Murder in the Cake: Cozy Murder Mystery (Harley Hill Mysteries Book 4) (14 page)

“Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past you to go to the trouble of wearing a disguise.” It was meant as a joke, but his smile faded and his expression darkened. “Seriously, Harley, what kind of guy do you think I am?” He shook his head. “Cordi really did a number on me, I’ll give her that.”

“Hey, it was a joke.”

“Sure, I’ll see you round.” He turned to go.

I stood up. “Wait, don’t go.” I reached out, grabbed his arm, then let go immediately. “I’m sorry. I can be a jerk sometimes.”

He heaved a sigh, but didn’t walk off. “I’m not always an asshole, either. I sometimes take the day off,” he said. A hint of his super-cute smile returned.

“I’m heading to the south gate; do you want to walk with me?” I said, hoping he’d say yes.

“Sure.”

We walked in silence at first, with Max loping beside us, proudly carrying his ball. An old couple passed us, arm in arm, and had an old terrier waddling beside them on a lead. I noticed the old lady smile and nudge her husband. It struck me that she must have thought Alex and I were a couple out for a walk with our dog, just like them.

I looked at Alex. He was older than me, but age had been kind to him. I usually kept in mind that he and Cordi had split up in the worst way, but not today. I wasn’t an angel, who was I to continually judge a man who had actually been really helpful?

“Thanks for the help with the Renholm case,” I said at last.

He gave me a quizzical look. “You think it’s a case?”

“Yeah. I do. I don’t have any proof of foul play yet, but my gut is telling me that all is not what it seems.”

He nodded. “Well, I’d go with your gut if I were you. A good investigator knows to trust their instincts, take it from me.”

“I will.” I smiled. I think that surprised him, me being nice. I could see his shoulders visibly relax. “So what are you working on at the moment, other than the Renholm case?”

He shrugged. “It’s not much of a case for me at the moment, it’s just a file that hasn’t been closed yet, unless new evidence comes to light—which is your department. Other than that, downsizing and packing is taking up a lot of my time.”

I stopped in my tracks. “So you’re really moving then?”

He nodded. “Yeah, seems they want to put this old warhorse out to pasture.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’ve been offered a transfer to Cornwall.”

“But why?” I was stunned.

He shrugged. Max came over with his ball. He dropped it for Alex, who picked it up and hurled it into the distance. “I guess they found out how much I liked surfing.”

“So you’re going to go?”

“Yeah. I think so.” He grinned. “I can see myself finding lost sheep and giving tourists directions between catching some waves and chilling on the beach.”

“Seriously, Alex, why are you going?” I’m only five feet five; Alex towered over me, but not in a threatening way. He looked down, into my eyes. I met his gaze. There was no use pretending any more. I
was
attracted to him, and he was clearly attracted to me.

“I’m going because of you, Harley.”

I shook my head and started to turn away, but he caught my elbow, turning me back to face him. I could have pulled away, could have kicked him in the crotch and made him let me go, but I didn’t. “That’s crazy,” I said as he drew me towards him.

We kissed. I’d like to say that I couldn’t help myself, that he forced me, but he didn’t. I’ve stood up to gangsters. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I kissed him and I liked it, a lot. Then an image of Cole floated into my mind, utterly killing the moment. I pulled away, embarrassed.

“And that’s why I’m going. I like you, and you like me… but you don’t like me enough. Am I right?”

I sighed. Max returned; he was out of breath and flopped down at my feet. “You’re the detective, you tell me,” I said. My head was spinning. I didn’t know what to think. I knew that I’d rather go toe to toe with a knife-wielding maniac than deal with ‘feelings’.

He folded his arms and gave me a wry smile. “Okay, tell me if I’m close. We’re attracted to each other, but your best friend and business partner is my ex-wife and she hates my guts. You’re also madly in love with someone else. There, am I close?”

“I… yeah. That’s pretty close. But I think you’re overreacting.”

“You sure you want to take that chance and risk losing Cole and Cordi, the life you’ve made for yourself?”

“When did you turn into the white knight?”

“I haven’t and that’s the problem. If I stay, I can see myself falling for you,
really
falling for you.”
 

