Chocolate Cake and Chaos (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Agatha Frost

  “Maybe nobody will believe me,” Julia said as she stepped forward to pick up her phone. “But maybe they will believe you. I recorded this entire conversation. I knew Barker wasn’t here. He’s not been back here since the murder. He’s asleep in my cottage as we speak, I just knew I needed to let you think I trusted you. The thing is, DS Forbes, men like you are so desperate to be acknowledged that you’ll confess to a crime because you think you got away with it so well. Maybe you should have listened to your own gut?”

  Bradley’s nostrils flared, and his cheeks burned the deepest shade of maroon she had seen as he stared down at his protruding stomach. Just at that moment, the heavens opened, and rain pelted down on the cottage’s roof, echoing around the corners of the dark hallway. The open door rattled in its frame, the hinges screeching out for oil. They watched each other through the dim light like two alley cats waiting for the other to make the first move. A bolt of purple lightning cracked through the sky, illuminating the handcuffs strapped to his belt.

  “You know I can’t let you leave?” Bradley whispered as he took a step forward, his hand reaching out for the phone. “You should have just stuck to your baking. I’m going to miss your lemon drizzle cake.”

  Julia looked down at her phone, and then down to the handcuffs. A gust of wind forced the door open, startling both of them. It bounced into the room and back into its frame, the small glass panel shattering in an instant. They both looked at it for a second, but nothing was going to stop Bradley. He turned back to Julia, fury filling his beady eyes.

  He took his moment and dove forward, his fingers grazing against the edge of the phone. Julia darted to the side and with all of her force, she pushed the round man towards the hallway side table. He tried to catch his balance, but he was too heavy and gravity was too strong. He reached out for air as he stumbled backwards into the radiator before crashing down onto the small oak table, which buckled under the weight. Julia dropped the phone and struck, ripping the handcuffs from his belt. She wrapped one end around his chunky wrist and the other to the radiator pipe. At the moment he realised what was happening, she jumped back and watched as he struggled to stand.

  “You’re going to pay for this!” he cried as he rattled his hand against the pipe.

  Another crack of lightning flashed through the hallway, its purple hue catching the glass screen of her phone, which was still recording every word. They both spotted it at the same time, but Julia’s hands closed around it first. As she attempted to move away, Bradley reached out and wrapped his fingers around her brown curls and yanked her head back. Burning pain soared through her scalp, and she was sure he was about to rip her hair right out. She yelled out in agony, but the rumbling thunder drowned her.

  Julia cried out for help, but she knew it was in vain. He wrapped her hair around his fist and yanked even harder as he tried to grab the phone with his cuffed hand. She reached up to her head and tried to pull his fingers away, but they were fused so tightly, she wasn’t going to be able to do it with one hand. Despite this, she didn’t let go of the phone.

  “Let go!” he yelled as he jerked her hair. “Let go right now!”

  Another bolt of lightning cracked through the sky and the pressure around her hair released. She paused for a moment, unsure of what was happening. When she realised he had let go, she scrambled to the bathroom door and out of his reach, clutching the phone in both hands.

  Through her tears, she saw Bradley slump against the radiator. What she first thought was an unfortunate well-timed bolt of lightning striking the cottage and travelling through the pipes revealed itself to be a hooded figure standing in the doorway.

  “I think I’ve split my knuckles this time,” she heard Jessie say.

  Julia wiped her tears away and let herself breathe. She looked down at the blurry phone screen and finally ended the recording. She saved a copy to her phone and sent it to Barker, just to be safe.

  “Your timing is impeccable as ever,” Julia whispered as Jessie helped her up off the ground.

  “I was heading back to the cottage to find you. I managed to catch Billy, and they arrested him for smashing your window. I saw Barker’s open door, so I thought I’d be a good neighbour and close it, but of course, you’re here, and there’s a fat man handcuffed to the radiator. Do I want to know where this was going?”

  They both looked down at Bradley as he rolled his head around his shoulders, letting out a deep groan as his face clenched up. Julia wrapped her arm around Jessie’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug. For the first time since the appearance of the wreath, she relaxed, and all she could do was force out a relieved laugh.

  Chapter 15

  The rain continued through the night, but the sun rose brighter than ever in the morning, pushing every last cloud out of the sky to reveal nothing but crystal blue clearness for miles in every direction. Julia woke refreshed knowing that Barker was safe once more. Sitting up in bed with the sheets wrapped around her, she looked down on him and smiled. One of the butterfly stitches on his brow had popped up during the night, so she gently pressed it back down.

