The Tangled Web (22 page)

The messes were stacking up: Vicky’s relationship; George’s
re-appearance in her life; Pamela’s involvement in their work; the lies they
were telling Adam and Magnus about the Diana profile and now Scarlett’s
determination to tell the whole world about their business on The Roland
Reading Show.

At around six o’clock she had cut her losses and got out of
bed, deciding that sleep was not an option, for that night anyway.  No amount
of thinking was helping her decide what she should do about all the problems
mounting up.  She knew she had to get more information though.  She had to find
out if Magnus and Lumi were really together or if this was just a hunch.  She
needed solid evidence.

Already that morning she had visited the shopping centre
where Lumi used to sell her magazines.  She’d met the new Big Issue seller,
bought a copy, introduced herself and said she was an old friend of Lumi’s and
was hoping to catch up with her for a drink some time.

‘A drink?  I thought she was an alky?’ the new seller had
replied.

Flic had forgotten that Lumi was an alcoholic.  Of course. 
Lumi had told them the day they met her.  Flic told herself to remember this
and carried on her with her interrogation, asking if the new guy knew where she
could find Lumi.

‘Aye, she’s working at a wee stall upstairs.  She’s the
lassie that sells the fairy cakes.  Nice, but too dear for me to buy. 
Extortionate.  It’s always busy though.  She must be making a fortune.  Her and
her boyfriend hand out the ones going stale to the hostel.’

That sounded like Magnus.  Trying to save the less
fortunate from hunger with cupcakes.

‘I think she used to stay there once upon a time, but she
moved in with some gays and then after that she got in tow with the boyfriend. 
I heard he’s got a bit of money.’ 

Was that what happened?  He was on a mission to save this
homeless girl and ended up falling for her?  What about Vicky?  Flic was
struggling to keep her anger in check.  How could Magnus possibly be part of an
organisation trying to expose cheaters when he was one himself?

She checked her watch.  It was just after eleven now.  She
had been sitting in Starbucks for over an hour hoping the answer to the
multiplying problems in her life would appear in her Frappuccino.  She stared
down at her iPad and examined the cupcake design app she had downloaded a
couple of weeks ago, smiling wryly to herself at the irony.

‘I don’t think that cake would go as well with your
Frappuccino as this one,’ a voice teased from behind her.  She turned to see
Magnus standing, clutching a mint green paper bag in one hand and a brown iced
cupcake with chocolate sprinkles in the other. 

Flic studied him for a second.  His arms were covered in
goosepimples due to the scarf, short sleeved shirt and no jacket combination he
wore whenever it was freezing outside.  His cheeks and nose were rosy.  He
grinned at Flic, unperturbed by her cold stare.  She supposed he was used to
her frostiness towards him.  She’d never warmed to him.  She had even less
reason to be nice to him now.

‘What are you doing here?’ she barked.

‘Keeping an eye on my investments,’ he winked back.

Flic was half-glad he was there.  She wouldn’t have to do
her reconnaissance work and stake out his flat waiting for Lumi to go in or out
after all.  ‘Did your girlfriend make that?’ Flic ventured, raising one
eyebrow.

Magnus’s grin slipped and he placed the cake down in front
of Flic.  He smoothly swivelled himself around and into the chair opposite her
and met her stare.

‘Got it from the stall in here,’ he covered.  Flic noted he
avoided answering the question outright.

‘Ah yes, the foreign
baker,
’ Flic spat.  ‘What’s her
name again?’

‘Diana,’ Magnus replied.

‘Is it?  Is it really?’ Flic mocked, laughing loudly. 

Magnus swept up some spilled sugar from the table into his
palms and threw it over his shoulder.  ‘What’s wrong Felicity?’

‘One: That’s not my name.  Two: It’s salt you’re supposed
to throw over your shoulder, not sugar, you half-wit.  And three: I want to
know if Vicky knows about you and cupcake-bitch.’

