Death Takes A Trip (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 5) (7 page)

Chapter 12

Julia dropped Cain off at the end of the day. He
promised that he
’
d speak to
Albert and see if he
’
d got Gloria
’
s address yet.

Julia decided to call in on Nina to see how she was
doing. She stopped at a supermarket on the way to buy a bunch of flowers. These
were taken off her the second that Doris opened the door to her.
“
How kind, thank you. I
’
ll put them in a vase,
”
Doris said.

She looked so happy that Julia didn
’
t have the heart to say the flowers were for Nina. Instead she said,
“
How
’
s Nina doing?
Has she managed to rest?
”

Doris tutted and shook her head.
“
She
’
s a terrible
patient, she keeps trying to get up off the sofa. She says she doesn
’
t want to be a nuisance, and I keep telling her that she
’
s not! I
’
m going to end
up tying her down to that blooming sofa! You go through, I
’
ll sort my flowers out.
”

Nina gave Julia a bright smile when she entered the
living room. Nina put a hand to the side of her mouth and said,
“
Are you here to help me escape? Quick! We can run out of the front door
whilst Doris is in the kitchen. Have you left your car engine running?
”

Julia smiled.
“
I know you don
’
t mean that. Doris must be doing a good job of looking after you, you
look much better today.
”

Nina
’
s chin wobbled slightly.
“
I
’
m trying to
hold myself together. It
’
s hard though. I feel like crying all the time.
”
She sighed.
“
I suppose I am better off here, if I was at home I
’
d be in floods of tears. I can
’
t stop thinking about my Douglas, how happy he was when I said yes to
his proposal.
”

Julia sat on the floor at the side of the sofa.
“
I
’
ve known
Douglas a few years and I
’
ve never seen him look as happy as he did in the last week. Don
’
t forget that, he was all the better for knowing you.
”

Nina shook her head sadly.
“
It we hadn
’
t met, he
’
d still be alive.
”

“
I
’
ll have to disagree. He looked more alive in the last week.
”
Julia stopped
and realised what she
’
d said. She added,
“
Apart from yesterday, of course. I know his death is hard to take but
trust me when I tell you that Douglas died a happy man.
”
She stopped
again.
“
Sorry, he
obviously didn
’
t die happily.
I meant to say
…”

Nina put her hand on Julia
’
s arm.
“
I know what
you
’
re trying to
say. I appreciate your kindness.
”
Doris entered the room carrying a tray of tea things.
Nina said dramatically,
“
It
’
s too late!
Our escape plot has been foiled!
”

Doris laughed.
“
If you made a bid to escape I
’
d be after you in a shot. And I
’
d sit on you until you gave in. And let me tell you, Nina Sapphire, you
’
d give in pretty quick! I might look like a delicate flower but I
’
m not.
”

Julia gave Doris a quick look over. Those were not the
words that she would use to describe Doris. She wisely kept her thoughts to
herself.

Doris put the tray down and said to Julia,
“
Get yourself off my clean carpet, you could have all sorts of cleaning
chemicals on your bottom.
”

Julia stood up.
“
I always wear an apron, and I don
’
t use chemicals, thank you very much. Is there a cup of tea for me?
”

Doris laughed,
“
I admire your cheek. Go on, you can have a cuppa. Don
’
t wear my patient out or I
’
ll be kicking you out before you can say bleach.
”

Julia was about to say she didn
’
t use bleach when there was a loud knock on the front door. Julia had
heard that knock before, it was one of a kind. Sure enough, it was DI Clarke
that Doris opened the door to.

He raised his eyebrows when he came into the living
room and saw Julia, but he didn
’
t say anything. Nina sat up straighter and raised a finger at him.
“
Have you got him? That Joshua Bentley? Is he behind bars yet?
”

DI Clarke shook his head.
“
I don
’
t believe that
Mr Bentley had anything to do with your fianc
é’
s death.
”

Nina deflated at the last two words. Julia shot DI
Clarke a disapproving look. He ignored her and carried on.
“
Mr Bentley had secured the carpet perfectly on his visit. A further
section of the carpet had been cut on purpose later on.
”
He looked at
the floor and frowned, as if not sure what to say next. Julia was surprised,
she
’
d never seen
him at a loss for words. She suspected what was coming next and moved over to
sit on the floor again next to Nina. Doris could say what she liked.

