Secret Asset

43

Judith Spratt was off work ill, so it was Rose Love who came to find Dave. Something had changed in her, he thought, which he couldn’t pin down. She looked older, for one thing, in smart trousers and a crimson blouse. She’d tied her hair back, too. He decided he wasn’t going to let her forget their dinner date, postponed since the discovery of the safe house in Wokingham.

“We’ve got a chassis number from the Wantage police,” she announced. “I’ve already been on to the manufacturers in Germany and they’ve promised to get back to me today.”

“They’ll tell you which dealer it got shipped to. But that was a long time ago.”

“I know. The rest will be up to DVLA.”

“How long?” he said anxiously.

“Have you got a piece of string?” she asked with a laugh, and he realised what had changed most. She was more confident. Gone was the shy girl of even a month before.

“What happened to our date?” he asked.

“Much too busy,” she said, but there was a playfulness behind the prim front.

“You are?”

She nodded sagely. “And so are you.” But her smile was sly enough to give him hope.