‘There was no courtesy extended to any of them’ Hardy assured her. ‘But I’ll give you the same statement I gave the rest of them. No comment.’
‘A number of the children taken into care attended your school,’ Cath informed him. ‘Doesn’t that bother you?’
‘Are you trying to infer that the school is somehow to blame for what has happened to these children?’
‘I’m not trying to infer anything, Mr Hardy, but if you’re worried that inference might be attached to yourself or your school…’ She allowed the sentence to trail off.
‘I knew nothing of this …’
‘Abuse’ Cath said, with an air of finality.
‘Nothing’s been proved yet,’ the Headmaster reminded her.
‘Come on, Noel’ snapped Reed. ‘You know what’s going on here. We all do.’
‘I warned you,’ Hardy snapped, angrily. ‘I said that if this was reported it could damage the reputation of the school, whether you were right or wrong.’
‘So what matters more to you?’ Reed wanted to know. ‘The welfare of the children or the reputation of the school?’
‘I have to take into consideration the damage this publicity could do to St Michael’s,’ said Hardy.
‘What about the damage that’s already been done to those kids?’ snapped Reed.
‘That’s nothing to do with this school.’
‘Then why worry about it?’ Cath interjected. ‘It’s not you or your school that’s on trial, Mr Hardy. I’m just looking for the facts.’
‘Journalists’ clichĂŠ number one’ Hardy snorted, as he moved towards the door.
‘Look, I didn’t come here to see you, I came to see my brother’ Cath said, irritably.
Hardy opened the office door and let it swing wide.
‘Then do it somewhere else,’ he said, angrily. ‘If you’re not off these premises in thirty seconds I’ll call the police.’
Cath shrugged, gathered up the computer print-out and pushed it back into her handbag.
‘Nice to see you again, Mr Hardy’ she said flatly, as she reached the door.
Then, turning to her brother ‘I’ll speak to you later, Frank.’
Hardy slammed the door behind her.
‘You can’t run away from this, Noel’ Reed told him.
‘I’m trying to protect this school.’
‘And I was trying to protect those kids.’
Hardy turned to leave, pausing in the doorway briefly. ‘Perhaps you should start thinking about your own job’ he said menacingly.
‘Are you threatening me?’
‘I’m just protecting the school’ Hardy snapped then he was gone, the door
slamming behind him.
Reed sat back in his chair, exhaled deeply then looked down at the phone.
He waited a moment, then dialled.
Fifty-five
Dorothy Talbot sipped at her tea, then carefully replaced the cup and saucer on the table close to her, the china rattling.
James Talbot shot out a hand to steady the cup, fearing it would overbalance, but he withdrew it just as suddenly when he saw his mother push the cup further onto the table.
‘It’s all right, Jim, I can manage,’ she said, smiling. ‘I’m not a cripple, you know.’
No. You’re just dying of cancer.
They were the only two people in the day room at Litton Vale. The other residents, or a party of twenty of them, had been driven in to the West End to see a film. Dorothy couldn’t remember the title but she hadn’t fancied it.
Some Victorian-based thing, she’d said.
‘You should have gone, Mum’ Talbot said. ‘You might have enjoyed it.’
She shook her head.
‘It didn’t sound very exciting,’ she told him. ‘Anyway, you know me, I like a good Western. Like the ones I used to take you to see when you were little.’
Talbot tried to hold her gaze but found that he couldn’t.
Guilt, perhaps ?
‘You took me to see all sorts,’ he said, chuckling as brightly as he could.
‘We saw Planet of the Apes four times when I was ten. You hated it, I remember you saying. But you still went back with me.’
She reached out and touched his hand.
‘What’s wrong, Jim?’
Could she read his fucking mind too? See inside him?
He forced himself to look at her, noticing that she looked pale, a little drawn around the eyes.
He thought about asking her if she was in pain.
‘There’s nothing wrong,’ he lied.
‘Is it work?’ she persisted. ‘You should try and get a rest, and I bet you’re not getting enough sleep.’
‘Mum, I’m fine, you’re the one who’s ill …’ The sentence trailed off.
She squeezed his hand more tightly, gripped it with surprising strength.
He met her gaze and held it.
‘Jim, I don’t want to die in here,’ she whispered.
‘Mum, you’re not going to die.’
‘Doctor Hodges told me how far advanced the cancer is.’
‘You’re not going to die’ he said, angrily, as if his fury would somehow reprieve her.
But you know she is.
‘These bloody doctors they don’t know shit,’ he snapped.
‘Just don’t let me die in here, that’s all I ask.’
He could face her no longer.
Talbot got to his feet and walked across the day room, looking out into the immaculately kept gardens beyond. The sun was shining. He could hear birds singing.
It was a beautiful day.
Yeah, fucking brilliant.
He cleared his throat but didn’t turn to face her.
‘Have they given you anything?’
‘I take some tablets, I can’t remember what they’re called,’ she informed him.
‘I’m not even sure what they do. Doctor Hodges did tell me but I can’t remember.’ She laughed humourlessly. ‘I think I’m going senile as well.’
‘Are you in pain?’
There, now you’ve said it.
‘No.’
‘You wouldn’t tell me if you were, would you?’
He turned to face her, saw she was sipping at her tea again. As he looked at her, Talbot felt more helpless than
he had ever done in his life. Helpless to ease her pain, helpless to comfort her.
How often did she help you?
He walked back and sat down beside her.
‘I’ve been reading in the newspapers about those children,’ she told him.
‘Isn’t it terrible? It made me think about what your father did. How he hurt you.’
‘Forget it, Mum. That’s in the past.’
‘But it never goes away, does it, Jim? The memories never go. I hated him for what he did to you. I hated myself for not stopping him.’
‘You tried. Every time you tried.’
‘I should have killed him. After the first time he did it to you I should have killed him.’
He saw her eyes misting over.
‘I didn’t even have the guts to leave him,’ she said, softly. ‘To take you away from him.’ She gripped his hand. ‘Jim, I’m sorry.’
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
‘Jesus Christ, Mum, you’re not the one who should be sorry,’ he told her, watching as she wiped the tear away with a hankie.
It should be me. For putting you in this fucking place.
As she shifted position in her chair he saw a flicker of pain on her face.
‘Are you OK?’ Talbot asked.
She smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly.
‘All I’m asking is that you let me come home, Jim,’ she pleaded quietly.
He sucked in a breath and got to his feet.
‘I’ll speak to the doctor,’ he said.
Fucking liar.
Talbot embraced her.
She kissed him on the cheek and smiled up at him.
‘I love you,’ she said.
‘I know’ he told her and she watched as he walked towards the exit, turning to wave as he left.
Dorothy Talbot winced, held her breath against the pain, waiting for the spasm to pass.