  “It’s weird to watch people when they’re asleep,” he mumbled through the side of his mouth, his eyes still closed. “I was having the strangest dream.”

  “Was it about me making you breakfast in bed?”

  “No, it was about Bradley. I still can’t believe I thought we were friends. It’s already slipped away now, but I’m sure he was trying to kill me – again.”

  Julia pulled on her pale pink robe and walked through to the kitchen, feeling light without the weight of an unsolved murder on her shoulders. Her heart still ached for Jim, but it brought her some comfort knowing his family now knew the truth. She hoped they would find it in their hearts not to blame Barker for Bradley’s illogical actions.

  After feeding Mowgli, Julia set out three plates and got to work making breakfast. When she finished, she placed the fried eggs, sausages, bacon, baked beans, toast, and black pudding on the plates. She put two of them on one tray, and the third on another.

  “It’s just me,” Julia whispered through Jessie’s door as she knocked softly. “I’ve made breakfast.”

  Julia pushed the door, and it opened with ease. Jessie was already sitting up and at her dressing table, staring into the mirror with something silver pressed against her lips. She dropped whatever was in her hand and looked down. Julia met her eyes in the mirror, and she was surprised to see Jessie playing with her lipstick.

  “Looks better on you than me,” she said as she placed the tray on the edge of the bed. “You can keep it.”

  “Doesn't matter,” Jessie said as she wiped the subtle berry shade off her lips with the back of her hand. “Looks stupid.”

  “You’re fine just the way you are,” Julia said with a small wink. “You don’t have to wear makeup to impress anyone.”

  “Who said I was trying to impress someone?” she snapped, looking down her nose at Julia through the reflection, the berry stain smudged across her chin.

  Julia kissed Jessie on the top of the head and backed out of the room, leaving her to her breakfast. She picked up the second tray and walked through to the bedroom, where Barker was sat up in bed, his phone pressed against his ear, and a smile firmly on his lips.

  “Thank you very much, sir,” Barker said with a nod. “I’ll be in later today. Again, I can’t thank you enough. I’ll see you soon.”

  Julia placed the tray in between them and crawled up the bed and back under the covers. She scooped up some of the beans with her toast and crammed it into her mouth.

  “Who was that?” Julia mumbled through her food.

  “That was my new Chief Inspector,” Barker said as he tapped his phone against his palm with a smile. “He just wanted to let me know that in light of recent events, they’re dropping their investigation into my conduct and reinstating me with immediate effect.”

  “Barker, that’s amazing!” Julia beamed, wiping baked bean sauce off her chin a
s it drizzled from the toast. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “It was all you, Julia,” he said. “You’re a better DI than I’ll ever be, even if I am the best detective in the country when you compare me to a crazed killer desperate for a promotion.”

  “Perhaps,” Julia said with a nod as she mopped the toast around the beans. “But I promise I will leave all detective inspecting to you from now on.”

  “Why does that sound like a lie?”

  Julia’s cheeks blushed as she dunked the crust of her toast into the runny egg yolk before tossing it into her mouth. She occupied herself with eating until Barker did the same, and she was glad when he didn’t push her to admit she might have stretched the truth a little. She decided she wouldn’t actively go searching for any more murderers unless she needed to. With Barker back where he belonged, she was confident that Peridale was in safe hands once more.

  After breakfast, they all walked down to the café, where Julia was surprised to see Dot organising two men as they fitted a new pane of glass in her café’s empty window frame.

  “Gran!” Julia cried. “You did all of this?”

  “It’s the least I could do, love,” she said, without taking her eyes away from the glaziers. “Little higher on the left there boys.”

  Both of the men looked at each other, and it was apparent to Julia that Dot had been bossing them around since they had arrived. She turned to the village green and inhaled the fresh spring air, glad of the normalcy once more. She knew the moment her café opened, all people would want to talk about was Bradley Forbes’ arrest, but if it was any other way, it wouldn’t feel like home. It would only be a matter of time before something else occupied the gossipers’ attention.

  “Here comes trouble,” Barker whispered into Julia’s ear as he nodded up the road. “Maybe I should go.”

