Copy Cap Murder: A Hat Shop Mystery Part 9

I paused to stare at Viv and Fee. They were not getting it. "Tuesday could be the killer and Harrison is alone with her. Let's go!"

At this both Fee and Viv jumped. I realized my bark had been a bit ferocious, so I tried to tone it down.

"Now!" I yelled. Okay, tried and failed. Still, it got Viv moving. She grabbed her coat and her handbag, shouted instructions at Fee and followed me out the door.

As we jogged through the neighborhood to Harrison's place on Pembridge Mews, the sky grew increasingly dark and the wind picked up. Neither Viv nor I had thought to bring an umbrella, as if we didn't know better living in a city known for its rain.

Harrison had a second-story flat, so with any luck his curtains would be drawn back and we'd be able to see inside. I tried not to think about what we might see if Tuesday had her way-with him, that is.

We loitered under a tree across the street. The curtains were drawn back but the angle was no good. We couldn't see anything.

It began to drizzle and Viv's long blond curls started to poof into their natural frizzy state. She gave me a look that said she was very unhappy and then she dug into her purse until she found a scarf, which she wrapped around her head. My hair was getting sodden as well, but I knew I didn't have a scarf in my bag.

"You don't happen to have another one of those, do you?" I asked.

"No," she said. The look she gave me was dour.

Okay, then. I glanced around to see if there was a better vantage point in the area. The steps to the house behind us would give us a bit of a boost. I gestured for Viv to follow me and we trudged up the steps.

Ah, now I could see into Harrison's place. I saw him pa.s.s across the window. His shoulders were hunched and he ran his hand through his hair. It was his usual look when he was agitated. I tried not to be thrilled that they were clearly not having a good time. I failed.

"Stop smiling," Viv chided me. "It's bucketing out here and we're spying on our friend who is obviously fine. There is nothing to smile about."

I glanced around me. Viv was right. The drizzle had turned into a full-on soaking. My hair was streaming water and my coat was drenched, but I didn't care.

The door opened behind us and an elderly man glared at us through the crack in the door.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Viv and I exchanged a glance. We couldn't say we were using his stoop to spy.

"I'm Scarlett," I said. I gave him my most winning smile, which was lacking its usual charm given my drowned rat appearance. "And this is Vivian."

"What do you want?" he asked.

His hair was sticking up in tufts on his head and he was wearing a baggy gray cardigan over a dress s.h.i.+rt and slacks with slippers. He looked toasty warm and dry and I felt a spurt of envy.

"We're lost," Viv said. "We're just trying to get our bearings."

"Well, do it somewhere else, or I'll call the police," he snapped. "Go on, get off with you."

He gestured us away with his hand and when we stepped down the stairs he slammed the door behind us.

"Rude!" Viv cried out.

"Shh!" I hissed. I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a parked car.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"Look!" I cried. I pointed across the street where Tuesday Blount was coming out of Harrison's building. She paused to put up her purple umbrella, of course she had one, and then strode down the sidewalk toward Notting Hill Gate.

"Thank goodness, now let's go home," Viv said.

"No, we have to follow her," I cried.

"What?" Viv asked, incredulous.

I didn't answer but dashed across the road, giving Viv no choice but to follow me. She caught up to me at the crosswalk near the stairs to the underground.

"Have you lost your mind?" she asked.

"I just want to know what she's up to," I said. "She had to talk to Harrison in private and now she's hurrying off to go who knows where. I say it's suspicious behavior."

"You just don't like her because she's Harrison's ex," Viv said.

"Be that as it may," I said. "We need to know what she is doing in case she is trying to set up Harrison for Win's murder."

Viv sighed. We followed Tuesday's purple umbrella all the way into the underground. I grabbed one of the newsmen's free papers on the way in and used it as a s.h.i.+eld to hide my face should Tuesday look back at me. She did not.

I was careful to keep several people between us at all times. Still Viv and I managed to jump onto the same train car as Tuesday. I opened the paper and found myself face-to-face with an ad for men's underwear. Awesome.

Viv wrapped her scarf more loosely about her head, trying to hide her face. We were on the Central Line and I noticed when I peered around the paper that Tuesday wasn't taking an available seat but was staying by the doors. I figured that meant she was getting off soon. Sure enough, when we pulled up to the Bond Street platform, she darted out.

"Go, go, go!" I ordered Viv.

The crush of people getting on the train made it tricky to get off. We muscled our way through the crowd and found Tuesday switching to the Northern Line platform. We joined her while carefully keeping our distance.

The electronic board above told us the train would be arriving in three minutes. We followed Tuesday onto it and it went much as before with her switching to the Victoria Line and us following like eager little puppies.

"You are aware that this could go on all day," Viv hissed as we pulled into Victoria Station.

"It won't," I a.s.sured her.

Tuesday left the platform and headed up into the station. We followed as closely as we could. She circled a kiosk and I motioned for Viv to go one way while I went the other. When we met on the other side, there was no sign of Tuesday.

I scanned the area but there were so many people bustling about the enormous station, I couldn't get my bearings and I couldn't locate the annoying brunette.

"That's it then," Viv said.

