TICK TOCK RUN (Romantic Mystery Suspense) (34 page)

“Game head on,” I whispered.

We nodded before she walked down the hall, trading a gesture of understanding that it would be difficult to host a party today.

Laura opened the front door and greeted our first guest.  “Come in, Claire.  It’s great to see you.” 

The house phone rang.  Laura raced into the kitchen and grabbed it.  She whispered to me to show Claire to a guest room.

I grabbed one of Claire’s bags and tugged it upstairs.  Her genuinely happy face reminded me of what someone whose life wasn’t in a pickle looked like.  I showed her into a guest bedroom, which even A-list celebrities would have found plush. 

With diamante-encrusted fingernails, she pulled a bottle of wine out of her suitcase.  “I’ll open this when I’ve unpacked.  Get us in the party mood early.”

  I plastered a smile on my face.  The wedding celebrations were about to start all too prematurely. 

Laura must have been wandering in the hall because her phone conversation drifted upstairs.  “Everything’s fine, Aunt Carol.”  Her tone became abrupt.  “Please stop fussing.  Why are you apologising?  I’ll see you in the morning as planned.”

I perched on the edge of the bed and watched Claire unpack.  She waved silver Manolo Blahnik stilettos in my face, and brought me up to speed on her latest gossip.

A shattering sound came from downstairs. 

I stood, edged towards the bedroom door and stuck my head out to peer along the landing. 

“Are you listening to me?” Claire asked from behind.  “And what was that noise?”

“Er, sorry.  I forgot to do something.  You finish unpacking.  I’ll be back in a bit.”  I shut Claire in the bedroom and tiptoed along the upstairs landing carpet.  But, when raised voices broke out below, I dropped into a squat against the stair balcony, gripping the wooden struts. 

The voices came from the kitchen.

“What’s this mean?” Paul asked.  “’Naughty?’  What the hell’s going on, Laura?”

My heart leapt into my throat. 

Her reply came out shaky, weak.  “I… don’t know.” 

“I don’t recognise the number, do you?”

“Just delete it and forget it, Paul.”

“You’ve been acting kind of weird lately, and now I get this.”  He paused.  “Is there something going on I should know about?”  Paul’s voice rasped like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard.  I curled my fingers around my throat, steeling myself for Laura’s response. 

“There’s nothing going on,” she replied.  “Absolutely nothing.”

I didn’t know what happened, but figured Laura was lying through her teeth. 

Broken glass crunched and scraped then more raised voices followed.  It didn’t take an expert in psychology to sense that something was wrong. 

I tucked my hair behind my ears and continued eavesdropping, while remaining still, now on my knees. 

“It’s one of the girls having a joke,” Laura said.  “This is a pointless argument.  Now just drop it.  Come here.  Give me a kiss and tell me you love me.”

“I love you,” Paul said.  “I love you so, so much, and tomorrow will be the happiest event of my life.”

Some moments later, Paul left the room.

I scooted onto my back out of view, in case he looked upstairs.  A TV jingle blared, and then faded when the lounge door shut.  I counted to ten then dashed downstairs.

Laura was stomping around the kitchen in a mindless fashion, like a bouncing ball.  I grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, and looked into her dewy eyes.  Something had zapped the life and light from them again.

“What were you rowing about?” I guessed I wasn’t going to like whatever it was.

She thrust Paul’s mobile phone towards me.

It shook as if on vibrate until I took it from her hand. 

The message read:

‘Naughty, naughty, Laura.  I’ve got more photos.’ 

“Holy crap!” I shrieked, and nearly dropped the mobile.  “There isn’t a photo attached, is there?”

“No.  But there might be next time.”  Laura’s sketchy voice was riddled with panic.  “I have to pay up.” 

“Don’t be stupid.”  I tried to say calmly.  What I really wanted to do was let rip and slap sense into her.  “You can’t give in again.”

“I have to pay.  I can’t put off dealing with it any longer.”  She pointed towards the lounge.  “Not now whoever’s doing this has started contacting Paul.”

I set the phone on the worktop.  “It’s just a warning.  Paul won’t know what this message really means.  It’s the next one we need to worry about.”

“Maybe.  But Paul’s no fool.”  Her hands formed two tight balls.  “I could kill Lee for what he said last night.  It’s made Paul suspicious.  Though, I think I managed to convince him it was nothing to worry about.  A kiss and a cuddle helped take his mind off it, for now.”

I heaved a sigh.

She cast her eyes down to her feet and began muttering.  “I need to get that money together.  Yes.  Get to the bank.” 

I stopped myself saying I was awaiting news from Lee.  I didn’t want an argument.  “No.  Mention that fingerprint again.  Ummm… Convince them you’re not bluffing about it being there and that you’ll give it to the police.  We just need more time.  But please don’t give in.”

“Done that.  The fingerprint idea didn’t work.  I’d rather pay now, than wait for this whole damn thing to blow up in my face at the altar.”

Laura opened the cutlery drawer and clattered the tray sounding like a toddler with a rattle.  I picked up loose chippings of a glass tumbler from by my feet and dropped them in the bin.  She carried on shifting knives and forks, rattling items in the drawer, even when I tried to hold her hand still.  “Where the hell is it?” she muttered.

“Do you have that much cash left in the bank, Laura?”

