Cream Caramel and Murder Read online

  I stood with Princess Alice, Lord Rupert, and Meatball just outside the kitchen. I’d explained everything to Rupert several times, and he was on board. We’d also decided to bring Alice in as backup.

  It wouldn’t look suspicious either of them being at the opening event, and I needed them to watch and see if Meredith made a move against the others in Rupert’s party. I really hoped I was wrong about this, but my gut told me I wasn’t.

  Rupert shook his head. “I still can’t believe Meredith would try to attack any of us.”

  “She’s already had a go at you with the buggy,” I said. “She might be getting desperate.”

  “There are too many people at the memorial event. If she tries anything, she’ll be stopped. That’s what our security team is for.”

  “Maybe she’s waiting for an opportunity to get you on your own. That must be what happened with Kendal. You said he’d been drinking heavily that night. He could have slipped outside and Meredith was waiting for an opportunity to attack. She wouldn’t have been able to resist taking him out when he was such an easy target.”

  Rupert rubbed the back of his neck. “I was surprised when she moved to Audley St. Mary once the memorial garden got underway. She used to live in London with Sebastien and his father. They’ve been divorced for some time. Both of them struggled to hold things together after Seb’s accident.”

  “Which is why we know her as Meredith Jones,” I said. “She must have gone back to her maiden name after the divorce.”

  “So, she moved to the village and planned all this?” Alice looked quizzical. “It’s a big risk. How could she be certain that Rupert would host the Eton boys this year?”

  I looked at Rupert. “How do you organize these get-togethers with your school friends?”

  “That’s simple. I have their contact information. The school is rather proud of the tradition of us staying in touch and keeping the old networks running.”

  “Do they post about it online? Maybe put the dates on an events calendar?”

  “Ah! Well, they do, actually,” Rupert said.

  “That’s how she knew. Meredith could have been monitoring the website and discovered that you had an upcoming event. How long has this been arranged?” I asked.

  “We always fix the date of the next event a year in advance,” Rupert said. “Everyone gets so busy. Once we figure out the date, we let the school know.”

  “And they led Meredith right to you,” I said. “She contacted you a year ago, after she learned about your plans to meet.”

  “Four grown men against one woman?” Rupert shook his head. “I don’t see it happening.”

  “Holly’s right. It could work if she picked you off one by one,” Alice said. “Kendal was an easy mark when he was rotten drunk and it was dark.”

  “And she tried with you,” I said to Rupert. “She tried to mow you down with the buggy when she spotted you on your own.”

  “Do you really think she’s been lurking in the shadows for days, hoping to kill us all?” Rupert shuddered.

  “She’s grieving and angry,” Alice said. “She lost her son. Even if it was an accident, she can’t move on.”

  “Should we tell the others?” Rupert said. “If their lives are at risk, we need to make sure they look out for each other.”

  “If they know about it, they won’t act naturally,” I said. “That might alert Meredith.”

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t alert Campbell?” Alice ducked her head. “I know you don’t like him much right now, but he is here to protect us.”

  “He’ll think I’m making this up, as will the police. We need proof Meredith did this, or I’ll still get blamed. If we involve Campbell, he’ll charge in and take over. We might miss our only opportunity.”

  “Won’t he be angry that we kept him in the dark?” Alice asked.

  “Probably about as angry as I am for being accused of murder.” I sighed when I saw the sad look on Alice’s face. “We can tell him as soon as we have evidence against Meredith.”

  She nodded. “Okay, as long as he doesn’t get angry with me.”

  I lifted my gaze to the sky. “I’ll position myself at the back of the group when we’re at the memorial garden. Alice, you go to the right side and make sure you’ve got a good view of the crowd. Keep a look out for Meredith and see if she’s acting suspiciously or paying attention to anyone in the group. Rupert, you do the same, but stay at the front on the left. That way, we’ve got all the angles covered.”

  “I’ll have to be at the front,” Rupert said. “I’m giving a short speech before officially opening the memorial garden. I can certainly keep an eye on her from there.”

  “That will have to do,” I said.

  “Part of me really hopes you’re wrong,” Rupert said, “but I’m also very keen to find out who really killed Kendal. We must clear your name.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping we’ll do if we can catch Seb’s mom in the act.”

  “We’d better get a move on,” Alice said. “The crowd is gathering at the garden.”

  I nodded before we parted company and hurried into the kitchen.

  “Is everything okay?” Chef Heston asked.

  “The food’s all done, ready for after the speeches at the garden. Would it be okay if I took a break now? I’d like to see the memorial garden when it’s opened.”

  “You can have half an hour,” he said. “But don’t think you’re going to be able to use this I’ve-almost-been-charged-with-murder-ruse to exploit my good nature for long.”

  “I promise, I have no plans to use this particular ruse again.”

  He grunted before turning away.

  “I’ll pass drinks around while I’m out there to keep people happy.” I grabbed a tray of soft drinks, collected Meatball as extra backup, and hurried to the garden. I moved through the crowd, making sure I kept an eye on Meredith.

  She was focused on the memorial garden, her hands clasped in front of her and a blank expression on her face.

