Layla lurked outside until the stylist had finished blow-drying her client’s hair, then made her way in and asked if she could have a quick word.
‘Oh I’m sorry,’ said Angel. ‘I’m fully booked all day. But if you’re really desperate, Matt could probably squeeze you in.’
Matt said good-naturedly, ‘Our Angel has a way with words. You don’t have to be really desperate.’
‘I’m not here about my hair,’ said Layla. ‘Do you know someone called Harry?’
Angel’s eyes lit up. ‘He’s my boyfriend!’
But Matt was looking at Layla’s face. His grimace let her know that he had an inkling as to what might be about to happen. ‘Come on, babe. Let’s go into the back room and hear what she has to say.’
Two minutes later, Angel let out a shriek of fury and hurled the notebook across the back room. ‘That absolute fucker. All he was ever after was my gran’s money.’
‘Oh babe,’ said Matt.
‘He told me he loved me!’ She turned to Layla. ‘Did he say it to you too?’
Layla nodded.
‘He has a busy schedule,’ Matt said. ‘From the look of that list in there, I’m about the only person he hasn’t said it to.’
‘You told me there was something iffy about him.’ Angel heaved a sigh of frustration.
‘He never wanted to go anywhere with you, doll. All that ever happened was he came over to your flat, and then the two of you’d stay in and have sex non-stop. Oh, sorry.’ He gestured apologetically to Layla. ‘But it’s what he did.’
‘Not even very good sex,’ Angel said with an air of defiance.
‘What? You told us he was fantastic!’
‘It’s what you have to tell people when it’s your boyfriend,’ Angel retorted.
‘Oh babe. At least you’ve found out the truth before you gave him any more money.’
Angel checked the time on her phone. ‘This is so annoying. I want to go and tell him exactly what I think of him, but I’m stuck here until six and can’t let my clients down.’
Layla said, ‘Why don’t we meet up this evening? I think we need a plan.’
On the way to Shipton under Wychwood, she studied the rest of Molly Kendrick’s details. Molly’s contribution to the Harry Fund had initially been five hundred pounds, then last week she’d added to it with a further three thousand pound payment.
‘She might not even be there,’ said Layla as they entered the village.
Will’s tone was reassuring. ‘No worries. We can always come back later.’
He was being so nice. If anything could bring her to tears, it was his calm manner and the fact that he hadn’t said I told you so once.
‘Should I even be doing this? Maybe it’s none of my business and I ought to just let him get on with it.’
‘Don’t even think that,’ said Will. ‘My mother got taken in by a confidence trickster after my dad died. It broke her heart and she never recovered.’
And then her physical problems had begun, leaving her practically housebound for years. Layla was appalled. ‘Oh Will, I didn’t know. How awful. I’m sorry.’
‘Looks like Molly’s at home.’ He braked as they reached the address Harry had listed, a detached Cotswold home smothered in wisteria. And there, parked at a jaunty angle on the gravelled driveway, was the red Mercedes.
‘OK, here we go again. Wish me luck.’
‘You’ve got this,’ said Will as she climbed out of the car. ‘He’s the one who’s going to need the luck.’
Molly Kendrick had been mowing her lawn; she was a busty brunette with crystal-encrusted talons for nails and a big welcoming smile that faded as soon as Layla mentioned Harry by name.
‘Come in, tell me why you’re here. Oh God, is this bad news? If you’re his wife, I swear I didn’t know. He told me he was single.’
‘I’m definitely not his wife. But I did think I was his only girlfriend.’ Layla passed her the notebook. ‘Looks like he’s been telling all of us a few lies.’
In her manicured back garden with its stunning flower beds and half-mown lawn, Molly Kendrick read the relevant pages in silence. Finally she looked up and said, ‘Just when you think you’ve found someone decent at last.’
‘I know the feeling.’
‘If we went to the police, he’d just say we’d given him the money. He didn’t steal it.’
Layla nodded; she had realised that too.
‘Three and a half grand he cost me. And a brand-new iPhone, the bastard.’
That explained the flashy new phone, the one he’d apparently won in an online competition. ‘I wasn’t sure whether you’d want to know,’ said Layla. ‘But I had to tell you.’
‘I just wish it wasn’t too early for a drink. I could murder a gin and tonic. Actually, I could murder bloody Harry.’ Molly’s hooped earrings rattled as she shook her head. ‘But I won’t, because how would I ever find a good man in a women’s prison?’
‘I like this place,’ said Angel. ‘I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. It’s gorgeous!’ They were in Bourton on the Water and the church bells had just chimed six. Harry would be home soon. The three women sat on the wooden bench at the water’s edge, just across the road from his flat.
‘He kept us compartmentalised,’ said Molly. ‘He told me he lived in his grandmother’s cottage and she was always there; that was why we spent all our time at my house.’
‘Same.’ Angel nodded.
Layla said, ‘Which was why he never came to my place. Because he was already seeing you, and I only live a few hundred yards down the road. I had to come here instead.’
‘Is his flat nice?’ Angel was curious.
‘No! Horrible bath towels.’ Layla shuddered at the memory of them, and the ghastly bed linen. ‘And he never had any fresh milk in the fridge.’
‘Can I just say?’ Molly touched the sleeve of Layla’s purple satin shirt. ‘I don’t think your clothes are embarrassing. I think you look great.’
‘We all do. We are great,’ Layla declared. She’d already resolved that Harry’s snide comment wasn’t going to stop her wearing the outfits she loved.
‘Here we go.’ Angel sat up straight as the sound of a motorbike made itself heard. ‘I’m looking forward to this now.’
Layla was too. The three of them were currently shielded from view by the huge weeping willow tree overhanging the river. They watched through the low-hanging green fronds as Harry parked the motorbike – his pride and joy – and climbed off it, then removed his helmet. When he turned to head towards his front door, Layla jumped up and hurried across the strip of grass separating them.
‘Surprise!’
He swung round. ‘Hello! Another surprise? You should call before you come over.’
‘Why?’
‘Why d’you think? Because I might not be here.’
Behind him, Molly and Angel were making their two-pronged approach. Layla said cheerfully, ‘Oh, I thought you meant because you might be meeting someone else.’