by Sophie Brent
Erin sat back in her chair in silence as Rebecca reached for the cream and jam. “I don’t know. Something is not right. That freezer door did not magically lock itself from the outside. But who did that and why? I don’t know. Perhaps I never will, but the very least I can do is try and find out.”
“Then can you do us a favour?” Adam asked. “Whatever happens, Fiona is going to need a lot of support and we need to get back to work. Can you check in on her now and then? It would mean a lot.”
“Consider it done,” Erin nodded. “In fact, I’m starting tomorrow with a girly lunch at my deli for Fiona and her mum. Can you join us around one, Rebecca? I would love to share some of my favourite Italian recipes with you and the girls, while the boys are at the pub.”
“Italian?” Rebecca smiled. “Now that is something to look forward to. I’d love to come.”
“Brilliant! Then I’ll see you tomorrow,” Erin grinned as she pushed the chair back and got to her feet. “Now I’ll leave you in peace to finish your tea. It was nice to meet you again Adam, and don’t worry, there will be goodie bags to take home after the lunch. Bye for now!”
Chapter Eleven
Erin was just about to tuck into a light dinner on Rosa’s shaded garden patio when the doorbell rang, and she quickly dried her hands on her apron before opening the door.
“Matt? Come in. I thought that you had gone back to Lucien’s shop.” She smiled and was answered with a warm laugh that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside his chest.
“What?” Erin asked, looking behind her. “What’s so funny?”
Matt hesitated and gestured to his own upper lip with one hand.
Erin ran back into the kitchen, wiping her mouth on a tissue and there was a loud groan. “Oh no. Mayonnaise! Please sit, anywhere you like.”
“Thanks,” Matt replied, pulling out a lovely pine chair with a brightly coloured Provençal seat pad. “I remember you mentioned that Rachel Ellis is having difficulty selling her cottage. It turns out that her estate agent was only too happy to show me around the property this afternoon at short notice and you were right, it’s a lovely spacious cottage in a great location.”
The cottage…could Matt finally have bought a property of his own to call home?
“You haven’t bought it? Erin gasped.
“Me?” Matt grinned then shook his head. “No. I was checking it out for Lucien. He told me that he had already decided to move out of his first-floor apartment once you took over his shop. In fact, one of the first things he wanted to do when he got back next month was to look for somewhere else to live which did not involve climbing steep stairs.”
“Such as a country cottage with roses around the door,” Erin gasped. “That’s a wonderful idea.”
“I’m glad that you approve. I was ready to head back when I saw your van parked outside. My diary is clear for the rest of the evening, if you are still wading through those crates.”
“Partly that, partly raiding Rosa’s garden for fresh ingredients for a girly lunch party tomorrow.’
“Girly? Does that mean that I’m not invited?”
“Sorry,” Erin winced. “I think Fiona and the wedding party ladies deserve a treat. But fear not, there will be plenty left for a late supper for an emergency meeting of the entire sleuthing team.”
“Ah,” Matt nodded as he picked up the pad of paper lying on the table and scanned the list of names and scribbled notes and ideas.
“Now it becomes clearer. Your cunning plan is to supply these lovely ladies with great food and wine and lull them into a false sense of security while they happily reveal all of their deep and dirty secrets.”
She snapped her fingers. “Curses. The terrible truth is revealed. You really are good.”
Then her fingers pressed onto the tabletop and she took a breath before locking her gaze on Matt’s face.
“Every person on that list has at least one excellent reason for wanting to see Emma Wilson magically transported to a remote jungle location where she would be forced to fend for herself or be eaten by wild animals. Everyone.”
Erin slid onto the chair facing Matt and sighed. “I chatted with Maya, Rebecca and Adam at the Manor House this afternoon when I dropped off Emma’s luggage. Are you ready for this?”