  Maybe I was wrong about her, and she was simply here to remember her lost son, but I had to be sure.

  After ten minutes of wandering through the crowd, I knew exactly where all of Rupert’s friends were. I moved to the back of the crowd. Alice was stood to the side. She gave me a big thumbs up and a smile.

  She needed to work on her discreet sleuthing skills. She stuck out a mile in her long bright yellow dress.

  Rupert stood at the front, patting his chest and shifting from foot to foot. He always got nervous at public events. I imagined he’d be even more nervous now there was a killer in the audience who had her sights set on him.

  After a few more minutes of milling around, Rupert stepped to the front of the group. “Everybody, if I may have your attention. It’s time to open the memorial garden at Audley Castle.”

  The crowd settled and pressed closer to hear him speak.

  I half-listened as he extolled the virtues of the gardeners and the hard work that had gone into making the memorial garden a permanent feature.

  I looked around, and my eyes widened. Alice was talking to Simon. She kept glancing over his shoulder at the crowd, but he was distracting her. She might miss Meredith making a move.

  Although this situation wasn’t terrible. If Simon was with Alice, that was one less person I’d need to keep a look out for and make sure Seb’s mom wasn’t going after him.

  Meatball nudged my leg with his nose and whined.

  “Is everything okay, boy?” I whispered.

  “Woof.” He pointed his nose toward the trees.

  “We’ll have a walk later. We’re on an important mission right now,” I said softly.

  He nudged me again.

  I glanced around, and my heart lurched. Christian was heading toward the trees. Not far behind him was Meredith.

  I hurried after them, Meatball at my heels. Where was Christian going?

  I hung back, making sure Meredith didn’t spot me tailing her, but she was focu
sed on following Christian and didn’t look back.

  Christian entered the woods first, and a moment later, Meredith followed. She wore a black rain jacket with a large hood. Her hands were stuffed in both pockets. It would be easy to conceal a weapon in those pockets, but there was no spade in evidence this time. If she was planning on killing Christian, I had no idea what she would use.

  I crept through the trees, keeping an eye out for Christian or Meredith.

  Meatball dashed ahead of me, and I was too slow to grab him. He paused by a tree and looked back, his tail wagging.

  I hurried after him and ducked as I detected movement.

  Christian and Meredith stood in a small clearing, facing each other.

  I petted Meatball’s head. “Good boy! You found them.”

  He licked my hand.

  “This is a misunderstanding.” Christian’s words shot out of him. “I don’t know what evidence you’re talking about. Seb’s death was an accident.”

  “You’re wrong.” Meredith’s jaw looked tight.

  Christian raised a hand. “I understand this is a difficult day. It’s tough for me too. I was there at the lake. I saw it happen. Seb was my friend.”

  Meredith jabbed a finger at him. “You saw it happen, and you did nothing. The police showed me the reports. You goaded my son into swimming out of his depth and into danger.”

  “No! I mean, it was just a dare. We didn’t do it because we wanted to hurt him.” Christian ducked his head. “We all liked the guy.”

  “Sebastien told me he was bullied by you at school. He cried when I forced him to go back after the summer vacation. He said he couldn’t face it anymore. The pressure was too much. I didn’t listen. I insisted he go back. I sent him to his death. I sent him back to you and the people who were supposed to be his friends, and you killed him.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong. He just drowned.”

  “Sebastien didn’t even like to swim. He wouldn’t have been there if you and your gang of thugs hadn’t forced him into it.”

  “We’re not thugs.” Christian glared at her. “You haven’t got any evidence to prove otherwise. I’m sorry for your loss, but you’re out of line. I’m leaving. The note you sent me was clearly a bluff. I only came here because I was curious.”

  So that was why Christian had ended up here. Meredith must have guilted him into meeting her.

  “You’re guilty,” she said. “You coming here proves it. You’re worried I have something on you and you’ll finally go to prison, which is where you belong.”

  “I’m out of here,” Christian said. “I won’t say anything to the police on this occasion. I can see you’re not in your right mind. Maybe you should get some professional help, though.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.” Meredith pulled a hand out of her pocket. She was holding a gun.

  I gasped and stepped out from behind the tree I’d been using as cover. “Meredith! Stop!”

  “Holly! What are you doing here?” She kept the gun on Christian as her panicked gaze swept to me.

  “It was you, wasn’t it?” I inched closer. “You murdered Kendal.”

  Her hand shook as she lifted her chin and stared at me. “I’m sorry you’re taking the blame for that, but it’s your own fault. When you moved the spade in the back of my car, I didn’t have a chance to stop you. Before I could get rid of it, Campbell’s team took the tools and fingerprinted them. I should have burned it, destroyed the evidence, but in a way, it helped me.”

  “You mean, you framed me.”

  “Only by accident,” she said. “You’re a decent person, Holly. I didn’t want you implicated, but with the police looking at Izzie and then you, it gave me freedom to move around and plan my next move.”

  “What’s going on?” Christian stared at me. “Are you in on this as well?”

