Web of Lies by Sally Rigby (classic novels for teens txt) 📗

‘I’m not sure where he parked. When we arrived this morning, there were no spaces in the studio car park, so he dropped me off outside.’

‘Don’t you have your own space?’ Surely a star like her wouldn’t have to chance her luck when parking.

‘You’d think I should, but only the top management are so lucky. I’m a self-employed presenter and don’t count. He shouldn’t be too much longer.’ She tapped a foot impatiently on the ground. ‘He’s taking me back to my flat as I need to get some sleep. I’m usually in bed by seven-thirty because I have to get up at two-thirty in the morning, but last night for some reason I couldn’t sleep and now I’m exhausted. And there’s only so much the make-up artist can do.’ She stared up the road. ‘Ah, here he comes.’

Was this nervous chatter, or what?

A black Mercedes E-Class Saloon drew up beside them and the driver jumped out to open the back door. Andrea got in first and moved along to make space for Seb.

‘Thank you,’ he said as the driver closed the door behind him.

‘Mr Clifford is coming with us, Aaron,’ she said to the driver who nodded.

‘Where do you live?’ Seb asked, wanting to make sure it was the address he’d seen in Donald’s records, and he wasn’t being taken somewhere else.

‘In Battersea, close to the docks.’

Yes, that was the same.

‘It’s a nice area.’

‘If we don’t finish talking in the car, maybe you’d like to come inside, and we can finish up there.’ She placed a hand on his knee and squeezed.

Was she coming onto him? He glanced at her and she smiled. What was going on? Only a few moments ago she was shocked and panicked about him wanting to discuss Donald and blackmail.

Her driver pulled out into the heavy traffic and headed south.

He gently removed her hand from his leg and placed it on her lap. ‘As I said, we’ve found out that Donald was blackmailing some of his clients, in particular those who made a large investment recently. Were you one of them?’

Andrea nodded slightly at the driver whose head was tilted as if he was listening to their conversation. ‘I don’t think this is the right time and place to discuss that,’ she said quietly. ‘Wait until we get back to my place.’

Seb glanced again at the driver and caught his eye, as he was staring back at him through the rear-view mirror. His eyes were narrowed, and he looked away. Seb continued staring at him and then he glanced down at the steering wheel. The driver was gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white.

Seb did a double take.

On the man’s hand was a tattoo of an eagle.

The same eagle that was tattooed on the hand on his attacker.

Fuck. Was this a trap?

Was Andrea in on it?

She had to be.

How could he have been so stupid as to get in the car with the pair of them? He could just imagine what Birdie would say when she found out.

He averted his gaze from the driver to Andrea, not wanting him to suspect that he’d recognised him. She stared back at him with a smile on her face. But what sort of smile? Sly? Complacent? Knowing? Machiavellian? It could be any of these.

He had to get out of the car. And fast. Without letting them know he’d sussed them.

They were coming up to some traffic lights. He had a plan. If they stayed red until the car reached them, he could use it to his advantage. He sucked in a breath as they approached, bracing himself to jump out of the car, but they turned green and the driver continued driving.

Damn.

There had to be more lights coming up, London was littered with them. He’d be more prepared the next time.

‘Tell me about today’s show,’ he said, deciding the best course of action was to take Andrea’s mind off the blackmail and act as if he was talking normally, while he edged slightly over to the door, and positioned his arm so his fingers were close to the handle. It helped that he was so large because it made it more difficult for her, or the driver, to see what he was doing, as he already filled the space.

‘We had Hugh Jackman on via satellite to talk about his new film, and Graham Norton came in to talk about his latest book. Have you read it? I loved it.’

‘No, I haven’t, but I’ve heard he’s an excellent writer. I’ll look out for it the next time I’m in the bookshop.’

‘And, of course, we had our usual cookery spot,’ she continued, seeming happy to discuss it. ‘Today they made a vegan chocolate mousse. I could’ve eaten the lot, it was so delicious, though jam-packed with calories. Then Sam Smith came in and sang his latest. I do love his voice, it’s so haunting.’

‘Do you always enjoy the show this much?’

‘Most days, especially when we have guests like today. Sometimes it gets a bit repetitive, but the pay’s good and I enjoy the perks, of which there are many.’ She paused and pulled a face. ‘Please don’t mention that to anyone, it wouldn’t look good for my image.’

‘My lips are sealed. We can’t be expected to enjoy our work all of the time.’

Through the front window he could see that they were approaching another set of lights and they were red.

‘I knew you’d understand,’ she said, smiling at him. It was weird that now she was acting as if he hadn’t even mentioned the blackmail. Why? Part of her plan to disarm him? Too late, as he already knew what was going on.

But he had to be careful how he played this. He couldn’t just jump out when the traffic lights had just turned to red in case the driver was able to get out and stop him. Or he might turn on the child lock. Whenever Seb decided to make a run for it, it