It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) (20 page)

The apartment
was dark when I entered, so I flipped a few switches and watched as light
filled the room. Everything seemed in place as I looked around, dropping my bag
on the lounge as I walked past it. Nope, better go back and pick that up. As
much as I just wanted to relax and throw my bag and shoes wherever they fell, I
knew that would just get Scott upset when he got home. Picking it back up, I
slipped my shoes off, placed them neatly at the door and headed towards the
bedroom to use the ensuite. Thinking of Scott’s ensuite and the spa showerhead
almost had me running up the hall.

Hmm, that was
strange. There was a light coming from under the door.

My anxiety
levels were pretty high tonight and I knew I just needed to relax. He’d
probably forgotten to turn it off this morning. Admittedly, that wasn’t like
him, but I guess we all forget things sometimes. My footsteps slowed as I got
closer to the door as I could hear voices coming from the other side. The
voices were muffled but I could definitely hear a female giggling.

Stopping, I
took a moment to process what I was hearing. It must just be the anxiety, I
thought, making me hear things. He’d probably left the television on as well. Slowly
forcing my feet to move, I strained to listen for any other sounds that would
indicate if it was the television and not what I was thinking. I actually felt
sick standing outside the bedroom door, debating whether I wanted to open it or
turn and run.

Putting my ear
to the wood, I held my breath and listened. Yeah, my heartbeat was pretty loud,
making all other sounds almost distant, but I definitely heard Scott’s laugh. He
was in there. Did I want to open this door and see who he was with? Yes. I had
to know.

Reaching out for
the door handle, I felt it cool against my burning skin as I pushed the lever
down and opened the door. I instantly regretted it. There was Scott, buck-naked,
standing behind Brenda—I’m sure you can fill in the blanks as to what
they were actually doing.

It’s strange
how fast emotions can change in you. Ten minutes ago, I was anxious and running
from a crazy man. Five minutes ago, I was feeling safe and secure, and
now–I just felt sick.

Everything
moved in front of me in slow motion. I watched as Scott turned to look at me. I
held my breath as Brenda screamed. The world stopped turning for just a few
seconds as I fought the urge to throw up right here on his bedroom carpet. I
almost laughed as Brenda tried to stand up, causing Scott to howl with pain. She
obviously had a pretty good grip on him for a woman her age. Scott quickly
pulled away from her and picked up the nearest cover he could find. Brenda was
left flailing like a beached whale trying to get herself up, when I turned and
ran to the bathroom, locked myself in and gave in to the urge to throw up.

I knew things
hadn’t been great between us lately, but I had no idea he was having an affair.
Especially with Brenda. How could he? I knew I had the hots for Riley, but I
would never act on it while Scott and I were still together. I would have the
decency to end it properly.

Of course it
all made sense now. The cancelled dates, How we’d only slept together once, the
late nights he always had at work. With Brenda there to help him.

The prick. The bastard.
The coward. I washed my face with cold water and towel-dried it as I looked in
the mirror above the sink.

Was I that
unattractive he had to have a woman almost twice my age?

Finally getting
control over my stomach, I opened the door and prepared myself for a
confrontation with Scott. He’d made himself scarce, though. Brenda had been
sent to do damage control.

“Lizzie, I need
to explain. We love each other very much, but he didn’t want to hurt you.”

Just looking at
her made me feel sick all over again. “How long, Brenda?” I asked, using all
the bravery I had. I did
not
want to
start crying in front of her. I would
not
show her how hurt I was.

“Six months,”
she whispered.

It felt like
someone had hit me with a baseball bat. “Wow. Jokes on me then, I guess.”

I turned and
almost ran out of the apartment. Brenda didn’t even try to stop me. It was only
when I reached my car that I allowed myself to cry. I don’t really think I was
crying for the end of the relationship, I pretty much knew that was nearly
over. But I felt humiliated and betrayed by a man I thought cared about me. Instead,
all the time in the last six months we’d been together, he’d actually been with
her as well. Probably comparing notes. And she’d known about it.

I started to
think about all the conversations I’d had with Brenda over the last few years. The
times I had asked her advice on what to get him for his birthday. The time I’d
shown her the sexy nightie I’d bought and the time she’d helped me plan a
surprise weekend away with him. Then she too betrayed me. I thought she was a
friend— admittedly not a close friend, but still a friend. What kind of
people were they?

