We stood to leave and I followed Danny to the door. I looked around the restaurant as we passed and noticed the crowd had thinned out quite a bit. I guess as it was now just after nine pm, the mums and dads would have taken the kids home to bed. I smiled and was just about to walk through the door behind Danny when I stopped. My heart skipped a beat and I felt the air being sucked out of me as I looked into the far corner of the room and saw Riley. Sitting with a very beautiful looking Allison, her hand rubbing his forearm affectionately. He had his back to me so I couldn’t see his face but it was definitely him. There was no mistaking it, especially when I heard his deep throaty laugh drift towards me across the room. Time stood still for a moment until I felt Danny grab my arm and drag me into the night air.
“Come on girl, hurry up. People are trying to get past you.”
I snapped to and looked at Danny, my throat closing as I did. Riley had told me he had a meeting with a new client tonight, so what was he doing here with Allison?
“What’s wrong?” asked Danny “You look sick. You’re not going to throw up, are you?”
I shook my head, sat on the low wall running along the edge of the garden bed, and sunk my head between my knees. I sucked in air and tried to control the adrenalin rush that caused my hands to shake and my knees to wobble. Danny sat next to me.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Danny, placing his arm around my shoulders. He may seem abrupt and uncaring but Danny was actually one of the most caring men I knew.
“It was Riley. He was in there with Allison.”
“His ex-girlfriend Allison?”
I nodded.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded again. Danny hugged me a little bit tighter and placed his head against mine.
“Maybe she’s the new client he was seeing?” I hadn’t thought of that.
“Do you think she could be?” I asked, lifting my head.
“I don’t see why not. Riley’s never lied to you before.”
“But why didn’t he tell me that’s who he was meeting?” I asked quietly.
“Don’t know. Maybe he was afraid of your response.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you want to go and talk to him?”
“No.” From what I had seen they looked like the perfect happy couple. That was not something I wanted to see again. “I want to go home. I’ll ask him about it later.” Maybe.
“I can go in there and pretend to have run into him. Get a vibe on what’s really happening,” offered Danny.
I shook my head again. “I’m okay. It’s probably nothing. I’m sure you’re right anyway. She might be the new client.”
“Alright, but I’m staying with you until he gets home.”
“Thanks, I’d like that.” At times Danny could be the best brother a girl could ever ask for.
Chapter Ten
It was late when Riley walked in the door. So late in fact that I had sent Danny home telling him I would be fine and I would call him if I needed him. I’d had a hot shower and put myself to bed. I’d closed my eyes and willed sleep to arrive and take away the picture of Riley and Allison together. My mind however, had other ideas.
Instead of sleep, it decided it was far better to play little scenes of the two of them together and what they could be up to. Like right now, I pictured Allison’s long fingers running through his hair as she kissed him goodnight and I heard his blissful sigh as he snuggled into her neck, holding her tight. My mind wandered further down that path but I abruptly stopped it before it got too far. I already had to cope with the fact that Riley and Allison had actually been doing that at some point in history and that was torturous enough. I didn’t need to actually see it in my own mind.
I gave up on sleep and wandered to the kitchen hoping a hot cup of cocoa would help relax me. I had just poured the milk into the cup when Riley unlocked the door and walked in. He looked happy and relaxed.
“Oh hey, I didn’t expect you to still be awake,” he said, moving to me and kissing me on the cheek. I discreetly sniffed at him, looking for the smell of perfume.
“Couldn’t sleep.” I smiled. “You’re late,” I commented, a knot forming in my stomach.
“Yeah, sorry, I caught up with some old friends of my dad’s. They were chatty and I had a lot of trouble getting away.”
“Oh, really? Is he the new client?” I looked up into Riley’s face.
“No, I met the new client earlier. I was just leaving when I saw Richard and his wife, Debbie. They’ve been travelling a lot, and before I could stop him he’d pulled out his phone and was showing me all the photos he’d taken.” Riley grinned.
“How did the meeting with the new client go?” I asked.
Riley turned his back to me and put his phone on the table along with his car keys. “It was okay. She wanted a quote for some renovations on a new house she’s buying.”
“Oh, are you going to do the job?”
“Maybe...I have to go and have a look at it tomorrow morning. She’s just about to sign the purchase contract, but wanted an expert opinion before she did.”
“Who was she?” I asked. He certainly didn’t seem to be volunteering the information.
“No one important,” he said, kissing my cheek. “How was your night? Did I miss anything fun?”
“No. It was just Danny and myself. Molly had a date with Matt.”
“Where was Andrew?”
“At home, babysitting his mother.”
“How was Danny though? What did you do?”
“We went out actually. We had a drink at the Grinning Dog.” I watched Riley carefully to gauge his reaction.
“Really? I was at the Grinning Dog. I didn’t see you there.” Riley’s answer threw me a little bit. If he’d been up to anything with Allison surely he wouldn’t have said that? Should I tell him that I saw him? I felt my breath get shallow and come out in short sharp spurts as I debated what to do.