She pointed out the reasons one by one with her fingers. “First. Emma’s husband, Harry Wilson, is definitely in a relationship with Maya, who has despised her old friend Emma for years.” Then she gasped at what she had just said and waved her hands in the air. “And that is totally confidential. Okay. What was I saying? Oh yes, Maya. She was staying at the hotel, she had every good reason to want Emma out of the way, and she could easily have followed her when she took off to the kitchens. Yes, Maya could have waited until Emma and Harry’s divorce had gone through, before getting serious with Harry, but in the heat of the moment? Maybe.”
She moved to the next finger. “Two. Rebecca was probably the last person to see Emma alive. She spent hours in the police station explaining that she followed Emma down to the kitchen after everyone else had gone to bed.”
Erin sighed out loud. “I don’t think she wanted to hurt Emma. Just convince her to stop sabotaging Fiona’s wedding. My gut feelings it that we can rule Rebecca out. Which leaves the two other girls. Kate and Fiona. Fiona has done everything to help Emma, so I am going to say right now that she would never wish her harm.”
“Okay. So that leaves Kate. Ethan and Adam’s sister.” Matt nodded.
Erin reached behind her and picked up a pale pink coloured file on top of the crates that they had brought from Emma’s room. “All Emma had on Kate was her background. She left law school after a year, managed one full term as an intern with Adam’s accountancy firm and is now training to be a fine artist in London. Nobody likes to be called a dilettante loser in front of their very successful friends and her brother’s future mother-in-law. I know that I would want to have a private chat with someone who hurt my feelings.”
“In the dark, in the middle of a hotel fire?” Matt frowned. “Not so sure about that. Maybe Kate is clever enough to realise that Emma had turned on her to get a reaction and decided not to give her the satisfaction? It sounds like Emma Wilson did not like to be ignored and discarded.”
“True.” Erin paused, got to her feet, and brought over a salad bowl from the kitchen. “Look. Matt. Can I make a suggestion? I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this. So, would you mind if we change the subject over dinner? Do we have a deal?”
“I am powerless to resist any lady, especially when she is my former client, and I am bound to follow her instructions to the letter. I would be honoured.’ And then he relaxed back in his chair and stretched out his legs. ‘And I’m starving. What have you got?’”
“A cool bag full of rocket and baby leaves, dry-cured charcuterie and Manchego. Olive oil if you need it. The bread is a soft milk dough, and you can cut your own just how you like it. Help yourself to anything that you like the look of. Oh, I almost forgot.”
Erin jumped up and rushed into the garden where there was a bushy green plant in a bright blue planter. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the knife block and snipped off a couple of stems before quickly rinsing them in cold water. The aroma of the fresh herbs filled the air even before she patted them dry.
“Well, you did say that Rosa grew basil!’ Matt said, watching her tear the leaves into shreds and scattered them into the salad bowl, before using a large china spoon to toss in the salad dressing. “It smells wonderful!”
‘Try it with these buffalo tomatoes. Fred Corella at the greengrocer buys them from a farmer just north of Palermo. In the summer, the Pomodoro and plum varieties come from the mainland. None of these boys have seen a greenhouse or chemicals. Don’t worry, I did wash the Sicilian insect life off them first and gave them a chance to warm up a bit. Go on, take a bite!”
Erin sat back down and dipped her slice of sourdough briefly in the basil dressing. “Oh,” she whispered as she chewed the cheese, tom
ato and basil combination. Her eyes were half closed, and for the first time that day her shoulders relaxed, and she settled back with a happy sigh.
Erin opened her eyes to find Matt smiling across at her, and immediately reached for a napkin to wipe away the dregs of salad dressing, but he was too fast for her. Without hesitation, Matt reached out and wiped the pad of his thumb along the side of her mouth.
His upper lip was twitching as though something had triggered a reaction he had not been expecting, but, when she looked up into his eyes through long dark eyelashes, the pleasure in the corners of his eyes were real.
“Let’s talk about your new bistro, instead. Have you set a target date yet?” Matt asked with a smile. “I know that Lucien is keen for you to move in before the autumn, which only leaves you a few weeks to get everything ready. I’m surprised that you haven’t been pushing me to work faster to clear out the shop.”
