Murder Makes A Claim (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Gillian Larkin

  Ivor didn’t move. “I can pay you good rates, better than your going rate.”

  “We’re fully booked,” Julia repeated. She dumped the contents of the bin into the main one on the trolley and then returned the empty bin to the floor. Ivor was still hovering, she could feel him looking at her. Why did everyone want to chat tonight?

  Julia turned to Cain. “I’m going into Mr Rayburn’s office to get his bin.” She walked away, still feeling Ivor looking at her. If he had a girlfriend, why was he looking at her like that? Yuk.

  All thoughts of Ivor fled from her mind as she entered Karl Rayburn’s office. Her hands flew to her mouth as a small scream shot out.

  Karl Rayburn was lying slumped over his desk.

  Chapter 9

  Julia rushed forward and put her right hand at the side of Karl Rayburn’s neck. She could feel a pulse. She grabbed hold of his shoulders and roughly shook him. “Mr Rayburn! Are you okay?” He was a big man and he needed a lot of shaking.

  His eyes fluttered open and he looked at Julia. “What on earth are you doing? Can you stop shaking me please?”

  Julia released his shoulders. She pointed at the desk. “You were lying all slumped on there. You looked as if you were dead!”

  Karl Rayburn sat up straighter and ran a hand over his face. “I can assure you that I wasn’t dead but thank you for your concern.” He let out a big yawn. Julia tried to stifle the one that suddenly attacked her, but it came out anyway.

  Karl Rayburn gave her a wry smile. “You feeling tired too? I don’t know what’s come over me these last few weeks, I seem to be tired all the time. I must be getting too old for this job. My wife, Olivia, keeps telling me it’s time to retire. Perhaps she’s right.” He winced as he rolled his shoulders back. “You’ve got quite a grip on you.”

  Julia felt her cheeks heating up. “I’m so sorry, I just thought … shall I empty your bin now?”

  “Could you come back later? Would you mind? I’ve got some important calls to make before I go home. Thanks. Close the door on the way out.” He picked up his phone and Julia knew she had been dismissed. She cast a glance at the overflowing bin on the way out. It would have only taken her a minute to empty it.

  Julia returned to Cain and quickly told him what had happened. She was pleased to note that Ivor was now sitting at the far end of the office and was chatting away on his phone.

  Julia looked at her watch. “It’s twenty to eight. We’re doing well. Let’s finish this floor and then head to the basement for our last visit.”

  Julia and Cain got on with their cleaning work. Julia kept looking towards Karl Rayburn’s office but he was still on the phone. She didn’t like to leave a job undone. She carried on with emptying the bins whilst Cain took a turn at vacuuming the carpet.

  It was heading towards eight o’clock by the time they walked towards the lift. Ivor called out a farewell and Julia gave him a curt nod. There was something untrustworthy about that man.

  “Do you think we should check on Fred?” Cain asked.

  “You can check on him when I go down to the basement,” Julia said. They stepped into the lift.

  The very man himself appeared on the next floor. The lift doors opened to reveal his smiling face. “Hello you two! Finished for the night?”

  “Nearly,” Julia said. “Just a final visit to the basement. How long will you be staying tonight?”

  “Until the early hours. I don’t mind, it takes my mind off my wife. I’m heading back to the reception desk now.” Fred looked down at his feet.

  “Are your feet okay?” Cain asked. “Lorraine’s shoes are really pointy.”

  Fred looked up and grinned. “I’ll live. It’s not the first time I’ve had a run-in with that young woman. I always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as far as she’s concerned. She’s complained about me many times to Mr Rayburn. He’s told me to ignore her. I’m not even sure why Mr Rayburn gave me this job, he must have felt sorry for me.”

  Julia saw the glint of unshed tears in Fred’s eyes. “Let me and Cain walk you to the reception desk. You can tell us more about your days in the army.”

  “Are you sure you want to hear me waffling on!”

  “Yes, we do. Don’t we, Cain?”

  “We certainly do.”

