“I feel like I’m sitting outside of the headmistress’s office, waiting to be told off for something I didn’t do.” Motts had eaten toast, drunk far too much coffee, fed her animals, and now waited on the sofa for Teo to arrive. “What do I do, Cactus? I can’t practice every possible conversation we might have.”
He ignored her. Vina had brought a catnip-filled toy for him earlier when she’d come to give Motts a pep talk. He’d been playing with it ever since.
Despite having spent three hours stressing over being ready on time, Teo arrived, and Motts immediately spilt tea all over her jumper. She let him inside, then ran down the hall into her bedroom to change. Cactus could entertain the detective.
“Are you communing with my cat?” Motts stared at Teo, who had Cactus gently held in both hands. The two were staring each other down face-to-face. “I’m ready to go. Or do you need to play ‘don’t blink’ with my cat for a little longer?”
“He started it.” Teo continued to hold Cactus up so their noses were almost touching. “He was sitting next to your turtle’s home, meowing.”
“They’re friends. They gossip.”
Teo tilted his head, and his gaze shifted from Cactus to her. “They gossip?”
“Yes.” Motts nodded. She tugged at her jumper slightly; making sure it covered her T-shirt underneath. “Are we going?”
Teo set Cactus down on the cushion next to Moss’s terrarium. “Do they gossip often?”
“Define often.”
Teo’s lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Let’s get going. I spoke to the tour coordinator at Kernow. They don’t have anyone scheduled for an early morning tour. I figured you’d rather not be shoved into a massive group of strangers.”
He wasn’t wrong. Motts appreciated his kind gesture. She double-checked the locks, security system, and her pets before following him out of the cottage.
“They’ll be fine,” Teo promised when Motts locked her front door for the fourth time. “You’ve got the app on your phone. You can check on the cottage anytime you like.”
“I’m being silly.” She shoved her keys into her pocket, wincing when one of them dug into her side. “Silly sad salty sandwich.”
“You’re not being silly.” Teo opened the passenger door for her. He winked when she frowned at him. “You have every reason to be concerned, given how your first weeks in Cornwall went.”
The tour of the chocolate factory went by quickly. Teo seemed bemused by how fast Motts observed and moved forward. She didn’t see a point in taking forever.
Her mum had stopped going to museums with her because of how swiftly Motts moved through the exhibits. Once she’d seen something, she didn’t get any further enjoyment by standing and staring for minutes on end. What did it matter, as long as she had fun?
Fun wasn’t measured with a specific timeframe, was it?
They spent most of their time by the taste-test table. Motts had a feeling their tour guide hadn’t expected them to eat their way through everything offered. They didn’t want the chocolate to go to waste.
By the time they left, Motts had bought more chocolate than was probably wise. Teo couldn’t comment. He’d gotten more than she had.
“Is there a chocolates anonymous? I’m thinking we might be addicts.” Motts held up her bag. “I could concuss someone with this.”
“We’ve got an hour before lunch. Why don’t we check out the bookshop?” Teo stored their bags in the boot of his vehicle. “It’s not too far.”
They drove further into Wadebridge, parked, and walked the rest of the way. Motts wasn’t wound up in book shops unless they had a decent graphic novel section. She didn’t mind checking out a new one, though.
To her surprise, Motts managed to find a handful of graphic novels she didn’t have. The Inflatable Woman by Rachel Ball had been on her to-be-read list for a while. She left the shop with more books than Teo, much to his amusement.
Grabbing a coffee on the way, they walked through the village to Le Snack, a takeaway sandwich place. Teo had apparently determined it would be a safe choice for lunch. She got chicken breast with pesto on a baguette along with chips.
There were more people out and about. Motts’s nerves were starting to feel a little frayed around the edges. Teo suggested they make the walk back to his vehicle.
Once there, Teo drove outside of the city to a parking area along the River Camel. They had a brilliant view while chowing down on their lunch. Motts appreciated the quiet, confined space without being inundated by the constant noise of other people.
“Do you think Innis killed his sister?” Motts picked a slice of tomato from her sandwich. She munched on it, watching Teo out of the corner of her eye. “People will do strange things when money is involved. They tend to lose all sense of reality.”
Teo finished chewing his bite of jacket potato. He sipped some of his water. “I can’t answer.”
