Chapter 15

Whilst things settled down at home, we were still subject to visits from Child Protection Services. However these were carried out by Zoe Aristedes and one of her senior case workers. They established that Harry and Georgie were settled in their home environment and school. Nevertheless it grated that I was still under a degree of supervision. The kids seemed unfazed by the visits and their schoolwork was unaffected. That, at least, took some pressure off me. They continued to visit their mother and Peter at weekends. Diane asked me if she could take them down to the house on the south coast. I had to get clearance from Zoe, but she was content to allow it provided I was. She was keen to get them to re-establish a relationship with their mother.

On occasions Diane would visit the house in the evenings and dine with us. I kept things as light as I could, but I still resented her for what she had done to us, but that lessened over the months.

Milla kept me informed of how things were going with the police investigation, but they worked at their own rate, and things progressed slowly. The most interesting development from my point of view came when Jimmy Henshaw phoned one evening.

"Fancy going for a beer, boss?"

Since I hadn't heard anything direct from the police before, I quickly realised that Jimmy was going outside the system. "Sounds good to me. When suits?"

"Tomorrow evening, in The Bell?"

"Eight o'clock?"

"Dead on, I'll see you there."

I made arrangements with Mum to sit with the kids, and Dad said he would drop me off and pick me up. I think he was hoping it would give me a kick into having a social life again. So the next evening found me ensconced in The Bell with an old shipmate. We shot the shit about events, mates, ships and cruises for a while, then Jimmy got to the nub of why he wanted to see me.

"I thought you might be interested in a bit of scuttlebutt on Constable Graham."

"Not if it affects the investigation, Jimmy."

"Nah. It doesn't really affect it. Anyway, you know her father is ex Petty Officer McVeigh."

I nodded.

"Well she was in her early teens when her father was jailed. When he came out he hit the bottle even harder. The family had to sell the house, and McVeigh couldn't hold down a job for more than months. From what I can make out he blamed you for everything. Eventually his wife left him and took the daughter with her. But she accepted what she had heard from her father and held you responsible for what happened to her family. Anyway, she joined the police in Devon and did fairly well by all accounts. She married a sergeant and became Graham. It didn't last, of course, shifts for one thing, and neither of them could keep their pants on. In the mean time she used her position to track you down and arranged a transfer just after her marriage broke up. It looks as if she had been watching you, hoping to get you on a speeding ticket or something and then provoke something worse. Then your wife dropped the assault thing in her lap." He necked the last of his pint.

"Another?"

"Sure thing, boss."

I polished off my own.

I set a fresh pint in front of him. "Anyway, once she got the report, she got one of the probationers and took him out to lift you. She worked the old "police cover each others backs" thing on him. I had to take him to the side and give him the gypsy's. He was backing her story until I explained to him where it was taking him. He's a good lad, and I didn't want to see his career fucked up by that bitch."

"It's easy done. He'd have been completely screwed if he is a probationer."

"Exactly. Anyway, I finessed his report for him so it doesn't look as if he is shitting down her neck. I hope you won't mind. Shopping a colleague is nearly as big a career blocker. It won't affect your claim, though."

"I haven't made a claim. I'm leaving it all to my solicitor and your internal investigation at the moment."

"I didn't know that. You could be in the big bucks if you did. You should think about it boss."

The rest of the evening was spent in reminiscence and catching up. Jimmy had made it to Petty Officer before deciding to go ashore. His exemplary record had got him accepted by the police right away, and he was making a career out of it. I phoned my father for a lift home and we dropped Jimmy off on the way.

First thing next morning I phoned Milla.

"You did what? You know better than to talk to the police without me there!"