Murder in the Cake: Cozy Murder Mystery (Harley Hill Mysteries Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

years. Just seeing his caller ID on my phone gave me a buzz of excitement.  
    “Hey, you,” I said.
    “Hey you back. How are you? Michael called; he told me you bailed on the trip, that you were concerned about some little street kid. Is everything alright, love?”
    “Yeah, it’s fine. Better than fine, actually; well, now it is. It was pretty crap, but then it got better… It’s a long story.”
    He laughed. “Er, yeah, sounds like it,” he said. “I take it you found her, then?”
    “Like just now!” I said. “We drove all over London, and when we got back, she was outside the house and then I went over and I said—” I was so excited and relieved, words tumbled out of my mouth like marbles.
    “Okay, okay. I’m glad you found her. But, hey, listen.” He lowered his voice. “I can’t talk now. We’ve got a lead on this painting thing. Me and the team are going on an op. I just wanted to let you know that if everything goes well, I’ll be back tomorrow and that I’m happy you’re okay and that…” His words drifted off; he sounded strained.
    “Cole?” I prompted. “What’s up, what’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, hun, nothing. We just need to talk,” he said. In the background, I heard someone call Cole’s name.  
    “Listen, babe, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
    “Love you!” I said, but the line had already gone dead.  
    I went inside, wondering what kind of decisions he meant. Whatever it was, I didn’t like how he sounded. A hundred dark thoughts leapt to mind. Most prominent of all was, had he met someone else?  
    I put the phone back in my pocket, straightened my hair in the hallway mirror, and put a smile on my face. I’d have to shelve my worries for now and focus on the task at hand: helping young Chloe find her dad.

Chapter Four

    After a big dose of tea and cake and sympathy, we discussed how we’d go about looking for Chloe’s dad and generally reassured her that it wasn’t a bother and that we were very happy to help.  
    She looked totally done in, so Michael and Cordi made her a bed up on the sofa in the living room and she turned in. She was soon joined by the dynamite duo of Max and Monty, who after their respective nightly walk and prowl were ready for another twelve hours hard sleeping.  
    I was tired and left Cordi and Michael sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of wine, talking about TV in the ’80s and their favourite band. I half expected him to make her a mix tape before long. It was cute, in a middle-aged kind of way.  
    After a shower I hit the sack. I was shattered, but the deep and dreamless sleep I’d expected didn’t come. My night was instead filled with stressy dreams of going shopping without any clothes on and Cole and my parents sitting down to dinner, only my parents didn’t have faces and… Yeah, weird city. After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, I got up. I could smell that someone was cooking something, but couldn’t quite place what it was. I staggered downstairs and into the kitchen like a coffee zombie.
    “Morning, Harley!” said Chloe, pan in hand. She had flour on her face, but she looked all freshly scrubbed and was wearing some of Cordi’s old clothes.  
    Unlike me, she had gone for something less goth and more hippie. She was wearing a pair of multicoloured baggy trousers and a wide-sleeved floral top. Her hair was damp and curling around her cute little face. “I made pancakes, and there’s a pot of fresh coffee on.”
    “You’ve made something,” I said as I staggered over to the coffee maker and poured me a cup of black gold. Man, it tasted good. The pancakes, however… They were not what one would call round, and quite a lot of them were decorating the cooker. I imagined that several had already ended up on the floor, which was why Max and Monty were sitting beside the cooker with their eyes glued on Chloe, or the bringer of undercooked dough-based product as she is known in their