Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery Box Set

by Sherri Bryan

  “What’s going on?” He motioned to them to sit down.

  “We’ve got proof that Jess is innocent,” said Charlotte, gleefully.

  His interest piqued, he leaned forward in his chair. “Go on,” he said

  “Well, you know that I broke my shoulder when I went on that skiing trip with the school years ago,” said Jess. “And that I had to have two surgeries to reset it properly and even then, it still wasn’t quite right. Well, the thing is, since then, my upper body strength has been really limited. So much so, that I can’t lift anything heavy above my head anymore.” She paused for breath.

  “Do you see?” Charlotte was pink with excitement as she leaned across the table opposite Nathan. “There’s no way Jess could have killed Kate. She couldn’t even lift her shopping bags onto the luggage rack on the train, let alone have lifted Kate and thrown her over the rail on the roof terrace. It’s physically impossible.”

  Nathan looked from Charlotte to Jess. Jess nodded. “It’s true. Dr. Talbot can confirm anything you need to know and my hospital records will verify it all. I simply couldn’t have done it. I’ll take any medical test you want me to take - I’ll do anything to convince you that I didn’t kill Kate. I just want this to be over, Nathan.”

  Nathan looked momentarily serious before a grin slowly spread across his face and Charlotte and Jess squealed with delight as they hugged each other on the other side of the desk.

  “Now don’t go getting too excited,” he said. “I’ve got to go through the motions and get all the medical proof, but in light of this new evidence, it looks very much as though you’re going to be well and truly out of the frame.”

  “You’ll let me know as soon as you have any news?” Tears were streaming down Jess’s cheeks as the relief began to kick in.

  “I will. In fact, I’ll get on it right now.” Nathan pressed the intercom button on his phone and spoke to his assistant, Amanda, who was seated outside. “Get me Dr. Talbot at the medical centre, will you, please?”

  “I told you everything would work out,” Charlotte said as she hugged her friend.

  “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for this,” Jess sobbed .

  “Oh shush! Come on, let’s go and tell Pippin the good news!”

  Chapter 9

  Jess was over the moon.

  Dr. Talbot’s testimony and her hospital records had proved, beyond all doubt, that she could not have been responsible for Kate Denton’s murder. When Nathan had called her late on Sunday evening to tell her she was no longer helping the police with their enquiries, she’d screamed so loudly, her neighbour had rushed round to see if she was alright.

  The icing on the cake was a front page article in a late edition of the local newspaper, announcing her innocence, along with a considerably smaller apology for any distress their insensitive reporting may have caused, which was tucked away between the classified ads and the restaurant guide on page nine.

  Charlotte’s mood, however, was somewhat irritable as she’d woken up that morning with an eye that was so bloodshot and swollen, so she’d had to resort to wearing her sunglasses to stop herself from rubbing it.

  “You need to go and get some cream for that eye on the way home,” said Jess, chirpily.

  “Yeah, I will. I should have gone to the 24-hour chemist this morning, but I thought it would clear up.”

  A commotion outside interrupted the conversation. Pippin was barking and men were shouting.

  “Is that a fireman on the terrace?” Charlotte squinted.

  “I bloody well hope so!” replied Jess as she scooted off to check on the cause of the disturbance.

  “Are you the owner of the café?” Charlotte heard the fireman ask as she went out to see what was going on.

  “No, she is.” Jess pointed at Charlotte.

  “Mornin’” said the fireman, and Jess mock-swooned behind his back.

  “Good morning.” Charlotte grinned at her friend’s antics. “Is there a problem?”

  “’Fraid so. There are reports of a gas leak at the Mini-Mart, so we’re sealing off the area until it’s been repaired. You’ll have to vacate the premises and close up until then, I’m afraid.” He took off his helmet to reveal messed-up dirty blonde hair and Jess fell back into a chair, dramatically flinging her forearm over her face.

  “You know, I thought I could smell something funny after I’d finished my Eggs Benedict,” said Betty as she fished in her bag for her purse.

