Death Takes A Trip (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 5) (6 page)

Chapter 10

Doris was more than happy to have Nina stay at her
house.
“
You stay here
as long as you like,
”
Doris told her.
“
What a terrible shock you
’
ve had. I can
’
t believe your
Douglas is dead.
”
She tutted.
“
That Joshua
Bentley has got a lot to answer for, wait
’
til I see him!
”

Julia interjected,
“
We don
’
t know that it
was Joshua
’
s fault.
”

“
Who else
’
s could it be?
”
Doris snapped. She turned her attention back to Nina
who was lying on her sofa, a blanket tucked around her.
“
You stay there, Nina, I
’
ll make us a cuppa. You
’
re in shock. I
’
ve phoned the girls, they
’
re on their way round.
”

“
But what about
the shop? They can
’
t all leave at
the same time. Doris, don
’
t let them get into trouble on my behalf,
”
Nina said.

“
Old
Misery-guts can look after the shop herself. Where else would your friends be
at a time like this? By your side of course! You
’
d do the same for us.
”

Nina gave her a grateful smile and said,
“
Thank you.
”
She started crying again and quickly wiped her tears away.
“
Oh, I
’
m so sorry. I
was supposed to keep this a secret but
…
it really
doesn
’
t matter now.
Douglas proposed to me on Saturday night. I said yes, of course. He said he
didn
’
t want to
waste any more time without me and he was head over heels in love with me.
”

Julia smiled but thought head over heels was an
unfortunate term to use.

Doris clasped her hands under her bosom.
“
By heck! You
’
ve lost your
whole future. It never rains does it, it pours!
”

Cain added from his seat in the corner,
“
My gran used to say that.
”

Doris nodded.
“
She was a wise woman. Have another biscuit, they need eating. Nina, that
’
s so sad about your engagement.
”

Nina nodded.
“
We were going to look for rings this Friday. And then Douglas was going
to throw a small party at his house and make an official announcement.
”
She looked
away.
“
I can
’
t believe he
’
s gone. I
’
ve only known him for a short while but he became my world.
”

Doris made a clicking noise with her tongue and
muttered,
“
I
’
ve a good mind to go round and see that Joshua Bentley right now!
”

Julia said,
“
The police are making their enquiries. I think you
’
d be better staying with Nina rather than confronting Joshua. Thanks for
taking her in. We have to go now, we
’
ve still got work to do. Come on, Cain.
”

Nina called out,
“
Julia! Thank you for looking after me, you
’
re so kind.
”

Julia blinked and said a rapid goodbye. She walked
briskly out of the house. Cain jumped up and ran after her.

As they walked down the path Cain said,
“
Why are we in such a rush?
”

“
Because I
’
m about to burst into tears! And I don
’
t want to do that in front of Nina. I can
’
t stop thinking about her and Douglas together, they were so happy! And
now it
’
s all gone.
”

“
Do you still
think it was murder?
”

“
I don
’
t know what to think,
”
Julia said. They got in the car.
“
I think that Adams Construction has something to do with Douglas
’
death. It can
’
t be a coincidence that those men were talking in the woods, and then
that rock went through Douglas
’
window.
”

Cain nodded.
“
And didn
’
t you say that
they had building plans for Douglas
’
land.
”

“
Yes. Do you
remember what that man in the woods said? That he
’
d done it before, taken care of problems. I think we need to look into
the background of Adams Construction. The Internet is a good place to start.
”

“
Or, we could
ask one of Douglas
’
old neighbours, the ones that used to live down his street before their
houses were bought by the construction company.
”

“
That would be
ideal but where will we find such a person?
”
Julia paused
and narrowed her eyes at Cain.
“
Okay, spit it out, you
’
ve obviously got something to tell me.
”

Cain grinned.
“
I wasn
’
t sure whether
to tell you or not, it didn
’
t seem relevant earlier but now that Douglas is dead, I
…”

“
Stop drawing
it out! Tell me or I
’
ll push you
out of the car!
”

Cain said,
“
That
’
s not much of
a threat, we haven
’
t set off yet.
”
His smile
dropped as he took in Julia
’
s look.
“
Okay! I
’
ve been doing some gardening work for my neighbours,
 
one of them is called Albert. He knew
that I worked with you. We got chatting and I told him about the forest that
’
s at the back of Douglas
’
land.
”

“
Woods, not
forest,
”
Julia corrected.

“
I prefer to
call it a forest, it
’
s more
exciting. Anyway, Albert knows somebody who used to live next door to Douglas.
She
’
s called
Gloria and she sold her house to Adams Construction. I can ask him for Gloria
’
s address.
”

Julia nodded.
“
Yes, do that. Thank you.
”

A few hours later Julia dropped Cain home and then
headed towards her own house. She remembered what was in the boot of her car
and made a right turn instead of the normal left turn that took her home.

