“Right. Nish and I are dying from anticipation. You’ve been silent for a full five minutes.” Vina made a show of topping of Motts’s mug despite it being full. “Necklace. Mystery. Dedicated inspector versus casual amateur investigator. And go.”
“Go where?” Motts hadn’t intended to leave without finishing her croissant. “Oh, wait, you mean talk.”
Vina tapped Motts on the shoulder gently. “Yes. Chat it up with your detective inspector. Confession is good for the soul, but do it so we can hear you because we’re nosy.”
Nish cleared his throat loudly.
“Fine. I’m nosy,” Vina corrected.
“We’re so sorry. She takes after her father.” Leena retrieved her daughter, pushing her across the room to the counter. “Enjoy your breakfast.”
Teo watched the mother and daughter, who were having a heated whispered conversation. “Amy O’Connell suggested your friend Ashby stole from her mother and murdered her to keep her silent.”
“Of course she did,” Motts grumbled. “Ashby didn’t murder anyone.”
“Based on?”
She hesitated, stirring her latte. “I’m not sure.”
“Morning, Ms Mottley.” Inspector Ash settled himself at the table with them. He slid a mug and plate across to Teo. “How are you doing after the accident?”
“A little sore.” Motts hoped the diagonal bruise across her upper body healed quickly. “I’ll admit to not being anxious to ride in a car anytime soon.”
“My Marnie wanted me to make sure you were doing okay.” He offered comfort in his quietly stoic sort of way. “Was that our suspect sitting with you?”
Motts could understand how Perry Ash made detective inspector. He didn’t have Teo’s intensity, yet his quiet sternness was equally effective. “Ashby’s aura aligns anxiously.”
“Did it? I’m sensing yours is as well.” Teo’s lips twitched, and he took a sip of coffee.
The problem with facing two detective inspectors was Motts found Ashby’s story suddenly even harder to believe in the retelling. He got a necklace from an elderly, infirm woman who wanted to escape her daughter. And kept it when she died.
It sounded so absolutely absurd. Yet, Motts believed him. She didn’t know if either of the detective inspectors would be sold by her argument.
“Croissants.” Motts brightened when Vina snuck over to drop one last breakfast pastry on her plate. “You’re my favourite.”
“Enjoy your breakfast.” Vina rolled her eyes. She narrowed her gaze on the two inspectors seated at the table with Motts. “Play nicely, gentlemen. Interrogation is bad for the digestive system.”
Motts smothered her laughter behind her latte. She didn’t think either man expected to be warned off by the svelte and stylish Vina. “She’s not wrong. Intense conversation can lead to indigestion.”
“I’m sure we’ll survive,” Teo countered. “Why don’t you let us decide for ourselves if we believe the tall tale?”
Pursuing her lips at the “tall tale” comment, Motts considered her options. She pressed on with telling what little she knew of Ashby’s connection to the O’Connells. Even in the retelling, it sounded unbelievable.
And yet, still, she found herself even more convinced.
“She asked him to sell her necklace?” Inspector Ash definitely wasn’t convinced. Motts didn’t need to understand either tone or body language to see his incredulity. “Likely story.”
“If he’d stolen it, why didn’t he sell it the first chance he got? Three years now he’s hung on to a valuable piece of jewellery,” Motts pointed out. She’d showed the detective inspectors the photo of the necklace currently hidden inside her cottage. “It’s incriminating evidence. If he’d killed her, getting rid of it should’ve been a top priority.”
“Criminals, in my experience, don’t often think logically or intelligently.” Teo handed her phone back to her. “Why don’t we head up to your cottage to retrieve the necklace? We’re going to need to log this into evidence.”
He means against Ashby.
How do I convince them he’s innocent?
Am I convinced he’s innocent?
Lost in thought, Motts didn’t even notice Nish had bagged up her last croissant for her until she spotted the paper sack in front of her. The twins were way too good to her. She always felt grateful for her best friends, who treated her like family.
“Are you—” Teo cut off his question when Motts’s phone began to go berserk. “Your alarm.”
Motts grabbed her phone, fumbling to get the alarm turned off. “My cottage. Maybe it’s a false alarm?”
The two detectives both stared at her. Motts shifted uncomfortably. They obviously didn’t think it was a false alarm.
Their short trip up to the cottage seemed like hours. Motts’s heart began to race when she spotted her front door. Teo grabbed her to keep her from racing inside.
“Cactus. Moss.”
“We need to make sure no one’s inside.” Teo left her with Inspector Ash while he went into the cottage.
