Page 63 of Read Between The Lines

ChapterTwenty-Four

Inevitably, I lay awake most of the night wrestling with my thoughts, but when dawn came, I had made a decision. I would continue working with Leo in a professional capacity only, until we exposed Scammer Brian. As promised, I would then help him with his business plan and set him up with Doris’s mentorship. Once all our obligations had been fulfilled, and if– when– I was still feeling like this, I would summon up my courage and ask him out on a proper date. And if the voice at the back of my head, sounding suspiciously like my sister, told me that I was still taking the coward’s way out by putting it off, I could sensibly counter with the argument that I couldn’t afford to get distracted. Not at such a crucial moment in the investigation, not when we were so close to bringing the fraudster to justice.

‘Oh, hey, Kat, didn’t realise you were visiting,’ said Una as I went into the kitchen to grab breakfast. ‘Good to see you again. Do you want toast? I was just putting some on.’

‘Thanks, Una. How are things? What’s the latest in theatreland?’

She pulled a face, while adding another two slices to the toaster. ‘I’m at the prep stage for my next directing gig, gathering the team together, casting the roles and so on. It’s basically the foundation work– somewhat faffy, but it has the capacity to make or break the show.’

‘Sounds like a busy time. Drink?’

‘Busy is one way of putting it, but that’s how I like it. And I’ll have a black coffee, if you’re offering.’

I filled the kettle and scooped coffee into the cafetière, wondering if Leo was carrying out a similar morning routine. I hoped he wasn’t feeling too sore after his accident on the obstacle course. Should I text and ask, or would that invite conversation of a more personal nature? What if he brought up the kiss? I really couldn’t handle talking to him about it just yet. In fact, what I needed to do was come up with a cast-iron conversation topic for our next meeting to distract us from any awkwardness. And the only guaranteed way to do that was to decide upon the next step in our investigation.

An idea was starting to form in my head. ‘How do you find the people you want to work with in the theatre?’ I asked Una.

‘Job interviews, word-of-mouth recommendations, trawling the freelancer and acting databases, the usual stuff.’

‘So, if I was looking for someone who might be in the business, you could perhaps help me with my search?’

‘Is this something to do with your hunt for that scammer?’ asked Una, grabbing a jar of peanut butter from the cupboard. ‘Caro’s given me the lowdown.’

I quickly explained the latest developments. ‘I’ve had a brief look at the Oxford Grand’s website to try to identify the guy, but the only staff members listed on there are the theatre manager and the press officer, and they don’t have photos. He could be working backstage, of course, or be in the cast of their latest show. The cast list is up, but again, no photos. I was planning to google all the names, but if you’ve got access to some industry databases, that might make my search more targeted.’

‘A bit of light detective work on a Sunday morning: why not? You sort the toast; I’ll grab my laptop and we’ll get searching.’

Caro wandered in sleepily a quarter of an hour later and found Una and I hunched together over the computer, sipping our coffees.

‘Glad to see you’re in a better frame of mind this morning,’ she said with a yawn. ‘What are you two up to, cackling away like a pair of Macbeth’s witchy pals?’

‘We might have got briefly side-tracked into casting an imaginary film adaptation of my life,’ I said.

‘Hmm, well, until your personal drama comes to a satisfactory conclusion, don’t you think you’re better focusing on reality?’ said Caro, ever the practical one.

‘Fiction’s way better,’ I retorted. ‘And yes, I know you’re going to say that’s what got me into this situation. Okay, back to work, try this next name– Blake Jenkins.’

Una typed it into the actors’ database.

A picture appeared on the screen, and I froze. There he was, the man who’d been responsible for so much heartache and shame. Even though he’d been a whole lot muddier when I’d seen him in real life, I’d recognise those determined eyes anywhere.

‘Gotcha,’ I said, swallowing down the hard lump of rage and sadness, aiming for triumph.

‘He’s fit. I can see why you went for him,’ said Una.

I shook my head, some of my coursing anger beginning to clear as I realised how close we were to finally getting Scammer Brian. ‘He didn’t use actual pictures of himself. He nicked some from a guy in the army. But this is definitely the bloke we spotted at the obstacle course and followed back to the theatre.’

‘It’s a shame he felt he had to use someone else’s pictures. He’d probably still have done well getting dates with his own snaps,’ said Caro, leaning over my shoulder and examining the screen. ‘I guess he was scared of getting caught. Or maybe he has an inferiority complex. Like someone else I know,’ she added pointedly, giving me a slight nudge.

‘I don’t know why you two are bending over backwards to feel sorry for him,’ I said, pushing back and standing up to pace. ‘Have you forgotten why we’ve been hunting him down? He wasn’t actually looking for love at all, just an easy mark to make money from. I reckon he used someone else’s pictures out of self-preservation, keeping his professional and personal life separate. Or rather, his two different professions apart from each other.’

‘I thought most jobbing actors got positions in coffee shops when they were between roles,’ said Caro. ‘Still, I suppose it shows initiative.’

‘Well, this Blake Jenkins guy obviously decided to go down a different route,’ I snapped at my sister, rising to her deliberate bait against my own better judgement. I should probably be feeling more victorious about the breakthrough, but suddenly I wished Leo were here instead of Caro.

‘It’s too easy to wind you up, little sis, too easy,’ said Caro.

‘Well, we’ve found out his real name at last. Blake Jenkins,’ I repeated. It certainly had a strong ring to it. Definitely more hero credentials than Brian James. But, I reminded myself, there was nothing heroic about the way he’d behaved.

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