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  Copyright © Lovy Books Ltd, 2015

  S. Y. Robins has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

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  Cold Death

  Cozy Mystery

  S. Y. Robins

  About the Book

  When Callum Davidson’s ex-girlfriend Milly is found murdered in the hills behind Wirkster village, not far from his home or Milly’s, Callum is the first suspect. When he won’t reveal an alibi Milly’s plans for Christmas with Callum are in jeopardy. She must convince him to prove his innocence, to tell the police where he was the night of the murder or he faces a lifetime in prison.

  Rather than face leaving his young nephew alone in the world Callum finally sees sense and reveals he has an alibi but even that doesn’t stop the chaos that is Milly and Callum’s life now. Someone, Maria’s real murder perhaps, is stalking Milly and their plans threaten not only Milly’s life but her beloved cat Edgar. Milly must find out who the murderer is, before it’s too late and the murderer ruins not only her Christmas plans but the rest of her life…

  Chapter One

  Milly Dupont laughed with glee as her two terriers Daisy and Mildred chased each other, tumbling over rocks and nipping tails. Edgar, her very black cat was still too civilized for such games, or so the disdainful flick of his tail seemed to say. Edgar carried on over the edge of the pile of rocks, investigating there. Walking in the hills was now a morning routine for Milly and her pets, despite the cold, though Milly didn’t keep them out as long when there was snow on the ground. She worried about the paws of her three friends and checked each one when they went back home. Today was clear, however, the sun shining for a change and Milly was looking forward to decorating her shop for the coming Christmas season.

  Milly held her face up to the oncoming wind, her dark-brown hair flying out behind her. She’d had her curly hair straightened, and it now reached well below her shoulder blades. Over the last few months of walking with the dogs she’d lost weight, and she’d also gone from wearing rather strange long skirts and frumpy sweaters, to form-fitting jeans and tighter sweaters, but she’d kept her glasses. Contacts just made her want to pull her own eyes out so she’d kept her glasses. She hadn’t changed much, really, but she made more of an effort now and as the winter months blew in, the colour added to her cheeks from the cold had more than one single man noticing Milly for the first time.

  Unlike some of the other major stores in the area surrounding Wirkster, Milly and her fellow business owners waited until the first day of December to put up any decorations. She loved this time of year; the cold air, the warm coats and fuzzy scarves, the parties and celebrations. People came together, of course, in the summer months but winter just seemed to draw people even closer together. Milly had no family of her own, but she was often invited to the homes of friends, and this year Callum and Jake were coming over to her flat for Christmas dinner.

  Callum lived in the flat beside Milly’s and helped to run the corner shop below. He was also Milly’s very best friend now, and secretly, her crush. Perhaps not so secretly anymore, she pondered. She’d given him enough signals now that he should know she was interested. Especially now that he’d broken up with Maria, finally, this time swearing it was for good. Callum had broken it off with the woman a couple of months ago, soon after Callum and Milly saved his nephew Jake from a couple of lunatics that had moved to the area. Callum told Milly that he’d run out of patience with Maria’s constant disappearing acts, especially at times when he really needed his partner around, so he’d broken it off with her. Milly had privately done a little dance in her kitchen after that discovery.

  Milly looked down at her watch and then called for the dogs, it was time to head home. Walking over to Edgar, still piddling around behind the rocks with only his tail visible, she planned on nudging him back in the direction of the shop but stopped when she saw the way his tail danced as he circled around something. The movements of his tail were mesmerizing, similar to a snake being charmed out of its basket. She’d only seen his tail doing that when he found something he wanted her to see. It usually ended with the police being involved and she didn’t know if she could cope with another bad experience. She’d had two in the last four months; one more might send her over the edge of sanity.

  Brushing off the instant panic and the notion that she’d lose her mind, Milly braced herself and walked over to see what was hidden behind the rocks. When she came to the top of the pile and looked down she wished she’d followed her first instinct and run; there was a body down there, and she looked familiar.

  Sighing heavily, she looked down at the body, stunned into doing absolutely nothing. Another body, this one was Maria, Callum’s ex. Milly watched as Edgar noticed her then moved close to Maria’s left hand, something glinted there in the sunlight as Edgar nudged it. Jumping down Milly saw that it was a ring and picked it up. She recognized that too. It was Callum’s. Releasing another heavy sigh, Milly took out her mobile and dialled the numbers that would once again turn her life upside down and involve her in an investigation. If you had any sense, she thought, you’d just turn around and walk off home, go on, do it. But Milly dismissed the notion knowing she couldn’t leave anyone up here on this hill, even if it was Maria, the local wild child and attention seeker. It looked like this was going to be the last spectacle the woman made of herself, Milly thought as she waited to be transferred to Detective Barnes, well, until her funeral anyway.

