Page 34 of I Knew You Were Trouble

I’m out for coffee with my bestie, Shaz, and her girlfriend, Lauren, when I get a call from Kate Whitaker. It’s not unheard of for a client to contact me on the weekend but Kate’s status as my client is still in question.

That said, she’s in Amsterdam right now on her mission to ‘save’ fiancée number two, and I’m curious about how it’s going. I excuse myself and head outside into the crisp spring air.

‘Hi, Kate.’

‘Hello, Poppy. I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but there’s something I wanted to discuss with you. Is now a good time?’

‘Yeah, now’s fine – just out with friends, but I’m happy to chat for a bit. Is this about your trip to Amsterdam?’

She hesitates for a moment before replying. ‘Itisbut it’s also related to what we talked about last week.’

‘Ahh.’

So, she’s back on the retribution train. I expected this. I’ve also had Ursula in my ear all week, asking if we’ve heard from her. Neither seem willing to drop it.

Kate jumps in hurriedly. ‘Now I know you said the agency wouldn’t be able to help with that but?—’

‘Kate, sorry to interrupt, but it turns out that my colleaguesarewilling to discuss it further.’

‘Really?’ she asks excitedly.

‘No promises, but we’re not ruling it out. It will likely depend on what you have in mind.’

‘No, no, of course. And after our meeting, Ihadput it out of my mind, I promise. But having talked with Adriana – she’s here with me now – we’re on the same page. It’s not enough to simply end our engagements. We want Jon topayfor what he did.’

‘I totally get it, the need for justice,’ I say – and I do, but I am not signing the agency up for vigilantism; I need to set realistic expectations here.

‘Justice, yes. But we’re also thinking of other women out there – Jon’s next victims. We want to prevent him from simply shrugging off his losses and moving onto other women.’

‘Did you have something specific in mind?’

‘Actually, yes.’ She explains their idea and I’ll admit, I could see it working. ‘What do you think?’ she asks, hesitancy in her voice.

‘It’s definitely something to consider,’ I reply noncommittally. ‘When are you back in London – how soon can you come into the agency?’

‘Uh, I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know.’

‘Okay,’ I say. ‘But it sounds like your trip to Amsterdam has gone better than you thought it would.’

‘It has, yes,’ she replies, then lowers her voice. ‘I really didn’t expect to connect with Adriana, but she’s lovely, Poppy. We’re already firm allies.’

‘That’s great – one good thing to come from all this.’

‘Mmm,’ she replies – arguably a simple utterance but I detect an undercurrent of something else. I wonder if it has to do with Adriana’s brother. ‘All right, I’ve taken up enough of your time,’ she says. ‘I’ll let you know when I’m heading back to London.’

We end the call, and I go back inside the coffee shop.

‘So, what’s the goss?’ Shaz asks the second my bum hits the chair.

During the years I’ve been a matchmaker, I’ve often shared morsels from my more interesting cases with close friends – anonymised, of course. And at times, it has helped me gain additional insight into the nuances of the case – particularly from Shaz. Unlike me, she’s still a practising psychologist. It can’t hurt to get her thoughts – or Lauren’s.

I give them the digest version, watching their expressions transform from surprise into shock.

‘Fucking hell!’ Shaz declares when I wrap up.

With a laugh, Lauren shushes her. ‘Babe, I’m not sure the elderly women two tables over appreciate your colourful vocab.’

Shaz makes the ‘eek’ face, looking over and mouthing, ‘Sorry,’ to two tight-lipped women, who then return to their conversation.

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