Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery Box Set

by Sherri Bryan

  “Hmpf, serves him right,” said Charlotte as she opened a can of sweetcorn and drained it over the sink before throwing it into her salad bowl. “Anyway, getting back to the woman in the green dress. I was thinking earlier that just because she was running from the roof, it doesn’t necessarily mean she was the one who pushed Kate, does it? I mean, she probably was, but what if she wasn’t?”

  “Well, the very fact that she was running from a crime scene doesn’t look good, but you’re right - it doesn’t prove that she’s guilty, either. Either way, we can’t eliminate her as a suspect until we find her. You know, we’ve gone over everything from every possible angle in this case and so far, there’s not one shred of evidence pointing at anyone but Jess. I’m praying that the witness appeal, the results from the coroner’s report and the analysis on the piece of green fabric will turn up some new evidence.”

  “Yes, hopefully when we have something more concrete to go on, everything will start falling into place,” said Charlotte, seriously.

  Nathan hid his amusement. “Why is it that when you say ‘we’ like that, it fills me with dread? I immediately imagine you going off on your bike in the dead of night, looking for clues. I know I’ve said it before, but just to remind you, I’m the policeman around here, okay?”

  He recalled that as much as Charlotte had hated the upheaval the murders had caused previously, she’d ended up being almost as involved in solving them as he had.

  He rotated his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Need a shoulder rub?”

  “Need you ask?”

  Charlotte began to massage the tight muscles. “Better?”

  “Mmmm. Much better. So, I wanted to ask you again about the woman you heard Kate talking to in the café. Are you sure her name was Nina, because when I spoke to Drew earlier, he denied all knowledge of her.” He could feel his tight muscles loosening under the insistent kneading of Charlotte’s fingers.

  Charlotte nodded. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure, because when I heard the name, I immediately thought of my mum. She loved Nina Simone and it made me think that it’s a name you don’t hear very often these days.” She dug her thumbs into the knots on Nathan’s neck and he gave a contented sigh.

  “Aahhh, you can keep doing that for at least another hour or two,” he said, his shoulders dropping as they relaxed.

  “Huh! Well, there are two chances of that happening - fat chance and slim chance. Ouch, sorry, I’ll have to stop now because my thumbs are getting cramp.” Charlotte flexed her fingers and shook her hands loosely from the wrists before running her fingers under the tap. Going back to her salad, she said, “So, what are you going to do about finding her? Nina, I mean.”

  “At the moment, I really have no idea,” said Nathan. “As far as we know, the only person who can tell us anything about her is Drew, but if he won’t talk ...”

  “I know it’s a long shot,” interrupted Charlotte, “but what about asking his parents? Or Kate’s parents, come to that? You wouldn’t have to tell them that you think she’s involved with Drew, you could just say she’s someone you’re interested in questioning to help with your enquiries. If they don’t know her, then no harm done, but maybe they will know her? It’s worth asking, surely? Don’t you think?”

  “Hmmm, I could ask, but can you imagine how traumatic it’d be for them? I mean, Drew told me today that they’re all inconsolable - particularly Kate’s parents, of course. The last thing I want to do is add to their distress.” Nathan stood up and stretched his lean body to the ceiling. “Apparently, his parents are going to make the funeral arrangements because no one else can cope with it.”

  “Is the body being released then?” Charlotte looked up in surprise.

  “No, not yet, but I think they’re just going through the motions - you know, getting everything organised so that when the time comes, it can just go ahead without any delays.”

  Charlotte shuddered. “It gives me the shivers to think of Kate lying in the morgue, just waiting ...”

  “Well, don’t think about it then.” She felt Nathan’s arms slide round her from behind as he kissed the side of her neck.

  She rapped him on the knuckles with the wooden salad server and he shrunk back, clutching his hand.

  “Bloody hell! What did you do that for?”

  She giggled. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you that hard,” she said, stepping towards him.

