“How do you know I’m peeking?” Her friend had kept her eyes shut tightly throughout.
“Because I can hear you blinking.” Amanda reached out and patted Charlie on the knee. “And your thoughts are so loud, I can almost hear them shrieking, too.”
“I don’t know how to stop thinking,” Charlie admitted, closing her eyes to commit to at least trying.
“Take the topmost worry and pretend you’re writing it down on a piece of paper,” Amanda said.
Charlie focused and wrote the words: I want to find Ben’s murderer.
“Now, take the paper and fold it in half. Don’t destroy the words, or change them, just make it so they can’t be seen.”
With a slight frown of effort, Charlie performed the actions in her mind’s eye.
“Put the folded paper aside and do the same with the next thought weighing down your mind.”
This one didn’t pop into view as clearly, but Charlie eventually wrote out the phrase: I want to find out who’s framing me.
It could be the same thing as finding Ben’s killer but there was also a chance it was something different. A part of her worried that Nick might be involved and taking advantage of the situation. Even though they’d been separated by the time she opened the shop, her ex had popped around far more times than she cared to think about. He could have taken the teatowel and the knife at any time and Charlie wouldn’t have noticed.
“Now we’re going to reach deeper. Take the next problem that occupies your time and write that one down, too.”
Charlie shifted her position a little, slumping over as her tight shoulders relaxed. What else did she worry about? The shop? Her family? How working closely with Mia might bring them closer or burst them apart.
Unable to choose, Charlie scribbled them all out on one sheet, folding it over and putting it aside. She wrote out her fears she would die young, like her father. That had been the reason she took the plunge into shaping her own business. To work for someone else until the day she died would, to her, be a life wasted.
Next up, her fear that marriage hadn’t worked out and she might never find someone to share her life with. As Charlie wrote out the words, she felt her chest loosen, as though the worry had been a breath she’d been holding since her husband first announced he wanted a divorce.
Layer by layer, she peeled back the thoughts that used up so much of her attention. As she put them aside, Charlie found her mind opening. It didn’t empty so much as it expanded, welcoming in a flood of feedback through her senses. Small details she wouldn’t usually notice now captured her attention and kept her fascinated.
The sounds from the street, the play of colours in the darkness of her closed eyes, the rhythmic beat of her heart, the scent of sweet wood polish rising from where the floorboards warmed in the sun.
By the time Amanda laid a hand on her knee and asked, “How do you feel?” Charlie felt like her body had gone on an adventure. She opened her eyes, the light and colours swamping her vision until she felt giddy.
“That’s fantastic,” Charlie said in a breathy voice. “I feel all loose and soft.”
“Good.” Amanda smiled and got to her feet, reaching out a hand to help Charlie stand. “You can do the same yourself, following the same process. A lot of people find it even easier to do alone because they don’t have the pressure of worrying about what someone else in the room thinks.”
The newfound experience felt like a gift unexpectedly thrust into Charlie’s hands. She wanted to stay and dwell on the experience, but Amanda was jiggling from side to side. “I need to go for a walk. You coming?”
“Sure.” Charlie followed along, Bocconcini giving her an astounded glance before reluctantly falling into step beside her. “I’m not sure how long my pug will last, he’s been out walking for a lot longer than he’s used to, today.”
“I don’t mind carrying him for a while if we need to,” Amanda said, stretching her arms over her head. “My body’s just restless at the moment. When I go to bed tonight, I want to be so exhausted I’ll actually get some sleep. The last few nights have been dreadful.”
“Is that because Dwayne’s staying with you?”
Amanda appeared surprised at the question. “No, I don’t think so. Usually, I don’t mind if someone’s staying over. It’s far more likely to be because a man was murdered behind my Pilates studio.”
Charlie flushed as the words struck. Of course, Amanda was upset. People mightn’t be accusing her in the street, but the experience still hit close to home.
“Sorry. I didn’t think.”
“Don’t worry.” Amanda huffed out a large breath and tipped her head from side to side. “You’re suffering from Ben’s death a lot more than me. I should be the one apologising to you.”
They fell into silence as they walked out of the main township, hitting the base of the climb up Conical Hill. As they ascended, Charlie felt the breath burning in her lungs. If she’d thought she was fit from the morning Pilates classes, it was time to think again.
“Oh, I’m so glad it’s downhill from here,” she said when they reached the summit. “I’d forgotten how steep the route is.”
“We can always go higher,” Amanda said with a sly smile. “The track off to the side will lead up to the next peak.” She paused for a few beats. “Eventually.”
Charlie was so appalled at the suggestion she burst out laughing. Even that hurt her overworked lungs. “How about we don’t? That sounds like a much better idea. Eh, Bocconcini?”
“Asking an overweight dog for exercise advice is as silly as asking a cheesemonger if you should avoid dairy in your diet.”
Charlie collapsed into giggles, hardly able to draw breath between fits. “Stop,” she begged when Amanda opened her mouth again with a twinkle in her eye. “I can’t take anymore.”
“Just look at the view and stop worrying about how you feel.”