“Not quite.  My money’s tied up.  I’ll have to sell some jewellery to raise it this fast.”  She glanced over her shoulder.  “Unless you’re in the market for a new house, Chelsea.”

“What then?  What if they ask for even more?  How far will you go?”  I spoke more sternly, determined to break through her stubborn barrier.  “Sell a couple of your houses?  The car you love?  Get rid of everything your parents worked their butts off for?”

Laura spun around fast as a record on a deck.  Her eyes seemed to have doubled in size.  She looked like I had actually slapped her across the face.

“Don’t you think Paul would notice when you downgrade to a one bed high-rise?”

“I know.  I know.  I wish it would stop.”  She clenched her fist around a handful of hair and turned her back on me.  “I’ll get all the evidence this time.  I’ll not make that mistake again.”

I set my hand on her arm and spoke over her shoulder.  “I don’t want you to delude yourself.  It’s so easy to transfer video and photos to a computer.  If you give this scumbag what he wants, even if there aren’t any copies, he might tell Paul anyway.  He doesn’t need photos to
tell
him.  Please think this through properly.  This is a really bad way to enter into marriage.  You’re going to have a life of lies.  Tell Paul the truth before someone else does it for you.  At least then you can try to make him understand why it happened.  I want this to end and I want my best friend back.”

“If it was anyone other than Paul, then perhaps I would.  But I can’t risk it.  Cheating will always be a raw subject for him.”

“Lee still believes we’re dealing with a murderer.”

“It’s only him who thinks that,” she snapped.

“Don’t be so sure. 
My
jury’s still debating that one.  Lee seems far more sane than us right now.  I’m starting to believe him.”

“He’s grieving, twisting things.  He needs someone to blame.”  She turned around, glowered at me and pointed a finger over my shoulder.  “What do you want me to do, Chelsea?  Waltz into the lounge this very second and tell Paul I’ve lied, cheated, shared another man’s bed and body, and then ask if he still wants to marry me in the morning?”

“Well, maybe not quite like that, but yes.  If it’s a toss up between Paul finding out today, or finding out during your wedding ceremony...  I’d rather save you
that
humiliation.”

“To me, Paul’s worth more than an extra twenty grand.  No matter when or how he finds out, all he’ll see is that I opened my legs like his goddamned mother did.”  She paused to grunt.  “And what if I do tell Paul today, but then find a way of silencing this creep, Mark, afterwards?  Huh?”

I sighed.  “Hold fire then, at least until we hear from Lee.”

Laura’s eyes burned through me.  She slammed the drawer shut with her bottom.  “What?  I told you I don’t want Lee involved.”

I covered my mouth, wishing I could stuff my words back inside.  “He’s following up that photo.  The wedding’s tomorrow.  That gives us the rest of today to come up with something.  But if we don’t, I’m sorry but I think I ought to phone the police myself.”

An acidic look leapt into her eyes.  “You’ll what?  Don’t do this to me.  Please don’t call them.”

“If I don’t, Lee will, or it’ll all come out during the wedding.  I can’t have you humiliated in that way.”  I put my finger to her chin and tilted upwards.  “Maybe I can convince Lee to tell the police that it’s only Daryl who was blackmailed.  Try to keep you out of it.  But this person needs to be stopped or it’ll just go on and on.”

“I don’t want Lee in my house ever again.  Do you hear me?”  She put her hand on her hip, and shook her head to rid of my touch.  “And if you phone the police, Chelsea, then you can leave.”

“Laura!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.”

“Lee’s not to blame for all this.”  I deepened my voice.  “And nor am I.  I’m trying to do the right thing by both of you.  It’s not easy being piggy in the middle.”

My patience and tolerance with Laura was being tested to meltdown levels.  Despite feeling like I owed her, if she’d been anyone other than my lifelong best friend who’d shared rough and fun times with me, been a massive part of my life since as far back as I could remember, I’d have stormed out and never returned.  I’d barely seen any sign of her bubbly personality all week, but hoped it was still inside her somewhere.

Laura clutched her stomach tight, as if the problem was a pain inside her.  “You’re more than a friend, Chelsea.  We’re like sisters.  If you’re on my side, then send Lee off to do something that gets him out of the way.  I’d do it for you.  Now, I have to get to town to organise this cash before the other girls arrive.  At least then I’ve got options.”

“Fine,” I snapped.  I took hold of Laura’s hand and felt something cold in her palm.  “What’s the key for?”

“My mother’s dressing table.  Will you make sure Paul doesn’t go upstairs while I get the jewellery out of it?  I’ll check on Claire to make sure she won’t barge in my room either.”

I agreed, although I wasn’t impressed. 

We split up in the hall.  Laura mounted the stairs while I sat guard on the bottom step. 

Five minutes later, she came downstairs with a white handbag dangling from her shoulder, followed by Claire. 

Laura persuaded Claire to water the kitchen plants.  With Paul in the lounge and Claire occupied, Laura pulled me through the dining room and into the conservatory. 

I tugged the bag off her shoulder and fished inside.  It contained a black opal necklace, gold bracelets and two rings.  “Jesus, Laura!”  I gasped, lifting an impressive diamond cluster ring out of the bag.  I slipped it on my middle finger and watched it sparkle in the sunlight.  A sickening rush pulsed through me.  It felt wrong to sell her deceased mother’s jewellery for such a purpose.  “Are you mad?  You can’t sell these.”