The Truth-Teller's Lie by Sophie Hannah

Author:Sophie Hannah
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-08-02T22:00:00+00:00

16

4/7/06

‘I FEEL TERRIBLE,’ said Yvon Cotchin. ‘If I’d known Naomi was in prison, I’d have been there like a shot. Why didn’t she ring me?’ She sat with her knees pulled up to her chin, on a faded blue sofa in the middle of her ex-husband’s messy living room in Cambridge’s Great Shelford. Half-empty mugs, balled-up socks, remote controls, old newspapers and unopened junk mail littered the floor.

The house reeked of marijuana; the windowsill was covered with pieces of burned silver foil and empty plastic bottles with holes in their sides. Cotchin, who smelled of shampoo and a rich, sweet perfume, looked out of place in her tight red jumper and smart black trousers, clutching an unopened packet of Consulate cigarettes in one hand and a yellow plastic lighter in the other. More than out of place: marooned.

‘Naomi wasn’t in prison,’ said Chris Gibbs. ‘She came in to answer some questions.’

‘And now she’s bailed, she’s back at home,’ said Charlie, who had accompanied Gibbs to make sure he did a thorough job of questioning Naomi Jenkins’ ex-lodger. He’d made it clear he didn’t think they’d get anything useful from Yvon Cotchin, and Charlie didn’t want it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

‘Bailed? That sounds awful. Naomi hasn’t done anything that bad, has she?’

‘Has she done anything at all?’

Cotchin looked away. She fiddled with the cellophane on her cigarette packet.

‘Yvon?’ Charlie prompted. Open the packet and light a fag, for fuck’s sake. She hated people who faffed around endlessly.

‘I told Naomi I was going to tell you. It’s not as if I ever said I’d go along with it, so I’m not betraying her by telling you.’

‘Go along with what?’ asked Gibbs.

‘It’s better if you know the truth before Robert . . . He’s bound to be all right, isn’t he? I mean, if he’s survived this long . . .’

‘You told us you’d never met Robert Haworth,’ Charlie reminded her.

‘That’s true.’

‘What did you tell Naomi Jenkins you wouldn’t go along with?’ Gibbs persisted.

‘She lied. She pretended Robert had raped her. I couldn’t believe she’d do something like that, but . . . she reckoned it was the only way to make you care about finding him.’

‘Are you sure he didn’t rape her?’ asked Charlie.

‘Very sure. Naomi worships the ground that man walks on.’

‘It has been known for a woman to fall in love with her rapist.’

‘Not Naomi.’

‘How can you be certain?’

Cotchin considered the question. ‘The way Naomi looks at the world. It’s all black and white, all about justice. You’d have to know her to understand. She starts talking about revenge if someone nicks her parking space.’ She sighed. ‘Look, I’ve never been a huge fan of Robert Haworth. I’ve not met him, but from what Naomi’s told me . . . But I know he didn’t rape her. Hasn’t she admitted to the lie, now that Robert’s been found? She said she would.’

‘It’s a bit more complicated than that.’ Charlie opened the file she was holding. On the sofa beside

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