Murder in the Cake: Cozy Murder Mystery (Harley Hill Mysteries Book 4) by Kennedy Chase Read Free Book Online

I’m doing science.’ I was about to give Chloe a pep talk when Michael popped his head around the door. He looked worried.
    “Can I have a word with you in private, Harley?”
    “Sure,” I said.
    I followed him down the corridor to his room, leaving Chloe to show Cordi the delights of online shopping. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    He shuffled and ran a hand over his close-cropped head. “Mum called me while you were out. She said…” He looked uneasy.
    “Go on.” A knot tightened in my gut.
    “Since we couldn’t go see them, they’ve decided to come here.”
    I was stunned. “When?” was all I could manage to say. My mind whirled. The mix of emotions completely rocked me. Was I happy, scared, excited, angry or just plain old confused? I didn’t know.
    “Next week.”
    “Next week! I… I’m not, I can’t…” I shook my head. I was trembling. Where was Cole when I needed him?
    Michael reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
    “Sure, yes, of course,” I lied. It felt like the walls were closing in on me. “I… It’s just a shock.”
    “Is there anything I can do?” His concern was touching.
    “No. I mean thanks, but no. I need to go for a walk, clear my head, and sort my thoughts out. Can you tell the others where I’ve gone?”
    “Sure. Do you want any company?”
    “No. I’ll be fine,” I said as I made my way down the stairs to the front door. I had to get out; it felt stuffy in there. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.  
    I grabbed my leather jacket and super-long scarf and ran out of the house and into the cold evening, trying to calm the storm in my head.

Chapter Six

    Evening was drawing a veil over London when I left the house and ran until I couldn’t run any more.  
    The avenues, streets and back alleyways went by in a blur.  
    Eventually I stopped running and put my back to a wall as the sodium yellow streetlights brightened the gloomy evening. When I caught my breath, I thrust my hands into my pockets and started to walk.
    I felt guilty because underneath it all I think I realised that I hadn’t bailed on going to America just for Chloe.  
    Now that they were coming over, I knew that part of the reason I’d missed the flight was because I was scared. And boy, did I hate to admit this, even to myself.  
    I’d gone toe-to-toe with crazy murderers and gangland thugs, but I was scared of meeting my own parents.  
    Tears stung my eyes. I scrubbed them away with the back of my hand. Great, I thought. I feel crap and now I’m going to look crap. I stopped, wiped my nose, and looked up.  
    Somehow my mindless run, followed by an equally mindless amble had brought me back to Café H.The nice tee-shirt shop was closed, the shutters down and locked.
    The café was lit by a streetlight but was otherwise in darkness.  
    To the side of the café, between it and another shop, was a gated entryway. I pretended I was on my phone while I checked it out. It was a double gate with a side door, both of which were locked.  
    There were spikes on the top of the gate, but this was a good thing as far as someone like me was concerned. A pair of nice old gateposts stood either side of the modern gate.  
    I looked around. The street was really quiet, not a soul around in this time between the daytime city closing down and the night-time city waking up. I took a run up, grabbed the top of the left-hand gatepost, put my foot against it, and propelled myself up onto the post.  
    My adrenaline was pumping now and I found it easy to climb over the gate while avoiding the spikes. I dropped down on the other side and got out my trusty lock picks that I carried everywhere out of habit  
    Sure, it sounds a little backwards, but it’s quicker jumping up and climbing over than standing on the street picking a lock.  
    From this side, I could stand behind the gatepost, pick the lock, and have not only an excuse as to why I was on this side— the gate was open and I