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

by Larkin, Gillian

  “Stop drawing it out! Tell me or I’ll push you out of the car!”

  Cain said, “That’s not much of a threat, we haven’t set off yet.” His smile dropped as he took in Julia’s look. “Okay! I’ve been doing some gardening work for my neighbours, one of them is called Albert. He knew that I worked with you. We got chatting and I told him about the forest that’s at the back of Douglas’ land.”

  “Woods, not forest,” Julia corrected.

  “I prefer to call it a forest, it’s more exciting. Anyway, Albert knows somebody who used to live next door to Douglas. She’s called Gloria and she sold her house to Adams Construction. I can ask him for Gloria’s address.”

  Julia nodded. “Yes, do that. Thank you.”

  A few hours later Julia dropped Cain home and then headed towards her own house. She remembered what was in the boot of her car and made a right turn instead of the normal left turn that took her home.

  She pulled into the police car park and retrieved the cloth covered rock from her boot. DI Clarke was waiting for her at the entrance to the police station. Julia narrowed her eyes. “Are you waiting for me? Have you got a tracking device on me?”

  “No, it’s just a happy coincidence. I thought you’d turn up sooner or later. What’s that in your hand? Have you brought me a cake?”

  Julia opened the cloth and held up the item.

  Without showing any hint of humour the inspector said, “Ah, a rock cake.”

  Julia let out an undignified snort of laughter. She immediately regretted it. She said, “This is the rock that came through Douglas’ window. You can dust it for fingerprints.”

  “Is that a clean cloth?”

  Julia nodded.

  “It’s unlikely that we will get any prints off it.”

  “But you can try?” Julia asked.

  DI Clarke flicked the cloth back over the rock and took it from Julia’s outstretched hand. “We can try. Is there anything else?”

  “I was just wondering if you’ve got any further with your enquiries,” Julia said casually.

  There was a glint in the inspector’s eyes. Julia couldn’t read his expression, but that wasn’t anything new. She was convinced that DI Clarke practised his expressions, or lack of them, on a daily basis.

  DI Clarke said, “Not that it is any of your business but we have discovered that the carpet had been cut and pulled up deliberately, the part that had been fixed down is still in place.”

  “I knew it! What about the footprints in Douglas’ house? They belong to Alexander Adams, it must do. That’s whose voice I heard in the woods.”

  “Calm down, Ms Blake. Didn’t you say the voice in the woods belonged to a young man?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I’ve met Alexander Adams before, he’s in his sixties. I very much doubt that it was him that you heard in the woods. He’s got a good reputation, he’s not the type to go around throwing rocks through people’s windows.”

  Julia frowned and looked at the ground. Then she looked back at DI Clarke. “But he must have something to do with Douglas’ death. Have you interviewed him?”

  DI Clarke sighed. “That really is none of your business.” He held the rock up. “I will see to it that this is looked at but I want you to leave this investigation to me. Do you understand?”

  “Of course I understand. But if that carpet was cut deliberately that means that Douglas was murdered.”

  “We don’t know at all that he was murdered, all we know is that he fell down his stairs. I’ll say this again, Ms Blake, leave this investigation to me.” He turned on his heel and walked into the police station without saying another word.

  Julia knew she should leave the investigation to him but it seemed he had already decided that Alexander Adams was not connected to Douglas’ death. Julia wasn’t convinced.

  She was even less convinced when she went on the Internet later.

  Chapter 11

  There were a lot of positive posts about Alexander Adams and his construction work online. There were also a lot of photographs of the houses that his company had built. Julia tried not to be impressed by them. There were a few photographs of the man himself. DI Clarke was right about him being in his sixties. The photographs showed a smart-looking older man who was in good shape. Julia thought immediately that he looked fit enough to fling a rock through somebody’s window and then sprint away.

  She scrolled through more pages. There were plans of future housing developments but she couldn’t find any mention of any that were to be built on Douglas’ land. That didn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen.

