34
Friday 2nd February
‘What the hell is wrong with her now?’
Cora nudged Sam and nodded across the newsroom to where Alice was huddled in a corner, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
‘Honestly, what’s wrong with everybody at the moment – if it’s not Scott on the road, it’s Alice in here!’
‘Oh – man trouble this time I think. She was seeing somebody for a while and he’s dumped her. Don’t blame him really, do you?’
‘No – I suppose not,’ said Cora, but she instantly felt a little bit guilty. She knew how dreadful it was to be dumped. She watched Alice for a moment, and felt a pang of sympathy. Then she glimpsed the clock on the wall opposite and stood up.
‘Right, I’m off. Got a lovely girlie weekend planned with Nicole and Rosie, none of which I’ll enjoy if I don’t get home and get some sleep!’
‘Benjamin away again?’
‘Yep – flies off tonight for a few days canyoning in the Caribbean – Dominica, I think. I’m not even sure what canyoning is.’
‘Sounds very manly, whatever it is. Lucky git, it’ll be hot there at this time of year too – he hasn’t got a bad job, your boyfriend, has he?’
‘I know.’ Cora sighed. ‘Wish I had a job like that. Froze my ass off out there this morning.’
She picked up her blue cashmere scarf from where she’d dumped it on Sam’s desk earlier and started winding it round her neck, then paused as Alice approached, still sniffing.
‘Er – Sam? Is it OK if I leave now – I’ve finished everything I need to do and I’m, well, not feeling that great to be honest.’
‘That’s – that’s fine, Alice. You go,’ said Sam, sounding slightly surprised. Cora looked on, amazed. Never before in all the time she’d worked with Alice could she recall her speaking to anyone with anything even verging on politeness. Had she had a personality transplant, or was she just so upset that she’d forgotten to be nasty? Cora took a deep breath and decided to say something.
‘Sorry to hear about what happened – with your boyfriend, Alice. I know what it’s like, it’s horrible.’
Alice looked sharply at Cora for a moment and then her eyes welled up again.
‘Thanks. Thanks Cora. It is, it’s horrible. Men are horrible.’
‘Not all of them, Alice. Don’t give them up entirely, eh?’ Cora smiled and awkwardly patted the newsreader on the arm.
Alice gave her a watery smile. ‘I’ll think about it. See you, Cora.’
And she turned and walked away. Sam, open-mouthed, nudged Cora so violently she nearly fell over.
‘What the buggering buggery happened there? She was … she was actually civil. Who is that, and what has she done with Alice Lomas?’
Cora shook her head, bemused. ‘Bizarre. Maybe she’s actually human after all, underneath all that hair and boobs and bitchiness? Shame we don’t see it more often really – I actually sort of warmed to her there for a second, she looked so – so sort of vulnerable, didn’t she?’
‘Vulnerable my arse. The girl’s a cow. Just after sympathy, I reckon. She’ll be back to bitch mode by Monday, mark my words.’ Sam decisively typed the last few words of the email she’d been writing and hit send.
‘You’re probably right. OK – that’s it, I’m out of here, definitely this time. Have a fab weekend.’
Cora bent and gave her friend a swift hug, then headed for the lifts, suddenly aware her tummy was rumbling. It was nearly 10 a.m. – past lunchtime really, she thought, seeing as she’d been up since four. She pushed her way through the revolving door at the front of TV Centre and hesitated. Left to the car park or right to the café?
A minute later she was pushing open the door of Media Café, the delectable aroma of strong coffee hitting her nostrils as she weaved her way between the closely packed tables to the counter. It was busy as always, windows steamed up as dozens of telly types and tourists sought refuge from the morning chill. Cora ordered a hot chocolate and a fat, moist slice of Dorset apple cake, then cast her gaze around looking for a spare table. She spotted one tucked away in the corner and, balancing her tray carefully, headed towards it. She was about to put her tray down when she heard her name.
‘Cora? I thought it was you!’
‘Oh – DCI Brad … I mean Adam … hello. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.’
