‘Ha!’ she replied. ‘You’re attached, Cormac Wolfe: only you’re attached to a different woman on a six-month rota system.’
It was an office joke the way Cormac had a different girlfriend twice a year: once for Christmas and then, by summer, he’d have a different one. He never seemed to settle down and it never made any sense to Toni because he was decent, charming, funny, good looking and, as she’d said many years ago, hot. He’d been married once in his early twenties and had a grown-up daughter he was close to. He was never, as he always said when people teased him, getting caught again.
‘I just had a call from Michelle in the office and she suggested my getting a lawyer.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ Cormac replied thoughtfully. ‘Getting a lawyer sometimes implies that you have a reason to get one and I don’t think that Lanigan is going to take any legal action against you. He’s simply blustering because he’s embarrassed and he has to hit out. You need damage limitation, which is totally different. I know a firm you could use for that. Regarding Lanigan, I’m sure he’s not as squeaky clean as he makes out. There’s more than a whiff of the bully boy about him.’
‘There sure is,’ said Toni thoughtfully.
A sliver of an idea came into her head: anyone who could hijack her the way Lanigan had must have a few skeletons in his closet. Perhaps it was time the old Toni Cooper started investigating him? The one who worked night and day on a story: that Toni. There still might be a way out of this mess, because he would not go down without a fight.
Cormac was still talking.
‘I want to help,’ he was saying.
This statement, delivered with a kindness absent from everyone but Lou, made the words flood out of Toni.
‘Lanigan jabbed a finger in my chest the other night. Hard, Cormac. He hurt me.’
‘What?’ exploded Cormac.
For a moment, Toni couldn’t speak. She had shared this with nobody because who could she tell? Not Oliver and not Lou, who was going through so much. So to say it to Cormac and have him be angry on her behalf was comforting.
‘He just poked me,’ she said, but try as she might, her voice still shook just a little.
‘That’s assault,’ growled Cormac. ‘He’s twice your weight. The coward.’
‘Don’t say anything to anyone,’ Toni begged. ‘It’ll be my word against his, you know that. I’ll be too hot for any broadcaster to touch if he releases that tape. Nobody will want to hire me, and right now, I need money.’
‘I understand that, but I think damage limitation is what you need. Hey, Toni.’ His tone was softer now. ‘Take care of yourself. Phone me anytime to talk. This isn’t easy, any of this. The stuff with Oliver – I’m really, really sorry that you’re going through that.’
For some reason, the last few words were the ones that were her undoing.
‘Thanks, Cormac,’ she said. She pressedendand Toni Cooper, tough bitch extraordinaire, began to cry.
Chapter Seventeen
Gloria Cooper had been raised to be both kind to others and ladylike but neither thing made her a pushover.
She had angry things to say tonight and didn’t think her little dog Sugar should witness any of it. So she left her beloved little dog with her neighbours and drove to Lou’s house.
Without the presence of her beloved niece, Lou’s house looked somehow less than. The bird feeders in the garden were nearly empty and the curtains in one upstairs room were still pulled shut. Funny how a place could look neglected after only a few days.
Ned answered the door. He was clearly just home from work and was still in his lecturer clothes of shirt, tie and jacket.
‘Gloria!’ His eyes lit up at the sight of her. ‘Come in, come in ...’ He paused in his welcoming. ‘You know that Lou hasn’t come home yet?’ he said cautiously.
‘Yes, I know,’ said Gloria, walking in.
Louise’s home was an extension of her personality: warm, friendly and usually scented with either flowers or Lou’s treasured scented candles. Tonight, there was no lovely smell apart from one which hinted at windows not having been opened for a few days.
Emily had her mother’s knack of making a house a home too, but it was obvious she was back in college.
As if he realised that the house was somehow less than welcoming, Ned rushed to switch on the table lamps in the living room and swept a pile of newspapers from the coffee table onto the floor where he clearly hoped Gloria wouldn’t see them. She said nothing but smiled, and walked in.
‘How are things?’ Gloria said, settling herself down in the most comfortable chair.
‘Er ... things are OK,’ said Ned.
