by Agatha Frost
Birthday Cake and Bodies
Agatha Frost
Published by Pink Tree Publishing Limited in 2017
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © Pink Tree Publishing Limited.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For questions and comments about this book, please contact [email protected]
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Cover designed by Ashley Mcloughlin.
Edited by Keri Lierman and Karen Sellers
Contents
About This Book
Newsletter Signup
Also by Agatha Frost
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Thank You!
Castle on the Hill Cover
Castle on the Hill - Chapter 1
Gingerbread and Ghosts Cover
Also by Agatha Frost
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About This Book
Released: October 17th 2017
Words: 47,000
Series: Book 9 - Peridale Cozy Café Mystery Series
Standalone: Yes
Cliff-hanger: No
When Julia gathered Barker's family at Peridale Manor for his surprise birthday party, she did not expect it to result in murder! Minutes before the celebration is scheduled to begin, Barker's nephew, Luke, is found strangled in his bed, putting an end to Julia's dream of a quiet family get together. Only one of Barker's family could have murdered the young man, but which one?
Thanks to a botched burglary in the village, the police station is clogged up, forcing Barker to go rogue with Julia. He shuts down the manor, vowing to solve the murder before sunrise, but will he be able to pin the murder on one of his brothers or their wives? Julia quickly discovers that each member of his family has a secret, but which one led to Luke's death? In a race against the clock, Julia must dig up the past, but can she uncover the truth without tearing Barker's family apart forever?
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Also by Agatha Frost
The Scarlet Cove Seaside Series
Dead in the Water (Book 1) - OUT NOW
Castle on the Hill (Book 2) - PREORDER
The Peridale Cafe Series
Pancakes and Corpses (Book 1) - OUT NOW
Lemonade and Lies (Book 2) - OUT NOW
Doughnuts and Deception (Book 3) - OUT NOW
Chocolate Cake and Chaos (Book 4) - OUT NOW
Shortbread and Sorrow (Book 5) - OUT NOW!
Espresso and Evil (Book 6) - OUT NOW
Macarons and Mayhem (Book 7) - OUT NOW
Fruit Cake and Fear (Book 8) - OUT NOW
Birthday Cake and Bodies (Book 9) - OUT NOW
Gingerbread and Ghosts (Book 10) - PREORDER
1
Julia hated lying. There had not been a day in the last two weeks where she had not lied to Barker. Some of them had been white lies that had easily rolled off her tongue, and others had been big and complicated lies that had stuck in her throat and made her feel sick. What she hated more than the constant lying was how good she was at it.
Standing on the edge of the platform, Julia checked her watch for the third time that minute. She looked up and down Peridale’s tiny train station, the murky early November sky swirling above. She was glad the station was completely deserted. The last thing she wanted was for one of Peridale’s gossips to spot her. Even the least juicy titbits of information had a way of spreading around the village like a forest fire in the height of summer. It would start with ‘guess who I saw waiting for a train? Julia South! I thought she drove?’ which would somehow find its way to Barker within the hour. She would not usually mind being the subject of idle village gossip, except Barker thought she was clothes shopping with Jessie in Oxford. It was a simple lie that had been necessary, and one she knew Barker would not question. There had been no way he would have wanted to spend his Sunday afternoon shopping with two women, and he would not notice that they were lacking shopping bags when they returned later in the evening. Even if he did notice, a simple ‘we didn’t find anything we liked’ would put an end to it, and they would eat dinner none the wiser. Another day, another set of lies.
“The train is running two minutes late,” Jessie called from the small ticket office, her voice echoing off the cream and emerald green tiles, which had not been changed since the station’s opening in 1891. “When are they ever on time?”
Julia’s seventeen-year-old foster daughter joined her on the platform edge, kicking a drink can onto the tracks with the tip of her Doc Martens. She peered from under her low hood, her eyes tired and red. Jessie would not admit it, but she had been crying again.
“It will get easier,” Julia assured her, squeezing Jessie’s shoulder firmly. “The first heartbreak is always the hardest.”
“I’m not heartbroken,” Jessie mumbled, shrugging off Julia’s hand. “I dumped him.”
Julia nodded her understanding as Jessie sat down on the green wrought-iron bench under the hand-painted ‘Platform Two - This Way’ sign. Even though Jessie had been the one to formally end things with Billy Matthews, the boy she had been seeing for the last couple of months, it had been Billy’s decision to suddenly enlist in the army. Julia sympathised with Jessie, but she could not blame Billy for wanting to leave the village. There were not many opportunities for boys like him in Peridale, especially ones who had been raised on the Fern Moore Estate.
