DECOY (Kindle Single) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wasn’t what he was looking for. Do you see? I think the whole thing was a lie and he didn’t go to London at all. I think he was somewhere else. In a hotel with some woman, most likely.’ Julie Hawkins sniffed. Her eyes had gone pink, and she dabbed them with a tissue. ‘I’m sorry.’
    ‘Don’t be.’
    ‘That’s why, the moment I saw your advertisement, I knew I had to call you. I don’t quite understand what it is you do, but—’
    ‘Our agents are highly specialised at gauging the behaviour of a spouse suspected of infidelity,’ Kate said. ‘We provide a full report to you, the client, giving you our detailed assessment of whether we believe the subject would commit to an adulterous act.’ That line had taken her about half an hour to compose. It sounded good, even to Kate.
    ‘So you won’t actually have to sleep with my husband?’
    Kate was taken aback by the directness of the question, but she managed to hide it. ‘That wouldn’t be ethical, and it’s not necessary. It’s not what we do.’
    ‘I see. What do you actually do?’
    ‘It’s all about choice, Mrs Hawkins. Our service simply creates an opportunity, or at least the illusion of one. When the subject shows a willingness to take the opportunity, that’s a positive result. If they don’t, well, it gives us a strong indication that they aren’t generally that way inclined. Either way, it’s up to the client what to do with the information we provide.’
    ‘Thames Valley Decoy Services,’ Julie said thoughtfully. ‘Do you employ many of these, ah, agents?’
    For a moment Kate thought her carefully-concocted front was rumbled. Or maybe Julie Hawkins was going to ask her for a job.
    ‘Yes, several. All thoroughly screened, of course. I run the company.’
    ‘You seem like a very sensible young woman.’
    ‘Thank you,’ Kate said. So maybe she wasn’t rumbled after all.
    ‘Do you have any children?’
    ‘I have a son. He’s seven. He’s—’ Kate was going to say more, but she stopped herself. ‘What about you? Kids, I mean.’
    Julie Hawkins shook her head. ‘I was never blessed with a child.’ She paused, then said, ‘If you don’t mind my asking, how does your husband feel about what you do for a living?’
    ‘Oh, I’m not married,’ Kate said. ‘Single parent.’
    Julie Hawkins smiled, then reached for the handbag again. ‘We didn’t discuss your fee.’
    ‘It’s seven hundred and fifty pounds,’ Kate said without blinking. ‘Payable in advance. That includes my report, which you’ll receive within two days of my assessment of your husband.’
    ‘Fine, fine,’ Julie Hawkins said nonchalantly, as if Kate had asked for a tenner. ‘Is cash all right? I don’t want a receipt or anything. Geoffrey might find it.’
    Kate watched as the fat wad of cash emerged from the bag. She swallowed. ‘Yes, that’s absolutely all right. I’ll also need to keep this picture of your husband, for recognition purposes.’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘And I’ll require some further information on his routine and habits,’ Kate said as she put the money away in her bag. She tried not to look as if she was stuffing it in there before the client changed her mind. ‘That way, I can find a way to meet him that looks natural and accidental.’
    ‘I understand. Well, every Thursday evening unless he’s away on business, Geoffrey works late at the warehouse, going through the inventory, checking on the progress of any restoration projects in the workshop, things like that. He usually leaves work around seven, then he stops off at a nearby pub for his evening meal. Thursday is my evening class,’ she added, ‘so it’s always worked out well for us both. I do embroidery.’
    ‘That’s nice,’ Kate felt obliged to say. She was more interested in Thursday, which was tomorrow. ‘And where is the warehouse?’
    ‘Just a few miles from here, outside Kennington. The pub Geoffrey goes to is the Signet, down near the river. At least,