Lipstick and Lies (53 page)

This was my opportunity to
spill the Selina beans
.
That
Selina was in fact
Selina Hadley, once PC Hadley and very probably a former colleague of Humpty and Olive’s.
But if I did that
,
I’d have to justify why I had initially suspected her involvement.
And
bearing in mind that Selina was no longer off sick from work – indeed had answered Jamie’s mobile earlier on – I had no evidence for such an accusation.
I’d found nothing untoward at her apartment block
.
H
eard nothing from within
.
N
obody had answered her door
.
Indeed,
the place had appeared empty when peering through a window.
Telling PC Smith that Stevi
e and Selina had been out horse
riding one Sunday afternoon
,
or gone shopping at
Fairview
,
was not hard evidence of abduc
tion and bizarre text messages.

‘I don’t know who sent those texts PC Smith,’ I said quietly.
‘However, I
can
prove it wasn’t my ex-husband.
I deliberately asked
Stevie
about a choice of restaurant for
the twins’
impending birthday.
He texted me back suggesting I let the
children
choose the venue.
The fact is,
their
birthday
is
months away.’

This time it was my turn to gaze at PC Smith levelly.
Put
that
in your Sherlock Holmes pipe and smoke it!
But instead P
C Smith gave a sardonic smile.

‘Mrs Mackerel, I think there are a goodly proportion of fathers out there that make the same error as Mr Cherry.
And they do it year in, year out.
Men are notoriously bad at remembering dates – be it birthdays, anniversaries, or family events.
You are not the first woman to experience this male phenomenon
.
A
nd you
certainly
won’t be the last.’

‘I can assure
you that’s not the case with–’

‘Meanwhile,’ PC Smith cut across me, ‘I have enough details to let us get started on an investigation.
You’ve
both
given me names of friends and relatives, places Mr Cherry is known to frequent, and of course bank details.
We will be checking to see if any sums of money have been
with
drawn from his account and, if so, what area.
We also have photographs and,’ she picked up a plastic bag containing Stevie’s toothbrush, ‘this.
What I would ask,’ PC Smith turned to
Charlotte
, ‘is that we have permission to search Mr Cherry’s home
.
This is normal procedure and nothing to be unduly alarmed about.
Is this okay with you
,
Miss West?’

‘Yes,’
Charlotte
gulped.

‘Good.
’
PC Smith stood up.
‘We will be in touch.’

Charlotte and I
also
stood up.
I couldn’t believe we were being dismissed.
For a moment I’d half expected Humpty and Olive to slap handcuffs on us and put us in a holding room on suspicion of kidnap.
Or murder.
Or whatever else had been flitting through their brains.
But of one thing I was fairly sure.
Either Victor hadn’t yet seen Selina to pass on the details about Morag and
me
visiting, or else Selina had ch
osen not to pursue the matter.

In which case, why?

I arrived home
cold and hungry.
I also felt worn out
.
M
y mood was swinging between irritation and immense worry.
Humpty and Olive had exasperated me beyond belief.
I also realised
that keeping secrets
from the twins
and trying to remain
cheerful would be testing.
My worry for Stevie’s safety and whereabouts was nothing, you understand, to do with old feelings or regrets.
Absolutely not.
But it was everything to do with wanting my kids to grow up with their biological father on the scene, alive and kicking.

Jamie greeted me as I came in through the front door.
He took my hand, led me int
o the study and shut the door.

‘Mum’s brought me up to date Cassie.’
Jamie put his arms around
my shoulders and
drew me close.
I snuggled into his chest.
It felt warm.
Solid.
Utterly dependable.
‘I’ve been on the phone and spoken to my old Super.
Harry
.
He
’s already been in touch with the local nick
and
is pushing things along.
B
efore the night is out
,
some of the boys
will have
paid a visit to Stevie’s
house
.
Charlotte
is
probably
liaising with them
right now
about access.
And a
ll hospitals are being checked
.
Just
in case any lone
,
white
,
middle-aged male has been admitted
– concussed
or unconscious
.
Finally, Stevie’s
bank details are being tracked
.
Any transactions and the location will instantly show up.
They’ll find him.
And s
oon.’

I nodded.
‘I just don’t understand h
ow he could simply disappear.’

‘I’m sure all will be revealed very shortly.’

‘I’d better go and bath Eddie.
’
I went to pull away
,
but Jamie
caught hold of
me.

‘Mum’s doing it as we speak.
You go and have some dinner
.
W
e’ve kept something hot in the oven for you.
And I agree that we don’t say anything to Livvy and Toby for now.
No need to worry them eh?’

‘
Definitely
not.’

