“Chocolate?”
Motts briefly regretted not changing out of her incredibly soft turtle pyjamas and bunny slippers before answering the door. She shrugged internally. If Teo had an issue with her clothes, it was his problem, not hers. “Chocolate?”
Teo lifted the small box in his left hand. “I come bearing gifts in the hopes you’ll tell me about your visit with Amy O’Connell.”
“Good cop?”
“What?” Teo stepped inside when she waved him into the cottage. “Nice slippers.”
“Soft.” Motts picked up Cactus, who’d come to inspect their visitor. “Had coffee yet?”
“A few.” He followed her through the cottage and watched her open the windows and back door. “Fresh air?”
“Feeling claustrophobic.” Motts had suffered nightmares about walls closing in and a porcelain doll. “Mothballs and cleanliness.”
“Mothballs and cleanliness?” Teo sat in what was fast becoming his armchair. Cactus leapt up to perch on his thigh. “Did you go visiting Amy O’Connell?”
Motts curled up on the sofa, perusing the selection of Kernow Chocolate bars Teo had brought to her. “Oh. White Chocolate and lemon meringue. My favourite combination.”
“Mothballs,” Teo prompted when she silently considered her bounty of chocolate.
She refused to fidget under the weighty stare of the detective inspector. “We offered our condolences.”
“To a bitter woman who didn’t give a damn about her own mum? In my unofficial opinion.” Teo reclined into the chair, allowing Cactus to make himself at home in his lap. “Did you pick up anything? She was rather dismissive of my questions. Strange, considering Nadine O’Connell had been missing for three years. You’d think the family would want answers.”
“Come sit in the kitchen so I don’t have to shout.” Motts hated raising her voice. She’d gone through a dreadful time at school where her teachers alternated between remonstrating her for being too quiet or overly loud. “Want a coffee?”
“I have a feeling I’m going to need one.” Teo carried Cactus into the kitchen with him. “Has this one had his walk yet?”
“Not quite.” Motts had hit the snooze button on her alarm a number of times this morning. “We had a rough time sleeping. Who inherited the O’Connell business and money?”
“Mikey.”
“Mikey?” Motts paused in the process of pulling mugs out of the cupboard. “I thought the elder son, Jasper, ran the business. And wouldn’t Amy have inherited directly from her mother?”
“You’d think.” Teo absently patted Cactus on the head, earning his eternal adoration. “There wasn’t any love lost between them.”
“The whole family?” Motts had seen a lot of animosity between the brothers. She couldn’t imagine Amy O’Connell being inclined to kindness to anyone, including her own sons. “That cottage could make me want to murder someone.”
“It has an aura about it.”
“Like a horror movie.” She shuddered. “Never seen a house more perfectly suited for a story of a doll coming to life and seeking revenge.”
“You have a vivid imagination.” Teo accepted the mug of coffee she offered.
“Too vivid. I carefully curate what I watch to avoid nightmares and bizarre dreams.” Motts had given up watching most television and movies. YouTube was far safer to ensure she got some sleep. “Can you imagine growing up there?”
Teo was the one to shudder this time. “I’d prefer to never put that visual in my mind. What happened to not investigating?”
Motts shrugged. “My curiosity has gotten the better of me. Naff thing. I apparently come by it naturally.”
She hoped finding dead bodies wouldn’t become a habit. The one in the garden had been terrifying enough. She didn’t know if her mental health could handle a continuing reoccurrence.
Jenny. The poor girl in the garden. Nadine O’Connell in the sea.
Am I cursed?
Don’t be silly.
Finishing up putting her usual breakfast together, Motts settled at the table after putting Cactus’s breakfast on the counter for him. She bit into her first slice of toast. Everything seemed better with freshly baked bread; she’d have to thank Nish for dropping it off for her.
“Handy having best mates who run a bakery.” Teo took a long sip of coffee. “New brew?”
