A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (9 page)

Chapter 15

Julia
told Cain about her conversation with DI Clarke when she picked him up the next
morning. She also told him about the man who had been hanging around her house,
she referred to him as Smoking Man.

Cain
’
s
face creased in concern.
“
You should tell
the police about him. Give them the cigarette ends, they might be able to get
something off them. Don
’
t approach him
though, there are some strange people out there.
”

Julia
kept her next thought to herself. There was still the possibility that Smoking
Man was related to Cain, perhaps one of his brothers.

They
whizzed through their cleaning jobs in no time. Julia said,
“
You
’
d
better slow down, you
’
re making me
look bad!
”

Cain
smiled as he wiped a kitchen top down.
“
Sorry,
I can
’
t
help it. I feel good when I clean. Where are we going next?
”

Julia
packed her cleaning things up and said,
“
Nowhere.
We
’
ve
finished for the morning.
”
She looked at her watch.
“
And
it
’
s
only ten-thirty. I can drop you home if you like, you can have a long lunch.
”

Her
phone beeped. She smiled as she read the message. She pointed her phone at Cain
and said,
“
Or
you could come with me to Hugo
’
s house. That
message was from DI Clarke. He said we can go back to Hugo
’
s on
the strict proviso that we
’
re not to enter
the office. He says his team might need to look in there again.
”

Cain
nodded.
“
And
why are we going back? Is it just to clean, or
…
?
”

Julia
finished his sentence.
“
Look for clues,
something the police might have missed? Yes, Cain, that sounds like a great
idea of yours. Come on.
”

“
But I
…
it wasn
’
t my
idea
…”

Julia
grinned at him.
“
I
’
m
only joking. I want to have a good look around too. I might spot something that
’
s out
of place, something the police haven
’
t picked up on.
”

She
paused as she reached for the door.
“
Oh, Cain, I
never thought. You might not want to come with me, bearing in mind you
’
ve
just got out of prison. I wouldn
’
t want you to
get into any sort of trouble.
”

Cain
’
s
eyebrows rose.
“
What are you planning to do? Something
illegal? If so, I learnt many tricks of the trade inside.
”

It
was Cain
’
s
turn to grin as he caught Julia
’
s shocked
expression.
“
I
’
m
kidding. Sort of.
”

Julia
filed that information away. Not that she was going to do anything illegal. Of
course she wasn
’
t.

They
soon arrived at Hugo
’
s house. Julia unlocked the front door
and stepped through. A sadness chilled her, the house felt empty without Hugo
’
s
presence. She looked towards his office, the door was closed. She was glad
about that as she wasn
’
t sure she could
look in the office without remembering Hugo lying on the carpet.

Cain
said quietly,
“
Are
you sure you want to be here? The place looks clean enough.
”
He sniffed.
“
The
police must have cleaned up after themselves, I can smell the chemicals.
”

Julia
’
s
nose wrinkled.
“
Me too. We could wipe down the surfaces
again with my own cleaning fluid,  it
’
s all natural.
Hugo loved the smell of the lemons and the
…”
She stopped herself and quickly
looked away.

Cain
laughed.
“
You
nearly told me your secret ingredient then. I think I know what it is.
”

Julia
lifted her head dramatically and declared,
“
I
shall never reveal my secret ingredient!
”

Cain
laughed again. Julia smiled. It was lovely to see him looking more relaxed and
at ease. She said,
“
Come on, let
’
s go
into the kitchen.
”

“
Can I
walk through the back door one more time?
”
Cain asked eagerly.

“
Of
course.
”

The
chemical smell was almost overpowering in the kitchen. Julia tutted in disgust.
The police must have dusted everywhere for fingerprints if they
’
d had
to clean up so much. What had they discovered in the kitchen?

Cain
jogged over to the back door, a big grin on his face.

Julia
called out,
“
Hang
on! You need the key.
”

“
No
need, it
’
s
open.
”

Cain
pulled the door towards him and reverently stepped through, and out into the
garden. As he came back through he said,
“
What
are you looking for?
”

“
Something,
”
Julia replied as she pulled open
a cupboard door.
“
He must have put it somewhere. I know he
was tired the other day but he always puts it away.
”

Cain
came over to her side.
“
What? What is it
you
’
re
looking for? Can I help?
”

Julia
raised a hand, her index finger pointing upwards.
“
He
might have actually hung it up this time! He might have finally listened to me.
”

“
What?
”
Cain said, his voice louder than
Julia had heard it before.

“
His
travelling jacket, he wore it on all his business trips,
”
Julia explained.
“
Whenever
he came back from a trip he would fling that coat anywhere. I once found it
inside the fridge. I was forever telling him to hang it up in his wardrobe.
Come on, let
’
s go
upstairs.
”

Cain
followed Julia out of the kitchen.
“
But why is it so
important?
”

“
You
’
ll
see,
”
Julia called over her shoulder.
She bounded up the stairs and into Hugo
’
s
bedroom.

