He stared down at his burger. “She was so lovey, genuine. Pretty as well. I should have known she would never be interested in me.”
“What was her name?” I asked quietly.
“Emily Ryan.”
I nodded. Clearly, she had given him her fake name. Maybe that meant she liked him, maybe that meant she was just trying to get rid of him. Either way, I had to put this poor guy out of his misery or he was going to walk around thinking he had been ghosted by this girl for the rest of his life.
I pulled out my phone and googled Lola Bloom, bringing up thousands of photos of her and leaned over the booth to show him. “Is this her?”
He just stared at the screen stunned for a moment. He blinked a few times. “I… I don’t understand…”
I took my phone back and tucked it into my pocket. “I think she gave you a fake name, Yalcin. She checked in under the name Emily Ryan, but she is actually a pretty huge celebrity.”
“I have never even heard of Lola Bloom.”
I shrugged. “You don’t look like her target audience, to be fair.”
“Right,” he said, looking even more dejected. “So I have been rejected by an international pop star. Even better.”
I sighed quietly. I didn’t know what had happened between them. Maybe they really had had a moment. Maybe they had shared something special. Maybe Lola had just been being polite to someone she had mistaken for a fan, and he had taken it for more than it was. There was no way for me to know. But I did know that the guy sitting across from me was suffering from a broken heart and it didn’t feel right to lie to him.
“Yalcin. Lola Bloom is dead.”
16
Claire
I turned the hotel room TV on and saw an ad for a Lola Bloom TV interview later that night. I wondered if it had been pre-recorded and turned the TV off and shivered. You know the phrase, “not enough room to swing a cat around”? Well, that was the case with my new hotel room, except that I was the cat and I literally bumped into the walls every time I spun around. I felt like I was trapped inside a box. I was starting to miss The Onyx. I was also starting to miss my best friend. I had no idea why she had raced away at the beach without even thanking me for watching J. But I was willing to chalk it up to the stress of the competition and her being angry that I’d been spending so much time with Bianca instead of her.
Oh, well. She would probably be relieved to know that I had finally seen through Bianca’s bright and cheery facade. She would be more then relieved, she would be ecstatic. So I decided to surprise her by turning up at The Onyx. Maybe we could go for some good old-fashioned ice cream in regular flavors like mint and strawberry.
I didn’t understand what was happening when I asked for her at the reception desk and the concierge refused to let me upstairs. “I don’t think you’ve explained to her properly who it is. She must not have heard you right.” I was speaking firmly and slowly, and he was looking at me like I was an annoying insect. I saw exactly what was happening: now that I was not a guest, he was not going to put up with me. “Tell her it is Claire Elizabeth Richardson.”
He lightly rolled his eyes, but he went back to the phone and tried again.
“I’m sorry,” he said, placing the receiver down. “Miss Foulkes is not taking any guests at the moment.”
“Well, I will just wait here until she decides to make an appearance,” I said stubbornly and took a seat on one of the leather lounges. I knew she had the surf semi-final heat that afternoon, so she would have to come out of her room sooner or later.
I was starting to feel like a bit of a stalker though, waiting there for her to leave her room. Was this what the fans of Lola Bloom were like?
“Finally!” I said, jumping up when Alyson and J walked into the lobby a half hour later.
She just glared at me. I had been waiting so long that I was not going to waste time trying to psychically deduce what had upset her this time. “Just tell me what you’re mad about so we can get over it and get ice cream,” I said, assuming it was something silly, like it always was.
But she just stared at me with emotionless eyes. “When exactly were you planning on telling me that you kissed my brother?”
Suddenly everything went very still, and there was a ringing in my ears.
Right there, in the lobby of the Onyx, was not the place I wanted to have this all out.
Alyson was already stomping towards the revolving doors.
“Alyson… I can explain…” I chased after her feebly and she actually stopped and spun around, which I hadn’t been prepared for. “I…I was trying to find the right time,” I stuttered.
“And you kept this from me for months?” Alyson’s voice was high, and it sounded like it was going to crack. She actually sounded like she was going to cry. I wouldn’t know what to do if she cried. Well, I didn’t know what to do at all. I’d expected her to be a bit upset if she found out, but I never thought she would have this kind of reaction.
And now it was my turn to be offended. “Geez, Alyson. If anything, I’d thought you would be happy for the two of us…” Couldn’t she see how selfish she was being? What was it to her if Matt and I dated?
Alyson still looked like she had tears in her eyes. She shook her head. “If that’s what you really believed then you would have told me right away. You are both liars. I have no brother and no best friend!”
Then she finally stormed out. She looked at me and flashed me a bright smile. “Would you like me to call you a cab, Miss Elizabeth Richardson?”
An elbow. A foot. But I was dead, numb, and I barely felt the jabs. People rushing around on their lunch breaks, trying to buy and consume a panini and a latte before their thirty minutes was up and they had to be back at the office. But I was just cruising. Walking against the tide. I wasn’t one of them any longer. Up ahead of me was a bookshop with two levels and a sign out front offering a ‘two for one special.’
