“Debs?”
“Hey! How’re things?”
“It’s early for a social call. Is everything OK?”
“Yes, it’s fine, thanks. I was awake early and just thought I’d see if you were too. You’ve been a little quiet lately and I wanted to make sure everything was OK with you.”
“You mean you’ve seen the photos of Charlie in the papers?”
“Yes, I’ve seen them. It’s all just cover though right? He isn’t really with her.”
“So he says.”
“Amber, what have you said to him? Have you had a row?”
“We had a, er, discussion and Charlie decided he was too busy to try and placate his girlfriend so he suggested we take a break.”
“What? You’ve split up?” she gasps and I can imagine her shocked expression.
“We’re on a break,” I recite parrot-fashion.
“So is this a ‘let’s sort this out when we’re both back in the UK and can kiss and make up’ type of ‘on a break’ or an ‘I never want to see you again’ type of ‘on a break’?”
I sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Look, I’m certain you two will sort things out. You’re great together.”
“And if we don’t, then working together for the agency is going to be oodles of fun, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry. It’ll all be fine. I promise you. Speaking of working together, how are things going with Dangerous Dan?”
“He kissed me.”
“Whoa! He doesn’t waste any time does he? He knows you and Charlie are on a break?”
“He knows.”
“So what happened? What did you say? What did he say?”
“We’d both had a little to drink and had been working late into the night on the case. He told me some stuff about his past, a relationship. Opened up to me. I suppose there was a flicker of something. He apologised but things between us now are a little strained.”
“Look, you and Charlie are going to be fine, so this thing, whatever it is, with Dan, doesn’t matter. You know what he’s like when he’s on a case. He becomes obsessed and with the time difference issues as well it’s even more tricky to find the right time to call. It’s all a huge misunderstanding.”
“I suppose so. But I miss him. Missed him, I should say. No, that’s not true. I still do miss him. When I signed up for agency work I thought we’d end up working together on all our cases, but it hasn’t worked out like that. He’s one of the CCIA’s top agents, so obviously in demand and has to go wherever the clients and bosses want him to. Things are more complicated than I’d thought.”
“Look, I’m sure you guys can catch up with each other when these jobs are sorted and figure all this out. In the meantime my advice would be to just enjoy the attentions of bad boy Daniel. You said before he was hot, right? Do you, if only a teeny bit, like him? Fancy him even?”
“That’s two very different things.”
“Do you like him?” she asks patiently.
“Yes, as a person, a friend, I do.”
“Do you fancy him?”
Silence.
“Amber?”
“Yes, maybe, just a little. It’s kind of impossible not to. I mean he looks like he should be an underwear model or one of those guys who stride out of the surf in a designer aftershave advert on the TV.”
“Oooh, I so wish I was there.”
“But Charlie…”
“Is a lovely guy but he’s a workaholic, stubborn and doesn’t like having to keep explaining himself to you. Plus, you’re on a break.”
“I know. But I can’t just forget him at the flick of a switch.”
“And nobody is asking you to. Like I said, I’m sure you guys will get back together and sort all of this out. The chemistry between you is amazing but for now…”
“Sorry but I have to go. There’s some stuff for the case I need to get sorted,” I say, needing some space from talking about Charlie.
“Of course. Be careful and we’ll catch up properly when you get home OK?”
I decide to go downstairs and make a coffee, giving up on the idea of trying to sleep.
As I wander through to the kitchen I hear clattering sounds. Somebody else is awake. Pushing the door open I see Fran standing at the central island in the room, a cookie jar open in front of her.
“You couldn’t sleep either?” she says. “I’ve just made a drink. The water will still be warm if you want one too.”
“Thanks.” I find a mug in a cupboard and make a coffee. “So what’s keeping you awake?”
“Got a lot on my mind at the moment.”
“I’ve been told I’m a good listener if you want to talk.”
