by Amy Saunders
“We already have trouble,” Camilla said. “People within the company are looking for an excuse to get rid of Vincent. They’ll pin this on him, whatever the police say, and that will be all they need to finally remove him. But whatever Vincent thinks, I’ll be implicated as well. And that is bad for the company–and everyone in it.” She wrung her hands together on the desk.
“The long and short of it,” Vincent said, “is that we need this situation resolved quickly. And we’ve heard you’ve helped other Portside residents in the past.”
That was interesting, Belinda thought. And perhaps unsettling. Maybe they were gaining too much of a reputation for investigating. If this kept going, she’d have to use Mission: Impossible masks to go undercover.
“We won’t lie to you,” Belinda said. “Or help you find a scapegoat. If your father died by accident, then he died by accident.” She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to say that, but something about these two and the situation made her feel uncomfortable.
“I know you’re trustworthy,” Camilla said, keeping her eyes on Belinda. “That’s why we invited you. You’ll understand the importance of discretion in this instance.”
Bennett tapped Belinda’s arm, pushing out of his chair. “We’ll need a few minutes to discuss this in private.”
“Of course.” Camilla waved to Vincent. “He’ll show you to another room. Take what time you need.”
Vincent led them to a room down the hall, standing aside to let them pass. “I want you to know that I believe you can help in this matter. Not just Camilla.” Vincent gave them a partial smile, then closed the door.
Unsure if he’d be listening, Belinda whispered, “So your answer is no?”
Bennett crossed his arms, staring up at the ceiling. Since they’d left from her house, he only had on a burgundy T-shirt with jeans. Not that she minded the eye candy as he flexed his arms, but it felt odd to be so casual in this situation.
Belinda tugged on her flowery blouse, taking in the naturally-lit study. At least that’s what it looked like with a set of bookshelves along the walls and two wing-back chairs by the windows.
“This whole situation gives me a weird feeling,” Bennett said.
“It’s almost like a domestic situation.”
He nodded. “And why did they really pick us? They have money at their disposal. I’m sure they could hire an elite private investigator.”
“Because they think we’re better?”
Bennett listed his head to the side.
Belinda shrugged. “I don’t know. It might be the discretion part of things. I don’t think they’d ask without a good reason.”
“Or they want us to do this because something else is going on.” Bennett’s eyes swiped across the room as if searching for the answer.
“Well, we can say no. Though Camilla might have us beheaded.” Belinda smirked, her eyes sparkling.
Bennett’s lips curved up, his arms dropping to his sides. “This is probably a bad idea.”
“Aren’t they always?” Belinda stood on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Come on. You know you can’t resist my powers of enchantment.”
That brought out a genuine smile.
“I’m not sure about this, either,” Belinda said, “but I am intrigued.”
Bennett met her eyes. “Yeah…me too.”
“So?” Belinda dropped her hands. “Are we in?”
Bennett rubbed the back of his neck, nodding slowly. “I guess we’re in.”
Chapter 6
“We both got a weird vibe from the whole situation,” Belinda said the next afternoon, moving baby Willa’s creamy hand from her earring for the hundredth time. Belinda couldn’t blame her for wanting to touch the glittery gem, but she didn’t want it ripped out of her ear, either. “In the end, we decided to do it anyway.”
Victoria stood, stretching her back. Belinda had been following her around the back of Victoria’s house, near the arbor-covered patio, while Victoria shifted flower pots around. Her yellow garden gloves hung toward the ground, her copper hair held back by a flowered headband.
“Don’t you hire a landscaper for this sort of thing?” Belinda said, noticing the streak of dirt across Victoria’s forehead.
“I wanted to do this little patch myself.”
“And how’s that going?” Belinda withheld a smirk, glancing at the spots of dirt still holding the stamp of a pot that was now somewhere else.
“Dan asked the same thing.” Victoria ran the back of her arm across her nose. Now Belinda knew how the dirt smears came about. “He’s counting down until I give up.”
“Well, I can’t judge you. I offered to help Bennett with his yard this year and lost steam after one pot.” Belinda shifted Willa to the other hip. “So you’re doing better than me.”
Victoria smiled. “Anyway, back to this new case with the weird vibes.”
Belinda glanced up at the sky, rocking side to side. “Where was I?”
“You were telling me how you convinced Bennett to do it despite reservations.”
“I did?”
Victoria shrugged. “No. But I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.”
Belinda scrunched up her nose. It was always clear at moments like these that her friend knew her a little too well for Belinda’s good. She sighed, giving in anyway. “Bennett agreed to do it too. It’s all really curious and I don’t think he’d be able to resist finding out what’s going on.”
“They think Lawson was murdered?” Victoria dropped her voice, though no one was around to hear. Except Willa, who was fixated on a butterfly hovering around the flowers.
Belinda nodded. Henry Lawson’s death had finally made it to the news, though they hadn’t released how he’d died yet. Belinda wasn’t certain if that was just protocol or Camilla’s influence. “They don’t think he got down the stairs on his own. And this wasn’t a passing fancy or grief. Camilla didn’t even get choked up talking about it. But she was dead serious it was murder.” Belinda paused. “Excuse the pun.”
