I followed her through to the kitchen where I found Shelly, sitting at the table, cradling a sleeping Mia.
“Hello gorgeous,” she said, her eyes twinkling as she spoke to me. See, that’s why she was my second favorite to Thomas.
“Hi Shelly.”
“Lizzie has the cake,” explained Anna, excitedly.
“Oooh, let me see,” said Shelly, standing and moving closer to the bench where I put the cake down. Riley kissed her cheek as he walked alongside her.
At that moment Jared walked into the kitchen with Mal.
“You’re just in time,” said Anna, smiling at the boys. “Lizzie has your birthday cake.”
“Hello Lizzie,” said Mal kissing my cheek. Jared pushed him out of the way and gave me a hug.
“Let me just get a knife. I might not be able to wait for dessert.”
I felt the dread in my stomach as I looked around their happy faces.
“Maybe we should wait for later,” I said, hoping to stall.
“Don’t be silly. Jared won’t really eat it,” laughed Shelly.
I’d make a bet he wouldn’t.
Maybe the cake wasn’t as bad as I remembered, I thought as I lifted the lid on the container. Everyone leaned forward for a look, Jared licking his lips as he did so. I stood back and felt my cheeks flame.
Time stood still as everyone stood frozen, all looking at the lopsided cake, the white icing filled with chocolate cake crumbs and sprinkles after my attempt at spreading it all over the missing piece.
“Oh! Well ... it’s ... umm ... lovely,” said Anna.
Mal coughed to clear his throat. I heard the unph from Jared as Shelly elbowed him to stop him laughing.
“Thank you, Lizzie. It looks ... delicious,” lied Mal.
“You should have used more sprinkles,” said Riley in my ear.
Thankfully the doorbell rang and saved me from any more embarrassment. Everybody quickly hurried away from the disaster of my cake, and made themselves busy in the hope that the cake would miraculously disappear. Well, I guess I’d never be asked to make the cake again.
I placed the lid back on the container as Anna ran off to answer the door. Shelly passed Mia to Jared who then followed Riley and Mal into the lounge room. Shelly came and put her arms around my shoulders.
“It’s okay,” she said, sensing my unease. “You should have seen the first meal I ever cooked for Anna and Mal. I invited them over for a roast, but what I didn’t realize was just how much the meat shrunk when it cooked. I think everyone had a piece of meat about the size of a fifty cent piece.”
I smiled up at Shelly, grateful for her attempt at making me feel better. It was then I heard Anna’s voice coming back through the kitchen door.
“That was such a lovely thought, Allison. But you really shouldn’t have,” I heard her say.
Wait a minute. Did she just say Allison? My heart missed a beat as I looked up to see Allison walking into the room, a large cake box in her hand.
“Well, I was just so thankful you invited me to dinner, and I remembered how much Mal loved the birthday cake I made him one year. I thought maybe he’d like another one as my way of saying thank you,” she said. “Oh, hi Lizzie.”
I stood and stared after her, as she moved to place her cake box on the bench.
“It was such a coincidence bumping into you like that,” said Anna, smiling. “I’ve been thinking of you a lot lately.”
“Ooh, I hope it was all good.” Allison laughed.
“Of course it was all good.” Anna laughed then turned to Shelly and I.
Shelly’s grip on my shoulder tightened.
“Allison, this is Jared’s wife Shelly,” said Anna, introducing the two women.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shelly. The last time I saw Jared he wasn’t even dating.” She laughed, lightly.
“Are you Allison as in Riley’s ex-girlfriend Allison?” asked Shelly, having difficulty disguising the horror she was feeling.
Allison giggled again. “Yes, but we don’t talk about that do we, Lizzie?”
I smiled awkwardly, unable to respond. My mind was only just registering her earlier comment to Riley about seeing him later.
“Allison was lovely enough to make Mal a birthday cake,” said Anna, shifting uncomfortably.
“But Lizzie made the cake,” said Shelly.
“Oh I’m so sorry, Lizzie. I didn’t realize,” said Allison.
“It’s okay. Mal can have two cakes.” Anna smiled.
“No, no don’t be silly,” said Allison. “Just throw mine in the bin. It’ll be fine.”
Anna opened the cake box Allison had put on the bench. I had a discreet peek. Sitting inside was the most exquisite cake I had ever seen. It was square, sat about five inches high, covered with blue and white icing that looked exactly like wrapping paper. On the top was a blue bow, all made from some sort of icing and a nametag that read Happy Birthday Mal.
“Oh my, I can’t throw that in the bin!” cried Anna.
“Really, it’s fine. Here let me do it,” said Allison, moving to pick up the box.
“I’m sure Lizzie doesn’t mind if we have both,” said Anna, looking at me.
I’m sure she was really wishing I would throw mine in the bin so we could eat Allison’s.
“It’s not my best effort anyway,” continued Allison. “I’ve only been decorating cakes for a short time and this one didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted it. See here,” she said, pointing to a small polka dot that was not as round as the rest. “No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get every dot perfectly round.”
“Well, yes it is lovely,” said Shelly, finally finding her voice. “But I’m sure Lizzie’s will taste better.”