‘Want me to keep you company w
hile you eat?’

‘Yes please.’

We walked into the kitchen and I flopped down at the table.
The smell of
s
hepherd’s
p
ie made my stomach growl
with
hunger.
I was also aware of another part of my stomach contracting in revulsion.
Oh no.
The earlier nausea seemed to be making an unwelcome return.
Perhaps I was coming down with something?
Jamie set a
steaming
plate
before
me.

‘Dinner is served Madame.
Glass of wine?’

‘Why not,’ I smiled.
Perhaps a drop of alcohol would quieten the queasiness. I forked up some
mince
.
‘How was work today?’

‘Busy.
I gather you spoke to Selina earlier
.
You know
Ethan and
me
are required
at the bank t
his Saturday for a few hours.’

‘S
elina did mention it, yes
.’

‘I’m sorry work has been getting in the way of things so much lately Cassie.
But the good news is the contract is almost complete
,
and James Powell has generated some fantastic contacts for us.
Business is booming!’

‘Which surely means we’ll see
even
less of you,’ I pointed out.

‘Not necessarily.
We’ll be recruiting again very shortly.
And between you and me
,
I think Selina will take a lesser role in due course.
She’s not up to the pace
.
’
Jamie
massaged
h
is chin and looked thoughtful.

‘What do you mean?’ I picked up
my glass and took a sip of
wine.

‘She’s not herself.
Very distracted.
Snappy.
I don’t think she can cope with pressure.
When Ethan and I came out of the meeting with James Powell, Selina happened to have a neighbour from her old apartment ring her.
From her reaction, you’d
have thought there had been some
sort of
catastrophe
.’

My hand froze mid-air, wine glass suspended.
‘And had there been?’

‘No!
The neighbour was just letting her know he’d
signed a delivery on her behalf,
and to look in on him
at
some
point
.
But her concentration was shot to pieces for the rest of the afternoon.
What’s the matter Cassie?
Your expression is the mirror ima
ge of how Selina was looking.’

‘Nothing,’ I said quickly
.
I
flung some more wine down my throat.
‘
I’m just a bit, you know,
distracted.
About Stevie.’

‘Of course.
Well with a bit of luck
, by this time tomorrow
Stevie will
have been found, safe and
sound.
And the twins will be none the
wiser.
Then
we can get on with having a nice weekend.
Are you looking
forward to the ball darling?’

‘I wanted to talk to you about that.’
I swallowed some
mashed potato
and put my fork down.
It was too hot to eat properly.
‘You know, I’d rather not have Selina give me a lift.
I have a better idea.
What about I come into work with you on Saturday?
Keep you company and,’ I shrugged, ‘you can show me what you do.
It would be interesting.’

‘Hardly Cassie!
You’d be bo
red to tears in five minutes.’

I blew on my dinner in an attempt to cool it down.
‘
No I wouldn’t.
Please let me come in with you
.’

‘And what about getting the kids to and from the stables
?
Not to mention
seeing to Eddie?
I know Mum has been here pretty much twenty-four seven, and she’ll be here Saturday night while we’re out, but I don’t think we can just presume she’ll step into the breach all the time.
Not to cover
you coming into work with me on a whim
.’

I took a deep breath.
‘Look Jamie.
I’ll put it bluntly.
I don’
t want to travel with Selina.’

‘Why?’

‘Because,’ I shrugged.

‘Because what?’

I tossed the last of my wine down my throat.
The alcohol had emboldened me.
Just spill the beans Cass and be damned.
‘Okay Jamie.
I’m going to level with you.’

My husband looked exasperated.
‘About what!’

‘I haven’t told the police this because I have no evidence.
But I think there is a possibility that
Selina knows where Stevie is.’

Jamie stared at me.
I could tell he was annoyed.
He refrained from reminding me that I liked to blame Selina for everything
.
F
rom
tampering with my
dinner
,
to spiking my drink
,
to being involved in the disappearance of my ex-husband.
Instead he just sighed heavily in a here-we-go-again manner.
‘And
you base this theory on what?’

‘Because I’ve seen her with Stevie.
Twice now.
Recently they were shopping together at
Fairview
.
It was on the day she rang in sick from work.
And I happen to know he was skiving too.
He told his employers he had a bad back
.’
Jamie regarded me silently.
‘I saw them quite by chance
when I was shopping for my
evening
dress for the ball.
They didn’t see me.
The two of them hopped into her sports car and roared off together.
I refrained from telling you because you were adamant she was loved up with Ethan
,
and wouldn’t mess him around.
And I realised that if I told you
, you might feel awkward
with Ethan.’