Ripples (The Blake Harte Mystery Book 3)

by Robert Innes

  RIPPLES

  The Blake Harte Mysteries Book 3

  By Robert Innes

  About This Book

  Released: May 9th 2017

  Words: 42,000

  Standalone: Yes

  Series: A Blake Harte Mystery Book 3

  Cliffhanger: No

  When Detective Sergeant Blake Harte is given the opportunity of a relaxing week away at a spa manor, he jumps at the opportunity. He can take one person with him - and who more than Harrison Baxter deserves time away from Harmschapel after everything he has been through?

  But once at the Manor of the Lakes, the rest and relaxation they both crave is quickly brought to an end, when Blake and Harrison witness a man being murdered, by a mysterious hooded figure who appears to have the ability to walk on water.

  How is it possible for someone to defy the laws of physics? And Blake’s problems are only just beginning. The visit to the manor finds him coming face to face with figures from his past – and one in particular who could ruin any chance of Blake and Harrison ever being happy together.

  The ripple effect is well and truly in play…

  Copyright © Robert Innes

  Cover designed by Ashley Mcloughlin

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact the author at rgwisox@aol.com.

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  Other Blake Harte Mystery Books By Robert Innes

  Untouchable (Out now)

  Confessional (Out now)

  Ripples (Out now)

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Blake closed the door behind him as he walked into Juniper Cottage, and sighed with relief. His last day, as last days before time off often were, had been busy, irritating, and had a general tone about it that suggested that it was never going to end. But now, he had finally closed the door on his last day before a two week break, and the first thing he was going to do was spend the rest of the evening in front of the television and relax.

  Blake pulled his shirt and tie off with force as he ran upstairs to change into the comfiest clothes he owned. He opened his top drawer and was presented with a choice between an old set of jogging bottoms he had owned since long before he had moved to Harmschapel, and a bright blue and green spotty onesie that his best friend, Sally-Ann, had sent him in the post for Christmas. Blake knew full well she had sent it to him as a joke; it was the last thing on earth he would ever be seen by anybody wearing. But, as he pulled it out and rubbed the soft material between his fingers, he had to admit that it did feel and look as though it would perfectly complement an evening vegetating in front of Netflix.

  Just as he was pulling it out and debating as to whether he would really consider wearing such a garish item of clothing, there was a knock at the door. He felt thankful to it bringing him to his senses. He threw the onesie back in the drawer, pulled a t-shirt on that was hanging over a chair, and ran back down stairs.

  “Darling!” Jacqueline, his landlady and neighbour from across the road, exclaimed happily as he opened the door. “How are you?”

  “Jacqueline,” Blake said, already feeling that his evening of relaxation ha d come to an end. “I’m fine, thanks. What can I do for you?”

  With her crimson red hair lacquered thick with hairspray in her usual beehive, Jacqueline pushed past him and into the cottage.

  “Am I right in thinking that you now have a bit of time off from the station?”

  “Yes,” said Blake cautiously as he closed the door behind her.

  “Two weeks off, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,”

  “Do you have much planned?”

  “Well-“

  “Because, do I have an offer for you, my darling!” Jacqueline pulled out a leaflet from her coat pocket and waved it in front of him.

  “And what would that be?” Blake asked.

  She passed him the leaflet and indicated that he should read it. Blake warily took it from her and read aloud.

  “’The Manor of the Lakes, bed and breakfast.’” He glanced at her. “’Manor of the Lakes?’”

  She waved her hand frantically to invite him to carry on reading. Blake sighed before continuing.

  “’Situated near the beautiful Peak District, the manor’s grounds lie in a picturesque location where you can truly be at one with nature, no more so than with the manor’s critically acclaimed lakes, of which there are no less than two in the gardens alone. When you’re not taking in the panoramic views that are merely a stone’s throw away from the manor’s grounds, we offer a luxurious spa service like no other. Choose from a wide selection of treatments, massages and other such services from our expert staff, before spending the evening dining in our restaurant, located not a five minute walk away from the grounds. Here at the Manor of the Lakes, we guarantee that you will leave feeling like your old self again.’”

  Blake stopped reading and raised a disdainful eyebrow.

  “What do you think?” Jacqueline asked smiling excitedly at him.

  “It all sounds lovely,” Blake replied. “But what does this have to do with me?”

  “That’s the best bit!” Jacqueline cried. “I know the family, well – I say know. An old friend of mine, Polly Urquhart, married into the family a few months ago, just before they opened. She’s offered me a fantastic discount – just for me. As long as I can persuade three other people to come along.”

  “Wait a minute,” Blake said. “You said you had an offer for me. How much is this going to cost? It doesn’t look cheap.”

