Nick put his hand on my arm to restrain me. ‘Just wait a few minutes.’ He’d straightened and lowered his camera. ‘That guy just told him he’s being followed, so what’s he going to think when you approach him straight away?’
Logic and the urge to grab hold of Ford and dig my heels in before he disappeared again warred within me. ‘What if he leaves?’
‘Were you listening to the same conversation I was? We know the name of the place he’s going to in Paris. We’ll follow him there.’ He smiled. ‘Cool it, Burrowes. He’s not just going to disappear into thin air.’
Ford still hadn’t moved. My feet twitched with impatience. He’d disappeared before, he could again. A waiter came out and hovered near the table. Ford spoke to him briefly, then lit another cigarette and leant back in his chair, paperback open in one hand. I forced myself to breathe evenly. He wasn’t going anywhere right away.
After a grand total of five minutes, I lost my patience. ‘Wait here.’
I entered the piazza and wandered aimlessly over to the other side, then turned back and sat down a few tables away from Ford. Shortly afterwards the waiter came out with a cup of coffee and set it down on the table in front of Ford. Then he came over to me.
‘Come sta?’ he asked.
That’s right. Italian. ‘Ah, sorry, non parlo italiano. Could I please get a cappuccino?’
‘Cappuccino?’ the waiter repeated in an embarrassing parody of my Australian accent.
‘Yes please, a cappuccino!’ I forced out an idiotic giggle. Ford glanced over briefly, but his eyes showed no recognition before he went back to his book. Nice going, Sarah. You obviously made a lasting impression.
Other than the occasional gaze across the piazza, Ford’s attention remained on the pages of his book. The only sign of anxiety was the chain of cigarettes he lit, smoked and butted out in rapid succession. I knew it was too risky to approach him. He had to be the one to recognise me. But I had to get his attention first.
When the waiter returned to my table and set down a cappuccino in front of me, I flicked it straight off the table and the cup shattered on the cobbles.
‘Oh god, I’m sorry! I’m such an idiot!’
I intentionally used the exact words I’d said when I’d tipped the ice cubes in his lap in Melbourne and Ford finally looked me full in the face. Recognition flashed across his features and his expression changed to surprise. ‘Sarah! It is Sarah, isn’t it?’
I feigned astonishment. ‘Wow, what a coincidence!’
‘Should I bring you another cappuccino?’ the waiter asked dryly.
‘Yes please.’ My eyes didn’t leave Ford’s as the waiter disappeared. The metal chair screeched over the cobbles as I pushed it back and I tensed, afraid the slightest noise would scare him off. But there was no way I was going to let this opportunity go. He looked uncomfortable when I sat down across from him.
Easy, easy. The slightest wrong move would send him away.
He stared at me. ‘What are you doing here? I don’t mean to sound rude, but you’re the last person in the world I expected to run into here.’
‘I needed a holiday,’ I said breezily. ‘So, how did it go in Australia?’
Ford blinked.
‘Your band?’ I prompted. ‘Did you do any more gigs while you were there?’
‘Right.’ He looked harried, distracted. ‘No, we couldn’t get any more gigs, so we kind of left in a bit of a sulk.’
I flashed him what I hoped was an alluring smile. ‘I was wondering what made you leave so suddenly. I thought maybe I’d scared you away with my pathetic ramblings.’
Ford smiled. ‘Yeah, sorry about that.’ But he didn’t offer any more information. In fact, he looked like he wished I’d just piss off so he could go back to his book. We sat in silence as I devised my plan of attack. To remove any suspicion of my motives, I’d have to make this about me. I had to play the jilted lover, a role that was hardly foreign to me. ‘So what did happen that night, anyway? I may not have put out, but I didn’t expect the whole disappearing act.’
Ford cast a nervous look around the piazza. I fancied I could hear the mechanical sound of Nick’s camera snapping photos, and I worried that Ford would hear it too.
‘I got a call from my manager, and he was kind of pissed at me,’ he said. ‘I had to leave pretty quickly. I shouldn’t have been so rude, though. Sorry.’
‘It must’ve been pretty damn serious for you to leave me alone in your hotel room like that.’ I was warming to my role now and had no trouble sounding miffed.
‘We’ve been having some issues with the band. Just personality stuff, but Grady wanted to get us together to talk it through. Like that would do any good.’ A shadow of bitterness crossed his face, then he glanced at me and smiled. ‘But like I said, I’m sorry.’
His manager. Grady. Was that the man in the cap who’d just threatened him? I wished I could ask Ford, but for now I had to stay focused on playing the dumb chick oblivious to his fame. Which wasn’t too difficult, since I’d been that chick only a few days ago.
‘That’s OK,’ I said. ‘I needed to get home to bed anyway, so you did me a favour.’
He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. He looked more relaxed now. I racked my brain for ideas to keep him talking.
‘So, are you playing here? Have you got any gigs set up?’
Ford shook his head. ‘No, I needed a break after the tour, so thought I’d just chill out for a while.’ He gave me a curious look as he placed his cup back on the table. ‘You didn’t answer my question. What brings you here?’
I paused. What to say? I could reveal the truth now and try to get to
