Girl on the Run

by Rhoda Baxter

  ‘Of course. You left early and missed all the excitement. It was quite incredible.’ Pleasance's eyes flicked to someone behind Jane. ‘Wasn't it, Ruth?’

  ‘What was?’ said Ruth, as she unfurled a long scarf from around her neck.

  ‘Marsh punching Keith in the face.’

  ‘He didn't actually punch Keith. Nearly did, though. That's what Val said.’

  Pleasance's reply was cut short by the phone ringing again.

  Ruth laid a hand on Jane's arm. ‘Come on. I'll fill you in on what happened.’

  As she followed Ruth through the office, conversations stopped and eyes tracked their progress across the floor. Jane could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She hated being stared at. It made her feel exposed and vulnerable. She focused on the back of Ruth's head and walked on, being careful not to look at anyone.

  Once they were in their office, Ruth gave her an account of the previous day's excitement.

  ‘And what happened afterwards?’ She imagined there would be repercussions. People weren't allowed to go around threatening to hit other people in law firms.

  ‘They're both suspended. Susan's interviewing people to get to the bottom of it all and then the partners will decide what action to take.’

  Suspended! The Marsh she knew would have been devastated by that. But, she reminded herself, she didn't really know him that well.

  Her head was starting to hurt again. She rubbed her temples.

  She'd thought Keith was pleasant, if a little misunderstood. She'd seen Marsh as shy and, basically, a nice man. It was hard to believe that either of them would sell her story to a newspaper.

  She wanted to believe Keith was lying and Marsh was in the clear, but try as she might, she couldn't think of a single motive for Keith to talk to the magazine. His name was never mentioned, so he couldn't be doing it for publicity. He might have been paid, but she doubted Cause Celeb was that desperate to know her whereabouts. It wasn't that big a story, surely. The only one who had anything to gain was Marsh.

  ‘Jane,’ said Ruth. ‘Are you Ok?’

  ‘It's just … so hard to believe that either of them could do this.’

  ‘Surely, you don't still suspect Marsh told the magazine?’ Ruth said.

  ‘Well, I can't see who else did.’

  ‘Marsh would never do that. Especially not to someone he was going out with.’

  Jane bit her lip. It was no longer a secret that she and Marsh were seeing each other. After all, it was all over the gossip press. But she hadn't realised he'd talked about her to Ruth.

  ‘Oh come on,’ said Ruth. ‘I know you and Marsh did your best to keep it a secret, but it was really obvious. You went red whenever he came in, and he couldn't keep his eyes off you. It was all quite funny, really. You guys were trying so hard to be nonchalant that it just made it all the more obvious.’

  ‘Right,’ said Jane, barely above a whisper. She opened her email. There were several messages waiting for her. One was from an unfamiliar address: StevieNoWonder. Spam that had got through the office filter, probably. She moved her mouse to delete it just as her reminders pinged. She flicked to her calendar.

  ‘Seriously, Jane. There's something you should know.’ Ruth leaned forward. ‘Val said—’

  ‘I've got a meeting with Susan. In two minutes!’ She looked up at Ruth, feeling slightly panicked. ‘Why does she want to talk to me?’

  ‘She's doing the investigation into what happened.’ Ruth shrugged. ‘She interviewed me about it yesterday. It makes sense that she'll want to talk to you. You're a key player in the whole drama.’

  ‘I'd better go then.’ Jane shot to her feet. She was already in trouble. She didn't want to be late as well.

  Susan and another woman were sitting in the office when Jane knocked. ‘Come in, Jane. Sit down.’ Susan indicated a chair across the desk. ‘This is Alison, from the regional office.’

  Alison, who was small and matronly and looked out of place in a suit, shook Jane's hand and gave her a warm smile. The tension in her shoulders slackened slightly. She sat down.

  Susan leaned back and steepled her fingers. ‘Jane, as you probably already know, I'm trying to find out the truth about the assault that Marshall is alleged to have made on Keith yesterday morning. I gather you're a key part of this, so can you tell me, in your own words, what happened yesterday.’

