‘I think they’ll go for it,’ Cristy declared. ‘They’ll have their own thoughts and ideas, obviously, as will you once it’s all sunk in, but they’ve long been talking about expansion, and as much as we love our old Georgian house studios, the place just isn’t big enough if we do start implementing these changes. So we’d also be looking for new premises, hopefully still on the waterfront, but somewhere that will give us room to grow.’
‘So exactly how many series in a year are you thinking we’d take on?’ Connor asked curiously.
‘That will depend on the potential investigations, and what the new players bring to the table. For us guys, we’d continue much the same as we are now, with two or three series focused on trying to solve cold cases or at least open up further police investigations. What really matters where the new crime-casters are concerned is that they deliver high-value series, none of your kitchen sink stuff or let’s get pissed and talk about some unresolved case. We’ll be looking for serious investigators, so journalists like ourselves, maybe lawyers, or ex-detectives such as Andee Lawrence, who we both know would be brilliant, if she’s interested in taking it on for her area.’
Connor was shaking his head incredulously as his smile widened and turned into a laugh. ‘You do realize,’ he said, ‘that Kinsley’s likely to see us as a threat, albeit small time from his perspective, rather than a potential investment?’
‘Which is why David is going to devise a back-up plan,’ Cristy responded, ‘but my guess is Kinsley will get involved, probably with an eye to buying us out further down the line, but we’ll cross that when –if– we come to it. Who knows? We might end up buying him out or even running his global construct from Bristol instead of London or New York.’
Punching the air, Connor said, ‘I need to see this proposal, but you can already take it that I’m in.’ And raising his glass, he added, ‘Here’s toHindsightruling the world.’
‘Wouldn’t we all benefit from that,’ David commented, with no small irony.
Laughing, Cristy got up to go and hug Connor again. ‘To you,’ she said, ‘my other brother, my eldest son.’ She grimaced at that, making them all laugh. ‘My wonderful partner and very best friend.’
‘This is going straight to my head,’ Connor warned, ‘and I’m not talking about the champagne.’
‘Actually,’ Cristy said, bracing herself for what had to come next, ‘before we get too deep into cheering ourselves on, there’s something else I have to fess up to that you’re probably not going to like quite as much.’
Connor eyed her carefully, although she could see that he was so excited by the growth plans that her confession probably wasn’t going to knock him off-course now – at least not as much as it might have if delivered at any other time.
Bracing herself, she said, ‘I’ve agreed to give the Terrier an exclusive on how we pulled this latest series together. Obviously not until it’s finished, but you need to know now.’
Connor stared at her in disbelief. ‘You’ve done a deal with … Wait a minute … Why the hell would you do that? You can’t stand the woman – none of us can – and we sure as hell can’t trust her. So make this make sense.’
‘She basically blackmailed me into it,’ Cristy admitted. ‘She knew about Kinsley’s offer – how she knew is another story – and she threatened to tell you about it at a time whenwe really didn’t need the distraction. So, I stalled her with the offer of a behind-the-scenes—’
‘I take it you got copy approval,’ he cut in forcefully.
‘We don’t have anything in writing yet; I’ve just given her my word. Obviously when it comes to it, we’ll definitely want that.’
He nodded thoughtfully, clearly still not thrilled by the prospect of sharing anything with a journalist he had zero respect for. However, just as Cristy had hoped, his enthusiasm for the new-lookHindsightkicked in again.
‘Hell, we’ve still got the final episode to go yet,’ he declared, ‘and who knows what’s coming down the line with that, or where we’ll all be by the time we find out.’
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
FOUR MONTHS LATER
CRISTY: ‘Hi, it’s Cristy.’
CONNOR: ‘And it’s Connor. Welcome to the final episode of the series featuring the story of what happened to the missing twins, Noah and Abigail Ivorson.’
CRISTY: ‘It’s been four months since their mother, Nicole, was returned to prison, after violating the terms of her parole.’
CONNOR: ‘And the same amount of time since their father, Jean-Claude Meier, self-surrendered to the police for his part in covering up their tragic deaths.’
CRISTY: ‘A lot has happened in that time – we’ll get into the detail of it in a minute, but we’re starting this episode with a return visit to Bryn Helyg, Meier’s “therapy farm”, as it’s become known in the press.’
CONNOR: ‘In fact, we’re just pulling into the car park behind the stables, and boy is it different to the last time we were here. It’s a beautiful July day, with a clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight, and there are quite a few people milling around – I guess both guests and staff. Most of the space-age pods have their doors thrownwide-open, loungers and picnic tables on the private decks, and the field directly ahead of us is full of ewes and their few-month-old lambs.’
CRISTY: ‘I’m just getting out of the car, and the scent of summer is as fresh in the air as the pungent farmyard smells, and the sounds – hopefully we’re picking them up with our mics – are their own kind of chorus: a medley of baa-ing, neighing, mooing, birdsong and, yes, a few human voices carrying over from the barns and nearby stables. The whole place feels idyllic and quietly busy, suggesting business goes on as usual, although the security measures that have been stepped up since our earlier visits were pretty evident as we approached.’
CONNOR: ‘No guards, as such, but a lot more cameras, apparently monitored from inside the farmhouse, as much to keep out uninvited press and unscheduled tourists these days as to prevent livestock theft, the original reason for their installation.’
CRISTY: ‘OK, we’re moving over towards the goat pen to dump our stuff on a picnic table in the shade of a glorious horse-chestnut … By the way, our arrival has been noted, and we’ve been told someone will be along to talk to us soon, so until they come, we’ll take this opportunity to fill you in on what has happened over the last few months. Why don’t you sit over that side, Con …’
CONNOR: ‘So you get the view?’
