Give Murder A Hand: Lizzie. Book 2 (The Westport Mysteries) (11 page)

“Maybe.”

“Do you want to go and talk to him?”

“No.” From what I had seen they looked like the perfect happy
couple. That was not something I wanted to see again. “I want to go home. I’ll
ask him about it later.” Maybe.

“I can go in there and pretend to have run into him. Get a vibe on
what’s really happening,” offered Danny.

I shook my head again. “I’m okay. It’s probably nothing. I’m sure
you’re right anyway. She’ll be the new client.”

“Alright, but I’m staying with you until he gets home.”

“Thanks, I’d like that.” At times Danny could be the best brother a
girl could ever ask for.

Chapter
Ten

It was late when Riley walked in the door. So
late in fact that I had sent Danny home telling him I would be fine and I would
call him if I needed him. I’d had a hot shower and put myself to bed. I’d
closed my eyes and willed sleep to arrive and take away the picture of Riley
and Allison together. My mind however, had other ideas.

Instead of sleep, it decided it was far better
to play little scenes of the two of them together and what they could be up to.
Like right now, I pictured Allison’s long fingers running through his hair as
she kissed him goodnight and I heard his blissful sigh as he snuggled into her
neck, holding her tight. My mind wandered further down that path but I abruptly
stopped it before it got too far. I already had to cope with the fact that
Riley and Allison had actually been doing that at some point in history and
that was torturous enough. I didn’t need to actually see it in my own mind.

I gave up on sleep and wandered to the kitchen hoping a hot cup of
cocoa would help relax me. I had just poured the milk into the cup when Riley
unlocked the door and walked in. He looked happy and relaxed.

“Oh hey, I didn’t expect you to still be awake,” he said, moving to
me and kissing me on the cheek. I discreetly sniffed at him, looking for the
smell of perfume.

“Couldn’t sleep.” I smiled. “You’re late,” I commented, a knot
forming in my stomach.

“Yeah, sorry, I caught up with some old friends of my dad’s. They
were chatty and I had a lot of trouble getting away.”

“Oh, really? Is he the new client?” I looked up into Riley’s face.

“No, I met the new client earlier. I was just leaving when I saw
Richard and his wife, Debbie. They’ve been travelling a lot, and before I could
stop him he’d pulled out his phone and was showing me all the photos he’d taken.”
Riley grinned.

“How did the meeting with the new client go?” I asked.

Riley turned his back to me and put his phone on the table along
with his car keys. “It was okay. She wanted a quote for some renovations on a
new house she’s buying.”

“Oh, are you going to do the job?”

“Maybe ... I have to go and have a look at it tomorrow morning. She’s
just about to sign the purchase contract, but wanted an expert opinion before
she did.”

“Who was she?” I asked. He certainly didn’t seem to be volunteering
the information.

“No one important,” he said, kissing my cheek. “How was your night?
Did I miss anything fun?”

“No. It was just Danny and myself. Molly had a date with Matt.”

“Where was Andrew?”

“At home, babysitting his mother.”

“How was Danny though? What did you do?”

“We went out actually. We had a drink at the Grinning Dog.” I
watched Riley carefully to gauge his reaction.

“Really? I was at the Grinning Dog. I didn’t see you there.”
Riley’s answer threw me a little bit. If he’d been up to anything with Allison
surely he wouldn’t have said that? Should I tell him that I saw him? I felt my
breath get shallow and come out in short sharp spurts as I debated what to do.

“Are you okay?” asked Riley. “You look a bit pale.”

I stood and looked into his gorgeous blue eyes, the sound of his breathing
calming me, and the delicious smell of Riley filling my senses, and before I
could stop them, tears filled my lashes. Riley took my face in his hands.

“Lizzie, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“I saw you,” I whispered, the tears escaping and running down my
cheeks. “I saw you with Allison.” Riley sighed and pulled me in close. I could
hear his heart beat through his shirt.

