Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
I spent most of Friday writing texts to Leo and deleting them before I did anything so foolish as to actually send them.
My one saving grace was that at least it was my day off, so I didn’t have to go into the library and face him.
The more I thought about last night, the more confused I became.
I tried to tell myself I’d imagined it, but it did feel like we’d nearly had A Moment.
But A Moment was the very last thing I wanted, and besides, I was pretty sure it hadn’t been mutual.
It had merely been another classic case of Kat getting carried away again.
Hadn’t I learned anything from my experience with Scammer Brian?
The reality was that I’d been so susceptible to him because I was in love with the idea of being in love.
Brian had been charming and effusive in all his communications with me.
It hadn’t taken much for me to fall for him, as I built him up in my imagination, nurtured by the constant loving messages he sent.
Leo, meanwhile, had been at times rude, overbearing and bossy, but underlying it all, I knew there was kindness there, and he seemed genuine and honest in his dealings with me.
Was that all it took for my ever-hopeful heart to transfer its affections?
I needed to get a grip and be sensible. The capacity for getting hurt in this instance was even higher, because I’d actually met the man and got to know him for real.
Got to know him on one level, I reminded myself.
There could be a whole lot more going on with Leo that I had no idea about.
After all, as a former policeman, he’d undoubtedly be highly skilled at putting on a persona to suit his surroundings and mask his real thoughts.
And he’d never actually told me why he’d left a profession which he claimed to have felt so strongly about.
No, I needed to protect myself. Now was not the time to get distracted by nebulous feelings which couldn’t be trusted.
I needed to concentrate on my goal of bringing down a dangerous romance fraudster.
Then I could return to the sanctuary of my books, immerse myself in the safe, fictional versions of romance, and enjoy a peaceful existence in real life without the complications brought about by unpredictable men.
And having made that promise to myself, I went for a walk around Christ Church Meadow, deliberately leaving my phone at home.
It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.
The park was peaceful, a few joggers making easy work of the winding paths, while the occasional curious duck waddled past me as I lingered by the riverbank, relishing the quiet.
This place had always been one of my favourite parts of the city, an oasis of calm away from the bustling streets where it was all too easy sometimes to feel like I was caught in a bubble, one which distorted my perspective on the rest of the world.
It was good to stand apart from the intensity of the investigation and other life stresses for a few moments and just enjoy being surrounded by nature.
But, for once, even here I found I couldn’t settle completely.
The sounds of the bells chiming from college clock towers every quarter of an hour were a constant reminder that time was passing, and with it, the likelihood of us tracking down Scammer Brian was surely diminishing, however optimistic I tried to remain about my mission.
I wandered on and found myself a bench overlooking the boat houses.
Although most of them were shut up as the students were still on their Easter holidays, there was one door open from which emerged a team carrying a rowing eight.
While they set about putting it in the water and rigging their blades, a couple of coaches launched the safety boat, laughing together as they watched the crew take their time getting ready.
‘Come on guys, we haven’t got all day, you know,’ shouted the female coach.
‘We need to make the most of this good weather before the wind gets up later,’ called another voice which I instantly recognised.
Leo. How many times had I come here to watch the rowers and never encountered him?
And now, when I was trying to get a bit of distance to help bring myself back under control, here he was. Just my luck.
I nearly got up and started walking away, but realised that the movement might attract his attention, so I hunched on the bench and tried to summon a shield of invisibility.
The safety boat puttered alongside the eight, Leo giving bits of helpful advice while the rowers settled themselves into their seats.
Once they’d finally pushed off, Leo and his colleague followed along at a steady pace.
The team looked like novices judging by the frequent splashes and direction changes of the boat.
A couple of the rowers were obviously finding it stressful, voices raised as they clutched onto their oars, yelling at their teammates to go more steadily and balance the boat up.
But as they made their way down the river, they slowly started finding their rhythm, working together, not against each other, as they pulled the blades through the water and followed the guidance and encouragement from Leo and his colleague.
Finally, they reached the Head of the River and started to make their turn to come back towards the boat house.
The safety boat spun round more quickly and backed off to give them space.
Judging by the laughter on board, Leo was in his element, relaxed and happy.
Even at this distance, I could see his smile and appreciate the way it lit up his face.
I felt an unwanted pang of envy that I wasn’t the one sitting beside him, able to join in with his jokes with casual ease without worrying how he might or might not feel about me and whether I might or might not be worthy of his attention.
Because wasn’t that what was really at the root of my doubts and insecurity?
That feeling of not being worthy, of not actually deserving to be loved?
It seemed to come so easily to most people, yet for me it felt like the hardest thing in the world.
Previous relationships had fizzled out, guys declaring that they wanted to keep things casual, then, within months of them breaking up with me, I’d see posts on social media announcing their engagement or similar.
They weren’t keen on commitment when it came to me, but would go all in with someone else.
Why wasn’t I ever enough? And then Brian had come along, everything I’d ever dreamed of and more, seemingly with none of the game-play that I’d endured before. No wonder I’d been such an easy mark.
I gave myself a mental shake. There was no point in sitting here and wallowing.
It wasn’t going to change anything. I needed to focus on the positive.
While other people might have crumbled after experiencing what I had been through with the fraudster, after an initial wobble, I had got back up again and come out fighting, refusing to let it define me.
That proved I was a strong person, surely?
It was hard to ignore, but I didn’t have to listen to the horrid voice in my head telling me I was unlovable.
How other people viewed me was up to them, but I should probably try to be kinder to myself in the future.
As for the crush on Leo: well, yes, I had developed one, I could admit that to myself.
But, for now, it was sensible to put that to one side so I could concentrate on bringing down Scammer Brian.
I would need all the headspace I could find to make that happen.