She pulled into the police car park and retrieved the
cloth covered rock from her boot. DI Clarke was waiting for her at the entrance
to the police station. Julia narrowed her eyes.
“
Are you waiting for me? Have you got a tracking device on me?
”

“
No, it
’
s just a happy coincidence. I thought you
’
d turn up sooner or later. What
’
s that in your hand? Have you brought me a cake?
”

Julia opened the cloth and held up the item.

Without showing any hint of humour the inspector said,
“
Ah, a rock
cake.
”

Julia let out an undignified snort of laughter. She
immediately regretted it. She said,
“
This is the rock that came through Douglas
’
window. You
can dust it for fingerprints.
”

“
Is that a
clean cloth?
”

Julia nodded.

“
It
’
s unlikely that we will get any prints off it.
”

“
But you can
try?
”
Julia asked.

DI Clarke flicked the cloth back over the rock and
took it from Julia
’
s outstretched
hand.
“
We can try. Is
there anything else?
”

“
I was just
wondering if you
’
ve got any
further with your enquiries,
”
Julia said casually.

There was a glint in the inspector
’
s eyes. Julia couldn
’
t read his expression, but that wasn
’
t anything new. She was convinced that DI Clarke practised his
expressions, or lack of them, on a daily basis.

DI Clarke said,
“
Not that it is any of your business but we have discovered that the
carpet had been cut and pulled up deliberately, the part that had been fixed
down is still in place.
”

“
I knew it!
What about the footprints in Douglas
’
house? They
belong to Alexander Adams, it must do. That
’
s whose voice I heard in the woods.
”

“
Calm down, Ms
Blake. Didn
’
t you say the
voice in the woods belonged to a young man?
”

“
Yes. Why?
”

“
I
’
ve met Alexander Adams before, he
’
s in his sixties. I very much doubt that it was him that you heard in
the woods. He
’
s got a good
reputation, he
’
s not the type
to go around throwing rocks through people
’
s windows.
”

Julia frowned and looked at the ground. Then she
looked back at DI Clarke.
“
But he must have something to do with Douglas
’
death. Have
you interviewed him?
”

DI Clarke sighed.
“
That really is none of your business.
”
He held the
rock up.
“
I will see to
it that this is looked at but I want you to leave this investigation to me. Do
you understand?
”

“
Of course I
understand. But if that carpet was cut deliberately that means that Douglas was
murdered.
”

“
We don
’
t know at all that he was murdered, all we know is that he fell down his
stairs. I
’
ll say this
again, Ms Blake, leave this investigation to me.
”
He turned on
his heel and walked into the police station without saying another word.

Julia knew she should leave the investigation to him
but it seemed he had already decided that Alexander Adams was not connected to
Douglas
’
death. Julia wasn
’
t convinced.

She was even less convinced when she went on the
Internet later.

Chapter 11

There were a lot of positive posts about Alexander
Adams and his construction work online. There were also a lot of photographs of
the houses that his company had built. Julia tried not to be impressed by them.
There were a few photographs of the man himself. DI Clarke was right about him
being in his sixties. The photographs showed a smart-looking older man who was
in good shape. Julia thought immediately that he looked fit enough to fling a
rock through somebody
’
s window and then sprint away.

She scrolled through more pages. There were plans of
future housing developments but she couldn
’
t find any mention of any that were to be built on Douglas
’
land. That
didn
’
t mean it wasn
’
t going to happen.

“
Ah! I knew
there was something fishy about him!
”
Julia had
found a website that disclosed disreputable contractors. There were many
comments about the poor quality of Adams
’
houses and the
problems that people had encountered when they tried to get recompense from the
builders. Julia dug a bit deeper and found some comments about how Adams
Construction had used bully-boy tactics to get people to sell their houses and
land to make way for new homes. Julia was tempted to contact the people direct
who had posted the comments but thought it would be a better idea to give the
information to DI Clarke. She made a note of the website on her phone.

She knew that Alexander Adams was up to something, she
just wasn
’
t sure what,
and she didn
’
t know how to
prove it.

Details, just details, she told herself as she
switched her laptop off.

Considering that she
’
d encountered a dead body that day, Julia had a decent night
’
s sleep and was raring to go the following day.

She pulled up outside Cain
’
s house. The young man was sitting on his wall and waiting for her.
During the drive, and their subsequent cleaning jobs, Julia told Cain about her
visit to the police station and about what she
’
d discovered on the Internet.

