Cain hissed, “She’s spotted us.”
Julia looked across the road into the startled face of Henrietta Cartwright. Julia froze, not knowing whether to smile or pretend she didn’t recognise her.
Cain wasn’t in such a quandary. He raised a hand in greeting and called over, “Morning, Henrietta. I love your new hairstyle.”
Henrietta ducked her head, pulled on Howard’s arm and hastened down the street.
Cain said the obvious, “I don’t think she wanted us to see them. Why do you think that is?”
“I think she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s seeing Howard Samuels. He is Blanche’s ex-fiancé, after all.” Julia shared a look with Cain. “I wonder how long they’ve been seeing each other? I wonder if Blanche knew about it? What if she did, and Howard, or Henrietta, killed her to keep her quiet?”
Cain added, “Howard could have been the man who your dad heard on the evening of the knitting class.”
“And don’t forget that Old George heard a man’s voice the next morning.” Julia’s shoulders dropped. “What are we going to do now? Should we tell DI Clarke? They’re not really doing anything wrong by walking down the street.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Cain said. “By the way, you haven’t asked me when I’m meeting Kayla yet.” They continued walking back to Mr Fletcher’s house.
“Haven’t I? Go on then, tell me. What did she sound like on the phone?”
“Like her usual quiet self. I apologised for not being in touch, and I said thank you for those cards she’d dropped off. I’m going to meet her at lunchtime. Can you take me home later so I can get that baby blanket?”
“Yes.” Julia sighed. “I didn’t want Henrietta to be the killer. I feel so disappointed.”
“Did you want it to be Kayla?”
“Yes. I wanted her behind bars for how she’s treated you.”
“Aw, thanks, Julia. She still might end up behind bars if she’s doing something illegal.”
That cheered Julia up and she had a spring in her step as they returned to Mr Fletcher’s house.
Once their morning cleaning work had been completed, Julia dropped Cain off at his house and arranged to come back for him later. “Where are you meeting Kayla? Not in your house, I hope.”
“No, I’m going to meet her in the supermarket café. I thought somewhere public would be better. See you later!”
Was he happy because they were going to find out what Kayla was up to, or was it because he was going to see Tommy again? She was about to set off when her phone rang. She didn’t recognise the number.
It was Henrietta. “Oh, Julia, I hope you don’t mind me phoning you. I got your number from your father.”
Julia stiffened as she realised she could be talking to a murderer. She mumbled, “That’s okay.”
Henrietta let out a shrill laugh which made Julia jump. “What must you think of me? I must apologise for not saying hello to you and Cain earlier.”
“That’s okay,” Julia mumbled again.
“The thing is, I wasn’t expecting to see anyone that I knew and you surprised me. I really must apologise.”
“There’s no need.”
“There’s something else. That gentleman who you saw me with, he’s an old friend of mine. More than a friend, really. I don’t want people to know we’re a couple. Not yet anyway. Not with Blanche having passed away so recently.” She laughed shrilly again. “I’m not explaining myself properly. Julia, would you be able to meet up with me today so I can explain everything to you? My gentleman friend would like to meet you too. You could come round to my house.”
Julia’s eyebrows rose. Go round to a house where two possible murderers were waiting for her? Not likely. She followed Cain’s advice and suggested they meet at a local café.
Henrietta said, “Yes, that sounds lovely. I’ll explain everything then. See you soon. Goodbye.”
Julia stared at the phone and wondered whether to tell DI Clarke about her upcoming meeting. He’d only tell her not to go. She decided she’d phone him after she’d met Henrietta. She’d have more to tell him then.
Chapter 31
Julia waited in the café and thought about Henrietta. She’d given the impression of being grief-stricken yesterday, but was it all an act? Julia pulled her coffee closer and took a sip, hoping it would calm her nerves.
Henrietta entered the café, followed by a nervous-looking Howard. Henrietta raised her hand in greeting and walked over to Julia. “Thank you so much for meeting us. Would you like a drink?”
