by Morgana Best
At exactly seven, there was a knock on my door. I flung the door open. “Tom,” I said breathlessly, looking up at him. He smelled heavenly, all musky and citrusy. I fought the urge to place my hands on his muscled chest. Instead, I said, “Come in. I just have to get my purse.”
Tom stepped inside, and eyed Mongrel warily. “He’s out and about a lot more these days.”
I hurried into my bedroom, grabbed my purse, and came back into the living room. “Yes, anyone would think he was a normal cat.”
Tom did not look convinced.
I was pleased when Tom parked outside one of the newer restaurants in town. I hadn’t been there before, but I’d heard good reports. I was not so pleased to see Linda Forrester walking down the street. She looked Tom up and down, and then glowered at me. No doubt she thought Carl was my boyfriend, and I was seeing two men at once. That would be all over town by tomorrow.
When we walked in the door of the restaurant, I was impressed. The lighting was soft, the tea light candles in glass jars on the tables casting subtle shadows on the walls. The faint scent of vanilla permeated the air. This certainly was a restaurant for romance.
The waiter showed us to our table, which to my delight was right at the back of the room. It was in an intimate corner, and I hurried past Tom to sit with my back to the wall, affording me a good view of the room.
Tom smiled at me. My knees shook in response. I planted my feet firmly on the floor which was a little difficult, given I was wearing heels. I clutched the sides of my chair and smiled back.
Tom reached for my hand. “Narel, I’ve been so worried about you. What if the murderer thinks you can identify him?”
“I was quite safe last night, and Carl didn’t stay last night,” I pointed out. “Nothing’s happened. I really do think I’m quite safe. Nevertheless, I want to buy some pepper spray from somewhere.”
Tom let go of my hand. “Pepper spray! That’s illegal.”
“So are all other defensive weapons in Australia,” I pointed out. “Still, I would feel much safer with pepper spray. Do you have any contacts with criminal elements? I really need to buy some.”
Tom continued to look shocked. “But let’s just say that someone does attack you, and you use pepper spray on him. You’ll be arrested, too.”
I looked up to see a waiter hovering. Tom told him we needed more time, so I turned my attention to the menu. I really only liked to eat chocolate, especially after the life-saving surgeries that had nonetheless left me unable to eat too much at the one time. I only wanted dessert, but I thought it better not to point that out.
I eventually chose Thai green curry, and asked the waiter for a small portion. Tom and I sipped champagne while waiting for our meals. “It seems Bob Jones had several very unhappy customers in this town,” I told him.
“Surely there would have to be a better motive than that,” Tom said.
“That dreadful woman, Linda Forrester, told us that he was having an affair with Valerie Andrews.”
Tom looked shocked. “Valerie Andrews from that cane shop?”
I nodded. “I’ll ask Carl if he can mind the shop for me tomorrow morning and I’ll go over to her shop to ask subtle questions. Maybe I can find out something.”
Tom shook his head. “I don’t like it, Narel. What if she’s the killer? If you ask questions, maybe she’ll think you can identify her.”
“No, I was thinking that her husband, Daryl, was the murderer,” I told him. “Perhaps he found out that his wife and Bob were having an affair and decided to get rid of Bob in a fit of jealousy. Besides, he lives on a farm so he would have plenty of redback spiders around, not to mention organophosphate poisons.”
Tom sipped his champagne before answering. “That’s true, but most people in the country have plenty of redback spiders and organophosphate poisons. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t.”
“Oh Tom,” I said sadly, “I think the police really do suspect Carl. I can’t let Carl go to jail for something he didn’t do. They searched his place, so he must be high on their suspects list.”
“You know I’ll help you, Narel.” Tom leant forward and lightly stroked my wrist, the wrist that was holding my champagne glass. I gave a little jump and nearly spilt my champagne. Tom took his hand away, much to my dismay.
“Sorry, sorry,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to scare you away. I’m just not used to men touching me.” I was shocked as soon as the words were out of my mouth. What a foolish thing to say! I really wasn’t good with men. My ears burnt hot and the heat crept up my neck and face.
To my relief, Tom simply chuckled. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear you don’t make a habit of letting random men touch you, because I’m the jealous type.”
My heart leapt. I spent the rest of the dinner in a euphoric state. An onlooker would no doubt think that I spent the whole time smiling inanely at Tom, and they probably wouldn’t be wrong.
I did not want the night to end. As we walked outside the restaurant, I shivered involuntarily when the night air hit me. It didn’t matter how hot it got in this part of the world in summer; it was always cold at night. Tom whipped off his coat and wrapped it around me. I smiled when his knuckles brushed my shoulders. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. This was like something that happened in the movies, and it was happening to me. I could hardly believe my luck.
I continued in my blissful state until Tom pulled his car into my street. We were several houses away from mine when I gripped Tom’s arm. “Tom, I left the lights on.” The house was dark.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I left the living room light on and the kitchen light on. And there can’t be a blackout, because some of the neighbours’ houses have lights on, and the street lights are on too.”
Tom came to a stop in my driveway. “Narel, give me your keys, and I’ll have a look around.”