“Are you okay?” asked Riley. “You look a bit pale.”
I stood and looked into his gorgeous blue eyes, the sound of his breathing calming me, and the delicious smell of Riley filling my senses, and before I could stop them, tears filled my lashes. Riley took my face in his hands.
“Lizzie, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I saw you,” I whispered, the tears escaping and running down my cheeks. “I saw you with Allison.” Riley sighed and pulled me in close. I could hear his heart beat through his shirt.
“There was nothing to see,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “She’s just a client.”
“I know I’m being stupid, but I think she’s still in love with you.”
Riley stepped away from me, shocked. “Lizzie, she is not still in love with me. What I had with her was a long time ago, and I assure you there is nothing between us anymore.”
“Then why has she asked you to do this job?”
“Because she wants the opinion of someone she trusts. Not someone who will tell her the house needs a million things it doesn’t really need.”
“Then recommend her to someone else.” I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. A moment ago I was overwhelmed with fear, now I was pissed off.
“Lizzie, I don’t say very much to you because I don’t want you to worry, but I need the work. I’ve spent so much time working on your house lately I haven’t been putting out any quotes. When your house is finished I won’t have anything to go to.”
“Well, let me pay you for what you’ve done.” My voice was getting louder as my agitation grew.
“You’re not paying me! We said we’d work out money once the house is sold and we will, but I don’t know how long that will be. It could take months for it to sell and in that time, I need income.”
“I know that, but why does it have to be with her?”
“You have to trust me. There is nothing other than a working relationship between Allison and I.”
Riley moved to me and put his arms around me. His
warmth filled me and as he lowered his head and looked directly into my eyes. I was a goner. He’d won. And as he put his hands around the back of my head and pulled me close, he kissed me deeply proving to me I was the only woman he was thinking of, and I thought that right now, Allison didn’t matter. Right now, he was mine.
* * * *
The next morning Riley did however keep his appointment to meet her. I tried to calm my anxiety by cleaning his house, but an hour later I gave up. It wasn’t dirty anyway. I found a magazine and flipped through it, looking for some gardening inspiration. I’m not much of a gardener, but I knew that once the kitchen in my house was finished, the garden would have to be done. I mean, I could hardly sell a house with a gaping big hole in the backyard. Then again, maybe I could. My house had far more attention since that hole had been there than ever before. I thought about Bradley’s tours and remembered what he’d said about his video diary. I swapped the magazine for my laptop and did a quick Google search. I typed in skeleton in May Street Westport and hit enter. Within three quarters of a second, I had three point two million results. Thankfully not all of them were mine.
The first one I stopped at was the news report that Matt had filmed the day we found the bones. Next was Bradley’s diary. I watched a few entries, but didn’t find anything new. My mind wandered to why the Japanese tourists were interested. I switched on the internet and did the same search. I instantly found my answer. Some smart comedian had put up a video, complete with little jingle, of a dancing skeleton standing out the front of my house doing his thing. So far it had had just over two hundred and fifty thousand views. Actually watching it, it was quite funny. I almost wished I’d seen it being videoed.
I gave up on the internet search and put my laptop down. I knew what I had to do if I wanted to find out who the missing person in 1949 was. I had to phone Officer Ed Helms. I went looking for my phone and found his card in my handbag. Dialing his number, I held my breath.
“Hello,” answered his deep voice.
“Oh hi. Is that Officer Helms?” I asked, uncertainly.
“Yes. Who’s calling?”
“It’s Lizzie. Lizzie Fuller. I’m not sure if you remember me, but you’ve been investigating the skeleton dug up in my garden in May Street,” I added.
“Hi Lizzie, of course I remember you. How could I forget?” I heard the warmth and humor in his voice. “Is this a social call or is something wrong?”
“Oh um...neither really. I was hoping to ask you some questions about the bones though.”
“Of course.” I heard the disappointment in his voice and tried not to question it. “What do you need to know?”
“I’ve heard some rumors about a man who went missing around the time of the bones being buried and was hoping you could tell me something about it.” I smiled hoping to get across through the sound that I was asking in a friendly tone.
“Yeah, I know what you’re referring too. I’ve heard that rumor too. Maybe we should meet up and compare notes. I can fill you in on any details I can, and you can tell me what you’ve heard. How does that sound?”
I was hoping he could give me the information over the phone. “Okay. When and where?”
“Well, I’m not on duty but I am at the station. Maybe we could meet somewhere close by? How about the café on the river? In about ten minutes?”
“Sure, see you soon.” I hung up the phone and had a mini panic attack, feeling guilty about doing this investigating behind Riley’s back. But then I remembered who he was with right about now and thought, bugger him.
I checked my hair was behaving, smoothed my skirt and checked that Cat was sleeping nicely on Riley’s bed. I grabbed my bag and my car keys, locked the door behind me, and made the five-minute journey to the Café on the River.
