Chapter 55
Fifty-Five
Penn knew he had no business being here, which was why he’d told no one that he was visiting the Chances for a second time.
There was no doubt in his mind that the couple were making a play for Ava for the financial rewards.
What was one more kid to not feed but still get paid for? He just had no way to prove it.
The door was opened by the oldest child whom he’d seen the day before. Only this time he was clean.
‘Mum, copper’s here,’ the child called behind him.
The boy ran back inside before any response came from the parents, and Penn took the opportunity to enter.
The first thing he noticed was the smell. Some kind of lavender fragrance had been liberally sprayed, hanging heavy in the air, and the carpet in the hallway had been vacuumed.
Lyra appeared from the kitchen and her husband from the front room. The boy disappeared up the stairs.
They looked very different to the previous day. Gone were the trackie bottoms and oversized tee shirts. In their place was what his mum would have called Sunday best. A set of clothes brought out for special occasions. The outfits were dated and tight, as though they hadn’t been worn for a while.
It looked as though they had both showered recently, and he even detected a little make-up on Lyra’s face.
‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘We got social services coming in a bit.’
Of course they had. He’d known there was an explanation for the makeover.
‘I won’t take much of your time,’ he said, following Lyra to the living room.
‘Get rid of them bin bags,’ she called over her shoulder to her husband before taking a seat.
Although still not fashionable by any means, the clear-up had made the room appear spacious and liveable. Gone was all the rubbish that had littered every surface, the carpet was clean, and the aroma of Mr Sheen was noticeable beneath the lavender.
‘Mrs Chance, you’ve made a serious accusation against your brother-in-law, Daniel Reynolds.’
‘We gotta protect that little girly,’ she said, reaching for the cigarettes that had already been placed out of sight.
‘I just wonder why you didn’t mention your concerns to me when we spoke.’
She coloured. ‘Well, I mean, it’s social services, ain’t it?’ she said as Warren came into the room.
‘Obviously we have to look into it as well. It’s now a criminal matter,’ Penn lied. ‘Can you tell me the last time you saw Ava?’
‘Probably a couple of years now. We saw them up Merry Hill. She was acting all strange, wasn’t she, love?’ she said, turning to her husband.
‘Yeah, yeah, that’s right. She was all moody and quiet, and she didn’t want to hold his hand. We thought something was a bit off, you know.’
No, Penn wasn’t sure he did know.
‘And you waited two years to voice your concerns?’
‘Well, she’s on her own with him now, isn’t she? Her mum isn’t here to protect her,’ Lyra said. ‘He’s not even her real dad, so she shouldn’t even be with him anyway. Eva should be with blood relatives.’
‘Ava,’ Penn corrected.
‘She’s our niece,’ Warren said.
‘You drive?’ Penn asked, looking from one to the other.
They both shook their heads.
‘Ava still has medical appointments,’ Penn said.
‘We know how to call an Uber, mister,’ Lyra snapped.
‘And affording new prosthetics as she grows won’t be a problem?’ Penn asked, knowing full well he was acting outside his remit.
‘We’ll be able to afford it,’ Warren said. ‘What with all that extra money cos of her being a cripple.’
Penn stood abruptly, unable to bear their presence any longer. He thanked them for their time and left the house.
Once outside, he stopped the recording on his phone, content that the sexual abuse claim was nothing more than a ploy to get the child into their custody. He also felt he’d got enough to confirm they only wanted Ava for financial gain.
Only problem was, the way they’d scrubbed up, there was a very real chance social services were gonna fall for it.