Death Takes A Trip (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 5)

by Larkin, Gillian

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the hospital. Nina will be worried sick, I told her I’d be in to see her first thing.”

  “Get in, I’ll give you a lift.”

  Douglas didn’t need telling twice. He opened the passenger door and got in. “That’s decent of you, thank you. And thank you for sorting my window out. If I ever catch the nitwit that broke it I’ll have my gun out in a flash. I’ll teach them a lesson.”

  Julia drove away. “You can’t just shoot anyone.”

  “More’s the pity,” Douglas grumbled.

  “Like I said in my note, I took the rock that came through the window. You can give it to the police when you report the broken window.”

  “Like hell I will! What are the police going to do? I can take care of myself.”

  Julia smiled. “I thought you might say that. I’ll let the police know then, I’ve got contacts there.”

  “Do what you like. I’ve got other things on my mind.”

  “Nina? That’s why I’ve been phoning you. How is she?”

  “Doing well. The doctor said it was a miracle that she didn’t break anything. She’s covered in bruises, but other than that, she’s okay.” He sighed happily. “What an amazing woman she is.”

  “She’s lucky, and so are you. You could have tripped over that carpet at any time. I’m surprised that I didn’t find you at the bottom on one of my visits!”

  Douglas chuckled. “And I’ll bet you still would have helped yourself to my herb garden.”

  “Of course I would. You said I could help myself anytime. I wouldn’t let a dead body get in my way.”

  Douglas let out a bark of laughter. “That’s the spirit! No need to let corpses get in your way. Speaking of which, here we are at the hospital. You should see some of the patients that are on Nina’s ward. When I first saw them I wasn’t sure if they were alive or waiting to be wheeled away to the mortuary. I hated leaving Nina there last night but the doctor insisted.”

  Julia pulled into the car park. Douglas said, “You might as well find a parking space. I know you want to see Nina for yourself. It’ll cost you an arm and a leg to park here though.”

  Julia parked up and paid for a ticket. Douglas moved from foot to foot at her side. “Hurry up, woman! Nina’s waiting for me.”

  “I’m ready,” Julia said. She followed Douglas into the hospital and along corridors. For an older man he moved swiftly. She was out of breath as they turned into a ward.

  Julia was expecting to see a wan-faced Nina surrounded by similar-looking patients. She stopped in mid-step and blinked. Blimey, it looked like some sort of party was going on. Nina was propped up in bed, wearing dark blue silky pyjamas, a similar coloured ribbon held back her hair. The patients at either side of her were smiling in her direction like awe struck fans. Chairs had been pulled up all around Nina’s bed and were occupied by various women, all above the age of sixty by the look of them. Vases of flowers adorned Nina’s bedside table and there were many boxes of open chocolates spread over her bed. The chocolates were being eaten regularly by Nina’s visitors.

  Julia was surprised that the hospital staff were allowing such a rowdy event to continue. But one look at the smiling faces of the nearby nurses told Julia that they had fallen under Nina’s spell too.

  “Douglas!” Nina called out. “You came! I was wondering where you were. Oh, everybody, it’s Douglas. Doesn’t he look handsome this morning?”

  There was some nodding between the women. Julia saw a couple of them eyeing up Douglas’ behind as he bent over to give Nina a kiss. Julia walked closer to Nina’s bed.

  “Julia! Oh, my dear, how lovely to see you! Look, everyone, this is Julia. We only met yesterday but I feel like we’re going to be great friends.” Julia felt heat rush to her cheeks as many pairs of eyes looked her up and down.

  One of the women stood up and said, “Nina, we have to be going. You take care and don’t listen to those doctors! They know nothing. Remember what they said about my wind problem? Pah! They know nothing.”

  The other women stood up too and said their goodbyes to Nina. Nina insisted that they take some of the chocolates with them. The women refused at first but Nina insisted that they take them. There was a lot of chattering and nattering as the group buttoned up their coats, collected their handbags and said another farewell to the patient.

