by S. Y. Robins
“Well, yes, it’s not like I thought to record the whole thing before we tied them up. And it wasn’t like we could ask them to stop and do it all over again once it was over. What did you expect us to do? They had Jake tied to a chair!” Milly started off, fuming herself at how they were being treated.
“Actually officer, I did record something.” Jake croaked.
“Detective, son, we aren’t Americans here.” Detective Barnes all but growled at Jake.
“Oh, excuse me; I’ve never had to deal with the police before. Detective Barnes, I started recording before I even came onto their property.” Jake replied ever so politely.
“Let’s see it then.” The detective took the phone and started to replay the recording. They could hear Jake walking, a shout as Tony spotted him, and the arguing that soon commenced as Tony tied Jake to a chair. Judy apparently wasn’t involved in any of the killings, but she was an accessory to theft, kidnapping, and attempted murder, so she was going to have a long string of charges as well to deal with.
A shout broke out as Tony was escorted to a waiting police car to take him to the station and Milly saw the man running for the woods. A young constable quickly caught up to the man; however, and had him backed into the car in no time. The man was going to have attempted escape added to his charges now.
“Right, it’s late, why don’t you lot head home. I think we have all we need from you tonight. Mr. Davidson, Ms. Dupont, we won’t be charging you for withholding information but see that it doesn’t happen again, right?” Detective Barnes told them.
“You know where to find us,” said Callum, was all the response the detectives got.
Callum, Jake, and Milly all walked back to their end of the village, each with an arm around the other in a line, and they all went into Milly’s shop to have a mug of tea at her invitation. Edgar appeared from the back of the shop and jumped first to Milly, giving her nose a lick, a first for her, then to Jake. He did his flopping over in Jake’s arms thing, and they all laughed at the cat’s antics. Milly prepared the tea as Callum sank into a chair, his nerves finally catching up with him.
“So let me get this straight; the Hendersons were not the Hendersons? They are two different people and one of them is not here legally, and is in fact an American?” Callum asked.
“Yes, we don’t know what happened to the real Hendersons yet, but those two weren’t them. Seems Tony found the pair dead, or some such nonsense, and hatched the plot. He enticed Judy into the plan and they’ve been living over there in the Henderson’s house using the Henderson’s money. Tony was caught breaking into the Andrews’s place and killed those three to keep it all quiet, staging a satanic scene. From what I understand, the symbols were actually just the symbols he used when he was a bookie to mark who had paid, who hadn’t paid, and who he owed money to. At least everyone will get their belongings back now. Though I’m not sure about the denture cream and the loo brush, would you really want those back?” Milly mused.
“No, I think I’d just leave those if it was me. Those Tiffany lamps are going to need some repair though. The cords have been ruined.” Callum observed tiredly.
“Callum why don’t you two head home? It’s very late and you’ve both had a horrible night. Go get some rest and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to leave you on your own, Milly. I know you had some rather distressing nightmares after all of that with the Carpenters…” he trailed off not wanting to go too far.
“I’ll be fine, Callum. Jake needs you right now more than I do, even if he is asleep in his chair, poor lad.” Milly smiled over at Callum, tenderness for both Callum and Jake shaking her to the core. She was shocked at the strength of her emotions as tears and sobs started to escape of their own accord. Milly couldn’t stop it and tried to apologize but the sobs wouldn’t let her speak.
Callum came around, kneeling in front Milly to take her in his arms and try to soothe away the tears.
“Milly, my darling, hush your tears now. Shhh. It’s alright now. It is, we’re all here and safe, please stop crying or I may start!” Callum said with a sniffle, swiping at his own eyes.
“I’m so sorry Callum. I think it’s all just finally caught up to me. It’s too much too soon is all. I really am alright; I was just looking at you two and realized we could all be dead now. All of us and it hurts worse that you two could be dead. That would be a tragedy!” Milly was almost wailing at that point but tried to calm herself because she didn’t want to wake Jake.
