Page 8 of Hooked On The One That Got Away
‘Process?’ said Willow, sceptically. ‘Last time I checked, “process” couldn’t operate machinery. You mean yourpeople, don’t you?’
‘Sometimes poor decisions are made,’ Charlie said.
Willow noted the typical PR-speak use of the passive. He reallyhadgone to the dark side.
‘It’s been going on foryears, Charlie,’ Willow insisted. ‘That’s a leadership problem, not a problem with a few rogue staff.’
Charlie stared at her. Willow observed that his face had got leaner over the past year. When they’d met six years ago, Charlie still had a slight boyish plumpness to him. In fact, it was the dimple in his cheek when he smiled that had first made Willow’s heart do flip-flops and her stomach flutter. That dimple belonged to the old Charlie. The Charlie in front of her now had well-defined cheekbones and a strong jawline. Willowreluctantly had to admit that new bad Charlie was ridiculously handsome.
‘We’re dealing with it,’ he said, shortly. ‘I’mdealing with it.’
‘How?’ Willow demanded.
‘Willow.’ Charlie bent forwards across the table, his voice low and urgent. ‘I shouldn’t even have told youthismuch. I did because I trust you. Now can you please trustme. Don’t take this any further. I’m dealing with it, I promise.’
Amazing how powerful words are, thought Willow. That little zap of pleasure when Charlie said he trusted her. And then the stab of pain when he said the words, ‘I promise’. Because Charlie had made promises to her before, hadn’t he–?
Willow stood up. The chicken sandwich remained uneaten on the plate.
‘I’m not sure you realise how important this is to me, Charlie,’ she said. ‘Swimming in the river saved me from averydark place, and the thought of having to stop becauseyourfirm wants to put its reputation beforeoursafety makes mefurious.’
She took a breath. ‘I can’t let this go, and you don’t have the right to ask me to. Goodbye, Charlie. I won’t bother you again.’
He gazed at her, face taut with either anger or alarm. But he didn’t try to stop her. Willow walked away, and once she was down in the lobby, ripped off her security lanyard and dumped it on the desk beside the puzzled receptionist.
Next time she came back here, Willow would be armed with irrefutable proof. And there was nothing Charlie could do about it.
Chapter Seven
‘Harvey, I need to join your friend’s activist group.’
After seeing Charlie, Willow had driven straight back to Harvey’s office. He hadn’t seemed that surprised to see her.
‘I’m not sure that will be possible,’ he apologised. ‘They keep thingsverytight. They work in separate cells and everything’s on a strictly need-to-know basis.’
‘You can vouch for me,’ said Willow. ‘YouknowI’m trustworthy!’
‘Of course,’ said Harvey, diplomatically. ‘But it’s not as simple as that.’
He looked faintly embarrassed. ‘I shouldn’t even know that Piggers is involved,’ he confessed. ‘I’m afraid I overheard a clandestine conversation and became convinced he was in the thrall of some gangster types. I ratherforcedhim to come clean.’
Willow considered asking him exactly what kind of friendship he and Piggers had but decided against it.
‘And I certainly shouldn’t have toldyou,’ Harvey went on. ‘But I’m not cut out for secrecy. Which is probably why Piggers kept it from me in the first place.’
‘Couldn’t you at least ask him?’ she pleaded. ‘It’s so important to me, Harvey. I honestly don’t think I could survive without my river swims.’
It was the truth, Willow realised. Her daily swims soothed and comforted her, even the icy cold ones. They gave structure to her day and a sense of achievement. They gave her a connection to nature and a feeling of peace and – yes – joy. Willow would be bereft if she couldn’t swim.
‘Very well,’ Harvey agreed, with a sigh. ‘But I’d advise you to be prepared for disappointment.’
What’s new?Willow thought. But she said, ‘Thank you.’
Outside on the street, Willow wrestled with her frustration. She wasn’t normally an impatient person but the thought of waiting around, powerless to act, was maddening. Who knew how much crap the water company would dump in the river before they were stopped? Surely, it was a just a matter of someone capturing the illegal dumping on video. Wouldn’t that be enough proof? Or should she tell someone else – someone in a position of responsibility at the council, perhaps?
Willow thought about her Council colleagues. They were all very nice people, committed to their work. But the biggest issue they had to deal with was removing illegal posters. The County Council handled the meaty problems, and she didn’t know anyone who worked there, not personally.
And what iftheywere somehow involved? Maybe County Council officials were being paid to turn a blind eye? Harvey had said that the problem was nationwide, so perhaps corruption was rife? In which case, it would probably do more harm than good for Willow to go whistleblowing.
