Chapter 38
Lois swivelled round to see what was going on. ‘Ooh, look, that’s the guy who—’
‘My God, what’s going on? What are you doing?’ The pretty blonde girl was right behind Baz, looking absolutely horrified.
‘What am I doing? I’m teaching the interfering bastard a fucking lesson.’ Baz spoke through gritted teeth as Cal turned to face him.
‘Seriously?’ Cal had already put down his drink. His tone icy, he repeated with derision, ‘I mean, seriously?’
‘What gives you the right to interfere with other people? How fucking dare you?’ Baz’s face matched his trousers as he spat the words out.
‘You’re despicable.’ Cal stood his ground.
‘It was none of your business,’ roared Baz, completely losing it and aiming a wild swing at Cal’s head.
Cal effortlessly sidestepped the swing with a pitying smile that enraged Baz even more. He yelled, ‘Right, that’s it, I’m going to get you,’ and launched himself once more at Cal, who felled him with a single uppercut to the jaw.
Baz went crashing backwards, scattering chairs and tables and landing with a hefty thud on the floor. He let out a bull-like bellow of outrage and lay there on his back, clutching his face and swearing. Having heard the commotion, people began pouring out of the pub to see what was going on. The blonde girl, clearly mortified by what had happened, clutched Cal’s arm. ‘Oh God, you didn’t just say that to me as a joke, did you?’
‘Say what?’ demanded Lois as Baz ordered his friends to call 999 and get the police over here right now. ‘And tell them to send an ambulance too. The mad bastard’s broken my jaw. He’s going down for this, I can tell you that right now. He’s going to get done for fucking GBH.’
‘Mate.’ One of his friends was shaking his head, looking doubtful. ‘It’s not worth it.’
‘He’s not getting away with this,’ Baz shouted. He’d cut his hand on a smashed glass, and now blood was dripping onto his chest. ‘Fuck, and this is my best shirt too. Phone the cops, Rupe. If you don’t, I will.’
While they waited for the police to arrive, Cal went inside with Mimi and Lois.
‘Right, tell us what happened,’ said Lois. ‘This is killing us.’
Cal spoke evenly. ‘When I came in to get the drinks, I saw Baz with the blonde girl and recognised him from your description. I placed my order and went to the gents’. Baz came in a few seconds later with one of his friends, who asked him how things were going with the girl. Baz said it was a slam-dunk, she’d swallowed the story hook, line and sinker, and now all he had to do was reel her in. So then his friend said, “Jesus, Baz, are you still using the dead-girlfriend shtick?” And Baz said, “Hey, whatever it takes is good enough for me.” His friend said, “Failed parachute?” and Baz said, “Nah, the last time I used that one, the girl tried to bloody google it. I’m sticking to car crashes from now on.”’
Silence.
‘Oh God,’ said Lois.
Cal paused, every detail of the exchange clearly etched into his brain. Then he shrugged slightly. ‘I didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at them. But on my way back to the bar, I passed the girl Baz had been talking to and told her the story about his girlfriend wasn’t true, he’d just said it to get her into bed.’
Mimi felt hot with anger on his behalf. ‘You know what you did wrong?’ she told Cal. ‘Didn’t hit him hard enough.’
‘Oh trust me, I wanted to.’ He glanced down at his unmarked knuckles, opening and closing his right hand. ‘I really did.’
Two police officers arrived twenty minutes later, one fat, one thin. The fat one said, ‘Hey, Cal, how’s it going?’
‘Not the greatest evening of my life,’ said Cal. ‘I’m the reason you’ve been called here.’
‘Are you now?’ The officer lifted his eyebrows. ‘That’s a turn-up for the books. Someone hit you, did they?’
‘Not quite. I hit them,’ said Cal.
Mimi and Lois accompanied him outside, to where Baz and his four embarrassed friends were sitting. The chairs and tables had been righted by this time, the broken glass swept up.
‘Where’s my ambulance?’ Baz demanded.
‘I didn’t ask them to send one,’ muttered the friend who’d been instructed to call 999. ‘Your jaw isn’t broken. You can’t call an ambulance for a cut hand.’
