Frosted Plum Fears by Agatha Frost

Author:Agatha Frost [Frost, Agatha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2023-12-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Curled on the sofa between Ryan and a sleepy Amelia, the opening scenes of Shrek 2 played on the TV in her tiny flat above her shop. Hugo sprawled on his stomach on the floor, colouring in the accurate Super Mario Ryan drew for him on construction paper. Claire reached out and plucked a handful of chocolates from the Celebrations box amidst the drying New Year’s cards scattered across the coffee table. She dropped a chocolate into Ryan and Amelia’s outstretched palms and tossed one to Hugo.

Her concerns about the investigation had faded into the background. With her family surrounding her, she relaxed into the cosy normality. An arts and crafts night with Ryan and the kids had been just what Claire had needed.

“Have you caught the bad guy yet, Claire?” Amelia asked, as a yawn unfurled.

“Not yet, little one.”

“Why don’t you go to bed?” Ryan reached around and ruffled her hair. “It’s been a long few days.”

“Not tired,” she said, yawning again as she leaned closer to Shrek. “Don’t use all the ink in my new felt tips, Hugo.”

“I’m not.”

“That red one looks almost finished.”

“But Mario is red.”

“So, make him pink? I’m never going to use those.”

While the children bickered back and forth and Ryan turned up the TV to drown them out, Claire’s mind strayed back to the recording on Ryan’s phone. Glancing at the engrossed faces of Ryan and the kids at the ogres quietened things down; she slipped an earbud into her ear and hit play on Ryan’s phone, bracing herself for whatever secrets Victor Michaels’ recording might reveal.

Victor’s hostile tones filled her ear. “Do you know the effort it took to make a record-breaking thousand-pound plum pudding? I spent eighteen-hour days for months testing and perfecting the recipes. I drove across the county weekly to find the rarest, best ingredients money could buy. I refused to settle for anything less than absolute perfection.”

Claire understood his dedication. She had wanted the same for her vanilla bean formula back at the factory. But even after it was stolen, she didn’t think she ever spoke about it with as much bitterness as Victor, and she hadn’t tried to make the most significant candle in Northash to prove it.

“But it was worth it,” Ryan said in the recording, the tap running in the background; she imagined him cleaning Victor’s wounded palm. “You broke the record.”

Victor continued, “And what did it get me? My restaurant struggled under mountains of debt. That pudding brought me my wife, Wendy, but I couldn’t let it go. Two pounds shy of a tonne. All that time and money… I couldn’t let it go. I kept trying, and I fell apart from the strain. I ended up losing everything—my restaurant closed, Wendy divorced me and then died, and my daughter disappointed me. My legacy from that record is all I have left.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Ryan assured him. “You still have your daughter? She came from your marriage, and your marriage came from that record.

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