Johnny staredstraight ahead as he helped Kat up the uneven steps into reception. The fire service were pissed—oooh they were pissed, because apparently they didn’t like anyone messing with their equipment.
“Thanks,” Kat said, tapping her cane against the wooden floor. She rolled her shoulders, working out a crease in her floral summer jacket before looking up at him with tired resolve. She looked just as exhausted as he felt, except she probably hadn’t been up all night having sex with her best friend.
Johnny had to stop himself sucking his bottom lip.
“Here we are again,” Kat sighed, signing her name in the visitor book. “I really hoped I wouldn’t be seeing him again so soon.”
Johnny nodded, taking the pen and signing his own name. “Did anything come of the report Taylor made last week?”
She shook her head. “We had a strategy meeting, talkedaroundthe issue for most of it and then I went out and did a home visit like always.”
“And?”
She shrugged, but not in an uncaring way. “The house was tidy-ish, there were a couple of pot noodles in the cupboard and William had sheets on his bed. Mr Manders and I had a long talk, he said all the right things and I left.”
“You know he does that shit on purpose, right? The bare minimum so it gets you lot off his back?”
She nodded empathetically, tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. “I know, John-Paul. Believe me, I know. We talked about William’s schooling and he promised to get his attendance up. It doesn’t help that we’re in the middle of the summer holidays so we can’t monitor what they’re up to. He signed a parental agreement and that was it.”
Johnny scoffed and shook his head. “Yeah, because the five previous parental agreements worked so well.”
She shrugged again. “Well, things are different today, aren’t they?Todayhe got up on a roof and was found with drugs on him.”
Johnny sucked his teeth. “Please tell me Manders isn’t on his way over to collect him.”
She shook her head. “No. Can’t get hold of him. Or William’s mum, so I’m waiting for a call back on an emergency foster placement.”
Johnny let out a breath. “Good. Thank you.”
“But, John-Paul?”
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t antagonise Mr Manders. If the courts get wind of your family dispute they’ll have William back in his care quicker than you can say ‘red tape and pay cuts.’”
“You know we don’t go looking for trouble, right? Manders brings it to our door.”
Turning the corner, they reached the dining hall and found Taylor and William sitting at a table across from one another.Johnny sighed, smiling softly when he saw that they were eating toasted tea cakes and finishing off a jigsaw puzzle.
Taylor glanced up, then looked at William and said something Johnny couldn’t hear. William looked over his shoulder, his expression turning sullen when he saw Kat standing in the doorway.
She sighed. “I’ll take it from here,” she said, giving William a tired smile. “I’ll do my best to get William out of that house, but…”
“I know. Red tape and pay cuts,” Johnny said, squeezing her shoulder. “Thanks, Kat.”
The rest of the day blurred into never-ending paperwork, with Taylor making up some shitty excuse about needing to feed the hedgehogs whilst Johnny and Amil sent off all the safeguarding referrals. They were so knackered by the time they returned home that they both fell into bed without ever having the chance to talk.
Well, that was about to change, because Johnny had bribed Isla with chocolate buttons and a shoulder massage in order to let him and Taylor crew together the next day.
“Just wake me up when it’s home time,” Taylor said, sliding his chair back and resting a foot against the dashboard.
“Not a fucking chance,” Johnny replied, slapping the front of his stab vest. “If I have to suffer through another six hours, so do you.”
Taylor groaned. “Six hours? Fuck my life.”
“Yep, and we’ve still got feeding time at the pharmacist to deal with.”
Taylor groaned, because something they’d learned over the last week was that the most action they were ever likely to see in Dingly Heath were the squabbles between the elderly residents as they waited in line to have their prescriptions refilled. Everymorning, ten o’clock sharp, they’d all line up with their elbows out.
