Cloche and Dagger

by Jenn McKinlay

  All was quiet and still in the hallway. I could just see across into Viv’s old room. I wondered if I should go in there to check it out. It seemed unlikely, but how stupid would I feel if I trotted on downstairs and the person who tried to smother me came trotting down after me?

  I lifted up the phone and said, “It’s very quiet. I’m going to check Viv’s old room.”

  I swiftly lowered the phone as Harrison started to protest quite loudly. The man obviously had no sense of stealth. It took some nerve-building on my part but I finally stepped out of my room. I braced myself for someone to jump out of the darkness and attack, but nothing happened.

  I crept across the landing and eased my way into Viv’s old room. The light from below didn’t cast enough light in this room for me to see, so I quickly switched on the overhead lamp. I scanned the room. It was a generic guest bedroom now. And no, no looming bad guy lurked in the corners or under the bed or the closet.

  I turned to leave, again pausing in the door to check the landing before venturing forward. Nothing.

  I eased my way to the bathroom door. It was closed, so I gingerly pushed it open. It was empty, but I had to check the shower. It had a pale yellow curtain drawn across it, the perfect place for a would-be killer to hide before round two. I curled my fingers around the vinyl and quickly yanked it back, snapping off a few of its plastic rings with the force of my tug. Oops!

  It was empty. No one was there but still, years of horror films had me on high alert and my heart slammed down into my belly as I registered the fact that no one was there. I felt myself go limp with relief.

  I was just raising the phone back up to my ear when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder.

  Chapter 26

  “Ah!” I screamed as my body went rigid with fright. Then I spun around with my phone in my fist, determined to take my attacker down.

  “Whoa!” I heard a yell as the person I was aiming for ducked to avoid the blow.

  I went to snap kick him, but found myself snatched around the waist and dragged out the door into the landing before my foot could connect.

  My back was pinned to someone else’s front and I was wriggling and kicking and clawing for all I was worth.

  “Harrison!” I yelled, hoping my phone was still on where I had dropped it in the scuffle. “He’s got me! Hurry!”

  “Scarlett, it’s me!” a voice shouted in my ear. “Stop! Do not bite me!”

  I had grabbed his hand and was just about to sink my teeth in when I recognized the voice. I whipped my head around and we were face-to-face, with me in Harrison’s arms, dangling off the ground as he held me in the air as if it were no effort at all.

  “Are you insane?” I snapped. Now I wanted to hit him even more, so I did, a solid punch to the arm, causing him to drop me. “You could have said something, you know, instead of scaring the snot out of me.”

  “Silly me,” he said. “I was trying to be quiet in case anyone was still here.”

  “Oh,” I said. I supposed he was right, but I didn’t have to admit it.

  Of course, now I realized with a flush of embarrassment that I was standing in the dark in just my pajamas with a man I wasn’t sure I trusted. I picked up my phone and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “How did you get in?”

  “The back door was wide open,” he said.

  I frowned.

  “Someone took the lock right off of it,” he explained.

  “While I was sleeping?”

  He just looked at me without saying anything.

  “Sorry, stupid question,” I said. “I’m still trying to process.”

  “Let’s call Inspector Franks,” he said. “I think the immediate danger is over, but I’m sure he’ll want to know about what’s happened.”

  “Do you think this has something to do with Viv being missing?” I asked as I followed him down the stairs without touching the railing.

  “More likely it has something to do with Lady Ellis,” he said. He paused at the bottom of the steps and looked up at me. “They tried to kill you. Why?”

  My mouth went dry and I felt a little woozy.

  “Blunt much?” I asked. I chose to turn my upset into snippiness. It’s a self-defense mechanism. I know this and yet I can’t help it.

  “Sorry, that was rather tactless of me,” he said. “I don’t know that there’s any way I could sugarcoat what happened here though.”

  “No, I don’t suppose having someone take off an entire lock to get inside a building where they then hold a pillow over the face of the only other person in the building lends itself to a kinder or gentler description than attempted murder.”

  “You sound a wee bit hysterical,” he said.

  “Oh, I can assure you, it’s more than a wee bit,” I said.

  I followed him through the second floor to the stairs that led below to the shop. He had his phone out and was calling in the break-in, and the attempted murder, as we went. Whomever he was talking with sounded irate, as if they didn’t like having their sleep interrupted by my problem. So sorry, next time I’ll try to reschedule my suffocation to a more suitable hour. Yes, still snippy.

  I flipped on the light switch, bathing the shop in the reassuring brightness of electricity. I felt my shoulders drop down from around my ears. I scanned the room. No one was here.

  “Thank you, Inspector,” Harrison said. He leaned close to me and said, “Don’t touch anything.”

  I glared. As if I would. I’d watched CSI. I knew better than to tamper with the evidence.

  I went to one of the sitting areas and very carefully sat down on the edge of the couch. I sincerely doubted that the person who’d tried to kill me would have left any trace of evidence in the sitting area. It wasn’t like they were here to have tea, after all.

  Harrison closed his phone and joined me. I could feel him studying my face, but I was ignoring him. I was trying very hard not to feel sorry for myself and I was failing miserably.

