‘She turned up, and when she heard about theFragmentstwentieth anniversary feature, she wanted to contribute.’
‘Hence the call to Paul. But how did you get her to agree to it? She’s notoriously private – never does interviews.’
‘She said she’d get in touch – I didn’t think she actually would.’
Tumi chews her lip.
‘But this is good, right?’ I ask. ‘We’ve got Christie Blackmore interested in doing an interview. If she doesn’t normally do interviews, Paul should be pleased.’
Tumi sighs and shakes her head. ‘He’s angry, Liv. And when he finds out you lost the interview with Brett Lewis, he’ll blow a fuse.’ She pushes her glasses up her nose. ‘So, what’s your obsession with Will Bailey, anyway?’
I pause, deciding whether to tell her the truth.
‘Come on, Liv. Spit it out.’
‘I wanted to find out about my mum.’
She tilts her head to one side. ‘What’s your mum got to do with this?’
‘She was Will Bailey’s girlfriend.’
Tumi forgets to be angry for a moment. ‘So, why not ask her instead of impersonating a journalist and interviewing strangers?’
‘She doesn’t talk about it.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Did you speak to any other musicians at Beatland?’
‘Not at Beatland…’
‘Oh God,’ she exhales. ‘Tell me everything.’
Tumi interrogates me for half an hour, sighing and shaking her head the whole time.
She gets up. ‘Wait here.’
I sit fidgeting in the meeting room, feeling sick until she finally comes back. ‘I found Paul upstairs in the café. I tried to explain but…’
‘But what?’ My voice is shaky.
‘He wants you to go, Liv.’
‘Go where?’
‘He said he told you if there was any trouble, you were to go back toLuminaire– whatever that means.’
‘But that was before… when I was doing work experience with school. I’m working here for the summer now… to help with Tracks Decoded.’ My throat’s tight, my voice sounds strangled. Oh God, I’m going to cry.
‘I’m sorry Liv, but I’m in a lot of trouble over this. He’s gone out to a meeting. He wants you gone by the time he gets back.’
‘I’m sorry, Tumi. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.’
She stands, a pained expression on her face. ‘I’ll see you out.’
I follow her to my desk, and she hovers nearby while I gather up my stuff.