Cocktails and Cowardice (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 20)

by Agatha Frost

  The man looked between them and sighed. He slid his glasses on again and left, locking them in. She checked the new bag, which contained towels and toiletries.

  “Now then, Dorothy,” Percy called from the sofa, one brow arched, “what was all that about?”

  “A test.” She walked back to the window and watched as the two men, definitely older, chastised the sunglasses-wearer. “I wanted to find out two things.”

  “The first?”

  One of the men in garish clothes slapped Aviator Sunglasses around the head. He flinched before the hand even struck, but he didn’t duck. He was used to the abuse, Dot could tell that much. Once again, she was taken aback by his youth. Though he was working a man’s job, those eyes belonged to a boy.

  “I wanted to see how easily he would bend.” Dot frowned as the young man retreated to the outbuilding while the two men sat in the plastic deck chairs in the shade. “I think you saw for yourself how that went.”

  “Young lad seemed to be quite compliant,” Percy agreed. “How did you know he would be?”

  “A feeling.” Dot sighed and sat back next to Percy on the sofa. “You get to our age, and people assume you get simple and slow. Nobody wants to say no when a sweet old lady asks something of them, gun on his hip or not.”

  “And the second thing you wanted to find out?”

  “That’s not as trivial,” she said, pausing to gulp. “The suggestion that we might die without our medication seemed to scare him so much that he handed over his mobile phone.”

  “You don’t take any medication.”

  “I wrote down the name of your blood pressure pills,” she said, “and that one you take to stop you getting up to use the lavatory in the middle of the night.”

  “I hadn’t even thought about them.”

  “Good job one of us is on the ball.” Dot smiled. “The rest, I pulled from thin air. I think I might even have made some of them up, but that’s not the point. We’ll see how hard he works to find as many as he can.”

  “To send him on a fun little wild goose chase?”

  “To see how much the boy values our lives,” Dot replied darkly, nodding for Percy to follow her into the bedroom. “I think my theory that he’s only a worker bee has been confirmed, at least.”

  “So, who’s the queen, then?”

  “Hardly matters, does it?” Dot closed the bedroom door behind them and walked over to the window. “Look, no bars on the other side. It’s sealed shut like the others, but it won’t take much to smash that glass, and I reckon we’d both fit through there quite easily.”

  “What are you suggesting, Dorothy?” Percy perched on the edge of the bed, his hands shaking until he clasped them tightly. “That we make a run for it?”

  “Not right now.” She turned the loose screw around and around. “It’s nice to have the option, but I don’t think we’d get very far. Not with those three out there. They’re probably all carrying guns. We need to be smarter than that.”

  “How?”

  The keys started jangling again. Wordlessly agreeing that they shouldn’t be caught doing anything other than sitting around being old and sweet, they hurried back into the sitting room. Dot sat on the sofa seconds before the deadbolt slid back. The door cracked open, and a fist held out a plastic white desk fan.

  It shook, and Dot realised the hand wanted one of them to take it. She hurried over, glad to see the boy again.

  “Thank you . . .” She paused, waiting for him to fill in his name.

  “Rafa,” he replied, smiling a little. “Behave, okay?”

  The door closed and he began locking it again, but his smile had told her she had him.

  “Dorothy, how will we outsmart them?”

  “I don’t know yet,” she admitted, plugging the fan into a socket near the dining table. “If I’m as brilliant as you claim I am, I’m sure I’ll come up with something soon.”

  Dot sat down in front of the fan and switched it on. The first cool breeze brushing across her face made her smile more than she had since first seeing the view from Minnie’s hotel terrace – a memory that already felt fuzzy. She pulled off her brooch and unbuttoned the top of her blouse, and the crisp air felt delicious on her skin.

  “Is the fan part of your plan, dear?” Percy asked.

  “No, this is because it’s bloody boiling.” She pulled up a second chair and moved over so her husband could fit in the fan’s stream. “Now, come sit down and enjoy the air while I let my brilliant brain come up with the next bit.”