In an alcove at the back of the room, Adam Bradberry was sitting across the table from a small boy.
‘Come and join us? There’s plenty of room.’
‘Er – yes, OK, why not?’
Awkwardly side-stepping a large man in a dusty raincoat, Cora shuffled her way over, dumped her food on the table, and sat down next to the child.
The little boy smiled shyly at her. ‘Hello. I’m Harry.’
‘Hello, Harry. I’m Cora. Very nice to meet you.’ She looked at Adam and smiled.
Adam beamed at his son. ‘Cora’s on the telly, Harry. And Daddy’s been working with her a bit.’
Harry nodded solemnly then turned his attention to the enormous Danish pastry on his plate. Adam turned to Cora, who was slightly nervously sipping her drink. Why was she nervous? She had a boyfriend now, other men shouldn’t have any effect on her at all. He was gorgeous though. Those eyes …
‘So – busy?’ He interrupted her reverie.
‘Erm – yes, as always. So glad it’s Friday – just needed a bit of sustenance before the long drive home. I live in Gloucestershire – lots of driving.’
‘Ah, I didn’t realise that. Nice part of the world though?’
‘Yes, it’s wonderful, I love it.’ Cora broke off a small piece of cake and nibbled it. Yum. She was starving.
‘So …’ She swallowed. ‘Day off for you? No breakthroughs in a certain high profile murder case?’
Adam sighed and shook his head. ‘Nope. One or two potential suspects still around but nothing concrete.’
He took a mouthful of black coffee. ‘And to answer your other question, yes, I actually have a day off, and on a Friday too, wonders will never cease. Harry’s with me for a few days, which is brilliant, isn’t it, mate?’
He patted his son’s hand, and the little boy grinned up at him, green eyes crinkling, his entire lower face covered with sticky pastry. He took another huge bite and turned back to the Superman comic that was spread out in front of him.
‘He’s very cute,’ Cora said genuinely. She might not want children of her own, but she could still spot a good one.
‘Thanks – I think so. You got any plans to have any – with, er, Benjamin?’
Cora almost choked on her cake. She gulped down a mouthful of hot chocolate and coughed.
‘Gosh, well, first, it’s a bit soon – we’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks. And second – well, I actually don’t want kids. Never have.’
Adam nodded, but looked slightly taken aback.
‘I like them though,’ Cora added hastily. ‘Just don’t want my own.’ She smiled at Harry, who had stopped reading and was looking up at her intently.
‘They can be little monsters at times, to be fair. Although I wouldn’t be without this particular little monster.’ Adam ruffled Harry’s hair, and he grimaced and buried himself in his comic again.
‘He does seem very good. Not every child of his age would behave this well in a café,’ Cora commented.
‘Yep, he’s alright is my Harry.’ He leaned forward suddenly on the table, and the light scent of a delicious-smelling aftershave wafted across at Cora, making her stomach lurch slightly. For goodness’ sake, she thought. You have a gorgeous boyfriend. Calm down. She took another bite of cake, trying not to stare at the policeman’s amazing eyes.
‘So – tell me some telly tales, take my mind off work,’ he said.
Cora laughed. ‘OK … let me think. Well, there was a time I nearly needed police help actually. Do you remember last summer when loads of rivers and canals all over the country were covered with duckweed – that thick green sli
my stuff?’
‘Think so, yes. There was a bit of an epidemic, wasn’t there?’
She nodded. ‘Well, all the news shows were covering it, with reporters just wandering along river banks and pointing at it. But of course Jeanette being Jeanette, that wasn’t good enough. She made me get in to the vile stuff …’
Adam spluttered into his coffee. ‘Get in to the water? Wasn’t that dangerous?’
‘Well, yes, as it turns out. I had a dry suit – two sizes two big, but that’s beside the point – but no health and safety considerations at all. I didn’t even know how deep the water was. So, as instructed, I hop in – it was revolting – and there’s only a stupid shopping trolley in the bottom of the canal, and of course me being me I get my foot caught in it, and there I am, stuck fast.’