When Charlie had recovered enough to sit up straight, she took Amanda’s advice. The view out across the forest and the spa town nestled in its valley was awe-inspiring. Even with the last nip of winter hanging in the spring air, the wilderness surrounding the township was a riot of green.
“Did I see Mia walking into your shop this morning?”
Charlie sniggered at Amanda’s attempt to sound casual. “You did. Janis phoned me last night and asked if I could give her a few hours a day until she gets back on her feet.”
“And you said yes?”
Amanda’s astonishment set off another short burst of laughter. “Yes, I did. I crumpled like a wet tissue.” Charlie leaned her head straight back, staring at the corona of light around the sun through squinted eyes. “Her timing really couldn’t be worse.”
“So we’re both stuck working with relatives.” Amanda finally sat down, patting her knees to encourage Bocconcini to jump over. He did. “I hope both Mia and Dwayne find something else to occupy them soon.”
Charlie shot her friend a sidelong glance. “Driving you nuts, is he?”
“Ugh. So much! He’s always such a downer, I swear Dwayne wakes up in the morning and works hard to get himself into a bad mood.”
“Mia doesn’t have that problem,” Charlie grumbled. “She’s energetic and enthusiastic from the word go.”
Her voice came out grimmer than she’d intended, and Amanda chuckled. “Want to swap?”
“Nope. At least I know where I am with Mia. Dwayne appears to keep himself to himself.”
“He does do that,” Amanda agreed. “When he started work last week, he said it was just a filler until he sorted out the university course he wanted to start. I asked him about it yesterday and he looked like he’d never heard of higher education.”
“Does he spend a lot of time in the studio or is he out and about most of the time?”
“I’ve only taken him on for a couple of hours a day, like you with Mia. The rest of the time, he amuses himself.”
“Do you know where he goes?”
“Why?” Amanda cocked an eye
brow. “Do you want to arrange for him to bump into Mia so they’ll both ride off into the sunset?”
“Wouldn’t that be a plan?” Charlie said, not wanting to pursue her questions if her true intent was becoming obvious.
They sat in silence for a while, then Amanda yawned. “I don’t know what Dwayne gets up to, but he spends most of his time away from the studio and my home. Last night, he only got in around two in the morning.”
“I don’t know where he gets the energy.”
“Why are you asking all these questions?”
When Charlie turned to Amanda, ears buzzing with guilt, her friend’s jaw had tightened. She could always tell her a lie, something quick and easy that would probably sound fake.
Instead, she decided on the truth. “I think he’s involved in Ben’s murder.”
Chapter Nine
When Amanda and Charlie arrived back at work, a line of people trailed out the door of the cheesemongers. Bocconcini had decided on the trek back down Conical Hill that he wasn’t in the mood for any more walking, so he was tucked inside the front of Charlie’s cardigan again. She hugged him even closer, at first thinking the crowds of people must be the protestors swollen to an enormous group.
Then she saw the eager expressions and saw a woman fumbling in her handbag to locate her purse and understood they were customers. Hurrying now, with her mind stumbling around in disbelief, Charlie pushed her way through the throng to reach the counter.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
Instead of answering, Noah threw an apron in her face. “Put the dog down and get to work,” he ordered with a laugh. “We don’t have time to stand about, chatting.”
Dumbfounded, Charlie obeyed his instructions and joined in the serving line. Soon, she’d fallen into a routine with Mia and Noah, getting the customers what they wanted as efficiently as any fast-food chain.
When the line diminished to sane levels, Charlie poked her baby sister in one of her exposed ribs. “I guess this is down to you,” she said. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Mia said with her wide eyes feigning innocence. “And I can’t believe you took off in the middle of the day when you knew it’d be our busiest time.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “At least promise me you didn’t hurt Gladys Philburton. The lady might be a busybody, but she deserves nothing more than a shouted wake-up call.”
“Nobody’s hurt. Nobody’s insulted.” Noah pushed Charlie on the shoulder. “How about you count your blessings instead of trying to find something wrong?”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Charlie shot back with a salute. “I’ll fall into line.”
Soon, a new line of customers forestalled her asking questions, anyway. Charlie fell into an explanation of their more exotic cheese ranges to those among the crowd who were interested.
The rush soon went through the stock of break on hand—including the emergency supplies in the freezer—and Charlie had to skip out on her sister and Noah again to make a dash over to the supermarket to top-up their stock.
If the man behind the check out counter was surprised at the armloads of bread Charlie dumped onto his counter, he hid it well. While handing over her company credit card, she tried not to think of the discounted price at the wholesaler.
Considering this morning her business had been running down the hill to rock bottom, Charlie shouldn’t nit-pick but her shoestring budget mind noted the discrepancy all the same.
With fresh provisions, the onslaught of new customers showed no signs of stopping. By the time Charlie flipped the store sign to closed, she thought it might be her biggest takings on a single day ever—including the time she’d sold a whole parmesan to a man ‘stopping by on the off-chance.’
“Wowee,” Noah said, planting his butt in one chair and his well-worn sneakered feet on another. “Another day like that and I’ll need to invest in a new pair of legs.”