  Getting back to the shop late that morning, Milly thought over what she’d learned so far. Maria had been killed by a blow to the head, and the detectives thought Callum was their man. Milly had left his ring there, knowing that Callum had given the ring to Maria at her request a few months into their relationship. Apparently the police thought the ring’s presence and the fact that they’d dated, but had broken it off, was enough to convince Detective Barnes, and her new partner, Detective Mills. Detective Barnes seemed to have taken a dislike to Callum a few months ago when she’d suspected Callum had killed his employer. It wasn’t going to be easy for him this time either. She knew he’d gone out of town last night but didn’t know if she could prove that, other than by her testimony and his nephew Jake’s that he’d not been home all night.

  Milly’s jaw clenched as she watched the detectives’ car pull up outside of her shop and then as the detectives disappeared inside the corner shop. They soon came out with Callum in hand, and ushered him to the car. The tall man had a hard time ducking into the low police car but he managed to finally get s
ettled in. He stared out the window at Milly as the detectives moved around the car, each settling into their own seat.

  She watched the car drive away and thought about what she knew so far. There’d been rumours that Maria was seeing someone new but Milly hadn’t had any confirmation of that. She’d heard one of the old biddies that wandered up the hill when they saw emergency services coming up telling Detective Barnes that. It was another reason they were suspicious of Callum. Milly had to admit that she’d often read that victims of violent crimes were often assaulted by someone they knew. Callum had been away most of the night and he had a motive for killing Maria. But that motive wasn’t strong enough for him to actually kill Maria, she told herself. Callum couldn’t possibly do such a thing. Murder simply wasn’t who Callum was, not at all.

  Milly was standing at her window watching the car disappear up the road as Jake came running into the shop, straight into Milly’s arm. Perhaps a bit out of character for a 15-year-old but this was a 15-year-old that had just watched as his uncle was taken away by the police, the only guardian the boy really had, as his mother was still in America, gallivanting all over the country with her new husband. Milly was also a friend, a confidant, and had helped to free him when those lunatics kidnapped him two months earlier. They had a special bond and when he ran in, Milly opened her arms wide to take the boy into her embrace.

  “Why are they doing this, Milly? Uncle Callum would never hurt Maria, not like they say he did! He’d never hurt a woman!” The boy allowed anger to replace his shock and fear and swiped angrily at the tears that had escaped his eyes as he stepped away from Milly.

  “I know Jake, I know. I’m going to call a solicitor now, see what they can do for our man there. Don’t you worry, you can stay with me until we can sort this out and get Callum out of that place. Come now, have a cake and a cuppa, that’ll make you feel better. Sit down here, I’ll pour you a cup.” Milly got Jake settled and made the phone calls it required to hire a solicitor.

  The solicitor could make no promises but Milly had hope he might be home soon enough. That’s all she could promise Jake for now, just a little bit of hope. Jake helped her out in the shop for the rest of the day and then they watched as the rest of the shops and homeowners in town began to decorate their homes for the coming Christmas season. Milly had to wipe a tear away herself as the local council lit the village Christmas tree. That was supposed to be Callum’s job but Thomas, the corner shop’s new owner, stood in for him.

  Milly had all of the lights off in the shop, having closed early, and she and Jake stood with an arm wrapped around each other, watching the fairy lights come on in each house. Then snow started to fall and Milly had to walk away. This had started out as such a wonderful, hope-filled day and then it went right downhill. Milly tried to hide her upset from Jake, the boy was upset enough and she wanted to be strong for him but the sight of the snow nearly broke her. She’d had dreams of Callum kissing her under the streetlights with the snow falling just like that and now he was so far out of reach she couldn’t even talk to him, much less kiss him.

  Over the last few weeks she’d begun to have some hope that Callum had come to see her as more than just a friend. Little moments that may not have actually meant anything at all but meant the world to Milly. She knew what she wanted for Christmas this year and his acceptance of her offer for dinner was all the gift she’d needed. Now she didn’t know if that was going to happen or not. She’d just have to wait and see how things went. Turning off the lights she walked up the stairs with Jake, offered him a bedroom, and then they watched television until they both went to bed, their hopes dashed for the day as they knew it was far too late now for the solicitor to get Callum out of the grasp of the police tonight. Maybe tomorrow, Milly thought as she turned off her bedside lamp and cuddled with Daisy and Mildred. Edgar was with Jake in his room, the two curled into each other, sleeping soundly.

  Chapter Two

  Milly woke the next morning and for the first time since she’d had the dogs, she didn’t take them up to the hills. Edgar wasn’t even with them this morning, still snuggled with Jake, as the dogs ran and pranced at the park. Milly made sure to clean up after them, then took them back to the shop, letting them back into her flat. She knew Jake was up when she came back but he hadn’t come downstairs so she chose some music to put in a playlist, connected her mobile to her speakers, and began the process of making tea cakes and other assorted pastries that would go in her shop.

