Judy's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 2)

by Gillian Larkin

  Cara tried to smile. It was difficult because Robin had just appeared at her side and told her that Judy was going to die in less than two hours.

  Chapter 9

  Cara looked at Robin and raised her eyebrows as if asking for more information.

  He frowned and shook his head. He looked as if he was going to say more but a look of terror appeared on his face. He raised a shaking finger and shouted, “Look out!” He vanished.

  Judy pushed Cara to one side as a group of women rushed their way. Most of them were clutching books by A. J. Moss. The look in their eyes frightened Cara, as if they were saying, ‘Woe betide anyone who gets in the way of me and my favourite author!’

  Judy pressed herself back against the wall, Cara did the same. Judy said, “Good heavens! The world has gone mad. What are they going to say when A. J. Moss reveals himself? What will they do? I wonder if we should call security.”

  Cara’s heart missed a beat. Was that how Judy was going to die today? Would she be crushed under the feet of furious fans when they discovered the real identity of A. J. Moss? Cara said to Judy, “Perhaps you should wait outside.”

  Judy stood up straighter. “Absolutely not. I want to support Andrew. Look, everyone’s in and seated now. He’ll be out in a minute.”

  The women settled down and chatted excitedly. No one noticed Andrew as he walked to the front of the room. He smiled at the women and waited. One by one, nosiness got the better of them and they began to grow quiet.

  Andrew smiled even more and said, “Good evening, thank you for coming here tonight.” His smile wavered and he took a deep breath. “I’m A. J. Moss. I’m Andrew James Moss.”

  Nobody seemed to breathe and the air seemed impossibly still. Cara braced herself, ready to shove Judy out into the corridor in the event of a stampede.

  Andrew looked less confident. He swallowed and then began to talk about his struggle to become a writer. The atmosphere slowly changed from hostile to friendly and interested. Some of the women sat up straighter and patted their hair down as Andrew aimed smiles in their direction. His easy-going charm and ready smile soon won them over.

  Judy’s hand was fiddling away with her pearl necklace. She looked at Cara and whispered, “Phew! I thought they were going to lynch him.” Her hand dropped to her side and she shot Andrew a big smile.

  Andrew reached out to the table behind him and picked up a book. “I’m going to read a bit from my first book, you probably know this one! It’s the book that started this amazing journey for me. I’ll also read from my latest book.” He opened the paperback and leant against the table.

  Cara had only read the first few chapters of his book previously before deciding it wasn’t for her. Andrew started reading from the middle of the book. He showed no signs of embarrassment as he read out the steamier parts. Unlike Cara who felt like her cheeks were actually going to burst into flames at any second.

  She looked at Judy to see if she felt the same. Cara couldn’t read Judy’s expression. Judy was standing very still, as if transfixed by Andrew’s words.

  The readings were soon over and the women queued up to have their books signed.

  After ten minutes Judy said to Cara, “I’ll wait here until the book signing has finished. Would you see how the bookseller is doing downstairs? If he thinks he’s finished for the night, he can go.”

  Cara was reluctant to leave Judy’s side but thought she could run downstairs, do what she had to, and be back in the room in five minutes. She jogged out of the room and down the stone steps. As soon as she walked into the hall where the bookseller was she noticed Lauren and Millie huddled together in a corner. Lauren was holding a tablet device and smiling. What were they up to? Was it something to do with Judy?

  Cara casually walked up to the bookseller’s table and picked up a book. The man behind the table said, “Are you going to buy that? It’s one of A. J. Moss’. I was hoping to sell loads but most people have brought their own to be signed.”

  Cara glanced down at the book. This was Andrew’s first book. A movement from Lauren caught her eye. Cara said to the man, “I’m just having a look.”

  The man tutted and said, “Typical. That’s what they all say and then they order them online.” He pointed towards the door. “Look at those women that are walking out now, I could have made a killing with book sales today. But no, they had to bring their own. I might as well start packing up, the event’s nearly over.” He moved towards the other end of the table.

  Cara opened the book and made a pretence of reading it as she moved closer to Lauren and Millie. Their heads were together and they were wearing the same expression of glee. Cara gripped the book, they were up to something and she was going to find out what that was!

  A few minutes later Millie cackled with joy. “This is going to ruin her! I love it! I can’t wait to see her face.”

  Lauren joined in with the cackling. “I know. Nobody will want her on the committee after this. She’ll probably lose her job too! Good riddance.”

  Millie laughed even more. “Let’s hope she moves away from this town altogether. I’m sick of seeing your father make an idiot of himself over her.”

  At that moment Thomas rushed into the room. Cara almost dropped her book as he yelled, “Lauren! Millie! Stop right now! I know what you’re up to!”

  Lauren pulled the tablet to her chest. Millie sneered at Thomas and said, “Go away! This doesn’t concern you.”

  “It does concern me! I’ve found out about your plan. You thought you were safe making files on that computer at home. You thought I’d never find them. ‘Poor Thomas, doesn’t know how to work a computer’.” He stopped in front of Millie and Lauren. His voice went cold as he said, “I decided to learn how to use the computer when I saw how much time you two were spending on it lately. I knew you were up to something. I found those pictures of Judy, the ones that you’ve doctored. And I saw those words that you’re planning to put online, those disgusting rumours that you’ve made up! Why? Why would you do that to Judy? You’ll ruin her reputation.”

  Millie spat, “She deserves it!”

  Thomas shook his head. “No, Millie, she doesn’t deserve it. You’re jealous of her. And rightly so, I should have married her all those years ago, not you.” He looked at Lauren and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself. What will your clients think when they find out what you’ve done? What will your boss think?”

  Lauren gasped. “Dad! You wouldn’t tell them! Please?”

