“Did you ever wish your parents moved up to London with mine?” Motts followed River down one of the footpaths to one of the two beaches that made up Polridmouth Cove. They strolled along the sand, peering into some of the rock pools exposed by the low tide. “You could’ve grown up in the city.”
“And miss this?” River gestured toward the vast expanse of the sea. “We visited London often enough. I’ve never wished we grew up there. I did once ask Father Christmas to have you move to Cornwall.”
“Did you?” Motts smiled sunnily. She shifted further down the beach, away from a rather boisterous family who were the only other visitors to the cove. “I’m sad he didn’t grant your wish. I love it here. So much calmer than London.”
River glanced over at the family after a particularly piercing shriek. “Quiet as well.”
She kicked sand at him. “You know what I meant.”
“I do.” River dipped his toes into the rock pool. “Are you really feeling okay?”
“Sore as can be. I won’t say I don’t hurt. It’s not as bad as when I went off my Vespa.” Motts bent down to pick up a particularly pretty shell. “Remember when your dad convinced me tiny invisible crabs lived in shells?”
“I remember getting shouted at for stomping on a shell and sending you into a panic.” River tucked his hands into his pockets. “Wind’s turning chilly.”
“It is. We should head back before we catch a cold. Last thing I need in the middle of summer.” Motts still remembered her uncle Tom and her cousin both getting into trouble for traumatising her. It was her granddad who explained invisible crabs weren’t a thing. “I should’ve worn a jumper.”
“You’d be boiling by lunch if you had.” River splashed in the water briefly, then followed her back up the sand. “Come on then. My mum’ll force-feed us soup if we so much as sniffle.”
On the way to the car, River received a message with the video from Jess. Motts squeezed up next to her cousin and peered down at his phone. He tried to zoom in close enough for a good view of the footage.
“There. Jasper.” River poked a finger at the screen. “He’s on the corner by the pub with his empty cart. Must’ve already made his delivery.”
“And there I am coming into the frame. Stopping at the light up the street.” Motts wished they had a longer view up the hill. She wanted a better perspective on what Jasper would’ve seen. “He’s definitely looking in my direction. Maybe. I don’t think we’ll ever prove if he was or not.”
River kept watching the video. “We can prove it wasn’t an accident.”
On the screen, the slightly blurry Jasper lowered the handle on the cart then launched it across the street with a solid kick. Motts made him replay the video several times. He also made sure to send a copy to Hughie, just in case the Polperro police hadn’t seen it.
They had. Hughie immediately texted to tell them Inspector Ash suggested they leave the detecting to the detectives. Hughie added a few crying laughing emojis to show what he thought the odds of them listening to be.
“Such faith in his fellow human beings.” River pocketed his phone. “Right. Well.”
Motts leaned against the seat. She regretted getting out of her comfortable, warm bed. Her body was starting to ache again from landing on the pavement and rolling across it at speed. “Callie.”
River glanced over at her. “Why don’t you stay in the car when we get there? I can have a chat with Callie about Ashby and take notes for you.”
“River.”
“You look done in. I should’ve made you stay at home.”
“Made me?” Motts had inherited her stubborn streak from her auntie Daisy. “Made. Me.”
“Repeating yourself doesn’t change the facts. Are you honestly going to tell me you don’t wish you’d stayed in bed?” River wasn’t going to believe her no matter what Motts said, so she took the easiest course of action and said nothing. “Why don’t we ask Callie and her lovely wife to meet us at the little park along Esplanade? It’s got those little round picnic tables. We can grab a snack and a cup of tea, then chat. You can stare at the sea if you don’t want to take part in the conversation.”
Motts couldn’t argue with the lunch. “Fish finger butties.”
“Oh, good idea. Fish finger sandwiches with a healthy dose of sautéd potatoes. We can split their cheese plate as well. Lifebuoy Café should be open by the time we get there. It’s not too far. If we find a decent parking spot, you can grab a table while I take a jog down the street. Or text Callie to grab it for us on her way up.” River tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “Here. I’ll send her a message.”
Settling into the seat, Motts lowered the window to enjoy the breeze. From a distance, the sound of children playing on the beach wasn’t nearly as piercing. She dozed in the comfort of the car while River texted back and forth with Callie.
“Don’t forget their peanut butter Oreo fudge.” Motts roused herself enough for chocolate. “Think they’d give us a thermos of tea?”
“No, but the hotel across the street might. They’ve got a restaurant.” River slipped his phone into his pocket. He motioned for Motts to get out of the car. They walked the short distance to the park. “Callie will be here with Ashby in about twenty minutes. Her wife’s keeping an eye on the shop.”
“Tea.”
“I’m going to sort out the tea and maybe some water. You keep our spot.” River jogged out of the little park area and across the street toward the hotel.
The picnic benches wound up being slightly uncomfortable for one specific scrape on the back of her leg. Motts stretched out on the grass instead. River didn’t bat an eyelid when he found her staring up at the clouds ten minutes later.
