A Deadly Restoration (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 2)
Page 3
“Why would I kill you? I was going to help you out of that hole.” He looked offended.
I was in a hole, literally, so I decided to say what was on my mind.
“Did you kill Leo Kennedy?”
“No! What sort of person do you think I am?”
“Someone who takes bribes to make sure people get planning permission for work they shouldn’t be doing.”
Heap looked down at me. He really was a shifty looking fellow. “So what if I take bribes? Or a fee, as I like to call it. It doesn’t cause any harm. And anyway, you can’t prove that I take bribes, I always cover my tracks.”
“That’s interesting, you’ll have to tell us more, Mr Heap,” a voice behind us said. It was DI Clarke. “Step away from Ms Blake.”
Heap did so.
DI Clarke looked at him and said, “Would you like to explain why you were in Mr Kennedy’s house?”
“He owed me money,” Heap said. “I was looking for it.”
“Bribe money?” I asked.
“None of your business.” Heap glared at me.
DI Clarke motioned to a uniformed officer. “Take Mr Heap down to the station. He has a lot of explaining to do.”
The officer led Heap away. I was still standing in the hole. It was where Cora Robert’s apple tree had been.
DI Clarke put his hand out to help me. I tried to move but my foot was caught on something.
“Look at this,” I told the inspector, my voice barely above a whisper.
He did so. “Is that what I think it is?”
“It is,” I answered.
I thought for a moment about the things I’d heard people say over the last few days.
“I think this is a motive for murder. I’ve got a feeling I know who killed Leo Kennedy,” I said.
Chapter 13
I took DI Clarke into the front room of Leo Kennedy’s house and showed him what I’d noticed earlier. I explained who I thought had brought it into the house.
“That’s not enough evidence to convict them,” he said.
“Can I talk to them? On my own and see if I can get them to confess?” I said.
“That’s not police procedure. We’ve got enough evidence in the back garden to arrest someone.”
“But if I could go in first and have a chat, and get all the details?”
DI Clarke didn’t look convinced.
“It might save you a lot of time. Just five minutes?” I asked hopefully.
He gave me one of his searching looks and then finally said, “Five minutes, then I’m taking over.”
“Thank you. Shall we arrange a visit for tomorrow morning? I’ve got their phone number.”
DI Clarke nodded. “Okay. But five minutes is all you’re having, Ms Blake.”
The next morning I drove up to the house of the person I was visiting. DI Clarke had followed me in his car and parked behind me. I got out of my car and looked at him. He held up his hand to indicate five minutes. I nodded. I should have asked for ten minutes, this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation.
I knocked on the house door.
Cora Roberts opened it and smiled at me. “Hello Julia, right on time. Do come in. I’m dying to know what you want to talk to me about.”
I followed Cora into her living room. Stephen was there. He didn’t look happy.
“I don’t know why you want to have an ‘important conversation’ with my mother, and I certainly don’t know why I have to be here. I’m a very busy man, you know.”
Cora gave him a loving look, “I’m sure Julia won’t take up too much time, Stephen, love.”
I sat down in a chair opposite Stephen. Cora sat next to her son on the settee.
“Tea, Julia? And help yourself to a bun. I had to make some more of Stephen’s favourite ones. He just loves them!” Cora laughed.
I took a cup of tea but declined the bun. My throat already felt tight from what I had to say.
Stephen took a bun and ate it in two bites. Crumbs and little silver balls dropped onto his suit.
I took a sip to help my throat feel better. Then I began to speak.
“The police know who killed Leo Kennedy, and they think they know why.”
Cora put her cup down and looked at me. Stephen crammed another bun into his mouth.
“Before he died, Leo Kennedy arranged for your apple tree to be dug up. I accidently fell into the hole where it had been. I landed on a skeleton,” I explained.
Cora gave me a sad smile and said, “That would be my husband, Derek. I killed him and buried him under the tree.”
“Don’t say another word, Mother!” Stephen spluttered.
Cora put her arm on Stephen’s and said, “It’s okay love, let me tell Julia exactly what happened.”
She turned back to me and said, “Derek used to hit me when we were married. I put up with it. That’s just what you did in those days. But then he started on Stephen and I couldn’t let him get away with that. You wouldn’t, would you Julia? You wouldn’t let someone hurt your baby?”
I gave a little nod. I could understand that.
“When you told me that Mr Kennedy was going to pull up the tree I knew that he’d find the body, so I killed him too. I didn’t like that man, not after what Stephen told me,” Cora said.
“What did you tell her?” I asked Stephen.
Stephen shifted a bit in his seat, he brushed crumbs off his suit. “I told mum that Leo Kennedy should have paid her more for her house, a lot more.”
“And it’s money that goes to Stephen when I die. It was like Mr Kennedy was stealing money from Stephen, hurting him just like his dad did.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That will be DI Clarke. Shall I let him in?” I asked.
Cora smiled. “No, I’ll do it. Then I’ll tell DI Clarke exactly what I’ve told you. I expect he’ll take me to the police station. I’ve never been inside a police station before.”
Cora stood up and left the room. I could hear the door opening and Cora chatting. She sounded cheerful, as if she let policemen into her house every day.
I looked at Stephen. He didn’t meet my gaze. He reached for yet another bun.
He didn’t seem too bothered that his mum had just admitted to killing two men.
Chapter 14
DI Clarke came into the room, followed by a smiling Cora.
She looked at Stephen. You could see the love radiating from her.
Cora invited the inspector to sit down. He said no to her offer of tea.
“Has someone confessed to the murder of Leo Kennedy?” D I Clarke asked me.
“It was me. I did it. I’ll get my bag and then we can go to the police station,” Cora said.
