On Trial

by Zanna Mackenzie

  Beside me Esme gives her bit of paper back to James. It’s just me left to complete this last hurdle of the assignment now then. I let my gaze fall on Charlie. He’s standing next to Poppy’s chair. His face is expressionless. The rifle still in his hands. I fidget and hope to attract his attention but he stands perfectly still and stares at the wall above our heads. He won’t look at me. James however clears his throat and looks at me expectantly. I have to go with what I feel is right. Taking a deep breath I scribble my answer, fold the paper and hand it to him. It’s a long shot, but it felt like the right solution to the case to me. Crossing my fingers behind my back, I get to my feet and hope and pray I’ve got this right.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “OK, guys.” James takes the three pieces of paper and hands them to one of the agency men lurking in the corner of the boathouse.

  “Now what?” Esme asks, looking around nervously.

  “Now you can go,” James replies simply.

  “But you haven’t told us who the kidnapper is,” she says, getting to her feet. “Or even if the three of us agreed on who we think the kidnapper is.”

  “That’s right, we haven’t told you who the person is, but we will later, and regarding the other thing, we don’t intend to share that particular piece of information. We will go away and consult on your performances over the past two days, plus how you have fared throughout your training these past few months in the cases of the trainee support officers. Things will, of course, be approached differently for Mitch as a qualified agent seeking to move up the rankings.”

  “So what does happen next? How do we…er…” My mouth goes dry at the thought of waiting to hear whether or not we have passed this assignment.

  “Get your training results?” James says, finishing my sentence for me. “We’ll be in touch soon. For now, I suggest you take some time out. You’ve had a hectic twenty-four hours.”

  “And do what?” Mitch scowls.

  “We’re in a beautiful part of the country,” James says, gesturing around us. “Why not go and enjoy it?”

  Across the room, Charlie is chatting to the two agency men. I’d love to know what they’re saying. Poppy, now untied thanks to Charlie, has joined them and they’re all talking in low voices. Is Poppy (or whatever her real name is) from the agency too? I thought she was hotel staff or an actress, but maybe she’s another special agent playing a role in this assignment.

  I follow Esme and Mitch outside into the dark and quiet night. It feels as though there’s an emptiness inside of me. The assignment is over. My training is over. Well, the initial part of it. If I do get offered a support officer role, then the training will be ongoing, on the job and via various day or week courses and career development stuff.

  “Come on,” Esme says, linking arms first with me and then with Mitch. “It’s over, let’s go and celebrate.”

  “Celebrate what?” I ask, as we make our way back to the rowing boat and Lee, who amazingly, is still waiting patiently for us on the Lady Charlotte. “I’m too worried if I’ve got the identity of the kidnapper right and whether or not I’m going to pass this training and get a job offer.”

  “Don’t be daft,” she says. “Of course you’ve passed. You haven’t put a foot wrong. Plus, of course, you have the added advantage of having sexy special agent Charlie in your corner. I’m sure he’ll put a good word in for you with the agency guys.”

  I gulp anxiously. Is that what people think? That Charlie will ‘ensure’ I get a job? I don’t want that. If I have got a job, then I want to know I’ve achieved it on my own and because the agency believes I will be an asset. Charlie’s words come back yet again to haunt me. He told me about the lake and the islands and gave me a clue about fishing for things out here. Was he telling me things he shouldn’t have?

  “So, what name did you put on the paper then?” Mitch surprises me by asking.

  “Oh no,” Esme interrupts. “No sharing. At least not until after we get our assignment results. Deal?”

  “Deal!” I say and Mitch reluctantly grunts his agreement too.

  We reach the edge of the bank where our little rowing boat is moored and Mitch tugs on the rope to pull it closer so we can climb in. Esme goes first and just as I’m about to step onto the bobbing boat a hand snakes around my waist. I step back and into Charlie’s arms.

  “You two go ahead,” Charlie says to Mitch and Esme. “I’ll take Amber back across the lake.”

