Knitting And Murder (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 9)

by Gillian Larkin

  “Julia. What time did you see Blanche this morning?”

  Old George swayed on his feet as he answered, “Well, June, it was about 10. Miss Blanche doesn’t usually get up until 11. Something must have made her get up earlier today. I was in the back garden and she came out to have a word with me about you.” He attempted to tap the side of his nose but he missed and tapped the space next to it. “She told me to keep it a secret. I promised I would. She went back inside and I heard someone shouting. I thought, ‘Hey up, what’s all that about? Those two ladies never shout at each other.’ I could hear a man’s voice too. I knew something was wrong with that. They never let men into the house. Apart from me, and I don’t count.” He drained the rest of his glass and handed it to Julia. “June, can you take that into the kitchen for me? Ta, lass.”

  Julia took the glass. She could smell the alcohol emanating from it. She put it on the step next to her. Old George seemed unaware of Blanche’s demise and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. She was curious about the arguing. “Do you know what they were arguing about?”

  “Something to do with someone not listening to sense. Or not thinking of others.” He chuckled. “They were having a right go at it. I didn’t like to listen. I went to my shed for a while and then I went into the kitchen for my pop. I couldn’t hear any voices inside when I went in and I thought they’d gone out. They always go out on a Tuesday lunchtime. When I went back in for my second glass of pop I could have sworn I heard shouting again, it was coming from the front of the house.” He frowned and shook his head. “I must have been hearing things. That was strange about the man’s voice in the kitchen. There’s no men allowed in this house, which is a shame. It’s not right for those ladies to be on their own. They need a man to look after them.” He looked Julia over and grinned at her. “Have you got a man in your life, June?”

  “No.”

  His grin grew. “Do you want one? I’m a bit over the hill but I’ll do my best.”

  Julia got to her feet and gave him a polite smile. “No, thank you.” She could hear a car coming closer and looked towards the iron gates.

  “June, love, have you seen my shovel anywhere? I could have sworn I had it with me a minute ago.”

  Julia looked back at Old George. “You’re holding it in your hand.” She pointed at it.

  Old George looked at his hand and jumped. Then he burped and started to laugh again. His whole body shook and his legs suddenly gave way. He collapsed to the grass, still laughing.

  Julia ran over to him and held her hands out.

  Old George grabbed her hands and pulled her on top of him. “Have you changed your mind, lass?”

  A cold voice called out, “Ms Blake, stop molesting that pensioner.”

  She knew that voice. It was DI Clarke.

  Chapter 11

  With some difficulty, Julia extracted herself from the tight embrace of Old George. As she got to her feet, she heard him say to himself, “You’ve still got it, old lad.”

  DI Clarke stared at her intently. She’d been on the receiving end of that glare many times and it no longer intimidated her. Not much, anyway. The inspector spoke, “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon, Ms Blake. What have you got yourself into this time?”

  Julia bristled. “I haven’t got myself into anything. And for your information, Detective Inspector Clarke, I was not molesting Old George.”

  Old George got unsteadily to his feet and added cheerfully, “We were just getting to know each other a bit better, weren’t we, June?” He removed his flat cap and scratched his head. “Where’s my bloomin’ shovel gone now?” He looked around him in a confused state. “I think I’ll go and have a lie down in my shed.” He walked away unsteadily.

  DI Clarke shook his head. “You do have funny taste in men, Ms Blake.” He looked towards Cartwright Manor and let out a low whistle of appreciation. “I never thought I’d be visiting this place. I’ve seen the Cartwright sisters around town but, of course, they’ve never given me a reason to speak to them in an official manner. Not like some people.” He gave her a pointed look.

  Julia felt her eyes stinging again and she looked at the ground. “I really didn’t want to find ...” She couldn’t continue.

  DI Clarke’s tone softened as he said, “You don’t have to give me the details now. Cain’s filled me in on the gist of it when I arrived. You don’t need to upset yourself.”