Once the police officers had taken down all the relevant personal details, they listened to Baz’s version of events. Then it was Cal’s turn to give his side of the story, which he did concisely and without drama.
When he’d finished, the fat police officer sat back and nodded slowly. ‘Right. Well, I think we’ve heard everything we need to hear.’
‘God, this is taking forever,’ Baz moaned. ‘Just get on and arrest him, for crying out loud. Cart him off and give him a night in the cells, that’ll teach him to stick his nose into other people’s business.’
‘OK, Baz, don’t get worked up again,’ warned his friend.
‘Why the fuck shouldn’t I get worked up?’ Baz gestured angrily. ‘I was all set to pull that bird until he saw fit to ruin everything.’
‘Have you two ever met before?’ The fat police officer looked at Baz.
‘No, we haven’t, and—’
‘The thing is, I’ve met him before,’ the officer continued steadily. ‘I first met Cal five years ago.’
‘Oh great, so he’s a mate and you’re on his side. Old pals’ network, is that what I’m up against?’
The officer nodded at Cal. ‘How’s Cora? Doing OK?’
‘She’s good, thanks.’
Spittle escaped as Baz gave a splutter of disbelief. ‘For fuck’s sake! Who cares how his missus is doing? This is a stitch-up, it’s police corruption. You people make me sick.’
‘You see, you’re jumping to conclusions now,’ said the officer. ‘Cora isn’t Cal’s missus. She’s his daughter. And the reason we first got to know each other was because Cal’s wife died five years ago, not far from here.’ He raised his bushy eyebrows at Baz. ‘In a car crash.’
It was ten minutes past midnight and the last stragglers were leaving the pub.
‘Oh come on, it’s too early to stop now,’ Lois protested as Paddy helped her into her jacket. ‘Let’s all go back to mine for a nightcap.’
Cal said, ‘I can’t.’
‘You can! Cora’s staying over at Lauren’s, so you can stay as late as you like.’
He shook his head. ‘I need to get back for Otto.’
‘I have to get home too,’ said Mimi. ‘I’ve got a video-conference call at six, which means setting the alarm for five so I can stick some make-up on.’
‘Honestly, you people. Paddy, will you come back to mine, just for one drink? Pleeeease.’
‘OK, but something’s up.’ As usual, Paddy wasn’t missing a trick. ‘What’s this really about?’
Lois exhaled noisily. ‘Fine. If you must know, that girl Felix is out with tonight has posted three photos on Instagram now. Three! Showing off what an amazing time they’re having . . . I mean, I could cope with the first one, but this is just rubbing my nose in it. So I thought I might post a couple of my own, of me having fantastic fun with someone else.’
‘But you’ve had all evening to do that,’ Paddy pointed out. ‘We could have taken loads of photos in the pub.’
‘Honestly, how can you not get it? We go to the pub all the time. Photos of us in there don’t count.’ Lois gave him a duh look. ‘But ones of us having fun back at my place . . . well, that could mean anything at all. Oh please,’ she begged, ‘just to make me feel better. I promise you don’t have to stay long.’
Paddy grinned. ‘Come on then, let’s do it. I feel so used, knowing you only want me for my body.’
The two of them headed off across the village green, leaving Mimi and Cal to walk home together.
‘How do you feel about that?’ Cal indicated the two figures melting into the darkness.
‘I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let’s just hope he doesn’t seduce her,’ Mimi said. ‘Anyway, more to the point, how are you feeling?’
‘You mean about Baz? Oh, I’m OK.’ He waited while she leaned against the wall and shook a tiny stone out of her shoe. ‘I wonder if he’ll stop doing it now.’
Mimi said, ‘I think he will.’
The moment Baz had heard the police officer’s explanation, he’d deflated like a pricked balloon. In an instant, all the bluster and fury had vanished.
‘Shit. Oh God, it was only ever meant to be a joke.’ He’d covered his shiny face in shame. ‘I was just having a laugh, it’s something we do to win the birds over, that’s all. Gets you the sympathy vote, know what I mean?’
