“You’re trying to trick me,” she said, tears welling behind her lashes.
“I’m not. I really love you,” Riley said.
Time stood still as Allison looked between Riley and me, her grip on my arm tightening.
“You love her, don’t you?” she whispered, looking at Riley.
Riley shook his head.
“Look at her and say you don’t love her?”
Riley moved his gaze to me. As our eyes locked, the clouds parted and allowed the moonlight to shine through, and I saw him gulp. He couldn’t say it.
“Say it!” she yelled.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he looked at me and said, “I don’t love you Lizzie.” I saw the tears skim his lashes.
Allison screamed. “You’re a liar! You do love her.”
Her hold on my arm tightened as she took a step closer to me, and to the edge, and I felt the roof tiles slip. As my feet scraped, trying to get a grip, the old tiles gave way. I fell, pulling Allison along with me. As the world moved in slow motion, I saw everything clearly for the first time. I saw Ed below me screaming orders to his colleagues, leaving them and running to the building, I saw Allison as she fell past me, the night air consuming her, and I saw Riley running, his arms outstretched. I heard Allison’s scream in my ear as she fell, her arms reaching for anything she could grab. But the only thing she could get was air. Momentum propelled her towards the ground and her screams stopped.
As gravity pulled at me, my arms flailed, but somehow I managed to grab at the guttering. The metal cut my fingers as my weight pulled me downwards. It was as Riley’s hand came into view, that the sob escaped my lips.
I had never been so scared in my life. Riley pulled me towards him, his arm straining under the weight, the effort too much as I felt his hold on me slip. Allison’s dead body sprawled on the ground below came into my view, and as I looked back at the fear in Riley’s eyes, I knew I didn’t want this to be it. I wanted more time with him.
I swung my other arm around to grab at something, anything, when another hand reached out and grabbed me. Together, they pulled me up and to safety, the force pulling me forwards and into the arms of Ed.
Chapter Twenty
Once again I sat in the ER, Paramedic Jim standing at the end of the gurney, shaking his head at me.
“You know, Lizzie they’re going to give you your own room here if you keep this up.”
I knew he was joking. He knew me well enough now to know that humor was the best way to distract me. And distraction was the key to me coping. Well that and denial, but the To Be Sorted bin in my head was overflowing so much, I was having a hard time shutting the lid on it.
I laughed. The laugh soon turned into a cry, and before Jim knew what was happening, I was sobbing.
Jim was quick with the tissues though. And he was kind enough to hand me the oxygen when the sobbing got to the stage where I could no longer breathe. At the moment, Jim was my support buddy. Poor bugger. He must have done something seriously wrong in a previous life to have been landed with me.
Riley had been sent off for a scan on his shoulder, leaving me alone with Jim. Apparently my weight had done some damage as he tried to pull me up from the guttering. Humph.
Ed had been left at the scene of the crime, waiting for a team of experts to arrive and do their thing mopping Allison up from the cement. Thankfully he had also rescued Grandma Mabel. She’d been sent off in another ambulance, where I had since heard she was doing perfectly fine. She just needed a stitch where Allison had hit her with the gun.
Mum and Dad were on their way. I honestly hoped they would be so busy worrying about Grandma that they would forget about me all together.
A nurse walked closer to my gurney and spoke to Jim. I was moved into a cubicle and lifted off the gurney and into a bed.
“Looks like your duty is done,” I said to Jim, blowing my nose on a tissue as I spoke.
“Oh that’s okay,” replied Jim. “I’ve got nowhere better to be.”
“That’s really sweet of you, but I’m sure there are other people in Westport who need saving.”
“Maybe, but you’re my best customer. Got to look after the regulars.” Jim laughed.
I didn’t think it was as funny as it sounded. Tears pooled again. Jim moved closer and put his hand on my shoulder.
“It’s over now love. Things can only get better.”
I liked his optimism, but just then I heard Danny’s voice over the noise of the ER.
“Where is she?” I heard him cry. “Where’s Lizzie?”
Jim looked at me sympathetically. “Ah, that would be Danny,” he said, sighing. “The car accident didn’t harm his voice then?”
The curtain was pulled back with a flourish and in marched Danny followed by Andrew.
“Oh my God, Lizzie. We were so worried when Mum called, we rushed straight here.” He ran at me and grabbed me in a very enthusiastic Fuller hug.
“Danny,” I squeaked.
“Umm...Danny, you might want to let her breathe,” said Jim. “It’s kind of important to her health.”
Danny let go and stood upright. “Oh, well okay then. Has Mum been in to see you yet?”
“No. Is she here?”
“Her car was out the front.”
I sighed. “She’s probably with Grandma.”
“Yeah, where is Grandma? I want to see for myself she’s okay.”
“I’ll go and find out for you,” said Jim, moving the curtain aside and stepping out.
“Mum’s a bit pissed at you,” said Danny, crinkling his nose.
“What?”
“Just thought you should know.”
“Why’s she pissed at me?”
