Death of a Mad Hatter (A Hat Shop Mystery) (17 page)

“That’s what Andre said,” Viv said. She sighed. “Well, that’s a relief. So you’ll stay?”

“Yes,” I said. I said it grumpily so she wouldn’t think she was completely off the hook. She grinned at me.

“You know, I really think Harrison is so bossy because he has a thing for you,” she said. “I think he really likes you, Scarlett.”

“Yes, I could really feel his concern when he was telling me off,” I said.

“Do you really think if he didn’t care about you that he’d give a rip if you got yourself into danger?” she asked.

“Well, since he’s my boss, he might be concerned about me from an employer-employee standpoint,” I said.

“Oh, what a lot of tosh,” she said. “You know he likes you and I think you like him, too.”

“We are definitely not going there,” I said. “I am man free and planning to stay that way for a very long time.”

Viv shook her head and said, “About him and Fee . . . I have some information—”

“No, thank you, no,” I said. I held up my hand to ward her off. “I’m not interested. It’s not my business.”

“But—”

“No!”

“If you’d just lis—”

“Viv, no,” I said. “Seriously, I’m good. Now, how long did you all talk about me after I stormed out?”

“About fifteen minutes,” she said. “Andre was mad at Harrison, who looked contrite, but Nick said that Harrison was showing good sense, which set Andre and Nick into a spat.”

“Oh no,” I said.

“No, no, they seemed to be enjoying it,” she said. “And then Fee had to run because of her brothers, so Nick and Andre walked her out. Harrison thought about coming up here to talk to you, but I discouraged it.”

“Wise choice,” I said.

“Yeah, well, he’ll be round to see you tomorrow,” she said.

“What?” I cried.

“Well, you did quit,” she said. “He wants to talk to you about it.”

“Nuts!” I glanced at the clock. It was midnight. I had no idea when I’d fallen asleep or for how long I’d been out. Apparently, legal paperwork gives me the yawns. “What are you still doing up?”

“Elvis movie,” she said. “You know how I get.”

Yes, I did. Viv loved Elvis, and if an old movie of his came on, everything stopped while she watched.

“And you didn’t wake me?” I asked. Yes, I love him, too.

“I was afraid you’d still be mad,” she said.

“Was it a good one?” I asked.

“
Blue Hawaii
,” she said.

“Aw, man,” I complained. She laughed just as I’d hoped and then reached out to hug me. I squeezed her back.

“So we’re okay?” she asked. She studied my face closely but there was no need.

“Yes, we’re fine,” I said. “But tomorrow, I want all of the gory details.”

“Over eggs and sausages,” she agreed. “It’ll go down easier that way.”

She slipped out of my room with a wave and I rose to put my laptop back on my desk.

So, Harrison wanted to talk, did he? Fine, we would have a nice chat tomorrow about how he was going to give me the business back and there would be no more telling me what to do.

Determined, I marched across the hall to brush my teeth, feeling quite sure that I could manage this situation with Harrison as effectively as I had juggled mishmashed reservations in the hotel business. How hard could it be? Right?

“Scarlett, where are you going?” Viv asked as I jogged through the kitchen, pausing only for a piece of toast and a cup of coffee.

“Meeting,” I said.

“Where and with whom?” she asked.

“Tina Grisby,” I said. “I just got a text from her.”

“Oh no, you can’t!” she wailed. “Harrison—”

“Can’t say anything about it,” I said. “I no longer work here, remember?”

“But—” she protested.

“No, I’m off. Tina will be waiting,” I said.

“Oh, this is not going to end well,” Viv said.

I was sure she was referring to Harrison’s reaction to my absence, but I refused to acknowledge it.

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “I’ll be back before we open. You’ll see.”

I didn’t give her a chance to offer up any more protests but dashed down to the shop and out the door.

Yes, a very large part of my decision was to avoid having to see Harrison. I was really unhappy that no one had told me he owned controlling interest in the shop. I felt betrayed by the omission, but then I felt guilty because if I had been available instead of being self-absorbed, Viv could have turned to me. What a mess.

Portobello Road was quiet this early in the day. Most of the shops hadn’t opened as yet. Tina and I had agreed to meet up at the Caffe Nero near Notting Hill Gate.

I couldn’t help but wonder what she wanted to talk to me about. Her text had sounded, well, desperate. I thought about the Grisby family and in her situation, I wondered who in that family I would turn to if I discovered I was pregnant, offsetting the entire chain of succession. No one leapt to mind, although Lily seemed trustworthy, as did Liam and George.

I was so deep in thought as I turned onto the road in front of the coffee shop that I didn’t notice the huffing and puffing behind me until it grew so loud it was impossible to ignore. I whipped my head around and assumed a fighter stance, anticipating an attack. What I saw made me double up with laughter.

Nick and Andre were jogging in matching running suits of neon green and orange with white reflector stripes down the sides. While Andre was hardly even sweating, Nick looked like he’d just finished a 10K. His face was red, his thin hair was soaked with sweat and his orange jogging suit looked wilted.

“For the love of oxygen,” he wheezed. “Can we please stop?”

Andre gave him a bland look and jogged in place. Nick wiped his brow off with the towel around his neck and gave me a pleading look.

“Save me, Scarlett, please,” he said.

“No, I don’t think I will,” I said. I feigned looking irritated at him. “I heard that while Andre defended me, you took Harrison’s side. I don’t know if I’m speaking to you yet.”