  Julia looked up at him and gave him a grateful smile. Maybe the inspector did have a heart after all.

  She was proved wrong by his next comment, “You can give us a full statement later. I’ve actually had some statements pre-printed with your name on, seeing as you’re always interfering. You can go now.” He gave her a curt nod and walked up the stone steps and into Cartwright Manor.

  Julia pursed her lips and shook her head in his direction.

  Cain walked down the driveway and towards her. “Have you spoken to the inspector then?” He looked closer at her face. “Ah, yes, I can see that you have. Your face has gone all scrunched up. You only do that when DI Clarke is around. What do we do now? Are we allowed to go?”

  Julia shot a glance towards the manor. “We’ve left our cleaning bags inside. We can’t go anywhere without them.”

  As if on cue, DI Clarke leant out of the main door and dropped their cleaning bags on to the top step. He pointed towards the iron gates. “The exit’s that way.”

  “Thanks. See you later!” Cain called out as he picked the bags up.

  “I hope not,” came the inspector’s curt reply. “It’s nothing personal, I just don’t want to see you hanging around here.” He disappeared into the manor.

  “Fair enough,” Cain said. He handed one of the bags to Julia. “What do you think happened? Who would want to kill Blanche?”

  “Do you mind if we don’t talk about it?” Julia said. They walked to her car in silence and put their cleaning bags in the boot.

  Once they were driving away, Cain said, “Who was that old fella you were attacking? Is he a murder suspect? Were you trying to get a confession out of him?”

  Julia sighed and gave Cain a brief outline of the exchange between her and Old George.

  Cain laughed. “He sounds like a character! And you think he was drunk? Awesome. Wait ’til I tell your dad. Have you heard from him yet?”

  “No. Give him a ring if you want. You can tell him about Blanche. The police will be in touch with him later anyway. They’ll probably want to speak to everyone who was at the knitting class last night.”

  Cain took out his phone and tapped on the screen. He put the phone to his ear. “Oh! Hi, Kathleen. I was expecting Ray to answer. Is he alright?” Cain nodded and listened for a while. “Poor Ray. I hope he’s feeling better soon. I’ll phone him later. We’ve got something to tell you. Your Julia’s found another dead body.”

  Julia spluttered, “Don’t say it like that! It’s not as if I go looking for dead bodies on purpose.”

  Cain looked over at her. “Your mum can hear what you’re saying. She’s asking how you are.”

  “I’m okay. I suppose.”

  Cain told Mum about Blanche and then listened to something she was saying. He ended the call and said to Julia, “Your dad’s in a bad way and your mum’s had to take the day off work to look after him. He told her the elderflower wine was unusually strong. He’s not used to the strong stuff. Poor Ray.”

  “Never mind Dad. What did Mum say about Blanche?”

  “She said Ray remembers someone arguing last night. It was when he paid a visit to the bathroom upstairs. He heard someone arguing in one of the bedrooms. He thinks it was a man.”

  “Really?” Julia shared an astonished look with Cain. “That’s the second time a man has been mentioned. I wonder who he is? And, more importantly, was he the one who murdered Blanche Cartwright?”

  Chapter 12

  Julia and Cain didn't talk about the murder anymore during their cleaning work that afternoon. A
terrible thought kept coming into Julia's mind but she didn't share it with Cain. She remembered the hard look that had come into Blanche's eyes the previous evening when Julia had mentioned Kayla's name. Last night was the first time the knitting class had been to Cartwright Manor, and Julia assumed it was the first time most of them had met Blanche Cartwright. Julia wondered if Blanche and Kayla’s paths had crossed before. It wasn't something she could discuss with Cain as she knew he would pick up on the implied suggestion that Kayla was somehow involved in Blanche's murder.