Cain rubbed at the window of the apartment they were
now in and said,
“
I
’
ve asked Albert to give me Gloria
’
s address. I was working on his garden again last night. He wanted me to
put something down that would keep the neighbour
’
s cats away.
”

“
Cats!
”
Julia dropped
her cloth into a nearby bucket of hot water.
“
Cat! Douglas
’
pet. I
’
d forgotten
all about her. Did you see her at Douglas
’
house
yesterday?
”

Cain shrugged.
“
I didn
’
t notice her,
but I wasn
’
t really
looking for her.
”

Julia said,
“
That poor cat. There
’
s no one to look after her. I must let DI Clarke know.
”
She paused.
“
Or we could go round to Douglas
’
house and look
for her ourselves. We are very near to his house. It will save me a phone call.
”

“
And we can
have a snoop inside Douglas
’
house, look for clues,
”
Cain pointed
out.

“
I hadn
’
t thought of that,
”
Julia lied.
“
Let
’
s finish up
here. We
’
re due a lunch
break soon.
”

Julia
’
s plans to look inside Douglas
’
house were
thwarted by the large policeman standing at the front door. Julia explained
about Cat and asked if she could go inside.

The policeman shook his head.
“
No can do. Nobody is allowed inside, we
’
re still collecting evidence.
”

“
What kind of
evidence?
”
Julia asked.

“
I can
’
t tell you that. I
’
ll have a look for the cat myself later.
”

“
She might be
in the garden, or the woods,
”
Julia persisted.
“
Can we have a look in those places?
”

The policeman didn
’
t look convinced.

Julia went on.
“
The cat got stuck in some bushes a few days ago. We had to help her out.
I
’
m sure you don
’
t want a dead cat on your conscience. It won
’
t take us long to look.
”

The policeman gave her a stare that was worthy of DI
Clarke. Finally, he relented and said,
“
Have a quick look. I
’
ve got cats of my own, I
’
d hate to think of one being stuck somewhere.
”

Julia and Cain were off down the path before the
policeman could change his mind. The path went round the side of the house and
into the garden.

“
What are you
looking for?
”
Cain asked.

Julia was staring intently at the ground as she
walked.
“
Footprints. If
you see any, let me know.
”

Cain adopted the same stare as Julia as they walked
into the garden. They had a quick look around whilst calling for Cat at the
same time.

Julia said,
“
She might have gone into the woods again. Let
’
s try there.
”

They walked across the field and into the woods. Julia
was still keeping a look out for footprints. They checked the bush that they
’
d found Cat in previously but she wasn
’
t there.

Cain cocked his head.
“
I can hear people talking, and the sound of building work.
”

Julia pointed forwards.
“
It must be from the building site at the other side of the woods, it
’
s part of a new development. The show house that me and Dad went to on
Sunday is part of it. Shall we have a closer look? Cat might have even gone
into the show house.
”

They moved closer through the trees. Julia soon
recognised the house that her and Dad had visited. They walked along the side
of the surrounding fence to an opening where they saw lots of men in bright
yellow vests working away. Julia and Cain were too busy staring at the scene in
front of them that they didn
’
t notice that someone was approaching them. Julia only noticed when a
shadow fell over her face.

“
May I help
you?
”

Julia looked at the owner of the voice. She recognised
him immediately. It was Alexander Adams. She gulped, he didn
’
t look that tall on his photographs. Embarrassment made her composure
and good sense disappear. She pointed at him and said,
“
Yes! You can help me! I
’
m a friend of Douglas Pedley, the man who lived at the other side of
this wood. He
’
s dead now and
I think you have something to do with it!
”

She felt Cain tugging at her sleeve but she brushed
him off. She knew she
’
d gone too far but her accusing words were out now.

Concern crossed Alexander Adams
’
face.
“
I had heard about Mr Pedley
’
s death but why do you think I had something to do with it?
”

In a calmer voice Julia said,
“
You hounded him to sell his house and land to you, you threatened him. I
was in your show house on Sunday and I was told you have plans to build on
Douglas
’
land. Someone threw a rock through Douglas
’
window to try
and scare him.
”

Alexander Adams looked genuinely concerned.
“
I don
’
t know
anything about a rock, and I certainly don
’
t know anything about plans to build on his land. I did approach Mr
Pedley when we first planned to build those houses on his street. I made him a
fair offer for his property but he said no. I followed up with a few letters
but he made it perfectly clear that he didn
’
t intend to sell. I haven
’
t been in touch with him since. I can assure you that I didn
’
t have anything to do with his death, and I
’
m sorry you feel that way. Was there anything else?
”

Julia didn
’
t know what to say. Cain came to her rescue and said,
“
Douglas
’
cat has gone missing, she
’
s ginger and she
’
s called Cat.
”

Alexander nodded.
“
I
’
ll keep a look
out for her. If you
’
ll excuse me I
have to go.
”

He walked away towards a portable building.

Julia turned to Cain and said,
“
What do you think?
”

“
I think he
’
s either a good liar, or someone who works for him is making secret
plans behind his back.
”

“
And those
plans could involve getting rid of Douglas. We need to make some more enquiries
about Adams Construction.
”