  “Doubt it was gas,” said Harriett, under her breath, looking sideways at Ava.

  “Well, not the kind he’s talking about, anyway!” said Ava, and all three of them burst out laughing like naughty schoolgirls, Betty flicking at her friends with her serviette.

  Charlotte tried to focus on the fireman. “But I’ve got a terrace full of customers! Can they at least finish their meals?”

  “Sorry, we need to make sure that everyone’s off the marina as soon as possible, so they need to leave right away. I can give you a minute or two to allow them to settle their bills, but no longer.” He turned and addressed Charlotte’s customers. “I don’t know how much of that you heard, ladies and gents, but we need to vacate the café, so your cooperation would be appreciated.”

  Nodding to Charlotte and Jess, he gave Jess a wide grin. “You do realise that I could see your reflection in your friend’s glasses?” he said, which prompted laughter and a spontaneous round of applause from the customers on the terrace.

  Despite her slight crankiness, Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh at Jess’s embarrassment. “That’ll teach you,” she said as the fireman walked off up the marina front, looking very pleased with himself.

  ººººººº

  Fifteen minutes later, with all the customers gone and all the bills paid, Charlotte clicked the padlock shut on the glass doors of the café. She and Jess had cleared the terrace in record time and been ready to lock up when the fireman had poked his head through the door a couple of minutes earlier.

  “Come on ladies, quick as you can please. Wouldn’t want to see you get hurt now, would we?” His tone was authoritative and flirty at the same time and it turned Jess’s knees to jelly. He crouched down and made a fuss of Pippin and Jess rolled her eyes.

  “My perfect fireman’s also an animal lover!” she said. “Give me strength. What is it about a uniform?” she asked, as Charlotte unlocked her bike from the railings opposite the cafe.

  “I’m not sure if it’s the uniform, or the man inside it that’s giving you hot flushes.” Charlotte chuckled as they set up off the footpath.

  “I know it’s not great for business having to close up early,” said Jess, “but at least you can go and get something for your eye now.”

  “Yes, I’m going to.” Charlotte pedalled slowly alongside. They reached the top of the road and Charlotte got off the bike and put Pippin into the basket on the front. “Come on little one, it’s too busy for you to be off the lead at this time of day.” She settled him on a cushion and he sat with his front paws on the edge of the basket, ears alert and ready to bark at the first possible opportunity.

  “See you tomorrow.” She and Jess parted ways at the top of the road and Charlotte cycled off towards the town centre. She was waiting at a red light when she saw Drew’s baseball-capped doppelganger again. He was going into The President.

  Damn! If I’d been quick enough, I could have got a picture of him to show Drew when he’s feeling better.

  The lights changed to green and she cycled off. Fifteen minutes later, she was on her way back home, the pharmacist having given her some cream and some eye drops. A red light brought her to a stop on the other side of the road and as she waited, the man came out of the hotel, this time accompanied by the woman she’d seen him with before. They appeared to be sharing a joke and as they laughed, she snatched the cap from his head and put it on.

  Charlotte almost fell off her bike. There was no mistaking it. Without the cap, she could see him clearly. And there was no
doubt in her mind that the man standing ahead of her wasn’t someone who looked like Drew.

  He was Drew.

  ººººººº

  “Are you sure?” said Nathan.

  “Absolutely. I swear on my life, it was Drew. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. They came out of the hotel together, laughing ... as shameless as you like.”

  “Did he see you?” asked Nathan.

  Charlotte shook her head. “No. He was far too pre-occupied to notice me. Nathan, she must be Nina. He’s been lying to you all along!”

  She shook her head again. “D’you know, she’s been in St. Eves since the Saturday we all met up - at least! It must have been her who called Kate when she was at the café.”

  She gasped. “Oh my God! If she’s been staying at The President, she was probably there when Kate died. D’you know, it makes me sick to my stomach to think of how Drew’s been pretending to be upset about Kate, and all the time he’s been carrying on with that woman.”

