‘So, King Arthur,’ he said jovially. ‘What do you think?’
‘You and Robert looking for the Holy Grail.’ Lauren smiled. ‘Just like two knights of old.’
‘Why not?’ said Jake lightly. ‘Sir Jake and Sir Robert. Anyway, I thought it was time I took up a new interest. Something a little less . . . problematic.’
This was for the sake of whoever might be listening in, just to assure them that the trip he was planning to Glastonbury was harmless. He didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try. At least they hadn’t been cut off.
‘What about you?’ he asked, changing the subject. ‘The Antarctic expedition?’
It was obviously a topic that Lauren was delighted to talk about, because Jake listened happily for the next ten minutes as Lauren outlined the forthcoming expedition. ‘And they say I might even get a chance to go on one!’ she ended excitedly.
‘Wow!’ said Jake, impressed and jealous at the same time. ‘I wish I could go with you.’
Lauren smiled.
‘Who knows,’ she said. ‘Maybe one day we can.’
The sound of Jake’s mobile ringing interrupted them. Jake picked it up, and looked at the screen.
‘It’s Robert,’ he announced. Then he put the phone down. ‘I’ll call him back.’
‘You’d better talk to him,’ said Lauren. ‘It’s obviously about your boys’ weekend.’
Jake hesitated momentarily, then nodded. His phone had stopped ringing, but Jake knew Lauren was right. They needed to get to Glastonbury and find the book, get the evidence that would bring Lauren back.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’ll let you know how we get on.’
‘Give Robert my love,’ said Lauren. ‘And this kiss is for you.’
And she blew him a kiss.
‘I’ll be thinking of you,’ Jake told her.
‘I’ll be thinking of you,’ she said back.
Then they disconnected.
Immediately, Jake dialled Robert’s number.
‘Hi, Robert,’ he said. ‘You called. All ready for the trip?’
‘No I am not!’ snarled Robert.
He was angry. No, he was more than angry, he was absolutely furious.
‘Do you know what those swines have done!’ he bellowed. ‘They’ve attacked Lizzie!’
For one horrible moment, Jake thought that Robert’s fiancée had been attacked. Then he remembered her name was Gemma. He also just managed to recall in time that Lizzie was the name Robert gave to his van.
‘What?!’ he said, shocked. ‘How?’
‘They’ve slashed all her tyres, and they’ve put sugar in her petrol tank. So the old girl’s not going anywhere!’
Chapter 12
They were an hour later than planned in setting off for Glastonbury. Robert had hired a car for the weekend, telling Jake determinedly when he’d pulled up outside Jake’s flat: ‘If they think they can stop me, they’ve got another thing coming!’
Robert’s anger and his desire for revenge for the attack on his beloved old van occupied the first half-hour of the journey. For Jake, the big question was: who had done it?
‘Could it have been the Watchers?’ he asked.
‘But I thought you said they weren’t violent types,’ Robert said.
‘Well, not as far as I know.’ Then Jake remembered Carl Parsons, a Watcher, and secretly very violent. But Parsons had been a renegade, a mercenary, so maybe he didn’t really count as a Watcher at all.
‘Anyway, doing it to a van isn’t the same as doing it to a person,’ said Jake, trying to make himself feel less threatened if it had been the Watchers.
‘It feels the same,’ said Robert angrily. ‘I love my old van. And if it was them, and I catch hold of them, they’re going to find out what physical violence really is!’
‘We’d better tell the others about the Watchers,’ said Jake. ‘Your pal, Andy, and this reporter. So they know what we’re up against.’ He fell into a thoughtful silence, then added: ‘Of course, it needn’t have been the Watchers. It could have been someone trying to stop the competition.’
‘We’re supposed to be looking for King Arthur,’ pointed out Robert.
‘Yes, but the opposition may not believe our cover story,’ put in Jake.
‘I think we’ll find out soon enough who it is,’ grunted Robert. ‘I bet you they’ll be watching for us in Glastonbury.’
Which wasn’t a pleasant prospect, Jake reflected.
‘So what’s this reporter like?’ asked Robert.
‘She’s young, about the same age as me,’ said Jake. ‘Very ambitious, which is why I thought she’d be ideal. And also, she doesn’t scare easily.’ He told him about Michelle coming to look for him in the timber store. ‘Plenty of people would have ignored it. Or maybe phoned the police and reported it.’