The Missing Party-Girl: A Rags-to-Riches Cozy Mystery Romance by Nhys Glover (read after .txt) 📗

the Met about getting access to the files over drinks at the club. I didn’t think anyone would be listening. People tend to mind their own businesses at gentlemen’s clubs. Many deals are made over a few drinks there. But if Winsley got the files ahead of you, then unless one of his men leaked the information, it probably happened then. I will be more circumspect from now on. Winsley is turning out to be rather a nuisance.”

“Nuisance? He nearly killed my dog! That’s more than a nuisance. And he was heard saying he’d never let me get my hands on his money. He was ranting about it to some tech specialist over the phone, while he was in the village.”

“The videos are not stored anywhere a techie could find them. And you said you’ve hidden yours, so I think we’re safe in that regard,” Hugo assured Adie.

“I know. The point I was making is that he’s not going to stop. He thinks of the money as his, and he’ll do anything to stop me getting my hands on it. Bribing and threatening possible leads is only the beginning.”

“I understand, Adie. I do. And I apologize again for Minerva’s poor judgment. This is turning out to be far less fun that she wanted it to be.”

“It’s nerve-wracking, I’ll give you that. But we seem to be getting somewhere, which I didn’t expect. So it’s actually not too bad. I can’t say I’m enjoying it, but it is engrossing.”

“Good, good, that’s the ticket. I’ll start looking into this Roland Hughes immediately and get back to you. I assume he’s in his seventies or eighties, if he’s still alive?”

“Born in 1944 and his Wikipee entry gives no date of death. Not that Wikipee is always accurate.”

“Wikipedia, I assume you mean? I have little knowledge of it. I will use more conventional methods to get answers.”

Those answers came that afternoon.

Adie had made the most of the nice weather to take Jig for a long walk, before confining herself to the front bedroom with her pictures of furniture that correlated with the descriptions on the receipts. Her walk in the cold spring sunshine had given her just the energy boost she needed to get back to it. As the hours passed, so did the number of stickers that appeared on tables, closets and armoires.

The cell phone rang just as Adie began to flag again and was thinking of another boost of caffeine to keep her going.

The staccato ring tone had her following the sound with hasty steps. She found Cage in the kitchen, working on his laptop, Jig at his feet. As soon as he saw her, he moved the phone from his ear to the table

On speaker phone yet again, Cage exchanged greetings with Hugo and asked if there was any news.

“Have you ever heard of the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford? I expect not,” Hugo said. “Your Roland Hughes has. He’s a big supporter of the museum, thanks to his shares in Microsoft. He was asked to open a new exhibit there this coming weekend. He’ll be staying at the Morville Apartments Friday night. I’ve arranged for you to meet him in the boutique wine bar next door at 6 pm. The drinks will be on you.”

“Did you tell him what we want?” Cage asked.

“No, I kept it general. I said you were the niece of Minerva and she had mentioned him to you just before her death. It piqued his curiosity. And his pride. Minerva was well known in social circles. The fact she spoke of him to you makes him feel special.” Hugo’s cynical grunt made it clear how ‘special’ he considered the man.

“Thanks, Hugo. If we find anything out, we’ll let you know,” Adie said.

“The sooner the better. I want Winsley to lose. It’s not good sportsmanship to try to rig the game.”

Adie laughed as Cage hung up. Sportsmanship didn’t seem to have anything to do with what they were doing. And if the old boys club was involved, then it was never going to be fair.

Chapter 14

By Friday, Adie was a bag of nerves. They were getting close, she knew it. She could taste it. The only problem she could see was whether Roland Hughes would own up to his crimes just because they asked it of him.

Cage hired a town car to take them to Bradford, which was only 15 miles away. Dressed as they were, they didn’t want to fight commuters heading home from work.

Adie had dressed up for the occasion, determined to look the part of Minerva’s niece, a multi-million dollar heiress. Her classic knee-length black sheath was low cut enough to make her look sexy but still classy. And she fitted into it easily, without the help of constraining underwear.

She’d had to fight the urge to wear Georgie’s mink coat. Even though she swore she’d never support the fur trade by wearing such a thing in public, it had felt right to wear Georgie’s to meet her ex-boyfriend. But good sense and morality won out. Instead, she topped the little black cocktail dress off with a cashmere coat of silver grey.

Wearing her hair loose was what she did to please Cage. Several times during the journey into the city she caught him about to touch one long, brown lock. It attracted his eye as much as her cleavage did. Female pride bolstered her nerves.

The upscale wine bar occupied part of the first floor of a grand old Victorian building. Wonderful polished stone columns occupied the atrium, which was now the entry to a complex of boutique stores.

An old fashioned frosted glass door led off the atrium into the wine bar. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Adie was accosted by an old world charm that perfectly matched the rest of the restored