The Last Girl (45 page)

‘From him?’

‘I think that’s a safe assumption.’

‘What was in it?’

I set the can down beside the drinks machine, suddenly nauseous. ‘Photographs.’

‘Of you, presumably.’

‘Mostly. And other people. Pictures of me at work the other night, in Clapham, at the crime scene. Pictures of me and Rob that were taken in the street and with a long lens looking into our flat. He’d cut Rob out of them, Liv. I mean physically cut out his face.’

She was looking disturbed. ‘That’s so creepy.’

‘It’s worse than that, isn’t it? It’s a threat.’

‘Or he just wanted to swap Rob out and put himself in. I presume these were intimate moments he’d captured. You know, your face here, that kind of thing.’

‘There was a note.’

‘What did it say?’

‘“You’re worth more. If you can’t see that, let me show you the truth about him. If you still don’t have the wisdom to get rid of him, he’s a dead man.”’

‘Is that word for word?’

‘For some reason it stuck in my head,’ I said wryly.

She shook her head. ‘Maeve, it’s not worth worrying about. He’s a run-and-hide kind of weirdo. A peeping Tom. He’s not going to attack anyone. Just get some decent blinds and try to persuade Rob not to wander around naked any more.’

‘It’s not just him I need to worry about, and he’s plenty of trouble on his own. Remember the website he was running? There were tons of freaks on it who wouldn’t think twice about doing his dirty work.’

‘Rob can take care of himself.’

‘Can he?’ I winced. ‘I don’t know. And I don’t know if I want him to take the risk anyway if he’s cheating on me.’

‘You can’t believe he’s cheating.’ Liv’s voice was flat. ‘You’re not going to take a stranger’s word over his, are you? A stranger with a hell of an agenda to boot? You can’t let him dictate what happens to you. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? You’re just playing into his hands if you do break up with Rob.’

‘What if he
is
having fling with his boss?’

‘Well, this is how I know you’ve lost the plot completely. What are you talking about? How could he be having an affair?’

I filled her in on what I’d seen and what Derwent had
said
about DI Deborah Ormond. Liv’s response was immediate.

‘Talk to him.’

‘But––’

‘You know better than to jump to conclusions without actually knowing what’s going on.’

I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. ‘I just think it might be for the best to walk away. Just draw a line under it and move on.’

‘Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?’ Liv raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s your usual way out, as I understand it.’

I shook my head. ‘We did things too fast. We moved in together because I needed a roof over my head, and then I lost him his job.’

‘You didn’t. Godley found out about your relationship because of Swain spying on you, not because of anything you did wrong. And Rob chose to leave. You were halfway out the door too, as I recall.’

‘But Rob was the one who ended up going. He’s not the sort to kick me out even if he’s fallen for someone else. He’s waiting for me to notice there’s something wrong and act accordingly.’

‘That doesn’t sound like Rob.’

‘Why else would he invite me to the pub when he knew Deborah Ormond would be there? Why else would she maul him in front of me? Someone was sending a message.’

‘And it didn’t occur to you that it might be Rob showing DI Ormond that he’s taken? Proving to her that he’s got a stunning girlfriend already and is off the market?’

‘It’s possible that he wanted to warn her off somehow.’ I admitted it grudgingly.

‘Is it also possible that the pictures and the note were sent by someone other than Chris Swain?‘

‘Who else would bother?’

‘A certain nymphomaniac DI trying to freak you out?
Someone
playing a practical joke?’ Liv tilted her head back to drain the last of her can. ‘I think you’re way off, for what it’s worth. You’re getting in a state about nothing.’

‘About Chris Swain or Rob?’

‘Both,’ she said crisply.

I checked the time. ‘We’d better head back. Thanks for the support, by the way.’

‘I am being supportive. I just don’t think you should be in a panic.’ Liv’s eyes were troubled, though, and in any event she ruined the effect of her careful nonchalance with her next question. ‘Am I right in thinking you don’t want to mention the letter and photographs to Godley?’

‘Absolutely not.’

‘You should tell as many people as possible. Make a fuss. Get it investigated. Scare off whoever thinks it’s funny to freak you out, and get some reassurance at the same time. At the very least you should tell Derwent because he’s the one who’s with you most of the time. He’s most likely to see someone hanging around if Swain is following you at work.’

I shook my head. ‘I don’t want to say anything to anyone until I know more. If you’re right, and I’m wrong, it’s not worth worrying about. And if I’m right––’

‘Then by the time you find out, it might be too late.’

‘That’s not what you said just now.’

‘I was trying to reassure you so you didn’t freak out.’

I pushed open the door into the stairwell. ‘Tell you what, Liv, next time you think I need cheering up, don’t bother.’

She crossed her arms, nettled. ‘Charming.’

‘I wasn’t looking for a lecture,’ I pointed out.

‘I wasn’t trying to give you one.’

‘That’s how it sounded to me.’

‘I’m surprised you could hear anything over the voice in your head that tells you you’re right all the time.’

‘Ladies, ladies. Please.’ Ben Dornton jogged past us, heading up the stairs. ‘There’s no need to fight here where
no
one can see you. Take it to the team’s room so we can run a book on who’ll win.’

‘Piss off,’ I said.

‘It’s none of your business,’ Liv called after his retreating back.

‘Lovers’ tiff?’ echoed down the stairwell.

‘Definitely not,’ I said, earning myself a glare from Liv.

‘Don’t flatter yourself.’

‘That’s what Derwent said too. For the record, I don’t think either of you are attracted to me. Does that help?’

‘Profoundly.’

I leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. ‘Oh, shit, Liv. It’s not your fault.’

‘No, it isn’t.’ She was still looking annoyed, but less so. ‘I still think you need to talk to Godley, but start with Rob. Is he around?’