Julia gestured to her coffee. “No, thank you.”
Henrietta turned to Howard and laid a hand gently on his arm. Julia was touched at the tenderness she saw in Henrietta’s eyes. The same tenderness was in Howard’s eyes too. Henrietta said, “Would you mind getting me an Earl Grey? Thank you.”
Howard put his hand on top of Henrietta’s and gave her a fond smile. “Of course, my princess. I won’t be long.”
Julia shifted in her seat. She felt like a gooseberry.
Henrietta took a seat opposite Julia but kept her face turned towards Howard as he moved to the counter. “Isn’t he handsome? He always was.” She looked back at Julia. “I knew him when we were younger.”
Julia nodded. Should she tell Henrietta that she already knew that? Or should she let Henrietta just carry on? She decided on the latter.
Henrietta made small talk about Julia’s day and asked where Cain was.
“He’s meeting Kayla.” Julia looked for any signs of distrust in Henrietta’s eyes at the mention of Kayla’s name. There wasn’t any.
“Oh, Julia. Would you be able to call round soon and collect those baby blankets that I’ve made? Thank you. Kayla must be wondering where they are. You can call round this afternoon if you get the chance.” She smiled broadly as Howard returned to the table and placed a tray down. “You’ve got me a piece of cake too! You must have read my mind.” Her eyes shone with admiration.
Howard sat next to her and smiled into her eyes.
Julia coughed. She wasn’t in the mood for feeling like a gooseberry anymore. “You said you wanted to tell me something?”
The light left Henrietta’s eyes and she looked down at her cup of tea. “This is so awkward to explain. You’re going to think so badly of me.”
Howard said, “Let me explain, love. I don’t want you getting upset. You’ve been through enough already.” He turned his attention to Julia. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Howard Samuels. An old, old friend of Henrietta’s.” He held his hand out towards Julia.
Julia couldn’t ignore his hand so she took it and gave it a quick shake. She tried to ignore the thought that flashed into her mind about shaking hands with a killer. And that very hand could have been the one that stabbed Blanche Cartwright with a knitting needle.
Howard carried on, “I knew Henrietta, and her sister, when they were at boarding school. I worked with my parents on a farm nearby and we’d often see the girls from school going on walks. I fell for Henrietta as soon as I saw her. She looked liked some beautiful princess.” He looked at Henrietta and gazed into her eyes. “You still do.”
Henrietta blushed. “Stop looking at me like that! You’re embarrassing me. You know I fell for you too.”
The two of them gazed at each other unashamedly.
Julia could tell this was going to take a long time so she said, “I was told that Blanche was engaged to you, Howard.”
All happiness fell from the couples’ faces and they stared at Julia.
“Who told you that?” Howard barked.
“A client. She said you were planning to elope. Is that right?”
Howard folded his arms. “As I was saying, I fell for Henrietta straight away and I looked for any excuse to talk to her. I saw Blanche out on her own a few times.”
“Which she shouldn’t have been,” Henrietta pointed out. “She used to meet some of the local boys.”
“She always was
one to break the rules,” Howard said. “Anyway, she used to come walking near our farm and I got talking to her. I wanted to hear all about Henrietta. I wanted to know if she’d noticed me. I asked Blanche if I should ask her out. Blanche said that couldn’t happen until she, Blanche, decided that I was good enough for Henrietta. And the only way for her to make that decision was by getting to know me better.”
Henrietta sighed. “I didn’t know they had this agreement. It broke my heart to see Blanche sneaking off to meet Howard. I didn’t think he was interested in me at all.”
Howard said, “I soon realised Blanche liked me in the wrong way. She was always trying to get physical but I was having none of it. I told her I still wanted to be with Henrietta, and that I didn’t like Blanche in that way. She was furious with me but agreed to set up a meeting with her sister. But the next thing I knew was that Blanche had told Henrietta we were going to elope! One of my friends had a cousin at the school who’d overheard their conversation.”
