Copy Cap Murder: A Hat Shop Mystery Part 26

"Franks is bad," I said. "He's a bad cop! Carson murdered Win, I have the proof, Reese might be dead, and we have to get the h.e.l.l out of here!"

Harrison stared at me and then saw Franks. He didn't hesitate but shoved the door with all his strength. As soon as the sweet rush of November air hit us, he grabbed my hand and we bolted. We were running flat out, past businessmen and women in suits and s.h.i.+ny shoes, racing down St Mary Axe toward Leadenhall Street.

I looked over my shoulder once and saw Inspector Franks with two constables running beside him. They were gaining on us.

"Where are we going?" I shouted at Harrison.

"Aldgate," he said. He glanced back. "If we make it. Run, Ginger, run!"

Chapter 29.

We didn't make it. A black sedan hopped the curb and screeched to a halt in front of us. The pa.s.senger door was shoved open and I glanced inside to see Inspector Simms looking at us.

"Get in!" he cried.

Harrison looked at me and I shrugged. Could we trust Simms? I had no idea.

"I know about Franks. I know he's-" Simms stopped talking as if he couldn't bear to say it out loud. He looked angry and sad at the same time.

It was a leap of faith but just because Franks had let me down didn't mean Simms would, too. There was no place else to go and Franks was almost upon us.

I climbed into the front seat and Harrison took the back. I had barely shut the door and was just reaching for the seat belt when Simms. .h.i.t the gas. We shot out onto the street, narrowly missing a couple of pedestrians.

"Slow down, man, you're going to get us killed," Harrison said.

"I can't. The two PCs with Franks left their cars out front. They'll be on us in seconds," Simms said.

I glanced out the rear window, and sure enough, Franks and his two henchmen were running for their cars.

"What about Tyler Carson?" I asked. "I left him in the stairwell."

"Franks's men got him out before we could nab him," Simms said. "This is why I need to get you to safety."

"How did you know where I was?" I asked.

"Reese Evers called me and told me everything," he said.

"Is she all right?" I asked.

"Carson tied her up, but he must have been in a hurry, because she got free and called us," Simms said. "She has a nasty head injury, but she'll be okay. Luckily, I was on duty and not Franks and took the call."

"I'm trying to keep up, really I am," Harrison said. "But I'm lost. Could someone please tell me what the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l is happening?"

Simms gestured for me to do it.

I turned in my seat so I was facing Simms and could see Harrison. Then I started with the memory of Win not wearing a tie, my time with Reese, and ended with Tyler's confession on the stairwell. Both men were silent, not asking questions, just listening.

When I got to the part about Franks, they both looked pained. "And that's when I ran into you," I said to Harry and then turned to Simms and added, "And then you appeared. I don't think I'm overstating that you saved our lives."

Simms nodded. "I've been tailing Franks. Him coming back from York the way he did just felt . . . wrong."

"I can't believe it," Harrison said. "I liked him, really liked him."

"There might still be an explanation," I said. "Maybe he's deep undercover, trying to out Carson."

Simms shook his head. "I'd have known if he was."

The traffic slowed to a crawl and I saw Harrison look out the back window as if he expected Carson or Franks to rise up in the window like G.o.dzilla or King Kong.

"I think we're safe now," I said. "They can't catch us and I still have the invoice, plus I sent you and Viv copies of it."

"You sent one to Viv?" Harrison asked. He scrambled with his phone, pressed the front of it and held it to his ear. He checked the time on his wrist.w.a.tch and then made eye contact with Simms in the rearview mirror.

"She's not answering," he said.

"That's it then," Simms said. He fired up the siren on the car, forcing the traffic out of our way.

"What is it?" I asked. "What's going on?"

They exchanged a glance as if trying to figure out what to say, infuriating, and then Harry said, "Viv isn't answering the shop phone. She should be open for business by now."

"Oh, G.o.d, Viv!" I cried. "She's in danger, isn't she? Just because I sent that stupid text."

"I seriously doubt they're after her for that," Harrison said. "There's no way for them to know about it, but they do know that Viv is important to you, so-"

Hysteria bubbled up in me like a geyser, only the stuff that came out was a flood of tears, snot and a whole lot of panic.

I looked at Simms and yelled, "Step on it!"

As soon as the car in front of us moved over, he floored it, zipping through the traffic in a way that would have made me vomit if I hadn't been singularly focused on getting to Viv.

The dash through London was a start-and-stop affair as we alternately crawled and raced, paused and pushed, shoving our little car to the max as we darted around corners and forced our way to Notting Hill and Portobello Road.

My heart was in my throat as Simms drove by the shop and parked three buildings down at the curb across the street. A sick feeling twisted in my gut as I noted that the window shades were still drawn as if the shop had never opened. I glanced back at Harrison and he had the same tight look on his face.

I went to open the door and Simms held me back.

"Wait," he said.

"But she could be in trouble," I argued.

"And if you go racing in there, it could get worse," he said.

I stared at him. Did I trust him to have the knowledge and experience to get my cousin to safety? He had just discovered that his mentor and partner was bad. Could he do this?

He must have read my doubts because his gaze was steady and he said, "Trust me."

I nodded. "What do we do?"

"We're going to park here," he said. "Then we're going to get out of the car and walk across the street as if we're headed to the pub. Then we'll slip into the alley and work our way to the back of the shop, where you can let us in, right?"

"Right," I said. I wanted to run, I wanted to hurry, but Simms was very clear that if anyone was watching we had to look like regular neighborhood folks going about their business. I put the hood up on my borrowed jacket so that my hair didn't draw any attention.

"On three?" Harrison asked. "One, two, three."

