A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (15 page)

Dad
put his arm around her and said,
“
You
’
re
not on your own, love, I
’
ll help you.
”

Chapter 26

“
Where
shall we go first?
”
Dad
asked.

Julia
looked at her watch.
“
I
’
m
usually at Hugo
’
s house at this time on a Monday.
”
She thought for a moment.
“
I
feel like I
’
m
missing something, something obvious. I think we should go to Hugo
’
s
house and have a good look around, see if I
’
ve
missed anything.
”

In
an overly casual tone Dad said,
“
That
’
s
where they film Summersdale Secrets, isn
’
t it?
”

Julia
smiled.
“
I
didn
’
t
think it was your kind of show.
”

Dad
shrugged,
“
I can
take it or leave it. Your mum loves it, I watch it just to keep her company.
”

“
Would
you like to come with me? You can have a good look round. I
’
m
sure Hugo wouldn
’
t have minded. I think you would have
liked Hugo, he was a good man.
”
Julia blinked. Where had those tears
come from?

Dad
patted her back and said,
“
Come on, pull
yourself together. You know what I
’
m like, if you
start crying, then I
’
ll start crying.
”

Julia
laughed and nodded.
“
Sorry, do you want to follow me there in
your car? Do you know the way in case I lose you?
”

Dad
shrugged again.
“
I know where the house is. I might have
looked at it online, once or twice.
”

Julia
pressed her lips together. She
’
d speak to Mum later
and see exactly who insisted on watching Summersdale Secrets.

They
arrived at Hugo
’
s house together. Julia got out of her
car just in time to see the look of awe on her dad
’
s
face. And, just like with Cain, his look turned to disappointment. He got out
of his car and said,
“
It
’
s
much smaller than it looks on the telly. Are you sure this is the right house?
”

“
It
is. It
’
s the
magic of television that makes it bigger. And computer graphics. Come on, I
’
ve
still got my key.
”

Julia
spent a few moments showing Dad around the house. She let him recreate the
famous exit from the back door into the garden. He asked her to take a few
photos.
“
For
your mum
’
s
sake, not mine,
”
he
explained.

Julia
looked in the large dresser where the antique tea set was kept. Two hooks were
empty. The teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl were still there. Cain took sugar
and milk in his tea. If he
’
d gone back to
Hugo
’
s on
Monday night and had tea with him, surely he would have used the milk jug and
sugar pot too? And then he would have needed to take them with him also. This
wasn
’
t
making sense at all.

They
both jumped as a loud knock came from the front door.

Dad
’
s
eyes widened and he whispered,
“
There
’
s
somebody at the door! Do you think it
’
s the killer?
They could be following you, and now they
’
ve
decided to get rid of you, once and for all.
”
He picked up a tea towel and held
it up.
“
Well,
I won
’
t let
them!
”

Julia
shook her head.
“
What are you going to do with that? Dry
them to death? I hope it is the killer, I
’
ve a
few choice words to say to them.
”

The
person at the door was a stranger. A small man with extremely white teeth
beamed at them as the door opened. Julia winced at the brightness.

“
Hi
there!
”
the man began. He thrust his hand
out and said,
“
I
’
m
Walt B. Montague. Or should I call myself the mountain?
”

“
Pardon?
”
Julia said as she shook his hand,
it felt impolite to leave his hand in mid-air.

Walt
B. Montague chuckled.
“
You know the
saying -
‘
if
Muhammed won
’
t
come to the mountain, then the mountain must come to Muhammed.
’”

Julia
took her hand back.
“
Sorry? I
’
m
confused.
”

Walt
chuckled again.
“
I
’
ve
been trying to contact Hugo Barnes. We met last week in New York. He promised
to phone me, but I haven
’
t heard
anything. I
’
ve
tried ringing him many times but with no success. So, I said to myself,
‘
Walt
B. Montague, you
’
ve got to take the bull by the horns. Be
the mountain!
’
And here I am. I have got the
right house, haven
’
t I?
”

Julia
stood to one side and indicated for Walt to enter. She said,
“
I
’
m
Julia Blake, I clean for Hugo. And this is my dad, Ray.
”

Dad
held his hand out and said,
“
Ray T.
Rosenthorpe, delighted to meet you. You
’
ve
got lovely teeth.
”

“
T?
”
Julia said.
“
I
didn
’
t
know you had a middle name.
”

“
It
’
s
Thomas,
”
Dad replied, still shaking Walt
’
s
hand.

Julia
looked at the smiling face of Walt. She didn
’
t
want to be the one that gave him bad news, but she
’
d
have to.

