Cristy turned to him.
‘You’re not going to want to see this,’ he told her, ‘but you probably better had.’
He sent her the link and as Cristy read Molly Terrance’s online article aloud, she felt her insides tightening with outrage and fury.
Were we all glued to our tablets and smartphones last night in high anticipation of Cristy and Connor’s first episode of a new Hindsight series? I’m sure many of you had better things to do, but yours truly decided to bite the bullet and dutifully downloaded on your behalf. And what a lark it turned out to be. All that self-adulation on Cristy’s part, using her own reports from back in the day to tell the story of Nicole Ivorson and her baby twins, when others were far more informed than she ever showed herself to be.
I know, because I was there, and I can tell you that Hindsight’s laughable attempt to whip you up into a lather of horror concerning cults and missing cousins and mysterious Frenchmen driving blue cars isn’t only nonsense – it’s highly irresponsible. I expected more from a couple of journalists who actually have a pretty decent track record, but it seems on this occasion, they’ve decided to compromise their own standards and reputations by spinning baseless rumour into purported fact and trying to haul the rest of us onto their sensationalist bandwagon with an invitation to take part in a search that will inevitably lead nowhere. I, for one, will be sitting this series out.
‘Bitch!’ Clove spat disgustedly. ‘It’ll be because we didn’t use any of her sorry-ass material from back in the day.’
‘Also because we’ve stolen a march on her by launchingthe series now,’ Jacks put in. ‘She hasn’t run anything since she broke the non-starter “leads to the bodies”, so it’s my guess she’s been working on a massive spread of what happened back then, because it’s all she has.’
Still fuming, Cristy said, ‘We just have to hope that Nicole is as committed to maintaining her freedom as we’re told she is, because obviously any interaction with the Terrier stands zero chance of ending well for her.’
‘This piece has had a ton of views already,’ Clove grumbled, checking the screen.
‘Everything does on that website,’ Connor reminded her. ‘But come on, guys – this is hardly career-ending. Everyone knows what a lame-ass liar she is, especially those of us in the business. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if this provokes a serious backlash of high praise from other sources, given how unpopular she is. So, ratings-wise at least, she could end up doing us a favour.’
‘I don’t believe it!’ Cristy exclaimed in shock as her phone rang. ‘She’s actually bloody calling me.’
‘Cut her off,’ Clove instructed. ‘Why the hell would you want to speak to her?’
Cristy almost hit decline, until, realizing it was a video call, she decided to hell with it, and clicked on.
Moments later, the detestable Molly Terrance with her luxuriant cascades of mousey-brown hair, ludicrous lash-extensions and ever-so-slightly buck teeth was filling all their screens. ‘Cristy!’ she cried cheerily, as if they were old friends reuniting after a lengthy time apart. ‘How wonderful to see you, and you’re looking terrific as always.’
Since she was hungover, un-made-up, and her hair was scrunched into a ponytail, Cristy almost gagged on the shameless obsequiousness. ‘Hello, Molly,’ she said coolly, ‘what can I do for you?’
‘Oh dear.’ Molly grimaced playfully. ‘Methinks you’ve already seen my piece. Sorry, didn’t mean to offend, but youknow how it is: us girls are dependent on clicks and shares these days, and telling it like it is doesn’t always work out so well. I’m sure you’ll find your pod last night will prove my point. Going with a rehash of what everyone already knows will earn you more yawns than likes. You have to get the punters worked up somehow, and facts are so yesterday, aren’t they? I guess that’s why you fixed on the cult. I don’t blame you, but we know it isn’t going anywhere, don’t we?’
Biting out the words, Cristy said, ‘Still waiting for why you’re ringing.’
Terrance smiled, showing her white buck teeth. ‘Always straight to the point – that’s what I love about you. Well, I was going to ask if you’d like to meet for a coffee, but I’m getting the impression you might not be up for it.’
Appalled, Cristy said, ‘You’re in Bristol?’
‘I could be if you wanted to meet.’
‘And why would I want to do that?’
Tilting her head, the Terrier said, ‘Maybe you’d like to discuss how we can go forward together on this story?’
Cristy could only conclude she’d lost her mind.
‘Think about it,’ Terrance said, swiping her copious locks over one shoulder. ‘A collaboration could generate more coverage, more prestigeand resultsthan either of us might otherwise manage.’
‘Prestige?’ Cristy repeated incredulously. ‘You are joking, of course.’
‘Not at all, and you really should try to get over your prejudice where tabloids are concerned – it’s not useful. Think aboutThe Sunday TimesandChannel 4 News;BBC Panoramaand theObserver …’
‘Neither of which are tabloids …’
‘But they are examples of successful collaborations. You could break new ground for a podcast by linking up with a major newspaper. New media merges with mainstream to deliver high quality and in-depth reporting to the masses.’
Cristy almost laughed. ‘And exactly how does that work with facts being so yesterday?’ she wanted to know.
Apparently unfazed, Terrance said, ‘There are many ways to approach a story, as we both know only too well …’
