For the Sake of the Children: The first Chloe Webster thriller (Chloe Webster Thrillers Book 1) (4 page)

‘Hello, Chloe Webster speaking.’

‘Yes, there’s a client down here asking to see the solicitor dealing with her matter. Her name is Miss Swanson. The system has you down as the solicitor responsible.’

‘Oh. Does she have an appointment do you know?’

‘No idea.’

Very helpful.
‘Okay. I’ll be down in a minute. Tell her to take a seat.’

‘I’ve already done that,’ snapped the receptionist.

The phone went dead and Chloe rolled her eyes. She grabbed the files on her desk and started to flick through them. Swanson. She’d read the name somewhere.

‘Got it,’ she said to herself and opened the file. Her heart skipped a beat as she realised it was the child abuse case she had been reading earlier. Miss Swanson’s boyfriend had inflicted some nasty injuries on her six year old son. Not a meeting she would have chosen to have within a couple of hours of starting at a new firm, but at least it was something to get her teeth into. She noticed there was nothing on the file to suggest that the client was due to come in today.

Chelsie Swanson was twenty five, just a year older than Chloe, but looked nearer to forty. She couldn’t have weighed more than seven or eight stone and looked worn out and tired of the life she had been handed. Chloe was sure she could see grey amongst the mousey hair which hung lifelessly from the young girl’s head, and any sense of outrage that Chloe had felt as she’d read the file drained away at the sight of this helpless human being.

‘Hello Miss Swanson, I’m Chloe Webster. I’m the solicitor acting for you on this matter. I understand the Local Authority intend to apply for a care order for George?’

The girl opposite her looked embarrassed. She looked down at the desk between them and twisted a length of hair around her fingers like a child. ‘I don’t really understand what that means.’

Chloe smiled. ‘I’m sorry Chelsie. My name’s Chloe and I’m here to help you. The authorities want to take George away from you and it’s my job to see if we can stop that happening.’

‘They can’t do that can they? I mean, it wasn’t my fault. Mark was such a bastard. I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Do they really think I wanted this to happen?’

‘Is Mark your partner?’

‘He was.’

‘Where’s George now?’

‘He’s at my mum’s place.’ Her eyes looked watery.

‘Okay, good. Now, he’s six years old isn’t he, and how’s he doing?’

‘He’s all right. He’s a tough little thing. I’m so proud of him. I’d do anything to protect him, but Mark was so strong, I couldn’t stop him.’

‘I know. Don’t worry, there are things we can do. One possibility might be for George to remain with your mum for a short time until things are sorted out, until you show the authorities that you can provide a safe environment for George.’

Chelsie smiled for the first time.

‘Really? That would be great. He’d love that, and it would give me a chance to turn things round. I know I can look after him. I’ll do anything to keep him safe. That bastard won’t get anywhere near him again.’

‘Is he still in your life?’

‘No. He’s in police custody at the moment and I hope he stays there. We’re not together anymore. And we never will be again.’

‘Good. That’s the first thing we’ll need to show. I’ll get in touch with the local authority and work out what they want to do next. It’ll probably involve some kind of meeting with them, but I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.’

‘Okay, thank you so much. You’ve really helped to put my mind at rest.’

‘I’m not making any promises here, Chelsie. If it goes to court they have a very strong case. George has been hurt, and the court’s main concern will be that it doesn’t happen again. We need to persuade them that you can keep George safe. Here’s my card with my contact details on. Get in touch if anything happens. The most important thing is to keep Mark away from George, but if he’s locked up, that shouldn’t be a problem.’

‘Oh don’t worry; I won’t let that monster anywhere near my boy. It won’t happen again.’

Chloe was drawn to something in her eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. A steely determination perhaps, or maybe a sense of purpose?

Or was it more sinister than that?