“There was nothing to see,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “She’s
just a client.”

“I know I’m being stupid, but I think she’s still in love with
you.”

Riley stepped away from me, shocked. “Lizzie, she is not still in
love with me. What I had with her was a long time ago, and I assure you there
is nothing between us anymore.”

“Then why has she asked you to do this job?”

“Because she wants the opinion of someone she trusts. Not someone
who will tell her the house needs a million things it doesn’t really need.”

“Then recommend her to someone else.” I wiped my tears with the
back of my hand. A moment ago I was overwhelmed with fear, now I was pissed
off.

“Lizzie, I don’t say very much to you because I don’t want you to
worry, but I need the work. I’ve spent so much time working on your house
lately I haven’t been putting out any quotes. When your house if finished I
won’t have anything to go to.”

“Well, let me pay you for what you’ve done.” My voice was getting
louder as my agitation grew.

“You’re not paying me! We said we’d work out money once the house
is sold and we will, but I don’t know how long that will be. It could take
months for it to sell and in that time, I need income.”

“I know that, but why does it have to be with her?”

“You have to trust me. There is nothing other than a working
relationship between Allison and I.”

Riley moved to me and put his arms around me. His warmth filled me
and as he lowered his head and looked directly into my eyes, I was a goner. He’d
won. And as he put his hands around the back of my head and pulled me close, he
kissed me deeply proving to me I was the only woman he was thinking of, and I
thought that right now, Allison didn’t matter. Right now, he was mine.

* * *

The next morning Riley did however keep his
appointment to meet her. I tried to calm my anxiety by cleaning his house, but
an hour later I gave up. It wasn’t dirty anyway. I found a magazine and flipped
through it, looking for some gardening inspiration. I’m not much of a gardener,
but I knew that once the kitchen in my house was finished, the garden would
have to be done. I mean, I could hardly sell a house with a gaping big hole in
the backyard. Then again, maybe I could. My house had far more attention since
that hole had been there than ever before. I thought about Bradley’s tours and
remembered what he’d said about his video diary. I swapped the magazine for my
laptop and did a quick Google search. I typed in
skeleton in May Street Westport
and hit enter. Within three
quarters of a second, I had three point two million results. Thankfully not all
of them were mine.

The first one I stopped at was the news report that Matt had filmed
the day we found the bones. Next was Bradley’s diary. I watched a few entries,
but found out no more information than I already knew. My mind wandered to why
the Japanese tourists were interested. I switched to YouTube and did the same
search. I instantly found my answer. Some smart comedian had put up a video,
complete with little jingle, of a dancing skeleton standing out the front of my
house doing his thing. So far it had had just over two hundred and fifty
thousand views. Actually watching it, it was quite funny. I almost wished I’d
seen it being videoed.

I gave up on the internet search and put my laptop down. I knew
what I had to do if I wanted to find out who the missing person in 1949 was. I
had to phone Officer Ed Helms. I went looking for my phone and the found his
card in my handbag. Dialing his number, I held my breath.

“Hello,” answered his deep voice.

“Oh hi. Is that Officer Helms?” I asked, uncertainly.

“Yes. Who’s calling?”

“It’s Lizzie. Lizzie Fuller. I’m not sure if you remember me, but
you’ve been investigating the skeleton dug up in my garden in May Street,” I
added.

“Hi Lizzie, of course I remember you. How could I forget?” I heard
the warmth and humor in his voice. “Is this a social call or is something
wrong?”

“Oh um ... neither really. I was hoping to ask you some questions
about the bones though.”

“Of course.” I heard the disappointment in his voice and tried not
to question it. “What do you need to know?”

“I’ve heard some rumors about a man who went missing around the
time of the bones being buried and was hoping you could tell me something about
it.” I smiled hoping to get across the sound that I was asking in a friendly
tone.

