‘From your perspective, of course it’s a stretch,’ Cristy told him, ‘because you’ve never been in that position. No one on the outside ever understands how anyone can fall under the spell of a cult leader, how ready or willing someone can be to do anything to prove their loyalty, their worth, their devotion.’
‘I guess I can see how it might keep going for a year, maybe two,’ Connor declared, ‘but she’s been inside for a couple of decades, she can’t have been drinking the Kool-Aid all that time – at least not without some sort of contact, surely?’
‘How do we know she didn’t have any?’ Cristy challenged. ‘Maybe he visited her, or Lauren did, if Lauren’s also in the cult, presuming there is, or was, one and it’s looking possible, wouldn’t you say?’
‘And what, they suddenly stopped showing up a year ago?’ Clove put in dubiously. ‘At which point, Nicole comes to her senses and confesses?’
‘Maybe they told her to,’ Cristy suggested, not quite believing it herself, although they couldn’t rule it out – not yet anyway. ‘Whatever,’ she said, ‘we need to find out from Honey who went to see Nicole while she was in prison, and how often they were there.’
They all looked up as a small voice said, ‘Knock! Knock!’
Iz was standing in the doorway.
‘Hope I’m not interrupting,’ she said awkwardly, lowering the hood of her bright-yellow raincoat. ‘I know I’m early, but I didn’t much want to hang around out there.’
Having totally forgotten she was coming, Cristy said, ‘Come in, come in. We’re just brainstorming a few things, so feel free to join in.’
‘Tea or something stronger?’ Clove offered, going to their well-stocked corner kitchen.
‘I guess it is five o’clock,’ Iz replied, shrugging off her coat and hanging it next to Cristy’s, ‘so if everyone else is up for a glass, I won’t say no.’
‘Open a bottle of the Picpoul,’ Cristy instructed, and switching screens, she began a quick search of the latest news, just in case anything else had broken about Nicole Ivorson’s release. Finding nothing new, she remarked to Connor, ‘Do you think we should be concerned that Molly Terrance hasn’t posted anything for over a week?’
He frowned, considering it. ‘It’s hard to believe she’s given up that easily.’
‘Christ, you don’t think she’s found Nicole and they’re working on some sort of exclusive even as we sit here tryingto piece it all together, do you? Even if they are, she still can’t run it or according to the terms of her parole Nicole will be straight back to prison.’
‘Would the Terrier care about that?’ Connor asked.
Cristy shook her head. ‘Of course not – Molly Terrance has never been much troubled by something as inconvenient as a conscience.’
‘And would Honey Blackwell actually play us all off against one another like that?’ Connor wondered dubiously.
Not seeing why Honey would, Cristy looked around as another visitor came into the room.
‘Ah, Iz, you’re here,’ Meena declared, looking up from her phone as if she might have been tracking the publicist. ‘Oh, I’ll have one of those,’ she told Clove, who was filling five glasses with wine, now six.
‘Is Harry joining us?’ Cristy asked, going to open another bottle.
‘He’s stuck at a meeting in Clifton,’ Meena replied. ‘He’ll get here as soon as he can. So, Iz, have you shared the bad news yet?’
Cristy’s eyes went to Iz.
Cheeks aglow, Iz said, ‘It’s not disastrous … It’s just not what we’d hoped for at this stage.’
Before Cristy could ask, Meena said, ‘One of the main sponsors is threatening to pull out thanks to your decision to delay the upload of a new series.’
Cristy stiffened.
Connor said, ‘Aren’t you running cover for us on that, Iz? I thought it was supposed to be your job.’
‘Don’t try to shift the blame to her,’ Meena snapped. ‘She works damned hard for you guys, and there’s a lot of competition out there. If you can’t deliver for the sponsors when you say you will, they’re bound to look elsewhere.’
‘We didn’t actually give any dates,’ Cristy reminded her tightly.
‘Sorry,’ Iz wailed. ‘It’s my fault. When I knew what you were planning for the series, I assumed you’d start uploading right away – you know, with backstory – so I said the start of February …’
Cristy’s eyes flashed as she said, ‘You should have checked first, and it’s not your place to give out that sort of information …’
