by Ruby Loren
“Lucky me,” I said with a weak smile.
“I had to ask around to find out where she lived, only to find out that Sophia Blanky is quite private about who she shares that information with. Fortunately, Tristan Herriot had her address on some professional document or other. Otherwise…” he left the same sentiment hanging.
The detective let out a great sigh. “Fortunately for you, her predilection for privacy married up with your suspicions. We headed round on the premise of questioning her with regard to her relationship to both of the victims, but when we arrived we saw her trying to strangle you through the side window. That was more than enough justification to force an entry.”
“Note to self - being attacked in front of a window is a good idea,” I muttered. My head was starting to feel all light and floaty. “You got her though, right? You found evidence?”
“Ample evidence. Killers who believe they’re above suspicion don’t clean up very well. We even found a bloodstained shirt in the bin that I’d bet money has Josh Finnigan’s blood on it. You’ll be pleased to know that the dogs have been returned to their proper owners, and the horses are being traced now that Sophia has given up her contacts. I believe that when it comes to the current litters, it gets more complicated… but that’s their business as far as I’m concerned.” He looked exhausted.
“Good,” I said with a smile, glad of a happy ending. I had no doubt that the horses and pups who had been sold would probably be subject to custody battles. It would be hard for all involved, but I hoped that happy solutions could be worked out.
“We should get on to what to charge you with…”
I looked up alarmed.
“You were trespassing on private property and Sophia Blanky is also claiming you were breaking and entering.”
“Is she now!” I said bemused. “The truth is, I was out walking nearby and I must have got lost and wandered onto her land. I happened to stumble upon the stables and recognised the stolen horse. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the house by the stables was Sophia Blanky’s! As for breaking and entering… she chased me into her house with a gun.” The last part at least was the honest truth.
The detective raised his eyes heavenwards for a moment and I watched his shoulders move in a silent sigh. “I thought it was something like that.”
The detective looked pensively at me for a moment, as if he were considering me properly for the first time. “She told me by the way,” he said after a few moments of silence had passed. “We’re both pretty sure it is mine, but I’ll love him or her all the same. We’re family now.”
“I’m glad,” I said, feeling a genuine smile light up my face.
The detective nodded and then grinned. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.”
“I knew it! I knew there was something going on,” Auryn said, having looked back and forth whilst the exchange had been taking place. “Congratulations!” He stood and shook the detective’s hand in true charming Auryn fashion.
There was a knock on the door and a nurse’s voice floated through asking if it was okay to come in.
“Just a minute!” I called whilst Auryn nabbed Lucky and poured him back into the rucksack. My cat shot him a look that said he would not be forgiven for a long time, but he remained mercifully silent when Auryn breezed out of the door past the invading nurse with no problems. “I’ll come back to get you as soon as you’re released,” he called back, shooting an apologetic look my way before disappearing with his secret passenger.
The nurse bustled around the room before leaving the detective and me alone together.
“Did your intruder get charged?” I asked when the silence grew too tense.
Detective Gregory looked troubled. “He was reprimanded. Men like Jim Smith…” he clammed up, but I followed his meaning. There was something about Jim that meant nothing stuck to him. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a similar something that had made it so that Detective Gregory had slipped out of suspicion just as quickly as he’d been under it.
“I should be going. With this case wrapped up it’s full speed ahead with the wedding.” A small smile graced his lips but didn't extend to his tired eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll do right by Tiff,” I said in such a way that let him know I’d be watching him… very carefully indeed.
“Just don’t go finding any murderers at my wedding,” the detective said in such a way that let me know he’d be watching me, too.
We examined one another for another moment and I felt the question forming on the tip of my tongue. but it was a question I wasn't sure I wanted answered.
“I have to go. There’s a lot of paperwork to do. Thank you for your time,” Detective Gregory said, back to brisk professional behaviour.
I watched him go and continued to wonder.
It was good to be home, I reflected when I walked back into Auryn’s family property and felt the big house envelope me. Rameses was there to smother me with his wet kisses whilst Lucky strolled past with a single backwards glance as if to say ‘oh, it’s you’. My thoughts turned to Auryn and my discussion of potentially selling up and starting afresh. As I stood in the hallway patting Rameses I found I wasn’t sure if we should do it. Homes were more than just four walls and a roof. They were places built of memories. With the warmth of the sun on my back and the quiet stillness of the dust motes circling around, I found I couldn’t bear to think of the house sitting empty, like so many other expensive properties nearby, whilst we moved on.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Auryn said when I walked into the kitchen. I found him standing guiltily in front of the kitchen door, as if he were hiding something that was visible through the window.
I waited.
“You know Detective Gregory said the animals all went back to their rightful owners?”
I nodded.