She began to walk away and I was forced to follow her. She didn't look the least bit sorry to be ending our mission, and I was annoyed with her lack of commitment until I realized she wasn't headed back to our platform.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "Do you see her?"

"No," Viv said. "But I do see a lovely cheese and onion pasty with my name on it. I think I deserve it after that soaking we took."

I followed the direction of her gaze. Sure enough, tucked into the side of the station was The Pasty House. The display case in front showed stacks and stacks of the half-moon-shaped pies. I saw a chicken and mushroom and figured Viv was right. We deserved some comfort food to bolster our spirits.

We paid for our pasties and coffee and found a small cafe table and chairs. I shrugged off my jacket, hoping it would dry a bit while we ate. The crust was flaky and the inside was flavorful without being overdone. It was perfect rainy day, big disappointment food, and yet, I didn't feel any better.

I don't know what I had been expecting to figure out by following Tuesday. A secret lover? A rendezvous with a tabloid reporter? Something.

"You know Harrison is over her, don't you?" Viv asked.

"That's none of my business," I said.

"So we're following her because . . ." Viv's voice trailed off but before I could answer the devil herself plopped down in the empty seat at our table.

"Because you're busybodies and you're sticking your noses in where they don't belong," Tuesday Blount said as she eyed us with supreme disdain and loathing.

Chapter 11.

I choked on a bit of crust and Viv thumped me hard on the back. I waved her off and took a sip of my coffee to dislodge the crumb.

"How did you know we were following you?" I asked. It seemed pointless to deny it.

"Oh, please," she said. "You two are as subtle as a kick to the s.h.i.+ns. I saw you as soon as I left Harrison's."

"How is he?" Viv asked.

I figured that like me she thought Harrison might be more forthcoming with Tuesday since they were colleagues and Tuesday had known Win as well.

"Fine," Tuesday said with a shrug. "He expects the police will have it sorted in no time."

"You don't agree with him?" I asked.

Tuesday turned to look at me. It was clear that it pained her to give me her full attention. That she didn't like me was obvious in the tiny curl of her upper lip which was almost a sneer but sheer politeness kept it from bursting into full bloom.

"You care about him," she said. She tossed her head and her black bob fell perfectly about her face.

The embarra.s.sed heat that warmed my face outed me, making any sort of denial useless.

"He's our business manager," I said with a shrug. So lame.

She narrowed her eyes. "He says you two aren't dating."

"We're not," I said. Why it bothered me that Harrison had told her we weren't a couple, I can't say, but it did. A lot.

"I'm not dating him either," Viv said. She took another bite of her pasty and gave us a bland look.

"Look, I'm sorry I came on so strong at the party," Tuesday said. The crinkle in her nose made it clear that these words did not pa.s.s her lips without some internal strain. Good.

"Apology accepted," I said because I can be very gracious like that.

"Whatever it is that you and Harrison are or are not . . ." Tuesday paused and I noticed that she emphasized the not. "The fact is Harrison is in deep trouble and I'm in a much better position to help him than you."

"How do you figure?" I asked. I bit a mushroom in half like it was her head and ground it between my molars.

"I work with him," she said as if I were too stupid to live. "I can keep an eye on him and anyone around him all day long."

I took a slow sip of my coffee, hoping it would keep me from slapping her smug face when she dragged out the words "all day long."

"That seems reasonable," I said. Viv cast me a curious look, but I ignored her while I brushed some pasty crumbs off my lap. "Since we'll be watching him all night long."

Tuesday drew in a sharp breath. One point to me or maybe two since that was a particularly good hit.

"But I thought you weren't a couple," she said.

"We aren't, but we are business a.s.sociates and neighbors and our social circle is pretty tight," I said. "We frequently spend our evenings together."

"It's true," Viv said. "In fact, aren't we all going to Andre and Nick's for a nosh tonight?"

"Yes," I said. "Oh, I hope he makes his stuffed mushrooms again."

"And his canapes," Viv said. She looked at Tuesday. "Nick's a fabulous cook." And then she glanced back at me and said, "We should bring wine."

"Definitely," I agreed. "Unless it's Harrison's turn for wine, we should text him to be sure."

"On it," Viv said. She pulled her phone out of her purse and began to type.

"Don't mention that I'm with you . . . please," Tuesday said.

I was encouraged to see that she looked a bit panicked. Maybe she and Harrison were not as close as she wanted us to believe and Harrison wouldn't be too keen to have her talking to us. I held up my hand at Viv and she lowered her phone.

"Tuesday, can we let go of the posturing?" I asked. "Obviously, we're all worried about him. Tell us what you know so we can help."

"How are two little hatmakers going to help?" she scoffed.

"Was that nice?" I asked.

"Like following me was nice?" she countered.

I pursed my lips. I really wanted to tell her to shove off but that wouldn't help the situation at all.

"Who hated Winthrop enough to want him dead?" I asked. I was done being coy. She needed to either put up or shut up.

"You mean other than Harrison?" she asked.

"He didn't want Win dead," Viv argued. "Sure, they were office rivals but he certainly wasn't angry enough to kill Dashavoy over business."

"Maybe it wasn't business," Tuesday said. She turned a vicious glance my way. "What exactly happened between you and Win anyway?"