Blue Moon Investigations Ten Book Bundle

by steve higgs

  ‘There is a team in your apartment now trying to catch all the spiders.' Big Ben told me. ‘It might take them a while because they don't know how many there are and don't want to leave any behind.' I didn't want that either. ‘The police came and took a statement from your neighbour across the hall. I’m not sure she was much help, she just kept saying it was a young black man that delivered the flowers.’

  ‘They will want a statement from me.’ I whispered, my voice barely loud enough for me to hear. I was trying to get myself moving. I hated spiders. It had run up my arm and I wondered if I would ever feel clean again.

  ‘Shall we get this done?’ Big Ben asked, pulling gently on my hand to get me back on my feet. ‘You can crash at my place until they give you the all clear.’ He was being very sweet, it was a caring, compassionate side of Big Ben that I had never seen before.

  He held my hand to keep me steady, perhaps seeing how unsteady I was on my feet, and guided me over to where there were two police cars.

  Sgt Dave Barnet took a statement from me and let me go. Someone handed me my bag. It had been left on the kitchen counter next to the flowers where I had put it down.

  There was a squeeze to my arm. I turned to see Jane next to me. ‘I'm going home, Amanda. Don't worry about tonight, I have already messaged Bartholomew and apologised for cancelling at the last moment. He said he was fine with rearranging the date for another night. We can work things out in the morning.' She had missed the date with Bartholomew. We were going to lead him into a trap. None of it had happened. Jane gave me a little hug and was gone.

  I heard Big Ben confirm that Sgt Barnet had no further need for me to remain at the scene. They would call to confirm when the animal control chaps were done. He still had hold of my hand, so he led me to his car, put me on the passenger’s seat and took me to his flat.

  Halfway there, Big Ben started talking. ‘Hotstuff. I have been trying to work out if I have ever had a woman in my flat that I haven’t had sex with. You don't have to be the first, you know.'

  ‘Oh my God, Ben. Seriously, you’re trying to get in my knickers now?’

  ‘It seems like the best thing for you. You have had a nasty shock, so let’s take your mind off it. I assure you I am very good.’

  We had arrived at his building. ‘Benjamin, I honestly have no idea how you ever get a woman into your bed. If I had a better option I would be going there now and not planning to sleep on your sofa.'

  ‘Yeah, you’re planning to sleep on my sofa. Good luck resisting me once you enter… the lair.’ He put extra emphasis on the last two words and dropped his voice to make it sound sinister. I rolled my eyes. I was fairly sure he was just messing around.

  Big Ben came around the car to open my door. I climbed out but stood up too quickly and went a little dizzy. He caught me as I all but fell out of his giant four by four car.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I think so. Just a head spin.’ I stood up straight, but he kept his arm around me for support as he led me to the building. A tender, helpful version of Big Ben was something of a revelation.

  His building was much nicer than mine. That it was housed inside a gated community that had a security guard checking the people coming in said a lot. It also meant that money invested in the beautiful grounds around the buildings did not get ruined by wandering teens, homeless people or anyone else. The lobby of his building had a marble floor and the stairs were chrome and glass and utterly spotless. He pressed the button to call the lift.

  Halfway up to his penthouse suite, I suddenly felt my heart drop. In all the horror and excitement, I had forgotten my date with Brett. I yanked my phone from my bag and dialled his number. No signal.

  Impatient for five seconds that felt like five minutes, the lift arrived at its destination with me shoving the doors open to get out while simultaneously hitting the redial button. The clock on the phone told me it was quarter after eight. Brett must be outside my apartment.

  It rang for a while before it connected. Then Brett's voice came on the phone, but it was not the usual sexy tone that I always got. Instead, he sounded bored. ‘Amanda.' Monosyllabic.

  ‘Brett, God I'm so sorry. There were some flowers delivered to my house and I thought they were from you, but they weren't of course. They were from…'

  ‘I saw you with him, Amanda.’

  ‘You… sorry, what? You saw me with who?’

