‘I wish she hadn’t,’ Mel said.
‘Too late now. I expect they’ll want to hear from you.’
‘I was never in any danger.’
‘Your arm’s hurt. You just said.’
‘Aches a bit. I wouldn’t want to put any weight on it. That’s the problem.’
‘No problem at all.’ Tippi grabbed his pants and yanked them down his thighs. ‘Move into the middle. This’ll be fun. Me on top.’
Tired as he was, he felt himself responding.
At breakfast, he waited for Mrs. Carlyle to raise the matter of the police. He was keen to hear what they’d said, but he couldn’t turn back the clock. What was done was done. And this morning he was done. It had taken a superhuman effort to get downstairs.
‘You were late coming in last night,’ she said while she was cracking the eggs.
‘I hope I didn’t disturb you,’ he said, meaning every word.
‘Not really. I may have heard something. If you disturbed anyone, it was my Tippi. I heard her moving around in the small hours. I’m not expecting her down for breakfast.’
‘I took my shoes off.’
‘Very considerate.’
‘I mean when I first came in.’
‘I believe you. I saw them when I came down this morning.
So was it a good concert?’
‘Not really. I was a bit off.’
‘Played some wrong notes, did you?’
‘It was more a matter of rhythm and tempo. You need to be on top of your form to respond to the other players, and I wasn’t and it showed – not all the time, but enough to shake my confidence and theirs.’
‘Maybe you should have cancelled after all you went through. You’re still looking pale.’
‘It has to be something drastic to call off a concert. People were going to turn up. It was too late to let them know.’
‘If they were told what happened to you and why, they’d be sympathetic. How’s your arm today?’
‘Improving.’
‘They say exercise is the best remedy. Are you up for it?’
For a moment, he was unsure what she meant. Then the plate of bacon and eggs arrived in front of him.
‘Get your knife and fork working on that,’ Mrs. Carlyle said. ‘I told the police you’re a superhero. It’s all on tape. They took me into a special interview room. This was yesterday evening. I decided it was my duty as a mother to report what happened, so I went down to Manvers Street and saw this nice young man in plain clothes called Paul. Far too young to be a copper, in my opinion, but he knew how to treat a lady. Tea and a biscuit, I got. He told me to take as long as I wanted and I had a wicked thought that I can’t repeat to a gentleman like yourself. Anyway, I said what happened, how brave you were and everything, having a go like that.’
‘I wouldn’t call it having a go,’ Mel said. ‘I only went over to speak to the guy.’
‘You got knocked over and injured for your trouble. He’s a danger to the public and I told them so. I don’t want him across the street ogling my Tippi. I know she dresses to attract the men but that’s no reason to have them sitting outside the house like tom cats. You don’t know what they’re thinking. Well, you do, and you don’t want it. He wasn’t her age. He was out of the ark compared to her. I gave them a description, as much as I could.’
‘Are they going to do anything about it?’
‘I don’t expect so, but they’d like a statement from you and I think you ought to go along and volunteer like I did.’
‘They’ll have got as much as they need from you. I didn’t get a proper look at the guy.’
‘But you saw his black Renault Megane, rather too much of it, in fact.’
‘It’s a common make. They’ll never trace it.’
‘That’s not the point. He could be back today. Show them your injuries and they’ll get him for dangerous driving and attempted murder.’
‘I don’t think so. They’re minor injuries.’
‘He needs to be locked up, Mel. If he doesn’t come after my Tippi you can be sure he’ll pick on some other young girl and it could be far worse next time. You don’t want that on your conscience. Besides, they know your name and where you live and what you do for a living. I told them.’
‘Oh, thanks.’
She missed the sarcasm. ‘A mother’s instinct, caring for her young. Under all that make-up is an innocent child.’
21
‘I won’t be making a habit of it,’ Diamond said of the soirée.
Ingeborg was more positive. ‘It was really good in parts.’