“Oh, love, don’t be like that,” Nick wheezed. “I was only looking out for you. There’s a murderer out there. And Harrison is right. You have to be careful.”

“No one likes to be bossed about,” Andre said.

“Oh, don’t you start,” Nick grumped.

“Scarlett!” a woman’s voice called and I turned to see Tina waving to me from in front of the café. I waved back and she hurried over to join us.

“Tina, these are my friends Andre and Nick,” I said. “They were just on their way to finish their jog.”

Nick gave me a pouty face, but I ignored him.

“Hi, Tina,” Nick said. He was still a little breathy but he managed to shake her hand without sweating all over her. “You look familiar. Do you live in the area?”

“Oh no,” she said. “I just pop into Mim’s Whims now and again.”

She looked uncomfortable and despite the overcast day, she wore oversized sunglasses that she pushed up on her nose as if hoping to hide behind them.

“Come on, Nick, let’s leave the ladies to their coffee,” Andre said. “We have another lap to do.”

“I think I have a blister,” Nick whined.

Andre gave him a look and turned back to us and said, “A pleasure to meet you, Tina. Call me later, Scarlett.”

“Will do,” I said with a wave as he began to jog away.

Nick began to limp-run after him, “I’m in agony, I tell you. What if the blister pops? It could get infected.”

Andre didn’t slow down and Nick was forced to hurry to catch up.

I glanced at Tina and said, “My neighbors on Portobello. Andre took the pictures at the Wonderland tea.”

“I thought he looked familiar,” she said. “I don’t suppose he recognized me.”

“If he did, he’d be too polite to mention it,” I said. “Andre’s good like that.”

I saw Tina’s shoulders sink with relief. “The media has been ferocious.”

“Oh, I know all about that,” I said. It had been a few months since my own days of infamy, but the term “hounded by the press” would forever have new meaning for me.

“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you,” Tina said.

We entered the shop and ordered our coffee at the counter. They gave us a number and we sat at a small table in the corner. Although the shop was busy, our coffee was delivered within minutes of our arrival.

I stirred in some brown sugar—not the type you used for baking but the kind we call raw in the States—into my latte and waited for Tina to talk.

She had ordered a decaf and stirred it for a moment as if trying to gather her thoughts. I studied her face while I waited. She looked pale and tired with dark circles under her eyes and anxiety pinching her mouth into a thin line. Her long brown hair was dull and shoved into a clip onto the back of her head. When she put her spoon down, I noticed her hand was shaking.

“I don’t know how to say it,” she said. “So I guess I’ll just lob it out there. I think someone tried to kill me last night.”

“What?” I cried. “Tina, you have to call Detective Inspector Finchley. He needs to know this.”

“But what if I’m wrong?” she asked. “What if I just dreamt it?”

“What if you didn’t?” I countered. “Tell me what happened exactly.”

“Well, there was a big row after you and Viv left,” she said. “I packed my things and decided I’d rather be home at Grisby Hall with Geoffrey’s ghost than stay another night in the hotel with the lot of them.”

“Does he have a ghost?” I asked. This would be a game changer.

Tina frowned. “It was just an expression. I mean, I don’t know. When I left the hotel, Dotty, Lily and Rose came with me, while Daphne and her sons opted to stay at the Savoy.”

“So what makes you think someone is trying to kill you?”

“I woke up to someone, a presence, in my room,” she said. “When I cried out, no one answered but I heard something drop and then the door banged open.

“When I turned the light on, I found one of my pillows on the floor and the door to my room was wide-open. I think whoever it was may have planned to suffocate me but gave up the idea when I woke up. I called Buckley but he had retired for the night and didn’t see anyone in the house on his way to me. Together we woke the others.”

“Could it have been any of them?” I asked.

“They all looked genuinely groggy with sleep,” Tina said. “I’m not sure what to do. I’ve decided that I’ll stay for Geoffrey’s funeral, but as soon as it’s over, I’m leaving the country. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Me?” I asked.

“Can you help me get settled in the States?” she asked. “I just need a safe place to go until I get on my feet.” She put a protective hand on her belly. “For my son’s sake.”

“You know it’s a boy already?” I asked. This seemed early to me.

“It has to be a boy,” she said. “That was all Geoffrey wanted. It just has to be.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of crazy pregnancy hormones were rocketing through her system, so I didn’t press the point, but I was worried about her—very worried.

“My parents are settled in New Haven, Connecticut,” I said. “I know that they’d be happy to help you find a nice safe place to live, maybe a nice old farmhouse in the country or a cottage on the shore.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said.

“In the meantime, you really should talk to Inspector Finchley. He’d want to know if you feel unsafe in your own home. Maybe he could post a man to keep watch,” I said.

“But the family,” she said. “They’re everywhere. He can’t keep them out of their own home, now, can he? And what if it’s not the family at all? It could be anyone.”

“Like Cara Whittles?” I asked.

“Perhaps she’s gotten to a member of the house staff,” Tina said. “It could have been one of them.” The maniacal gleam in her eye freaked me out a bit, but I reasoned she was pregnant and obviously hadn’t slept.

“Maybe you should consider staying at a different hotel. Just so you can get a good night’s sleep. Everything is always better when you’ve gotten some rest.”

“Maybe,” she said.

But I could tell by her tone that she was just saying it to make me happy.

We finished our coffee and she hurried off into the Underground, leaving me to feel perplexed and worried. Had someone tried to kill her? If so, then it had to be someone who didn’t want her baby to inherit the entire fortune. But who?