It was obvious to the Timer that the truck was now in the city. The regular stopping and starting could only be due to heavy traffic, road junctions and the like. He carefully pushed the tarpaulin open and peered out. The thick fog had eased now that they were out of the hills again, but a mist still lingered. He saw rows of stone-built terraced houses go by but nothing significant that he recognised. Further down the road a row of shops flashed by and he realised from the names on the frontages that he wasn’t in Sheffield at all, but that the truck had in fact come into Barnsley. This could be a problem; he was only a few miles north of Sheffield, but he had an appointment later that day. And although he had never been late for anything, this was certainly not the time to start.

The view through the hole suggested a fairly central location, and when the truck next stopped he took the chance to clamber out onto the pavement. Confident no one had noticed him, he clasped the bag close and hurried off back in the direction from which he had just travelled.

He checked his watch. 11:40. This was going to be a close call. The meeting was at one o’clock; just over an hour to get there. He needed another car, and quickly. There was no time to be choosey for this one; any car would have to do. He broke into a light jog and turned up the first side road he came across. Rows of terraced houses flanked the cobbled street as it ran steeply uphill before him. A few cars dotted the roadside but not many; most people would be at work at this time. As he moved past each car he tried the door discreetly, but they were all locked up securely. He had lost count of the number of times he had done this before and easily found an unlocked car just begging to be stolen. Now, when he needed to find one quickly they were all locked up like Fort Knox.

He checked his watch again. 11:50. He started to experience the first initial signs of panic. He couldn’t be late. He was never late. Late is what other people did, not him. He had a reputation to preserve, but also an intrinsic fear of lateness. More than a fear; it was like a phobia. He didn’t know what it was called. He’d tried to find a name for it but even Google couldn’t seem to help with that. Beads of sweat started to run down his back. Was it the steep hill or the fear? He wasn’t entirely sure, but he didn’t like it one bit.

He knew he needed to act quickly now. A Ford Focus was parked just ahead of him. A welcoming light streamed from the front window of the house next to it. He walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. He had no idea what was about to happen, and he hated being unprepared, but he had no other choice.

‘Oh I’m very well, thanks… Yeah, he’s all right… He’s out at the moment… Down the Fox and Hound with his mates… I know it’s early… Well things have been a bit difficult lately… I don’t really want to talk about it… I know it would… I know you will… Well all right, as you know we’ve been arguing about money again lately… No, he still hasn’t found a job. He says there’s nothing out there… Well he says he is… No, he hasn’t, but he has bought a new car… Yes, it’s parked outside now... No, not
brand
new, but new to us… I’ve no idea why… A Ford Focus, about three thousand I think… I know… I had a real go at him for it and when I mentioned it again this morning he stormed out. Hang on Sue, there’s someone at the door… Oh hello, you must be the plumber, thank God you’re here. It’s in there, under the stairs. We just can’t get it to flush. Can you let me know how much it will be before you do any work? I’ll just be in the kitchen if you want anything… Sorry about that Sue, we’ve had trouble with the downstairs toilet. The plumber’s here now. I’ll have to go in a minute. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so he’s gone off down the pub and no doubt he’ll be back later all apologetic. But he’ll be in there all day now, drinking away yet more of
my
hard-earned cash. Why the hell he thinks we need a new car when we are struggling to get the loo fixed is beyond me… Yeah I know, that’s what I said to him. Hang on Sue, I’ll just check on the plumber... Is everything all right in there? How much do you think it’ll cost… Hello? Hello? Where the hell…? Oh
shit
.’

The Timer gunned the Ford Focus down the road, the newly acquired car keys hanging from the ignition. He looked in the mirror.

Do I look like a fucking plumber
?

Chloe continued to uncover differences between her previous firm and this larger, strange place full of unfamiliar characters. One thing she did like was the in-house sandwich shop. She made her way down at lunchtime and sat at one of the few tables outside the snack bar in the firm’s atrium, watching her new colleagues come and go. It was a little expensive, but very convenient, and she could see herself making good use of it during her time here.

Enjoying her sandwich and looking around her, she saw a familiar face coming through the atrium towards her. It was the man with whom she’d shared an overly intimate moment in the revolving doors that morning. She wasn’t in the mood for more apologising, so she turned and looked the other way as he disappeared into the shop to buy a sandwich. A moment later he reappeared and headed over to the tables.

