The Hayley Argent Mysteries, Books 1 - 4

by Ruby Loren

  “None of them sound like they’d have a reason to kill Kali,” Hayley commented and Shaun nodded.

  “Yes, if there were any signs of a break in, I’d be tempted to say it was a robbery gone wrong but everything from the lack of forced entry to the way that Kali died makes me think it was someone she knew. They had to be able to get close enough to her in the bathtub before holding her down." He sighed. "Hopefully something will come up.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Hayley reassured him. “Where was the husband to be when all this happened?”

  “He was doing a similar break for his stag. It sounds a bit more rugged though. They were riding around the local area and had booked stabling and accommodation for the night on a circuit. A sort of a mounted pub crawl, I suppose.”

  “It sounds interesting,” Hayley commented. “I don’t suppose they were near enough by to have reached the woods where it all happened?”

  Shaun shook his head.

  “No, they were a good fifty miles south, although they were planning on meeting the hens the next day. They’ve cut their break short and are riding back now, I believe. But yes, short of someone giving the groom a lift and then him nipping back to his friends, I’d say I’m fairly certain he didn't do it. In fact, I’m pretty damn sure, as the others on the stag say they were still up drinking during the time window that Kali was being drowned in the bathtub.”

  “So, are you going to be spending more time at the stables?” Hayley asked, as she finished her last mouthful of proscuitto and rocket topped pizza.

  “Well, I’m not sure. We’ve gathered all of the evidence we need and I’m not convinced the hens will want to finish their holiday after what happened to their friend. In that case, there isn't much need for me to go up there.” Shaun broke eye contact and stared across the room.

  “Are you okay?” Hayley asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

  “What? Oh, yes!” Shaun said, turning back and twitching his lips up into a smile. “Sorry, I'm just a bit distracted, I suppose. I might not be around as much as usual over the next few days. This case is going to take up all my time, especially as the chief is AWOL.” He shook his head. “Just, don't worry if you don’t hear from me for a bit.”

  Hayley felt the ghost of a frown pulling at her forehead but she kept it at bay. “Well, let me know if you make a breakthrough or even if you just need someone to talk ideas with. I’m told I’m a good person to bounce ideas off," she said, thinking of Miles and trying not to feel annoyed all over again.

  “Of course, of course,” Shaun said insincerely. “So, uh, how about dessert? Also tell me about your day! It has to have been better than mine,” he teased and Hayley played along, pasting the smile on her face as she tried to ignore the way her boyfriend was acting. The more she talked with him, the more certain she was that Shaun didn't want to share the details of the case with her. Was it because he suspected Miles was somehow involved, and she was too close to him? Or was it something to do with that attractive female police officer who hadn't taken her eyes off Inspector Rouen…

  CHAPTER THREE

  Midnight Madness

  Hayley was still fuming about everything that had taken place that day when she pulled into the car park at the Onyx and Argent stables. Shaun had excused himself, saying he needed an early night in order to best tackle the investigation tomorrow and Hayley hadn’t bothered to argue with him. Despite the nice meal they’d shared together, she was left with an empty feeling as she got out of her car and felt the icy November air bite into her skin.

  The night was a clear one and frost was already starting to sparkle on the grass that surrounded the well-gravelled car park. Hayley walked across the open space, making her way towards the main building and her apartment within. An owl hooted and she heard the flutter of wings as it passed overhead. In the lane outside of the stables a horse neighed and she heard the clatter of hooves on concrete.

  Hayley stopped and turned around. Had someone decided to take a midnight ride? It was the sort of thing that happened in the summer, but a little more unusual in the winter. It was pitch black and the temperature was already below freezing. Any sensible rider would never ride out, as falling off and getting injured could be a death sentence on a winter’s night.

  “Hello?” Hayley called, as she walked towards the automatic gate she’d just passed through on her way into the car park. The mechanism sensed her presence and swung open and she stepped out onto the tree-lined quiet country lane. As her eyes adjusted to the moon and starlit surroundings, she thought she could see the shape of something moving in the distance. Hairs rose on the back of her neck as she walked down the silent road towards the shape. There was another loud neigh and the horse shape danced sideways across the road, tossing its head and then spooking to the left. Hayley immediately noticed the lack of rider on its back.

  “Easy now,” she said, speaking nonsense in calming tones as she approached the lone horse. When she was just a couple of metres away the big animal stopped moving and stared at her. Hayley noticed its muscles tense as she observed its inward struggle over whether to run or stay. She also noted that it was tack free. It looked like she was dealing with a runaway!

  “It’s okay,” she said, staying still but gently raising her hands. After a few heartbeats of standoff the big horse tentatively lowered its nose and brushed the palm of one of her hands. Hayley moved slowly until eventually she had managed to get alongside the horse and was patting its neck, feeling him relax beneath her touch.

  “Now, where did you come from?” She asked before stripping off the plaid flannel shirt she’d worn on the date. She shivered as the cold bit into her bare arms, as she was left in just a tank top, but managed to loop the shirt around the big horse’s neck. If he decided to run, she wouldn’t stand a chance of stopping him, but to her relief he followed her, willingly being led by the shirt halter.

