“Yeah. Charlie was supposed to be going on leave after finishing a case. They asked me to do it but then one of my regular clients rang and I needed to be in London pronto. They contacted Charlie and asked if he’d be prepared to stand in.”
“I didn’t realise,” I say.
“I wonder if things would have turned out the same if I’d done the job?” Dan says, then eyes me above the edge of his glass as he takes another sip.
“I’m sure the outcome would have been just the same,” I reply.
He raises an eyebrow. “Yeah? You and me?”
“Sorry, I meant that I’m sure you would have solved the case just as efficiently as Charlie did.”
“Would I have got the girl as well though?” he quizzes.
I smile and take a step away from him. “I should be getting back. Charlie will wonder where I’ve disappeared to.”
Making my way through the crowd I try not to get side tracked by any further celeb spotting. I find Charlie and slip my arm through his.
“Everything OK?” he asks with a quick glance in Dan’s direction.
He must have seen us talking. Of course he did. Charlie doesn’t miss much.
“Absolutely,” I say, leaning in close.
“What was up with Stone?” he says then sips his drink.
“Nothing. He was just telling me how he was the original agent for Ennis’ case then he got called away to something else. Is that right?”
“Yeah, well, kind of. They spoke to him because he was free and I wasn’t. I should have been going on leave. You knew about that.”
“And you cancelled it and agreed to take the case.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Stone was originally assigned the case on paper for those reasons but then I was asked if I’d consider taking it as I was in the area anyway.”
“Makes perfect sense,” I say, leaning against his shoulder to hide my smile.
“Let me guess,” Charlie adds, tilting his head down so I can feel his breath on my cheek. “He asked you if you thought things would have ended the same way if he’d worked the case instead of me. He asked if he would have got you.”
I gasp. “Wow, you really are a good agent aren’t you? You must have aced the psychological profiling part of CCIA training if you just figured out what Daniel was saying.”
Charlie kisses the top of my head. “I can lip read,” he admits with a chuckle.
I pull back and smack him playfully on the arm.
“By the way, you look totally amazing tonight in that dress,” Charlie says as he ducks away from me. “But I’m still looking forward to helping you out of it later on.”
“And I’m looking forward to you doing just that later on but I just heard something really weird in the ladies’ toilets.”
Charlie looks at me, one eyebrow raised. “Weird? In the toilets?”
“Yes, weird. When I went in there was an argument going on. I hung back and stayed out of sight so I could eavesdrop. It sounded weird because they were whisper arguing. Two women were talking about being accosted in thirty minutes.”
“What?” He sighs and pushes a hand through his hair, looking miffed off. “Did you see who they were?”
“Yes, I hid behind a sofa and…”
“One of them was Anastasia,” he finishes.
I nod. “This is a set up for publicity isn’t it? Like you and Daniel suspected.”
“Come on,” he says, taking my hand and heading towards Daniel who is flirting with yet another woman.
“News,” he says simply to Daniel who immediately excuses himself from the woman and follows us to a corner of the room from which we have an excellent view of Anastasia chatting away to some guests. The other woman from the toilets is standing with Anastasia too.
“What’s up?” Daniel asks.
“Amber just overheard a conversation in the Ladies’ room between Anastasia and another woman about being accosted in thirty minutes.”
Daniel swears and shakes his head, clearly irritated.
Charlie slips an arm to my waist and gently turns me to face him so that I can see Anastasia and her groups of friends standing a few feet away behind him. “Recognise anyone with her?” he asks me.
I know I recognise argument woman but before I reply I carefully look over each of the other people in the group in case they look familiar too. They don’t. “Just the one,” I reply.
Daniel leans in close to me. “Which one?”
“The one standing on her right. Blonde hair and a pink dress.”
Daniel and Charlie exchange knowing glances.
“I’m guessing you two know who the woman is?”