One of his friends, equally mortified, had said, ‘We don’t all do it, Baz.’
‘Yeah, well. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t know, did I? It won’t happen again.’
They’d slunk off then, their night in the Cotswolds not ending in quite the way they’d hoped.
Mimi fitted her shoe back onto her left foot. Cal watched her. ‘Well, they’re heading back to London tomorrow, so I guess we’ll never find out,’ he said. ‘Speaking of London, what’s this I hear about a wedding at the Savoy?’
Mimi grinned. ‘I meant to tell you, then everything else happened and I forgot. CJ and Willa are getting married, two weeks from now. Can you believe it?’
‘How on earth did he manage to get the Savoy? Aren’t those kinds of places booked up for years ahead?’
‘There was a last-minute cancellation and CJ snapped it up. Still costing him a fortune, of course, but they didn’t want to wait. I was asking Lois if she’d be my plus-one, but it’s her mum’s birthday and she’s already arranged to fly up to Edinburgh and take her out to the theatre.’
‘So who is going to be your plus-one?’ said Cal.
Mimi levered herself away from the wall and adjusted her jacket. ‘Haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I suppose I could go on my own, but it’s not the same. Especially when you hardly know anyone else there.’
‘When’s it happening?’
‘Saturday the twenty-sixth. Gosh, look at the stars, aren’t they amazing?’
They paused to gaze upwards. The earlier cloud cover had cleared and the inky sky now resembled black velvet scattered with tiny sequins.
‘Cassiopeia.’ Cal pointed out the constellation, tracing the lines with his outstretched finger.
‘Andromeda.’ Mimi raised her own arm. It was the only one she knew.
‘Perseus.’ His shoulder brushed against hers and she hoped he couldn’t feel the effect it had on her, sending little zings of delight down her spine.
‘Hippopotamus.’ Mimi confidently drew a random shape in the air.
‘Clavicle.’ Cal nodded and did the same.
‘Cauliflower.’
‘Concertina.’
‘Chlamydia. Oh.’ Mimi winced. ‘Not chlamydia. Why did I have to say that? Why do the wrong words just fall out of my mouth without asking my brain first?’
‘Hey, don’t worry, I love that this kind of thing happens to you.’ Cal was laughing, but Mimi’s heart was so busy leaping into her throat she could barely concentrate, because for a split second she’d thought he’d been about to say I love you.
Obviously it wouldn’t have happened, but that was the way her brain functioned sometimes; it was too intent on finishing other people’s sentences to her own satisfaction to wait and listen patiently to what they actually had to say.
‘I’m a hopeless case,’ Mimi said ruefully. She forced herself to get a grip.
‘Look, this wedding in London. It’s fine if there’s someone else you’d rather take.’ Cal paused. ‘But if you really are stuck for a plus-one, I’d be happy to go along with you.’
Mimi looked at him, and now her chest was going like Skippy the Kangaroo, using up far more heartbeats than she could probably spare.
‘Only if you want me to,’ Cal went on. ‘Feel free to say no. I won’t be offended, I promise.’
Offended? As if.
Except he was a friend, offering to help her out, that was all. Although the way he was looking at her now was having even more of an effect than usual.
‘That’d be great.’ Mimi nodded. Because, let’s face it, there was no way she was going to say no. ‘Thanks.’
‘My pleasure.’ Cal’s eyes glittered, a light breeze ruffling his hair as he smiled down at her. ‘We’ll have fun.’
Fun? What kind of fun? The good kind? Was he moving closer to her? Oh wow, what could be about to happen? She heard herself say, ‘Well, it should be a good do . . . and you’ll finally get to meet CJ and Willa . . . er . . . um . . .’
Cal sounded concerned. ‘Are you OK?’
But Mimi’s train of thought had gone, splintered. She was peering through the darkness at the ghostly outline of a figure moving towards them, a thin, pale figure with a translucent quality and a way of walking that seemed oddly familiar . . .
And oddly capable of making her feel quite sick.