Clover laughed at his sarcasm. ‘Hey! Just because you care about this stuff, doesn’t mean I have to.’ She looked back at her plate, forgetting instantly about the flirty American. ‘. . . What were we talking about?’

‘Beau,’ Johnny muttered, dipping his fries into some ketchup.

‘Oh yeah . . . Did I tell you he’s convinced someone set Kit up? With the fight outside the restaurant, I mean.’

‘Oh good, that’ll help with Kit’s paranoia.’ Johnny rolled his eyes.

‘Who would your money be on?’ she asked them both, biting into a gherkin.

‘You mean, who set him up? I guess it depends.’

‘On?’

‘What their intention was. Were they random Cory die-hards who took advantage of the opportunity to give him a good kicking?’

‘Nup – they had banners. It was planned,’ Matty said firmly.

‘Well, then, if their intention was to make him look bad and get some bad press for him . . . who benefits most from trashing him?’ Johnny murmured, before breaking into a small laugh. ‘. . . You, clearly. Like you said, it was cinema gold.’

‘Not worth getting knocked out for, though,’ Clover said, flashing a sarcastic grin.

‘Well, there’s obviously no upside for anyone related to him in a business or commercial capacity,’ Matty said. ‘Julian’s been frantic trying to pick up the pieces. And Ari and Tipper must be spitting nails. What’s bad for Kit is bad for them.’ She gave a giant shrug as she ran out of ideas. ‘. . . So maybe it really was some Cory die-hards who knew he was in the area. Followed him. Planned the whole thing.’

‘Or maybe it was Beau?’ Clover posited.

The others looked at her with a frown. ‘But you just said he’s the one convinced it was an ambush,’ Matty said.

‘Yeah.’

‘So then . . .?’ Matty looked confused.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Clover sighed. ‘I just wondered if he might be saying that to point suspicion away from himself. It’s pretty obvious the ambush can’t have been a coincidence. Someone orchestrated it.’

‘But what would Beau have to gain from stitching up his brother?’

‘Only everything! He’s spent his entire life in Kit’s shadow. He loves being in the mountains, he’s a natural. Everyone here’s talking about how good he is, I’ve heard some of them asking why he’s not going pro. He’s younger, more flexible . . . But all the time it’s about Kit, Kit, Kit. Beau never gets a look-in. And we all saw that blow-up with Ari. The guy’s frustrated. His life is passing him by. What does he have that’s actually his?’

The others were quiet.

‘No . . . that’s not reason enough to get his brother beaten up!’ Johnny said after a pause. ‘My brother and I fought like rabid pitbulls but I’d still never let anyone else lay a finger on him.’

‘So maybe it’s someone from Kit’s past, then,’ Matty suggested. ‘An old rival?’