“I don’t want a copy of your case file or a debrief on the interrogation.” She went for a slice of cucumber next, crunching her way through it. “What do your trained instincts say?”
“Aside from needing you to stop watching crime shows on the telly?” He frowned at her thoughtfully. “I’m waiting to see if the evidence convinces me.”
“I don’t watch the telly,” Motts insisted. She went back to eating her sandwich in separate pieces. “I like true crime podcasts.”
“Podcasts?”
“I can listen to them while I’m working. And I can rewind them when I don’t hear things right.” Motts hated her occasional inability to process sound. She often had to restart her podcasts several times or pause them until her brain had caught up. “If you’re waiting to be convinced by the evidence, his interrogation either didn’t go well or made you think he might be innocent.”
Teo tossed a handful of chips into his mouth. He chewed slowly, probably to give himself time to think of an answer. “You don’t have much of a poker face, but you’re damned perceptive. Ask me in a few days, and I’ll be able to give you an answer.”
“Alright.” Motts shrugged. She didn’t see a reason to push the detective inspector for an answer. It would only ruin what had been a lovely day. “I enjoyed our friendly outing.”
“But you’ve run out of energy for outside stimulation?”
“What?”
“Something that my cousin says when she’s reached her limit of being around people.” Teo took the last bite of his sandwich. He wiped his hands clean and gathered all the trash into the paper packet the food had come in. “We can head back now if you like.”
Reaching over to turn on the radio, Teo found a classical music station. They drove the fifty minutes to her cottage mostly in pleasant silence. She wanted to thank him for a brilliant day, but her nerves had picked up again the closer to home they got.
“Was this a date or a friend thing?” Motts asked the question she’d been practising in her head since yesterday.
“It’s whatever you feel comfortable with it being.” Teo pulled up in front of her cottage. He shut the engine off, then twisted slightly towards her. “I’ll leave the decision up to you. I should tell you something first, though.”
“You’re a vampire?”
“What?” he asked, sounding wholly bewildered.
“Just wondering.” She grinned.
“No, I find having this conversation to be uncomfortable but necessary before entering even a casual relationship.” He tapped his finger against the steering wheel with an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. “I’m not trying to make you uneasy.”
She simply nodded in response.
“I’m asexual.”
Motts stared. And stared. She snorted, then giggled, much to her embarrassment. “Is that all?”
“Tends to be a deal breaker.” He sounded as though he spoke from a lot of painful experience.
“I suppose now is the time I play my own ace card.”
“What?”
Motts stretched the sleeves of her jumper, covering her hands. “We have something in common beyond our love of chocolate.”
“Oh. Oh.” His lips quirked up into a smile. “That makes this is far less awkward than usual.”
Neither of them seemed to know where to go with the conversation. Motts hopped out, grabbed her items from the boot, muttered a thanks, and raced into her cottage. She sank down to the floor by the front door after closing it.
“Oh, boy,” she groaned. Cactus made his way over to her, butting his head against her leg. “Hello, sweetheart, did you have a good day? I brought you some of my chicken sandwich.”
Meow.
“I did have a good day.”
After spending an evening recovering from her date, Motts woke the next morning to insistent knocking on her door. She grabbed her phone and found several missed calls. Cactus followed her through the cottage to the front door, where she found Nish, River, and Vina waiting impatiently.
“We brought coffee. The good kind. And we’ve got full English breakfast pasties.” River pushed into the cottage past her. Vina and Nish wrapped their arms around Motts to guide her after him. “Now, sing for your supper.”
“He’s had a few coffees already,” Nish whispered.
They gathered around her kitchen table. Motts picked apart her pasty. Cactus ran off with a large chunk of bacon from the filling.
“Cheeky bugger.”
“Is he cheeky when you literally handed the bacon to him?” Vina asked around a mouthful of pasty. She grabbed one of the coffees in the centre of the table. “Cactus is not the bloke we want to talk about.”
Meow.
“You’ve offended him.” Motts watched Cactus leap up onto the windowsill to stare out into the garden. “He’ll be insufferable later.”
“Mottsy.” Vina had never been a patient person. “Tell us about your date.”
“Pravina.” Nish kicked his sister’s chair. “We have talked about demanding things from people.”
“Spoilsport,” Vina muttered. “Sorry, Mottsy.”
She chuckled at the siblings, exchanging a grin with her cousin. “I brought you all chocolate from Kernow.”
