“You will sit.” Her auntie pointed regally toward the sofa. She took control of the room, ordering the twins and River to make tea and plate up the food they’d brought. Her attention turned to the detective inspector, who stood over a foot taller than her. “You. You should hold her hand.”
Motts hadn’t thought her day could get any more embarrassing than tumbling over her handlebars. She had been wrong. Her aunt ordering Teo around was both horrifying and entertaining. “Auntie Lily.”
“Do you not like holding hands?” she asked with what sounded like genuine confusion.
Motts sank into the sofa cushions and dragged a blanket over her head. She pulled it off after a moment. “Auntie Lily.”
River deftly darted into the room to drag his mum into the kitchen. His loud whisper carried through the room. “What have I said about asking Motts about her relationship?”
She reached up to pat her son on the cheek. “You’re a good boy, caring about your cousin. Such a sweet boy. We raised you well.”
Motts muffled her laugh into the blanket. At least I’m not the only one suffering embarrassment at the hands of Auntie Lily. She risked a sideways glance at Teo, who’d taken a seat beside her. “I don’t mind holding hands.”
“Neither do I. Fairly confident we’ve done so a few times already.” He watched her family boisterously organise themselves in the kitchen. “Are they helping or hindering?”
“Both.” Motts had no doubts Vina and Nish could talk circles around anyone, drawing out the making of tea to give her time to settle herself. “I’m lucky to have good friends.”
“And me.”
She leaned into the immense strength of the man beside her. “And you.”
Chapter Fourteen
The following morning, Motts woke up not quite feeling like death warmed over but close enough. She was considerably less charitable toward the owner of the wheeled cart. Accident or not, they’d definitely done some damage.
Motts got out of bed slowly and cautiously stretched her body. After kicking everyone out of her cottage, she’d sunk into a warm bath, hoping to stave off some of the soreness. It helped a little.
“If I find the berk who lost control of his trolley, we’re having words. Might just be a single word, but it’ll be an unpleasant one.”
Meow.
“Be kind, Cactus. I’m not myself this morning.” She found walking fine, though her scrapes and bruises complained if she went too quickly or reached her arms over her head. “Don’t slip between my legs. If I tumble over, I might not get up again. And then where will you be?”
Forgoing her usual toast and coffee, Motts made a hot chocolate spiked with espresso and snagged two of the chocolate curry croissants the twins had brought with them. Yesterday had been difficult. A treat or three was in order.
After setting out breakfast for both of her pets, Motts went outside to sit in the garden with her hot chocolate. Vina had brought her a cushioned lounge chair. She stretched out and tried not to breathe in too deeply, since it made her side ache.
If the cause of her accident had been Jasper O’Connell, how did someone lose control of their trolley twice in the scope of a week? I’m not even that clumsy.
Well, I am, but I don’t own a hand cart.
Motts had been so wrapped up in her accident, she’d forgotten about her conversation with Callie, who’d promised to reach out to Ashby. “I should’ve brought my phone outside with me.”
Sipping her hot chocolate, Motts wondered if Cactus could grab her phone, open the door, and come outside with it. Probably not. She finished her drink, listening to the happy birds and the ocean in the distance. I should get my mobile before someone texts and assumes the worst when I don’t answer immediately.
There were, in fact, four text messages from various people and seven missed calls from her mum. Motts listened to the voicemails, each one left with increasing levels of panic. She decided to call her dad in the hopes his calmness would prevail.
“Are you feeling okay, darling? Your mum worries.”
“Mum panics.” Motts distracted Cactus with a stray crumpled piece of paper. “A lot. Constantly.”
“She’s your mother. She cares. And caring, for her, involves panicking followed by potentially overreacting.” Her dad’s voice had a weird lilt to it.
“No.”
“Now, we haven’t seen you in months. We’ll only stay for a few days,” he promised.
