“That’s not the point,” said Julianne. “We don’t need them. And I’ve been checking through the accounts. Everything is not quite as rosy as you make it out to be.”

  I shifted in my seat, part of me wanting to get away from the argument brewing, but I was also interested to see what Julianne meant. What was wrong with the accounts? I hadn’t noticed anything odd, but needed more time to scrutinize them.

  “The business is flourishing.” Marcus flapped a hand in the air. “But if it makes you happy, I shall contact the car company and see what deal they can do for us.”

  “Get them to take the cars away. That’s the only deal I’m interested in.”

  Marcus’s shoulders stiffened, but then he nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “If you can’t do it, then give the task back to Lorna,” said Julianne.

  “There’s no need.” Marcus tightened his grip on the folder. I got the impression I’d have to pry it out of his cold, dead fingers before he let me take a look. “It will be my pleasure to do this.”

  Julianne shook her head. “I should never have allowed Blake to get the cars in the first place. Ever since he got them, things started to go wrong.”

  Marcus’s eyes tightened. “The business is not going wrong.”

  “It all looks good on paper, but the reality is different.” Julianne rubbed her forehead. “I found bills that are three months overdue.”

  Marcus’s gaze shot to the piles of paper in front of me. “That can’t be right. It must be an oversight. Would you like me to take a look at the bills as well?”

  “Lorna is going to do that,” said Julianne.

  Marcus’s fingers inched toward the papers, but I placed my hand on top of them. Something was off here. Marcus was too keen to conceal what was going on with the business.

  “I’m taking a look at these tomorrow,” I said.

  A false smile slid across Marcus’s face. “If you run into any difficulties, I’m always here to help.”

  I returned his smile with an equally false one. “Thanks for the offer. Hopefully, I can muddle through.”

  “Blake was so passionate about this business,” said Julianne quietly. “But ever since Honey came on the scene, his attention shifted.”

  “He sounds like he was a dedicated mentor.” I flinched as I saw Julianne’s expression harden.

  “With his flashy cars and younger women, he was dedicated to the wrong things.”

  “Blake loved this business,” said Marcus. “And I know he loved you.”

  “Thanks for your opinion,” said Julianne, her tone caustic. “But I know my husband. He was not being honest about a lot of things.”

  Marcus ducked his head. “I’ll take my leave of you and look through this paperwork tonight. The cars will be gone before you know it.”

  Julianne watched him go without saying a word.

  I sorted the bills into a neat pile and stood, not enjoying the tense atmosphere. “Same time tomorrow?”

  Julianne jumped in her seat as if she’d forgotten I was even in the room. “Yes. Thank you for everything today. And sorry you’ve arrived when everything is in such a mess. I need to get this sorted as soon as possible and get rid of all unnecessary expense. Otherwise, I might have to let staff go.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “I had no idea things were so bad.”

  “I can salvage it, I think.” Julianne sat up straight. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to burden you with that. You’ve only been here a few days and you’re already unearthing our dark secrets. I promise you, it’s not always like this. The business is doing well, but I am worried about its long-term success. It’s one of the reasons you’re here. I need your expertise to help me put everything in order and make sure we’re working as efficiently as possible.”

  “I’ll do everything I can to help,” I said, “starting with these bills. Then I’ll check through the accounts.”

  Julianne gave me a tired smile. “Thank you. Go on; go get something to eat. We can sort through the bills tomorrow.”

  I hurried away from the office with Flipper, my stomach churning. Losing staff sounded terrible, and since Helen and I were so new, chances were we’d be the first ones to go.

  I walked into the kitchen and found Helen by the Aga, measuring spices into a pot.

  “Can that wait?”

  She turned and looked at me. “Won’t be ready for another hour.”

  “I need some air. Just had bad news.”

  Helen washed her hands and then hurried after Flipper and me out into the garden. “What’s wrong?”

  I took in a deep breath. “I think we might lose our jobs.”

