Cream Caramel and Murder Read online

  “He had a problem with alcohol?”

  “Not so much. He wasn’t an alcoholic, but he always thought he was more fun when he had a drink in his hand. I preferred the old Kendal. Although that version of him was no angel. The guy he turned into was exactly the sort of person you expected to wind up murdered in the woods.”

  That was a blunt statement. “Why do you say that?”

  Christian stood from his inspection of the bike. “Because Kendal was a cheat, a jerk, and a liar.”

  “You sound like you hated him.”

  He tipped back on his heels. “Even when he was young, Kendal could be annoying. He got himself the label of class clown at school and was always joking around and making fun of everybody else. Sometimes it could be funny, but it was often spiteful. He could get mean and make things personal. And he used to wind up Rupert all the time. That didn’t stop when we left school. It was like he’d stuck a target on Rupert’s back and was always going for him.”

  “What sort of things did he do?” My heart clenched in sympathy for Rupert.

  “Sometimes it was just dumb stuff, like hiding his textbooks or messing up his homework. Now and again, it would get dark and we’d have to have a word and tell him to back off. On one occasion, he locked Rupert in a closet all night. He dragged him into an empty room and trapped him in there. Rupert was humiliated. He tried to fight back, but Kendal knew how to use his fists. Rupert ended up with a bloody nose and a black eye. He tried to laugh it off, but you could see it hurt the guy. Why wouldn’t it?”

  “Yet Rupert remained friends with Kendal? If someone did that to me, I wouldn’t speak to them ever again.” I jammed my hands on my hips. If Kendal wasn’t already dead, I’d be having words with him. Nobody liked a bully.

  “Lucky for you, your parents don’t hang out in the same social circles as ours. It’s expected. We’re supposed to get along together just like our dads did when they went to Eton. It’s a bit sad, really. I tolerated Kendal because I had no other option. Rupert was the same.”

  I shook my head, my insides boiling with anger. Rupert rarely talked about his time at school, and I was beginning to understand why. It sounded like it had been a miserable time in his life.

  “Thinking about it now, Rupert even missed a whole term. His parents told the school that he had glandular fever, but I reckon it was because he was stressed. It wasn’t long after the whole getting locked in the closet incident with Kendal.”

  “I can see now why somebody might want Kendal dead,” I huffed out.

  Christian shrugged. “Which is why I wasn’t surprised by what happened to him. He was a joker right until the end.”

  “He played a trick on you when you were here?”

  Christian nodded. “The night before we went clay pigeon shooting, Rupert took us to the gun room. We were checking over the shotguns, making sure the balance and sighting was right. I turned my back for five minutes, only to discover that Kendal was messing with my gun.”

  “What was he doing to it?”

  “I wasn’t sure. It looked like he was trying to shove something into one of the barrels. It could have jammed and taken my hand off when I pulled the trigger.” He shook his head. “Of course, he swore he wasn’t doing that and was just taking a look to see if my gun was better than his. I didn’t believe him. The guy was an idiot. He never thought through the consequences of his actions.”

  I studied Christian as he bent over my bicycle wheel again and tried to tug off the rubber. Here was a motive for wanting Kendal dead. Christian had caught him trying to damage his gun, which would have injured him. He’d finally had enough of Kendal playing the fool. It sounded like there was no love lost between them. Had Christian seen an opportunity to get rid of Kendal once and for all and acted on it?

  “Have you been questioned about what happened to Kendal?” I asked.

  He shrugged as he focused on the bike. “Sure. The scary guy in the suit asked me where I was. I had no worries about answering his questions. Simon’s my alibi. That night, we’d all had a lot to drink. In fact, I barely remember the evening. Rupert’s always so generous when it comes to entertaining. He got in our favorite drinks and we went to town on them, knocking back doubles. And of course, there were your delicious cakes to enjoy. Even so, I got the munchies, so headed off with Simon and raided your kitchen.” He grinned at me. “I hope you don’t mind. There were all sorts of delicious leftovers in the fridge.”