  The whole point of coming to England and working in the shop was to take my mind off the disaster I had left behind, the rat bastard, his beautiful wife, and my oh-so-public humiliation. In that regard, mission accomplished.

  However, I did not like not knowing where my cousin was and that no one, save me, seemed overly concerned about her. I did not like finding clients murdered. And I most definitely did not like waking up to find someone trying to smother me.

  A tiny sob bubbled up in my throat. I tried to swallow it down, but it escaped and echoed in the silence of the shop.

  Harrison narrowed his eyes at me. I tried to make my face blank, but his eyes grew even narrower until they were mere green slits.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Fine,” I lied.

  A commotion at the front door brought our attention around to it. Through the glass I could see Inspectors Franks and Simms, and I was relieved to get up and let them in and escape Harrison’s all-knowing look. Sympathy at this point would just make me blubber.

  I used the edge of my shirt to open the door. I could hear Harrison moving to stand behind me. Despite our differences, it was comforting to have him at my back as I had no idea how the inspectors were going to view this situation.

  “Morning, Ms. Parker,” Inspector Franks said. He looked grave. “I’m afraid we’ll need you to come to the station with us.”

  Chapter 27

  “What?!” I cried. Harrison muttered something even less kind beneath his breath.

  “We’ll need your fingerprints to differentiate them from your assailant’s, assuming they left any behind,” he said.

  “Surely that can wait until after the sun is up,” Harrison said.

  Franks opened his mouth to answer but Simms interrupted. “It was the back door that they entered through?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll start back there,” Simms said and he disappeared into the workroom.

  “Have you checked to see if anything is missing?” Franks asked.


  “No,” I said. “I was afraid to touch anything.”

  Franks nodded his approval; then he turned and studied Harrison.

  “When did you get here?” he asked.

  There was no innuendo in his voice, but I heard the unstated speculation about the relationship between Harrison and myself. I felt my face get hot and cursed my fair skin.

  Thankfully, neither of them looked at me and I was able to wrestle my composure back unobserved.

  “Not long after Scarlett called me,” Harrison said. “Since I live over in Pembridge Mews, I got here pretty quickly. Besides, she doesn’t know anyone else, do you?”

  He looked at me for confirmation.

  “No one who is in my phone,” I said. I made a mental note to get Andre’s, Nick’s and Fee’s numbers tomorrow. Not that I would call them in case of an emergency, but it might prove less awkward than calling Harrison if another situation came up. Heaven forbid.

  “Well, there’s no sign of anything being disturbed in the back other than the lock on the door,” Inspector Simms said as he joined us. “I’m going to check the upstairs.”

  “All right,” Franks said, approving, and Simms disappeared upstairs.

  I wasn’t really sure how I felt about everyone going into my room, but I didn’t suppose I could really prevent it, given it was the place I was attacked; besides, they’d already seen it all. I realized I needed to repaint it as soon as possible.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Inspector Franks asked. His voice wasn’t unkind and I wondered fleetingly how bad I looked.

  There were plenty of mirrors around the shop, but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know. It was bad enough I was wearing my pink pajamas with the plaid bottoms and matching Hubba Bubba bubble gum top. It just screamed maturity and mental stability.

  I started with the dream that I had been stabbed. Then my slow realization that I was not dreaming, which led to kicking the person who was holding a pillow over my face away as quickly as possible. Neither Franks nor Harrison said anything, but I could see them looking at my scrawny arms, trying to see how I could have overpowered anyone.

  They wisely said nothing, however, because I’d have been happy to give a demo and burn off the last of the adrenaline that still surged through me, looking for an outlet.

  I explained that I couldn’t remember the emergency number for the police and that I hadn’t been sure it was an emergency. They both looked surprised, and I admitted I was still catching my breath. They gave me a look that said they thought I had suffered oxygen deprivation. I wanted to say, “No duh,” but I refrained.

  I then said that I called Harrison because he was the only local contact I had in my phone.

  “And here I thought I was special,” he said.

  Inspector Franks snorted and I cracked a smile.

  “That probably came out wrong,” I said.

  Harrison smiled at me in return, and I was grateful for the break in the tension.

  “Well, there’s no sign of anything being disturbed upstairs other than the bedclothes,” Inspector Simms said as he joined us.

  All three men were looking at me as if I had an explanation. Did they think I was supposed to make the bed before I called? I shrugged and they all glanced away.

  “Do you keep any money in the shop?” Franks asked me after a moment’s pause.

  “Yes, in a safe in the cupboard in the back,” I said.

  “I’d like to get it dusted first,” Inspector Franks said. “Then we’ll check the contents, but I’m going to be honest, if they were here for your money, they likely never would have gone upstairs.”

  “The crime-scene techs are here,” Simms said.

  He strode over to the door to let them in. I watched as they came in and noted they were an unusual crew made up of one older, balding gentleman with two skinny, geeky-looking assistants.

  Franks joined them and they had a brief conversation before one of the assistants went into the back room and the other assistant and the older man were led upstairs to my room. I was so not sleeping there tonight.

