The Deadline Series Boxset

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘Where are you going?’ Ty muttered to himself.

  The roads were getting quieter, and it was necessary for Ty to hold back. Fortunately there were few street lights and it was easy to keep Davis’s tail lights in sight. Nine pm was the equivalent of midnight around these parts. People in horse country got up before dawn to see to the animals so they ran on a different time clock.

  After about fifteen minutes, Davis indicated and pulled into the driveway of a large house. Ty rode on and found a place to stop a bit further on. He doubled back on foot and read the name of the house on the brick gatepost, Smithfield. From the outside lights at the front of the house, it was obvious that it was a big place, but then most of the private houses in this part of the world came with telephone number price tags. It would be easy enough to find out who it belonged to but why a lowly paid shop assistant would be visiting at this time of night was less clear.

  Davis left again after twenty minutes, heading back towards Newbury. On a whim, Ty reclaimed his bike and headed for Alexi’s cottage. Chances are she would still be up and, if there were no strange cars outside, he’d pay her a surprise call. After all, he could honestly say he’d been in the area. She might even know who owned the house Davis had just visited.

  Disappointed to find her cottage in darkness and no sign of her car, Ty decided to call it a night. His route home would take him past Hopgood House. Might as well drop in for a swift half and listen to Drew wax lyrical about his baby daughter’s myriad attributes. Ty smiled as he thought about the christening he’d attended a couple of weeks ago; the last time he’d seen Alexi. He’d seen some proud parents in his time but Drew and Cheryl were in a class of their own. He envied them their contentment and felt a moment’s regret for all that domestic harmony he’d never got to experience. He wouldn’t mind…hell, don’t go there!

  Even when Hopgood House was in danger of going under, as far as Ty had been able to tell, Drew and Cheryl never let the financial strain impinge upon their relationship. That was unusual. In his line of work, Ty had seen a good many marriages fold under such pressure. He was glad that Alexi had come up with ideas to help them survive.

  Ty sensed something was wrong, even before he saw all the flashing lights and emergency vehicles blocking the road outside Hopgood House.

  ‘What the fuck…’

  He parked the bike up and covered the rest of the distance on foot. Alexi’s distinctive Mini with its garish pink roof was in the car park. Of course it was! Alexi and trouble went hand in hand. A uniformed constable was standing guard at the main door and there were all sorts of human comings and goings. He recognised a detective he knew from Reading nick and…oh hell, the coroner’s van.

  ‘Can’t let you in,’ the uniform on the door said when Ty tried to walk past him like he owned the place. ‘Unless you’re a resident, of course,’ he added, consulting a clipboard.

  ‘I’m with Ms Ellis,’ Ty said.

  ‘Oh, she didn’t say to—’

  ‘Ty?’ Ty looked up at the sound of Alexi’s voice. She ran down the steps and threw her arms around him. ‘I thought I heard your voice. Am I glad to see you!’

  ‘What’s happened?’ he asked, catching hold of her.

  ‘Oh, I figured you must already know.’ She blinked up at Ty and he could see she was freaked out, not thinking straight. ‘Why else would you be here?’

  Now wasn’t the time for his I was just passing routine. The stark porch light shone on Alexi’s face. It was ghostly white and she was trembling; nothing like the tough, independent journalist he’d come to know and admire during the Natalie Parker case. Nothing had seemed to faze her then. Not even being almost strangled by the guy who’d killed Natalie.

  ‘Tell me,’ he said, closing his arms protectively around her. ‘It’ll be all right.’

  ‘Not for one of the contestants in the show it won’t,’ she said, her voice trembling almost as much as her body. ‘Cheryl called me and I came right over. Got here at the same time as the police.’ She paused, looking up at Ty through eyes luminous with shock. ‘She’s been murdered.’

  Chapter Three

  ‘It’s okay.’

  Ty’s capable hands spanned Alexi’s back and held her firmly against him until she stopped trembling. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, aware that things were far from okay. It made her tired just thinking about all the hoops they’d now have to jump through, to say nothing of having a murderer on the loose. Having Ty there—a timely arrival he had yet to explain—somehow made it feel as though the whole terrible mess wouldn’t spiral completely out of control.