She
took him into the kitchen and sat him down. She explained as gently as she
could about Hugo
’
s death. She didn
’
t
tell him that he
’
d been murdered.

“
That
’
s too
bad,
”
Walt said, shaking his head
slightly.
“
I
really liked Hugo, he was a great guy.
”

“
How
did you know each other?
”
Julia asked.

“
We
met in a public records office. I was looking something up, and so was he. We
had to use the same machine but he insisted I use it first. Well, we got
chatting. He told me about his job and how much he loves looking into the lives
of ordinary people. I work in the entertainment business and I know a good deal
when I smell it. Pardon the expression! We talked about him moving to America
for a while so that he could work on his family tree projects there. I said we
could make it into a reality kind of show, people love those. He said that
would be okay as long as he was behind the camera. I managed to sort out a
contract before he left. He told me he had things to tie up here first. He
wanted to let his assistant know his plans.
”

Julia
said,
“
Was
he going to bring his assistant over with him?
”

Walt
shook his head.
“
No, we
’
ve
got a full production team, we don
’
t need any more
staff. He was going to speak to his assistant when he got back to the UK, and
then we were going to organise travel arrangements. I wanted him back in
America asap!
”
He sighed.
“
It
’
s
such a shame about him, I was looking forward to making the programme.
”

Julia
thought about what Hugo had said to her last Monday. He
’
d
said he had some news to tell her, something that would affect the hours she
would be working. He must have been talking about his new job in America.
Another thought soon followed that one. Dinah had been here Monday night. Had
Hugo told her about his plans? Had she whacked him on the head in a rage? It
was a possibility. She had to talk to Dinah. There were a few things that
needed clearing up.

Walt
B. Montague stood up.
“
I suppose I
’
d
better make my way back to the hotel. I was looking forward to exploring this
part of the British Isles. I
’
ve heard lots of
great things about Yorkshire.
”

Dad
stood up.
“
You
can
’
t
come all this way and not see Yorkshire! I can take you on a tour, if you like.
”
He looked at Julia and added,
“
If
you don
’
t
need me.
”

“
No,
you go ahead,
”
Julia said. She
’
d be
better speaking to Dinah on her own.

Walt
clasped his hands together.
“
That would be
awesome, Ray, thanks.
”

The
two left Hugo
’
s
house, chatting amiably as they went.

Julia
had a few more cleaning jobs that she needed to attend to. When she
’
d
finished she headed into Leeds and was soon walking into the library, a
determined look on her face.

She
wasn
’
t
leaving until she had answers from Dinah West.

Chapter 27

Julia
found Dinah at the far side of the records room. Dinah
’
s
laugh tinkled through the air like a delicate musical instrument. As Julia got
closer she saw Dinah laughing with a young man dressed in some sort of security
uniform. Dinah was twirling one finger through her impossibly shiny hair, her
eyes twinkled at the young man as he spoke.

Dinah
said,
“
Oh,
you
’
re
too funny! I could listen to your jokes all day.
”

“
I
’
ve
got another joke for you. This gorilla walks into a bar
…”
the man began.

“
I
’
ve
heard that one,
”
Julia
interrupted.
“
Dinah,
sorry to bother you at work, but could I have a word with you?
”

Dinah
stuck her lip out and said,
“
But I
’
m
busy. Can
’
t you
come back another day?
”

This
ridiculous act wasn
’
t going to work on Julia. She noticed
that there were other members of staff walking about the room. Julia raised her
voice and said,
“
I can come back tomorrow. I shouldn
’
t
really be here. I should really inform the police about your movements on
Monday, when you went to visit Hugo. I know you told me you didn
’
t,
but I have the name of a witness that says you did. That puts you at the scene
of the crime around the time that Hugo was murdered.
”

Julia
heard a few gasps around the room.

Dinah
’
s
smile vanished. It was replaced by a sneer. Dinah said,
“
Why should
I come with you?
”

Julia
shrugged.
“
You
don
’
t
have to. I just thought you might want to clear your name, seeing as you
’
re a
murder suspect. I
’
ll let the police know that you lied
about your whereabouts.
”
Julia hoped Dinah wouldn
’
t
call her bluff.

Dinah
sighed.
“
Alright
then, we can have a talk. Is the library cafe good enough for you?
”

“
That
’
ll be
fine,
”
Julia said, feeling the coldness
of Dinah
’
s
tone.

Without
saying a word to the bewildered man at her side, Dinah tossed her hair back and
stalked past Julia. Julia followed her.

Dinah
ordered herself a skinny latte at the counter of the cafe. She didn
’
t
offer to get a drink for Julia. Julia ordered a tea and when they got to the
till she said,
“
Dinah, I
’
ll
pay for both.
”

Dinah
tutted, grabbed her coffee and headed towards a corner table.

