Mistletoe’s Kiss

17. Chapter 17

17

Chapter 17

“Evil is not something superhuman, it’s something less then human.”

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

T hey were about to investigate yet another bedroom when they heard a woman’s voice coming around a bend just ahead of them.

“Hello? Helen, Jude?” Maddy shouted.

“Maddy? It’s Helen. I’ve been wandering around here for ages, couldn’t find the bloody door to get out of this wing of the house. It’s so unnecessary to have so many damn rooms and where are all the light switches? It’s too fucking dark!”

Maddy let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Seeing Helen emerge from the shadows of the narrow hallway brought a rush of relief. She looked the influencer up and down, noticing the slight flush on Helen’s cheeks and the fierce grip on her phone and notebook as if they were lifelines.

The servant’s wing was a far cry from the festive grandeur downstairs. The rooms were much smaller in this part of the house and there was an overall feeling of shabbiness. The air held a chill and Maddy missed the cosy warmth of the fire from the parlour.

“I was doing a live feed,” Helen said, still catching her breath. “This place is creepy when you’re alone, and talking to my followers kept me from losing it completely. I mean, I love dark romance, but when it comes to the paranormal? I’m a total wuss.” She trailed off as she finally took notice of Nolan. “And who’s this handsome devil? The movie guy finally decided to make an appearance?”

Maddy fought down a surge of annoyance as Helen batted her eyelashes at him. “This is Detective Moore. And yes, he’s a real detective,” she added quickly, cutting off Helen’s laughter. “He’s here because there’s been a murder.”

Helen’s jaw dropped, and Maddy held up a hand to keep her from interrupting. “Yes, an actual murder, not part of the mystery game. I found Daniel Scott dead earlier tonight. We had to wait for the police to arrive, and then we came to look for you and Jude as soon as we could. You two were the only ones we haven’t been able to move downstairs.”

Helen paled and the mobile in her hand shook, “What the fuck? Dan! Dan’s dead? How did he die?”

Moore winced, “There was a lot of blood so he was most likely stabbed. Maddy also thinks there was poison involved. Mistletoe poisoning.”

Helen looked at them both, “Mistletoe poisoning! What the fuck is that? I didn’t even know such a thing existed! I mean isn’t it everywhere at Christmas?”

Maddy crinkled her brows in confusion and shared a look with Nolan. “Yeah, but it’s definitely poisonous Helen, just like those red-flowered Poinsettias that everyone has in their houses this time of year.”

“Hmm… You learn something new every day. That’s why I’m always telling people to read more,” Helen said with a smirk. “You never know what kind of real-world knowledge might come in handy.”

She lifted her phone and pointing it at Maddy began to talk…“OMG, guys, you won’t believe what’s just happened here at the pa—Shit! What the hell are you doing!” She yelped as Nolan knocked the phone from her hand.

He bent to pick it up looking pissed, “This is an active investigation now and a crime scene, you can’t film here and post it online.”

“I want my phone back, this is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened on my account, “Can you imagine? A murder mystery night, the villain of the piece is brutally slayed, and then the pretty author and hot grumbly detective work together to solve the crime! It’s like a dark romance come to life! We just need you to take her to a bedroom and tie her to a bed to be spanked!

Maddy’s face was as red as a tomato, her brain had already short-circuited when Helen suggested Nolan take her to a bedroom and tie her up, she almost didn’t make it past the words ‘take her.” “Helen this is serious! It’s murder, you could be arrested for interfering in an investigation and just what exactly did you mean “the villain of the piece?”

Helen’s face fell, “Ah, well, you can probably tell that apart from the initial shock that there’s been a murder I’m not all that cut up about it…” she grimaced at the pun.

Maddie sighed at the inappropriate joke but couldn’t comment as she kind of felt the same way, “Go on…”

“Okay, Dan and I had history, although I suppose he wouldn’t call it that. I bet he barely even remembered me. About five years ago I submitted a manuscript to Cupid. Did you know that rather than the submissions landing on the senior editor’s desk they go to Dan and that you have to include a current photo?” She laughed, “doesn’t sound quite right does it?”

As Maddy shook her head Helen continued, “It was my first book, I was fresh out of university and working a crappy job in retail. I was desperate to become a full-time author and make a name for myself. When I got a call to say that Cupid were interested in a meeting to discuss taking on my book I was beyond happy. Should I have been surprised that the meeting was over dinner with a male marketing director and not in the office with an editor over a cup of coffee? In hindsight, probably, but I didn’t know much about publishing and really wanted my book out there. I wanted it enough to put aside any misgivings I had.”

“Did you go? Did you meet with him?” Maddy asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach as Moira’s story echoed in her mind.

“I did,” Helen admitted, her voice bitter. “I dressed in my most professional outfit, brought a copy of my manuscript, and even my notebook with ideas for other books I’d jotted down. I was so damn naive and trusting.” She sighed, shaking her head. “That notebook had outlines for so many novels. I stupidly thought Cupid might sign me for a series or a multi-book deal.”

“What an idiot…Dan was overly friendly and touchy from the beginning of dinner. Sat too close to me, and brushed against my breasts when he reached for his wine. He kept topping up my glass and I started to feel a little weird. I was a lucky bitch though…“I got up to go to the toilets, barely making it there as I held onto the wall,” Helen said, her face tightening at the memory. “I didn’t notice an older woman had followed me in until she grabbed my elbow and guided me to the sink. She wet a paper towel and pressed it to my face, helping me come around. ‘You’re okay,’ she said, ‘but you need to leave. Now’.”

