Part 3

She was just about to leave for the evening when Donna's phone rang. "Hello? Oh hello, Veena. What's the problem?... Yes, that should be okay... Meet you there in about fifteen minutes. Bye!"

After carefully pocketing her phone, her mind was on the possible scenarios Veena would present her with when they met. To be honest, Veena had been rather cautious with information. Obviously, she needed Donna to be a sympathetic listening ear, but was it going to be a general grumble about her workplace, or the revelation that her boyfriend was cheating on her. It would be surprising in the least if it was the latter. The bloke was a bit creepy, if you asked her. Not that anyone would.

Anyway, she turned to call out a goodbye to Daniel was taken aback by the fact John was still talking to him. Didn't the bloke ever go home? "See you tomorrow!" she cried with a cheery wave.

"Bye Donna!" Daniel congenially yelled back.

John merely glared. Well, sod him, she thought. It took hardly any effect to be polite but obviously even that was too much where she was concerned. How could she make a dig at him? Hmm.

Then she spotted his shoes by the door. If she took them to him, he'd have to say something. Almost the law; and the ultimate rude gesture if he didn't so, she picked up the shoes and carried them back into the studio. "I found these and thought you might need them, seeing as the stairs are a bit dodgy," she cheerily informed him, placing them on the carpet like an offering. She then stood in silence, waiting for his response.

It took him a second and then an "Oh" exploded out of him. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Was he actually blushing? she wondered. No. couldn't be.

Except he was.

Well I never… She grinned disarmingly. "You're welcome. Bye."

Watching her practically skip away from them, Daniel was intrigued. "Do you have a problem with Donna?"

"No," John hastily answered. "It's fine."

But Daniel wasn't convinced. "If you're going to get any information, you'll have to actually talk to her eventually," he advised, "instead of just staring at her."

"I'm not… I don't…," John denied. "I just…" Huffing, he rubbed a hand through his hair.

"Find her a bit intimidating?" Daniel suggested with a chuckle. "She's very efficient but also easy to talk to, I assure you."

Taking a deep breath, John declared, "Maybe I'll try again. Soon." He put his shoes and strode out into the evening air.

As he walked, John chastised himself for being affected by Donna's sarcastic remarks. This wasn't a competition, after all. It shouldn't take any time at all to ask his questions. No time at all. If he could actually get the questions out. But so far, each time he'd opened his mouth to ask, she had countered his enquiries with one of her own. It was all extremely distracting!

Talking of distractions, he was sure he had seen her walking further on, up the pavement, near the next parade of shops. He sped up, striding confidently along until he saw the woman in question more clearly.

Ah yes. It was her! He stepped into a doorway to observe the situation. After looking around, she had tapped a message into her phone, glanced at a shop door, and then slowly walked in. Looking up, he could clearly see the name of the establishment, although the livery was a dead giveaway. The shop of choice was a Starbucks, and she had joined the queue inside.

When he eventually entered the coffee shop, Donna was sat with her back to the door, animatedly talking with another woman. Okay, he could wait, he decided, so he bought a drink and sat in the furthest corner from her, watching.

Veena came up for breath after berating the latest behaviour of her boyfriend, took a sip of her coffee and whispered to Donna, "Don't look now but there's a gorgeous bloke over there looking at us."

"Where?" Donna inevitably asked.

Talking over her mug, Veena replied, "Right near the counter. The one with the long ginger hair."

With as much grace as she could manage, Donna swept her gaze over the Starbuck patrons as though she were seeking the toilets before telling her friend, "Oh, that's just John."

"Just John?" Veena challenged. "You can't dismiss him like that without more information."

Sighing, Donna supplied, "He's a fashion model who has been working for Daniel, the photographer I've been placed with recently. Let's just say that he is your stereotypical self-obsessed walking clotheshorse. He's probably trying to work out how he can escape from here before I see him and ask about his boyfriend."

"Oh," Veena despondently gasped. "Not available then?"

"Even if he was so inclined, you've got a boyfriend already," Donna pointed out.

"Yes, but a girl can look," Veena maintained, and took another sip of her drink. "And it pays to have backup options if my suspicions are true."

"I know the name and address of a detective agency if you need proof either way," Donna offered, "but I doubt he is playing away. He'd be mad to."

"That's what I told him," Veena responded. As if on cue, her phone pinged a notification. "It's him," she warmly informed Donna as she read the message. "Wants to take me out to dinner. Says to go meet him right away."

"Then you'd better go," Donna advised. "Make the most of this sudden romantic mood."

"I will." Veena stood up to leave and grabbed her jacket to put on. "Thanks for listening. I'll let you know how things go. Bye then."

"Bye!" Donna said as she hugged her friend, and then considered her possibilities as Veena left.

Should she go and confront John? Yeah. Why not? At least she would find out what the heck he'd been itching to ask all day. Getting up out of her seat again, she collected her belongings and walked as though she were using the facilities. Instead, she veered off at the last moment and placed herself in front of John.

His head jerked up as she playfully enquired, "Hello John. Fancy seeing you here. I suppose you're waiting for your partner. I hope you haven't been following me."

"Erm… No, I… That is, I didn't… There's no partner but nevertheless," he stammered, but he went silent when she sat down the seat beside him.

"That doesn't sound fishy at all," she remarked. "Totally innocent." All he managed was a nod, so she continued to talk. "I'm going to assume that you came in here to ask me your question. The one you failed to ask earlier, so what did you want to know?"

Now caught out, he realised it was his opportunity to find out the answer. "Yes, I did want to ask you something. I'm trying to find Lance Bennett. Do you know where he is or what has happened to him?"