by Polly Holmes
“You can say that nothing will happen, but there’s no guarantee.” He ran his hand through his hair and her chest tightened at the concern etched in his features. “At least this way when you go in and kick butt, I’ll be there to watch first hand.”
She paused, realising he was just as stubborn as she was. “You’re right about one thing.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Liam asked.
“I am going to kick butt and whoever is trying to frame CC’s Simply Cupcakes better watch their backs.” She sniggered. “I suppose you make some good points.”
He beamed a smile that lit his face up like a crystal ball and her heart did a little summersault.
“It’s a deal,” Liam said as they reached the car. “It’s late, how about I get you home and then we can start fresh in the morning?”
The corner of her lips curled up in a smile. “Sure, sounds good.”
****
Clair placed her morning coffee mug in the dishwasher and turned to Charlotte. “I think you’re totally crazy,” she said folding her arms across her chest. “Detective Anderson said they will investigate. They’re trained in this sort of stuff, I don’t want you getting yourself into trouble.”
“What if they don’t? There are only Detective Anderson and two others on duty. The rest are off learning whatever new skill they think they need on some course.” Charlotte huffed. “What if whoever is behind this is clever enough to deceive the police?”
Clair rolled her eyes. “That is not going to happen.”
First Liam was against her looking into the poisonings, and now Clair. Charlotte was fast becoming frustrated with everyone’s lack of confidence in her investigative abilities. “I suppose you can stand there and promise me that the police have everything in hand and we won’t lose the shop over this…huh?”
Clair sighed. “You know I can’t do that, but I do believe that Detective Anderson will do everything in his power to find who’s behind this. He’s never given us cause to doubt him before.” She glared into Charlotte’s eyes. “Now, promise me you won’t go snooping where your nose doesn’t belong.”
How can I make that promise? Charlotte slid her right arm behind her back and crossed her fingers. She huffed. “Fine, I promise. But they better get to the bottom of this fiasco, soon.”
“Glad we have that sorted. Now,” she said, her mouth curved into a playful smile. “We didn’t get a chance to catch up after you got in from your ‘dinner’ with Liam last night.”
Butterflies shot through Charlotte’s stomach. Oh, no, here it comes.
Clair continued oblivious to the uncomfortable expression on Charlotte’s face. “I want all the details. What’s he like? Has he got a girlfriend? Did he kiss you?”
Charlotte gasped and retreated, mortified by Clair’s blunt interrogation. Tingles flooded her right arm. She forgot she was holding it tight against her back. Out of Clair’s eye line, Charlotte slyly shook the pins and needles from her hand.
“Clair, please stop. We’re just friends,” she said halting her sister’s attack. “We hardly got through dinner before Detective Anderson rang and asked me to come into the station.”
“Bummer. That definitely would have put a dampener on things. Are you going to see him again?” Clair pried.
Apparently, he’s going to be my partner in crime. Charlotte shrugged, ignoring the persistent niggle in the base of her gut. “I think we’re going to hang out a bit today. You know, show him around town a little while he’s here.”
“Nothing else?” Clair said with a raised eyebrow.
“No, nothing else.” Heat flooded her body. Charlotte quickly placed her cup in the dishwasher, praying Clair didn’t see the warm blush creeping up her neck. “He’s only here for a week, anyway.”
Clair huffed. “A week is better than none in my book.”
“Seriously.” Charlotte glared at Clair. “Are you really going to stand there and give me relationship advice? Especially since you’ve had sooooo much experience with men.”
Clair’s cold, icy stare froze Charlotte to the spot. “That was totally uncalled for.”
“I told you, Liam and I are just friends,” Charlotte repeated.
“Fine, but there’s no need to remind me of my failed love life, I can take a hint.” She flung her bag over her shoulder and headed toward the door calling behind her. “I’ve got a bunch of errands to run today and a few meetings lined up, over in Watson’s Creek. I plan to make sure we get the contracts so when all this cyanide garbage blows over you’ll be back to cooking up a storm.”