  9

  Julia

  Julia drummed her fingers against the reception desk, her wide eyes fixated on the printer. It fired out sheet after sheet, and yet there still wouldn’t be enough to cover the whole of Savega in missing posters. They were already on their third batch of the afternoon. If not for Lisa’s help – she’d translated everything into Spanish for them – they’d have had nothing at all to hand out.

  If the police were doing anything to help, Julia certainly couldn’t see the evidence. She glanced into the dining room, where Barker and Inspector Hillard were still exchanging words, and Sub-Inspector Castro picked listlessly at the breakfast leftovers. Barker and Hillard had their hands on their hips and their chests puffed out, but at least the shouting had stopped. Private investigator or not, it was hard taking Barker, in his denim shorts and sleeveless vest, seriously – especially when contrasted with Inspector Hillard’s sharp suit.

  The printer spat out its final pamphlet. Julia stared at the picture of Dot and Percy she had taken on a picnic only weeks ago. Everything had been so normal then. Their honeymoon was supposed to be normal, too, but things couldn’t have felt more surreal. Even staring at the picture of her gran and Percy surrounded by English and Spanish words pleading for help and information, Julia couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on.

  Everything had moved so fast. Even now, she half-expected them to walk through the door with a funny explanation for their absence. Remembering the ransom note brought her right back down to earth.

  Before her mind could wander to dark places, Lisa pushed through the door behind the desk marked ‘PRIVATE’, wearing the apologetic smile Julia had dreaded but expected. Once again, Minnie was conspicuously absent.

  “She still won’t come down,” Lisa said with an exasperated sigh. “She’s having one of her manic episodes. She’s hysterical.”

  “I need to talk to her.” The desperation in Julia’s voice came through loud and clear. “I know there’s more to this than she’s letting on.” She shook her head. “I know there’s more to this than both of you are letting on. My gran means everything to me. I just want to find her.”

  “I appreciate that,” Lisa said as she slapped down the fresh pile of posters on the counter, “but when my mother gets in these moods, there’s no talking to her. I’m telling you, nothing on this planet could get her out of bed and downstairs right now. And quite frankly, you wouldn’t want to be around her. She won’t see – or talk – sense.”

  Julia had never felt so helpless. Neither getting down on her knees and begging or vaulting over the reception desk and breaking into the hotel’s private quarters to find Minnie would bring back her gran. She didn’t doubt Lisa. From what she’d already seen, Minnie could be a . . . very difficult woman.

  “Thank you for these,” Julia said, resting her hands on the stack of posters and making sure that Lisa could see her smile. “I do appreciate what you’ve done.”

  “And there’s plenty more where they came from. The suppliers had a great deal on office supplies a few years ago, and I bought enough ink and paper to last us a lifetime.” Lisa rested her hand on the stack of posters, the tips of her fingers touching Julia’s. “They’ll turn up. After all the stories Mum told me, I’m really looking forward to getting to know her.” Lisa offered a smile in return. “I’m sure wherever your gran is, she’s giving someone hell.”

  “I bet she is,” Julia said, allowing herself a small laugh; it
felt good. “Are you sure there is nothing I need to know? Anything at all?”

  For a moment, Lisa looked like she might say something. By the shadowed look in her eyes, it was serious.

  And then the phone behind the reception desk rang before her lips parted. Lisa’s hand hovered over the receiver for three chimes before picking it up. Julia had an idea who it was before the phone even reached Lisa’s ear.

  “Yes, Mother,” Lisa said, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. “Mmhmm. Yes, I’m bringing it up. I was just talking to Julia. Yes, I know, I won’t make it too hot. No, I won’t make it too cold either. I do know what I’m doing, Mother. Yes, I understand. I’ll be right up.”

  Lisa flashed Julia another apologetic smile before scurrying back through the door she’d just come through. As different as mother and daughter were, right now, their reluctance to speak was something they had in common.