  It wasn't long before they were safely beyond the automatic gate and in the stables themselves. Hayley walked the mystery horse through the silent buildings until she found an empty stable. She took a moment to grab a head collar for the horse and gently tied him while she threw some wood shavings into the clean, but bare, stable. “It's not exactly the ritz, but it’ll have to do for tonight,” she told the horse, who willingly followed her into the stable. “I’ll get you some hay and water and then in the morning we’d better find your owner.”

  She took a moment to stand and watch as the horse dug into the hay net she’d brought him. It was hard to see much in the dim moonlight, but she could tell this was an animal in excellent physical condition. His coat, which appeared grey in the moonlight, shone with health and the muscles beneath his skin showed that he was regularly exercised. Her experience with horses also told her that this was a very well bred, very expensive animal. Someone was definitely going to miss him.

  “It looks to me like you haven’t been on the run for long,” she said and then wondered if he might have even escaped from their stables. So many new horses had just arrived, she’d almost lost track. What if this one had cleared a fence and made it out onto the road? What if he wasn’t the only one who had got out?

  Hayley chewed her lip as she contemplated going out and searching.

  “It’s too dark and I’m sure I’ve never seen you before,” she muttered to the horse, hoping she was making the right decision. All of their fields that bordered the lane had huge hedgerows, rather than fences, and they were regularly checked. She couldn’t imagine a horse, even one as impressive as the one she’d caught, clearing them. He must have come from somewhere else.

  “First thing tomorrow… we’ll find your owner,” she promised again before finally making her frozen way towards her apartment where a warm fire and bed was calling her name.

  ***

  “Morning, Hayley. I wasn't expecting to see you up here.”

  Hayley turned to see Shaun Rouen and the female police officer walking through the woods towards her and the three hens
.

  “I’m just giving a horse psychology lesson,” she explained, gesturing to the horses, which were untacked and standing around the schooling ring in the woods, ready for the trust exercises she had set up. Her heart sank at the sight of Shaun, as she realised her lesson was probably going to be in vain. She’d worked so hard that morning trying to encourage the hens to focus on their horses and come to terms with the grief they were feeling over their lost friend. It was supposed to be a therapy session, but she had a feeling Shaun was here to stir everything up again.

  “We’re just back to do another search, so please ignore us,” Shaun said and Hayley turned to go back to her lesson. “Oh, apart from Ms Robson, Becky, there's just one question I need to ask you,” he said a trifle awkwardly. Becky peeled off from the group and followed him.

  Hayley tried to redirect her attention to teaching the lesson again but they could all hear the Inspector talking to Becky.

  “Your fingerprints were found on the external sliding glass door which led into the main room of the lodge from the other side,” Shaun said. The female police officer cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Hayley who realised she’d been looking over in their direction.

  “Yes, I went to fetch her to go in the hot tub outside, yesterday afternoon. She let me in while she grabbed her swim things,” Becky explained and Hayley turned back to the other hens, trying to remember where she’d left off.

  ***

  “Have you found any clues?” She asked the Inspector when he seemed about to leave. The female police officer threw him a significant look and he winced before turning to Hayley.

  “Well, uh, Kali was definitely drowned. There was water in her lungs and the bump to the back of her head and broken blood vessels in her eye are consistent with signs of a struggle, so someone held her down. The crystals on the side of the bath were actually salt, common table salt, although there was no salt shaker anywhere in the lodge.” He raised an eyebrow at Hayley. “What do you think? Could it be some modern bath time remedy?”

  Hayley shook her head, unsure what to make of it.

  Shaun turned back to look over at where the female police officer was very deliberately waiting. “I wonder if you could do something for me?” He said in a hushed tone. “I shouldn’t really share this, but we've discovered that £6,000 pounds was taken out of Kali’s bank account yesterday and we haven't seen any sign of it in the lodge and I don't see evidence of it being spent either. The retreat was already paid for, so it can’t be for that. We’ve contacted the bank branch where the money was taken out, which is where we’re heading next, but just, let me know if you see anything.”

  “Of course,” Hayley promised, her curiosity piqued. £6,000 was a significant amount of money to have gone missing. Perhaps this murder was tied up in a robbery after all.

  “I’ll see you later?” She said to Shaun who had already turned to go.

  He cleared his throat and shot her an apologetic look. “Yes, well, soon, I hope. Lots to do, but I'll call you soon,” he said, sounding more vague than ever.

  Hayley tried not to let her heart sink too much as she saw the the triumphant look in the female police officer’s eyes.

  ***

  “Hayley, we need to talk,” Miles said, catching her as soon as she walked back into the stables area. She resisted the urge to turn tail and run back up to the woods. Was this really going to be another one of those days where everyone was out to get her?

  “What’s up?" She asked, summoning a friendly smile.

  “There's a horse in the stables that no one has any clue about. One of the stable lads tried to take him out to a field this morning and nearly lost his fingers. No one can get near him.”

