‘Wow, what a mess,’ I sighed.
‘It is, yes. My poor, poor boy. I . . .’ Linda’s eyes filled with further tears. ‘I never had children of my own, but I loved Anand like my own son, CeCe. I was there when his mother and father weren’t, helping him through those difficult teenage years.’
‘Then why haven’t you been to see him in prison?’
‘David said I couldn’t. He ordered me to keep away.’
‘In case someone traced your involvement with Ace and David, and discovered the truth about their relationship?’
‘Yes, although there’s no written proof – David’s name isn’t even on Anand’s birth certificate.’
I felt a surge of anger rise inside me. ‘There are genetic tests. I’m sorry to say this, but David sounds like a really serious’ – I chose the most delicate word I could think of – ‘prat. Ace needs all the support he can get just now. He’s, like, totally alone, going through this all by himself.’
‘You’re right about David,’ Linda said darkly. ‘It’s taken thirty years to remove the blinkers from my eyes. The problem was, I adored him from the first moment I started as a junior typist at the bank and when he eventually employed me as his PA, it was the happiest day of my life. I gave him everything. Wherever I was, whatever time of day or night, I was there to sort out and organise his life. And not just his, but that arrogant, patronising woman he married and his two spoilt children who have never done a serious day’s work in their lives. I was in love with him, you see,’ she confessed. ‘What a cliche I am: the secretary in love with her boss. And now, he’s tossed me aside along with Anand. Do you know, he didn’t even have the grace to tell me himself when the redundancies were announced after the bank was bought by Jinqian for a pound? I was sent to HR, along with the rest of the employees.’
By now, I wanted to throttle this arsehole with my own bare hands. ‘It’s because you knew too much.’
‘I was the shadow on his shoulder, the reminder of what he truly was. He’s Anand’s father, CeCe. He should be there for him in his hour of need, and he knows it.’
‘Have you ever thought about telling the media the truth?’
‘Of course I have, constantly! I dream about the look on David’s face if I did!’ She gave a small chuckle and drained the rest of her sherry.
‘And?’
‘I . . . just can’t. I’m simply not a spiteful person. And that’s what it would be – spite, because it wouldn’t achieve anything positive, apart from David’s public humiliation.’
‘That’s quite a lot in my book,’ I commented.
‘No, CeCe. Try to understand that the one thing I have left is my integrity. And I will not allow him to compromise that as well.’
‘But what about Ace?’ I insisted. ‘I understand that you’re saying he did all the bad stuff of his own accord, but surely, when it comes to the trial, if someone was there to explain why it happened, it might help? After all, you’ve known him since he was a young boy, and you worked at the bank, so you could be a character witness. I’m willing to be one!’
‘That’s sweet of you, dear. The problem is that my redundancy payout is dependent on me keeping my mouth shut. I had to sign a clause agreeing that I wouldn’t speak to either the media or the barrister defending Anand.’
‘That’s blackmail, Linda!’ I exclaimed.
‘I’m aware of that, but without seeming selfish, that redundancy money is all I have to live on until I can draw my pension in seven years’ time.’
‘Surely you can get another job? I mean, it sounds like you were a great PA.’
‘Oh CeCe, you are sweet, dear, but I’m forty-eight. Bosses want young women, not middle-aged ones like me.’
‘Can’t you, er, blackmail David back? I mean, you’ve worked for him for all these years. You must have some stuff on him.’
‘I certainly do. The things I could tell the newspapers about. For a start, his endless affairs, with me covering for him if his wife called the office. And his extravagance was breathtaking – only the best would do, and he’d move heaven and earth to get it. Do you know, even on the day that his precious bank was about to be sold for a pound, he sent me over to Hatton Garden to pick up a pearl he’d been hunting down for years. He’d finally traced it and had it sent to London by private jet. I took a million pounds in cash in a black cab to meet the middleman. David was like a child on Christmas Day when I returned to his office with it. I watched him open the box and take the pearl out. He held it up to the light, and admittedly, it was huge, and a pretty rose colour, but David looked more in love with that jewel than I’ve ever seen him look with a human being.’
I swallowed hard, then stared at Linda in shock. Surely it couldn’t be what I thought it might be . . . ?
‘Er, where did the pearl come from? Do you know?’
‘Australia. Apparently, it had been lost for years.’
‘Did it . . . did David say it had a name? Like, because it was so special?’
‘Yes, he called it the Roseate Pearl. Why?’
The spirits find greedy men and killem them . . .
‘Oh, nothing.’ I had a horrible urge to giggle hysterically, but Linda wouldn’t understand, so I controlled myself. ‘I really have to go now, but why don’t I give you my number and we can keep in touch?’
‘Yes, I’d like that,’ she said. We exchanged numbers, then I stood up and walked swiftly to the front door before the dam burst inside me.
‘It’s been good to talk to someone who understands, and who cares for Anand like I do,’ she said, laying a hand on my arm. ‘Thank you for coming.’
‘Please, Linda, even if you can’t go to court to speak up for him, think about going to see Ace in prison. He needs you. You’re . . . well, basically, his mum.’
‘Yes, you’re right. I will think about it, dear. Goodbye now.’
Outside, I walked along the road and down a narrow lane until I found a green. I sat down on a bench, and howled with what I knew was inappropriate laughter, but I couldn’t help myself. If it was the cursed Roseate Pearl that Ace’s dad had bought, which it definitely sounded like it was, then it could not have gone to a more deserving home.
Not that I wanted him to die, of course . . . well, not much, anyway.
I shivered in the cold and reached for my mobile to call the taxi driver. When the car arrived, I climbed inside, and called the Scrubs to book myself in for another visit.
When I arrived home, I realised I felt far calmer about the Ace situation. I had the strongest feeling that the Ancestors had everything in hand and David Rutter’s destiny had already been set.
*
When I went to meet Ma at Heathrow, she emerged from Arrivals, looking elegant despite her long journey. I pushed through the crowd towards her and gave her a tight hug.
‘Chérie, you look wonderful!’ she said as she kissed me on both cheeks.