by S. Y. Robins
“Now, you two are going to tell me what you know.” The woman spoke.
“We don’t know much of anything, really. We don’t even know your name.” Milly spoke first, hoping she’d keep the woman calm.
“My name is Allison. Maria and I were lovers, though I wouldn’t allow her to broadcast that. She was a lesbian did you know that? That’s why she started using drugs, in fact. She dated you Callum, hoping such a fine specimen of a man could fix her, could fix the cravings she’d had for other women since she was in school. She never admitted it to anyone, didn’t want to until she met me, but she couldn’t stand being touched by men. She started to hide her pain in the drugs but after a while she needed more and more. Her need grew out of control and it killed her.”
“What do you mean?” Callum spoke, his shock apparent. The words the woman spoke must have hurt him, as well, Milly thought. He had loved Maria, after all.
“She wasn’t murdered. We were arguing yes, but that’s because I wanted to leave this tiny little Podunk town before anyone saw us. I believe your nephew saw us one time, Callum. We were leaving town and almost hit him in Maria’s car. I didn’t want that happening again. My husband is a very possessive man, a very rich man; I can’t afford to lose him so I had to keep our affair quiet. Being here was a threat for me.”
“That night Maria was feeling especially guilty over her treatment of you, Callum. She wanted to take me to you, to apologize for what she’d done to you, but I wouldn’t let her. I gave her more heroin to shut her up about it and the greedy little cow took too much. I was trying to walk her back to her car and she fell and hit her head. It was as simple as that, we were walking then she fell and hit her head. I knew instantly she was dead but I couldn’t be seen there, I couldn’t report it. My husband was growing suspicious because we spent so much time together and I told him I’d broke my friendship off with her. He couldn’t know I’d been here so I left her there, in the cold and the snow and…” the woman broke off as tears clouded her eyes and her voice tightened. Neither Callum nor Milly interrupted her, wanting to know what she had to tell them.
“I left her there, I’m guilty of not reporting a death, but that’s all. I started this other crap, hoping you’d let it go, that the medical people would figure out it was an accident or that they’d charge you Callum. I know it’s the coward’s way out but you don’t know my husband. The man is terrifying; he’ll kill me if he ever finds any of this out.”
For a moment Callum regretted the steps he’d taken when first walking into the room but soon realized he could have lost his freedom, the life he loved, because of her selfishness so dismissed the feeling.
“You do realize she was going to die anyway, don’t you? That night?” He asked, anger apparent in his voice.
“Oh, she’d only taken a little too much, it wouldn’t have killed her! Walking it off would have fixed her right up.” The woman declared, as if she were an expert on overdoses.
“No, her organs were failing, that’s why she fell. She’d overdosed and it was a massive overdose. At least we know now she didn’t do it on purpose. Maria’s own greed killed her, her own selfish stupidity, not her depression.” He said, melancholy marring his face.
“What are you saying?” The woman asked, horror dawning on her face as she realized that all of this may have been for naught.
“They were going to rule it a suicide last week. We copied the diary and handed it over to the police the day after you snatched Edgar. They saw the depression there, the way she was spiralling out of control and changed their ruling. The examiner also said it was possible she’d fallen and hit her head because there were no defence wounds on her body. That’s why they let me go, they’d already determined that she’d likely killed herself and that the fall was an accident. You did all of this for nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Milly spoke this time, anger and hurt the emotions she spoke with. “You’ve given me weeks of hell because of your own selfishness and stupidity. If you’d simply spoken to the police, or to me even I could have told you all of this! But no, you go on a campaign to destroy me, to drive me crazy instead. How very typical of your kind.”
“My kind? Do you mean lesbians or Americans because I’ve heard it all before?” The woman said, snippy.
“Neither. I mean the selfish, self-indulgent kind that care little for how their actions impact others. That kind. The kind that starts an affair while married and slowly destroys their lover’s life, the kind that can take the lives of innocent people and throw them under the bus to save their own skin. That kind is the kind I refer to, Allison. You deserve whatever you have coming to you, dearie, that’s for certain.” Milly said as she watched the woman rise, Edgar still in her arms.
Fear made Milly’s heart clench in her throat as she watched the woman’s hands close around Edgar’s throat but then she let him go. “I suppose you’re right, Milly. Maria always did think you were smarter than the average bear, I see you are. She thought you and Callum would make a nice pair, though she was jealous of you. I never quite understood that. She didn’t really want Callum but she didn’t want you having him either. I suppose that’s more of that selfishness showing through, though, isn’t it?”
“I suppose it is, yes. What are you going to do?” Milly asked, ignoring the rest of Allison’s comments.
“I suppose I’ll go home and pack my things and hire the best lawyer I can find. My husband is a violent man but I’ve got enough hidden away now, enough on him as well, that I should be alright. That is, if the police downstairs ever let me out of jail for harassing you and whatever else I’ve done.” The woman said as she looked downstairs at the road. “Your dogs are in my car by the way. They should be fine; I’ve given them blankets to keep them warm. Well, I wish you both the best. I’m sure that’s odd coming from me, but I do. And I am sorry. If I’d only used my head for once none of this would have happened.” Allison then disappeared, meeting Detective Barnes and other police officers coming up the stairs of Milly’s flat.