  Jane outlined what she knew, including what had happened the night before. From their expressions, she could tell that none of it was news to Alison and Susan. When she had finished, there was a short silence while Susan made notes.

  While she waited, Jane's worries about her position resurfaced. She was, after all, still on her probationary period. ‘Am I in trouble?’ she blurted.

  Susan looked up, frowning. ‘I'm not exactly pleased. But I do understand that all of this is not really your fault. You seem to have done your best to avoid being in the papers.’

  Jane felt a great weight lift off her shoulders. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘However,’ said Susan. ‘You should have told us about this situation when we interviewed you.’

  ‘It didn't seem relevant at the time,’ said Jane. Remembering where she was, she added, ‘I thought you might not give me the job if you knew.’

  Susan raised an eyebrow. ‘You underestimate yourself Jane. But, I suppose it didn't seem that relevant at the time, since you hoped you had escaped. However, when this wretched Cause Celeb campaign started, you should have mentioned your concerns.’

  She waved Jane's attempt to speak aside. ‘It doesn't matter now. What's done is done. We will work out how best to manage it. I have emailed you a list of journal articles that I need. I'd appreciate it if you can get copies to me by lunchtime, so that I can read them before I meet the client.’

  Susan's change of tack confused Jane for a moment. ‘Er … Ok.’ Unsure whether she was dismissed, she looked at Alison, who gave her a small nod. Before she reached the door, Susan called her name. She turned back.

  Susan was tidying papers on her desk. ‘Marshall Winfield is an exceptional young man, with maturity far beyond his years,’ she said. She looked up briefly and then back at her papers. ‘The same cannot be said for Keith Durridge.’

  Jane almost ran to the Ladies. She needed a moment of privacy to sort her thoughts. Susan's last comment had taken her by surprise. Had she said to believe Marsh and not Keith?

  The only thing that pointed to Marsh telling the press was her assumption that no one else knew where they were going for dinner. What if that assumption was wrong?

  Locking herself into a cubicle, she sat down on the closed lid and buried her face in her hands. Right now she didn't want to talk to anyone. The only person she really wanted to see was Marsh.

  The intensity with which she missed him surprised her. It wasn't just that she missed his touch, she missed having him to talk to. In the few weeks she'd known him, she had been more comfortable than she'd thought possible. He had been more than just her lover. She had genuinely felt as though she'd met her soul mate.

  Tears escaped and ran onto her fingers. She wanted to believe that Marsh was the man she'd fallen in love with, not the conniving weasel that Keith suggested. But did she want it badly enough to be made a fool of all over again?

  She rubbed the tears away and took a deep breath. She couldn't fall apart at work. Standing, she dabbed away the last of her tears and straightened her jacket.

  Jane had to pass Jim Edwards' office on the way to hers. Jim and Marsh were old friends. Had Marsh told Jim where he was taking her? Could Jim have inadvertently told the press?

  Hope rose inside her chest. She backtracked a few steps.

  Jim looked up when she entered. He didn't look surprised to see her. ‘How can I help you?’

  Relieved that she didn't have to explain why she was there, Jane said, ‘Did Marsh tell you where we were going for dinner?’

  ‘Yes, but I didn't tell the press, if that's what you mean.’<
br />
  He had a friendly, open face. She believed him. ‘I didn't think you would have.’

  ‘Are you Ok? Do you … want to talk about it?’

  For a moment, the genuine concern in his voice nearly undid Jane. There was something reassuring about Jim. Just as there had been with Marsh. Right now, she would like nothing better than to sink into a chair and let someone look after her. But this wasn't the time. She shook her head.

  ‘Probably just as well,’ said Jim. ‘I couldn't have promised you confidentiality anyway. My wife would have tortured the information out of me.’

  Jane forced a smile. ‘She's a good friend of Marsh's, isn't she? He mentioned her.’

  ‘She's very protective of him,’ he said. ‘We both are. Listen, I won't tell you what to think about Marsh. If you didn't believe him, you won't believe me either. But I will tell you that you're wrong about Keith. You might want to talk to Val, or any of the other ladies in the office, about him and his past exploits.’

