And The Earth Moved: Romantic Comedy Cozy Mystery (Amber Reed CCIA Mystery Book 1) by Zanna Mackenzie Page A
Authors: Zanna Mackenzie
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the edge then?” I ask.
Charlie shakes his head. “Surprisingly there was no trace of drugs or alcohol in his bloodstream.”
I chew at the side of my mouth, thinking before replying. “So he just lost his footing and it was all an accident not murder?”
“Could still be possible. It would help if we could ascertain why he was up there and if he was alone or not.”
“Could it be suicide do you think? From the stuff in the newspapers about him and the odd times Ennis has mentioned him I think Joel had what you could definitely call a troubled life.”
Charlie shrugs. “At the moment it could still be anything – murder, an accident or suicide. We’re not ruling anything out. Forensics suggest he wasn’t in a fight up on the edge of the quarry but there’s still a lot of questions unanswered. There was no note or anything signposting it as a suicide but not everyone leaves that kind of stuff to make it obvious they took their own lives.”
I step back to try and increase the distance between myself and Charlie and accidentally put my foot through a box of crisps. This storeroom combined with his close proximity is making me feel all claustrophobic, not to mention hot and bothered.
“Are you all right?” Charlie instantly closes the gap I just created, reaching for my arm to steady me as I try to pull my foot out of the box.
“I’m fine,” I huff, shaking off the crumpled box and pressing myself as far back from Charlie as I can.
“So far Ennis and Siobhan appear to be the only people in the area with motive but they didn’t have opportunity,” he continues. “The gates at the house have CCTV cameras. We’ve checked the footage now and no cars went through the gates going out on the night of Joel’s death other than Joel’s own car. Ennis and Siobhan both originally said, when first interviewed by the police, separately as well, that they spent a quiet night in together. He said he was watching some football on TV and she said she had a long soak in the bath. Now we know they didn’t leave the house, at least not in a car and not via the main gates. His security is pretty tight up there so there don’t appear to be any other entry or exit points besides the main gates.”
“So that’s why they’re still on the suspects list? Because, during the brief time they were apart, one of them could have climbed over a wall or something?” I ask incredulously.
“They’re still on the list because we don’t have anybody else at the moment and because they were technically out of sight of each other for a while which lessens their provision of an alibi for each other. That’s about the lot at the moment though. So far we don’t know of Joel having any contact with anybody else in the area since he arrived at his brother’s place. We also don’t have any reported sighting of Joel after he left Ennis’ house that night. Nobody saw him in a pub or restaurant. Not yet anyway. Questioning is still going on. Albeit in a discreet fashion. ”
“Ennis would never try to do away with his own brother, no matter how much aggro Joel caused him in the media,” I say indignantly.
“People can do strange things if they have a lot to lose. Joel might have been blackmailing Ennis, threatening to reveal some deep dark family secret that could ruin Ennis’ career for good, so he decides to push him off a cliff. Stranger things have happened.”
“No,” I say resolutely. “I know him and he wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Service!”
“I have to go,” I say, trying to squeeze past him in the narrow corridor between the boxes. “Somebody wants a drink.”
I walk back into the pub, closely followed by Charlie, acutely aware of how this must look, the two of us appearing out of a cupboard together. Liam, who must have been the one who shouted, is leaning on the bar. He sees me and smiles but it turns to a scowl when he notices Charlie exiting the store cupboard behind me. “Hey, Amber. Love
Charlie shakes his head. “Surprisingly there was no trace of drugs or alcohol in his bloodstream.”
I chew at the side of my mouth, thinking before replying. “So he just lost his footing and it was all an accident not murder?”
“Could still be possible. It would help if we could ascertain why he was up there and if he was alone or not.”
“Could it be suicide do you think? From the stuff in the newspapers about him and the odd times Ennis has mentioned him I think Joel had what you could definitely call a troubled life.”
Charlie shrugs. “At the moment it could still be anything – murder, an accident or suicide. We’re not ruling anything out. Forensics suggest he wasn’t in a fight up on the edge of the quarry but there’s still a lot of questions unanswered. There was no note or anything signposting it as a suicide but not everyone leaves that kind of stuff to make it obvious they took their own lives.”
I step back to try and increase the distance between myself and Charlie and accidentally put my foot through a box of crisps. This storeroom combined with his close proximity is making me feel all claustrophobic, not to mention hot and bothered.
“Are you all right?” Charlie instantly closes the gap I just created, reaching for my arm to steady me as I try to pull my foot out of the box.
“I’m fine,” I huff, shaking off the crumpled box and pressing myself as far back from Charlie as I can.
“So far Ennis and Siobhan appear to be the only people in the area with motive but they didn’t have opportunity,” he continues. “The gates at the house have CCTV cameras. We’ve checked the footage now and no cars went through the gates going out on the night of Joel’s death other than Joel’s own car. Ennis and Siobhan both originally said, when first interviewed by the police, separately as well, that they spent a quiet night in together. He said he was watching some football on TV and she said she had a long soak in the bath. Now we know they didn’t leave the house, at least not in a car and not via the main gates. His security is pretty tight up there so there don’t appear to be any other entry or exit points besides the main gates.”
“So that’s why they’re still on the suspects list? Because, during the brief time they were apart, one of them could have climbed over a wall or something?” I ask incredulously.
“They’re still on the list because we don’t have anybody else at the moment and because they were technically out of sight of each other for a while which lessens their provision of an alibi for each other. That’s about the lot at the moment though. So far we don’t know of Joel having any contact with anybody else in the area since he arrived at his brother’s place. We also don’t have any reported sighting of Joel after he left Ennis’ house that night. Nobody saw him in a pub or restaurant. Not yet anyway. Questioning is still going on. Albeit in a discreet fashion. ”
“Ennis would never try to do away with his own brother, no matter how much aggro Joel caused him in the media,” I say indignantly.
“People can do strange things if they have a lot to lose. Joel might have been blackmailing Ennis, threatening to reveal some deep dark family secret that could ruin Ennis’ career for good, so he decides to push him off a cliff. Stranger things have happened.”
“No,” I say resolutely. “I know him and he wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Service!”
“I have to go,” I say, trying to squeeze past him in the narrow corridor between the boxes. “Somebody wants a drink.”
I walk back into the pub, closely followed by Charlie, acutely aware of how this must look, the two of us appearing out of a cupboard together. Liam, who must have been the one who shouted, is leaning on the bar. He sees me and smiles but it turns to a scowl when he notices Charlie exiting the store cupboard behind me. “Hey, Amber. Love
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