getting him formally assessed, and I know that won’t be easy. But is there any slim hope of that happening anytime soon, do you think?’

      I nodded. I already knew that. It was a constant and growing problem. Even Miller, our last child – with his multiple, urgent problems – had