“Yeah, I know what you’re referring too. I’d heard that rumor too.
Maybe we should meet up and compare notes. I can fill you in on any details I
can, and you can tell me what you’ve heard. How does that sound?”

I was hoping he could give me the information over the phone. “Okay.
When and where?”

“Well, I’m not on duty but I am at the station. Maybe we could meet
somewhere close by? How about the café on the river? In about ten minutes?”

“Sure, see you soon.” I hung up the phone and had a mini panic
attack, feeling guilty about doing this investigating behind Riley’s back. But
then I remembered who he was with right about now and thought, bugger him.

I checked my hair was behaving, smoothed my skirt and checked that
Cat was sleeping nicely on Riley’s bed. I grabbed my bag and my car keys,
locked the door behind me, and made the five-minute journey to the Café on the
River.

Ed Helms had made it there before me and sat at one of the tables
under an umbrella overlooking the river. I had never seen him in anything but
his uniform and I will say that if possible, he was even more gorgeous than before.
I usually like a man in uniform, but in this case I liked the man even more out
of it. His dark mocha-colored skin looked like melted chocolate against the
white of his t-shirt, his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes, shading them
against the glare of the sun on the water.

As I approached, he saw me and smiled, his teeth dazzling in
contrast to his skin. Standing, I noticed his jeans slip low on his hips and
his toned biceps lifted his glasses to rest on the top of his head. I also noticed
the women at the table next to him stare, their mouths hanging slightly open as
they did.

He held out his hand to me as I approached.

“Lizzie! How are you?” he asked. At close to six foot three, he
looked down on my five foot two. “Thanks for meeting me here.”

“Oh no, thank you for meeting me so quickly,” I said, accepting his
hand. My hand was dwarfed by his as he held it and guided me to my seat. Waiting
for me to sit first, he sat opposite me and smiled.

“You look beautiful. That color really suits you,” he said. I
looked down at my pale yellow dress that I’d chosen to cheer my mood this
morning.

“Thank you,” I said blushing. “It’s just something I threw on.’ God
I sound like an idiot around good-looking men. Any minute now I’d be babbling,
wishing someone would shut me up.

“I figured you for one of those women who doesn’t fuss over their
appearance, but can look completely beautiful all the same.”

The heat rushed into my cheeks and burned my ears.

“Oh ... ummm ... thanks, but no really. I take ages in the
bathroom. This does not happen easily,” I laughed, completely embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or overstep the mark. I
just say it as I see it.”

“Oh no, really, it’s fine. It’s not every day I get complimented by
a good-looking man.”

Shit,
what did I say that for? Now he knows I think he’s good-looking. And
anyway, that was a complete lie. I got complimented every day by Riley, and he
was even better looking than Ed Helms.

“I haven’t ordered anything yet? Would you like a coffee or
something cold to drink?”

“Actually, I’ll have my usual—a tall dark mocha Frappuccino.” Just
like your skin, I thought, but thankfully managed to prevent those words
escaping my lips.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” He stood and I watched his hips sway
slightly as he walked.

“Oh my God!”
the woman next to me said. “You lucky woman!” she continued
smiling at me.

“What?” I asked confused.

“He’s gorgeous! God, I wish I had a boyfriend who looked like
that.”

“I wish I had a boyfriend who looked at
me
like that,” said her friend.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”

“Well yes, but what did you mean by the way he looked at me?”

“He looked at you like he wanted to eat you,” giggled the friend.

“Yeah, I’d be getting a room fast.”

“Oh no, it’s not like that. He’s not my boyfriend or anything. This
is just business,” I explained. Why I was explaining myself to perfect
strangers though had me beat.

Just then Ed walked back towards us. I heard the women sigh and
turn away, but now I was uncomfortable. What did they mean by ‘he looked like
he wanted to eat me?’ He was just being polite. Sure, I got embarrassed by the
compliment, but that was all it was, wasn’t it? And why did I have to over-think
everything?

“Tom says to say hello.”

“Thank you, Officer.”