Cloche and Dagger Read online

  A slow, burning flush filled my cheeks, but I stepped into his arms, and he rested his hands lightly on my hips.

  ‘Now listen,’ he said.

  He was all business, and I tried to clear my head and pay attention, but I was having a heck of a time concentrating. No man had touched me, well, since hotel security had hauled me out of the reception hall and tossed me into the street, but that really didn’t count. And before that, well, I had thought the rat bastard had so little time for me because he was such a workaholic, yeah, not so much.

  My nose was just inches from Harrison’s shirtfront. He smelled good, really good. It was a bay-rum, man smell. I liked it. I was trying to decide if it was his soap or his laundry detergent when I heard him huff out an exasperated breath.

  ‘Ginger, are you listening to me?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course,’ I lied.

  ‘Then what did I just say?’ he asked.

  Busted! I tipped my head up to find him staring down at me. I figured he was going to be mad, but instead he studied my face and a small smile tipped up the corner of his mouth.

  ‘You have no idea, do you?’ he asked.

  ‘None,’ I admitted and he laughed.

  ‘What were you thinking about?’ he asked.

  I noticed that we were still in our huddle, neither of us backing up, and I was abruptly aware of him, Harrison Wentworth in all his masculine glory, just inches from me. I felt my face grow hot and I took a quick step away from him.

  He tipped his head to the side and studied me for a moment, and then a charming smile parted his lips. He looked wickedly intrigued.

  Mercifully, the back door opened and Inspector Franks popped his head out. ‘We’re ready to check the rest of the house, Ms. Parker.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ I said.

  Saved! I turned to go, but Harrison caught my hand and dragged me back up against him. It looked as if he were giving me a quick hug, but his lips were pressed right into my ear when he breathed the words, ‘Here’s the short version: say nothing.’

  I stepped back from him and our eyes met. I knew he was saying that I shouldn’t volunteer any information to the inspectors, undoubtedly because Viv was now in a precarious spot given how Lord Ellis and Lady Ellis each felt about her.

  I gave him a tiny nod and hurried to the door, and the inspector moved aside to let me pass. I did not look back at Harrison but I felt him watching me as I disappeared into the house.

  They were very thorough in their examination of our living area. Still, I wasn’t sure what they were looking for, and I got the feeling they weren’t either. Viv hadn’t been here since Sunday. Obviously, Lady Ellis had been killed well after that. Surely they didn’t think she’d gone into hiding, then come out and killed her and then gone back into hiding again. It didn’t make any sense.

  Whatever their feelings toward her, Viv was completely apathetic toward the Ellises. She didn’t have enough feeling for either of them to have done something like that.

  ‘How is business?’ Inspector Franks asked me. ‘Prosperous?’

  ‘Yes, very much so,’ I said. ‘Viv is a popular designer and her custom hats are quite expensive.’

  ‘So, no financial woes then?’

  ‘None,’ I said. I knew what he was thinking. That if the business were in trouble, Viv would whack Lady Ellis so she could have a crack at the earl, thus solving any financial difficulties she might have. It was a theory, a good theory; it just didn’t hold up.

  Harrison and Fee were downstairs when we came back into the shop from above. Per Harrison’s instructions, I had said nothing of any consequence during their search and had mostly spent the time trying to stay out of their way.

  I closed the door to the upstairs behind me and turned to walk the inspectors to the front door. Harrison joined us as we crossed the room.

  ‘You’ll let us know if you hear anything about Vivian?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Inspector Franks said. They shook hands. ‘And if you hear from her, you’ll let us know.’

  It wasn’t a request, and he was looking at me when he said it.

  ‘Absolutely,’ I agreed.

  As we approached the front door, it was abruptly yanked open and a reporter and a camera crew shoved their way inside.

  ‘There she is!’ The reporter yelled. ‘The party crasher!’

  The moment became surreal; everything slowed down and sound became muted as I watched the reporter lunging at me.

  Chapter 23

  I braced myself for impact, squinching up tight with my eyes shut and my arms drawn in, because he certainly didn’t appear to be slowing down, and being wedged between Harrison and Inspector Franks didn’t give me anywhere to go.

