Silent Voices

times, according to Masters, a frail beauty who was hardly more than a child herself – only shook her head and looked sad.’ Ashworth looked directly at Holly. ‘And those words were taken straight from the inquiry notes. Michael said he’d tried to make friends with the boy. “But I’m not very good with children. Too self-centred, I’m afraid.” Then he added, surprising Masters, who wasn’t expecting such an immediate result, “Look, if it’s awkward, maybe I should move out. I don’t want to make things difficult for Mattie and Elias. That’s the last thing I’d want.” And Morgan was as good as his word. He was gone by the weekend, promising to stay in touch with Mattie, but going back to the flat that he’d never really given up at the complementary-therapy centre.’
    Vera pushed her backside off the windowsill where it had been resting. It was time for her to take over now. Leave it to Ashworth, and they’d be here all day.
    ‘So the professionals all heaved a sigh of relief,’ she said briskly, ‘and thought the problem was solved. If anything was going on with the kid, then the cause of the trouble had been removed. Jenny Lister was the only one to counsel caution. She said Connie couldn’t assume Michael Morgan was at the root of the child’s anxiety, and told her to continue regular visits. Mattie was a damaged individual and still needed supervision and support. She sent an email to that effect to all the professionals who’d attended the original case conference. But Connie got distracted by the rest of her caseload: families with problems that seemed more urgent. And her own personal life was a shambles. She made a couple of flying visits to Mattie, who said everything was OK, but she didn’t see Elias again. It seemed that nobody spoke to Michael after that meeting at the flat. During the investigation that followed his death, it became clear that Elias was still having problems at school, but because of Jenny’s email, the teacher assumed Connie was involved with the family and was dealing with it. Almost exactly a year ago, the child died. He was drowned in the bath. Mattie drowned him. At first she said it was an accident, but during the first interview with police she admitted that she’d killed him. She blamed him for Michael walking out. And maybe she thought that if the boy wasn’t there, her man would come back to her.’
    Vera looked around the room. She saw that she had their full attention. There were no facetious comments, no eyes rolled towards the ceiling to show they’d lost patience with all this talk. Usually they wanted action, but the death of a child affected them, made them quiet and still.
    ‘The officers investigating the child’s death spoke to Michael. It seemed bathtime was always a trauma for the boy. In interview, Mattie admitted that she used water as a punishment, held Elias’s head under until he choked.’ Vera kept her voice even, but imagined the scene in her head. Mattie whispering so that her lover couldn’t hear: Michael doesn’t like clutter. Michael doesn’t like noise. Be a good boy and this’ll never happen again. ‘It was hardly surprising he was freaked out by an unexpected wave at the seaside. In the court case her defence team tried to persuade the jury that the death was a repetition of the earlier incidents and she hadn’t meant to kill her son.’
    Now the team members were furious, full of righteous indignation. ‘Didn’t the boyfriend try to stop her? How could a mother do that to her son?’
    Vera answered the last question first. ‘The psychologist’s report talked about Mattie’s low IQ. Michael was the first man to show her any kindness and she was in love, head over heels, crazy for him. The psychologist was surprised at the use of water to exercise control over the boy. It’s not a normal form of punishment. She thought it likely Mattie had been treated the same way herself, perhaps by one of her foster parents or in residential care. Mattie might even have thought it was a normal way to behave.’
    The room fell silent. ‘Michael claims he had no knowledge that Mattie was mistreating her son,’ Vera went on. ‘The CPS must have believed him. They never prosecuted.’ Then there was a release of tension, some chortles of derision. Nobody had much faith in the judgement of the CPS.
    She looked at Ashworth. She’d stolen his thunder for long enough. Let him take over now.
    ‘The press blamed Connie