“Hello, darling.” Vina mimicked Motts’s mum so well, she almost spun around to find a car to hide behind. “Sorry, Mottsy. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Not amusing. And you definitely meant it.” Motts glanced around to make sure her mum hadn’t followed her into the village. “She came over to the cottage this morning without Dad.”
“Oh, no.” Vina handed over her cup of coffee. “Here. Have mine. You need the boost. It’s a new recipe—chocolate and cherry cold brew; we’re still experimenting with the flavours. We can walk and talk. Are you up for visiting the O’Connell business? We can wait until tomorrow.”
After Teo had left the night before, Motts had thought over the last few days and the mysterious reappearance of Nadine O’Connell’s body. She’d decided to pay a visit to O’Connell Cold Storage; Vina had volunteered to go with her. Her mum showing up before breakfast had definitely been a fly in the ointment.
Walking down by the harbour, they headed up the street toward the O’Connells’ business. The façade remained from the original building. Motts imagined the inside had been changed to more modern freezers.
She hoped.
“Bit of a crowd,” Vina commented. She gestured to one of the three vehicles parked outside the old building. “Mikey’s here. Pretty sure Amy drives the purple Mini.”
“What are we going to say about why we’re here?” Motts hadn’t considered the excuse for snooping around the building.
“We’ll tell them Griffin Brews is looking into renting space.”
“In a cold storage?” Motts didn’t think it sounded terribly believable.
“Do you have a better idea?” Vina tilted her sunglasses down to stare over them at Motts. “No? We’ll go with my lie and see what happens. What’s the worst thing they can do?”
“Murder their nan?” Motts reminded her.
“Fair point. We’ll stick together.” She looped her arm through Motts’s. “Don’t worry. They can’t all be involved.”
“They could.”
“Why don’t I distract the brothers? You sneak around.” Vina leaned in to whisper to her.
What happened to sticking together?
Motts found herself shoved into the warehouse while Vina headed in the opposite direction. “Be careful.”
Hearing what sounded like both brothers arguing with their mother, Motts skirted the office. She eyed the rows of matte grey doors. How long did she have before someone noticed her? The warehouse had to be littered with CCTV cameras.
A quick peek into the first walk-in freezer chilled Motts to the bone. She regretted not bringing a jumper with her. After walking through all of them, she’d likely be frozen herself.
Despite the freezer obviously having sufficient space to hide a body, Motts knew local fishermen were in and out of the warehouse. They’d have noticed a corpse amongst the carp.
So, if one of the O’Connells had kept their murdered nan on-site, where had it been? Not in the walk-in freezers. Maybe one of the chest units?
She’d noticed several chest freezers lined up along the far wall. Two had padlocks on them. Those definitely had the capability of storing a body. Teo had surely inspected those, though.
Wouldn’t he?
Do the police need a warrant to search for where a body’s been stored? Probably. I should ask Hughie; he won’t get all indignant about my poking my nose into the investigation.
Motts snuck over to the row of chest freezers. She tugged lightly at one of the padlocks. Maybe I should text Teo to ask if he saw these.
One last walk-in freezer remained. Motts cautiously opened the heavy grey door. She noticed a sign taped to it, warning of a faulty safety release and to use caution entering.
Motts poked her head in, and a hard punch to her back sent her sprawling inside. “What the devil?”
The door slammed shut with a dull thud. Motts blinked in the sudden icy darkness. She used her phone as a torch to find a light switch unsuccessfully.
Moving over to the door, Motts tried to find the safety release on the off chance the notice had been wrong. It wasn’t. No amount of shoving budged the solid metal even a little.
What now?
Nish had once told her about the dangers of walk-in freezers. He’d gone through a safety course on the subject when Griffin Brews had one installed. Motts regretted not paying more attention.
Right.
The vital thing to do is breathe calmly. Is this airtight? Will I suffocate before I freeze to death?
Bad brain.
No panicking. I might need all the extra air I can get. Hyperventilating isn’t going to help.
Motts tried to call Vina, who didn’t answer. She tried Nish next with a similar result. Teo, however, answered on the second ring. “I’m stuck in a freezer.”
“What—”
“Teo?” Motts resisted the urge to fling her phone when the call was dropped. She’d lost what little signal she had. “Bugger.”
Is now the time to panic?
Probably.
I am suddenly Ron Weasley.
