‘And the women she worked with?’
Quinn makes a face. ‘There were only two. One of them said she might have taken Fisher rather more seriously if she hadn’t insisted on dressing like a prostitute.’
Yet another comment about her clothes. I can only assume she does it deliberately, to get a reaction. Does she really not care how divisive that reaction is?
‘Take it from me,’ says Quinn, ‘“fans of Marina Fisher” is the country’s last remaining men-only club.’
I swing round to face the rest of the room. Baxter, Asante, Ev, and now, just coming through the door, Somer. She looks a bit flustered from being almost late, but tanned from a weekend in the sun and the wind. She’s caught the sun and it suits her, but she doesn’t look rested. She just looks stressed.
‘Nice to see you, DC Somer – have you had a chance to get up to speed?’
She nods. ‘Yes, sir. DC Everett sent me over some stuff last night.’
My phone pings. Bryan Gow is in reception.
‘OK, everyone, while we wait for the DNA let’s see if we can make any progress on the digital side.’ I look around. ‘And at the risk of repeating myself, Caleb Morgan’s mother is going to be all over this sooner or later, and my money’s on sooner. So do me a favour and keep up to date on the paperwork, all right?’
* * *
JosephAndrews2018
@JosephAndrews2018
9.17
Sending love & solidarity to a friend of mine who’s a #sexualabuse victim at #OxfordUni. Abuse BY a professor ON a student. But this time the #abuser was a woman & the #victim was a GUY. This affects everyone, people. WHOEVER you are
#NOmeansNO #MeToo #HeToo
1 7 24
Annie Dexter
@Adex201918
9.19
Replying to @JosephAndrews2018
This makes me so angry – no-one shd suffer this, men or women. I hope the uni authorities are being supportive & actually *believing* them. There’s also loads of support services out there – Samaritans, Nightline, the OU Students Union
#sexualabuseaffectseveryone #MeToo #HeToo
3 5 35
Michaela Mitchell
@1010101MM
9.22
Replying to @JosephAndrews2018 @Adex201918
12 THOUSAND men suffered sexual abuse in the UK last year, and a significant number of the perpetrators were women. It’s not common, but it *does happen*
End #sexualabusebythoseinpower #MeToo AND #HeToo
1 2 2
Lorna Bartholomew
@9_9_Starfish
9.22
Replying to @JosephAndrews2018
When was this incident? I’m involved in the @OxASV campaign and I’ve asked around but no one I know has heard anything about it. Are the police involved?
#OxfordAgainstSexualViolence #MeToo #HeToo
4 6 11
JosephAndrews2018
@JosephAndrews2018
9.28
Replying to @9_9_Starfish
A few days ago. The police are def on it though whether they’re getting anywhere is another matter. Let’s just say ‘she’ is *very* prominent
Lorna Bartholomew
@9_9_Starfish
9.29
Replying to @JosephAndrews2018
And how is he? Is he getting help?
JosephAndrews2018
@JosephAndrews2018
9.29
Replying to @9_9_Starfish
Yeah, doing OK at the moment
Oxford Against Sexual Violence
@OxASV
9.29
Hearing reports of a serious sexual assault on a male student by a female academic. If you still need proof that #sexualviolenceaffectseveryone this is it. Let’s stand strong with the men who’ve been on the receiving end of this #abuse and get the #HeToo hashtag trending
#VictHIM
27 65 352
Back at his desk, Andrew Baxter rolls up his sleeves. In every sense. It’s not as hot as it was over the weekend but the office has no air con and the creaky fan in the corner is just circulating hot air. He cracks open a cold Red Bull and picks up Marina Fisher’s phone.
* * *
Adam Fawley
9 July 2018
9.34
Bryan Gow is looking irritatingly fresh in a cream jacket and chinos, neither of which I’ve seen before. He has new glasses too, and – even more startling – a decent haircut. We’ve worked together for more than five years, but his personal life is still an enigma to me. I’ve always assumed he had far too many time-consuming geeky bloke hobbies to have room for a relationship, but this new look of his may suggest I’m wrong. Who knows, perhaps there really is a woman out there who put ‘Maths-obsessed trainspotting Civil-War re-enactor’ under WLTM.
‘Interesting,’ he says, looking up from the file. ‘This one’s hardly business as usual, is it?’
I make a face. ‘It’s a high-wire act over a bloody minefield. Morgan’s mother is Petra Newson.’
His eyes widen. ‘Ah. I see. Shit.’
I give a grim laugh. ‘Yup, all of the above.’
‘So you want me to review the interviews?’
I open up my laptop. ‘Fisher’s, particularly. Asante thinks something is off. Says her body language is all wrong. But there could be all sorts of assumptions at play here. See above under “minefield”.’
‘True, but DC Asante is a bright lad. Let’s have a look, shall we?’
* * *
‘I don’t know, you just look a bit – off, that’s all.’
They’re in the ladies’ loo on the first floor. Somer is leaning back against the basins and Everett’s by the window, watching her friend and trying to decide if she should be worried. Somer has seemed so much happier since she started seeing Giles Saumarez. Ev’s only met him once, but he seemed almost too good to be true, especially after that ill-advised fling Somer had with the undeniably attractive but calamitously unsuitable Gareth Quinn. Saumarez is in the job as well, so he understands the pressures, but not in the same force, which in Ev’s opinion is a far safer idea (not that she’s ever tried it). Giles is good-looking, considerate, supportive, funny. What’s not to like? The only wisp of a cloud on the