  Shit, she was being selfish! A girl had lost her life and Alexi was thinking about damage control for the hotel.

  ‘Let’s go inside and you can tell me about it.’

  Ty slid an arm around her waist. He signed the duty copper’s clipboard and was allowed past the cordon. Alexi didn’t look into the bar where the remaining contestants, a couple of guys from Far Reach Productions and Marcel were gathered, waiting to be questioned. Instead she took Ty’s hand and led the way to Cheryl’s private kitchen.

  ‘I was at home,’ she said, unable to remember if she’d already told him that. ‘Cheryl called me in a dreadful state so I came straight over.’

  ‘You should have called me.’

  ‘Why?’ She shot him a bemused look. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You’re here now. You must have a nose for bad news. We haven’t seen you for weeks and then, out of the blue…’

  Realising that she sounded accusatory, Alexi abruptly shut her mouth. Cheryl and Drew were sitting at the table when they walked into the kitchen. Cheryl looked as shocked as Alexi felt. Drew was trying to comfort her.

  ‘Ty,’ they said together. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Cosmo and Toby were in the dog’s basket. Cosmo looked up, saw Ty and made a sound like a cross between a meow and a purr. He leapt with feline grace straight into Ty’s arms and Alexi could have sworn the traitorous beast actually bared his teeth in a smile. Cosmo was at his curmudgeonly best whenever he came to the hotel and found it buzzing with film people, all of whom he’d taken a dislike to. At the producer’s request, Cosmo was banned from going anywhere near the annexe. Everyone was terrified of him. His reaction to Ty was a much-needed lighter moment in an otherwise fraught evening.

  ‘Hey, big guy,’ he said, rubbing the purring cat’s head. ‘I missed you too.’

  He put Cosmo down, pulled out a chair for Alexi and took the one next to her.

  ‘Believe it or not,’ Ty said, ‘I was in the area on another job. I thought I’d call in for a swift half, then saw all the commotion so had to know what was going on.’

  ‘We’re well and truly fucked, is what’s going on,’ Drew replied despondently. ‘The star of the show has only gone and been killed. First Natalie Parker connected to us, now this. No one will risk coming here after the news gets out.’

  ‘Marcel.’ Ty shook his head. ‘But I just saw him—’

  ‘No, not Marcel. Juliette, the blonde.’

  Ty shook his head. ‘I just saw her, too. In tonight’s episode.’

  ‘That was filmed two days ago,’ Cheryl said.

  ‘I sounded a bit harsh just now,’ Drew said, ‘thinking about the hotel when Juliette has lost her life. Ignore me, it’s the shock.’

  ‘Too right we should think about the hotel,’ Alexi said. ‘And, call me a cynic, or a horrible, heartless person, but it’ll be good for business.’

  ‘And ratings,’ Ty added. ‘Perhaps one of the film crew did it.’

  ‘There’s only one or two of them around unless it’s filming day,’ Cheryl explained. ‘There’s a go-to person if a contestant has a something to bitch about, and one of them almost always does.’

  ‘Usually Juliette,’ Drew added.

  ‘Yeah well, not anymore,’ Cheryl said. ‘Then there’s a guy that monitors the cameras and deals with any technical stuff. That’s about it. The day before they pu
t the episode together, a ton of people descend on us, and all hell breaks loose.’

  ‘They look at the footage from the cameras remotely,’ Alexi added, ‘and pretty much decide what bits will go in the week’s episode. You know, the stuff when the contestants are bitching amongst themselves, or about each other. Marcel chilling out with them. He’s contracted to spend an hour a day with them outside of the kitchen. Anyway, it’s a pretty slick operation.’

  ‘It was the technical guy who found the body,’ Drew said. ‘The other three were enjoying some down time, but Juliette was in a strop about something and stomped off to her room. Nothing unusual about that. She’s acted up that way since day one. Anyway, as far as we can gather, Guy Salter, the techie on duty, noticed the camera in Juliette’s room was out. He thought she’d hung a piece of clothing to block it to get some privacy while she recovered from her moody. She’s done it before.’

