Andrea Frazer - Holmes and Garden 01 - The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song by Andrea Frazer Page B

more decorum than Garden’s disco fever. ‘It’s absolutely what I’d have designed myself,’ declared the older man.
    ‘Mentally, I’ve already moved in. It’s absolutely perfection, and will solve all of my accommodation problems, not to mention how what we use downstairs for will solve my work problems,’ chortled Garden, still prancing around.
    ‘Let’s just take a glance out of the windows to pass a bit of time, then we’ll go downstairs and tell him we’ll take it. I’ll even offer to go over to his office and sign the papers immediately, then we’ll go and see your mother.’
    That soon stopped Garden in his dance of exultation. ‘Stiff upper lip, old man. The sooner you tackle her, the sooner the situation is over with. And you don’t even need to give her your new address which, for a while, will be my address.’
    ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ replied Garden, fascinated with the idea that he didn’t even need to tell his mother where he was moving. He’d been so used to answering all her questions with the absolute truth – or nearly always – that he hadn’t even considered withholding information from her to preserve his peaceful existence.
    ‘You toddle on back to the hotel and I’ll get the lease either signed or drawn up, if it’s not prepared. I’ll join you as soon as I can. I’ll meet you in the bar,’ said Holmes, with a twinkle of anticipation at what the future held in his eyes.
    When Holmes left his office after a very satisfactory conclusion of their business together, Justin Budge rubbed his hands together in glee. It wasn’t one of his habitual gestures, but with the thought of his next appointment, it looked like it was going to prove a very propitious and profitable day for him.
    Although Josephine Hughes had put it about that she was looking over a house in the local area, she was actually a very wealthy woman indeed, and had her eye on The Black Swan as a new business venture. Having Googled her, Budge had discovered that she was deceptively ruthless in her dealing in acquiring what she wanted, and he had no doubt that she would achieve her goal in this case.
    The fact that old man Bellamy was dead only made the situation a great deal more interesting, and he was looking forward to putting up a smoke screen this lunchtime, while planning the preliminary approach to the new owner. In his opinion, The Black Swan was worth a small fortune and was in a suitably ripe position to be plucked by a slick and experienced woman of business.
    Tiffany Jakes had turned up for work as usual, but she had been as sick as a dog before she left her humble abode. Her pregnancy was beginning to show, and she had had to wear a looser skirt and a roomier blouse so as not to give the game away.
    Berkeley had been almost unbearably cruel when she told him about her delicate position, and had mocked her predicament, but he was dead now and she was carrying his child. She was going to give birth to the natural heir to the hotel, for he or she would inherit as a child of the recently deceased owner and not just a grandchild like the other heir.
    Things had suddenly gone in a very good direction, although she had been devastated at first at the father’s reaction to her plight. She had envisaged herself living in her little flatlet, an unmarried mother without the funds for child care and living off benefits, but now she would be the mother of the future owner of The Black Swan, and she would have to be taken care of, as would her child.
    Two residents at The Black Swan were also almost dribbling with anticipation at the ownership of the hotel changing. Both Jane Harrison and Niles Carrington had ‘found’ each other the day before and exchanged stories about how their respective families were cheated over property transactions.
    Now in alliance, they had determined to hunt down the chiselling git’s granddaughter and find out who inherited upon his death. They would have justice for