  “I told you,” Jacqueline said, pulling the leaflet out of his hands and opening it up. “She’s offered me a discount. For four people, this would normally cost somewhere in the region of about five hundred pounds – but because it’s new and they want to attract as many people as possible, they’re doing a week for two hundred!” She held up the inside of the leaflet, waving it around in what she clearly thought was in a tempting manner. “And, with the discount she’s giving me, in return for four of us going, we can get a week there for one hundred pounds. Between four of us! Twenty pound Blake, that’s all this will set you back! And look at these pictures, don’t you think that’s worth it?”

  “Twenty five pound,” Blake corrected, taking the leaflet back and examining the contents.

  He had to admit, the pictures inside certainly did the place justice. The interior of the mansion boasted sweeping staircases, sparkling chandeliers, and the lakes looked wide and crystal clear.

  “A week?” he asked cynically.

  “That’s right,” Jacqueline said, beaming at him. “Come on, Blake. You work so hard – you’ve hardly stopped since you came to Harmschapel, most people would be biting my hand off for
an opportunity like this.”

  Blake couldn’t deny that life in Harmschapel had been anything but quiet since he had moved to the village. When he had first arrived, he had been thrown straight into one of the most beguiling cases of his policing career, and then, no less than a month ago, he had almost been struck by lightning at the top of the church tower whilst trying, and ultimately failing, to stop a killer from jumping to his death. Despite his reservations, he did feel that he was due a holiday.

  “And who exactly did you have in mind to make it up to four?”

  “Well,” Jacqueline said. “I was thinking we could bring a plus one each. I’m sure I can find somebody¸ and, I was thinking you might want to bring that friend of yours. The pretty one?”

  “What pretty one?”

  “You know,” Jacqueline said coyly. “That nice boy you get along with so well.”

  “You mean Harrison?” Blake said, his stomach performing a dull somersault at the mention of the name.

  “Harrison, that’s the one,” Jacqueline said, putting her hands together enthusiastically, though Blake suspected that she had known his name all along. “Think of the life that poor boy has had, if anybody deserves a nice relaxing break away from the village, it’s him.”

  It was certainly true that Harrison had not had the easiest of lives. In the relatively short time that Blake had known him, both of Harrison’s parents had been sent to prison for the murder of his abusive ex-boyfriend, Daniel. It had also been Harrison’s life Blake had been trying to save from the murderer who had jumped from the church roof. As a result, Blake and Harrison had developed a close bond, and it was one that apparently had not gone unnoticed by some of the other villagers, including Jacqueline.

  “So,” Jacqueline continued, ignoring Blake’s attempts to interrupt her. “I’ll give my friend a call and tell her to expect us, what – Monday evening?”

  “Hang on, hang on,” Blake said, as Jacqueline started to walk out the door. “Today’s Friday.”

  “I know it is,” Jacqueline said, nodding.

  “Monday is three days away.”

  “So?”

  “So, what if Harrison can’t make it?”

  Jacqueline gave him a knowing smile. “You’ll think of something. Now, I must dash – I have a phone call to make!” She squealed excitedly, holding the leaflet up in the air and skipped out the door. Blake closed it with his foot and bit his lip in deep thought. Since the events at the top of the church tower, Blake and Harrison had grown closer, and there was a mutual attraction that both men had openly admitted to. But Harrison, quite reasonably in Blake’s mind, had asked for some time alone to come to terms with all the events of the past year, before throwing himself into another relationship.

  Blake threw himself on the sofa and exhaled. He did rather like the idea of a week away from the village. It certainly beat any vague plans he had about spending the majority of his time off in The Dog’s Tail, the village pub.

  Blake was, however, unsure Harrison would take an invitation in the way it was intended. Blake certainly knew what it felt like for love and relationships to be the last thing on his mind. When he had walked in on his own ex-boyfriend, Nathan, in bed with a woman, the last thing he even considered for a number of months afterwards was the possibility of starting again with somebody else. That was, until he met Harrison.

  There was only one person he could think to get in touch with. Someone he could always trust to help him think clearly and sensibly. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket and pressed call.

  “Hello?”

  “Sally-Ann.” Blake smiled at the sound of her voice.

  As usual, whenever he referred to his best friend by her full name over the phone, he could picture her cringing as if he was running fingernails over a blackboard.

  “I was going to say, ‘how are you, I miss you so much,’ but now, you get nothing,” Sally said flatly down the phone.

  Blake laughed and lay back on the sofa. “I need your advice.”

  “Don’t you always?” The click of the kettle being switched on told Blake he had timed his call with her arriving home from the station he had originally worked when he had lived in Sale near Manchester – before he had walked in on Nathan and requested a transfer, as far away from him as possible.

  “How was work?” Blake asked.

