Give Murder A Hand: Lizzie. Book 2 (The Westport Mysteries) (15 page)

“We don’t have to do anything. It’s all been handed to the police,
so let them do their job,” said Riley, glaring at me.

Danny looked at me, raised his eyebrows and mouthed
we’ll find him
across the table.

“You know Mabel, I’m not feeling very well,” said George. “I might
head off.” Maybe it was all the talk of severed body parts.

“What? You don’t have to go,” she said to George. She turned to me.
“Lizzie, stop telling horrible stories. See George, she’ll stop now.”

“No really, I think I should go. I’ll call you later tonight.”

With that he excused himself from the table and left, Grandma hot
on his heels.

Mum turned to me and stared. It was her
shut up and behave
stare. She was probably worried I’d chase Matt
off as well. No need to worry though. Matt was grinning from ear to ear and
probably mentally writing his next story.

Chapter
Thirteen

Monday morning I was woken by Riley’s phone ringing.
He rolled out of bed and answered it. I rolled over, grabbed his pillow and
snuggled in. When he came back, he moved to the wardrobe and pulled out his
work clothes.

“Who was on the phone?” I asked.

“Allison.” My stomach flipped at her name leaving his lips.

“Oh?”

“The contract on her house goes through this morning and she needs
some work done urgently,” he said, dropping his boxers to pull on his boy leg
underpants.

“So you just change your plans to suit her?”

“She’s giving me cash.” Yeah, I bet that’s not all she wants to
give you, I thought looking at his naked body.

“It’s only six-thirty. Why are you rushing now?”

“The contract is supposed to go through as soon as the bank opens
and she wants a meeting beforehand, so we can get started as soon as she has
the keys.” It all sounded plausible as Riley said it, yet I couldn’t help but
think she had an ulterior motive.

“Oh, I thought we were getting on with the kitchen today,” I
sulked.

“We will ... this afternoon. Why don’t you phone Danny and go shopping
with him. You still need you to make a decision on what bench top you want.”

I sighed.

“Lizzie, you were supposed to make that decision a week ago.”

“I know, I just thought you were going to come with me and help.”

“Sorry, but I have to go,” he said as he moved to the bed and
kissed me. I put my arms around his neck and held on tight. His kiss deepened
and it didn’t take long for him to pull the sheets back and jump back into bed,
his boy leg underpants left on the floor behind him.

At least he would have something to remember when he was looking at
Allison this morning.

* * *

I followed him downstairs and watched as he hunted
for his wallet. I moved to make a pot of coffee.

“Want one?” I asked.

“No thanks, I’m running late.” He smiled.

I shrugged. “Just tell Allison that you were making mad, passionate
love to me.”

Riley found his wallet behind the kettle and put it in his back
pocket. “Very funny,” he said, smiling.

“It’s the truth.”

“Yes, but I don’t go around telling everybody about my sex life,
thank you very much.”

“I’m not telling you to tell everyone, just her.”

Riley planted a hard and fast kiss on my lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” I said to his retreating back. As I heard the door
slam shut and then waited as his truck motor turned over, I sighed and looked
at the clock. It was twenty past seven. Well, I managed to hold him up that
long.

After I completed the morning routine of shower, teeth cleaning,
make-up, hair, clothing (geez, no wonder it took me so long to get out the door
in the morning), I made the bed, tidied the house and washed our breakfast
dishes. I looked at the clock again and realized it was just after eight
o’clock. Time to phone Danny.

Danny and Andrew closed the salon on Mondays and today Danny was
more than happy to meet me in town and have an excuse to get away from Andrew’s
mother.

I stopped by Danny’s and picked him up. I watched as he closed the
door behind him and ran down the steps towards my car. He was dressed
differently today, in three quarter cut-off jeans and a red t-shirt advertising
custom cars.

“Nice shirt,” I said as he climbed into the car.