Julia
ignored her bad manners. It suited her that Dinah had dropped the friendly act.
Julia wasn
’
t in
the mood to be friendly either.

Julia
sat opposite Dinah and went in for the kill.
“
What
were you doing at Hugo
’
s on Monday
night? Was it to talk about that book of yours? I know that Gilbert was with
you. And I know you
’
re in cahoots together, don
’
t
deny it.
”

Dinah
looked out of the window. The sun would have to shine through at that moment.
Curse that awesome hair of hers!

Julia
wasn
’
t put
off, she said,
“
I met
a man called Walt B. Montague today.
”

Dinah
’
s
left eye twitched. Julia said,
“
You know about
him, don
’
t
you? You know that he
’
d offered Hugo a
job in America. Were you angry when Hugo told you? Did you feel betrayed that
he wasn
’
t
taking you with him. Come on, Dinah, talk to me.
”

Dinah
’
s
head snapped round.
“
Alright! Stop going on. Yes, I did know
about the deal he had with that man from America. And yes, I was annoyed that
he wouldn
’
t be
taking me with him! That
’
s all the thanks
I get for working so hard for him? That, and a lousy paperweight from New York!
That man was so insulting and he didn
’
t even know. He
never appreciated all the work I did for him!
”

“
Were
you in love with him?
”

Dinah
looked down at the table.
“
I suppose I was
in the beginning. It didn
’
t take me long
to discover that he didn
’
t love me.
”
She looked up at Julia and said,
“
I met
Gilbert about a year ago. He was visiting Hugo, asking for a favour or
something. I fell for him straight away, and he fell for me, of course. Hugo
tried to warn me off but I didn
’
t listen, he
never liked Gilbert. Gilbert told me Hugo was jealous of him.
”

Julia
doubted that. She said,
“
The book that
you
’
re
writing, is it about cases that Hugo had investigated? He told me he
’
d
been approached by an agent to write a book like that but he
’
d
always said no. He said his clients deserved privacy.
”

Dinah
shifted in her seat.
“
I
’
ve
changed the names, people won
’
t recognise
themselves. And, it
’
s like Gilbert said, the stories are too
interesting to be filed away. People love to read about dirt in other people
’
s
lives. I
’
m not
hurting anyone.
”

“
I
have to disagree with you there. You know Hugo would never have allowed that.
”

Dinah
shrugged.
“
Hugo
’
s not
here. Why should I waste this opportunity? I
’
ve
got copies of all the cases that Hugo worked on, why should they go to waste?
”

Julia
could see there was no point arguing with Dinah over this. She said,
“
Why
was Gilbert at Hugo
’
s house?
”

“
Trying
to get the money that
’
s owed to him!
Hugo
’
s
never been fair with his money, he knows Gilbert has an extravagant lifestyle.
Hugo wasn
’
t
doing anything with the family money, it was rotting away in the bank.
”

Julia
pressed her lips together. It looked like Dinah had been brainwashed by Gilbert.
Julia said,
“
What
’
s the
connection between your book and Summersdale Secrets?
”

Dinah
’
s
eyebrows rose.
“
You have been a nosy cow! If you really
have to know, my agent is getting me a TV deal to go with the book. We
’
re
going to recreate Hugo
’
s clients coming
to his house, let the viewers have a good look around Summersdale. We
’
re
going to get the actors from that show involved too, add some celebrity sparkle
to my show.
”

“
Did
Hugo know about your plans?
”

“
Gilbert
tried to tell him on Monday night, to explain what a wonderful business
opportunity it was, but Hugo wouldn
’
t listen. He
threw us out.
”

“
How
did that make you feel?
”

“
How
do you think it made us feel? We were furious! We had this amazing moneymaking
plan ready and that idiot wouldn
’
t go along with
it!
”
Dinah paused and took a moment to
calm herself down. She suddenly smiled and wagged a finger at Julia.
“
I
’
ve
just realised why you
’
ve asked that.
You think either me or Gilbert were so annoyed that we whacked poor old Hugo on
the head.
”

“
Did
you?
”
Julia persisted.

Dinah
’
s
smile grew.
“
No,
we didn
’
t.
”
She stood up and smoothed her
dress down. She added,
“
Or did we? That
’
s
something you
’
ll
have to work out for yourself, Julia Blake. Don
’
t
contact me again or it
’
ll be me phoning
the police.
”

Julia
watched her walking out of the room, her hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Was
Dinah telling the truth?

Julia
didn
’
t
know.