by Polly Holmes
The image of her on all fours on the floor flashed in her mind. Not the most elegant position. She was glad Finn hadn’t arrived. Embarrassment shot through her as she shuffled on her hands and knees gathering pins, paint swatches, measuring tapes and a photograph. “What is…this?” she whispered as she paused, resting against the white leather couch, her gaze scanning the picture.
The damning image before her stole her breath, her blood froze. I found it, I can’t believe I found it. Thank you, Christina.
She only knew one man in the picture, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was a younger version of Anderson or Johnny. He stood in the centre of two other men, on the deck of a yacht in the middle of the ocean. Each man was holding a gun. She hadn’t a clue where Christina had found it, she was just glad she did. “Gotcha now.”
“Got who now?”
Fear ricocheted through her body as she bolted from the ground and came face to face with a cold-blooded murderer. Detective Anderson. How had he gotten in without her hearing? Her pulse sped and she slowly eased her hand behind her back. Her fingers began to tingle from gripping the photograph so tightly. “Detective Anderson, what are you doing here? How did you get in?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m off duty but had a few loose ends that I couldn’t get off my mind. I came through the back door, but I think the more important question is, what are you doing here, and how did you get in?”
“Oh.” She paused. “I hadn’t had a chance to return the keys. I figured I’d just pop by and pick up my toolbox.”
His eyebrows rose. “Did you now?”
She nodded, her mind raced with information overload. You’re looking for the photograph in my hand, aren’t you? I was right. Christina was blackmailing you and you’ve come to find and destroy the evidence. She discreetly lifted the back of her shirt and tucked the photograph into the waistband of her pants. It was up to Cassidy to get this photograph to the police, with or without Finn. A job that was going to prove harder with the murderer standing only meters away.
He glanced past her at the mess on the floor by her toolbox. “I see you found it. What else did you find?”
She frowned praying her voice sounded calm. “What do you mean ‘what else?’” Cassidy’s heart pounded inside her chest.
Anderson edged his way from the kitchen toward the front door, blocking her closest exit. “I heard you say, ‘Gotcha.’ Care to elaborate?” His relaxed voice sent shivers up her spine.
No! The word screamed inside her head. She smiled and casually moved toward the kitchen. “I was talking about my toolbox. I found it.”
“Come on, Cassidy. I know you better than you think I do. You’re hiding something. Out with it. It could help the investigation,” he said, the tension in his voice increasing a notch.
Oh, it will definitely help the investigation.
“I have nowhere to be, so I guess we’ll be staying here ’til you fess up and I only have so much patience. You can either share with me of your own free will or—”
Fight mode kicked in and Cassidy’s mouth ran away from her. “Or what? You’ll take matters into your own hands?”
Anderson’s face paled. “What did you say?”
Panic bled through her, but it was too late to call back her words now. “I think you heard exactly what I said.”
He looked shocked. “You think I’d dish out justice for my own personal gain? Now, why on earth would you think that?”
“So, Christina wasn’t blackmailing you? Like she was Emmerson, Daniel, and Mayor Windsor.”
He balked at her statement. “I’m a detective. I hardly think I am going to succumb to blackmail.”
Finn, where are you? I could use your help right about now. Cassidy kept her feet moving slowly toward the kitchen where she could make a run for it if she could distract him long enough. It was time for the truth to come out.
His eyes darkened and the silence between them was as sharp as a broken piece of glass. She held her breath as Anderson’s expression turned sinister and he started to laugh. He opened his arms in surrender. “You got me. Not quite sure how you found out, but kudos to you.”
Holy cow. She froze and her feet suddenly felt like lead weights. She hadn’t really expected him to confess. “You admit that you killed Christina?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t kill anyone,” he said in a spine-chilling tone. “I’m an upstanding member of the Ashton Point community. People are never going to believe I could be capable of murder.”