  They were halfway through their next cleaning job when Cain’s phone beeped. He read the text and frowned. “It’s from Kayla. The police have been in touch with her about Blanche's death. They wanted to know about last night’s knitting class, and what Kayla’s movements were this morning.” He tutted and shook his head. “As if the police are asking her that! Do they think she's a suspect? That's ridiculous.” He tapped away on his phone for a moment and then returned it to his pocket. It soon beeped again with another message. He gave Julia an apologetic smile and read the text.

  Julia said, “Is it from Kayla again? Is she okay?”

  “Not really. She’s very upset and says she could do with some company. She’s in the centre of Leeds at the moment and wonders if I have time to meet her for a coffee. I'll just let her know I'm working but I might be able to meet her later.”

  “No, don't do that. We haven’t much left to do here and we've only got one job after this. Once we've finished this kitchen, I can drive you into Leeds and drop you off. I can do the other cleaning job on my own. How does that sound?”

  Cain’s bottom lip wobbled slightly and he gave her a nod. He sent a reply to Kayla, put his phone away, and then proceeded to clean the kitchen at an impressive speed. They were finished within ten minutes.

  Julia drove them into Leeds and was fortunate enough to find a parking spot directly opposite the cafe in which Cain was meeting Kayla. Cain said another thank you and quickly left the car. Julia watched him cross the road and go into the cafe. She couldn't quell the uneasy feeling she had about Kayla Booth. She shook her head at herself. Perhaps she was just being overprotective of Cain.

  Julia was about to start her car when her phone beeped. It was a text from Dad. He asked how she was doing and said he was sorry to hear about the death of Blanche. He added she was a gentle woman and he couldn't understand who would want to kill her. Julia replied to his text and attempted to set off driving again. Something, or someone, caught her eye a short way along the pavement.

  Julia slunk down in her seat and stared at the scantily-clad young woman who was walking towards her car. Her shoulders were thrown back and her long hair bounced behind her. She was walking with an air of confidence that only young women of that age could pull off. The young woman was oblivious to the admiring looks she was receiving from male passers-by. Or perhaps she wasn’t. Julia saw her return the smile of a young man who had looked her up and down.

  The young woman was Kayla Booth and she looked nothing like she had done the previous night.

  Kayla came closer to Julia's car, reached for her phone and tapped on the screen. Julia sunk even further down in her seat and discreetly lowered the window. Kayla started speaking on her phone in a loud voice, “Yeah, it’s all sorted out. It was easy. Old people are so stupid.” She laughed and then looked left and right before crossing the road. Julia couldn't hear any more of the conversation but kept her eyes on Kayla anyway.

  Kayla finished her conversation and put her phone away. She pulled a scrunched up cardigan from her bag and put it on. It was too large for her skinny frame and seemed to weigh her down. Kayla pulled her long hair over both shoulders and arranged it so that it covered half of her face. Her head drooped and all confidence faded from her as she walked towards the cafe and went inside.

  Julia sat up straighter and shook her head. Kayla Booth was a fraud. She’d been putting on a shy act last night, and she was doing it again now. Was it just for Cain's sake? Or was Kayla like this with everyone? And what was she talking about on the phone? And to whom? Julia really hoped the reference Kayla had made about old people was not connected to the death of Blanche Cartwright. Julia looked closer at the cafe window and saw Cain standing up to greet Kayla, who had now completely transformed herself into the shy young woman of the previous night.

  Julia switched on the car engine and said to herself, “I don't like this. I don't like this at all.”

  She drove to the last cleaning job of the day and was happy to lose herself in work for a while. She needed to discuss this Kayla problem with someone, but who? She could hardly ask Cain his opinion.

  As Julia walked tiredly to her car later, a call came from Mum. “Julia, your dad and me are worried about you. Dad said you were getting on well with Blanche last night and her death must be a shock for you. Why don't you come over here for some tea? I’ve made a shepherd’s pie.”

  Julia smiled and said, “Yes, please, Mum. That's exactly what I need right now. And I'd like to talk to you and dad about something. It’s something to do with Blanche Cartwright.”

  Mum replied, “That's funny because your dad and me want to talk to you about Blanche too.”

