usually used for medicinal purposes to make someone sick if they’ve ingested a poison. It appears that Aneta was using it regularly to make her children sick. She was able to buy it on the Internet.’
‘But they were sick here too. How did it get into my home?’ I asked, struggling to understand.
‘It was in the drink Molly and Kit brought home from contact, including the pineapple juice we took from the Family Centre to be tested.’
‘Oh.’ My head spun.
‘The police have been informed and will be interviewing the parents later today.’
‘Both parents?’
‘Yes. Although, from what we know, it’s likely Aneta was solely responsible. But that’s for the police to decide. In the meantime I’m suspending contact from today. I’ve informed the parents and the Family Centre. Can you tell the children, please?’
‘Yes, but what shall I say?’
‘Blame it on me,’ Tess said decisively. ‘Say I have made the decision to suspend contact for now. I’ll leave the exact wording to you. But don’t tell them one or both of their parents has been making them sick.’
‘No, I won’t.’ I was still struggling to take it all in.
‘I’ll need to come and see them next week. I’m not sure which day yet. I’ll let you know. You haven’t got any other food or drink from contact still there? The police asked.’
‘No. I threw it all away when I thought it could be responsible for making the children ill. I was thinking it must have gone off, never in a million years …’ My voice trailed away. ‘So Aneta added this linctus to the juice?’ I asked, still unable to believe it.
‘Yes. I’ve given the food diary to the police. They may want to speak to you about it.’
‘They don’t think I had anything to do with making the children sick?’ I asked, horrified.
‘No, but they may need to clarify some of your entries. Your writing isn’t that clear in places and the diary may be used in evidence.’
‘Sorry, I scribbled down notes as I went, never thinking it would lead to this.’
‘Also, can you confirm that Molly and Kit haven’t been ill since food and drink was banned from contact.’
‘That’s right, they haven’t,’ I said. ‘But the rash and breathing difficulties that Kit developed – when I had to take him to hospital – how does that fit in?’
‘It’s likely to have been caused by repeated doses of the linctus she was giving them. It gradually poisons the system. It could have killed them both.’
I went cold as I remembered how I’d given Kit the juice drink the day he’d been very ill, lots of it. He’d wanted juice and, unaware it contained the poison, I’d given him as much as he wanted, unwittingly making him worse. My anger flared. Aneta had been using me as a tool to continue her evil actions, but why had she done it at all?
‘Why would anyone want to make their children ill?’ I asked. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘FDIA is a mental illness,’ Tess said. ‘The care-giver exaggerates the child’s illness or intentionally makes them sick in order to gain attention and sympathy. The victim is usually a child. FDIA is relatively rare but difficult to identify, so cases can easily be missed. It is most commonly found in parents of small children. One in ten victims dies as a result.’
I shuddered. ‘Good grief. It could have killed Molly and Kit.’ I felt weak at the knees. Then my thoughts turned to the miserable childhoods they’d endured – always being sick. ‘Those poor children,’ I said. ‘They’ve been ill for most of their lives and needn’t have been. I can’t believe this.’
‘I know. We’re struggling here too. Kit and Molly will be staying with you for now.’
‘You’ve decided that?’
‘Yes, I’ve spoken to my manager. In view of what’s come to light, the probability is that Aneta made up the allegations about you to deflect attention away from herself. The police are of the same opinion.’
‘That’s a relief. My family and I were very upset at the suggestion we could have intentionally harmed the children.’
‘Filip has apologized. He has asked that the children remain with you for now, as they are settled. I’ll notify Edith so she can inform the other carers.’
‘She’s due here soon,’ I said. ‘Shall I tell her?’
‘Yes, please. She can phone me if she has any questions. But I can only tell her what I’ve told you. I’ll know more once both parents have been interviewed by the police. Thank you, Cathy.’
‘For what?’
‘Keeping a very detailed food diary and making the connection.’
‘It was you who suggested the food diary,’ I pointed out. ‘I was logging everything, thinking I was going to be able to identify a food allergy. It would never have occurred to me it could be this.’
‘No. The doctors might have eventually made a connection, but by then it might have been too late. The social services became involved because of Kit’s broken arm and other suspected non-accidental injuries. None of us considered FDIA, although personally I thought there was more going on with Aneta than met the eye. But that was a hunch, no more. Thankfully, Filip brought in the bottle of linctus.’
‘How did he know what it was? Did he just find it?’
‘He told us that Aneta was always giving the children medicine, so he didn’t think anything of it. He worked long hours and left the childcare to Aneta. When he saw her adding the linctus to the juice to take to contact, he queried it. Aneta told him you weren’t giving the children their medicine and that was why they were sick, so she wanted to make sure they had it. Sometimes she gave them juice at contact – which I’m guessing is when they were sick soon after – and the rest was sent home to you. The contact supervisor didn’t notice the packets were already open. There was no reason for her to check. Filip has told us that Aneta kept the medicines in a locked cabinet in their bathroom and she had the key. He only became suspicious when you made the link between the children being sick and the food and drink they were having at contact. When we took the juice and biscuits from the Family Centre to be analysed, he confronted Aneta and demanded the key to the medicine cabinet, where he found the bottle of linctus. He said he was horrified when he read on the label that the medicine was used to induce vomiting.’
‘So you don’t think he was involved?’
‘It’s unlikely. He was very upset and remorseful when he came in, and is blaming himself for not spotting sooner that something was wrong. But that’s for the police investigation to determine. I’ll be in touch with a date to visit you and the children next week.’
‘All right. Thank you.’
Stunned from what I’d heard, I returned to the living room and, replacing the handset