  The lift doors opened at the ground floor and Julia stepped out first. Fred put his hand on the cleaning trolley for support as Cain gently pushed it forward. Fred settled into his chair behind the reception desk and then chatted about his days.

  Julia saw Lorraine walk past the reception desk at five past eight without saying goodbye. Julia wasn’t surprised at that. Ivor left five minutes later, his phone clamped to his ear. He raised a hand in farewell and gave Julia a special wink.

  Julia stole a look at her watch. It was quarter past eight. Her eyes felt gritty with tiredness. They really needed to get going. “Fred, it’s been lovely talking to you but we have to go. We can chat again tomorrow.”

  Fred gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you for listening. I’ve been going on too long!”

  “Not at all,” Julia said, already heading towards the lift. Cain took her cue and grabbed the trolley. He called out a goodbye to Fred and followed Julia.

  Once they were inside the lift Cain said, “Do you think I could adopt Fred? He could be my granddad.”

  Julia smiled. “Don’t you already have a granddad somewhere?”

  Cain looked at the trolley. “Not that I know of. I’m hardly on speaking terms with my family. I haven’t seen Mum since I went to live with Gran in my early teens. Gran’s husband died a long time ago, I never met him.”

  “Hasn’t your mum been in touch since you got out of prison?”

  Cain was still looking at the trolley as he spoke, “I left her a few messages but she never got back to me.” He looked up, his eyes overly bright. “I do think of you as a mother figure. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Julia blinked quickly. “Of course I don’t mind. Is it because I nag you so much?” The lift doors opened.

  Cain grinned. “A bit.”

  Julia stepped out of the lift. “Good, because I’m going to nag you some more. Wheel that trolley over to the main bin and stop being such a wuss. There are no such things as vampire rats.”

  Cain gulped. “Okay.” He stepped out of the lift. He looked left and right before taking another step forward. He said, “Don’t leave my side.”

  Julia put her hand on the trolley as Cain pushed it over to the main bin. “Now empty the trolley bin into it.”

  “But then I won’t have my hands free to fight anything!”

  Julia shook her head. “Just do it.”

  Cain looked left and right again. He reached for the trolley bin and picked it up whilst still looking around the basement. He jumped as a noise shot out. He screamed and dropped the bin bag, the contents scattered on the floor.

  “Cain! That was only my phone beeping! Look at the floor, there’s rubbish everywhere!”

  Cain patted his chest, the colour had drained from his face. “I’m so sorry. I thought the chief vampire rat was sneaking up on me.”

  “And sending you a text?” Julia shook her head. He really was a bag of nerves when it came to this basement. She hunkered down. “Come on, help me clear this up.”

  Cain’s hands shook as he started to help Julia with the clearing up.

  Julia frowned as she noticed something. She picked it up. “Sleeping tablets? And look, the packet is empty. Who would bring sleeping tablets to work?”

  Cain scooped up a handful of paper and put it into the metal bin. “Who knows?” He cocked his head. “Did you hear that?”

  “I can’t hear anything.” Julia picked up more rubbish and put it in the bin. She frowned as she looked past Cain. “How has the rubbish got over there?”

  It took them another ten minutes to pick up every last piece of rubbish. Julia straightened up and rubbed her back.

  Cain cast another anxious look around
the basement. “Are we going home now?”

  Julia pressed her lips together and looked at Cain.

  “What? What’s wrong now?” He asked.

  “I don’t feel right about leaving that full bin in Karl Rayburn’s office.” She looked at her watch. “It’s eight-thirty. We’ve got time to nip up and empty it.”

  Cain shook his head. “I’m not coming back down here tonight!”

  “I’ll take the rubbish home with me. Come on, it won’t take us a minute.”

  Julia soon regretted her words. When they walked into Karl Rayburn’s office a few minutes later, they found him lying on the floor in front of his desk.

  Julia pointed a shaking finger to the blood that had stained the front of his shirt. “I don’t think he’s asleep this time.” She knelt, put her hand on his neck and felt for a pulse anyway. She looked up at Cain. “He’s dead.”

