‘Bail? Fucking bail? How the hell did that happen you worthless amoeba?’
When Sir Ben had received Sam Parkin’s text saying he had an update, with a Zoom link attached, he’d assumed the newspaper editor had wanted to see the delight in his eyes when he told him it went swimmingly. He wasn’t expecting this.
‘I agree, boss. It’s not great but what can I do?’
‘Don’t give me that,’ said Sir Ben. ‘And get rid of that bloody beach background, will you?’
Sam glanced down at the keyboard, then back at the screen. ‘Sorry boss. Look, this is just a glitch. I had a right old row with my Met contact but he said the Sussex custody officer was being an arsehole.’
Wishing he could reach through the screen to rip Sam’s throat out, Sir Ben took a breath. He couldn’t get in a shouting match if he wanted this idiot to focus.
‘I’m not paying you the amount I am for you to fob me off with “it’s just a glitch”. I pay you to get things done and I thought I was clear enough that if Darren Howe didn’t play ball, I wanted him out of the picture.’
‘And he will be, boss.’ 160
‘Stop calling me boss. It’s Sir Ben to you.’
‘Right you are. As I say, the Old Bill don’t like to keep their mates’ husbands banged up but we’ll sort it. I’ve already got a plan to keep Sussex out of it.’
‘Christ. Why were they involved in the first place?’ The signal juddered for a second which gave a rather desperate freeze frame of Sam, as if he was thinking of an excuse. He probably was.
‘Breakdown in communication. What more can I say?’
Sir Ben rubbed his eyes, wondering how to get rid of this supercilious clown. He jotted Spk Tony E re SP on a Post-it note by the side of his keyboard. Sam had the gravitas of a failed Love Island contestant and, when the time was right, Tony would have to do the necessary.
‘What have you got on him so far?’
Sam paused. ‘Let me just open my messages, so I get it right.’ He was really trying Sir Ben’s patience, but what could he do? ‘Here we go. They say he gave a no comment interview on solicitor’s advice. They are going through all the gadgets they took from his house but that’ll take some time. They’ve got a statement from one of those who was nicked for this leak before and they’ve put him right in the frame. Oh, and they’ve kept me out of it.’ Sam looked up. ‘Early days, then, but things are coming together.’
‘And if they don’t find anything? All they’ve got is the word of some disgraced journo.’
‘Don’t worry about that. Those digital forensic geeks have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. It’s not just getting stuff off computers they’re good at …’
Sir Ben knew not to ask for the details, although with Sam he felt sorely tempted. ‘Well just make sure next time he’s in custody he leaves in a prison van, or else you’ll be travelling in something much more permanent.’ Without the closing etiquette of most video calls, Sir Ben clicked the red ‘Leave Meeting’ button, spun the chair round and stormed off to see his mum. 161
Jo had rammed her day with meetings and appointments so she didn’t have to think about the inevitable conversation that loomed. On the way home she’d stopped off to get a quarter of a tank of petrol she didn’t need, just to delay the moment. Thankfully her new card worked.
Given Darren’s bail conditions, her mum had collected Ciaran and Liam from school. They’d argued earlier whether she should be there when Jo told the boys why Daddy wasn’t coming home but, for once, Jo won, stressing that it was better for grandmothers to remain a force of good than become complicit in breaking the boys’ hearts.
Jo pulled up outside the house, locked the car, took a breath and walked to the front door. Slipping the key in the lock, she silently counted to three then, on cue, the bedlam commenced.
‘Mummy, Mummy. Nanny brought us an Xbox game.’
Jo bent down and hugged them both. ‘Bought. Nanny bought you a game but to be honest, maybe Nanny could have asked Mummy first.’ Her mum appeared from the kitchen wearing a guilty smile. Jo chose not to mention that they didn’t have anything to play it on at the moment.
‘I’m sorry, dear, did you say my name?’
Jo shook her head in defeat. ‘Never mind. Thanks, Mum. Have they eaten?’
‘I managed to find enough to make a bolognese. Would you like me to get some shopping in for you? Your cupboards are rather bare you know.’
Jo’s eyes filled as she stepped over to her mum and hugged her. ‘It’s fine, I’ll get a delivery. It’s been so …’ She felt her voice tremble so cut off the sentence before it cracked completely. Her mum gave her an extra squeeze which only served to wring more tears out. She broke the embrace and gave the slightest nod.