  Perhaps it was asking too much, but Julia could hardly believe they weren’t out searching the streets of Savega right alongside her and Barker. If they’d been visiting Peridale and the shoe had been on the other foot, Julia wouldn’t have hesitated to do everything in her power to help. As helpful as the posters were, she and Barker could only do so much – especially as they didn’t speak the language and knew virtually nothing about the locals and the area.

  Inspector Hillard stormed past Julia, the wind stirred by his passing fluttering the top few posters. The front doors slammed behind him, rattling the wooden flip sign in the window. Sub-Inspector Castro followed after him, smiling frustrating and ultimately unhelpful apologies, just like Lisa. In the dining room, Barker let out an exasperated and sustained grunt deep in his throat, both hands clenching fistfuls of his dark hair.

  “That man is an idiot!” Barker cried as he marched up to Julia. “No wonder he doesn’t work in the UK anymore. No police force in the country would promote a man like that to the rank of inspector. It’s an insult to the profession!”

  “The profession you are no longer a part of,” Julia reminded him gently. “But I agree, he doesn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the box. It’s like he’s trying to do the bare minimum while also making things more difficult for us.”

  “Exactly!” Barker huffed and leaned against the desk, hands covering his face. “He couldn’t even explain why he blasted that picture of Dot and Percy all over the news. If I’d known what he’d intended, I would never have suggested that you give it to him. What kind of inspector pastes the faces of two people being held for ransom all over the television the day after they’re taken? It’s like he’s trying to spook the captors! He’s treating it like a missing persons case, not a ransom. The two need to be handled differently.”

  Sharp claws clenched around Julia’s heart, squeezing the life from her. Barker’s words were honest and frank, and as much as they shocked her, as much as she wanted to deny them, she knew they were true.

  “I’m sorry, love.” Barker pulled her against his chest, his vest smelling of coconut-scented sun cream. “The inspector might have had a point somewhere in there, though. The kidnappers didn’t specify that we shouldn’t call the police, which is unusual. I haven’t seen many ransom notes first-hand, but I know part of the deal is usually that the police aren’t to be involved.”

  “Why do you think they’d leave that out?”

  “Inspector Good-For-Nothing seems to think it’s because everyone always calls the police anyway, so why bother pretending we won’t?” Barker pulled away from the hug, already rolling his eyes. “I’m not sure if that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but it ranks pretty high. He refused to tell me what they were actively doing to investigate the case. If things carry on like this, I’m marching myself down to the station and demanding to speak to his superior.”

  “Let’s get this fresh round of posters out before we start antagonising the local authorities.” Julia picked up the thick stack and divided it in two. “You know if we split up, we could—”

  “Cover more ground?” Barker interjected with a half-smile, wrapping his arm around Julia as they headed to the door. “Nice try, love, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’ve seen the films.”

  Once again, they returned to the plaza. By this point, they had been back and forth so many times that it seemed like an eternity had passed since they’d interviewed Arlo at the café. Julia had to remind herself that they’d spoken to Arlo just that morning. On each trip back to the hotel to get more posters, Julia had tried and failed to talk with Minnie. She had also been keeping her eye out for the Gabriel, the mysterious Frenchman Minnie apparently owed money to, but he and his red car had yet to reappear.

  Over Barker’s protests, they separated at the fountain, each taking a side of the plaza, desperate to reach more people before the place emptied out for the day. The daytime shops and cafés were already starting to close up, and as the light in the sky shifted toward twilight, the restaurants and bars began to fill up.

  Feeling Barker’s eyes trained firmly on her, she handed out poster after poster. Few people accepted them, and even fewer wanted to listen to her. She only wanted to know if anyone had seen Dot or Percy in the hours before the ransom note appeared at the hotel, and yet nobody seemed willing to speak. Buying souvenirs and drinking coffee was apparently far more important than helping Julia find her gran. Once again, she couldn’t help but compare this town unfavourably to Peridale.

  She missed home much more than she’d expected to only two days into her honeymoon.

  “Miss?” came a timid voice from behind Julia, accompanied by a rustle of paper. “Excuse me? Miss?”