The night was disturbed by the blue strobe lights of the police, and Milly and Callum spent another night answering questions they really had no answers to. By the time they left Milly’s flat it was very late and Milly only wanted to go to bed. It was over now, she could move on with her life, once again, but she was very sad at just how unnecessary the whole affair had been. All of this because of someone’s selfishness, she thought as she put her nightclothes on then went out to tell Callum goodnight.
He was sitting on the chair still, he’d not moved all night, Daisy and Mildred resting peacefully in his lap. He had a lot to come to terms with, Milly knew. She sat on the footstool in front of him and took his hand.
“I’m going to try and sleep now Callum, are you going to be alright?” She asked.
“I believe so. I’m just realizing so many things now, little clues Maria gave that she didn’t realize she’d given. And thinking of just how much time I wasted, trying to save her.”
“Oh, it was never wasted, Callum, never. If you’re trying to save someone it’s not wasted at all.”
“Yes, well,” he said. “That may be so but I meant it was time I could have spent with you.”
Milly’s breath caught in her throat at his words. Could he really be saying this?
Callum moved, pulling something from his pocket. “I was saving this, it’s your Christmas present, but I can’t wait. This is what I was buying the night Maria was killed, this is why I went out of town. I’ve known for a long time what you mean to me Milly, and I have to ask you this now. It may be an odd time, but what better time is there? You are my best friend, my favourite companion, the one person that has always stood by me, always supported me. I wasted far too much time chasing after someone I could not save, when you were right here in front of me all along, Milly. Can you forgive me and do me the honour of marrying me? Will you be my wife, for eternity, for always?” Callum opened the box as he spoke, a large emerald the same colour as her eyes sur
rounded by two white diamonds glinted in the light from the streetlamp.
Milly stared at the ring, at Callum, and back at the ring again, disbelieving. Tears filled her eyes and then she launched herself at the most incredible man she’d ever met. The smell of his scent still made her knees wobble and she loved him desperately. “Of course I will,” she said as her lips finally met his, “of course I will, you silly man.”
“Thank you,” he said, breaking off the kiss to dry her eyes and smile at her. “But I hope you don’t expect another Christmas present after this. This set me back a pretty penny.”
“I don’t care if you never buy me another gift, Callum, you’re the best gift you could ever give me. Thank you, darling.”
“Thank you, Milly. Thank you for saving me, thank you for everything.”
The End
V
Deadly Brewed
Cozy Mystery
About the Book
When Hannah opened her cafe on a busy downtown street she had high hopes that she would finally be able to fulfill a dream. That dream however gets squashed when a man is found murdered in the alley behind her cafe. The detective isn’t giving her much information and it is clear from the start he suspects her being involved.
When being a suspect starts hurting business she decides to take matters into her own hands and investigates the murder herself. Will she find who truly did it, or will she get charged with murder before she can find the real culprit?
1
Looking around her cafe Hannah couldn’t help but smile. She knew she was taking a big risk by going into debt to open the cafe of her dreams but as she stood in the middle of it, she couldn’t help but think it was worth it. The past few months had been hectic while dealing with builders, code inspectors and the health department but now that she was set to open it all seemed insignificant. Her cafe would serve small meals, drinks and bakery items mostly looking to attract the business people in the area.
The cafe was located in the center of town in the middle of a large section of high rise office buildings. She had always seen these people go out to lunch every day and knew that it was the perfect location to offer something new, something they hadn’t had before. The lunch items were designed to be served quick, mostly consisting of soups, salads and sandwiches. There were plenty of bakery items as well, which would allow her to be open for breakfast and have people stopping in for desserts. Her drinks were mostly coffees and teas, but she also had regular soda and such.
She planned to be closed for dinner, at least at first, and she had only hired one waitress by the name of Andrea. Hannah would be doing all the kitchen work while Andrea would be taking care of the customers, but eventually Hannah hoped to grow enough so she could do a lot of the baking ahead of time and then help serve customers while someone else actually prepared the food in the kitchen. She loved the interaction with people and she had always been better at what she did when not under pressure, which she would be if they got busy. The cafe was supposed to open the next day and she had just spent the morning training Andrea on everything she needed to know. The rest of the afternoon was going to be spent baking, and the next morning at six she would open for the early birds. She had been advertising for weeks and had distributed a copy of her menu to all the office buildings around in the hopes that it would help bring in customers. Many people were creatures of habit and they went to the same place every day, which meant she would have to make a good impression right from the start to draw in those who were hesitant to change but who heard good things from their co-workers.
