Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I made the accusation at a slightly louder pitch than I’d normally use, aware that this question needed to come out clearly on the recording, and also out of concern that Leo might miss the key moment.
As a consequence, it sounded more like I was a performer in a theatre delivering the cliff-hanger line just before the curtain came down for the interval.
Blake frowned in obvious confusion. ‘Sorry, I think I misheard,’ he said, although there was no way he couldn’t have heard what I’d said.
‘There’s no point in pretending anymore, Brian. Why don’t you come clean and admit what you’ve been up to?’
Blake Jenkins, also known as Brian James, shook his head, looking concerned. He’d obviously decided to play this scene like he was an innocent party who’d inadvertently come across a deranged woman.
‘I think you’ve got me confused with somebody else. I’m Blake, not Brian,’ he repeated, speaking slowly for good measure. ‘Look, thanks for the drink and I’m glad you enjoyed the show and everything, but I should probably be going.’
‘I’d prefer it if you stayed exactly where you are,’ I said, letting the teensiest edge of a threat creep into my voice.
Somewhat to my surprise, Blake slash Brian sat back down on his seat and did exactly as he was told. I obviously had a greater air of authority than I realised.
‘It’s strange meeting you in person at last. You don’t look anything like your profile pictures,’ I said, tilting my head to one side and examining his face as if I was committing every single one of his features to memory.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
‘They may be a little old,’ he admitted. ‘I didn’t realise we’d matched anywhere.’
‘Ah, so you admit you’re carrying out this scam on more than one app, are you?’ I said, seizing on his mistake.
‘Yeah, so I’m on a few dating apps. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?
Who isn’t, these days? You’ve got to keep your options open.
And I didn’t know using old headshots counted as a scam.
I apologise if you were disappointed. The life of a jobbing actor has obviously taken a bigger toll on my features than I realised. ’
‘There’s using old pictures, and then there’s using someone else’s pictures altogether,’ I said. ‘You ripped off the photos of a genuine military hero to try and entrap me.’
‘I did no such thing,’ he said, so indignantly that I almost believed him.
‘How do you explain this, then?’ I brought the SO Ox app up on my phone screen and found Brian James’s profile. ‘Look, here you are.’
I waved the phone in his face, hoping he didn’t spot the little symbol in the corner of the screen which indicated that it was still recording this conversation.
‘That guy looks nothing like me. And that isn’t even my name,’ he said, starting to laugh. ‘I think we must be at cross-purposes here. You’re mistaken.’
I took a deep intake of breath. I actually felt like slapping the man to get some sense out of him. How dare he sit there so blatantly denying all this and trying to make out that I was the one in the wrong? This was gaslighting at its very worst.
‘That’s the whole point. Of course, Brian James isn’t your name. It’s a pseudonym you use online when you’re trying to lure unsuspecting women into giving you money by toying with their emotions and manipulating them into falling in love with you.’
Blake put on a very realistic expression of horror.
‘That’s a terrible thing to do.’
‘Yes, it bloody well is. At least that’s one thing we can agree on. So why did you do it to me?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m really sorry that you seem to have fallen foul of this Brian James character but, hand on heart, I promise you he’s not me. The pictures are of someone else completely.’
‘I know that. And you’re not going to convince me that easily. You stole someone else’s pictures to help create distance between your online persona and your real life.’
‘There are safety measures on SO Ox. You’d never be able to get away with doing something like that,’ he pushed back.
‘And yet you did.’
‘No, I really didn’t. I admit I have a profile on SO Ox. Look, let me find it for you.’
I kept tight hold of my phone. There was no way I was going to let him stop the recording at this crucial moment.
He shrugged and got his own device out.
‘Here, see. That’s my handle, Actor Blake, and I’ve got my full name in the “about me” section.’
I wouldn’t have recognised him from the headshot he’d used as his profile image. He was right: it was an old picture.
‘Just because you’re there in your own capacity, it doesn’t mean that you’re not also on there as Brian James,’ I pointed out. ‘You’re not in the clear yet.’
‘What happened to innocent until proven guilty?’ he asked indignantly.
‘That’s a principle used in the court system. And I’m very happy to march down to the police station with you now and see what they have to say about it.’
It was a bluff, but he fell for it.