  ‘The tall guy. I saw you drive away in his car, then I saw you hugging him before you went arm in arm into a building.’

  ‘Oh, Brett. You have it all wrong.' He had seen me with Big Ben. Now he was feeling betrayed, as I might if the roles were switched, but it was all a mistake.

  ‘Amanda, I don’t own you. We haven’t slept together. I just didn’t expect there to be someone else.’

  ‘No, Brett, please listen.’ I begged. I just needed him to hear what I was saying but he didn’t want to hear me.

  ‘Don’t call me, Amanda. Okay?’ he didn’t wait for me to answer though. He just hung up.

  I stared at the wall defeated. I was having such an awful day. Bartholomew and CI Quinn, Patience wasn’t talking to me, my home was full of spiders. I was getting nowhere with my case and now Brett thought I was cheating on him. I refused to cry. A defiant tear rolled down my cheek anyway and for the second time today I started sobbing.

  I was so fed up being at the bottom. Being on the losing end. Big Ben placed his hands on my shoulders and steered me inside his apartment, wheeled me in front of his couch and handed me a mug of tea as I sat.

  I mumbled my thanks, gave myself a mental shake and sent Brett a text explaining what he had seen. I wanted to call him, to have him come and get me and take me back to his place. I wanted to have sex with him and put this silly misunderstanding behind us.

  It was a long text that took many drafts before I pressed send. My tea was cool by the time I was done. Cooler than I would have wanted it, but it was nice that Big Ben had made it for me. Sitting on the couch with my feet tucked beneath me and feeling a little pathetic and battered from my day, I pondered what I would do now.

  The simplest thing was to spend the night on Big Ben's couch and go home in the morning. I expected it would be clear of giant, killer spiders by then. I would need to thoroughly clean the whole apartment, which would not be a simple task as I would be holding a large mallet in one hand just in case animal control had missed one.

  Big Ben sauntered back into the central living area. He had nothing on his top half, revealing, not for the first time, his lean, muscular torso. He looked like he could run through walls. In his arms, he was carrying bedding and pillows to make up the couch for me.

  ‘How are you doing now?’ he asked.

  ‘Much better, thank you.’ I lied.

  ‘It sounded like man trouble earlier. Do you want to talk about it?’

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘Fair enough. I didn't know you were involved with anyone. Is it serious?' he asked.

  I couldn’t decide if Big Ben was being nosy or just making conversation. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, ‘I had hoped it was going to be serious, but we never got quite that far. We had a date tonight and it… well, tonight happened, didn’t it? Anyway, he saw me with you and jumped to a conclusion.’

  Big Ben nodded. ‘I always figured you would end up with Tempest. That’s why I have never turned on the charm around you. He’s my bro and it was obvious that he was interested.’

  ‘Never turned on the charm? Benjamin, you talk as if all you need do is smile and girls fall into your bed.'

  ‘Err, yup. That is pretty much how it works. Shall I demonstrate?’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘You really think this is going to happen?’

  ‘Actually, no.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘Not tonight. Maybe later this week. You’re all fired up with resistance right now.’

  ‘Ben it is not going to happen.’

  He stared at me with curiosity on h
is face. ‘Amanda, you are truly a strange lady. So, I am going to leave you to get some sleep. If you change your mind in the night you know where to find me. Off you go.’

  ‘Off I… Huh? Where am I going?’ Now I was bewildered.

  ‘I’m on the couch, Amanda. One does not invite a guest to one’s house and then have them sleep on the furniture. You’re in my bed. I just put all fresh linen on it for you. There is a door to take you through to the bathroom if you want a shower. There is a range of ladies’ toiletries and cosmetics in the cupboard beneath the sink.’ Of course, he had ladies’ toiletries waiting.

  He made little, go-away motions with his hand until I got up and went in the direction he was pointing. His bedroom was a sumptuous thing, decorated in stark black and white with splashes of blood red here and there. The bed itself was a huge white cast iron frame with mirrors on three walls around it and, when I looked up, more mirrors on the ceiling. I pushed the door closed behind me. I would attend to my ablutions in a minute. I felt suddenly tired and the bed looked very comfortable. I would just lay down for a little bit.

