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

by Gillian Larkin

  Cain’s face crumpled. “That’s true. Julia, don’t let anything happen to Fred.”

  Chapter 14

  Julia and Cain got out at floor seven. It was completely deserted. They walked towards the first set of desks. Cain lifted a bin and said, “There’s not much rubbish in here.”

  Julia nodded. “Joe said earlier that the office was closed. I wonder what time everyone came in.” Her attention was caught by a movement at the top end of the office. “Oh, look, Joe’s over there. Shall we go and have a word with him? Make sure he’s okay?”

  Cain quickly emptied the bin. “Yes. You can ask him about Ivor and his affair with Karl’s wife.”

  “I’ll do no such thing,” Julia said. “Honestly, Cain, you’re so nosy sometimes.”

  Cain’s eyebrows rose as he followed Julia down the office.

  Joe stood up and waved at them as they got closer. “Hi Julia, hi Cain. It’s quiet in here tonight, isn’t it? The police let us come back into the office at two o’clock. Lorraine isn’t here. I was concerned about her health, and that of the baby. I told her she’d be better off at home.”

  Julia didn’t want to talk about Lorraine. She said, “We just met Mrs Rayburn downstairs. I saw her the other day talking to Ivor.”

  Joe shook his head sadly. “Poor Olivia. She always said that work would kill Karl one day. I often heard them arguing in his office. She said that he put work before her and his family. She would organise social events for the end of the day and then come marching into Karl’s office because he forgot all about them.” He shook his head again. “Poor Olivia.”

  In an overly casual tone Julia said, “When I saw her with Ivor I thought she was his girlfriend! They looked very close and I heard her on the phone to him the other day.” She waited for Joe’s reaction.

  Joe smiled. “That’s just Ivor’s way. You’ve met him, you know what a flirt he is. He’s just friends with Olivia, nothing else. I’ve seen them chatting to each other often when I was waiting outside Karl’s office.”

  “What do they chat about?” Julia asked.

  Joe shrugged. “The usual stuff, I suppose. Although, I did hear Ivor telling Olivia once about his plans for this company. He thinks we can do a lot more to market ourselves. Olivia agreed with him and said she’d mention his plans to Karl.”

  Julia gave a slow nod. This was getting interesting. “How did Ivor and Karl get on?”

  Joe folded his arms and leant against a desk. “Okay, I suppose. They had their arguments. Karl had his own ideas on how the company should be run. He didn’t always agree with Ivor. But that’s just business, isn’t it?”

  “Who’s in charge of the office now?” Julia asked.

  “Ivor is. He’s in Karl’s office at the moment, going through some paperwork.”

  “So Lorraine’s not in charge. We spoke to Fred when we came in. He said he’d spoken to Lorraine on the phone earlier. He was hoping to take the evening off but she insisted that he come in.”

  Joe frowned. “She probably wasn’t thinking straight. She came into the office with me at two but then everyone was going on about Karl and she started to get upset. I told her to go home but she said she’d stay as she had something to sort out. But she did leave about thirty minutes later. Is Fred okay? Should he be here? He must still be in shock after seeing Karl like that.”

  “He’s tougher than he looks,” Cain said in Fred’s defence. “We’ll check on him later.”

  Julia said, “How long had Karl Rayburn worked here? Did he make any enemies?”

  Joe gave a short laugh. “Everyone makes enemies. Karl’s been at this place ever since he left school. He was ambitious from the start, according to the supervisor, Lenny, who I worked with when I first arrived. Lenny worked here just as long as Karl and said Karl was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. Karl even uncovered some dodgy business that was going on with some of the sales reps. Karl sorted it out without the business being affected. He got a big promotion after that.”

  “What sort of dodgy business?” Julia asked.

  Joe shrugged. “Who knows? It happened a long time ago.” He rubbed his hand over his forehead and moved himself away from the desk. He lowered his voice, “Julia, I need your help. The police think I’m a suspect, and they think Lorraine is too. I can cope with the suspicious looks that everyone is giving me but Lorraine can’t. Can you do something? You’ve helped the police before.”