He was so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. He smelled great. “I’m not some fey little princess, you know? I think I can resist your charms.”

His smile faded. “Yeah, I think you can, too, and I’m not sure I could work in this manor knowing that, or knowing you were here with Lockland. I don’t think I want to see you two together.”

I looked down. He gently tilted my chin up. “Or you could come with me and start a new life in Cornwall, heck, anywhere you want. What do you say?”

“You know that’s not going to happen. I like you, Alex, but I
love
Cole.” And I truly did, even if I did have a terrible feeling Cole had other plans, but I needed to see that through, find out what our future would be before making any mistakes.

He smiled. “I know. I was just making sure. Congratulations, you passed the test.”

I could have hit him. I was in emotional pieces and he was making jokes. At least, that was my initial thought, but then I realized he was making light to hide his own wounded feelings.

I knew in my heart that if I’d said yes, he would have taken me anywhere in the world that I wanted to go. And although I hated to admit it, it was really tempting.

“I passed the test?” I said. “That’s great, what do I win?”

“An Alex-free life.” He winked.
 

“When are you going?”

“Not immediately, I’ve got a few things to finish up.” He got out his wallet, took out a card, and handed it to me. “Here’s my new number; if you need anything, give me a call.”
 

I turned the card in my hand before putting it in my pocket. “Thanks.”

“I’ll maybe see you around before I go.” He gave Max a pat on his head. “Look after her, big guy. She can get into a lot of trouble.”
 

He turned away and sprinted down the path, his powerful legs driving him along the track like a bullet.

“Alex, wait!” I called after him. I don’t know if he heard me or not, but he kept on running and pretty soon vanished around a corner. Max whined, nudging my ankle.
 

“Oh, Max, what do you think, boy, should I go after him?” Max nudged his ball towards me. “Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” I picked up Max’s magic ball and threw it.

I felt bad that Alex was going, but I also felt that I’d scratched an itch by kissing him. It was good, but it wasn’t as good as kissing Cole. I had to laugh. There was Alex being all noble about not wanting to get in the way of my and Cole’s relationship and I didn’t even know if I was going to have a relationship for much longer.
 

When I got back home, Cordi and Michael were going through the costumes Cordi kept in what would have been a second sitting room, if it wasn’t full of costumes. I grabbed a cup of coffee and a muffin before joining them and finding out what they were up to. “Good morning,” I said. “Are you two doing a bit of autumnal cleaning?”

“Ah, Harley dear. No, we’re picking outfits for tonight,” Cordi said. “What do you think?”

Cordi held up a pale cream, beaded flapper dress. It was beautiful, intricately worked with thousands of sparkling beads.
 

“It’s lovely. But, remind me, what are you doing tonight?”

“We’re all going to Farquar’s Emporium for a bit of a recce, don’t you remember? We talked about it the other morning at breakfast.”

“You should know better than to hold a conversation with me before I’ve had at least three coffees,” I said.
 

“Well, we did. So you’ll need to pick something out for yourself.”

I shook my head. “I think I’ll give it a miss, unless you have a gooseberry costume tucked away somewhere?”

Michael frowned. “Didn’t Cole text you?”
 

“No.” I got out my phone. It was dead. “Oh, darn, it’s run out of charge. Why, did he get in touch with you?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense, what did he say?”

Michael put down the tuxedo jacket he was holding and got out his phone. “
Hi, Mike. Not sure if H has got my text. Can you tell her that I’ll see her tonight for the trip to F’s Emporium.
”
Michael put his phone away. “There you go.”

My heart leapt. “Oh, that’s great. Crap! I need to find something to wear!”

Chapter Sixteen

Farquar’s Emporium was tucked away down an unassuming side street. If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t give the road a second glance, which was part of the attraction for celebrities rumoured to frequent the exclusive nightspot.

We set off at 9:00 p.m., after my big brother and I persuaded Cordi not to drive. We told her it was because we wanted her to relax, but really it was because we didn’t want to arrive at such a swanky venue in her beat-up old Mercedes.

