Page 11 of Cover Story

Ian took a breath.

‘You can imagine it was agonising to go into this with her uncle, but there was an even darker element, too. This part is what finally shocked me into action and emailing you, really.’

Bel was aware she was electrified and sympathetic, also, should be keeping every sceptical journalistic defence up.

‘Erin said when she finally got hold of Glenn– to ask him why he’d dropped contact with her so dramatically, not with any expectations– he made it very clear he’d got what he wanted and they were done. And that he could weather anything she threw at him, but he had the ability to destroy her. He said she’d be discredited as some “slutty young girl trying to use him for her fifteen minutes”. Especially as he’d leak photos of her, which she didn’t realise he had.’

‘Nudes?’

‘Yes. She’d sent them on WhatsApp as a disappearing messagefor safety– you know, where they immediately vanish? He said he’d screenshotted them. She’s not sure if it’s true, but if he’s unpleasant enough to bluff it, he’s unpleasant enough to do it. He said they’d find their way online and no one would ever be able to prove where they came from.’

‘He threatened her withrevenge porn?’ Bel said, so shocked she briefly halted in her tracks, amid the eerie tranquillity and tweeting birds. She tried to piece it together with the stoic, middle-aged man who’d smiled out of Sunday supplement articles about better SEN care in local authority schools.

‘Yep. He made it clear his ability to humiliate and expose Erin if she went public was considerable. I’d wondered how he took risks and always got away with it, I assumed he stayed friends with his conquests. Which he might well do, but, clearly, he’s prepared for it to become hostile. Erin was so upset and shocked, she said she was physically shaking. Remember, this is someone who told her he’d never been unfaithful before. When the pennies dropped it was like a Blackpool one-arm bandit.’

Bel nodded, face taut. She knew that sensation.

Ian paused. ‘The thing is, if he hadn’t been my superior, if he hadn’t been the Mayor, Erin would’ve treated a forty-five-year-old man making those initial advances to her with extreme caution. He quite purposely used his position of trust to get past her defences. This is about a power imbalance used to ruthless effect.’

Bel’s eyes settled on a lichen-covered heavenly messenger nearby, the statue posed with hand to face, as if deep in thought.

It wasn’t a kiss-and-tell, Bel agreed. It was a story that shone a light on something larger, the kind she was always looking for. Bel’s skin was goosebump chilly. She had The Shiver.

7

‘Are you sure Erin won’t speak to me? She and I could also have a completely off-the-record, no-obligations chat before we decide whether she wants to proceed,’ Bel said.

‘If there was any chance of that, whatsoever, you’d not be talking to her considerably less photogenic uncle right now. She’s beyond mortified. Her firm belief is that if she goes public, it ends up defining the rest of her life and making her unemployable. Glenn said he’d, and I quote, “salt the earth”for her, here.Even if he was forced to cop to the infidelity, he’d likely tough it out as a moment of madness. If his wife stood by him, he could survive one indiscretion. And there’s no way his intimidation about nudes could be repeated, without proof he’d said it. If she reported him for that and the police checked his phone, as said, it’s possible he has none. After which she’s made a powerful enemy. As you said, he’s popular. Everyone loves Glenn, everyone knows him. His network is vast.’

Ian sighed.

‘That’s why I worry I shouldn’t be sticking my head above the parapet either, or persuading Erin it’s worth reaching out. What’s that line,you come at the king, you best not miss? I am loathe to call the scummy, duplicitous fucker a “king” but thefact remains, he can do anyone a lot of damage. He can make sure you mysteriously never get an interview, a call back, an invite to the event.’

‘I understand the stakes for you, entirely. Without your niece’s testimony, how do you suggest I research the story?’

‘I was hoping if I let you know it was happening, you might have some pointers. Sorry, I’m well aware this is frustrating. I’ve been awake at four in the morning taking heartburn medication with the fury of it so many times– I needed to feel I’d donesomething.Now I worry I’ve made you victim of that something and nothing.’

He pulled an apologetic face.

Bel decided she liked him. She’d turn the puzzle over and over later, like a Rubik’s Cube. Right now she couldn’t see why even any disaffected enemy of this elected official would tell such a story if it wasn’t true. The fact it was his relative, and that she wouldn’t go on record, made Bel feel near certain this was authentic.

‘Don’t worry about not being able to give me the story on a plate,’ Bel said. ‘You’ve got the tip, I’ve got the journalism. We collaborate.’

‘If it helps, Erin has said she’d do the interview if she was going to be believed. You know how there was a tipping point with Weinstein, where it was no longer a question of if, but how many and who?’

He saw Bel’s expression: ‘I’m not suggesting anything non-consensual has taken place with Glenn,’ he said, hastily. ‘I feel sure, apart from anything else, their willingness when infatuated is key to the buzz. I mean the pattern of behaviour.’

‘I get it,’ Bel said. ‘We would need to prove it’s habitual.Weideally need evidence of his activities that can surpass HeSaid She Said. Do you think he knows you know?’

‘No, I don’t think so. You can imagine I wanted to slam him against a filing cabinet by his throat at first, but that was against Erin’s wishes. I took a weekend to calm down and talked it through with her, realised, it’s a better play for him to have no idea. If you’re going to plant a knife in someone’s back, don’t warn them with loud footsteps.’

‘Do you think his wife knows he’s unfaithful? Or suspects?’

‘Jemima? Hmm. Tricky. They met at a club in their twenties when he already had a rep as a hell-raiser, she’s told me she liked that he wasn’t “safe and boring”. That doesn’t mean she’d think this is exciting. He’s on a long leash, given the number of times he stays in “town”. Maybe even if it’s a “turn a blind eye” deal she wants him at the price of that blind eye. I should say Erin feels terrible she was involved with a married man. Terrible, and very silly.’

Bel nodded. ‘No explanations or apology needed.’ She could’ve added:to me.

‘I could send you a list of other women I think he might’ve had dalliances with. But obviously, if you made contact, I’d need you to not say who’d put you on to them,’ Ian continued.

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