I walked past and noticed there was a ‘going out of business’ sign in the window. Was this the future of bookshops? The future I had to look forward to even if I returned to Eden Bay and fought? Well, it wouldn’t be the future for a little while, if I was really honest. Eden Bay was at least two decades behind the rest of the country. That was one of the things I found charming about it. Half the time I was there, I felt like I had stumbled onto a different planet.
I got a call from Randy Mascorro. “No matter which way we look at it, Bianca does have a claim over the bookshop. If you are going to claim ‘intent’ over the will, then this might end up in court.” He paused and let that sink in. Let me add up the costs in my mind. “It might be time to think about selling the shop and splitting the profits before either of you lose any more money on the legal fees.”
I thanked him and put the phone away. I had no answer for him. Not yet.
I passed the bookshop without walking in, with only a brief glance at the bare shelves where people had gobbled up books only now that they were half-price. Being given away.
What was there left for me in Eden Bay now? After Alyson’s reaction, I knew that things with Matt and I could never go any further. So what was left? No bookshop, no best friend, no boyfriend. It was over.
I stopped and glanced up at Counterpoint Tower and the blue skies above. This was at least a planet that was familiar to me. Sydney had been my home for ten years. Why couldn’t it be my home again?
Just as I was about to reach my budget hotel, I passed a bar and spotted the sign in neon lights: “Karaoke from 9pm tonight.”
Now I understood. The stage would be my new home.
There were no nerves at all as I grabbed the mic and the music to Fast Car started. This was where I felt the freest, hair swaying back and forth as I moved in time to the music. My voice flowing out effortlessly and powerful at the same time. Lost in it.
I opened my eyes just a peep to see the reactions of the crowd. Just as I suspected—all thoroughly impressed. I closed my eyes again and sung, soaking up the
warmth of the approval of a room full of strangers.
There was applause—hmm, a little scattered, but enthusiastic enough—as the music ended and my time was up. I nodded at the crowd and grinned to show my appreciation. In the corner, there was one young man giving me a standing ovation and clapping vigorously. He even started to walk over to me.
He had dark, floppy hair and he was young, early twenties. I smiled to myself a little smugly. Well, of course he was a fan.
“You are really talented,” he said.
I flipped my hair over my shoulder and smiled humbly, like it was no big deal. Of course I was talented, and of course I heard that all the time. Still, there was no limit to the amount of times I could hear it. With his leather jacket, hair, and jewelry, he projected a certain image, and I wondered if he had any connection to the music industry. You never knew. I had heard that music label scouts sometimes hung out in places like this to try and find the next big thing.
“So, what do you do?” I asked him.
He grinned at me. “Hmm. I don’t want to give too much away,” he said with a little wink. “But let’s just say I am a ‘fan’ of music. And talented musicians.”
Right. I got it. I started to feel excited.
He offered to buy me a drink if I told him a little bit more about my singing and plans for the future. I was more than happy to as I followed him to the bar.
“You are really beautiful,” he said.
“Er, thanks,” I said, but I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. This was about my singing voice, right? My beautiful voice. Not my beautiful looks.
“What was your name again?” I asked, having to shout over the noise in the bar to be heard.
“My name is Zan,” he shouted back
It was an unusual name and it sounded familiar, but I didn’t think too much of it. The bar was too noisy, and I wasn’t sure I had even heard the name right.
“So,” he said, passing me my whiskey. “Tell me all about yourself, Miss Claire.”
I hated being called that and the vibe had definitely changed. But I started nervously prattling on anyway, just in case he actually was from a record label or knew someone who was. Maybe he was even a manager. “I suppose I like to mostly sing ballads…” Now that I was talking about my singing, I’d perked up. “I am quite good at piano as well. I know five different songs. Do you know Tori Amos? I love her. I suppose that is who I would compare myself to the most.”
He just kept staring at me with this intense expression like he was seeing right into my soul. It was equal parts flattering and terrifying.
“I would like to get to know you a lot better, Claire Elizabeth Richardson…”
17
Alyson
There was a violent knocking coming from somewhere, and J was jumping up and down in bed. “There is someone at the door! There is someone at the door!” she was screaming like she was dizzy on lemonade. I looked at the time. It was 4:30 in the morning. My alarm was not set until 5:30. I threw off my sheets and thought to myself, There had better be a fire in The Onyx or I will start one myself.
“J! Put on cartoons and stay quiet if you’re not gonna go back to bed.”
I pulled the door back. It was Andre.
Uh oh. He looked like a bull who was about to charge, and I did not want J to see this. I stepped out into the hall and wrapped my robe around myself tighter.
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed at him.
“This is all your fault,” he said, before grabbing his phone and pushing it right into my face to show me something.
My eyes were still foggy and still adjusting to the light, but it wasn’t the first time I had been woken in the early hours and told that something terrible was my fault so I was willing to take his word for it. But still, it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust and to read the headlines.
News of Lola Bloom’s death had broken worldwide.
“It had to have been you or your blonde friend,” Andre said, sticking his head inside to look for Claire. “You were the only two who knew!”
I crossed my arms and held my ground. That was just plain not true. “Everyone in your crew knew.”