Driving
blindly, crying and scared, I found myself back home before I’d really thought
it through. To be honest, at this point, I didn’t really care if some crazy man
wanted to hurt me. In fact, let him try.

Stopping in the
street, I scanned for the familiar black sedan. When I didn’t see it, I figured
he’d probably given up for the night. Making a run for the door, I ran inside,
locked and bolted it, picked up my deadly can of hairspray and went from room
to room checking all window locks, cupboards and hidey-holes.

When I was
confident no-one was there, I picked up Cat—I had long since given up
trying to use his real name—locked myself in my bedroom, placed a kitchen
chair under the door handle as added security and prepared myself for a
restless night.

Chapter
Twenty

As
usual, Riley arrived bright and early the next morning, ready to do some work. I
hadn’t got much sleep last night and was feeling particularly tired and cranky
before he arrived, but seeing him smile at me totally changed my mood for the
better.

At about three-thirty
this morning, I’d decided I should call the police first thing and tell them
what had been happening. I wasn’t sure if they could do much, but at least if
they found my cold, dead body one day, they’d have some idea of where to start
looking for my killer.

Riley walked in
as I was on the phone and I saw the look of shock on his face that I was
actually up this early.

“Thank you,
Officer. I’ll see you soon,” I said, hanging up the phone. Riley looked at me,
eyebrows arched.

“I think it’s
time I let the police know what’s been going on,” I said. I’d also decided to
keep the details concerning Scott to myself for now. It was still too raw. “I’m
not sure what they can do, but I just don’t feel comfortable here anymore.” I
shrugged my shoulders and gave Riley a small smile. “I’m going for a quick
shower before they arrive.”

After running
back upstairs, putting on my bikini and grabbing all the necessary items, I
walked back out to the deck for my shower. Luckily, it was warmer this morning.
The clouds from last night had gone and left us with what promised to be a
beautiful day. It’s a shame my mood didn’t match the weather.

Every time I
thought of Scott and Brenda, I got a lump in my throat and a sick feeling in my
stomach. I knew I would have to tell my family soon but it was actually really
embarrassing. How stupid had I been, thinking all this time how lucky I was to
have Scott as my boyfriend and that I didn’t really deserve a man like him?

Pulling off my
towel and throwing it onto the chair, I stepped into my shower. Crap, I hated
this thing. I will say, that after the shock of what I had witnessed last night
had worn off, I was a little bit pissed I’d missed out on using Scott’s lovely
shower.
Oh well, be grateful for what
you’ve got, Lizzie.
Looking forward to the feeling of hot water running
over my aching body, I reached forward for the taps and found a really
expensive pair of pink Victoria’s Secrets panties. Just hanging there.

My hand froze
and with the familiar surge of adrenalin, my eyes started darting around the
yard. Could he be here watching? There was no Black sedan in the street when I
looked about ten minutes ago. I’d been checking about every half hour or so and
so far, there’d been no sign of him. I suppose he could have parked in the next
street over and walked here. Maybe he’d visited through the night. I’d managed
to doze off for a few minutes here and there and it’s possible I hadn’t heard
him even if I’d been awake.

“Riley! Would
you mind coming out here?” I called. Riley must have been in the kitchen because
his head appeared out the door.

“What’s up?”

What should I
say?
Hey look what turned up
and show
him the knickers? Just then doorbell rang.

Ducking his
head back inside, he yelled out to me, “The police have just arrived. I’ll go
and let them in.”

Okay, a quick
shower it was going to be. Surely if Sedan Man was watching, he would leave
with the police here. When I’d finished, I put the panties in the back pocket
of my jeans and walked into the house. Riley sat at the table with two
uniformed police officers, all drinking cups of coffee. Jumping up and pouring
another cup, Riley handed it to me and introduced me.

“Lizzie, this
is Officer Lucy Wilkins and Officer Ed Helms.”