“I don’t care about the poxy necklace. What about my family?” Motts tried to see into the hallway. “Cactus?”
Meow.
Oh, thank everything. Thank all of your nine lives.
“Cactus.” Motts’s voice trembled. She latched on to her cat, who’d sauntered out of the open cottage door. “He’s got something on his paws. Oh my. Is this blood?”
Inspector Ash jogged over to her. He gently lifted one of Cactus’s paws. “I’d say he gave someone a good scratch. We’re going to want to get a swab of this. Don’t let him lick himself clean.”
“I’ve got the alarm turned off.” Teo joined them. “I’ve got a call in to a locksmith to fix your door. Nothing else is damaged. Where’d you hide the necklace?”
Motts gently handed Cactus over to Teo. She went straight into the cottage and retrieved the necklace. She offered it to Inspector Ash, who secured it in an evidence bag. “What about my cameras?”
“The company checked the footage for me. We’ve got a figure in a hoodie, face completely covered. I’ll analyse it more thoroughly later.” Teo had a careful hold on Cactus’s paws. “Your hallway is a mess. I’d say they encountered your brave cat and decided not to press on further into the cottage.”
Meow.
“Yes, you do deserve all the treats. We’ll get you a nice big plate of tuna,” Motts promised.
The technician arrived in impressive time to swab both of Cactus’s front paws. He eyed the woman suspiciously but submitted to the inspection. Motts thought he did better than she would’ve.
“I’ll get you all cleaned up.” Motts left the police to chat. She wandered into her cottage, since they’d finished taking photos and fingerprints. “What a mess.”
The hall table had been knocked over, a painting was off the wall, her coats and umbrellas were strewn across the floor.
Nothing seemed broken, at least.
“Can I help?” Teo offered. “Perry’s got the CCTV footage from the security company. He’ll take a closer look. The lab tech’s off with the evidence. I’m hanging around for a bit. Just in case.”
“In case they come back?” Motts carried Cactus through the mess in the front into the kitchen. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Meow.
“I know. You’re a grand Celtic warrior. You’re still having a bath.” She gently washed off the blood from his paws, checking him over for any injuries. “Why don’t I set you up with a nice snack by the window? You and Moss can gossip about what a brave boy you are.”
With Cactus taken care of, Motts returned to the hallway. She leaned against the wall and stared at the mess. The security system was supposed to be a deterrent.
Some deterrent.
My poor painting.
Motts bent down to touch the frame. She shook her head, breathing in and out rapidly. Teo stepped up behind her and lifted the artwork to place on the wall.
“Why don’t you join Cactus and Moss in the living room? Have some tea?” he suggested. He sighed when Motts shook her head. “How can I help?”
Go away.
Motts wanted to resettle into the cottage. She needed familiarity to wash away the sense of having her safest space violated, even if only briefly. “I need some quiet and space.”
Teo eased back after righting the coat stand. “I’ll speak with Perry. We’ll see if Constable Stone can keep an eye on your cottage today.”
“Teo.”
He waved off her attempt to apologise. “Clear your head. I’ll ask Nish to bring you a takeaway. Fish and chips are good for the soul, I’m told.”
Motts managed a smile. She put the hallway table back against the wall and began replacing the items that had fallen off. “They are. Salty, vinegary chips. A greasy boon to a weary soul.”
He chuckled, finishing placing the last coat on the stand. “There. All fixed up.”
After Teo left, Motts closed the door. She unlocked and locked it a few more times, just to be sure. The hallway had returned to normal; nothing seemed out of place.
“What are you?” Motts spotted something poking out from underneath the rug. She eased out a receipt from the Griffin Brews. “Coffee and a pasty. Same as Ashby.”
And likely the same order as twenty other people who came into the café. The receipt showed no identifying information. Bugger. I’ll text a photo to Teo later. And to Nish; maybe he can identify it for me—and the police.
Later, when my head isn’t buzzing from adrenaline and stress.
One of Motts’s favourite things in the world was organising her supplies. She set multiple containers of papers on the coffee table. The peony project needed more work; she wanted a clear head before starting.
Meow.
“I know you’re trying to be helpful. The last time you did, I had to throw away an entire bouquet because you taught it a lesson.” Motts gently plucked Cactus off the table and set him on the couch behind her. “You can supervise from a distance.”
Meow.
“You’ll survive the trauma of being separated from the coffee table.” Motts grabbed the first container. She pried off the lid and began lifting out stacks of loose paper and organising them into piles based on colour and stack. “We’ll survive.”
No matter what.
Oh, this is a lovely purple. Maybe I can make a bouquet of irises for Teo’s mum.