He looked up.
Two police officers filled the doorway, flanked by a familiar figure in a smart cardigan and sensible shoes.
"Mr. Ashbourne?" the blonde officer asked, his cap tucked under one arm and his voice gentle with a smile in it. He was a handsome man in his thirties, broad-shouldered with kind brown eyes and a short, neat beard. The woman beside him was older, with salt and pepper hair scraped into a bun, notebook already in hand.
Behind them, Mrs. Renshaw had her hands around the strap of her handbag, observing the whole interview with professional eyes.
Fern, who had been scrolling through her phone on the seat by the window, stood so fast that the handset slipped from her fingers and bounced on the cushion.
"Yes," Connor said, looking back and forth between the officers and Mrs. Renshaw. "That's me."
"We're from the safeguarding hub," the male officer said. "I am PC Davis, this is DC Anand. And you must be... " His gaze shifted to Fern.
"Fern," she said. "I'm... Coral's mum." Her chin lifted a fraction. "Is there a problem?"
"No problems," DC Anand said quickly. "We're following up on the report about the injury and the... incidents at the house. We have gone over your complaint and have a few questions, if that's all right. And we wanted to check on Coral."
At the sound of her name, Coral looked up from her drawing. There was a moment when she just stared, owl-eyed, at the uniforms. Then her gaze snagged on PC Davis's hat.
"Haa," she breathed, sitting up straighter, extending one eager little hand.
Connor couldn’t help but smile. Trust Coral to break the ice. She was healing well and her speech had improved in leaps and bounds while they were at the hospital. She also seemed less shy with strangers.
"You like the hat, do you?" PC Davis's whole face softened. He stepped around the end of the bed, making sure to keep his hands visible. "Hi, Coral. I'm Davy. Can I come closer?"
She nodded, curls bobbing against the pillow.
Fern hovered by the bed, tension pulling her shoulders tight, but she didn't say ‘no’. Connor could feel her watching him out of the corner of her eye, but he didn't move. He just folded his hands together to hide the faint shake in them.
"Is that your baby?" Davis asked Coral, pointing at the Oggie tucked under her arm.
"Baybee Ooogie," she confirmed solemnly.
"She's very lucky. She gets to stay in a fancy bed." Davis winked before making a sad face. "I don't get a fancy bed, just a silly chair."
Coral giggled at that. The carefree tinkle did something to Connor's insides. When was the last time he had heard Coral laugh like that?
Davis glanced back at Fern. "Would it be okay if she tried on my hat? Just for a second?"
Fern hesitated, eyes flicking from his face to the cap, before nodding.
"Coral?" Fern said gently. "Do you want to try on the hat?"
Coral nodded again, more vigorously this time. "Haa," she said, reaching out, fingers fluttering with excitement in a gesture of 'gimme'.
Davis set the cap down on the bed first, within reach, and let her touch it. When she didn't pull away, he slowly lifted it and settled it on her curls. It slid down over one eye.
"Oh," she breathed. "Haa."
Connor swallowed hard. The image was so absurdly sweet it hurt—his little girl in an enormous police cap, cheeks still faintly mottled from a sunburn from earlier that week, smiling like this was all an adventure.
"You’ll make a brilliant policewoman, Coral," Mrs. Renshaw murmured from the doorway, voice thick. "Won't you, poppet?"
"We'll just... " DC Anand gestured to the chairs by the window. "If we could go over a few things while PC Davis keeps Coral company?"
Connor's gut clenched with tension. His mind flashed backed to another small room, years ago when he had gotten into big trouble with Sawyer. The school councillor's office, where someone had asked him what it was like at home now that his dad was gone, whether his mum ever left him on his own. That same feeling of being measured and written down and found wanting.
He dragged himself back to the present. "Am I in trouble?" he asked, the question low and raw before he could stop it.
