CHAPTER SEVEN
By the end of the week the Hindsight office was fully up and running with Clover and Jackson, their regular and trusted researchers, back at their usual desks and all new contracts provisionally agreed.
Harry and Meena, now returned from a six-week trip to India, were pretty jetlagged as well as a few pounds heavier, but clearly fully on board for Who’s That Girl.
‘I admit I’m quite fascinated by it,’ Meena declared at their first production meeting of the series.
She was her usual delightful self, exuding calmness and mischief in equal measure, and showing not a single sign of ageing in spite of her fifty-plus years.
Harry, on the other hand, her ever faithful and long-suffering husband, was wearing the slightly dazed expression he always wore following a prolonged stay with his in-laws and extended family.
‘But before we go any further into it,’ Meena continued, ‘I know you’re keen to hear more about the sponsorship we have on board.
Actually, I’ll email the details, for now I’ll just mention Isabelle Penny who’s going to be dropping in to introduce herself, I think sometime today.
She’s already working on marketing and publicity strategies to help promote Hindsight as the series launches – and she also, I believe, has some great ideas for how you can work with each of the sponsors.
You’re going to love her. Well, love might not be the right word, but I’m sure you’ll find it after you’ve met her.
So now, back to the important stuff. Is there anything else we need to catch up on with Who’s That Girl?
Great title by the way. I’m told all the sponsors love it. ’
‘But what they think doesn’t really matter,’ Connor pointed out, making clear his hostility towards any kind of outside involvement, even if the players were providing money and, so far, encouragement.
Meena batted her eyelids.
Cristy murmured a thanks to Clover who’d apparently read the room and decided it was time to pass around coffees.
The spritely twenty-eight-year-old’s colourfully beaded dreadlocks and dazzling smile invariably brightened the day, no matter the weather outside, or mood inside.
She was a joy to have on board, as was the lightly bearded, spiky-haired Jackson whose tech expertise was as invaluable as his many geek contacts.
‘We’ve given you everything we have so far,’ she told Meena.
‘Apart from the footage Sadie sent yesterday,’ Connor said, ‘of her dead aunt’s rooms at their amazing fuck-off mansion overlooking the sea.’
‘Great description,’ Harry commented dryly. ‘I think I have just the right picture of it now. So, has Sadie discovered any more little gems from her aunt’s stash for you to puzzle over?’
‘Apparently she has,’ Cristy replied, ‘but she’s going to be in Bradford-on-Avon this weekend so she’s bringing it rather than sending by email.’
‘Any idea what it is?’ Meena queried, her honey-coloured eyes glittering with intrigue.
‘Only that she found it – I quote – “a bit disturbing, and difficult to get her head around”.’
Meena’s eyebrows rose as Clover said, ‘Is it another chapter, or page of the story?’
‘She didn’t say that,’ Cristy answered, ‘so I’m inclined to think it might be something else. We’ll find out when I see her on Sunday.’
‘What we have so far ends with the envelope coming through the door,’ Connor reminded them.
‘Is it possible,’ Jacks put in, ‘that Sadie’s found what was in it?’
‘No idea until I see her,’ Cristy replied.
‘However, what I can tell you is that we’ve managed to track down Gita Brinkley, the aunts’ housekeeper at the time they were at the hilltop house on Exmoor.
Luckily for us – and for her – she’s still in full control of her faculties at the age of eighty-six, or she certainly sounded it when we spoke on the phone.
She’s in a retirement village near Minehead, so Connor and I will be heading down there early next week. ’
‘Did you ask if she remembers a child suddenly appearing out of nowhere?’ Harry prompted.
‘I did, and she does,’ Cristy replied, ‘but she didn’t want to discuss it on the phone.’
‘I’ve been carrying out a search for Edwin Prosser, Mia’s ex-husband,’ Clover informed them. ‘Not much to report yet, I’ll be going in for a deeper dive as soon as this meeting’s over.’
‘We’ve tried contacting Lottie’s publisher,’ Connor continued. ‘Apparently, Felicity Green, now retired, was Lottie’s editor up until the last collection of short stories was delivered.’
‘What do you hope to get from her?’ Harry asked.
‘We won’t know until we speak to her,’ Connor replied. ‘She’s travelling around Mexico at the moment, due back sometime next month, but in her email she says she was very disappointed when Lottie decided to stop being published.’
‘Remind me again when that was?’ Jackson said.
Checking her notes, Cristy said, ‘2005, by which time Sadie would have been around seven.’
‘Anything relevant about that?’ Harry wondered.
‘Not that we know of – yet.’
