“Faults?” I shoot Dan a questioning glance.
“Now’s not the time to get me started on that particular topic, believe me,” he says and I think I spot a flicker of sadness in his eyes for just a second and then it’s gone.
Did something happen between Charlie and Dan? I thought it was just a male ego, trying to outdo each other type of thing going on with them but maybe it’s something more. Do I want to know the details? Charlie is in my bad books as it is without adding anything else to the mix. Besides it was probably just a disagreement when they worked a case together. Something about who was in charge most likely.
Curiosity gets the better of me though.
“When we first met at that London film premiere we were working at, you mentioned something about Charlie not being Mr Perfect. What did you mean by that? I know he’s not perfect in a normal person sort of way. Nobody is. We all have our little foibles, make mistakes, it’s what makes us human. Makes us who we are. So, I’m thinking, was it a general comment about Charlie? Or something more specific?”
Dan shoots me a look. “I think that is probably a conversation you should be having with Charlie, not me, don’t you?”
His comment doesn’t deter me. “At the time I didn’t think much of it. I’d heard you two weren’t exactly best friends but I thought you were just being a bit…”
“Bitchy?” he suggests.
I nod. “Yeah, something like that. But with this stuff in the newspapers, well, I don’t know what to think at the moment. So if you know something about Charlie that I should know about too, then maybe now is the time to tell me. Has he got himself involved with clients before? Is that it?”
“Amber, women have a code right? A sisterly thing where you don’t drop someone in deep trouble or make a play for a guy your friend likes or is already dating, that sort of thing.”
I nod again. “Yes, but what’s that got to do with anything?”
“Well, there’s kind of a guy equivalent of that code. Basically it involves you keeping your mouth shut on topics which could get a male friend or colleague into aforementioned deep trouble. Especially when asked about said topics by a woman who is your own work colleague and happens to be dating a guy who is also a work colleague.”
“That’s a lengthy way of telling me you’re saying nothing about why you and Charlie dislike each other.”
“Yes. It is. You need to talk to Charlie, not me. Now, can we get back to safer topics of conversation? Like the case?”
“OK.” This conversation is not over for good though. I will find out what happened. Whether it’s from Dan or from Charlie. “So Fran never tackled Amelia about the audition? Didn’t admit she knew what she’d done?”
Dan finishes his drink and gets up to wash his mug. “No. She never did. Which means she’s been holding on to that simmering resentment for far too long.”
“And it could have escalated into something more than resentment.”
“It could indeed,” Dan says, leaning down and checking my own mug. “You finished with that?”
I nod and hand him the still almost full mug and he goes to rinse and dry it. Being with somebody who is tidy seems so strange after spending so much time with Charlie these past months.
“So what about Tom?”
“Oh, yes, right,” I say, knowing I need to get my head back onto the matter of helping solve the case. “He’s definitely not happy about you putting in an appearance and I get the feeling it’s not about professional pride but something more personal. After seeing him in the bar last night with Amelia and having heard the kind of things Amelia is capable of to get what she wants, I’m starting to wonder if there is, or was, something going on between them.”
“And our Tom is not happy about being dumped for Ty so he decides to take matters into his own hands. Invent a stalker to get Amelia all scared and turning to him for help and a shoulder to cry on while her boyfriend, the guy he shot, is out of the way in hospital.”
I nod. “Makes sense.”
“How did Tom react when you and Charlie first came out here? Did he seem off at all? Where was he the night of the fire? Did you guys get and check an alibi for him?”
“He hadn’t been behaving unusually but we put him on the suspects list because of his access to the chalet, he has a key, knows the security codes. We were about to check alibis when Charlie got the call pulling him off the case.”
Dan mutters something and shakes his head. “So he was never questioned about an alibi for the night of the fire?”
“Sorry, with everything else going on, getting Charlie to the airport and collecting and updating you, I forgot to ask him about it.”