  The impact never came. I opened one eye and noted that both inspectors were examining the ceiling as if looking for termites and Harrison was walking back into the shop, clapping his hands together as if he’d just taken out the trash.

  I glanced over his shoulder and saw the reporter sitting on the curb with a look of shock on his face, as if uncertain of how he’d gotten there. The cameraman behind him was looking equally stunned.

  I glanced back at Franks and Simms. Both were still looking up.

  ‘There is some really excellent brushwork on the paint job on your ceiling,’ Simms said. Then he looked back down and grinned at me.

  I grinned back, realizing that they had been studiously examining the ceiling so as not to see Harrison manhandling the reporter.

  ‘I’ll see you out, Inspectors,’ Harrison said. He walked them to the door where they exchanged a low conversation.

  As soon as the two men left, Harrison locked the door behind them and drew all of the blinds down.

  ‘You’re going to have to be “appointment-only” for a few days, I’m afraid,’ he said. He studied my face. ‘All right, Scarlett?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I said. ‘Just startled.’

  ‘I’d say so,’ Fee chimed in. ‘That reporter was going to run you down.’

  I blew out a breath.

  ‘And, Harrison, you picked him up like he was a loaf of bread. Bagged him good, you did,’ Fee said with approval.

  Harrison shrugged. ‘I play rugby. That idiot would be toast on the pitch.’

  Fee burst out laughing and only then did I get it. Loaf. Bagged. Toast. They were a witty bunch. I giggled but I think it was more a mini nervous fit than actual amusement.

  ‘All right,’ Harrison said. ‘I suppose it was too much to hope that they wouldn’t make the connection between you and Viv and your recent—’

  ‘Exploits?’ I supplied. My voice was dry, and he grinned at me as if relieved that I hadn’t lost my sense of humor.

  ‘They’ll get tired of being camped out here,’ Harrison said. ‘But if you need anything, call me. I can fetch and carry for you if need be.’

  ‘Me, too,’ Fee offered.

  It was awfully nice of them, but I had no intention of being held hostage in the shop. I’d had more than enough of that when I was in Florida.

  ‘Thanks, but don’t worry about me,’ I said. ‘I’ll be fine.’

  Harrison watched me for a moment. He seemed to be studying me as if trying to get my measure. Whatever he saw reassured him, because he gave me a slow nod.

  ‘I’ll call and check on you later,’ he said. He strode out the front door, which Fee shut and locked behind him.

  We spent the next hour and a half ignoring the phone, which we eventually had to unplug. We used our cell phones to call our customers who had special orders so that they knew pickup would be by appointment only. I gave my cell number as the number to call, hoping I was not destroying our business by closing our doors.

  Fee wandered over to the windows every half hour to check on the reporters.

  ‘Still there,’ she said. ‘Must be a slow news day in the city, yeah?’

  We finished our calls and hunkered down in the back room with the shades drawn. It was depressing, but then I thou
ght about Lady Ellis and I found it hard to complain.

  There was a knock on the back door. Fee’s head snapped up from where she was working on five matching fuchsia-and-black hats for the bridesmaids of an upcoming wedding.

  They were pointy-brimmed and short-crowned and Fee was attaching a spray of black and fuchsia feathers to the right side of each. A cluster of jet beads nestled in the center of the feathers, and I had to admit I was very curious to see the dresses that went with the hats. I figured it would go one of two ways, gorgeous or ghastly, but at least the hats were smart.

  ‘Could they really have come ’round the building?’ I asked in a whisper. Fee shrugged, giving me a wide-eyed look.

  ‘Bloody hell, Scarlett, let us in,’ a voice shouted from outside.

  I gasped and looked at the door. Did the reporters know my name? I thought I was just ‘the party crasher.’

  ‘Don’t make me start singing,’ another voice bellowed.

  ‘Oh, it’s Nick and Andre,’ I cried.

  I hurried to the door and yanked it open. Nick and Andre scuttled in, and I slammed the door behind them.

  Nick, bless his heart, had a bottle of wine in each hand, and Andre was holding a box from the Hummingbird Bakery just a ways up on Portobello Road. He frowned at it.

  ‘I think your cupcakes may have gotten smashed when we scaled the wall,’ he said. ‘You’ve got reporters camped out front, you know.’

