Page 57 of Read Between The Lines

But before I could open my mouth, he looked suddenly alert and pointed at the finish line, which consisted of a line of blazing hay bales. Running towards them was a familiar figure.

‘Scammer Brian’s about to cross.’

We watched as our target sped up and leapt across the flaming bales with athletic grace.

‘If he ever decides to go on the app using his own identity, that would make an excellent profile picture,’ I said.

Leo frowned. ‘Let’s hope the photographer missed the moment.’

‘Time for action. We need to follow him and see what he gets up to,’ I said, already starting to move.

‘Hold on a minute. We stand out like sore thumbs with these blankets. He’s going to spot us a mile off.’

‘Then we’d better ditch them,’ I said, although I was reluctant to lose the much-needed extra warmth. I was even more reluctant when I realised there were underwear-shaped wet patches on my outer clothing. Leo was gentleman enough not to comment, but he must have noticed them, just as I’d noticed he had no such patches. I forced my mind away from that realisation and back to the matter in hand.

‘What’s the best way of doing this? Observe him from behind some cover?’ I was drawing on the last spy novel I’d read.

‘Unfortunately, we’re somewhat lacking in natural cover around here. I think anyone lurking behind a tree will attract suspicion from this crowd. I reckon we should try to blend in with our surroundings, and act like a normal couple while we join the queue for the beer tent like Brian has. At least he doesn’t seem to have locked on to anyone else.’

The queue for the beer tent was long and full of people loudly comparing escapades and war wounds. Leo and I made meaningless small talk while we kept a close eye on our suspect, occasionally whispering observations to each other.

‘He keeps checking his watch,’ I said.

‘He definitely looks like he needs to be somewhere soon. Places to go, people to scam and all that,’ said Leo.

‘Do you think you can hold the fort, and I’ll go and collect our rucksacks from the baggage zone? If he’s going to move off soon, we need to be ready to follow him. We’re never going to have a better opportunity to discover his true identity.’

Leo pursed his lips. ‘I guess you’ve convinced me. But we’ll need to be really careful about how we do it. Agreed?’

I nodded, then hurried off, glad I’d had the forethought to pack a complete outfit change. However, the queue for the baggage zone was even longer than the one at the beer tent, and by the time I’d collected my bag and persuaded the steward that it wasn’t a security risk to hand over Leo’s rucksack to me as well, I didn’t want to waste another moment on getting changed, even if it would make me more comfortable.

For one horrible moment, when I arrived back at the beer tent, I thought Leo had left without me. Then he materialised at my side.

‘What took you so long? We’ve got to go. Brian’s heading for the car park.’

ChapterTwenty-Two

If the obstacle course had been hard, it was nothing compared to trying to keep up with Leo as we ran through the grounds in pursuit of Brian.

‘Come on, we’re nearly there,’ he said, seizing my hand which was incentive enough for me to put on another burst of speed.

‘But what about your ribs?’ I panted.

‘Never mind them. If we don’t catch up now, we’re going to lose him, and all of this morning will have been a complete waste of time. Let’s take a short cut.’

We dived off the path and then started scrambling up a slope which felt uncomfortably like the one on the obstacle course. Leo got to the top first and stopped dead, holding his hand up, signalling to me to be quiet, which was easier said than done, given the erratic nature of my current breathing situation.

‘Got him. He’s getting into a blue BMW, licence registration ending in Oscar Hotel Whiskey.’

I took a couple of seconds to translate the police speak into normal English.

‘I’m parked on the next row,’ he continued. ‘Let’s go.’

‘What about Betty?’ I said. ‘I can’t abandon her here.’

Leo blinked at me. ‘You cycled here? What on earth for?’

‘It seemed like a good idea at the time,’ I said defensively.

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