Chapter Sixteen #2
‘Christ, you don’t think she’s found Nicole and they’re working on some sort of exclusive even as we sit here trying to piece it all together, do you? Even if they are, she still can’t run it or according to the terms of her parole Nicole will be straight back to prison.’
‘Would the Terrier care about that?’ Connor asked.
Cristy shook her head. ‘Of course not – Molly Terrance has never been much troubled by something as inconvenient as a conscience.’
‘And would Honey Blackwell actually play us all off against one another like that?’ Connor wondered dubiously.
Not seeing why Honey would, Cristy looked around as another visitor came into the room.
‘Ah, Iz, you’re here,’ Meena declared, looking up from her phone as if she might have been tracking the publicist. ‘Oh, I’ll have one of those,’ she told Clove, who was filling five glasses with wine, now six.
‘Is Harry joining us?’ Cristy asked, going to open another bottle.
‘He’s stuck at a meeting in Clifton,’ Meena replied. ‘He’ll get here as soon as he can. So, Iz, have you shared the bad news yet?’
Cristy’s eyes went to Iz.
Cheeks aglow, Iz said, ‘It’s not disastrous … It’s just not what we’d hoped for at this stage.’
Before Cristy could ask, Meena said, ‘One of the main sponsors is threatening to pull out thanks to your decision to delay the upload of a new series.’
Cristy stiffened.
Connor said, ‘Aren’t you running cover for us on that, Iz? I thought it was supposed to be your job.’
‘Don’t try to shift the blame to her,’ Meena snapped. ‘She works damned hard for you guys, and there’s a lot of competition out there. If you can’t deliver for the sponsors when you say you will, they’re bound to look elsewhere.’
‘We didn’t actually give any dates,’ Cristy reminded her tightly.
‘Sorry,’ Iz wailed. ‘It’s my fault. When I knew what you were planning for the series, I assumed you’d start uploading right away – you know, with backstory – so I said the start of February …’
Cristy’s eyes flashed as she said, ‘You should have checked first, and it’s not your place to give out that sort of information …’
‘She has other people to answer to, as well as you,’ Meena cut in sharply.
Cristy felt ready to strike back hard, but she somehow managed to rein it in as Connor took over.
‘They’re not the only sponsors in town,’ he pointed out, ‘and they could also come back on board when we’re ready to go. It’s not as if their products are time-sensitive, any of them.’
‘I wish it was as simple as that,’ Iz told them, ‘but these guys have already allocated their budgets for the next six months – they want placement now …’
‘Then let’s find others,’ he interrupted. ‘We can’t be short of interest given our ratings—’
‘Which actually fell off during the last series,’ Iz reminded him, with an apologetic grimace. ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve been instructed to tell you that unless you can begin the uploads in the next two weeks then the Sponsorship Liaison Group will consider withdrawing their support …’
‘What the fuck!’ Connor raged. ‘They sent you here to deliver ultimatums as if we have absolutely no say in our own schedule! Well, you know what you can tell them—’
‘Calm down,’ Meena interrupted. ‘It’s not unsalvageable – not yet anyway. We just have to come up with something that’s going to work, and if it means putting your current investigation on hold, then it’s what you have to do.’
‘Says you,’ Connor spat, ‘who actually has no say in anything—’
‘Stop!’ Cristy came in loudly. ‘Before this meeting gets completely out of hand, I’m ready to make an executive decision.
As I see it, we actually need to start uploading something straightaway or we might never find Claude Major – sorry, Jacks, I still have faith in your tech skills, but even if you can get some background on him, it might not lead us to where he is today. ’
‘And you’re certain he’s key to taking this forward?’ Jacks asked.
‘As certain as I can be, at least until we get some answers from Nicole.’
‘Does that mean you’ve found her?’ Iz exclaimed. ‘That’s amazing …’
‘We’re communicating through her lawyer,’ Cristy explained, ‘and if Nicole confirms that Claude Major was involved in the twins’ murder or disappearance, and she doesn’t know where he is today, then we need to get the public involved.’
‘But how do we do that without compromising Nicole?’ Clove wanted to know.
‘By doing what Iz herself has already suggested,’ Cristy replied.
