'No, wait until the officers have finished in the kitchen. They won't be long.'

A minute later the officers came into the sitting room. At the same time Adrian and Paula ran up the garden and pressed their faces against the French windows. I opened one of the doors and they stared in and past me to the officers, their faces a mixture of shock and awe.

'Everything is OK,' I rea.s.sured them. 'There is nothing for you to worry about, but could you play in the garden for a while longer, please.'

'h.e.l.lo,' Wendy and Clive said with a smile.

Adrian said hi while Paula stared at the officers and then at Jade. Adrian gave her a nudge and they turned and ran down the garden. What I'd tell them later I'd no idea.

'Nice kids,' Clive Snowy said.

'Thank you.'

'We're all done here,' Clive said to me. 'So we'll be off.' Then to Jade: 'We'll need to take a statement from you. We'll be in touch with your social worker to arrange an appointment.'

Before we left the sitting room Wendy said to Jade: 'You've got a nice home here and a lovely baby. Don't throw it all away, Jade. You've hurt Cathy, and your mother will be furious when she finds out what's happened. As if she didn't have enough to worry about already.'

Jade didn't say anything but she looked close to tears.

'Goodbye, then,' Wendy said to Jade as we left the sitting room.

I went with the officers down the hall to see them out.

'Thank you for your cooperation,' Clive Snowy said, opening the front door. 'We'll speak to Jade's social worker and then make arrangements to take Jade's statement.'

'She'll definitely be prosecuted, then?' I asked, clutching to a tiny hope that she might not.

'Yes, I'm afraid so. It's the store's policy.'

'I dread to think what effect this will have on her parenting a.s.sessment,' I said, voicing my worst fears. 'And whether she'll be able to keep her baby.'

'Perhaps they'll overlook it this once,' Wendy offered.

'Perhaps,' I said, but I doubted it.

The officers thanked me again for my cooperation, said goodbye and left. I closed the door and the tears I'd been holding back now fell. I hurried into the kitchen, pulled a tissue from the box and wiped my eyes. Just in time, for seconds later the back door burst open and Adrian and Paula appeared.

'Have those policemen gone?' Adrian asked excitedly.

'Yes. I'll explain later,' I said. 'You go and play and I'll call you when dinner is ready.' I needed to clear my thoughts before I talked to them.

They turned and ran off down the garden just as Jade appeared in the kitchen. 'Shall I make Courtney's tea now?' she asked, subdued.

'Yes. But don't leave her in the sitting room unattended. I've told you about that before. Bring the bouncing cradle in here.' I was sharp with her but my nerves were on edge.

Jade fetched Courtney while I surveyed the dinner I'd been preparing before the police officers had arrived. Mechanically, I picked up the peeler and continued peeling the potatoes, more as a displacement for my anxiety than from any real desire to eat. I wasn't hungry but Adrian and Paula would be. Jade settled Courtney in the bouncing cradle at the far end of the kitchen, where we usually put her so that we could keep an eye on her but she was away from the dangers of cooking. In silence Jade began preparing Courtney's baby food while I continued making our dinner. We worked around each other, my thoughts racing as I tried to think what to say to Jade.

I'd just put the ca.s.serole in the oven when the phone rang. I answered the call in the kitchen but when I heard it was Jill, I said: 'Hold on a moment, I'm going into the sitting room.'

I took the handset through to the sitting room and pushed the door to before I spoke. 'Have you heard what's happened to Jade?' I asked, guessing that was the reason for her phoning after office hours.

'Yes. Rachel's just telephoned me. Is Jade home with you now?'

'Yes. The police brought her home and they've taken away bags of things she's stolen. Why, Jill? Why did she do it? I give her her allowance each week, and I buy whatever she and Courtney need. Jade also has her benefit money now. She shouldn't have had to steal!'

'I know, Cathy, I know. She's acted very irresponsibly. She knew what was at stake. Look, I need to come and see you as soon as possible. What time will you be back from school in the morning?'

'Nine fifteen.'

'I'll be there then. Where's Jade now?'

'In the kitchen, feeding Courtney.'

'Make sure she stays in tonight.'

'I will.' Then I steeled myself to ask the question I probably didn't want to hear the answer to. 'Jill, how will this affect Jade's parenting a.s.sessment? The police officer thought it might be overlooked as it's her first prosecution.'

Jill went quiet before she said, 'I don't know. Rachel is calling an emergency case conference for the professionals as soon as possible. She has other concerns as well.'

'Has she? What concerns? Rachel hasn't said anything to me.'