We all popped out of the car and I noticed that both men turned their collars up and hunkered down into their coats. I didn't know if it was from the cold or to hide their faces. I didn't much care. I just wanted to get to Viv.

We crossed the street with a chilly November wind at our backs. I felt like it was urging us to hurry, which unsettled me even more.

We pa.s.sed the pub and circled around the large brick building into the alley in back. It appeared empty; only one garage door was open but no one was there. We moved past several more buildings until we reached the back gate of our small patio garden.

Viv's bird feeders brought in flocks of birds and when we arrived they all scattered with some indignant chirps and mad flapping of wings. I swear the ingrates waited for her in the morning and they started singing about breakfast an hour before she woke up. A glance over the wall and it looked as if she hadn't even been out there today.

I reached up to unlatch the gate and lead the way in, but Harrison stopped me.

"Let me go first," he said. I started to argue but he held up his hand. "It makes sense that I'm here as the business manager. If there's a problem, I can bluff that I'm just here to do the books."

"He's right," Simms said. "If you go in and Carson is already here, he'll have no reason to keep either of you alive."

"Except he doesn't know that you have the invoice now," I said. "When I tell him that-"

"He really won't have a reason to let you live," Harrison said.

s.h.i.+vers rippled down my spine. Still, I felt like I should be the one to go in and save Viv. She was my cousin and I had gotten her into this mess.

"At least connect your phone to mine so we have an idea of what is going on," I said.

Simms nodded and Harrison called my cell phone and I answered it, leaving the phones connected so we could eavesdrop on him while he went into the house. Harrison put his phone in his front pocket, out of sight but easily able to pick up sound.

He reached over and squeezed my hand before he unlatched the gate and entered the patio. I was too short to see over the back wall and Simms stayed hunkered down so he wouldn't be seen. The only way we could tell what was happening was if Harrison told us on his way inside. It was maddening.

I heard him unlatch the back door. He didn't call out a greeting, which told me Viv and Fee weren't in the workroom in the back. My heart sank into my feet. This was bad, really bad.

Simms was listening intently to my phone. I wondered if his training taught him to listen for other sounds, and if so, was he hearing good noise or bad?

I wanted to ask him, but I didn't want to miss any sounds coming from my phone by talking over them. A tense few minutes, okay probably seconds, pa.s.sed with no noise. I checked my phone to see if it was working. Our phones were still connected.

I bounced on the b.a.l.l.s of my feet trying to channel my anxiety. What was taking so long? Why wasn't Harrison saying anything?

Thud! Oomph! Then I heard a low voice say, "Run."

The sounds that came out of my phone weren't voices. It sounded like someone just got clobbered and let out a groan. I didn't think, I acted. My hand shot up and unlatched the gate and I was pus.h.i.+ng my way into the garden. Simms grabbed my arm, but I ripped myself free.

"Scarlett, you have no idea what's going on in there," he whispered.

"I know, but that's my cousin and my future boyfriend in there," I hissed. "I have to go."

He stared into my eyes, which were probably looking a bit deranged. Then he held out his hand and said, "Give me the phone."

I slapped it into his hand and shut the gate. He caught it before it slammed but I really didn't care who heard me coming. These were my people and this was my place and I would do anything to protect them both.

Chapter 30.

I paused at the back door. I had no idea what I would find. Had both Vivian and Harrison been strangled like Win? I couldn't bear it. I steeled myself for whatever horror awaited.

I opened the door and stepped inside to find the workroom-empty. I'm not going to lie that was a bit of a letdown. I had been gearing up to kick some booty and here I was standing in an empty room. I listened for sounds from the shop; there was nothing.

How could this be? It was almost midday, Viv was supposed to have opened the shop hours ago. How could it look like it had never been opened? Even if Carson or Franks had beaten us here, would they really have pulled the shades to make the shop look closed?

My heart was thudding hard in my chest. I crept through the workroom. I heard nothing, not the muted sound of voices, or whimpers of fear and pain, or even the sound of a body being dragged. Yes, I have a dark side.

At the doorway, I hunkered low and peered around the doorjamb. The store was dark. I could see the hat stands in the shadows holding up Viv's creations as if an audience of heads were watching the unfolding drama. Clearly, my dark side was getting downright creepy.

I stepped into the room, aiming for the door which led upstairs. It was closed, which I thought was odd because why wouldn't whoever raided our shop and house just leave the door open? I should have thought it through.

The lights in the shop snapped on and I blinked against the sudden brightness.

"Come in, Scarlett, we've been waiting for you," Tyler Carson said.

He was standing in one of our seating areas and on the blue chair in front of him was Viv, tied up and gagged with some of her own velvet ribbons. Sprawled on the floor at her feet was Harrison, and he was unconscious.

"You have been quite the busy little bee, making trouble for me," Tyler said.

I often hear people say that redheads are crazy, p.r.o.ne to temper, you know, all the old cliches that can't be attributed to the color of hair really. And yet, when I saw two of the people I care for most in the world at the mercy of a man that I knew to be capable of murder, well, I went a little loco.

One minute I was blinking against the light and the next thing I knew I had launched myself claws fully extended right at Tyler at top speed and full force. I planned to give him a good thras.h.i.+ng, as they say.

Unprepared, Tyler went down hard, taking a display of Viv's new caps with him. I landed on him hard with an unintentional elbow to his sternum, which looked like it hurt him pretty badly. Yay me.

"Stay away from my friends!" I shouted in his face. I am a much better yeller than a fighter.

Carson tried to shove me off, but I clung like a burr hoping that Simms would charge in and help me, but it wasn't Simms who lifted me off Carson and planted his foot on him, pinning him to the ground. It was Harrison.