Necessary as Blood

about Charlotte. Then, this morning, she‘d snatched the first free moment in her office to ring Janice Silverman. ‘Of course,‘ she said, trying to sound conciliatory. ‘But from what we‘ve heard, Gail Gilles is not at all suitable...‘
    ‘Gail Gilles is Charlotte Malik‘s grandmother, her nearest living relative. As such, we have to give her due consideration. That doesn‘t mean,‘ she went on before Gemma could interrupt again, ‘that we will ignore the issues you‘ve raised. Charlotte will stay with Mrs Howard for the time being. I‘ve explained to Ms Gilles that her sons need to move out of the flat, and that we‘ll be checking to ensure they have done so. We‘ll be initiating a home study, and I‘ll present the results of our findings to the family court judge at the next hearing.‘
    ‘And when will that be?‘ asked Gemma.
    There was a rustle of pages, as if Silverman was checking a paper diary. ‘Two weeks from yesterday, unless there‘s a delay. Of course, you should attend if you have any information that would be helpful to the judge — although I‘d suggest that it be concrete.‘
    The phrases ‘home study‘ and ‘family court hearing‘ were all too rawly familiar to Gemma. She‘d assumed that when Silverman said, ‘But you, of all people‘, she‘d been referring to Gemma‘s work as a police officer. But now she wondered if Silverman had checked the records and found that Gemma and Kincaid had themselves fought Kit‘s maternal grandmother for custody.
    And won, with good reason, she reminded herself, although a cursory review by someone who hadn‘t known the parties involved might make her seem a bit of a nutter.
    And was she? she thought, feeling suddenly shaken.
    Was the fact that she and Duncan knew at first hand how much damage a supposedly benign grandparent could inflict on a vulnerable child making her overly sensitive?
    Maybe, she had to admit, although no amount of rationalizing could dispel her gut feeling that this child was at risk. And if there was no one else to champion her, Gemma couldn‘t afford to alienate the social worker.
    To Mrs Silverman, she said with as much composure as she could muster, ‘I‘ll keep that in mind. Thank you.‘
    ‘You could benefit Charlotte most by helping her adjust to her foster home.‘ The nip in Silverman‘s voice had thawed, but now Gemma just wanted to get off the phone and think.
    ‘I‘ll do whatever I can to help Charlotte, and Betty,‘ she said, adding, ‘Thanks for your time, Mrs Silverman.‘
    Melody came in as Gemma ended the call. ‘Coffee run,‘ she said, handing Gemma a Starbucks cup with a plastic top. ‘How did it go?‘
    ‘She thinks I have a grudge against grannies.‘ Gemma sipped, wincing as the still-scalding latte burned the roof of her mouth.
    And do you?‘ Melody perched on the edge of a chair and sipped her own coffee as if she were Asbestos Woman.
    ‘You think I‘m overreacting because of Eugenia?‘ Gemma worked the lid off the coffee and watched the stream rise in a little cloud. Kit‘s grandmother seemed to have become more mentally unstable, and these days it was only his grandfather Bob who came for the scheduled monthly visits. On the last occasion he‘d confided that he didn‘t know how much longer he could care for Eugenia on his own.
    ‘No, there‘s no doubt that she was seriously off her rocker,‘ answered Melody. ‘But what about your family? Do you get on with your grandparents?‘
    ‘I only vaguely remember my mum‘s folks. They died within months of each other when Cyn and I were little. My mum always said they never really recovered from the war. And my dad... my dad never even talks about his family. He left home when he was thirteen and never went back.‘
    ‘Can‘t have been a good situation, then. But Duncan‘s parents are all right?‘
    ‘They‘re lovely. And you‘re beginning to sound like a caseworker,‘ Gemma added with a touch of asperity. And that was unusual, she realized, as Melody tended to avoid discussing personal matters. ‘What about you?‘ she asked, giving tit for tat.
    ‘Oh, I was hatched from aliens,‘ Melody said with a grin, then quickly sobered. ‘So what are you going to do about little Charlotte?‘
    If Gemma knew about self-serving grandmothers because of her experience with Kit, she also knew that the social services‘ home studies were undertaken thoroughly and responsibly. But she realized that in the last few minutes