“Well, now is as good a time as any,” he says reaching for his jacket and keys.
“You want me to go over there now?” I ask, getting to my feet.
“Yep. If he’s home you can get him to invite you in. Tell him you want to discuss private ski lessons again. Tell him you fancy him and want to ask him out for a drink. Tell him whatever you like so long as you get inside his place.”
“What if he’s not home?”
Please, let him not be home.
“Then we wait for him to get home.”
“And once I’m inside I start talking about the fire and just casually ask if he heard the sirens and where was he?”
“Sounds good,” Dan nods, as I join him at the door. “I’m going to need you to do something else for me as well.”
I eye him cautiously. “Like what?”
“Tell him you need to use the bathroom and check the place out for a window you can leave open for me. Bathroom, bedroom, doesn’t matter. Just text me from inside the bathroom to tell me which window.”
“You’re going to climb inside and search the place? He’ll see the window and close it before you get a chance.”
“Which is why I need you to keep him chatting in the kitchen while I get inside his place and do a spot of nosing around.”
I gulp. “You want me to distract him while you rummage around in his home?”
“Yes please,” he replies with a cheeky smile as though he’s just asked me to run a minor errand for him.
“But… I can’t. That’s crazy. Can’t I ask him out for a coffee so he’s out of the way?”
“No, because he’ll probably check the place is secure before he leaves and we’re back at him closing the window.”
“Can’t you do a spot of breaking and entering? Pick his locks? Charlie was always good at that stuff.”
Charlie.
Do not think of Charlie.
“I could, but I don’t want to arouse his suspicions. I want him to carry on behaving exactly as he is doing. If he’s up to no good and thinks someone suspects as much then he’ll go onto best behaviour.”
“OK. If I have to.”
I follow him out into the corridor of his apartment block.
“Like I mentioned before, I’ve heard good things about you, Amber, and you’ve a real talent for this getting people chatting, being friendly stuff, so this should be a doddle for you.”
Wishing I shared his confidence in my social abilities I ask, “Who did you hear good things about me from?” A part of me is wondering if it was Charlie singing my praises.
“Martha,” he replies as we make our way towards the lift. “She speaks very highly of you.”
So it wasn’t Charlie.
“Speaking of Martha. Were you and her ever involved?”
Dan stops and I cannon into the back of him.
“What? Me and Martha? Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Just a thought. On the last case we worked Charlie and I thought Martha was involved with somebody at the agency and we thought you were a likely candidate.”
“Well you thought wrong. Martha? No way! Far too scary for me.”
A smile creases my lips. “What? The great Daniel Stone, special agent, is scared of Martha?”
He nods. “Absolutely and I don’t mind admitt
ing as much. Most men are scared of Martha. Anyway, getting involved with agency co-workers is always asking for trouble.”
I glare at him.
He holds up a hand in a gesture of surrender. “OK. OK. Maybe not always. Sometimes it can work.”
Can it?
I’m beginning to wonder.
“Go on,” Dan says, pointing in the direction of the surprisingly posh home of Tom Williamson. We got his address from Amelia. It looks as though ski and mountain guide work combined with chalet maintenance pays very well.
It’s on the edge of the resort and built in traditional wooden style like much of the other buildings around here but it looks pretty new as well.
Tom’s fancy 4x4 is parked outside which suggests he might be home.
Unfortunately.
I take a deep breath, compose myself and walk, as casually as I can, across towards Tom’s front door. I push at the doorbell but can’t hear it ringing in the house. Maybe it doesn’t work. How ironic is that? I decide to bang on the door as well, just in case. I step back and peer up at the house, my fingers crossed in my coat pocket. I so do not want to do this. What am I going to talk to him about? He’s going to think I’m stalking him because I keep appearing in his life and bugging him.
I glance behind me at the café across the street where Dan is waiting for me. If Tom isn’t home what happens next? Dan said we’d have to wait until he did get home. So, either way he’s not going to let me get away with this one is he?