I got up from my bench and walked back through the park and headed home, pretending to myself that I couldn’t care less whether Leo had spotted me or not.
* * *
Inevitably the first thing I did when I got back was to check the messages on my phone.
There were two missed calls from Gavin and the briefest of texts from Leo giving directions to his gym.
He made no mention of his rowing coaching, and I resisted the temptation to ask him about it, ringing Gavin straight back instead.
‘Hello, this is Gavin speaking,’ he answered the phone in a very proper fashion.
‘Hi, it’s Kat, I’m just returning your calls. I’m really sorry I missed them.’
‘Oh, thank goodness. I’ve been worried something bad had happened at that event last night.’
‘Oh Gav, I’m so sorry. I’m absolutely fine, I promise. I just left my phone at home when I went for a walk.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘Thank you so much for standing guard yesterday evening. How did you and Robin get on?’
‘Pretty well, if I do say so myself. We hung around for half an hour, as you suggested, and I took careful notes about every man who walked in that building. They mostly seemed fairly ordinary, but there were one or two who seemed a bit off.’
‘Go on,’ I said.
‘It’s hard to explain. It was more of an instinct rather than anything hugely concrete.’ He was backtracking now, but I knew that Gavin’s intuition was not to be unheeded. After all, he hadn’t survived this long on the streets by ignoring it.
‘I’m listening.’ In fact, I’d sat down at my desk and pulled out a pad of paper ready to take notes.
‘There was one guy who loitered outside for ages putting on a college tie before he walked in the bar.’
‘Ah yes, I think I know who you’re talking about. But there could be a simple explanation, like he might have been coming straight from somewhere else and not had time to change beforehand.’ I decided to play devil’s advocate to encourage Gavin to elaborate on his concerns.
‘It was a new purchase. He took it out of a shopping bag and dropped the receipt on the ground. Robin went and fetched it for me.’
‘She’s a clever girl, Robin. What was it about the new tie that got you worried?’
‘He could just have been trying to impress people, but I wondered if he was pretending to be somebody he wasn’t. He seemed a bit shifty to me. There was something off about him.’
‘Did he have floppy hair?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘He definitely sounds like a guy I met who said his name was Marcus. He claimed to be a Physics professor, but he didn’t act like any of the other university lecturers I’ve come across.
Actually, it’s fair to say he put the “letch” into lecturer.
’ I smiled at my own bad joke. At least it was a healthy reaction to what happened last night.
‘Let me start my laptop and I’ll look him up.
I should have done that earlier. You can tell me about the other suspicious person you spotted while I’m googling. ’
‘Sure. The other guy had an iPad and he kept coming in and out of the building while the event was on. He was tapping away on that thing like nobody’s business.’
‘That sounds like the organiser, Dom. He founded the app. He struck me as being the kind of person who spends half his life on the internet. What was it about him that set the alarm bells ringing?’
‘In truth, it’s because Robin had a little growl at him that my suspicions were raised. Her judgment is usually spot on,’ said Gavin. ‘But then again, there was a tin can blowing around the street at the same time, and she always gets upset by the noise they make.’
I was only half listening to what Gavin was saying because I was so taken aback by what I could see on screen.
‘You’ll never guess what I’ve just found out about Marc.
’ I skim-read the article again, to make sure it was definitely about the guy I’d met last night.
‘There’s a piece in the Oxford Mail about him.
According to this, he’s been suspended from the university due to numerous “inappropriate behaviour” allegations from students.
That certainly ties in with how he acted towards me.
The article has a quote from him denying that he’s done anything wrong and complaining that he’s not receiving his full pay while he’s on suspension. ’
The cogs were turning quickly now. Marc’s voice had sounded different to Brian’s but it had been noisy in the bar.
Gavin tutted. ‘He sounds like a wrong ’un. I hope my information helps.’
‘You’re a star, thank you so much. You’ve given my investigation a breakthrough.’
‘I’m glad. People like that should face their comeuppance. Well, I’ll leave you to it. It’s time for Robin’s dinner. She’s very particular about such things. See you at the library next week.’
‘Looking forward to it. And make sure you give that gorgeous girly a belly rub for me.’
As soon as I finished talking to Gavin, I hit dial on Leo’s number, then just as quickly cancelled the call.
At the moment, I only had a hunch, and while I was sure that Leo would be in full agreement with Gavin and me that Marc was indeed a ‘wrong ’un’, I knew that the next thing he’d challenge me on would be what evidence I had to back up my theory.
And he’d be right to. I needed to find some actual proof.
I settled myself back down in front of my laptop and set to work researching everything I could about Marc.
This was where my librarian skillset could finally come into its own.
Before long, I discovered that he’d also left Cambridge University under a cloud, rather than to take on new challenges as he’d told me.
The local press was vague, quoting an official statement saying that he’d resigned for health reasons, but the student paper went further, citing an unnamed source in the science department who said that an investigation had been started about claims of bullying.
I dug deeper, paying to access the records of county court judgements and discovered that Marc had two against him for unpaid parking fines.
That hardly made him a criminal mastermind, I reminded myself, but it did suggest a pattern of behaviour.
The court judgements would have affected his credit score, and he’d been grumbling about his reduced pay in the Oxford Mail .
Judging by his clothing, he had expensive tastes.
Perhaps he was struggling to fund the lifestyle he desired.
That would give him a financial motive to run a scam.
Plus, he’d made a big deal about being friends with Dom, so he possibly had access to insider knowledge about the app which could make it easier for him to create a fake identity to scam people.
The more I thought about it, the more credible a suspect he appeared to be.
He had to go to the top of our list. I ignored the fact that Marc’s was actually the only name on that suspect list.
I went to bed happy that night, full of anticipation about seeing Leo the next day and telling him what I’d discovered.