  “Don’t even think about coming back to work yet!” a woman with purple hair said, pointing a finger at Nina.

  Douglas, Nina and Julia waited for the women to leave. When they had Nina said to Julia, “Could you take those other boxes of chocolates? I didn’t want to upset my friends but chocolate does not agree with me at all! Please, don’t refuse, you’ll be doing me a favour.”

  Julia took the last two boxes off the bed and put them in her bag. Chocolate didn’t disagree with her at all, it very much agreed with her. Julia sat down and asked how Nina was.

  Nina’s eyes sparkled and she motioned for Douglas to pull the curtains on at either side of her bed. As soon as the curtains were pulled Nina burst into tears. “Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t help it! I tried to be brave for my friends, they’ve been so kind to me, but I can’t keep my tears in.”

  Douglas put his arm around her and said, “There, there, my love, what’s the matter?”

  Nina sniffed and pulled a lace handkerchief from her sleeve. “My body hurts more than I let on. I’m trying to be strong. I want to go home, Douglas, I don’t like being in hospital. I feel like I’m closer to death here. Don’t tell the doctors I’ve been crying, will you?”

  Douglas pulled her closer. “Of course I won’t. We’ll have you out of here today. You can stay at my house, I’ve got plenty of room.”

  “No, I can’t put you to any bother.”

  “Nonsense! I insist on it.”

  “But what will people think?”

  “They can think what they like. I won’t take no for an answer.” Douglas turned to Julia and said, “I’m not leaving this hospital without Nina. I might be here a while, you can go. Thank you for the lift but we’ll get a taxi back.”

  “I don’t mind waiting,” Julia said.

  Nina’s tears began again. “Oh, I’m being such a nuisance! I don’t want you to see me like this.”

  Julia felt Nina’s embarrassment and stood up. “You’re not a nuisance. I’ll go but ring me if you need anything.”

  Nina held her hand out and pulled Julia close. She pecked her on the cheek and said, “Thank you, you’ve been so kind.”

  Julia waved her thanks away. She said goodbye and walked away. Douglas still had his arm around Nina’s frail-looking shoulders. Nina looked ready to burst into tears again.

  As Julia drove away from the hospital she felt a determination wash through her body. She was going to see the police and tell them about the rock, the footprints and the men in the woods. If Nina Sapphire was going to be staying with Douglas the last thing she needed was another rock through the window!

  Chapter 7

  Dad turned up at Julia’s house on Sunday afternoon. She made him a cup of tea and took him into the living room. She asked him how his week had been.

  “Oh, you know, busy busy. I’m sure I never did this much when I was working,” he said. “I’m still going to my knitting group. I’ve made a hat and matching scarf for Cain. Do you think he’ll like them?”

  Julia smiled. “He’ll like anything that you make for him, you’ve become good friends, haven’t you?”

  Dad nodded. “He’s like the son I never had, he’s great.”

  Julia tutted. “Aren’t two daughters enough for you?”

  “I suppose so, but it’s nice to have Cain around. He never complains about doing hard physical work at his gran’s house.”

  Julia was about to say that she never complained at hard physical work, but she knew that wasn’t true. If she did, Dad would only bring up the subject of the paved path at his house, and how she and her sister, Anna, refused to help h
im because the stones were too heavy. Instead, she said, “How are you getting on at Cain’s house? I suppose we should call it that, rather than his gran’s, seeing as she left it to him.”

  “Well, we’ve painted as much as we can outside. He’ll need new windows and doors soon. But we’ve made a good start on the garden. I was there with him yesterday. We started laying a paved path.” He stopped and gave her a pointed look. “Some of his neighbours were watching us, you know how nosy some old folk are. The one next to Cain came over in the afternoon and asked if he’d mind cutting her grass. She said the lawnmower was getting too heavy for her. She said she’d pay. I could tell Cain was going to say he’d cut it for free so I butted in and said he’d do it for a small amount. I know how proud he is about money but he needs to get some savings built up if he’s going back to college.”