Damn
.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’

Chloe looked up at him. His boyish good looks were accentuated by a huge smile and surrounded by a mop of dark brown hair.

‘Yes, of course,’ she said politely, ‘but I will have to get back to work in a minute.’

‘Oh that’s a shame. I’m Ben. Ben Howson. You’re new here aren’t you? We met this morning I think!’ He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.

Chloe smiled politely. She knew he was only being friendly but she really didn’t feel like making polite conversation.

Do we have to do this?

‘Hi Ben. I’m Chloe. Yes, it’s my first day here. And it’s been a testing one so far to be honest.’ She found it hard to disguise the weariness in her voice.

‘I bet it has. There are some real characters up in the family law department.’ He looked intently at her as he spoke. She liked the attention and found the experience far less irritating than she thought it would be.

‘How did you know I was a family lawyer?’

‘I’ve just seen Ray and he told me we had a new starter. I work up there too, but I’ve been in meetings all morning. Have you come across Ray yet?’ He grimaced and she smiled.

‘Yes. He made sure I had plenty to be getting on with. I thought it was very good of him to be so considerate.’

Ben grinned. ‘That’s him.’

‘So how long have you worked here?’ asked Chloe, and ate the last piece of her sandwich.

‘Well I trained here for two years and then stayed on when I qualified. That was three years ago now I think. Yes, three years. It’s not a bad place once you settle in. Assuming you do a good job of course.’ That smile again.

‘Oh dear, that sounds ominous,’ laughed Chloe. ‘Do I need to be worried?’

‘No, not at all, but we’ve had one or two people come and go recently. There was one lad in particular who was only here for six months or so. He was fine when he first started and seemed enthusiastic enough, but then he seemed to go downhill for some reason, lost his way a little I think.’ He looked around as if to check that the lad himself wasn’t listening. ‘Some days he just didn’t turn up for work. No explanation or anything. He’s hardly been in at all for the last couple of months and no one’s heard from him for a while. I think he’s finally realised it’s not for him. Drake reckons he’ll be formally dismissed next time he shows his face.’

Chloe found him very easy to listen to. His voice was warm and friendly, with just a hint of a northern accent which she thought added character to his voice.

‘Wow. Has anyone tried to contact him?’

‘Yeah, I think so. Well HR will have done anyway, but I guess there’s only so much you can do if he’s not bothered anymore.’

‘I suppose so,’ agreed Chloe. ‘What about…’

‘Hi folks,’ interrupted a voice. ‘I see you’ve found the new girl then? Getting to know each other are you? You wanna be careful, people will talk.’ It was Ray.

‘Oh, hello Ray. Very funny. I was just telling Chloe about Simon…’

‘What that loser? I wouldn’t waste your breath if I were you. I don’t think we’ll see him around here again.’

‘Why not?’ asked Chloe. ‘Do you know where he is? Maybe he needs help and support.’
Why am I fighting his corner?

Ben looked surprised at the hint of aggression in her voice.

‘No, of course not, but I’ve seen his type before. Not prepared to go the extra mile. I hope you’re not like that.’ Ray looked at Chloe and she didn’t like his expression.

‘I’m fully committed,’ she asserted, her resentment stirring quickly now.

‘To the firm?’

‘To my clients. And to justice.’

‘That’s very noble of you. Let’s hope you appreciate what’s most important.’

Ben interjected. ‘Right, we were just off back to work weren’t we Chloe?’

‘We were’, she said, not breaking her eye contact with Ray. ‘I have clients to look after.’

‘He’s an associate solicitor you know?’ advised Ben when they were a safe distance away. ‘Works very closely with Drake and not really someone you want to fall out with.’

Chloe stopped and looked at Ben. She didn’t have him down as a company man and she felt just a little disappointed in him.

‘He’s also an arsehole,’ said Chloe, and walked off towards the lifts.