  “Why did you mean to hit me at all?” he said, dodging out of her way. He didn’t trust her while she still had the salad server in her hand.

  “I dunno, it just seemed a bit creepy, you being all romantic while I was talking about Kate ...” She trailed off. “Sorry.”

  “Trust me - the moment is well and truly over.” Nathan gave her a wary grin.

  Charlotte gazed at him. His handsome face looked tired and the stubble on his chin told her that he hadn’t shaved that morning. He pushed his hair back off his face and her heart skipped a beat. Not only did she love him to death, but he still had the ability to turn her stomach upside down and put her senses in a whirl. She walked towards him again.

  “It’s okay, I surrender, you don’t have to hit me anymore,” he said, picking up a serviette and waving it in front of him.

  She put the salad server down on the counter. “Oh shut up and come here,” she said, her mouth curling up in a smile.

  His hazel eyes crinkled at the corners as he pulled her towards him. He lifted her off her feet and she linked her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

  “Good thing dinner won’t spoil,” he said, as he scooped her up and carried her out of the kitchen.

  She looked over his shoulder just as Pippin was about to follow them upstairs.

  “Pippin! Stay!”

  The little dog dropped his rubber toy, lay down with his head on his paws, and waited obediently.

  Chapter 8

  “I’m sure you’re all as disappointed as I am that we haven’t had a more encouraging response to the witness appeal.”

  The large table in the incident room at which Nathan sat was littered with empty coffee cups, water bottles, chocolate bar wrappers and bacon sandwich crusts, discarded in their triangular plastic packaging.

  A team of officers sat around the table and murmured their agreement.

  “Well, it was shown on Sunday evening, then again yesterday on every local news bulletin, and it’s being shown today after the mid-morning news, so it’s sure to jog some memories,” said Ben Dillon.

  “And we’re carrying on with the house to house enquiries today, Chief, so something’s bound to turn up.”

  “Or maybe,” said Fiona, “we haven’t had much of a response because the woman’s just a figment of Jess Beddington’s imagination. Someone she invented to get her off the hook.”

  As popular as she was with her colleagues, Fiona Farrell was no-nonsense detective sergeant with no interest in pussy-footing around an issue, and her eye on promotion. Furthermore, she didn’t allow her colleague’s one-time relationship with Jess, nor the DCI’s friendship with their prime suspect, prevent her from saying what was on her mind.

  Nathan knew he had to be impartial, but it wasn’t always easy. He looked enquiringly at the tenacious young detective who started counting off the points on her fingers.

  “We’ve been over it 100 times, Chief,” she said, eagerly. “Number one, no one else seems to have seen the woman. Number two, the victim’s bracelet was found in Jess Beddington’s hand after Kate Denton’s death and number three, if she’d had a grievance with Kate Denton and was planning to do away with her, she was one of the few people who knew that she’d be on the roof of the hotel at exactly that time. It all adds up.”

  The officers around the table were vocal in their response, most in agreement with her theories, but a few in dissent, Ben Dillon being one of them.

  “Actually, for the record, the bracelet wasn’t found in her hand, she disclosed it herself as soon as she r
ealised she still had it. You’re making it sound as though she was hiding it from us when, actually, she gave it up willingly.

  “And if the woman in green is a figment of her imagination, how do you explain the piece of green fabric? Are you suggesting that Jess planted it herself?”

  DS Farrell opened her mouth to respond, but Nathan held up his hand. “Listen, we’ve all got our opinions, but let’s just keep them to ourselves for now and stay focused on the house to house enquiries for the next few days, okay?”

  A rapid knock on the door was followed by a voice, which called out, “Delivery from the Coroner’s office for the DCI.”

  “Come in!” A young man holding a manila envelope appeared from behind the door. “Report on Kate Denton, Chief. As requested, Mr. Tomlinson fast-tracked it for you.”

  “Tell him I send my thanks, will you? And that I’ll call him later,” Nathan called as he opened the envelope. His eyes scanned the documents and he gave a low whistle as he read the contents.