  “Ah! I knew there was something fishy about him!” Julia had found a website that disclosed disreputable contractors. There were many comments about the poor quality of Adams’ houses and the problems that people had encountered when they tried to get recompense from the builders. Julia dug a bit deeper and found some comments about how Adams Construction had used bully-boy tactics to get people to sell their houses and land to make way for new homes. Julia was tempted to contact the people direct who had posted the comments but thought it would be a better idea to give the information to DI Clarke. She made a note of the website on her phone.

  She knew that Alexander Adams was up to something, she just wasn’t sure what, and she didn’t know how to prove it.

  Details, just details, she told herself as she switched her laptop off.

  Considering that she’d encountered a dead body that day, Julia had a decent night’s sleep and was raring to go the following day.

  She pulled up outside Cain’s house. The young man was sitting on his wall and waiting for her. During the drive, and their subsequent cleaning jobs, Julia told Cain about her visit to the police station and about what she’d discovered on the Internet.

  Cain rubbed at the window of the apartment they were now in and said, “I’ve asked Albert to give me Gloria’s address. I was working on his garden again last night. He wanted me to put something down that would keep the neighbour’s cats away.”

  “Cats!” Julia dropped her cloth into a nearby bucket of hot water. “Cat! Douglas’ pet. I’d forgotten all about her. Did you see her at Douglas’ house yesterday?”

  Cain shrugged. “I didn’t notice her, but I wasn’t really looking for her.”

  Julia said, “That poor cat. There’s no one to look after her. I must let DI Clarke know.” She paused. “Or we could go round to Douglas’ house and look for her ourselves. We are very near to his house. It will save me a phone call.”

  “And we can have a snoop inside Douglas’ house, look for clues,” Cain pointed out.

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Julia lied. “Let’s finish up here. We’re due a lunch break soon.”

  Julia’s plans to look inside Douglas’ house were thwarted by the large policeman standing at the front door. Julia explained about Cat and asked if she could go inside.

  The policeman shook his head. “No can do. Nobody is allowed inside, we’re still collecting evidence.”

  “What kind of evidence?” Julia asked.

  “I can’t tell you that. I’ll have a look for the cat myself later.”

  “She might be in the garden, or the woods,” Julia persisted. “Can we have a look in those places?”

  The policeman didn’t look convinced.

  Julia went on. “The cat got stuck in some bushes a few days ago. We had to help her out. I’m sure you don’t want a dead cat on your conscience. It won’t take us long to look.”

  The policeman gave her a stare that was worthy of DI Clarke. Finally, he relented and said, “Have a quick look. I’ve got cats of my own, I’d hate to think of one being stuck somewhere.”

  Julia and Cain were off down the path before the policeman could change his mind. The path went round the side of the house and into the garden.

  “What are you looking for?” Cain asked.

  Julia was staring intently at the ground as she walked. “Footprints. If you see any, let m
e know.”

  Cain adopted the same stare as Julia as they walked into the garden. They had a quick look around whilst calling for Cat at the same time.

  Julia said, “She might have gone into the woods again. Let’s try there.”

  They walked across the field and into the woods. Julia was still keeping a look out for footprints. They checked the bush that they’d found Cat in previously but she wasn’t there.

  Cain cocked his head. “I can hear people talking, and the sound of building work.”

  Julia pointed forwards. “It must be from the building site at the other side of the woods, it’s part of a new development. The show house that me and Dad went to on Sunday is part of it. Shall we have a closer look? Cat might have even gone into the show house.”

  They moved closer through the trees. Julia soon recognised the house that her and Dad had visited. They walked along the side of the surrounding fence to an opening where they saw lots of men in bright yellow vests working away. Julia and Cain were too busy staring at the scene in front of them that they didn’t notice that someone was approaching them. Julia only noticed when a shadow fell over her face.

  “May I help you?”