  “That’s what it’s there for.” I needed to check with Chef Heston to see if any food had gone missing from the fridge that night. Given how drunk Simon and Christian would have been, they’d have left behind a trail of devastation.

  Christian stepped back from the bike and shook his head. “Anyway, that whole mess is sorted now. The police have Kendal’s crazy ex in custody.”

  “Crazy ex? You mean Izzie?”

  “The very girl. Kendal used to call her his sexy stalker. We’ve known Izzie for years. She was always hanging around with us even when we were teenagers. She got herself a reputation for being a wild child. Kendal adored the wild women. He said it was something about how forbidden they were. He loved to enjoy himself with the kind of woman he’d never take home to his parents.”

  “Izzie wasn’t marriage material?”

  “I can’t imagine anyone would want to marry Izzie Northcott. She’s a beautiful girl, and a heck of a lot of fun to be with, but once you get a reputation like that in our circles, it’s hard to get rid of. Kendal had his fun and then told her it was over. She wasn’t buying it. She really did stalk him. It got intense between them.”

  “Did Kendal make Izzie think she stood a chance with him?”

  He grinned. “Most likely. I suspect Kendal promises the women he entertains a lot of things. He even joked once that he told Izzie he’d marry her. The foolish girl actually believed him. He said that she’d turned up at his apartment and was screaming outside the window when she learned the truth. In the end, he called the police and had her taken away. I could never see Kendal settling with one woman. He was always a ladies’ man.”

  “He was seeing other women as well as Izzie?”

  “You can guarantee it. That only made Izzie crazier. She wanted Kendal to herself. She was so deluded. In the end, I felt sorry for her. He pushed her too far. This is the end result. She tracked Kendal here and killed him. I expect there are more than a few people happy with her actions. It’s just a pity she got caught. She was jolly good fun on the party scene.”

  That was another nail in the coffin in regard to Izzie’s guilt. A big part of me didn’t blame her if she had killed Kendal. He’d led her on and used her to get what he wanted, then thrown her away like she meant nothing to him. The more I learned about Kendal Jakes, the less I liked him.

  “I’ve been beaten.” Christian stepped back. “This bike has bested me. It’s these old models, you see. And it’s been a while since I’ve had to fix my own bike.”

  “Tires are tricky to fix.” I’d have had that tire off, patched up, and inflated by now.

  “You bet they are.” He checked his watch. “I need to get a move on or I’ll be late to meet the guys.”

  “Oh! Well, thanks for trying.”

  “Sure. Nice chatting with you.” Christian hopped into his car and zoomed off.

  I shook my head as I looked at Meatball. “One day, I’ll meet a guy who can add value to our lives.”

  “Woof.”

  “Maybe you’re right. We add enough value to our own lives.” I knelt, removed the flat tire, and made the patch repair to the wheel before using the hand pump to inflate it so it would get us home.

  Maybe there really was no more mystery to solve. The police had the right person. Izzie fit the profile perfectly. A beautiful woman, neglected by the man she loved. She’d turned into a stalker, obsessed with her ex, and had taken things too far.

  A tiny flicker of doubt niggled in my mind. I just needed to cover all the bases and make sure the p
olice had the right person.

  Izzie Northcott had been through enough when it came to Kendal. I had to be a hundred percent sure she was guilty.

  Chapter 15

  Yesterday had been a crazily busy day. I’d only been back at the castle for ten minutes before five unexpected coachloads of tourists arrived all demanding refreshments.

  I’d had no time to think about the murder when I was elbow deep in making cakes and huge mounds of sandwiches to feed the hungry hordes.

  Despite sliding into bed at midnight, I was up early.

  My weighted hula hoop had arrived yesterday. Although I kept fit on the bike, I could never resist a fitness trend. I’d tried them all: weighted vests for running in, hot yoga, resistance bands, a balancing board where you stood on one leg to help strengthen your core.

  Given the early hour, no one else was about. I hurried outside in my exercise gear: lycra leggings covered in baggy shorts, a supportive bra, and an oversized T-shirt. Meatball was by my side, delighted to be out so early.