  Julia looked towards Evelyn’s B&B to see Jeffrey and Billy walking side by side towards them. Julia wrapped her fingers around Barker’s hand to let him know that she was there. It was inevitable that they would bump into each other eventually. In Julia’s eyes, the sooner they got it out of the way, the better.

  Jeffrey and Billy whispered back and forth as they approached. Julia prepared herself for an all out war, and she could feel Jessie doing the same. Her fists clenched tightly by her side, so Julia did what she had done to Barker, and she held her hand. With Barker and Jessie with her, Julia held her head held high as Jeffrey and Billy walked up to them, stopping only inches away.

  With his head cocked back, Jeffrey stared down at Barker, his lips tight and his jaw tense. Julia expected Jeffrey to try and plant a fist on the end of Barker’s nose, so she was more than surprised when he outstretched a hand.

  “Truce,” Jeffrey said calmly. “There’s no point going around in circles.”

  Barker looked to Julia and then down at the hand. She was worried he would be stubborn and refuse to take it, but to her relief, he slapped his hand into Jeffrey’s, and they shook firmly. A small smirk, kinder than the one she had previously seen from him, tickled Jeffrey’s lips. She looked down at his hand as he let go of Barker’s, noticing that the tattoos on his left knuckles spelt out ‘C E N T’. Combined with his other hand she had seen when she first met him, she realised his knuckles read ‘I N N O C E N T’.

  “I’m sorry for the wreath,” Jeffrey said as he pushed his hands into his baggy jeans pockets. “I was surprised to see you here. I wanted to scare you, and that was wrong of me.”

  “Right, yeah,” Barker mumbled, clearly taken aback by the apology. “And I’m sorry for everything too.”

  “Apology accepted,” Jeffrey said before nudging Billy firmly in the shoulder. “Is there something you want to say, son?”

  Billy sighed and rolled his eyes. He looked down at the ground and circled his white trainers around in the dust. For the first time since encountering the young criminal, Julia saw him as the child that he was.

  “Sorry for hitting you,” he mumbled to Barker. “Sorry for smashing your window.”

  “And the rest,” Jeffrey demanded.

  “Sorry for trying to nick your bag, but I already apologised for that one.”

  “Yeah, not good enough,” Jessie growled, letting go of Julia’s hand. “Truce or no truce, I’ll still kick your backside if you try anything again.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Billy said with a small smirk, sending a wink in Jessie’s direction.

  Jessie blushed and suddenly dropped her dark hair over her face. Julia wondered if this was whom the attempted lipstick application had been for.

  “I need to set a better example for my son,” Jeffrey said as he slapped his hand down on Billy’s shoulder. “It’s a fresh start for all of us. You’re going to stay out of trouble, aren’t you kid? And you’re going to pay this lady back for the window.”

  “Suppose so,” Billy mumbled with a shrug.

  “Well, I appreciate that,” Barker said awkwardly. “Now that I have my job back, I’ll hold you to it.”

  Billy narrowed his eyes on Barker before rolling them and turning around. Jeffrey smiled one last time before spinning on his heels and following his son back towards the B&B. They continued to whisper back and forth until they suddenly stopped outside of The Plough. Billy turned and ran back towards them, and Julia almost thought the truce was over already. Instead of running towards Barker, he ran towards Jessie.

  “Call me,” he said as he passed a small piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it to her. “I like a girl who can keep up with me.”

  Jessie stared down her nose at the piece of paper, seemingly unable to look him in the eyes. Julia almost expected her to screw it up and toss it back at him, but she slyly pocketed it in her hoody.

  “Yeah, whatever,” she mumbled. “Loser.”

  Billy shook his head and laughed as he turned and jogged back to his dad. Jeffrey slapped him on the back, and they continued walking up to the B&B, ready for their fresh start. Julia smiled and shielded her eyes from the sun when she saw Evelyn welcoming them inside.

  “What now?” Julia asked Barker as they turned back to the café arm in arm with Jessie trailing behind, no doubt looking at the phone number.

  “I guess we go back to normal,” Barker said, holding the café door open for Julia as the workmen wiped down the fresh pane of glass. “Is there any of that chocolate cake left?”

  The End

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  OTHER BOOKS IN THE PERIDALE CAFÉ COZY MYSTERY SERIES

  Pancakes and Corpses (Book 1)

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  Lemonade and Lies (Book 2)

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  Doughnuts and Deception (Book 3)

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  Chocolate Cake and Chaos (Book 4)

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  Shortbread and Sorrow (Book 5)

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