Thriller : The Killer - Slipped on a kiss: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Crime Thriller, Murder) (ADDITIONAL BOOK INCLUDED ) (Suspense Thriller Mystery, Serial Killer, crime)
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Mystery:
The Killer:
Slipped on a kiss
Matt Troy
6
Copyright © 2016 Matt Troy
All rights reserved.
Table Of Content
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter3
Free Book
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Copyright 2016
All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Summary
We broke off our conversation then as two huge grilled sandwiches showed up at our table and I fell upon the food. While I shovelled the sandwiches into my mouth with rapid efficiency, Kate stared into the distance, no doubt ruminating further on the identity of the killer. Focusing back on me once my pace began to slow to something closer to acceptable table etiquette, Kate tugged thoughtfully on one of her long blonde braids. "You're going to have to help me out here, Blake. I'm still drawing a blank. We began by working on the assumption that William's killer would be someone close to him, but your theory could be used to point the finger of suspicion on just about anyone. We only have a limited knowledge of the people not directly connected to William, and even less idea about motives." I took a swig of coffee to wash down the last of my sandwich and shook my head as I swallowed.
Slipped on a Kiss
Chapter 1
Proving conclusively that there is a feminine conspiracy to take over the world and generally humiliate all men, Naomi sighed and shook her head. "You may not want to face up to how much you've been hurt, Blake, but it doesn't make you any less of a man. Bottling up those emotions can cloud your judgement and make you do things that you normally would recognise as being … inadvisable."
It was my turn to narrow my eyes as I wondered exactly what had been said to Naomi. Either way, if this conversation was taking the direction I think it was, Naomi would do better to just shut up and leave right now. "I'm not aware of having done any such thing," I stated flatly. "And while, as I previously mentioned, I'm touched to find others showing concern for me, I do not appreciate people trying to dictate my actions."
Naomi smiled again. "There's no need to be so defensive, Blake. I'm only making sure that you don't do anything you regret. Having just come out of such an intense and serious relationship no matter how you may choose to deny its importance to yourself it seems only natural to be more sensitive to the possible attentions of others that you may attract. And you probably will get a lot of attention; after all, you're a very good-looking young man. And more importantly, you're also an intelligent young man who deserves someone worthy of you."
I took another sip of my coffee, but my expression refused to change from its cold look of indifference. "Regardless of how intelligent you think I am, I still have no idea what you're referring to. Perhaps it would be best for you to simply get straight to the point."
Naomi rose up from the stool and crossed the kitchen floor to stand beside me. Looking at me with sympathy, she reached out to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Your friends are people who will always be there for you. Someone like Callum may seem interesting and like the ideal way to get over this guy you lost, but a rebound crush is only going to hurt you in the long run. Surely it's better to wait and find someone who actually deserves you?"
I frowned, wondering just why everybody had to be so set against Callum when from what I could see the guy had done barely anything to merit this level of animosity. And why did everyone think I had to fancy the bloody bloke just because I was willing to treat him as more than a one-dimensional character in a throwaway piece of pulp fiction? "I can assure you that I never have and never will view Callum as a 'rebound crush'. But I must confess concern to hear you talking about your future brother in law in this fashion." If Naomi knew me at all, she wouldn't just be backing off by now but running for the exit at full pelt. When I get excessively polite, it's a sure sign I'm going to erupt very soon.
Proving that she was either just as stupid as I thought she was when she'd been nothing more than a collection of badly written prose, or maybe thinking I had to be, Naomi removed her hand from my shoulder to clutch defensively at her chest. "Oh Blake, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was just trying to help you. Stop you from making the same mistake you made back home."
"My friendship with Callum isn't a mistake," I informed her in tones that left no room for argument. "And if you had taken so much as five minutes to look beyond the image he projects, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Callum is intelligent, witty and fun to be around and if you can't see that in him, you're the one who doesn't deserve his friendship."
A brief frown passed across Naomi's face; so fast in fact that I almost thought I'd imagined it. Regardless, she took another step away from me and ran her hands through her hair, smoothing the ringlets and generally composing herself. "I appear to have offended you somehow. My apologies."
I nodded curtly to Naomi and pointedly looked away from her. My eyes raked across the room and I froze when I saw Callum standing in the doorway. Had he heard our conversation? I hoped not, I had no idea how he would feel hearing what his so-called family thought about him. Naomi turned and from her intake of breath I guessed she hadn't been aware of him either. At least it got her out of the room in a hurry, Naomi all but ran away from the kitchen.
I smiled shakily across at Callum, trying my best to pretend that we hadn't been talking about him. Then I noticed he still wore the wet clothes from early. Glad to have a reason not to mention what had just happened, I nodded towards him with a slight frown. "I thought you were going to have a shower? Forget to take your clothes off first?"
"Forgot my coffee," Callum explained, as he retrieved the mug in question. "I'll be back down in a minute."