  “I don’t know what I can do,” Julia admitted. “This has nothing to do with me, and the police have already told me to keep out of their investigation.”

  “They always say that to her,” Cain added in a helpful tone. “But she never listens.”

  “Good. Julia, I’m worried about Lorraine. I know she acts tough but she’s not really. Can you find out who killed Karl? Find out who had a grudge against him?” Joe let out a weary sigh. “Anything that would speed this investigation up would help. Please?” His phone beeped. He read the message. “It’s Ivor. I have to go. Please, Julia, think about it.” He gave her a final imploring smile and walked away.

  As soon as he was out of sight, Cain said, “Looks like we’ve got some investigating to do.”

  “It seems that way. I hope Joe realises that I’ll be looking into his motives too.” Julia sighed. “I don’t like this Cain, I don’t like this at all. Come on, let’s get on with some cleaning work, that’ll take my mind off murder suspects.”

  Chapter 15

  Julia and Cain carried on with their cleaning work, uninterrupted, and soon finished floor seven.

  Julia inspected the main bin on the cleaning trolley. “There isn’t much rubbish in there, I don’t think we need a trip to the basement to empty it.”

  Cain’s face dropped. “But I was going to check on Fred when you were in the basement.”

  Julia cocked her head as she heard a familiar noise. “I think I can hear Fred. He’s wheezing and creaking a bit more than usual.”

  Fred appeared from around the corner. He waved a hand in greeting and walked slowly towards them.

  “Hi Fred!” Cain called out. “Are you feeling a bit better?”

  Fred rubbed his back. “I am. Has there been any trouble up here? Anything I need to know about?”

  Julia shook her head. “Everything is okay.” She gave him a closer look. He really shouldn’t be working. An idea came to her. “Fred, would you mind if Cain walked around with you for a while? He’s always wanted to be a security guard, he’d like to know exactly what you do.”

  Cain gave her a quizzical look. Julia gave him a quick wide-eyed stare. His look then changed to one of comprehension. “A security guard! That’s my dream alright. Let’s get patrolling!”

  Fred looked taken aback by Cain’s sudden enthusiasm. “It’s not that exciting, lad, but you’re welcome to walk round with me. I’d like the company.”

  Cain glanced at Julia. “Are you sure you can manage without me?”

  “Yes. There isn’t as much to do tonight. Off you go.”

  She watched as Fred and Cain set off down the office together. Fred wobbled on his feet at one point but Cain’s hand shot out and steadied him. Julia let out a sigh. Knowing that Fred was going to be looked after for a while was a weight off her mind.

  Julia steered the cleaning trolley towards the lift and was soon stepping out onto floor eight. She looked towards the far end of the office, towards Karl Rayburn’s office. She could make out the standing figures of Ivor and Joe through the glass door. The latter was waving his hands around in an agitated manner. Were they arguing?

  Julia pushed the trolley towards the opposite side of the office and parked it next to Ivor’s desk. Stealing a quick glance towards Karl’s office, Julia sat at Ivor’s desk. The partition that surrounded his desk meant that she couldn’t be seen from Karl’s office if she ducked her head. It also meant that anyone sitting here couldn’t see into Karl’s office. That led Julia to conclude that Karl could have been killed in his office
whilst Ivor was sitting here, blissfully unaware.

  Julia’s attention was drawn to some brochures sticking out of a tray. She pulled them out. Brochures for holiday homes and new cars. Was Ivor expecting some sort of promotion soon? Julia put the brochures back and stood up. Ivor had been very quick to move into Karl’s office. She remembered that he left the office yesterday at ten minutes past eight, but he could have easily sneaked back in and confronted Karl, and then killed him.

  She shook her head and turned away. There was something about Ivor Walsall that she didn’t trust. His smile was too ready and his charm was too oily.

  Julia started emptying the bins. Just like floor seven, the bins on floor eight were not very full. She made her way, bin by bin, towards Karl’s office. The door was ajar and Julia couldn’t help but overhear what was being said inside.

  Ivor said firmly, “Joe, you know you can’t leave now. The company needs you, and so do I. And don’t forget about Lorraine.”