Well, at least there aren’t any spiders.
Changing tactics, Motts tried emergency services, but the call didn’t connect. She attempted to text almost every number in her phone. One of the messages had to reach them. She hoped.
Motts was cold. And beginning to slide from pretending to be calm straight into terrified. She banged her fists against the door and screamed her head off. “Is this soundproof?”
Do I want whoever shoved me to come in here and finish the job faster? Vina will notice; surely she will.
Rubbing her hands over her arms, Motts considered her options. None, really. She wasn’t equipped to escape a freezer. Why can’t I remember what Nish said about these things?
How long does it take for hypothermia to set in?
Keep moving.
Or should I stay still to save oxygen?
What’s the best way to not die?
“This is the worst escape room ever.” Motts had progressed from mild shivering to her teeth chattering so violently, she worried about cracking a tooth. “So cold.”
I should text Teo.
Did I text him?
No, I called him.
It was hard to hold on to a thought. Motts tried four times to unlock her phone before finally getting the sequence right. No signal. She shifted around the icy room, hoping to find at least one bar of service.
She had no luck.
Returning to the door, Motts had run out of ideas. She kicked the hard metal again until her foot hurt. No amount of screaming brought a response other than making her throat sore and her head ache.
Heat rises. Don’t sit on the floor. Why am I so tired? Maybe I should add survival videos to my YouTube playlist. Can you start a fire with frozen fish? I won’t starve.
Wait.
Can I get food poisoning from eating a fishsicle?
As Motts tried to find a way to warm herself, she was bombarded by sound and light. She blinked in confusion at the change. Teo stepped into the room, pausing when he spotted her to his right.
“What?” Motts tried to form a full sentence, but her mind and mouth refused to cooperate. “Cold.”
Teo grabbed a blanket Vina held out to him. He wrapped it gently around her. “Can you walk?”
“Sure.” Motts tripped over her own feet trying to take a step. “No.”
With exaggerated care, Teo lifted her into his arms. He carried her past Vina. Motts noticed the O’Connells being spoken to by Perry and Hughie.
Teo bundled her into the passenger seat of his car. She was immediately hit by warm air blasting from the vent. “How are you feeling?
Motts couldn’t stop shivering even with the fluffy blanket and warm air. Her head felt so fuzzy. “Cold. Home.”
“Inspector Ash and Constable Stone can handle the questioning here for now. River’s already at your cottage. We’ll have the doctor meet us there. I imagine a cosy fire and more blankets will help.” Teo practically threw himself into the vehicle. He slammed his door and jabbed the seat belt buckle a few times until it caught. “When you’re warm again, you’re going to tell me what happened.”
Motts rested her head against the window, staring unseeing at the village. “Not supposed to drive on the streets in summer.”
“I’m a detective inspector. I’ll drive on water if I have to.”
“Do you need a special dispensation from the pope to drive on water?” Motts clutched the blanket more tightly around her. “Dispensation. Dis. Pen. Sa. Tion. Good word. It would make a great alliteration. What are good d words?”
“Let’s just get you home.”
On the short drive to her cottage, Motts didn’t stop shivering. Teo jacked the heat all the way up. It didn’t manage to take the edge of the cold.
Teo pulled up behind River’s car where it was parked outside the cottage. “Your friends have been texting each other. I believe your cousin is warming things up inside.”
“Cold.”
“I know.” Teo helped her out of the car and into the cottage. “You’ll be warm in no time.”
“Motts.” River glanced over from where he was stoking the fire. He had blankets piled on the coffee table. “I’ve got the kettle boiling. My hot chocolate isn’t as brilliant as your dad’s, but it’ll do.”
Teo gently helped her into the old armchair by the fireplace. He worked with River to wrap her up with all the blankets. “You’re safe now. Can you tell me why you went into the walk-in freezer?”
“Someone punched me in the back.” Motts shivered under her mountain of blankets. “Pushed me into the freezer. Slammed the door on me. I didn’t voluntarily go inside.”
“Did they?” Teo stood up, suddenly seeming taller and more intimidating. He grabbed River by the arm. “Doctor will be here soon. Stay with your cousin.”
“Teo?” Motts was confused by the sudden thunderous expression on his face.
“I believe I’ll help Detective Inspector Ash question the O’Connells.”