  Julia looked at the owner of the voice. She recognised him immediately. It was Alexander Adams. She gulped, he didn’t look that tall on his photographs. Embarrassment made her composure and good sense disappear. She pointed at him and said, “Yes! You can help me! I’m a friend of Douglas Pedley, the man who lived at the other side of this wood. He’s dead now and I think you have something to do with it!”

  She felt Cain tugging at her sleeve but she brushed him off. She knew she’d gone too far but her accusing words were out now.

  Concern crossed Alexander Adams’ face. “I had heard about Mr Pedley’s death but why do you think I had something to do with it?”

  In a calmer voice Julia said, “You hounded him to sell his house and land to you, you threatened him. I was in your show house on Sunday and I was told you have plans to build on Douglas’ land. Someone threw a rock through Douglas’ window to try and scare him.”

  Alexander Adams looked genuinely concerned. “I don’t know anything about a rock, and I certainly don’t know anything about plans to build on his land. I did approach Mr Pedley when we first planned to build those houses on his street. I made him a fair offer for his property but he said no. I followed up with a few letters but he made it perfectly clear that he didn’t intend to sell. I haven’t been in touch with him since. I can assure you that I didn’t have anything to do with his death, and I’m sorry you feel that way. Was there anything else?”

  Julia didn’t know what to say. Cain came to her rescue and said, “Douglas’ cat has gone missing, she’s ginger and she’s called Cat.”

  Alexander nodded. “I’ll keep a look out for her. If you’ll excuse me I have to go.”

  He walked away towards a portable building.

  Julia turned to Cain and said, “What do you think?”

  “I think he’s either a good liar, or someone who works for him is making secret plans behind his back.”

  “And those plans could involve getting rid of Douglas. We need to make some more enquiries about Adams Construction.”

  Chapter 12

  Julia dropped Cain off at the end of the day. He promised that he’d speak to Albert and see if he’d got Gloria’s address yet.

  Julia decided to call in on Nina to see how she was doing. She stopped at a supermarket on the way to buy a bunch of flowers. These were taken off her the second that Doris opened the door to her. “How kind, thank you. I’ll put them in a vase,” Doris said.

  She looked so happy that Julia didn’t have the heart to say the flowers were for Nina. Instead she said, “How’s Nina doing? Has she managed to rest?”

  Doris tutted and shook her head. “She’s a terrible patient, she keeps trying to get up off the sofa. She says she doesn’t want to be a nuisance, and I keep telling her that she’s not! I’m going to end up tying her down to that blooming sofa! You go through, I’ll sort my flowers out.”

  Nina gave Julia a bright smile when she entered the living room. Nina put a hand to the side of her mouth and said, “Are you here to help me escape? Quick! We can run out of the front door whilst Doris is in the kitchen. Have you left your car engine running?”

  Julia smiled. “I know you don’t mean that. Doris must be doing a good job of looking after you, you look much better today.”

  Nina’s chin wobbled slightly. “I’m trying to hold myself together. It’s hard though. I feel like crying all the time.” She sighed. “I suppose I am better off here, if I was at home I’d be in floods of tears. I can’t stop thinking about my Douglas, how happy he was when I said yes to his proposal.”

  Julia sat on the floor at the side of the sofa. “I’ve known Douglas a few years and I’ve never seen him look as happy as he did in the last week. Don’t forget that, he was all the better for knowing you.”

  Nina shook her head sadly. “It we hadn’t met, he’d still be alive.”

  “I’ll have to disagree. He looked more alive in the last week.” Julia stopped and realised what she’d said. She added, “Apart from yesterday, of course. I know his death is hard to take but trust me when I tell you that Douglas died a happy man.” She stopped again. “Sorry, he obviously didn’t die happily. I meant to say …”

  Nina put her hand on Julia’s arm. “I know what you’re trying to say. I appreciate your kindness.” Doris entered the room carrying a tray of tea things. Nina said dramatically, “It’s too late! Our escape plot has been foiled!”

  Doris laughed. “If you made a bid to escape I’d be after you in a shot. And I’d sit on you until you gave in. And let me tell you, Nina Sapphire, you’d give in pretty quick! I might look like a delicate flower but I’m not.”

