Chapter 21

“We need to get you some more clothes and some footwear,” said Mrs Thomas.

“I have an idea about that,” I said. “I’m sure we can trust Janey: she’s always had my back. If you can catch her as soon as she gets home from school, there should be time for her to sneak some of my stuff out of the house before my parents get home.”

“But she’s only twelve,” protested Mrs Thomas.

“And she’s the wisest person I know,” I countered.

“Well, if you’re sure...”

“I am.”

“First things first. I’m going to call Carlie to see how quickly I can get an appointment with her.”

“While you’re doing that, I’ll do the washing-up,” I volunteered.

Mrs Thomas looked shocked. “You’d do that? My Dex never does the washing-up.”

“Janey and I have to be able to do everything. I’ve even done some cooking.”

“My sister’s going to love having you to stay. You’ll be the first house-trained man she’s lived with. That’s if she doesn’t mind putting you up for a few days.”

Mrs Thomas went to make her call and I washed up the lunch things. When she came back, she was smiling.

“You’re in luck. Carlie has a slot open at 2 o’clock. And since you’re a new client, the first consultation will be free.

Mrs Thomas found me an old pair of Dex’s shoes that he didn’t wear any more and she drove us into town in her car. The timing was near perfect and we were shown in to see Ms Edgeway almost immediately. When Mrs Thomas had said Carlie Edgeway was inexperienced I’d imagined her to be quite young, but she was a muscular-looking woman in her forties.

“Hello Claire. I presume this is the young man in trouble. Please take a seat,” said Ms Edgeway, apparently unfazed by my ill-fitting uncoordinated apparel. “For mutual protection, all our discussions will be recorded.” She indicated a lit red LED embedded in her desk. “Now young man, what is your problem?”

“Tell her what you told me this morning,” said Mrs Thomas.

I started telling my story to Ms Edgeway while trying to keep it as concise as possible, conscious that an hour didn’t last long. My inability to talk to females kicked in and I started gabbling and stumbling over words.

Ms Edgeway must have encountered my problem before. “Jon, slow down,” she said. “Pretend I’m not here and you’re telling your story to Claire. Now why don’t you start again from the beginning.”

I did as she suggested, turning to face Mrs Thomas so I didn’t even have to look at Ms Edgeway. The second time was much better and, as I gained confidence, I slowly turned round to face Ms Edgeway again.

When I got to the part about sleepwalking, Ms Edgeway’s face lit up. “I’ve heard about you before. Richard Masson, who’s a senior partner here, asked me for a consult because of my expertise on child protection legislation.”

I turned to Mrs Thomas. “We have to go. She works for my parents’ lawyer and that means she must know my mum.” I got up to leave.

“Stop! Please hear me out,” pleaded Ms Edgeway. “Although Richard is a senior partner with the company, the division I work for, Family, is completely autonomous because of the sensitive nature of our work. Although he asked for a consult, he didn’t mention your or your parents’ names. And anything you tell me today is protected by client confidentiality and it would be illegal for me to discuss the particulars of your case with anyone outside my division without your permission.”

I wasn’t convinced. Richard Masson didn’t seem to have afforded such confidentiality to me and my parents.

“Jon,” said Mrs Thomas. “You trust Janey to have your back. I trust Carlie to have mine. I’ve known her since we went to school together, throughout her time in the police force, and after she was invalided out and trained to became a lawyer.”

I felt as though I was caught between a rock and a hard place, but if Mrs Thomas was prepared to trust my judgement on Janey, it was only polite to trust hers on Carlie. It wasn’t as though I had other options. I returned to my seat.

“Richard asked me about your rights if the hospital wanted to keep you in against you and your parents’ wishes,” explained Ms Edgeway. “Please continue with your story.”

I completed my tale of woe without further interruption.