Dan gestures that I should knock again. I do so, more loudly this time. Unfortunately it seems to have the desired result this time around and I hear footsteps approaching the door. I paste on my best smile in preparation.
Tom yanks the door open and isn’t quick enough to hide the look of surprise on his face. “Amber, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, er, I was a little concerned about some of my ski turns up on the glacier and I was worried that Dan might be teaching me the wrong shifts in weight from foot to foot when I try to change direction,” I bluster.
He frowns. “Your turns are fine and, out of interest, how did you know where I live?”
“Oh, I asked Amelia for your address. I said I needed to speak to you urgently and it wasn’t something I could discuss over the phone.”
Did I just see a flicker of a smile on his lips? Yep. And there’s a complementary sparkle in his eyes now too. He thinks I’m here because I fancy him. Hah well, needs must. If it gets me inside his house then I’ll have to play along.
“And your ski turns were what you needed to see me about were they?” He winks at me. “You’d better come in.”
Oh sugar.
I follow him inside and as I turn to close the door behind me I spot Dan, now out of the café and walking across the street in my direction. Phew. At least he’s close by if Tom gets even more ideas and decides to get handy with me.
My agency training included some self-defence manoeuvres and Charlie has taught me some stuff too so I can look after myself to a certain extent. I’m still relieved to know Dan is nearby though.
“Can I get you anything?” Tom asks, with a strange and rather disconcerting emphasis on the word anything.
Yep. He’s definitely getting ideas. Should I make my excuse right now about using the bathroom, find a window to open, text Dan and make my escape? But I can’t. Because Dan wants me to make polite chit chat with Tom while he does his search thing.
Fantastic.
“Drink?” he asks, holding up a bottle of brandy.
“Just coffee for me, thanks.”
A flash of disappointment crosses his face and he turns to a coffee machine and starts pushing buttons. “How do you take it?”
“Black, two sugars please.”
He reappears from using his fancy coffee maker far too soon and I take the mug he offers and beam him a smile.
“Have a seat,” he gestures towards an L-shaped sofa in plush red velvet.
I perch on the edge and, despite all the acres of sofa space around me, he sits right next to me, his shoulder touching mine.
“I hope you don’t mind me calling round like this. To be honest I’m not that keen on being in Amelia’s chalet too much at the moment. The smoke smell, you know?” Hopefully this will give me a nice link into talking about the night of the fire and asking where he was.
“Understandable, smoke is a difficult smell to get rid of. The whole place will need a lot of redecoration to get it decent again.”
“It will,” I say, contemplating my mug of coffee. “It was really scary that night of the fire. It was late on; everyone was in bed when the smoke alarm started wailing.”
He nods. “Yeah, I heard it was late. Everyone stayed calm and got out OK though thankfully. Your boyfriend was the hero of the night wasn’t he? Making sure people were safe, checking Amelia had got out OK. He’s left though hasn’t he? Hope it wasn’t because of the fire. It didn’t freak him out did it?”
He says the words with a hint of sarcasm and I get the impression he’s trying to have a little dig at Charlie and diminish his acts of bravery in the face of a blazing chalet. Does he think Charlie’s absence is connected to my turning up on his doorstep? Does he think I’m here because I’m craving some male company?
“No, it didn’t freak him out. He was called away on a work matter,” I say.
True.
Unfortunately.
“So he left you here all alone. That’s never a good idea in my experience.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
He edges a little closer, his shoulder now pressing against my own.
“Because it’s never a good idea to abandon your holiday and leave a beautiful girlfriend.”
I get to my feet, his close proximity making me even more nervous. “Sorry, could I use your bathroom? Too much coffee today.”
Too much information as well by the look on his face. “Up the stairs, first door on the right.”
