Copy Cap Murder: A Hat Shop Mystery Part 22

"Don't fret, love, we'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail," Nick said as I closed the door behind them.

That made me smile because it sounded like something my mother would say. Then I got sad because after eight months of living in London, I really missed my parents and I knew that Thanksgiving was coming up fast and I was dreading it.

"Lock it!" Inspector Simms pointed toward the door lock with a tap on the gla.s.s and I nodded.

I watched as they walked away, the inspectors eating their sandwiches as they went. When they disappeared from view, I was struck by how dark it was outside. The light in the shop made the window gla.s.s throw my reflection back at me. I could only stare out into the street if I pressed my face up against the pane and cupped my hands about my face, blocking the glare.

I backed away. I didn't want to look out there. I was afraid my attacker would reappear and cause me more nightmares with his creepy smirking face. Not that I thought more nightmares were possible.

As it was, I was dreading going up to the third floor alone. I loved every inch of this old house but it had been broken into before; I had even been attacked in it before. My homesickness reared its ugly head again. Would it be terribly cowardly of me to buy a ticket on the next plane out of here and go see my parents?

Yes, I knew very well it would be, but I was still tempted. Pumpkin pie, apple cider and crisp autumn leaves crunching underfoot, what wasn't to love about Connecticut in the fall? My parents had recently left New Haven and bought a cottage on the sh.o.r.e in a small town called Briar Creek. I hadn't been to see it yet, but my mother a.s.sured me that I would love the quaint little town as it had a very lively library. Suddenly, it seemed like the perfect time to go and see it.

While I was wallowing in my homesickness, Harry entered the shop from the back room.

"All right, Ginger?" he asked.

"No," I said. Lying seemed sort of pointless. I began to pull the shades down over the windows as if I could block out the horrors outside. Funny how a bit of stiff fabric could make me feel safer even if it was an illusion.

"Come here," he said. He walked toward me with his arms open wide and I stepped into them gratefully. At this moment, I would take comfort from anyone who offered but I was especially glad it was Harry.

I pressed my face into his s.h.i.+rtfront and took a deep calming breath. I couldn't help but think how different it was to be held by Harry than mauled by Win. He was dead, murdered, so I supposed it was bad of me to think ill of him, but from what I had learned about him there didn't seem to be a lot to like.

It was small wonder someone had strangled him. As I soaked in the lovely bay rum smell that was Harry, the mean part of me thought maybe it was Win's overpowering cologne that had caused someone to strangle him with his own tie, but then I remembered Win hadn't been wearing a tie.

A cold feeling started on the top of my head; it swept down through my body like I was being slowly encased in ice. Why hadn't I remembered it before? Did it mean what I thought it meant?

I stepped back and looked at Harrison. I must have been wild-eyed because he grasped my upper arms and stared intently at my face.

"What is it, Ginger? Are you all right?" he asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

I stared at him. What if I was wrong? What if it made Harrison more of a suspect? I didn't want to risk that-not until I had more information.

"No, I'm just rattled from before," I lied. I buried my head against his chest and hugged him tight, hoping that my memory proved his innocence and not his guilt.

Chapter 25.

Harrison and I rejoined Viv in the workroom. I tried to act normal, whatever that is, but I figured my earlier fright would cover any weirdness I was exhibiting.

I needed to get information out of Harrison but I needed to be subtle or he might catch on and I wasn't sure I was ready to confront that possibility.

When Andre and Nick came back, they reported that there had been no sign of the lunatic in the mask. I felt the tension in my neck ease. I hadn't even realized I was fearful of that.

Andre was sure he had pinpointed the place where my attacker had disappeared, but there was no trace of him, much to Inspectors Simms and Franks's disappointment. They planned to canvas the area again the next day, but it looked as if the person had disappeared into the service entrance of a local pub.

Because no one in the place noticed a masked man, it was a.s.sumed that he had taken off his mask before entering. Of course, I still maintained that the attacker could have been a woman, but although they all nodded, I could tell no one was taking me seriously except Viv. I got the feeling the men didn't like thinking of a woman as a cold-blooded killer.

"If my attacker was the same person who killed Dashavoy, do you suppose they were going to strangle me, too?" I asked.

All eyes turned to me and I offered a shaky smile. I couldn't help putting my hand to my throat as the thought of having my airway cut off caused me a flutter of distress.

They all looked at one another as if no one wanted to say it.

"I'd say that's likely," Viv said. She looked grim.

"I suppose it's good that I wasn't wearing a necktie," I said.

"There's a bright side for you," Nick said.

"The tie that Win was wearing was just a regular tie, wasn't it?" I asked Harrison.

He shook his head. "No, actually our ties are specially made for Carson and Evers employees. You get one on your fifth anniversary with the company and are expected to wear it to all of the company functions."

"What a pain in the neck," Nick said. We all looked at him and he shrugged. "It had to be said."

"More like it's the tie that binds," Andre said.

"And gags," Viv added.

We all smiled but I noticed no one laughed. I think they were afraid the joking was too close to home for me at the moment, but on the contrary it made me feel a sense of normalcy like everything was going to be all right, especially now that I had the information I'd been seeking.

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing I didn't tie one on before I left," I said.

There was a beat of silence and then Viv giggled, breaking the silence, and the others laughed, actually laughed, at my joke.

Harrison leaned over and took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze and said, "Nothing is going to happen to you, knot on my life."

"Oh, ick," Andre protested. "That was terrible, mate."

"I thought it was clever," Harrison said. He glanced around at us, looking put out.

"No, just no," Nick said.

Harrison looked chagrined and then we all laughed. It felt good and cleansing, and I realized that I valued this, this moment in time with these people.