“No, Milly, no. The world would be such an ugly place without you in it. You are such a beautiful soul it would be a shame if your flame didn’t light the world. You are so good, so wonderful. A world without you would just be an ugly place, indeed.”
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Milly said as she placed a hand against Callum’s cheek. She was looking deep into his eyes, her face moving down, his moving up, as Jake woke up and gave a startled cry.
Milly quickly turned to the boy and put her arms around him. “It’s alright, Jake, we’re here darling.” The boy shook for a moment, and then got himself together.
Jake smiled up at her, kissed her cheek, and spoke to Milly, “Thank you for coming after me, Milly. That was ever so sweet! I can never thank you enough.”
Milly let the boy go and patted his cheek, “I’d do it again too. Now take your old uncle home and get to bed. We’ll all meet back here in the morning and I’ll make us some breakfast. Try to get some rest, okay?”
The pair finally left after Milly locked the back doors and secured the alarms. She went up to her bed, truly lonely for the first time in a long time but somehow not lonely either. As she lay in her bed, the bed she’d moved against the other wall, she listened as Callum got Jake put to bed and then went to his own room. She thought she could hear a deep sigh, maybe even a sob, but she wasn’t sure. She put her hand against the wall and the emptiness in her soul went away.
Daisy and Mildred were cuddled at her feet and she had to guess Edgar was over with Jake. He wasn’t in the flat so she knew he must be there. She didn’t feel jealous this time, however, she was proud of her cat for giving the lad comfort. Thinking back over the day Milly didn’t think she’d ever get to sleep but she did.
Her dreams were filled with Callum and Jake, the pair part of her life as she aged, always there at every moment. She even dreamed of a baby but even in her sleep she knew it was impossible. Callum had Maria and it was doing her no good to moon over him. She knew it was time to move on; she’d even planned a couple of dates but had cancelled all of them before she went on them. She just couldn’t let him go. He’d never really given her any indication she was anything more than a friend but the memory of his face moving closer to hers tonight played over and over again in her dreams. When she woke the next morning she hoped the dreams were prophetic and not simply the longings of an old spinster too deluded to let go. She had the memory of his almost kiss to sustain her, maybe one day it would come true. For now she was happy with his friendship, and she knew that would be enough.
The End
IV
Cold Death
Cozy Mystery
About the Book
When Callum Davidson’s ex-girlfriend Maria is found murdered in the hills behind Wirkster village, not far from his home or Milly’s, Callum is the first suspect. When he won’t reveal an alibi Milly’s plans for Christmas with Callum are in jeopardy. She must convince him to prove his innocence, to tell the police where he was the night of the murder or he faces a lifetime in prison.
Rather than face leaving his young nephew alone in the world Callum finally sees sense and reveals he has an alibi but even that doesn’t stop the chaos that is Milly and Callum’s life now. Someone, Maria’s real murder perhaps, is stalking Milly and their plans threaten not only Milly’s life but her beloved cat Edgar. Milly must find out who the murderer is, before it’s too late and the murderer ruins not only her Christmas plans bu
t the rest of her life…
1
December
Milly Dupont laughed with glee as her two terriers Daisy and Mildred chased each other, tumbling over rocks and nipping tails. Edgar, her very black cat was still too civilized for such games, or so the disdainful flick of his tail seemed to say. Edgar carried on over the edge of the pile of rocks, investigating there. Walking in the hills was now a morning routine for Milly and her pets, despite the cold, though Milly didn’t keep them out as long when there was snow on the ground. She worried about the paws of her three friends and checked each one when they went back home. Today was clear, however, the sun shining for a change and Milly was looking forward to decorating her shop for the coming Christmas season.
