“It took a few weeks, but she was eventually rescued. She never said much about what had happened to her during her captivity, but she wasn’t the same woman. She’d aged and her confidence had gone. There were physical injuries which healed quicker than the mental ones. Arnie spent a lot of time with her after she was released. He persuaded her to leave the police force.”
“And did she leave?” Julia asked.
“She left the UK police force, but she moved to Australia and joined the force there. The crime rate is almost non-existent in the town where she works. She phones us often and she’s back to the woman she was, more or less. I think Arnie can see the same stubbornness in you, and he’s afraid you’re going to get hurt. You even look a bit like Rachel.”
Julia pushed her empty dish away. “Thanks for telling me. I honestly don’t go out of my way to find dead bodies, it just happens. I keep telling him that.”
“I know.” Gemma scooped up the last of her sponge and put it in her mouth.
Julia opened her folder of treatments. “I’m booked in for a manicure tomorrow. I’ve never had one before.” She checked her watch. “We’ve got some time before our chocolate therapy sessions. Shall we have a walk around the gardens? I’ve heard good reports about them. And I could do with working off some of this food. That broccoli was too much for me.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ve got a small garden at home and I’d love to do something with it. Or better still, get someone in to do it for me.”
“I could ask Cain, he works for me.”
“I know all about Cain. He seems a lovely chap, considering his past. I can’t believe he went to prison for crimes his brothers committed. I know his family’s reputation from my time in the force. He’s better off away from them. Has he started to do gardening work?”
“He has. He loves it. He’s got a real knack for it. He talks to the plants, and sings to them too. He says it helps them grow. He’s still doing cleaning work with me but he fits his gardening work in around it. I don’t know how he does it. He never rests. But he’s happy. I can ask him to call round to your house. He’ll most likely offer his services for free, he keeps doing that, and I keep telling him not to.”
“I shall insist on paying him.”
Julia groaned as she got to her feet. “I’m not sure a buffet is a good idea. As my dad tells me often, ‘Your eyes are bigger than your belly’. He might be right.”
Gemma stood up and pointed to the rear of the room. “We can get to the gardens through that door at the end. I love how there are so many patio doors in this building. They let a lot of light in.”
Julia and Gemma walked through the dining room and out of the far patio doors. A stone path led them to the beginnings of the garden. A delicate fragrance of flowers filled the air.
Julia took her phone out. “I’ll take some photos to show Cain. He probably knows the Latin names of all these flowers.” She started to take photos of the nearest rose bushes.
They walked leisurely through the rose garden. Julia took photos and Gemma gently stroked the delicate petals of the flowers.
They stopped at the end of the path. Julia tilted her head. “Can you hear that? What is it?”
“It sounds like a tennis match, but there’s a lot of cheering going on. Do you think there’s a tournament somewhere? Shall we have a nosy?”
“I’m all for having a nosy.”
They followed the sound of cheering and came to a set of tennis courts. A large group of women were clustered around one particular court.
Julia and Gemma made their way closer.
An older woman turned to the woman at her side and said, “Isn’t he amazing? I had to book my tennis lessons with him six months ago. He’s so popular.”
“I know,” her friend said. “I had to book my personal training session with him ten months ago. It’s worth the wait. And I’ve got his exercise DVDs to watch in the meantime.”
The other woman giggled and put a hand over her mouth. “I’ve got those too. Sometimes, I don’t even do the workouts. I get myself a glass of wine and just watch him.”
Julia shared a confused look with Gemma. Gemma shrugged in return.
Julia tapped the woman who’d spoken first on the shoulder. “Excuse me, who are you talking about?”
The woman’s eyes widened and she sized Julia up. “Who am I talking about? You must be new to this place.” She turned her head and pointed to a man inside the court. “Harry Lewis. That’s who I’m talking about.” A sigh followed and her face took on a dreamy look.
Julia said, “Who’s Harry Lewis? Does he work here?”
