ELIZABETH

“It’s to do with that home she was in, Blessingmoors,” says Richard.

James sips his brandy, looking wary. “Mmm...?”

“I was talking to Will…”

“Will?”

“Will Stanton, Police Commissioner…. The investigation on that place was never fully closed, although it has been semi-dormant for some years. During the original inquiry, they caught, convicted and imprisoned a number of the gang-leaders responsible for trafficking the youngsters, but they couldn’t get convictions on all of them, due to lack of evidence…”

“So….?” Now, James looks worried.

“So…. they would like to interview Charlotte. Take her through things again, in more detail. Show her photos of the men concerned. See if she can give a positive ID on any of them, or any more information. They’re trying to get convictions. Especially as there is reason to believe that some of the parties concerned may still be involved in trafficking. They might want Charlotte to stand as a witness in Court.”

James closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been worrying that something like this might come up. When do they want to talk to her? I can’t break that kind of news to her in the middle of her term, and certainly not when she’s got exams coming up.”

“Perhaps when she’s back at the end of the semester?”

“That would be better timing, yes. And she’ll have Michael for support then.”

“Michael?”

“He’s better at this sort of thing than I am. When things get emotional, I sometimes… over-react. Michael’s a rock. She’ll need him.”

Richard gives him a long look. “Over-react?”

James doesn’t speak at first, then, ‘Let’s just say that Michael deals with some things better than I do.”

“Things alright between the three of you? It must be difficult sometimes to…. um…. achieve a balance?”

Again, James speaks slowly, clearly choosing his words. “Things are fine with the three of us. I suspect that the difficulties you imagine, are not the ones that actually matter between us. Certainly, balance, as you put it, is not a problem. Michael and I are very different people, and we interact with Charlotte in different ways.”

Richard continues his probing.

Is he pushing his luck, asking things like this?

“And you and Michael?”

James raises an eyebrow. “Michael is my closest friend. He has been for years.”

I decide that it is time to interrupt.

“And how is Charlotte herself?” I ask. “After what happened over Summer? Finally coming out with everything that happened to her as a child.…”

James sips at his brandy.copy right hot novel pub