She shakes her head. “Thanks for the offer but I don’t think talking is going to help.”
I move to stand next to her. “Never under estimate the power of offloading your troubles on someone, even if it’s only for a little while.” Can I smell alcohol on her breath again? What is going on in Fran’s life? OK, she has a gun licence and is a crack shot, but is she really a stalker? Did she shoot her friend’s boyfriend? She doesn’t look capable.
But appearances can be deceptive.
I probably shouldn’t be doing this. It’s not what Dan and I planned a few hours back but what the heck. I’m going to do it anyway. I just hope I don’t mess things up.
“So, it was quite the party last night huh?” I say, trying to engage her in conversation. “It’s such a relief Ty is out of the hospital and on the mend.”
She breaks a cookie in two on the counter, the crumbs scattering. “Yes, it is a relief.”
“Somebody told me it isn’t even shooting season, so it must have been poachers out in the woods who accidentally shot him. It’s horrible to find out things like that isn’t it? Guns terrify me. How about you?”
The moment of truth. Will she admit she has a licence and knows one end of a gun from another?
Dan will probably get mad with me when I tell him what I’ve done. That I’ve gone solo and taken this risk. Especially when I’m sleep-deprived and reeling from the bombardment of emotions that have hit me over the past twenty or so hours.
“Oh, I’m fine with guns,” she says, then pops one half of the cookie into her mouth, chewing it before adding, “I have my own guns. I even won competitions at regional level when I was a teenager.”
That’s almost word for word what Dan told me. Which suggests she’s telling the truth.
“Really? Wow. I wouldn’t have thought you’d be a keen sharp shooter.”
“I haven’t used a gun for a long time though.” She laughs nervously. “It used to help me with stress relief so maybe I should take it up again.”
“You’re feeling stressed then? Anything I can help with?” I wrap my fingers around my mug, savouring its warmth.
“My life is a mess,” she says in a matter of fact voice. “Thanks for the offer but I doubt you’d be able to help.”
I rest a hand on her arm, hoping to reassure. “Maybe not, but it might be worth a try.”
“OK.” She sighs. “I’m drinking too much alcohol. My dreams are shattered and I think my husband is having an affair. Not that I’d blame him. I’m useless. I can’t make it as an actress. I can’t even make it as a mother.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” I soothe.
“We tried to get pregnant naturally for ages and as I’m not getting any younger we saw specialists. We were advised to try fertility treatments. Now, after so many failed attempts we have an empty savings account, no child, and our marriage is on the rocks.”
I slip an arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Fran.”
“After the last attempt Spencer wanted to carry on. Get a loan. Maybe ask Amelia for some money. He didn’t want to give up but I did. I’d had enough. And not just because it was bankrupting us. He’s so depressed, angry and frustrated. That’s why he’s started smoking again and been behaving so oddly.”
Am I crazy or is all of this pointing to Spencer being the stalker?
“What sort of odd behaviour?” I prompt.
“Well, he lost his mum a little while back and inherited some jewellery from her. It’s been kept in our safe, but when I went in there to get our passports before we flew to France I noticed several of the boxes were missing. I’m worried he might have sold them to try and raise more funds to attempt another fertility treatment. I don’t think they were worth a fortune but I’m no jewellery expert. I really hope he hasn’t though because they were all he had left of his mother and anyway I don’t want to try again. I mentioned we could look into adoption but he flew off the handle at that. We just aren’t communicating anymore.”
“What makes you think he was having an affair though?”
“Well, I wondered if maybe that’s the other possible reason for him taking the boxes of jewels from the safe. Maybe he’s giving them to her, whoever she is.”
I hug her close. “I’m sure that’s not the case at all,” I say, feeling guilty for lying.
In fact I’m fairly certain he’s giving the jewels to Amelia as part of his stalker strategy. But why?
“Can you describe these jewel boxes?” I ask, earning myself a funny look from Fran.