The woman didn’t take her eyes off the man as she spoke, “Yes, he works here. He’s the deputy manager, amongst other things. This place would fall apart if it wasn’t for him. He takes many exercise classes, but you won’t get in, not unless you booked months ago.”
The other woman spoke, “You can buy his exercise DVDs. They sell them here, or you can get them on Harry’s website.”
Julia and Gemma moved down the line of women until they found a gap. They stared at the man on the tennis court who was dressed in white shorts and a white T-shirt. He was giving instructions to a woman who was smiling up at him. Even from this distance, they could see the adoration in her eyes.
Harry must have felt them staring because he looked their way and raised a hand in greeting. Dimples appeared in his tanned face as he smiled.
Gemma tutted. “I don’t trust him. He’s too handsome. He looks like John Travolta in ‘Grease’. I don’t trust him at all. That man there, I mean, not John Travolta. I’ve never met John Travolta.”
Julia took another look at the muscular young man. She didn’t trust him either. And she didn’t like the calculating look in his eyes as he waved to his adoring fans. She was going to make sure she had nothing to do with Harry Lewis.
Chapter 7
Julia and Gemma left the women to ogle at Harry and they carried on walking through the gardens. Julia snapped away with her phone as they went.
After a while, Gemma said, “We’d better head back inside. It’s nearly one-thirty. Doesn’t your chocolate therapy starting at two o’clock? Mine’s fifteen minutes later.”
“Time is flying by today.”
They walked back to the main building and went inside. Gemma said, “My room’s on the ground floor. It’s this way. I’ll catch up with you later. It’s been lovely to meet you, Julia.”
“You too. I was beginning to think that DI Clarke had an imaginary wife.” She smiled and added, “I’ll try not to eat all the free chocolate.” Julia gave Gemma a wave and then headed in the direction of the stairs. As she walked past the reception desk she noticed Sienna Moss having a conversation with Harry Lewis. From the look on her face, Sienna wasn’t happy.
Sienna hissed, “I’m running a spa, not your fan club. I saw those women lining up at the side of your court. They could have been having treatments, or spending money in the gift shop. Instead, they were wasting their time eyeing you up. You should have told them to go away.”
Harry let out a low laugh. “What can I say? I can’t help having so many fans. Poor cows, they can’t help themselves. And you can stop giving me the hard look, Sienna, you know how much business I bring in. I don’t know what you’re complaining about. Was there anything else you wanted to moan about?”
Sienna looked as if there was plenty more she wanted to moan about, but her glance fell on Julia. Her annoyed look vanished and was replaced by a warm smile. “Ms Blake, how are you enjoying your stay? I trust everything is in order? If you have any problems at all, please let me know. Nothing is too much trouble.”
Julia smiled. “Everything is wonderful, thank you. I’m on my way to the chocolate therapy rooms soon.”
Harry sucked in his breath loudly. “Chocolate and women do not go well together. It goes straight to their hips and bums. And then it’s up to people like me to help them get rid of the fat.” He looke
d Julia up and down. “You’re not in too bad a shape, for your age. I can’t book you in for one of my personal training sessions, I’m too busy. But I do have a line of exercise DVDs that might interest you.”
Julia stiffened. What a cheek! She knew she should walk away but she couldn’t help herself. She turned to Sienna and said, “I do have a complaint, actually. I was expecting to have a calming walk around your gardens but the noise coming from the tennis courts was quite off putting. There was a lot of cheering and shouting. I believe your colleague here was the cause of the commotion.”
A satisfied look came over Sienna’s face. “Thank you for telling me that, Ms Blake. I will make an official note about it. Was there anything else?”
Harry folded his arms and snorted in disdain.
Julia gave him a direct look and said, “I don’t appreciate what you said about women and chocolate. I love chocolate and I would never give it up, no matter how much it settles on my hips. Don’t ever come between a woman and her chocolate.”
Julia heard a chuckle coming from Sienna.
Harry gave Julia a cold look and then he stormed away.