‘We make the backstory multi-episodic for at least the next three weeks, adding commentary as we go, such as the rumours about a cult leader called Claude Major. We probably shouldn’t refer to him as that, but the name doesn’t have to have come from Nicole.
In fact, it didn’t, so no worries there.
And we could get ourselves some useful feedback without putting her licence in jeopardy. ’
Cristy allowed a moment for everyone to take this in, then continued.
‘If we don’t do it this way, then someone out there, from the media or another podcast, is going to get to the heart of the story first, and if that happens, it could seriously screw with our series.
So the timing of our uploads really does matter, and thankfully it means we’ll no longer be in conflict with our sponsors. ’
After a stunned moment, Iz broke into a delighted grin, while Meena looked profoundly relieved, and the others – Connor most of all – were clearly already assessing what this sudden turnaround was actually going to mean for them over the next few days and weeks.
‘And that’s why,’ Cristy told David later, at home by now, snuggled up on the sofa with him on video link, ‘they are the world’s best team. One hundred percent support, no dissent, total trust and full immersion in the story.’
Clearly amused, he said, ‘So you’ve decided to turn Kinsley down?’
She grimaced as her heart jolted with unease.
‘We’re due to speak in the morning, and right now, I’m ashamed to admit that I still haven’t actually made many notes, never mind reached a decision.
Obviously, if I knew I could take Connor, Clove and Jacks with me, there wouldn’t be a problem, but there would still be Harry and Meena to consider, and I’m no closer to feeling OK about leaving them in the lurch than I ever was.
Although, Meena really pissed me off today, not sufficiently to start considering abandoning her as some sort of petty revenge, but it wasn’t easy biting my tongue. ’
Sipping his drink, David said, ‘The hardest choices almost always end up with someone feeling disappointed or let down, and if you do take up Kinsley’s offer, you’re likely to be facing a lot of that. So maybe get used to it?’
She eyed him balefully. ‘Is that your way of telling me to man up?’
He laughed. ‘What I’m saying is what you already know: life is all about winning and losing, opportunities taken or lost, people who come and go.’
People who come and go. That was the hardest part.
Sighing, she reached for her drink as she said, ‘I know I’m repeating myself, but Connor and I work so well together.
We’ve had each other’s back since I hired him as a young researcher straight out of uni.
He gave up a perfectly good career in TV to come and start the podcast with me and he feels like family.
So, if we want to talk about loyalty, let’s look at his to me.
I owe him big-time for taking the risk he did to help me get my life back on track after my marriage broke up, so the idea of bailing on him now is unthinkable – unconscionable.
Sorry, I just keep going over and over it in my mind, and I know it’s a sign of madness, doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome, but I seem to be on that wheel. ’
‘OK, let’s look at it another way,’ David said. ‘How do you feel about leaving Bristol now that you know your brother’s going to be in London?’
‘Well, obviously having Tom nearby, or even sharing an apartment with me for a while, makes me want to pack up and leave right away. And if Aiden does end up getting into UCL … Oh God, let’s stop – it’s all so confusing.
Just when I think, yes, it’s what I’m going to do, I see Connor and the team without me in Bristol and I feel so wretched I’m right back at the beginning. ’
‘So what are you going to say to Kinsley?’
After finishing her drink, she said, ‘I have a few things I’d like some clarity on, but that’s for tomorrow. Let’s drop it now and talk about you. We haven’t spoken since you and Tom went sailing on Monday. How did it go?’
‘Actually, we had to call it off in the end. The weather turned crazy right after you flew out. So we spent the day getting to know one another at home, and I have to say, I’m a fan.’
Laughing, she said, ‘I’m sure the feeling was mutual. I’ll let you know when I finally catch up with him. You know, I was thinking, if it works out with our diaries, we might join him and Serena somewhere for a few days while they’re travelling Europe. Would you be up for that?’
‘Sure. Is that Aiden I just heard shouting for his mother?’
Groaning, she said, ‘He’s just come back from rugby training, so he’ll be stuck at the front door, filthy, wet and starving.’
David laughed. ‘I’ll let you go. Good luck with Kinsley in the morning; don’t forget to let me know how it goes.’