“One of their owners is going to prison for a very long time and doesn’t have family willing to take on a horse. Funnily enough, none of her friends stepped forward either. I know she’s done some terrible things, but I felt I owed her that much for being a good teacher to me.” Auryn frowned and I knew he was thinking of the club again and all of the other people he’d known since school, who’d only come out of the woodwork when he’d been deemed respectable again. It was clear that they just as quickly slipped away should anyone’s character be called into question.
My fiancé moved to the side and I found myself looking out across the garden where a dappled grey horse now grazed. A larger bay horse with a white blaze on its nose stood next to it.
“That one doesn’t belong to Sophia,” I said, frowning at Columbia.
“Also, Harry Farley’s will turned out to be rather remarkable. According to Felicity Farley, it was his ex-wife Georgina who drew it up and had him sign it. However, she must have been playing a cruel joke on Harry at the time. I assume they must have been married, but not happily so.” Auryn hesitated. “Perhaps I’m being unfair… but do you think it likely that Harry Farley would have left all of his money and assets to the British Wildlife Trust?”
I thought about his fox hunting antics. And then I thought about Harry himself. “I’d say it would be very unlikely. I guess Georgina Farley got the last laugh after all.”
Auryn nodded gravely. “Felicity Farley asked me to take Harry’s horse. I figured that one more wasn’t a big deal. We can go riding together.”
“I think I’ll need a ladder,” I remarked, looking at the two very full-size animals. Harry hadn’t been a tiny man and Sophia was quite a strapping woman, too. When I envisaged myself on a horse, I imagined something small and round and probably close in size to a Shetland pony.
“You’ll be fine,” Auryn said with a grin. “You’ll love it. I promise.”
I made a noncommittal sound. “So much for the stable summer house,” I observed.
“We can’t say no to animals in need, can we?”
“No, we can’t,” I reflected with a smile, k
nowing that I would have made the same decision in Auryn’s place. “Perhaps we do need all of this space after all,” I said, knowing that home was where the heart was… and our hearts were right here.
It was a sunny day in September when my best friend got married. The leaves were just beginning to turn golden, and they spiralled to the earth when the couple exited the wedding venue. I’d fussed with Tiff’s bridal train and held her bouquet whilst she said her vows and now I dutifully followed her from the hall, making sure everything was perfect for my best friend’s big day.
Confetti was flung and happiness reigned as the day progressed. Alex’s speech was a touching tribute to Tiff that left me in no doubt the couple had managed to get to know each other very well indeed during their relatively brief time together. Tiff’s father was charming and funny, and Alex’s best-man, Officer Ernesto, had even managed to turn Alex’s own questioning in the recent case into a friendly joke, hinting that sometimes the detective simply got too close to his work - due to his dedication.
I’d just grabbed myself some hog roast in a bun that was as big as my head when I noticed Joe Harvey enter the scenic barn where Tiff and Alex were having their wedding reception. He sidled up to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, knowing that Tiff had definitely not invited him. She knew full well who Joe really was and hadn’t wanted to invite any trouble into her wedding.
“There have been some developments. Something big is going down. A buyer in China has requested a massive order, and word is going round about which animals are needed. Believe me, we’ll be seeing several ‘tragic deaths’ of some larger animals in zoos very soon,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
My expression darkened as I read the ruse the zoos were using for what it was. “This has to end. I don’t care how many zoos are caught up in it.” For a time, I’d been worried about the fallout if it were to get out that so many of the nation’s respected zoos were actually nothing of the sort. But in my mind, this turned the tide against them once and for all. I stowed the thought of what might happen to the innocent staff and animals left behind in the carnage and instead focused on what was right. I couldn’t overlook justice any longer.
“Who’s the lucky guy?” Joe asked with an easy smile.
“Detective Gregory. Alex,” I corrected, remembering the informal setting. I inclined my head towards where the bride and groom were sitting down, lost in each other’s eyes.
Joe turned several shades paler. “She’s marrying a mercenary?”
“What?” I turned to face Joe in confusion.
“He’s a mercenary. A gun for hire - just like your old flame Lowell was before he signed on for good. He must be working for them,” Joe finished, his expression dark.
“You can’t be serious.” I was horrified. “Is he here because of you? How do you even know who he is?”
“To answer your first question, I don’t know. I doubt it. I haven’t had anyone recognise me yet - at least, not without some blatant tipping off. However, he could be here in case one of us tried to contact you. Secondly, it’s because it’s my business to know what others don’t. I have my sources. Where do you think perfect Pierce came from?”
“Wait…” I said, faltering. “Who was Pierce really working for?”
“Me, of course.” Joe shook his head. “I thought you’d worked that much out when he left and I turned up so conveniently. Pierce was supposed to be here to keep an eye on how you were doing. I don’t trust them to leave you alone.”
