Motts woke the next morning to a crick in her neck, sunlight in her eyes, and an insistent paw poking at her cheek. “We’ve slept in.”
Meow.
“Fine. I’ve slept in, and you’ve been kind enough to allow me the luxury.” She plucked Cactus off her pillow and sat up slowly. “We’ve a garden to tend, a mystery to solve, and you need your morning walk.”
Dragging herself out of bed, Motts took a quick warm shower. She changed into jeans and a light jumper, then headed into the kitchen with Cactus on her heels. After feeding both of her beloved creatures, she made a quick breakfast of lemon curd on toast with a large mug of tea.
They spent almost an hour in the garden. Cactus chased after butterflies while Motts checked on her herbs and vegetable patches. She finally brought him inside and steeled her nerves to head down to the village.
Motts stepped out of the cottage to consider her two modes of transportation. She decided the day was warm enough not to take her Vespa and instead went with her 3-speed Pure City Step-Through in lovely seafoam green with dusty pink seats. Her customised bicycle shipped all the way from Los Angeles as a gift from her dad.
Placing her new origami flower bouquet samples along with her backpack into the saddlebags, Motts cycled down the hill into the village toward Marnie’s bridal shop. She adored morning rides in Polperro before tourists swarmed the streets. Afternoons in the summer tended to get crowded.
“Oi! Watch out.”
Motts swerved out of the way of an out-of-control hand trolley. She braked hard and watched it careen down the road with a deliveryman chasing after. “Did I wake up in a Laurel and Hardy movie?”
“Sorry.” Innis froze when he came around the side of a truck and spotted her. “Oh. It’s you. O’Connell’s delivery got away from him. He didn’t aim for you.”
“Didn’t think he had.”
Despite her best efforts, Innis and Rose Walters had maintained a stony distance from her. They hadn’t forgiven Motts for her suspicions surrounding their involvement in his sister’s death. Poor Rhona had been the person buried in her garden.
It didn’t matter that they’d discovered the true killer—Rhona’s boyfriend’s best friend. Questions had already been asked. Rose had even gone so far as to vandalise the cottage.
Once the dust had settled, Motts hadn’t been able to bridge the gap between them. A shame, since Innis and Rose ran the Salty Seaman, the best fish and chip shop in the area. She usually sent Vina or Nish in to get her order to avoid awkward small talk.
Motts sat on her bicycle, staring in Innis’s general direction while he muttered to himself. “Right. Okay. Good morning, then.”
“Motts, love. I’ve made a fresh pot of tea.” Marnie stood outside of her shop, waving her over. She helped Motts lock up her bicycle, then carried in a few of the bouquets. “Aren’t you clever? These will be perfect for my new window display for the summer brides.”
“Thought you might like them.” Motts shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t deal well with compliments, ever. “I brought a few sketches for other ideas.”
“Brilliant. We’ll have a tea and chat session.” Marnie led her to the round table and chairs in the corner of the store where she met with brides. “And, you can tell me all about the handsome London copper my Perry keeps moaning about.”
“Is he handsome?” Motts hadn’t noticed. She did get a good feeling about Detective Inspector Byrne. He’d been there every step of the way while she faced her fears of the coastal path. “He’ll make a nice friend.”
“Friend?” Marnie chuckled.
“What?” Motts ignored the continued laughter from her friend. She carefully arranged the lily and wildflower paper bouquets on the table. “I’ve a few other ideas. I had the supplies to make these on hand so figured best to get you some for brides to see while I wait for my deliveries.”
After getting her laughter under control, Marnie seemed content to stop teasing. Motts didn’t understand why she’d found the London detective so amusing. Her non-autistic friends could be so confusing.
“You’ve got a visitor.” Marnie nodded toward the front of the shop. “Not the inspector I thought would track you down this morning.”
Motts twisted in her chair to find Inspector Herceg stepping into the shop. The jaunty bell dinged cheerfully as the door opened. “Hello, Teo. How goes the investigating?”
He tucked his hands into pockets of his slightly rumpled suit jacket. “Slowly. As all cold cases tend to go. How are you ladies doing this morning?”
“My Perry mentioned it might be Mrs O’Connell. The poor dearie.” Marnie stood up and went over to offer the inspector a cup of tea, which he declined. “I remember visiting with her. She’d gotten so ill. I thought maybe her family had taken her somewhere to get better care. Then they filed a missing person report after a few months. Poor woman.”