  Sleeping with Friends. Wednesday, November 2nd 0722hrs

  An odd sensation pulled me from my slumber. Only my eyes were moving, but all was not as I had left it. Big Ben was in the bed with me and his heavy arm was draped across my midriff. I had fallen asleep on the bed without even so much as cleaning my teeth. I felt scuzzy now and my bladder was full, so I needed to move.

  His arm was on top of the covers, pinning them to me. I was still dressed thankfully, though I wondered if he would be also. Carefully, I slid out from beneath his arm and stepped silently into the bathroom. Once I had the door closed, I realised that I did not know where the light switch was and had to fumble to find it.

  I would clean myself up, let myself out and walk back across town to my own place like I was doing the walk of shame. I would call Big Ben later and thank him for his hospitality and never mention that he had joined me in bed.

  When I came out of the bathroom though he was awake. The light in the bedroom was on and he was missing. The clock claimed it to be just after half past seven. I grabbed my phone to see if I had messages from Brett. I did not. Nor did I have anything from Patience, which was highly unusual and could only be attributed to my landing her in hot water yesterday. I would have to go to her apartment later if I was unable to raise a response by any other method.

  There was noise coming from the living area. Big Ben had the TV on and in the kitchen the smell of coffee brewing was beginning to filter through.

  ‘Good morning.' I called out as I went in. Big Ben appeared from the kitchen. He was dressed in sports gear thankfully. I had been mildly concerned he might not bother with clothes in his own environment. In his hands, he had two mugs of coffee on a tray with a pot of sugar and a small milk jug in the shape of a cow. He was far more domesticated than he gave rise to believe.

  ‘Good morning, Amanda. I hope I didn’t disturb your sleep last night. I found that I am too long to be comfortable on the sofa, so I slid in next to you.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ I said, not entirely sure that it was. I wanted to go home, but it would be rude to rush out now when he had made me coffee and was being surprisingly sweet and supportive.

  ‘You look constantly surprised when I do something selfless for you?' He said, picking up my reaction as he sat on one of a pair of leather sofas. ‘I believe you may have the wrong opinion of me.'

  ‘Benjamin, by your own admission you plan to have sex with every eligible woman you can. Never caring about them, always moving on. Do you not think that a psychologist would say that you are trying to fill a void in your life? Have you ever thought about what that might be?’

  ‘Babe I filled several voids last weekend.’ He quipped back.

  I made a vomiting motion in reply. ‘Do you have to be so crude all the time?’

  ‘I’m just giving you a fighting chance. You seem determined that you do not wish to sleep with me. I don’t understand it, but I figure if I make you feel uncomfortable it will prolong the inevitable day when you throw yourself at me.’

  ‘So, you’re acting like a cocky git for my sake?’

  ‘Is it working? Do you feel like parting your legs for me right now?’

  'Eww, no.'

  ‘There you go then.’ He fell silent.

  I slugged down my coffee. ‘I really think I ought to be going?' I announced getting up.

  ‘Wow. I was only not being a cocky git for a few seconds and already the effect is wearing off. You better run before my natural magnetism takes hold.’ He was laughing as I threw a cushion at him and went out of his door.

  Investigating a Ghost on a Ghost Tour. Wednesday, November 2nd 0934hrs

  With a renewed sense of purpose, I set about my day. My apartment was in need of a severe tidying. It had not been trashed, but the team that had come in to take the tarantulas out had moved things about. My furniture was out of place, my curtains ruffled in an unsettling way that suggested there might still be a giant spider hiding behind them and I knew of course that there had been a dozen strangers in my house last night, all leaving their fingerprints behind, all touching my belongings, riffling through my drawers. I shuddered at the thought. I was left with a sense of violation.

  The apartment would have to wait though. I was going to do something positive with my day. I was going to solve the Tonbridge Wells ghost tour case, I was going to make peace with Patience and I was going to get my boyfriend back. First, I needed a shower, some breakfast and a change of clothes.

