Page 48 of Be More Octopus

'Could he have followed you home from the university yesterday?'

'Possibly. I was in a rush to get back. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings.' Jack looked thoughtful. 'But she can't be paying someone to watch my office every day on the off chance I'll come in. And the summer school schedule is only available to participants.'

'It's nothing to do with Audrey, is it?'

'Why do you say that?'

'You said she behaved strangely yesterday. And I could tell she didn't like the look of me. Could Isabella have persuaded Audrey to tip her off if you came back to your office?'

'Possibly. They were pally in a very one-sided way. Isabella was incredibly rude about her behind her back, but she liked to be charming to her face. She could have got Audrey to spy on me, I suppose. But Audrey doesn't know I'm staying here.'

'She doesn't have to. Audrey tells Isabella you're back. And Isabella gets her henchman to go to the Uni and wait for you to leave. Then he follows you to find out where you're staying.'

'Ok. But why did he follow us last night as well?'

'Perhaps she wanted to know whether you were with anyone? '

'Possibly.'

'Let's look on the bright side. At least that means he's not a psycho.'

'True. But your theory doesn't explain the break-in.'

'Perhaps that was a coincidence.'

'Possibly.' Jack looked thoughtful. 'Well, well done for getting rid of her.'

'I'm quite proud of myself for a change. Once upon a time, I'd have let her in.'

'Being more octopus?' Jack smiled.

'Yes, definitely being more octopus.'

'I know we were planning to eat out again tonight, but would you mind if we headed back to Devon now? I have a horrible feeling Isabella will be back.'

'Ok then.' Em tried to hide her disappointment, but Jack was right. 'But only if you promise to treat me to a burger at the motorway services instead.'

'It's a deal. You're a cheap date, Gillespie,' he laughed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Wednesday lunchtime. Em had been trying to work on Jack's portrait now they had decided on the composition. They'd agreed not to use the photos from his office but to stick with the beach scene instead. But it was still a constant reminder of the events in London. In the end, she decided to focus on painting some of the cliffs in the background - they were less fiddly, so she didn't have to concentrate so hard.

Em's phone buzzed - a phone call from Lucy. Em could do with a chat.

'I've got five minutes between meetings.' Lucy said. 'I hope your radio silence for the last 36 hours is a good sign.'

'Not exactly.'

Em filled Lucy in on the stalker putting pay to any romance on Monday night and Isabella's visit on Tuesday, leading to her and Jack heading back to Devon earlier than planned.

'I can understand not wanting to wait around for Isabella to reappear. But surely he wanted to be with you when you got back home last night?'

'No. The traffic was awful. There was an accident on the motorway. We were both knackered after seven hours on the road. We hugged good night, and that was that.'

Lucy went quiet.

'Are you still there?'