“Thanks. Andrew bought it for me. I told him I’d rather have the
car but I don’t think he loves me that much.” Danny smiled. Looking at the car
on the shirt and figuring it to be worth quite a bit of money, I thought Danny
was probably right.

By the time we reached the kitchen shop, my blood pressure was
reaching dangerous levels, compliments of the traffic and Danny’s monologue
about his mother in-law. Now, it wasn’t Danny who was frustrating me, it was
the way she was treating him. Sure, I knew my brother could be hard to live
with, but he did not deserve to be treated like that and Andrew really needed
to defend him a little bit more.

“I found a text she sent him,” said Danny quietly. “She said she
thinks I’m ruining Andrew’s life.”

“What?” I yelled.

“She said I spend too much money and that Andrew would be better
without me.” I heard the emotion in Danny’s voice.

“Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You
work hard in that salon and you earn the money you spend. You’re hardly a
freeloader!”

“She also said I need to help out more at home, but Andrew has
always loved doing the cooking. And you know me, I could burn water!” Danny
pouted. “And I
do
my share of the
housework, but she just thinks I’m hard to live with.”

“You should send Grandma Mabel over to live with her for a week. She’d
soon realize you’re a saint.”

“That’s the other thing. She thinks our family isn’t good enough. She
found out about what happened to you with the stalker and how the Pastor was
behind it all, and she thinks you’re the reason the church closed.”

I felt my stomach flip and a sickness creep in at the memory.

“I’m sorry, Danny,” I said quietly.

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Sometimes I wish I’d never bought that house.”

“Rubbish, it could have happened to anyone.”

“Yes, but look what’s happening now.”

“Nothing’s happening now.”

“Have you ever bought a house that came with as many secrets as
mine?”

“Well no, but I’ve only ever bought one house and that’s the one we’re
in now. Anyway, it’s been four weeks since Harper dug up those bones and what
have you found out?”

“Quite a bit, but none of it helps much.”

“Have you been talking to that really cute officer?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t know any more than I do.”

“Next time you talk to him, invite me over.”

“Why? Do you have information for him?”

“No. I just want to look at him, that’s all.” Danny smirked.

“Remember Andrew? God, how does he put up with you?”

“Of course I remember Andrew, but remember, Lizzie – there’s no
harm in looking. It’s not like I’d do anything about it.”

“Not with Ed Helms anyway.” I smiled. “He’s as straight as an
arrow.”

Danny sighed wistfully.

I pulled my Mini into a park on the rooftop of the shop, got out
and waited for Danny. I smoothed my three quarter cut-off jeans into place,
straightened my red t-shirt and realized Danny and I were dressed like twins. Only
he looked much more stylish and ‘together’ than I did.

“Lizzie, look out,” cried Danny, looking at me over the roof of the
car. I stared at him startled, as a flock of seagulls flew over, one of them
skimming the top of my head as it went. I let out a small scream as Danny burst
out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” I asked. “That scared the hell out of
me.”

“Look at your shirt.” He laughed again. I did, and realized that
one of the seagulls had left his breakfast down the front of my shirt.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Yep, you got that right!”

I glared at Danny. “Well don’t just stand there!” I cried
indignantly. “Pass me a tissue or something.”

“I don’t have a tissue.”

I sighed and opened my handbag, feeling the moisture seep through
the flimsy fabric of my shirt. I shuddered and hunted faster. I sighed again.

“I don’t have one either. What am I going to do?”

I looked down at my t-shirt. My choices were limited.

“Well I’m not walking anywhere with you like that,” said Danny,
finally controlling his laughter. “That’s disgusting.”

I sighed again. “I’m going home,” I said opening my car door back
up and climbing in to the driver’s seat. I pulled my seatbelt over my shoulder
and stopped. Danny climbed in next to me.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, reading my mind.

“Danny, what choice do I have? If I don’t take my shirt off, this
bird crap is going to go all over my seatbelt. It’ll be ruined.”

Now it was Danny’s turn to sigh.

