Errors of Judgment(20)

‘Tall, but not too tall,’ Rachel went on. ‘Good-looking – whatever that is. God, that’s awful, isn’t it? I mean, so vague … But it’s hard. You just know it when you see it, don’t you?’

Sophie reached down and refilled her own glass and Rachel’s. The trouble was, the girl was still in love with her ex-husband. She might as well be listing the qualities of the legendary Leo.

‘I’m not sure this list is going to get us anywhere,’ said Sophie. ‘Why don’t we cut to the chase?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You need to find out what’s out there.’ Sophie got up. ‘Come on, take me to where your computer lives.’

Rachel rose obediently and took Sophie to her study. They sat down at the computer. Sophie issued commands.

‘OK, type in www-dot-telegraph-dot-co-dot-uk-slash-onlinedating.’ Rachel hesitated. ‘Go on!’

‘Why The Telegraph?’

‘Don’t worry, we’ll do The Guardian as well. And The Times. We just have to start somewhere. OK, now here’s where you register—’ She glanced at Rachel. ‘What’s the problem?’

Rachel made a face. ‘I’m not sure if this is what I want to do. It wasn’t what I had in mind.’

‘So you were just going to make a list of desirable characteristics and put it under your pillow, and hope the right man would magically reveal himself in your dreams? Come on – get real.’

Rachel sighed. ‘What do I do next?’

‘You register. And then all you have to do is tick the boxes, say what you’re looking for. Look – they even let you specify Oxbridge-educated, if you want.’

‘Leo went to Bristol,’ said Rachel. She looked at Sophie. ‘Oh God – forget I said that.’

‘Come on,’ said Sophie. ‘Get ticking.’

It was well after eleven by the time they finished, and they’d had great fun inspecting various men and writing Rachel’s profile, in between glasses of wine.

‘I’m sure this isn’t the kind of thing one should do when drunk,’ said Rachel.

‘Best way,’ said Sophie. She stood up and stretched her arms.

‘Do you think the picture I posted was all right? The one on the chambers website is the only one I’ve got.’

‘It’s lovely,’ yawned Sophie. ‘You’re very photogenic. Couldn’t take a bad picture if you tried. God, look at the time. I have to be up at half six.’

Rachel saw Sophie to the door. ‘You’re a true friend – thanks for coming round. Though I’m still not sure online dating is quite me.’

‘You don’t know till you try.’ Sophie kissed Rachel goodnight. ‘All you have to do now is wait for the offers to come flooding in.’

Rachel closed the door and leant against it, feeling a little drunk and already regretting what she’d just done. She tried to imagine the kind of man she hoped might be out there. But she could see only one face.





CHAPTER FIVE




The following afternoon, around quarter to four, Anthony arrived at Rachel’s office to go over the papers in the casino case, and from there they took a taxi to Astleigh’s in Mayfair, where they had a five o’clock appointment with the manager.

‘I’m not quite sure of the point of this,’ said Anthony, as the cab made its slow way through the City rush hour traffic. ‘I’m pretty much on top of the case, so I don’t see where it gets me to visit the place where this individual happened to chuck away his small fortune.’

‘I thought you might find it useful to have the club’s credit system explained to you by Mr Depaul himself.’

‘I do know what a scrip cheque is,’ retorted Anthony. ‘And I’ve read the relevant provisions of the Gaming Act.’

‘Well, it’s often helpful to see first hand how things operate. Good to get a feel for the background to a case. You know that.’

Rachel was struck by Anthony’s moody, offhand manner. He’d been like it for the past hour. Maybe his love life was as problematic as her own. She sighed inwardly. If she and Anthony had been able to make their relationship work two years ago, how much simpler both their lives might be now. But the obvious person wasn’t always the right person. Her mind slipped back to last night, being persuaded by Sophie to sign up to that awful online dating thing after too many glasses of wine. How unbelievably naff. As soon as she got home she would unsubscribe. Just the thought of strange men studying her photo and reading her personal details made her cringe.

‘What’s that face for?’ asked Anthony.