He was definitely lying. Motts had no doubts her parents would find a reason to stay for a week or more. She couldn’t blame them, given the drive required to get to Polperro from London.
“Where are you staying?” Motts asked the question that she greatly feared the answer to. She didn’t enjoy being under the same roof as her mum for any length of time. “Here?”
“Now who’s the one panicking?” he teased with a quiet chuckle. “Your uncle Tom tells me the cottage adjacent to them is available for a few days. We’ll be in Looe. Does that reduce your stress levels?”
“Dad.”
“Darling. You may be a mystery to me at times, but you and your mother never deal well together when she’s concerned about your life choices.”
Translation: you and your mum drifted apart when you became an adult and in control.
Motts heard footsteps on the other end of the phone and a door closing. “Is it serious enough for you to hide in your office?”
“Listen, darling. Your mum always wanted you to stay in London with us. She’d have stretched to a townhouse nearby. Prepare yourself for an ‘I’m only concerned for your safety’ type of lecture. She means well. Must go. Love you loads.” He disconnected the call before Motts could even say goodbye.
Motts glared at her mobile with a sense of dread. What now? She decided to call in reinforcements by texting her cousin and Vina; either would inform Nish as well. Meow. “Yes, Cactus. I’m aware you’ve been stuck inside for far too long. How about we stroll through the garden? I saw at least one stray butterfly waiting for you to stalk.”
Her plans were derailed when her doorbell rang. Motts glanced at her phone. No new messages. She doubted her friends would simply show up; they knew better.
She opened the door to find Mikey O’Connell. “Hello?”
“My brother wants to apologise for the accident yesterday.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Motts was bewildered by the flowers thrust at her. “Hyacinths?”
“They mean sorry. My nan was obsessed with the Victorian language of flowers.” Mikey shifted uncomfortably in front of her. “Your cat doesn’t have fur. Is she okay?”
“He’s fine. He has peach fuzz. Don’t touch him.” Motts used her leg to ease Cactus back into the cottage. “Why are you giving me flowers?”
“Jasper.”
She tried to keep the hyacinths away from her nose to avoid an allergy attack. “Do you buy flowers for your brother often?”
I am not equipped for this conversation.
“Were you badly hurt?”
“I’ll live.” Motts kept her free hand on the doorknob. “What was he doing anyway? I don’t understand why the cart didn’t go downhill instead of toward me?”
Mikey shrugged. “Not a clue. Sorry again.”
Motts watched him jog away from her toward the stairs leading toward the village. She put the flowers by the door for Vina to take to Leena. “Apology not accepted.”
Maybe Mum will like the flowers.
Leaving them outside the house for the moment, Motts went back inside. She could already feel a tickle in her nose. I will not give in to the sneezing. I won’t.
On the way into the kitchen, Motts answered a text from her cousin. River intended to drive over to her cottage after swinging by Griffin Brews. He wanted to know if she wanted anything.
She said no.
Meow.
“Yes, Cactus. Your uncle River will probably bring both of us something. He gets it from his mum.” She allowed him a tiny extra treat. “I
suppose I better change out of pyjamas. He’ll tease me about lounging about all day if I don’t.”
A quick wash made Motts feel slightly more capable of dealing with the day. She winced as moving too much tugged at the scrapes on her arms and legs. River would have to deal with her in a T-shirt and pyjama bottoms; all her other trousers rubbed against her injuries.
“Well, at least these look like regular striped trousers.” Motts returned to the kitchen to put the kettle on. She wanted another cup of tea to deal with the impending influx of sound. Cactus leapt onto the counter, meowing plaintively. “You’ve already eaten. I know you’re not starved. Plus, Uncle River will bring you a snack.”
Meow.
“I know, I’m a failure.” She bent down to rub her nose against his fuzzy head. “I’m sure you’ll forgive me.”
River arrived midway through the mug of tea. He let himself into the cottage after knocking three times. “Leena insisted on feeding you.”
“Mums.”