  Julia gave Doris a quick look over. Those were not the words that she would use to describe Doris. She wisely kept her thoughts to herself.

  Doris put the tray down and said to Julia, “Get yourself off my clean carpet, you could have all sorts of cleaning chemicals on your bottom.”

  Julia stood up. “I always wear an apron, and I don’t use chemicals, thank you very much. Is there a cup of tea for me?”

  Doris laughed, “I admire your cheek. Go on, you can have a cuppa. Don’t wear my patient out or I’ll be kicking you out before you can say bleach.”

  Julia was about to say she didn’t use bleach when there was a loud knock on the front door. Julia had heard that knock before, it was one of a kind. Sure enough, it was DI Clarke that Doris opened the door to.

  He raised his eyebrows when he came into the living room and saw Julia, but he didn’t say anything. Nina sat up straighter and raised a finger at him. “Have you got him? That Joshua Bentley? Is he behind bars yet?”

  DI Clarke shook his head. “I don’t believe that Mr Bentley had anything to do with your fiancé’s death.”

  Nina deflated at the last two words. Julia shot DI Clarke a disapproving look. He ignored her and carried on. “Mr Bentley had secured the carpet perfectly on his visit. A further section of the carpet had been cut on purpose later on.” He looked at the floor and frowned, as if not sure what to say next. Julia was surprised, she’d never seen him at a loss for words. She suspected what was coming next and moved over to sit on the floor again next to Nina. Doris could say what she liked.

  DI Clarke gave her a small smile and said, “We’ve found some bruising on Mr Pedley’s back, they look like they were made by hands.”

  Nina gave a cry of anguish. Julia reached out for her hand.

  “Which means,” DI Clarke continued, “that it looks like he was pushed down the stairs. On purpose. We believe that whoever did that deliberately cut the carpet afterwards to make it look like an accident.”

  “No!” Nina wailed. “Are you saying that my lovely Douglas was murdered?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad
news, Ms Sapphire, but you needed to know.” He cleared his throat. “I know this is going to be difficult for you but we’ll have to take a statement from you, about your movements on the night that Mr Pedley died.”

  Nina nodded slowly as if trying to take the news in.

  Julia said, “What time do you think Douglas died?”

  “Some time between eight p.m. and midnight on Tuesday. I’m sorry to insist on this, Ms Sapphire, but can you tell me where you were at that time?”

  A tear rolled down Nina’s cheek. Julia reached into her pocket, took out a tissue and handed it to her. In a dull voice Nina said, “I was at home, my home. I’d been staying at Douglas’ after my fall. Did you know about my fall?”

  The inspector nodded. “Ms Blake was kind enough to tell me about that when she first told me about that rock coming through Mr Pedley’s window.”

  Nina said, “Douglas was so kind to me, bringing me food in bed, making sure I had everything I needed. He started to look tired so I decided that I should go home. I felt better and I knew I could take care of myself. I told Douglas my decision on Tuesday morning. He insisted that I stay for the day, which I did, but then I left at six p.m. I phoned him at six-thirty to let him know I’d got home safely.” Another tear fell. “Why did I leave him? I should have stayed. If I had, he’d still be alive.”

  Doris said, “Is that enough information for you inspector? Look at what you’ve done to the poor woman! As if losing her future husband wasn’t enough you’ve now told her the poor bugger was murdered! And you’ve accused her of murdering him! Are you pleased with yourself?”

  “I didn’t accuse her …”

  “Yes you did! I heard you!” Doris shouted, her face flushed.

  Julia stood up and moved closer to Doris. “The inspector is just following rules. He has to eliminate Nina from his enquiries, it’s standard procedure. I’m sure he meant no disrespect.”

  Doris folded her arms. “Aye, that’s as maybe but he could have explained himself better. You’d make a better policeman than him, Julia. I’d forgotten that you’ve solved murder cases for the police before.”