‘Unlikely,’ he said. ‘Talk about paranoid. You’re sounding paranoid yourself.’
‘You saw it. What make do you think it was?’
‘A Megane.’
‘That’s the car that hit me.’
Ivan was silent a moment. Then he said, ‘They’re a common make. They’re everywhere.’
‘I’m telling you this because it seemed to me at the time you were visibly shaken just by the sight of that car. You went silent. You scarcely said a word all the way back to Bath.’
‘I was tired from the rehearsal.’
Mel said no more. In this sour mood, Ivan was giving nothing away.
Shortly after midnight he let himself into the house. In darkness he removed his shoes and left them by the door. Clutching the Amati to his chest he crept up the stairs fearing each creak of the boards might waken the household. The last thing he wanted was a late night meeting with Mrs. Carlyle in her night-clothes. On tiptoe he moved along the landing to his room and let himself in, closing the door with stealth. He didn’t risk turning on the light. In this small house the click of a switch was audible everywhere.
He slid the Amati safely under the bed next to his other viola. Then he stripped to his Calvin Kleins, leaving the clothes heaped on the floor. No bathroom visit tonight. He’d give his teeth an extra go in the morning.
Relieved to have made it and more than ready for sleep, he eased himself under the quilt, turned on his side and found he wasn’t alone. His chest was in contact with a warm, bare back. His pelvic area had come to rest against the divide of a chunky pair of buttocks, also bare.
She made a not unwelcoming murmuring sound. She was nine-tenths out to the world.
For the next few seconds Mel stayed still and silent, considering his options. From the shape and smell of her, this was unmistakably Tippi. She’d sneaked into his bed naked and ready for his return. Warmed by the quilt, she’d fallen asleep. Normally he’d not think twice what to do next. Tonight he had a sore left arm and his head was aching. He’d psyched himself up for the concert and now fatigue had caught up with him.
The bed was pleasantly warm. Would it be any use easing back from her and hoping she would drift off again?
He made the attempt.
Without success.
‘Mel?’
He tried breathing evenly.
She turned right over and reached unerringly for his Calvin Kleins. ‘You’re late, but not too late.’
‘It over-ran,’ he said.
‘Never mind,’ Tippi said, giving the elastic a tug. ‘Get ’em off.’
‘Can I have a raincheck?’
‘What?’
‘It’s an American expression. Means: could we make it another time?’
‘You’re joking.’ She explored the front of his pants and then said with less certainty, ‘Aren’t you?’
‘I’ve had a rough day, Tippi. Got knocked down by a car.’
‘Mummy told me.’
‘Yes. She saw it all.’
‘She says you were like Superman charging across the street. She’s got it into her head that the driver was a stalker, stalking me. To be honest I haven’t noticed him myself.’
‘It was the first I’d seen of him.’
‘But as you did it for me I decided to give you this nice surprise.’
‘I’m touched,’ Mel said.
‘I wouldn’t know it yet,’ Tippi said, checking again.
‘The thing is, I hurt my arm and it’s still quite sore.’
‘Your arm?’
‘Yes.’
‘Nothing further down?’
‘Oh, no. I’m fine in that department.’
‘Prove it, then.’
‘I can’t, because of the arm.’
‘Come again.’
‘The arm. That’s why I suggested a raincheck.’ Just in case that hadn’t settled the matter, he tried giving her something else to think about. ‘The man in the car may not be stalking you. He may be interested in a new viola I’ve been given to play. It’s a valuable item, extremely valuable actually.’
‘He shouldn’t have driven the car at you, whoever he is.’
‘I agree, but I reckon he was trying to drive past me.’
‘Mummy doesn’t think so. She told the cops he meant to hit you.’
‘What did you say?’ he said in alarm. ‘The cops?’
‘Keep your voice down,’ Tippi said. ‘You’ll wake her up. She called in at the police station in Manvers Street tonight and told them what happened. She said it’s her public duty to report him.’
‘For Christ’s sake why?’
‘Well, he was stalking me and he almost killed you.’