  I picked my favorite secluded spot, just past the rose gardens where the compost heaps sat away from public view. I always came here when I wanted to exercise. It wasn’t overlooked by anyone in the castle, and visitors rarely came here. The compost heap got pretty pungent on a hot day.

  “Okay, Meatball. Let’s see how this thing works.” I unrolled the instructions for the hula hoop and began to read.

  “Woof woof.” He made a grab for the hoop.

  “Noooo! This isn’t for you.” I pointed to the instructions. “It says here that the hoop helps to burn calories, build strength, and reduce belly fat.”

  “Woof.”

  “It’s true.” I squeezed my lower belly. “I’m getting an actual muffin top. The only muffins I want to see are those I pull from the oven.” I gave the hoop an experimental swing around my hips. It fell to the ground.

  I kept reading. “Hoops were used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. How interesting. They got a lot of things right. Fun exercise equipment being one of them.”

  “Woof.” Meatball jumped at the hoop again. He clearly thought it was an oversized dog toy bought specifically for his entertainment and not my waistline.

  I grabbed a chewy bone-shaped toy from my pocket and slung it. “Go fetch.”

  Meatball raced off after the toy, his tail wagging.

  “Ooh, even better. This burns as many calories as kickboxing. Wow! Four hundred calories.” I flipped over the information sheet. “Oh! In an hour.” I didn’t want to have to gyrate for an hour. I might pop a hip! Still, if I could do it, that was one more triple chocolate muffin I could enjoy with no consequences.

  It was time to get my hoop on. I swung the hoop to get it going and thrust my hips. It fell to the ground before I could get momentum.

  I tried several more times. This thing was heavy, and it was hitting my hip bones. If I wasn’t careful, I’d get bruises.

  This was harder than it looked. I was okay with a lightweight plastic hula hoop, but the added weight of this hoop made it almost impossible.

  I wasn’t giving up. I kept thrusting my hips backward and forward, trying to keep the hoop up, but kept failing.

  “I must be missing a trick,” I muttered.

  I tried again and yelped as Meatball launched in the air and grabbed the edge of the hula hoop.

  “Hey! Paws off my hoop.”

  Meatball dropped to the ground, but his gaze was focused, ready to pounce at the next opportunity.

  I held up a finger and used my sternest voice. “No! This isn’t for you. Go explore the garden while I exercise.”

  I tried another rotation of the hula hoop, but with the extra weight and Meatball jumping up and down trying to grab the hoop, this wasn’t going so well.

  Laughter drifted toward me. I grabbed the hula hoop and looked around swiftly.

  Simon was leaning against a tree, watching me, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “Oh! I didn’t think anybody else would be up so early.” Heat traveled up my neck. How long had he been standing there?

  “You’ve almost got it.” He pushed away from the tree with a casual ease. “I can show you how it’s done if you like.”

  My eyes widened as I passed him the hula hoop. “How do you know how to use a hoop?”

  He grinned as he slid it over his head and secured it around his waist. “I have five sisters.”

  I watched, more than a little jealous as he expertly twirled the hula hoop. Even Meatball was impressed as he sat and watched the hoop.

  “It’s all in the movement of the hips. With the extra weight, you have to thrust backward and forward that bit faster.” His movements looked a little obscene, but I studied them anyway, eager to learn how to conquer the hoop. “All you’re lacking is the speed.”

  “Thanks for showing me how it’s done.” I took the hoop back.

  “No worries. Give it a go.”

  “I’m done for the day.” I had no plans to thrust like that in front of Simon at any point in the next one hundred years.

  “My sisters went through a hula hoop obsession one summer. They all had them. They’d spend hours practicing with their hoops. They insisted I take part. I hated it at the time, but it helped me gain a rhythm that most guys my age seriously lacked. The ladies sure appreciate it.” He winked at me.

  “Five sisters must be a challenge. Are you the only boy in your family?”