  Helen’s eyes narrowed. “What have you done? Did she catch you talking to yourself?”

  “I haven’t done anything.” I shot her a glare. “But Julianne’s just confessed the business isn’t doing so well. She’s talking about having to get rid of people. She must have discovered something bad, because a couple of days ago, she was planning to hire more staff, not fire them.”

  “What do you think the problem is?” Helen followed me onto the neatly manicured lawn, Flipper sniffing around our feet before bounding away.

  “She’s worried the books aren’t balancing. And the business has unpaid debts,” I said. “We don’t want to lose our positions here.”

  “We definitely don’t. We haven’t had them a week,” said Helen. “And we can’t leave. I’ve got all those alterations to finish on Julianne’s dresses.”

  “You won’t be altering anything if Julianne can’t afford to pay our wages.” I watched Flipper running around the lawn, his tail up as he darted backwards and forwards. He was sensing something.

  Dillon blinked into view. Flipper barked and raced away. But this time, he didn’t seem unhappy about having Dillon around. Perhaps they were becoming friends, and he would stop feeling unwell around this ghost dog. It could be confined spaces and Dillon didn’t mix, and Flipper had picked up on that.

  “Well, I guess it won’t be too terrible if we have to go back home.” Helen twisted her fingers together.

  “You don’t like it here?”

  “Cornwall is lovely, and this house is great. But I miss our place.”

  “Is it the house you miss or someone who lives in the house?”

  “I’d just gotten my room how I like it,” said Helen. “And then I had to leave.”

  “Not missing Gunner?”

  “Oh, I don’t even think about him.” Helen lied terribly. “And I’m sure he’s not thinking about me. He’s probably busy solving some horrible murder case with Matilda, while they eat her second-rate chocolate brownies and discuss the best month to get married.”

  I grinned. Helen was never one for understated. “Has he mentioned her anymore?”

  “Only in passing,” said Helen. “I pretended I hadn’t heard him and changed the subject.”

  “As much as you want to go back to your room in our lovely house, we do need to figure out what happened to Blake and Dillon,” I said. “And I haven’t told you yet, but Blake finally appeared this morning in my bedroom.”

  “Did he have any useful insight into who shoved him off the yacht?”

  “Only that he remembers someone did push him,” I said. “His death wasn’t accidental.”

  “But no idea who it was?”

  “He was more interested in playing with Dillon and looking around the yacht,” I said, as we walked past some pale pink late summer roses. “But Julianne let slip something interesting just now; Blake was having a midlife crisis and leased some fancy cars. She even made mention of Honey and how she was a part of the problem.”

  “Blake tried to relive his youth by spending money he should be investing in the business, got himself a younger girlfriend, and then gets killed. It has to be Julianne. She’s got the perfect motive.”

  “She does seem the most obvious suspect,” I said. “But until we’ve got proof, we keep an open mind. Marcus is still sniffing around, trying to lay claim to the business. And then there’s James, who got shut out of a profitable business deal. He’s fun to be around but could have a darker side.”

  “And Channing,” said Helen. “We’ve not seen him around much, but maybe the brothers didn’t get along. They could have been on the yacht and he decided to get rid of Blake.”

  “For what reason?”

  “Blake annoyed Channing, so he shoved him overboard.”

  “You sometimes annoy me, but I don’t kill you when I get the chance.”

  “When do I ever annoy you?”

  “When you’re hiding your true feelings about Gunner.”

  “I’m hiding nothing,” huffed Helen. “I’ve already told you it’s complicated. I need to figure things out before I commit to anything.”

  “Just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding when you have figured things out.”

  “You’ll get an invitation,” said Helen. “I want you to be my bridesmaid.”

  I grinned at her. “And you can be mine.”

  Helen’s eyes gleamed. “Has Zach hinted he’ll propose soon?”

  I clasped my hands together. “I might have found a ring.”

