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The rest of the day was subdued. I was up and in the drawing room. Jason was not forthcoming about his police interview. I asked when I would have to do mine. The thought filled me with trepidation.
“In a few days. Don’t worry about it. It is an open and shut case.” He tossed the newspaper on the coffee table. He was staying at home with me, though I suspected he would work most of the time in his study.
“Do I tell them about the previous attack, what he did to me? I don’t want them to know the nature of my relationship with him.”
I rubbed my hands up and down my thighs. I had a sense of dread at the thought of dealing with unpleasant memories.
“I don’t think it serves any purpose. The police are happy that he was a possessive ex-boyfriend with a grudge. They have enough forensic evidence to link him to Trudy’s assault. Though there won’t be any criminal proceedings, she can be assured that he’s not coming back. You need to find a way to put it all behind you.” He reached over and stopped my trembling hands, holding them steady with his own.
“How though did he track me down to the ball?” I asked.
His hands withdrew.
“I want to know!”
“Babe...”
“Please,” I implored.
Jason sighed. “Martinson has speculated much. What we do know is he found out about your internship from one of your old work colleagues - someone called Nigel?”
I leaned back in my seat. Nigel had been my cubicle neighbour in my previous job, before I had joined Jason’s company. Unimaginative, very literal and occasionally imprudent when it came to social nuances. I had been convinced he had Asperger’s. On the other hand, he was kind and unassuming of the worse aspects of human nature.
“I contacted Nigel about references for my CV. Told him about the application for the internship at your company. Nigel would have blabbered to him. The poor man isn’t blessed with a sense of discrimination. How did he meet Libby?”
“Libby has not provided any details of how he contacted her,” continued Jason. “She’s not subtle about her connections to me via her father and boasts outside of work. It’s possible he hung out around the office hoping to catch you. You were working your notice. Instead he came across Libby and her big mouth....”
“And took her to bed. He knew how to get women into bed...”
“Stop with the recriminations, babe. That wasn’t the weak link in all of this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I found out about his desire for retribution. The evening I came to your flat, I took a call and then left – remember? I lied to you about needing to work. I had to be sure that the threat was real and I met with Martinson to discuss what I had been told by my contact. That was when I found out that he was after you. You’d left the company by the time he wrapped Libby around his finger. Well, they both were manipulative. She’s not stupid. She suspected the rumours about us were true; your sudden departure and me being seen at the same nightclub as you.”
“He was there?”
“Outside the Jinx club on the Wednesday? Probably close by and waiting to see who came and went. He must have seen you arrive with Trudy and guessed you two were together. It was a familiar haunt of yours for vanilla nights out. Might Libby have overheard you planning?”
I groaned, I had definitely mentioned my night out to the others in the office. A last ditch attempt to impress them with my virtually absence social life. “He didn’t get me there though.”
“Martinson escorted you to the car, remember?”
“Christ. That close? She brought cakes in! The last day of my job, Libby fucking brought me cakes knowing he was after me!” I went to stand up in fury but Jason’s hand pressed me back down. My fingers
clenched with anger.
“He went after Trudy to get your contact details. Libby didn’t know where you had gone. No forwarding address for work and no proof you were with me. He hung about the Jinx hoping to catch you there and on Saturday found Trudy. You hadn’t told Trudy about me, so still no location for you and all he gained was your mobile number.”
“They asked, in the office, where I was going, but of course I couldn’t tell them anything. I made up a fib about going to my parents.” I hung my head. “The ball?” I went back to my original question.
“Ah. As I said, she’s not an idiot. She had her invite to the ball, via her father and she guessed you might be there too. She approached somebody in my hospitality group; they organise the ball along with the foundation and obtained a copy of the guest list.”
“What!”
“Your name was next to mine. Proof we were together and she told him. After that she was used to force you out.”
“Who gave her the list?” I probed. He had mentioned a weak link.
