‘DNA test?’ Bryant asked, following her own suspicion that Reece knew Rozzie much better than he was admitting to. Something was off and she intended to find out what it was.
‘What floor are we heading for?’ Kim asked as the three of them got out the car. She’d made the appointment with Jonathan’s care worker after getting just a couple of details from Rachel.
Zach and Gavin had left Rachel’s house at the same time as she had, after being assured by Kim that if she needed them she’d be in touch. Clearly the twins were not going to share their grief.
‘Ground floor,’ he said as they entered the building.
A receptionist behind a glass screen insisted on seeing identification from all three of them before signing them into the visitor’s book. They were then told to take a seat.
Beyond the reception she could see what looked like a small army of people at tiny desks separated by cubicle boards.
Kim tried to imagine spending your whole working day sitting in what was little more than a corner. She could see the attempts made to personalise the small, cramped spaces with photographs, uplifting postcards and humorous memes printed from the internet.
Five minutes into their wait a woman in a pink shirt and black trousers came through the keycoded doors and beckoned them forward into a small meeting room on the left. She held the door and then closed it once they were all in.
Kim and Bryant again took out their identification. She glanced at Leanne who did the same.
‘Didn’t realise they gave you people one of those,’ Kim muttered as Leanne walked around the table to take the seat at the furthest point away.
‘Daphne Adams,’ the woman said, offering her hand.
Bryant shook it while Kim appraised the civil servant, who appeared to be mid-fifties with brown eyes and auburn hair with a sprinkling of grey. Dangling from her ears were two tiny silver horses, and around her neck was a chain holding a delicate pile of books. It was as though the woman wore something to signify everything she loved in life.
‘Shocking news about the Daynes family,’ she said, resting her hands on a brown folder. ‘Fire, wasn’t it?’
‘The details of the incident haven’t yet been released, Ms Adams.’
The press conference was still a couple of hours away.
‘If we can just get some background on the Dayneses’ involvement with Jonathan Pike.’
She opened the folder but read nothing from it.
‘Jonathan Pike is seven years old and has been in care for almost five of those years. He doesn’t really know any other way of life, as he was very young when his family gave him up.’
‘Under what circumstances?’ Kim asked.
‘Jonathan was the youngest of five children born into a poverty-stricken family. Not our place to judge and we were already involved with the family, who were just about surviving. Unfortunately, Jonathan was a handful – very advanced for his age but also quite violent. He has since been diagnosed with ADHD. It wasn’t an easy decision for the family, however all parties agreed it was the safest course of action for all involved.’
‘Safest?’ Bryant asked.
‘He is a very angry, misunderstood little boy who needs a great deal of love, patience and attention.’
‘And you felt that the Dayneses could offer that level of security?’ Kim asked.
‘They fell in love with the boy.’
And you couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Kim couldn’t help thinking, probably unfairly.
Daphne caught her expression. ‘Jonathan’s family is now out of the picture completely. They’ve since moved away and have relinquished all parental rights. Placing a young boy like Jonathan is problematic for any family with young children, and the possibility of him growing up totally institutionalised is very real. Statistics show that children in care—’
‘You knew of Mrs Daynes’s health problems?’ Kim asked. She didn’t need to hear statistics of children in care.
‘We knew she had suffered with depression, but if we ruled such sufferers out, we’d have no foster register left. We look for reasons why people are suitable, not why they aren’t.’
‘Is Jonathan exactly what the Dayneses came looking for? Did they particularly want a troubled little boy?’ Kim wondered, thinking of the January sales – where customers are presented with mountains of bargains which are basically items that just haven’t sold.
‘They wanted to care for a child that might not have had the best start in life.’