Adam was laughing out loud now, and Harry had completely abandoned his reading and was grinning with delight.
‘What happened next?’ he asked excitedly.
‘Yes, what happened?’ Adam urged. Two pairs of amused emerald eyes were glued to her.
‘Well – luckily for me, the cameraman had brought diving gear in case he needed any underwater shots. So he went down and freed me – took a good half an hour though. And all the time I’m trying to tread water in this disgusting green slime, with all the early morning joggers and dog walkers laughing at me …’
She stopped and chuckled as Adam and Harry snorted with laughter.
‘You’re funny, Cora,’ giggled Harry.
‘And you’re very cute,’ Cora replied honestly. He really was a sweet boy.
She turned back to Adam. ‘Now I’ve shared a telly story, how about you sharing some police knowledge?’
She paused, wondering how far to push it, then decided to go for it. They were getting on so well that it seemed to be worth a try.
‘Jeanette’s murder – why have you been talking to Scott so much? Scott Edson? Can you tell me anything?’
Adam’s smile faded. ‘Cora, I’m really sorry but I can’t. We’ve had our reasons, that’s all I can say. Sorry.’
Cora suddenly felt a little sick and pushed the remains of her cake to one side. ‘But you haven’t charged him. And you said there was more than one suspect …?’
Adam shrugged. ‘I can’t comment further at this stage. Sorry.’
Cora nodded and started crushing bits of cake with her teaspoon, wishing she hadn’t brought the case up.
‘So, to change the subject …’ Adam hesitated. ‘How well do you know that blonde newsreader – Alice? Alice Lomas?’
Cora looked up, surprised.
Adam took another sip of his drink. ‘Just interested,’ he said casually. ‘She seems like a bit of a character.’
Cora grimaced. ‘That’s one word for her, I suppose.’
She paused, aware that she was sounding rather nasty. ‘Well, what I mean is that she’s not exactly … popular. None of us are quite sure why she’s here. Jeanette gave her an amazing job that, to be honest, she’s not really cut out for, but instead of being grateful for it she’s kind of horrible to everyone all the time. Even more so now that Jeanette’s dead. Although we think that might be because she’s scared she might lose her job now, because nobody else really rates her.’
‘Could be that, yes.’ Adam smiled.
Cora smiled back, and for a long moment their eyes locked. Again, her stomach lurched. Oh for goodness’ sake. She stood up so suddenly that Harry jumped, startled, and nearly knocked over his milk. He grabbed it with a sturdy little hand and steadied it just in time.
‘Oh, sorry! I just need to go – it was a very early start and I have a busy weekend ahead, got to squeeze in an afternoon nap before tonight if I can.’
‘Of course, don’t worry. Well, it’s been very nice. We must do this again sometime – you know, if you have time.’
Cora felt herself blushing. ‘That would be great, yes.’
She dragged her eyes reluctantly away from Adam. ‘And lovely to meet you, young man. You’ll have to lend me that Superman comic sometime, I’m a bit of a fan too.’
Harry beamed. ‘I will.’
‘OK, well – bye then.’
‘Bye, Cora.’
She shrugged her coat on and made her way out of the café, turning at the door to wave self-consciously. Adam raised his hand and Harry waved wildly, making her laugh again. Still grinning, she stepped out into the February gloom and was marching happily along the busy South Bank when yet again she got the sudden feeling somebody was following her. She stopped abruptly and turned, but the street was so busy with scurrying pedestrians that it was impossible to tell if anyone was paying her any particular attention.
‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous!’ she berated herself, and forgot about it. And feeling ridiculously and unexpectedly chirpy for a Friday morning, she headed for the car park and home.
Inside the café, Adam urged Harry to hurry up and finish his pastry and stared out of the window, lost in thought. He’d felt strangely disappointed at Cora’s admission that she didn’t want children, though quite why that should have any relevance to him he wasn’t sure. There was definitely a mutual attraction there, he was sure of that, but she had a boyfriend, and that was that. But what she’d said about Alice – interesting. He contemplated for a moment. Maybe Cora was right – the newsreader was simply scared of losing her job. It might explain her behaviour, he supposed. Being upset wasn’t a crime, after all.