  “Everything okay, Chief?”

  “Well, the cause of Kate Denton’s death was trauma to the head, caused by the fall, but she also had some bruising on her arms and around her neck which was consistent with having been gripped tightly shortly before her death. Oh wait ... and there was also a fresh scratch on her right forearm, which is thought to have been caused by the clasp on the bracelet that was retrieved from the scene.”

  “So, we know she was murdered and that she was involved in an altercation with someone shortly before her death.” Ben shook his head. “Wish we had something more to go on.”

  “Tell me about it.” Nathan ran his hands over his hair and clasped his fingers at the back of his neck. He banged his hand on the table.

  “What are we missing? Where is that woman? Who would do this to Kate?” He leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. “Right, I’m damned if this case is going to beat us. You lot get out there ... I’m going over everything again.”

  ººººººº

  The next few days passed without incident, save for the police carrying out their house to house enquiries, prompting residents to trawl their memories for any recollection of the auburn-haired woman in the green dress.

  At Charlotte’s Plaice, it was business as usual, with conversation about the murder becoming less frequent, apart from amongst regulars and the odd person who had known Kate.

  Although Charlotte and Jess did their best to steer the conversation onto other subjects if anyone persisted in talking about it, there were still some who insisted on doing just that.

  It was early on Friday afternoon when Jess went into mini-meltdown.

  She had just picked up an order for a Ploughman’s lunch and a bowl of sweet potato soup with homemade flatbreads, for a young couple who were enjoying an afternoon away from their two-year old and both sets of parents.

  As she approached their table with a friendly smile on her face, the woman held up her phone and took a photo.

  Um, did you just take my photo?” Jess asked, as she put the meals down in front of them.

  “What? No. I took one of my husband.” Her face was scarlet and she avoided Jess’s gaze.

  Jess knew what she’d seen and she knew the woman was lying. “Would you mind showing me the picture, please?”

  Her husband immediately became uncooperative. “Listen, we’ve come out for some peace and quiet. Now, could you leave us alone to enjoy our lunch, please?”

  Jess stood her ground. “Not until you show me the picture your wife took.”

  The man and woman looked warily at each other. “Okay, okay,” the woman confessed. “I took a picture of you, but it’s just for a bit of extra cash. It’s expensive having a toddler, you know,” she added, defensively.

  She held her phone up and showed Jess the picture she’d taken. “If it makes any difference,” she said, her bravado retreating fast, “I’d have asked if I’d thought you’d say yes.”

  “What are you talking about? How would a picture of me give you extra cash?” Jess was completely confused.

  “Oh, God, just show her the paper,” said the man.

  The woman took a local weekly newspaper from her bag. It was open and folded over at an article headed, ‘No Remorse from Suspect in Murder of Local Woman.’

  Jess scanned the page in horror. A series of pictures of her - sharing a joke with Betty and Ava, smiling broadly at Leo and waving cheerily at someone out of view - accompanied an article, which read, ‘As the hunt for Kate Denton’s killer intensifies, the alleged prime suspect in the case is enjoying life, so it would seem.

  These pictures were sent to us by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous, but who strongly feels that the suspect should be withdrawn from the public eye until her innocence is proven.

  “It left a very bad taste in my mouth when I walked along the marina and saw her laughing and carrying on without a care in the world, when that poor woman is dead,” our reader told us.

  As you know, we believe that it is our duty to bring issues of local public interest to the attention of you, our readers, so if something’s bothering you, let us know about it and we’ll help spread the word. Send the details, along with any photos you might have, to We’re on the Case, The St. Eves Echo, PO Box 123, St. Eves. If your story is selected for inclusion in our regular feature, we’ll pay you £30.’

  Jess read the article twice before bursting into tears. “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t! I can’t cope with this, I’ve had ENOUGH!” She ripped the newspaper to bits and threw the pieces onto the table.