Charlotte’s chest tightened as she held her breath, waiting for the sharp click of the door as it closed behind her. Now I can finally get this show on the road.
By the time she’d showered and dressed, her clock read eight-thirty. “Darn, Liam will be here any minute.” No sooner had she spoken the words than the buzz of the doorbell reverberated through the house. “Typical. Why couldn’t he be fashionably late like most women?”
Charlotte quickly threw her red, bushy hair up into a bun on top of her head. She scooted out of her bedroom just as his knuckles tapped the stained glass feature window. Impatient man.
“Okay,” she yelled as she hurried past the kitchen. “Coming.” Irritated by his impatience she threw the door open, ready to remind him it was a woman’s prerogative to run late. The words stuck in the back of her throat when her gaze landed on the clean-shaven, sexy man standing in front of her. He looked scrumptious, definitely good enough to eat.
His russet cargo pants hugged him like a glove, while his white polo shirt had to be at least three sizes too small. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Holy cow, his biceps look twice as big as they did yesterday.
The zesty scent of his aftershave wafted toward her. And he thinks I’m the one who will draw attention? When the ladies in town see him dressed like this they won’t be able to keep their eyes or hands off him. Looks like her job was going to be harder than she thought. She shook the thoughts from her head. One week, he’s only here for one week. “You would have to be on time, wouldn’t you? And dressed like that, you’ll turn every head in town.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “You did say eight-thirty and if anything, I’m punctual. What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?” he said looking down at his outfit.
“Nothing, you look great. Let me just grab my bag.” She wondered if he was as punctual at doing housework. A smile crept across her face at the thought of Liam doing housework in nothing but an apron. She couldn’t hold back a giggle as she locked the door behind her.
“Something funny?” Liam said, his brow furrowed.
Guilt invaded her chest and she quickly walked toward his car, keeping her eyes on the ground to avoid his gaze. “Oh just thinking of something my sister said this morning.”
Liar.
“Care to share?” he asked.
Absolutely not. “Oh, it was just a sister thing, nothing important.” Change the subject Charlotte.
She stopped suddenly, clicked her fingers and looked up at Liam. “Councilmen.”
“Excuse me?” Liam asked as he almost barrelled her over.
Her mind focused back on the task ahead, adrenaline suddenly soared through her body. “They’re all councilmen or should I say councilpersons.” She slapped her forehead. “Why didn’t I make the connection sooner?”
“Connection? What connection?” he asked.
“Don’t you see? All three are on the local council. A council scandal would definitely be something worth covering up.”
“Whoa, slow down. I don’t think we should jump to conclusions,” Liam said as they continued to the car. “But it’s a place to start.”
She rolled her eyes. Men are so slow sometimes. “Trust me, we need to start looking for answers at the council chambers.”
****
I can’t believe I’m about to do this, Liam thought as he pulled up outside Ashton Point local council. He was
n’t a detective, he was an accountant for goodness sake. The closest he’d come to solving crimes was the few summers he spent with his cousin Caylin up in Karratha. She’d been obsessed with solving crimes, and since there wasn’t much else to do in the mining town, they’d had to make their own fun. Caylin was a detective now, but back then she’d had a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time. Thanks to her persistence, he’d learned a few tricks in his time. Liam hoped he never had to use them.
His heart raced and his mind struggled to keep tempo. “Charlotte, let’s get one thing straight before we start.”
She turned her inquisitive stare on him. “And that is?”
“Promise me that if this becomes too dangerous we stop and go to the police,” he said, his tone was one of insistence. “Neither of us should put our lives in danger.”
“Okay, okay, I promise,” she said, getting out of the car. “But promise me you won’t wimp out and run screaming like a girl.”
Wimp out…wimp out? Screaming like a girl? Tension embedded itself in his limbs. “Then I guess we have a deal,” he said with a smirk.
Walking toward the entry, Charlotte pre-empted Liam’s question. “I think the best place to start is with Mr Hutson’s office, since he was the one who seemed to have been the target.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I think it’s best if I follow your lead, since this is your town.”