  Normally Milly blasted a rather eclectic assortment of music that she sang and danced around her kitchen to, the routine an outlet, almost therapy for her. This morning she just didn’t have the heart for it, her thoughts constantly on Callum and wondering what he’d woken to. Milly had no experience with jail; she’d never been in trouble so she didn’t know if it was the same as the shows and films she’d seen where men were constantly in danger from other prisoners or if he was in a cell on his own. She’d barely slept a wink, worrying all night about Callum.

  Realizing she’d been stood at the sink for several minutes washing the same cup, Milly shook herself and decided that she was not going to lose herself in melancholy. No, it was time to be proactive. Shifting her playlist to her normal fare she cranked the music up, took a batch of cakes that had been cooling on a rack and put them on the table and began her morning ritual. Milly, aware that Jake was upstairs, didn’t belt out the songs as she normally did but she gave them a good kicking as she applied fruits and toppings to the cakes. She swung her hips and pumped her fists, screaming “more, more, more,” along with the song she was listening to, in between decorating, and eventually lost herself in her task. That is until someone shouted her name loudly and broke the spell.

  Dropping a handful of fresh raspberries and screeching as she turned, Milly turned several shades of red to see Jake standing there, losing the battle to not laugh.

  “Well, you know lad, you could try a little harder to hide that laugh, and it is not nice to laugh at the elderly, my boy!” Milly said with a stern smile.

  “Oh Milly, I think it’s wonderful! I’m not laughing at you; I’m just enjoying watching you enjoy your tasks! No wonder Callum stands out in the yard each morning looking so pleased with the world! And you aren’t old, Milly, you’re far from old in fact.” Jake said as he came in, ignoring Milly’s shocked countenance as he pinched a rudely decorated cake.

  “That’s only an accident, you can have that one. I usually save those back. Callum stands out each morning watching me?” Milly told herself they were accidents but deep down she knew she did the cakes on purpose. She also wanted to know more about Callum watching her. He’d once alluded to her dancing and she had thought he perhaps had caught her once or twice but she had no idea he watched her every morning!

  “Yes, he does. He hears you taking the animals out then he goes down, makes a coffee and some breakfast, then he goes out and sits in the garden, even when there’s snow, to watch you, apparently. I’d wondered what had his attention so often over here, now I know.” The boy smothered a giggle and went to the front to prepare a cup of tea for them both.

  Milly finished her tasks but she couldn’t get it out of her mind. Imagine, Callum watching her through the windows every morning! Well, she was just going to have to put up some curtains, she told herself, or maybe not.

  Milly was rushed off her feet that morning with villagers, locals, and some not so locals coming in to trade gossip about Callum and Maria. The one thing that had been at the back of Milly’s mind but hadn’t fully come to the forefront was finally brought home as she listened to the conversations going on around her; if Callum did not murder Maria, who exactly did? Milly was certain there were plenty of wives that may have held grudges against the tall, lean, blonde-haired woman that made it her life’s work to attract so much attention, but Milly couldn’t think of one off hand. Maria may have been a lot of things but she wasn’t the type to sleep with another woman’s husband, not in her own village at lea
st.

  The most important thing Milly learned over the course of the morning was that every one of the villagers believed Callum was innocent, even with the evidence stacking up against him. There was no doubt amongst any of them that Callum was an innocent man. They knew his alibi was shaky but Callum wasn’t the type. Lots of people went out of town for the evening with no real proof, or no proof that they cared to admit to, that they’d been and come back. People had their own private reasons for going out of town and they were all sure Callum had a good one, even if he didn’t explain it publicly. The villagers, like Milly, had no idea who would have murdered Maria, however.

  Around 11 that morning Milly received a phone call from the solicitor, he’d arranged a time for her to meet with Callum but she needed to get down to the station quickly. Milly put a closed sign on her shop door, with an explanation that she would be reopening later that day, and then she and Jake were off to the station to see Callum. They were told straightaway that Jake would not be able to see his uncle but Milly would be allowed to go in. As they waited for someone to take her through to Callum, Milly spoke with the solicitor.

  “Have they charged him?” She asked, knowing that they could only hold him for 96 hours, at the most, if he wasn’t charged. She’d spent some time on the internet last night to brush up on all of this.

  “No, not yet. They’re waiting for a report from the medical examiner. I’m working on getting him released, however, if he’d just tell them what he was doing on the night of Maria’s death we might be able to get him out more quickly.” The solicitor, Mr. Barrows, told Milly, sounding frustrated.

  “He’s still not told them? I don’t care if he was up to his ears in floozies that night, he needs to tell them!” Milly said, becoming miffed with Callum. Stubborn man.