'I'll explain when I see you tomorrow. But don't blame yourself, Cathy. You've done your best.' Which held an unsettling ring of finality, as though Jade's fate had been sealed.

Chapter Seventeen.

Shaken to the Core

The following morning Jill was sitting in her car outside my house when I returned home from taking Paula to school. She was early. As soon as she saw me she got out and said what seemed to me a stiff and reserved, 'Good morning, Cathy.'

'Good morning,' I said.

We went up the garden path and I opened the front door. 'Would you like a coffee?' I asked in the hall.

'Yes please. And I should like to look at your log notes while you're making coffee.'

I was slightly taken aback by both the formality of Jill's request and the fact that she wanted to see my notes straightaway. Usually she read and then signed them at the end of her visit after I'd updated her on the child I was fostering and we'd discussed any other business in relation to the child. But I fetched the folder as she'd asked and handed it to her. Then I went into the kitchen to make coffee while she went into the sitting room.

In the kitchen I could hear Jade moving around above me, as her room was directly overhead, and I was expecting her to come downstairs at any moment. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her the evening before, as she'd gone straight to bed after dinner, and this morning I'd only had time to wake her and tell her Jill was coming before I'd left to take Paula to school.

When Jade hadn't come down by the time I'd finished making the coffee I took the mugs into the sitting room, where Jill was still poring over my notes, and then went up to Jade's room and knocked on her bedroom door.

'What is it?' she asked a little grumpily.

'Are you ready? Jill's here.'

'Courtney is but I'm not. Can you take her?'

The door opened and Jade, still in her nightwear and looking tired and drawn, pa.s.sed Courtney to me. Courtney grinned as usual and snuggled against me.

'I didn't sleep,' Jade said, rubbing her forehead.

'I'm not surprised. Neither did I. Come down as soon as you're ready. I'm sure Jill will have some suggestions that will help us.' Although Jade had acted stupidly I knew she loved Courtney and I hoped that this would count so much in her favour that her behaviour in the mall and the likely prosecution could be worked through.

Jade nodded and closed her door.

With Courtney chuckling and babbling in my arms, I went downstairs and into the sitting room, where Jill was still reading my log notes. I sat on the sofa and placed Courtney in her bouncing cradle so that she could see us. At eighteen weeks of age she was awake and playful for most of the morning and she continued babbling and chuckling as Jill turned the pages of my log notes and absently sipped her coffee. A couple of times when Courtney made an especially loud noise Jill glanced up and smiled. But her smile, usually full of warmth and enthusiasm, now seemed perfunctory and almost indifferent, as though her thoughts were a long way from darling little Courtney.

When Jill had been reading my notes for about fifteen minutes scanning them from start to finish and we'd both finished our coffee, she flipped through the last couple of pages and then closed the folder and placed it on the coffee table.

'Where's Jade now?' she asked sombrely.

'Getting ready. She'll be down soon.'

Jill paused. 'You do a lot for the baby, don't you?' she said thoughtfully, looking at Courtney.

'Well, yes, I help Jade. I'm happy to.'

Jill held my gaze. 'Cathy, there's no easy way to say this but it's not looking good for Jade. I don't think the a.s.sessment will come out in her favour. I don't think she will be allowed to keep her baby.'

I felt as though an ice spear had just pierced my heart. 'Why not?' I gasped. 'Jade made one silly mistake and she's sorry. It won't happen again. Surely that's not sufficient to take Courtney away?' I looked at Courtney and a lump rose in my throat.

Jill chose her words carefully before she spoke. 'Stealing from the mall isn't the only reason,' she said. 'Rachel has other concerns, about Jade's ability to parent her baby, some of which are confirmed by your log notes.'

'What? I haven't written anything detrimental about Jade looking after Courtney. Far from it. I've praised the way she looks after her.'

'I know,' Jill said with a small sad smile. 'I can see how positive you've tried to be, but I don't think you realize just how much parenting of Courtney you're doing. You've shown Jade what to do many, many times but you're still having to do it. You're doing far too much because Jade hasn't taken responsibility. She's not meeting Courtney's needs.'

I felt hot and fl.u.s.tered. I went to interrupt but Jill continued. 'Courtney would never be fed at night if you didn't wake Jade and tell her to warm the bottle. In fact there would never be any bottles sterilized and made up ready if you didn't repeatedly remind Jade to do it or do it yourself. And how many times have you looked after Courtney in the evening and then put her to bed because Jade said she was too tired? Or given Courtney her late-night and early-morning bottle because Jade couldn't or wouldn't be woken? To be honest, Cathy, you, and Tyler when he's here, do more for Courtney than Jade ever does. At the professionals meeting Rachel and the others present from children's services will have to ask themselves if Jade could parent Courtney alone, and to be honest I don't think she could and neither does Rachel.'

