Hamburgers, Homicide and a Honeymoon (The Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery Series Book 5)

by Sherri Bryan

  Since moving to St. Eves, he had felt safe—much safer than when he’d lived in big cities. All his adult life, he’d been careful to surround himself with staff he could trust implicitly but, in Eddie, he was sure he’d found the ultimate employee—loyal, trustworthy, and discreet but intimidating enough to deter anyone who might be thinking of getting a little too up close and personal with him.

  He knew he could trust Eddie with his life, and with any confidence, but the secret around which his current dilemma revolved was too secret to divulge to even Eddie.

  He had to find out who knew what had happened all those years ago, and deal with it on his own.

  As he thought about it, the veins on his forehead bulged. That someone thought they could get one over on him made him furious.

  And vulnerable.

  He logged into his email account to read the message again.

  I know what you did.

  I know what you did all those years ago.

  You have until the end of June to make amends with those you hurt so deeply.

  If you fail to do so, I will go to the press with my story and you can kiss your reputation goodbye.

  Remember—the end of June. Not a day later.

  He closed the lid on his laptop and rested his chin on clasped fingers. He didn’t want to involve the police, but he wanted their protection. Only on his terms, though.

  He picked up his phone and dialled the number Nathan had given him when they’d spoken in London.

  “Chief Inspector Costello, please. It’s Adam Pitt. What? Yes, I’ll hold. Good morning, Chief Inspector. Very well, thank you. You recall I mentioned that I wanted to see you? Well I’d like to arrange a meeting as soon as possible—at the station, preferably. I’d rather Ruby didn’t know I was meeting with you. Right, half-past three this afternoon. Okay, I’ll see you then.”z

  ººººººº

  “What is it I can do for you?” Nathan sat across the desk from Adam Pitt.

  “I’ll get straight to the point. You must know that I’m a very wealthy, very successful man, Chief Inspector. And you must know that one doesn’t make the sort of money I have without making a few enemies along the way. It’s inevitable that many people who have not been as fortunate as me will envy what I have. Some will wish me bad fortune. And some will try to take what I have and tarnish my reputation.”

  He paused to gauge Nathan’s reaction but his expression was impassive.

  “The thing is… I believe that someone is out to do just that—which is the reason for my visit. I believe that someone wishes me harm and I want you to guarantee my safety.”

  Nathan frowned. “So, you’ve had threats made against you? Verbal or physical?”

  Adam shook his head. “No. No threats, it’s just a feeling I have—my intuition tells me that all is not well.”

  He had no intention of telling Nathan about the email threatening to expose his secret. He just wanted the police to maintain a presence and for the blackmailer to be aware of it. He had no idea of their location, of course, but he hoped that, if they were keeping as close tabs on him as he imagined they were, the involvement of the police would scare them off. After all, the penalty for blackmail was harsh.

  “I understand how this must seem, Chief Inspector. I come to you with this crazy notion that my life, or at the very least, my reputation, is under threat. Unfortunately, I have no evidence that this is the case, nor can I supply you with the names of any potential guilty parties. All I can tell you is that I have a profound sense of doom that, try as I might, I cannot shake off.”

  He crossed his legs and picked an unruly piece of lint from the knee of his impeccably pressed trousers. “So, what can you do to vouch for my safety? I was thinking of a couple of officers stationed permanently outside the house, but I’ll defer to your better judgement. I haven’t yet told Ruby of my concerns—I’ll wait until the officers arrive—but I know she’ll feel much more relaxed about the situation just knowing there are policeman standing guard.”

  Nathan’s face took on a bemused expression as he scratched his chin. “You’ll forgive me if I recap briefly, won’t you? I just want to make sure I understand exactly what it is you’re asking for.” He drummed the pads of his fingers together.

  “You want me to extend the personal services of the St. Eves police department to you because you have a completely unfounded, yet “profound sense of doom” that someone is out to cause you harm? Is that correct?”

