‘You don’t understand.’ He stretched out his hand. ‘There’s a lot riding on this. I could lose more than my job.’
So not only was Sheridan keeping tabs on us, she had something on George. I sighed and handed the device back. Yet his fingers hovered over the on button.
‘What do you need to know?’ George asked. ‘Make it quick.’
I pushed my plate away and leaned over in his direction, keeping my voice low. ‘A few weeks ago, Sheridan pulled my hair, and I fell over and banged my head. Is she a violent person?’
‘What? You must have done something to upset her. What did you say?’
‘She found out that I was drunk when I conceived.’ I was horrified to feel tears rising to my eyes as each anxious word left my lips. ‘I want to go home, but she’s insisting I stay. I . . . I don’t think I have any choice.’
George sighed, deep and heavy. ‘Are there any other secrets you’ve kept from her?’
I shook my head. I had lied about the baby’s father, but even Dympna could not extract that from me. A gale of laughter rose from a family in the corner and my frown grew as I folded my arms tightly across my chest.
‘I warned you that you were arriving in the middle of a shit-storm. A member of staff let her down and she can’t stand being lied to. Just be on your best behaviour and do everything she asks.’
‘Then there’s the magazine articles . . .’ I checked for a flicker of recognition in George’s face, but there was none.
‘What articles?’
I waited for a waitress to pass before continuing. ‘In Celeb Goss. They said Sheridan’s marriage is in trouble. That all’s not as it seems.’
‘Are you crazy? Don’t mention that rag around Sheridan – they’ve had it in for her since day one.’ The whites of George’s eyes grew as he drove his message home.
‘I know, but it’s the baby . . . I worry how she’ll be with her.’
‘Have you ever heard Sheridan raise her voice to Leo?’
I shook my head. I hadn’t heard Sheridan shout at Leo because she never spent any time with him.
George fiddled with his phone. ‘Sheridan’s protecting her interests. You can’t blame her for that.’
My pulse quickened. ‘What if I don’t give her my baby, what then?’
George leaned forward, his words harsh and low. ‘I like you, Roz, but I don’t owe you anything and I’m not putting my neck on the line for you.’
But I was not ready to let the subject drop. ‘Am I in danger? Is that what you’re saying?’
George swore under his breath. ‘Nobody crosses Sheridan Sinclair. Give her what she wants and you’ll be fine.’
‘But you said she had something on you . . . Maybe we could help each other.’
‘Will you give it a rest!’ George’s face flushed. ‘In a few months you’ll be back home, with a big wad of cash in your account. It’s not so easy for me. I can’t just walk away.’
My frown deepened as I watched him turn on the phone and bring the app back to life. He pressed a finger against his mouth, a gesture of warning. I was right. She was recording our conversations, and I wasn’t the only one with something to lose.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
DYMPNA
‘I need to talk to you.’ Dympna cornered her father, John, in the hallway of her family home.
‘Sure thing, princess. What’s the problem?’
Dympna hooked her thumbs into her jean pockets. She loved her father but hated asking him for help. Since when had their relationship become so strained? If she had to pin it down, she would say it was in her teens, when she’d stopped being his little girl. She knew he would drop everything to come to her aid.
‘Not here,’ she said. ‘Somewhere private.’ Her mother was in the kitchen of their four-bedroom home, most likely listening in to every word they said. It wasn’t that she was particularly nosy; just that she knew Dympna would not ask for help unless there was something drastically wrong.
Her father’s features were unreadable as he rubbed his unshaven chin. Years of being in the police had helped him develop a perfect poker face.
‘Fancy coming for a drive?’ he asked, fishing his car keys from his pocket. ‘I have a quick call-on to make. We can chat in the car.’
Dympna recognised the term. A ‘call-on’ was an enquiry with regard to a police case. It was meant