She
sniffed.
“
The
police haven
’
t
been in here.
”

There
were a few garments scattered around the room. Julia said,
“
It
’
s khaki
in colour. It must be here somewhere.
”

“
Is
this it?
”
Cain said. He was standing by the
wardrobe and pointing to a jacket hanging neatly.

“
That
’
s it!
Can you see all the pockets? He used to keep notes in all those pockets. He
said it was like a mobile filing system. Oh! There could be information about
his last client!
”

Cain
pulled the jacket off the hanger.
“
There
’
s a
note pinned to the collar.
”
He handed the jacket to Julia.

She
read the note:
‘
Dearest Julia, you will see that I have
finally taken your advice and hung my jacket in the appropriate place. And, my
dear lady, I have emptied my pockets! Ha! I bet you never expected me to be so
neat and tidy! Your friend, Hugo.
’

The
note fluttered to the ground. Cain handed Julia a tissue from a nearby box and
said,
“
Please
don
’
t
cry.
”

Julia
took the tissue and wiped her eyes.
“
Sorry, it was a
combination of seeing his writing, and then discovering that the idiot may have
destroyed any clues that could have led us to his killer.
”

Cain
picked the note up and turned it over.
“
There
’
s
something on the back, some scribbling.
”
He passed it to Julia.

‘
Divorce
papers? Death certificate? Sins of the fathers????
’

Julia
frowned.
“
I don
’
t
know what it means, but it
’
s better than
nothing.
”
She froze.
“
What
was that noise? Did you hear it?
”

Cain
nodded. He whispered,
“
I think it was
the front door opening.
”
He cocked his head.
“
I can
hear voices.
”

Was
it the police? Or someone else? Julia folded the note and put it in her pocket.
She said,
“
Come
on, let
’
s
find out who it is.
”

Chapter 16

Despite
the fact that she intended to confront the intruders, Julia decided to make as
little noise as possible as she descended the stairs. Cain followed her lead
and slunk along at her side.

At
the bottom of the stairs, Julia indicated her head towards the office door, it
was now ajar. A low hum of noise came from within. Cain pressed his lips
together and nodded. They tiptoed over towards the door. Julia peered through a
crack. She looked back at Cain and mouthed,
‘
Dinah
Wells
’
.
Cain
’
s
lips almost disappeared as he pressed his lips even tighter together.

Dinah
’
s
loud laugh made them both jump.
“
It was so easy!
He was putty in my hands,
”
Dinah said.

There
was a male chuckle and a voice said,
“
I wish I could be
putty in your hands, imagine the shapes you could make out of me.
”

Julia
’
s
nose wrinkled in disgust. She moved her head. No, she couldn
’
t see
who the man was. The tone of his voice was vaguely familiar.

Dinah
spoke again,
“
Later,
you bad boy. Anyway, the contract is signed now. The poor man thought he was
getting a good deal. He doesn
’
t know that I
’
ve
already written the book, I
’
ve made notes
since I started working for Hugo! That fool of an agent thinks I
’
m
spending months slaving over my laptop, you should have seen his face when I
asked for more money, it was like he felt sorry for me having to put in such
hard work.
”

The
man laughed again.
“
You
’
re
too clever by half, Dinah.
”

“
It
’
s not
my fault if people are easily fooled. I told you about the TV deal, didn
’
t I?
Have you cleared it with that director? The one who
’
s in
charge of Summersdale? Won
’
t he mind
another TV show being shot here?
”

“
Doesn
’
t
matter if he minds or not, it
’
s my house now.
I
’
ll
say who films here. Can you believe how little my brother was charging them?
”

Julia
gasped. Was that Hugo
’
s brother? He
’
d
never mentioned having a brother.

The
door was suddenly flung open. A man glared at them.
“
I
thought I heard something. Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in my
house?
”

Dinah
came into view. The angry look on her face dissolved as she looked at Julia.
“
Julia!
How lovely to see you.
”
She put her hand on the man
’
s
arm.
“
Gilbert,
this is Julia Blake, she does cleaning work for Hugo. We
’
ve
met a few times, haven
’
t we?
”

Julia
nodded. She hadn
’
t missed the change of tone in Dinah
’
s
voice. It had gone from a mocking arrogant one to an overly friendly one. Julia
said,
“
We
have met before. This is my colleague, Cain. Sorry if it seems we were
listening in on a private conversation but the police said we could enter Hugo
’
s
house.
”

“
Why?
”
Gilbert shot out.
“
It
’
s not
like he needs any cleaning doing now, is it? And if you
’
re expecting
me to pay, you can think again.
”

Dinah
gave a tinkly laugh.
“
Oh, Gilbert, don
’
t be
so gruff. Sorry, Julia, this is Hugo
’
s younger
brother. He
’
s not
usually so bad-tempered, he
’
s suffering from
grief.
”

“
Am I?
”
Gilbert asked.