  “Sadly, yes. My parents always wanted a boy. They kept getting girls. I was the last one to arrive, and now have five older, bossy, annoying sisters.” He leaned closer. “Don’t tell anybody this, but they sometimes dressed me up like a doll. I’m scarred for life by those girls.”

  I grinned. I hadn’t had much to do with Simon so far, but he seemed nice. “I won’t tell a soul.”

  “I like to think having so many sisters gave me an edge over my clumsy friends. Some of them had no experience of being around the fairer sex, and there was rarely the chance to do so when we were at school. I knew all about girls. I understood that they loved to talk and share their feelings. That was what I was used to. It was a massive shock when I went to an all boys’ school and all they wanted to talk about was sports, food, and breaking wind.”

  “How did Kendal get on at school?”

  “Ah, yes. Everyone’s talking about him,” Simon said with a shrug. “He got on just fine. He used to joke around and make people laugh. That made him popular.”

  “I spoke to Christian yesterday. He said they have Izzie Northcott in custody for Kendal’s murder.”

  “I know. I don’t understand it. It seems so unlikely that she’d have killed him.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked.

  He took the hula hoop back and swirled it around his arm. “I told the guy who’s been interviewing us, Campbell something or other, that I saw someone outside the castle the night Kendal was killed.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I didn’t get a good look. I got this weird feeling we were being watched when we were in the games room. I looked out the window a few times but didn’t see anyone. Then all of a sudden, somebody dashed past.”

  “Was it one of the other guys? Maybe somebody playing a prank on you, trying to bring the ghost rumors to life?”

  He smiled. “No, it wasn’t any of us. We were all together most of the evening.”

  “Do you think Izzie was watching you?”

  “Why didn’t she just come inside if it was her? We were all friends. I’ve always liked Izzie. She’s a sweet girl. The reputation she has isn’t deserved.”

  “What reputation does she have?” I already knew the answer but was interested in Simon’s take on Izzie.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Not a great one. But we all make mistakes when we’re young. She’s changed now she’s older. I used to date Izzie before Kendal pinched her off me.”

  “He stole your girlfriend?”

  “We weren’t exclusive, but it didn’t feel great to kno
w she preferred him to me.”

  Could Simon have been jealous of Izzie’s relationship with Kendal? Had he decided to kill the competition so he could get back together with her?

  “You must have been jealous,” I said.

  He looked at the ground. “I was probably more serious about things than she was. Izzie loves to party. I’m not against it, but it needs to be with the right people in the right place. I won’t go to any old party just to be seen. Besides, my work keeps me busy. I’m in IT if you didn’t know. I’ve got offices all around the world, and they’re always contacting me at weird times of the night with some problem. If I was drinking and partying all the time, I’d miss something important. I tried to explain that to Izzie, but she didn’t understand. Then I lost the chance to make a go of things with her. Kendal wowed her with his party lifestyle. That was it. Game over for us.”

  “Maybe you can comfort Izzie now. She must need a friend.”

  His lips pursed before he shook his head. “I’m not so sure about that. I like the girl, but I don’t want to date a criminal.”

  “You’re convinced she’s guilty?”

  “I mean, the police are, as is Campbell. I just, I don’t know ...”

  “Other than the person outside the castle that night, did you see anything else unusual?”

  “Not a thing. We were in the games room drinking way too much. I headed off with Christian to the kitchen to grab some carbs and soak up the booze. It was a typical night with these guys.”

  “And you don’t think any of your other friends had a problem with Kendal? I’ve heard a rumor or two that his jokes could be at the expense of others.”

  He scrubbed at his chin. “True enough. Kendal lived for the moment. He didn’t care about the consequences of his actions, so long as everyone laughed with him. I mean, it could hack you off, but you get used to it. Although Tony’s not been a fan of Kendal’s for a while.”

  “Tony?”

  “Yes, you met him the other night. Anthony Bambridge. We call him Tony. Anyway, he had a real beef with Kendal. He lost him a lot of money.”

  “How did that happen?”