Helen paused, her jaw clenched. “She told me she’d been sitting nearby with her husband and had seen Dan slip something into my wine. She’d watched me get more and more ‘drunk’ and waited until I left the table to help me. Thankfully, I’d brought my bag with me, and she pulled out my phone and ordered me a taxi. By the time we stepped back out into the restaurant, Dan was gone. I think he must’ve seen her follow me, or maybe I’d taken too long. Either way, I was too out of it to care—I just got in the taxi and went home.

“I thought I’d had a lucky escape, I didn’t remember a lot of the night but I knew I’d dodged a dangerous bullet.” Looking at Nolan she said in an earnest voice, “I thought about going to the police to report the near date rape but I had absolutely no proof. My memories were so hazy and I didn’t get the contact details for the woman who helped me, so I had no witnesses. It was essentially my word against his.”

Nolan nodded and motioned for her to continue.

“It was only later that day that I realised my notebook and the manuscript were missing from my bag. I panicked, Dan had obviously taken them when he left the restaurant but I didn’t want to contact him to ask for them back. Eventually, I got it together and tried emailing him, no response, I called and only ever got his assistant, I even visited the office but security wouldn’t let me into the building. I tried for seven months to get my notebook back but got nothing but frustration.

“Towards the end of that year, I was browsing the new books on display in my local bookshop when I spotted a familiar title, ‘Shallow Waters’ by Amy Devine, do you remember it?”

Maddy’s brows shot up in surprise, “Of course I do Helen, it’s one of Cupid’s biggest-selling titles. Amy went on to write another three novels in the series, pretty sure she’s about to release a fourth.”

Helen let out a harsh laugh, sounding slightly unhinged. “Amy Devine… I met her at a party not long ago. She didn’t even recognize me and didn’t blink when I introduced myself. Later, I saw her draped all over Dan, giggling at his terrible jokes. ‘Shallow Waters’ was my manuscript, every word of it. And the other books in that series? Straight from my missing notebook!”

“What? I don’t understand…” Maddy said, absorbing Helen’s devastated expression. She felt Nolan’s hand slip along her lower back, a silent offer of comfort.

Helen met Maddy’s shocked gaze with a touch of sympathy. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m almost certain it was just Dan behind all this. From Amy’s reaction—or lack of one—when I mentioned my name at the party, I don’t think she had any idea. He probably suggested she ghostwrite the series. My manuscript went straight to him; I bet none of the editors ever saw my name on it. He liked to be the first to read ‘exciting’ new talent and ‘mentor’ them on their author journey,” she scoffed. “What he wanted was to look at the photos I sent with my submission and pick his next ‘date.’ I seriously doubt he even read my manuscript before meeting me.”

“But that didn’t happen to me,” Maddy whispered, her voice trembling with horror. The thought of having her work, her art, her dreams stolen and claimed by someone else was almost too much to bear.

“By the second book in ‘Amy’s series’,” Helen continued “I got myself a lawyer and stupidly tried to take Cupid to court. Of course, Dan produced my notebook and had everyone convinced that it was Amy’s, ‘it can’t be your work, see here, we have all of the notes outlining the plots, characters and even cover ideas.’ They waved my notebook about in the meetings leading up to the court date and in the end, my lawyer recommended dropping the case. He said I didn’t have a leg to stand on, all of my notes were in the book, nothing on my computer, nothing printed out. Technically I could show them the manuscript for ‘Shallow Waters’ but again they threw so much money into getting a top industry lawyer that I just gave up.”

“I think I remember hearing about that but not in detail and I didn’t know that it was you,” Maddy said quietly. She felt for Helen, it must have been like losing custody of your intellectual babies to an abusive partner and his annoying new wife.

“I wrote a couple more novels and sent them out to every romance publisher I could find, but no one would touch me with a ten-foot pole. After my run-in with Cupid, no one wanted to work with me or give me a chance, so I took a step back from writing for a while. Then BookTok happened, and it transformed my rather depressing life,” she said, a smile breaking through. “I’ve always wanted to be an author, but it can be a lonely path. Being a book influencer, though, is fantastic. I get to read, post, and connect with like-minded friends. I make enough to do it full-time, and I receive all the free books I could ever dream of.

“Am I sad that Daniel met his end in such a brutal way? Not really. I genuinely enjoy my life now, and I wouldn’t risk it all by killing someone as influential in the publishing world as Dan. That would certainly not work in my favour…”

The air in the corridor grew heavy as Helen finished her story. Maddy felt a mixture of anger, pity, and respect as she listened, Helen had faced such an unimaginable betrayal, one that had stolen her dreams and forced her to reinvent herself. Despite her seemingly lighthearted persona, she was clearly a woman who had been hardened by her past.

Nolan glanced at Maddy, his hand still resting on her lower back. His expression softened as he looked back at Helen, recognizing the resilience that lay beneath her bravado. “Thank you for telling us,” he said quietly. “I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

Helen shrugged, giving him a wry smile. “It’s just life, isn’t it? You live, you learn, and you don’t get mad…you get even. Shit! I mean I wouldn’t break the law or anything. Just happy to see some good old-fashioned karma.”

Maddy studied her face, trying to gauge how much of that was true. Helen might not have pulled the actual trigger, but her resentment toward Dan was obvious and in her opinion justified.

Nolan cleared his throat. “Right. Well, thank you for your honesty. Now, please remember that this is an active investigation. No more livestreams, no more social media posts about the murder. I’ll be confiscating your phone for the time being.”

Helen’s face twisted in protest, but she only nodded, biting her tongue. Maddy suspected she knew that pushing further wouldn’t go well.

As they headed back through the doors to the main corridor Maddy mentally bookmarked this latest twist in the ever-growing mystery of Daniel Scott’s death. It seemed every corner she turned in this house uncovered more layers, more secrets, and now, perhaps, more suspects.