‘Yvie, what are you doing?’
‘Pulling on my boots. I’m leaving now. I’ll be at the St Kentigern in fifteen minutes. There is no part of me that is going to miss this or let you do this without me.’
Keli was beyond grateful and touched by the offer, but she wasn’t going to drag anyone else into her mess. Besides, there was a very vital component to this story that Yvie was not aware of, and it would shock the life out of her. Keli had made a pointof telling no one Ryan’s identity, but she was past that now. To hell with his privacy. Bugger her promise to him that they would keep their relationship strictly private. After what he’d done to her and Laurie, he didn’t deserve it. Still, she resisted. ‘Yvie, I’ll be fine. Laurie will be with me and what’s the worst that can happen?’
‘You get arrested or shot. Or you somehow create a situation that leads to his demise and then you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison and I’ll have to come visit you every week. And, trust me, the thought of having my very generous curves manhandled in a search by a burly prison officer makes me so embarrassed my Spanx are curling up.’
‘Ouch,’ Keli had exclaimed.
‘Exactly. And anyway, Carlo won’t be back from the restaurant until after midnight, so I’m home alone and looking for mischief.’
Keli had laughed. ‘Yvie Danton, I love you. Just so you know.’
‘Right back at you. Although I would have appreciated a bit more notice because getting these boots on is a workout.’
‘Apologies. Next time I decide to do something totally fricking insane and irrational, I’ll let you know in plenty of time.’
‘Fabulous. Okay, I’ll text you when I’m there. See you in ten.’
Yvie and Carlo lived in Merchant City, a cosmopolitan, trendy area of Glasgow that had designer shops and some gorgeous bars and restaurants. Carlo’s dad had owned an Italian restaurant there for years and Carlo had worked there until he’d bought his own place. Keli had sent up a silent prayer of thanks that her pal was so close by, then another one for a parking space.
Her wish had been immediately granted, as she’d slipped into a space, just a couple along from where she’d parked earlier. She’d jumped out, taken a deep breath, then ran up the imposing stone steps to the entrance of the grand building.
Now inside, there were people milling around everywhere. Checking in. Checking out. Men in suits and ladies in fancy outfits going into the bar. Blokes in shorts and women in leggings and trainers sitting in the lobby chairs reading guidebooks to give them inspiration for the next day’s trips.
Keli scanned the whole area. No sign. She texted Laurie, who immediately replied.
Room 202 – come up.
Keli fired back.
Just waiting for a friend, be up in ten.
It didn’t even take that long before Yvie breezed through the door behind her. ‘There was an Uber right outside the house,’ she explained. ‘Is it wrong that I’m excited by this and living vicariously through your misfortune?’
Keli hugged her. ‘Absolutely. But I’d do the same for you. This is why we’re friends.’
She checked Laurie’s text again for the room number, then they made their way there – lift to the second floor, turn right and the room was two doors along.
Laurie opened it on the first knock. Keli had wondered if it would be awkward, or if there would be any embarrassment, but there was none. She introduced Yvie to Laurie, who seemed perfectly happy to have another person along for the ride.
‘Wow, this room is amazing,’ Yvie said with very obvious approval. ‘If you two want to go ahead, I’ll just stay here, watch TV on the biggest bed on earth and eat Pringles from the minibar.’
Keli nudged her. ‘Focus, my friend. Mission first.’ She steered her over to the two chairs at the table by the window, while Laurie wrapped her long legs under her on the edge of the bed next to them.
‘So, can I just check if there’s a plan? Are you going to speak to him? Public shaming? Just so I know when to run,’ Yvie asked.
Laurie answered for them. ‘I think I just want him to see us. I want him to know that he’s caught. That we know. That we could use the information at any point to wreck him. Not that I would, but I just can’t stand to see him glide through life thinking that he can do anything he pleases to people and get away with it. To be honest, that’s the way it’s been for him for years.’
Yvie seemed happy with that explanation, so Keli got things moving. ‘Okay, so where is he going to be tonight and how do we know?’
Laurie reached for the iPad. ‘He sent a text earlier to a photographer that we know. It lays it all out.’
Keli saw Yvie’s confusion and knew she’d have to tell her, but Laurie had put the iPad on the table and she had an overwhelming compulsion to read it first.
Her eyes scanned down the words in the blue box on the right-hand side of the screen. They were in inverted commas, as if they’d been taken from a speech or an article, but as she read on, Keli realised that they were something else. Facts. Explanations. Hints. The bones of an article that any celebrity journalist would be able to spin into a story. More than that, they could twist it into a narrative that made the main character look like the greatest kind of guy.
It read…