Officer Lucy
Wilkins was not what I expected in a female police officer. She was really
petite, with shiny blonde hair pulled back into a bun and had a real girl-next-door
look about her. How she could run down bad guys I had no idea. However, maybe
with Officer Helms at her side she stood more of a chance. He was about
six-foot tall, gorgeous dark mocha skin and was muscle from head to gorgeous
toe.

“Pleased to
meet you,” I said, shaking their hands in turn, my palms going a little sweaty
when I touched Officer Helms’s.

“Lizzie, you
wanted to talk to us about the break-in you had here a few weeks ago,” said
Officer Wilkins, who was obviously trying to take charge and almost seemed to
be doing the peacock thing, fluffing out her beautiful feathers. I’m not sure
if this was for Riley’s benefit or her sidekick’s. Either way, there were an
awful lot of pheromones floating around this room right now.

“Yes, a few
things have happened since then. I didn’t really think they were related until
last night.”

They listened
intently as I recalled the events that had happened since I’d spoken to them
last—leaving out the part where I visited Scott—taking notes where
appropriate. I watched Riley’s jaw tighten and his eyes go hard when I
mentioned the panty incident in the car.

“Are you
certain they were yours?” asked Office Helms.

“I’m pretty
sure. I mean, I didn’t pick them up and have an inspection but I’m certain he
was letting me know they were mine,” I replied. “Anyway, when I got in the
shower this morning, they were hanging on the tap.”

I pulled the
panties out of my back pocket and held them out for all to see. The most
embarrassing part of all of this was that the knickers hadn’t been washed since
I’d last worn them. At least that I knew about. I’m no expert, but I didn’t
think Sedan man would have put them through the wash before sniffing them. Then
again, maybe he did. Who knows?

Officer Wilkins
pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket and using her pen, dropped the panties
into the bag. I guess I wasn’t getting those back in a hurry. Fine by me, I’d
probably burn them now anyway.

After taking a
few more details, questioning me about every boyfriend I’d ever had and every
man I’d ever had contact with, they promised they would look into it and left,
leaving me with a particularly quiet Riley.

“I think I
might go for a walk. I need some fresh air to clear my head,” I said, walking
towards the stairs.

“I’ll come with
you. We can stop at my place on the way to the river and I’ll get changed. In
fact, why don’t you pack a bag while you’re upstairs and you can stay with me
until they catch this guy,” said Riley.

“Riley, that’s silly.
It could take them forever to catch him. Who knows, maybe he’s given up
anyway,” I shrugged.

“Don’t argue
with me, Lizzie. Either you come and stay at my place or I’m moving in here. But
the good shower is at my place.”

Gee, he really
knew how to put up a good argument. “Okay fine, I’ll go pack.”

Yeah, I know I
didn’t exactly put up a fight about it, but after last night, the thought of
staying here another night on my own did
not
appeal to me. Besides, Riley was right. A good shower would win every time.

* * * *

Half
an hour later we were at Riley’s. I’d never been there before and I have to say
his house was gorgeous. The garden was pretty basic, backing onto the river,
with beautiful green grass and a couple of large old trees that shaded the house.
It was an old Presbyterian Church built in the early eighteen hundreds and
looked like it would have only held about a hundred people.

Riley had done
a wonderful job converting it, putting in a mezzanine floor over the back half
of the room that held his bedroom and small bathroom. Downstairs was a small, open-plan
lounge-cum-dining room and a small kitchen. Lots of timber flooring and white
walls, but he had kept and restored the old leadlight windows in the side walls.
These at present were throwing a rainbow of color around the room as the sun
shone in through them. Interesting that I only counted one bedroom. Where was I
going to sleep?

Reading my mind
again, Riley looked at me and gave me a very wicked smile. “As you are spoken
for, I will do the honorable thing and sleep on the couch.”

He smiled as he
placed Cat on the floor. I couldn’t leave Cat behind in case something happened
to him. Admittedly, the major threat would probably come from my neighbor,
Helen. Looking at Riley, my heart did this flippy thing it was prone to do around
him. I hadn’t mentioned my break up with Scott at all to Riley, and now didn’t
seem like the appropriate time.

Changing the
subject I said, “Well, are you getting changed for this walk or what?”