‘He should be back by late afternoon.’

‘Perfect. Tell the boss you’ve got a headache and you need to go home early.’

‘No word of a lie. But I don’t think he’ll be too sympathetic.’

‘What are you talking about? He loves you.’

‘Not any more. I’ve blotted my copybook.’

‘How’s that?’

‘Standing up for Derwent. I know, it doesn’t sound likely.’

She laughed. ‘Don’t tell me he’s starting to grow on you.’

‘Like mould.’ I sighed. ‘When am I going to learn that doing the right thing isn’t always the right thing to do?’

‘When it’s chiselled on your gravestone.’ She patted my shoulder. ‘Come on. Let’s disappoint the lads by being friends again, instead of needing to mud-wrestle to settle our differences, or whatever it was Dornton had in mind.’

‘I don’t want to think about what Dornton had in mind, thank you.’ I followed her up the stairs, though, feeling better and worse at the same time. She hadn’t laughed it
off,
and that bothered me. But it bothered me even more that I couldn’t tell if I could trust Rob or not.

I knew there was someone in the flat as soon as I pushed open the door. There was some disturbance in the air, something too subtle to be a noise. I stood on the threshold, listening, every sense straining. It had been a jumpy enough trip back from work; I hadn’t been able to stop myself from looking around every time the train stopped and people got on or off. Walking back to the flat, I found myself taking a circuitous route, one that had lots of sharp corners where I could stop and wait to see if anyone was following me. I hated the paranoia; I hated the fact that it was justified.

At the flat, I had just got as far as thinking about where my CS spray was (my locker at work, unfortunately) when the bathroom door opened. I knew it would be Rob but my heart still jumped and the look on my face must have been the opposite of pleased because he stopped a couple of feet away.

‘What’s up?’

‘Nothing.’ I forced a smile. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Why are you standing there?’ He reached out and very gently pulled me into the flat. ‘I thought I heard your key in the lock, but then you didn’t come in.’

‘I was trying to work out if you were here or not.’

‘Here, but going out. I thought I’d head to the park for a run, as you might have guessed.’

‘I noticed the gear.’ I put my own belongings down and blew my hair off my forehead where it was sticking to me. ‘Rather you than me. It’s too bloody hot.’

‘I’m sick of being stuck indoors. Besides, I didn’t think it was as bad today. And I won’t notice when I’m actually running.’

‘Just when you stop, Derwent says.’

‘Does he indeed? Well, he’d know.’

‘You need to drink lots of water. And don’t run in the sun.’

‘I’ll be under the trees. Plenty of shade. Plus, it’s late enough that I don’t think the sun is too strong at this time of day.’ He shook his head, bewildered. ‘What’s wrong, Maeve? You’re talking like you’re on autopilot or something. Did anything happen at work?’

‘No. Not at work.’ I didn’t know how to start talking about any of it but I was suddenly, unhelpfully angry with him.

‘Cagey.’ He went into the sitting room and I followed, watching him lace his trainers as he sat on the edge of the sofa. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’

‘I was sort of hoping you might start.’

He frowned, twisting round to look at me. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Does this ring any bells?’ I leaned forward and began to run my hand up and down his back using the approved Deborah Ormond technique.

‘Knock it off.’ He leaned away. ‘What are you doing?’

‘You seemed to like it when your DI was doing it. I thought I’d have a crack. If there’s anything else she does for you that you want me to try, you only have to ask.’

He stood up. ‘Are you talking about DI Ormond?’

‘The very same. I saw her mauling you in the pub.’

‘You didn’t say anything about it last night.’

‘I didn’t get the chance. I wasn’t going to raise it in front of her.’

‘Maybe you should have. Then she could have told you the same thing I’m going to. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick.’ His eyes were wary.

‘Have I? Derwent got the same impression. He saw her too.’ I laughed. ‘You must think I’m blind, or stupid, or both. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice there was something going on?’

‘There’s nothing going on.’

‘Bullshit.’

‘I promise you.’

‘I know what I saw, and it wasn’t just me, it was Derwent too, so you can’t claim we were both mistaken. I just don’t know why you’d bother to deny it.’

He ran his hands through his hair. ‘Look, it’s not what it looked like.’

‘Finally, we’re getting somewhere. You’re prepared to admit there was something to see.’

‘I’m prepared to admit nothing,’ he snapped. ‘But what I will say is that DI Ormond had been drinking for a while that night. She’s on the tactile side even when she’s sober, and when she’s boozed up she gets grabby.’

‘I spoke to her, remember. She wasn’t boozed up. She was absolutely sober.’

He laughed. ‘Really, she wasn’t.’

‘Well, obviously I don’t know her as well as you do. But I didn’t hear her slurring her words and she didn’t seem to have any trouble focusing.’ I took off my shoes and stalked into our bedroom. Over my shoulder, I said, ‘I also didn’t see her touch anyone else while I was there.’

‘Maybe you weren’t looking.’

‘Again, not blind, not stupid.’ I was getting changed, pulling off clothes and yanking on whatever was closest to hand without much regard for the overall effect.

‘Pig-headed, though.’

I turned around. ‘Look, why are you bothering to deny it? You got caught, Rob. Either you hadn’t briefed her to leave you alone in front of me, or you didn’t care about me realising what you’ve been up to. I would have expected a bit more in the way of honesty and courtesy, but I can promise you I won’t break down if you just tell me the truth. I can take it.’

‘You’ve made up your mind about this, haven’t you?’ He sat down on the end of the bed. ‘You don’t know what’s going on.’

‘Well, try telling me.’ I leaned against the wall. ‘Come on, Rob. I know there’s been a problem since you started your new job. You haven’t been yourself. I thought you were just finding it hard to settle in, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?’