A Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery
Book 1
Donald’s Death
Chapter 1
“Cara, tell me you can see him.”
Cara hissed, “Gran, of course I can see him! He’s looking right at me.”
Gran nodded. “Well, that’s a start. What would you say if I told you he’s an angel?”
Cara looked away from the man, stared at her gran for a moment and then turned her attention back to the man who was sitting on the sofa opposite her. In a low voice Cara said, “I’d think you were drunk but I can’t smell any alcohol on you.”
Gran tutted. “I don’t drink at lunchtime.” She gestured towards the man. “This is Edward, he’s a real angel. You can see him, can’t you?”
“Of course I can.” Cara paused. “An angel! Of course! You mean like someone who has done you a good deed, you might call them an angel.” She nodded towards him. “For a minute I thought you meant an angel that has wings and lives in heaven, and all that nonsense.”
Gran winced. “Please don’t refer to angel matters as nonsense, Edward will be offended. And, yes, I do mean an angel with wings, the heavenly kind of angel.”
Cara nodded in a sympathetic manner. “Mum said you’d been having health problems. Have you been to see a specialist?”
Gran tapped Cara’s knee. “Cara Daniels! Do not talk to me as if I’ve gone mad! Edward is an angel!”
“But he looks like Santa!” Cara shot back.
Edward chuckled. “I do look like Santa.” He stroked his white beard. “I’m getting old.”
Cara tutted. “Now I know you’re not an angel, they don’t get old.”
Edward chuckled again, Cara saw his belly wobble. He said, “I can see that you’re not an expert when it comes to angels.” He looked over at Gran. “Abigail, we don’t have time to convince her with words. Should I …?”
Gran nodded and rubbed her forehead. “Please, Edward, if you don’t mind.”
Cara looked from Edward to Gran again. “Gran, what’s going on? Are you okay? Who is this man?”
Edward heaved himself off the sofa and moved into the centre of the room. He glanced from left to right and nodded. “I should have enough room. This is something you won’t see every day, young Cara.” He smiled at her and then spread his arms wide.
Cara’s mouth dropped open as wings appeared at either side of Edward. Great big wings that shimmered in the sunlight that choose that moment to stream through her living room window. Cara rubbed her eyes. She must be dreaming. She’d had a late night and hadn’t slept well. And that pizza that she’d eaten yesterday had been two days out of date.
Gran tapped her on the shoulder and gently said, “Cara, love, he is an angel. Look at his wings. Look at the twinkle in his eyes. And look at his outline, can you see his aura? It’s like a silver outline. Don’t be afraid.”
Cara gulped. She was afraid, she couldn’t believe what was happening in front of her.
Edward smiled down at her and moved closer. “Touch my wing, Cara, it won’t hurt me.”
Cara held out a trembling hand and laid it on a silver-feathered wing. A sudden feeling of calm washed over her. It felt like someone had placed a warm blanket all around her. All of a sudden, she knew. She said, “You are real. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.” She laughed. “Gran! He’s an angel! I can see an angel!”
Gran smiled and said, “I know, I can see him too. Edward, you can put your wings away. Thank you.”
Edward gave a mock bow and winked at Cara. His wings slowly faded. Cara blinked. She could have sworn she saw one white feather mixed in with the silver ones.
Edward sat back down, smiled and rested his clasped hands on his tummy. Something beeped. He looked at his watch. His smile disappeared. “Abigail, we’ve only got twenty-four hours.”
Gran frowned. “I thought we had forty-eight hours. Damn, it’s ten minutes past midday now, make a note of that, please Edward.” She sighed. “I do hate it when this happens. Edward, I think we should just go and deal with this matter ourselves. We don’t have time to explain it clearly to Cara.” She gave Cara a quick look and turned back to Edward. “And I don’t think she’s ready.”
“Gran, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” Gran stood up. She winced and her hand flew to her chest. Edward was at her side in a second. He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, “We have to tell Cara. You can’t do this job any more. You know that. Be sensible, Abigail.”
Gran sighed and slumped back into the chair. Cara’s scalp prickled. Something was wrong. She’d never seen Gran like this. She was the strong one in the family, the one who always knew what to do. She was the one that Cara turned to when she had problems.
Edward knelt in front of Cara and took her hands in his. A warmth travelled through her hands and up her arms. Edward said, “I’ll keep this brief. We’ll fill in the details as we go along. Your gran has been seeing angels since she was twenty. She was chosen to be a soul saver.” He put his hand up. “Please don’t ask any questions yet, we don’t have time. Her job is to stop people committing murder. Not those people who go around killing all the time, soul savers can’t help them. It’s ordinary law-abiding people who find themselves caught up in a difficult situation and in a moment of panic they lash out and kill someone. They regret it immediately and are full of guilt for the rest of their lives. They often feel like they’ve lost their souls. Are you following me, Cara?”
Cara nodded. “Do they actually lose their souls?”
“They feel like they do and that results in their souls shrinking until they can’t feel joy any more. It’s your gran’s job to get to these people before they commit murder. She has to stop them. I help your gran by telling her who the intended murder victim is and how long they have left before the murder takes place.”