Ed Helms had made it there before me and sat at one of the tables under an umbrella overlooking the river. I had never seen him in anything but his uniform and I will say that if possible, he was even more gorgeous than before. I usually like a man in uniform, but in this case I liked the man even more out of it. His skin looked like melted chocolate against the white of his T-shirt, his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes, shading them against the glare of the sun on the water.
As I approached, he saw me and smiled, his teeth dazzling in contrast to his skin. He stood up, and I noticed his jeans slipped low on his hips and his toned biceps lifted his glasses to rest on the top of his head. I also noticed the women at the table next to him stare, their mouths hanging slightly open as they did.
He held out his hand to me as I approached.
“Lizzie! How are you?” he asked. At close to six foot three, he looked down on my five foot two. “Thanks for meeting me here.”
“Oh no, thank you for meeting me so quickly,” I said, accepting his hand. My hand was dwarfed by his as he held it and guided me to my seat. Waiting for me to sit first, he sat opposite me and smiled.
“You look beautiful. That color really suits you,” he said. I looked down at my pale yellow dress that I’d chosen to cheer my mood this morning.
“Thank you,” I said, blushing. “It’s just something I threw on.” God I sound like an idiot around good-looking men. Any minute now I’d be babbling, wishing someone would shut me up.
“I figured you for one of those women who doesn’t fuss over their appearance, but can look completely beautiful all the same.”
The heat rushed into my cheeks and burned my ears.
“Oh...ummm...thanks, but no really. I take ages in the bathroom. This does not happen easily,” I laughed, completely embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or overstep the mark. I just say it as I see it.”
“Oh no, really, it’s fine. It’s not every day I get complimented by a good-looking man.”
Shit, what did I say that for? Now he knows I think he’s good-looking. And anyway, that was a complete lie. I got complimented every day by Riley, and he was even better looking than Ed Helms.
“I haven’t ordered anything yet? Would you like a coffee or something cold to drink?”
“Actually, I’ll have my usual—a tall dark mocha Frappuccino.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” He stood and I watched his hips sway slightly as he walked.
“Oh my God!” the woman next to me said. “You lucky woman!” she continued smiling at me.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“He’s gorgeous! Geez, I wish I had a boyfriend who looked like that.”
“I wish I had a boyfriend who looked at me like that,” said her friend.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”
“Well yes, but what did you mean by the way he looked at me?”
“He looked at you like he wanted to eat you,” giggled the friend.
“Yeah, I’d be getting a room fast.”
“Oh no, it’s not like that. He’s not my boyfriend or anything. This is just business,” I explained. Why I was explaining myself to perfect strangers though had me beat.
Just then Ed walked back towards us. I heard the women sigh and turn away, but now I was uncomfortable. What did they mean by ‘he looked like he wanted to eat me’? He was just being polite. Sure, I got embarrassed by the compliment, but that was all it was, wasn’t it? And why did I have to over-think everything?
“Tom says to say hello.”
“Thank you, Officer.”
“Lizzie, I’ve asked you to call me Ed. Will you, please?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to be sorry. I’ve known you for a while now and think it would be easier if you called me by my name.”
“I guess so…Ed,” I added with a small smile.
“Now, do you want to fill me in on what you’ve heard about this missing person?”
I quickly brought him up to date with what we’d been told. He sat and listened patiently and o
nly spoke once I’d finished.
“Well, this is a really old case but I did do some digging into it. The man you’re referring to was Ronald Smithson, and he was indeed a butcher. The police at the time had him on record for a few misdemeanors but no prison time was given. He went missing on the night of August twenty-eighth, 1949. His girlfriend at the time reported him missing. She was worried because he owed her money and she thought he had run off with another woman.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, thinking of Riley and who he was with at the moment.
“Anyway, he never turned up. The file was closed as the police thought she was probably right.”
Ed stopped talking as our drinks were delivered to our table. I smiled at Tom the barista and thanked him. He gave me a quizzical look, but continued on with what he was doing.
“Anyway, the coroner has verified through dental records that the bones in your garden did indeed belong to Ronald Smithson, and he died from a stab wound to the throat. I won’t go into detail, but his death wouldn’t have been a pleasant one.”
I shivered at the thought of being stabbed in the throat and wondered what he’d done to deserve it.
“Was there anything in the records about someone disliking him intensely?” I asked.
Ed smiled. “No. Nothing concrete anyway. He’d been arrested and spent the night in lock-up for being involved in a few pub brawls, and the police at the time suspected him of chopping off people’s appendages.” I shivered.
“So what happens now?”
“It’s out of my hands. The coroner has given his report, and the case has been referred up the chain, but because of the age of it, they won’t waste too many man hours on it.”
“So someone got away with murder?”
“It happens. Our rate of arrest is much higher today, but that’s got a lot to do with technology and improved methods. We’re talking sixty-five years ago and this town was a lot smaller then.”
That was true, this town was a lot smaller then, so maybe someone from back then would remember Ronald Smithson. I made a note to ask Grandma Mabel about it.
The Westport Mysteries Boxed Set Page 37