  Chapter 10

  Julia heard a cry of anguish behind her. She looked over towards the door and saw a white-faced Fred clutching his chest. He collapsed to the floor.

  Cain cried out, “Fred! No!” He rushed to his side and knelt down. “Fred! Open your eyes! Don’t die!”

  Julia joined them and felt for a pulse on Fred’s neck. This was becoming a habit. “He’s still alive. I’d better phone the police. Stay with Fred.” She straightened up and took out her phone. She made the necessary calls and then came back to check on Fred again.

  Cain had his hand against the side of Fred’s wrinkly cheek. He was muttering something to the old man but Julia couldn’t make out what it was. Julia tapped Cain on the shoulder. “I think he’s coming round, his eyes are starting to open.”

  Fred’s eyelids flickered as he tried to open them. Cain said, “Fred, we’re here. Everything’s going to be alright.”

  Fred’s eyes opened. He looked at Cain and then over at Julia. “What am I doing on the floor? Did I trip over something? Cain, you look so worried. What’s wrong?”

  Cain took one of Fred’s hands. Julia was touched by his concern for the elderly man. Cain said, “You passed out.”

  “Did I? Why would I do that? I’m not the fainting type.”

  Cain indicated his head towards the still body lying feet away. “It’s because you saw the murdered, bloodied body of Karl Rayburn.”

  “Oh!” Fred’s eyelids began to flutter. “Oh!”

  Julia told Cain to help Fred to his feet. With her help, he did so. They led him to a nearby set of desks and lowered him into the nearest seat. At Julia’s request Cain ran off to the water cooler to get Fred a drink.

  Julia sat opposite Fred. “Are you okay? You’ve had a nasty shock.”

  “So have you two,” Fred replied. “Is he really dead? Is he really lying down on his carpet?” Fred gulped. “Was that really blood that I saw?”

  Julia nodded. “I’m afraid so. I’ve phoned for the police, and for an ambulance.”

  “Isn’t it too late for an ambulance?”

  “I phoned them to take care of you.”

  Cain returned with a cup of water and handed it to Fred. “We thought you were dead! You went all white and fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Didn’t he Julia?”

  Julia nodded. “I think Fred is okay now, Cain. Can you sit with him while I wait for the police?”

  Fred’s hand shook as he lifted the paper cup to his lips. He took a small sip and lowered the cup. “Shouldn’t I be downstairs waiting for the police? I am the security guard after all.” He glanced quickly towards Karl Rayburn’s office and back again. “I’m not much of a security guard. Poor Mr Rayburn.”

  Julia stood up and said, “I told the police which floor we were on, I’m sure they’ll find us.”

  Fred shook his head. “But they won’t be able to get in. I locked the main doors before I came up here. Staff know the code to unlock the doors, there’s a little security pad on the inside and outside of the doors. But I locked the doors because I thought everyone had left.” He took another sip of his water and tried to stand up. A creaking noise escaped from him as he straightened up.

  Cain stood up and put his hand under Fred’s elbow. “I’ll come with you. Pass me your cup, I’ll carry it.”

  “Thank you,” Fred said, tears welled up in his eyes. “I can’t believe Mr Rayburn is dead. Who would want to kill him?”

  “That’s for the police to find out,” Julia told him. “Cain, when the ambulance people arrive make sure they look at Fred.”

  “But I’m alright,” Fred said as he straightened up a bit more. Another creaking sound emerged from somewhere on his body.

  “I’ll make sure they look at him,” Cain assured her. He led Fred away towards the lift doors.

  When they had gone, Julia walked into Karl Rayburn’s office. She looked closer at his body. He had been stabbed in his chest with something. She looked even closer. The wound was narrow.

  She looked around his office. Everything looked the same as before, nothing had been knocked to the ground in a struggle. Did that mean that Karl had known his killer? Had they come into his office and then stabbed him? Karl was lying in front of his desk so maybe he had moved closer to his visitor for some reason. For a private talk?

  Julia looked at the bin under the desk. She knew she wasn’t supposed to touch anything. Her hands itched as if telling her to go ahead. She clasped them behind her back to avoid temptation.

