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Judge Wakefield looks at her over her glasses. “Would you like to outline it?”
“In brief, to share time with both children fifty–fifty. Theo will spend half his time with the applicants and half with the respondents. David will do the same, but in the opposite rotation. Since the children have very different needs, this will allow each child to get the best care at any one time.”
“Very well. We’ll take a break for the parties to discuss that.”
We all troop out. There are no spare rooms, so we sit in the foyer. Pete and I wait with Anita, while the Lamberts go into a huddle with their barrister and solicitor. After a couple of minutes Miles comes over, smiling.
“Nice try,” he says approvingly. “You know you’re going to lose, so you thought you’d try to salvage something from the wreckage. But equally, since I know we’re going to win, there’s absolutely no chance we’ll agree. None whatsoever.” He wanders back to the others.
“I see what you mean about him,” Anita says, watching him go.
“Believe me, that’s Miles on a good day,” Pete says. He puts his head in his hands.
We return to the court. I make sure I walk in front of Pete rather than Miles.
“Well? How did you get on?” the judge asks.
“My clients don’t believe this proposal would be in either child’s interests, madam,” the Lamberts’ barrister says. “The parenting styles of the two families are very different.”
“Very well,” the judge says briskly. “Let us proceed.”
The hearing will begin, Anita has told us, with an opening statement from each side’s lawyer, followed by the professional witnesses and CAFCASS. After that, Miles and Lucy will take questions on their written statements. Then it’ll be our turn, before each side makes a final summing-up. It’s possible the judge will decide to wait and give her judgment at a later date. But Anita thinks it’s more likely she’ll come to a decision today. This really is the point of no return.
Harvey Taylor, the psychologist, is up first. He comes to the witness box—which is simply a chair and table at the front, sideways on to both the judge and us—and talks through his assessment of Theo in a calm, neutral tone. When he gets to the bit about Theo’s callous and unemotional traits, the judge interrupts.
“Are you effectively saying that Theo has special educational needs?”
Harvey nods. “Yes. They may not be comparable to David’s in severity, but in their own way they’re just as challenging.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Miles mutters. The judge looks over at him sharply, but ignores the interruption. She turns back to Harvey Taylor.
“And could you describe what this means for his development?”
“Essentially, he needs a very particular parenting style—what we call warm parenting.” The psychologist goes on to explain what that means.
“And can this type of parenting be learned?” the judge asks.
“It can, yes,” the psychologist says cautiously. “But, because there can be a hereditary component to CU traits, sometimes the parents of a CU child are the very ones who find it hardest.” He hesitates. “I would say, incidentally, that Mr. Riley has grasped it very well.”
The Lamberts’ barrister says immediately, “Madam, Mr. Harvey was asked by the court to assess whether Theo would be negatively impacted by a permanent move to the applicants’ family. His conclusion is that Theo will cope admirably. He wasn’t asked to assess either party’s parenting capability.”
“Mr. Harvey was answering my question,” Judge Wakefield says mildly. “And his professional expertise is relevant to the issue of parenting style, which you yourself raised just a short while ago.”
Bless you Bless you Bless you, I think.
“The applicants are of course willing to adapt their parenting in whatever way Theo’s needs dictate,” the barrister says.
“I’m sure they are,” the judge says. “Thank you.” She nods at Harvey Taylor, and the moment is over.
* * *
—
IT’S ONE SMALL PLUS in a long list of minuses. And, I realize, not even a very significant one. We might know that Miles is incapable of warm parenting, but why should the judge be able to tell that? I let my gaze slide toward him. He looks so relaxed, so confident, while beside me, Pete sits slumped in his chair biting his nails, looking like the nervous wreck he is. If I were choosing parents for Theo, which ones would I go for? The well-dressed, good-looking, well-heeled ones, or the ones with a string of criminal investigations, mental health issues, and allegations of alcohol abuse swirling around their heads?
Miles catches me looking at him and smiles.
It really is no contest, I think wearily. Even I would be hard-pressed to decide in our favor. I glance sideways at Pete, wondering if there’s anything I can do to prepare him for the worst.
After the psychologist, it’s Lyn Edwards’s turn. She seems nervous as she comes to the witness box. I’m surprised by that: Court appearances must be a regular part of her job.
“Ms. Edwards,” the judge says when Lyn has read out the affirmation, “is there anything you’d like to add to your written report before you take questions?”
Lyn says hesitantly, “There is, actually, madam. But I’m not absolutely sure whether the rules of disclosure allow me to.”
The judge raises her eyebrows. “Does it have a direct bearing on the interests of the child?”
Lyn nods. “I believe it does, madam. It concerns some video footage I was sent last night.”
“Then I’m going to ask both parties to leave the courtroom, while their representatives discuss whether or not it’s admissible.” The judge nods at us, then the Lamberts. “If you’d be so kind as to wait outside. The usher will call you back when we’re ready.”
* * *
—
FOR THE SECOND TIME, we all troop out. This must be some last trick Miles has pulled, I think, some theatrical flourish to round off the proceedings. I look over to where he sits on the other side of the foyer. His face is blank, which seems strange. If this is something he’s planned, wouldn’t he be savoring the moment? But he just seems impatient to get back inside.
Next to him, Lucy fiddles nervously with her pearls.
“Any idea what it can be?” I ask Pete.
“Beats me,” he says, mystified. “But Miles has been leaking stuff to Lyn all along, so it must be him.”
Eventually the usher calls us back and we resume our seats. “Thank you for bearing with us,” Marion Wakefield says pleasantly. She looks at Lucy. “Mrs. Lambert, I’m going to allow Ms. Edwards to describe the video clip that she referred to earlier. If at any time you want a break to discuss this matter with your legal representatives, or to see the video, feel free to ask. But please bear in mind that if you do request to see it, then the other side, as well as myself, will necessarily be shown it, too.” She nods at Lyn. “Please proceed.”
“The video appears to be taken with a camera placed on a shelf in Mr. and Mrs. Lambert’s playroom,” Lyn begins. “It shows Mrs. Lambert sitting with Theo at the table. She’s doing a drawing with him—a drawing of what she describes as a safe place. She tells him that really, there’s no safer place than their house, because of its thick walls. And she tells him that, if he’s ever asked to draw a picture of a place where he feels safe, he should draw the house where she and Miles live, and put the three of them inside it. And finally she says, if he draws a picture like that, his daddy Moles will be proud of him.”
There’s a short silence. “And what conclusion do you draw from this?” the judge asks.
“I believe she was coaching him in preparation for my visit.” Lyn has the grace to look shamefaced. “It is possible to find old CAFCASS reports online, if you look hard enough—they’re meant to be confidential, but parents sometimes ignore that and post them on various forums. And of course, there are only a small number of techniques you can use to elicit very young children’s feelings, so it’s not hard to work out how we might do it.” She looks from the judge to Pete. “Mr. Riley did tell me once that the applicants had been coaching Theo. At the time I assumed he was exaggerating.”
“Thank you, Ms. Edwards.” The judge looks at Lucy again. “Mrs. Lambert, ordinarily you would give your evidence toward the end of the proceedings, but given what Ms. Edwards has just told us, I’m going to ask you to come to the witness box now.”
Lucy’s hands are shaking so much, she can barely hold the card with the oath on it, and her voice is little more than a whisper.
