She gazed across the stand itself, which was already three-quarters full.
Rob and Becky were sitting in the front row, Becky mesmerized by the sight of the huge crowd and by the spectacle before her.
Rob spotted Hailey and waved. Then he pointed at Becky and held up one thumb.
Hailey waved back.
She saw several more cars approaching, and went over to meet them.
Nicholas Barber stepped out of the first. The MP nodded a greeting and sniffed the air.
‘The smell of the great unwashed,’ he sneered, and looked around at some of the main crowd.
‘Good of you to come, Mr Barber,’ Hailey said, trying to disguise the irritation she felt.
She showed him quickly to his seat, and returned to greet the next two cars.
At last the watching celebrity-spotters raised a few cheers. Jenny Kenton climbed out of the first car, closely followed by three other young women.
All wives and girlfriends of the band, Hailey assumed. One of them, the bass-player’s girlfriend, had just been given a job on an early-morning TV show and she was revelling in her new-found fame.
Hailey thought how easy it was for these women: famous, rich partners and a jet-set lifestyle. They were famous themselves for nothing else other than the fact they were sleeping with celebrities. It was either amusing or nauseating, depending on your view.
‘It’s a bit tacky, isn’t it?’ said Jenny Kenton as she climbed the stairs to the platform.
‘Well, it’s not the Hollywood Bowl, but then Water-hole aren’t the Beatles, are they?’ Hailey said, smiling. ‘As much as they’d like to think they are.’
Jenny Kenton glared furiously at her.
‘You’re the one who does the publicity for Marsh, aren’t you?’ she sneered. ‘His personal assistant?’
‘Nice to see I made an impression,’ Hailey told her.
Jenny Kenton pushed past her towards the seat Hailey indicated.
‘Bitch,’ Hailey whispered under her breath.
The other women followed and seated themselves.
Hailey heard a great roar and looked up to see that the support band were now leaving the stage.
She checked her watch. Another forty minutes and the helicopter carrying Waterhole would begin its first swoop over the crowd.
The guest cars continued to arrive.
104
IT WAS BECKY who spotted them.
She turned in her seat to look around at the array of faces in the VIP stand. They registered expressions ranging from boredom to indifference, bemusement to excitement.
The little girl pulled at Hailey’s arm and pointed excitedly.
‘There’s Auntie Caroline,’ she said, ‘and Adam’s with her.’
Rob looked round and saw them both, but his attention was drawn to Walker, who was still gazing towards the stage.
‘What the fuck is
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Hailey said, not looking round. ‘I gave Caroline two invitations. I didn’t instruct her on who she could or couldn’t bring with her.’
‘So, he’s screwing
Hailey glared at him. ‘Not here, Rob, please,’ she said through clenched teeth.
Becky was still looking round excitedly. She waved in Walker’s direction but he didn’t see her.
‘Did you
‘I just told you: I gave her two guest passes. That was it.’
‘So he’ll be at the party with her, too?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I’m sure you’ll want to speak to him. You might want to talk about old times.’
‘I didn’t ask Caroline to bring him. It was none of my business who she invited. She could have turned up with Lord Lucan for all I care. It’s nothing to do with me.’
‘Not any more.’
‘Rob, drop it, please.’
He looked at her, held her imploring gaze. Then he glanced at Becky, who was now aware of their mutterings and had turned to face them.
Rob forced a smile. ‘Are you OK, babe?’ he said, ruffling her hair.
Becky laughed.
‘Are you enjoying yourself?’ Hailey added.
The little girl nodded. She was looking out over the crowd, who had spontaneously begun chanting the name of Waterhole.
Another section began singing their latest hit, and Becky joined in.
Hailey looked across at Jenny Kenton, who had just lit up a cigarette and was puffing at it. She adjusted her dark glasses and glanced in Hailey’s direction.
‘Isn’t that the one who’s married to the singer?’ Rob asked.
‘Yes. Objectionable bitch,’ said Hailey.
‘She used to act, didn’t she?’
‘She still does,’ Hailey said acidly. ‘She’s giving a command performance now.’
There was a mechanical roar above them. It began as a low drone, then grew steadily louder.
Immediately several spotlights near the front of the stage burst into life, sending their powerful beams cutting through the night sky.
The crowd stopped singing and chanting, and began cheering loudly.
More lights flashed on around the stage: strobes that bathed all those watching in a cold, white glow.
Becky grabbed Hailey’s hand in excitement.
The helicopter swooped over the crowd like a massive, power-driven bird of prey.
It sped down, then hurtled upwards in a wide arc, trailing an illuminated message from its tail section.
The sign bore one word: WATERHOLE.
There were lights on the helicopter’s skids too: brilliant red lights that flickered and flashed and left crimson imprints on the retinas of those who watched. They looked like splashes of blood across the sky. And, all the time, the lights from the ground shone up into the blackness, sometimes glinting on the shiny hull of the swooping, circling helicopter.
The roaring of the crowd grew louder – so loud it drowned out even the noise of the chopper’s rotor blades and engine.
More lights came on around the stage, and across the top of it – in blinding white, one letter at a time – the name of the band lit up. It shone like a beacon in the night. Then the huge illuminated logo began to flash rhythmically. Pulsing vividly.
Some of the crowd began to clap in time to the moving lights, as if directed by their phosphorescent glow. Others pointed up at the swooping helicopter, or punched the air expectantly. The noise was deafening.
Becky was on her feet, also clapping. Enraptured by the awesome spectacle.
Hailey looked across at James Marsh, who smiled back at her.
Had she bothered to glance towards the rear of the stand, she would have seen Adam Walker staring fixedly at her.
105
THE EXPLOSIONS WERE deafening.
