The Girl From Yesterday by Shane Dunphy

Author:Shane Dunphy [Dunphy, Shane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472111241
Publisher: Constable & Robinson
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

21

Child services were based in an old hospital a mile out of town on the Galway side. I told the girl at the counter why I was there and waited as she talked quietly into a phone.

‘Someone will be with you shortly,’ she said.

They weren’t. I had my Lee Child book with me and had three chapters half read – I was too antsy to concentrate on it properly – before I heard my name being called. Standing at the counter was a broad man of about my own age with a shaved head and a thick reddish-brown moustache. He was dressed in a grey sports coat over a T-shirt with the Batman logo on it and blue jeans.

‘I’m Sid Doran, the duty social worker,’ he said, taking my hand and shaking it, but not really making eye contact. The duty social worker is the person who sits at the end of the phone, answering and recording all calls that come into the child protection offices. He organizes the initial investigations and decides if a case requires further intervention.

‘Thanks for seeing me,’ I said.

He brought me to a small office and we sat.

‘How can I help you today?’ Sid asked, opening a yellow legal pad and taking an expensive-looking pen from his breast pocket.

‘I am sure you are aware of the Blaney family,’ I began, and told him about my concerns, about how the children had indicated that they were not getting fed regularly, about Dom’s bruises, about what the principal of the primary school had said, and then I took out the pictures and gave him a commentary on Good Daddy/Bad Daddy.

Sid listened and took copious notes, pausing occasionally to ask questions or to get me to go back over something he had not understood fully. Because I had kept track of all visits for the newspaper, I had dates and times on everything.

‘That is incredibly thorough,’ the social worker said when I was finished.

‘I worked as a child protection worker in one form or another for most of my life,’ I told him.

‘Why the change of career?’

‘I’m going to be honest and say burnout,’ I forced a smile.

Sid sat back and looked over the pages he had written.

‘Pretend you had just caught this case,’ he said. ‘I mean, you’ve been around this family quite a bit by the sound of it. What’s your gut instinct about what’s going on?’

‘Well, my gut tells me there is most definitely something going on,’ I said. ‘I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that.’

‘Yeah, but go beyond that. Get specific for me. Take this Good Daddy/Bad Daddy thing. Looking back on the time you’ve been out at the house, would you say the children are afraid of their father?’

‘I would say that the only child who has any real relationship with him is the eldest boy, Jim. The others are pretty indifferent to him. But you see, isn’t it possible they have created a situation where they can separate the man from the actions? When he’s nice, he’s Good Daddy, and therefore kind of harmless.

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