The Secret Mother(40)

As I come nearer to the house, two officers get out of the police car. I recognise them: it’s Chibuzo and Marshall. Marshall starts speaking to the press. I don’t hear what he’s saying, until he raises his voice. ‘Okay, move back,’ he commands.

Of course, they listen to him. Reluctantly, they step down off the pavement to let me through – a small mercy – but it still doesn’t stop them yelling out their questions.

As usual, I don’t respond. Just keep my eyes aimed at the frosty ground, only occasionally glancing up to get my bearings.

‘Evening, Tessa,’ Chibuzo says as I draw closer. ‘We’d like you to come down to the station for a chat.’

The cold creeps through my coat and settles on my chest. ‘A chat?’ I say, my voice wobbly and high. ‘I’m really quite tired. Is there any chance I could come tomorrow instead?’

‘We’d rather you came now,’ she says firmly.

‘Am I under arrest?’

‘Not at the moment,’ she says, but I can detect a warning note in her voice.

‘Okay,’ I say, not feeling like I have much choice.

‘We can drive you there if you like,’ she says, gesturing to the silver BMW parked outside, its silent lights still flashing.

I consider how that might look to the press. Me getting into an unmarked police vehicle, being driven away. ‘I’ll meet you there,’ I say.

Chibuzo nods.



* * *



Less than twenty minutes later, I’m back in an interview room, the chill in my body spreading outwards to my fingers and toes, despite the stifling, musty heat of the room. Marshall fires up the recording equipment and Chibuzo runs through the time, date, who’s in the room and all that official stuff that makes everything feel ten times worse.

‘Mind telling us where you’ve been today, Tessa?’ she says, her voice distinctly less friendly than the last time I spoke to her at the station, her brown-eyed gaze unwavering.

I’m sure they know. Why else would they have been waiting outside my house? Fisher must have called them after I left. I decide I have no alternative but to tell them the truth.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say in a small voice. ‘I went to Cranborne. To see Dr Fisher. To explain. After everything that’s been in the news, I needed him to know that I didn’t take his son.’

‘James Fisher claims you trespassed on his property,’ Chibuzo says.

‘I didn’t want to,’ I begin.

‘So you admit to trespassing?’ she says.

I huff at her interruption. ‘I told you I didn’t want to. I would much rather have gone up to his front door and rung the bell, but as you probably know, the media are camped outside his place, too. If they saw me at Fisher’s front door, they’d have drawn all the wrong conclusions and I’d never have heard the end of it. So I went round the back and knocked on that door instead.’

‘I see,’ Chibuzo says.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say, hearing the petulant tone in my voice.

‘Did you realise at the time that you were trespassing on private land?’ she says. ‘I have to warn you that if you attempt something like that again, you could be arrested for harassment.’

‘I’m sorry!’ I cry, this time really meaning it.

‘For now,’ Chibuzo says, ‘we’re issuing you with a harassment warning. It’s called a police information notice, or PIN for short.’ She hands me a document.

I stare at it, the words a blur on the paper, as she carries on talking.

‘It states that you have been accused of trespassing and harassment. It lists the points of law and warns you that if your conduct continues, you could find yourself arrested.’

‘What?’ I say stupidly, not understanding what she’s telling me. ‘I didn’t harass him!’

‘Don’t worry about the letter too much,’ Chibuzo says kindly. ‘These PINs aren’t actually covered by legislation. They don’t constitute any kind of formal legal action, they’re more like a warning of wrongdoing. Telling you not to do it again.’

I suppose I should be grateful they didn’t arrest me outright. But I’m still shaken up by the formality of the document.

‘Why did you really go there today, Tessa?’ Chibuzo asks.

‘I already told you. I wanted Fisher to know that the stuff in the media is all lies.’

‘Don’t you think that going to his house could’ve been seen as an aggressive act?’ she says.

‘Aggressive?’ I stutter. ‘No, not at all. If you must know, I wanted to ask him why it took him so long to report Harry missing.’

Chibuzo’s eyes narrow and Marshall stops writing for a moment to look up at me. I notice the quick glance that passes between them.

‘How do you know about that, Tessa?’ Chibuzo asks.

Shit. I can’t tell her that someone from inside the force leaked it to Carly. That might make things worse for me. I think quickly. ‘One of the reporters outside my house told me.’

‘Which one?’ Chibuzo asks.

‘I don’t know. One of them shouted it out, they’re always yelling things like that.’

Her shoulders relax; she seems to buy this. ‘Well, you more than anyone should know how much credence to place on those tabloid stories.’