by K E O'Connor
“You’re both going to think I’m crazy for saying this, but sometimes, I think Gregory is still in this house,” said Eva.
I glanced at Helen. “What makes you think that?”
“I’ve always considered myself a Sensitive,” said Eva. “I pick up on good and bad vibes. And, as you know, I also see people’s auras. I can’t be sure, but I see movement out of the corner of my eye. When I turn and look, it’s gone. It’s as if someone was there and blinked out of sight.”
“Like a ghost someone?” said Helen cautiously.
Greg drifted closer to Eva, and she shuddered.
“I don’t know if I believe in ghosts,” said Eva. “Anyway, why would Gregory want to hang around here?”
“Because he has unfinished business,” I said. “If we’re right, and something bad happened to him, then he’d want to put that right before moving on.”
“I’m probably being daft. I miss him so much that I’m willing him to be around.” Eva raised her head and appeared to stare directly at Greg before sighing and taking another drink from her mug. “I’m glad you’re both here. I can’t talk to Alex about it. He’d think it was weird me liking his best friend.”
“Can you talk to your mom?” I asked. “She might understand.”
“Mom doesn’t believe in love,” said Eva. “You might have noticed a distinct lack of a husband around.”
“I wondered where Mr. Hudson was.”
“Serving on the other side of the world in the military. He’s as far away from her as he can be. They don’t get along. Mom always says I have to have a career before I marry. She said no woman should go into marriage without having skills behind her in case she gets abandoned.”
“That’s sensible advice,” I said. “If you meet the right guy, he won’t mind you having a career. If he does, he’s not the right one for you.”
“Are you married?” asked Eva.
“She’s not yet,” interrupted Helen. “A proposal isn’t far away.”
I waved my hand at Helen. “I’m not married, and I’m not sure about the proposal. I have been seeing the same guy for a while.”
“He’s happy with what you do?” asked Eva. “He doesn’t mind you going away to work?”
I tilted my head from side to side. Zach didn’t love what I did. He didn’t mind me doing the personal assistant side of things. He wasn’t so keen on the ghosts. “Zach understands. He knows I need to do this, and he respects that.”
“You’re lucky,” said Eva. “I reckon if I’d have gotten Gregory to notice me, he’d have been that sort of guy.”
Greg rested a hand on Eva’s shoulder. A look of sadness crossed his face.
We needed to focus on him and not our messy love lives. “If you don’t think Piers and Harriet were involved in Greg’s death, who else could it be?”
“How about Mickey Kill?” said Helen. “Anyone with a name like that has to be up to no good.”
“The gamer? The guy no one has ever met?” asked Eva.
“I’ve spoken with him on the computer,” I said. “He’s really violent in the games he plays. Maybe that violence spilled over into real life.”
“No way,” said Eva. “Mickey Kill is a phantom. Gregory never met him. I bet he’s some nerdy kid with glasses who’s still in high school. He can’t be involved in this.”
My mobile buzzed. I picked it up and saw a message from an unknown number. I am not a phantom.
I showed the message to Helen.
“Are you serious? Mickey Kill has your number?”
“I never gave it to him. I have no clue how he got it. Or how he heard us talking just now.” I looked around the kitchen, feeling seriously creeped out.
“He’s a hacker. He can get into any computer system, so he says.” Eva shrugged. “Your phone would have been easy.”
My mobile buzzed again. I’m serious. You all need to be careful.
I showed them the message.
“If you’re so serious,” I said, “why don’t we meet? You can give us your theories about what happened to Greg. You can also prove your innocence.”
My phone went silent.
“You see!” Eva slapped a hand on the table. “Mickey Kill is a joke.”
“Okay, so if it’s not Piers and Harriet and it’s not the elusive Mickey Kill, who would you have as a suspect?” I asked.
Eva looked at the floor and dropped her hands into her lap. “I have someone in mind. I don’t like to say, though.”
I sat forward in my seat. “Who do you think killed Greg?”
Eva licked her lips. “There’s only one person I know who is smart enough to control an armed drone.”
“Who’s that?” asked Helen.
“My brother. Alex.”
Chapter 15
I shook my head. Alex was too much of a nice guy to be involved. “Why do you think that?”
“Alex is a genius,” said Eva. “He can do anything he sets his mind to.”
“But that doesn’t mean he killed Greg,” said Helen. “They were best friends.”
Greg nodded and spun around the table. Flipper ran along behind him.
I discreetly gestured for them both to stop.
“It’s more than that,” said Eva, her gaze following Flipper. “Alex used to do contract work for the military.”
“What kind of work?” I asked.
“I don’t know the details,” said Eva. “It was hush-hush. I used to question him about it, but he never revealed what he was up to. He said he couldn’t talk about it.”
“You found out?” asked Helen.
“I followed him one day and watched what he was up to.”
“What was he doing?”
“He was remote flying drones.”
My eyes widened. “The same drone that killed Greg?”
“I’m not sure,” said Eva. “That’s what he did for the military. He provided them with blueprints to design drones that could be piloted long distance. It wouldn’t be difficult to add a weapon to the drone and go after Gregory.”
