Simon looked anxiously at his grandmother. Jane felt for the boy, who didn’t really know what was happening.
Brenda hugged Simon, then took his hand and placed it in Claire’s. ‘It’s OK, sweetheart. The nice ladies just want to speak to you about how you’re feeling since Mummy died. There’s nothing to worry about.’
Reassured by his grandmother, Simon left the room with Claire as Mrs. Williams waited behind to speak with Jane and Brenda.
‘The interview with Simon will probably be about an hour or so, then there’ll be a physical examination by the pediatrician. You’re welcome to wait here or there’s a café just up the road.’
At the café, Jane ordered two coffees and teacakes. Brenda sat quietly as she picked at her teacake and pushed the pieces around the plate.
‘Don’t worry, Brenda. Mrs. Williams and her colleagues are well trained and very experienced. They’ll make sure Simon feels at ease, and so will the doctor who examines him.’
‘I think you’re right about Simon being abused,’ Brenda said, with deep sadness in her eyes.
‘I’d prefer to be wrong,’ Jane replied.
‘I spoke with him last night. Not in detail — it makes me sick to my stomach to even think about it. It’s not right Simon should have to suffer so much pain. He’s done nothing wrong, he’s harmed no one...’ Brenda’s voice trembled as she held back the tears.
‘I know it hurts more than anyone can imagine, Brenda, but you need to tell me what Simon said last night.’
‘I asked him if anyone had touched him down there... you know. He didn’t answer, but he was upset. He started to cry. I told him it was OK to tell me if someone had touched him.’ Brenda paused and took a deep breath. ‘Simon said his mummy had asked him the same question. He said he didn’t want me to get cross like she did and... leave him.’ Brenda was struggling to get the words out.
Jane noticed a few people in the café staring at them, and she decided it was best to continue their conversation away from prying eyes and ears. She took Brenda to her car, which was parked nearby, and asked what else Simon had told her.
‘I didn’t want to push him too much as he was obviously distressed talking about Helen. He told me when he saw his mummy last Friday, she said he’d have to go back to the dentist to have his braces checked. He told her he didn’t want to go because he didn’t like the dentist touching him, and his mummy looked angry and left.’ Brenda began to sob.
Jane patted her arm. ‘You’re doing really well, Brenda. Did Simon say anything else about the dentist touching him?’
Brenda shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. ‘I couldn’t bring myself to ask. He looked so upset. I just hugged him, told him he’d done nothing wrong and his mummy wasn’t angry with him. I told him he must tell the social workers the truth.’
‘Did Helen tell you or Simon where she was going?’ Jane wondered if it was to see Simmonds.
‘No. I was in the kitchen cooking supper when all this was happening. When I came out Helen had gone. I asked Simon where she was. He said she’d gone to a cleaning job. Helen can be a bit impulsive at times, so I didn’t think anything of it. Do you think the dentist might be involved?’
Jane didn’t want to reveal her suspicions, but this was a big step forward.
‘I don’t know. Mrs. Williams’ interview with Simon will be critical to the investigation. That and the pediatrician’s expert opinion will be strong evidence if he did. For now, I’d ask you not to say anything about the dentist to Mrs. Rowlands or anyone else. Come on, shall we go back?’
Brenda nodded, wiped her eyes again with a tissue and blew her nose.
As they sat together in the social services waiting room, Jane was on the point of phoning Moran and telling him her suspicions about Simmonds. She was sure when he heard Simon had been sexually abused, Moran would straight away send a team to arrest him and get a warrant to search the Harley Street and Peckham clinics. She was about to go and make the call when Simon came into the waiting room with Mrs. Williams. He was sucking a lollipop and smiled to see his grandmother again.
‘I told the truth like you said, Grandma.’ He took another lick of the lolly as Brenda gave him a big hug.
Whilst Brenda and Simon chatted, Jane took Mrs. Williams to one side and recounted what Brenda had just told her.
Mrs. Williams nodded. ‘Simon told us about his last conversation with his mother and his fear of the dentist. However, in my professional opinion and that of the doctor who examined him, he has not been sexually or physically abused in any way.’
Jane was shocked. ‘Are you sure?’
Mrs. Williams looked offended. ‘I understand it’s not what you wanted to hear, Sergeant Tennison, but let me assure you I am experienced enough to know when a child has been sexually abused.’
‘I didn’t mean to be rude, but it’s hard to understand why Simon would lie to his mother about it.’
‘I don’t believe Simon did lie to his mother,’ Mrs. Williams said.
Jane was confused. ‘But he told her the dentist had abused him.’
She shook her head. ‘No, he only said he didn’t like the dentist touching him. Even as adults we don’t like having needles and probes stuck in our mouths, so imagine how a child must feel. The bullying at school, being called Jaws because of his braces, also added to his dislike of the dentist. In his mind it was the dentist’s fault the other boys picked on him.’
Jane felt disheartened. ‘How could his mother have been so wrong?’
‘She never asked him what he meant by being touched, so misconstrued what he’d said. Children don’t always understand the importance of context in what they say. They can also have difficulty in expressing themselves clearly. Sometimes the listener hears what they want to hear, especially if they have a preconceived notion that something bad may already have happened.’
Jane knew what Mrs. Williams was telling her made sense, but still found it hard to accept she was wrong. ‘Simon’s teacher, Miss Summers, had a boy in her class who’d become withdrawn, and she suspected he was being abused—’
Mrs. Williams interrupted. ‘If she said as much to Simon’s mother, it could explain any preconceived notion she had about him being abused. I fear his teacher may have misread things. It was the bullying about his braces that was affecting his behavior.’
Jane thanked her lucky stars she hadn’t shared her suspicions with Moran and ended up making a fool of herself.
‘What about our suspect, Aiden Lang? Is there a possibility he could have abused Simon?’ Jane asked.
‘We showed Simon a picture of Lang from a newspaper cutting. He didn’t recognize him. People who abuse young children have a specific sexual interest in them. It’s nothing to do with being homosexual, or indeed a lesbian,’ Mrs. Williams added.
‘What if Simon’s abuser threatened to harm him or his mother? He might have been too frightened to tell you what happened.’
‘That can happen, of course, but I don’t believe it did in Simon’s case. He said he didn’t tell his grandmother because his mother told him not to, plus he didn’t want his grandmother to be upset. The only sexual act he spoke about was with a young girl his age about a year ago. They touched each other playing doctors and nurses, which is all part of growing up. I’ll type up a full report and hand-deliver it to the station, along with the pediatrician’s, for your case file.’
Jane was worried Brenda would be upset that she had put Simon through a traumatic experience for no reason, but there was nothing but relief on Brenda Matthews’ face when Jane took her to one side and explained that Mrs. Williams and the pediatrician were of the opinion Simon had not been abused.