‘Because I’m willing to fight for my marriage?’ I asked.
‘I told you before, he’s cheating on you, Lalla. I asked Mercer to follow him because I wanted to know if you were happily married. He meets a woman every Sunday.’
I threw my phone against the wall, and when I had calmed down, I decided to find out the truth for myself. The only place Stephen goes on a Sunday is to the supermarket. He started just after Nathan was born as payment for never getting up for night feeds.
He always comes back with a bootload of shopping, so unless he’s fornicating somewhere between the vegetable aisle and the checkout, I think Hollis is lying.
I am relieved to see the dot still in the car park half an hour later, but something does bother me. The dot is not moving. I reassure myself that this is either due to a lack of a signal inside the supermarket or he’s left his phone in the car. I continue my ironing.
Another thirty minutes later, I’ve abandoned my chores, and I’m about to drive to the Tesco car park when the doorbell goes. I open it without looking, just as I’m putting my coat on, and who do I see standing there?
‘DS Birch, and the odd man who is always with her,’ I say, impolitely.
‘Mattoo,’ he says and smiles brightly. I find him charmingly disarming.
‘On your way out?’ says DS Birch.
‘You are brilliant,’ I say. ‘Was it the coat that led to this breakthrough?’
‘We just want a word.’
‘Can’t you call in advance and book an appointment?’ I say.
‘This won’t take long,’ she says, and takes out her notebook. ‘I presume you don’t want us inside?’
‘Cleaner’s just mopped the tiles, sorry,’ I say, and start tapping rather exaggeratedly on the door frame.
‘Well, could you explain a recent £150,000 transfer to your bank account from an anonymous Bitcoin account?’
‘You’ve accessed my bank accounts?’ I say, horrified.
‘We obtained a court order to access your financial records as we have reason to believe that you’re helping Mr Mercer. Now, can you explain where the £150,000 came from?’
‘Not really,’ I say.
‘We believe that your husband may have paid Jason Mercer to have you followed,’ she says, with a face that suggests she’s terribly pleased with herself.
‘You really don’t know Stephen, do you? I could conduct an affair on our kitchen table and he wouldn’t care less,’ I say, realizing that I’m losing grip of my normally clear boundaries.
‘Your bank records also show payments for drinks at the Savoy and the Ritz. We checked their CCTV against the time of those bills, expecting to see you with Mercer, but you were with two different gentlemen. It would seem that Mr Rook has good grounds to suspect adultery.’
‘How dare you!’ I shout.
‘It’s a priority case, Mrs Rook. The reputation of the Metropolitan Police is important, and we’re under significant pressure to find Mercer, so please just tell us where he is.’
‘I have a right to meet male friends where and when I like. I also have a right to receive loans from other friends. It’s for a house purchase. You can check with the estate agents, if you like.’
‘Do you have the name of this wealthy friend so we could tick this one off?’ says Birch.
‘No,’ I say. ‘You can’t. This is an invasion of privacy. I want you off my bloody porch.’
‘We think you found out that Mercer was following you and demanded money from him to keep quiet.’
‘Oh, please, do I look like someone able to blackmail anyone?’ I pull the door closed and walk between them as quickly as I can on my heels.
‘One more thing,’ says Birch as I reach the gate.
‘What?’ I shout. ‘I’m not having an affair or helping anyone abscond from court. I’m just trying to save my marriage, get my daughter into prep school and move to Hampstead so please leave me alone.’