“Your brother tested the armed drone on Greg?” I still couldn’t get my head around that idea.
“He had access to it,” said Eva.
“Why would he do that?”
“They were in business together,” said Eva. “Maybe they had a falling out. Maybe Gregory decided he wanted the business for himself.”
Greg stopped dead and frowned. Flipper ran straight through him, jumped around, and shook himself.
“Did you ever hear them arguing?” I asked.
“No, but Alex had the tools to kill Greg. It has to be him,” said Eva.
“Could your brother have been suspicious about Greg and Harriet?” asked Helen. “Harriet was interested in Greg. You told us he gave her the brush off. Maybe that’s the reason Alex was angry at Greg; he thought he was trying to steal his girlfriend.”
“I don’t think he’d have minded,” I said. “Alex isn’t keen on Harriet.”
“Who would be?” Eva’s expression darkened. “She’s a parasite, feeding off anyone who’ll let her get close enough. Greg was smart enough to see that and turn her down.”
“I just don’t see Alex doing something like this,” I said.
“Usually, he’s okay. But he gets obsessed with things,” said Eva. “It’s the reason his apps and games are such a success. He works on them until it almost kills him. Everything has to be right. Once he gets an idea in his head, he won’t leave it alone.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Eva could be onto something. Alex was super smart and really into his gaming. And we’d just discovered he could pilot an armed drone and would have had access to one. Despite all that, I still wasn’t convinced.
My phone vibrated. I looked down and saw another message.
Don’t trust her. She’s only jealous.
I glanced at Eva. She could be. Alex was the golden boy in the family. He made all the money and was the reason for their success. Could Eva be trying
to frame her brother? Was she jealous of him and wanted him out of the way?
“We still need to focus on Piers and Harriet,” I said. “There is evidence suggesting they’re involved.”
“How about the evidence that my brother has the skills to fly a drone?”
Helen raised her eyebrows at me. “Eva has a point. We shouldn’t discount Alex because you like working for him.”
“It’s not that.” Well, it sort of was. My phone buzzed again.
She is leading you away from the real suspects.
“Is that Mickey Kill?” Eva’s eyes narrowed as she looked at my phone.
“No. It’s my boyfriend.” My phone buzzed again.
You’re not my type.
Charming! I was saving him from another embarrassing put down from Eva, and he was insulting me.
We need to meet.
Eva stood and walked to the door. “Looks like I was wasting my time telling you what I know.” She pulled open the door and disappeared before I had a chance to say anything.
I was grateful for her information but was also more confused than ever.
“Exactly who is messaging you?” asked Helen.
“It’s still Mickey Kill. He wants to meet. He told me not to trust Eva.”
“Do you?”
I looked at Greg, who appeared as confused as I felt. “Right now, I have no clue who to trust.”
***
My nerves made me jumpy as I finished work for the day. I’d arranged to meet with Mickey Kill at a cafe in the next village and really didn’t know what to expect.
The arrangements had been odd. We were to sit at a specific table and not leave until he’d made contact.
I hurried out the front door to find Helen already waiting beside the car. Flipper hopped into the back seat, and we set off for our meeting with Mickey Kill.
“I wonder who this guy is,” said Helen. “He could be a criminal mastermind, wanted by MI5 for crimes against the government.”
“I’m more interested in what he’s going to tell us about who killed Greg. I also want to know how he can listen to our conversations all the time.”
“He must have the house bugged.”
“There have to be cameras he can access as well.”
“He’d better not have any of those cameras in my bedroom. I’m not giving this guy a free peep show every time he fancies a look.”
“It might be worth checking your room, just in case.”
“I bet he’s using our phones,” said Helen. “They all have cameras. So do most computers. If this Mickey Kill is as good as he reckons he is, it wouldn’t be hard for him to hack through the systems and see what’s going on. I’ll be keeping my phone flipped over, so he can’t make use of the camera when I’m getting dressed.”
“It’s all a bit creepy.”
“It’s super creepy,” said Helen. “What do you expect from a guy who calls himself Mickey Kill?”
We drove through the countryside for fifteen minutes until we passed the village sign for Badger’s Copse. Neat rows of cottages sat back from the road, the cheery amber glow of lights from the windows not improving my nervousness.
“This is the place.” Helen parked outside the Teapot Cafe. The building was whitewashed. Tubs of early spring flowers lined the walkway to the cafe door.
“This looks surprisingly normal for a criminal mastermind.”
“That’s why he’s so good at what he does,” said Helen. “He’s a master of disguise. No one would expect an international villain to use a cute little place like this as their base.”
“Mickey Kill is now an international villain?”
“He could be.” Helen grinned at me. “Hopefully, we can get ourselves something nice to eat while we’re here. At least then, it won’t have been a complete waste of time if Mickey Kill turns out to be a spotty youth with poor social skills.”
“You never know; maybe Mickey Kill is onto something. He has an eerie knack for knowing what’s going on. He could have seen something on the cameras when spying on the family.”