  Adam nodded. “That’s about the measure of it, yes. So, what can you do?”

  Nathan shook his head. “I can do nothing, I’m afraid, Mr Pitt. I’m not about to stretch our already limited resources based on your whim. If you could give me something with which to back up your concerns, I’d be happy to discuss the matter with you, but, with nothing more to go on than your intuition, all I’m prepared to do is ask a car to patrol the area more often. If you could give me even the slightest proof that you, or your wife, are in any danger, then, of course, we’d have something to discuss.”

  Adam wasn’t accustomed to not getting his own way. He wasn’t used to people refusing to accommodate him. Usually, he had only to ask and his wish was granted. He wasn’t happy. Not at all.

  “I see.” His voice was frosty. “So, you are refusing to help a resident in need of police protection?”

  Nathan sighed.

  “Mr Pitt. If you were in danger, or the victim of a campaign of harassment, I can assure that my best officers would already be on the case. But, as neither applies, there is little I can do except to ask a patrol car to drive past your home on a more regular basis.”

  Adam stood up, his body language a clear expression of his discontent. “Right.” “Well I won’t waste any more of my time.” His tone was clipped. “Good afternoon to you, Chief Inspector.”

  As Nathan’s assistant, Amanda, accompanied him from the building, a mild feeling of panic bubbled in his gut.

  He still had no idea as to the identity of his mysterious blackmailer and, without a police presence to act as a deterrent to the extortionist, there was every chance that his dark secret would be exposed at the end of the month.

  ººººººº

  Four days after his return to the station, Amanda put a late afternoon call through to Nathan’s office from DI Toby Carter.

  “Good afternoon, Nathan. How’s sunny St. Eves?” The Detective Inspector’s gruff South London accent boomed down the line.

  Nathan chuckled. “We get our fair share of sunshine, I’ll say that, but something tells me you’re not calling to talk about the weather.”

  “I wish I was. No, it’s a courtesy call to let you know that Ken and I will be coming down tomorrow morning to collect some DNA samples.”

  Nathan’s interest was instantly piqued. “Oh yes. Why’s that, then?”

  “You remember me telling you we were going to get a technician to drain the hot tub to establish the cause of the accident? Well, we’ve just had his report and it turns out the sealed lights at the bottom of the tub had been deliberately tampered with to remove the safety mechanisms in the fittings. Whoever did it must have known that when it was refilled with water, it would become a likely death trap for anyone who stepped into it.”

  “And there’s no way the damage could have occurred accidentally or as a result of wear and tear?”

  “No way. The safety mechanisms in the bulbs incorporate some kind of cut-out that prevents this kind of thing from happening, and they’d all been disabled. I’m no electrician, so you’ll forgive me if that isn’t the correct terminology, but that’s the gist of it. Long story short, the damage wasn’t accidental.

  “And when we examined the bulb casings we saw that all of them had identical indentations on them. It seems that a flat-bladed implement was used to prise the covers off and a search of the garden shed revealed a screwdriver, the shaft of which perfectly matches the indents.

  “I must say, it surprised us to find the screwdriver on t
he premises, back in its box along with all the others in the set. We can only assume that whoever used it obviously didn’t envisage it being discovered and linked to Mr Ingram’s death, so didn’t go to the trouble of disposing of it. I should stress, it may be that none of the people who were present at the time of Mr Ingram’s death are responsible, but we’re equally keen to eliminate suspects from our enquiries as we are to find the perpetrator.”

  “So you want the DNA samples to match what was found on the screwdriver?”

  “Exactly.”

  Nathan recalled what Penny had said in London.

  “Are you aware that the day of the barbecue was the first time the hot tub had been used during that particular visit to the house? That being the case, I find it hard to see how anyone had the time, or the privacy, to tamper with the tub without anyone else knowing about it. Wouldn’t you say?”

  “A-ha, a salient point, and one which I forgot to mention, Nathan, is that it appears the damage was done some considerable time before the last visit to London, as was indicated by the amount of rust which had formed on the bulb casings.