I watched him leave and then sank down to sit on the floor as I rested my head against a cupboard door. He knew. He had to have heard the majority of what we'd been saying. It was so clear from his attitude. Gritting my teeth, I banged my head against the wood before letting it drop onto my knees. Jesus. What must it be like to live in a family where they thought so little of you? No wonder the guy came across as anti-social.
And that was another strange thing. In a normal family wouldn't the other members be pleased to put it mildly if the sullen, brooding teen suddenly started acting like a real human being and showing signs of friendship? It was clear no one had an objection to me as a bad influence, so why get so pissy? I was reminded of the odd tone in both Callum and Ree's voices when they spoke of Naomi and William. There was something going on here that I didn't know about and couldn't help but think I should. After all it could be the key to the whole would-be murder plot.
Then my brain actually got its arse in gear and began to work for the first time in ages. We'd all initially thought Callum would be the most obvious choice as the murderer, but what about the second most likely choice? Who would be the next person on your mental list of suspects if you were simply reading this novel on a beach somewhere instead of living smack ban
g in the middle of it? I'd let the shock of finding myself in the midst of events blind me to what was just as common a cliché as the delinquent son … the gold-digging fiancée.
I mean, sure Willian was rich and loaded and seemed more than a bit dopey, but what did we know about Naomi's background. Fuck all apart from she was English. And that didn't automatically make her next in line from the throne. Her accent was decidedly normal so scratch any of that upper-class well-bred crap. There was no reason to suspect Naomi had so much as a penny to her name.
And being the main character of the book, what a perfect twist to the narrative. She wouldn't need to solve the murder, but rather find someone to frame for the crime she had committed. Add one aforementioned delinquent son to the mix and bingo! Disposable trashy novel that's short enough for a group of bored English Lit students to choose as an easy option for their book assignment. No wonder she was so against my befriending of Callum – I was threatening her plans by providing Callum with a potential alibi for whenever she finally did the dirty deed.
Now all I had to do was find some proof for my theories. I narrowed my eyes as I thoughtfully stared into space. I guess background checks would be the most obvious thing, but that would all be information that was stored in England and seeing as I was currently in America, it wouldn't be that easy to get hold of. Unless there was some internet option or something. Perhaps I could just hit Google and see what came up for 'databases for gold-digging British bimbos' …
At any rate, Naomi had a pair of watchers on her for the moment and William at least wasn't going to be left alone for any real period of time with Matt and Keiran on guard duty. I had time to hone my theories and find some evidence.
Footsteps entering the kitchen made me warily look up again to see if someone else were going to try and tell me who I could and could not be friends with. Luckily instead of my fears, it turned out to be Callum, dressed in his usual black, but with a blood red shirt thrown over the close fitting black top. He put his empty coffee mug in the sink and glanced out the window as he did so, before turning to me. "It looks like it should stay dry. Want a ride?"
I blinked. I hadn't just heard that. No way. "Eh?"
That smirks again. Actually, it was sort of becoming endearing. "Would you like to come with me for a ride on my motorbike? Some fresh air would probably do your hangover good anyway."
Oh. "Sounds good," I answered. And it really did. Apart from anything else, I wanted to get Callum away from this house and these people who were so prejudiced against him.
Okay, so a little confession. As much as I drool over motorbikes, I've never actually been on one. None of my close friends have either the money or inclination to buy one and with the British weather I can kind of see their point; lashing rain and a bike don't mix especially well. The one guy I did know who owned one managed to wreck the bloody machine before I got a go. It had been about 11 in the evening, and the pub we'd all met up in was closing for the evening. While discussing whether we wanted to head on to somewhere else and whether we had enough money, Crispy informed us that he could perform wheelies on his motorbike. And tried to demonstrate. While said bike was facing the pub wall. He ended up with a cracked kneecap, but the bike wasn't so lucky. And thus ended my brief chance of riding on a motorbike.
So it was pretty fair to say that I was loving every minute as Callum and I sped along deserted roads that took us away from the suburbs and into forested country-side. I sat close behind Callum, my arms wrapped around his waist for balance and trying not to fall off. Despite the somewhat precarious feeling I had, it was fantastic. The wind whipped the lower half of Callum's hair out behind him like a pennant from where it emerged under the helmet's protective casing. The strands occasionally brushed against my exposed throat and were surprisingly soft. Apparently the guy conditioned his hair.
We pulled off the road a short while later by a stretch that took us near a lake. We walked down to collapse by the shore and stare out over the water. I sighed. It seems weird for someone who lives in London to say, but I missed the sea. Someone once told me that in the UK, you could never be more than half an hour away from the coast and it was something I'd always been aware of, if not consciously. The loud raucous seagulls helped too, they were pretty tricky to ignore and far more vicious than stupid pigeons.
