Lost Cause (A Daisy Dunlop Mystery ~ Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Daisy sat on the sofa and stared at the vision in a tux that stood the other side of the room. Solomon scrubbed up pretty well for a git. "Not bad but you should accessorize."

"How's that?"

She smiled. "I think a strawberry blonde in a sleek cream dress on your arm would be perfect."

"Sorry, Princess. No can do. I have no idea who'll be there, and I promised to keep you safe."

"They tried to blow you up too, remember?"

He ran a finger over the healing graze on his face. "I do remember. Don't tell me you're worried about me?"

"Nope. I couldn't care less."

He chuckled as he tugged his French cuffs so they showed just below the sleeves of his Givenchy jacket. "What time will Paul be over?"

"About ten, he said. He wants to make sure our house is locked up tight and no one is hanging around before heading out."

"You remember how to set the perimeter alarm and disarm it to let him in?"

"Yes. Stop fussing and get going or you'll be late."

"I don't want to be the first to arrive."

"You don't want to be the last either."

"If you need me you've got my new number in case I can't find my other phone at the car park."

"You do realize even if you do find your old phone there's every chance it's cooked to a crisp."

"True. You know where everything is. There are some dinners in the freezer you can reheat when you're hungry. What is it that you plan to do while I'm gone?"

"I'm going to do some research into that charity, Anthony the Abbot, and Jason Tyler. I can't help thinking about that poor man."

"Which man?"

"Stuart Bligh."

Solomon sat next to her on the sofa. "Why?"

"He lost his son and then died with everything he owned mortgaged to the hilt. Once the bank sells off the house and gets the proceeds of the property insurance their will only be the life insurance money. Instead of getting a sizeable inheritance the butler gets about ten grand, everything else goes to the charity. Stuart must have been worried sick about his debts. Do you think he killed himself?"

"The police found no sign of the fire being anything other than an accident."

"I wonder where all his money went?"

"It seems we've another mystery to solve, Princess."

"Do you think the missing money is related?"

"Undoubtedly. If you spend any time in this business you soon start to notice a pattern. Nearly everything comes down to sex or money.

Daisy sighed. "Or maybe sex and money. If he was still alive and the whole thing was a way to scam money from the insurance company, why give it to charity? It makes no sense."

"If it all made sense we'd be out of work, would we not?" Solomon glanced at his watch. "Now, I'd better get going. Will you be all right by yourself?"

"If I say no will you let me come with you? I could glam up in jiffy."

He chuckled. "Nope. As much as I'd love to see your particular version of glam, I'd cancel and stay home."

"In that case, I'll play Cinderella and stay here and you can go off and be Daniel Craig."

Solomon frowned. "What?"