All The Little Moments

by G. Benson

  “They’ve all been called, so yes. Just be back here in five minutes. We won’t be calling you unless the judge has specific questions for you.”

  Mind already out the door, Anna nodded. She walked out and was quickly hit with the rocket that was her mother, whose arms wrapped tight around her. “Did I do okay? Oh, I was so nervous, I don’t even remember it now; it’s a blur.”

  Anna pressed her face into her mother’s neck. “You did great, Mum, thank you.” She looked around. “Where’s Dad?”

  “He left for home, said he had business.”

  Of course he did.

  Anna nodded, resigned. “Kym?”

  “She said she mentioned it the other night, that she had to get in to work when she was finished testifying. She said you have to message her as soon as you know.”

  Lane stood behind Sandra, fidgeting with her bag, appearing even more anxious than she had in the courtroom. Untangling herself from her mother, Anna gave Lane a searching look. “Are you okay?”

  “Anna, that man in there, at the table with your caseworker.”

  “George Coleman?”

  “He was at the café with Cathy yesterday.”

  Freezing, Anna stared at her. The memory of the scene in the café, the man who had seemed vaguely familiar, washed over her. “Oh, my God. You’re right.”

  “Do you think—”

  “Who’s George?” Sandra cut in, but they ignored her.

  “Everyone has been saying this reaction was extreme. Lorna wouldn’t speak more about it.” Thoughts whirring, Anna didn’t take her eyes off Lane’s.

  Lane nodded vigorously. “Do you think he was the one that pushed for this?”

  “They said there was an issue from someone at the office. I never really thought it could be George. Why would he be talking to Cathy?”

  “Anna, you have to tell Scott.”

  “I’ll go now.”

  Shrilly, Sandra cut in again. “What? Who’s George? What is going on?”

  Anna whipped her head around. “Lane will explain, I have to run, Mum.” Heart pounding, she turned on her heel and rushed back in. Everything began making more sense. She sat down next to Scott and grabbed his arm, turning him towards her.

  His eyes widened when he saw the look on her face. “What?”

  “Scott,” she said, trying to keep her voice to a whisper, “George was at a café with Cathy yesterday. We saw him there. Lane just recognized him. He only came to my house once, and Lorna did not express any concerns about the kids. He appeared after Cathy first came over and got scary.”

  Processing this information, Scott stared at her for a second. Excitement gleamed in his eyes. “Got it.”

  “This is good, yes?”

  “That is all far too much of a coincidence.”

  When the bailiff stood straight and said his piece, Anna didn’t even hear what was said. There was a ringing in her ears. Everybody stood up again.

  Scott winked at her. “Leave this to me.”

  “Okay.” Her mouth was dry. Half-elated and half-nauseous, Anna felt helpless, but finally one step closer to getting the kids back.

  Lorna was called to the stand first.

  The State’s attorney rose and started questioning. “Lorna, you’ve worked for the department of child services for how long?”

  “Eight years.”

  “And you’ve been on the Foster case from the start?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you yourself had any concerns in this matter?”

  “No. None.”

  “So why are we here today?”

  “An order came from above me, and I had to follow the protocol.”

  “And you saw nothing that had you concerned all that time?”

  “No.”

  The lawyer nodded. “That will be all.”

  Anna glanced at George, who was trying to hide his glare at Lorna.

  Scott rose. “So you had no concerns, Lorna?”

  “Not really, no. It was very straightforward. A guardian had been allocated. Doctor Foster accepted taking in the kids. It was mostly paperwork and routine follow-up visits. I went on two and a colleague on another.”

  “A different colleague—isn’t that unusual?”

  “It is a little unusual, but not unheard of. The senior caseworker in my office, George Coleman, had the initial neglect complaint cross his desk. He took over from there.”

  “Ah, I see. So he did the third visit, the visit post the first neglect complaint you received from the maternal grandmother?”

  “Yes. I wanted to do it, but he insisted a higher-up wanted a second pair of eyes on it. It’s not completely unheard of.”

  “Okay, let’s go back to the beginning. Did you have any concerns raised at any of your visits?”

  “No. I was there twice in that short time, and the kids were adjusting as well as could be expected. Doctor Foster seemed to be juggling them and work. After moving states and starting a new job, she seemed fairly settled. I spoke to the school counsellor about Ella, and no red flags were raised.”

  “Ella broke her arm, yes?”

  “Yes, early on, at the park. There were witnesses; there were no concerns about this.”

  “So when the complaint was officially lodged, it had nothing to do with the broken arm?”

  “No. That wasn’t even mentioned; in fact, I’m not even sure if the grandmother had been aware of it.”

  “So what were the concerns put forth?”

  “Neglect. She said that the kids were being ‘dumped’ with many different people. She went so far as to hint that the children had been left at home alone. The second complaint, an anonymous one, claimed that many different women were in and out of the house at all times and that the children were being left alone, or in other places, as Anna was frequently at home without them.”