It had been a couple of weeks since Jessie had agreed to let Julia officially adopt her, and nine months since Julia had taken Jessie in off the streets after catching her stealing cakes from her café. In that time, Julia and Jessie’s bond was as close to mother and daughter as it could be, but it did not mean Julia had all of the answers when it came to dealing with teenage heartbreak. She was trying to be there for Jessie as much as she could, but Jessie was not the type of girl who willingly showed her emotions.
The shrill scream of metal on metal pierced through the cold air, signalling the approaching train. Julia looked into the tunnel, the yellowy headlights illuminating the darkness.
“They’re here,” she said, almost to herself. “It’s really happening.”
Nerves bubbled over in her stomach, a culmination of the last two weeks of meticulous planning. She almost could not believe she had somehow pulled it together.
Jessie stuffed her mobile phone into her pocket to join Julia by the edge of the platform as the train screeched to a halt in front of them. A robotic female voice announced the arrival of the train, as well as the rest of the stations it would stop at before it reached its final destination of Bath. Julia looked at Jessie, an anxious smile shaking her lips. Jessie did not even att
empt to return it.
The electronic doors shuddered open, snapping into place against the metal shell of the train. Burnt oil mixed with Julia’s nerves, further turning her stomach. She stepped back, suddenly realising she did not even know what they looked like.
An attractive woman with straight, strawberry blonde hair stepped onto the platform, a designer weekend bag over her shoulder. She was wearing a pale cream trench coat, figure-hugging black jeans, and heels to match. Julia would have put her in her early forties. A similarly aged bald man with dazzling blue eyes followed the woman, his thin nose bent to the left of his slender face. He was wearing a leather jacket over a blue polo shirt buttoned up to the neck, paired with stylish, fitted pale blue jeans, and he too was carrying a designer weekend bag. A younger man in a shirt and tie, who appeared to be in his early-twenties jumped off next, with his own weekend bag. He seemed to be a direct genetic result of the man and the woman. He was tall and slender with a thin nose, and he had coiffed strawberry blond hair, which was receding at the temples. The man and woman looked around the station with mild curiosity, but the young man did not bother looking up from his phone. The three of them had naturally tanned skin, hinting at several tropical holidays a year. Julia waited for someone else to get off the train, almost certain the attractive family was not who she had been anxiously waiting for. A whistle pierced the air, causing the doors to shudder back into place. The train eased out of the station, leaving the trio behind.
“Julia?” the man with the crooked nose asked, his voice belonging to that of the man she had spoken to that morning on the telephone. “Julia South?”
“Yes,” she said, suddenly smiling at the new arrivals. “Sorry! I was expecting someone who looked like Barker. Ethan, isn’t it?”
“That’s right,” the man dropped his bag to shake Julia’s hand. “Don’t worry, none of us look alike. We all have different fathers. Well, except Theo and me.”
“Oh,” Julia said, trying to hide how little Barker had told her about his family. “And you must be Ethan’s wife?”
“It’s so lovely to meet you,” the woman said, her voice soft and soothing, reminding Julia of a radio presenter her gran listened to in the afternoons. “I’m Dawn. You’re so pretty! Is your dress vintage?”
“It is,” Julia said, blushing as she looked down at her 1940s yellow and pink polka-dot dress. “I think I should have opted for something a little warmer.”
“Don’t be silly!” Dawn cried, winking at Julia with a playful grin. “Style doesn’t care about the weather.”
Julia did not admit her love for vintage fashion came from the way her mother used to dress and less about making a fashion statement.
“This must be your daughter?” Ethan asked, suddenly turning to Jessie. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Foster daughter,” Jessie corrected him bluntly, accepting the man’s handshake weakly.
“We’re in the process of adoption,” Julia added, apologising for Jessie’s abruptness with a smile. “It takes a while. How was your journey?”
“I can’t get a signal!” the young man cried, pointing his phone up to the sky, ignoring Julia’s question. “I only have one bar!”
“This is our son, Luke,” Ethan said, slapping the boy on the shoulder as Luke stared at his phone. “Forgive him. He thinks he’ll die if his emails don’t refresh once a minute.”
“It’s for business, Dad,” the boy snapped, skipping the introductions. “Is there Wi-Fi where we’re staying?”
“I think so,” Julia replied uncertainly. “You’ll be staying with my dad and his wife at Peridale Manor. I did try to get you into the B&B, but Evelyn closes up every winter. She’s travelling around New Zealand with her grandson. She didn’t even know she had a grandson until last month. Her daughter died and – it’s a long story.”
Ethan and Dawn stared blankly at her with polite smiles. Julia had to remind herself the local village news would be of little interest to these city folk.
“I should have called ahead about Luke joining us,” Ethan said apologetically. “It was a last minute decision.”
“I didn’t even want to come,” Luke mumbled like a boy half his age would. “I had to cancel important meetings for this.”
