Page 57 of Teacakes & Tangos
But one thing that was clearly visible – to me, at any rate – was that tattoo.
It was in that exact position on Xander’s neck, a few centimetres below the tip of his right earlobe.I’d kissed him there, so I knew!
I tried to call Lyndsay again, and this time, she answered.
She was speaking in hushed tones this time, presumably because she was in the garden centre now and didn’t want anyone to hear what she was talking about.
‘Anika! It’s him, isn’t it? Xander?’
‘Oh, Lyndsay, I don’t know.’
‘What do you mean? It looks exactly like him in profile. And that tattoo!’
‘I know.’ I groaned miserably. ‘I suppose I just don’t want to believe it, Lyndsay. I mean, come on! Xander a jewellery robber? It just doesn’t make sense.’
‘But the evidence is there. In a photo!’ She sighed. ‘If it wasn’t for the balaclava, I’d probably be like you, wanting to think that it was all just a big mistake and they’d used the wrong photo with the story. But the fact he’s wearing thatblack balaclava! Just like the others did in the raid! Honestly, it gives me the creeps.’
‘How do you thinkIfeel?’ I wailed. ‘I was falling for him, Lyndsay! I mean, falling really hard. And now I just don’t know what to think.’
‘Oh, Anika.’ She sighed. ‘Look, can you come over to the garden centre and we can talk about what we’re going to do about it?’
‘I start work at twelve today but I could probably get over there...’ I began. Then it dawned on me what she was saying and I felt my stomach drop. ‘Hang on. Do you mean we have to decide whether to go to the police and report that we know it’sXander?’ I felt chilled to the bone at the very idea.
‘Well, what else can we do? Pretend we don’t recognise him and just carry on as normal?’
‘I know. But can’t I at least talk to Xander myself and see what he has to say? I mean, what if we tell the police it’s him and we’re wrong? Xander would never speak to me again!’
‘Anika, we’re not wrong,’ she said gently. ‘I know you want to believe that it’s not, but it’s definitely Xander. And there will be others apart from us who’ll see the photo and recognise him.’
‘That’s true. So... why do we have to be in such a rush to go to the police? If other people will be reporting him?’ I knew Iwas on shaky ground but I had to hear what Xander had to say first...
She hesitated and I heard her sigh. ‘Look, okay, we won’t do anything about it today, all right? We’ll sleep on it. But I’m really not sure you should even be talking to Xander about this. If he can be involved in a robbery, we clearly don’t know him like we thought we did. What if you tell him you’ve seen the photo and he gets nasty with you?’
‘But hewouldn’t!’
She paused. ‘Anika, you don’t know that. You’ve only really been getting to know Xander in the last couple of weeks. He could be dangerous. I’d never forgive myself if we didn’t go to the police and then something awful happened to you...’
*****
I had to see Xander.
Even if I was still refusing to believe it was him in the photo, I knew there would be other people – including Lyndsay – who were sure itwasXander and would be calling the police.
What if Xander hadn’t seen the newspaper yet?
I needed to let him know about the photo that had gone public. And more importantly, I needed him to tell me that the man in the photo wasn’t him...
I knew he’d be at work by now, at the company’s offices in Guildford. It was still early. So if I got the train from Sunnybrook, I’d hopefully be able to talk to him and put my mind at rest. Because if I didn’t find out for certain, I was going to drive myself mad wondering...
Getting up from the bench, I folded the newspaper and shoved it angrily into my bag.
The whole thing was so upsetting and life felt so bloody unfair.
Xander and I had been getting on so well – I’d even begun thinking I might be in love with him! – and now this had to happen.
Was I jinxed when it came to romance?
Because I now had to face up to the idea that the man I was falling for might actually be a crook!
