‘My-my husband isn’t here – should I get him?’ I stammered, desperately scrabbling for time. Should I lie like Hugo had done or was I supposed to tell them the real story? The truth could land Hugo in deep water but I knew I too could end up in serious trouble if I was found to be lying to the Gardaí. I also wanted to do right by Elliot.
‘It’s okay. We’d like to talk to you first. I know you’re very worried about your son so I promise we won’t take long.’
‘Okay.’ Blood was thumping so loudly inside my ears that it was difficult to understand him.
‘Firstly, we want to assure you that this is standard procedure when a child is injured and the circumstances of the accident don’t correspond to the injuries sustained. We have to investigate situations like these out of a duty of care to all children.’
I gulped, swallowing a lump that felt like concrete wedged in my throat. Hospitals and Gardaí were so far removed from my daily life and it felt as though I was spinning inside a terrifying vortex that wouldn’t stop.
‘Can you tell us a little more about what happened tonight?’ Garda Johnson asked.
‘He-he fell,’ I began, knowing this bit at least was true. ‘Like we told the doctors.’
‘And how did he fall?’ she continued.
To cover for Hugo or not. This was my dilemma. It all hinged on what I said next. If I lied and got found out, I could find myself in serious trouble with the Gardaí but if I told the truth,Hugo could go to jail. My mind raced ahead with so many doomsday scenarios, all of them equally as terrifying. Our family destroyed. Elliot’s childhood ruined – that’s if he survived. Elliot being taken into care. Elliot visiting one or maybe both of his parents in prison. If I told the truth, our family would be torn apart for sure. If I lied – if Hugo and I stuck to the same story – there was a chance it could still be salvaged. In the heat of the moment, I made a split-second decision, hoping it was the right one.
‘He woke up and fell down the stairs; he must have been sleepwalking.’ I stuck to the story that Hugo had used. Guilt tore through me. I hoped I was doing the right thing by my son. Hugo wasn’t a monster. He loved Elliot. What had happened this evening was a freak accident. I knew that despite everything, Hugo didn’t deserve to be held to account for assaulting his son. ‘We heard him scream and we rushed out and found him on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.’
‘But when the paramedics arrived, they said they found him in the kitchen?’ Detective Hartley stated.
Damn it, anyway, why hadn’t I foreseen this obvious hole in my story? ‘H-Hugo c-carried him into the kitchen because Liv and Jay – our-our friends were in there and they are both n-nurses.’
‘He moved a child with a possible spinal injury?’ Garda Johnson asked, wide-eyed. ‘Couldn’t you have called them out of the kitchen to attend to him where he fell?’
‘W-we weren’t thinking straight… We just wanted to get him h-help. If you’ve ever had a child in an emergency, you’ll do whatever you can.’
‘And you’re certain that that was the exact turn of events this evening?’ Detective Hartley probed, holding my gaze. I forced myself to eyeball him back even though I was terrified he could see right through my lies.
‘I promise you, that’s what happened. We would never hurt our son.’
‘Very well,’ Detective Hartley said, replacing his hat. ‘We’ll leave you be for now but we’ll be in touch if we’ve any further questions. Thank you for your time, Mrs Laurence. We hope your son makes a full recovery.’
57
MAYA
It took me a long time to stop trembling after the Gardaí had left. I wasn’t sure if they had bought my version of events. Did they believe me or would they be back again? I just hoped I hadn’t made a bad situation worse. I began to doubt myself. And now I had unintentionally dragged Liv and Jay into this mess. Another thought occurred to me then, crashing into my head so brutally, so glaringly obvious that I wondered how I could have been so stupid not to think of it earlier: what if the Gardaí went straight to Liv and Jay and asked them what they had witnessed at our home this evening? I knew they would be honest and tell them exactly what had happened because that’s the kind of people they were. If it was discovered that I was lying, it wouldn’t just be Hugo who was in trouble; I could end up in hot water too. What if Elliot pulled through but his parents were in jail because of our actions? Or worse, what if he didn’t make it and I hadn’t been his voice to get justice? What kind of mother would I be then?
The nurse came around to check on him a few minutes later. I looked at her hopefully, my eyes searching hers for anything, any sign of good news.
‘Any change?’ I asked when she had finished updating his chart.
‘Still the same, unfortunately. But it can take a while, so don’t be disheartened. His body is putting its energy into healing; that’s what’s most important right now.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, grateful for her positivity in this bleak, never-ending nightmare.
Hugo returned to the room shortly afterwards and handed me a tarry-looking coffee. I took it gratefully.
‘Any change?’ he asked urgently.
I shook my head. ‘He’s still the same.’ I paused before delivering my next piece of news. ‘The Gardaí were just in.’
‘The Gardaí?’ he repeated in disbelief, instantly turning ashen. ‘Wh-what did you tell them?’
‘The same thing that you did. That he woke up and slipped down the stairs. We heard the noise and ran out and found him on the floor at the bottom. They asked why the paramedics found him in the kitchen and I said we moved him.’
Hugo nodded. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered, closing his eyes and holding his head in his hands. ‘I’m sorry.’ He choked out a sob. ‘I’m so sorry for putting you in this position. I don’t deserve either of you. I need to change. I can see that. I’ll get help. I’ll do whatever it takes.’
