Lisa Ballantyne - Guilty One

‘OK, Sebastian,’ said Sergeant Turner, ‘what time do you think it was when you saw Ben out playing on his bike?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Can you remember if it was before your lunch or after?’

‘It was after lunch.’

‘It was definitely after lunch,’ Charlotte commented. ‘I made him lunch before he went out.’

The police officer frowned at Charlotte’s interruption and made notes.

‘Whose idea was it to go to the park?’

Sebastian put four fingers into his mouth. He turned his mint eyes up to the ceiling and rolled them back and forth. ‘I don’t remember.’

‘Surely you can remember whose idea it was. He was on his bike and you didn’t have a bike. Was it your idea?’

‘ I just said I don’t remember.’

Daniel watched the smallest spasm of rage flame in the boy’s lips. He wondered if it was this which he understood when he looked at Sebastian. Anger was what Daniel remembered most from his childhood: anger and fear. Daniel had never owned Sebastian’s confidence, but there was still something about the boy which made Daniel remember himself as a child.

‘What happened to your hand?’ Sebastian asked Daniel suddenly.

At first Daniel wondered if the boy was seeking refuge from the police officer’s questioning. Daniel shot a look at the police sergeant, then answered, ‘I fell … running.’

‘Did it hurt?’

‘Not much.’

‘OK, Seb, so to get back to your story,’ said Sergeant Turner, ‘one of you decided to go to the park, then what happened?’

Sebastian slumped down in his chair, chin into his chest.

Charlotte began to stroke Sebastian’s leg. ‘He’s very sorry, Sergeant, he’s just tired. This is all so intense, isn’t it, darling? I think it’s just the detail that’s a bit wearing …’

‘Forgive me, Mrs Croll, but detail is my job. Can I ask you to be quiet and try not to answer for him?’

Mrs Croll nodded.

‘So how did you get into the park, Seb?’

‘From the top gate …’

‘I see. Did you start having an argument with Ben when you were inside the park?’

Sebastian shook his head violently, as if to shake away a fly.

‘You’re shaking your head, but there was a witness who said he saw two boys of your age fighting at the top of the park. Did anyone speak to you when you were with Ben – tell you to stop fighting?’

‘I’m so sorry, Sergeant,’ said Charlotte. ‘He just said that he and Ben didn’t have a falling-out. Seb’s just not the type for fighting, are you?’

The sergeant took a deep breath then asked Sebastian if he wanted a break and a drink of juice. When the boy left to go to the bathroom, accompanied by PC Hudson, the sergeant folded his arms on the table. Daniel noticed the fleshy softness of the man’s hands.

‘I know it’s hard, Mrs Croll, but if you could try not to answer for him?’

‘I know, I will – I can, I suppose it’s just second nature. I can see he’s not being as articulate as he could be and I just want to help clear things up.’

‘That’s what we all want – to clear things up. Do you think you might step out for a little bit – have a cup of coffee maybe, just while I go through the rest of the questions?’

Charlotte sat up in her seat and looked at Daniel.

‘It’s up to you,’ said Daniel. ‘Or you could agree to stay, but remain silent. You’re entitled to be here.’

‘You’ll make sure he’s OK?’ Charlotte asked.

‘Of course.’

When Sebastian was brought back in, without his mother, he chose to sit closer to Daniel. He seemed fidgety and Daniel felt the occasional brush of the boy’s arm against his; a foot against his trouser leg.

‘So, you say there was no argument between you and Ben?’

‘No, we were play-fighting for a little bit. We were playing hide-and-seek and chasing each other then when he caught up with me we were rolling in the grass and play-fighting.’

‘Sometimes play-fighting can get out of hand. Is that what happened? Did you take it too far?’

Again, Sebastian’s cheeks coloured with anger. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I didn’t, but Ben hit me a couple of times and it hurt – maybe he didn’t mean to – and so I shoved him off me.’

‘I see. You shoved Ben. What were you doing when the man with the dog called on you to stop? Were you hitting him?’

‘No.’ Sebastian was beginning to look pained.

‘Sergeant, this is getting very repetitive,’ said Daniel. ‘I think you’ll find he’s answered these questions already. Can we move on?’

Sebastian sighed deeply and Daniel caught his eye and winked at him. The boy smiled broadly and then tried to wink back, scrunching up both his eyes.

‘I can’t do that, look,’ he said, his eyes tightly shut. ‘I need to practise.’

‘Never mind that now,’ said the sergeant. ‘After your fight, did you go to the adventure playground?’

Sebastian was grinning with his eyes tight shut and the sergeant gave Daniel a look of exasperation. Daniel cleared his throat and then gently touched Sebastian’s arm.

‘I know it’s hard, but just a little longer, OK, Seb?’

‘Is your hand sore?’

‘Not any more, thanks, it’s getting better.’

‘Was it bleeding?’

‘Not any more.’

‘Was it gushing with blood?’ Again the mint eyes were wide.

Daniel was surprised to feel his heart beating faster. He shook his head once – straightening his shoulders – and watched the police officers wetting their lips as they studied the boy.

‘What happened once you were at the adventure playground?’

‘We climbed up high and played on the tyres, then I said I wanted to go home ’cause I was hungry.’

‘I’ve got a picture here of the playground. Where were you climbing?’

‘I want to see my mum,’ said Sebastian.

‘Just a little longer, Sebastian. We’ve asked your mum to wait outside and you can see her as soon as you’re able to tell us what happened,’ said the sergeant.

Daniel understood being a boy Sebastian’s age and being denied his mother – the desperation he’d felt at the forced distance between them. He imagined that Sebastian too felt this.

‘If you can, point out to me where you were climbing,’ said the sergeant.

‘I don’t know,’ Sebastian whimpered. ‘I want my mum …’

Daniel exhaled and placed the palm of his hand gently on to the table. ‘It’s clear my client wants his mother to be asked back.’

‘She agreed to step out to let us talk to him without her.’

‘He’s entitled to have his mum here if he wants her to be. Unless she comes back in, he won’t be answering any more questions.’

The interview was paused while an officer went to fetch Sebastian’s mother. Daniel stepped out to use the bathroom, and the sergeant joined him in the corridor. ‘Look, son, I know you have a job to do, but we both know what the score is here. I won’t tell you your job. I know you want to show him in the best light – get the best angle on whatever he did – but the kid wants to tell the truth. He’s a little boy and he wants to tell the truth about what he did – you have to let him. He did it; he just has to say he did it. You didn’t see that little battered body in the flesh, I did. You didn’t have to console the …’

‘Can I stop you right there? Bring his mum in and then we can continue questioning. If it means all this takes longer then it’s just going to have to take longer.’

‘The super has just agreed to another twelve hours.’

Daniel nodded and put his hands in his pockets.

‘That’ll take us to four a.m. on Tuesday, but we’re also applying to the magistrates’ court for more time. We have all the time in the world , you mark my words on that.’