Spoilt (12 page)

She thought for a moment about picking up the phone again and
calling Lucas. Perhaps the calls could help with his investigation.
No, surely it wasn’t the killer. Why would he call her? She thought
it would be nice to call Lucas and this could be a reason to. A
slight smile touched her lips as she remembered their evening,
their kiss. She brought a hand to her lips as she remembered how
they felt against hers.

When the phone shrilled again, she jumped and she let out an
involuntary cry. As she picked it up, apprehension crept into her
chest. Taking a deep breath she summoned some bravado.

“
What?”

“
Chelsea?”

Relief dispelled the trepidation at the sound of a familiar
voice.

“
Yes.”

“
This is Clare Sheridan.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry for sounding rude, Mrs. Sheridan. I’ve just
been receiving some nuisance calls.”

“
Are you sure they are nuisance calls, dear and not
something more serious? Please tell me you will be careful. And
it’s Clare.”

“
Ok, Clare, please don’t worry I’m sure it’s nothing.” Chelsea
reassured her, not won’t to cause her any further distress. “How
are you doing?”

“
Not so good, honey. I’ve lost my baby and I don’t know how
I’ll get through it.” Her voice caught.

“
I miss her too.”

“
I called to find out whether you would mind ... if my
daughter, Megan, can come around on Monday to collect ... Elle’s
things.” Her voice broke and she paused a moment. “I can have her
do it sooner if ...”

“
No Monday is fine, Clare. There’s no hurry.”

“
Thank you and also the ... funeral is Tuesday. Megan can give
you the details on Monday, when it will all be
finalised.”

Clare sobbed quietly, her composure barely holding.

“
Thank you for letting me know, and if you need anything else,
please call, anytime.”

“
Thank you, dear.” Then she was gone.

Chelsea experienced a sense of dread and sadness. Tears which
threatened during her call with Clare escaped now. She would
actually have to say goodbye to her beautiful friend. Chelsea
wasn’t sure how she was going to manage this. She couldn’t
understand why life took such a wonderful person like Elle. Leaning
against the counter, she wiped away the tears and took a shaky
breath.

Trying to put Elle and the calls out of her mind for the
moment, she walked to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

With perfect timing, just as she’d finished, the front door
opened and Charlotte breezed through with Sarah following close
behind. She ran to greet them and was enclosed by a Summerville
hug, Charlotte from behind and Sarah in the front. Sarah pulled
back and cupped her face.

“
How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

“
Ok,” she squeaked.

“
Well, we’re here now so you don’t have to worry about
anything. What time do you need us to head over to Bloom?” she
continued in her no fuss way.

“
In about half an hour.”

“
Well let’s eat, then,” Charlotte decided.

They caught up on lighter subjects over lunch. As they
prepared to leave, the phone rang again.

“
This phone has not stopped,” she said with
exasperation.

“
Hello.”

“
You head off to your little shop now, Chelsea. I’ll see you
soon.”

This time Chelsea hung up.

“
Who was that?” Charlotte asked.

“
No-one, just a prank call.”

“
How many have you had?” Sarah asked.

“
A few.”

“
What did they say?” Charlotte said.

“
He would see me soon and that he was coming for me, that kind
of thing, nothing serious. It’s probably some kids who have seen
the news and know Elle was murdered.”

Chelsea was still hoping against hope that this was actually
the case, although her rapid pulse and the prickles of cold
fingering her spine, told her otherwise. He knew her
name.

“
How would they know where she lived?” Sarah asked.

“
I don’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Chelsea shoved her
shaking hands in her jacket pockets to hide their betrayal of her
words.

“
It doesn’t sound like nothing to me,” Sarah said, just
getting started now.

“
Mum, it’s okay, really.”

“
Drop the bravado, Chelsea. I can tell from your face that the
call bothered you.”

“
He said my name.”

“
What? You have to tell the police.”

“
I don’t know if that’s really necessary.” She wished it
wasn’t.

“
Yes, it is.”

“
Can I call Lucas later, when we get home from Bloom?” she
asked. Chelsea instantly realised her mistake once the words left
her mouth.

“
Who’s Lucas?” Charlotte asked with one eyebrow
raised.

“
He’s a detective working on Elle’s investigation.”

Chelsea attempted to keep her face straight, hoping to deter
further questions. However, with Charlotte, this would be
unavoidable. Her sister was far too inquisitive. Chelsea wasn’t
ready to share Lucas with anyone yet. Besides she wasn’t really
sure what was happening anyway.

“
You like him.”

“
He’s nice.”

“
Is there something going on?” she asked, her voice laced with
excitement.

“
I don’t know.”

“
What do you mean you don’t know?”

“
Exactly that, I don’t know. We had dinner last night, nothing
serious.” She shrugged trying to appear nonchalant.

“
Chelsea’s got a boyfriend,” she teased.

“
No, I haven’t. How old are you anyway? Six?” she said a
little too fiercely. “Now we have to get going and open Bloom, so I
can make a living.”

Chelsea promptly stormed out the door. Charlotte and Sarah
exchanged looks and shared a secret grin before following
Chelsea.

There was much to do. Chelsea completed all the bouquets
required for the next morning out the back and away from her
sister’s questioning looks. Sarah manned the phones and took
orders, while Charlotte served and flirted with her customers. By
the time they’d helped the last of them and shut the door, they
were exhausted.