“Her manager,” Charlie replies. “Tell us exactly what they said, Amber. Did they mention a location? Anything we can use to figure where this fake assault is going to take place so we can prevent it happening?”
I tell them everything, word for word.
Daniel lifts his arm and speaks into the cuff of his jacket sleeve. I know he’s updating the rest of the guys working tonight via the agency’s communication system. “Looks like it’s a code twenty as suspected. Thirty minutes. Here in the room we think. A male. We don’t know anything more than that. Go to red.”
My mind dredges up the codes from my training. Code twenty means the case is suspicious for whatever reason. In this case, it seems it’s a likely publicity stunt. Go to red means be on high alert around the target and look for trouble. Daniel has asked everyone to search for a man, the suspected attacker. Part of the agency training is on how to identify such people.
“Let’s split up,” Daniel says. “Amber, you go with Charlie.”
“I can go on my own,” I protest. “I’m trained.”
“And so far you’re only trained to support officer standard not agent. Go with Charlie.”
I open my mouth to protest that even support officer training equips me to do a suspect surveillance job on the room. Then I catch Charlie’s expression and the almost imperceptible shaking of his head. He wants me to keep my mouth shut. I suppose he has a point, we are in the middle of a code red. Not the best time for a row. I decide to stay quiet. What Daniel said does make sense and I don’t want to jeopardise the assignment.
“Why don’t you stay here and watch the target?” Charlie surprises me by saying. “Tell us via comms if you see anything suspicious or if she moves from this spot.” He glances at Daniel. This is his assignment and Charlie is, without a word being spoken, seeking Daniel’s approval on his suggestion for me. Daniel nods.
“We’ll circulate, see if we can spot him,” Daniel says.
With that they both disappear into the crowd in opposite directions. I stay where I am, nonchalantly sipping my drink and pretending to look around the room while ensuring I keep Anastasia in my peripheral vision.
“Hi.”
I turn slightly and see a man standing next to me. He’s tall, thin and wearing a tuxedo. “I’ve been waiting all night to get you alone,” he says with a smirk.
Sugar with sprinkles on top. This is so what I don’t need right now. Some guy trying to chat me up.
“You’re the most beautiful woman in the room,” he says.
I smile. “Thank you. That’s very generous of you to say, though I’m sure it’s not the truth.” I turn so I can still keep an eye on the target. “Especially with people like Anastasia in the room.”
His gaze flicks towards her and just as quickly dismisses her. “She’s too full of herself. Too much make up. All so false. Not like you. You’re a real woman.”
He rests a hand against the wall behind me and leans in. “I like real women.”
Double sugar.
Not only do I not want to be hit on by this creepy guy for a whole variety of reasons, I’m also very aware that while he’s standing next to me I can’t use my comms to keep everyone informed if Anastasia goes walkabout.
“My boyfriend will be back any second,” I say.
“So?” he replies, leaning even c
loser.
I can smell the alcohol on his breath. How drunk is he I wonder? Drunk enough for me to accidentally stumble, fall against him and knock him over? Possibly.
“He’s got a black belt in karate,” I add, hoping that might prove to be enough to make him scarper.
It isn’t. “I can handle myself,” he says with a leer.
Anastasia makes her excuses from the group and steps to one side, linking her arm through her manager’s. Her eyes flicker across to me and for a moment I feel a stab of panic. Did she see me earlier lurking behind the sofa? Does she recognise me?
“Look at him,” she hisses at the other woman. “He’s drunk.”
Ah. It’s not me she’s looking at. It’s the Romeo attempting to hit on me. She knows him.
“He’s a little tipsy, that’s all,” her manager replies.
“Is he even capable?” Anastasia asks, throwing another glance in our direction.
The other woman nods. “Yes, absolutely. He’s up to the job.”
My mind goes into overdrive. Job. What job?
“So what about it then eh?” Romeo is talking to me again. Great. Why can’t he just keep quiet while I listen to Anastasia and her manager? “I’ve got something I need to do in a couple of minutes but after that I’m all yours. I can show you a good time round the back of the stage area if you’re up for it.”