“I will, though it was in poor taste.” Victoria smiled. “I suppose it doesn’t make sense that Camilla and What’s-his-face did Lawson in since they’re the ones crying murder.”
“Nope. It doesn’t. At least, not on the surface. If I’d killed somebody and the police wanted to call it an accident, so be it. I wouldn’t interfere.”
Victoria’s eyebrows arched to her forehead. “Good to know. I won’t turn my back to you then.”
“Better not. I know all kinds of tricks now.” Belinda grinned, bouncing Willa up and down. She broke into a toothless smile, reaching for Belinda’s face. “I am curious if Camilla will be right about the rumors…she claimed that was partly why they wanted our assistance.”
Victoria took off her gloves, shaking them off. “Sounds like it’s time for a yacht club date to me.”
Belinda followed her around the arbor to the arched entrance, where a tray of lemonade awaited them on the table. Victoria left her gloves by the entrance and poured two glasses of lemonade. She set one near Belinda as she took a seat, Willa watching it with wide eyes. Someday, when Willa had teeth and all, she was going to make the perfect addition to their eating club.
“You’re done with the gardening part of the day, I see,” Belinda said, her brown eyes twinkling.
Victoria slipped her a sideways glare as she sipped. “I’m hot and I want to sit down and enjoy my lemonade, thank you. I’ll get back to it later.”
Belinda glanced in the direction of the patch of dirt where Victoria had been…working. “I’ve noticed you haven’t actually planted anything. Is there a reason for that?”
Victoria slanted her eyes, bending her straw around. “I’m trying to get everything figured out first. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Of course not. But considering I know you’ve been working on this for days now, you may be overthinking it.”
Victoria frowned at her lemonade, and after a pause said, “What�
��s your game plan with the case?” Apparently, the gardening subject was now closed for discussion.
After nestling Willa on her lap, Belinda sat back to give that some thought. “We know we need to start in Southwood, where Lawson died. We’re working on how to discreetly talk to his household staff, and maybe anyone in the area who knew Lawson and what his life was like there.”
“Camilla can’t get you inside somehow?”
“She doesn’t want anyone to know about this. I think she assumes anyone in that house could have killed her father.”
“Or anyone outside. No one was around when he fell.”
“True enough.” Belinda shimmied back to relax more. “In any case, Bennett says he’s got that part of it, so I’m not worried.”
“How?”
“He didn’t say, and I left it alone for the moment. I’m guessing he knows someone who might help us.”
“Well, that would be new. I guess you’re not the only one with connections.”
Belinda smiled. “Bennett has his own ways.” His ideas were usually good, though the fact that he wouldn’t reveal his plans made her a little apprehensive. He tended to withhold when he knew she wouldn’t like it. “No matter what, we have to find a way. We’re already committed.”
Victoria gazed off into the distance but made no comment. Whatever Bennett was up to, Belinda hoped that it would be more successful than Victoria’s gardening attempts.
~ * ~
Bennett stared at the computer screen, technically reading over an email brief related to an upcoming event security job, but his mind was somewhere else completely.
His proposal plans had been shot out of the water on Saturday when that woman came out of nowhere and permanently altered the rest of the evening. He’d been planning that moment for weeks, secretly conferring with Victoria and Belinda’s grandmother to get a family heirloom ring ready for Belinda.
And everything had (miraculously) gone off well. Belinda was successfully kept in the dark about his plans, which was tough to do with her suspicious mind and sniffing about, and he thought he’d made it. They were at the finish line; he knew what he was going to say, and he was sure Belinda was ready to hear it. And other than some nerves, he felt good. Belinda was radiant and adorable as always. And Bennett knew her grandmother was waiting for them to return to the ballroom with a ring on Belinda’s finger.
They’d mapped everything out. Her nana was poised to get an intimate engagement party together right afterward. Right now, Belinda should have been interrupting him with wedding plan ideas. Instead, he had to try all over again. And now they were entrenched in another possible murder investigation.
His phone rang, almost making him jump. He’d spent most of his time since Saturday planning another proposal. He answered to find Jonas in a swinging mood, a lot more cheerful than Bennett.
“I couldn’t wait any longer to hear,” Jonas said. “Should I congratulate you?” Only Jonas had guessed what Bennett had been up to, so he’d broken down and spilled his proposal plans.
Bennett sighed, feeling irritated and a little embarrassed.
“Don’t tell me she said no.” Jonas’ voice was joking, but Bennett wasn’t in the mood.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask,” he admitted after a pause.
“What happened? I thought you had everything covered. You had plans and alternate plans and alternates to the alternates, depending on how the night went. Shouldn’t one of those have worked?”
Bennett pursed his lips. “I didn’t account for some crazed woman ruining the evening.”
“Crazed woman?” Jonas paused. “I know Belinda can be a little flighty, but still…”
Bennett quickly ran through what happened, which led to the new development of working for Camilla Felton and Vincent Sutcliffe.