I said, “I’m not sure how you got to Leo Kennedy’s house that night, Cora.”
Cora stopped smiling and thought for a second, “I got the number 53 bus.”
“It doesn’t run past 6 o’clock,” I told her.
“Yes! Of course. I got a taxi,” Cora corrected herself.
I highly doubted that Cora had spare money for a taxi.
I carried on talking, “So how did you kill Leo?”
Cora glanced at Stephen. He was examining his trouser leg.
“Tiles. I pushed tiles onto him.”
“Those tiles were heavy. I’m surprised you had the strength to push them, aren’t you surprised Stephen?”
Stephen shrugged. He reached for another bun. I whipped the plate away before he could reach them.
“Haven’t you anything to say? About your mum’s confession?” I asked.
There was silence as we all waited for Stephen to speak.
He didn’t speak.
“It’ll be awful for your mum in prison, won’t it?” I prompted.
Stephen still didn’t speak.
I’d had enough. “For goodness sake! Are you going to let your mum lie for you? What sort of man are you?”
He threw his hands up and said, “Alright! Mum didn’t kill a
nyone. I did it. I killed that nasty crook, Kennedy. I knocked him onto the floor and then pushed tiles on top of him. He deserved it, stealing my inheritance!”
Cora moved closer to her son. “No Stephen! It was me. I’m going to prison, not you!”
Stephen stood up and moved over to his mother. He leant down and gave her cuddle.
“No, Mum. I won’t let you take the blame for what I’ve done, even though I know you would happily do that. I’m a terrible son, I don’t deserve a mother like you.”
I gave a little nod of agreement.
D I Clarke interrupted, “And what about the skeleton in the garden? Who wants to admit to that?”
Stephen put his arm around his mum and said, “That was me too. It happened when I was about sixteen. I couldn’t bear to see him hitting my mum anymore. I whacked him on the head with a shovel. Then used the shovel to dig a hole under the apple tree.”
“Did you know about that?” I asked Cora.
She nodded. “It was self defence. Derek was having a real go at Stephen, and then he turned on me. I knew he was buried under the apple tree. I thought he was going to turn the apples sour, but he didn’t. We got some lovely apples the year after. “
I suddenly thought about the apple pies Cora had made me over the years. My stomach felt queasy.
“I’ll need to talk to you further about that, Mrs Roberts. Self defence or not, you should have reported your son at the time. One of the skeleton’s arms is missing. Can you explain what happened to it?” D I Clarke asked.
Stephen frowned. “He was in one piece when I buried him.”
My hand flew to my mouth as I remembered something. “Razor has it! That’s the dog that belongs to John Thomas the builder. He ran off with a couple of bones the other day.”
DI Clarke shook his head. “I hope he hasn’t eaten them.”
Stephen looked at me. “How did you know it was me that killed Leo Kennedy? I didn’t leave any evidence.”
I pointed to the buns that Stephen had been scoffing. “You left a couple of little silver balls in Leo’s front room. They must have been stuck to your clothing and then rolled off in his house.”
“Kennedy could have made those buns!” Stephen interrupted.
“He didn’t look the baking type. And besides, he didn’t have an oven. When I saw the skeleton in the garden I knew it must have been you or your mum that killed Leo, you’re the ones that would have a motive to do so.”
“Mum!” Stephen interrupted me again. “She’s too frail to kill anyone.”
“You should have seen her whack a woman in the supermarket the other day over a piece of fish,” I said.
“It was a haddock,” Cora added.
I continued, “When I saw the little balls I knew it must have been you who dropped them. Your mum doesn’t like those buns.”
We all looked at the buns.
“Caught by the balls.” Stephen gave a little smile.
DI Clarke stood up and read Stephen his rights. Cora clung onto her son.
He kissed the top of her head and said, “It’s okay, mum. I have to own up to what I’ve done. You can come and visit me in prison as often as you like.”
Cora started to cry as Stephen was taken away. I put my arm around her.
“You’ll probably see more of him when he’s in prison,” I said in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. A thought crossed my mind that Cora might be charged with concealing a murder, but I kept that to myself.
Cora wiped her tears away. “Will they let me take some baking in to him? I don’t want him to starve. I’ve seen those programmes on the telly, they make prisoners eat pig swill.”
“I’m not sure. But if they do I don’t think Stephen will want the silver ball topped buns ever again.”
Cora shook her wrinkly fist at the buns. “Stupid buns! Why did I make them? If I hadn’t Stephen would have got away with it!”
“Would you have wanted him to?” I asked.
Cora thought for a moment. “No, I wouldn’t. I’m still proud of him. He’s a better man than his father ever was. I’ll throw these buns away. I can’t bear to look at them. Unless you want them?”
I looked at the buns and shook my head. They would only make me think about the murdered Leo Kennedy, and the restoration work that would never be completed.
About the author
I’ve always loved mystery stories and used to devour Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books when I was young. When I got older I discovered Agatha Christie. Some of her plots can be confusing but her characters are so vivid and full of life, apart from the murdered ones of course. My favourite detective has to be Hercule Poirot as I love the methodical way that he solves mysteries.
I’ve wanted to write murder mysteries for a long time - and now I have!
To buy Julia Blake’s first murder mystery story ‘Virtually Scared To Death’
Click here for Amazon Com
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To see more of my work, and to connect with me, please visit :
www.gillianlarkin.co.uk
Best wishes
Gillian
A DEADLY RESTORATION
By
GILLIAN LARKIN
KINDLE EDITION
www.gillianlarkin.co.uk
Published by Gillian Larkin on Kindle
Copyright 2013 by Gillian Larkin
Cover illustration by Vectorstock.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronically or mechanical without permission from the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
About the author
Copyright