‘Jude? You okay?’ There was noise in the background of the call. The kids were arguing.
‘Yes. I’m fine. Sorry. Have you got a minute?’
The noise faded as Katy moved to another room. ‘I’m here. You okay? You made it home?’
‘I’m at the station. Look, this list you gave me. The Giffords’ foster kids. You said you left off some names, right?’
‘Well, I didn’t include the kids who’d already died, because you said you were looking for someone who could have taken the guns.’
‘Right. That’s right. But you said... I’m pretty sure you said that one of them died by suicide.’
There was a short pause. ‘Yes. That’s right.’
‘Would her name have been Miriam Hall?’
‘I’m not sure. Let me check.’
There was a painfully long wait while Katy made her way to her home office and logged on to her laptop. While she waited Judith tried not to clench her phone too tight, tried not to pace. She was so close to an answer, she could almost feel it in her hands.
‘Yes,’ Katy said eventually. ‘That’s right.’
‘On the list you gave me, there’s a girl named Ruth Hall. Is she any relation?’
‘Uh...’ There was the sound of a keyboard clacking. ‘Yes, that’s right. Ruth was five years younger than her sister. She was fifteen when Miriam died.’
Judith wanted to punch the air. ‘Thanks. Thanks, Katy.’
‘What does it mean? Did Ruth take the guns?’
Judith ignored the question. ‘What else can you tell me about Miriam and Ruth?’ she asked instead. ‘Can you send over their files?’
‘Not without a formal request and approval I can’t,’ said Katy. But Judith heard the sound of a keyboard clacking again in the background, followed by a surprised, ‘Oh.’
‘What is it?’
‘The files are sealed. They’re under restricted access.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that I can’t open either record. Only a director can authorise release of these files. You’ll have to send in the formal request, and you’ll have to be able to back up your request with some good reasons, or you won’t get them.’
Judith had had reason to request child protection files a number of times over her career. She’d never come across a restricted file before. ‘Do you know why the files are locked down?’
‘I told you, I can’t see anything about them other than their names. But it’s very unusual. I think it only happens if the child is in witness protection, or if there’s a court suppression order.’
Witness protection. Bloody hell. ‘In what circumstances would there be a court suppression order?’
‘I don’t know, Jude. But... I suppose... you remember that fire last year? The mother and three of the four children died, only the fourteen-year-old survived?’
‘Yes.’ The mother had been suspected of setting the fire deliberately. It had been a big story.
‘Yeah, well the press wouldn’t leave the child alone. Not just the press. Those true-crime podcasters were the worst. In the end the girl had to change her name and the department got a suppression order for her file. No one under director level can find out what she’s called today or where she’s living.’
‘Right. So you think it could be something like that? That Ruth and Miriam might have come from some kind of traumatic background?’
‘I don’t know, Jude. You’re the detective. But yeah, maybe. That, or like I said, witness protection.’ Katy sounded tired, a little stressed. Judith wanted to reach through the phone and give her a hug.
‘Katy?’