Her pulse kicked up a notch and she felt nauseous at her predicament. Distraction was her best bet at escaping with her life intact.
“Now, Johnny, he’s as different from me as cupcakes are to soufflés.” He began to pace as he spoke, all the while keeping his eye firmly on Cassidy. “For example, Detective Anderson would probably let you walk out of here. Johnny knows, just as you do, that you’ll never see another sunrise.”
Cassidy swallowed the lump in her throat. Thoughts of never seeing her sisters and Finn again spurred her to keep fighting. Keep him talking. “What happened with Christina? If my life is to end tonight, the least you can do is tell me the whole story.”
He paused, then smiled. “Very well. Christina thought she was smart but blackmailing me was her biggest mistake.”
Keep him talking. “So, instead of reporting her, you decided to deal with it yourself and pin the blame on me in the process. As you used to do in the old days”
His ominous laugh sent chills right to her core. “If I dealt with her the way I used to, no-one would have recognised her body, let alone been able to identify her.”
Cassidy swallowed the bile that pitched itself in her throat. She sucked in a deep breath steadying herself. “So, what happened?”
“Christina had to go and get the same stupid lawyer that’s been trying to crucify me for the past nine years. Good old Christopher Linnell. You heard her in the café, he was coming up at the end of the week. No reason for the lawyer to visit Ashton Point if there was no Christina.”
Too late. “Why blame it on me?”
“That was the easy part. I couldn’t believe my luck when you two started your petty bickering. Between the threats flying back and forth and the money she owed you, the pieces just fell into place.”
Anger slowly began to gnaw at her chest. “You planted the money in my room and wrote the note, didn’t you?”
He made a fake bow which angered her even more. “Guilty as charged. You have to admit, it was genius. You were the perfect scapegoat. After all, three murders have been blamed on McCorrson women. What’s one more?”
One too many. Cassidy stiffened as Anderson edged his way toward her.
“Now, my only quandary is how to get rid of you. Being off duty, I don’t have my gun with me, but then again, I wouldn’t want the bullet traced back to me. There’s the old-fashioned way or I could make it look like another break-in gone wrong?”
She barely had time to turn and run before he lunged for her, grabbing her hair, jerking her head backwards. She hit the carpet with a thud, jolting the air out of her lungs. Terrified, her heart stopped as he came at her again. Cassidy’s head swam. She had two choices, live or die. There was only one outcome she was prepared to settle for.
Just as he reached for her, she brought her knee up and slammed it into his groin with the full force of a champion boxer’s punch. He fell to the ground gasping for air. The sudden echo of sirens in the distance spurred her on. She rolled on the ground, fumbling toward the door, her escape in sight. He dove for her ankle, dragging her back down toward him.
“You’re going to pay for that. Come here.”
“Get off me,” she screamed, her voice stricken with fear. She kicked and screamed as hard as she could until her gaze caught sight of her level, semi-hidden under the couch. The louder sirens confirmed they were getting closer. Oh, please hurry. Her shaky hand encircled the icy metal object and she closed her eyes and swung it
as hard as she could toward Anderson.
“Ahhhh,” he shrieked, releasing her ankle. Adrenaline flooded her as she bolted for the door.
A blur of activity surrounded her and she turned in time to hear Robert yell, “Freeze.” His gun was pointed directly at Anderson’s chest. “Don’t move a single muscle. You’re under arrest for the murder of Christina Jacobs.” In seconds, several police officers surrounded Anderson and it was finally over.
Finn’s hands ran over her body frantically. “Cassidy, are you all right? Did he hurt you? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Cassidy gripped Finn’s shoulders for support, her wobbly legs doing their darndest to hold her up. She barely had time to catch her breath before her entire family, boyfriends included, and Christopher Linnell stormed through the door. “No, I’m okay. I’m a bit shaken up and I’ll be stiff for a few days.”
“I told you all to wait outside,” Robert snapped at them as he watched Kayne cuff Anderson.