  Julia nodded. “He’ll soon do that, he’s a hard worker. Have any of the other neighbours asked him to do any work?”

  Dad laughed. “How did you know to ask that? Of course they did, I could see the net curtains twitching as he cut his neighbour’s grass. They’re all getting on a bit in Cain’s street, and I think they feel a bit sorry for him too. You should see the amount of cake and biscuits he gets given! He forced me to take some. I don’t know what your mother’s going to say, you know she wants me to eat healthily and all that New Age rubbish.” He paused and frowned. “I’ll keep my goodies in the shed. She never goes in there. Now, what have you been up to? Cain told me all about Douglas and his new lady friend. How is she after her fall?”

  Julia filled him in on all the details, including the rock through the kitchen window. She told him that she’d been to the police station too. “I wanted to speak to DI Clarke but he wasn’t in. I left a message for him, he hasn’t phoned me back. There’s something funny going on with that construction company, I just know it.”

  Dad nodded as he listened. “I’ve heard tales about Adams Construction too. They build these modern houses that nobody wants. They can’t be using good materials if they’re building them so quickly. A workman takes pride in his creations, he doesn’t rush them.”

  Julia said, “I wish I could talk to someone at that company, see what their thoughts about Douglas’ house are. And I wouldn’t mind seeing the inside of one of their new houses, see what all the fuss is about.”

  Dad gulped down his tea, set it on the table and said, “You’d better get your coat then.”

  “Pardon?”

  “They’ve built some more houses at the far side of Douglas’ land. They’ve got a show house open.” He stood up. “Well? Do you want have a look or not?”

  Julia put her own cup down. “I’ll get my coat.”

  A short while later Dad pulled up outside the show home. Julia tutted and said, “Doesn’t look like much. Look at the garden, all that paving and pebbles. You’d never get anything growing on there.” She thought about the constant battle she was having with the weeds in her front garden. “Although, I suppose you could plant some tubs up, place them at the side of the door. That would look nice.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. Get that dreamy look off your face. We’re going in.”

  Julia followed Dad into the new house. She ignored the lovely smell of new carpets and paint. When had her house last smelled like that?

  A smiling woman met them in the hallway. “Good afternoon! Welcome to the Windsor! It’s beautiful, isn’t it? All modern conveniences! Should you decide to purchase one of our stylish homes you will have full say over what colour of paint and carpets you’d like! And we have a wide choice of kitchen cabinets to choose from. My name’s Delilah. I’ll leave you to look around, call if you need me!”

  “Ta,” Dad said shortly. Delilah nodded and disappeared into a side room, closing the door behind her. Dad nudged Julia and said, “Close your mouth before you catch any flies.”

  “There aren’t any flies in here. Dad! Look, there’s a downstairs toilet. I’ve always wanted one of them.”

  Dad sniffed in disgust as they walked down the carpeted hallway. “What’s the problem with having a toilet upstairs? It’s not hygienic having one downstairs.”

  Julia’s feet sank into the carpet as they walked along. She wished she could fling her shoes off and wriggle her toes into the soft fibres.

  Dad sniffed again as they looked into the beautiful kitchen. “Does anyone need all those appliances? Who needs a wine rack? What’s wrong with putting wine in the fridge? And what’s the point of having a utility room?”

  “I’d love a utility room. And a wine rack. Look at that fridge! It’s got its own ice cube maker!”

  “You can buy ice cube bags from the supermarket. Can you stop being so enthusiastic? Have you forgotten that these people have most likely threatened your friend, Douglas?”

  Julia’s smile faded. “I haven’t forgotten. I’ll try to curb my enthusiasm.”

  She tried hard and didn’t utter a word when she saw the amazing en suite that was part of the master bedroom. She didn’t even raise her eyebrows when she saw the huge bath located in the family bathroom. She squeaked a little when she saw the walk-in wardrobe complete with shoe racks.

  Dad tutted and grumbled all the way round the house. “Look at all the plastic they’ve used. And that window is far too small.”