“Mum sent some down from London. She’s got a subscription.” Motts shook her head and tried not to roll her eyes. “She’s tried about fifty different types. Dad says they’ve enough coffee to last a millennium. He’s exaggerating. I hope. I can never tell.”
“I’d imagine he’s joking.” Teo had another drink. “Good stuff.”
“Want a bag?” Motts gestured to the cupboard that hid several her dad had sent to her. “I’ve more than enough. It’s a tad stronger than my usual coffee.”
“Keep them. It gives me an excuse to come see you for breakfast.” He smiled.
“Why do you need an excuse?” Motts frowned at him. “Neurotypical flirting.”
Teo’s smile morphed into a chuckle. “Always an unexpected take with you.”
Deciding to take it as a compliment, Motts focused on her toast. Dating was strange. She didn’t think she’d ever get the hang of it.
Motts finished the last bite of her toast and washed it down with her milky coffee. “Did the torn bit of coat I found help at all?”
Teo eyed her over his mug for a second. “Too early to tell. We know it’s part of her coat. It hasn’t led us to the killer. I’m pulling all the CCTV footage available in the hopes of identifying ships going out to sea in the days before you found her.”
“Amy O’Connell mentioned a hiker in the area around the time her mum disappeared.”
Teo’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Did she? You must’ve riled her up. She said less than nothing to me. Granted, there are hundreds of hikers in the area during the summer. I’ll look into it.”
Motts decided not to mention her conversation with Callie, not until she’d spoken with her again. She shifted uncomfortably. “What are you doing this morning? Aside from feeding my chocolate hunger? And drinking my coffee?”
He shook his head and reached across the table to grab her hand. “Sometimes, Pineapple Mottley, I just want to spend time with you.”
“Right.” She stared at his hand in confusion. “You didn’t come to the village just for breakfast with me.”
“It could be a romantic gesture.”
“That’s not practical.” Motts couldn’t stop staring at the crumbs on her fingertips. “Detective inspectors from Plymouth can’t hang around Looe and Polperro indefinitely.”
“Excellent point. Maybe I’m conferring with an independent source.” Teo leaned back in his chair and laughed again when Cactus leapt up onto his leg. “Someone appreciates my presence.”
She fidgeted in the chair, considering the tall, broad-shouldered detective across the table from her. “I appreciate your presence even if I’m dismal at the concept of romance and romantic gestures.”
“My baka claims everyone has their own language of romance. I’m going to enjoy learning yours.” Teo always spoke of his grandmother in such a reverent tone. “She might come to visit in a few months. I know she’d love to meet you.”
Motts found herself nodding. How do I respond to that? We’re only dating. Why aren’t there books for how to deal with these things? “Brilliant.”
With what seemed like a knowing smile, Teo changed the conversation. He followed her into the garden, where she set Cactus loose on the butterflies. Motts checked on all her herbs and assortment of other plants, pulling a stray weed.
“Someone’s tossed an empty cigarette packet.” Teo was standing on the ocean side of her garden, peering over the fence. “Hang on.”
“What’s going on?”
Teo returned a few minutes later, wearing a pair of gloves and carefully holding a pack of cigarettes. “Do you have a Ziplock bag or a plastic container?”
With Cactus following on their heels, they returned to the cottage. Motts found a small bag that some of her origami paper had arrived in and offered it to Teo. He immediately dropped the empty packet and a handful of cigarette butts inside.
“We’ll get a new camera installed to cover the other side of the fence. Someone was definitely hanging out there.” Teo removed his gloves and dropped them into her rubbish bin. “Try your best to stay safe.”
“Of course.” Motts frowned in confusion as he bent forward to drop a kiss on the top of her head and then walked out with a goodbye called over his shoulder. She picked up Cactus, who’d come over to her. “Is it all men who are confusing? Or just the non-autistic ones? Or is Teo a particularly perplexing human?”
Meow.
“I’m not sure either.”