‘Why would I tell Vicky?’ he squirmed.

Flic stared at him.  Her eyes locked with his and she held
the stare until he finally looked down at his lap.  The guilt he felt was clear
from his expression.

‘Vicky and I never made each other any promises.  Neither
did Diana and I.  She started staying at my flat after I gave her the job.  I
felt sorry for her.  She was homeless.  Now she’s fallen for me.  I can’t help
it, I turn her on,’ he shrugged.

‘Oh for fucks sake!  She’s not a fucking light switch,
she’s a person!’ Flic snapped.

‘What was I supposed to do?  She was homeless when I met
her.  If I break up with her, she’ll be homeless again.  I can’t have that on
my conscience,’ he whined.

‘Be honest, perhaps?  Honesty is a fabulous thing.  Keeps
life simple.’

‘Well, it looks like I’ll have to start being more honest
because Diana somehow found out I’ve been seeing Vicky.  Now she’s giving me
grief saying she wants exclusivity.  I don’t know what her problem is,’ he
complained with a shake of his head.

In her mind, Flic imagined herself reaching over and
ripping a big chunk of that long thick blonde hair out of his head and forcing
it into his mouth.  She folded her arms to resist that urge and resumed staring
at him.

‘There would be nothing wrong with having two girlfriends
if you were honest with them about what you were doing,’ she scolded.

‘I never said I wanted a relationship with either of them,
they just assumed,’ he pouted.

‘You’re unbelievable!’

‘Do you think this is easy for me?  If I choose Vicky,
Diana will go back to her old ways and become homeless again.  If I choose
Diana, Vicky might get depressed again.  I can’t win!  I have someone’s
downfall on my conscience, no matter what I do.’  Magnus tutted.

‘Oh, don’t give me that “woe is me” attitude.  You’re a
sleaze.  And did you ever think that maybe they’d be just fine without you?’
she spat.

‘If I keep it going for a few months, Diana will make
enough money with her cakes to get a flight back to Poland and she’ll be out of
our lives for good,’ he insisted.

‘Poland?’ Flic blinked.

‘Yes, she’s Polish.’

Flic felt her face contort with confusion.  Diana? 
Poland?  There was something amiss. 

‘How did she come to be here then if she’s Polish?  And how
did
you
meet her?’ Flic pressed.

‘She was working as a chambermaid in London.  She split
from her boyfriend, hit the bottle and things got a bit mental.  She came up
here looking for an old friend and they’d moved on.  She had nowhere to stay
and ended up homeless and penniless.  I met her when she sent me an add on
Tête-a-net.  She was looking for people in Inverness to be friends with, and
she found me.  I recognised her from my volunteer work at the shelter, went and
found her the next day and offered to help her start her business.  We hit it
off.  Within three hours we were in bed…’

‘Just stop right there,’ Flic cringed and held up her hand,
not wanting any more details.  The thought of Magnus and his bedroom antics was
enough to put her off her Frappuccino.  And it was all she needed to know.  Of
course, that’s why Lumi was learning Polish.  It made sense to Flic now.  She
didn’t just steal the honey’s name.  She stole her whole identity. 

Flic grabbed the cupcake he had offered earlier from the
table and wrapped it in a napkin before placing it in her fake snakeskin
handbag.  She wanted the last word and a dramatic exit but she wasn’t letting
the cake go to waste.

‘Make a choice or I’ll make sure Vicky takes the decision
out of your hands,’ Flic warned.  She stood and turned to leave, without
waiting for his reply.

*****

Flic slung her bag over her shoulder and stomped through
the tiled shopping centre, almost skidding on her heels on the slippery floor
more than once as she searched the building for a cake stall.  She knew roughly
where it might be and her hunch proved right. 