“Wait,“ Jonas said. “You’re helping them to prove her father was murdered?”
“Yeah.” Bennett leaned back in his office chair, a new, comfier ergonomic one. “Why?”
“Nothing, except I was sent to interview Felton after her father was found dead. The weirder part is I suggested they hire an outsider to investigate if they were so certain Lawson was killed.”
“Did you recommend us?”
“Of course not. I couldn’t officially tell them any of that. But apparently they took my advice.”
Bennett wasn’t sure he was happy about that.
“Anyhow,” Jonas went on, “how did you end up getting called?”
Bennett shrugged. “We came recommended somehow. Not sure I’m okay with that, really, but the situation is interesting.”
After a moment, Jonas said, “Between us, I got in touch with a friend over in Southwood, and Felton was right about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Rumors are circulating that Sutcliffe had something to do with Lawson’s death.”
Bennett raised his eyebrows in interest. “Really? Belinda hasn’t tapped into her gossip chain yet.”
“Yeah…it sounds like everyone is just assuming Sutcliffe is guilty.”
“What’s your impression?” Bennett rubbed his chin. “Do you think it was murder?”
“Going straight on the facts, no. I understand why it’s been ruled an accident.”
“But?”
Jonas didn’t respond immediately, and Bennett gave him a moment to decide what to say. “But I’m inclined to believe them. I can’t give you a specific reason; it’s just a gut feeling.”
That might not have been enough for official police business, but it meant something to Bennett. He supposed it was time to stop worrying about proposal plans and get on with investigating–for now.
Chapter 7
Bennett finally dropped his investigative plan–after it was too late and the plans were already in motion, thanks to a client of Bennett’s in Southwood. Belinda scrunched up her nose once Bennett was finished filling her in on all the details the next day. She’d withheld her comments, letting him go on about what they were about to do. But he’d finished, and now it was her turn.
“We’re doing what?” she said. She’d popped over to his place the following day to discuss his idea over lunch. Since it was nice out, they sat at his table outside. But now lunch was not so appealing.
Bennett’s eyes shined, his lips curving up just barely. “You heard me.”
“I know, but…” Belinda let out an exasperated huff. “Cleaning out some dead guy’s house? Seriously?” The thought of being hired to clear out a home of someone recently deceased gave her the shivers.
Bennett had explained that he’d talked with a former client who owned a business that dealt with the, well, stuff that needed to be done when people died. Bennett suspected he might be able to help. Sure enough, the man’s company was hired to help with Lawson’s house.
“It’s not ‘some dead guy.’” Despite his more serious tone, Bennett’s eyes still glistened in amusement. “It’s our victim, and this is a golden opportunity. In fact, we’re getting to do one of your favorite activities.”
“What’s that?”
“Snoop.”
Belinda wrinkled her nose even more, drawing out a laugh from Bennett. “It’s not funny.”
“You wanted to do this.” Bennett pointed at her. “So we’re doing it. And this is by far the best chance we’ll have of getting that close to Henry Lawson’s house and employees.”
Belinda couldn’t argue with him there. She had been worried about how they’d investigate a situation as closely guarded as this one. Breaking and entering really wouldn’t be an option with a household staff around. And they needed to see what Henry might have been up to before he died.
And getting to be around those who worked for him wouldn’t hurt, either. If anyone knew if he’d been murdered, it would be his staff.
“Fair enough,” she relented. “What do we do?”
“I’m waiting for specific instructions, but I know I’m picking up the uniforms tomorrow.”
> Uniforms? Belinda wanted to groan. No one looked good in uniforms.
They both went silent, Belinda wondering just how ugly a color the polo shirts might be, while Bennett dropped his eyes, his face ponderous.
“You know,” he said after a moment, “this might not be a bad thing. My contact is arranging for us to stay in Southwood, too, to make it easier. We might have some time, just the two of us.”
“Won’t we have to pretend to just be employees, though?” She figured it would be best if no one saw them as a couple.
“Yeah, but I think we could have dinner together without problems.”
Belinda half smiled. “That could be a silver lining.” She sighed. “They’re not wasting any time getting Henry’s house cleared out, though. Considering all his money and assets, it’s moving along quickly.”
“My client heard through the grapevine that Lawson specifically wanted the house sold after his death.”
Belinda’s eyes flicked back to Bennett. “Really? It wasn’t passed on to his daughter or another family member?”
“Nope. It was put in the care of someone who seems to be a household manager of sorts. It sounds like she oversees everyone else who works there.”
Belinda frowned. “That’s not in Camilla’s favor.”
“No, it’s not. It doesn’t look like they had the most brilliant relationship.”
“On the other hand,”–Belinda crossed her arms–“that might be a reason for this manager person to kill Lawson.”
“Not necessarily. The money is supposedly going to charity.”
Belinda shrugged. “She might be able to get around that somehow, or still profit from it.”
“Do you see why I jumped at this chance now?” Bennett raised his dark eyebrows expectantly.
Belinda stared back, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “That depends on what we learn while we’re there.” If they could find out anything throwing out Lawson’s trash.