  Harrison and I sat in one of the small seating areas and watched. While we waited I glanced around the shop. Nothing seemed out of order. The hats sat on their stands, the accessories were all neatly in their places. I noticed Ferd the bird watching the comings and goings as if amused by the human beings scurrying around him. I glowered at his beaky head.

  Yes, on an intellectual level, I was aware that he was just a wooden carving, but he had an air about him that made me think he was more than a piece of knotty mahogany. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he actually saw things and knew what was happening.

  “Why are you glaring at the wardrobe?” Harrison asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You’re glaring at the raven,” he said. “Did it do something to offend you?”

  “Not today,” I said.

  He raised his eyebrows in question but I didn’t elaborate. I knew he had mixed feelings about me already; I didn’t see any need to fan the flames of his suspicion that I was crazy.

  “Do you suppose they’ll have a service for Lady Ellis?” I asked.

  “Undoubtedly. She was a countess and a fashion model before that,” Harrison answered. He gave me a shrewd look. “Why?”

  I glanced around the room. I wanted to make sure the inspectors and the crime-scene techs were out of earshot.

  “I can’t help thinking that it’s odd that she was wearing that hat,” I said.

  “Do you think it’s a message?” Harrison frowned. “And if so, what does it mean?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Oh, I wish Viv were here.”

  “Have you heard from her?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “But Aunt Grace got another e-mail, telling her she was fine. Very annoying.”

  Harrison blew out a breath in exasperation. I wondered if maybe he was a little tired of her shenanigans as well.

  “When do you suppose they’ll have the viewing for Lady Ellis?” I asked.

  “Eager to see her again, are you?” he asked.

  “No,” I said as a shudder rippled through me. “But I feel like I have to go, as one of the people who found her.”

  “I heard that it might be held in the beginning of the week,” Harrison said. He paused and then seemed to come to a decision. “I’ll take you if you want.”

  “Would we be allowed in?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said. His tone didn’t invite questions, but I wondered at the how. Surely a countess would merit some sort of invite-only situation.

  I glanced at Harrison, thinking I should question him, but he met my glance with one of complete self-assuredness. And then I got it. He was connected. I don’t know how or why, but obviously, he had connections that would get him into the viewing. Excellent.

  There was no way I could explain why it was important. It was a feeling, a compulsion really, that made me think that I needed to be at the wake.

  “I’ll call you with the details as soon as I have them,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  The corner of his mouth turned up in a grim smile. “It’s the least I can do. You’ve had a hell of week here, haven’t you?”

  Sympathy from Harrison Wentworth was so unexpected that I felt my eyes sting with hot tears. Afraid he’d rethink his kindness if I blubbered all over him, I glanced up at the ceiling, willing the dampness to roll back into my tear ducts while trying to look contemplative. I probably just looked stupid, but better that than pathetic.

  “It’s been a rough stretch,” I agreed. “But I expect it will turn around.”

  With my tears safely tamped back down, I glanced back at him. He was studying me as if he found me to be a particularly perplexing problem. I gave him a small smile and he glanced hastily away as if embarrassed to have been caught staring.

  “Not to squash your optimism, but I don’t really expect it to get better until they’ve caught whoev
er it was who tried to kill you,” he said.

  It was like a blast of arctic air on my skin and I shivered.

  “Do you really think they were trying to kill me?” I asked. “Maybe they just wanted me to black out so I didn’t interrupt their robbery.”

  “Ginger, look around us.” His voice was soft and kind as he called me by my old nickname. “If they were here to rob the shop, why didn’t they take anything?”

  I did not want to hear this. “Because I kicked them. Hard.”

  He sighed. “Deny, deny, deny.”

  “What?” I asked. “You want me to believe that someone broke in here to kill me? That’s mental. Who would want to kill me?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. His cheeks had gotten red and he looked irked. “Wild guess here, but maybe it was your ex-lover’s wife.”

  Chapter 28

  “Ah!” I gasped. “Why that’s just . . . it’s . . . hardly . . .”

  “Problem over here?” Inspector Franks asked as he joined us.

  I glowered at Harrison. So much for his sympathy. I might have known it wouldn’t last.

  “No, no problem,” I said.

  He glanced between us and Harrison gave him a blank stare.

  “None that I can think of,” he said.

  Franks continued to study us, obviously unconvinced.

  “We’re ready for you to check the safe now,” he said to me.

  “Fine,” I said. I rose stiffly from my seat and stomped past Harrison, desperately wanting to step on his toes as I went by. I refrained and felt quite smug and mature about it.

  I was nearing the door to the back when I paused by one of the built-in shelving units. I had been straightening it when Lady Ellis had come in that evening. It held a display of gloves, from black for funerals to pristine white for weddings. My favorite had been a pair of vintage Lilly Daché gray gloves with embroidered cuffs. I had been so intrigued by them, I had tried them on. But now, they weren’t there.

  “Ms. Parker?” Inspector Franks called me from the door. “Is everything all right?”

  “No,” I said. “You’re not going to find any fingerprints.”