  ‘You brought me cupcakes?’ I asked. I felt my eyes get watery.

  ‘Isn’t that what you Americans do when times are tough, eat cupcakes?’ Andre asked.

  I launched myself at him, giving him just enough time to move the box before it got crushed in my hug. Andre patted my back with his one free hand.

  ‘MoonPies,’ I sobbed. ‘Usually, I eat MoonPies, but cupcakes are an excellent substitute.’

  ‘There, there, love, it’s all right,’ he said.

  I stepped back and turned to Nick. He was ready, however, having taken the opportunity to put the wine down while I was hugging Andre, and opened his arms wide.

  ‘Come here, pet,’ he said. ‘You’ve had a hell of a day.’

  Nick knew how to give a hug. Just enough pressure, a solid squeeze and then he stood back with his hands on my shoulders so he could examine my face.

  ‘You look knackered; let’s get this wine open,’ he said.

  I nodded and turned to find Fee watching us with a bemused stare.

  ‘Oh, boys, this is Fiona Felton,’ I said. ‘She’s Viv’s assistant.’

  ‘Call me Fee,’ she said.

  ‘Well, Fee, would you care for some wine and some black-bottomed cupcakes?’ Andre asked.

  ‘Sure,’ she said.

  He turned and wagged his backside at us and we laughed, causing Nick to chime in saying, ‘Well, bottoms up then.’

  I went to the cupboard to get plates. I joined them at the table and said, ‘Now let’s get to the bottom of this.’

  All three of them stared at me. Not even a chirp of amusement.

  ‘Aw, come on, that was a good one,’ I protested.

  ‘Bottom of the barrel,’ Fee said with a sad shake of her head. Andre and Nick broke out laughing, and I had to give it to her. It did trump my quip, but still.

  ‘So, tell me,’ Nick said as he poured four glasses of wine. ‘Was it as bad as Andre said?’

  I glanced at Andre and watched him pale from the memory of finding Lady Ellis’s body. It came back in a horrific, Technicolor flash. The sight of the gash in her side, her flesh looking like a ripped plum exposing muscle and bone, her cold pale form lying on the sodden carpet.

  ‘Yeah, it was that bad,’ I said.

  Nick handed me a glass and I downed it and immediately held it out for a refill. I noted that Andre did the same.

  ‘Have the police said anything?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Not to me,’ I said. ‘They just left here a little bit ago. They searched the house.’

  ‘Whatever for?’ Andre asked. ‘They haven’t contacted me at all.’

  ‘The hat Lady Ellis was wearing,’ I said. ‘It was Viv’s.’

  ‘I don’t see the connection.’ Nick frowned.

  I hesitated. Did I trust Nick and Andre not to gossip? Did it matter? If the reporters were out front, obviously, they’d made some sort of connection, even if it was just that I was on the scene when she was discovered. If they were worth their salt as reporters, it wouldn’t be long until they uncovered the history between Viv and the Ellises.

  ‘Apparently, Lady Ellis was not overly fond of Viv,’ I said.

  ‘Then why hire her as a milliner?’ Andre asked.

  ‘Because she’s the best,’ Fee said. ‘She’s in the elite class with Philip Treacy.’

  ‘Is he still that big, even after that wedding hat of Princess Beatrice’s?’ Nick asked.

  ‘That was the stuff of legends,’ I said. ‘You can’t buy publicity like that. Besides, I actually liked that hat.’

  ‘It looked like an octopus stuck on her forehead,’ Nick said.

  ‘The color was unfortunate,’ Fee conceded. ‘Maybe it would have been better in a happy shade of purple or a brilliant red.’

  ‘No, it wouldn’t,’ Nick said emphatically. ‘Now as I mentioned before, Lady Ellis was a client of mine.’ He looked at Fee and tapped his teeth with his forefinger. ‘I’m skilled in the dental arts, and quite frankly, I don’t think I’d be understating it to say she hated everyone, especially if they were younger and prettier than her.’

  ‘But she was gorgeous,’ I said.

  ‘With a lot of help,’ Nick said.

  ‘Really?’ I asked. ‘Huh, I could have sworn she was a natural beauty.’

