The man didn’t like the tone in Tomek’s voice. Tomek could see him backing into the corner, his hairs on end, claws at the ready.
‘What is this about?’ he asked. ‘Why have you brought me here? And why the fuck is someone assaulting me outside? I want to press charges.’
Rachel raised a hand to placate him. ‘We can discuss that later,’ she began. ‘But first, I’d like to know when you first met Angelica? How did the two of you come to know each other? It was on a flight, right?’
There was something about her tone, the sensitivity behind it, the calmness, that made even Tomek receptive to her questions. She had a different way of dealing with people, and more often than not, it worked. Especially when she was trying to clear up Tomek’s mess.
‘I was flying back from Madrid,’ Shawn began, keeping his eyes focused on Rachel. ‘I was with a couple of mates. We’d gone on a lads’ holiday. Sedate, quiet, nothing too brash. It must’ve been about three years ago now. And we was flying back in the middle of the morning. We was all knackered and the rest of my mates was asleep, but I couldn’t. I was just looking at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, mate. She was stunning. You shoulda seen her. Figure like a model’s, the most gorgeous eyes, hair all done up nicely, make-up on point. There was just something about her. So I started talking to her at the back of the plane while everyone was asleep or had their headphones in, and we really hit it off. I was throwing out some one-liners, she was flirting back. But then that was it. The end of the flight came and she was gone.’
As Shawn Wilkins spoke, his eyes and face illuminated with fervent desire and animalistic hunger. The look on the man’s face disconcerted Tomek. If he was enjoying thinking about Angelica this much, how had he behaved when he’d been near her?
‘How did you track Angelica afterwards?’ Rachel asked.
‘Insta,’ the man replied quickly. ‘Found her account on Insta. Didn’t take too long really, I already had a first name, and managed to put together the rest. Then I messaged her. She didn’t have her account on private or anything, so I just reached out to her. I shooted my shot, and she replied. Surprisingly, she remembered me. I must’ve made an impact on her, and then things sort of went on from there.’ He finished the sentence with a nonchalant shrug, as if Tomek and Rachel should be in awe of his prowess.
‘How?’ Rachel asked, her tone flat, measured. Meanwhile, thoughts of Kasia had started to enter Tomek’s head: how she would be at risk of this type of thing in the years to come; of how some men couldn’t control themselves and took it one step too far; how she would have to be careful every day for the rest of her life if nothing changed.
Another shrug, another show of defiance. ‘You know, I just messaged her a couple of times. We talked about loads of stuff. Her work, how she was looking forward to the end of the season because she needed a break, but wasn’t looking forward to it because it meant she wasn’t fulfilling her passion anymore. Then she told me what she liked to do, where she liked to go, what she did in the evenings. So accidentally on purpose one night, I bumped into her at Memo. She was surprised to see me, so I took that as a good thing, and then I followed her back to hers in a different cab.’
‘Did she ask you to?’
‘Well, not exactly. But I could tell she was up for it, you know. She’d definitely been giving me the signs.’
Out of the corner of his eye, Tomek noticed Rachel bristle with discomfort at that comment.
‘And when she turned you away, what did you say?’ Rachel continued, her voice breaking slightly.
‘Turned me away? She didn’t turn me away. We had sex that night.’
Tomek could feel Rachel’s lungs deflate. Disappointment seeped from both of them, that Angelica had been so quick to get into bed with someone she barely knew, and someone who had followed her home without seeing the risk that he’d posed.
‘But I didn’t rape her or anything. That’s all on record. She admitted that it was consensual.’
But that was when the infatuation progressed, Tomek thought. Moved up to another level, and another level after that. The more she ignored him after coming to her senses, the more she pushed him away, the more it made him hungrier, the more he became desperate for her attention, for her. And what concerned Tomek the most was that there was no remorse, no acknowledgement that what he’d done and the way he’d behaved was wrong, immoral, fundamentally wicked. He looked proud of his behaviour, and delighted at the fact they were talking about Angelica.
Before the meeting, Chey had printed out the list of evidence Angelica had supplied when applying for the restraining order. Tomek consulted it. By now, the constable’s rendition of the facts had been completely drowned out by the information Shawn Wilkins was giving him.
‘Says here you sometimes turned up at her house unannounced, and her place of work on several occasions?’
The man’s eyes lit up. ‘You have no idea how many times I took random flights to random countries from Southend Airport just in the hope that she might be on one of them. The number of times I must have gone all the way and then come all the way back, it was insane.’ He let out a little chortle, enthused by his own fond memories of the experience. ‘And then when I found out she worked with her sister-in-law, I saved myself an absolute fortune.’
Tomek pictured it now; Angelica working contentedly in the jeweller’s, dealing with a customer, showing them the perfect ring or necklace that would make them the happiest people on the planet, then her attention being distracted by the man who’d just entered, grinning at her, his beady eyes watching her every move, waiting for her to finish so he could pounce, leaving her no route of escape.
‘I’m sure you did.’ Tomek was disgusted. ‘Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?’
Shawn granted Tomek permission with his enormous hands.
‘What do you do for work?’
‘I work in the library in Hadleigh.’
‘How long have you been there?’
‘Ten years.’
‘What’s your favourite genre of book?’
‘Fantasy. Game of Thrones. That type of thing.’
‘Have you ever been to any of those comic cons?’
‘Couple of times. Why?’
‘Have you ever fantasised about Angelica being a character from Game of Thrones?’
‘Maybe…’
‘Have you ever called Angelica an angel?’
‘Yes.’
‘Have you ever referred to her as having wings?’
‘Only because I was pleased to hear she’d been rehired for the next season. It was my little celebration for her.’
‘Have you ever broken into her home?’
‘What? No!’
