I nodded. “I know that voice.”
“So anyway,” Murdo said, “my advice to anyone, and the reason I agreed to meet you, is to say: Steer clear of Miles Lambert.”
“I wish I could.”
Murdo hesitated. “Look, there’s something else. It’s probably nothing, but…”
“What?”
“You know I said it was a whistleblower who first raised concerns about Miles? It’s meant to be a confidential process, but the consensus around the office was that it was a guy called Anand, a young analyst who’d only recently transferred onto the team. About a month after Miles left, Anand was out jogging when he was the victim of a hit-and-run. It was raining and visibility was bad—no one saw anything, least of all Anand. He broke his pelvis in five places—he was lucky not to be killed. There was no evidence it was anything to do with Miles. But put it this way, a few of us Mayflies took to running in pairs for a while after that.”
I thought of Jane Tigman, knocked off her bike after complaining about Theo.
“I don’t think it’s nothing,” I said slowly. “I think it’s what he does.”
Murdo nodded, and finished his drink. “And remember, all this is off the record. The last thing I want is Miles waiting outside my front door.”
78
Case no. 12675/PU78B65, Exhibit 41. Retrieved from Maddie Wilson’s iPad internet history. Peter Riley’s laptop was in police custody at the time.
THE PSYCHOPATH TEST
Do you have psychopathic traits? Take our test to determine whether you share any of the characteristics of a high-functioning psychopath.
People generally take to me straightaway.
❍ True ❍ False
I rarely get tongue-tied.
❍ True ❍ False
I am easily bored.
❍ True ❍ False
I rarely feel guilty.
❍ True ❍ False
When I move jobs, I am unlikely to stay in touch with old colleagues.
❍ True ❍ False
When I move towns, I am unlikely to stay in touch with old neighbors.
❍ True ❍ False
If I fail at something, it is usually because I have been let down by others.
❍ True ❍ False
I enjoy taking risks.
❍ True ❍ False
Most of my exes are a little bit crazy.
❍ True ❍ False
I don’t like to stay too long in one situation.
❍ True ❍ False
When others panic, I keep a clear head.
❍ True ❍ False
I don’t get bothered by the suffering of others.
❍ True ❍ False
If I accidentally walked out of a restaurant without paying, I wouldn’t go back—it’s the waiter’s fault for not realizing.
❍ True ❍ False
Burglars who get shot have only themselves to blame.
❍ True ❍ False
I will take responsibility for something, but I will not express remorse.
❍ True ❍ False
I would probably be unfaithful if I could be sure there would be no repercussions.
❍ True ❍ False
I rarely cry at sad films.
❍ True ❍ False
I would make an excuse to avoid going to a colleague’s funeral.
❍ True ❍ False
Change excites me.
❍ True ❍ False
The best decisions are often made quickly.
❍ True ❍ False
I don’t get mad, I get even.
❍ True ❍ False
SCORING: Count all the TRUE boxes you have checked and deduct the number of FALSE boxes. If you have a score of more than +10, you score highly for psychopathic traits.
79
MADDIE
I INSIST ON BEING the one to talk to Bronagh. It makes sense anyway for Pete, as the journalist, to track down Miles’s ex-colleagues, but it’s more than that. I want to look Bronagh in the eye and ask whether there was ever anything between her and Pete. And while I can tell Pete isn’t happy about us meeting, neither can he object without digging himself any deeper into the hole he’s in.
Do I really think there’s anything to be suspicious of? I’m not sure, any more than I’m sure about the other accusations that have been swirling around him. Of course, if it turns out there was something, on one level it would be hypocritical of me to mind, given that I’ve not been a saint myself. But I would mind, all the same. Pete’s loyalty is so much a part of his character that something like that would be a big deal for him. He isn’t the sort to have a quick fling and put it out of his head. It would be a sign that our relationship is fundamentally flawed.
What was that line from that old TV show? “The innocent have nothing to fear.” And yet here we are, and I do fear. Fear losing my family, fear what the courts might order, fear what Miles Lambert might do in his unstoppable drive to get Theo back.
But most of all, fear what I might find out.
I try to push all that from my mind as I enter the Costa on the ground floor of St. Alexander’s where Bronagh suggested meeting. She’s already there, carrying a smoothie and some kind of cake toward a table, and for a moment I stop and study her. The uniform suits her: The scrubs the neonatal nurses wear, made of thin blue cotton, flatter her lithe frame the way pajamas or a T-shirt would, outlining the shape of her buttocks, the slimness of her shoulders, making her look almost undressed. Today she has her jet-black hair tied in a plait that rests between her shoulder blades. Is she pretty? Yes, I decide, reasonably so. Is she beautiful? Probably not, but then, women don’t need to be beautiful to attract men.
I buy myself a coffee, playing for time, then summon up my resolve and go over. “Bronagh. Hi.”
“Oh—hi.” She raises the cake, which I now see is a chocolate muffin. “Hope you don’t mind. This is breakfast and lunch.” It’s almost three P.M.
“You must be really busy. I won’t keep you long.” I sit down. “You’re probably wondering why I wanted to meet.”
Bronagh’s blue eyes give nothing away. “I guess I was a wee bit surprised when you got in touch.”
“And I was surprised to find you back at St. Alexander’s. Pete told me you’d been suspended.”
Bronagh shrugs. “That’s routine when they’re conducting investigations. It’s all cleared up now.”