‘Yeah, but she once accused her ex of knocking her out and dumping her in the middle of the road to get run over.’ Before I could do more than raise my eyebrows, Prue said, ‘There was CCTV from the local pub. She staggered out pissed and passed out on the median strip.’ Prue’s forehead creased as she searched her memory. ‘I think she popped a Valium and it didn’t react well to the alcohol. It was about six months ago. Right after she walked out.’

‘How do you know all this?’ Aima demanded.

‘I live here.’ Prue’s tone was so flat she sounded almost bored. ‘The McCalls are notorious. A bunch of them have been jailed. Drugs, mostly.’

‘That doesn’t mean Krystal’s lying,’ I pointed out.

‘No, but it doesn’t help that she only started talking about what Scott did to her after she filed for divorce.’ Seeing me exchange looks with Aima, Prue sighed again. ‘I’m not saying it didn’t happen, I’m just saying it’s problematic.’

‘Aaron Rooney has been exposed to violent behaviour,’ Aima insisted. ‘I’d lay money on it.’

‘And the mother doesn’t look like a violent type,’ I agreed.

‘But we’re not here to make that call.’ Howard’s tone was impatient. ‘Obviously we’ll submit a report. It will probably join a lot of other reports on the subject. Our main job is to get a risk assessment and management plan in place for this child.’ He leaned towards Aima. ‘The first thing you should do is make an appointment for next Friday. I’ll get the parents to sign a permission slip when I see them on Monday afternoon.’

Aima nodded. She picked up her phone and tapped in some kind of diary note.

Howard flipped through his papers. ‘There’s no preschool letter. Did he go to preschool?’

Prue gave a snort. She was slumped in her chair, arms folded. ‘Joyce Rooney thinks preschools are for lazy mothers who won’t look after their kids.’

Howard continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘So we don’t have any kind of behavioural diagnosis,’ he said, then looked at me. ‘What’s your opinion? Does he need one?’

‘Hard to say.’ I thought for a moment. ‘There’s nothing wrong with his speech. His fine motor skills are okay. But he’s not reading social cues and he’s easily distracted. I suppose he could be on the spectrum. Or have ADHD.’ It wasn’t my job to make that assessment, though. ‘Can we not contact Learning and Support? Maybe they’ll send a caseworker.’

Howard grunted. Prue laughed. ‘Good luck with that,’ she said. ‘They come here from Bathurst and it takes about three months.’

‘If there’s violence involved, a caseworker can be expedited,’ Aima reminded her.