He has such a lovely way with words. How could a woman possibly resist that invitation?
Hang on; did he just say he had something to do in a few minutes? I look at the giant clock up on the wall above the stage which had earlier been used for a grand countdown for the entrance of Anastasia and her co-stars. A few minutes he said.
It’s him isn’t it?
I’m being chatted up by the guy who is supposed to faux attack Anastasia. That’s why he’s hanging around in this corner like I am. Hitting on me. He’s here to watch her. Waiting for his cue.
What am I supposed to do now?
I need to get him away from him somehow and then let the guys know who he is.
Thinking fast I say, “I can’t wait a few minutes because my boyfriend will be back by then.” I lean towards him and whisper, “If we’re going to do this we have to go now.”
Surprise flashes across his face. I’m guessing his pick up line doesn’t usually result in women agreeing to get off with him. Especially not women who insist on doing it right this minute.
I see his gaze flick towards Anastasia then back to me. “I can’t go right now but you go and I’ll meet you round there in ten minutes or so.”
“No, now or not at all,” I reply.
He smiles at me. “Fiesty. I like that in a woman.”
Fantastic.
I can see he’s torn. I wonder if he’s being paid to attack Anastasia. Probably. I wonder exactly how much he’s being paid because right now I’m beginning to worry it’s not enough for him to stick to the plan and not get side-tracked by my fake offer.
He reaches a hand into his trouser pocket and my senses kick onto even higher alert. Has he got a gun? The seconds tick by. Anastasia has been joined by some new people and they’re all chatting and laughing noisily.
What am I going to do?
Suddenly he pushes past me and lunges towards Anastasia. My mouth goes dry. He’s going to do it. Attack her. How can I stop him? He’s much taller than me though probably not much heavier. Can I knee him? Trip him up?
I stick out my foot and Romeo stumbles, crashing into a group of nearby people who glare at his drunken intrusion.
Out of the crowd Daniel appears as if by magic, putting creepy guy in an arm lock and quickly hauling Romeo out of the room. Anastasia scowls after both of them, her publicity stunt thwarted.
Crisis averted.
Charlie appears at my side, putting himself between me and the rest of the room. “Are you OK?” he asks.
I nod, for once speechless.
“Let’s get out of here,” he says, taking my hand. “By the way, great work and quick thinking back there,” Charlie adds, giving me a proud smile. “How did you know it was him?”
“I heard Anastasia and her manager talking about him and looking at him and I put two and two together,” I say as I follow Charlie out of the room. “What happens to him now? Shouldn’t we go to wherever he’s been taken? Report our side of things, you know, for the record?”
Charlie shakes his head. “No need. This is Stone’s case. He’s handling it from here. We’ll need to fill in basic reports to the agency but we can do that from back in Scotland.”
“Why did Anastasia bring in extra agents if she was behind the attack and arranged all of this as a publicity stunt?”
“Because it makes it look like a genuine attack,” he replies. “She was worried. She called in extra help. Makes her look like the victim.”
Chapter Twelve
“I hate taking the dress off,” I say, reluctantly undoing the zip, one hand grazing softly over the silky material.
“Under different circumstances I’d be only too happy to help you out of the dress but we stayed longer at the film premiere than expected and now we need to get changed and get over to the airport for our flight back to Farra,” Charlie says as he undoes the buttons on his shirt. “It was you who insisted we got back to the island tonight so we can attend this dance tomorrow.”
I glance longingly at the king size bed in our hotel room and think how heavenly it would be to sink onto the soft duvet and pillows and cuddle up with Charlie. “Can’t I keep the dress?”
Charlie shakes his head. “Sorry, honey but no. It has to go back along with the tux.”
I undo the zip and step out of the dress then sit down on the edge of the bed in my underwear.
