drew her faithful bear back to her face.
Chapter Three
‘OK, ALEX, PET , brace yourself.’
Alex turned so swiftly from the whiteboard where she was writing up her movements for the day that she almost collided with Tommy Burgess, her team leader.
‘Hey, what’s making you so nervy?’ he laughed, straightening her up.
Rolling her eyes, Alex said, ‘I was miles away and didn’t hear you coming.’ She was very fond of Tommy with his Geordie accent, hippy hair and rugby player’s physique, not least because he was such an effective buffer between her and Wendy, the department manager. There was a time when Wendy used to be reasonable, and definitely supportive, particularly over issues that attracted criticism or scrutiny from on high, or even bad press, but since her promotion a couple of years ago she’d become remote, superior, and definitely more interested in impressing the powers that be than in what was happening on the ground.
Tommy was grimacing as he read what she’d written on the board. Collecting Daniel Crowe from carers, Westleigh; returning to TFE . (TFE was Temple Fields Estate.) ‘Rita was saying this morning that she’d rather take a stroll through the Gaza Strip than a drive through Temple Fields,’ he commented.
Alex’s eyebrows rose. No one ever wanted to go to the estate, but her colleague, Rita, was especially unnerved by it, mainly because everything scared poor Rita. Much like Ben, she was in the wrong job. ‘Oh, it’s not that bad,’ Alex sighed, ‘or come to think of it, it probably is. Anyway, I’m definitely not looking forward to dealing with LauraCrowe again. They’ve only gone and released her with all charges dismissed. How did that happen, I’d like to know?’
‘They maybe got her off on some kind of technicality, or she’s done herself a deal more likely, but all we need to bother about is the boy. Have you found out yet how the weekend went at his placement?’
Waving out as Tamsin Green, another of her colleagues, hurried out of the door shouting cheerio to the world at large, Alex said, ‘I’m taking the view that no news is good news.’
‘Great policy.’ Then abruptly, ‘Amina, what are you doing back here?’ Amina was Kenyan by birth, and the youngest and newest member of the team.
‘Forgot to take the file,’ she cried, rushing to her desk in a fluster. ‘That would really work, wouldn’t it, standing up in court with no paperwork? Alex, did you know you’ve got a flat tyre?’
‘You’re kidding!’ Alex exclaimed. ‘I don’t have time to mess about with bloody tyres.’
‘Speak nicely to Gus,’ Pete Minchin called out, referring to the mechanic who had a workshop at the back of the business park where their hub was located. Pete was their expert in disabled kids and one of only four males, the others being Victor, an amateur wrestler who came in very handy when a bit of muscle was required, and Ben, of course, who didn’t go in for flexing any muscle at all.
‘OK, I’m gone,’ Amina announced, heading back to the door. ‘Wish me luck everyone, cos we definitely don’t want some idiot judge sending Harvey Critchley back to his scumbag uncle.’
Raising a hand to signal his support, Tommy followed Alex to the break-out area where a couple of health visitors from the offices downstairs were making tea and she was peering through the window at her car. ‘It’s not mine with a flat,’ she announced with a sigh of relief. ‘Amina must have spotted someone else’s, same colour, same make. Anyway, rewinding, what am I supposed to be bracing myself for, and if you’re going to get me to write up someone else’s reports ...’
‘No, no, not that,’ he jumped in quickly. ‘Well, we are behind with Sally’s assessments now she’s off sick ...’
‘Just don’t go there, please, you know it’s impossible to read her writing, and besides I’ve got a backlog of my own that I never have time to catch up on.’
‘But
Chapter Three
‘OK, ALEX, PET , brace yourself.’
Alex turned so swiftly from the whiteboard where she was writing up her movements for the day that she almost collided with Tommy Burgess, her team leader.
‘Hey, what’s making you so nervy?’ he laughed, straightening her up.
Rolling her eyes, Alex said, ‘I was miles away and didn’t hear you coming.’ She was very fond of Tommy with his Geordie accent, hippy hair and rugby player’s physique, not least because he was such an effective buffer between her and Wendy, the department manager. There was a time when Wendy used to be reasonable, and definitely supportive, particularly over issues that attracted criticism or scrutiny from on high, or even bad press, but since her promotion a couple of years ago she’d become remote, superior, and definitely more interested in impressing the powers that be than in what was happening on the ground.
Tommy was grimacing as he read what she’d written on the board. Collecting Daniel Crowe from carers, Westleigh; returning to TFE . (TFE was Temple Fields Estate.) ‘Rita was saying this morning that she’d rather take a stroll through the Gaza Strip than a drive through Temple Fields,’ he commented.
Alex’s eyebrows rose. No one ever wanted to go to the estate, but her colleague, Rita, was especially unnerved by it, mainly because everything scared poor Rita. Much like Ben, she was in the wrong job. ‘Oh, it’s not that bad,’ Alex sighed, ‘or come to think of it, it probably is. Anyway, I’m definitely not looking forward to dealing with LauraCrowe again. They’ve only gone and released her with all charges dismissed. How did that happen, I’d like to know?’
‘They maybe got her off on some kind of technicality, or she’s done herself a deal more likely, but all we need to bother about is the boy. Have you found out yet how the weekend went at his placement?’
Waving out as Tamsin Green, another of her colleagues, hurried out of the door shouting cheerio to the world at large, Alex said, ‘I’m taking the view that no news is good news.’
‘Great policy.’ Then abruptly, ‘Amina, what are you doing back here?’ Amina was Kenyan by birth, and the youngest and newest member of the team.
‘Forgot to take the file,’ she cried, rushing to her desk in a fluster. ‘That would really work, wouldn’t it, standing up in court with no paperwork? Alex, did you know you’ve got a flat tyre?’
‘You’re kidding!’ Alex exclaimed. ‘I don’t have time to mess about with bloody tyres.’
‘Speak nicely to Gus,’ Pete Minchin called out, referring to the mechanic who had a workshop at the back of the business park where their hub was located. Pete was their expert in disabled kids and one of only four males, the others being Victor, an amateur wrestler who came in very handy when a bit of muscle was required, and Ben, of course, who didn’t go in for flexing any muscle at all.
‘OK, I’m gone,’ Amina announced, heading back to the door. ‘Wish me luck everyone, cos we definitely don’t want some idiot judge sending Harvey Critchley back to his scumbag uncle.’
Raising a hand to signal his support, Tommy followed Alex to the break-out area where a couple of health visitors from the offices downstairs were making tea and she was peering through the window at her car. ‘It’s not mine with a flat,’ she announced with a sigh of relief. ‘Amina must have spotted someone else’s, same colour, same make. Anyway, rewinding, what am I supposed to be bracing myself for, and if you’re going to get me to write up someone else’s reports ...’
‘No, no, not that,’ he jumped in quickly. ‘Well, we are behind with Sally’s assessments now she’s off sick ...’
‘Just don’t go there, please, you know it’s impossible to read her writing, and besides I’ve got a backlog of my own that I never have time to catch up on.’
‘But
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