  “Hmmm, I have to agree. If he’s been lying, he’s going to wish he’d never come back to St. Eves.” Nathan had no time for liars, particularly when they interfered with one of his investigations.

  “Right,” he said, picking up his phone and jacket. “I hope to God that this will lead to an arrest. We could really do with a break.”

  “Where are you going how?” asked Charlotte.

  “I’m going to pay Drew Ferguson a little visit.”

  ººººººº

  Nathan stood on the doorstep of his house, waiting for someone to answer the door.

  Since Charlotte had called in to his office earlier, Nathan’s anger level had gone up from simmering to boiling point. He hated to think that he’d sat round a table with Drew; talked, laughed, drank and eaten with him and all the time, Drew had been taking him for an idiot.

  He was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt one more time, but if Drew wasn’t straight with him at the first opportunity, Nathan was going to arrest him on the spot.

  He rang the bell again and called through the letterbox. “Hello! It’s Detective Chief Inspector Costello.” No answer.

  He was walking down the path when his old neighbour called out to him. “Nathan! You looking for that tenant of yours?”

  He turned to see Julia Stapleton, a forty-something animal rights protestor who home-schooled her children and played Alanis Morissette records from morning till night. She had a penchant for scoop-neck tee shirts which she usually wore with no bra but Nathan was relieved to see that today, she’d made an exception.

  “Hi Julia. Yes, you seen him?”

  “Well, he was here this morning, but he left around midday. Not long after that, his parents and his girlfriend’s parents put their cases in their cars and they left and I haven’t seen anyone since. You want me to give him a message if he comes back?”

  Nathan shook his head. “No thanks. I’ll try again later. Give my regards to Nicholas.” Nicholas was Julia’s husband. He was an architect with an office in Pensands and the most traditional and conformist guy Nathan had ever met. He remembered the arguments he’d heard through the wall when Julia had wanted to take the kids out of school.

  He turned the car round and headed for The President.

  Chapter 10

  Charlotte rubbed her eye. She knew she shouldn’t but the itching was driving her crazy. As the pharmacist had recommended, she’d tried to sit quietly and rest it, but since seeing Drew with his fancy woman earlier, she was so worked up, sitting still was the last thing on her mind.

  She paced up and down the living room, Pippin’s eyes following her like a tennis ball at the Wimbledon men’s final.

  As soon as she’d left Nathan’s office, he’d gone looking for Drew. She would have dearly loved to have gone with him, but instead, had to be content with going home and waiting for news.

  Trouble was, she couldn’t wait. The urge to do something instead of just sitting around was pushing her to do a little investigating of her own.

  She stopped pacing and looked at Pippin. “Sorry, Pip. You’ll have to entertain yourself for a while. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She pulled the front door shut behind her and walked the short distance to The President. If she had a nosey round and hung about for long enough, surely she’d see or hear something that would be useful as evidence in the case.

  The reception area was swarming with guests; checking-in, checking-out and generally keeping the desk staff busy. No one even noticed Charlotte snooping around.

  I’ll wait here for a while and see if Drew comes in or goes out.

  She sat on one of the designer bucket chairs and picked up a magazine, realising as she pretended to read it that she still had her sunglasses on. She took them off and an elderly gentleman on the next table who had tried to cover his entire head with a wispy comb-over, exclaimed in horror.

  “Oh, my gawd! Your eye looks dreadful! What on earth’s wrong with it?”

  “Oh,” said Charlotte, immediately self-conscious. “I thought it was looking better. Um, apparently, I’ve got non-infectious conjunctivitis. Never had it before, but there’s always a first time, I suppose.” She put her sunglasses back on and picked up the magazine again.

  “We’ve just got back from a day trip to St. Matlock,” said the man. “Oh, it’s wonderful there – they have the most beautiful gardens that you can walk around or just sit and watch the world go by ... are you staying here?”

  “No, I live here. I’m just waiting for someone,” said Charlotte, wishing the man would leave her in peace.