Gran added, “It’s not as easy as it sounds. People refer to a red mist descending before they kill someone, it’s hard to get through to them in that state.”
Edward went on, “We need your help. Abigail won’t thank me for saying this but she’s not getting any younger. Her health is at risk, she needs to rest more.”
Gran struggled to her feet. “Leave her, Edward. I’ll deal with this case on my own.”
Edward stood up and gave Gran a sad look. “We need Cara to help us. She can see me, she’s got the gift.”
Cara stood up. “I don’t know if I believe what you’ve just told me but I’ll do anything to help Gran. When you mentioned twenty-four hours just now, does that mean someone is going to be murdered in that time?”
Edward nodded.
Cara said, “Count me in.” She followed Gran and Edward out of her apartment, still not entirely sure that she was actually awake.
Chapter 2
Cara blinked when they reached the pavement outside. Gran looked at her. “You look like some sort of cave-dwelling creature who’s seeing the sun after months of hibernating. When did you last leave your apartment? And when did you last go the hairdresser?”
Cara smiled. Gran was sounding like herself again. “I’ve been busy with my work. I don’t need to go out, I can get everything delivered.”
Gran tutted as she headed to her car. She pointed her keys at it. The lights flashed. Gran said, “You spend too much time alone. I know you have to spend some time on your computer, I know it’s part of your business, but why can’t you take your computer to a park? Or a café? Mix with real people, make friends.”
“I have friends. I’m a member of many online chat rooms.” Cara stopped and looked behind her. “Where’s Edward?�
��
Gran opened the driver’s door. “He’s already in the car. He’s sitting in the back.” She paused. “Can you still see him?”
Edward gave her a friendly wave. Cara nodded. “I can see him. Did he float into the car? Did he fly over our heads? Can other people see him?”
“Too many questions. Get in, we have to go. I’ll answer the last question, Edward can make himself visible to others if he needs to.”
Cara did as she was told. Gran started the car up and said over her shoulder, “Edward, can we have the details now?”
He replied, “He’s called Donald Ackroyd and he works at Clydes’ Golf Centre.”
Gran nodded. “I know where that is.” She pulled into the road.
Cara turned in her seat to look at Edward. He smiled, showing dimples in his chubby cheeks. He said, “This is exciting, isn’t it, Cara? I love your name, it’s Latin for ‘Beloved’. Did you know that?”
Cara nodded. “Gran told me. Edward, that man you just mentioned, is he going to die?”
“I hope not,” Edward said, his smile growing. “Your gran is excellent at her job.”
Cara said, “You said earlier that you had twenty-four hours, what does that mean exactly? And how do you know that he’s going to die? And how do you know his name?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” Edward replied, his eyes twinkling. “But we’ve got time. I get messages telepathically, like some sort of angel Internet. I only pick up messages that are meant for me. I get the name of the intended victim and the time frame that they’re likely to die in.” He held up his wrist. “This beeps when the time frame changes. Sometimes, things change in the intended victim’s life that we weren’t aware of before. People have free will, their future isn’t set in stone.” His smile dropped a little bit. “But deaths are set in stone and an alert comes up when someone is in danger of dying early.”
Cara pressed her lips together and thought about what Edward had said. She held a finger up and said, “If you know someone is going to die why don’t you tell Gran who the murderer is and then Gran can just stop them?”
Edward sighed. “I wish we could make it happen like that. The murderer doesn’t know that they are going to commit murder until the last few seconds. If someone, like your gran, rushed up to you and said you were going to murder someone, and you need to lock yourself away, what would you think?”
“I’d think they were mad.” Cara frowned and added, “I’d ignore them and carry on with my life.”
“And that would include murder,” Edward said. He looked out of the window. “Oh, we’re here. You’ll learn as we go along, Cara.” He promptly disappeared.
Gran pulled into a parking space and switched the engine off. “Are you ready?”
Cara pointed towards the back seat. “Where did he go? Isn’t he going to help us?”
Gran shook her head. “We don’t need him any more. We know who the victim is. All we have to work out now is who is most likely to kill him.”
Cara shrunk into the car seat. In a quiet voice she said, “Gran, is this really happening? Are we really going to see someone who might die within twenty-four hours?”
Gran put her hand on top of hers and said, “We are. You don’t have to come with me, you can stay in the car. I know this is scary, I remember feeling like you are now.”
Cara remembered how Gran had clutched her chest earlier. There was something that Gran wasn’t telling her, something to do with her health. Cara said, “I’m not sure how much use I’ll be, but I’ll help.”
Gran patted her hand. “Thank you. Come on, it’s been a while since I practised my golf swing.”
Cara walked at Gran’s side as they made their way into the building. A chill shot down Cara’s back as they entered the building, she grabbed Gran’s arm. She didn’t need to ask who the intended murder victim was, it was obvious.
Chapter 3
Gran said, “You can see the black outline, can’t you?”
Cara nodded as she looked at the middle-aged man who was standing near a display of golf clubs. She said, “What does it mean? It’s like someone has drawn a line around him.”
