‘I’m so sorry,’ Cristy said. ‘I could—’
Honey was still speaking. ‘Obviously you guys can’t have any more contact with Nicole, and I doubt Maeve will want to hear from you either. I’m truly sorry this hasn’t worked out. I was actually starting to hope we were getting somewhere, but this … It’s hard to see how to get past it now that Nicole could be facing an increase, rather than a reduction, to her sentence. Thanks for everything you’ve done – for believing in her even. It’s just a shame it turned out this way.’
As she ended the call, Cristy felt herself dying inside. ‘I’ve fucked up so badly here,’ she groaned. ‘I’m sorry, guys. I don’t know what to tell you … There isn’t anything … I’ve just well and truly screwed our entire series, not to mention put a potentially innocent woman back in prison … Fuck, fuck,fuck!’
Her head went back in an attempt to stem the tears, but they just kept coming, faster and unstoppable. ‘Oh hell,’ she choked. ‘I’m sorry, I …’
‘It’s OK, shit happens,’ Connor told her, trying to calm things down, ‘and we’re here for you – you know that. We’ll sort something out. We just need to take a breather, let it all sink in and come up with a plan. We can still try to clear Nicole’s name.’
Appreciating his unswerving support, not to mention blind optimism, Cristy swallowed hard and said, ‘I need to make a call … I shouldn’t be long …’ And picking up her phone, she took it across the hall to the deserted meeting room.
As she scrolled to Paul Kinsley’s number, she knew that any going back on the decision she’d already reached to turn hisoffer down was completely lost to her now. If she could make this sort of mistake, misjudge someone as badly as she had Claude Meier, thereby losing a possibly innocent woman her liberty, she had no right even to be thinking about trying to create a new empire of podcasts. She wasn’t fit to continue this one, given the state of her mind, and the fact that even now she had no idea whether she was overreacting or not only went to prove her point.
Kinsley picked up on the fourth ring. ‘Cristy! On a Sunday, no less. Can I assume that’s good? Did you see my links, by the way? Great apartment Dinah found, don’t you think?’
She still hadn’t opened the links, and probably never would now, so there was no point getting into it. ‘Paul, I’m really sorry,’ she said quietly, ‘but I can’t accept your offer. I’ve given it a lot of thought, obviously, and honestly, I came within a heartbeat of accepting, but something’s happened … Actually no, it’s not about that – it’s about my team, my life here in Bristol, realizing I’m actually really committed to what I have …’ She didn’t addif I still have it– there was no need. ‘Obviously, I feel really honoured that you thought I was the right person, and maybe I would have been once, just not now.’
There was a lengthy silence before Kinsley said, ‘So what’s really going on? Is it still the Molly Terrance thing, because—’
‘It’s not her. I mean, I sure as hell never want to work with her, but to be completely honest, I’m going through a bit of a challenging time personally, which will make it hard for me to give a hundred percent to something as demanding as what you’re proposing. Plus, as I said, I find I’m even more committed to my team here than I realized. I’m sorry, Paul, I really am—’
‘Don’t apologize,’ he interrupted, ‘just keep thinking, because I’m not giving up on you yet.’
Both touched and annoyed, she said, ‘My decision is made. If you don’t let me go, you’ll just make it harder.’
‘I’m not here to make it easier. I’m here to give you the opportunity you deserve, and no matter what you say, youarethe best person for the job. So, go away, sort out whatever shit needs sorting, and we’ll talk again in a week or two. Sorry, I have to ring off now – we have guests in for lunch.’
‘Of course, I …’
Realizing he’d already gone, she clicked off at her end and sat with the phone between her hands, staring at nothing, while seeing images in her mind of Nicole being taken from the converted stables in South Glos, feeling frightened and confused … She presumably had no idea at this stage that Meier had played a part in the revoking of her licence …
Cristy frowned as something snagged in her mind. It was about the location. The Terrier had apparently known where Nicole could be found. The only person who could have told her was Meier … Except she, Cristy, couldn’t remember telling him.
She reconnected to his number and was surprised when he answered.
‘I was about to call you,’ he told her. ‘I’ve seen the online article now, so I have a better understanding of why you’re so angry, but I can assure you I am not behind this, and nor is anyone here. I’m as upset as you are …’
‘If it wasn’t you, or anyone there, then who? Because I swear it wasn’t one of us.’
‘You know your team better than I do, so I’ll take your word for that. I’m just sorry you felt that I wasn’t to be trusted … I thought we’d reached an understanding … Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. All that matters to me is Nicole.’
As he ended the call, Cristy looked up to find that Connor had come into the room. ‘Did you hear any of that?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Here’s a question for you,’ he said. ‘If weever found ourselves in Terrance’s position – a rival running away with a story we badly wanted – what would we do?’
Cristy frowned as she thought, until finally connecting with where he was leading her, she said, ‘She had us followed. That’s what happened, which means we’re still to blame, for not being more vigilant, but …’
‘She’ll have used a PI,’ Connor stated.
Getting to her feet, Cristy said, ‘Let’s give her a call, find out what she has to say for herself. And I think we’ll record it.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Amazingly, it seemed everyone was available today, in spite of it being Sunday, although it wasn’t unusual when a big story had just broken. Molly Terrance was no doubt being inundated with calls, everyone wanting to know what more she had to share, who her sources were, where exactly in South Glos Nicole Ivorson had been hiding out. The questions would be endless, the attention – not to mention likes and shares – deeply gratifying for someone like the Terrier.
Cristy expected her own video call to be rejected; however, it wasn’t, and after a moment of blurred connection, Molly Terrance came clear on their screens – and Cristy couldn’t remember ever feeling such a strong urge to slap someone’s face.
TERRANCE: ‘Cristy, what a lovely surprise. How are you?’
