A Thousand Cuts (31 page)

Harry was passing Walter’s chair. He stopped abruptly. ‘Watch your mouth, Walter. Watch your fucking mouth.’

Walter stood and Harry inched towards him.

‘Why do you do it, Walter?’ At the sound of Lucia’s voice, the two men turned to face her. ‘The jokes like that. This front you have. Why do you do it?’

Walter readied himself to reply but Lucia did not allow him the chance. ‘Is it because you don’t like women? Is that it?’ She was closing the distance between them. Walter leant back against his desk.

‘It all depends on the woman,’ said Walter. He laughed but the sound was hollow. Lucia was suddenly very close. When she spoke again, she spoke in his ear.

‘Is it that you don’t like women?’ she said again. ‘Or is it because it’s not women that you like?’

Walter recoiled. He tried to move away but Lucia held him still. ‘Because it’s hard, this job, for a woman. For someone like you, it must be so much harder.’

This time Walter pulled free. Lucia stepped away, ceding the ground.

‘What did she say?’ said Charlie. ‘Hey, Walter. What did she say?’

Walter kept his eyes on Lucia. His grin became a growl. ‘She didn’t say anything. She didn’t say fucking anything.’

Lucia faced Harry. Her lips found the corner of his mouth. Before Harry could react, Lucia was moving away, across the office and back towards the stairwell. When she reached it, she turned, and could not help but catch sight again of Walter. He was watching her with an expression of resentment she had only ever seen before through the grille of a cell door. Lucia, though, felt none back.

Thanks and love to my wife, Sarah, above all, and to my family: Mum, Dad, Katja, Matt, Galina, Ekaterina, Sue, Les, Kate, Nij, and of course to our budding football team. Also to Sandra Higgison, Richard Marsh, Jason Schofield, Kirsty Langton, Christian Francis, John Lewis, Darryl Hobden and Anna South for their support, guidance and advice. Any errors appear in spite of their help and are my responsibility alone. Thank you, finally, to all at Picador and Felicity Bryan, in particular to Maria Rejt and Caroline Wood.