  Thomas sighed. “I haven’t decided yet. Have you gone ahead with your disgusting plan?”

  Lauren shook her head and looked at the floor.

  Thomas sighed again. “If either of you go ahead with it I’ll make sure there are consequences. Either way, Millie, we’re finished.” He turned and walked away, not noticing Cara as he passed her.

  Cara forced her attention on the book as Lauren and Millie began to argue with each other. So that’s what they were up to. Planning to spread rumours and post doctored photos of Judy. Cara shook her head as she flicked through the pages of the book. She paused in mid-flick. Something had caught her eye in the book. She read on. That can’t be right? Cara quickly flicked through the rest of the book, stopping at a few selected pages and skimming through the text. No! It can’t be!

  She flung the book down and picked up another one of Andrew’s. Her hands began to shake as she read the blurb on the back.

  Robin appeared at her side. “Cara! Cara! It’s going to happen! Judy is going to die in less than a minute! Hurry!”

  Tears came to Cara’s eyes as she faced Robin. She said, “I know who’s going to kill her.”

  Chapter 10

  Cara raced out of the room and up the stone steps. She could hear two voices, one of them was shouting - Andrew James Moss.

  He yelled, “Judy, I’m sorry! You can’t tell anyone! It’s taken me so long to get this far! I can’t let you ruin my reputation.”

  Judy said, “Andrew, it’s oka
y! I understand, please calm down.”

  “No one can know what I’ve done! Ever!”

  As Cara rounded the corner towards the last flight of stairs she saw Andrew James Moss thrust his hands out towards Judy who was standing on the top step. Judy’s arms flailed as she tried to get her balance. Cara sped forward, already knowing that it was too late.

  Judy screamed as she began to fall backwards. Cara leapt forward and held her arms out in the hope of somehow catching Judy. Cara’s breath was knocked out of her as Judy collided into her. Together, they headed towards the stone steps.

  Cara felt a whoosh of air beneath her and time seemed to slow down as she landed softly on the steps. Judy landed gently at her side. Cara blinked, it was as if they’d landed on a pile of feathers. She looked down and saw that Robin was lying on the steps beneath them, his huge wings open. He’d caught both of them. He grinned at Cara and said, “That was close!”

  Andrew let out a roar of horror as he ran down the steps. “Judy! Judy! What have I done? Are you okay?” He burst into tears and covered his face with his hands. “How could I do that? To you? What an idiot! Oh!”

  Judy pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked at Cara and said in a hushed tone, “I think you just saved my life! Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  Cara shook her head. “I’m fine.” The black death line around Judy had gone. Cara felt relief wash over her. She repeated, “Judy, I’m fine, and so are you.”

  Chapter 11

  Later that evening Cara sat across from Robin in her living room. He shook his head, laughed, and shook his head again. “That was so exciting! Can you believe we got there in time? Can you believe we saved Judy’s life?”

  Cara didn’t share his enthusiasm. “Robin, we nearly didn’t. Another second and Judy would have hit her head on those stone steps and most likely have died.”

  Robin’s smile faded. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve got all these new emotions to deal with, I’m not sure how to act. How did you know that Andrew was going to kill her?”

  “He’s been using her stories and passing them off as his own. He added bits in to make them erotic reads but he kept the storyline, and even the names were similar. His first book was exactly like the manuscript of Judy’s that I read last night. I didn’t realise until I flicked through his book again. And Judy told me about the other stories she’d written, the ones that she’s only shared with her writing group, which includes Andrew. He stole them and published them as his own. Judy must have realised what he’d done when she listened to his reading. She must have confronted him.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he pushed her down the stairs.”

  Robin nodded. “He’s full of remorse now. You saved his soul.”

  “I don’t care about his soul, I care about Judy. I wonder if she’s going to tell the police what he’s done. I’m glad Thomas came to see her, he can look after her. Maybe I should ring Judy.”

  Robin held up a hand. “You have to leave them alone. You’ve done what you had to. Judy will contact you if she feels the need.”

  Cara sighed. “I wasn’t expecting this to be so difficult.”

  “Neither was I,” Robin admitted. “I was pretty useless, wasn’t I? I’ll never be as good as Edward, he wouldn’t have disappeared because he was overcome with sadness.”

  Cara smiled. “I’ll never be as good as Gran. But we can try, can’t we?”

  Robin jumped up. “Oh! I’ve just remembered! My feather! You get one of my feathers.” He opened his arms and his wings appeared. A solitary feather floated away from his wing and towards Cara. She caught it and pulled it to her chest. Robin laughed as the missing white feather was replaced by a silver one. “My first silver feather! Awesome!”

  Cara looked at the white feather that was hers to keep. It would always remind her of Judy.

  Robin said, “You should be proud of yourself, you saved Judy’s life.”

  Cara nodded. “With your help.”

  Robin clapped his hands together and said, “Right! Let’s get on with the next job!”

  A note from the author

  I’ve been writing murder mysteries for a few years now. I recently got the idea that I wanted to write stories about someone stopping murders from occurring in the first place. I realised that person would need some sort of paranormal/supernatural help to let her know when the possible murders would occur and I came up with angels. That got me thinking: if you knew someone was going to be murdered soon, what would you do to stop it?

  Read Cara’s other stories, you can find details of them on my website :

  www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

  If you sign up to my newsletter through my website you will receive 3 short stories in pdf form as a thank you gift.

  You can contact me on : gillianlarkin67@gmail.com

  Best wishes

  Gillian

  A CARA DANIELS COZY MYSTERY

  JUDY’S DEATH

  BY

  GILLIAN LARKIN

  www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

  Front cover images by Vectorstock.com

  Copyright 2015 by Gillian Larkin

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication must be reproduced in any form,

  without permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, is purely

  coincidental.