I looked at Flipper, who was in the back seat, his ears up. “Sorry, boy. You will have to sit this one out. The cafe owner won’t want you in there shedding fur all over the lovely food.”
Flipper’s ears lowered.
“I promise I’ll bring you a tasty treat.” I left the window open, so he had plenty of fresh air, before leaving the car with Helen.
I pushed open the cafe door. The welcoming smell of warm bread drifted up my nose.
A smiley-faced middle-aged man was behind the counter. He nodded a greeting as he walked over to the table where Mickey Kill had told us to sit.
Helen snatched up a menu and studied it intently. From the growing smile on her face, it looked like there were plenty of treats for her to choose from.
“What can I get you?” asked the man. He took out a pen and pad.
“We’ll have a pot of English breakfast tea, a slice of triple chocolate brownie, and some pecan pie.” Helen looked over at me. “What are you going to have?”
“You’re having two cakes?”
“Of course! I always have to try the local produce.”
I shook my head as I scanned the menu. Why was I not surprised? “I’ll have the apple danish.”
“Excellent choices, ladies.” The man wrote down our order. “I’ll be right back.”
I looked around the cafe. There was only one couple in there, an elderly man and woman drinking hot chocolate and reading the local paper.
“Unless Mickey Kill is the old guy in the corner,” whispered Helen, “he’s not here yet.”
“He could be in disguise.” I glanced at the couple again. If he was in disguise, it was an excellent one.
Ever since Eva had revealed her belief that Alex killed Greg, I’d felt uncertain. I’d been so sure it was Piers and Harriet. But how had they gotten their hands on an armed drone?
“This could be him,” whispered Helen, bringing me out of my thoughts.
The door to the cafe opened. A man in a smart navy suit strode through. He headed to the counter and talked to the man behind it.
“He looks too normal,” I said.
“Again, it could be an amazing disguise,” said Helen.
We both watched the man as he bought a drink.
He glanced over and saw us watching.
I grabbed the menu and hid behind it.
“Very subtle,” muttered Helen.
“I don’t want him to think we’re weird.”
“It’s too late for that. You’ve scared him off.”
I peeked over the top of the menu to see the man hurry out of the cafe with his drink. “Of course he’s scared. Two strange women were eyeing him up.”
The server returned with a tray and placed the tea and cakes on the table.
“These look good,” said Helen.
“Thank you. My wife makes them fresh every day,” said the man. “She loves nothing more than trying out a new cake recipe.” He patted his rotund stomach.
Helen sampled the pecan pie. “This is incredible.”
“I’ll pass the compliments to the chef.” The server smiled before returning to the counter.
We spent a few minutes sampling all the cakes. They were mouth wateringly tasty.
I’d almost forgotten the reason we were here when the cafe door opened and a tall, skinny boy of about fifteen approached us. His cheeks colored as he looked at Helen and he stumbled over his feet. It was a reaction that happened to many men, young or old, the first time they saw Helen and her curves.
“Can we help you?” I asked.
“I’ve got a message for you.” He glanced up at Helen again and looked away.
I repressed a smile. “Who’s the message from?”
“Mickey.”
“You know Mickey?”
“I’m his contact.” His blush deepened.
“What’s the message?”
“It’s all to do with the business.�
�
“The business?” That wasn’t terribly helpful. “Whose business?”
“The... I forget some of the message. Something was stolen. There was a game involved. Does that make sense?”
I looked at Helen, and she shrugged.
“Not really,” I said. “Who gave you this message? We can ask him what he means.”
The boy cleared his throat. “I’ll try again. The plan was stolen. The business plan, I think.”
“You’re sure that’s the whole message?” asked Helen.
The boy glanced at her. His gaze drifted to her cleavage. “I think so.”
Helen sighed and folded her arms across her chest. “Tell us who gave you this message.”
His eyes snapped up, and he blinked. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I was told not to.”
“Who told you not to tell us?” Helen looked around the cafe. “Are they in here?”
“No.” The boy looked over his shoulder out onto the street.
I looked out the window and saw a man sitting astride a bicycle. He had a black cap on his head, the brim pulled down low, so I couldn’t see his face.
“He’s out there, isn’t he?” I was on my feet and hurrying out the door.
“Wait! I never told you it was him,” said the boy.
As I got closer, I saw the bike rider had a scarf over the lower half of his face and dark glasses on. He couldn’t have made himself more conspicuous if he’d tried.
“Don’t you dare!” I ran toward him as he tried to peddle away and grabbed his jacket. “You’re Mickey Kill.” I struggled with him for a few seconds before his bike unbalanced and he fell off.
“I didn’t tell them anything,” said the boy as he reached my side, Helen right behind him, still chewing on a piece of pie.
Mickey Kill struggled onto his knees. “Why did you attack me?” His voice was muffled behind the scarf.
“Because we need answers,” I said. “The message you gave this boy was rubbish.”
Mickey Kill’s shoulders slumped. He turned his head toward the boy. “I repeated the message to you three times.”
“You mumble,” said the boy. “I only got about half of it.”