“Because Grandma was with you when all this happened. And all our dirty little trips have been ruined because of it.”
“Yes, but I didn’t plan it. And I didn’t tell Grandma to date some psycho, did I?”
I wondered at the logic of how this was all my fault. Thankfully though, Riley walked into the room. His smile made my night a whole lot better.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s okay. They think I’ve pulled a muscle or something.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, as he kissed the top of my head, smoothing my hair as he did so.
“It’s not your fault. I should have been ready for the weight to drop and then I wouldn’t have hurt it.”
“I’ll start a diet tomorrow.”
“Lizzie, I lift far greater weight than you in my job every day.”
I shrugged. “Yes, but it doesn’t have gravity pulling it at great speeds, does it?”
Riley’s eyes clouded at the memory and he pulled me in tight. Maybe he had his own To Be Sorted box happening.
A nurse opened our curtain and walked in. She pressed a few buttons on a monitor she was hooking me up to and smiled at Riley. “Back again, Mr. Thomas?” she asked.
“Unfortunately,” answered Riley. It took me a moment to catch on, but when I did, panic and guilt surged through me.
I turned to Riley. “Oh My God! I forgot to ask about your dad! I’m so sorry, Riley. How is he? What happened?”
“It’s okay. Dad’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with his heart.”
“But why did he have chest pains?”
“Apparently it was a bad case of indigestion. He’d been eating some cake that just didn’t agree with him.” Riley laughed as my cheeks flamed.
“Has Lizzie been baking again?” asked Danny.
I punched Danny in the arm. “How did you get to George’s?” I asked Riley thinking of his evening for the first time.
“I used Mum’s car. Jared offered to take her and Dad home, so I asked to borrow it. I messaged you, but you didn’t answer, so I decided to stop by. I didn’t expect what I found though.” Riley’s eyes clouded again.
“Did you have to go back and get your truck?” I asked, thinking how I never wanted to visit The Grange aga
in. Riley sadly nodded his head.
The three of us sat in silence, all lost in our own thoughts, until Mum and Dad, Molly and Matt all arrived, and grilled me about what exactly had happened tonight. Matt seemed to be the only one who was excited about the story I told. I figured I’d be first report up on the six o’clock news tomorrow.
By the time we were all released and told to go home for a good night’s sleep, the clock had struck 3 a.m.
Riley helped me into his truck and then climbed in the driver’s side.
“I told Ed I was taking you back to the hotel. He’s going to call tomorrow to get your statement,” he explained.
“You’re driving back to the city now?”
“Yeah, it’s only a half hour away. At least we can wake up late in the morning and enjoy what’s left of our holiday.”
I sighed thinking how pissed Mum was going to be that my holiday, unlike hers, was not ruined…only interrupted.
“Hey, how come you never told me you knew George?” I asked, turning in my seat to face Riley.
“I didn’t know George.”
“But he was Allison’s grandfather.”
Riley shrugged. “She once told me her mother had died when she was young and that she was raised by her grandfather, but she never spoke about him, and I definitely never met him.”
“How does that happen?” I asked incredulously. Riley knew everything about me, and I mean everything—even the location of a very inappropriately placed birthmark.
“It never came up. Honestly, I never really knew that much about her.”
“What did you talk about then?”
Riley cringed. “We didn’t really talk all that much. It wasn’t that type of relationship.”
I gave a disgusted sigh as I figured out what he meant.
Typical bloody man.
* * * *
It turned out that Allison actually had a bit of history when it came to violence. Ed confessed that she had two restraining orders against her. One from her previous husband, and one from the previous husband’s new wife. The charges against her were dropped after she went into a domestic violence rehab program. Apparently he found out about them when she was charged with dangerous driving, but he couldn’t tell me because of privacy laws. That’s what he meant when he told me to be careful around her.
We also found out where all the mysterious blood was coming from. After Riley and I had finished our dirty little holiday, we came home to a house full of it.
It turned out it was animal blood and Cat was sneezing it. The sad part of that story is the vet said he had a nasal tumor. Cat has since been put on medication to slow its growth, and Mike the Vet is confident he will die of old age before the tumor gets him, which is great news. As cantankerous as he is, I’d kind of grown to love him.
Three weeks had passed since Allison had died. And in those three weeks, both Riley and myself had been on a mission to finish the house. What Allison had said to me that night had stuck in my mind. If I had never bought the house, none of this would have ever happened.
I knew I couldn’t turn back the clock and buy a different house, and as I looked at Riley, ready to hammer the For Sale sign into the ground, I knew that even if I could, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because for all the bad things that had happened, he was a shining beacon of happiness and joy that I wouldn’t sacrifice for anything.
“Ready?” he asked, looking at me.
“Ready.”
He picked up the hammer, and I smiled as he hit the timber post, knocking the sign into the ground. Once it was secure, Riley pulled me in close and we looked back at the house.
A little under a year ago this house had been sad and broken. Now it stood tall, the new paintwork gleaming, ready to start the next chapter in its existence. I felt a thrill, hoping that its future was a lot better than its past.