  ‘Oh, ducks, I don’t think there was a part of her that hadn’t been worked over by Harley Street. She and all of her gal pals are in a never-ending quest to be the totty of their group. You should hear some of the things they do to themselves all in the name of beauty. As I understand it, she and Marianne Richards have quite the rivalry going.’

  I sipped my wine. Andre had plated the cupcakes and was handing them out. Fee had obligingly grabbed forks for us all, and I had to resist the urge to slam my cupcake back like a nice shot of hard alcohol. Instead, I strove to be dainty and mannerly and tucked into my cupcake with my fork.

  ‘Any idea what the police were looking for when they were here?’ Andre asked.

  ‘They didn’t say, but I imagine it would be something to tie Viv to the murder scene, something other than the hat.’

  Chapter 24

  ‘Have you heard from your cousin?’ Andre asked. His voice was gentle, as if he suspected the answer but was hopeful that I might have better news for him.

  ‘No,’ I said.

  The worry in my voice must have been evident because Fee gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said, ‘Don’t worry. She’ll turn up. She always does.’

  As if by silent agreement, the topic was changed.

  ‘All right, Fee,’ Nick said. ‘Let’s hear your story.’

  ‘I’m only twenty-one,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I don’t have a story.’

  ‘Sure you do,’ Andre said. ‘It’s just a short one.’

  Fee blew the long pink curl that liked to hang over her right eye out of her face.

  ‘Well, I was born and raised in Notting Hill,’ she said. ‘My grandparents on both sides of the family came here back in the sixties from the West Indies. Mom and Dad met at university, got married and had five children.’

  ‘Five!’ Nick squeaked. ‘God bless them.’

  ‘I’m the fifth,’ Fee said.

  ‘Is your family still in the area?’ I asked. I had already learned that Fee had grown up here, but it had been such a crazy week, I hadn’t really gotten a chance to ask about the rest of her family.

  ‘My two sisters live in the States, but both of my brothers are here.’ She made an annoyed face, and I took it to mean that her older brothers were a bit too much in her busi
ness. ‘But they all come home for carnival in August, during the bank holiday weekend, yeah?’

  ‘I love carnival,’ Nick gushed.

  ‘This year I am staking out my spot and taking even more pictures,’ Andre said. His eyes were alight with eagerness.

  ‘Which means you will be absolutely no fun,’ Nick said. ‘Scarlett and Fee, you have to be my dates for carnival. Promise?’

  I hadn’t been to carnival in years. It’s the biggest street party in Europe, with colorful costumes, jerk chicken and plantains, and steel-band music. It is impossible not to have a great time during carnival. Now that I was living here, I couldn’t wait.

  ‘Absolutely,’ I agreed.

  ‘Me, too,’ Fee said and clapped her hands together. ‘And my brothers can’t give me a hard time if I’m with a dentist and my boss.’

  ‘Excellent, it’s a date,’ Nick announced and raised his glass. We shared a toast and I tried to convince myself that at least by carnival, which was four months away, Viv would surely have returned.

  * * *

  It was late when everyone left. A peek out of the front door showed that the coast was clear. The reporters had decided not to rough-sleep it on my doorstep for which I was grateful.

  I locked up the shop and climbed the stairs to our flat above. I crashed on the couch and tried to watch Snog, Marry, Avoid?, a British makeover show where they seek out bimbos and give them class, but I couldn’t concentrate and the people on the show annoyed me with how ridiculous they were, and honestly they reminded me a bit too much of the rat bastard’s big-boobed wife.

  Images of Lady Ellis’s naked body kept sneaking up on me, taunting me with her gruesome pose. I couldn’t help wondering why she had been wearing only the hat. If her killer had surprised her while getting dressed, surely the first thing she’d have put on would not have been her hat, lovely as it was.

  And now the police wanted to know if there was a connection between Lady Ellis and Viv. This filled me with anxiety. Ridiculous, I know, but with Viv being gone, it all just felt so wrong.

  Where was Viv? Why hadn’t she been in contact? And I really didn’t want to hear that she was out of range or didn’t have access to e-mail. Unless she was on a camel in the middle of the Sahara, there really was no excuse.