Andre turned even redder. “None of them would ever betray the inner sanctum like this. We had a plan and we were going to stick to it.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. I knew that Dovey, for one, was afraid of Andre and his temper. And she wasn’t pleased about being shoved away on the bottom floor. Or being out of a job.
“Who did you tell?” Andre demanded to know.
“No one!” I cried and at first, I fully meant it. How dare he come and knock on my door at 4:30 in the morning and claim that I had tattled to the press…and then I remembered. I had told Yalcin.
But surely he wouldn’t have told anyone.
But I had gone very quiet and Andre picked up on my change in body language. He put the phone back in his top pocket and backed away from me. “You will be dearly sorry for this, Alyson Foulkes. Good luck getting back to sleep.”
Curtis came and sat with me on the sand. I nodded a brief hello, but I was just staring into the water, wondering how I was going to tackle the semi-finals heat with everything on my mind.
“Not exactly the relaxing leadup to the finals that I wanted.” My form was off. My focus was off. My ankles and legs were still aching from the previous heats. I looked out over Bondi Beach and wondered if I should even bother as I watched the top ten ranked surfers walk by. “But I suppose I never had a chance of competing with these guys anyway, did I? I’m not really in the big leagues. Just pretending to be.”
Curtis shook his head and grinned to reassure me. Why was he always so nice? “Nah, you’re just as good as any of these guys. You just don’t have the fancy logos.” He smiled at me and shrugged. “And I think relaxing leading up to the competition is overrated. Use the heavy stuff you have been dealing with and take it into the surf with you.”
I stood up and brushed off the sand. He was right. I had never given up on anything before in my life and I wasn’t going to now. Even when the maid had rattled me, I still hadn’t been entirely put off solving the case. Maybe temporarily. But I’d still gone up to Yalcin in that burger joint. That took guts. Not that I wasn’t already regretting that. But even with Andre threatening me, I wasn’t going to quit figuring out what happened to Lola. And I certainly wasn’t going to let Andre stop me from competing in the sport I loved more than anything in the world.
“I am going to make Eden Bay proud!”
18
Claire
I found a spot in the sand and unrolled my towel. I was not about to sit directly in sand wearing my best white pants. Ugh, it was still scratching me even through the towel. I shielded my eyes and scanned the beach for Alyson. She probably didn’t want me there. Oh well, too bad. I was going to watch anyway whether she liked it or not. This was the biggest comp she had ever competed in and when one day we had put our little feud behind us, we would both regret it if I hadn’t been there to watch. The semi-final heat might be the last time she surfed in it, since there was no guarantee that she was going to make it through to the final. These were the best surfers in the world, not just the best surfers in Eden Bay. Or even New South Wales. Or even Australia.
I heard J’s voice a little further up the beach and turned my head. She was being minded by one of the girls I recognized from Lola’s entourage. So I suppose I’m not even trusted to look after J anymore then.
Ugh, there was sand everywhere. I stood up and shook myself off, deciding to find somewhere in the stands to watch. I’d be further away, but I’d be more comfortable.
I spun around and saw Bianca striding towards me, but then I turned my back again and tried to find a solo seat in the stands that had no empty seats around it. There was a tap on my shoulder. I took my seat and just ignored her, staring straight into the ocean while the names of the semifinalists were announced over the loudspeaker.
“Claire, please,
can’t we just watch the comp together—as friends?”
“You’re the one who didn’t want to be civil,” I stated, staring straight ahead.
“No, I never said that… I said I didn’t want to compromise. You can be civil and still not want to compromise.” She asked the man sitting beside me to move, and he actually obliged and let her take his seat.
I finally spun around to face her. I wasn’t about to put up with those language gymnastics.
“It’s my shop. You can’t just take it off me.”
She sighed gently and took her shades off. “Yes, you keep saying that,” she stated coolly. “Almost like a baby who doesn’t want to give up her toy.”
I was embarrassed to be described like that. I couldn’t think of anything else to say that wouldn’t make me sound even more like a toddler who didn’t want to play nice, so I just remained silent.
“Don’t you think I want my turn?” Bianca asked.
Oh, that was it. I couldn’t ignore that. I turned to her and rolled my eyes. “You didn’t even want to have our meeting in Eden Bay, Bianca. How am I supposed to believe that you desperately want to move there and own a bookshop?”
She stared down at the ground. She looked sad. “I was scared to come out there for the meeting,” she said softly. “I was scared that I was going to fall in love with the place and then lose it.”
Yeah, well, welcome to the club.
Bianca was staring at me intently and it made me uncomfortable. Like she was studying me for weaknesses. But she just asked. “What happened to the diamond in your earring?”
I reached up and felt for it. Ugh. Oh no. It was just an empty clasp without any stone inside it. “Shoot. It must have fallen out! Probably somewhere in my room at The Onyx.”
I glanced up at the board that had all the schedules on it for the finals. From what I could estimate, it would still be at least an hour before Alyson was in the water. I stood up and grabbed my purse, starting to excuse myself and apologize for stepping on people’s toes as I exited the stands.
Hang Ten Australian Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 61