  The man didn’t take the hint and flagged down a passing waiter. “Could I have another coffee please. Would you like to join me in a coffee, love?”

  Charlotte screwed up her nose at the thought. “Thank you, but no.” She shook her head at the waiter. “Nothing thanks.”

  The man continued. “You must have heard about the poor girl who fell from the roof a couple of weeks ago?” He looked disappointed when Charlotte nodded, but undeterred, he pressed on, determined to engage her in conversation.

  “I’ve been staying here for months. We always arrive in June and stay until November. There’s a group of us. We come from London, you know ... do you know London?”

  “Er, no, not very well.” Charlotte was about to excuse herself to go and find somewhere else to wait when a thought struck her. She smiled her most beguiling smile. “So you say you’ve been here since June?”

  The man nodded. “Yes, we come every year.”

  “You must see a lot of guests come and go?” probed Charlotte.

  “Oh yes. Not a lot gets past me, you know.” The man winked and nudged the air with his right elbow. “I could tell you a story or two, that’s for sure.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you could,” said Charlotte, moving her chair closer to the man and leaning in towards him. She crossed her fingers, as she always did when she told a little white lie. “You know, I bet you could help me out. I’m here to surprise some friends of mine who are staying here, but for the life of me, I can’t remember their room number. If I told you what they looked like, do you think perhaps you’d know what room they were staying in?”

  The man sat forward and said, conspiratorially, “I’m all ears, love.”

  Charlotte gave a description of Drew and, as best she could, the woman she’d seen him with. Immediately, the old man nodded excitedly.

  “Oh, yes! I know who you mean. I’m not sure if they’re both staying here or just her, but I’ve seen them about the place a few times over the last week or so.”

  “You’re sure?” said Charlotte.

  “Absolutely sure. They’re a very distinctive couple, you know. Once seen, never forgotten.”

  “And do you know what room they’re in?”

  The man tapped his index finger against his chin. “Hhmmm. Now, let me see.” He closed his eyes as he envisaged the layout of the hotel rooms on each floor. “Well, as you get out of the lift, the room directly
in front of you ends in 23, the one directly to the left of that one ends in 22, and so on, all the way back to the beginning of the corridor.

  “Now, if I remember correctly, I’ve seen your friends going into the fourth room to the left of the one opposite the lift. So, if they’re on the third floor, which I believe they are, that would make their room number ...” His lips moved as he counted in his head. “... 319!” He opened his eyes and gave Charlotte a wide smile.

  Charlotte took the man’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you so much – you’re a marvel!” She looked around. Time to make herself scarce. “Well, I’d better be off. Thanks again, you’ve been a real help”

  “My pleasure, love,” the old man called out. “Hope your friends enjoy the surprise.”

  ººººººº

  Charlotte took the lift up to the third floor. Apart from a housekeeping trolley piled high with clean towels and sheets, it was deserted.

  Now that she was outside the room, she wasn’t sure what to do next. Should I knock? Or wait to see if anyone comes out? Or should I take a picture of them? Are they even in there? She pressed her ear up against the door, but could hear nothing.

  The lift doors closed and the lift went down before promptly making its way back up again to deliver its passengers to their respective floors.

  A bell signalled its imminent arrival on the third floor and Charlotte bobbed down quickly behind the trolley. She couldn’t see them but she could hear Drew’s voice and the reply of the woman, spoken in perfect English with just the faintest trace of an accent.

  In her crouched position, trying to swipe the screen of her phone, Charlotte realised that her palms were dripping with perspiration. By the time she’d wiped them on a towel, Drew and his fancy woman had disappeared inside the room. “Damn it!” whispered Charlotte as she put the towel into the dirty washing bag hanging from the back of the trolley.

  A couple came out of their room further along the corridor and Charlotte busied herself, neatly re-folding and re-stacking towels until they’d gone. She pressed her ear up against the door again. This time, she could hear muffled voices.