“What?”
“Jade put it there.”
Scott’s heart squeezed. “She did?”
“Some guy was in the salon when I went to get Jade. He said he was a good friend of yours and wanted one of us to slip the note in your hoodie. I thought it was odd but…” She sighed. “He said it was romantic, you’d know who it was from and what it meant. Had no idea it was a face, though. What’s it doing? Blowing a kiss, winking?”
Warren knew Scott used that salon, but he couldn’t have known Scott would be visiting that day, which meant he must’ve been watching the place, staking it out, waiting for him.
“Scott? Is everything okay?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Yeah, fine. Thanks again for fitting us in at such short notice.”
“You’re welcome,” Zara replied. “We hope to seebothof you soon.”
Scott hung up and flung himself back down on the bed.
He called the station and asked for Pauline.
“It’s Scott.”
“Scott…Scott,” she murmured. “Scott –”
“The guy who came in after a client tried to render him helpless with a shock collar.”
“Oh, I remember.”
Scott held the unhappy face above him. “Warren put a picture of an unhappy face in my pocket.”
“Like the one you claimed was on your bedroom ceiling?”
“What do you mean, claimed?”
“I went to investigate, spoke to your landlord, who let me in – no sign of a face.”
“It was there, glow in the dark.”
“I checked,” Pauline said softly. “There was nothing.”
Scott’s stomach clenched. “Has he got to you?”
“What?”
“Warren… Is he paying you?”
Pauline’s tone sharpened. “I don’t know a Warren –”
“He’s the guy who’s after me –”
“I met Anthony, though.”
Scott nipped his lip. “And what did he tell you?”
“A different version of events. He also gave us the necklace.”
“The shock collar you mean.”
“It was an ordinary gold chain with a Citrine pendant.”
