Cody says, ‘We spoke to someone who told us that Oliver had taken quite a fancy to you.’
‘Really? Who said that?’
‘We can’t say. Is it true?’
‘I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Oliver. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.’
‘Oliver never made a move on you?’
‘No. He’s my employer, and that’s all.’
‘You never went on a date with him, or go to his house?’
‘He’s married! Or at least he was until a couple of days ago. Where are you getting this?’
Webley thinks that Leah is doing a great job of seeming genuinely shocked, but she’s not convinced.
She says, ‘We heard that Oliver was infatuated with you. He even claimed he’d had a sexual encounter with you.’
Leah rounds on her. ‘That’s complete bollocks! He’s almost twice my age. He’s never shown any interest in me whatsoever, and if he did, I’d tell him where to go.’
‘That’s not the impression you gave us when we last spoke to you.’
‘What are you talking about? What did I say?’
‘You said that Oliver objected to Alexa being around other men but that he really enjoyed having a good-looking woman working for him.’
Worm your way out of that one, Webley thinks.
Leah stares at her, open-mouthed. And then, to Webley’s surprise, she laughs. ‘You thought… Oh, my God, what sort of person do you think I am? I wasn’t talking about me. I meant Claire.’
‘Who?’
‘Claire Somerville. She was the main assistant. I only used to work Saturdays. But then Claire left about a month ago and I went full-time. She was the one Oliver had a thing for. And you really thought…’
She laughs again, and now Webley feels like an idiot.
Cody comes to her rescue with another question. ‘They were having a relationship?’
‘I’ve no idea, but there were definitely sparks between them. They were always coming out with, you know, innuendos and stuff like that. She is a stunner, though. Tall redhead with big boobs.’
‘Do you know where we might find her?’
Leah thinks for a second. ‘She once told me she was living on Grantham Lane, near the Caldy roundabout. Her husband divorced her, and she got the house.’
‘Thanks.’
Cody looks over at Webley. She wonders if he’s expecting her to be the one to apologise. If so, he can forget it.
‘Sorry we got our wires a bit crossed,’ Cody says.
Leah smiles at him and runs a tongue over her lips. ‘That’s all right. Nice to know you think I fit the part of a glamorous assistant.’
Webley rolls her eyes.
24
You’ve Got the Love
– Florence and the Machine
‘You didn’t like her much, did you?’
They’re in the car, Cody driving.
‘Who?’ Webley asks.
‘Leah.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Just the impression I got.’
Webley goes silent, but Cody has decided it could be fun to poke this ants’ nest.
‘Why didn’t you like her?’
‘I didn’t dislike her,’ Webley says. ‘I just thought she…’