‘Let’s not do anything too hasty. What else makes you think that I’ve been pretending to be this geezer called Brian James?’
‘Here’s my proof,’ I said, clicking on one of the voice notes that Brian had sent me. Thank goodness Leo had showed me a hack to make my phone play and record simultaneously.
‘Hello, my gorgeous one. It’s so good getting to know you properly. I love hearing about all your interests and funny quirks. I’m trying not to get too carried away, but I think we’re a match made in heaven.’
I cringed as the message played out, horrified all over again that I’d been gullible enough to fall for such a sickly-sweet playbook. But I felt even worse when Blake slash Brian started laughing.
‘You actually have the cheek to laugh? After everything you’ve put me through?’ I said. ‘You are the lowest of the low, a disgusting, creepy manipulator who should be thoroughly ashamed of himself.’
My words seemed to have a sobering effect on him. He dipped his head as if in submission.
‘I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s because I’m relieved. I was starting to believe what you were saying was the truth, and that I’d somehow been carrying out a scam without even knowing about it.’
‘But it is the truth,’ I retorted.
‘Sorry, I’m not explaining myself very clearly here. As you know, I’m an actor.’ Again, he did that self-conscious puffing up of his chest thing. ‘I don’t only appear on stage. In fact, I have a pretty broad portfolio.’
‘I’m not trying to hire you for a job here,’ I snapped.
‘That’s exactly the point. I was hired for a job.
The founder of SO Ox, Dom Markham, is an old pal.
We used to be at school together, before he got booted out, and we stayed in touch.
Anyway, he approached me a few months ago asking if I’d record some voiceover adverts for the app.
The idea was that they’d sound like messages left by a lover so people would get the idea of the calibre of date they’d meet on SO Ox.
I do get a lot of voiceover work. My agent says I’ve got a very sexy voice. ’
I took a deep breath while I tried to gather my thoughts.
‘So, what you’re saying is that the voice notes I received purporting to be from someone called Brian, were actually recorded by you for promotional reasons?’
‘That’s the nub of it,’ said Blake cheerfully.
‘I was wondering what had happened to them and why I hadn’t heard them in use.
Mind you, I wasn’t that surprised. Dom’s always been an old cheapskate.
He barely paid me enough for doing them to cover a dinner out.
He made a big deal of offering me six months of free membership for SO Ox as an extra bonus, but I’m not sure that’s worth the angst.’
He leaned forward. ‘I’m genuinely sorry. If I’d had any idea the recordings were going to be used like that, I would never have agreed to make them. I’m devastated you’ve been hurt in this way.’
And he did seem to be completely sincere. But there was still one thing that wasn’t adding up.
‘But what about the call? I once had a phone call with Brian James. The line wasn’t good and so it only lasted less than a minute, but we definitely spoke in real time. How can you explain that?’
Blake frowned. ‘I’d have remembered a phone call, especially with someone who’s got as pretty a voice as yours.’
‘Nice try, but you’re not going to distract me with fake flattery. The advert excuse is plausible, I’ll give you that, but you can’t explain the phone call, can you?’
‘AI,’ said Blake suddenly.
‘Pardon?’
‘Artificial Intelligence. That’s what Dom was doing his DPhil in before he dropped out of university. He must have taken my voice samples and used AI to create other sentences and conversations. Bloody hell, that’s really scary. He could have impersonated me for all kinds of bad stuff.’
The outrage in his voice seemed genuine and, the more I considered his explanation, the more plausible it seemed.
Who better to perpetrate a scam of this kind than the founder of the app himself?
He certainly had the means and opportunity, and several people had independently told me that he wasn’t doing well financially from the app, which would give him a motive.
‘Apparently, he did. The character of Brian James was determined to get money out of me. Who knows how many other women he’s been targeting on the app, using your voice? He’s well placed to generate a proper money-spinner for himself.’
‘It’s terrible, absolutely terrible,’ said Blake. ‘Just think about the damage it could do to my career if this got out.’
I laughed. His self-centred response was actually the light relief that I needed from the intensity of the conversation.
Blake had the good grace to look ashamed of himself. ‘Sorry, that was an awful thing to say. Of course, my first concern is about the poor victims of this dreadful scandal.’
In another life, I reckoned Blake would probably have made a very good politician with his ability to do a slick about-turn.