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Gina Overton was busily preparing for the long-awaited SEKare Inquiry which was scheduled to begin the following week. Her office at a barristers’ chambers in Canterbury was on the top floor of a building which dated from the Victorian era and had retained many of the original features, such as fireplaces, cornices and ceiling rose. After the early morning rain, the strong summer sunlight was now penetrating the sash windows, heating the already warm office. Gina opened the window a few more inches and adjusted the blinds to block out the sun’s rays. As she sat at her desk, a cacophony of young voices from a group of passing students filtered in through the six-inch gap. Gina listened, identifying them as Spanish voices, for a minute she had thought they might be Italian but she was sure she could discern the subtle difference.
The inquiry would be the culmination of two years of lobbying by the relatives of care home residents who had died from neglect or suffered abuse at the hands of staff in a group of homes in South-east England. As a barrister, Gina had many years of experience prosecuting cases of medical negligence and had proved herself to be an accomplished and successful lawyer. Thus, she was the natural choice to represent the group known as Justice for SEKare.
The harrowing subject of the inquiry had given her many sleepless nights due to the testimonies of relatives who discovered their loved ones to be the playthings of cruel and callous care workers who had shown not a jot of benevolence towards their patients. Some tech-savvy relatives had taken the initiative to set up webcams to capture concrete evidence of the treatment which they suspected was being meted out to the defenceless occupants of the SEKare Homes. The purpose of the inquiry was to ensure that similar incidents would never be repeated by making recommendations for the monitoring of the standard of care and to root out any bad apples in the system. Several workers and carers had already been prosecuted, the majority pleading guilty to the irrefutable charges and thus receiving more lenient sentences from the court. None would ever work in the care system again.
Gina’s normally immaculate appearance had taken a knock over the last few weeks probably due to the stress of the move south and the burden of disparate tasks on her mind. Since the menopause, she had fastidiously limited and monitored her calorie intake as her small frame easily betrayed any slight weight gain, resulting in an unattractive paunch around her middle. Her stylishly cut, tailored suits were unaccommodating to any excess fat and each day was a constant battle to resist the temptation of calorific food.
To others, she still looked perfectly smart and professionally turned out, her appearance suggesting she was at least ten years younger than her fifty-two years. However, Gina was a perfectionist and felt that her hair needed a boost. Using the selfie function on her phone, she could see that it looked lifeless, lacking shine and vitality and as it was now four weeks since its last trim, her layered style was in need of a general tidy up, just a few millimetres off the length and some thinning of the crown would make all the difference. Hopefully, she could delay having her highlights replenished for a few months as it meant several tedious hours in the salon. She was contemplating phoning for an appointment when her mobile vibrated.
‘Hi, Will,’ she answered. ‘How’s your day going?’
‘Fine, thanks, darling. Very well, actually. I’ve made some progress and have finally agreed on a transfer date. That’s why I’m calling.’
‘Wow! At last!’ she replied to her husband. ‘How did you manage that? Violence? Threatening behaviour?’
‘Ha! Almost. I’ll tell you the full story tonight, but I thought that you’d want to know so you can start to look for a house to rent.’
‘So, when is it?’
‘July 1st.’
‘Gosh, that’s soon. I thought you were going to say six months.’
‘Well, we’ve been discussing things for ages, and they’ve had my notice in writing for a while. It was just a case of ensuring my replacement could start, and everyone was happy.’
‘What about your private practice?’
‘That’s not quite finalised, but it will probably start the following month. It’s all agreed so no need to worry. Anyway, it’s probably better to stagger the two.’
Gina was quiet as she doodled on her legal pad.
‘Gina? Are you OK, you’ve gone quiet.’
‘No, it’s just now it’s been finalised it’s, well, it’s a big change. I hope you’re happy with this.’
‘Look, we’ve been through this before, I’ve lost track of how many times. We can’t go back on our decision now.’
‘I know, I know, it’s just, well, Mum won’t be around forever and we were happy up in Manchester.’
‘Yes, but she could live a long time yet and just think of having to make frequent trips up and down from Manchester. What about emergencies? It can be a dreadful strain on people separated by such a distance.’
‘I know. I just feel I’m piling all the stress on to you.’
‘I fully understand that you want to be nearer to her, I don’t know how to convince you other than by what I’ve already said.’
‘OK, OK, I just have these moments of indecision, perhaps I’m over thinking the situation.’
‘I’m fine about it, trust me. Besides, it’s nice for you to be back on your home turf, so to speak. I love Canterbury, and it’s no further from Marcus.’
‘It’s just with your parents already having passed away it seems a bit one-sided.’
‘Well, it’s not, so let’s not waste time going over the same ground. OK?’
‘OK, I’ll have a look at some estate agents’ sites this evening. It will give me a break from my work.’
‘I thought you’d be visiting all your old drinking haunts in the evenings. Clubbing the night away.’
‘Ha! Very droll. So much of the city centre has changed, and from what people tell me you need to be careful at night.’
‘Really? That bad?’
‘Well, yes, and I also read a report online which claimed that Canterbury is one of the worst places for alcohol-fuelled violence.’