He set a basket down on the table and plopped down on the grass next to her. “We showed up before the lunch crowd. They made a nice little picnic basket for us with cups, tea, water, and mini bottles of wine. Quite fancy. The lovely gentleman at the hotel asked us to return the basket, though. So we’ll have to be careful. Are we eating on the ground?”
“Soft.”
“There’s probably a blanket in the boot of my car. We could spread it out at the far end of the park. Give us a better view of the water and more privacy from the street.” River hopped up, patted her on the shoulder, and jogged away. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Where am I going to go?” Motts asked a stray cloud. It didn’t answer. “I was promised chocolate and fish finger butties.”
“Are you talking to yourself again?” River reappeared with a blanket over one arm. He grabbed the basket and nudged her very gently with his foot. “Up you get. Help me spread this blanket out.”
“Why do you have a blanket in your car?”
“Don’t laugh.”
Motts glanced sharply over at him. “Why would I laugh?”
“You wouldn’t. Most people would.” River held a hand up to stop her from responding. “Nish and I enjoy going out to the beach for supper dates.”
“Do you?”
“I promise the blanket is clean.”
“Did you dust off the sand?” Motts asked. She grabbed two corners and helped him spread it out. She had to wait while he laughed uproariously. “What’s so funny?”
River ran his fingers through his hair. “Nothing at all.”
“It’s a sex thing, isn’t it?” Motts made herself comfortable on the blanket. She grabbed the thermos of tea and one of the cups. “I need to fortify myself for the explanation.”
River was saved from responding by the arrival of Callie and a scruffy ginger who appeared as though he’d walked off a hiking trail out in the wilds. “Hello, Ash.”
“River.”
“You know each other?” Motts glanced in surprise at her cousin.
“I didn’t realise Callie’s Ashby was my old schoolmate Ash.” River dragged him into a hug, then introduced him to Motts, who waved. She had no intentions of hugging a stranger. She barely allowed her family to do it. “Pineapple Mottley. We call her Motts.”
“Pineapple?” Ashby glance from River to Motts. “Better than being named after some posh twit who’d never give you the time of day.”
River shoved Ashby with a laugh. “Don’t mind him. He’s got issues with coming from an upper-middle-class home.”
“Think they have issues with me.” Ashby gestured to his slightly messy hair tied back, his scruffy facial hair, and his wrinkled T-shirt and jeans. “My parents don’t understand my choice to live out of a caravan and hike through the wilds.”
“My mum hates my cottage.”
“Motts.” River sighed. “She doesn’t hate your cottage. She worries. She loves you so much, I doubt anything would be enough for you.”
She waved off her cousin, not wanting to get into the conversation. “I know.”
“So, I heard you wanted to know about my run-ins with the O’Connells a few years ago.” Ashby sat on the edge of the blanket opposite Motts, Callie joined him. They spread out the food they’d picked up. “Felt sorry for the old woman. Nadine? I think she said. I tried helping. She was walking down the lane by her cottage.”
“Was she?” Motts had heard from Marnie about Nadine O’Connell being bedridden. “How did she seem?”
“Confused. Kept talking about dolls.” Ashby grabbed one of the bottles of water. “Her daughter caught up and began screeching at me. Accused me of kidnapping. All sorts of things. Someone called the local copper. Hughie? Think that was his name. He sorted us out, sent me on my way. Never saw her again. I did have to read the riot act to one of her sons. Red-faced bloke, came up screaming at me. Think he gets that from his mum. I decided to avoid the village. Something wrong with the O’Connell family. Very wrong.”
The rest of the picnic went well. Motts ate her sandwich and chocolate, mostly in silence. Ashby had answered her questions about his time in Polperro but left her with loads more about the O’Connells.
River had gotten quite wrapped up in his little reunion. The afternoon wore on, and more people crowded into the park. Motts knew she was reaching her limit of dealing with sound.
“River. River.” Motts had to repeat herself a number of times to draw her cousin out of his conversation with Ashby. “River.”
“What?” He turned toward her. “Ah. Bugger. Time to go, then.”
Some of the building stress must have shown on her face. River had her bundled into the car in impressive time. He said their goodbyes, raced the basket back to the hotel, and got them on the road to home.
And then they got stuck in traffic.
“Sorry, Motts. I should’ve paid better attention.” River switched radio stations until he found the Escape to Cornwall Pirate FM station, which played the sounds of the area. “Here. A little crashing of ocean waves will do you some good.”
The short trip from Fowey to Polperro took them what seemed like a century. Motts arrived home, kicked off her trainers, and fell flat onto the sofa. Cactus climbed up to join her.
“You. Me. Moss. And a quiet cottage.” Motts shifted to allow him to sit on her stomach. “Your uncle River inherited the chatty gene from the Mottleys. The one I missed.”
Meow.
“Yes, I have forgotten something, haven’t I?” Motts shot up on the sofa, groaning when her sore body complained. “Oh, no. Mum and Dad are coming today.”
Meow.
“We need reinforcements.” Motts dug into her pocket to find her phone. She genuinely didn’t want to deal with people at all. Her mum, however, was not one to be deterred. “Let’s sort your dinner first.”