Milly held her face up to the oncoming wind, her dark-brown hair flying out behind her. She’d had her curly hair straightened, and it now reached well below her shoulder blades. Over the last few months of walking with the dogs she’d lost weight, and she’d also gone from wearing rather strange long skirts and frumpy sweaters, to form-fitting jeans and tighter sweaters, but she’d kept her glasses. Contacts just made her want to pull her own eyes out so she’d kept her glasses. She hadn’t changed much, really, but she made more of an effort now and as the winter months blew in, the colour added to her cheeks from the cold had more than one single man noticing Milly for the first time.
Unlike some of the other major stores in the area surrounding Wirkster, Milly and her fellow business owners waited until the first day of December to put up any decorations. She loved this time of year; the cold air, the warm coats and fuzzy scarves, the parties and celebrations. People came together, of course, in the summer months but winter just seemed to draw people even closer together. Milly had no family of her own, but she was often invited to the homes of friends, and this year Callum and Jake were coming over to her flat for Christmas dinner.
Callum lived in the flat beside Milly’s and helped to run the corner shop below. He was also Milly’s very best friend now, and secretly, her crush. Perhaps not so secretly anymore, she pondered. She’d given him enough signals now that he should know she was interested. Especially now that he’d broken up with Maria, finally, this time swearing it was for good. Callum had broken it off with the woman a couple of months ago, soon after Callum and Milly saved his nephew Jake from a couple of lunatics that had moved to the area. Callum told Milly that he’d run out of patience with Maria’s constant disappearing acts, especially at times when he really needed his partner around, so he’d broken it off with her. Milly had privately done a little dance in her kitchen after that discovery.
Milly looked down at her watch and then called for the dogs, it was time to head home. Walking over to Edgar, still piddling around behind the rocks with only his tail visible, she planned on nudging him back in the direction of the shop but stopped when she saw the way his tail danced as he circled around something. The movements of his tail were mesmerizing, similar to a snake being charmed out of its basket. She’d only seen his tail doing that when he found something he wanted her to see. It usually ended with the police being involved and she didn’t know if she could cope with another bad experience. She’d had two in the last four months; one more might send her over the edge of sanity.
Brushing off the instant panic and the notion that she’d lose her mind, Milly braced herself and walked over to see what was hidden behind the rocks. When she came to the top of the pile and looked down she wished she’d followed her first instinct and run; there was a body down there, and she looked familiar.
Sighing heavily, she looked down at the body, stunned into doing absolutely nothing. Another body, this one was Maria, Callum’s ex. Milly watched as Edgar noticed her then moved close to Maria’s left hand, something glinted there in the sunlight as Edgar nudged it. Jumping down Milly saw that it was a ring and picked it up. She recognized that too. It was Callum’s. Releasing another heavy sigh, Milly took out her mobile and dialled the numbers that would once again turn her life upside down and involve her in an investigation. If you had any sense, she thought, you’d just turn around and walk off home, go on, do it. But Milly dismissed the notion knowing she couldn’t leave anyone up here on this hill, even if it was Maria, the local wild child and attention seeker. It looked like this was going to be the last spectacle the woman made of herself, Milly thought as she waited to be transferred to Detective Barnes, well, until her funeral anyway.
Getting back to the shop late that morning, Milly thought over what she’d learned so far. Maria had been killed by a blow to the head, and the detectives thought Callum was their man. Milly had left his ring there, knowing that Callum had given the ring to Maria at her request a few months into their relationship. Apparently the police thought the ring’s presence and the fact that they’d dated, but had broken it off, was enough to convince Detective Barnes, and her new partner, Detective Mills. Detective Barnes seemed to have taken a dislike to Callum a few months ago when she’d suspected Callum had killed his employer. It wasn’t going to be easy for him this time either. She knew he’d gone out of town last night but didn’t know if she could prove that, other than by her testimony and his nephew Jake’s that he’d not been home all night.
Milly’s jaw clenched as she watched the detectives’ car pull up outside of her shop and then as the detectives disappeared inside the corner shop. They soon came out with Callum in hand, and ushered him to the car. The tall man had a hard time ducking into the low police car but he managed to finally get settled in. He stared out the window at Milly as the detectives moved around the car, each settling into their own seat.