I remembered Cat sitting on the bench eating it, and thought at least one living creature may agree. Then again ... Cat had never tasted Allison’s, so maybe not.
“I’m sure it does and I bet it looks better too,” said Allison sweetly. “Can I see it, Lizzie or do I have to wait until after dinner?”
I felt Anna and Shelly’s eyes on me as my face flamed.
“After dinner, I think. Keep it as a surprise.” It was going to be a surprise alright.
As we moved into the lounge to the boys, Shelly grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Only when Anna and Allison were out of earshot, did she turn to me.
“What the hell does she think she’s doing?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I think she’s trying to win Riley back.”
“What?”
“She’s been around a lot lately and she all but told me she’s still in love with him.” I felt the tears sting the back of my eyelids.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s never going to leave you for her. I mean just look at her. She’s a stuck-up princess.”
God, I loved Shelly.
“I don’t know. We had a really big fight about her last night and then again this afternoon. It’s alright now, but he gets really defensive when I talk to him about her. He thinks it’s all in my mind.”
Shelly crossed her arms over her chest. “Hmm, he came over really late last night. He was talking to Jared about something, but I went to bed and forgot to ask about it this morning. Let me talk to Jared. He’ll know what’s really going on in Riley’s head.”
“Thanks.” I gulped.
It was a good idea to know what Riley was really thinking, but a part of me was worried I may not like what I heard.
* * *
Anna was an excellent cook, but in all honesty my appetite had upped and left me. I picked at the delicious beetroot and feta salad, and listened quietly to the conversation around me. I sat on Riley’s right and Allison had managed to get herself seated on his left. She had Mal next to her at the head of the table with Anna next, alongside Jared. Shelly sat opposite me at the other end.
Anna seemed not to notice I wasn’t enjoying dinner, her attention solely on Allison, talking about old times. When she offered to find the old photo albums a
nd go through the photos, I felt Shelly kick me under the table. I looked up at her and could see what she was thinking. She hated this as much as I did. She elbowed Jared and tried to indicate that he should change the subject because I was uncomfortable.
Jared gave me a compassionate look.
“Hey Allison, I hear your driving’s got no better with age.”
I saw her blush
“Jared!” said Anna.
“It’s okay, Anna. Jared’s right. My driving is terrible. Poor Lizzie can pay testament to that.”
All eyes turn to me. I half-smiled.
“Even though I really didn’t think I deserved to be treated the way I was by the police. It was an accident and they could clearly see that.”
“What do you mean?” asked Mal.
“Well one officer in particular was really rude. I’m sure he thought I deliberately did it. Which I didn’t!” I felt Riley shift uncomfortably in his chair.
“Which officer was that?” he asked.
“Officer Ed Helms,” replied Allison. “I won’t forget that name.” I noticed as she glanced my way, giving me a quick but meaningful look.
“You should report him,” said Anna.
“Well, I thought about it, but by the way he was treating Lizzie, I thought he must be a friend, so I decided to drop it. I wouldn’t want him getting into trouble.”
Anna and Mal looked at me for an explanation.
“Well of course he’d defend Lizzie if he was her friend,” said Shelly, thinking she was helping me. I’d already felt Riley’s body tense, and would really like the conversation to move on to something else.
“No matter, if he was on duty he should have acted professionally and left personal feelings aside,” said Mal.
“Jared, you should look into it,” said Anna, turning to Jared.
“If Allison has a complaint, she should go to the station and talk to his sergeant,” he answered reluctantly.
“Honestly, I just want to forget about it,” said Allison. If she wanted to forget about it then why did she bring it up? “They’re charging me with dangerous driving, and I really don’t want to aggravate anybody. I’m hoping I can just pay a fine and it will all go away.”
I heard Anna and Mal suck in their breath.
“Can Lizzie get the charges dropped?” asked Anna, turning to Jared once again. Honestly, you would think I wasn’t even in the room.
Jared sighed. “She can talk to the prosecutor and see if he will drop it, but ultimately that’s up to him.”
All eyes turned to me. I felt the heat creep up my neck and smother me. I was the victim here and yes, I wanted her charged, whether she meant it or not. She could have killed me, or worse she could have killed Danny, but looking around the table, I felt a pressure build inside me.
I looked at Riley. He was pushing his salad around his plate, his appetite obviously no better than mine. I wanted him to defend me and tell everybody to back off. Allison deserved what she was getting. But he didn’t. He just sat quietly.
“Umm ... I’ll see what I can do,” I said, averting my eyes and looking at my plate.
“Don’t stress, Lizzie,” said Allison, sliding her chair back. “I’m sure it will all work out. Now, would you all excuse me please while I visit the little girls’ room?”
All three Thomas boys stood as Allison moved away from the table.
I felt my shoulders drop as she stepped out of the room. Mal sat back down and conversation turned to some football game that was on TV last night. Anna stood and moved to clear the dirty plates from the table. I went to help.
“No Lizzie, you sit. I’ll get the dessert ready. Shelly would you mind helping me?” Anna’s posture was rigid, and I got the distinct impression she was a bit miffed with me. I guessed Allison must have been her favorite of Riley’s girlfriends.