While Motts got both of her pets fed, she texted with her various friends. Nish and River had plans to drive to Plymouth for a date night. Vina had left to pick up her girlfriend, who’d flown in for another business trip.
Meow.
“You’re right. I should text Teo. He did promise to come and sort out the new camera in the garden.” Motts rubbed Cactus’s head, smiling when he gave her finger a rough lick. “You are a clever boy.”
Will Mum and Dad want something to eat?
Probably.
Her refrigerator was filled with leftovers. Motts could already hear her mum complaining about her dietary choices and how her teeth would fall out. You’d think I was still a spotty teenager, not a grown woman.
“Well, Teo will be here soon. I have no doubts Mum and Dad will arrive before sunset.” Motts knew her parents well. They’d definitely visit her first, then drive over to Looe to where they’d be staying. “Better clean up some. Mum will wander around with a white glove on her hand, looking for dust.”
Only a slight exaggeration.
Teo arrived thirty minutes later; her parents showed up like a whirlwind not long after. He’d gone into the garden to sort the new camera. Her dad gave her a hug, then went outside to join him.
Motts stared out the window. “Maybe—”
“Your father is perfectly fine with your young man.” Her mum dragged her attention away. “Sit down. Your auntie Lily had some hideous story to tell me about you investigating another crime. Didn’t you learn from your last near-death experience?”
“Mum.” She picked up Cactus and cuddled him to her chest. He offered a warm, purring comfort in the storm of her mother’s disapproval. “I didn’t plan to find a body in my garden. And I didn’t intend to discover one in the sea either.”
“You did decide to determine who the killer was.” Her mum sniffed delicately.
Stuck inside with her mum, Motts was slowly losing her mind. Her mum had started on the new layout of the living room furniture. It hadn’t taken her long to move on to the dangers of Cornwall and how she should move back home to London.
Never in a million years will I give up the quiet of my cottage on the hill.
“Are you listening, darling?”
“I’ll fix tea.” Motts fled toward the kitchen with a quietly purring Cactus. “Biscuits?”
“Not before supper. You’ll spoil your appetite.”
“Fine.” Motts grabbed the packet of homemade lemon biscuits Leena had made for her and crammed two in her mouth. If she was eating, she would resist the urge to reply.
One of these days, Mum will let go of whatever vision she has in her mind of the perfect daughter. She’ll get to know me as an adult. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later. I’m almost forty. I won’t hold my breath.
“How goes the tea, darling?” Her mum joined her in the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinets. “Why are your crisps in this cupboard?”
Motts filled the kettle in silence. She grabbed the largest of what had been her auntie’s teapots to drop tea into. “My kitchen. My crisps. My organisation methods.”
“Wouldn’t they—”
“No.” Motts narrowly avoided slamming the electric kettle on the counter. Her mum always managed to get a rise out of her without even trying. “I want them over there. What does it matter where the crisps go? I eat them. I buy more. They don’t care where they sleep when I’m not munching on them.”
Do crisps ever care where they go?
I’m not caffeinated enough to deal with the existential crisis of a thin, crunchy potato slice.
Her mum continued to inspect her kitchen. Motts retreated into herself, falling into a stony silence. She made the tea on autopilot.
Silence had been a refuge as a teenager. Motts found her mum to be an overwhelming force of nature. She’d often sunk into her own mind, losing her ability to put sentences together.
“Are you listening, darling?”
No?
Motts was saved from responding by the return of her dad and Teo. The former went over to her mum while the latter joined her at the counter. “Hello.”
Teo rested a steady hand on her shoulder. “Want some help?”
“It’s just tea.” Motts gripped the counter to keep from giving in to the urge to fling the teakettle. Sometimes, meltdowns needed an outlet. She’d found breaking glass to be quite satisfying but expensive. “I’m fine.”
“You use fine far too often.” He glanced over at her parents, who were not doing a brilliant job of spying on them. “Perhaps I can encourage them to head to your auntie and uncle’s early?”
“Never happen.” She felt the room closing in on her again. “I’ll be outside. Need air.”
Fleeing outside, Motts sat in one of the loungers, allowing the ambient Cornish seaside sounds to calm her nerves. The sun had almost fully set. She heard the door open and close a few minutes later.
“Hello, love. Are you being a good cat?” Motts felt another knot in her release when Cactus leapt up into her lap. She turned slightly toward the cottage to find Teo with a laptop in one hand. “My parents?”
“They received a sudden invitation to your uncle’s. They didn’t refuse.” Teo’s smile made him seem quite fierce. “Don’t mind me. I want to make sure your system is set up correctly.”
She rubbed Cactus’s head gently. “Mum loves me.”
“I’m sure she does.” Teo focused on his computer, occasionally tapping the keys. “There. The new camera is added into the system and working perfectly.”
“Thank you.” Motts watched the last rays of the sun disappear.
“Why don’t I leave? Give you some time to decompress by yourself?”
She reached out to grab his hand. “Stay.”
I could use a distraction and a buffer zone if they decide to come back.