“
How do you do this every day by yourself?” Charlotte asked
throwing herself dramatically into a nearby chair.

“
I don’t do it by myself. On busy days, like today, I have
Lauren to help me,” replied Chelsea, referring to the part-time
student who worked for her.

“
Oops, did we steal her job today?”

“
No, she had exams today which, by the way, shouldn’t you be
doing?”

“
No, I only had two and they’re done.”

“
Good. I wouldn’t be happy if I took you away from your
studies.”

“
Well you haven’t,” she stated standing up. “Can we go now? I
have a craving for a glass of cold wine.”

Once the day’s takings were counted and all the flowers put
safely in the fridges, they headed home. As they walked in the
front door, the phone rang again. Chelsea looked at Sarah and
Charlotte.

“
Should I answer it?”

“
Yes and then I think you should write down every phone call,”
Sarah told her.

“
Yes,” she answered the phone.

“
Not long now.” The phone went dead.

“
What did he say?” Sarah asked.

“
Not long now.”

“
Write all the calls down now, so you don’t
forget.”

“
Ok, I am really worried now. The calls only happen when I’m
home,” she said, frowning. “See there are no messages on my
machine. It’s like he knows when I’m here.”

“
So do you think you should call the police now?”

“
Yes I do, but after dinner, okay?” Sarah nodded.

Over dinner and a glass of wine, Charlotte began to grill
Chelsea again.

“
Please tell me, what is going on with Lucas. I’m dying of
curiosity.”

“
I already told you, I don’t know.”

“
Have you kissed him?”

“
He kissed me, twice.”

“
I want details.”

“
Are you going to stop pestering me if I do?” she asked,
rolling her eyes.

“
Maybe.”

“
The first time I met him, I thought he was rude ... and
cute.” Chelsea smiled. “I went to the station to report Elle
missing and he acted like he couldn’t get me out the door fast
enough. Then I saw him again the next day – yesterday – when they
came to tell me about Elle.” She stopped as her voice broke a
little. It was going to take awhile to say her friend’s name
without heartache.

“
What happened then?” Charlotte prompted.

“
He was rude to me again.”

“
Then how did you end up kissing him?”

“
How did he end up kissing me, you mean?”

“
Stop using nitpicking as a stalling tactic and
spill.”

“
He came back later to ask me some more questions and to
apologise. Then he kissed me, apologised again and ran
away.”

“
Keep going.”

“
Then he came back last night to apologise again. Seems he
does a lot of that, now that I think about it.” She paused. “Oh and
he wanted to show me some photos. He stayed for dinner and we
kissed goodnight, that’s it.”

“
You’re in love with him,” Charlotte declared.

“
What? No I’m not. Besides I hardly know him. I only met him
Wednesday.” Now that Charlotte had mentioned it, she wondered if
perhaps she was at least falling in that direction. Was it possible
to love someone on sight? She was definitely infatuated by his
amber eyes and crooked grin.

“
Shouldn’t you be calling him about your calls?” Sarah said
reminding her.

“
Ok I’ll do it now” she said getting up to get his business
card and the phone.

Chapter 13

Adrian
Matthews

Friday

Lucas arrived at the station feeling groggy. First his
nightmares plagued his already troubled sleep, now, it seemed,
Chelsea was going to occupy his mind during slumber in their place.
Instead of seeing his parents’ faces on the lifeless forms, he
dreamt about her. He could protect her and do his job or allow his
attraction for her to win the war raging inside his mind. She was
also part of an ongoing investigation, another
complication.

After pouring a cup of coffee, he found Maggie at her
desk.

“
You look like shit,” she told him.

“
So would you, if you slept as little as I have,” he
snapped.

“
Testy.” She stared at him for a moment before continuing.
“Anyway, I went back to the café yesterday evening and Matthews
wasn’t there. The two waitresses working there gave me very similar
information to Laura. That he’s a player who tries to pick up all
the lookers. One of the girls knew Lindsay. She’s been a regular
for years. She also said she hadn’t seen her for a few days
either.”

“
What are his movements like?”

“
Both girls very happily informed me that Matthews is in and
out a lot all day. He comes in, bakes what needs to be done, maybe
does some paperwork and serves a few lady customers before he
leaves again. He does this several times over the day and
evening.”

“
So it’s quite possible that he could be going in and out to
visit the victims.”

“
Sure looks that way. What did you turn up?”

“
I saw Mrs. Anderson last night and she told me the last time
she saw Lindsay was when they had lunch together that day. Mrs.
Anderson left to go back to work first and she assumed that Lindsay
followed soon after. When she arrived home that evening, Lindsay
wasn’t there. Mrs. Anderson rang her work and they told her
Lindsay’s hadn’t returned after lunch. When she rang her phone and
it rang in Lindsay’s bag, she grew concerned because she never left
the house without it.”

“
Any info on the mystery guy?”

“
No. I asked about Matthews and showed her a picture but she
didn’t recognise him.”

“
Looks almost certain now. Lindsay’s been abducted by the same
man.”

He nodded grimly. “I’ve organised some CSIs and uniforms to
collect her things and fingerprint the place. I think we’ll end up
with the same again - no match to the database. If we find any
prints, we can see if they match the ones taken from the vics’
houses, then at least we will know for sure.”

“
Worth a shot. Hopefully they will find something new
too.”

“
Chelsea recognised Matthews from the café.”

“
Please tell me we have good news.”