I let myself fall back on the soft grass and stared lazily up at the sky. A similar thump from beside me informed me that Callum had decided to follow my lead. I don't know how long we lay there in general lazy silence, but it was relaxing and just what I needed to kick the final traces of my hangover into the 'distant memory' pile. The sun made its lazy path across the sky and the shadows gradually lengthened. Eventually I pulled myself up into a seated posture and hugged my knees into my chest. The air was starting to turn a little colder; nothing I couldn't handle but still noticeable due to the earlier warmth.
"Relaxing, isn't it?"
I turned to look at Callum and grinned. "Very. And much more comfortable than Brighton beach, bloody thing is entirely made up of shingle. In the summer it's like walking across hot coals, but once the clubs kick you out around 2, it's fantastic. Everyone goes to sit and listen to the waves."
Callum propped himself up on an elbow to watch my face. "You just sit and listen to the waves?"
"Well no," I conceded. "Normally we're mainly trying to sober up because the designated driver's stoned. Then there's the provided entertainment. You're always guaranteed to see at least one group of students skinny-dipping, and don't forget the water's pretty cold. Then you get the bonfires … I'll take you to see it, it's an amazing atmosphere." I paused. "I mean, I love London and everything, but Brighton's so laid back. It's like the main bulk of the place belongs to the alternative crowd." I began to get into my subject. "And then there's the nightlife. I have to take you to the ‘Revenge’; it has sacred status amongst everyone with a sense of humour."
Callum looked slightly distant, but he still seemed to be paying some sort of attention. "Why? What's so funny about it?"
Chapter 2
An evil smile stretched across my face and I leaned forwards slightly, relishing the chance to tell the story to someone who hadn't heard of it. "It's all to do with the owner. See he and his boyfriend opened this club in Brighton, but the boyfriend dumped the guy soon after. So he did the whole heartbroken thing for a while. But then he sat down and decided his boyfriend had to pay. The club they had opened together was one of the biggest amongst the gay scene so he decided that was going to be his target. He opened a rival club that ran his ex out of business and cemented the whole thing by naming his club 'The Revenge'. And people came from near and far to worship at the altar of supreme bitchiness."
Callum looked like he was going to laugh. "Bullshit."
"Serious!" I insisted. "It's passed into legend now, but it's true. Wait until I take you, then you'll have to believe me." I fell into silence again and shivered lightly.
Rustling informed me that Callum had also bored of the sprawled out position of earlier and decided to return to simply sitting. I shuffled nearer to him for warmth and huddled into myself. "It's getting cold," I muttered.
Callum looked at me in surprise when I moved and sighed and rose to his feet. "You're right," he agreed. "We should probably head back before your friends accuse me of kidnapping you."
I smirked at him and raised one of my eyebrows seductively as I leant backwards. "Now there's an idea," I mused. "And think of all the lovely things you could buy me with the ransom money."
"Which I would then keep when I gave you back?" Callum enquired.
I pouted and climbed to my feet, doing my best to look hurt. "Give me back?" I wailed, clutching at myself dramatically. "Why would you want to do something like that? You'll make me think you don't care! Meanie."
It was getting harder to clearly see Callum's face, but I'd bet that he rolled his eyes at my theatrics as he tossed the spare helmet at me. "One of these days I'm going to find out wha
t you're taking and steal a cut," he informed me.
The ride back was just as much fun as before, and this time I didn't have a hangover to hinder my enjoyment of it. I whooped and crowed for most of the trip, clinging to Callum in case he should suddenly decide to throw off his noisy passenger. Still I made it make to the house in one piece and on the back of the bike. Whether that said more for Callum's tolerance or my grip, I'm not sure. Either way, I treated the guy to one of my best smiles as I pulled off the helmet. "That was fantastic. Thanks."
Resting his own helmet on the seat of the bike, Callum smoothed his hair. "Glad you enjoyed it."
"You have to take me out again sometime!" I informed him, before my choice of words registered in my ears.
A low laugh made me realise that I wasn't the only one who'd noticed the phrasing of my statement. Callum stepped closer to me. "I should warn you, only the first rides free," he told me in a voice that just dripped with hidden meanings. "After that, you have to earn it."
And moving closer again, he gently rested both hands on my shoulders as he brushed his lips against my own. The kiss was over before I'd barely had time to react and I watched Callum retreat into the house in a daze, wondering why my face felt hot and my heart was beating so hard. Then I realised that somehow I'd fallen for Callum. Hard. Fuck, this was bound to complicate things.
I walked into the house feeling slightly unsettled and looking for Matt. I had to talk to someone. Someone rational who would still be sympathetic and listen with a minimum amount of sarcastic comments. Before I found Matt, however, I encountered Kate and decided not to get too picky. "Kate," I called. "Got a minute? Or should I find Matt?"
Kate paused with the large stack of books she was carrying (I decided I wasn't going to ask) and looked at me. Something in my expression was obviously traumatic or pathetic enough to pass the physical exam, for she set the books down on a nearby table and approached me with a slightly concerned expression. "Matt and Keiran are out somewhere with William and Naomi," she told me. "What is it? Is something wrong?"