DI Clarke gave her a small smile and said,
“
We
’
ve found some
bruising on Mr Pedley
’
s back, they look like they were made by hands.
”

Nina gave a cry of anguish. Julia reached out for her
hand.

“
Which means,
”
DI Clarke
continued,
“
that it looks
like he was pushed down the stairs. On purpose. We believe that whoever did
that deliberately cut the carpet afterwards to make it look like an accident.
”

“
No!
”
Nina wailed.
“
Are you saying that my lovely Douglas was murdered?
”

“
That
’
s exactly what I
’
m saying. I
’
m sorry to be
the bearer of such bad news, Ms Sapphire, but you needed to know.
”
He cleared his
throat.
“
I know this is
going to be difficult for you but we
’
ll have to take a statement from you, about your movements on the night
that Mr Pedley died.
”

Nina nodded slowly as if trying to take the news in.

Julia said,
“
What time do you think Douglas died?
”

“
Some time
between eight p.m. and midnight on Tuesday. I
’
m sorry to insist on this, Ms Sapphire, but can you tell me where you
were at that time?
”

A tear rolled down Nina
’
s cheek. Julia reached into her pocket, took out a tissue and handed it
to her. In a dull voice Nina said,
“
I was at home, my home. I
’
d been staying at Douglas
’
after my fall. Did you know about my fall?
”

The inspector nodded.
“
Ms Blake was kind enough to tell me about that when she first told me
about that rock coming through Mr Pedley
’
s window.
”

Nina said,
“
Douglas was so kind to me, bringing me food in bed, making sure I had
everything I needed. He started to look tired so I decided that I should go
home. I felt better and I knew I could take care of myself. I told Douglas my
decision on Tuesday morning. He insisted that I stay for the day, which I did,
but then I left at six p.m. I phoned him at six-thirty to let him know I
’
d got home safely.
”
Another tear fell.
“
Why did I leave him? I should have stayed. If I had, he
’
d still be alive.
”

Doris said,
“
Is that enough information for you inspector? Look at what you
’
ve done to the poor woman! As if losing her future husband wasn
’
t enough you
’
ve now told
her the poor bugger was murdered! And you
’
ve accused her of murdering him! Are you pleased with yourself?
”

“
I didn
’
t accuse her
…”

“
Yes you did! I
heard you!
”
Doris shouted, her face flushed.

Julia stood up and moved closer to Doris.
“
The inspector is just following rules. He has to eliminate Nina from his
enquiries, it
’
s standard
procedure. I
’
m sure he
meant no disrespect.
”

Doris folded her arms.
“
Aye, that
’
s as maybe but
he could have explained himself better. You
’
d make a better policeman than him, Julia. I
’
d forgotten that you
’
ve solved murder cases for the police before.
”

DI Clarke interrupted,
“
Ms Blake hasn
’
t actually
solved any cases, she
’
s merely helped us now and again.
”
His phone
beeped.
“
Excuse me, I
have to go but I
’
ll be in
touch. Goodbye. I
’
ll see myself
out.
”

The inspector almost sprinted out of the room, they
heard the front door banging a second later.

Doris tutted.
“
If he
’
s damaged my
door I
’
ll be down to
that station faster than you can say compensation.
”

Julia turned to Nina who was struggling to get off the
sofa. Nina said,
“
Could you help
me up, Julia? I need to go to the bathroom.
”

Julia saw the tears threatening to fall from Nina
’
s eyes. She helped her up and said,
“
Do you need any help?
”

Nina gave her a brave smile and said,
“
No, thank you. I need a bit of time alone.
”

Doris and Julia watched Nina leave the room. As soon
as she was gone Doris said,
“
She
’
s going to
have a cry in the bathroom. She keeps doing that. I haven
’
t said anything, people need to grieve in privacy sometimes. Well,
Julia, what are you going to do about this?
”

“
About what?
”

“
About Douglas
’
murder! You
can
’
t let the
police deal with it, I
’
ve seen a tortoise move quicker. You
’
ve solved cases before, you can solve this one.
”

“
I really
shouldn
’
t get
involved,
”
Julia began. She stopped. She could hear faint sobbing coming from the
bathroom. She gave Doris a nod and said,
“
I
’
ll do all that
I can to find out who murdered Douglas.
”