Hamburgers, Homicide and a Honeymoon (The Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery Series Book 5)

by Sherri Bryan

  Ten minutes later, Fiona pointed to the tall, rangy figure unfolding itself from the low, white sports car. “Is that him?”

  “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “What’s going on?” Eddie’s pleasant face was creased with concern. “I called Ruby but she had no idea.”

  “You called Ruby Pitt?” Nathan and Fiona exchanged concerned looks.

  “Yeah, just now. I told her you’d asked me to meet you here, and I knew she was here, so I wanted to ask her if she knew what it was all about.”

  Ruby suddenly appeared at the front door. “What’s going on? Why do you need to see Eddie?” She walked down the path towards them.

  “Look, this wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” said Nathan. “I think we should all go down to the station.”

  “Why? I don’t want to go down to the station,” said Ruby, becoming agitated.

  “Because I’d prefer to go somewhere we can talk.” The opening bars of ‘Dancing Queen’ blared out through the front door, Ava’s warbling soprano voice leading everyone in the first verse. Nathan shook his head. “Somewhere quiet.”

  “I don’t want to go somewhere quiet.” Ruby grabbed hold of his arm. “Why can’t you tell us here? You’re scaring me.”

  “I really think it would be better if we went somewhere else, Mrs Pitt.”

  “I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me what’s going on.” Ruby glared at Nathan and Fiona.

  Nathan sighed heavily. “Alright, but not out here. Come with me.”

  ººººººº

  A party welcomed them as they walked through the front door.

  A party that came to a stop as soon as Charlotte set eyes on them.

  “What is it?” She was on her feet in an instant. “Harriett, turn the music off, please.”

  Nathan put his hand on her shoulder. “Charlotte, please keep calm, okay. This is nothing for you to worry about. Fiona and I need a word with Ruby and Eddie, that’s all, but we’ll go through to the garden.”

  “Eddie, what’s going on?” said Penny.

  “I don’t know but I don’t like how I’m feeling.” Eddie followed Nathan outside.

  “Can everyone stay inside, please?” said Fiona. “We just need a few minutes.”

  The colour drained from Ruby’s face when Nathan turned to her.

  “What is it? What’s happened? It’s Adam, isn’t it? There’s nothing else you’d want to talk to me about.”

  “I think we should sit down.” Nathan sat Ruby on a patio chair and motioned to Eddie to sit beside her.

  “I’m so sorry to tell you that your husband was found dead at your home this afternoon.”

  A confused expression clouded Ruby’s face. “Dead? What? No, he isn’t—he can’t be. I saw him this morning before I left. He’s at home, he’s working. Eddie, what’s he talking about?” She reached for his hand but he brushed it away.

  “You’re wrong. I saw him this morning, too.” Eddie’s face had taken on a grey hue. “I called in to pick up some figures I needed for an analysis he wants. You’ve made a mistake…I’ll call him now and you can speak to him.” He paced up and down as he dialled Adam’s number with a trembling hand, gasping when he was immediately directed to voicemail.

  Adam Pitt never let his calls go to voicemail. He never tired of telling Eddie that every call was a potential money-making opportunity. If a caller couldn’t speak to a real person, they’d move on. Opportunity lost.

  “Are you sure? There’s no mistake?” His eyes filled with tears.

  “I wish I could tell you there was,” said Nathan, “but there’s no mistake. I’m so sorry.”

  With his head in his hands, Eddie stumbled blindly towards a hysterical Ruby, his knees buckling before he fell to the ground, and they clung to each other and sobbed.

  Watching from the kitchen window, Charlotte felt as though she’d been kicked in the stomach as old emotions were brought to the surface.

  This party was definitely over.

  ººººººº

  Sunday, June 24th

  “Well, yesterday was the stuff nightmares are made of, wouldn’t you say?”

  As she swept the terrace of the café, Charlotte smashed the broom against the ground with such force Jess was prompted to take it from her hands.

  “Well, the last hour wasn’t great, I’ll give you that,” said Jess, “but the rest of it was fab.”