  Hayley paled as she remembered the events of the previous night. She'd completely forgotten about the horse she'd found!

  “I’m so sorry, it slipped my mind,” she explained, telling Miles how she’d got back last night and discovered the horse wandering up and down the road. "He didn’t seem aggressive to me though, just a bit jumpy.”

  “Well, you did the right thing bringing him in, of course,” Miles admitted as they made their way towards the stable where she’d left the horse. Even though the day was grey, Hayley still marvelled at the way the mystery horse’s coat shone with health. In daylight, she could see he was a gorgeous shade of dark smoke. A horse with his colouring would definitely stand out and she didn’t doubt that someone would be looking for him.

  "At least he's recognisable,” she offered, walking towards the horse who whipped his head back nervously and then relented, allowing her to stroke his nose. She turned back to Miles. “See? Maybe he was just having a bad morning…”

  Miles stepped forwards and Hayley was knocked to the side as the horse aggressively thrust his head through the door opening, his teeth snapping on the air. There was a sharp bang as his forelegs hit the interior of the door.

  Miles gave her a look.

  “Okay, he’s not the friendliest," she concluded, turning a little more carefully to the horse who still didn’t appear to mind her presence.

  “I wonder if whoever ‘lost’ him didn’t just abandon him to his fate," Miles said, glaring at the beautiful animal.

  “Well, I still say he’s so well-cared for someone has been putting the time in. Perhaps something bad happened while he was out there on his own." She shook her head. “Whatever it is, we’d better get the word out that he’s been found and hopefully someone will come forwards."

  The big horse snorted softly and playfully rubbed his head against Hayley’s shoulder. She felt a genuine smile creep onto her lips.

  “Don’t get your hopes up, Hayley,” Miles said, sounding amused. She sighed reluctantly and picked up the head collar.

  “I’d better put him out in a field on his own, until we know how he is with other horses. Hopefully someone will pick him up soon and it won’t be our worry anymore," she said and Miles nodded.

  "Good stuff. He’ll be fine. It’s lucky we even had space for him." He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. “I’ve got another new client bringing some horses over later this week, so I hope this is sorted by then." He took one final look at the horse. "Aggressive or not, I agree he looks great and is clearly well bred. So why would anyone let such an obviously valuable horse wander and not already be knocking down our door trying to find him?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Above The Law

  The Inspector returned to the stables that afternoon. Hayley had just finished working with the group of young racehorses and they were all making progress towards being broken in. She’d noticed the Inspector and his new shadow, the female police officer, walking up the track towards the woods. After a moment of indecision, Hayley had followed, telling herself she needed to check on their guests anyway. They’d been left up in the woods on their own since that morning. With the Inspector looking as though he was on the war path, she was sure they could do with a friendly face.

  I’ll just take up some fresh fruit and breakfast things too, Hayley thought. That’ll make my visit even less suspicious!

  Hayley felt a stab of guilt as she walked up the track and suddenly remembered she still hadn’t spoken to Miles about the overheard phone call. Thoughts of being hauled up in front of a court for withholding evidence crossed her mind and she tried to shut the worries away, focusing on balancing a precarious bunch of bananas instead. I’m sure it wasn’t even related, she told herself. She didn’t want to admit it, but right now she felt more loyal to her business partner than her boyfriend.

  Hayley managed to make her way across the clearing and into the barn where food was kept without being spotted. She could just see the flash of blue that indicated the Inspector was standing in some trees just ten or so metres away from where the barn was, but the other police officer and the hens were nowhere to be seen.

  Hayley walked into the kitchen and put her bundle of fruit and food down, pleased that the small kitchen window opened out to w
here the Inspector was talking. She could overhear everything.

  “Ms Tolson, Freya, your friends said that you’re a tax lawyer?” Shaun was saying.

  “Yes, I am," she replied and Hayley could hear her guarded tone.

  “So, why would a tax lawyer be seen having an argument with her friend at the local bank, only for her friend to take out £6,000, which has since vanished?”

  “Look, it’s not what you…” Freya began but Shaun hadn’t finished.

  “Please think very carefully about what you say next. We’ve done a background check on you and you're a secretary at a law firm, not a lawyer. You've lied to us once already, Ms Tolson. I think it's time you started telling the truth.”

  Hayley’s eyebrows shot up as she realised what the Inspector was implying. Had Freya forced her friend to hand over the money and later killed her?

  “My friends really do think I’m a lawyer,” Freya began. “I’ve known Kali since we were kids and then she went off to uni and we lost contact. It was only last year that we met up and she was doing so well! She had her own clothing line and I… well, I just wanted her to think I was doing well too, so I lied. The money was, well… Kali found out. This retreat was super expensive, way more than I could afford, so I took out a loan to pay for it. I just wanted my best friend to be happy. When we got here, we went into town to buy some supplies. I was alone with Kali and my credit card got refused. I sort of, had a bit of a breakdown, and came clean to Kali.”