  Mitch clambers in to join Esme, and Charlie pushes the boat back for them with his foot.

  “I’m so proud of you,” Charlie says once the others are out of earshot. “You’ve completed this assignment brilliantly.”

  “It was all about team work,” I reply, enjoying the feel of his hands at my waist. Then an unnerving image of Charlie bursts into my head and a shiver runs through me. I step away and look at him.

  “What?” he asks, tilting his head to one side as he returns my questioning gaze.

  “You, the rifle, the…”

  “This whole assignment is a fake, Amber, you know that. I was just doing my job, like they asked me to. Playing a role. OK?”

  Slowly, I nod. “OK.”

  “I was just the go between on this case. The intention all along was for you guys to find me in the boathouse, then you’d have to name who you each thought the kidnapper was. You finding the boathouse as the place where Poppy was being held would only have solved one aspect of the case. The agency guys also needed you to pin down who kidnapped her, and it was my job to play host whilst you made your final choices on that front.”

  A thought suddenly occurs to me. “Dorothea called Poppy’s phone when we started this investigation. The person who answered used that special software to disguise their voice. Was it you on the other end of that phone?”

  Charlie shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t me. I think that was Colin, one of the assessors from the agency. He was keen to engage with you all in some way as part of the investigation.”

  “Oh, right, I see.” I shiver again, this time from the cold night air wrapping itself around me.

  “Anyway, it’s getting late and it’s freezing, so let’s get out of here, shall we?”

  I peer out across the dark water of the lake. “How are we getting back to the hotel? Do you have a boat? Hang on; I probably shouldn’t travel back with you and the agency guys. That wouldn’t look right.”

  “We’re not with the others. I have a small motor launch just on the other side of the island, we’ll use that. Besides, the others are heading to the Roseby, and we’re going somewhere else entirely.”

  “Oh? Where are we going then?”

  “I’m booked into a bed and breakfast in town so I thought I’d see if I could tempt you to share my room for the night.”

  “I don’t know,” I say with a frown. “I don’t want to be accused of fraternising with somebody from the agency who is involved in the decision on whether or not I get offered a job.”

  Charlie holds both hands up in a gesture of innocence. “If you’re planning on seducing me to get a job then part of me would love to take you up on the offer. However, the honest part of me feels I should declare you’d be wasting your time. I hold no such sway with the agency on that particular matter.”

  “You don’t?” I ask, wondering if that is actually true or if he’s just covering his tracks, knowing I’d be mad with him if he did interfere.

  “I don’t.” He leans in for the briefest but sweetest of kisses. “Have I just blown my chances of you seducing me?”

  “I would never have resorted to those kinds of tactics anyway,” I tease. “I’m a good girl.”

  Charlie wraps an arm around my shoulders and leads me to our waiting boat. “Yes, you are good, very good indeed,” he says with a cheeky grin. “Come back to my room and remind me just how good you are.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The custard slice on the plate in front of me looks deli
cious but, no matter how much I try, I can’t bring myself to eat it.

  “Come on, Amber, you need to eat something. All you had at breakfast was some orange juice. I thought bringing you here and putting your favourite cake in the world in front of you would mean you at least had some food inside of you.”

  I push the plate away. “Sorry, I just can’t face it.” We’re in a little café down on the lakefront in Delamere. The sun is out and it’s a beautiful autumn day. People bustle past with all their hiking gear on, ready to tackle a few hours of hill trekking. Pretending to turn to look at the view I glance at my phone in what I hope is a discreet way.

  “That’s the tenth time you’ve looked at your phone, hoping for a text from the agency guys, since we arrived here,” Charlie says, then finishes off the huge slice of chocolate gateau on his own plate.

  “It’s been eighteen hours since we all left the boathouse,” I say, tapping a fork irritably against my plate. “Shouldn’t they have decided by now?”