The cab dropped us off outside the unassuming door of the club. I’d checked out the reviews of the place earlier, there weren’t many, but the ones I found used words like
exclusive
and
celebrity
. Sure enough, there was an enormous bouncer on the door and a small queue of people waiting behind a rope cordon.

Cordi got out first. She looked amazing. She was wearing the pale cream beaded dress over which she had draped a huge, faux, arctic fox fur stole. She finished off the ensemble with a feathered headdress. My brother, Michael, also looked a million dollars in his black tuxedo and slicked-back hair.

I’d chosen a black satin number. It was elegant but plain and not too restrictive, just in case I had to run or climb anything quickly. When you’re in the investigating business, you have to think about these things.
 

Cordi had insisted I wear some costume jewellery to dress it up a bit. I let her have her way, since I felt a bit guilty for bullying her out of driving us.

“Right, leave this to me,” she said, and after a quick mirror check, she threw her stole over her shoulder and marched up to the doorman, past the queue of envious-looking people.

“My name is Cordelia Silvers. I have a reservation,” she said.

The doorman checked his clipboard. I half expected him to tell her we weren’t coming in, something I was more than used to, given I was a bit of an oik—otherwise known as common riff-raff. Instead, he nodded, ticked his list, and unclipped the rope cordon. We were in.
 

“Cordi?” I queried quietly as to how she got us in.
 

She tapped her nose twice and smiled as she led us through the door.

Once we were inside, I was a little disappointed by the plain, dark red hallway with just a flight of stairs leading down into the darkness, but at the bottom we came out into a glorious marble foyer decorated in the lavish art deco style.

A hat-check girl dressed in 1920s period costume took our coats, and we were shown to our table by a very smarmy ‘French’ maître d’ whose accent only slipped once. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I felt entirely out of place.
 

Our table was one of the best in the house, with an excellent view of the stage, but that wasn’t what got my pulse racing. It was Cole. He was already there, sitting at the table. When he saw us walk in, he got up. My knees turned to jelly. He looked so good. He was wearing a white tuxedo, just like Rick Blaine out of
Casablanca
.
 

“You look amazing, Harley,” he said, and then he kissed me.
 

It felt like a lifetime since he’d done that, and it took my breath away. “I missed you,” I breathed when we finally came up for air and instantly regretted it.
 

If he was going to dump me, I didn’t want to sound so needy, but then, if he were going to dump me, why would he go to all this trouble?
 

I was confused, but right now, looking into his gorgeous eyes, it didn’t matter.

Dinner was fantastic, although the portions were a little on the small side for my liking. I had a sliver of salmon and a smear of sauce for a starter, and beef with a dribble of creamed potatoes for my main course, infused with the essence of beetroot jus. For desert I had Eton mess; again, there was no danger of getting fat from the portion size. What I couldn’t fault was the endless flow of fizzy wine that kept appearing.
 

By the end of the meal, I was quietly tipsy and desperately happy to be with Cole. Love was certainly in the air, as Cordi and Mike spent most of the meal gazing into each other’s eyes.

The main room was just like it appeared in the photograph I’d taken from Renholm’s place. The chairs and booths all had red leather upholstery. Matching red velvet drapes hung on the walls. Huge palms and aspidistras were dotted around the room, as were statues of semi-nude dancing girls.

As well as the fantastic décor, the clientele were pretty special. I recognized at least one A-list movie star and a whole host of wannabe starlets and TV celebs. I wasn’t interested in the pumped-up hunks, though. I only had eyes for one man.
 

“If it’s any consolation, I missed you too,” Cole whispered in my ear before planting a delicate kiss on my neck. “Any chance we could get out of here now, maybe go back to your place?”

It was really tempting. “I wish I could, hun, I really do, but Cordi and I are sort of working.”

He laughed. “Are you sure about that?” He gestured at Cordi, who was wrapped in Michael’s arms.

I giggled, but even in my tipsy state, I remembered we had work to do. “Yes, I’m sure. We have an important case,” I slurred. “You’re not the only one who has important cases, you know.”

“Is that so?” He grinned. “Well, consider me told. Now, would you like to dance before the acts come on?”