“That’s interesting,” the reporter said, “because it caught us all on the hop. I’ve obviously tried to find out for myself. I’ve been in touch with all my usual contacts, but it didn’t seem to come from anyone here in Hastings as far as I could tell, at least, that’s what everyone is telling me.”
“Not from the lab or the police then?”
“Not as far as I know, and certainly not from any of my sources. In fact, the first I, or anyone else here, heard anything about it was when the bloke asked Ted Savage the question. Obviously, I’ve tried to get confirmation everywhere, but I’ve come up against a brick wall.”
“Where else could he have got the information?”
“Search me. I’ve drawn a complete blank.”
“Is it possible that it came from the reporter himself?” she asked. “I mean, I’m sure he wouldn’t…” Callie struggled to find the right words, she didn’t want to upset anyone.
“Make something like that up? It’s okay, it certainly happens.”
Callie was relieved that she hadn’t taken offence at the suggestion.
“It could also be that he was responding to a brief from his interviewee.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, sometimes when you are doing an interview and the person has a story they want to get out but don’t want to be seen as the source, they tell you to ask them about it,” she explained. “Ted Savage has form for doing that. He once got me to question him about a proposed change in fishing quotas that I knew nothing about. It was just a way to leak embargoed information, and whip up the outrage he knew it would cause, and all without getting into trouble. He’s a good actor, too. Managed to look suitably outraged that I knew about such sensitive stuff when I asked the question.”
“Did it work?”
“It did. The government backed down double quick when the opposition got wind of it.”
Callie smiled to herself.
“So, if Ted Savage wanted to disrupt the FNM rally, without publicly speaking out against it, he could have deliberately planted that story,” Callie clarified.
“I’m not saying that’s what happened,” Debbie quickly answered. “Although it’s true he’s always shied away from direct criticism of the group. I’m just saying that that could be the way it happened.”
“Why wouldn’t he speak out against them?”
“Because it’s a marginal seat and he doesn’t want to offend any possible voters. There’s a fair amount of support for the FNM within the constituency.”
“But he doesn’t support them, either?”
“No, definitely not from what I know of him.”
“So, he might try and disrupt things indirectly, you think?”
“Yes, particularly if the story wasn’t true. Do you know if that’s the case?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Callie responded. “I was just curious that no one had responded from the local police, to confirm or deny. It seemed strange to me.”
“You and me both. And it’s not for want of me asking, let me tell you.”
Callie could believe that. She ended the call and added hot water to the now cool bath, knowing that she had probably set the cat amongst the pigeons. Debbie Smith was unlikely to let this drop now Callie had voiced her concerns. The question was, did it matter who had made the story up? Did it change anything? No one had broken the law, as far as she could tell; fake news was everywhere these days. But it made a difference to Callie in that she needed to know where Lisa stood. If Lisa hadn’t been the source of the leak, then it looked likely that she supported Darren Dixon and his cronies and, much as it probably shouldn’t, Callie admitted to herself that it would affect the way she worked with the photographer in the future, even after she had helped Callie when she was knocked down. It was bound to. And if she wanted to know for certain, she was going to have to ask either Lisa or the politician directly if they were the source of the story and hope they told her the truth.
As Lisa seemed to have disappeared for the time being, she had little choice but to try to speak to Ted Savage. She just hoped that she managed to catch him before Debbie Smith did, although she thought that was unlikely. She was pretty sure the reporter would be trying to get hold of the politician first thing in the morning.
* * *
Next morning, Callie was unsurprised to hear that Lisa was still off sick, so there was no point in going to the lab and trying to speak to her. The morning was free from clinics and was allocated on her timetable for administration, learning and preparing for her annual appraisal. In reality, that meant she had time to try and track down her MP to ask him about that interview. She could always catch up with the other stuff in the evening.
Of course, tracking him down was easier said than done.
Ted Savage’s website had contact details, but they only seemed to be for her to email him with any questions she might want to ask. He also held advice surgeries every Friday afternoon at an office on an industrial estate in nearby St Leonards and she could email or telephone for an appointment at that, outlining her problem beforehand so that his team could ensure he had time to research the answer. His Twitter feed and Facebook page had lots of comments on things, but nothing that would tell where he was likely to be at any given moment. She supposed that it was good security not to tell people where they could confront him.
She was fairly sure that he didn’t live in Hastings itself but in one of the villages outside, and she remembered seeing him
