A/N - As before, Sophie, Duncan and Sean are my inventions; everything else was created by the brilliant Ed McCardie and owned by the folks at Tandem Communications and Canal+.
Chapter 8
It was slow for a Saturday afternoon so Sophie had plenty of time to do some of her photo editing on her laptop. She was still humming music from the Proms the night before; all the compositions had been movie music. One of her favorites had been an arrangement of theme from the Sound of Music. Despite the way evening had started with Nelson and his boys, it had ended wonderfully. Sean always had a way of making her enjoy herself. No one knew her better and no one could make her laugh more than him.
Soon Mr. Shales wandered out and announced that the Royal Oak had just called in an order. Oh well, she wasn't going to let them ruin her mood. She pulled everything together, loaded up the basket and headed over to the pub, still hearing the Sound of Music playing dreamily in her head.
Sophie walked into the Oak and immediately saw Nelson behind the bar. He motioned to her so she came over to the bar to set everything down.
"Hello, Sophie. Nice to see you again."
"Hello."
"How was the concert last night?"
"It was lovely, thank you for asking. Now, let's check to see…"
Nelson cut her off. "And Sean? Did you have a nice time with him?"
Sophie froze. She didn't know whether to be angry or afraid. Or both. "How do you know his name?"
Nelson looked at her with a smirk on his face. "It's my business to know things about people," he said simply. He looked over his shoulder at DCI Squire, who opened the dossier she had prepared on Sophie and she began to read.
"Sophie Cameron, born in Boulder, California, to Julia Cameron and David Thornton. Has an older brother and a sister. Mother is a medical assistant, father is a general building contractor. Went to University of Michigan and studied art. Did an exchange program in London for a year. Came back to the UK after graduation and has lived here ever since. Has UK residency and is seeking dual citizenship. Received a trust fund from a Dr. Connolly – clearly a payoff for something – and set up an investment fund. Purchased her flat from that fund and has a substantial amount left over collecting interest."
Joey couldn't resist. "Oi, Soph. Got a rich doctor to get you set up, huh? How long were you with him? Do you like the older guys?" He was laughing now.
Nelson turned and shot Joey a look that said 'Shut it. Now.' Joey instantly quieted down.
Squire continued. "It appears she met Sean Butler at or right after school. Sean is an investment banker and runs one of the largest investment funds in the UK. Sophie has posed as his girlfriend for quite some time. However, Sean actually lives with his partner Michael."
Sophie's head was spinning. The fear subsided and now she was just angry, so angry she felt she was about to explode. She was furious that Nelson had pried into her life and was seriously concerned that he knew who Sean was. Who the fuck did these people think they were? She was so tired of them interfering in her business. Weirdly enough, she was also seriously irritated that this cop had actually gotten quite a few of the details wrong. Not only were they assholes, they were also idiots.
Nelson turned to her and smiled. "I thought he was your boyfriend, but it seems he has a boyfriend of his own. So you are covering for him. Why?"
"What do they call that?" Denny whispered loudly Joey. "There's a name for that, right?"
Joey looked down and shook his head. "It's called a beard, you fucking Muppet," he hissed back. "And don't fucking call her that. It's rude."
Nelson glared in their direction again. Both men immediately went silent.
Sophie waited for a moment before she spoke. It was now or never – she was going to tell Nelson exactly what she thought of him. Hopefully she would make her feelings clear enough to put him off of her for good this time.
"What makes you think it's okay for you to know who he is? This is my life. If I wanted you to know about Sean, I would have told you," she snapped at Nelson. "By the way, how did you find out his name so quickly?"
Denny, being ever so helpful, piped right up. "We took a picture of him, didn't we boss?"
"Denny, shut the fuck up," Nelson barked.
"I cannot believe that you think you can trample all over my privacy, and try to use information about me to get me to do whatever it is you want me to do," she continued getting louder by the moment. "But since you seem so smug that you know so much about me, let me fill you in on a few details that your Keystone Cop partner over there completely fucked up."
The room immediately went silent. Nelson did not like looking bad and did not like being wrong; he was going to have words with Squire about this. Squire, for her part, start flipping through her file frantically trying to figure out what she might have missed. He clenched his jaw; he hated being challenged, even if he was incredibly attracted to this woman.