  “Now, according to Penny Baker, she and her sister are very generous in allowing their friends to use the place whenever they want to, and Owen Fisher said he was sure they’d all visited at some point during the past year. He also said that, as far as he was aware, there had been no problems with the hot tub on any of the previous visits.

  “As I said, it may be that none of them are guilty of any wrongdoing—it’s quite feasible that a complete stranger could have gained access to the garden and tampered with the hot tub—but I’m keeping an open mind.”

  “I see,” said Nathan. “Well, I have to say, I’m surprised that any of them would want to cause the others harm. I only met them briefly, of course, but they seemed like genuinely close friends. Then again, who knows what grudges they may be holding?”

  “Very true, Nathan, very true. Anyway, if you’re around tomorrow, we’ll drop by before we travel back up the motorway.”

  “I’m around all day. I’ll see you then.”

  As he put down the phone, Nathan hoped to God that Charlotte didn’t find out about the latest development in the Frankie Ingram case. The last thing she needed was stress, and the news Toby Carter had just shared with him would only serve to raise her anxiety levels.

  This was one piece of information he would definitely be keeping to himself.

  ººººººº

  “I can’t tell you on what the DNA sample was found, only that we’ve been able to ascertain foul play and we have reason to believe that the person from whom the sample came may have been involved in causing the accident.” Fighting for space with a chocolate Labrador and a scruffy mongrel, Toby Carter tried to find a cool spot to stand in Penny and Owen’s sunlight-flooded kitchen.

  “Well, I’m telling you right now, you’ve wasted your time coming all the way down here. It won’t be any of us who fiddled with the hot tub. We don’t have a death wish, you know. God, just the thought of it makes me feel sick. Who would be twisted enough to do something like that?”

  Penny Baker paced the tiled floor, a deep furrow at her brow.

  “None of us would ever do anything to hurt each other. It’s an insult that you’d even insinuate one of us might be to blame—you should be out looking for whoever is responsible, not wasting time here with us.”

  “Miss Baker.” An enthusiastic Detective Sargent Rafferty took a swab from a sealed pack. “We don’t only use DNA results to incriminate, you know. They’re equally helpful in ascertaining who should be eliminated from our enquiries, which is precisely why our time here today is not, in the slightest, being wasted.” He flashed a smile at Penny before turning to Amy. “Right, your turn now. If you can open wide, please.”

  “Hold on a second,” said Owen. “Isn’t it possible that everything at the house will have our DNA on it? It’s our house, after all. What happens then?”

  “Well, if that’s the case, we’ll look for corroborative evidence to remove any doubt, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, Mr Fisher. Whatever our investigations bring to light, I can assure you, we’re not in the habit of locking up people on a whim,” DI Carter allowed himself a brief smile, “whatever you may have heard to the contrary.”

  “Well, I’m telling you, whoever did this is a stranger and I won’t set foot back in that house again until you have them under lock and key.” Penny wagged her finger at the detectives. “It’ll be bad enough going back there anyway, after what happened to Frankie, but knowing that someone deliberately rigged the hot tub to cause us harm is beyond belief.” She shook her head. “So what are you doing about finding some real suspects?”

  Toby Carter held up his hands. “Now, hold on. We don’t know for sure that this is personal. Unfortunately, there are some strange people out there who carry out these random acts of vandalism for fun with no regard for the consequences. Empty holiday homes are often the target for all kinds of criminal activity.

  “And we’ve already checked the DNA collected at the scene against our database and there are no matches so, whoever’s responsible is not known to us. Don’t worry, though, Miss Baker, we won’t give up until we’ve found the perpetrator.”

  “Thank goodness that’s over with.” Amy shivered as she watched Ken Rafferty drop a cotton swab into a tube and fasten the lid. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I still haven’t come to terms with what happened and this has brought it all up again. It could have been me who got in that tub. It could have been any one of us.”