  Thirty minutes later I was going out of my door. I was clean, dressed and had a belly full of toast and eggs. I was heading to Tempest's house. I had intended to check in on Kimberly but had forgotten to do so and she would be on her way to work by now. I could call her but if she wanted anything, she would have called me already. I sent a text to Patience that I hoped she would pick up and answer. A text from Brad last night had confirmed that she had been suspended without pay. I was offering to help with that by giving her paid work with the firm. I wasn't entirely sure I could do that, but Tempest had left me in charge, so I was making my own rules.

  Jane’s car was on Tempest’s driveway as it had been before, and she was inside at the computer. The first thing I noticed was that the computer now had three screens.

  ‘Hi, Jane. Been making some upgrades?’

  ‘Hi, Amanda.’ She replied, not turning away from what she was doing. ‘Having one screen was slowing me down. I am running too many different applications simultaneously. I brought these from home.’

  ‘Is that Meet Market?’ I asked seeing the right-hand screen.

  ‘Yeah. I have been rearranging my date with Bartholomew. I didn’t know if that was still something we wanted to do, but I figured I could easily cancel it if I needed to.’

  ‘Did he bite?’

  ‘He did. While we were in the pub and you were a little…’

  ‘Catatonic.’ I filled in the blank she had left.

  ‘I sent him a message saying I had to cancel but wanted to rearrange. He was fine with it, better than I expected, but I said I needed to work out when I would next be free. All I need to do now is tell him when.’

  ‘How about tonight?’

  I watched as she typed the same words into the message box and sent it away. Then she turned to face me. ‘If you go after Bartholomew now, will it not open you up to a harassment case?'

  ‘It could. However, I know he is guilty. Kimberly is sleeping in the boss’s house and he is targeting me with spiders and snakes with no sign of stopping until I stop him. I don’t feel much choice other than to catch him out and prove that I was right from the start.’

  ‘How about the Tonbridge Wells ghost tour's ghost?' Jane asked. ‘They sent several gigabytes of data yesterday that made the computer go a bit wobbly when I opened it. Thankfully they sent it via a transfer service, so it didn't flood the cache memory.

  Jane was babbling computer ner
d speak again. I had no idea what she was telling me, other than we now had footage of the moments when Sir Chelios visited.

  ‘Did they send a list of names?’ I asked.

  ‘That was the only other file they sent. I printed it.’ Jane handed me a sheet of A4 paper. There were thirteen names on it, almost all women, only two men and they had the same last name as two of the women.

  ‘I am going to call them. Can you see if any of them are linked please?’ I left Jane to it and took a seat at the dining table Tempest had shoved up against one wall. I started at the top of the list but got no answer. The second name, a lady by the name Agatha Milford did answer.

  I got a breezy, ‘Good morning.’ With a voice that screamed Royal Tonbridge Wells with extra emphasis on the Royal bit.

  ‘Good morning, Mrs. Milford. My name is Amanda Harper. I am a detective with the Blue Moon Investigation Agency and have been contracted by Lily Hallett at Tonbridge Ghost Tours to investigate some odd occurrences they have experienced. Do you have a few minutes to talk to me please?'

  ‘Yes, of course. Lily said you might call.' That struck me as odd. If I was a customer of a tour I would most likely be a tourist. Let's suggest that I have that wrong though and Agatha is a local, she certainly sounded like one. However, what is the likelihood that I would know the tour operator by her first name? It could just be a coincidence and the two ladies did indeed know each other. I continued.

  ‘Mrs. Milford can you explain to me what you experienced when you took the ghost tour please? Give as much detail as you can.'

  As requested she launched into a lengthy account of the night she took the tour. About a minute into her story I started to feel that it was rehearsed. At no point did she um or ah or pause. Perhaps she was just very articulate, but her story was so well polished that it felt like I was being read a script. She finished with, ‘Then a chill of absolute dread fell upon me as I felt his presence drift through my soul. He whispered his name and was gone.’ Agatha lapsed into silence.