“I was heartbroken,” Henrietta said. “But I loved my sister and I supported her decision. I thought I would get over Howard in time.”
Julia said, “Your father found out about the elopement. Who told him?”
“Me,” Howard admitted. “I got a friend of mine to drop him an anonymous note. He came rushing to the boarding school and took both girls away. I hadn’t reckoned on that. I thought he’d only take Blanche. I tried in vain to contact Henrietta but her father wouldn’t let me anywhere near her. He threatened me and he threatened my family. I was even sent to prison for a short time, so I knew what he was capable of. I had to let Henrietta go. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Henrietta reached over and patted his hand. “That’s all in the past.” She looked at Julia. “I felt terrible about Blanche losing Howard. I thought it was my fault somehow. I shouldn’t have had those feelings for him. So I stayed with Blanche through the years. She was good company. She liked to spoil me with gifts.” She lifted up the string of pearls from her neck. “She gave me these. I wear them all the time. She had a set just like them. She even took them to a jewellers’ a while ago to get them cleaned. She was so good to me.” Tears came into Henrietta’s eyes. “Which makes what I’m going to say next even harder to deal with. Julia, please don’t judge us.”
Julia gripped her coffee cup. Were they about to confess to the killing of Blanche?
Chapter 32
Henrietta said, “Things changed for me when I started going to Denise’s salon last year. I’d walked past it many times and one day, I decided I could do with a change. Denise is such a lovely woman, she’s so easy to talk to. Don’t you find it easy to talk to your hairdresser, Julia? Some of them have that way with them. You feel you can trust them. Anyway, I went into the salon and I met Denise. I told her I wanted a trim. She took a long look at me and asked if I’d like something different. I wasn’t sure as I’d always had long hair. She showed me some photographs of shorter hair on older women. I said no straight away but Denise said I could try a short wig on to see what I thought.
“She could tell I was embarrassed so she took me through to the private room at the back of the salon. Well! I must say I was shocked, and delighted, at my new appearance. It took years off me. I told Denise to go ahead but then I thought about Blanche. She’d be so upset if I had a different hairstyle. She liked us to look the same, it made her feel secure.”
Howard made a small snorting noise. “She was controlling you. Like she always did.”
“I’m sure she wasn’t. She just wanted the best for us both. I explained my problem to Denise and she said she had a selection of wigs. I could wear one of them over my new hairstyle. She took lots of photographs of my old style so she could make the wig look as authentic as possible. I got caught up in Denise’s excitement and I said yes! It felt like a weight was dropping from my shoulders as she cut my hair. I loved my new look and I hated having to put that wig on.”
Julia glanced at Henrietta’s hair. “You do look younger with that style. Couldn’t you have told Blanche? Wouldn’t she have understood?”
“No. She wouldn’t even consider us wearing modern clothes. Everything we wore was ordered from a trusted catalogue. But once I had my new hairstyle, I wanted to update my wardrobe too. When I next went to the salon, I explained this to Denise and she took me on a shopping trip. She took me to a shopping centre twenty miles away. We didn’t want anyone to see us. We had the most tremendous fun and I went a little crazy.
“Then I had the problem of taking my new clothes home. I couldn’t let Blanche see them. Denise said she’d keep them in her office. She’s such a good friend.” Henrietta lowered her head. “I’ve been deceiving Blanche for a long time.” She looked back up and her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I feel terrible, but I’d do it all again. Every week, I told Blanche I was going into town to do errands. And every week, I would go into Denise’s salon, dressed as my old self. I would change in her office and put on my new clothes. And I took that wretched wig off! No one recognised me as I strode around town. I’m surprised you recognised me today, Julia.”
Howard said, “Henrietta, you mustn’t feel bad about what you did. If Blanche hadn’t been so controlling, you wouldn’t have had to do it.”