Charlotte turned on Robert, daggers shooting from her eyes. “Robert Loughlin, if you think I’m going to wait outside while my sister is in danger, then you’re sadly mistaken. I think we have proven McCorrson women can take care of themselves.”
Robert shook his head and rolled his eyes upward as Christopher Linnell stepped forward. The air thickened. “Well, well, well. We finally meet hey, Johnny.”
“I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about. You’ve got nothing on me,” Anderson snarled.
“Actually, we have,” Cassidy said, pulling the photograph out of the waistband of her pants and handing it to Linnell. Anderson paled. His gaze shot from Cassidy to the photograph and back again. “I think this is what got Christina killed. A picture of our sweet detective here in his past life.”
Linnell scanned the picture and a smile worked its way across his face. “You’re one very lucky young lady.” He held up the picture. “Thank you. This is going to put Johnny away for a long, long time.”
“Good,” Cassidy said. “While Christina wasn’t always the nicest person, no-one deserves to die such a horrible death. Please pass on my condolences to her parents when you speak with them.”
“I will. Thank you.” He turned and left leaving her sisters to fuss over her.
She turned to face them. “I guess we won’t be needing Caroline’s help after all.”
They all responded at the same time and it was like listening to the gibberish Olympics. “Okay, stop, please. This isn’t helping my head one iota.”
“Oh gosh, sorry. But you had us scared to death,” Clair said encasing her in a hug. “Finn called and told us about your message. I just thank goodness we got here in time.”
Me too. There were mumbles of agreement from all. “Cassidy, I think you know the drill. You’ll need to come into the station and give a statement.”
“Tonight?” Finn asked.
“Yes, tonight. The sooner, the better,” Robert said as he started shooing everyone outside. “This is now a crime scene, so I am going to have to ask you all to step outside.”
They gathered on the front lawn. “Do you want us to take you to the station?” Charlotte asked.
“That won’t be necessary,” Finn said, snaking his arm around Cassidy’s waist. “I can take her, if that’s okay with you, Liam? I’m not letting her out of my sight again.”
Cassidy caught the suspicious glances between Charlotte and Clair.
Liam handed over his keys to Finn. “Sure. I’ll grab a lift with Clair.”
“Does that mean we can expect to see you around town a while longer?” Clair asked sheepishly.
Finn tilted his head to the side. “That all depends on Cassidy.”
Cassidy’s chest hurt and she was about to fall where she stood, but she refused to succumb to her fatigued body until she knew what Finn meant by his comment. “Thank you for coming, but I’m okay. You all should head home and then after I finish at the police station, Finn will bring me home.”
“Are you sure?” She nodded and they all hugged and she watched them as they headed to their vehicles.
Finn turned, his eyes full of anguish. “You have no idea what it did to me tonight when I listened to your message. Then when I rang Clair, Linnell was there and she told me what he’d said and all I could think about was that I might never see you again.”
Cassidy cringed at the heartache she’d caused him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He stepped closer and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. His lips were so close she could almost taste them. “I was scared because I thought I might never be able to tell you that I want to stay in Ashton Point with you. I don’t know if what I feel in my heart is love, but I know that I don’t want to live without you.”
Love? Oh my! Her gaze fell to his lips as they descended on hers. She floated and the pain and exhaustion that plagued her body fell away as if it had been washed down a stream. He pulled her closer and she snaked her arms around his neck wanting more.
He finally ended the kiss but kept his arms tight around her. Resting his forehead on hers, he said, “I suppose I should get you to the station.”
Contentment filled her heart. “Mmmm.”
“So, tell me. Is life in Ashton Point going to always be this eventful?” he asked.
“Oh, no.”
“That’s good. I don’t think my heart would be able to take any more nights like tonight.” He pulled his arms tight around her.