“Mums. No matter where they come from, they all think you never eat unless they’ve fed you.” River hefted up the paper bag. “Why are there hyacinths outside your door? Who sent you flowers when you’re so allergic to them?”
“Apology.”
“Pardon?”
Motts snickered. His response had struck her as fun. “One O’Connell sibling apologising for the other.”
“Pardon?”
While Motts chatted about Mikey’s visit, they perused the wealth of treats from Griffin Brews. River was as confused as Motts. He couldn’t explain the strange visit.
“You’ve failed as my non-autistic translator,” Motts joked. River was one of the people she turned to when confused by neurotypical behaviour. “Oh, croissants.”
“Leena knows your weakness.” River grabbed one of the sweet and spicy pastries for himself. “What shops are near where you fell?”
“I don’t remember. What’s up at the top of the hill?”
“Why don’t we take a walk over to see if any of them have CCTV cameras?” River broke a second croissant in half and offered her part. “Maybe we can see what happened.”
“I went over my handlebars.”
“Yes, Motts, but were you helped over accidentally or on purpose?” River munched his last bite slowly. “Mikey claimed his brother didn’t launch his projectile at you on purpose. Why don’t we find out for sure?”
“Purposeful projectile plunged precariously.”
“Nice.” River raised nine of his fingers up. “Decent score.”
Motts snickered into her cup of tea. “Going out means actual trousers.”
“Why? Who cares if you’re wearing pyjamas? You were injured. Sod anyone who’s bothered.” River carefully folded the bag down. He set it up into the cupboard. “Can Cactus open doors?”
“Not yet.” Motts fed her cat part of the fishy treat Leena had included for him. “He’ll be fine. Not sure I want to walk down all those stairs and up the hill.”
“We’ll drive to the parking up at the top, then walk across the street.” River patted her shoulder gently. “Want me to carry you?”
“Don’t be a prat.”
“Who, me?” He snuck Cactus a tiny flake of croissant. Cactus sniffed it before slinking away to join Moss at the window facing the back garden. “Finicky creature.”
“He has taste. You licked your fingers. Germs, River, germs.”
“Honestly.” River rolled his eyes at her. “He licks—”
“Don’t be rude,” she interrupted. “I’ll risk jeans if we’re going into the shops. I won’t be a moment. Rude River runs roughly.”
“You make it sound as if I’ve got—”
“Don’t be gross. I’ve just eaten a croissant.” Motts cut him off before heading up the stairs to her bedroom.
When Motts returned from swapping soft pyjamas for less soft jeans, River had managed to eat another croissant. He grinned innocently, swiping crumbs from his shirt. She sighed; some things never changed no matter how old they were.
“Well? Ready?”
“Let me set the alarm.” Motts remembered the cigarette butts on the other side of her fence. If the accident hadn’t been intentional, she wasn’t taking any chances. “Want to drive to Fowey afterwards? Callie texted me earlier with news about Ashby.”
“And you want to be away from Polperro if your parents decide to arrive sooner than actually possible?” River followed her out of the cottage. He waited for her to lock up. “You know even your mum can’t make the drive take less time.”
“Don’t underestimate her.” Motts wouldn’t put it past her mum to hijack a helicopter for the journey. “At least they won’t be staying in Polperro.”
“Small mercies.” River checked her over carefully. “Are you sure you’re up for this? We can wait until tomorrow.”
“My scrapes and bruises will be as sore tomorrow as they are today. I’m okay. No permanent damage done. It only twinges a little.”
“A little in Motts speak usually means a lot.” River held the door out for her. “You can ask for help.”
“I managed to open multiple doors. Fairly certain a car isn’t any more difficult.” She climbed inside and set her bag between her feet. “I’m fine. Mostly.”
“It’s the mostly I worry about.” River slowly reversed down the hill until he could deftly turn the car around. “Why don’t you text Callie to see when a good time to stop by is?”
