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

someone had lain. It was stone cold.
    The furniture was old fashioned but in good condition and very elegant. Clothes were strewn across the floor. There was a dressing table with a comb, some aftershave, cufflinks, and a watch on it.  
    The cat was nowhere to be seen.
    “Here, puss.” I made the universal ‘ chchch’ call of cat summoning.  
    Nothing.  
    I checked under the bed for a pair of green eyes to flare out of the darkness.
    Again, nada. What I did spot was a pile of dirty laundry and what looked like a long red wig gathering dust and covered in cat hair. It probably made a really nice bed, but there wasn’t any sign of the occupant.
    The little gremlin was going to make me work for my good Samaritanhood. I guess it was instant karmic payback for breaking in—even though it was for a good cause.  
    I left the bedroom and continued down the hall. There was an office with a semi-tidy desk, a chair, and laptop, which was in ‘sleep mode’. I tapped the keyboard to wake it up. If the owner came back and found it on, he’d just think it was the cat.  
    As everyone knows, cats love nothing better than tap-dancing on computer keyboards. Alas, the screen it brought up was the login and I didn’t have time to sit and crack the password.  
    Finding the cat was first priority. I needed to put it outside if it didn’t have any food or water. I could hardly put food and water down for it. I mean, cats are smart, but they’re not great with can openers.  
    Growing more frustrated by the second, I headed out of the office. At the end of the corridor a stairway led down to the café.
    Halfway down the stairs I got a whiff of a sickly sweet smell I knew only too well. I braced myself and made my way through the dark, into the kitchen, where the smell was strongest.  
    Sitting there, beside the body of a man lying face down in what looked like a plateful of cake, was the ginger cat. It mewled pitifully at me as if to say: ‘It’s about time you caught up.’
    “Oh no,” I said, feeling my legs go cold at the sight of the body. I back-pedalled so fast that I hit the edge of the counter with my back.  
    A fancy glass award on the counter fell over, half scaring me to death.  
    I fumbled my phone and almost dropped it in a mop bucket, but caught it before it hit the murky water.  
    My hands were shaking, but I managed to dial Cole’s number. He’d know what to do, and I just needed to speak to him right now. The cat just sat there, watching me while I willed my boyfriend to pick up.  
    He didn’t. I could have screamed.  
    “Come on, you’re Harley Hill,” I told myself in a trembling voice. “You’re a sleuth, you’ve been here before, get a grip. This isn’t your first corpse.” I took a breath.
    Cole was probably up to his neck in the undercover operation in Manchester, so it was pointless trying him again.  
    Besides, he’d see my number when he checked his phone and get back to me when he could… I hoped.  
    Meanwhile, I had to tell someone about this. Unfortunately ‘I accidentally fell over a locked gate and into an upstairs window’ is a bit of a hard sell, as explanations go; believe me, I’ve tried. I was about to bang my head against the countertop when it came to me.  
    Alex! I could call Cordi’s ex-husband, Alex. He was a right royal pain in the butt and had broken Cordi’s heart, but he was a smart cop who had helped us out before, and I needed help right now.  
    I dialled his number and prayed that he’d pick up. It rang three times and then he answered.
    “Good evening, Ms. Hill. I wasn’t expecting a call from you. Are you ringing to tell me you’ve ditched that loser Cole Lockland? Or have you upset the Mafia again?”
    “Alex! Just listen to me,” I said, my voice shaking.
    He must have guessed something was wrong, as his teasing tone vanished instantly. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
    “No. I’m okay… kind of. I’ve got a problem, Alex. A big, dead