Page 9 of For Love or Money
‘Ah. Good plan. And that’s where I come in! As luck would have it, I need a private detective. So it was quite serendipitous that I happened to have met you.’
‘Oh.’ Lesley’s heart sank. She had forgotten about passing herself off as a private investigator that night. She hadn’t expected it to come back and bite her on the arse.
‘Is there a problem?’ Al asked, watching her closely.
‘Well, it’s just – look, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted journey. I wasn’t exactly honest about what I do for a living at that dinner party. I’m not really a private detective.’
‘Oh, I know that,’ Al said calmly and took a sip of coffee.
‘You do? How?’
‘I Googled you,’ he said with a satisfied smile. ‘You didn’t give me your number, so I looked you up online to find your place of business. And I found you. You’re a web designer, right?’
‘Yes.’ She frowned. ‘So why would you want to hire me as a private investigator, when you know I’m not one?’
‘Ah, well—’ He looked shifty. ‘An amateur is likely a better bet for my purposes.’
Lesley couldn’t help bristling slightly. ‘You mean you think I’ll work for free? If you expect me to do it just for the fun of it ...’ She left the sentence hanging, because the truth was she probablywoulddo it just for the fun of it.
‘No, I would pay you, of course. So, what do you say? Will you take the job?’
‘I still don’t know what it is.’
‘Right. Of course.’ He took a sip of coffee. ‘It’s my uncle. He had a massive heart attack a couple of months ago.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’
‘Thanks. He’s fine now. You may have read about it,’ Al said. ‘My uncle is Peter Bradshaw.’
‘ThePeter Bradshaw? The actor?’ This was intriguing.
‘Yes.’
‘Oh, he’s brilliant! I love him.’
Al smiled. ‘Me too.’
‘I hadn’t heard he had had a heart attack.’
‘It happened when he was in LA. They were filming the last part of that ghastly Inheritor franchise—’
‘They’re not that bad. It’s not my kind of thing, but I’ve seen worse.’
Al threw her a scathing look. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘he collapsed on the set. Like I said, he’s fine now. He’s recovered enough to come home. He’ll be moving back next week – and he’ll be bringing his girlfriend with him. He’s got engaged.’
‘Good for him! He must be ancient.’
‘He’s seventy-two.’
‘Never too late, eh? There’s hope for us all.’
‘His fiancée is twenty-six.’ Al gave her a meaningful look.
‘Gosh! Still, I suppose that’s not so unusual for Hollywood types.’
‘It’s unusual in my family.’
‘Well, I suppose he’s old enough to know what he’s doing,’ Lesley said, still not sure why Al wanted a private detective. ‘Hang on, he’s not still married to your aunt, is he?’ She knew Peter Bradshaw had been married to the actress Jane Howard for years. They’d had one of those tempestuous on-again/off-again relationships that the gossip columns did their best to keep up with. But she was pretty sure they weren’t still together.