“Yes, of course. They’re red with gold writing on them. The jeweller’s name is on the top. Hunter Walker and Sons.” She looks up. “I love my husband very much and I just want to try and get things back to how they once were between us.”
Her description matches the boxes Amelia has been getting her unwanted gifts in. “Can you remember anything specific about the items of jewellery? Were any of them unusual or particularly memorable?”
She looks thoughtful for a moment, staring into space. “I think there was a camera. It was one of those charms for a bracelet. His mum loved taking pictures, always had a camera with her. I think Spencer’s dad got her that charm for a birthday gift one year.”
Right, so not only do the boxes match those Amelia has received from her stalker but specifically one of the items in them does as well. This is too much to be a coincidence.
I need to talk to Dan straight away and update him on what I’ve just found out.
I’m a little nervous speaking to Dan after last night and everything that was said.
He answers on the first ring. “Hey, I was about to call you. Everything OK?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve just been talking to Fran and she told me some stuff about Spencer. I think he could be the stalker.”
“What kind of stuff? No, don’t worry for now. There’s news at this end too. Amelia just called me. I’ll pick you up outside the chalet in five minutes then we can update each other on the way to Amelia and Ty’s hotel.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dan arrives in less than five minutes and I clamber into the car. He spins it round and we race off back towards the resort.
“You first,” he says as he changes gear and we speed up even more.
“Fran said she’s worried about Spencer. He’s so down and angry. Apparently they’ve been having fertility treatments, all unfortunately unsuccessful so far, but it’s pretty much bankrupted them. She’s had enough and doesn’t want to try again, even if they could find the money from somewhere, or more accurately, someone.”
“Amelia you mean?” Dan asks as we approach the hotel. “They want a loan from Amelia?”
“Spencer wants a loan from her, Fran doesn’t. She said he inherited some jewellery from his mum recently and she’d noticed it had disappeared from their safe. She was worried he might have tried to sell it to raise funds for more treatments. She also thought he might be having an affair because his behaviour has been so odd lately. He’s started smoking again, he’s so stressed.”
“Do the jewel boxes match the ones Amelia has been receiving from her stalker?” he quizzes as we zoom into the hotel car park.
“Yes. I got her to describe them. They’re the same. Right down to the name on them.”
He nods as we pull up and click out of our seatbelts. “Great stuff. Right, let’s go and see Amelia and Ty.”
“What’s happened? You said she’d just phoned you?” I ask as I hit the button to summon the elevator.
“Yeah, she did. She’s received another note from the stalker. Here at the hotel. The concierge delivered it to their room this morning.”
The lift arrives and we step inside. “What does it say?”
He leans back against the wood panelled wall of the lift. “Something about Amelia needing to go to a certain place on a trail on the mountain. It’s a cryptic message. I rang Tom and asked him to come over as well. He knows every trail on the hills around here. He should be able to help us figure out what the stalker is going on about. I also asked the hotel manager to send the concierge up to Amelia’s room so we can question him about the note.”
The lift reaches the fifth floor and we head down the corridor. “Room number twenty two,” Dan says, stopping outside a door and rapping on it twice sharply. “This is it.”
Amelia lets us in, looking pale and tired. She leads us to a table and hands a note to Dan. I move closer so I can read it too.
I’ve had enough of playing games. If you want to know who I am and why I’m stalking you then you have to meet me. It’s simple. If you don’t, something bad will happen to Ty. Again. So, now for my last little game with you. You need to meet me on a mountain trail at ten this morning. The trail? Well, you’ll have to put your pretty little head to good use and work that part out. All I’ll say is if you can’t figure out where to meet me, on what trail, you’ll have blown it and I’ll be seeing red. Everything will go bang. Including you and Ty. If you figure it out you’ll know where I am and you’ll get a clue to confirm you’re on the right track. If you don’t – well, let’s just say the clock is ticking and Ty’s time is running out.