Gran nodded. “Normal people can’t see it, but we can. We’ve got the gift of seeing such things. I refer to it as a death line.”
“I don’t think I want this gift if I can see things like that.”
“We’ll talk about that later.” Gran walked towards the reception area. Cara slowly followed her, unable to take her eyes off the man by the golf display.
A young woman behind the reception desk greeted her with a smile. “Good afternoon, my name is Emma. How may I help you today?”
Gran said, “I’d like to go on the driving range, please. Do I need to book?”
“Just a moment, I’ll check,” Emma said. She looked down at something in front of her for a moment and then looked back up. “We’ve got five free bays at the moment. How many would you like?”
Cara joined Gran at the reception desk. Her attention was still on the intended victim, what was his name again? Douglas? Or was it Donald? Cara shivered. It was a horrible feeling looking at someone who might die shortly. She forced her gaze back to Gran who was looking at her expectantly. Cara said, “Yes? Did you just say something?”
With a forced brightness Gran said, “Do you want to practise your golf swing? I’m going to get a basket of balls for myself, shall I get one for you?”
Cara didn’t know what to say. Was Gran expecting her to say that she played golf? Was she supposed to lie? Better not, the problem with lies is that you soon forgot which lies you’d told. Am image of her ex-husband came into her mind, she shoved him back out. She said to Gran, “I’ve never played golf. I wouldn’t mind learning one day.”
Gran nodded and said, “I could have sworn I’d brought you to golf with me once. Never mind.” She turned back to Emma. “I’ll pay for one hundred balls, that should keep me going for a while. And I’d better hire a couple of golf clubs, I forgot to bring my own with me. Can I go into any bay?”
“You can, you’ll know the ones that are occupied, there’ll likely be a red-faced man pretending to be Rory McIlroy in the occupied ones.” Emma turned towards the till and printed something out. She handed it over to Gran and said, “Key this number into the ball dispenser, it’s about halfway down the wall of the driving range. Help yourself to the customer golf clubs, they’re just at the side of our main display over there.” She pointed to where the marked man was standing.
Gran paid for the golf balls whilst simultaneously giving Cara a sharp nudge in the side. Gran hissed, “Stop staring at that man! You look like you’re three sandwiches short of a picnic!”
“I can’t help it!” Cara hissed back.
Emma said to Cara, “We run golf lessons here if you’re interested in learning how to play. I can call the manager over to discuss it with you. He’s just over there, Mr Ackroyd.”
“No!” Cara screeched. She couldn’t talk to him, she felt like she’d blurt everything out to him.
Gran laughed and said to Emma, “You’ll have to excuse my granddaughter, she doesn’t get out often. Thank you for your help. This way, Cara.”
Gran kept the smile on her face as they walked away from reception and towards the customer golf clubs. Gran said, “You have to control yourself! You’re no help to me in this state. I’m going to talk to Donald Ackroyd, don’t go all crazy on me.”
Cara nodded. “I’ll try not to.”
“Keep an eye out for anyone who looks suspicious, someone who might be trying to hide their true feelings towards Donald.”
Cara nodded again.
Gran said hello to Donald Ackroyd as they walked closer. She said, “Can I help myself to the golf clubs? The young lady on reception said I could.”
Donald Ackroyd smiled and said, “Yes, go ahead. Do you know what you’re looking for?”
“I do. I’ve never been to this golf range before. I’m very impressed.”
D
onald said, “It is impressive. I’m lucky to work here. The staff are wonderful. We have a small café area just over there, and plenty of merchandise to choose from.” He looked over Gran’s shoulder and frowned. He said, “Excuse me.”
Gran and Cara turned their heads and watched Donald walk towards a young man who was trudging into the building, headphones over his ears. They cocked their heads at the same time as they listened to what Donald was saying. “Jason Turner! What time do you call this?”
Jason took his hands out of his pockets, removed his headphones and said, “Eh?”
“I said, what time do you call this? You’re late. That main display back there needs doing. Put your things away and see to it please.”
Jason shrugged. “Okay. I can’t help it if I slept in.”
Gran and Cara saw Donald shake his head as Jason put his headphones back on and ambled towards the staffroom as if he had all the time in the world. Gran said to Cara, “We need to keep an eye on that young man. With his attitude he could end up having an argument with Donald Ackroyd. Come on, the driving range is over this way. I’ll find us a bay, you can get the golf balls.” She handed Cara the piece of paper that Emma had given her.
They walked through a door that had a sign showing the way to the driving range. Gran walked along for a while and then turned into an empty bay. Cara looked out onto the golf range. It was like a huge field with a very high fence around it. There were various markers dotted along the field that noted the distance from the bays.
Cara walked along a bit further until she saw the golf ball dispenser set into the wall. There was a keypad at the side of it. Was she supposed to key in the number from the piece of paper? She looked around for help. Everyone looked too absorbed in their golf swings to pay her any attention.
Cara shrugged and held the piece of paper up. She keyed in the four digits and then pressed enter.
All hell broke loose.
Chapter 4
Donald's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 1) Page 1