“I’m sorry,” I said, carefully lifting my shirt over my head.

“At least you’re wearing a nice bra.” Thank God, I thought. If
Riley hadn’t gotten lucky this morning, leaving me feeling sexy, I would have
been wearing my old comfy one.

“Sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry!”

“Sorry.” Shit

“You’ve said it forty-five times today already.”

“Is that a lot?”

“I haven’t said it at all.”

Yeah, but that didn’t mean much. I put the car in gear and thanked
the universe my windows were tinted with the darkest tint I could get.

When I stopped at the traffic lights, I did notice one guy look
twice at me. Obviously my windows weren’t dark enough. Thankfully the light
changed to green and I quickly accelerated away. The guy in the car next to me
must have been in a little bit of shock as he was nowhere near as fast as I was
off the mark. Turns out it was his lucky day.

As I sped up through the intersection, I noticed a silver Mercedes
on my right speeding towards me, completely ignoring the red light it would
have had. I didn’t have time to do anything before it smashed into my little
car, sending it sliding sideways across the bitumen. I heard the smashing of
glass, the scraping of metal and the screeching of tires as Danny screamed in
my ear and the airbag in my seat deployed. I was too shocked to react and
allowed momentum to take my car wherever it wanted to go. Everything seemed to
slow as the world around me disappeared into background noise and my airbag
deflated.

I was vaguely aware of Danny moving in the seat next to me as my
drivers’ door was wrenched open and voices came into focus. It was only when I
heard the sound of sirens in the distance that I felt the tears well in my eyes
and the shaking start.

* * *

Unbelievably, it was Allison’s voice I heard as
I was helped from my car. My legs worked, my arms worked and I’m sure my voice
would work as soon as I could get thoughts together properly, so it appeared I
was okay.

“Lizzie!” she cried. “Lizzie!” I looked up as a passerby restrained
her.

“Miss, you need to stay back,” he said to her.

“No, I know this woman,” she replied.

“But you’re hurt,” he said.

I blinked as I looked up at her and noticed a small trickle of
blood run down her temple. Confusion swirled in my muddled brain.

“Where’s Danny?” I asked quietly, ignoring her completely.

“I’m here,” I heard him say. I turned to see him being helped from
the car. He moved to the footpath and sat down heavily as a particularly
attractive paramedic ran to help him. If he wasn’t fine, he soon would be. An older-looking
paramedic pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered, and made his way
towards me. It was Paramedic Jim.

I allowed him to help me to the curb and sat as he tended my
wounds. Thankfully my little Mini had saved me from any serious damage, but I
felt the tears fall freely as I looked at it sitting in the road, bent and
broken.

“Lizzie?” I heard a deep familiar voice say. Standing in front of
me, silhouetted by the sun, was Ed Helms. He moved to kneel, his face coming
into focus.

“Ed?”

“Christ, I thought that was your car,” he said, taking my hand. He
was dressed in his uniform, so I guessed his visit here was an official one.
“Are you okay?”

“Hi Ed,” said the paramedic.

“Jim,” nodded Ed. “What happened here?”

“W ... well ...” I stuttered. Feeling the security of Ed’s large
hands holding mine, the focus I had been regaining, started to slip away from
me again. “Umm ... I was ... umm ...”

“Just take your time, Lizzie.” His grip on my hand tightened.

I took a deep breath and tried to control my breathing, as
Paramedic Jim attached me to a monitor. I really hoped it wasn’t monitoring my
heart rate.

“My light turned green and I moved into the intersection when a car
on my right hit me, but I know that I had a green light,” I added with
conviction.

“I’m sure you did.”

“Lizzie,” interrupted Paramedic Jim, “the lady that was in the car
that hit you wants to see you. She says she knows you. Is it okay if she comes
over?” he asked looking more to Ed than to me.

“I guess so,” I said quietly, as Ed looked at me with concern.

Jim stood and moved to his partner, nodding to let the woman
through. As the crowd parted, Allison moved into view.