  She walked around to the other side of his desk. Oh, look at those papers on his desk. Details about Joe’s interview. Hmm. And look at those sticky notes on top. Julia couldn’t see what was written on them so she walked closer to the papers. The sticky notes had a couple of comments on them - ‘Expense claims?’ ‘Timekeeping?’ ‘Team player?’

  Julia frowned. Did those notes refer to Joe? Was there a problem with his performance at work? Is that why he didn’t get the job? There were some more notes underneath. Julia’s hands betrayed her as they started to move towards the papers.

  “I wouldn’t do that, Ms Blake,” a cold voice startled her. She knew immediately who it belonged to.

  She looked towards the tall, thin man who was standing in the doorway. She tried to smile. “Hello, DI Clarke. I was wondering if it would be you who turned up. Are you the only one who deals with murder cases?” Her smile died under the withering stare that the inspector was giving her.

  “Ms Blake, are you the only one in this city who discovers dead bodies? Do I even need to ask what you’re doing here?”

  “I’m covering some cleaning work for a friend of mine, Ellen Parks, I’ll give you all the details if you like.”

  DI Clarke held up a hand. “One of my officers will take a full statement from you soon. No doubt you’ll have plenty to say. For now, I’d like you to remove yourself from this crime scene, you’ve already contaminated it.”

  Julia nodded and slowly began to walk away from the desk. “Sorry, I was just keeping an eye on Mr Rayburn.”

  “Why? He’s not going anywhere. Find a seat and keep quiet. I’ll send an officer over to you soon.” His blue eyes glared at her. “Don’t even think of asking me any questions.”

  Julia pressed her lips together and nodded. She slid into the nearest bank of desks and found a seat. She sighed quietly to herself. She’d discovered another murdered body. Perhaps Cain was right, perhaps she was cursed.

  Well, one thing was certain, she was going to let the police deal fully with this murder investigation. She wasn’t going to get herself involved at all.

  Chapter 11

  Cain was full of chatter when Julia picked him up the next morning.

  “Don’t you ever feel tired?” Julia asked him as they drove along.

  “Not really, I always fall asleep within minutes of getting into my bed. Don’t you?”

  Julia shook her head. “I couldn’t stop thinking about Karl Rayburn. And the police kept us such a long time at the office. I’m sure they didn’t need to.”

  Cain laughed. “I told DI Clarke about you being cu
rsed!”

  “And what did he say to that?”

  “He smiled and said it was him who was cursed because he kept on running into you. He’s so funny. Did he warn you to keep away from the investigation?”

  “He always says that to me. But I’m not getting myself involved. This has nothing to do with us.” Julia pulled into the car park of Canalside Apartments and found a space. “I do hope Joe is okay though. I’ll have a quick word with him tonight when we go to the office.”

  “Are we still allowed to clean the office? I thought the police would be all over it, looking for clues.”

  Julia said, “DI Clarke left me a message this morning. The police should be finished with their initial investigations by lunchtime. He’ll let me know for certain later on.”

  They got out of the car and collected their cleaning things. They headed into the block of apartments and towards the lift. Cain pressed the call button.

  “Julia, who do you think killed Karl? We saw Lorraine leave just after eight, and Ivor left a bit after her. We went to the basement at around eight-fifteen.”

  Julia held her hand up. “I don’t want to talk about it. This has nothing to do with us.” She stepped into the lift and pressed the button for floor six. Cain joined her and said, “What do you think the murder weapon was? Something long and sharp I think. Did Karl have an envelope opener on his desk? Those have been used before to kill people.”

  “How do you know that? From the TV?”

  “Nope, from my time inside.”

  The lift doors opened and they stepped out. Julia got her key ready to open the door to their first client’s apartment. She cocked her head to one side. “There’s someone inside, I can hear something.”

  Cain came closer and cocked his head too. His eyebrows rose. “Burglars! Shall we phone the police?”

  “Not just yet.” Julia used her key to unlock the door. She steeled herself for whoever was inside. She put one hand over her lemon cleaning spray, and the other hand slowly pushed the door open.