Paula inclined her head, raised her eyebrows and gave Simon a look more patronizing than anything the Snowman had ever produced. “DC Waterhouse, when I was an MP, more details slipped my mind than didn’t, if they weren’t work-related. The job filled my head, to the exclusion of all else. My poor son never had anything he needed for school; I never had clean matching socks, or paid a bill on time; nothing ever got done in the house; I neglected my husband . . .” She shrugged as if to say, “Point proven.”

“You didn’t neglect several other women’s husbands,” Simon couldn’t resist pointing out.

“Yes!” Paula chuckled. “I did. The affairs were a by-product of the stress I was under from work, and, yes, I totally neglected those men. There was none of me left for a relationship, let alone several concurrent relationships. I was in danger of seriously burning out, and I couldn’t see it. I was a fool until Fergus saved me, DC Waterhouse. A very clever fool with a PhD, but no less a fool. I can’t tell you how much happier I am now.” Fergus reached over to squeeze her thigh with his thick-knuckled fingers. Paula stroked the back of his hand, smiling down at it as if it were a favorite pet that had leaped up onto her lap. Meanwhile, the larger of her two real pets had started to snore.

Simon could see that nothing he might say would rile Paula. She had every corner of her polished act sewn up. He still didn’t believe her.

“All right, so tell me about you and Damon Blundy,” he said. “I know he used his column and blog to attack you, and I know you fought back sometimes. Why the two meetings?”

“Both were at my instigation,” said Paula. “His columns about me really upset me, and they upset Toby, my son, even more—that was the part I couldn’t live with. People at school were either teasing him or commiserating with him for having the worst mother in the country. I emailed Damon to ask him ever so kindly and politely to desist, and he replied saying he wasn’t prepared to discuss it via email. If I wanted to talk to him, I had to meet him, he said. He told me when and where. There was no consultation process; he issued me with an order. I turned up, tried to be as diplomatic and reasonable as I could. We got on better than I expected, actually, and when I left, I thought we’d agreed that he would lay off. There was only one problem.”

“He didn’t lay off?” Simon guessed.