No, they weren't family, except for Viv, of course. They weren't my parents and we had no connection other than enjoying one another's company. But they were my people and I would do anything to keep us safe and together, including risking embarra.s.sment by calling Inspector Franks tomorrow to share my theory with him.

Harrison offered to stay the night on our living room couch. Viv looked to me and I shook my head. Although the offer was tempting, I didn't want to risk spilling my guts about my latest theory. Plus, Harrison was so determined that it wasn't Tuesday, I didn't want to be hampered by his bias.

Hugs were exchanged at the door, and Viv and I locked up after they left. Normally, Viv went upstairs and I checked the lower level one more time before joining her. Tonight, she waited by the stairs while I did my rounds. I appreciated the thought even as it threw me off my game.

There's a wardrobe in the corner of the shop, a large antique carved in exquisite detail with a raven peering down from the top with his wings spread over each door. The detail was so good that his eyes seemed to follow you when you moved about the shop. He had been in that same corner when Mim had opened the shop, and he'd been my only company when I had first arrived from the States as Viv hadn't been here.

I had started talking to him, don't be judgy I was lonely, and I had become rather attached to his beakiness. I had even nicknamed him Ferd the Bird. Normally at night we chatted, but with Viv loitering by the stairs, I was feeling a bit self-conscious.

"You can go ahead," I said.

"You want to say good night to the bird," she said.

I just looked at her.

"Fine, but I'm waiting at the top of the stairs so be quick," she said.

I waited until she was halfway up before I turned back to the shop, making one more visual sweep. Then I glanced at Ferd. I swear he was watching me.

"Good night, Ferd, be on the lookout for bad guys, okay?"

He winked and I knew he understood. Yes, he winked. I know it sounds improbable, which was why I had Viv head up the stairs without me. Certain things, strange things, are best kept to yourself when it might seem to others that you're crazy. For the record, I am not crazy. I swear.

Viv met me at the top of the stairs and we entered our apartment together. Harrison had done a walk-through before he left just to put our minds at ease. Actually, I think it was more to put his mind at ease since he had been quite insistent that he wanted to make sure the upstairs was secure before he left.

Viv slept on the main floor and I was on the one above. I dreaded going up there to my cold, quiet room. It was ridiculous but I was afraid I was going to be seeing that masked face in every shadow. I s.h.i.+vered and Viv slipped her hand through my arm and pulled me close.

"How about we have a sleepover?" she asked.

I squinted at her, not understanding what she meant.

"Go up and get your things and then sleep in Mim's big, old bed with me," she said. "We can giggle and gossip all night if you want."

"Really?" I asked. We hadn't shared a room since we were teenagers and then it wasn't sharing so much as it was running back and forth between each other's room until we either collapsed from exhaustion or Mim yelled at us.

"Yes," she said. "It'll be fun. We'll eat crisps and fizzy drinks and talk about boys."

"Husbands?" I asked.

"Don't push your luck," she said. "I'm letting you stay with me even though you snore."

I gasped. "I do not."

"Oh, yes, you do," she said.

"That was when we were young," I protested. "I've had my tonsils out since then."

She gave me a look that said she didn't believe me not even a little. I looked into the blue eyes that were identical to mine and I felt so full of not just love but also affection for my cousin that I reached out and hugged her hard. She hugged me back just as tightly and for the first time all night I realized how frightened she had been for me. Yeah, mostly, because she had me in a grip that made it hard to breathe.

My specialty in times of great stress or deep emotion is to lighten the mood. It's a coping mechanism from my days in the hospitality industry. When confronted with jet-lagged travelers whose hotel reservation has gone missing and the place is booked to the rafters with a convention of magicians, yeah, it's practically a survival skill.

I turned it on Viv now by breaking out of her hold and giving her a sideways glance.

"He's a male stripper, isn't he?" I asked.

Viv shoved me back a step, but she was grinning instead of looking worried so mission accomplished.

"You're incorrigible."

I shrugged. "Better than a snorer."

She went into her room while I jogged upstairs. Once there, I took a moment to change and wash up and then I called Inspector Franks. I hoped I wasn't waking him, but I really felt that my memory of Win not wearing a tie was important.

He had said that if I remembered anything to call him. Of course, he meant about my attacker but I figured this was significant, too.

He answered on the third ring, more accurately, he barked, "Franks."

"And beans," I said. No, I have no idea what got into me.

"Who is this?"

"Sorry," I said. "It was the first thing that popped into my head. It's Scarlett Parker, Inspector Franks."

"Did you remember something?"

I crossed my room and looked out the window. My room looks out over our small patio garden at the back of the house. It was brown and dry now, but Viv kept it full of bird feeders, which I feared made it an all-you-can-eat buffet for the stray cats in the neighborhood. But the birds were quick and I hadn't seen any piles of feathers left behind in a long time, so I took it as a good sign.

"I have remembered something," I said. "But not about my attacker."

"Oh, what then?" he asked. He didn't even try to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"I don't want to say over the phone," I said.

"What?" he snapped. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, but I'm as serious as a heart attack," I said. "I feel as if someone knows every move I make, and I'm afraid they may even be listening in to my calls."

Franks was quiet for a moment. "Can you come to the station first thing in the morning?"

"I'd rather you meet me at the offices of Carson and Evers," I said. "They open at nine."

More silence.

"It's important," I said. I sensed he was ranking meeting me right up there with an appointment with a dentist's drill.

"All right, nine o'clock," he said. "But it had better be important."

"It is, I swear," I said.

"All right then," he said. "Oh, and Scarlett, I have a constable watching your home tonight just to be on the safe side."

"Thank you," I said. I would have added that it wasn't necessary but it occurred to me that he may have mentioned it just because I feared someone was listening in and maybe it was more for their benefit than mine. Either way, it did make me breathe easier.

"Good night, Inspector," I said.