‘Daddy? I’m finished, look.’
Harry peered up at him, large sticky crumbs all over his chin. Adam grabbed a napkin and started to scrub, his son giggling and wiggling. Right, Adam thought. It’s the weekend, I’m off, no more work till Monday. And he resolutely pushed Jeanette Kendrick out of his mind and concentrated on cleaning Danish pastry off the face he loved most in all the world.
35
Saturday 3rd February
In the cosy little pub that was one of Cora’s favourite Cheltenham haunts, she downed the remains of her third gin and slimline tonic and raised her eyes heavenward as Rosie and Nicole bombarded her with questions about Benjamin.
‘It’s about darn time we met him for ourselves, Cora,’ Nicole declared, and took a large mouthful of red wine. She banged the almost empty glass down on the long wooden table decisively. ‘You need to get him to come down here for a change – it’s always you rushing off to London to see him. Make him do the running!’
Rosie nodded her agreement. ‘It would be nice to meet him, Cora.’
‘We have talked about him coming down here – it’s just that there’s so much more to do in London, and I’m often there on a Friday anyway so it’s just been easier,’ Cora argued feebly.
‘Nonsense.’ Nicole was having none of it. ‘We’re your best friends, we need to meet him. Sort it out, girl,’ she said firmly, wagging her finger in Cora’s face.
‘Stop it! Alright, you win, I’ll invite him down. Now stop wagging and start drinking!’
Nicole smiled victoriously and took another big gulp of wine. She was a drink behind the others, having been called out on some sort of veterinary emergency involving a pig and an ulcer – Rosie and Cora had quickly declined their friend’s offer to fill them in on all the gory details.
Rosie sipped her orange juice and grimaced. ‘Ugh. I’m so done with babies after this one. Being in a pub when you’re pregnant is so utterly boring.’
Cora rubbed her arm sympathetically. ‘At least you don’t get the hangovers.’
‘True.’ Rosie sighed and then brightened up. ‘Come on – make me laugh. Any mad fan to tell us about? Have you got your very own stalker yet?’
‘No – thank goodness. Although …’ she paused. ‘OK, you’re going to think this is weird and tell me I’m imagining it, but I have had a sort of feeling a few times recently that someone was watching me. I even caught a glimpse once, when I was with Benjamin.’
Rosie and Nicole leaned towards her simultaneously, agog. ‘Really? Wow. That’s a bit creepy.
What exactly have you seen?’ asked Nicole.
Cora counted off the incidents on her fingers. ‘Well, first there was a sort of – well, shadow at the gate outside the apartment. I just had a feeling somebody was out there. That last night you two were round actually, when I was waving you off.’
‘I didn’t see anything,’ said Nicole. She looked at Rosie, who shook her head.
‘OK, well maybe I imagined that one,’ Cora said, feeling a little better. ‘Then there was the night I went to Hakkasan with Benjamin. There was definitely someone following us down the street – I turned round and saw them slip into a doorway.’
‘Paparazzi,’ Rosie and Nicole said together, and they all laughed.
‘Yes, that’s what I thought. But why hide – they’re not usually shy!’
Nicole shrugged. ‘Don’t know then. Bit odd, I suppose. What else?’
‘Well, I sort of thought somebody had been in my flat – there was a drawer half open, and I’m sure I didn’t leave it like that. Although I probably did imagine that one – there was absolutely no sign of a break-in or anything. And then yesterday, when I was leaving the Media Café – you know, when I had a drink with the police officer and his son? I just had a feeling, again, that someone was there.’
‘Did you see anything that time?’ Nicole was looking a little sceptical.
‘Well – no.’ She paused, remembering something that had struck her as a little odd as she drove out of London. ‘Although, there was a navy blue car that I thought was following me for a bit on the way home. But then it turned off, so it probably wasn’t.’
The Dead Dog Day Page 18