“Pushing?” Erin laughed and started waving her hands in the air. “Of course, I haven’t been pushing. I know that once I get started, I will be like a crazed bulldozer knocking down everything in my path. Nobody else can visualise that space the way I do. No. This is my own very personal project, and I plan to run the refurbishment exactly the way I want. Not even my mother or the rest of the Russo clan are going to tell me how to create my own bistro. Not this time. This bistro is going to be team Kelly all the way.”
She lowered her hands to pick up her knife and fork. “So, all in all, I think I’ll stick to the little family and group of friends I’ve created for myself right here. As far as I am concerned, I’m already a lucky girl. The bistro is going to be the icing on the cake. And if that makes me a bad selfish daughter, then so be it.”
Erin used the tip of her tongue to wipe away any traces of food from her lip. “And you’ve gone quiet again. Tell me what you’re thinking. Please?” Erin pleaded, her head tilted to one side.
Loading his lunch plate with food seemed to be the perfect excuse for not looking at Erin directly as Matt took his time to answer.
“I am thinking that you enjoy good food. And I am also thinking that you have nothing whatsoever to feel guilty about. I am over thirty and frequently accused of being domineering when I want to make sure that something gets done the way I want. There. Does that make you feel better? And you were the one who asked me what I was thinking.”
She had stopped chewing but was still watching him cut more bread.
“Yes, I did, didn’t I? Perhaps that was a bit...”
“Reckless? It seems that I am having a terrible influence on you.”
He lifted up his bread and cheese to his mouth and was just about to bite into it when he stopped, looked into her eyes, tilted his head in an exact copy of how she looked and whispered, “Now you have to tell me what you are thinking!”
“Um,” Erin replied, put her knife and fork back on her plate and focused on moving them an inch apart then back together, then apart again before she spoke.
“Okay. I was thinking that I might be single and capable of making my own decisions, but I am not used to allowing my stubborn instincts to get the better of me.” She shrugged her shoulders at him. “Perhaps that’s why I am not ready to set a firm date for opening the bistro. Not yet. Not until I know precisely what it will take to get there.”
“Well, here’s an idea. Lucien will be back in a couple of weeks and is determined to celebrate his seventy ninth birthday in style as a newly retired man of leisure. His favourite Italian restaurant is closed, and this cottage is too small to cope with all of the guests he plans to invite. Which creates a wonderful opportunity for the amazing, delightful new addition to the Kingsmede high street. Kelly’s Bistro.”
He instantly raised both hands, palms forward at the panic on Erin’s face.
“I could try and stall him. But I would need to do it now and it won’t be easy. On the other hand, you could use this opportunity to announce the change in ownership and get it over with as painlessly as possible. The clock has already started ticking, but there isn’t much time to sort out the details.”
“How long do you think I can keep Lucien waiting for my decision?” Erin turned and looked back at Matt. “Or can we come up with some devious plan for him to stay in Italy a little longer?”
‘That decision has to be yours. Do you want to be the new foodie hotspot in the area? You could do it. You have the passion for the food and the technical ability to go right to the top. Your face on the social media posts and media adverts. Maybe posters on the side of local buses. People would be queuing around the block to book a table. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime. And it is all yours for the taking. Erin Kelly could be the next Gordon Ramsey. Chef superstar.”
Erin threw back her head and laughed out loud, the sound of her voice echoing around the low-ceilinged cottage, her shoulders rocking as she slapped her hand down onto the table. She had a broad grin on her face and had to dive into a pocket to find a tissue to dry her eyes.
“Oh, you don’t know how flattered I am with that one,” she choked out. “Oh, wait until I tell Prisha. She’ll need clean pants at the idea of full-sized posters of me frightening away the bistro customers.”
Erin looked at Matt and realised that he wasn’t joining in the fun. “Sorry. And thanks. I needed a good laugh today. You are quite right. That is not a scenario I had thought about. I don’t mind answering questions about the food and showing people how to cook. I have been doing that all of my life.”