Dinah
’
s
chin wobbled, and, right on cue, a delicate tear rolled gracefully down her
powdered cheek.

Julia
folded her arms. She was seeing a whole new side to Dinah. Julia said,
“
Hugo
never mentioned a younger brother.
”

Gilbert
snorted.
“
I
’
m not
surprised! I
’
m a
dirty secret that he doesn
’
t like to talk
about. There
’
d
been some mix-up about money when Mother and Father died. Hugo was under the
impression that I
’
d stolen things that rightfully belonged
to me.
”
Gilbert stepped out into the
hall, forcing Julia and Cain to take a few steps backwards. Gilbert thrust his
chin out and said,
“
Doesn
’
t
matter now, this all belongs to me. I can do what I want with this house. I won
’
t be
needing your services any more.
”

Julia
hadn
’
t
finished with her questions.
“
Is this house
officially yours?
”

Gilbert
’
s
chin dropped.
“
Not
officially, the paperwork
’
s going through.
Why?
”

“
If
you had a falling-out with Hugo, are you sure he left the house to you?
”

Gilbert
smirked.
“
Oh
yes, I checked that recently. We had our differences but Hugo wanted to keep
this house in the family. Off you go, you are dismissed. I take it that heap of
junk outside is yours? I thought someone had abandoned a stolen car in my
drive.
”

“
Gilbert!
Please don
’
t
talk to Julia like that!
”
Dinah said.

“
I
’
ll
talk to her as I like! She
’
s asking too
many questions. She
’
ll be accusing us of murdering Hugo
next! She
’
ll be
asking where we were on the night he died!
”

“
Well?
”
Julia asked.

Gilbert
stormed over to the front door and yanked it open.
“
Get
out of my house!
”

Dinah
’
s
hands flew to her chest.
“
Gilbert! Stop
it!
”
She turned to Julia and said,
“
I
’
m so
sorry. We
’
ve
nothing to hide. I was working late on Monday night at the library, then I went
home. Gilbert was in London, he came up on the afternoon train on Tuesday,
after the police had contacted him.
”

Julia
nodded.
“
I
see. Dinah, you must be very upset about Hugo, I know you were close.
”

More
well-timed tears rolled down Dinah
’
s cheeks. She
muttered,
“
We
were close. I hadn
’
t seen him since he left for America
last week.
”
She gave a small laugh.
“
I
hoped one day we might become more than friends. But he seemed oblivious to my
feelings. He brought me gifts back from his travels, magnets with pictures of
the Loch Ness monster on them, paperweights with the Statue of Liberty inside,
that sort of thing. Thank you for your concern, Julia.
”

“
I
’
m
waiting for you to leave!
”
Gilbert shouted.

Julia
walked over to him and said quietly,
“
Until this house
legally belongs to you, I still work for Hugo. He
’
s
paid me for the next few weeks so I shall come back when I went. The police
know I
’
m
here. Do they know that you two are here? They told me not to go into the
office. Why were you in there? Shall I let the police know that you
’
ve
been in there?
”

Gilbert
stared down at Julia for a few seconds. Cain walked over to Julia and stood
protectively at her side. Goodness knew what he
’
d do
if Gilbert launched himself at them both! Still, Julia appreciated the gesture.

Gilbert
looked away. He said,
“
Dinah, it
’
s
time we left.
”

Dinah
smiled at him and said to Julia,
“
Gilbert
’
s
been such a good friend to me since Hugo passed away. I
’
m
sure you don
’
t
need to bother the police about our visit today, I know you
’
re a
busy woman. It
’
s
lovely to see you again, Julia. Goodbye.
”

Julia
could almost taste the sweetness in the air that was coming from Dinah
’
s
sugar-coated words. She forced a friendly smile on her face and said,
“
Goodbye,
Dinah. I hope you some to terms with your grief soon.
”

The
couple left. As soon as the door was closed, Cain said,
“
What
a pair of liars! It
’
s obvious that they
’
re
more than friends!
”

“
I
know. And Dinah was lying about the last time she saw Hugo. She mentioned the
paperweight, the one with the Statue of Liberty inside. Hugo had bought that on
his latest trip, do you remember? He showed it to us on Monday.
”

Cain
nodded.
“
Which
means that Dinah saw Hugo on Monday.
”

They
both looked towards Hugo
’
s office. Cain
said,
“
Do
you think Dinah killed Hugo? Do you think Gilbert did?
”

Julia
nodded.
“
They
’
ve
become possible suspects. I want to know more about Gilbert. And what
’
s
going on with this book they were talking about?
”