He smiles, a little uneasily, evidently unsure how to reply. Then the smile subsides. ‘So what do you want to know?’
‘Let’s start with Marina Fisher. I find the situation with her ex-husband a little odd.’
He frowns. ‘How so? They got married, they got unmarried, he went back to Boston. It was a lot cleaner than most divorces I’ve been forced to witness.’
‘But that’s my point. Joel Johnson went back to the US. How old was Tobin when they separated? A year? Even younger? And yet Johnson was perfectly happy to leave him behind, knowing he’d scarcely ever see him. You don’t think that’s odd?’
Reynolds gives me a heavy look. ‘Not really. Tobin Fisher isn’t Joel Johnson’s child.’
So that’s it.
‘In fact, he was the reason for the divorce.’
‘Fisher had an affair?’
Reynolds takes a sip of lemonade and puts the glass down. ‘I gather “one-night stand” would be a more accurate description.’
‘But she’s sure the child isn’t Johnson’s?’
‘He was in the US for most of that term. And in any case, Johnson is African American.’
He’s looking at me as if this is a tutorial and he’s just caught me out for not doing enough prep. And he’s right – irritating, but right: I should have known that. I should have looked Johnson up.
‘Fisher was at Edith Launceleve at the time?’
He nods. ‘It was her second or third year. But I’d known her before that. It was largely down to me that she came here. I was the one who persuaded her to leave Imperial. And it took some doing, I can tell you.’
If I’d come right out with it and asked him what size of dog he has in this fight I couldn’t have got a clearer answer. He’s up to his neck in it. Mastiff-level.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ he says. ‘And the answer is no.’
‘No, what?’
‘No, I’m not Tobin’s father. I have never had that sort of relationship with Marina.’
I sit back a little. ‘Do you know who the father is?’
He shakes his head. ‘Like I said, she described it as a one-night stand. It’s possible she never even told him Tobin exists.’
‘And she went ahead with the pregnancy, even though she must have known it would torpedo the marriage?’
He shrugs. ‘She wanted children, Joel didn’t. And given her age –’
He spreads his hands as if the rest goes without saying. And it does. Especially to me.
‘Has she had relationships since?’
He considers. ‘One or two. But before you ask, I can assure you they have all been entirely age-appropriate.’
‘So men in their forties.’
‘Or older, yes. I have never, in all the years I have known her, seen Marina take any interest in a student or a significantly younger man. This whole episode – it would be totally out of character.’
I note the conditional tense. And move on.
‘What about Caleb Morgan? Is this “episode” out of character for him too?’
Reynolds folds his hands on his lap. ‘Clearly, I haven’t known him as long, given he’s been here less than a year. But by all accounts he is an honest, hard-working and – if I dare use such an out-of-favour term – honourable young man.’
‘So if I were to tell you, purely theoretically, that he may have had an altercation with his girlfriend on the night of the alleged assault – that he may have pushed her – what would you say?’
His eyes narrow. ‘I’d say I find it hard to believe.’ He hesitates. ‘That wasn’t “theoretical” at all, was it?’
I let the silence lengthen, and I see his unease rise.
He reaches for the jug and refills his glass. ‘I don’t envy you, Inspector, taking this on. We’re the other side of the looking glass here; nothing about it makes any sense.’
But then again, this is Oxford. When it comes to through the looking glass, this place wrote the book.
* * *
Chloe Blanchflower
@Whitepetal1_99_1
18.22
Anyone else heard about this #Oxford thing with a guy getting assaulted by his female tutor?
#HeToo #VictHIM
4 9 9
Carmel Piper
@NosyRosy1998
18.24
Replying to @Whitepetal1_99_1
I’ve been asking around about that since I saw it on here but no one seems to know anything. Copying @JosephAndrews2018
#HeToo #VictHIM
8 21 22
JosephAndrews2018
@JosephAndrews2018
18.39
Replying to @NosyRosy1998 @Whitepetal1_99_1
I have to be careful about what I say but let’s just say no one should behave the way this person has done – there should be no safe harbour for predators whatever their gender, and this particular person has been trawling the student pool for a while
#HeToo #VictHIM
276 551 1.75k
* * *
Alex Fawley checks her phone again. Still nothing from Adam. She knows he leaves his mobile in his locker when he’s at the gym, and he did say he might have to go somewhere afterwards, but he’s still more than an hour later than he said he’d be.
She leans over and picks up her tablet, navigates to the page and presses play. Just as well Adam isn’t here because he’d be furious with her if he knew. When they heard The Whole Truth organization were going to make a podcast about the Parrie case he made her promise she wouldn’t listen. He said they’d just be out for headlines – that whatever angle they took, digging about in the past couldn’t change it, so why torture herself going through it all again. It wouldn’t be good for her, and it wouldn’t be good for the baby. And he was right, of course he was right, but she still can’t stop herself. Because she knows what’s coming: whatever their agenda is, whatever ‘angle’ they come up with, they’ll still have to talk about her – about her and about Adam.
And what if
