‘Don’t worry, son.I’m sure the boys can spare me, and Josh has really come up trumps lately.The boy done good,’ he said, putting an arm around Leo’s shoulders as Mab came in.She looked over at Leo and then down at the floor.
‘You OK, love?’Harry asked.‘You look a bit flushed.Had a hard morning?’
‘Um, yes, quite… er… hard.’Mab avoided Leo’s amused gaze.‘Look, Harry, the new cups and saucers and things have come, do you like them?’Mab had chosen an elegant deep blue design with gold edging, expensive but sumptuous.Harry looked approvingly at the contents of the boxes that she was showing him, thinking how well Mab seemed to understand Leo’s vision for the place.He smiled.
‘You’ve chosen well, pet.I was just telling our Leo, I’m staying on a bit to help out here, leaving the kid to carry on in the business for a little while.’
‘Oh, that’s great.And Nina will be pleased,’ said Mab, noting that Harry was now the one blushing.
‘Well, maybe she will.By the way, have you heard from Sophie since they got home, lad?You haven’t mentioned her all week.’
Mab left the room rather suddenly and Leo frowned, thoughts of his fiancée clashing uncomfortably with the feverish flashbacks he was still having of Mab in his arms.
‘I guess she’s busy now she’s back at work, Dad.You know what it’s like in the tanning studio when the summer season’s coming up.Everyone wants to get nice and brown ready for their holidays, don’t they?’
‘Hmmm, it seems like a funny sort of job.Why can’t folks just go for a walk if they want to get a decent tan?Why do they want to go and lie in a sandwich toasting machine?And those mates of hers, they’re all airheads, if you ask me.You want to tell her to get her act together and come down here to help us with the business.We could do with a bit of glamour.’
‘Yeah, right, Dad.Like Sophie ever listens to me.’The two men grimaced at each other.Neither of them had ever understood women.Leo had only had two serious relationships before Sophie, and they had both petered out when he had failed to commit himself to flat sharing.He had to admit things were looking bleak at the moment, even without considering the disturbing interlude with Mab.But how could he untangle things?He didn’t want to drive up to Northumberland right now, not with so many problems hanging over his head.A glimmer of an idea came to him.
‘Don’t forget the local paper’s due to run a feature about the grand opening of the shop,’ he said, ‘Nina’s there today sorting it out.Maybe Sophie will want to be interviewed for that?She could come down again for a day or two and we could talk.’
‘If anyone’s going to be interviewed, it should be young Mab.She’s put the time and the effort into this, while your lass is up there enjoying herself.’
‘OK, OK, I get the point.But however you look at it, Sophie’s the one I’m meant to be marrying.And anyway,’ he said, trying to face a nagging doubt that had been haunting him for days, ‘maybe Mab’s got other fish to fry.’
Harry raised his eyebrows.‘What do you mean, other fish?’
‘Did you not see Den slobbering all over her?He’s been emailing, you know.She’s always hanging over the computer last thing at night to see if he’s been in touch.’
‘Is that so?He’s a slippery one, our Den.Should we warn her?’
Leo considered the options.On the one hand, Den’s track record was somewhat eventful.Apart from his short-lived marriage, Den had been engaged three times, and there was a lady out Berwick way who insisted that her little boy was the spitting image of his elder brothers even if Den flatly denied this.But to Leo, Den had always appeared to be basically a kind and honourable man.He had, as far as Leo knew, never broken a promise, and he would give the shirt off his own back to help you, if you were in trouble.And his flings were usually over in a flash.
‘No, it might not come to anything, with a bit of luck.If we interfere, she’ll just get mad with us.Women don’t like to think they’ve made a mistake.’
‘Talking of women, we’re going to have to get the rest of the team back up here.Last I heard, the boy was improving.You’ll need Jess and Stan here to get trained up for the shop opening, and the sooner the better.I should give her a ring, see if you can persuade her to get the doctors to let him out.He can recuperate here just as well as in Brighton.Nina’ll help.She’s missed him no end.As a matter of fact, she said something about ringing the Brighton gang herself, but it won’t hurt if you add your bit.’
Leo strode away obediently to ring Jess.He was glad of the excuse to go back up to the flat because although Mab reappeared and bustled around with the coffee, she had still refused to look him in the eye and had made an excuse to go back into her room as soon as possible.He must put things right with Mab, and convince her that he would keep his hands to himself in future.Leo tried to conjure up an image of Sophie, slim, young and beautiful, dressed in a bridal outfit and walking up the aisle towards him, but was surprised to feel less excitement than panic at this vision of loveliness.As he mounted the stairs, Leo heard the phone ringing, and Mab’s voice saying, ‘The Chocolate Cake Bookstore, how can I help you?’
Leo grinned.It sounded official, and positive, but the next moment, the sound of Mab calling him dispelled any feelings of satisfaction.Her voice was high and tense, and he soon found out why; a local catering firm, the one that had been recommended highly by a friend of Nina’s, were returning a call he’d made to them earlier.Leo had been trying to hurry up the delivery of all the basic food supplies for the café, but the receptionist was now saying that she couldn’t help him as the order was no longer ‘operational’.Exactly the same thing happened again; it seemed that another order had been mysteriously cancelled.
‘Mab, this is crazy,’ said Leo, running his fingers through his black curls until they stood on end wildly.‘How can we even think of opening on time if things keep going wrong?I can’t afford any more delays.And how can two orders have “accidentally” been cancelled?Is something dodgy going on?And if so, what can it be?’
As they looked at each other helplessly, a loud knocking came from the main entrance of the shop.Leo heard Harry open the door followed by voices coming closer, and then there was an ominous silence, as a man in a grey suit and beige anorak entered the living area, with Harry close on his heels.The man glanced around, taking in the bright new paint and Angelica’s cosy chairs and sofas, before putting down his briefcase on a nearby table and extracting a manila file.He cleared his throat importantly.
‘Mr Leonardo Lamb?’he asked, holding out a hand.
‘Indeed I am, and how may I help you?’answered Leo, shaking hands warily.The visitor had an air of menace about him, even though on the surface he was as inoffensive a specimen as Leo had ever seen.There was something unsettling about the way that his eyes darted around the group, as if he was trying to decide who was in charge.
‘I’m hoping you can be of considerable help to me, sir.Let me introduce myself.Here is my card and identification.’He handed over a card and flashed a laminated badge.‘I am Gerald Collingsworth, from the health and safety department of your local council.I am here to investigate some rather… erm… unfortunate reports that have been made with reference to your property.’
There was a short pause as Mr Collingsworth pulled out a sheaf of papers from his file.The little man cleared his throat importantly.
‘It has been brought to our notice that sightings of vermin have occurred around the outer regions of your property.You will realise that this is an extremely serious situation in the case of a prospective food establishment.’
‘Come again?’said Leo, looking bemused.
‘In a nutshell, someone has reported seeing rats in your back yard, and cockroaches within the trading area of your firm.’