  Not knowing how to answer, Jane said, ‘Oh.’

  ‘And please believe that Marsh's feelings for you were genuine. He's as upset about the photo as you are.’

  ‘It didn't look like it on the night,’ said Jane. ‘He couldn't wait to leave the flat.’

  ‘That'll be because Stevie had been trying to call him all night to tell him that she'd split up with the boyfriend and was coming home. His phone was off, so she kept leaving messages.’ As though reading scepticism in her expression, he added, ‘I know, because she phoned us in the middle of the night too.’

  Stevie again. His sister seemed to be Marsh's alibi for everything.

  Jim seemed to sense that there was nothing more to say. ‘Anyway, I'm sure you've got things to think about. If you do want to talk about it, or just hide, consider my office yours.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Jane took a step backwards. ‘I should go …’

  On the way back to her office, Jane wondered whether she believed Jim. He was Marsh's best friend and could just be telling her what Marsh wanted her to hear. On the other hand, she found it hard to believe he would do that. She had liked him instinctively when she'd first met him. Just like she'd liked Marsh.

  She felt a surge of sadness as she thought about her first meeting with Marsh, that tiny spark of interest had been the first sign that she was recovering from her experience with Ashby. Even in that brief conversation, when he was just a jogger who'd bumped into her, she'd liked him.

  How could something that felt so right go so horribly wrong?

  She thought back to her first impression of Keith. He had made her uneasy. She'd thought he was a shark. But over time his interactions with her had disarmed her and she had grown to like him. Maybe her first impression had been the more accurate?

  She paused outside Marsh's office. In the adjacent bay, Val had her headphones on and was typing up dictation notes. When she looked up, Jane turned to move on.

  Suddenly, the image of Keith looking at something on Marsh's desk flashed into her mind. He had shut the desk diary as Jane walked in.

  Marsh wrote everything down. He'd said so.

  She practically ran into the office, which was in semi-darkness. The diary lay on the table where it always did. Jane went to it and started flicking through.

  Someone switched on the lights. Jane looked up to see Val standing in the doorway, her arms crossed.

  ‘Are you looking for something?’ she said. ‘I have a pretty good idea of Marsh's filing methods, I can probably tell you where to look.’

  Jane ignored her. She had found the page. In neat letters, Marsh had written the time, the name of the restaurant, the phone number, ‘dinner with J’ and ‘booked in the name of Winfield’. If Keith had seen the page, he would have known exactly where they were going and when. ‘Keith knew.’

  ‘Knew what?’ Val said. ‘That you were going out with Marsh? I hate to break it to you, but everyone knew that.’

  Ordinarily, the comment would have made Jane blush, but she was too excited to even notice at that moment. ‘No, he knew we'd be at the restaurant at that time.’ Her thoughts were tumbling over each other in their haste to be first. ‘So, he could have told the magazine. But why? Why would he do that?’

  ‘Ah,’ said Val. ‘I think I might be able to help you with that. You … might want to sit down.’

  Jane lowered herself into Marsh's chair. It seemed strange to think that he sat in it day after day. The seat was uneven, as though it was moulded to fit his body. She waited expectantly.

  Val appeared uncomfortable, but she quickly outlined the details of Keith's old bets with Eric and what she knew of the new bet. When she came to the end, she said ‘Are you Ok? You've gone pale.’

  For the second time in forty-eight hours, Jane felt her world spin. Emotions wrestled each other and fury won. How dare Keith treat her like that!

  Her first instincts about him had been right. He had engineered all the rest to fit his aim of bedding her before Marsh did. When he failed at that, he set about trying to sabotage their relationship, just to get at Marsh.

  And it had worked. Not only had Jane done exactly what Keith expected her to do, but Marsh had responded by confronting Keith and got himself suspended from work, ruining his chances of becoming a partner.

  ‘Poor Marsh. I was so awful to him. I'll call him. I must apologise.’

  ‘I think that would be a good idea,’ Val said, relief evident in her voice.

  Jane got the impression that Val was rather protective of Marsh too.