‘Boys, I’m going to leave you with Mummy now. Be good and don’t fight over that game.’
‘Ohhhhh. Can’t you stay and play?’ said Ciaran. 162
‘Yes, stay, stay, stay,’ Liam said, backing up his older brother.
Jo’s mum sniggered. ‘I need to share you with Mummy. I can’t keep you all to myself.’
Both boys feigned a sulk but their nanny gave them a hug and a kiss, then the same to Jo, and left.
‘Mummy, when Daddy comes in, can we show him our new game?’ said Ciaran.
She took them each by the hand and led them to the lounge which, true to form, her mum had tidied up from the mess it had been this morning. ‘We need to wait until we get the Xbox back, then you can play it with Mummy?’
‘Can you get it back now?’
‘Soon, darling.’
‘Do ladies play computer games?’ said Liam, in all innocence.
‘I think we need that gender stereotype chat soon,’ mumbled Jo as she sat them on the settee. ‘Now listen, boys, I’ve got something to tell you.’ She tried to read each of their eyes but both flicked between curiosity and fear. This felt like giving a death message.
‘Look, Daddy isn’t going to be living with us for a little while. He’s going to stay at Nanny Howe’s.’
She left the silence to hang while the boys were each processing the bombshell in their own way. Ciaran spoke first.
‘Are you getting a divorce?’
Straight for the jugular then.
‘No, no darling. We’re not. It’s just. Well it’s complicated and, he can’t come home just yet.’
‘Poppy in my class, her mummy chucked her daddy out,’ said Liam. ‘Poppy saw him and another lady wrestling in the bedroom, so when her mummy came home and they were having tea, she asked her daddy why. She hasn’t seen her daddy since. Was Daddy wrestling with a lady?’
Despite herself, Jo found herself grinning. She’d love to know more about Poppy’s dad but now wasn’t the time. ‘No, Mummy and Daddy 163love each other. It’s just something has happened that means Daddy’s not allowed to live here for now.’
It was Ciaran’s turn. ‘Toby’s mum got an injection against his dad. Now he lives in a bedroom with a kitchen in it.’
‘I think you mean an injunction. And that’s not what’s happened. I promise we both still really want to live together, with you, here, but we can’t – so you’re going to stay with me and Nanny will help look after you when I’m out. Just until this is sorted.’
Again, she could tell they were mulling this over. This time she moved first to stop their imaginations running away with them. ‘It’s a work thing.’
‘It’s always a work thing with you,’ said Ciaran, loaded with a ton of blame.
‘No, this is Daddy’s work.’ Then a cowardly idea came to her. ‘Why don’t we pretend Daddy’s had to go to America for a story, like he’s done before?’
‘Or China,’ shouted Ciaran, suddenly excited.
‘Or Africa,’ chipped in Liam.
‘Australia,’ said Ciaran.
‘No, Timbuktu!’ Liam’s final contribution had them giggling incessantly, rolling around on the settee.
‘Yes, any of those places and before you know it, he’ll be home.’
Then a switch flicked and the mood changed.
‘But that’s only pretend, isn’t it, Mummy? Daddy’s not really gone on a plane and he’s not coming back, is he?’
Jo was about to answer when Liam screamed, ‘He is. He is, is, is. Mummy wouldn’t lie to us ’cos she’s a policeman. Mummy, tell him Daddy’s coming back.’
Jo bit her tongue to stop herself correcting Liam’s second gender error. ‘He will come back. We just don’t know when, and you can still see him.’ Why hadn’t she led with that? Reassured them from the start. They’d agreed not to reveal the real reason Darren was absent, not yet in any case, but she could have been kinder in the order she broke the news. 164
‘Can we see him today?’ asked Ciaran.
‘Not today, it’s a bit late. Maybe tomorrow. We’ll see.’
‘We’ll be good Mummy, won’t we, Liam?’ His little brother nodded, looking as brave as any five-year-old who’d lost his hero could. ‘And, until Daddy comes home, I’ll be the man of the house and look after you, Mummy. And you, Liam. I’ll be as strong as Daddy.’
Jo could take no more; she pulled both boys into her and wept like no one was watching.