Page 71 of Read Between The Lines

Blake laughed with genuine warmth, and I experienced a disconcerting flashback to those early voice notes he’d sent me. ‘I know. It’s massively pretentious, isn’t it? But I’ve worked more than my fair share of barista shifts, and trust me, it’s worth the faff to order it.’

‘I’ll give it a try too, then,’ I said.

It took a while for the drinks to be made, during which time I maintained a subtle but careful eye on Blake. He seemed completely relaxed, checking his smart watch and staring out of the window, watching the world go by.

‘Don’t let your guard down. He’s good at acting, remember?’ whispered Leo as he brushed past me, apparently on his way to collect some more sugar for his drink.

‘I’m not sure he’s that good of an actor. And I thought you were sweet enough already,’ I teased him out of the corner of my mouth.

‘Very funny. Please be careful.’

Finally, the barista handed over the drinks, and I took them across to Blake.

‘Two very fancy macchiatos, and a napkin and pen,’ I said as I sat down opposite him. He reached out to do his signature straight away. I couldn’t decide whether his slight hesitancy was due to having to sign on the rough surface of the napkin, or because he genuinely wasn’t used to doing it.

‘How long have we got? What time do you have to be back at the theatre?’ I asked.

‘Before the half. That’s five to seven in normal speak. Everything in the theatre world runs five minutes ahead, don’t ask me why.’

‘Then there’s no rush. We can take our time enjoying our drinks.’

‘Cheers,’ said Blake, clinking his cup against mine. ‘You’ve made my day, by the way. It’s not often I get asked for an autograph.’ He gave a little half smile, almost as if he was shy making the admission.

The man was good, I’ll give him that. In any other circumstances, I would have warmed to this self-deprecating air he was putting on. Despite myself, I was already starting to feel a little sorry for him.

Then I reminded myself of all the angst he’d put me through, how he’d manipulated me and preyed on my emotions. How he’d been so plausible and clever that the merest glimpse at one of his messages had had Gavin wanting to give him money; Gavin who had so little of his own to give. I needed to stand up to this man and stop him in his tracks before he caused any more damage.

‘There’s something important I need to talk to you about, Blake,’ I said. ‘Or should I call you Brian James?’

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Imade the accusation at a slightly louder pitch than I’d normally use, aware that this question needed to come out clearly on the recording, and also out of concern that Leo might miss the key moment. As a consequence, it sounded more like I was a performer in a theatre delivering the cliff-hanger line just before the curtain came down for the interval.

Blake frowned in obvious confusion. ‘Sorry, I think I misheard,’ he said, although there was no way he couldn’t have heard what I’d said.

‘There’s no point in pretending anymore, Brian. Why don’t you come clean and admit what you’ve been up to?’

Blake Jenkins, also known as Brian James, shook his head, looking concerned. He’d obviously decided to play this scene like he was an innocent party who’d inadvertently come across a deranged woman.

‘I think you’ve got me confused with somebody else. I’m Blake, not Brian,’ he repeated, speaking slowly for good measure. ‘Look, thanks for the drink and I’m glad you enjoyed the show and everything, but I should probably be going.’

‘I’d prefer it if you stayed exactly where you are,’ I said, letting the teensiest edge of a threat creep into my voice.

Somewhat to my surprise, Blake slash Brian sat back down on his seat and did exactly as he was told. I obviously had a greater air of authority than I realised.

‘It’s strange meeting you in person at last. You don’t look anything like your profile pictures,’ I said, tilting my head to one side and examining his face as if I was committing every single one of his features to memory.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

‘They may be a little old,’ he admitted. ‘I didn’t realise we’d matched anywhere.’

‘Ah, so you admit you’re carrying out this scam on more than one app, are you?’ I said, seizing on his mistake.

‘Yeah, so I’m on a few dating apps. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Who isn’t, these days? You’ve got to keep your options open. And I didn’t know using old headshots counted as a scam. I apologise if you were disappointed. The life of a jobbing actor has obviously taken a bigger toll on my features than I realised.’

‘There’s using old pictures, and then there’s using someone else’s pictures altogether,’ I said. ‘You ripped off the photos of a genuine military hero to try and entrap me.’

‘I did no such thing,’ he said, so indignantly that I almost believed him.

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