  Sally blew a raspberry at him down the receiver. “Pants. The Superintendent’s been at the station all week. You know what Gresham’s like around her.”

  Blake rolled his eyes. One of the things he had felt absolutely no qualms about leaving behind when he had moved to Harmschapel, was his old boss, Inspector Gresham. As cold and uptight as he was crabby and unreasonable, his behaviour somehow always managed to intensify whenever he had officers of a higher rank breathing down his neck.

  “He had me on my hands and knees scrubbing his floor. Never mind the fact I’ve got a DUI to interview, and I mean, waiting for me to interview him, oh no – it’s far more important for the superintendent to be able to see her ugly face in his office floor than it is for me to be keeping scum off the streets.” She let out a moan of frustration and then there was a thumping sound from, Blake imagined, her throwing herself down on her sofa. “Anyway,” she said. “What can I do you for?”

  Blake explained to her about the week away he had just been informed he was going on and the subsequent invitation he was expected to offer to Harrison to join him.

  “So?” Sally said, in a tone that suggested she didn’t see the problem. “What do you need my advice about?”

  “Oh, come on Sally,” Blake replied. “You know how things are with me and Harrison. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to hurry things along. I’ve told him he can have as much time as he needs. Christ, if I’d gone through half the things with men that he had, I think I’d turn straight. Failing that, I’d become a monk. The last thing he needs is me putting pressure on him.”

  “Oh, Blake,” Sally chuckled. “You are an idiot sometimes.”

  “I knew I could rely on you to be helpful.”

  “Would you like Harrison to join you on this week away?”

  “Of course I would,” Blake said. “Otherwise it’s just me going away with my landlady and some poor sod she pulled the week before. How sad is that?”

  “Very,” Sally said in a matter-of-fact sort of way. “Who goes away with their landlady?”

  “Someone whose best friend is too far away to drag along,” Blake said. “You sure I can’t persuade you to join me instead? I miss you.”

  “And I miss you,” Sally replied warmly. “And believe you me, if I could, I’d be there waiting for you already. But no chance. Gresham’s banned all holidays while the Superintendent’s sniffing around.”

  “I can still come and see you,” Blake pointed out. “Judging by the location, it’s not that far away from Sale. I’ll sneak away one night and we can drink gin.”

  “Sounds great, but in the meantime, you’re going to hang up the phone, go ‘round to see Harrison and invite him on this bloody holiday. Look at it as fate, Blake. It sounds romantic! Lakes, spas, fine dining, a mansion – do you need there to be cherubs and a string quartet for you to realise the potential here?”

  Blake sighed and closed his eyes. “And if he says no?”

  “He’s not going to say no, is he? Blake, for a man whose job it is to work with the public, you act like you don’t have the first clue about how people think. You go in there, and you specify that it’s purely a friends set up. You thought he might like some time away from the village – God knows I would if I was him. Sell it to him, make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

  “I’ll try,” Blake said.

  “No, you won’t try, you’ll do,” Sally said firmly. “Goodbye!”

  And with that, she hung up.

  Blake laughed heartily, put his phone back in his pocket, and stared up at the ceiling, weighing up his options. Being at home, doing nothing but lying on his sofa wasn’
t going to get him an answer either way, and Sally was right. If anybody deserved a holiday, it was Harrison Baxter.

  Blake stood up and ran upstairs to his room to get changed. Even if Harrison was going to turn down the invitation, there was no need for Blake to look anything other than his best.

  Half an hour later, Blake was standing outside Harrison’s cottage, mentally rehearsing what he was going to say. He stood at the door, preparing to knock, but hesitated. Deep down, he felt ridiculous for feeling so nervous. The last time he had felt like this was over six years ago when he had first asked Nathan out on a date. The seven years age difference he had on Harrison felt like absolutely nothing at all now, and any life experience Blake felt he should have accumulated seemed to have deserted him at this particular moment.

  “Stop being an idiot,” he told himself. “‘Hello, Harrison, I was wondering if you’d like to come away for a week, just as friends, no pressure.’” Blake took a deep breath and knocked sharply on the door.

  After a moment, the door opened and Blake smiled broadly, but his expression quickly changed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Jacqueline beamed happily at him. “Hello, darling. Do come in. Harrison won’t be a moment, he’s just taken his goat outside to do her business.”

  She stepped aside to let Blake inside, who walked into Harrison’s living room, staring at her, bemused.

  “Don’t look so surprised, Blake. If I’m going to go away with Harrison, I thought I at least should get to know him first.” Jacqueline sat down, picking up her mug of tea that Harrison had presumably made her, sipping it innocently.

  “You mean you’ve already asked him?” Blake asked. He wasn’t sure if he was annoyed at his landlady for interfering or relieved that he wasn’t going to have to ask Harrison himself.