  Julia pointed to a small bedroom. “You could use that as your hobby room. Look, it’s got a built-in wardrobe. You could put all your wool in there. And your secret supply of cake.”

  Dad nodded thoughtfully. “Aye, I could. Your mum does complain about tripping over my wool.” He gave a start and said, “Stop that! If you want to go over to the dark side, then go ahead! But don’t take me with you.”

  Julia laughed and moved over to the window. “Oh look, Dad, there’s a lovely view of the woods.”

  “A view to die for,” a voice said behind them.

  Dad swore and clutched his chest. “Heck! You gave me a start then. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  Delilah gave them a professional smile and said, “It’s the carpet that we use, so thick and luxurious. You have a choice of over thirty colours! What do you think of the Windsor?”

  Julia wondered for a second if Delilah had been silently following them around the house. She must be hoping for a sale. Julia remembered why they were there. She nodded towards the window and said, “That’s an amazing view. I’d love to live somewhere surrounded by trees. Have you any plans to build on that land out there?”

  Delilah looked to her left and right. Goodness knew who she was expecting to see. She lowered her voice and said, “I shouldn’t be telling you this but we are planning to build on that land. Negotiations are underway with the owner of the land. We even have a mock-up model of the houses that we’re going to build there. It’s all hush-hush at the moment but if you’re interested I could take your email and keep you up to date with developments.”

  Julia saw her dad’s eyes narrow. She put a smile on her face and said to Delilah, “Yes, I’d like that very much, thank you.”

  Chapter 8

  Julia and Cain were busy with cleaning jobs over the next few days. DI Clarke never phoned her back. Julia didn’t pursue him. She hadn’t told Douglas about speaking to the police. She’d reconsidered the matter over the last few days, it really was none of her business.

  She spoke to Douglas a few times over the phone. He told her that Nina was recovering quickly at his house, and that she was a delightful patient. He said, “I never thought I’d enjoy somebody’s company so much again after my Val died. I never thought I’d find happiness again. And I think Nina feels the same way.”

  “I’m pleased for you,” Julia said. She hesitated a moment and then said, “Have you heard anything more from Adams Construction?”

  He laughed. “No! And I haven’t had any more broken windows if that’s the information that you’re after.”

  “That’s good.” Julia didn’t know whether to tell him about the plans that Delilah had mentioned to
her and Dad on Sunday. Maybe she shouldn’t, she didn’t want to spoil his good mood. She said, “Has the window been fixed?”

  “It certainly has. And the carpet has been secured perfectly. Thank you for organising that. Julia, could I ask you a favour?”

  “Of course.”

  “Nina’s insisting on going back to work on Wednesday. You know she volunteers at that cat charity shop in town, she seems to think that they can’t manage without her. I’ve tried talking her out of it but she won’t listen. If you’re in town on Wednesday would you mind popping in to make sure she’s okay. Don’t let her know I’ve sent you!”

  “Yes, I can do that. It’s time I had a good clear out of my clothes anyway. I’ll take some in.”

  That conversation had taken place on Monday night, it was now Wednesday afternoon. Julia and Cain were heading towards the cat charity shop, each laden with plastic bags.

  Cain said, “Is this all your stuff? Have you got any clothes left at home?”

  “Yes. These are my hopeful clothes. I’ve had them for years, hoping that I’ll fit back into them. I’ve got a pair of shorts in there that are older than my children. I had to face up to the fact that I’m not going to fit into them again.”

  Cain said, “You must miss your children.”

  “I do. But they’ll be coming home from university soon, you’ll get a chance to meet them.”

  Cain said, “I hope they like me.”

  “Of course they’ll like you! Dad’s been singing your praises to them for weeks.” She stopped and looked at a shop window. “Here we are. Oh, they’ve got good quality clothes in the window. I hope they won’t be offended by my tatty garments.”

  She opened the door and stepped through. Cain followed her. The shop was neatly laid out and there were many customers. Julia’s eye immediately saw the book section. No, she didn’t need any more books, she had plenty. But still, it wouldn’t hurt to look.