‘No, I don’t believe that!’ replied Will. ‘Surely it’s no worse than most cities or Manchester?’
‘I was shocked too and it seems there’s been a big increase in the number of bars which stay open late.’
‘Well, we won’t be out in the city centre in the early hours, will we?’
‘No, that’s true.’
‘Anyway, how’s the preparation for the inquiry going?’
‘Fine, thanks. They are a good set of people here at Barker and Hinds. I’ve got a nice office, and if I stand on tiptoes I can just see the Cathedral.’
‘Sounds great. By the way, I’ve booked my train ticket for Friday, and I don’t have to go back until Monday so I can come along and watch you in action!’
‘You’ll be able to catch up on your sleep, it can be quite tedious, don’t expect too much.’
There was a pause.
‘I miss you, Gina. The nights are so lonely.’
There was a knock at the door.
‘Look, I’ve got to go, chat later, love you.’
‘Love you too, phone me tonight.’
‘Will do.’ She blew some kisses down the phone and ended the call.
‘Come in!’
‘Special delivery!’ announced Carly, one of the administrative assistants. She was in her thirties and had worked at Barker and Hinds since leaving school at the age of eighteen, gaining some legal qualifications through part-time study. Gina could not have hoped for a more pleasant and efficient assistant whose forte was multi-tasking whilst maintaining a sunny disposition whatever the workload or crises which inevitably arose from time to time.
‘Oh, those are lovely! Thank you,’ said Gina, admiring the hand-tied arrangement of flowers which Carly placed on her desk. Gina quickly opened the small envelope attached to the display. ‘Marcus, my son.’
‘And some post for you, Ms Overton.’
‘You can call me, Gina, it’s perfectly OK.’
‘Oh, er thanks. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea?’
‘Er, yes, tea, thank you.’
Carly left and Gina felt slightly tearful, caused by her recent phone call from her husband and also from the tender sentiment on the card.
‘To a fantastic Mum and hope these brighten your office. Love you loads.’
She fiddled with a couple of the blooms and inhaled their beautiful aroma. Marcus had remembered not to include the lilies, as she could not tolerate the pungent scent and annoyingly they could cause staining on furniture and clothes. Gina typed a quick thank you and told him she would call that evening.
Prior to taking up her position at Barker and Hinds, she’d made frequent trips down to Canterbury to meet with the Justice for SEKare group, staying for a couple of days at a time. It was fortunate that the inquiry had been scheduled just after her relocation and now it wouldn’t be long until Will joined her.
Despite the upheaval, she felt it was the right decision. That was what she needed to affirm to herself, particularly in the small hours of the morning when self-doubt and anxiety needled its way into her brain. This would be her final move though, in another ten years she would be considering retirement.
She was sure that Will was genuinely happy about the move south and she couldn’t wait for the time when they would be living together properly as a couple. For a couple of weeks since moving to the new job, she had been living with her mother in her bungalow in Broadstairs about half an hour away by car or train but for this weekend she had taken a hotel room in the city so she could have some private time with Will, without them having to entertain her mother for the whole weekend.
Carly returned with a cup of tea and Gina turned her attention to the distasteful video footage which was to be shown to the inquiry. It made for uncomfortable viewing, nobody could deny that, and after the third excerpt, she sat back in her chair with her eyes closed. Suddenly she felt light-headed. The room swam, and she clutched at the edge of the desk. She took some deep breaths and tried to calm her racing heartbeat. For a few seconds, images zoomed in and out of her consciousness. They were the same images which had troubled her in the small hours of the morning, ever since she had begun preparing for this assignment.
Uncertainty was beginning to chip away at her confident persona, burrowing its way in through any small fissure it could find. Should she have agreed to take on this role? It was high profile and could open many doors in the future but did she really need that publicity? Will had encouraged her, unaware that she had lost some of her confidence and from time to time anxiety was a force with which her inner psyche had to grapple. It lurked in the background waiting for the slightest stimulus and opportunity to reassert its presence. The fact that many middle-aged women suffered the same feeling was some consolation, yet at the same time did little to help her own problem. Internet forums were full of personal accounts of sudden panic attacks that had caused them to stop driving until the paralysing waves of fear had passed. For Gina, the sensation of panic had taken on a human persona, stalking her two steps behind, invisible to everyone but ready to tap her on the shoulder and announce its presence as if to say, ‘I’m here, I’m watching, I’m following.’
Gina reached in her bag and took out a bottle of herbal Rescue spray and administered three squirts under her tongue. Usually, the calming effect was enough to tip the equilibrium in her favour and to redress the balance. At times like this, she longed for a cigarette. She had managed to give up the disgusting habit after marrying Will. She’d not really had any choice about eschewing her cancer sticks, as her husband called them. As a heart specialist, he knew only too well the toll that her twenty a day habit was having on her body. Recently, she’d taken up vaping to help her periods of anxiety but tried to limit her sessions to three times a day. Whilst her comforting spray took effect, she brought up the news websites as a distraction and read the latest shenanigans in the Brexit saga.