I frowned at Joe, distracted from my main outrage for a moment. “Why would you care what happened to me? And don’t say it’s because you have feelings for me, or something equally ridiculous.”
For a moment, Joe looked hurt. “You know I do.” He sighed and replaced his wounded expression with a blank one. “I know what they’re like. You think you’re out of it, but you’re not. They’ll use you any way they can.”
“I’m not part of your organisation.” I was not going to become entangled with a gang of money launderers.
“You don’t even know what my organisation does. If you want to find out the truth, you can come and talk to me.”
I frowned. “Wait a moment… wouldn’t Pierce have recognised Alex if they’re both guns for hire, so to speak?”
Joe pulled a guilty face. “Technically, it was Pierce’s first job and he’s not so much a gun as a salesman. I headhunted him from a big firm and told him I’d top up whatever you were paying him to a fee that suited him.” He raised his eyebrows at me.
“I don’t know what to say to that.” Joe was playing this as if he was generous for looking out for me and even paying one of my employees to work for me, but I thought it equated to spying, and surely that made him just as bad as the other side.
“Who was Jim Smith working for?” I was struggling to keep up.
Joe pulled another face. “That’s anyone’s guess. I know him as a rather troublesome undercover detective. The evidence suggests that he and your detective whatever-he’s-calling-himself must have worked on the same side at some point… and clearly Jim didn’t think that whatever your detective got out of it was well-deserved. That could mean two things…”
“What?”
Joe tipped his head from side to side. “Either he’s very good at his job indeed, which makes his presence here a cause for alarm - especially as I know he’s not working for anyone I’m close to. Or alternatively, he’s been playing both sides all along and reaping the benefits - which means your friend’s marriage might not have as much life in it as hoped.”
“This can’t be happening. Tiff’s pregnant for goodness sake!”
Joe’s expression turned grave. “That’s not good at all.”
“State the obvious! I know he’s got money. He told Tiff it was from his family, but I don’t know…” I looked around the room and realised that, for the most part, the guests consisted of locals and Tiff’s family. There were a few people who’d been introduced as Alex’s aunts, uncles, and cousins… but who’s to say that’s who they really were?
“You’d better keep an eye on him. He may not be working for them, but you can guarantee he’s working for someone.”
“No chance he’s taken early retirement?” I asked dryly, but I already knew the answer. Detective Gregory had looked far too comfortable with his British Intelligence issued gun.
“I should go,” Joe said, looking beyond me.
I turned around right before Tiff arrived.
“What was he doing here?” she asked, looking peeved.
“Gatecrashing. I don’t think he could pass up the opportunity to be dramatic. I told him to sling his hook.”
“Good,” Tiff said with a sunny smile. “Nothing is going to ruin today. I’m just so happy!” Worry creased her brow for just a second. “He wasn’t here to cause trouble, was he? Is there anything wrong that I should know about?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Everything is fine,” I said to my best friend, telling her the biggest lie I had ever told her. The knowledge of what Joe Harvey had confided weighed heavily on my heart, but I couldn’t tell Tiff. I couldn’t ruin her life.
And that made me just as much of a cowardly liar as her new husband.
“I can’t believe that there’s only a month to go before it will be your turn,” Tiff said, oblivious to my discomfort. “We’re both going to live happily ever after!”
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Books in the Series
Penguins and Mortal Peril
The Silence of the Snakes
Murder is a Monkey’s Game
Lions and the Living Dead
The Peacock’s Poison
A Memory for Murder
Whales and a Watery Grave
Chameleons and a Corpse
Foxes and Fatal Attraction
Monday’
s Murderer
Prequel: Parrots and Payback
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Ruby Loren
Also by Ruby Loren
HOLLY WINTER MYSTERIES
Snowed in with Death
A Fatal Frost
Murder Beneath the Mistletoe
Winter’s Last Victim
EMILY HAVERSSON OLD HOUSE MYSTERIES
The Lavender of Larch Hall
The Leaves of Llewellyn Keep
The Snow of Severly Castle
The Frost of Friston Manor
The Heart of Heathley House
HAYLEY ARGENT HORSE MYSTERIES
The Swallow’s Storm
The Starling’s Summer
The Falcon’s Frost
The Waxwing’s Winter
JANUARY CHEVALIER SUPERNATURAL MYSTERIES
Death’s Dark Horse
Death’s Hexed Hobnobs
Death’s Endless Enchanter
Death’s Ethereal Enemy
Death’s Last Laugh
Prequel: Death’s Reckless Reaper
BLOOMING SERIES
Blooming
Abscission
Frost-Bitten
Blossoming
Flowering