Free Pole Position by Sofia Grey Page B

mood,” I observed idly.
    She smiled back at me over her shoulder. “Am I?”
    I remembered Danny’s absence again. “You’ll have to have a night alone again. You can be completely uninhibited without us here. So where was he last night? Danny, I mean. Does he have a new girlfriend we’ve not met yet?”
    Colette paused, and then turned back to me. “He said he’d rowed with Clare, nothing new there, but I’ve no idea where he spent the night. Judging by the state of his breath, he found a whisky bottle.” She blushed. “I’ll go and tell him to hurry up.”
    I had my quickest ever shower, put on clean jeans and a T-shirt, and grabbed a hooded sweatshirt. Thankfully, the traffic was light, and I finally arrived at Oulton Park. It was nearly four. Jon’s race would be well underway. The anxious ball inside my chest tightened further.
    Finding a parking space was another nightmare, and then I had to find the Competitors’ Enclosure. It was easy to figure out where the race was being held. Engines roared, the PA system blared, and the crowd cheered. I pushed through hordes of people, getting even more panicky. The race must surely be about to finish. He’ll think I didn’t come.
    Finally, I squeezed through a gap in the crowd and saw my goal in front of me, the Competitors’ Enclosure, with a bored looking youth on the gate. I stopped in front of him and gave him my best hundred-watt smile.
    “Hi there, I’m here to see Jon Craigowan. My name’s Anita.”
    “You and half this crowd. You want to see him, go find a space in the stand. He’s car number six, the blue one.”
    “No, you don’t understand, he told me to come here. He said to ask for Tom.” I struggled to remember the name Jon gave me. “ Tom McNally . I’m to ask for Tom McNally.”
    I stood beaming, waiting for him to let me in, but he just scratched his head. I watched as dandruff flakes drifted down onto the papers in front of him. With painful slowness, he looked through the sheaf of documents, as though trying to find something.
    “Oh please.” I was close to tears. “I’m so late already, and I was supposed to be here for the start. Will you please ask Tom McNally to let me in?”
    “Your name has to be on the list. And Tom is watching the race, he won’t leave it until it’s finished.”
    “But he’s expecting me,” I wailed. I really thought I’d just turn up and be let straight in. No such luck.
    He gazed back at me, stony-faced. I had a burst of inspiration.
    “If I give you a note, would you please pass it on? Now, before the race finishes?”
    I should have been expecting his reply. “Sorry, but I can’t leave the gate, otherwise anyone could walk in.”
    I felt like screaming. Then I spotted my name on the list. “Look, there I am—Annie Cartwright.”
    “You said your name was Anita, not Annie.”
    I closed my eyes a moment, summoned every ounce of patience, and then spoke slowly and clearly to him. “My name is Anita Cartwright, they must have written it down wrong. Look, there’s my name against visitors for Tom McNally. Like I told you.”
    He glared at me. “Identification?”
    Oh for fuck’s sake . I rummaged in my purse. “Bank card and photo-ID driving license.” I held them out triumphantly.
    He slowly examined them, cross checked them against the list, then with a final scathing look mumbled something unintelligible into his walkie-talkie and gave me back my cards.
    “Well? What happens now? Can I please go in?”
    “Nope.” He gave me an insolent grin. “You wait for someone to come and collect you.”
    “And how long will that take?”
    He shrugged. “Might be after the race has finished, they’re all a bit busy at the moment.” He turned back to his papers and ignored me. I paced up and down as I waited with increasing frustration.
    It was actually only a couple of minutes later that a young lad came running up to the gate. “Annie Cartwright?”
    “That’s me!” I hurried to the