“Good idea,” Charlotte said. She turned and gifted him with a prize-winning smile. “But keep your eyes open for anything out of place.”
Like I’d know if anything was out of place. He nodded and followed her toward the back of the building. For a town the size of Ashton Point, the council chambers were definitely on the grander size. Turns, twists and one corridor leading to the next, it’s a wonder people didn’t get lost in the maze of walls. For all he knew they did.
An odd sensation ran up his spine as Charlotte grabbed his wrist and yanked him into an empty corridor. “What are you—” Charlotte planted her soft hand across his mouth, cutting his words short. The fruity scent of her perfume sent his head in a tailspin.
Her eyes widened. “Shhh,” she whispered. “It’s Hannah.”
He raised his eyebrow and slowly removed her hand, maintaining contact for as long as possible. “Hannah, who?” he mouthed in response.
Continuing to whisper, she said, “Hannah Carver, Mr Hutson’s personal assistant.”
“So?” Liam said confused.
“She wasn’t at the wedding on Friday night. I know from Clair that she was supposed to attend but never turned up. She was madly in love with Lincoln and they broke up a few months before he started dating Beth.”
Liam slyly peered around the corner to suss out this Hannah. Cute, but she was no Charlotte McCorrson. His forearm warmed under Charlotte’s touch. Instead, she pulled him back into her line of sight. Their whispered conversation continued.
“She could have planted the poison.”
“Why on earth would she want to kill her boss?” Liam asked.
“Maybe she made a mistake and it was meant for Lincoln.” She paused and her eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. “Or maybe she meant to poison Beth. A scorned lover taking revenge on the woman who stole her man.”
“I think maybe you’ve watched one too many The Bold and the Beautiful episodes.” But her excitement was contagious and he could feel himself getting caught up in the drama. “Maybe the target was her boss all along. After all, she is the one that knows his business schedule and would be close by to overhear anything suspicious. We’re not going to find out if we stay hiding here in the corridor.”
“You’re right.” In a blink of an eye, Charlotte darted past him and was almost at Hannah’s desk before he caught up. “Hannah, I hope you don’t mind me popping in. I just wanted to check that you’re okay after losing poor Mr Hutson so suddenly.”
Hannah stood frozen, her arms full of papers and files. Her gaze locked on Liam.
“Hannah?” Charlotte repeated. “Are you all right?”
Time to show Charlotte what I’m made of, Liam thought. He stepped around her and extended his hand toward a stunned Hannah. “I’m Liam Bradly, I was Lincoln’s best man on Friday night.” It didn’t take Hannah long for her hand to begin caressing his. “After Charlotte told me what happened, I insisted on coming by to pay my respects. It must have been an awful shock to hear about poor Mr Hutson.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw Charlotte’s cute emerald-green eyes give a roll or two.
Hannah’s hand flew to her chest. “You have no idea. Poor, poor man. I just can’t believe he’s gone. He was such a good boss.”
“I’m sure he will be sorely missed around town,” Liam said releasing her hand.
“Well, I’m not so sure he’ll be missed by everyone. He always worked hard, but not everyone in town agreed with his ideas or his plans for the future,” Hannah said, sauntering closer to Liam.
What plans for the future? He wondered. “How so?”
It was as if Hannah suddenly realised Charlotte was standing next to Liam and her gaze hardened. “I saw the paper, Charlotte. How can you show your face here, after what you did?”
Charlotte’s jaw dropped open and a fiery, crimson blush worked its way across her cheeks. Oh, no this isn’t good. Liam sensed Charlotte was close to telling Hannah exactly what she thought of her off-handed comment. It was up to him to put the fire out before it turned into a full-scale inferno.
“Oh, come now, Hannah, you of all people couldn’t possibly think Charlotte was behind this. Have you ever had her cupcakes?” he asked.
Hannah nodded but kept her gaze drilling Charlotte.