  Cheryl sighed. ‘But not this time.’

  Drew covered his wife’s hand. ‘Guy found her lying naked on her bed with a chef’s knife buried in her chest.’

  ‘Ouch!’ Ty shuddered.

  ‘Right.’ Drew nodded, his expression dour. ‘We called the cavalry, they arrived mob-handed and we’ve been told to sit tight. And that,’ he added, ‘was over an hour ago.’

  ‘Who’s in charge?’

  ‘Not sure,’ Alexi replied. ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘It will help if it’s someone I know, that’s all. A friendly face is more likely to tell me what’s going on.’

  Alexi’s mobile rang. ‘Oh God,’ she said, glancing at the display. ‘It’s Patrick. Talk about bad news travelling fast.’

  Ty rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t take it.’

  ‘I’d best see what he wants, otherwise he’ll turn up in person.’ She took the call. ‘Patrick.’

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m fine, thanks. How are you?’

  ‘Sorry, babe. That’s what I was asking. I was beside myself when I heard a female had been found dead at the hotel. I thought it might…that it could be—’

  ‘It’s Juliette.’

  ‘Hell, are you okay? You didn’t find her, did you? What are you doing there anyway?’

  ‘How did you hear?’ she asked, ignoring his barrage of questions. ‘It hasn’t hit the news yet or we’d be inundated with press.’

  ‘The station heard something was up and asked me what I knew.’

  Ah, Ty thought, able to hear Patrick’s voice even though Alexi hadn’t put the call on speaker. The studio would have been the tech guy’s first call. ‘We haven’t been told anything yet.’

  ‘I wanted to be sure you were okay.’

  ‘I guess this means the show will be cancelled.’ She sent Ty a quizzical glance when he made a scoffing sound.

  ‘Too soon to know,’ Patrick replied evasively. ‘They’re sending down a couple of their legal people to protect their interests. They’ll want to sit in on any interviews the contestants have with the police.’

  ‘I think they’re being questioned now.’

  ‘Tell them not to say anything.’

  ‘I doubt if they know anything, Patrick. Anyway, they won’t let me near them. I wasn’t even here when the body was found. Cheryl called me and I came right over.’

  Ty had had enough of the prick’s faux concern for Alexi. All he cared about was scoring points with his boss. ‘The police are ready for you,’ he said, loud enough for Patrick to hear.

  ‘That didn’t sound like Drew. Who’s there with you?’

  Alexi bridled. ‘And that’s any of your business because…’

  ‘Sorry. No, I’m not sorry. I won’t apologise for worrying about you. I’m going to come down as soon as I can get away.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘I don’t like to think of you getting involved in a murder.’ He paused. ‘Again. You were safer here in the city, where you belong.’

  ‘That was a cheap shot, Vaughan, and not helpful.’

  ‘Sorry, but you have to admit…hell, that’s my other line and I need to take it. I have to go. Call me if you need anything.’

  ‘Or if there’s any news that adversely affects the station?’ Alexi cut the call without waiting for him to respond and threw her phone on the table. ‘You don’t think the station will cancel, do you,’ she asked, turning towards Ty. ‘I know it looks bad, but none of this is our fault.’

  ‘I doubt it very much if they’ll call it off,’ Ty replied. ‘The show was already topping the ratings. Far as I could tell, the audience was equally divided between loving and hating Juliette. And I’m not talking about her ability to make a soufflé rise.’

  ‘She made a few other things rise around here,’ Drew said, ‘and I don’t just mean tempers.’

  ‘Ha, is that all you men can ever think about?’ Cheryl asked. ‘Even now, when the girl’s dead, your minds are still in the gutter.’

  Drew raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘Just telling it like it is.’ His expression sobered. ‘Or was.’

  ‘Well, whatever the attraction was before, you’ll get odds on that the ratings will go through the stratosphere while the great unwashed try to decide who did it. It’ll go viral.’ Ty grimaced. ‘Trust me on this. Nothing sells better than bad news especially, sorry Cheryl, when the victim of a brutal murder is a bombshell with attitude.’

  ‘Christ,’ Drew said, standing up and grabbing a bottle of brandy from the cabinet. ‘That is so depressing.’