  Joe’s voice was louder as he replied, “Lorraine! Of course I can’t forget about Lorraine! You don’t need to remind me. Ivor, you promised me that job in Hong Kong! You said I was perfect for it. You said …”

  Ivor cut him off, “Things change, Joe, you have to adapt to changes. I don’t want to talk about this any more. I really am sorry but there’s nothing I can do. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Fine!” Joe spat out. He stormed past Julia, his face red and his fists clenched at his side. Julia had never seen Joe looking so angry, he was usually so easy-going.

  Julia picked up the last bin. A terrible thought entered her mind. Had Joe killed Karl because he didn’t get the Hong Kong job? Did Joe think he’d get the job when Ivor took over? If that was the case, was Joe now planning to do away with Ivor too?

  Surely not. Joe wasn’t like that at all. Julia emptied the last bin and placed it back next to the right desk. She pushed the trolley to one side and headed for the cupboard where the vacuum cleaner was stored.

  Cain jogged over to her side. “Hiya! That was a good idea of yours! I got to have a good look around the office and I kept an eye on Fred at the same time. I had a quick look in the ladies’ toilets on the fourth floor, they’re just the same as all the others. It’s a good job I was there with Fred, he nearly fell over several times! He’s very wobbly on his feet.”

  Julia pulled the vacuum cleaner towards her. “Where is he now?”

  “Down at reception. He’s sitting down. I got him a cup of tea from the canteen area. They’ve got one of those vending machines. I can get you a cuppa if you want.”

  Julia wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks, I’ve tried that machine before. I’d rather do without.” She paused in her actions and looked at Cain. “Have you something else to tell me? Your eyes have gone all wide.”

  Cain looked up and down the office. He took a step closer to Julia and said, “Fred told me something about Karl and Olivia. Fred heard them many times arguing in Karl’s office. Olivia used to accuse Karl of working too many hours, of never being there for her and the children. That’s just what Joe told us too. Fred said Karl would argue back that he had to put in the hours and that they would have all the time they needed when he retired.” Cain paused for dramatic effect. “And Olivia said that if Karl kept going at this rate, he would never retire, he would most likely die on the job or that she would kill him in frustration.” Cain nodded at Julia’s shocked expression. “She said this to him last week. And there’s more. Fred admitted that he often saw Olivia and Ivor chatting together at Ivor’s desk whilst she was waiting for Karl to finish work. Fred saw them looking at holiday brochures last week. Fred doesn’t think there’s anything funny going on with Olivia and Ivor, but I’m not so sure. What do you think?”

  Julia looked down at the vacuum cleaner and frowned. “I do think Olivia and Ivor have a close relationship.” She looked back at Cain. “I’m not sure if they have a romantic relationship, but there is definitely something there. And I think it has something to do with Karl’s death.”

  Cain nodded. “What are we going to do about it?”

  Julia looked towards Karl’s office. Ivor was sitting at the desk, his head in his hands. Julia said, “I’ve got an idea.”

  Chapter 16

  Julia passed the vacuum cleaner to Cain and asked him to start at the other end of the office. Cain did so. Julia walked over to Karl’s office and knocked on the half open door. Ivor looked up. Julia was shocked to see how tired he looked.

  “Sorry to disturb you, could I empty your bin?” Julia asked.

  Ivor gave her a weak smile. “Of course. I didn’t realise it was so late.” He reached under the desk and pulled out the bin. He handed it to her. “How are you and Cain doing? It must have been a shock to find Karl yesterday.”

  Julia took the bin. “It was a shock. How is everyone coping?”

  “Some are dealing with it better than others. You don’t expect a murder to take place in your own office, do you?” He cast his look over Karl’s desk. “There’s a lot to sort out, I didn’t realise that Karl did so much. I’m not sure I’ll even be going home tonight.”

  Julia put her plan into action. “Do you remember that you asked me to give you a cleaning quote?”

  Ivor’s brow wrinkled. “Did I?”

  “Yes. I can give you a quote. If you’re still interested. I would need to go to your house and have a look at the rooms.” Julia felt a pang of guilt as the lie left her mouth. Then she reminded herself that Ivor could be a murderer.

