‘Not accessory?’
‘No, because I didn’t know what they wanted my bag for – though I could have guessed. And I was blackmailed into it. They might charge me later if they decide not to believe me, though. That might depend on Harville.’
She looked glum.
‘I don’t like the idea of everything depending on Harville,’ said Jenna.
‘Neither do I.’
‘Mia, though?’
‘Mia would fess up, I’m sure she would. She’s all right, underneath it all. I don’t think she’s happy about Jason going down, either.’
‘So, are you free to go?’
‘Yeah. They’ll send me the court details when they get a clearer picture of who else will be in the dock with me. Ugh. In the dock. I expect I’ll lose my job now. Mum’ll kill me.’
‘You can work for me,’ said Jenna without thinking twice.
‘Oh, get away. I’m not a showbizzy type.’
‘You don’t have to be. I could find a place for you.’
‘Could you, really?’
‘Leave it with me. First of all, we need to pin down Lawrence Harville and Mia, make sure the police can get hold of them. We don’t want them going to ground.’
‘I think they were going to look for them straight away. Mia’s easy – she’ll still be in her pit, at the pub.’
‘Yes, I bet you’re right. As for Lawrence – well, I think I can deal with him. Will you come back to the house with me for back-up?’
‘Oh, is this a covert operation?’ Kayley was thrilled. ‘Sign me up. I always fancied myself as a spy.’
‘Excellent. What are we waiting for, then? Let’s get going.’
They were allowed out through the back door, again, and hurried to the car, Kayley making sure she pulled the brow of her baseball cap down over her face in trademark shifty-villain style.
‘There’s press all over the front of the house,’ Jenna warned her. ‘I’m going to go in first, and you can wait in the car ten minutes, then come to the door. Tell them you’re my financial advisor, if they ask.’
Kayley laughed out loud. ‘I look so like one,’ she said, looking down at her jogging pants and tattooed arms.
‘That’ll give them something to gossip about while we’re working, then,’ said Jenna.
The throng had not thinned while Jenna had been out – if anything, it was worse. Jenna had to elbow her way through them, keeping her head low and her mouth sealed.
Once in the house, she took out her phone and called Harville.
‘Jenna.’ He sounded surprised.
‘Lawrence. I’ve been thinking things over, and I think you’re right. I can’t stay in Bledburn. There’s no point hanging on to the Hall.’
‘Right. Good. Well, how about a private sale, then? Get your lawyer to call my lawyer …’
‘Can’t we do things a little less formally? I’m up to my eyes in legal shit as it is. Why don’t you come round? I’ll give you the keys and get the hell out of here. I’ll stay in a hotel, till the trial is over.’
There was a silence. He was bound to suspect trickery, she thought, but she mustn’t start to beg or sound desperate, because that would be the biggest giveaway of all.
‘Very reasonable,’ he said, at last, ‘for a woman who was completely unreasonable yesterday. Do you have something up your sleeve? Something like a kitchen knife, for instance?’