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She pulled a copy of the
Evening Star
from her desk drawer and placed it on the table. ‘Should I be worried?’
    ‘Maybe.’ Ellen had thought of little else since her interview with Monica. ‘Someone else came in earlier. Claims something similar is happening to her.’
    ‘Before or after this went out?’ Ger asked.
    ‘After,’ Ellen said. ‘But it’s not what you think. At least, I don’t think so.’
    Ellen told her about the tea and the rose, explaining it was the one detail left out of the newspaper report.
    ‘And there’s no way this woman could have known about it?’ Ger asked.
    ‘Not unless she’d spoken to Chloe,’ Ellen said. ‘Which is possible, I suppose. Although I did ask if she knew Chloe and she claims she’s never even met her.’
    ‘Well check it out,’ Ger said. ‘Thoroughly. Get Patel to speakto Chloe again. Ask her if she knows this Monica Telford. And do a trawl of the local flower shops. Find out if anyone’s been buying up roses lately. Check online retailers as well. See if anyone’s been doing a regular delivery to SE London.’
    She sounded irritated and that irritated Ellen. Of course she was going to bloody check everything out. She’d be doing it right now, in fact, if she hadn’t been hauled in here to ‘talk things through’.
    ‘What about this journalist?’ Ger asked. ‘Martine Reynolds. Is she as bad as I think she is?’
    ‘Worse,’ Ellen said. ‘More concerned with shit-stirring than actually finding the truth. She won’t care what’s in the best interests of the public. The only person’s interests she cares about are her own.’
    ‘I’ll get someone in the press team onto it,’ Ger said. ‘See if there’s something we can do. What else?’
    ‘I’ve arranged for a car to patrol both houses at regular intervals for the next week,’ Ellen said. ‘Nights only. During the day, we’ve got the COs doing the same thing on foot. I’ve told both women to stay with friends or family if they’re scared. I’ve told them to get their locks changed, get an alarm, all the usual advice you’d give. And they’ve both been given the leaflets on stalking and how to deal with it. Forensics have been through Chloe’s house. Didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Not sure what else we can do at this stage.’
    ‘Phone them everyday,’ Ger said. ‘Keep in close contact withthem. And get someone across to interview Chloe’s ex. Again. I know he’s got an alibi, but let’s make sure he didn’t get someone else to break into Chloe’s place.’
    ‘Except if Monica’s telling the truth, it’s not him, is it?’ Ellen said.
    ‘Maybe she knows him too,’ Ger said. ‘Although the most likely explanation is that she’s making it up. She read Chloe’s story and decided to claim the same thing is happening to her. What did you think of her?’
    ‘Difficult to tell,’ Ellen said. ‘Very charming, very attractive. Although, there was something a bit off.’
    ‘Off how?’
    ‘She didn’t seem as scared as I’d expect,’ Ellen said. ‘At one point, I got the feeling that she was enjoying herself.’
    ‘Speak to her again,’ Ger said. ‘Let her see we’re taking this seriously. I know it sounds like overkill but if this Telford woman is making it up, the next thing she’ll do is approach the journalist for her own exclusive. We don’t want that.’
    ‘And?’ Ellen asked.
    Ger frowned. ‘What?’
    ‘Mag’s Court tomorrow,’ Ellen said. ‘I need to be there. You don’t have a problem with that?’
    ‘As long as it doesn’t interfere with sorting this shit out. You can always send Raj to court if you need to. I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard, Ellen. You’re officially still on a thirty-hour week. Which is fine. I’m all for flexible working for parents.Heck, I wouldn’t have got this far without some flexibility over the years.’
    That was a load of rubbish. No one got to DCI on part-time working. Yes, it was more than