“Sure. I’ll
just be a minute,” he said, heading up the stairs and disappearing into the
bathroom. I had a good look around while I waited for him. The house actually
looked like an interior designer had helped with the decorating. The neutral color
palette used was very sophisticated, yet masculine. Unlike Scott’s apartment
though, this house looked and felt like a home. Riley had a dirty cup and bowl
in the kitchen sink, obviously left over from this morning’s breakfast. There
was a pile of dirt bike magazines on the floor next to the couch, DVD’s next to
the TV, and the whole place looked and smelt like Riley. I’d already fallen in
love with it.

“Are you
ready?” asked Riley.

I’d been so engrossed
checking out his home, I hadn’t heard him walk up behind me. Embarrassment burned
my cheeks at being caught. I quickly turned towards him and tripped over Cat. Riley
reached out to stop me from falling, but momentum had the better of me and I
fell straight in to him, making him lose balance. We crashed to the floor.

I heard him
 
grunt as my body slammed into his. I lay
there trying to catch my breath, my full body weight on top of him. Every nerve-ending
was on full alert as my body aligned with his. I felt like someone had plugged
me into a power point. I tingled from head to toe, but mostly in places I
shouldn’t mention. Let’s just say these places hadn’t tingled like that in a
very long time. If my cheeks were burning with embarrassment before, now they
were in full flame. God, I hoped Riley couldn’t read my mind right now. The
images I had going through it were pretty X-rated.

Looking at him
under me, my face only inches from his nipples, I thought how I could happily
stay there for the rest of the day.

I noticed the
look on his face and can’t actually describe what emotion I saw. He definitely
looked like I had taken the wind out of him. I’ll remind you that I’m not the
skinniest girl on the planet, so that didn’t surprise me. I probably should get
up and let him catch his breath.

Riley was not a
small man and I could feel every hard muscle as I contemplated the best way to
get off him. He didn’t look like he was about to help me anytime soon, so I
started to wriggle my way backwards in an attempt to get my feet on the floor.

Riley suddenly
put his arms around me and held me very tight, preventing any movement at all. “Please,
don’t move like that,” he almost pleaded, looking me in the eyes.

I noticed the
outer ring of his irises had turned a darker blue and the intensity of the color
almost winded me as much as the fall. I watched as he took a deep shuddery
breath and rolled me over to the floor. Wow, was the only thought I could
conjure, as he looked down at me. If only he was laying over me for another
reason, I thought, my hormones doing all the thinking for me. I lay there
trying to catch my breath as Riley stood and held out his hand. I knew I should
apologize for knocking him over, but to be honest, I wasn’t sorry at all.

* * * *

By
the time we made it to the boardwalk, it was nearly ten thirty. It was rare
that I ever walked here with a partner, usually preferring to walk alone. It
didn’t take long for Riley and I to fall into step with each other. Five
minutes into the walk, my phone rang. Looking at the number display, I showed
it to Riley. I didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello,” I
answered.

“Oh yes, is
that Lizzie Fuller?” a male voice replied.

“Yes, who’s
calling please?”

“This is Brian
Hogan, the jeweler. I’m sorry to call you on your mobile. I did leave a message
for you on your home phone but I wasn’t sure if you would get it or not. I have
some information for you about the ring you brought in and I was wondering if
you could come down so we could have a chat about it?”

“Oh, of course,
Mr. Hogan. That’s fine. I could come down this afternoon if that suits you.”

“No. I have a
client coming in this afternoon I have to do some drawings for. Would tomorrow
morning suit you at all?” he asked.

“Perfect. I
could come in around ten o’clock.”

“Yes, that
would be wonderful. I have a very interesting story to tell you.” I could
almost hear his smile.

I thanked him
for his time and hung up the phone.

“Did you hear
that? The jeweler has some information for us about the ring,” I said, turning
to Riley.

Feeling excited
for the first time—okay, the second time—in days, I picked up the
pace and continued on our walk. It didn’t take long to reach my favourite
coffee shop and asking Riley what he wanted—plain water, how boring—I
walked in and placed our order. Looking around the shop, I realized I had
missed most of the regulars as my walk had started much later this morning, Sitting
in the corner was one of the people I usually passed on the boardwalk. My heart
skipped a beat and
 
I quickly ran
out to Riley.