  “And this triggered the unscheduled home visit and checks on the school and day care?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you still weren’t concerned?”

  “I wasn’t at all. The kids appeared on the way to healing, as well as they could be expected to be, and, again, I saw no red flags when I made the visits and calls to the school and family members.”

  “So what led to the kids being removed from the home?”

  “My colleague raised red flags after his home visit. The complaint crossed his desk after my second visit. That was when he decided to go. He raised concerns, and that, coupled with a new complaint from the maternal grandmother, led to it going over my head and the kids being removed.”

  “I see. One last question, Lorna. What would your recommendation to the court be?”

  “I believe these kids need to be back in their home, in a stable environment. I think Doctor Foster is the best person to be providing that.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lorna went back to her seat.

  The State’s attorney called Cathy, and Anna felt every hair on her arms stand up.

  Accompanied by a bailiff, Cathy walked down the aisle. Anna gripped her knee tightly. Cathy was dressed like a president’s wife, wearing a day suit with pearls at her throat that had a silver cross hanging from the centre.

  As soon as she was sworn in, the State’s attorney started. “Mrs Larsen, you’ve petitioned the court for guardianship, is this correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was this before or after you lodged your concerns with the department?”

  “Before.”

  “What drove you to lodge for guardianship, considering the parents’ wishes had been for guardianship to go to Doctor Foster?”

  “My concerns were always present.” Cathy glared at Anna. “She has no children of her own, she can’t know anything about raising two young children. She has always appeared focuse
d on her career and relationships, never on having a family. I visited one day, and was appalled to find out Toby was in day care during the week when he should be home, and she was working full time.”

  “Understood. And you were concerned enough to lodge a complaint?”

  Cathy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I was concerned she was not doing well by the children, and then, not only this, but Toby was with his other grandmother that day, a Friday, while Anna had clearly slept late and was entertaining her—” she clearly struggled with the word, “girlfriend in the house.”

  “Is this when you lodged the complaint?”

  “Yes, and started the process of petitioning to challenge the will. I could see the children were not getting the attention they deserved, and Anna was clearly still focused on her career and conquests, rather than the kids. It’s obvious I can provide a much healthier atmosphere.”

  Anna stiffened at the harsh words. Scott whispered out the side of his mouth, “Breathe.”

  She tried.

  “So what led to you to lodge the second neglect complaint?”

  Blinking rapidly, Anna turned to Scott in confusion, but he simply watched what unfolded with a smile playing at his lips. The second complaint had been anonymous. Surely the State lawyer wasn’t actually trying to trip Cathy up?

  Eyes back on the pair, Anna actually felt hopeful.

  Cathy pursed her lips. “I kept an eye on them, after that.”

  It was as if Cathy had forgotten it had been anonymous. She didn’t even deny it.

  “There were two separate women I saw coming out of the house at various times of the evening and early hours of the morning, which is no way to influence a child. Not only this, but Anna was working full time, when Sally had been home with the kids previously. Some nights, Anna got home later than others. I went by one evening to drop off a present for the kids and no one answered the door. I was concerned. Where would someone with a toddler and a six-year-old be at eight in the evening? Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I stayed to see if they would get in so I could give them the present. I gave up after midnight. It was then that I realised I needed to get these children out of this destructive environment and with my husband and myself, to somewhere more stable.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” The State’s attorney sat down, an odd look on his face.

  Scott stood up, and Anna sat up straighter. There was no way to know how this was going to play out—what would Scott do with the information she had given him?

  “Mrs Larsen.” He smiled at her, and she frowned at him. “Were you ever concerned Ella or Toby were not being fed? Clothed? Housed? Sent to school?”

  Cathy’s lips pressed together in a tight, white line, and it surprised Anna how she could go from looking like Sally to looking like a completely different person. “No. But—”

  “Did you ever think they were being starved? Abused?”

  “They are being abused! That woman lives in sin, and she is perpetrating to my grandchildren that it is okay and normal to live that lifestyle.”

  “It’s not illegal to be gay in Australia, Mrs Larsen. Nor does it mean you can’t parent. I’ll ask in a different manner. Did you ever think they were being hit? Yelled at? Blackmailed?”

  Nostrils flaring, she glared at him. “No.”

  “Yet you deemed it fit to make three complaints, one ‘anonymously’ to make it seem as if others had concerns.”

  “I never said I made the anonymous complaint.”

  Spreading his arms wide, Scott smiled. “You all but admitted it to the other counsellor.”

  The flush that spread over Cathy’s cheeks gave Anna a warm feeling in her chest.

  The judge was watching Cathy with a dark expression on his face. He cleared his throat. “One moment, Counsellor.” And then he was looking at Anna. “Doctor Foster, if you don’t mind me asking: this evening Mrs Larsen was at the house and neither you nor the kids were home, where were the children?”

  “Uh…” Anna was taken off guard. “Having a sleepover with my mother. Ella had specifically asked if they could. It was something they used to do regularly when my brother was alive.”