Sienna said, “Thank you. It’s not often I see the smug smile wiped from his face. I know I shouldn’t say that, but, you know.”
“I do know.” Julia gave her a quick smile before walking to the stairs.
“Julia! Wait.”
Julia looked over her shoulder to see Mum hurrying towards her. “Mum? Have you been crying? What’s happened?”
Mum linked her arm through Julia’s and they walked up the stairs. “These are happy tears. I’ve had such a good session with Indigo. She’s got a way of extracting deep, hidden hurts. Not that I had much hidden away. It’s just the stress of this last year. I cried so much! But it felt like a release. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
They reached their rooms. Julia frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to talk to me about anything?”
Mum stifled a yawn. “I’m done with talking for a while. Tears and tea were what I needed. I supplied the tears, and Indigo supplied the tea. I’ve got another session with her soon. I think I’ll have a nap. I haven’t had a nap in the afternoon in years, but I need one now.”
Mum opened her door and Julia went inside with her. Mum’s phone beeped from beside the bed. Mum reached for it. “It’s your dad. It’s a video call. He’s getting the hang of these now.” She yawned and tapped on the screen.
Julia came to Mum’s side and looked at the phone screen. Dad’s smiling face appeared. Cain was at Dad’s side.
Dad’s smile dropped. “Heck, Kathleen! What’s happened to your face? You look dreadful. What sort of treatments have you been having? Whatever you’ve had done, it hasn’t worked. I’ll be phoning that place up and asking for a refund.”
Mum shook her head. “I’ve been having therapy. I’ve released some emotions and I’ve had a good cry.”
“Cry?” Dad shouted. “I didn’t send you to a spa so you could cry. Put me though to reception right now.”
Cain’s eyes narrowed. “Julia, have you been crying too? Your face looks puffy.”
Julia’s nostrils flared. “No, I haven’t been crying, Cain Andrews. And I haven’t had any treatments done yet. I always look like this.”
Mum yawned again. “Ray, was there something you wanted to talk to me about? If so, can it wait? I’m exhausted.”
Dad said, “I wanted to make sure you were okay, my love. I’ve been ringing you for the last thirty minutes.”
“I’m fine. I didn’t take my phone with me. That’s the point of having peace and quiet, you leave distractions behind.”
“Aye, I suppose so.” Dad looked at Julia. “So, what’s it like that? What are you going to have done? A facial? A body wrap? I’ve heard that those takes inches off you.”
Cain joined in, “What about an eyebrow trim? Or a wrinkle remover session? Do they do that sort of thing?”
“Actually, I’m going to a chocolate therapy session soon. I’ll be having a chocolate facial and body scrub, and then I’ll lie in a tank of melted chocolate. And I’ll get to eat as much free chocolate as I want. Ha! What do you think about that?”
Cain and Dad shared a look. Dad nodded at Cain. Cain walked away from Dad and took his own phone out. He tapped away for a moment.
Julia said, “What’s he doing?”
Dad held up a finger and looked back at Cain.
Cain looked up from his phone. “I can book us a break there next month. And I’ve found a Groupon voucher.”
Dad gave him a thumbs up and turned back to Julia. “We’ll want to hear all about that chocolate thing later. You’d better put your mum to bed, her eyes are closing. We’ll phone later.”
“Wait,” Julia said. “Is everything alright with work? Is Cain okay on his own? Is he keeping to the cleaning schedule?” She stopped her questions when she saw the hurt look on Cain’s face. “Sorry, I know everything’s okay. I know you can deal with everything. I’m just a worrier. Speak to you later.”
She ended the call and then helped Mum to her bed.
Mum muttered, “Set my alarm for 2:15. I don’t want to miss my next session with Indigo.” She turned on her side and closed her eyes.
Julia set the alarm and then pulled a cover over Mum. She used the adjoining door to go into her own room. She hadn’t even had a good look around it yet. She quickly unpacked her suitcase and put her clothes away.