  “But who’s going to remember the rest of it after a finale like that? No one, that’s who. It’ll be known forever more as the baby shower from hell.” The frown line between her brows deepened with every word. “Not that I’m not grateful for all the good wishes and the gifts, ‘cos I truly am, but after what happened, I can’t help feeling that it was a bad omen.” She scuffed the toe of her shoe against the ground.

  Jess flung down the broom. “Charlotte Denv…I mean, Costello, you had better stop thinking that way right now! It was a terrible thing, but to think that something bad’s going to happen because of it is just ridiculous, so get that idea out of your head.

  “And as for worrying about whether people will remember the good bits—for your information, the image of you in that yellow tent will stay with me forever.” She giggled and Charlotte’s frown disappeared as she recalled the moment, her lips widening in a grin.

  “And so will the look on your face when you saw that rocking horse.”

  Charlotte’s smile became even wider and her eyes sparkled with tears.

  “Y’see, lovie! Good stuff always works its magic,” said Jess, and hugged her tightly.

  ººººººº

  “Well, it was dreadful.” Ava folded the local morning newspaper, its stark headline, ADAM PITT DEAD AT 61, announcing the event of the previous day. “I doubt I’ll ever be the same again.”

  She was holding court at the café, sitting at a table with Harriett, Betty, Leo, and Harry. “And when Nathan told that poor woman and that poor man that Adam had passed, well, I don’t mind telling you, I shed a tear.” She patted her eyes with a tissue. “We couldn’t hear anything from inside, of course, but we could see everything that was going on from the window. I needed a lie-down when I got home. My legs were like jelly.”

  “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…whenever newcomers upset the balance of the town, you can bet there’ll be trouble before long.” Harry poured gravy over his roast beef and tucked a serviette into the front of his shirt. “They’re a bloody nuisance.”

  “Oh, come on, Harry. That’s very unfair,” said Charlotte, topping up his wine glass from the bottle of Merlot on the table. “The majority of newcomers to St. Eves are great. And anyway, these people aren’t newcomers—they’ve lived here for years.”

  “How come I’ve never seen any of ‘em, then?” Harry guided a generously filled fork of meltingly-soft roast beef and crispy roast potato into his mouth.

  “Because they live on the other side of town. You don’t know everyone who lives in St. Eves, you know.”

  “Do the police have any idea who killed him?” Leo put a spoonful of horseradish sauce on the side of his plate.

  “Not yet, but I hope they find out soon,” said Charlotte. “The last thing we need is another murderer on the prowl.”

  ººººººº

  Nathan and Fiona Farrell stood on the doorstep of Penny and Owen’s house. A ring on the doorbell told them that Penny’s dogs were home, and very much awake, but shushed to be quiet as Penny opened the door.

  “Morning. Come in, come in. Just ignore the dogs and they won’t bother you.”

  After greeting them at the door and realising that neither Nathan nor Fiona

  a) had any treats for them and,

  b) posed any threat,

  Penny’s large chocolate Labrador with its tendency to drool, and her dishevelled mongrel, retreated to the living room, each occupying a large sofa as they lay, supine, bathed in sunlight and eyes closed, but one ear cocked in the event that someone mentioned walkies or s
ausages.

  The dark circles under Penny’s eyes told Nathan she hadn’t slept well.

  “Thank you for agreeing to speak to us, Miss Baker—especially at such a difficult time. Our condolences.”

  “I’ll be happy to do whatever I can to help. We just can’t believe it—first Frankie, now Adam. By the way, Ruby’s upstairs. There was no way she could have gone home last night so I told her she could stay here. She cried so much she exhausted herself, and then she got into such a state she couldn’t breathe. We got so scared we called the emergency doctor in the middle of the night and he gave her a sedative which should help her sleep for a few hours, I hope.” She wrung her hands. “I think she’s going to be staying here for a few days, at least. It’s just terrible.”

  “Yes, it is. You’re sure you feel up to answering a few questions? We don’t have to do this now if you’re not.”

  “No…I mean yes, I’m okay. I’d rather get it over and done with.”

