Frozen Grave

Chapter 46

After Tucker had left, Megan rang Ellerman’s home number. On her second attempt she got an answer. Megan was intrigued to hear Dee’s voice. It was hesitant, cautious. She had a slight Portsmouth accent.

‘Hello?’

‘Hello, is that Dee?’

‘Yes. Who is this?’

‘My name is Paula Seymour,’ she lied. ‘I’m one of the women on the list, on the letter?’

‘What do you want? My husband has gone out.’

‘I want to talk to you. I’m really sorry to involve you in all this but you are already and I thought I’d better keep you updated. I have met with some of the women on the list… we decided to meet and discuss what we should do. I know it must seem really weird to you but a lot of the women had thought they were in a committed relationship with your husband. For many of them this is a massive blow. I wanted to phone you to involve you in what we have decided. I know that Lisa talked to you. She said, in her opinion, you were not going to get involved. I hate to state the obvious, but you are involved… Your husband has defrauded several women out of money and they want it back. For them, the way they see it, they have lost everything.’

‘They shouldn’t have got involved with a married man.’

‘No, of course, and they didn’t. They got involved with a man who said his wife knew all about his life as a single man, that she even had the same arrangement going.’

‘I don’t.’

‘No, well, I can hear what you’re saying but JJ is a very convincing liar and we all fell for it. I wanted to talk to you to clarify things. Can I ask you – did you know that we all existed?’

‘No.’

‘So JJ has never admitted to having affairs? You’ve never discovered anything?’

‘Yes. Years ago. I found out he’d had an affair.’

‘And what? You thought that was the end of it?’

‘No. I thought that I would let him get enough rope to hang himself.’

‘I’m sorry – this isn’t a criticism, but why didn’t you leave him, if you feel that way?’

‘Because I don’t want to.’

‘How can you want to stay with someone like that? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to upset you. I know that JJ told me that as well as other women you have had problems with depression. Well, I can help you get some help with that. We can support you now. I’d like to. I think you must have gone through some awful times.’

‘Yes.’

‘Would you like me to visit you, Dee? I come to London often. It’s no problem.’

‘I don’t think so, but thank you for the offer.’

‘Do you know what you want to happen from all of this? I don’t think you can go back to the way it was. I have had a visit from the police. I think they are investigating JJ because of the Spanish company.’

‘Did you give him money?’

‘No, not me, but I seem to be in the minority. Everyone else has been taken for a lot of money.’

‘They can’t have it back.’

‘Dee, I understand how you must feel and I know this must be scary, but they will take you both to court.’

‘As you said, I talked to a woman named Lisa and she said she would. What about the others?’ asked Dee.

‘I don’t know. Some of them are too heartbroken to think it through at the moment.’

‘What do you want from me?’

‘I want to ask you to join us, be united with us. Stand together and we will help you to get out of this marriage. Will you join us?’

‘No. I can’t, I’m sorry.’

Megan came off the phone to Dee and phoned Lisa but she got no reply. She phoned Emily and left a message:

The police are coming your way.