"First of all, I'm from Boulder, COLORADO, not California. Big. Fucking. Difference. Those two states don't even touch. Not even in the same time zone. Maybe you should Google that, check it out on a map."
Joey and Denny sat back to watch this with huge grins on their faces. This was going to be great. They both really disliked that cop and wanted to see Sophie take her down a notch or two.
"Secondly, I went to Northwestern University, not University of Michigan. Again, schools in two entirely different states. Let me guess, you failed geography in school, right? Or is it that you just hate America?" The boys were having a hard time not laughing now. Nelson's jaw was getting tighter and tighter.
Squire sputtered out some sort of comment that no one really got. She clearly had botched this research.
"I actually have four sisters and a brother. And my father? He's not the guy on my birth certificate. My mother had a thing for married men and had an affair while she was married to David Thornton. I'm the result. She was only a medical assistant for a short time because her reputation preceded her. She couldn't lay off the affairs with the doctors so no one would hire her. Eventually, all she could get was minimum wage jobs, usually as a maid or a waitress. Even then, she had a hard time keeping those because she was a drunk and often didn't show up on time, or even at all. When David realized I wasn't his child he threw us out and divorced her."
Nelson was stunned; he was not expecting this from Sophie. She was taking a page out of his life – raised by a mother who was a drunk, rejected by her father. She had totally re-invented herself into what she was today. Just like him. He didn't know if he was thrilled or sad that they shared this common background. Somehow he had hoped for something better for her, something more suburban and genteel.
She continued on. "I met Sean at school; he was my tutor. We have been friends for years. That's all you need to know about him. Our relationship is none of your business and I can't believe you thought it was okay for you to take his picture and find out about his life. Or that it was okay to pry into mine. What's wrong with you?"
"Okay, if that's how you want it," Nelson replied. He knew he had pushed far enough today, perhaps too far. Sophie was indignant and rapidly losing her cool. He decided to try to calm the situation down. "I like to know about my friends, about their lives. You never know when a friend might need help." He smiled at her. Instead of calming her down, he fanned the flames.
"Let me making something very clear to you. We are not friends. I am not friends with people who steal."
Nelson's smile immediately disappeared and he looked her dead in the eye with a cold and calculated stare. This girl needed to understand that there were lines that should not be crossed. Insulting him was one of them. However, Sophie didn't back down.
"I'm really curious," she asked Nelson. "What's it like using this neighborhood as your fucking ATM? It must be nice just walking up and down the street collecting cash like it's nothing. Do you even know anything about these people that you take from? Do you?" She was really angry now and was practically yelling. "Mr. Shales, for instance. Did you know he has a daughter in care? She has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. She can't speak and has all sorts of other health issues. He lives in a small one-room flat that is practically a hovel and has no car. All of his extra money goes towards supporting her. Except, of course, the money that he has to pay to you. Do you have any idea what a difference that money would make to him? But why would you care? You're getting your money and that's all that matters, right? That's why I work the afternoon shift. So he can have dinner with her and be with her when she's put to bed every night. So she knows she's not alone. "
The room remained very silent. It wasn't often that the boys felt bad for anyone, but they liked Duncan and had no idea of the troubles he had in his life. Sophie stepped away from the bar. "I want you to leave me alone. This has to stop. We will never be friends so please stay away from me."
As she turned to walk out of the bar, Squire tried to get one last dig in. "I would have thought Mr. Clay would be right up your alley, Sophie, seeing as you like rich, older, married men and all. Must have been nice to have your doctor friend set you up financially."
Joey and Denny sat up to see how Sophie would respond. Joey wished he had some popcorn; this was better than going to a movie.
Squire stood there with her arms crossed and a satisfied look on her face. Sophie stopped in her tracks and looked at the detective. She smiled and said, "You know, you really suck at being a detective. You clearly didn't listen to my story very well. Do you actually think the doctor was my lover? I don't fuck married men; that was my mother's trick." At that moment, Joey decided that Sophie was one of the coolest girls he had ever come across. He whispered to Denny, "Sophie 1, Squire nil". Denny had to hold his hand over his mouth to cover up his laugh.
And with that she walked out of the pub.