She watched the car drive away and thought about what she knew so far. There’d been rumours that Maria was seeing someone new but Milly hadn’t had any confirmation of that. She’d heard one of the old biddies that wandered up the hill when they saw emergency services coming up telling Detective Barnes that. It was another reason they were suspicious of Callum. Milly had to admit that she’d often read that victims of violent crimes were often assaulted by someone they knew. Callum had been away most of the night and he had a motive for killing Maria. But that motive wasn’t strong enough for him to actually kill Maria, she told herself. Callum couldn’t possibly do such a thing. Murder simply wasn’t who Callum was, not at all.
Milly was standing at her window watching the car disappear up the road as Jake came running into the shop, straight into Milly’s arm. Perhaps a bit out of character for a 15-year-old but this was a 15-year-old that had just watched as his uncle was taken away by the police, the only guardian the boy really had, as his mother was still in America, gallivanting all over the country with her new husband. Milly was also a friend, a confidant, and had helped to free him when those lunatics kidnapped him two months earlier. They had a special bond and when he ran in, Milly opened her arms wide to take the boy into her embrace.
“Why are they doing this, Milly? Uncle Callum would never hurt Maria, not like they say he did! He’d never hurt a woman!” The boy allowed anger to replace his shock and fear and swiped angrily at the tears that had escaped his eyes as he stepped away from Milly.
“I know Jake, I know. I’m going to call a solicitor now, see what they can do for our man there. Don’t you worry, you can stay with me until we can sort this out and get Callum out of that place. Come now, have a cake and a cuppa, that’ll make you feel better. Sit down here, I’ll pour you a cup.” Milly got Jake settled and made the phone calls it required to hire a solicitor.
The solicitor could make no promises but Milly had hope he might be home soon enough. That’s all she could promise Jake for now, just a little bit of hope. Jake helped her out in the shop for the rest of the day and then they watched as the rest of the shops and homeowners in town began to decorate their homes for the coming Christmas season. Milly had to wipe a tear away herself as the local council lit the village Christmas tree. That was supposed to be Callum’s job but Thomas, the corner shop’s new owner, stood in for him.
>
Milly had all of the lights off in the shop, having closed early, and she and Jake stood with an arm wrapped around each other, watching the fairy lights come on in each house. Then snow started to fall and Milly had to walk away. This had started out as such a wonderful, hope-filled day and then it went right downhill. Milly tried to hide her upset from Jake, the boy was upset enough and she wanted to be strong for him but the sight of the snow nearly broke her. She’d had dreams of Callum kissing her under the streetlights with the snow falling just like that and now he was so far out of reach she couldn’t even talk to him, much less kiss him.
Over the last few weeks she’d begun to have some hope that Callum had come to see her as more than just a friend. Little moments that may not have actually meant anything at all but meant the world to Milly. She knew what she wanted for Christmas this year and his acceptance of her offer for dinner was all the gift she’d needed. Now she didn’t know if that was going to happen or not. She’d just have to wait and see how things went. Turning off the lights she walked up the stairs with Jake, offered him a bedroom, and then they watched television until they both went to bed, their hopes dashed for the day as they knew it was far too late now for the solicitor to get Callum out of the grasp of the police tonight. Maybe tomorrow, Milly thought as she turned off her bedside lamp and cuddled with Daisy and Mildred. Edgar was with Jake in his room, the two curled into each other, sleeping soundly.
2
Milly woke the next morning and for the first time since she’d had the dogs, she didn’t take them up to the hills. Edgar wasn’t even with them this morning, still snuggled with Jake, as the dogs ran and pranced at the park. Milly made sure to clean up after them, then took them back to the shop, letting them back into her flat. She knew Jake was up when she came back but he hadn’t come downstairs so she chose some music to put in a playlist, connected her mobile to her speakers, and began the process of making tea cakes and other assorted pastries that would go in her shop.