You are still Forever Mine,
x
Dan hands me the note and turns to the concierge, speaking first in French then they both switch to English. “Where did this note appear from? Did you see anybody?” he asks.
“He must have been watching and waiting until I was away from my desk,” the man replies, looking nervous. “I went through to the office because it was still early and not many guests were around. I needed to collect some paperwork. When I got back to my desk there was an envelope with a note attached to it asking me to deliver the envelope to Ms Kingston in her suite. I didn’t see who left it and neither did the guy on reception as he was dealing with a customer at the time.”
“Right, OK, you can go for now, thanks,” Dan says with a nod of dismissal. “Tom? What do you make of it? Do you know what trail he means?”
He nods. “Yeah, I think so. He mentions the colour red. Stuff about having blown it. Things going bang. It’s the Red Balloon Trail he’s going on about, has to be.”
“Where does it start?” I ask.
“It runs from the top of the mountain down to the resort. I suppose we’d have to follow it up from the resort and look for this clue he’s on about,” Tom replies.
Ty steps forward, the lines of stress and anxiety etched on his face. I’d forgotten he didn’t know about all of this stalker stuff, at Amelia’s request. Now though, he’s clearly up to speed.
“You aren’t seriously expecting Amelia to go and meet this psycho on the side of a mountain?” he demands.
“She’ll be fine, I promise you. We’ll be right behind her, and I’m calling in a team of local police for backup as well,” Dan assures him before turning to Amelia. “Amelia we know who it is. Spencer is the stalker.”
“What?” a hand goes to her mouth and she drops down to sit on the edge of the bed.
Bad enough having to deal with all this stalker stuff but it must be even worse when you find out the person who has been trying to scare the living daylights out of you is someone you’ve known for years, someone you’ve sat and chatted with over the dinner table. Someone you’ve invi
ted into your home.
Ty moves to sit next to her, pulling her into a hug. Amelia seems unable to speak but Ty has no such problem. “Spencer? Seriously? He’s the one who shot me?”
“We think so, yes,” I reply. “We haven’t linked him to the shooting specifically yet, but we do know he recently inherited some jewels which match the description of those Amelia has been receiving from the stalker. Fran told us all about them. He’s also got a juvenile record.”
Amelia shakes her head. “I knew he could be moody and he wasn’t happy lately but to be capable of this? No, I just can’t believe it. Why? Why is he targeting me like this?”
“We’re not quite sure yet,” I answer, flashing an anxious look at Dan. I hope we’ve got this right this time around.
“Oh,” she says, pushing to her feet. “I’ve just remembered something Fran said to me, the day after the fire at the chalet. I told you, Amber about how she mentioned Spencer had started smoking again and usually went outside the chalet for a smoke. She was worried he might have had something to do with the fire in the living room. She wondered if it might have been Spencer who started the fire by accident. So it really could have been him?”
“It could well have been Spencer, but I don’t think the fire was an accident,” I say. “He’s been under a lot of stress lately and it seems to have triggered his volatility. Did you know he and Fran had been trying for a child via fertility treatments?”
She nods. “Yes, Fran mentioned it to me the other day. She said she’s had enough of trying and wanted to look into adoption instead.”
“Well, Spencer isn’t so keen to give up just yet,” I reply. “But they’ve wiped out their finances so we think he may have been working up to getting money from you by whatever means possible.”
Dan moves over to stand in front of her, crouching down so his eyes are level with hers. “We’re going to catch him, Amelia, but we need your help to do so. I say we give him what he wants and let him hang himself – not literally speaking of course! You go and meet him on this trail, let him think you’re scared and you’re playing along with his demands. I’m not sure yet how smart or quick-thinking he is but I’d say we give him credit for working out that if you show up you might well be being followed and it could be a set up. Which is where Amber comes in.”
Forever Mine: A Fun and Flirty Romantic Mystery (Amber Reed Mystery Book 3) Page 19