With a final look around she walked back to the kitchen, ready to get to work. Looking around at all the ingredients she couldn’t help but smile as it had been many months since she had stood in a kitchen and actually cooked or baked anything. Planning to open a cafe might have always been a dream of hers, it did interfere with actually cooking and baking and she would not be doing it quite as much. Pulling out a list of everything she planned to make she started by grabbing the measuring spoons, nearly dropping them in the process, and starting to measure the ingredients for her chocolate cake into the mixer. The oven was warmed up and ready to go and the cake pans were stacked up ready to be filled. As soon as she started she instantly fell back into a rhythm that felt familiar and she couldn’t but smile throughout. This was how she should be feeling and how she should be enjoying what she did every day, and she hoped that would continue.
The following morning Hannah stood behind the counter, waiting for the first customer to come in. She had come in early to put up a big sign and balloons, hoping to draw in customers, and Andrea was scheduled to come in just before lunch. Since breakfast was just bakery items and drinks she didn’t think she’d need help, at least not at first. The display cases were filled and Hannah had made sure to take a picture, knowing it would look good on marketing materials.
Her first customer simply wanted coffee and a bagel, and she didn’t have another customer until just after seven when several came in. Every single one of her customers wanted coffee, which she had a feeling they drank a lot of throughout the day, and most also got bakery items to go. She hoped they liked them enough to come back, but for now she was just happy to be selling items. The worst part about a cafe was that the food would go bad and she couldn’t sell it a second day, so anything not sold was truly a waste.
By the time Andrea came in Hannah had just put more items in the display case and had set up the sandwich preparation station. There were about a dozen small two and four person tables around the cafe and she knew if they ever got busy she would have to hire more help as Andrea would not be able to handle it all. The soups were warm and were ready to be served and everything you could possibly want on a salad was in containers, ready to be used. Smiling at Andrea after she put on her apron, they turned their attention back to the door, hoping they would get customers for lunch.
As luck would have it a few of the people who had stopped in for breakfast came back, this time bringing co-workers. Hannah overheard many comments about the bakery items and she wasn’t surprised when those people got some to take with them after they were done eating lunch. She hoped they would tell others about the cafe, prompting them to come in as well. In an effort to limit expenses before opening she had limited advertising to local businesses, not putting much in the newspaper or online. That meant she had to rely on the local workers to come in and spread the word, which she knew was risky. The fact that her first day had not been half bad, and she had at least broken even, meant that something was working.
The next few days went very much the same way, with the customer base increasing slightly each day and Hannah receiving more and more compliments. She knew if they kept going like this she would have to hire another waitress soon but for now they were managing with just the two of them. Each day after the cafe closed in the afternoon Hannah would spend the rest of the afternoon and evening baking for the next day. It was a time she truly enjoyed as it gave her time to reflect on the day while doing what she truly loved doing. The thing she enjoyed even more was that she was completely alone, so anytime she dropped the flour or nearly tripped over something, nobody was there to see it. She could laugh about it and move on.
The cafe had been open nearly a week when she thought she heard a noise out by the back door but when she went to see what it could have been she didn’t see anything. Shrugging it off as nothing she went back to work, hoping to be home at a reasonable hour that night. She knew it was a false hope but she held onto it as she continued working.
2
Hannah knew Andrea was a good waitress but she wished she would work a little bit harder and flirt a little bit less. Any guy who came in without a wedding band on got the same treatment and Hannah wasn’t sure if that was an image she wanted. Many of the guys didn’t seem to mind, likely because Andrea never cared about showing some cleavage and her jeans were as tight as jeans could get. It still wasn’t an image she truly wanted but Andrea had
indicated her tips were higher when she did that, which told her even the guys who didn’t respond appreciated it.
The lunch rush was starting to come to an end when a group of seven men walked in, immediately pushing tables together and sitting down amongst loud conversation. The only other person in the cafe was a man sitting at a table to the side by himself, who looked almost irritated at the loud group that had just walked in. Andrea easily walked over to the group, taking care to bend over slightly as she put napkins on the table and handed out menus. As she took the drink orders, Hannah had to restrain herself from walking over and stopping her from her blatant flirting, especially when one of the guys put his hands on her backside. She just laughed and didn’t make any attempt to move away from his hand. Hannah knew she had to mention it later, but as Andrea came back with their drink orders she knew she wouldn’t have time until the group had left.
As Andrea was busy with the group, Hannah walked over to the lone man in the corner and smiled at him. “I apologize for them. Can I get you anything to eat?” Hannah had noticed that he hadn’t eaten anything yet, and hoped he would. She still had a few items she wanted to get sold.
“Actually, I’ll have one of your grilled chicken Panini’s and a croissant. If they give you any trouble, you let me know and I’ll deal with it. My name is Chris.”
“Thank you Chris. I will get this order started, it shouldn’t take long,” Hannah replied with a smile before walking back to the kitchen. The large group’s order was on the ticket rack but she decided to make Chris’ sandwich first so he wouldn’t have to wait as long and Andrea appeared to be handling the group fairly well. They were loud and boisterous, and several customers who came in for carry out orders looked at them in irritation. Hannah apologized to them, before calling Andrea over and telling her to handle it. She did not want to lose other customers because of this group, and she was encouraging them as opposed to trying to stop it.