Page 63 of Forever Mr Black

Art clicks open the email. “And we’re about to find out.”

Four black-and-white images appear on the screen. The shots are taken at night from a distance. Theo’s wearing black and looks shifty, glancing over his shoulder as he walks into a building. The last two photos show him leaving.

“So … that’s the bastard.” There’s a stiffness in Art’s voice. His jaw twitches with tension, and his gaze darkens as he glares at the photos.

I realise this must be the first time Art’s clapped eyes on him.

“Yeah,” I say quietly.

He narrows his eyes as he looks closer at the screen. He furrows his brow.

“What? What is it?” I ask.

A look of recognition crosses his face before changing to concern.

I glance at the photos to try and work out what’s going on. It’s dark. I can’t make out what the building is. “What’s the matter?”

“The building Theo’s going in and out of in the photos. I recognise it.”

This is getting weird.

“Where is it?”

Art scrolls down and reads the bottom of the email. “I thought so. It’s Savage. He arrived at ten last night and left at midnight.”

I look at him in disbelief. “What? I don’t understand. I’m pretty sure he never went to that sort of club while we were together. How would he have afforded it? Mind you, I didn’t know everything he got up to … I didn’t think he was cheating on me either.”

Art idly strokes his hand up and down my arm. “There haven’t been any reports of him arriving or leaving with anyone. He could be going to get laid … unless …” He trails off, staring at the photos, lost in thought.

“Unless what?” My eyes slide from Art to the screen and then back again, trying to fathom what he’s thinking. “It could be a coincidence.”

He slowly shakes his head. “I don’t believe in coincidence. Your ex is going to a club I used to go to, and he suddenly knows stuff about my past and us. There’s a link. There’s got to be.”

Goosebumps prickle across my flesh at the horrid thought that someone who knows us both is at the centre of all this. “Who could it be?

Art strokes his fingers across his jaw in thought. “The only people who know about the accident and me going to prison are my old PR guy, Mum, you, Lucy, Big Steve, and Ash. None of whom go to the club.”

My hackles instinctively rise at the mention of her name. “Aisling does.”

“Did. She stopped going a couple of years ago.”

I frown at the fact that he’s probably right. I think this is a step too far, even for her. I rack my brains. “There’s got to be another link.”

Art looks at me. “Tara.”

“Does she know about the accident?”

“She worked at Dark Desires a long time. She could have easily overheard something between me and Big Steve over the years. She was always hanging around the manager’s office.”

My eyes widen as my brain ticks back to my conversation with Theo. Everything clicks into place. “That’s it! Theo mentioned something about everyone only being separated by six degrees. I thought he was just trying to freak me out, but maybe he was telling me something.”

Art nods as the story slots into place. “He’s a nutter and in love with you. He’d probably bring you up at some point if he and Tara got talking in the club. She’d put two and two together.”

“I bet she’d think she struck gold when she realised who Theo was. She’s hated me from the start. She told me about you owning Dark Desires because she hoped that would break us up. This is a perfect opportunity for her to try and do it again.”

“And she and I didn’t exactly part on the best of terms,” he says.

Even now, Tara might be stirring things up. Because Art cut her out of the loop, she could be trying to be clever by getting someone else to do her dirty work for her.

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