  Ivor gave her a grateful smile which sent another pang of guilt towards Julia’s heart. “Would you really? That would be wonderful. I’ll give you my address. When do you think you could go there?”

  “Tomorrow? I’d need a spare key, if that’s alright.”

  Ivor stood up and reached into his pocket. He took out a bunch of keys and extracted one for Julia. He wrote down his address on a piece of paper and handed it to Julia. “Thanks so much for this. It’s very kind of you.”

  Julia felt her cheeks warming up. “It’s nothing.” She looked at the bin in her hands. “Is this the same rubbish as yesterday? I never got the chance to empty Karl’s bin yesterday.”

  Ivor shook his head. “No, the police took the contents of Karl’s bin away with them. That inspector, DI Clarke, questioned me in detail about my movements. Do you know DI Clarke?”

  “We’ve met.” Julia gave Ivor a quick smile and said, “I’d better get on. Do you want us to vacuum in here? Cain’s working his way down the office.”

  Ivor grimaced. “I’ll say no, I’ve got some difficult phone calls to make.” On cue, the phone rang. As Julia left the room she heard Ivor say, “Hi there. No, of course it isn’t inconvenient, Olivia, I’m here for you.”

  Julia walked over to the trolley and made sure her back was turned towards Karl’s office as she emptied the bin that Ivor had just given her. She didn’t want Ivor to see her going through his rubbish. She wrinkled her nose as she quickly inspected the contents. Just boring paperwork. She quickly returned to the corner office and put the bin back. Ivor was standing near the window, still talking on the phone. “Okay, I’ll meet you in twenty minutes. I know, I understand.”

  Cain pulled the vacuum closer and indicated his head towards Karl’s office. Julia shook her head and Cain switched the machine off.

  Julia walked with Cain to the cupboard where the vacuum was kept. As Cain put the vacuum away Julia told him about going to look at Ivor’s house. Cain nodded and said, “That’s a sneaky move.”

  “I know. I feel so guilty. I’ll probably end up offering to do his cleaning for free.”

  Cain closed the cupboard. “Unless Ivor turns out to be the one who killed Karl.”

  “Exactly. Then he can do his own cleaning.” Julia paused for a moment and then added, “Of course he’ll be in prison then. He can do his own cleaning in prison. Are you ready to go to the basement or are you going to chicken out again?”
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br />   Cain squared his skinny shoulders. “I am ready to face my fears.” He opened his arm out. “After you.”

  Cain stayed two steps behind Julia as they headed towards the basement. He lingered by the lift doors as Julia pushed the cleaning trolley along the basement floor. She called back over her shoulder, “You can’t face your fears from over there!”

  Cain took a couple of hesitant steps forward. “I’m facing them right now, thank you.”

  Julia tutted to herself and emptied the trolley bin. She cocked her head. She couldn’t hear any squeaking. Perhaps the vampire rats were having a sleep.

  Julia looked in the direction of the metal filing cabinets. She recalled what Joe had said about some dodgy sales reps from Karl’s past. Could one of them have returned to Karl’s life recently? Maybe the sales rep had some information on Karl about Karl’s own past? Maybe the sales rep wanted to blackmail Karl and they got into a fight over it?

  Julia screamed as someone tapped her on the shoulder. Cain said, “Are you alright? You were staring at something. Was it a rat?”

  Julia indicated her head towards the far side of the basement. “I wouldn’t mind having a look at some of those old files. I want to know what Joe was talking about earlier, he mentioned some sort of dodgy business.”

  “Do you think it might have something to do with Karl’s murder?”

  Julia shrugged. “I don’t know. I think my imagination is going wild with ideas.” A sudden yawn escaped from her. “Oh! I’m too tired to think straight!”

  Cain said, “You don’t have to look through dusty files, you could look on the Internet instead. If there’s anything dodgy about Karl, or this company, it’ll be on the Internet.”

  Julia nodded. “You’re right. Come on, time to go home.”

  Cain pressed his lips together, a determined look came over his face. “Perhaps we should go further into this basement and look at the files now. I would definitely be facing my fears then.”