Silence.
“Did you read our email?” I added.
“Yes. Well, the first few lines anyway. It was a bit long, to be honest. But I got the gist. Look, apology accepted. Water under the bridge. And let’s face it, I probably spoke a little hastily as well.”
I took a deep breath. “Miles, we need to sort this out.”
“Consider it sorted. Anyway, now we’re all good, how soon can you get Theo over to Highgate?”
“I need to think about that,” I said firmly. “Definitely not today, and as for tomorrow…Look, you should know that we have reservations about how this whole nanny-share thing is going to work. Whether it’s really the best thing for Theo. In the long term, I mean.”
There was a brief silence. Then, in the calm, distant voice I was getting so familiar with, Miles said, “Well, don’t think too fucking long, Pete.”
And then the phone went dead.
* * *
—
I RELATED ALL THIS to Maddie when she got home. “It’s like a switch inside him suddenly gets thrown. Then, when the switch goes back again, it’s as if it never happened.”
Maddie nodded. “I think Lucy’s scared of him, too.”
As if on cue, our doorbell rang. We looked at each other. “Speak of the devil,” I said quietly.
I went and pulled the door open, determined that this time I wasn’t going to give any ground.
But as the man on the doorstep moved his umbrella, I saw it wasn’t Miles. It was Don Maguire, the private investigator. He was holding out a thick white envelope, rapidly spotting with raindrops.
“I need to serve you this,” he said. When I took it, he added, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” Then he turned and walked away through the rain.
Mystified and slightly alarmed, I took the envelope indoors and opened it. It contained a thick bundle of documents. At the top were two sheets, slightly damp, both headed Notice of Proceedings. I saw Miles’s name.
“What is it?” Maddie asked.
“I’m not sure. But whatever it is, it doesn’t look good.” Quickly, I pulled the papers out and flicked through them. An official-looking document headed Declaration of Parentage. A photocopy of a birth certificate—Theo’s. Something about mediation. And several blank forms headed Respondent’s Copy.
“They’re legal papers,” I said, baffled. “There’s a date for some sort of court hearing. But I don’t understand. When I spoke to Miles, he didn’t say anything about this.”
Underneath the Notice of Proceedings was a form headed C1: Application for an order, Children Act 1989 except care and supervision orders, Section 8 orders and orders related to enforcement of a contact order. None of the words meant anything to me. I went through it line by line, desperate to understand what was going on. The first section was headed About you—Person completing this application. Miles had filled in his own name and address.
Section 2 was headed The child(ren) and the order(s) applied for. For each child state (1) the full name, and (2) the type of order(s). Underneath, Miles had written:
David Leopold Lambert—Special Guardianship Order
Theo Riley—Child Arrangements Order
“Oh my God.” I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What?” Maddie said, concerned. “Is it Theo? He’s not trying to swap them back after all?”
“It’s worse than that,” I said slowly. “I think he’s trying to get them both.”
48
Case no. 12675/PU78B65: CAFCASS “Welcome Pack” letter received by Peter Riley and Madelyn Wilson, signed by Lyn Edwards, Family Court Adviser.
Dear Ms. Wilson and Mr. Riley,
CAFCASS, the Children and Family Court Advisory Service, has been asked by the court to work with you and your child/ren. Our job is to provide the court with advice to help it decide on future arrangements for your child/ren.
I understand that this is a difficult time for you and your family. At CAFCASS our job is to make sure children are safe and that their views and interests are taken into account. This means that I need to ask questions about your situation. In the first instance I will telephone you to discuss any concerns you may have about the safeguarding of your child/ren. I will also telephone other parties in the case to seek their views. Following those calls, I will write a letter to the court setting out whether there are any safeguarding issues that the court should be aware of, and if so, what I think should be done about them.
We recognize that you may not be in agreement with recommendations I may make to the court and this can be challenged during the court proceedings. If, however, you are unhappy with any part of my practice, please tell me or my manager as soon as possible so that we can quickly understand your concerns and try to put things right.
Yours sincerely,
Lyn Edwards
Family Court Adviser
Wherever possible CAFCASS uses recycled paper and black ink to reduce costs and our carbon footprint.
Case no. 12675/PU78B65, Exhibit 24, retrieved from DadStuff.net.
HELP—NEED GOOD CHILD LAW SOLICITOR URGENTLY.
Homedad85—Level 5 poster. Member since 2018.
Need a lawyer who knows about family law. Just been served 2x Notice of Proceedings—first hearing is in THREE WEEKS. Received a bunch of forms (C1, C100, C1A, and a letter from some people called CAFCASS) and SOMEONE APPEARS TO HAVE GOTTEN A COURT TO CHANGE MY SON’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE WITHOUT US BEING TOLD ABOUT IT. The form has our name and address but one letter of our postcode has been changed. That makes it illegal, surely?
Please help asap. Going out of our minds with worry.
Graham775
Your best bet is to find a solicitor using the search engine on the Law Society website.
Onefineday
Birth certificate is for recording child’s parents. Someone appears to have convinced a court that your DS isn’t actually yours. I wonder how that can have happened?
Tanktop
Went through court and CAFCASS with my ex. Horrible experience, but can’t recommend Anita Chowdry highly enough—child lawyer at Burnham Phillips. She’s not cheap but she’s worth every penny.
Onefineday
“Child lawyer,” Tanktop? Wouldn’t OP be better off with a grown-up?
49