Charlie stops undressing, looks at his watch and then at me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, just seeing how comfortable the bed is,” I say with a playful glance at Charlie. “It’s such a shame we won’t get to stay here overnight.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Charlie says as he removes his shirt and looks for the T-Shirt he was wearing earlier in the day. “I know what you’re playing at and unfortunately we don’t have time for it. I asked the hotel’s concierge to order a taxi to take us to the airport, it’ll be here soon.”
I scoot up the bed a little and lean back against the enticingly soft pillows. “It’s really luxurious. So soft and comfy.”
Charlie eyes me as he pulls on his T-shirt and starts to strip off his tux trousers.
The next thing I know Charlie’s pulled off his smart trousers and flung himself on the bed next to me wearing just his boxers and T-Shirt. He snuggles into the pillows. “Mmm, you’re right. It is comfortable.” His hand snakes across towards me and gently strokes my thigh.
“I thought you were in a rush,” I say teasingly with a glance towards the watch still on his wrist.
“I am,” he replies, nuzzling into my neck.
“How long before the taxi gets here?”
“About ten minutes I should think,” I can just about hear him mutter as he kisses my neck.
“Only ten minutes? That’s not very long,” I giggle as my hands start to explore Charlie’s legs which are now wound around my own.
“It’s long enough,” Charlie says as he flips me on to my back. “It’s long enough.”
The hotel room phone starts ringing ten minutes later just as Charlie and I are frantically getting dressed. He snatches it up, doing up his jeans with his other hand. “Yes? OK. Thanks.”
Turning to me he adds, “That was the hotel’s front desk. Our taxi is waiting downstairs.”
I finish dressing and we’re out of the door and into the lift in seconds.
We have a flight to catch.
As the doors close on the lift I notice the interior has one wall of those smoked glass mirrors. I turn to check my appearance is suitable for being in public and gasp as I see my hair in disarray and my lipstick all smudged. I punch Charlie on the arm as he chuckles at
the state of me. “You could have warned me! I look as though I’ve just stumbled out of bed.”
“You have just stumbled out of bed,” he replies perfectly logically.
We both dissolve into fits of laughter.
By the time the doors open to the lobby I’ve managed to get myself looking half-way respectable. Hair pulled back in a rough ponytail, lipstick wiped off completely.
We climb into the taxi and are met with a sigh from the driver. Clearly he doesn’t appreciate being kept waiting.
Charlie leans forward. “City Airport please, mate. Fast as you can. There’s an extra twenty in it for you if you can get us there before half past.”
I fall back into my seat and hastily clip on my seatbelt as the taxi roars away.
Chapter Thirteen
“Wow this is impressive,” Martha says as we approach the Big House. Cars are parked all over the place and we could hear the music from back down the lane. Huge flames are dancing in the cool night breeze from black metal torches guarding the main entrance to the house.
We just managed to make the flight back to Farra last night and yes, in case you’re wondering, the taxi driver did earn his extra twenty pounds in getting us to the airport on time.
Today has been another day of racing around trying to find answers on the case. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be getting any further bits of the puzzle falling into place as far as the investigation is concerned. Mystery woman is still, well, a mystery. No new leads today at all. Charlie got quite grumpy about it at one point and started to protest again about this party tonight. He said we shouldn’t be coming down here, that we are on the island to work, not to be on holiday and attend dances. Martha wheeled out her ‘mixing with the locals is a valid part of the case’ argument again and I backed her up on it. So here we are.
Charlie finds somewhere for us to park and we all clamber from the 4x4. I’m wearing the close- fitting floor length velvet dress with a slit which goes from ankle to thigh. Martha is wearing a black dress, low cut at the back it swirls out from the hips to the ground with a decadent swish of tulle fabric. Charlie is, very reluctantly, wearing a kilt. It’s black and green and is teamed with a white shirt and black jacket. He looks incredible. He feels, he says, extremely uncomfortable.
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