Joel
I put my coffee mug down and stare at Scotty’s side profile as he completes paperwork at his desk.
‘Would you want to know if you’d fathered a child?’
I wait while he stares at me and thinks.
‘Too long mate, I could answer that question in a nanosecond.’
‘Of course,’ mutters Scotty, his stare intensifying. ‘Are you trying to tell me something? Is one of the WPC claiming that I’m…?’
‘Sod off – you can relax.’
‘Phew! Don’t joke like that, man,’ says Scotty, acting astonished.
‘But you’d want to know if there was a little Scotty running about somewhere, wouldn’t you?’
I watch his blank face.
‘Scotty, it’s your flesh and blood and… well, yours!’
Scotty nods slowly.
‘He couldn’t have known, could he?’
‘Who?’
‘Flora’s father.’
‘I wondered when we’d get back round to her?’ He checks his watch, adding. ‘Bingo, all of ten minutes.’
‘Look, the chances of two people knowing about such a plan and pulling it off with them both consenting and never telling anyone else in thirty years would be some pact, wouldn’t it?’
Scott leans back and grimaces.
‘Haven’t you got anything better to do whilst on sick leave… you’re not even supposed to be here. Go home!’
I ignore him.
‘People make pacts all the time, and instantly go back on them when the reality of the situation hits home. Look at me and Veronica… planning a life together… she’s gone back on her word in a matter of years let alone thirty!’
‘And?’
‘My point is… the guy doesn’t know that baby was his!’
‘He wouldn’t be the first.’
‘No, and I’m not saying that makes it alright… so the mother must have acted alone and simply lived with the secret.’
‘So, your theory is someone else would have dobbed her in? Perhaps.’
My instincts were calling the shots on this one.
‘Think about this village and the families around here… they would have crucified her if they’d found out… can you imagine it?’ I said, adding. ‘They’d have disowned her if they’d even suspected.’
Scotty shrugs.
‘So not even her family knew she was pregnant… so surely it couldn’t have been a married woman… you’d notice if your partner showed any signs of a full-term pregnancy.’
Scotty shrugs again.
‘What! You’re saying you wouldn’t notice a pregnancy belly? Be serious for once in your life!’ I say in disgust.
‘How would I know?’
‘Pregnancy hasn’t happened to me either mate, but I’ve got eyes in my head – I’d definitely notice.’
‘OK, I’d notice too,’ says Scotty.
‘Don’t say it just to shut me up.’
‘Bloody hell, you’re right touchy since she blackened your face, you know that?’
I ignore him and continue.
‘So, what situations or circumstances would a couple have to be in for her not to tell him she’s pregnant and for him not to notice and never find out?’
‘An affair?’
‘Possible.’
‘Especially if he’s older or married… or a break up when the pregnancy was pretty early on so the mother might not have known at the time but later discovers she is.’
‘Now you’re thinking, Scotty.’
‘Rape.’
‘Let’s hope not… but sadly, a feasible suggestion.’
‘Especially if she didn’t report it in the first place…’
‘OK, I’d dearly like to rule that theory out. Next.’
‘Or, the chap was away a lot,’ adds Scotty.
‘The armed forces?’
We both give knowing nods.
‘Some army tours can be pretty lengthy,’ adds Scotty. ‘Young lad, home on leave, a few pints and some fun with a young lady before re-joining his squaddies on tour.’
‘Maybe the mother didn’t know how to contact him, so she felt under pressure and faces raising the child alone.’
‘Or a housewife left at home with a couple of kids discovers she’s expecting and knows she can’t cope with another baby while her husband’s on a tour of duty.’
I shake my head.
‘I can’t see a woman who has raised children doing that… putting her down and walking away – I can’t see it.’
‘You never know, Joel… it’s a possibility.’
‘So, who in the village has links to the services?’
‘Well not now… but back in eighty-five or eighty-six there could have been a family in the armed forces… you don’t know everything about this village you know. I grew up here, you didn’t!’
‘Yeah, but even so how old are you? Oh yeah, I forgot you weren’t even born… you’re only twenty bloody six!’
‘A number mate, just a number.’
‘You don’t know everything either,’ I jibe, pulling a face for good measure, though it wasn’t the best idea given my bruised features.
‘You know I’ve got work to do and my coffee has gone cold… so if you’re thinking of hanging around here yet again… go make yourself useful and brew up, tea boy!’
He’d got a point. I was supposed to be on sick leave but being alone at home didn’t appeal.
I prise myself from the office chair, collect his cold coffee and head for the staff kitchen, my mind buzzing with feasible scenarios.