“I, for one, have and they’re delicious. In fact, I had more than one at the wedding on Friday night. You’re a smart and beautiful woman and I think we both know how stupid it would be for someone to poison anyone using their own business as a scapegoat, don’t you?”
Now it was Hannah’s turn to blush. He watched her turn to putty in his hands. One point for me, but who’s keeping score?
“I suppose you’re right. Sorry, Charlotte,” Hannah said with a half-baked smile plastered on her face. “I guess I’m just in shock that’s all.”
“Of course, no harm done,” she said moving around the desk to give Hannah a hug.
“It’s just been so upsetting and then with the phone calls, today, I guess I’m just a little on edge,” Hannah said.
“Phone calls? What phone calls?” Charlotte asked. Liam glanced at Charlotte, her worried expression had him concerned.
Hannah paled. “Oh, nothing to worry about, really. It was just some guy breathing down the line, you know heavy like, and saying that Mr Hutson got what he deserved and it would teach him to take what doesn’t belong to him.” Hannah suddenly clammed up as if she’d said too much.
What is going on with you, Hannah? He knew something was off with this woman, he wondered if Charlotte sensed it as well.
Hannah’s chest heaved and tears threatened to breach the rim of her eyes. “I…I told him I’d call the police if he called again and he seemed to stop. It’s just, lately, Mr Huston has been so secretive about things, when before he used to tell me everything.”
“Easy there,” Liam said, as he pulled her into a comforting hug patting her back. “I’m sure it was just someone trying to scare you.”
Satisfaction warmed his chest as he took in the scowl on Charlotte’s face. She knew exactly what he was doing and by her expression, she didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t sure if it was annoyance or jealousy that had her so riled, but in his heart, he hoped it was the latter.
Charlotte stepped away, catching Hannah’s gaze. “I need to pop to the ladies’, but I was telling Liam here all about Mr Hutson’s plan for the upcoming Founder’s Day annual fete.”
Hannah’s eyes widened and her gaze shot to Liam. “Really?”
You were? Liam nodded, his gaze shooting from one woman t
o the other.
“He said it was a fabulous idea and would be interested in seeing Mr Hutson’s model.” She turned and grinned at Liam. “Isn’t that right?”
“Ah, yes.” He was oblivious to Charlotte’s plan but he guessed this was her taking the lead.
“And I told him you would be the best person to show him, since you worked so closely with Mr Hutson. I mean half of those ideas are practically yours.” Hannah blushed at her words. “Why don’t you take him down to the display room and show him? After I pop to the ladies’ I’ll join you.”
“I’d consider it a personal favour,” Liam said as he held his elbow out toward Hannah. “From what Charlotte has told me, it sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic event. Who is the founder of Aston Point anyway?”
Hannah’s face lit up as if he’d asked her to marry him. She threaded her arm in Liam’s and began to lead him down the corridor away from her desk. “Well, Ashton Point was founded…”
Chapter Five
CHARLOTTE’S STOMACH ALMOST regurgitated her breakfast. Watching Hannah gush over Liam as they walked away was more than her gut could handle. Seems Liam’s flirtatious behaviour wasn’t restricted to her alone. Stop being so petty, Charlotte. Liam can flirt with whoever he wishes. But the stab in her chest told her she didn’t like it one bit.
Her pulse sped up as she edged her way toward Mr Hutson’s door while keeping a lookout for unexpected interruptions. Locked, darn. She bit her bottom lip and scanned Hannah’s reception area. Leaving empty handed was not an option. Her gaze falling on the open computer. Bingo.
She knew her way around a computer. Her fingers moved with lightning speed. Trust a councilman to have his documents locked. “Secrets, always keeping secrets. You’d think they had something to hide,” she muttered.
The chime of a reminder alarm startled her and she gasped. Charlotte jumped and quickly popped up to see if anyone heard her, but there wasn’t an intruder in sight. Her gaze locked on to the monitor as the alarm flashed up on the screen.
Three days overdue. Private meeting: Discuss JMB intended proposal before signing documents and giving approval to start construction.