Shaken to the core, I stared at Jill. My mouth was dry and my stomach churned. Apart from the shock of what Jill had told me, I felt responsible; clearly I'd been doing too much for Courtney when Jade should have been doing it. It was my fault.

'I'll stop doing what I do and make Jade do it,' I said, desperation creeping into my voice. 'She's only been here a few months. There's still plenty of time for Jade to take more responsibility. I'll make sure she does.'

'It's not your fault,' Jill said quickly. 'A mother-and-baby a.s.sessment placement which is what this has become usually only lasts for twelve weeks. That is normally considered sufficient time for an a.s.sessment to be made of whether a parent can meet the needs of their child or baby. Courtney is eighteen weeks old now. Rachel has already extended the placement because of Jade's age to give her more time. It can't continue indefinitely. And there are other issues as well.'

'Like what?' I asked, my voice rising and shaking slightly.

'I take it you didn't know Courtney missed her last vaccination?'

'What?' I stared at Jill, horrified. 'She didn't?'

Jill nodded.

'I went with Jade to the clinic for Courtney's first vaccination, but then Jade said she was all right to go alone for the second and third. She told me she'd been.'

'It'll be recorded in the red book. Where's that?'

'Jade has it.'

'Have you seen it?'

'Not since Jade started going to the clinic alone, no.'

'Courtney's second vaccination was two weeks late, and she hasn't had the third one yet,' Jill said. 'And Cathy, all those times Jade told you she was spending the day at her mother's, she wasn't. The last time Jackie saw Jade was over a month ago and then it was only for ten minutes to borrow some money, although Jade did text her last week.'

I was shocked and numb. I felt hurt that Jade had lied to me and foolish for being taken in.

'So where has Jade been going when she was supposed to be at her mother's?' I asked quietly after a moment.

'Various places,' Jill said. 'The mall, friends' houses, and she's been seen hanging around the leisure centre. A couple of times she went to the cinema with Chelsea. She left Courtney in the care of Chelsea's younger sister, who is eleven years of age.'

I gasped in dismay. 'Oh no, eleven? Anything could have happened.'

'Exactly. Fortunately Courtney came to no harm, but it was highly irresponsible of Jade to leave her baby with such a young child. Sadly, it's another indication that Jade can't put the needs and safety of her baby before her own wishes. Rachel wants to see Jade as soon as possible and she's asked if she can come here tomorrow at twelve o'clock. Is that all right with you?'

I nodded absently. 'I'll be here,' I said.

'And make sure Jade is here too, please. Rachel will go through all her concerns with Jade then, but I thought I should tell you first so it didn't come as such a shock.'

'Thank you,' I said numbly. I didn't know what to say. 'Jade loves Courtney but I can see that after all this ...' My words fell away. 'Shall I prepare Jade for what Rachel is going to tell her?'

'No, leave it to Rachel. There are other issues that Rachel will talk to Jade about mainly about money. I haven't got the details but Rachel will explain it to Jade tomorrow.'

I nodded again, overwhelmed by the enormity of everything I'd heard and deeply saddened by Jade's behaviour.

Jill stayed a while longer and tried to rea.s.sure me that I'd done my best with Jade, while we waited for her to come down. Without any realistic hope of Jade being allowed to keep Courtney, Jill's words sounded hollow and were of no comfort to me. Jill asked if I wanted her to be present when Rachel visited tomorrow, but it would have meant her cancelling an important meeting so I said there was no need and I'd manage, for I knew how busy Jill was. She said she'd phone me tomorrow afternoon to find out how Rachel's visit had gone and that she'd also speak to Rachel.

Five minutes later Jill said she'd have to go. Jade still hadn't come downstairs so, leaving Jill in charge of Courtney, I went up to Jade's room. I was disappointed Jade hadn't come down as she was supposed to and I knew Jill would see this as another indication of Jade's unreliability.

'Jill's going soon,' I said, knocking on Jade's door. 'Come down, please, and at least say h.e.l.lo.'

'Do I have to?' Jade moaned from inside.

'Yes please.' I opened the door so that I could see into the room. Jade was dressed and sitting on her bed, looking glum. 'Now, please,' I said.

With a sigh she reluctantly hauled herself off the bed and then came with me downstairs and into the sitting room, where Jill was cuddling Courtney. Jill looked up and smiled at Jade as we entered. 'How are you?' she asked her kindly.