Chapter 10

Angela had foreseen that the weekend with her parents was going to be tricky. The sudden invitation to spend the previous weekend with her sister, Laura, had been a warning. It had been pleasant enough but she knew Laura was observing her throughout and would be reporting back to their mother.

Her parents, Arthur and Pauline Foster, welcomed her warmly on Friday evening. After a drink Pauline pulled her and Arthur out to the kitchen. Once Arthur had helped everyone to a second drink he was gently shooed out and the inquisition began.

"Now, Angela dear, what's wrong?"

"Nothing really, Mum."

"Rubbish! Betty Nugent told me you'd lost your sparkle. Laura said you were piano and withdrawn and I can see you're not yourself. What's wrong?"

"It's all right, really, Mum."

"Clive's bored with you."

"Mum!" Angela sounded shocked.

"He didn't go to Laura's with you and he's not here now. Why not?"

"He's very busy."

Pauline snorted. "Come on, Angela. Tell me. I promise not to say 'told you so'."

Angela took a sip of her drink and sighed. "Yes, Mum, and as a result I'm bored with him."

"So why don't you leave him?"

"The children."

"You'd get custody."

"Not without a huge struggle and he'd demand at least equal time with them which would make a huge dent in the little time I have with them already with his insistence that they went to boarding school."

"Do you still have a love life?"

"No, just a sex life and that's pretty uninspiring and infrequent, thank goodness."

"Is he sleeping around?"

"I don't think so. He's home every evening at a reasonable time and he's much too ambitious to risk a scandal that might do him down."

"Hmm!"

There was a silence. Angela broke it.

"On the other hand, I think he hopes he's found my replacement." She told Pauline about Briony. "Stupid man though. Tom and Briony are recently married and nuts about each other. He won't get anywhere."

"Any truth in the Tom-Susie 'affair'?"

"Absolutely none."

There was another silence, a rather longer one while Pauline thought. In the end she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it's your life, darling, but I hate seeing you down like this. At the same time I can see your point about sticking it out for the sake of the children."

"I think that in the end his heart will rule his head, not that he has a heart worth talking about, and he'll do something stupid. When he does I shall pounce."

"All right. The sooner the better is all I hope. You'd better go and get your father in for dinner."

Nothing more was said on the subject until Angela had spoken to Briony on Saturday evening while she was changing for dinner. She told her mother.

"It looks as though he's started to take risks," she finished.

"Do you think he'd force himself on her?"

"Probably not. Not yet anyway but it might become too much for him."

"I wonder if he's got a girlfriend staying this weekend."

Angela looked surprised. "I don't think he'd risk being compromised," she said slowly.

"I believe the top price escort agencies are pretty safe. I think it's time we involved your father."

Arthur was told the story at dinner. "I've never liked the fellow," he said. "I never trusted him either, a bit too smooth by half. You haven't got any grounds for divorce as things stand and you clearly don't want a two year separation as he'd screw you over the children. I think though that the time has come for a little observation and I know someone to organise it." He grinned impishly. "It will mean that you won't be able to invite your boyfriend home though."

"Daddy!"

Arthur laughed. "I thought that might wind you up."

Angela wrinkled her nose at him.

"I'll ring Nigel Nugent tomorrow. We need to get his go ahead to bug Clive's office and go through his office computer. We'll also need to look at his mobile phone calls. It will mean your privacy is going to be invaded too, sweetheart."

"Yes, Daddy, but at least keep out of the bathroom and loos."

"That should be all right. In addition I'll ask my friend to wipe any intimate recordings of you. I trust him to do that."

"Thank you, Daddy," Angela said softly.

Nigel Nugent was understandably appalled at what Arthur told him on Sunday but was quick to appreciate the damage Clive could do if he blew the Tom-Susie affair up with some well publicised remark about her suitability for marriage. He would hate to lose Tom too, whom he and Tony Herbert considered to be brilliant and a rising star. He gave Arthur the go-ahead to send his friend to meet him.

"Betty is one person who won't be surprised," he said resignedly. "She's never been a fan of Clive's."

Clive's office was duly bugged. His office computer was clean. A search of his mobile phone calls did come up with the number of an escort agency which indicated that he had indeed been with a girl over the weekend that Angela was with her parents. There was no evidence to indicate that she had visited the Wheelers' house.

Equipment was installed there and a copy made of Clive's home computer hard drive. That showed nothing incriminating. The problem was to find what he had on his tablet which he took everywhere with him. Arthur's friend drew the line at burglary with or without using Angela as an accomplice. If Clive suspected her of anything it could invalidate the other evidence and put her in danger as well. Instead, he stood ready to put a tail on Clive if and when he contacted the escort agency again.

Angela kept in periodic contact with Briony but mentioned none of this business to her. She did not need to know and the fewer people who did the better.

Susie's wedding was the next source of excitement. She and Rory were going to the Seychelles for their honeymoon and understandably she wanted to save her leave for that. She therefore only took the Friday before the Saturday off. The girls in the section organised a hen party in the canteen immediately after work on the Thursday. Trish, Clive's PA, was also invited at Susie's request.

The Wheelers had not been invited to the wedding nor had they expected it. Clive considered it would be good idea though to drop in early on the hen party and give Susie his good wishes. The other girls would see how caring he was of his staff. Merely to wish her well at her desk would miss out on good publicity. He sent Trish out to buy a big bunch of flowers. She was able to warn Susie that Clive would make an appearance.

"Susie," he said, "Forgive me for intruding. I wanted to catch you before your party but got rather tied up but couldn't let you go without wishing you a very long and happy marriage."

He gave her the flowers.

"Thank you very much, Clive."

"We'll miss you while you're away," he said adding with an arch smile, "particularly Tom."

No one missed the innuendo. Susie stared at him in disgust. She felt like throwing the flowers back at him but restrained herself.