Julia noticed the thick, white dressing gown in the bathroom and decided to change into it. “Might has well get into the spirit of the spa.” She put her phone on silent and put it in her pocket - just in case there was a cleaning emergency.
She checked on Mum again before leaving and then left the room. As she headed down the carpeted stairs, she smiled to herself. She was having a lovely time.
Chapter 8
Julia walked past the reception desk and noticed Sienna wasn’t there anymore. A young woman in a uniform smiled as Julia went by.
Julia followed the directions on the map which Erin had given her earlier. She walked along a corridor and soon noticed a slight aroma of chocolate. She must be going the right way. A handwritten sign was pinned outside a door at the end of the corridor which stated the chocolate therapy area was inside. Julia went through the door and found Erin standing behind a small reception desk.
“Ah, Julia. You’re here. Let me apologise for the makeshift look of this area. It’ll look more permanent once I get the official go ahead from Sienna. She’s waiting until we get feedback from our guests about this new therapy.” She looked down at a sheet in front of her. “You’re going to have the chocolate facial first, followed by the chocolate body scrub. I shall have to think up some suitable names for these treatments soon, something chocolatey. Shall we get started?”
“Yes, please.” Julia waved a hand over herself. “Am I okay to wear this gown? I’ve noticed other guests are dressed like this.”
“It’s perfect, but we will ask you to change into a towel when you have your treatments. Those gowns are expensive. Sienna would kill me if I got chocolate stains all over them. This way, please. I’ll take you to the first treatment room. Teresa, one of our top therapists, is waiting for you. I’ll be meeting you in a while in the floatation tank room, it’s at the end there. The chocolate is being warmed up as we speak.”
Erin led Julia through a door to their left. A smiling woman greeted them as they entered. Julia hadn’t yet seen a member of staff who didn’t smile at her.
“Teresa, this is Julia. She’s our first customer. Will you explain how the facial and body scrub work, please? And I’ll …” she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Julia saw a flash of annoyance cross Erin’s face as she looked at the screen. “Excuse me, Julia. I have to take this call. You’re in good hands with Teresa. I’ll see you soon in the floatation room.” She answered the call as she left the room.
Teresa started to explain about the benefi
ts of the facial and scrub, but Julia wasn’t fully listening. She could hear Erin on the phone and caught her saying, ‘Lori, I warned you about him. You knew you shouldn’t have taken things this far.” There was a pause and then Erin added, ‘Well, I’m sorry too, but it has to be done.’
Teresa said cheerfully, “So, that explains how it works. Have you got any questions?”
Julia did have one. “Is there real chocolate in the facial mask?”
“Yes.”
“Can I eat it?”
“No.”
“What would happen if I accidentally ate a tiny bit?”
“You would get an upset tummy. Erin’s already thought about what would happen if guests were tempted to eat the products.” Teresa took Julia over to the treatment table. “There’s a small dish of chocolates within your reach. If you get the urge to eat something, please, eat those and not our products.”
Julia nodded at her. “Thank you. I will.”
Teresa handed Julia a large fluffy towel and asked her to change into it behind a curtained off area. Julia did so and hung her dressing gown on a hanger in the changing area. She returned to the table and Teresa asked her to lie down and relax. Tinkling music sounded out from hidden speakers. Julia laid back and closed her eyes. Teresa started off by cleansing Julia’s face. She had a lovely touch and Julia felt herself relaxing more and more.
Julia could sense she was falling asleep as Teresa applied a delicious smelling mixture to her face. Teresa whispered she was leaving the room for five minutes to allow the special ingredients to perform their magic.
Julia nodded in understanding without opening her eyes. As the door opened, Julia heard a slight hum of conversation. She recognised Gemma’s voice. She was talking to Erin who was explaining to her what her treatments would be. Julia would talk to Gemma later about how wonderful this chocolate therapy was.
Death At The Spa (Julia Blake Cozy Murder Mystery Book 10) Page 3