Fit Up by Faith Clifford

gave me hope that this would be the same for Jeremy.
    The item that really caught my eye and lifted my spirits a little was about the discovery of massive credit card fraud on the Landslide database. This must have been the explanation for Jeremy’s subscriptions to the site. Evidence was also revealing police and prosecution incompetence as found by increasing numbers of people working in computer forensics.
    My mind was in overload with the information I had discovered and I was anxious to talk to Jeremy about it. It was beginning to dawn on me that his name was involved in something very big.
    On the way back to my office I bumped into the human resources officer with whom I used to work. Her brow creased quizzically as shelooked at me and asked, ‘Are you all right, Faith?’ Perhaps I did not look my normal self for her to ask. My eyes blurred as I forced myself to stare intently over her head focusing on one of the plants in the courtyard. If I were to blink now my eyelids would spill fat hot tears down my cheeks. I knew that once I started to cry, it would come in heaving sobs and I resolutely refused to do that here in the corridor in full view of passers-by. Gritting my teeth, eyes widening, I managed to force my lips into a smile I could not feel and said, ‘Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m OK,’ as cheerily as I could muster. The words came out a little croaky, she wasn’t convinced and said, ‘Oh, Faith, don’t cry.’ A tear like quicksilver ran down towards the crease of my nose and tickled as it perched within the nostril, ready to drop. I turned away, brushing away the tear on the back of my hand and said, ‘It’s nothing really,’ and scuttled off as quickly as I could. Obviously I wasn’t coping, it was time to go home. John would understand.
    I arrived home to find that Jeremy had been trying to cope in a different way. He had been rather proactive; he had contacted Patel at the police station and found a solicitor to represent him. Why did he need a solicitor at this stage, though, I thought. He told me he had also phoned the police at Welwyn Garden City, the headquarters of Hertfordshire Constabulary, to try to find out if and when we would be getting our property back as he was desperate for certain discs to continue the business without incurring further costs to us. Patel had firmly told him that she could not speak to him directly but that she or her colleagues would through a solicitor. She had added that I was a very nice lady. This irked me, what was that supposed to mean? That my husband was a paedophile? Then the uplifting vision of her slipping over in the mud came to mind. It made me smile.
    After that call, Jeremy had spent a considerable amount of time that day looking for a solicitor and as a result had found Stephen Bennett at apractice called Blaser Mills. There were several branches of this company but Mr Bennett, being the only partner available to assist, was based in High Wycombe. I thought this rather inconvenient as it was a fair distance from Watford, but then this whole episode was an inconvenience. Jeremy said that he had phoned around quite a few solicitors and he didn’t know if he was being paranoid but when he mentioned what the subject of his arrest was they were either too busy with their caseloads or he felt that they hadn’t believed him when he protested his innocence. They did, however, all say that his case would definitely be going to court – not very inspirational or helpful.
    It was early days. There was no charge, enquiries were continuing, and yet as far as everyone was concerned he was already guilty by association through being arrested in connection with child pornography. Mr Bennett sent a nice letter to confirm that he would represent Jeremy and would he be kind enough to send a retainer of £500? I was peeved that we would have to find yet another chunk of money on top of the cost of the computers we would have to purchase in order to continue