“I know you’re on a sabbatical at the moment, so I appreciate you taking the time to help me with my case.”
Isobel inclined her head. “I’m not sure what kind of help I can give you.”
“Well, your experience would lead me to believe that you can.”
Isobel raised an eyebrow. “Dave was a bit mysterious about it all.”
“Dave doesn’t know anything.” Peter pushed forward in his chair, leaning his arms on the desk.
Isobel sat back in her chair.
Peter waited and when the silence lengthened he broke eye contact and stood up. He put his hands in his pockets and paced behind the desk.
“I find myself in an unusual position.” He paused and looked at Isobel.
She maintained eye contact.
Peter resumed pacing. “I think there’s a problem with one of my cases – but there may not be. I suspect something is going on but it’s not obvious and I need someone who can see beyond the nose on her face.”
Isobel said nothing. The silence lengthened.
Peter sat down, rubbing his hands down his face. “You probably already think I’m crazy, bringing you to London to talk to you.” He paused but Isobel stayed silent. “I just thought that with your experience you might give me a second opinion.”
“Why not ask one of your people from here?”
Peter pursed his lips. “On the surface the case is fine.” He hesitated. “What I feel is a hunch.”
“So you prefer not to deal with one of your professional colleagues and instead use an old acquaintance.”
“Something like that.”
“Obviously this case has got under your skin.”
Peter looked away and then nodded. “I’ve been a divorce solicitor for twelve years. Something feels off about this case.”
Isobel rubbed her lips, her forehead wrinkled. “Under your skin to the point that you flew me in from Ireland.”
He looked at the desk, then at his hands. “Maybe I am overly involved but I’m concerned that I’m doing the right thing, for me and for everyone.” He lifted his head then and met her gaze.
“I’ve been on sabbatical for a year and a half now.”
“I know.”
“Maybe my skills won’t be up to the task, maybe I’m out of practice.”
“Your experiences with addiction, with couples separating – you can’t lose that – and I want the benefit of it.”
Isobel pursed her lips. He seemed a harmless guy, kind almost, and it was hard not to be softened by his genuineness. She could feel a war inside. Did she really want to get involved? At the same time, she had to confess that she was intrigued – and, he was just asking for an opinion on what was going on – how big a deal was that? The latter side won.
“Why don’t you tell me about it?”
“As I’m requesting your services, I can cover you under client privilege.”
Isobel nodded and, when the pause was extended, she said, “Let’s hear it.”
Peter’s eyes moved from her face to the wall. “It all started with a new client, Anne Banks. She made an appointment and arrived with her husband, Thomas, to get a divorce. They said that it was amicable, and so all they needed was a solicitor for her – he had one, and they had already agreed on terms that they were both happy with. Unusual.”
“In what way?”
“Well, normally we have to help the couple reach an agreement. We started going through the terms of the divorce. He was getting sole custody of their nine-year-old son, Tommy, uncontested, and she would have visitation which they would organise themselves. He was also getting their home so that their son could stay in familiar surroundings. There was to be no payment to her in terms of alimony. She was getting nothing.”
“And, you queried that, naturally.”
“Yes, and they assured me that her soon-to-be-ex-husband would pay for her rental flat, and later purchase a home for her, but that was not to be in the papers. Likewise future visitation with her son was to be agreed verbally and not mentioned in the divorce agreement.”
“So how come he was getting everything?”
“I asked that and they explained that Anne, my client, was an alcoholic who had just finished rehab recently. They felt that he should be in charge of their money in case she started drinking again. In terms of Tommy, their son, and seeing him, it depended on her sobriety.”
“Is that not normal? If she has a huge problem with alcohol then that might not be safe for her son.”
“Yes, but usually there is provision made for visits when sober, or supervised visits. This mother has not seen her child for three months. According to her she’s getting sober and dealing with her guilt and shame. She is going to see him but not yet. But there’s no legal protection for her. I asked how bad things had got and Anne said her drinking had wrecked their marriage and she needed time to get herself sober and back on her feet. Of course I understand all of this but to get nothing formally agreed on to protect her future seems a bit much and also I’m concerned about her son not seeing her, when she is sober.”
“But, realistically, what can you do? The decision on all of these things is up to the couple.”
“Yes.”
“So what’s the problem? Are these two people not being responsible and doing their best to negotiate a divorce and protect their son?”
“Yes, but . . . I asked to confer with Anne privately and they declined politely. They maintain that they are a family who are going through a divorce but they know how to work things out and they just want the legalities sorted. Essentially, I am only there to sign as her solicitor. They want to do this as soon as possible. They gave me their documentation – birth certificates, their marriage certificate – and we have an appointment next week on Wednesday. But I’m concerned that this is not in my client’s best interests, despite what they say. This doesn’t feel right to me and I can’t get it out of my head.” He paused. “With all of your experience, I thought if you met them you could see if anything struck you about the situation.”
Isobel looked at him speculatively. She could feel her old training coming back. She felt Peter’s tension when he’d spoken about the mother working on her relationship with her son was personal. There was something there and the problem was that it could be clouding his judgement. Maybe what was driving him mad wasn’t the case but something personal the case was reminding him of?
She decided to take a chance. “So what happened with your mother?” she asked, looking him in the eye.
His eyes widened then showed a deep emptiness. Within a second it was gone. A flush appeared on his cheeks, his chin rose and his jaw tightened.
Isobel waited.
“I don’t think my personal life is pertinent to the situation,” he said.
“You want my opinion, and then when I ask about something that may be affecting your perception of the case, you’re closing down on me?”
She leant on the table and stood up.
Scrambling to his feet, Peter reached out to her, “Please,” he said. “Hold on.”
Isobel paused, meeting his eye. Then she sat down slowly and waited.
Peter looked down, inhaled deeply, and then met her gaze. “Yes, my mum was an alcoholic. Yes, she left me. No, I didn’t see her again.”