She halted as soon as she saw the slender figure and long
blonde hair.  She examined the way Lumi had dressed herself – like the
stereotypical fifties housewife – wide bottomed white and red polkadot
halterneck dress which looked suspiciously like it had been padded out with
petticoats, matching shoes and cherries in her hair, which had been lightened
at some point in the last few weeks.  Her lips were stained red and her hair
was pinned back at the sides, with the rest falling in soft honey coloured
curls.  Lumi was going all out to look as different from the homeless girl who
had sold The Big Issue as possible.  If Flic hadn’t known the truth, she would
never have guessed they were the same person.

She inched toward the stall, not taking her eyes off Lumi
for a second.  In her mind she saw herself catching Lumi’s eye from a distance
and keeping her waiting for longer than necessary while she slowly crept
towards her.  Instead Lumi began serving an elderly lady while Flic reached her
sooner than planned.  She found herself awkwardly waiting for the pensioner to
find the right change and for Lumi to redecorate the cake for her.  All the
while, Lumi noticed Flic waiting and had time to prepare herself.  Flic cursed
her luck, wondering how she had come to be the one who was kept waiting.

‘Good morning, welcome to Hepcat Cupcakes.  Can I interest
you in a cake today?’ Lumi smirked at Flic.

Flic flashed a bright smile and stared Lumi square in the
eye.  ‘No, but you can get yourself a man who doesn’t have a girlfriend
already,’ she responded and met Lumi’s smirk with one equally vitriolic.

Lumi picked up a cupcake with pink icing and pretended to
show it Flic.  ‘Magnus is watching us from behind that pillar over there. 
Pretend you’re buying something.’

Flic examined the merchandise and took her purse out of her
bag.  She looked at the other cakes on the stall.  ‘I spoke to Magnus.  He
knows that I know you’re together.  He doesn’t know that I know you’re not a
Polish girl called Diana.’ 

The two women looked at each other again.  Flic tried to
unscramble her own statement in her mind and work out if it had made sense. 
She thought it did, but she was starting to get a little bit confused herself.

‘I know.  He just texted me.’  Lumi used her hand to
gesture that she was talking about the cakes to Flic.  ‘What do you want from
me Flic?’  Her smile stayed fixed.

‘I want you to be yourself, stop pretending to be Diana,
leave Vicky’s man alone and fuck right off,’ Flic asserted, pointing to
different cakes she pretended to want as she made each point.

‘I’m sorry I can’t do that,’ Lumi replied, nodding as she used
tongs to pick up the cakes and box them.  ‘He’s MY boyfriend.  I live with
him.  Perhaps Vicky should leave HIM alone?’

‘I see.  That’s how it is then, eh?  Well, how about I tell
Magnus who you really are?  A Romanian called Lumi?  An opportunist?  How does
that suit you?’  Flic passed a ten pound note to Lumi.

‘Go ahead.’  She nodded and exchanged the note for the box
of cakes and a few coins, then smiled brightly at Flic.  ‘And I’ll tell George
Goodbody that his ex wife is so obsessed with him, she’s trying to break up his
new marriage.  Have a lovely day!’

Flic almost dropped the box as she watched Lumi turn and
begin to serve a new customer.  What had she said?  George Goodbody? 

Who was this woman?  And why was she hell-bent on
destroying their lives?

17

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: 8
^th
March

Subject: Your promotional flyer

Diana,

You put a promotional flyer in my bag of cakes today.  It
has your email address on it.  Are you the only one who checks these emails or
does Magnus see it too?

Flic

*****

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: 8
^th
March

Subject: Re: Your promotional flyer

Hi Flic

No, the email address is just mine.  Did you want to place
an order?

Diana

*****

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: 8
^th
March

Subject: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer

No, I did NOT want to place an order.  I have a proposal
for you.  I keep quiet about who you are and don’t tell Magnus.  You keep quiet
about what I’m doing and don’t tell George.  But there are conditions.  You
absolutely MUST convince Magnus to break up with Vicky.  It will benefit you
because you get him to yourself.  And it will benefit her because she can find
someone who deserves her and she can stop wasting her time.