The Doll's House - [62]

‘Inspector, please don’t bully my client,’ said the lawyer, attempting to intervene.

‘But I can help you, Andrew,’ Helen continued, unabashed. ‘I can save you all that scrutiny. All that humiliation.’

Still Andrew Simpson didn’t look up.

‘But I need you to help me. I need you to tell me where I can find Ruby. If she’s still alive, then there is a deal to be done here. Set her free, accept a guilty plea and those details will never leave this room. They will be our secret.’

Finally, Simpson looked up at Helen. She was unnerved to see defiance in his eyes.

‘I don’t know where she is.’

‘Is that the best you can do?’

‘You’ve got nothing on me,’ he spat back sharply.

‘These women were all your tenants. You stalked them, spied on them – you knew everything about them. Their routines, their habits, their vulnerabilities. They went missing from your properties – no struggle, no break-ins – because you had the keys. You took them, kept them and when you tired of them, you killed them.’

‘You know nothing.’

‘I know that you’re a dirty little pervert. Your mum’s still alive, isn’t she, Andrew? How do you think she’ll feel when all this comes out?’

‘Fuck you.’

‘I don’t have time for this. Neither does Ruby. So I’m going to ask you again – where is she?’

‘I’ve said all I’m going to say to you. And if you threaten me again you stupid bitch -’

‘WHERE IS SHE?’

Helen was halfway across the table, her hand grabbing Simpson by the collar. But Sanderson was on her feet quickly, hauling Helen off Simpson, who had instinctively raised his fist to retaliate.

‘I think we’ll leave it there for now,’ Sanderson said quickly, heading Simpson’s irate lawyer off at the pass. ‘In the meantime, I’d advise your client to think very carefully about cooperating.’

Sanderson flicked off the tape, but paused as she followed Helen out the door.

‘It’s the only play he’s got left.’

101

Tim was waiting for her when Ceri Harwood got home. He had been trying to contact her all day – in the end she’d had to turn her mobile off. She knew at the time that she was just postponing the moment when she had to face him again.

It had been a long day. The confrontation with Helen Grace had left Ceri feeling dispirited and, more than that, concerned. She had fantasized about that moment for months – ever since she’d started this whole thing – and it had proved a big let-down. There was too much defiance, too much certainty in Helen’s voice that she would survive this latest attack. The fact that Anti-Corruption had found no trace of the missing file since then only made matters worse.

‘I’ve been calling you.’

‘I know,’ Ceri replied without enthusiasm, dropping her bag on the floor and sinking into the sofa. She knew they had to have this conversation, but she couldn’t face it. She was dog-tired – all she could think about was crawling into bed and shutting out the world.

‘We need to talk.’

Was there a more unpleasant phrase in the English language?

‘So talk,’ Ceri said, staring at the ceiling.

‘I’m so sorry, Ceri. That you had to see that. That you should find out that way. I… I should have said something to you before. I meant to, but we never seem to be in the same place at the same time.’

‘So this is my fault?’

‘Of course not. Of course not, darling.’

‘Don’t you dare.’

The look Ceri shot him was so severe that Tim held up his hands in surrender, acknowledging his mistake.

‘What I’m trying to say is I should have told you. But it’s a function of our lives that we don’t spend as much time together as we used to.’

There was more than an element of truth in this, but Ceri was damned if she was going to admit it.

‘I’m not blaming anyone,’ he continued. ‘My business needs me and your job is incredibly demanding.’

‘Why did you bring her here?’ Ceri demanded, tired of his self-justification.

‘Because I’m stupid. Because I didn’t think.’

‘Why her?’

A long pause. Ceri watched her husband closely as he searched for the right words. This was the only question she really wanted an answer to.

‘Because I like her. And because she wants to spend time with me.’

‘And the fact she’s young and pretty has nothing to do with it.’

‘No, it’s not that. I know you won’t believe me. But I didn’t chase her. She approached me.’

‘How nice.’

‘Please, Ceri. I’m trying to explain. I didn’t want to hurt you. I haven’t been unfaithful before. To be honest, I never thought I would be. Didn’t want to be one of those men.’

‘How disappointed you must be.’

‘But she wanted to spend time with me. And that was very appealing.’

‘And I don’t?’

‘Do you?’

Ceri was so shocked by the response that initially she wasn’t sure what to say.

‘Of course, I do. You’re my husband.’

‘I haven’t been that for a long time.’

‘Clearly.’

‘I wasn’t talking about me, Ceri.’

Ceri stared at him. Now he looked unrepentant, which unnerved her more.

‘We’ve hardly seen each other the last couple of years. We’ve been living together but… we’re ships that pass in the night. We do stuff with the kids at weekends, but when do we actually see each other?’

‘In case you hadn’t noticed I had one of the biggest cases of my career last year.’