  Her raised voice prompted Pippin to jump out of his basket and bark up at her, which prompted Charlotte to come rushing out of the kitchen.

  “What’s going on? Jess, what’s the matter?”

  “Ask them!” she shouted, pointing at the young couple. She disappeared inside the café and locked herself in the ladies room.

  Between them, the couple falteringly told Charlotte what had happened, upon which, she took their plates up from the table. “Please leave,” she said, furious and stony-faced. “And don’t come back.” When they’d beat a hasty retreat, she apologised to the other customers on the terrace. “Sorry about that, everyone. I hope it didn’t spoil your afternoon.”

  She went inside and put the plates down on the bar. Knocking gently on the door of the ladies room, she said, “Jess, come on. Don’t let idiots like that get to you. It’ll be old news soon. Come on, come out.”

  The door opened and Jess appeared from behind it. “How can they say that I’m carrying on without a care in the world? How can they say that? And those photos have been taken completely out of context. I was at work - I have to be like that when I’m at work.

  “They should have sent someone round to take some photos of me at home - they wouldn’t have got any of me smiling if they had, that’s for sure.” She sniffed and dried her eyes. “All I’ve been doing is moping around and bawling my eyes out.”

  Charlotte knew the huge stress that Jess was under and she wished there was something she could do take it away.

  “Are you okay to go back out there?” she said.

  Jess nodded. “Course I am. I’m the woman with no remorse, remember?” she said, bitterly. She took a deep breath and went onto the terrace, apologising to customers for her outburst.

  There must be a way to prove that she had nothing to do with this, thought Charlotte as she put a burger onto the grill. I just have to figure out what it is.

  ººººººº

  “Do you fancy going to St. Matlock after work? They’ve got that great market on Friday evenings.” Charlotte and Jess were taking advantage of a late afternoon lull and were enjoying a cup of tea and coffee, respectively.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Jess. “I’m not very good company at the moment.”

  “Oh come on! It’s not like you to feel sorry for yourself.” Charlotte was trying desperately to cheer up her friend. “Okay, so you’re going to be the centre of attention
for a while, but when the police make an arrest, everyone’ll forget all about you. You’ll just be boring old Jess Beddington again.”

  “Huh, the day can’t come soon enough,” said Jess. “Alright, I’ll come with you. I suppose I could do with a change of scene.”

  “Fantastic! I’ll take Pippin home and we’ll go on the train if you like, then we can stop and have a bite to eat and you won’t have to worry about driving after you’ve had a drink.”

  Jess nodded, looking a little brighter.

  ººººººº

  The St. Matlock market was heaving. Everything from fruit and veggies to hand-made furniture could be found on the stalls that occupied every inch of the town centre.

  “Well, all in all, I think that was a very successful shopping expedition,” said Charlotte, as they waited for the train.

  “If your definition of successful is buying a lot of stuff that I don’t actually need, then yes, it was very successful!” said Jess as she set her bags down on the platform.

  They laughed and Charlotte put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

  The train drew into the station and a scramble for seats followed. Finding themselves at the back of the scrum, Charlotte and Jess had to be content with standing in the aisle. There was little room for their bags by their feet, so Charlotte stowed hers in the luggage rack above.

  “Would you put mine up there, too, please?” asked Jess. “I can’t manage it myself.”

  “Course I will,” said Charlotte, hauling Jess’s bags of scented candles, pomegranates and brightly coloured crockery onto the luggage rack.

  “You know, I really should start exercising more regularly,” said Jess. “Harriett swears by Pilates - maybe I’ll give it a go.”

  It took a minute before the realisation dawned on Charlotte and she grabbed Jess’s arm. “Oh my gosh! Jess, I know how to prove that you couldn’t have killed Kate! As soon as we get off this train, we’re going to see Nathan!”

  ººººººº

  It was a curious DCI who welcomed Charlotte and Jess into his office forty minutes later.