CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 7
Missed the start? Click here to read from episode 1

Liv was silent as they walked back. Patrick Fell didn’t seem to notice. He talked all the time, but it was more like thinking aloud than conversation. She caught phrases: borrow a car, sequence of events, intruders, enemy. But he neither asked nor seemed to expect her to respond.

The entrance of the multi-storey car park held a tall Christmas tree, hung with multi-coloured lights that blinked on and off. Liv thought it looked gallant but forlorn among the discarded shopping trolleys. Patrick ignored it and the sign to the  lifts. He took the stairs, still talking.

Liv followed, her thoughts tumbling over each other. Could she trust him? Rosa trusted him but Rosa wasn’t being followed by persons unknown. Did she know him really well? Better than Liv did, anyway?

Above all, why did he take this case? They hadn’t discussed payment. OK, Liv had been anxious, off-balance, not thinking straight. But surely Patrick should have told her his terms of business? Wasn’t that the first thing that a bona fide private detective would have done? Now she thought about it, it felt all wrong. Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 6
Missed the start? Click here to read from episode 1

“Good morning,” said Patrick Fell, standing on the doorstep at a respectful distance. He was wearing a snazzy black and white checkerboard mask. You could still see the charming smile in his eyes, currently bent on a visibly melting Mrs Christoforou. “I am expected, I understand. About a car?”

Mr Christoforou, so far from melting, was reverberating slightly. He reminded Liv of a five foot eight thistle with a spine of steel. He said, “Name?”

“Patrick Fell.”

They eyeballed each other, muscular man in jeans and work shirt with sleeves rolled up versus man in designer casual and cashmere coat. Patrick Fell’s charm took on a faint hint of challenge. Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 5
Missed the start? Click here to read from episode 1

The next morning Liv had an early breakfast. Her phone buzzed while she was waiting for coffee. All the other tables in the dining room were empty so she took the call. It was from Rosa.

“I’ve been thinking,” said her friend, without so much as a good morning. “I’m sure it’s not all in your imagination. But I can see why you might be worried. So you must start keeping a diary. Nothing fancy. Just log where you go and who you talk to plus any suspicious sightings.”

Liv reeled a bit. She wasn’t used to a stream of instruction from Rosa. Or anyone except Francis, she thought wryly. And even he had let up somewhat since he left.

“Run that by me again?” she said, with only the faintest irony in her tone. “I didn’t expect to take notes.”

Rosa chuckled. “Sorry. Bit of an info dump there.” She repeated the list more slowly. “That’s what the police advise.” Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 4
Missed the start? Click here to read from episode 1

Liv hardly recognised Carlo’s. The old pizzeria had expanded to absorb the shop next door and there was a glass conservatory at the back. The cheery red-checked tablecloths had gone, replaced by white starch. And the tables were as far apart as the stars.

But Rosa was sitting in their old corner. She looked just the same, hair slightly greyer, but the jewel-coloured cashmere scarf was unmistakable. Today it was emerald. She waved a hand as she saw Liv in the doorway.

Liv went over and sat down opposite her. “What happened to this place?” Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 3
Missed the start? Click here to read from epsode 1

The hotel receptionist beckoned as Liv went past the desk.

“Oh, Mrs Rossignol. A lady left a message for you.” She handed it over with a beaming professional smile. The envelope was in a sealed plastic bag. Rather like the receptionist, who was wearing a clear plastic full-face visor and what looked like full Hollywood make-up behind it.

“Thank you,” said Liv. “Are you uncomfortable in that thing?”

The girl looked surprised at being asked, then smiled more naturally. “You get used to it. My skin prickles after a long shift. But hey, that’s what moisturiser’s for, isn’t it? And I’m lucky to have a job.”

“Yes,” said Liv. “This virus makes me count my blessings every day.”

In her suite, she slid the envelope out of its plastic protections. She knew who it was from without even opening it. The beautiful Italic script was unmistakable. Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 2
Missed Episode 1? Click here to read from the start

Liv froze. She could feel her heart thumping, like hammer blows from inside her rib cage.

A grey van was parked two spaces behind her. The driver sat frowning over his phone. Not the first grey van today. Or in the last few days, either.

Or was that her imagination? She couldn’t be sure. For some reason that made her heart beat even harder.

Am I losing my mind? Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS MYSTERY by Sophie Weston: EPISODE 1

There was fog over the rooftops when Liv looked out from her bedroom window for the last time. She kind of loved this view of her bit of London. Like Mary Poppins and her sweep, she saw Victorian chimneys, with a distant church tower and, even further away, a block of Edwardian apartments.

There was often a light in that distant top floor. Not this morning. Everything was dark. As dark and cold as the soon-to-be-deserted bedroom, waiting to be emptied of all that she’d not already got rid of. More like Scrooge than Mary Poppins, thought Liv, wryly.

The sky was getting lighter by the minute, behind the fog. Time to go then.

She turned her back on the rooftops. A nice memory. One of the few. Continue reading →