“Sod the chocolate. What about the man?” Vina leaned forward with her elbows on the table. “Do we need to hunt him down and dump him in a river?”
“He was brilliant.” Motts hid her smile behind her cup of coffee. She held it tightly, enjoying the warmth. “We got chocolate, went to a bookshop, and had sandwiches.”
“And?” River prompted.
And?
She didn’t really know what they wanted to hear. They’d gotten a play-by-play of her day out with the detective inspector. At most, it had been a friendly sort of first date; they’d agreed not to put any pressure on themselves.
“Motts?”
She gave a confused shrugged. “I had a nice time.”
“We’re glad.” Nish interrupted both Vina and River, who’d started to ask questions. “Aren’t we?”
“He’s like me.” Motts finally offered a little more information for the infuriatingly curious trio.
“Like….” Vina’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Is he now? Well, how nice.”
Motts turned towards her ex-girlfriend in surprise. “You sound strange.”
“She’s fine.” Nish once again nudged his sister, who nodded rapidly. “See?”
“Not really.” Motts felt increasingly uneasy. She pushed her plate away and clung to her cup of coffee. “Do you not like him?”
“She—”
“Nish,” Vina snapped at her brother. She reached out to take Motts’s hand and hold it gently. “I think Detective Inspector Broody will be perfect for you. I’m jealous he’s better for you than I was.”
“You’ve got a girlfriend. And we haven’t been together for ages.” Motts didn’t understand jealousy in general, but this definitely confused her. “I don’t get why you’d be upset.”
“I’m not. I am genuinely happy for you, even if he turns out to be just a friend. Whatever happens.” Vina squeezed her hand, then leaned back into her chair. “Ignore my momentary blip.”
“Okay,” Motts said uncertainly.
After breakfast, her friends headed off to work, leaving her alone in the cottage. Vina had hung back to ensure Motts knew she was genuinely delighted. The weird little blip of conversation still confused Motts, but she decided not to stress over it.
Setting a timer for herself, Motts rushed around the cottage cleaning up. She often struggled to force herself to keep up with housework. Twenty-minute increments helped to keep her on task.
With her cleaning done for the day, Motts moved on to things she enjoyed doing. An order had come in from Etsy for a unique quilling project. She’d promised to make a miniature test to see if the idea was solid.
Three hours later, a meowing Cactus drew her attention away from concept design of an old ship being taken over by a Kraken. Motts stretched her arms out and unfolded her legs. She’d gotten too wrapped up in her excitement over the project and forgotten to have a tea break.
Cactus was usually great at reminding her to get up and move around. They shared a biscuit and tea. Motts rewarded him with a walk in the garden, checking on her plot of herbs and refilling the bird feeder.
Meow.
“Yes, they are hungry little feathery buggers, aren’t they?” Motts yanked him into her arms when she heard footsteps on the trail leading by her garden down to the coastal walking path. Meow. “Sorry.”
A few seconds later, Noel Watson strode down the trail. He froze when he spotted her by the bird feeder. Motts didn’t say anything, just watched him pick up the pace and continue on out of view.
Odd.
Why had Noel been so shocked to see her standing in her own garden? Made no sense. She couldn’t recall seeing him on the coastal path in the month or so she’d been living in the cottage.
I’m getting way too suspicious. Not everyone is planning something nefarious. Nefarious. Nefariously nauseating numpties never nag.
Meow.
“Yes, let’s go inside.” Motts carried Cactus into the cottage. She locked the door, checking the bolt twice. “I’m perfectly safe. Noel’s been a little standoffish, but I can be as well.”
Setting Cactus down, Motts grabbed her mobile and went through the screens on the security app. No one. I’m being daft. Stop it. You’ll drive yourself to distraction if you keep on like this. You’re perfectly safe in the cottage.
She shook off her nerves and decided to make another cup of tea. One led to a second. She began to feel better after warming up.
Meow.
“I am being silly, sorry, sweetheart.” Motts grabbed a treat and offered it to Cactus, who immediately pounced. She took a chunk of fruit over for Moss. “Hello, lovely, what’s new in your world?”
Nothing, apparently.
She tried to get back to playing with her scrolled paper. Nothing worked. Her mind kept straying to the look Noel had sent her way.
Motts didn’t want to go out. She also didn’t want to stay inside the cottage. Being alone had come with unexpected side effects, like jumping at every shadow.