I find the door and head inside. The bathroom is almost as luxurious as the one in my room back at Amelia’s chalet. There’s a large frosted glass window on the far wall and I head over to take a closer look. The catch releases and I push it to see if it will open enough for Dan to get through. It doesn’t. Seems it has some sort of safety catch on it, probably to stop burglars as well as anybody tempted to throw themselves out of the window as we are pretty high off the ground here. There are no other windows in the room so I head back to the bathroom door and pause, listening, to make sure Tom is still downstairs out of the way.
Holding my breath I creep along the landing. There are doors all around me, all bedrooms I assume. At the end of the hallway is a glass doorway out onto a wooden balcony. Bingo. I do a weird half run half walk thing over to the door and grasp the handle. It’s locked. Of course it is. I check the wall and window ledge for any keys but there’s nothing. What do I do now? I don’t have time to check all the bedrooms, plus if there are any creaky floorboards Tom will hear me and come up to see what’s going on and if he finds me in a bedroom – well, let’s just say he’s really going to get the wrong idea about why I’m here then.
Aware I’ve already been upstairs for a little too long I pull my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Dan telling him there’s a door on the balcony at the rear of the property but it’s locked. Charlie has excellent lock picking skills and I’m assuming Dan will have too.
Unfortunately it’s a skill I have yet to acquire. I hold my breath as I wait for a reply.
“Amber? You OK?” Tom’s voice drifts up the stairs.
Now what?
“I’m fine, be down in a second,” I reply, one eye on the stairs and one on my phone.
Come on, Dan, tell me what to do.
His reply flashes up on my phone. Get Tom out on the balcony and then make sure it’s left open or make sure you see where the key is.
What? Seriously? Why can’t he just climb up and pick the lock?
“Amber?” I hear footsteps and I b
reak out in a cold sweat. Tom has come to look for me. What now? I’m frozen to the spot.
He’s at the top of the stairs; I can hear his footsteps on the wooden floor.
“Amber? Are you sure you’re OK? You’ve been up here a while.” He walks around the corner and spots me standing in the middle of the hallway. “What are you doing? The bathroom’s the other way. First on the right. These are all bedrooms.”
THINK.
“I felt a bit funny and wanted some fresh air and I spotted this door to the balcony but I think it’s locked.”
“It is. Why don’t you come back downstairs and we can go out in the garden for a minute?”
I rest a hand against the wall. “No, I don’t think I can manage the stairs. I feel a bit faint. Could you fetch the key for this door for me please?”
He pulls a key ring from the back pocket of his jeans and heads for the door.
The keys were in his jeans? I can’t stifle a shudder as I follow him, trying to look all fragile and woozy, towards the door. How on earth would I have got hold of the keys if he had them in his jeans?
We step outside and I’m hit by a blast of cold air. If I was feeling a bit off that bitter breeze would have cleared my head big time.
“Feeling better?” he asks as he slips an arm around my shoulders.
I try not to pull away obviously but instead slip from his side towards the edge of the balcony, resting my hands against the wooden rail and checking out the surrounding area to see how difficult it will be for Dan to climb up here and get inside the chalet.
This is only the first stage. Now I have to go back inside and distract Tom for however long while Dan does his search of the chalet upstairs. What can I chat about with him until I get the all clear text from Dan?
“Hey, don’t go standing too near the railing. I don’t want you getting dizzy again and falling,” Tom says moving to stand behind me and resting a hand gently on my left shoulder.
He really is a handy man isn’t he? Very touchy feely.
Unfortunately.
“I think maybe I’d better go back inside and sit down for a minute if that’s OK?”
“Sure.” He nods and guides me into the warm chalet, out of the cool wind. Is it enough to hope he won’t remember to lock the door? Or do I need to go into distraction mode? Yes, probably best to, just in case. Easier to go for preventative measures now to stop him locking the door than try to get him to unlock it again.
Forever Mine: A Fun and Flirty Romantic Mystery (Amber Reed Mystery Book 3) Page 13