They parked across from where Motts had crashed her bike and walked over. She stopped at the top of the street, staring down. Her mind replayed the accident repeatedly.
“Struck out at the pub.” River joined her. He’d jogged over to talk to the owner. “Their camera is on the fritz. Spoke to Jess at the bookshop. He’s going to email me the video from yesterday, just from the accident, maybe a few minutes before. I want to figure out if Jasper saw you before his cart went flying out of control.”
“There are cameras in the car park.”
“I’d wager either Teo or Perry used their detective inspectorness to get that.”
“Detective inspectorness?” Motts smiled at him. “Are we making up words again?”
Since none of the other shops had cameras, they decided to make their way to Fowey. Inspector Ash probably wouldn’t let them see the village CCTV footage no matter how nicely they asked. Motts didn’t fancy trying her luck.
“We’ve got time. Fancy a stroll around Polridmouth Cove?”
Chapter Fifteen
“Did you ever wish your parents moved up to London with mine?” Motts followed River down one of the footpaths to one of the two beaches that made up Polridmouth Cove. They strolled along the sand, peering into some of the rock pools exposed by the low tide. “You could’ve grown up in the city.”
“And miss this?” River gestured toward the vast expanse of the sea. “We visited London often enough. I’ve never wished we grew up there. I did once ask Father Christmas to have you move to Cornwall.”
“Did you?” Motts smiled sunnily. She shifted further down the beach, away from a rather boisterous family who were the only other visitors to the cove. “I’m sad he didn’t grant your wish. I love it here. So much calmer than London.”
River glanced over at the family after a particularly piercing shriek. “Quiet as well.”
She kicked sand at him. “You know what I meant.”
“I do.” River dipped his toes into the rock pool. “Are you really feeling okay?”
“Sore as can be. I won’t say I don’t hurt. It’s not as bad as when I went off my Vespa.” Motts bent down to pick up a particularly pretty shell. “Remember when your dad convinced me tiny invisible crabs lived in shells?”
“I remember getting shouted at for stomping on a shell and sending you into a panic.” River tucked his hands into his pockets. “Wind’s turning chilly.”
“It is. We should head back before we catch a cold. Last thing I need in the middle of summer.” Motts still remembered he
r uncle Tom and her cousin both getting into trouble for traumatising her. It was her granddad who explained invisible crabs weren’t a thing. “I should’ve worn a jumper.”
“You’d be boiling by lunch if you had.” River splashed in the water briefly, then followed her back up the sand. “Come on then. My mum’ll force-feed us soup if we so much as sniffle.”
On the way to the car, River received a message with the video from Jess. Motts squeezed up next to her cousin and peered down at his phone. He tried to zoom in close enough for a good view of the footage.
“There. Jasper.” River poked a finger at the screen. “He’s on the corner by the pub with his empty cart. Must’ve already made his delivery.”
“And there I am coming into the frame. Stopping at the light up the street.” Motts wished they had a longer view up the hill. She wanted a better perspective on what Jasper would’ve seen. “He’s definitely looking in my direction. Maybe. I don’t think we’ll ever prove if he was or not.”
River kept watching the video. “We can prove it wasn’t an accident.”
On the screen, the slightly blurry Jasper lowered the handle on the cart then launched it across the street with a solid kick. Motts made him replay the video several times. He also made sure to send a copy to Hughie, just in case the Polperro police hadn’t seen it.
They had. Hughie immediately texted to tell them Inspector Ash suggested they leave the detecting to the detectives. Hughie added a few crying laughing emojis to show what he thought the odds of them listening to be.
“Such faith in his fellow human beings.” River pocketed his phone. “Right. Well.”
Motts leaned against the seat. She regretted getting out of her comfortable, warm bed. Her body was starting to ache again from landing on the pavement and rolling across it at speed. “Callie.”
River glanced over at her. “Why don’t you stay in the car when we get there? I can have a chat with Callie about Ashby and take notes for you.”
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