  “And the other day she came over, when Toby was at his grandmother’s?”

  “That was the one night I’d had to work late, until three a.m. My mother took the kids.”

  “And in two entire months, it was the only time you agreed to work late?”

  “Yes. A truck had hit a school bus and, being a senior on staff, I felt obligated to stay. Half the staff on shift that afternoon stayed late.”

  “I saw that on the news, a tragedy. Though I also heard your hospital didn’t lose a single patient.”

  “They’re all doing well.”

  The judge eyed her for a second, then said, “Thank you for answering.”

  Cathy piped up. “And where were you, afterwards? Using the advantage to instantly be with a woman? And the other night you were out, was it even one of the two you’re already stringing along, then?”

  The vehemence in Cathy’s voice made Anna’s eyes widen and her stomach roll over. Never in her life had someone looked at her like Cathy was looking at her now.

  Everyone looked to the judge as he cleared his throat. “You will stick to answering questions, thank you. If the children were safe and looked after that evening, I have no concerns about what Doctor Foster was doing with her free time.”

  A lemon could never be as bitter as Cathy looked in that moment. “Those children deserve to be raised by God-fearing, Christian parents. My daughter had already gone so wrong, and now here we are, an opportunity to raise them as they should be, not in sin, but—”

  “Please stick to the questions, Mrs Larsen.”

  Anna had a slight, awkward crush on the judge.

  With a benign expression, Scott said, “No further questions.”

  He sat back down.

  Staring at the judge, Cathy was apparently unable to contain herself. “You are a Christian man, I can tell,” she said. “How can you want to put these children back into her care? The law needs—”

  “The law is as I see fit in my courtroom, Mrs Larsen.” The judge had clearly had enough. “Please step down and refrain from speaking to me about Christianity. I would like you to remain in the courtroom for the rest of the hearing, since it is mainly on the basis of your complaints we are here today. Take a seat.”

  The anger radiating off Cathy as she took a seat behind the lawyers’ tables was palpable.

  The judge looked back at the lawyers. “Continue, please.”

  The second case manager was called. Refusing to look anywhere near Anna, George Coleman took the witness seat.

  The State’s lawyer stood, cleared his throat and said, “Please let us know when you first became aware of the Foster children.”

  “I first became aware when the first neglect complaint was lodged. I’m the senior caseworker in my department, and these things usually come across my desk. Sometimes they are handed straight off to the caseworker in charge of the case and others I take a personal interest in.”

  “And you took an interest in this one?”

  “It was a known case. The car accident was on the news, the kids were spoken about in office meetings. The call of neglect in these circumstances concerned me.”

  “And when you went to the home visit, what caused you to lodge a complaint?”

  “The form I lodged was not a complaint, nor an official statement of neglect. It’s like a ‘red flag’ warning, a form we fill out to let people know the caseworker had some concerns.”

  Rising from his chair, Scott interrupted. “May I ask a question?”

  Momentarily taken aback, the State’s attorney gave a nod and sat down.

  As if asking about the weather, Scott continued, “But what were your concerns?”
r />   Barely noticeably, George shifted in his seat. “The children were strangely quiet. They appeared withdrawn. Miss Fost—”

  “Doctor Foster, actually.”

  George grimaced. “Yes, ah, Doctor Foster did not seem very interested in the kids or talking to me. I had a feeling with this, so I simply put the paperwork in that there were some concerns; that was all.”

  Completely relaxed, Scott nodded. “Okay. And how long have you known Cathy Larsen?”

  George tried to hide the fact that his mouth had dropped open in surprise. “What makes you think I know Mrs Larsen?”

  Scott smiled easily.

  Anna pursed her lips and tried to quell her rising excitement.

  “Please just answer the question, sir.”

  “I, ah, don’t know her well.”

  “The question was how long have you known her.”

  “We go to the same church. I suppose I’ve known her six or so years, but not well.”

  “Well enough to have coffee yesterday?”

  George’s face paled, and his eyes finally flitted to Anna, who looked back at him, expression stony. He obviously thought he had gotten away without being spotted. “I did have coffee with her, yes.”

  “Was this the first time the two of you have had a meeting?”

  George was silent.

  “Answer the question, Mr Coleman.” Anna had thought that Kym gave a good stink eye, but that was before she met this judge.

  “I have met with her several times over the last four weeks.”

  “And were you, by any chance, advising her on how she could work the system to ensure the children could be removed and assuring her you could lodge certain paperwork and give the right nudges to ensure that would happen?” Scott asked.

  The silence was thick. “Answer the question, please,” Judge Gordon said “You are under oath.”

  “I gave her advice, yes. She had many, legitimate concerns about her grandchildren.”

  “And you helped her manipulate the system to lead to their removal from the custody of Anna Foster and, you hoped, to lead to the placement of them in the care of Cathy Larsen and her husband?”

  “I never lied.”

  “Do you really think it was surprising that the children were reserved around you, a stranger? Especially considering the death of their parents only two months previously?”