Teo glanced from Marnie to Motts. “I’m sure we’ll find out what happened.”
“Why don’t you two enjoy the weather?” Marnie gathered up the bouquets. “These are perfect. And we don’t really need to chat about business anymore.”
With impressive speed, Marnie ushered the two of them out of the store. Motts rolled her eyes in amusement. They’d been dating for over a month; they didn’t need any help to spend time together.
“Why don’t we grab a coffee at Griffin Brews?” Teo waited for Motts to secure her notebook in the saddlebag. He walked beside her while she pushed her bicycle along the street. “We can talk about our plans for the weekend, if you’re still interested in coming to the knitting group.”
In his spare time, the detective inspector enjoyed knitting. He regularly joined his mother’s church group. Motts had gone to a few of the meetings, taking origami paper to craft since yarn bothered her fingers too much to muddle through a scarf or socks.
Or we can talk about Mrs O’Connell and why she looked as though she’d been killed two days ago yet has been missing for close to three years.
“Morning.” Nish opened the door for her and Teo. He’d been cleaning the glass but looped his arm around hers to lead them toward the counter. “Amma is psychic. She claimed you’d be here and made chocolate, honey, and blackcurrant jam macarons especially for you. Lucky duck.”
“Really?” Motts enjoyed most berries, but anything currant-flavoured held a special place in her heart. “Trust your mum to remember it’s my favourite.”
Nish gave her a hug, then went behind the counter. “So, two coffees and a plate of treats for you both?”
“Are you going to let me pay for once?” Motts wasn’t surprised when he waved off her and Teo’s attempts. “Nish.”
“Amma would never forgive me for charging her favourite child.” Nish winked at her when she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “River’s already eaten his weight in them.”
“Thought they were for me?” Motts gestured to the variety of blackcurrant-themed pastries on offer. “You’ve all outdone yourselves. It’s a week of Ribena.”
“Ribena week. Don’t let Vina hear you. She’ll want to put out advertisements.” Nish made their coffees perfectly. He handed one to her and the other to Teo. “I’ll bring the plates over in a moment. Take your usual table in the corner.”
Over their fancy coffees and macarons, Motts tried to probe Teo about the investigation. He skilfully avoided answering her questions directly. She didn’t think her attempt at subtlety was working.
“Motts.” Teo stopped stirring his coffee and focused his attention fully on her. “I can’t give you any details about the investigation. Haven’t you had your fill of being close to a murder victim?”
“I found her. Unnamed, unknown, uncovered.” Motts hated running out of words before completing an alliteration. “Bodies decompose in the sea, don’t they? How’d she wind up looking a few days dead?”
“Motts.”
“Mottsy,” Vina called out to her from across the café, waving her over. “Motts.”
“Persistent Pravina persists passionately. Better.” Motts slipped out of her chair and met Vina by the counter. “What?”
“Silver fox at ten o’clock,” Vina whispered.
Motts checked the time on the clock behind her. “It’s not ten.”
“Of all the….” Vina trailed off, shaking her head. “There’s a silver fox approaching.”
“There aren’t any silver foxes in Polperro. Maybe you should call animal control?” Motts glanced at Vina, who raised a hand up to cover her face. “What is it?”
“Ms Mottley?”
She twisted around to the London detective approaching. “Motts, Inspector. Everyone calls me Motts aside from my mother. Are you here for coffee?”
Vina groaned loudly into her hand. “Silver. Fox.”
“DI Byrne.” Teo strode across the café with his hand outstretched. “Thought you’d headed back to London?”
“Cold cases are my area of expertise. Ms Mottley has kindly agreed to help with the case involving her childhood friend. And since I’m in Cornwall, I may as well offer my assistance to the local detectives.” Inspector Byrne took Teo’s hand. “Perry Ash filled me in on the details.”
“Did he?”
“What are they doing?” Motts whispered to Vina and Nish, who were still behind the counter. The two detectives were having the longest handshake she’d ever seen. Neither of them had stepped back. “Is this some weird police ritual?”
“It’s not a copper thing.” Vina snickered.
“What does that even mean?” Motts frowned at her ex-girlfriend. “Why are neurotypicals so strange?”
Nish patted her shoulder. “They’re communicating.”
“Right.” Motts decided she didn’t care what they meant.