“Like I said, you haven’t seen your Uncle Barker since Bethany’s funeral, and you can do the meetings on video-link,” Dawn said, clearly exasperated by her son. “It’s been three years. Family is important.”
“When it suits you,” Luke muttered, before cramming his phone into his pocket and turning to his father. “Is my cousin coming?”
“Bella?” Ethan asked, turning to Julia. “I don’t know. Did Theo even agree to come?”
Theo, another of Barker’s brothers, had been the most difficult to pin down. When Julia had decided she was going to plan a surprise birthday party and invite the siblings Barker rarely spoke about, she had expected it to be as simple as quick phone calls and instant confirmations. It had been easy to get their contact details from Barker’s phone, but the rest of it had been anything but easy. Casper, the eldest brother, had been the only one to confirm that he would attend with his wife, Heather, during their first phone call. Ethan had called back after three days and agreed to come, but Theo had not picked up the phone at all, instead choosing to text Julia over a week later with a long list of questions, mainly revolving around the guest list. She had given up hopes of getting all of the Brown brothers together for Barker’s thirty-ninth birthday, until Theo had sent a text message three days ago confirming his acceptance of her invitation.
“He’s driving down tomorrow,” Julia said. “He was the trickiest of you brothers to convince to come to this party.”
Julia chuckled softly, hoping to make light of the difficult couple of weeks she had endured while organising everything, but her attempt at humour seemed to wash over their heads. Ethan rolled his eyes, as though he was not surprised, and Dawn looked uneasily at her husband.
“So, Bella is coming?” Luke asked, looking directly at Julia, his tone that of a boss demanding something from an employee. “Is she bringing Conrad?”
“I think so,” Julia said, trying to remember exactly what Theo had said in his message. “He said there would be three of them. Him, his daughter, and her boyfriend. I’m assuming Conrad is the boyfriend?”
“No Michelle?” Dawn asked, almost under her breath at Ethan. “I guess the rumours are true.”
“Michelle?” Julia asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard that name.”
“Theo’s wife,” Dawn said, arching a brow as though Julia should already know. “It’s been obvious they’ve been heading for divorce ever since Bethany died. We hoped they’d patch it up, but people have been talking.”
“Theo didn’t mention anything about a wife,” Julia confessed, not wanting to admit she also had no idea who Bethany was either. “Shall we set off? It might be a tight squeeze in my little car. I was only expecting the two of you.”
“I’ll walk,” Jessie said, her fingers tapping rapidly on her phone screen. “I said I’d meet Dolly and Dom anyway.”
Before Julia could ask any questions, Jessie headed for the ticket office and out of the station without so much as a goodbye.
“She’s going through a breakup,” Julia explained quietly. “First boyfriend.”
“Poor thing,” Dawn said, looking at the exit of the station even though Jessie was already long gone. “Explains the clothes.”
Julia’s lips parted to let Dawn know that was how Jessie always dressed, but she decided against it, having spotted at least three visible designer logos on each of them.
With their bags in hand, they followed Julia out of the station to her aqua blue Ford Anglia, which was the only car in the middle of the empty car park.
“Jesus Christ,” Luke muttered, his left brow arching high up his smooth forehead. “How old is that thing?”
“She’s vintage,” Julia said firmly, deciding she disliked Barker’s nephew.
“I promise she’s fit for the road. She had a new engine fitted last month. I had a little accident in the middle of a storm.”
“Same one that destroyed Barker’s cottage?” Ethan asked as Julia unlocked the car boot. “I saw the pictures online. Where’s he living now if his new cottage is wrecked?”
“With me,” Julia said, taking Ethan’s bag from him. “We’re living together.”
“Big step,” Dawn said as she handed over her bag. “Must be serious?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I have no idea why Uncle Barker would want to live here,” Luke said, his lip curling up as he looked around at the surrounding rolling fields. “It’s the middle of nowhere.”
“I quite like it,” Dawn said, inhaling the crisp country air. “Makes a nice change from London.”
“Thank God it’s just for two days,” Luke said as he thrust his bag into Julia’s hand. “Be careful. My laptop is in there.”
The three of them piled into Julia’s car, Ethan taking the passenger seat. Julia crammed Luke’s bag next to the other two, making sure to give it a nice heavy shove on the way.
Julia had wanted to meet Barker’s family since the beginning of their relationship. All he had told her was that he had three brothers dotted around the country and that their mother had died five years ago. He had not mentioned names or ages, and every time Julia pushed the subject and asked when she would meet them, he would dismiss her with a vague ‘soon’. As Julia drove in the stuffy silence along the winding lane towards Peridale Manor, she wondered if there was a reason she knew very little about her partner’s siblings.
