‘Oh no.’ Maya’s heart sunk as she found herself in full eye contact with the suspect from the warrant at The Farmhouse. He was wearing a black shirt with short sleeves that flashed a hint of tattooed, toned biceps. His wavy hair had been carefully styled and he had a hint of stubble which gave him an edgy look. He was smiling wildly, flashing his dimple and those electric-blue eyes. As soon as he saw her looking he made a frantic drinking motion towards her.
Completely blanking him and turning away so she could avoid further eye contact, Maya gathered her handbag towards herself. The others were looking at her intrigued and bemused as Maya hissed at them urgently, ‘He was arrested at a warrant I went to. This is really awkward. Come on, let’s go somewhere else.’
The others didn’t even have a chance to respond as he suddenly arrived at their table, waving at Maya as if they were old friends.
‘Hello again, this is a lovely surprise. How are you?’ He leaned towards her to kiss her cheek, but she pulled away.
‘Just going actually,’ she replied sternly.
‘Oh really? That’s a shame. Hi, I’m Spencer James, Spence to my friends.’ He leaned across the table to shake Caitlin and Letitia’s hands.
Letitia seemed reluctant to let go of him, melting as she gazed at him. ‘Well, Spence, I’m Letitia and this is Caitlin and I believe you already know Maya?’
He turned to Maya, grinning as he held his hand out to her.
‘It’s certainly a pleasure to see you again and nice to be properly introduced… Maya.’ He said her name slowly, rolling his tongue around the vowels as if he was tasting the word.
She stared fixedly at him, refusing to acknowledge his hand which hung awkwardly. It suddenly felt as if everyone around them was watching the exchange.
‘I don’t want any trouble, okay?’
‘Well, neither do I.’ Spence laughed amicably. ‘I just wanted to say hello and see if I could have the pleasure of buying you ladies a drink.’
‘Like I said, we were just leaving.’ Maya glared at Caitlin and Letitia and gestured her head sharply towards the exit.
‘Well, there’s no rush. I’m sure we can stay for another quick drink. We hadn’t actually said we were ready for moving on,’ Letitia gushed as she grinned at Spence, impervious to the cold, hard stare she was getting from Maya.
‘Erm, why don’t you two have a quick catch-up while we nip to the bar? We’ll only be over there.’ Caitlin smiled reassuringly. ‘We’ll fetch an extra glass if you want to join us Spence. Tish, give me a lift, eh?’
Practically dragging Letitia off her stool, Caitlin gave Maya an encouraging thumbs-up sign behind Spence’s back and left the two of them together. Maya was not happy. This was not only an awkward situation to be in but completely inappropriate.
‘So how have you been?’ He sounded so casual, as if there was nothing the slightest bit strange about catching up with someone he had met briefly having just been arrested. He sat on Caitlin’s chair, pulling it closer to Maya so he could lean in as he spoke to her. He was so close she could smell his Tom Ford aftershave.
‘Look, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be sat chatting, do you?’
‘Hey, they released me without charge.’ He raised his hands defensively. ‘I told you I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was there because I’d been given a job which included accommodation, that’s all. I didn’t know that Donnelly bloke was a bloody criminal. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone within a hair’s breadth.’ His eyes widened imploringly.
‘Fair enough. But I’m sure you can appreciate that the situation is a bit awkward from my point of view.’
‘I suppose so. It’s okay, I can take the hint.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I’ll leave you in peace. It was nice to see you again though, Maya. Really nice.’
He looked thoroughly dejected as he took exaggerated care to place the stool back under the table. Caitlin and Letitia arrived back at the same time, clutching a fresh bottle and several glasses.
‘Ladies,’ he said, giving a half bow, ‘it was a pleasure to meet you both, I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.’
‘Oh, aren’t you joining us for a drink?’ Letitia sighed.
‘As much as I’d love to, it has been made perfectly clear to me that I’m not wanted,’ he inclined his head towards Maya, ‘I’m sorry to have interrupted your night out.’
‘Just for the record,’ he turned back to Maya and fixed his gaze with those impenetrable blue eyes, ‘I’m not who you think I am.’
His words resonated deeply with her. No, none of us are, she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she gestured towards the stool he had just vacated.
‘Oh, for God’s sake. I suppose you can join us for one drink. What harm can it do?’ If only she had known, she would have followed her instinct and left the pub there and then, taking her friends with her.
10
Jim Baron had had the same stupid, shocked look on his face as Karl Gorman when he realised that it was me at the door.
‘What are you doing here?’ he had blustered as he clung to the wall, gasping with the exertion of having waddled down the hallway. When I told him I just wanted to talk, he’d submitted just as easily as Gorman. Curiosity had obviously got the better of him, and he invited me in, so I didn’t need to use the persuasion I had anticipated. Louisa always said I had the gift of the gab, so I knew that convincing a lairy Jim Baron to let me in would be an easy task if I needed to.
I had already decided that after Gorman, I wanted to watch Jim Baron suffer. I wanted him to plead and beg for his life. I had carefully and meticulously planned how I