I gripped his arm. “No, let’s call the police. I can’t let you go in there.”
Just then, I saw a glimpse of torchlight inside my house. “Did you see that?”
Tom nodded, a solemn look on his face. “I’m calling the police.”
Chapter 11
The police ordered us to stay in Tom’s car while they searched my house. I was surprised to see Detective Thompson and Detective Palmer accompanying the uniformed officers.
I thought of calling Carl, but I decided to wait until I had some actual news to give him. Besides, I didn’t want to worry him unnecessarily. “Do you think Mongrel is all right?” I asked Tom.
“Of course he is,” Tom said. “Don’t worry about that, Narel. That cat can take care of himself.” He shuddered.
Finally, Detective Thompson came out to the car and beckoned us inside. “Mr Fletcher, please remain in the living room. Ms Myers, would you please check the house to see if anything has been stolen?”
The first thing I did was check that Mongrel was okay. He was fast asleep in his cat carrier basket. Clearly, he didn’t think that the intruder and all the police were important enough to rouse him from his sleep. I went straight to my bedroom and looked in the drawer where I kept my jewellery. Nothing appeared to be missing.
I turned around, and almost ran into Detective Palmer. “All my jewellery appears to be here,” I said. “The TV is here, and so is my Blu-ray player. My iPad is right on my bed where I left it. My laptop looks untouched.”
I expected him to ask me if we were sure we had seen someone in the house, but he did not. “Please come with me to the kitchen,” he said. On my way, I noticed muddy footprints on the floor. I pointed those out to Detective Palmer, and he nodded. “Clearly the intruder came through the parkland to the back of your house, and that’s why you didn’t see whoever it was leaving.”
“How did they get in?” I asked him.
“They forced a back window open,” he said. “I suggest you call your insurance company as soon as we’re finished here. Now I don’t want to alarm you, Ms Myers, but I
’ll ask you not to eat or drink anything. I simply want you to look around your kitchen and see if anything looks different. Please don’t touch anything.”
“How can I look in my fridge if I don’t touch it?” I asked him.
He handed me a pair of disposable gloves by way of response. “Please make minimal contact with the fridge door.”
I nodded, and cast an anxious look back at Tom. He was standing up, fidgeting, a worried expression on his face. I looked around the kitchen. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. I looked at my coffee machine and then did a double take. “The water at the back of my coffee machine is full,” I told him.
He raised one eyebrow. “And that’s unusual?”
I shook my head. “I usually keep it full, but I was going to clean the water holder before I used it in the morning.” I opened the dishwasher with my gloved hand and pointed inside. “See? The front part of the machine is in the dishwasher. There is no way I left it that full.”
Detective Palmer nodded to a uniformed officer who came over and poured some of the water into a little bottle. He sealed the bottle and dropped it into a plastic bag. A wave of dizziness hit me. Had someone broken into my house to poison me? Still, there was no time to fall apart—I had to look for anything else out of place. I gingerly opened the fridge and looked inside. “Those chocolates aren’t in the right order,” I said at once.
Palmer frowned. “How can you be sure?” he asked me.
“I always have them in order, the peppermint crème ones followed by the cherry amaretto ones, then the crème brulee ones followed by the Coeur a la Creme ones and the red velvet ones. Some cherry amarettos and peppermint crèmes have been switched around. And I didn’t do it,” I said firmly, because I knew that would be his next question.
He gestured to the same uniformed officer, who carefully took the chocolates out of the fridge and placed them on the kitchen bench. “Now which ones are in the wrong order?” Palmer asked me.
I pointed to them, and the officer put those in one plastic bag and then all the other chocolates in another.
Palmer nodded at me, which I took to be a signal to continue. I did so, wondering if every substance in my house had been poisoned. Surely I’d have to throw everything away because I would not be game to touch it. What if my coffee capsules had been poisoned? My flour? My sugar? My hot chocolate powder? I stopped looking around the kitchen and sat down hard on the closest kitchen chair.
“Does anything else look out of order?” Palmer asked me.
I shrugged. “I can’t be certain. I’m only sure about the water in the coffee machine and the chocolates in the fridge.”
Palmer sat opposite me. “We’ll have these tested at once, Ms Myers. I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but organophosphate poisons can be detected immediately. There is a kit in town that can test them instantly. If the results come back positive, then I’m afraid to say that you’ll have to throw out all your food and drink. Anything edible must be discarded. It won’t be safe to touch any of it.”
I blinked back the tears. Palmer was still talking. “I’ll call you later tonight with the results, but for now, given that there was an intruder in your house tonight who possibly poisoned your food, I suggest you stay with someone else tonight. Is there anyone you can stay with?”
I pulled out my phone. “I’ll call Carl.”
A strong hand clamped down on my shoulder. “She’ll stay with me,” Tom said firmly.
I smiled to myself, in spite of my dire circumstances.
Detective Palmer took me to show me the window. It wasn’t broken, as I had first thought, but it had been pried open. It was an old sash window and the sashes had broken. While I called my insurance company, Tom went out to my garden shed to get a hammer and nails. He nailed the window shut to make it secure so no one else could break in. Of course, an intruder could have easily pried open another window, or smashed another window for that matter. Still, that was no reason to leave an intruder easy access.