  I ignored him. “Meredith, don’t do this. I understand how angry you are, and—”

  “You understand nothing. Have you lost a child? Do you know what it feels like to have your heart ripped out because of the selfish actions of others? You have no clue what’s going on in my head. I tried to convince the police to continue investigating what happened to Sebastien, but they said it was an accident. They let his friends get away with what they’d done because of their privileged positions. That was wrong.”

  I lifted a hand. “I get it. You’re hurt and you want closure, but killing everyone who was at the lake that day isn’t the answer.”

  Christian snorted a surprised laugh. “Lady, you need your head looking at. You—”

  “You. Don’t. Talk!” Meredith waved the gun at him. “This is the perfect solution for me. I was numb for such a long time after Sebastien’s murder. I tried to rationalize it and convince myself that it was just one of those things. He was unlucky. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t true. I put it all together over time. Real friends wouldn’t have let that happen.”

  “Hold on,” Christian said. “It really was an accident. We all felt bad about it.”

  “Liar! Sebastien deserves justice. He should be here. Instead, my only child was taken from me by his callous friends.”

  “This won’t solve anything,” I said. “Sebastien should be remembered in a positive way. The memorial garden will do just that. He’d hate for his friends to be killed by his mom.”

  Meredith blinked rapidly and scrubbed a hand down her face. “He was all I had. It was always just the two of us. His father was obsessed with work and never had any free time. Sebastien filled that hole in my life. When he was taken, I had nothing left.”

  “You have your memories of him,” I said.

  “Memories! They’re not enough. I need to know I did everything I could to avenge his murder.”

  Christian sighed. “It wasn’t murder. You’re the only murderer around here.” He glanced at me. “Did this crazy woman really kill Kendal?”

  I shook my head at him. Now wasn’t the time to start name calling. The way Meredith’s arm was shaking, the gun could easily go off by accident.

  “You shouldn’t have followed me,” Meredith said. “You’re not a part of this. I was watching for the right time to deal with Lord Rupert and his friends.”

  “By separating them one by one and killing them all?” I said.

  “Kendal first. I never did like that snot-nosed brat. Sebastien told me he was the ring leader of all the bullying when they were at school.”

  “What about Rupert?” I asked. “You tried to get him with the buggy.”

  “I couldn’t miss the opportunity. When I saw him alone with his head in a book, he was asking for it.”

  “Then you wanted to kill Christian?” I asked.

  She nodded. “He’d always acted suspiciously over what had happened to Sebastien. I knew that if I sent him a note, he wouldn’t be able to resist coming to find out what I knew. That’s a clear sign of guilt.”

  “Wrong. It’s a sign that I cared about my old friend,” Christian said.

  “You’re all terrible people. Each of you deserves what’s coming to you.” Meredith lifted the gun and aimed it at Christian’s chest.

  He backed up a few steps. “Wait! Let’s talk about this. I can give you anything you want.”

  “I want my son back. Can you do that?” she snarled. “I thought not. Say goodbye.”

  A buzzing filled the air, and Meredith shrieked before her body convulsed.

  Campbell emerged from behind a tree, holding a Taser.

  Meredith groaned and slumped to the ground, the gun falling from her hand.

  “How did you know we were here?” I stammered as Campbell hurried over to Meredith, followed by several members of his security team.

  “Lord Rupert told me what was going on when he saw you running into the trees,” he said. “You should have told me about your hare-brained plan before you even attempted it.”

  “I ... I, well, I didn’t think you’d believe me. You thought I was guilty of murder.”

  He grun
ted as he secured Meredith’s arms behind her back. “Don’t worry, Holly Holmes, I heard everything. You’re in the clear.”

  Chapter 22

  My lungs burned as I pushed to the top of the hill, two crates of cupcakes secured in the trolley on the back and Meatball wagging his tail from his secured position in the basket.

  I zoomed past a row of pretty thatched cottages and inhaled the heady scent of honeysuckle. Who’d have thought, just two days ago, I was facing a murder charge? I’d also been faced with possible death, after foolishly confronting the woman who’d killed Kendal and attempted to murder Christian and Rupert.

  Everything had moved so fast since that frightening afternoon.

  I gasped as Rupert stepped out in front of me, his nose in a book. This time, I was ready. I dinged my bell and applied the brakes, coming to a stop just in time.

  He looked around and smiled, completely unaware he’d been in any danger. That seemed to be his default position. “Holly! What brings you out of the castle?”

  “Cake deliveries as usual,” I said. “Good book?”

  He held it up. “It was one of Sebastien’s favorites. I thought I’d revisit it since he’s been on my mind lately.”

  I wheeled the bike to the side of the road, hopped off, and walked alongside Rupert.

  He petted Meatball on the head. “Smitherington’s been updating me about the police investigation. Have you heard that Meredith’s confessed to everything?”

  I nodded. “She didn’t have much choice, not with so many witnesses overhearing her confession.”

  “You were brave, Holly, chasing after her like that,” Rupert said. “I wanted to come after you but didn’t want to panic the crowd. I cut my speech short, found Campbell, and told him everything. I know that wasn’t a part of the plan, but I was worried.”

  “Campbell filled me in after he’d marched Meredith away to the police. He also told me never to do anything as ridiculous as that again. I got a stern talking to. I’ve only just stopped shaking in fear.”