  Helen let out a squeal so loud it hurt my ears. “Tell me everything.”

  “I was looking for some clean underwear and found a ring box in Zach’s sock drawer.”

  She swatted my arm. “And you’ve been keeping this from me. I need details. What’s the ring like?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to look. Zach came in and almost caught me snooping.”

  “He’s going to propose any day.” Helen sighed. “How romantic. You must have a big wedding, with a five-tiered cake and a live band playing all night. And how about a choir singing as you walk up the aisle? Oh, do I get to pick my bridesmaid’s dress? If so, I want teal. No, a scarlet red. Do you think Gunner will like that?”

  “Hold on a second,” I said, seeing the maniacal shine in Helen’s eyes. “Zach hasn’t even proposed yet. And if he does, my wedding is going to be small and discreet. I don’t want a live band or a choir. And as for the five-tiered cake, who can eat that much cake?”

  “I’ve seen it in magazines. Each layer is a different type of cake, so everyone is happy. You have a chocolate sponge, fruit cake, vanilla sponge, carrot cake, and lemon.”

  I had to admit that sounded amazing. “I’ll be happy with a small cake. A cake Zach and I will enjoy and everyone else has to put up with. Since it will be our wedding day, not theirs, that’s the most important thing.”

  Helen pouted. “But you’ll have a lovely dress? Please don’t get all practical on me and decide for a pant suit you can wear again.”

  “Of course,” I said, “but I only want close friends and family at the wedding. We’ll have an intimate ceremony and a lovely meal somewhere. Then Zach, the dogs, and I can go off on a honeymoon. I want no stress when it comes to my wedding.” As if that were ever possible. But I wanted to get married and remember it as fun and happy, not a haze of expensive fads I would never recall.

  “I will take care of everything for you,” said Helen. “You tell me the theme. I’ll sort it all. I’ve always fancied myself as a wedding planner. Oh, and I can make your dress. You know I’d do an amazing job.”

  I laughed. “I was counting on you to make my dress.”

  Helen squealed again and hugged me. “This is going to be perfect. I can see you in a beautiful cream number. Off the shoulder if you don’t think that’s too daring. And a veil. You have to have a veil. I don’t want to see you in a hat. It will ruin your hair for the photos.”

  “I haven’t thought about what I’m going to wear on my head,” I said. “And just to be clear, Zach hasn’t even proposed yet. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  “But he will,” said Helen. “He’s got the ring, so it’s only a matter of time.”

  “So long as it doesn’t go missing,” I said.

  Helen stopped walking and turned to me. “What do you mean?”

  “Zach keeps complaining about things going missing in the house. His watch went missing. And he said on the phone today that his shears have vanished.”

  Helen frowned. “I’ve been thinking about my eyelash curlers turning up in the cutlery drawer. It had slipped my mind, but I’ve also lost a lipstick, earrings, and a pair of pumps since we moved in. I thought I’d misplaced them or you’d borrowed them and forgotten to put them back. But if other things are going missing, it is a bit odd.”

  “It’s nothing to do with me. And we live in a nice neighborhood. I can’t imagine somebody sneaking in and taking our stuff.”

  “And it’s such random stuff,” said Helen. “If we had just a knicker thief, it would make sense. But why take Zach’s tools and my lipstick?”

  “Could just be we’re still getting used to our new house.” A sliver of unease ran through me. This had happened to me before, my things being moved and disappearing. It hadn’t been a living someone who had been moving things.

  If we had a ghost in our home, Zach wouldn’t be happy and would want to move. He’d been clear he didn’t want ghosts living with us. But we couldn’t move. I loved that place. We’d all worked so hard to make it a home.

  Helen’s mobile rang. She pulled it out and squeaked. “It’s Gunner. I’d better take this.” She hurried away before I could say anything. The way those two were acting, she’d be the one getting married before me.

