I Am Watching You(55)

‘For now, yes. It was worse yesterday. The poo changes colour apparently, as she settles.’

Matthew is appalled. Green poo. That can’t be right, surely?

‘Quickly. The wipes. Hold her legs up and be careful not to sweep near her fold or you’ll give her an infection.’

Her fold. Dear Lord. There’s so much to worry about – Matthew is wishing that he had paid more attention in the classes they attended.

‘I don’t have enough hands.’

Sal, rolling her eyes, shows him how to lift both their daughter’s legs up with one hand while sweeping the new nappy in place and disposing of the debris. For some reason a chicken comes to mind. He pushes the thought away.

‘Talk to her.’

‘Doesn’t seem much point to me.’ Matthew can hardly hear his own voice over the crying.

His wife laughs. ‘OK. Bit of talc, and some of this cream just here so she doesn’t get sore.’

And then the miracle. At last their daughter stops wailing and is holding onto Sal’s ring finger, turning her eyes to the side as if looking for her mother. Matthew watches. Waits. The moment is suddenly so tender, watching their daughter’s face soft and settled, that Matthew is overwhelmed by a surge of disbelief and overwhelming love for them both. He looks from one to the other in this pause, and again cannot help thinking of his work. His past. That mother whose baby was snatched. Thinking of Ella. Of missing Anna. Her parents in Cornwall. The new lens on everything.

‘You OK, Matthew?’

‘Yeah. Yeah. Sure.’

He helps Sal to pick up their daughter and move her back to the cot.

‘It gets easier, Matt.’

‘Does it?’

‘Yeah. When they leave home, apparently.’

He laughs. She laughs.

‘She’ll sleep for a bit now.’ And then Sal eases herself gingerly back into bed. ‘Go on then, put the telly on. Check your case.’

‘I’m fine. I’m getting updates by phone.’

He has told Sally about the drama in Spain, but has been trying desperately hard not to let it encroach on this space.

‘They’re all talking about it. The nurses.’

‘Are they?’

‘Yeah, of course. I haven’t told them. You know. What you do. That you’re sort of involved. Go on – put it on. I don’t mind. Really.’

Matthew picks up the control from the foot of her bed and tries the BBC and then Sky. A text from Melanie has confirmed the negotiating team is on site now. She’s heard through Cathy, embedded with the Ballards, that Karl’s identity has been confirmed, though this is not being released to the media. He claims to have a hostage. Says it’s Anna. Again this has not been released publicly – though witnesses are giving interviews left, right and centre, and the police communications team are in meltdown, unable to control the situation at all.

‘Sounds as if it has all gotten pretty out of hand.’

‘Yeah. Wouldn’t want to be in the post-mortem meeting on this one.’

‘Do you remember you considered doing a psych degree? To retrain as a negotiator?’

Matthew merely smiles. It was in the early days, when he so badly regretted leaving the force, wondering if there was another way back. Another role. He even did a short preliminary course – an introduction to negotiating. Fascinating. But then the financial reality kicked in. How could he possibly afford to study when he had this new business to build?

‘It’s all changed so much, with suicide attacks.’

‘How do you mean?’ Sal is glancing at the cot. All still quiet.

‘Well, the gold standard for hostage situations used to be to avoid intervention at all costs. Nearly always goes pear-shaped. Biggest risk for fatalities.’

‘And now?’

‘Well, with suicide attacks, there’s nothing to negotiate. So they’re learning you need to go in pretty fast. Whole different approach.’

‘But the team in Spain now. That will be old-school? I mean – he’s just a criminal, this guy Karl. Not a terrorist.’

‘Yeah, sure. They’ll try it by the book with him.’

‘So how does it work, then? What happens now?’ She is looking at the television screen.

Matthew shares what he learned. That they will probably try to use the landline. Assign one key negotiator initially. Work hard to build up a rapport.

‘The aim is to calm everything down, especially when he’s been trigger-happy. They won’t mention Anna too much.’

‘Why not?’

‘The advice is to keep it all about the hostage-taker, not the hostage. Establish trust. Mentioning the hostage or hostages too much tends to rank up the stress. Though in this case they might ask for evidence she’s safe. Given some shots were fired.’

‘I still don’t get it. How he could keep her hostage for a year without her doing a runner? Seems weird to me. Didn’t they say he works on a building site? Wouldn’t she make a break for it?’

This is no time or place to share what Matthew is really thinking. That maybe this guy Karl ties her up. Threatens her. God knows what; victims can get psychologically damaged quickly if the abuse is extreme.

‘Could be Stockholm Syndrome, where the victim develops a misplaced bond through the trauma.’ Matthew watches his wife as he says this.