  “Of course. Okay, would you mind telling me where you were yesterday between quarter-to twelve and when you arrived at the baby shower?”

  “Um, well, Owen, Amy and I were here until about quarter-to twelve. Then Amy and I left to call into town to buy Charlotte a present on the way to the baby shower. Owen stayed here with Zac.

  “And can anyone verify that?”

  Penny frowned. “I think Owen was talking to Karen for a while; she’s the woman over the road who looks after the dogs while we’re away, because he was pottering about in the front garden and she was washing her car. I waved to her from the front door but I didn’t speak to her. But that was before midday—around ten o’clock, I think. We usually have a very lazy Saturday morning—we don’t do anything or see anyone unless we’ve got something arranged. Oh, and, Amy was here, too, of course. She’s staying here at the moment. We went to the baby shower together.”

  “Okay, that’s great, thank you. And do you have any idea why anyone would have wanted to kill Mr Pitt?”

  Penny shrugged a shoulder. “Well, he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I’ll say that, but I don’t know anyone who would want to kill him.”

  “What do you mean, “he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea”?”

  “Well, he was a bit, you know…a bit pompous. I’m sure he must have rubbed a few people up the wrong way over the years, but enough for someone to want to kill him?” She puffed out a breath. “Who knows? Actually, on reflection, I’m probably not the best person to speak to about Adam—I didn’t know him that well. Owen knew him much better than I did. He’ll be back at around half-two. You might be better off speaking to him.”

  “Yes, we’ll get to Owen, Miss Baker, but for now you’re being very helpful. So, you didn’t know Adam Pitt very well?”

  “No, hardly at all. I only know him because he’s married to Ruby and Ruby’s a friend.”

  “Ah, well, you see, that’s interesting.” Nathan paused. “Because when we were in London, I saw you meet up with him in Hyde Park. You had a conversation with him. One which appeared to become quite acrimonious from where I was sitting.”

  Penny opened her mouth and then shut it, colour rising from her neck upwards.

  “Would you like to start again, Miss Baker?” Nathan fixed his eyes on her.

  She cursed under her breath. “Okay, I do know him—everyone around here knows him. He’s Adam Pitt, for goodness’ sake. But I really don’t know him very well—and that’s the truth.”

  “I see. So why, considering you don’t know him very well, is your number saved in his contacts list?”

  Nathan’s phone rang.

  “Saved by the bell, but we’ll get back to this in a minute, Miss Baker. Excuse me, would you? I should take this.” He got up and moved away from the couch. “Yes, Ben. You got something?”

  “Yes, Chief, we’ve found some very interesting stuff on Adam Pitt’s laptop.” PC Ben Dillon’s clear voice updated Nathan on developments. “There’s a video of a young woman—can’t see her face because it’s obscured by an umbrella but when forensics enlarged the image, you can see a pretty distinctive tattoo on her chest. It looks pretty new, too, maybe only a few weeks old—it’s a heart with the initials AB and FI inside it.”

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “Yep, absolutely sure, Chief. We’re already working on finding the woman.”

  “No need, Ben. I know who she is. I’ll call you when I’ve finished up here. Good work.”

  He returned to the couch and spoke to Fiona.

  “Interesting conversation. Forensics have found some video footage on Adam Pitt’s laptop of a young woman. She’s got a very distinctive tattoo on her chest. I think we’ve found our prime suspect.”

  He hoped his bluff would prompt Penny to speak, and it paid off.

  “Wait, that’s not your suspect…it can’t be,” said Penny.

  “And why’s that, Miss Baker?”

  As she turned an even deeper shade of puce, Penny’s shoulders dropped. Leaning her elbows on the table, she put her head in her hands.

  “Because the woman with the tattoo is Amy, and Amy was here all of yesterday morning. Adam was in a relationship with her for a little while. That’s why we had each other’s numbers. And I can assure you, that was the only reason—if he’d been the last man on earth, I wouldn’t have called him for a chat. The man was a sanctimonious pig.”

  “Can you tell me the reason for your meeting in the park?”