“We did it,” said Riley, leaning down and kissing me.
We pulled up for air as we heard a car pull up behind us. I turned to see Ed Helms step out of a police car.
He hadn’t been around very much since Allison had flipped out. My stomach clenched with apprehension and gratitude, the sight of him bringing back raw memories of that night.
He looked very official in his uniform, his sunglasses pulled down shielding his eyes.
“Riley,” he said, nodding. “Lizzie,” he said softly, smiling, his gaze falling to me.
“Hi Ed. I haven’t seen you for a few weeks.”
Riley shifted uncomfortably next to me. He still thought Ed had a crush on me. I did say, ‘who cares? I only have eyes for you’, which led to us fooling around a little bit, and after that Ed was forgotten. I guess, with him standing here in front of me smiling, I could see Riley’s point.
“Is this an official visit?” asked Riley.
Ed lifted his sunglasses, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m afraid so,” he replied, all humor missing from his voice.
I felt my stomach clench again.
“I’m sorry, Lizzie. I just received the news that Joe Woods made parole. He’s on his way back to Westport as we speak.”
Epilogue
I’ll admit I’d gone into free-fall when Ed said those words. In fact, I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit that if Riley hadn’t been there holding me up, my knees may have given out and I would have fallen to the ground. But Riley was there. And so was Ed. And that’s what would make all the difference. This time I knew what was coming and I had the support to fight it. And who knows—maybe Joe Woods had found a new love, someone who may enjoy the kind of attention he was willing to give, and he wouldn’t bother with me at all.
And if not, Riley had said we could move to another town. Bless him, even though I knew that wasn’t an option. My life was here, and I loved Westport.
As I lay with my head resting on Riley’s chest, the gentle rise and fall lulling me into a place of security, I knew everything would be okay.
It had to be.
And if you loved Lizzie and would like to meet Tilly, I’m offering a free e-book to everyone who signs up to my mailing list. I promise not to spam you and only send out a handful of newsletters a year!
www.bethprentice.com
What are cupcakes made of? Sugar, spice and All Things Nice.
Meet Tilly. She owns a cupcake shop in Price Lane, Westport. All she wants to do is to make the residents love her cakes as much as she does. But on Valentine’s Day her worst nightmare comes true—a deformed toe nail is found in one of her cakes.
Is this a new flavour for her menu? Has she dropped her standards of workplace health and safety? Or is someone out to sabotage her?
Luckily for Tilly, the Westport Police Department has a very helpful constable who will help her get to the bottom of it all.
Would you like more characters of Westport? Why not check out a few of these? On sale now!
www.bethprentice.com
The Christmas Gift
A Mini Westport Mystery
Lizzie
Beth Prentice
Book 3 Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter One
“I blame the shops!” I stated looking at Riley, my arms crossed over my chest. He looked back at me and sighed. “If they didn’t put up their decorations in September then I wouldn’t be quite so impatient to put up my own! And this is my first Christmas in this house so really, how can you expect me to wait?”
I’d bought this house about six months ago and had inherited many problems with it—the least of which was dry rot. But I did get Riley because of it.
“Lizzie, it’s not even December yet. Your mum said it’s bad luck to put decorations up before December the first,” replied Riley, running his hands through his short blonde hair. His patience was wearing thin. Riley was usually a very patient man, so I m
ust be really pushing him here.
“Oh,” I replied, waiving my hand around dismissively. “Take no notice of her. She has a superstition for everything. Explain to me how putting up our Christmas tree exactly three days early can change our luck.” I looked at Riley and felt victory sweep over me. He had nothing. “Come on give me a hand. It’ll be fun!”
He looked at me doubtfully. “No, fishing with my brother is fun. Fooling around with you is fun. Putting up a Christmas tree is definitely not something I consider to be fun.”
“That’s because you’ve never put a tree up with me,” I explained. This was also the first Christmas that Riley and I have been together so he has no previous experience with just how excited I get.
It’s my favorite holiday and has been for as long as I can remember. The only other people in the world who feel the same level of excitement for it are children and my siblings, Molly and Danny. Actually, I can probably put us all under the children banner when it comes to Christmas. We all love it.
I pulled over one of the boxes that I’d stored under the stairs and ripped back the tape holding it closed. Inside, peeking out at me, were the white branches of my tree. Excitement coursed through me as I pulled out the first branch and lay it on the floor, ready to place others in piles around it. Approximately one minute later, the box was empty and I had five neat piles of foliage. I straightened up and moved the box to the side, out of my way. I smiled at Riley as he sat on the couch watching me. “Just wait. It’s a really beautiful tree.”
“It’s plastic,” he stated, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”
He shrugged. “Nothing I guess, but in my family we have real trees.”
“Oh, well…we like plastic. We’ve never had much luck making real trees last long enough. They always die and look really horrible by the time January comes around,” I explained, disappointed that Riley wasn’t feeling my excitement.
The Westport Mysteries Boxed Set Page 48