  “Sorry you’ve been caused distress, Miss Baker, but you’ll understand that we have to be as thorough as possible.” Toby Carter took his notebook from the inside pocket of his beige mac. “Now, if we can just take a sample from you, Mr Fisher, and then I’d like to ask you a few questions, if I may?”

  “More questions?” Owen frowned. “I would have thought we’d answered enough already.” He peered into Zac’s cot. “Okay, but can we keep the noise down? I’d rather he didn’t wake up just yet.”

  “Won’t take long, Mr Fisher, and yes, of course, we’ll keep it down. I just need clarification on a few more things that have come to light since we last met. Now then, Miss Baker, can you confirm exactly who has used the property since the last time you were all there together, which I think you said was in,” the detective looked back in his notebook, “June of last year? And also, who was the last person, or persons, to stay at the house, prior to Mr Ingram’s death?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure we’ve all used the house during the past year, haven’t we, Owen?” Penny nodded, then stopped and shook her head. “Oh, no. Wait, I’m not sure about Adam and Ruby. No, they were going to visit and then they cancelled…and Adam wasn’t there for last year’s Internat Tat Awards, either. And the last people to use it were me and Owen in February.”

  “And you used the hot tub during your visit?”

  “Yes, we did. We use the tub every time we go to the house, except for the rare occasion we’re on a flying visit and then we don’t have time to get it set up. But the last time we were there, yes, we did.”

  “And that was in February, you say?” Toby Carter’s illegible scrawl filled the pages of his notebook.

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “I see. So, what would you say if I told you that someone has reported seeing a man and woman at the house in March? No description of the man, but we understand the woman may have been blonde.” He stopped writing and stared intently at Penny.

  “In March? I’d say they were mistaken. No one visited after us.” Penny looked to Owen for confirmation. “Did they?”

  “No. We were definitely the last.”

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake!” Amy threw her arms up in the air. “It was that Elsie Rayner who told you someone was at the house, wasn’t it?” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “Have you seen the lenses on her glasses? She’s so short-sighted, they’re like doub
le-glazed windows. And until she gets that cataract sorted out, I doubt she could see two foot in front of her, let alone two doors down. And as for giving an accurate description of someone she claims to have seen from that distance…well, all in all, I’d say she’s not the most reliable of witnesses.”

  “But a witness all the same, Miss Baker, and we have to take all statements into account.” Toby closed his notebook and nodded to his colleague. “Right, we’ve finished for now. Thanks again for your time.”

  “What do you mean you’ve finished ‘for now’?” Amy frowned.

  “Just that, Miss Baker. If we need to speak to you again, we’ll be in touch. Right, we’ll see ourselves out—good day to you all.”

  ººººººº

  “Is there really any need for this?” Adam Pitt strode around his living room, a vein in the side of his forehead throbbing. “I take it you remember who we are or, at least, who I am?”

  Ignoring his question, Toby Carter cleared his throat. “At this point, Mr Pitt, we are merely trying to establish who are the persons of interest in this investigation, and who are not, and the DNA samples will assist us in establishing that. I assume you wish to be eliminated from our investigation?

  “Of course I do!” A little less full of bluster, Adam sat down on the couch next to his wife, who placed her hand on his thigh in a gesture of solidarity.

  “So, you believe the accident was planned?” A frown robbed Ruby’s face of its smile. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe anyone would do that intentionally. Can you, Adam?”

  “What? No, I suppose not.” He drummed his fingers against the arm of the couch.

  “Well, we don’t know that it was planned—it could have been a random act—but we do know that the damage was caused intentionally. Now all we have to do is find out by whom, and their motive.”

  “Look, can we get on with it? said Adam. “I’m sure you have other things you’d rather be doing—I know I have.”

  “And what happens once you’ve found the person who matches the DNA you found at the house?” asked Ruby as Ken Rafferty produced an oral swab for her sample.