Shelly gave me a compassionate look as she moved to help Anna, and I was left alone sitting at a table with three men, all of whom were pretty much ignoring me. I fiddled with my napkin as Riley’s hand moved under the table and came to rest on my leg. His reassuring touch filled me with happiness.
I was about to put my hand on his, when his phone beeped in his pocket, signaling a message. He moved his hand to retrieve it.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he swiped at the screen. He blushed, quickly turning the phone off and shoving it back in his pocket.
I looked at him quizzically.
He gave me a tight smile and turned back to the conversation with his dad and brother, his body language rigid and unnatural.
I wanted to ask him about the message when Allison walked back into the room, sat down next to Mal and joined in on their conversation.
I couldn’t have joined in even if I had wanted to. I didn’t know one end of a football from the other.
* * *
By the time dinner was over I was exhausted, my shoulders were tense and I had a headache. And I still hadn’t heard back from Bradley.
I stepped out into the cool fresh air, looked up and saw my first star for the night. I thought of my mum, and something she used to say to me when I was a kid popped into my mind.
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, I wish tonight.” I closed my eyes and made my wish. Now I know I shouldn’t tell you my wish because it won’t come true, so let’s just say it involved Riley. And Allison was not a part of the picture at all.
I opened my eyes as Riley brushed past me and moved to the car. I followed him and got into the passenger seat. He’d been pretty quiet throughout dinner, and more so when his mum served Allison’s cake for dessert, saying it would be rude not too as she was the guest. At the time, Mal had winked at me, saying he would eat mine for lunch tomorrow. Personally, I was secretly pleased Allison didn’t get to see my cake.
I could usually figure what Riley was thinking, but not this time. I watched his face as the streetlights flashed by, and thought back to the conversation earlier about me getting the charges against Allison dropped.
“Riley, do you think I should talk to the prosecutor about dropping the charges?” I asked quietly. My heart pounded loudly as I waited for his response.
“I think you should do what you feel is right,” he answered, still keeping his eyes straight ahead.
“I will do what I think is right, but I’m asking for your opinion.”
Riley stopped at a traffic light and looked at me seriously.
“No, I don’t think you should have the charges dropped. She was driving dangerously and she could have killed you.” He reached out and took my hand.
Relief spread through me as a smile played on my lips for the first time since Allison had walked into the kitchen.
“However,” he said smiling, removing his hand and accelerating as the light changed to green. “I think from now on you should buy all our cakes from the bakery.”
I swatted his arm playfully as we laughed. Maybe my wish would come true after all.
Chapter Seventeen
The following morning dawned sunny and hot once again, and I decided I should get on with the painting. Riley had gone to the hardware store to get something really important. No idea what that was, but it didn’t really matter did it? I pulled out my phone to send him a message asking him to bring back something yummy from the bakery, when I saw the message I’d sent Bradley the day before. He still hadn’t replied to it. I’d actually missed his cheeky grin the last few days, and really hoped everything in his world was okay. I decided to call him to see.
I listened to the dial tone ringing, but after what felt like an eternity it went to his message bank. I left a message for him to call me, then dialed Ed Helms. He answered almost immediately.
“Lizzie, it’s good to hear from you. I’ve been meaning to call you actually.”
“Oh really? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah but there’s been a delay on the lab results. There was a big murder is the city and forensi
cs have put everything on hold until the lab has processed their work first.”
“So we don’t know if it’s real blood or not yet?”
”No, sorry. But I’ll keep chasing it up. You haven’t had any more appear?”
“No. Not as yet. Hopefully it never will.”
“Fingers crossed,” said Ed, his voice oozing compassion. “Is this a social call?” he asked.
“Umm ... not really, I was hoping to ask for a favor actually.”
“Of course, whatever I can do, I will.”
“Well, you know Bradley, the guy that runs the Westport Tours?”
“Yes, I questioned him recently about the rumors he’d heard involving the body found in your garden.”
“The thing is, he hasn’t been around for a couple of days now, and I’m worried about him.”
“Have you tried to call him?”
“Yes, but he’s not answering his calls, his messages or Facebook. I also checked his Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blog and he hasn’t uploaded anything since Monday.” I honestly didn’t understand how Bradley had the time to stay that connected.
“Hmmm ... okay. I’ll look into it. I’m sure he’s fine, just taking some time out, but if it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll pay him a visit.”
I smiled at the relief that someone would check on him. “Thanks. Did you see his video diary about knowing who the killer was?
“No. Sounds like I should have though.”
“So he didn’t call you telling you who it was?”
“No. I haven’t heard from him at all, but I’ll definitely follow it up.” I heard Ed’s breathing, deep over the phone. “How are you otherwise?”
“Yeah, I’m good thanks.” I thought about Anna’s advice to Allison, and felt guilt run through me. “Umm, actually there was one thing,” I said. “Allison turned up at Riley’s parents’ house for dinner last night, and I think she’s going to report you for being rude to her the other day.”
Ed contemplated what I’d said.
“Do you think I was rude to her?”
“No, but I don’t like her very much.”
He laughed.
Give Murder A Hand: Lizzie. Book 2 (The Westport Mysteries) Page 18