Tom put a protective arm around my shoulder. “Can I take Narel home with me now, Detective?”
Tingles ran through me at his words and his touch.
“Sure. Ms Myers, we’ll have those results tonight. Would you like us to call you tonight? It might be quite late. We could call you first thing in the morning, whichever you prefer.”
“Please call me tonight,” I said. “I won’t have any sleep until I know one way or another.”
“Do you think the murderer thinks Narel can identify him?” Tom asked the detective.
He frowned for a moment before answering. “One would assume so, but then the perpetrator would surely assume that Ms Myers has already given us a description. Still, the perpetrator might not want to have Ms Myers as a court witness.”
I trembled, and Tom’s arm tightened.
I never thought I would be so glad to leave my house as I was that night. As Tom drove away, I realised that I had never been to his house. In fact, I didn’t even know the address. I thought that strange, given that he had been to my house several times. I was more intrigued when Tom headed for the more expensive area in town. Houses out this way were big and new and sat on a few acres of land.
Tom turned off the road through open gates and down a long driveway flanked by old elms. He stopped the car in front of a modern house that from my angle at least, looked as if it was sprawling. “I always liked houses with character,” Tom said, “but since I suffered asthma badly as a child, and since I don’t have time to renovate, I bought this new house.”
“It’s lovely,” I said. “I used to think I wanted a house with character, too, but renovating just one bathroom has put me off renovating forever. You know those renovation shows on TV, like Love It or List It and those other ones?”
Tom nodded.
“That was what my bathroom renovation was like, finding one problem after another. First of all Bob found the walls were made of asbestos, and then he found there was no waterproofing. He also discovered that the wood under the floor was rotten, and the list goes on,” I said. “Give me a new house any day.”
When we reached Tom’s door, he put Mongrel’s cat carrier basket on the ground and gestured to me. “Just wait out here until I turn off the alarm. It’s very sensitive.”
I did as I was told. Within moments, Tom opened the door, picked up the carrier basket, and invited me in. I did my best not to stare. The house was impressive—polished concrete floors that seemed to stretch forever. The massive kitchen was over to one side of the vast living room. It had dark splashbacks that were almost mirrored, and masses of granite bench top. The whole place screamed expense. I hadn’t realised there was so much money in real estate in a small country town.
Tom appeared to know what I was thinking. “I’ve made some wise investments,” he said.
I nodded. That must be it. As a real estate agent, he probably invested in property. Tom was still speaking. “Have you ever heard of auto console blocks?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t want to bore you, but they’re actually already subdivided and just have to be taken off the parent title. Most people don’t know that auto console blocks are already subdivided. They can be bought very cheaply, and it doesn’t cost too much to have them taken off the parent title, and then they can be sold separately. You only find auto console blocks on very old village plans, so I was delighted to find out that this town had plenty of them. I bought up a good many.”
“You’re clever,” I said in admiration.
Tom chuckled. “Let’s see how Mongrel goes once he’s released, then I’ll show you to your room. I’ll pop back to the car and get the rest of your stuff. You must be exhausted.”
I was not, in fact, exhausted. I wanted to stay up and talk to Tom for hours, but it seemed he expected I would go straight to sleep.
When Tom left the room, I checked around for any rope, but luckily there wasn’t any. I carefully opened Mongrel’s carrier basket door
, wondering what he would do. I didn’t have to wait long.
Mongrel shot out of the basket like a rocket. He sprinted around the room once at top speed and then came to an abrupt halt. He looked around once more and jumped up onto a two seater sofa, and then stretched out, purring loudly. So much for me being worried about Mongrel facing new situations.
“Seems like we made it back just in time,” Tom said when he returned with my suitcase. “I just heard loud thunder.”
I shook my head. “That’s just Mongrel purring.” I pointed to the sofa. Mongrel was now happily licking one paw.
Tom laughed. “He’s made himself right at home. How about I put his litter tray in the powder room?” He gestured off to the left.
“That would be good. Tom, thanks so much for having us.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Tom smiled at me warmly, and it was all I could do not to throw my arms around his neck.
When Tom showed me to the spare room, I gasped. My own spare room at home was tiny and cramped, with not even room for a double bed. If I didn’t have space for anything, I put it in the spare room. It was basically a storage room with a single bed in it, and I hadn’t even done anything to it. I had painted it ready for sale, but that was about it. It had taken me more time to move everything away from the walls than it actually had to paint it.
In contrast, Tom’s spare bedroom looked as if it was taken straight out of the pages of a magazine. The king-sized bed did not dominate the room. There was a large walk-through wardrobe leading into a magnificent bathroom complete with a huge rainforest shower.
Tom opened the sliding doors and flicked on a light switch. “These doors lead to a walled garden, and these screen doors are security. No one would be able to get through them, but given the circumstances, I suggest you keep them shut tonight.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
“I have good security around the whole place,” Tom said. “Call me paranoid. I know most people don’t even lock their doors in this town, but I lived in Sydney for so long that it’s made me quite security conscious.”