Motts stared at Teo, who nodded, spun around, and strode purposefully out of the cottage. She turned to River, who grinned. “What?”
“Someone’s getting their arse kicked.” He sat on the edge of the armchair, helping Cactus over onto the blanket mound. “So, you know how you sent text messages to everyone in your phone?”
“Oh, no.”
“I imagine your parents and mine will be here shortly. I tried messaging everyone to say you were okay, but mums will be mums.” River patted her blanket-covered arm. “I imagine the kettle will be boiling shortly.”
“Can’t you text my parents to stay away?”
“I’d take a bullet for you, but your mum is terrifying.” River disappeared into the kitchen. He came back several minutes later with a mug of hot chocolate. “If you’re wondering what happened, Vina noticed you’d gone missing. She spoke with Teo, who’d apparently gotten a call from you. He raced over with Perry and Hughie. Nish phoned me to come up to the cottage and prepare to defrost you.”
“I’m not frozen minced meat.”
“You will be when your mum gets here.” He sat on the coffee table across from her. “You scared me half to death.”
Motts clutched the mug and soaked up the heat. “Still not frozen minced meat.”
By late afternoon, Motts almost regretted being rescued. The walk-in freezer might’ve been cold, but at least it was quiet. Her family and friends had descended on her cottage along with the doctor and two police officers.
The doctor had left rather quickly after determining Motts just needed to continue to warm up. She hadn’t been in the freezer long enough to do permanent damage. The news hadn’t done anything to calm her mum down.
“This is what happens when you move to Cornwall,” her mum huffed at her. She dislodged the comforting arm Motts’s dad tried to wrap around her. “Not now, dear. She needs soup.”
“Soup? And what happens when you move to Cornwall?” Motts stared at her mum over the mound of blankets. “Getting locked in a freezer? Is it a regional issue? Are people frequently being pushed inside frozen tombs? Freezing fears fiercely froze follicles.”
“Follicles?” River teased.
“Fossils? Fronds? Frogs?” Motts couldn’t think of a better word to end her alliteration. “Friends.”
“I’m not sure your mum finds this as funny as we do.” He’d stayed close by, shielding her a little from the onslaught of parental concern. “Why are you poking me?”
“Time to peel off a few of these layers and douse the fire.” Motts had definitely defrosted. She nudged River. “I’ve gone from frozen to melting in a sauna. Give me a hand. I feel like a sweaty mummy at this point.”
With help from both River and Vina, Motts unwound the layers of blankets from around her. She hadn’t even known she owned so many. Some of them must’ve been her auntie Daisy’s; her cousin probably dug into the linen closet upstairs to find them.
“The mums are fighting.” Vina squished into the armchair with Motts once the blankets had been removed. She nodded toward the kitchen where Motts’s mum, her auntie Lily, and Leena were in a heated debate. “They can’t agree on what sort of supper will warm your cockles.”
“Warm my cockles?” Motts shoved Vina off her armchair. “Think we can sneak out and grab a pizza? I’m not hurt.”
“You suffered trauma.” Vina flicked her on the knee. “Don’t you want to be coddled?”
“No, I want to know who pushed me into a freezer, so I can….” Motts hesitated. She didn’t handle confrontation well. “I’ll think of something.”
“If we’re going to get takeaway, we’ll need to be sneaky.” River crouched down next to the chair. “What if we say Teo needs you to give an official statement? We’ll hop in my car. Nish can meet us at the Buccaneer. That’d get us the pizza you want along with kebabs and chips.”
“You two were never the sneakiest of children.” Her granddad crept up behind her chair. He leaned over to tap his grandson on the head. “Why don’t you three head out? Your gran and I will run interference with the fearsome mums. Escape while you can.”
Picking up Cactus and fitting his walking harness on him, Motts carried him out with them. Being outside and holding her purring cat, she felt some of the knots in her release. The parental chaos in the cottage had made processing everything impossible.
“Nish will pick up the pizza. I believe your Teo agreed to grab drinks and some sort of dessert for us.” River waited until they’d crowded into his car. “We’ll go to Talland Bay. Still nice enough out to enjoy the sunset on the beach. We can eat and chat. Let the grandparents calm the waters at your cottage for us.”
Motts cuddled with Cactus in the back seat. She rested her head against the window. “No shouting.”
“When do I ever shout?” River glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. “We’ll be extra quiet. I promise.”