  Julia turned to see a pretty young woman in a café uniform, a poster clutched in her hands. Despite her youth, worry lines furrowed her forehead, exaggerated by her scrunched brows as she stared at the pamphlet.

  “Miss,” she said again, holding out the poster, “I saw them. Yesterday I saw them.”

  “You did?” Julia grabbed the woman’s shoulders, and the waitress blinked, obviously startled by Julia’s ferocity. “When? What happened?”

  Barker joined them, gently prying Julia’s fingers from the girl’s shoulders.

  “She saw them, Barker,” Julia said, eyes frantically darting around the plaza. “She said she saw them yesterday.”

  “Before the lunchtime,” the waitress said as she reached into her apron. She pulled out a small, folded-up piece of paper. When she unfolded it, Julia instantly recognised her gran’s unique, curly handwriting. “The lady, she gives me this.”

  Julia’s eyes scanned the short note a handful of times before any of the words even registered. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to calm down. When she opened them a moment later, she was ready to read her gran’s words properly.

  I’ve hidden something very dear to me in the bathroom bin for reasons I can’t explain now. I know this is a strange request, but please can you keep it safe for me? I’ll be back later to collect it. Thank you in advance.

  “‘Collect it’?” Julia echoed. “Collect what?”

  The young woman, whose tag identified her as Maria, ushered them into the nearest café. The café had an exposed upstairs balcony like Chocolatería Valor, but it was nowhere near as uniquely decorated. Football played on several televisions, and an older, slightly overweight man propped up the counter, eyes darting between the sports pages of the newspaper and the screens. The few customers seemed more interested in the televisions than the newcomers.

  Maria joined the portly man behind the counter and pulled something out of a plastic carrier bag. Toilet roll encased the mystery item, but the second Julia noticed the leather, she knew exactly what it was.

  “My gran left this here?” Julia picked up the album and flicked through it. “She would never do that. These pictures mean too much to her.”

  “Did you see anything strange when they were here?” Barker asked, squeezing Julia’s shoulder reassuringly.

  Maria shook her head. “I did not no
tice them,” she said, glancing up to the balcony, hinting that was where they’d sat. “Not until this lady, she gives me fifty euros and this note. I wait for her to come back, but she does not. I keep the book here, for when she comes. The, how do you say, this look in her eyes, like she was . . .”

  “Like she was what?” Julia pushed.

  “Scared.” Maria gazed at Julia with wide eyes. “Very scared.”

  The words sank like lead balloons, followed by the hollow echo of cheers from the TV as someone scored a goal. Never had a sound seemed more out of place. The man behind the counter gave a silent cheer, clenching his fist in victory, before returning to the newspaper.

  Julia wished she hadn’t asked. She didn’t want to know what could possibly make her indomitable gran look very scared.

  “These cameras?” Barker asked, looking around the room and nodding the domes in the corners. “Are they real?”

  She nodded. “After all the troubles, Papa insists.”

  “Troubles?” Julia asked, her ears pricking up.

  “Break-ins,” she said, glancing down the bar at the man reading the paper. “We are not the only ones. It is the whole plaza. Things, they have not been the same since . . .”

  The man at the end of the bar coughed, rustling his paper as he did. The look he gave his daughter told Julia all she needed to know: this was something they didn’t speak of.

  “Can we look at the footage?” Barker asked, pulling a business card from his pocket. “Please?”

  The move was so seamless Julia didn’t notice the twenty euro note hidden underneath the black card until she spotted the blue poke out in Maria’s palm. She looked down at the money and immediately tucked it into her apron, nodding for them to follow her deeper into the café.

  “What are you thinking?” Julia asked in a hushed tone as they followed the woman to a door at the back.

  “If your gran left a precious photo album in a bin, wrapped in toilet roll, she must have had an inkling that something was about to happen,” he said. “Maybe she didn’t know she was about to be kidnapped for ransom money since she planned on coming back for the book last night, but something must have spooked her. If we can figure out where she was and what she did between leaving the hotel and the ransom note turning up, we’ll have a better chance of pinning down her last known whereabouts – and a better chance of finding whoever took her.”