Erin leaned across the table and grinned at Matt as she spoke in a croaky voice. “I know that I do good work, and sometimes, just sometimes, very fine work. Inspired even. But I am not cut out to be a social media star. The last thing I want is an army of stylists trying to mould me into some slick model image with perfect teeth and fake hair. But me? Work in progress.”
Then she picked up a chunk of cheese and popped it into her mouth.
He smiled as she chewed. “I take your point. But the fact is, you’re going to be running a deli and a bistro at the same time. My suggestion? Start working on exactly what it would take to open the bistro as an ongoing business, then get back to Lucien as soon as your outline plan is ready.” Matt halted and moved one hand to gesture towards Erin. “At least then you’ll know the scope of any issues.”
She nodded and focused on what was left of the lunch. “That makes sense. Now, can I offer you anything else to eat?”
Matt smiled but shook his head. “Thank you, but no. It was all delicious, but I’ve had more than enough, and there’s a lot to do. In fact, I’d better get back to the shop. Something tells me that the new tenant will be moving in very soon.”
“Will you be going back to London?” Erin said, looking into the serious face of the handsome man standing in front of her as she moved to open the door for him, and suddenly not wanting him to move out of the hot August sunshine and this snug little cottage.
Matt glanced outside at the stone-walled patio. “Not until the work is done. It shouldn’t take more than a day or two, so I’ll be around. Until then, thanks again for lunch. And enjoy your evening,” Matt skipped lightly down the footpath and onto the lane that ran down in front of the old cottages.
“You’re welcome. Any time,” she called after him. Pathetic.
Erin tossed her head from side to side on her pillow and groaned. Her alarm clock was ringing but it felt like she had only just crawled into bed after working late into the cool of the night. She scrabbled around on her bedside cabinet with one hand until she found the clock and pressed the snooze button down hard.
Then pressed it again when the alarm kept ringing.
Oh no. It must be broken.
Her eyes refused to open so she pulled the pillow down over her ears to try and block out the sound.
No. Still ringing.
Creaking open one eye, Erin peered at the illuminated dial on the clock and blinked. One fifteen. Why had she set her alarm to go off at this time in the morning? It was still dar
k outside.
Propping herself up on one elbow she looked around the room. Her bedroom window was wide open to try and ventilate the stuffy bedroom. Strange. The sound seemed to be coming from her street outside.
Blinking hard to try and clear the sleep from her eyes, Erin slipped off the bed and walked slowly over to the bedroom window, yawning widely.
Pulling back the curtain, she looked onto the lane and was instantly awake.
The front headlights on her white van were flashing out a warning.
The alarm clock wasn’t broken after all. The sound she could hear was the car alarm in her van! Someone had tried to steal it!
Erin skipped down the narrow stairs to the deli in her slippers and quickly tied her dressing gown at the waist. She unlocked the kitchen door and turned on all of the lights so that the patio was well lit. It only took a quick glance for her to see that whoever had set the alarm off had already vanished, probably across the village green and into the winding streets beyond.
Pausing for a second before stepping outside, Erin rummaged around in the back of the storeroom until she found her large emergency flashlight and a heavy wooden rolling pin.
“Erin?” Matt’s voice called out from the bookshop patio only a few yards away. “Are you okay?”
“Still half asleep, but otherwise I’m fine,” she yawned and walked slowly out onto the stone flags to take a better look down the lane. “How long has the alarm been going off?”
“At least ten minutes,” he replied. “I’ve already called the police and they’re on their way. I’m sorry, Erin. It looks like someone has vandalized your van. It has been keyed all down the passenger side and all over the bonnet.”
“What!” She jogged down the steps, flung open her gate and was onto the lane in seconds. Her fingers were so nervous that she struggled to turn on her flashlight until she was almost at the van.
What she saw in the beam of bright white light made her feel sick.
“Oh no, no, no.” Bending over at the waist, Erin inhaled several deep breaths as the bottom fell out of her stomach.