  “Yeah, it’s been eighteen hours, but the agency guys will probably have been sleeping for about eight of those hours. There’s a lot of information for them to go through today. I doubt they’ll be ready to make their final decisions until late this afternoon.” He sips his coffee. “I’d say relax and enjoy a well-earned break but I know I’d be wasting my breath.”

  Charlie’s phone buzzes into life and he glances at the screen before answering it. “Yep.”

  Ever since Charlie arrived in Cumbria I’ve been dreading the call from agency allocation which will mean he has to leave immediately, heading off who knows where on a new case. Is this that call? Will he have to leave before I find out my assignment results? Will I be celebrating or commiserating alone?

  He glances across at me and winks. “Yeah, OK, thanks. I’ll get that sorted.” Ending the call he reaches across the table and takes my hand, squeezing it gently. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. It was just a little reminder from agency admin to sign some documents about my last case.”

  I smile weakly. “Right.”

  “If you’re not going to eat that custard slice then we may as well get out of here. We could have a wander around the town, if you fancy that?”

  “Sounds good and it might help distract me for a while.”

  A waitress arrives at our table to clear away the plates and mugs. Charlie beams her a winning smile. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of getting the custard slice to go is there? Amber’s not feeling too good at the moment but she might fancy it in a bit.”

  “Of course, sir,” the woman says, blushing slightly as Charlie sends another smile her way. “I’ll go and get a box for it.”

  We walk around town, exploring the little flower-filled stone mews with their intriguing art galleries and shops selling hiking gear and camping equipment. Just before three in the afternoon we head back to Charlie’s bed and breakfast. We’ve checked out every nook and cranny of Delamere, and spent ages sitting down by the edge of the lake throwing bits of bread, purchased especially for the job, at the greedy swans. And I still haven’t heard from the agency guys with their decision.

  I’m about to step into a bath of rose scented bubbles when I hear my phone buzzing. I left it in the bedroom on the dressing table. I think a part of me was hoping if I actually parted company with the phone it might, somehow, magically make it ring. Maybe my idea worked. Charlie walks into the bathroom, grinning from ear to ear, and hands me the phone. “It’s them.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Well?” Charlie asks, raising a questioning eyebrow. He’s sitting on the rim of the roll top bath.

  “I’ve been summoned back to the Roseby. I have to report to the lounge at the hotel by five o’clock.”

  “OK. Great. You’ve still got time for your bath and then we can head up there.”

  I nod but don’t say anything. Charlie softly tilts my chin up with his finger until he can see my face. “There’s nothing to worry about, Amber. Believe in yourself. I believe in you. The agency would be crazy to pass up the chance to have you on board, OK?”

  “OK,” I say, trying to summon up some belief in my abilities. “I wonder if Esme and Mitch will have passed the test.”

  “You and Esme seem to have gotten on pretty well.”

  “Yes, she was great to work with. I really hope she’s gets to be a support officer for the agency.” I nervously examine my fingernails. “I think she likes Mitch. If they end up working together perhaps they’ll become more than co-workers.”

  Charlie grins. “Like we did you mean?”

  “Kind of, just with more arguing in their case. They seem to like to bicker with each other quite a bit.”

  “Oh, right, and we never argue, do we?” Charlie flicks some bath suds at me.

  “Not very often,” I reply, flicking water back at him as he leaps out of the way. “Only when you’re annoying me.”

  “I never annoy you,” he replies with a mock frown before disappearing out of the bathroom door.

  There’s zero chance of relaxing in the bath, so I spend ten minutes soaking in the bubbles as my mind works through every possibility. Soon I’ll know if I’ll be the agency’s newest trainee support officer or if I’ll be heading home to Derbyshire and checking the local paper for the job adverts. I wonder if Esme has passed and if Mitch is going to get promoted to the next level of special agent.