Although Charlie sat opposite him, she noted Noah’s gaze stayed fixed on her baby sister. She sniffed back a giggle and kept her mouth firmly closed in case a small laugh got away. If her employee wanted to crush on Mia, let him. It wouldn’t get him anywhere but that was hardly the point.
“Once I total up the earnings today, I think you’re both due a bonus,” Charlie said, twisting some strands of hair around her finger. “If this pace keeps up, I’ll need another set of hands on deck, at least.”
Mia and Noah exchanged a grin and Bocconcini decided he wanted to get in on the action, yapping excitedly until Charlie set him free from the dog run. “And you’ll get an extra treat, too,” she promised him with a kiss. “Maybe a new chew-bone or an upgraded collar.”
Once her sister and Noah had departed the store—Mia with a promise to turn up for full-time hours the next morning—Charlie wiped down the counter and checked on the deliveries for the morning, adding a few extra loaves for good measure. She’d need to stock up some cheeses from the cave in the morning, too.
What a great day it had turned out to be.
As she sat, watching the sunlight recede across the tiles, Charlie thought of how this time last week, she’d have shared her good news with Ben right about now. He would have congratulated her before turning his attention back to the heavens—his favourite place.
She let out a long exhalation as she stood, close to tears. Charlie emptied the hamper into the back seat of her car, ready for washing overnight, then headed back into the shop to bring out the rubbish.
In the darkness, she didn’t see the shadowy figure standing near the dumpster until it was too late.
Charlie’s heart bumped into her throat, stopping her breath. She fell back a step. The rubbish bag dropped out of her hand, spilling waste onto the cracked concrete.
“I heard you’ve been asking questions about me.”
Dwayne stepped forward into a patch of light, grinning wide enough his teeth gleamed. Charlie felt a rush of embarrassment that she’d scared so easily, followed a second later by adrenaline as she unravelled his words.
“It’s a free country. I’ll ask as many questions as I see fit.” Charlie lifted her chin and stared him straight in the eye.
“This is the same free country that dumped a dead body out the back of your shop just a few nights ago. Think of that before you stick your nose any further into other people’s business.”
“If Amanda didn’t want to answer my questions, she had every right to tell me. You don’t.”
“I do if those questions are about me!”
Charlie fell back another step. Out on the main street, she could hear a group of people chatting together as they walked by the row of shops. Cars crept past every few seconds. If she screamed, someone would hear.
Whether they’d do anything was another matter.
“Don’t think I didn’t see you snooping around the library earlier, too.” Dwayne matched her step, drawing closer. “Unless you want to end up like Ben, how about you leave well enough alone?”
How about I tell the police what you just said?
The phrase was on Charlie’s lips to say, then she closed her mouth with a snap. The bloodstained towel with her logo on it weighed heavily on her mind. Then there was the missing knife.
If Dwayne was the one setting her up for a fall, then she had more to fear from calling the police than he did.
“Fine,” she snapped, letting her shoulders slump. Charlie had played poker when she was younger and could easily feign defeat. That was how you played a losing hand into a winning one. Bluffing. “I’ll keep out of your business and you stay well clear of mine.”
“I couldn’t give a toss about your shop,” Dwayne said, the wide grin returning. He propped his hands on his hips, arching his back. “Whether or not you sell a few slices of cheese is of no concern to me.”
He sauntered away, actually whistling as he walked through the back entrance of the Pilates studio. Charlie sagged against the side of the dumpster, then gathered hersel
f and picked up the strewn rubbish before seeking refuge inside.
Bocconcini picked up on her heightened nervous tension, whining and crowding close to her legs as Charlie stood near the exit, waiting for Dwayne to leave.
Once she was sure he was out of Amanda’s exercise studio, Charlie prepared a few snacks, ready for a long night ahead. Despite her assurances, she had no intention of staying clear of Dwayne and whatever sticky situation he’d entangled himself in.
He’d warned her away from his business and away from the library. Fine. If he was so worried about her presence there, it jolted the strange storage room there up to the top of her list of leads.
She’d go there and wait, hoping for evidence enough to implicate Dwayne in the crime. Once she had that, the towel and the missing knife would no longer be a threat to her safety.
“Do you want to come along with me?” she asked Bocconcini, unsure whether he’d be safer at home alone or joining her adventure.
The response when Charlie tried to leave him at home told her the answer. Even if the stakeout of the library seemed more dangerous, her pug had no intention of staying out of the situation.
With him tucked down her front once again, Charlie strode off towards the library. There were a few hours before it would shut its doors for the night, and she needed to make sure she was in place well before that.
“Let’s go see what all the fuss is about the staff only storage room,” she whispered to Bocconcini just before she grabbed hold of the library door and pulled it open.
Chapter Ten
After slowly perusing the entire library, while pretending to gaze at the titles in its stacks, Charlie decided on a hiding place in the back of the historic newspaper and magazine section.
A disused microfiche reader sat gathering dust in a corner with a small tarpaulin covering a variety of spare parts beside it. Charlie couldn’t tell if the machine was broken or had just fallen out of favour, and neither did she care. What she did care about was the pocket of space available to her and Bocconcini beneath the tarpaulin, safe from prying librarian eyes.
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