  Back in her office, Jane sank into her chair. Absent-mindedly, she opened her email. That spam message was still there. She highlighted it and hit delete.

  As the message disappeared, Jane's brain suddenly made a connection. Stevie. That was Marshall's sister's name. After a flash of panic, she retrieved it from her deleted items folder.

  What she read made her cry.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  It took a few minutes for Jane to compose herself enough to phone Marsh. After all, what could she say to him? Sorry didn't even begin to cover how she felt. Her unfair accusation must have hurt him deeply. Polly was right. She was still hung up on what Ashby had done and was using it to sabotage her relationship with Marsh.

  She ducked into an empty meeting room, took a deep breath and punched in Marsh's number. The call immediately went to answerphone. ‘You've reached Marshall Winfield's mobile. Please leave your name and number and I'll call you back.’

  She stared at the phone for a moment. Just hearing his voice, even in the form of a recorded message, brought home to her the enormity of what she'd thrown away. Tears prickled at her eyes. She had to see him. As soon as possible.

  Jane hurried back to his office, not quite running. ‘Val, do you have Marsh's number at the flat?’

  ‘Sure.’ Val opened her drawer and pulled out a black notebook. ‘But he's not there.’

  ‘Where is he then?’

  ‘He and Stevie have gone to Wales to see their aunt,’ said Val. ‘Do you still want the number for the flat?’

  ‘Um … Do you have a number for his aunt's place?’

  ‘No, I'm afraid I don't. Have you tried his mobile?’

  ‘It's off.’

  ‘You could see if Jim knows.’

  Jim was in a meeting, so Jane spent an agonising hour in her office, half-heartedly ordering papers for Susan and getting up every so often to see if Jim was back. Every moment of delay felt like an eternity. The longer Marsh went on believing that she didn't trust him, the worse things got. When she'd finally ordered the last paper, she emailed Polly.

  * * *

  Text from: Jane, To: Polly

  I've really blown it this time!　I've figured out how Keith knew where we were going for dinner on Wednesday. You know how I said I couldn't think of a single motive for him to talk to the press. Well I was wrong. It turns out that he had some sort of bet with Eric in the regional office that he would sleep with me.　How sickening is that?
I'm glad he's not here. I feel dirty just thinking about being in the same building as him. It's disgusting.　The really sickening thing is that, in a world full of unreliable, despicable men, I found one that was nice and I let him slip through my fingers. I'm such an idiot Pol. I wish I were dead.

  ##

  Text from: Polly, To: Jane

  Woah, that’s a long text. You must be upset! I told you Marsh seemed like a good guy!　So, you made a mistake. You were distraught and made a rash judgement. It happens. Why don't you call him and apologise. I'm sure he'll come round.　Hugs.

  ##

  Text from: Jane, To: Polly

  I tried to call him, but his mobile'soff. Apparently, he's gone to visit his aunt in Wales. I'm hoping Jim will have contact details for the aunt, but he's been in a meeting for the last hour.　I'm going mad with impatience.

  * * *

  The instant Jim was back in his office, Jane rushed over. ‘Do you have the phone number for Marsh's aunt's place?’

  ‘Does this mean you've decided to believe him?’

  ‘Yes, I want to apologise,’ said Jane, impatient to get on with it. ‘Val says he's gone to visit his aunt and you might have the number.’

  ‘I'm afraid I don't know it off hand. But I can ask my wife.’ He held up a finger. ‘Just a sec.’ He picked up the phone and started tapping in the number but then paused, frowned and put the receiver back. ‘I've just remembered she's on a school trip with the twins. Her phone's switched off. They must be inside the museum.’

  Her feelings must have shown on her face because Jim said, ‘I'm sorry. I'll try and think of any other information that might be useful. His aunt owns a B&B on a working farm. I can't remember what it was called but my wife …’ He stopped, looked at his watch. ‘Oh, shit.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I'm supposed to be looking after my daughter this afternoon.’ He started shoving papers into his briefcase. ‘I'm sorry Jane, I've got to go. I promise I'll call if Lou or I think of anything, Ok?’