The Headhunters Read Free Page B

is?’
    ‘Managing the landscape.’
    ‘Whether to shore up the sea defences or let nature take its course?’
    He nodded. ‘Pagham Harbour. East Head. Habitats.’
    ‘All this comes into your work?’
    ‘One time—’ he began to say.
    She waited.
    He drew another breath. Long sentences were definitely an ordeal. ‘—at Sidlesham—’
    She encouraged him with a nod.
    ‘—there was a ferry.’
    ‘I didn’t know that,’ she said. ‘Tell me again. Seal Island. Seole—’
    ‘—sig.’
    ‘Seolesig. There you go. I’ve learnt something. I suppose it was a favourite place for seals in the old days.’
    He made a simultaneous movement with his mouth and shoulders that conveyed that he didn’t know for certain, but she could be right.
    There was more to Jake than she’d first appreciated. He was hard work, but when you persevered he had depth to him, unlike golden boy Rick. ‘Next time I go for one of my walks I’ll think of it in a different light. Don’t suppose I’ll spot a seal, though.’
    ‘Might.’
    ‘I never have up to now.’
    ‘I see them.’
    She gave an uneasy laugh and said, ‘Really?
    ‘Common seals. Grey seals, too.’
    ‘Where?’
    ‘Where I work. Pagham.’ A place just along the coast from Selsey. He paused, making a huge effort to say more. ‘On the mudflats at low tide.’
    After that, she had to believe in the seals. She’d lived locally for some years and never seen or heard of one before.
    The food came. Jake had chosen a cheese and tomato pizza. She had fish and chips. It was predictable but embarrassing that the waitress assumed they were a couple and tried to talk them into buying the house wine, with some remarks about putting them in the mood. Jo handled it smoothly and said they were meeting friends later and just wanted water at this stage.
    ‘Was that all right, speaking for us both?’ she asked when the waitress had left them.
    Jake nodded. ‘Water is good.’
    ‘We could have ordered coffee.’
    He shook his head.
    The food provided a break from conversation, and gave Jo a chance to reflect on how this evening had turned out. First impressions can be misleading. Jake’s looks were against him and his problem communicating hadn’t allowed him to appear as anything but oafish, even sinister. In company he was fated to be the victim of the quips Rick excelled at. But like this, one-to-one, if you persevered he had thoughtful things to say. She couldn’t imagine him starting a conversation, not with someone who was virtually a stranger, but he’d made efforts to respond. Was he short of confidence? There wasn’t any speech impediment she could detect. Maybe he’d been given a hard time at school by people like Rick. Being so tall and—well—grim-faced, he’d no doubt been picked on by other kids, particularly when they sensed he wasn’t the threat his size suggested.
    She wanted a chance to know him better. And if Rick disapproved, tough. She hadn’t liked what she’d seen of him tonight.
    The situation with Gemma was more complex. She valued her as a friend. You can’t take over your best mate’s boyfriend the first evening you meet him. But was Jake her regular bloke? Gemma had never mentioned him before. She seemed to treat him without much affection. She’d blithely gone off with Rick.
    Hard to tell.
    ‘I go for my walks at the weekend, really early, before many people are about,’ she said. ‘Doesn’t matter what the weather is doing. I always enjoy it.’
    ‘Nice,’ he said without looking up from his plate.
    ‘Won’t be there tomorrow, more’s the pity. I sometimes have to work Sundays.’
    ‘Me, too.’
    A short time later they returned to the multiplex and waited in the foyer for the others to come out. When they did, Rick’s face suggested the Russell Crowe film was a turkey. His mood had taken a plunge. He’d changed his mind about Jongleurs. He complained of a raging headache and said he needed to get home right away. They