  Chapter 13

  It wasn’t long before Julia was tucking into Mum’s delicious shepherd’s pie. She hadn’t realised how hungry she’d been as she wolfed her meal down.

  Dad must have been hungry too because he finished his meal before her and pushed his plate to one side. He patted his round stomach and said, “Kathleen, that was wonderful, as always. You’re an amazing cook. I’m a lucky man.”

  Mum gave him a look. “Are you still trying to get on my good side? You can stop trying now, I forgave you a while ago. Do you want a second helping?”

  Yes, please. Just a little bit.” Dad looked over at Julia and said, “That wine last night was incredibly strong. I was telling your mum about it. I’m sure I only had two glasses, but I must admit my memory is a little vague after the first glass. I wonder what Henrietta puts in it?”

  “You didn’t have to drink it,” Julia pointed out.

  “It would have been rude to refuse. But I will have to refuse if the occasion comes up again. Your poor mother has been looking after me all day.” Dad let out a heavy sigh. “I still can’t believe it about Blanche. I’ll have to go round and offer my condolences to Henrietta soon. I’ll ask her if I can help in any way. She’s going to be lost without her sister.”

  Julia pushed her empty plate away. “Dad, you said you heard someone arguing last night when you went to the bathroom. Can you remember what the argument was about?”

  Dad scratched his head. “I don’t think I can. The wine had gone to my head by then. I couldn’t actually hear the words that were being said but I knew it was an argument by the harsh tone of the voices. It was a man and a woman talking to each other. The man wasn’t talking as much as the woman.”

  “Where were they?” Julia asked.

  “In one of the bedrooms. It was hard to tell which one from the bathroom. I felt a bit awkward listening to the conversation and I quickly went back downstairs when I’d finished in there.”

  Julia continued, “And who was missing from the drawing room when you returned?”

  Dad blinked and thought for a moment. “I really can’t remember. The room had started to spin a bit at that point. I know it wasn’t Blanche because she was in the kitchen with you. You’ve got a funny look on your face, Julia. What are you thinking?”

  “This mystery man has been mentioned twice now.” She quickly told them what Old George had said to her earlier. “I’m wondering if it’s the same man. Did he spend the night? And if so, where did he spend the night?”

  Mum joined in the conversation, “And with whom? That’s something to consider. Perhaps Blanche or Henrietta, or both, had men staying on a regular basis at their house. Perhaps a love affair went wrong last night.”

  Julia pursed her lips and thought about that. “I’m not
sure. Mum, you said you had something to tell me about Blanche.”

  “Yes. When you told us about Blanche earlier, we decided to do a bit of sleuthing work. We wondered if the Cartwright sisters had any enemies.”

  “And did they?”

  “No, none that we could find. But we found out they own quite a few buildings in town. Most of them are on the main roads and must be worth quite a bit of money.”

  Dad said, “Maybe their father bought them when he was alive.” He held up a finger. “Or, it could be that the sisters bought the buildings. Perhaps one of the people who rent from them could have had a grudge against them. They could have paid the sisters a visit last night. And again this morning. Though what they were doing in one of the bedrooms is anyone’s guess.”

  Julia looked down at the tablecloth. “I don’t want to think of anyone having a grudge against Blanche. Which reminds me.” She looked back up and told them what she’d found out about Kayla. “What should I do about her?”

  Dad leant back in his chair and rested his hands on his stomach. “I don’t think you should do anything. Cain seems smitten by this girl. You can’t go rushing in there accusing her of being a fake. If she is a fake, then Cain needs to find out on his own. I think it’s best to leave things alone.”

  Julia’s phone beeped. She looked at it. “Speak of the devil. It’s a message from Cain. And it’s for you, Dad. I wonder why he’s not texting you directly?” She read the message. “Ah, I see why he’s not texting you directly. He’s cancelling your pub visit tonight.”

  Dad sat up straight. “What? Why?”