  My thoughts shifted away from marriage as I watched Flipper bounding around, dashing away from Dillon and barking at him. I felt sorry for Dillon. His owner was dead and he’d died trying to save him. I wanted to help him and Blake figure out what happened. They needed closure, and whoever killed them needed to be brought to justice.

  Chapter 15

  I hurried down the stairs the next morning, having overslept. I had no time for breakfast, so I ignored my protesting stomach and hurried to Julianne’s office. As I reached the door, I heard raised voices and paused outside.

  “I know that’s his watch you’re wearing.” It was Honey. She did not sound happy.

  “This was a gift.” That was Channing. “You know how generous Blake was. And he collected watches. The guy had dozens of them.”

  “That doesn’t mean you get to take whatever you like. And I gave him that. It was a gift from me.”

  “You can have it back if you like,” said Channing. “Didn’t realize you’d given it to him. Guess it couldn’t have meant too much to Blake if he gifted it to me.”

  “He’d never do such a thing.”

  “I’m only telling you what happened,” said Channing.

  “You’re stealing a dead man’s things! You’ve always been jealous of what he had.”

  I was surprised by how furious Honey sounded. The girl had hidden backbone. I glanced along the hallway to make sure no one was watching me listen in and then waited for more.

  “I could accuse you of doing the same thing, coming in here and trying to get your hands on my brother’s money.”

  “It’s not like that,” objected Honey. “He was my friend. He looked after me.”

  “I can imagine what that involved.”

  “We were friends.” There was a wobble in Honey’s voice. Channing had pushed her too far.

  I rested my hand on the doorknob, wondering whether to go in and break up the argument. If Channing had been stealing from Blake, maybe Blake had discovered what he was up to and threatened to tell the police. That would give Channing a motive for wanting him gone.

  “He didn’t employ you for your brains,” said Channing. “We all know why you’re really here. And you’re still hanging around now he’s gone, hoping to get the last few scraps before Julianne finally kicks you out.”

  “I have an employment contract. I have a right to be here. And I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Other than try to break up Blake’s marriage.”

  “I was never going to do that,” said Honey. “I like Julianne. If their marriage was in trouble, it had nothing to do with me.”

  “She hates you,” said Channing.

  “She’ll like me a little more when I tell her what I’ve discovered,” said Honey. “You’re stealing her husband’s things. She’s not going to like that. And Blake was annoyed with you too for not stepping up and being involved in the business.”

  “You have no clue what you’re talking about.” Channing’s tone grew cold. “And I’d advise you to keep your mouth shut. Don’t put dumb ideas into Julianne’s head about my role in the business. I like things the way they are.”

  That was my cue to enter. I pushed the door open and discovered Channing standing toe to toe with Honey, who was backed up against the desk, a fearful look in her eyes.

  “I am sorry.” I smiled at them both. “Hope I’m not interrupting?” I looked at Channing and raised my eyebrows.

  Channing backed away. “We were just talking.”

  Honey glared at him. “Channing was leaving.”

  “I do have things to attend to.” He made a show of checking the watch on his wrist before shooting her a sharp smile.

  Honey huffed, but I could see her jaw wobbling.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Honey. Wanted to have a chat with you.”

  “Watch your back with that one,” said Channing, as he headed to the door. “She’s not to be trusted.” He slammed the door as he left.

  Honey let out a shaky sigh. “Thanks for that.”

  “Sit down.” I took hold of her arm and led her to a desk chair. “What’s going on between you two?”

  “I’m sure he’s wearing a watch I gave Blake. I know Blake would never have given it to Channing. He loved that watch. He was so happy when he got it from me.”

  I bit my bottom lip. “Isn’t it a bit unusual, giving your boss presents?”

  “He was kind to me. You buy friends presents.”

  She had a point, although I still wasn’t sure just how close a friend she was to Blake. “So, Channing stole the watch?”

  “He must have. Other things have gone missing too and turned up with Channing, including an expensive car.”

  “Channing stole a car?”

 

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