  At quarter to five I’m standing at the entrance to the Roseby. My palms are sweating and I don’t think I can speak. Charlie opens the doors and I step inside, trying to calm my breathing. We walk hand in hand down to the door of the lounge. Charlie kisses me on the cheek. “Go get ‘em,” he says with a wink and then turns and walks away, leaving me to face my fate.

  I knock on the door and James answers it, his face giving nothing away as he nods a welcome and beckons me into the room. That’s part of agency training, learning to show no emotions on your face. James does it perfectly.

  “Take a seat, Miss Reed,” the older (and scarier looking) of the two agency guys says. “My name is Victor, this is Colin and, of course, you know James.”

  I smile nervously. “Hello.”

  “Now, we have gone through all of the information relating to the various stages of your training as supplied by James, your appointed trainer, regarding the various courses you have attended these past few months. We have also assessed your involvement in the kidnapped bride assignment here at the Roseby and noted your levels of input, initiative and much more besides.”

  Clasping my hands in my lap, I wish they’d hurry up and tell me their verdict.

  “You correctly named the kidnappers and you were very active throughout this investigation. A good team player as well.”

  Kidnappers. He said kidnappers – plural. Phew.

  “So it was David and Lottie behind the kidnapping?” I check.

  “Yes, it was,” Colin replies. “How did you figure out it was both of them, not just one?”

  “They both had reason to want to stop the wedding. Lottie because she was jealous of Poppy and she wanted Taylor for herself. David because he couldn’t let go of Poppy, he loved her and wanted her back. I couldn’t decide between them and then I remembered something Dorothea said.”

  Colin raises a questioning eyebrow. “Which was?”

  “She said David and Poppy had first met at university and then lost touch once they’d finished their studies. Lottie told us she’d known Poppy since they were at university together. Which suggested Lottie also knew David back then as well. That was the link between them. My gut instinct told me they’d planned the kidnapping together. Somehow they were hoping to stop the wedding completely and destroy Poppy and Taylor’s relationship in the hope Lottie would get Taylor, and David would win Poppy back. By getting Artie to do their dirty work - whether for brotherly love or money - they managed to keep themselves out of the picture so Poppy wouldn’t know they were involved with the
whole plot.” Pausing for breath I wonder if I should admit the bit I hadn’t quite figured out.

  “Is there anything else you wish to add?” Colin checks.

  I decide honesty is the best policy. “I’m afraid I hadn’t worked out what they planned to do next. They needed some way for Poppy to go back to her life unharmed and yet ensure she broke up with Taylor, whilst not implicating either of themselves in the kidnapping. David had created an alibi for himself by being in Spain. Lottie had played the best friend card to the hilt, trying to ensure Poppy would never dream Lottie could be involved in conspiring to stop her wedding.”

  “It doesn’t matter what could have happened next, especially in this scenario,” he says with a nod of approval. “It wasn’t a part of your assignment to address those particular issues.”

  Phew. Thank goodness for that.

  Victor turns towards James. “As Amber has been your trainee, perhaps you’d like to tell her our decision?”

  James, face still unreadable, reaches for a piece of paper, walks over and hands it to me. I take it from him but it’s all rolled up with a black ribbon around it. Do I open it or what?

  “Go ahead,” he says.

  My fingers are shaking so much I struggle to untie the ribbon. Eventually I manage to free the black silk from the paper and it falls to the floor. I unroll the pass certificate and tears swim in front of my eyes. I look up at James.

  “Congratulations, Amber,” he says, his face lighting up. “Welcome to the agency. That is, of course, if you wish to accept our offer of employment?”

  I nod and, hoping I’m not making a major etiquette faux pas, hug James. “Yes! Yes, please. I’d love to work for the CCIA.”

  Victor clears his throat and I hastily step away from James, my cheeks flushing red with embarrassment and excitement. “Excellent,” Victor says, shaking my sweaty hand before I have time to wipe it on my skirt. “We’ll be holding a small gathering in the marquee shortly. Everyone involved in this case is invited to attend. I trust you will join us?”