‘Speaking of Guernsey,’ Meena interrupted, ‘which we were, kind of, I’ve yet to hear all about your Christmas and New Year. OK, now’s not the time, but drinks later at the Mud Dock?’
Having expected this and actually welcoming it, Cristy said, ‘It’s a date, but it was a terrific Christmas …
just not such a great New Year,’ she confessed, ‘and things have been going steadily downhill from there.’ She smiled to cover her feelings as everyone regarded her with as much interest as concern.
‘It’s OK,’ she assured them, ‘it won’t get in the way of what we’re trying to achieve, although it might make any upcoming visits to the island slightly awkward, at least for me.
However, nothing I can’t handle. In fact, I’m waiting for David to send what he’s managed to find out about the aunts’ financial situation.
I’m guessing he hasn’t obtained a full picture yet and will let us have it when he does. ’
‘How is it relevant?’ Harry wanted to know. ‘OK, I get that money always is, but are you looking for something specific?’
‘Evidence of blackmail would be helpful,’ Connor pointed out, ‘massive pay-offs, dodgy-looking investments … But that’s asking for fine detail and getting that out of the kind of firms that run estates like the Winters’ …
Well, let’s say we’re not holding our breath, but maybe Sadie can help there. ’
‘She must be quite a wealthy young lady now that one of her aunts has passed,’ Meena commented. ‘I don’t understand why she’d want to risk blowing the rest by putting the other aunt through this?’
‘I don’t think it’s about money for Sadie,’ Cristy said. ‘She’s protective of her aunt, or is trying to be, and is mindful of, shall we say, difficulties further down the road, but she wants answers. And I for one don’t blame her.’
‘Me neither,’ Clover piped up. ‘I mean, who wouldn’t want to know where they came from and who their parents really are? I know I did, and it worked out really well for me in the end.’
‘But you always knew you were adopted,’ Cristy reminded her, ‘and no one ever stopped you trying to find your birth mother. Or, more to the point, lied about who you were and who she was.’
‘So we’re satisfied,’ Meena said, ‘that Martin and Vanessa Winters have never existed?’
‘Not as the aunts’ brother and sister-in-law,’ Cristy replied. ‘Or as Sadie’s biological parents.’
‘Because she’s done a DNA test?’
‘She has, and no matches, which only means that no one has registered on any of the ancestry sites who can be tied to her.’
‘I’ve never tried one of those sites, have you?’ Meena asked, clearly intrigued by the idea.
Harry was already alarmed. ‘No, no,’ he protested, holding up his hands in defence. ‘You already have enough family to populate a small nation, any more and I swear I’ll leave you.’
Laughing, Meena started to pack up her things. ‘We’ve got a meeting at the Beeb in an hour,’ she reminded him. To Cristy she said, ‘I’m sure Isabelle Penny will be in touch today, so be nice to her. Any thoughts yet on when the first episode is likely to drop?’
‘It could go quite soon,’ Cristy assured her. ‘The envelope on the mat is a great cliff-hanger. We just have to gain an idea of what we’re moving on to – and, of course, we’ll need to top and tail with appropriate credits – and sponsor acknowledgements, I guess.’
‘Isabelle will be able to help with that.’
After Meena and Harry had gone, Clover commented quietly, ‘Definitely not liking the sound of this Isabelle person.’
‘We don’t want her getting in the way of things,’ Jacks added. ‘How often is she going to be here?’
‘I’ve no idea yet,’ Cristy replied, ‘so let’s hope not very, and deal with her when we have to.’ She broke off as someone came in the door.
Seeing who it was her heart sank, or flipped, or … She had no clear idea what it was doing, only that she really hadn’t been expecting Matthew, nor was she thrilled to see him.
‘Hi,’ he said cheerily, as if he dropped in like this every day.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked coldly. ‘I thought you were on air tonight.’
‘I am. We’re doing a live feed from the SS Great Britain – the PM’s attending some sort of dinner on board later, so …’ He shrugged. Then with a slightly awkward glance at the others, ‘Can I …? Could we …?’
Swallowing her impatience Cristy got to her feet and led him across the hall to the main meeting room. It was only as she closed the door that she thought of Aiden. ‘What is it?’ she demanded. ‘Has he bunked off school again …’
‘No, no, nothing to do with him,’ he assured her. ‘Although apparently he wants to stay with me tonight.’
‘I know, he texted. So what’s this about? You can see we’re—’
‘In the middle of something, sure. I’m sorry, I tried calling but you didn’t pick up—’
‘Because I was in a meeting. I still am, so if you can come to the point—’