  He poured healthy measures for three of them. Cheryl was breast feeding so still off the booze but Drew forced a small measure on her as well. ‘Won’t hurt to have just a taste,’ he told her. ‘And it’ll help with the shock.’

  She’d barely drunk it before wails came through the baby monitor.

  ‘She needs feeding,’ Cheryl said, standing.

  ‘I’ll come and keep you company,’ Drew said. ‘Excuse us for a while.’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Hey, how are you?’ Ty asked into the ensuing silence, reaching for Alexi’s hand. ‘I’ve missed you. Been tied up with one case. Got it sorted and thought I’d come down. Then, blow me, another came along.’

  Alexi nodded, wanting to ask if he’d heard of that new-fangled thing called the telephone. She refrained. Ty’s defection had seemed like a big deal, even if she wasn’t prepared to admit it, until an hour ago. Set against Juliette’s brutal slaying, it now seemed inconsequential. She hadn’t much liked Juliette—she was too up front in all respects for Alexi’s taste—but she didn’t wish her dead, either.

  ‘Can’t turn down paying work,’ she said absently, twisting the stem of her brandy glass between her fingers.

  ‘What actually happened here tonight?’

  Ty wisely chose to ignore her sarcasm. As the shock began to wear off, Alexi found she was in the type of combative mood that would make Cosmo drool with envy. Now that she was thinking more coherently, it occurred to her that by trying to help Drew and Cheryl, encouraging them to expand and providing the financial support they needed to do it, she might well have sounded the death knell for their hotel. Nice going, Alexi. None of that was Ty’s fault, but he was here, she felt justified in being annoyed with him for sending her mixed messages then buggering off, and she was more than ready to let him have it with both barrels. She subsided into a simmering silence instead.

  ‘How was it going with the show before tragedy struck?’

  Alexi sighed. The silent treatment wasn’t working, mainly because if Ty had even noticed, it wasn’t getting to him. Quite right too. She was no longer ten years old and her own petty grievances had no place here.

  ‘Honest truth,’ she said. ‘You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. I thought the contestants were selected because they were polar opposites but what I didn’t realise at first is that they’re all fiercely competitive. The one thing they do have in common is their love of cooking. There was no faking it there. They all really wanted to make it
big time in the culinary world—’

  ‘It struck me as a viewer that Juliette just wanted to make it.’

  Alexi conceded the point with a nod. ‘True. Did you know that she got an agent?’

  Ty gaped at her. ‘She what?’

  ‘Yeah, after the first episode aired and she got so much attention, the agents came to her.’

  ‘A chef has an agent?’

  Alexi smiled. ‘Marcel now has one, too.’

  ‘Give me strength!’

  ‘A lot of the sniping you see on the screen is taken out of context. Most of the time the contestants, on their downtime, either ignore one another or get along okay, differences in temperaments notwithstanding. Juliette did blow up over the slightest thing but everyone ignored her, which is why she kept stomping off to her room to sulk. Anyway, the studio guys come along every so often, throw out a few contentious questions, and you get to see the results. It’s not at all typical of the way things really were.’

  ‘How it really is would most likely bore people rigid. Watching paint dry springs to mind.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘What was Juliette really like?’ Ty asked.

  ‘Very self-centred, very self-assured and, accordingly to Marcel, a half-reasonable chef. But, like I say, they all are. I’ve tasted some of their culinary efforts so I know about what I speak.’

  ‘Any fallings out amongst the chefs?’

  ‘Not so far as I know. Marcel’s the only one allowed to throw his toys out of the pram in the professional kitchen.’

  Ty smiled at her. ‘No change there then.’

  As though he’d heard his name being mentioned, Marcel pushed his way into the kitchen, looking pale, his hair dishevelled, a day’s designer stubble covering the lower half of his face—nothing like the autocratic television chef the country had grown to either hate or lust after.

  ‘Oh, Ty. I heard you were here.’

  ‘Blimey,’ Ty muttered and Alexi knew why. Marcel was back to his normal Cockney self—a side of him he showed to very few people and one which Ty hadn’t seen before.