She giggled and snuggled closer. “I promise, it’s going to be way more exciting.” Finn had brought love and happiness back into her life. No more deceit and heartache, no more loneliness. Her life was finally heading in the right direction. As long as she stayed on the right side of the law, what more could she ask for?
****
Book 4 - Mistletoe and Murder
Mistletoe magic or the kiss of death?
Alexandra Cohen is determined to show her boss she has what it takes to be manager of The Springs Café on the outskirts of Ashton Point. She’s smart and with the addition of CC’s Simply Cupcakes, sales have sky-rocketed. The town is in full holiday spirit and with the Christmas Fair fast approaching, Alex has to work twice as hard to keep her interfering ex-boyfriend, out of the picture before he destroys her life forever.
After reluctantly agreeing to run the kissing booth at the fair, Alex has to deal with a continuous line of male customers, as well as an ex who has ignored her requests to leave her alone. But the day is really tarnished when Alex stumbles across a body on the ground of her kissing booth dressed as Santa.
The evidence is gathering against her and Alex must decide if she should let the police do their job and pray they do it well or if she should take matters into her own hands. With the help of the McCorrson sisters, Alex must investigate so she doesn’t become the town scapegoat and be forced to spend Christmas behind bars.
Chapter One
ALEXANDRA COHEN STOOD at the back of the crowded foyer of the Sweets mansion, mixed emotions toiling with her churning stomach. Although her heart beamed with love for her best friend, Clair McCorrson, she was as jumpy as a Jack-in-the-box. On the back of a very trying week, her ex had threatened to make an unexpected appearance. That’s all she needed when she was working so hard to make manager at The Springs Café. Marcus Slade ranting and raving, spoiling the long-awaited festive grand opening of CC’s Cupcake Haven.
“And last but not least, I’d like to thank my two wonderful sisters,” Clair said positioned halfway up the staircase, smiling at Charlotte and Cassidy standing beside her. Clair was the kindest, most loving person Alex had ever met. It’s no wonder they became best friends the moment the McCorrsons had moved to Ashton Point three years ago. Guilt filled Alex’s heart. She should be more excited for her best friend, but how could she be, when her own life was crumbling around her ears?
Caroline Tuscon’s twangy voice broke through Alex’s thoughts. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Excuse
me?” she asked, flinching, her gaze darting to the mature woman beside her. “Oh, yes. I’m so happy for Clair. She deserves every success in the world.”
Caroline frowned, concern etched in her brow. “As do you, my dear. Is everything all right? You seemed a thousand miles away. As if distracted.”
Distracted was an understatement. Alex plastered on a fake smile and hoped it covered the turmoil brewing in her gut like a storm rolling in from the sea. “Of course, everything’s fine. I’ve just got a lot on my mind, you know with CC’s Cupcake Haven opening today and the Christmas Fair tomorrow. There’s a lot to do. This year’s fair will be the biggest yet.”
Not to mention trying to keep my lying ex-boyfriend as far away from me as humanly possible. How could she have been so gullible not to see through his deceitful façade? It sickened her how long she put up with his childish nonsense.
Blinded by love. Guess we all learn from our mistakes.
Alexandra couldn’t get out of their apartment quick enough. Moving back home wasn’t an option, since her mother had decided to turn her bedroom into a parent’s retreat. Thank goodness Clair had come to the rescue and offered her one of her spare rooms. It wasn’t so bad. She’d taken the essentials and stored the rest of her stuff in her parent’s garage.
“I know, it’s going to be amazing, Hannah Carver has really outdone herself this year. And I hear George Stevenson is going to play Santa since we lost…” Caroline leant in closer and whispered, “…you know who.”
You know who? Sadness clawed at her chest, remembering Mr Hutson’s fatal demise at the hands of his scheming personal assistant. “I’m just glad that no-one else fell victim to cyanide poisoning. I’m sure George will play a great Santa. After all, he has the real beard to match the role.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Caroline paused. “Just know that if you need anything, I’m always around to lend a helping hand.”