The Meltdown of a Banker's Wife (22 page)

58

‘Mummy! When are you coming home? Is Daddy all right? Iggy's howling because he misses you so much. Listen!' said Amy. And sure enough, she could hear Iggy Pop baying like a lone wolf.

‘Is he all right, Amy? Can I speak to Kelly?'

‘Yes, Mummy, but I want to talk to you again afterwards. Algy's coming over. Kelly told Poppy she could bring him here.'

Kelly took the phone. ‘Hope that's OK. Poppy phoned in a right state … garbled something about the police and Rupert for some weird reason. Anyway, I said I'd look after Algy here. It's not his fault he's got stupid parents, is it? By the way, when did you last see Ozzie? Iggy's beside himself with worry,' said Kelly.

‘I don't know. I saw him this morning. He was asleep in a paper carrier bag. Look, I've got to talk to the police and see what I have to do to get Alan out. Has Sophie contacted you? Is she getting a solicitor? Can she help us?'

Alan hadn't seen his protest comrade since they'd been rounded up and put in a police van.

‘Yes, she phoned me. She said she's arranging help for Alan as well. They've got legal people connected with their protest group. Don't worry. It'll be fine. Sophie says it happens to her all the time.'

‘Oh! Well, that's all right then,' replied Mel hesitantly, but feeling a little easier about the situation.

59

‘So Poppy and Tarquin have been taken in for questioning! Apparently the security services were involved in an investigation of their affairs for quite some time. The rumour is that Rupert was the fraud investigator attached to the case. It explains the weird behaviour! He was wearing a “wire” to collect evidence so maybe that influenced his choice of clothing? You'd never have known, would you? So Algy's got to go into Social Services' care. Hey! What happened with Kasha's children? I'd forgotten about all that. Is she better?' Kelly was beside herself with glee over the Poppy and Tarkers scandal. As far as she was concerned they had it coming, even for just being superficial people. Being shallow was as much a crime as the money laundering, fraud and drug dealing for which the couple seemed to have been arrested.

‘Oh, Kasha went home and her kids are back with her,' added Mel. ‘She's divorcing her idiot husband, or trying to. Now her boobs are better, he's showing renewed interest but I think that's because he thinks he's back on the “gravy train”. Kasha says that she never wants to have anything to do with the porn industry again. She wants to meet Sophie and the gang as a matter of fact! Tell you what … those girls and their group were brilliant. They have wonderful connections in the legal profession. Alan was out in a jiffy but he's still got to go to magistrates' court for trying to ram the truncheon up that policeman's bottom.'

‘Did he? Did he really!? Oh, what a star! The man should be commended, not taken to court! Did you see what they did to those protesters?' laughed Kelly.

‘We're not going to be able to go to Madagascar for the moment though, Alan's not allowed to leave the country and we're not sure how long we're going to make our savings last since he lost his job at Ponsonby and Tosser.'

‘That's a worry. What'll you do?'

‘Well, to be honest, it's just as well this has happened because Ponsonby and Tosser Bank are under scrutiny by the government as well. They're lucky they're there at all. If the government (well … we) hadn't bailed them out, they'd have gone right down the river. It looks better that Alan got out beforehand. There'll be a few heads rolling there, he thinks.'

‘Mummy! Come and look at my pet ants! They've got grubs!'

And they went and watched the ants working together. No greed, no selfishness, just setting an example of cooperation. Then Mel felt a furry warmth winding around her legs. Ozzie was back!

‘Who knows what'll happen now that everything has collapsed,' mused Mel. ‘If we work together we will get through, maybe even make a better, fairer world.'

Willy the Spider hopes we can, for the sake of all our children.