Page 78 of Read Between The Lines

‘See, I told you he’d keep quiet,’ I said to Leo. ‘Why would Dom turn up if he had the slightest inkling he was about to be taken in for questioning?’

‘Hmm, I’ll reserve judgement until we get past the check-in desk,’ he responded. ‘The man’s arrogant enough to do anything, if you ask me.’

But Dom didn’t even give us a second glance as we ticked our names off on the list, after waiting until we were at the end of the queue so that we could keep an eye on him. I had no idea if Leo knew when the police would descend, but I was glad we were taking no chances on him getting away.

Leo and I followed Dom to the Literary Garden and positioned ourselves in a shady spot where we could keep a close eye on him. He was playing the role of benevolent host, darting between pairs and directing as many people as possible towards a small stand selling drinks and cakes. But I noticed he kept glancing over in our direction.

‘We need to start playing along, otherwise he’ll get suspicious,’ said Leo.

‘I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that,’ I said.

Leo frowned. ‘Sorry, I know I’m a hard sell. Unemployed, history of depression, and let’s not forget my giraffe-like walking tendencies.’

I think it was this flash of insecurity that gave me the courage to open my mouth and say what I should probably have said long before this moment.

‘You’re not a hard sell at all, quite the opposite in fact. You’re one of the kindest, funniest, and sexiest people I’ve ever been lucky enough to meet. You’ve supported me while I learnt to have confidence in myself, and you’ve helped me to trust again. I have a very selfish reason why I don’t want to play along with the event and talk other people into dating you. And that’s because I really want to date you myself. I don’t know if that’s something you’d be up for, what with Jill and so on, but I’m falling for you and I needed to let you know.’

I’d thought I’d feel nervous, but as the words spilled out, I realised I’d never felt so sure of what I was saying. Previous relationships and the experience of being targeted by a scammer had made me fearful of ever taking a risk again. But, although I had no guarantees that Leo was even in a position to reciprocate my feelings, I knew that his reaction to my statement would be sensitively delivered, and that I would never experience that kind of unsettling vulnerability at his hands.

‘Kat, I—’ But whatever it was that Leo had been about to say, I didn’t get the chance to find out, because suddenly his voice changed. ‘Watch out,’ he yelled.

I whipped round, just in time to see Dom about to run past me towards the exit, my police liaison Laurie and a uniformed officer in hot pursuit. I couldn’t let him get away. Without even thinking about it, I stuck my foot out, tripping Dom over and sending him flying. He landed face first in a rose bed which, judging by his groans of disgust, had recently had a layer of manure dug into the soil.

The uniformed officer quickly slapped a pair of cuffs on him, while Laurie read him his rights.

Once the procedural bit had been completed, the uniformed officer helped Dom to his feet.

‘Nice one, you two,’ said Laurie, coming over to us. ‘Thanks for setting us onto this guy. We’ve been doing some digging over the last few days, and let’s just say there are several fraudulent matters beyond his SO Ox activities that we believe he might be able to shed some light on. I’ll keep you posted about any charging decisions, but if you ask me, we’ve got him bang to rights. You should re-join the force, Leo, and if you ever fancy a career in investigation, Kat, I’m sure you’d do well too. We’d never have got to this point if it hadn’t been for your work.’

A dejected Dom was escorted to a waiting police car, and the chatter in the garden grew louder again as the Date My Mate attendees started eagerly discussing the unexpected turn of events. Without saying anything, Leo and I moved away from the crowd and followed a winding trail to a more peaceful part of the gardens.

‘What do you think will happen now?’ I kept my question deliberately open to interpretation. I’d said how I felt. How Leo chose to respond was up to him.

‘Hopefully, Dom will go to prison and won’t be allowed near a computer for a very long time,’ said Leo lightly. Then his voice took on a more serious tone. ‘Jill’s an old colleague, by the way. I’ve been friends with her and her wife for years, but there’s nothing more to it than that. She’s still finding things tough after the trial, but she’s getting there. In fact, she’s finally managed to get some counselling appointments and I’ve been providing moral support, trying to help out with practical stuff in the garden and around the house so they don’t have to worry about it.’

‘I’m glad,’ I said, my heart singing. ‘Jill’s lucky to have someone like you at her side through it all.’

‘I’m lucky to be her friend,’ he said simply. ‘As to the other thing you said… Did you really mean it?’

‘What, that I’d like to date you? Yes, I did mean it. I’m not sure how you feel about me, but you’ve been a perfect investigative partner, and I’d love it if our partnership could develop from the professional to the personal. It seems appropriate that I’m saying this in the Literary Garden, because I was hoping to start a new chapter– with you.’

‘You’re not sure how I feel about you?’ He took hold of my hands and looked at me so intensely I was glad he was holding me upright. ‘Let me be quite clear, because I’ve obviously still not completely lost the old copper’s curse of concealing my feelings. I’ve been falling for you since the first moment you marched up to me in the library and told me off for putting my boots on the chair. Your determination to do the right thing captivated me from the start, and nothing would make me happier than to date you and see our partnership growing into something infinitely more precious.’

I think he might have happily carried on talking now that the floodgates had opened, but as the writing technique books in the library recommended, I decided now was the time to show rather than tell him how I felt. I reached up, ran my fingers through his hair, and pulled him close to me. This time our kiss was for real, and I was going to savour every moment of it.

Epilogue

1stMay, the following year

Leo and I were already awake before the alarm went off, but being otherwise engaged, it took a good few minutes before we registered the noise.

‘Maybe we should?—’

‘Are you sure?—’

Both of us spoke at once, far too comfortable tangled up together beneath my duvet to want to move. I traced a line of kisses along Leo’s neck and shivered with delight as he responded with an exploration of his own.

The phone buzzed again, this time to signal a text had landed.

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