  Penny shuffled in her seat. “Because Amy was upset that he’d gone to London and I wanted to ask him to leave her alone. He just wouldn’t accept that they were finished even though they’d been apart for months. It made her uncomfortable to have him there—it was like he was spying on her, you know? What with the video camera trained on her apartment and him turning up unexpectedly everywhere she went. I mean, he never made the trip to London for the awards. It was so weird that he came along. He hasn’t even got a tattoo.”

  “Well, if they were no longer together, perhaps he went to keep his wife company,” said Nathan. “Not so strange, is it? For a husband to want to be with his wife?”

  Penny raised her eyebrows and scoffed. “Not for normal couples, maybe, but Adam and Ruby were hardly a normal couple.”

  “I see. And what do you mean by that, exactly?”

  She cleared her throat and shuffled some more.

  “Are you alright? This line of questioning appears to be making you a little uncomfortable.”

  “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Penny ran her fingers through her fringe. “Okay, that was a bad choice of words. What I meant is that they’re very, er, independent people—Adam was, especially. Even before he started seeing Amy, his marriage to Ruby was hardly what you’d call conventional. They didn’t spend a lot of time together because he was always going off somewhere on business—mainly to check out investment opportunities. He used to take her along with him but she got bored with just sitting around waiting for his meetings to finish so she stopped going. They always got on fine when they were together, though.”

  “Hmm.” Nathan scribbled on his notepad. “And have you any idea why someone would have been blackmailing Mr Pitt?”

  “What?” Penny’s head jerked upwards. “Blackmailing him? What on earth was he being blackmailed about?”

  Nathan watched her carefully. She might have been lying before but he was sure she knew nothing about the blackmail attempt.

  “Okay, just one last question. Do you know anyone by the name of Jill Travis?”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t. Why? Do you think she’s something to do with the blackmail?”

  Nathan snapped his notebook shut. “Let’s just say she’s someone we’d like to speak to. Right, I think that’s all for now—thank you, you’ve been very helpful.”

  As he and Fiona stood up to leave, the dogs ran to the front door as they heard a key turn in the lock.

  “Hello, darlings. Aunty Amy’s bought you some treats…yes she has. Oh, hello.”


  “Good morning, Miss Baker. How fortuitous. We were just on our way to your apartment—you’ve saved us a trip.”

  “Oh, really? Why’s that?”

  “Because, if you feel up to it, I’d like to ask you some questions. But only if you feel up to it. I know you must have had a terrible shock so, if it’s too soon, we can do this later—either here, or somewhere else.”

  Amy looked at her sister. “Er, well, I suppose so. What do you want to know?”

  “Amy, I think it might be better if you went to the station to answer the questions,” said Penny. “Or your apartment.”

  “Why can’t I answer them here? I’ve only just got back; I don’t want to go out again.”

  Penny lowered her voice to a whisper. “Because he wants to ask you about Adam…and Ruby’s asleep upstairs. What if she wakes up?”

  Amy blushed. “How did he find out about…oh, never mind. Um, okay, just a minute.” She gave each dog a dental stick and picked up her keys. “Right. Ready when you are.”

  ººººººº

  “So, what do you want to know?” At Amy’s request, they sat in an interview room at the police station.

  “I’d like to know where you were yesterday between quarter-to twelve and when you arrived at the baby shower.”

  “Um, I was at Penny’s until we left. I can’t remember exactly what time it was but it was a little before midday. I like to sleep late at weekends when I can, so I was in bed until around ten-past eleven…and before you ask, I was on my own.”

  “Okay, thank you. So, can you tell me about your relationship with Adam Pitt.”

  Amy absent-mindedly ran a finger over the tattoo on her chest. “Hmm, I thought you might. Well, I first met him about six months after he and Ruby moved to St. Eves. Owen got to know him at some event or other when he was still working in corporate hospitality, and he organised a clay pigeon shoot so that Adam and Ruby could meet some people. To be honest, I didn’t take much notice of him the first time we met. He was with Ruby and I was with my boyfriend at the time.