“But that’s not the worst part, is it?” Henrietta said. “I loved my new-found freedom. Denise and I became firm friends. I told her about my life, and how I’d fallen for Howard all those years ago. She told me stories about her clients and the lives they were leading. Some people have the most extraordinary adventures! I wanted to have an adventure too. Denise showed me how to use the computer in her office. She even set me up on Facebook!”
“I’m glad she did,” Howard said. “That’s how we got in touch with each other. I’ve been looking out for some mention of you for years. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found you, looking even more beautiful. I hadn’t the nerve to come back to this town and search for you here. I was worried I’d meet Blanche again. It was much easier to explain everything to Henrietta online.”
Henrietta blushed again. “We got chatting and, after a while, we agreed to meet. I’m ashamed to say I gave Blanche a strong dose of wine every night so she wouldn’t hear me sneaking out of the house.”
Howard said, “I knew we had something special so I moved back to this town. I knew we had a future together. And I was right.” He shared a secretive look with Henrietta.
Julia said, “What do you mean by that?”
Henrietta leant forward and said, “We’re engaged. We’ve had to keep it a secret. It would be unseemly to announce it so soon after Blanche’s death.”
Julia said, “When did you get engaged?”
“About six months ago,” Henrietta replied.
Six months ago? Julia thought of all the things that had happened six months ago. She didn’t like it. They couldn’t all be unrelated.
Julia said, “Can I ask you about the advertising billboards that have gone up on one of your buildings? I’ve noticed you’re advertising Denise’s salon.”
Henrietta gave her a studious look. “You’re an observant woman, Julia. Yes, you’re right about the boards. Denise’s husband, Selby, has been asking me for a while if he could put them up. I told him Blanche was in charge of that. When I asked Blanche, she flatly refused and said they looked ugly. She left everything to me in her will, including our business properties. After all the favours Denise had done for me, I couldn’t say no to the billboard idea. Have you met Selby? He’s quite a forceful character. He was there to pick Denise up on the night of the knitting class.”
“Was he?” Julia asked.
“Yes. He came back the following morning. He was going to have one more try at persuading Blanche to change her mind. I let him in that morning and took him into the kitchen. Blanche came in and started rowing with him straight away. They went into the drawing room and carried on arguing. I left them to it.” She sighed. “I was so mad with Blanche when I left tha
t morning. I thought she should give Selby a chance. I wished I‘d left on a happier note because I never saw her alive again.”
Chapter 33
Julia repeated the conversation to Cain when she picked him up later.
Cain gave her an incredulous look and said, “Didn’t Henrietta make any connection with Selby arguing with Blanche, and then Blanche being found dead later? He was left alone with her! Why hasn’t he been arrested?”
“That’s what I asked her, but in a more subtle way.” Julia rubbed her ear. “And I didn’t shout like you’re doing now.”
“Sorry. I just can’t believe it. What did she say?”
“She didn’t think for a moment that Selby was capable of murdering Blanche. She had told the police about Selby’s visit on the morning Blanche died. The police said they’d be interviewing him.”
Cain folded his arms. “And, yet, he’s still not behind bars. I bet he’s got some made-up alibi. I bet Denise is covering for him, or something. You said he had a nasty temper when you saw him in the salon.” He unfolded his arms. “I think I know what’s going on. The police do know Selby murdered Blanche. They don’t believe his alibi. And they’re tailing him now, waiting for him to make a mistake. Then they’ll arrest him.”
“Do you think so?” Julia asked. “He certainly had a motive to kill Blanche. Anyway, we can let the police deal with the murder case now. Tell me how you got on with Kayla. Did you keep up your apologetic act?”
Cain pulled a look of disgust and rubbed his stomach. “I did. It made me feel sick to be so nice to her. I could see the calculating look in her eye as I grovelled. I’d never noticed that before. She took the baby blanket and then, listen to this, asked me if I could knit some more before next week. She’s got a cheek, that one.”
Knitting And Murder (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 9) Page 10