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

Doris snorted.
“
As if we
’
d gossip about
you! Good luck to you both, finding love at your age. No offence.
”

Julia and Cain helped Nina with her coat and handbag
and then led her through the shop. Nina
’
s friends walked at either side of her, like security guards. Doris
called out,
“
Mildred! Nina
’
s going home, she
’
s done more than enough for today.
”

Julia didn
’
t look over at Mildred. No doubt she would be glaring at them.

Once they were in the car Nina said,
“
Thank you again, you
’
re most kind. Do you think you could drive me to Douglas
’
house? I haven
’
t seen him all day.
”
She laughed.
“
I sound like a lovesick teenager! To be truthful, that
’
s how I feel. I
’
m so lucky to have found that wonderful man.
”

Julia shared a smile with Cain through the rear-view
mirror. She was so happy for Douglas and Nina.

Her happiness didn
’
t last long. And neither did Nina
’
s.

Chapter 9

Julia was the first to discover Douglas
’
dead body.
With hindsight she should have acted quicker and warned Cain to divert Nina. As
it was, Julia was too shocked to move. From the second she had entered the
house, Julia had sensed that something was wrong. Some instinct had told her to
go to the stairs.

Cain joined her. He looked down at Douglas and said,
“
Is he dead?
”

Julia nodded, unable to speak. She heard Nina gasp
behind her. This was followed by a scream of horror.

Cain immediately turned around and put his arms around
Nina whose scream had now turned into sobs.

Julia couldn't take her eyes off the still body of
Douglas lying in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. It reminded her
so much of Nina and the fall that she
’
d had a few days before. Julia knelt down next to Douglas and closed his
unseeing eyes. She didn't need to check for a pulse, it was obvious from his
colour that he was dead.

How had he fallen down the steps? The carpet at the
top had been fixed. Julia looked up towards the top of the stairs. Her heart
missed a beat when she saw that the carpet was sticking up again. How did that
happen? When she'd spoken to Douglas recently he had confirmed that the carpet
had been fixed. Julia sighed. Something wasn
’
t right here.

She straightened up and turned to face Nina, who was
now dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. Julia put her hand on Nina
’
s arm and tried to lead her away from the terrible scene.

Nina said,
“
What happened to him? Did his heart give up on him? Has he had a stroke?
It
’
s okay, Cain,
you can let go of me now.
”

Julia said,
“
I think he must've tripped up on the same bit of carpet that you did a
few days ago.
”

“
But that
’
s been fixed! I saw that it had been fixed!
”
Nina
’
s voice began to rise hysterically.

“
Did you have a
good look at the carpet after it had been made secure? Did you see anything
still sticking up?
”
Julia asked.

Fresh tears poured down Nina
’
s face.
“
Yes, I did see
that the carpet was lying flat, but if it's sticking up again now, does that
mean it wasn
’
t secured
properly?
”
She burst into tears and Cain took her into his arms again.

Cain let out a cry of anguish as Nina collapsed in his
arms.
“
Help! Julia!
I'm going to drop her!
”

Julia reached out and took hold of Nina who appeared
to have fainted. Between them, they managed to take Nina into the living room
and place her in a chair.

“
What shall we
do with her?
”
Cain asked.
“
Do you have
any smelling salts in your handbag?
”

Julia shook her head.
“
No, but I should start carrying them. Look, she's starting to come round
a little bit. Nina, Nina can you hear me? Shall I call for an ambulance?
”

Nina's eyes fluttered open.
“
No, don't call them, I don't want to be a nuisance. Oh! My poor Douglas!
I should have been here, I should have kept an eye on him.
”

Cain said,
“
Shall I put the kettle on and make us a nice strong cup of tea?
”

Julia gave a small shake of her head and took Cain to
one side. She said,
“
We'd better
not touch anything, just in case.
”

“
Just in case
of what?
”

Julia pulled Cain even further away from Nina and
lowered her voice.
“
I'll have to
call the police about Douglas. I think there
’
s something suspicious about his death. Douglas told me that the carpet
had been fixed. And I trust the work of Joshua Bentley, he
’
s never let me down. I can
’
t see how the carpet would become unstuck on its own.
”

Cain
’
s eyes widened. He whispered,
“
Do you think Douglas was murdered?
”

Julia gave a small nod and said,
“
It's a possibility but don't say anything to Nina. There are some muddy
footprints at the side of Douglas
’
body, and a few on the stairs. They look like the ones
I saw in the woods. I'll call DI Clarke and see what he has to say.
”

Cain returned to Nina's side and patted her hand. Nina
dabbed at her eyes and tried to compose herself. Julia phoned DI Clarke and
told him briefly what had happened. He said he'd be round as soon as possible.

Julia walked over to Nina and said,
“
Do you want to go home? I can call a taxi for you.
”

Nina waved her hand and said,
“
No, I'll stay with Douglas. Who were you speaking to? Have you phoned
for an ambulance?
”

Julia hesitated, should she tell her that she'd phoned
the police? Her attention was caught by something happening outside on the
road. DI Clarke was pulling up to the kerb. He'd arrived quickly. She'd have to
tell Nina the truth now.
“
I phoned the police.
”

“
But why would
you do that?
”
Nina asked.

Julia said,
“
I'm not happy about that carpet sticking up at the top of the stairs.
”

Nina pressed her lips together and nodded. Then she
said,
“
Of course,
you're going to tell the police about that so-called handyman, aren't you? It
’
s his fault that Douglas has fallen down the stairs! He needs to be
arrested!
”

Julia didn't say anything. She walked to the back door
and stepped out as DI Clarke was walking down the path.

The tall, thin policeman with piercing blue eyes
looked at her and said,
“
So, Ms Blake, we meet again. I believe that you came to the station recently
with some wild accusations about threatening behaviour.
”

“
I did, and you
never got back to me,
”
Julia said.
“
And now it's too late, the man who was on the receiving end of the
threatening behaviour is now dead.
”

DI Clarke
’
s eyebrows rose and he said,
“
Ah, yes, you did leave a note for me about some footprints that you
found in the woods.
”

“
And don
’
t forget about the voices that I heard, and the rock that was thrown
through the window. I still have the rock if you want to dust it for
fingerprints. And it hasn
’
t rained since I saw those footprints in the woods, you could take some
impressions.
”

DI Clarke held his hands up.
“
Steady on there, Miss Marple, let me have a look at Mr Pedley
’
s body and the surrounding area first. I
’
ll decide if we
’
re dealing with a murder enquiry.
”
“
I
’
m only trying to help,
”
Julia said, a note of indignation in her voice.

“
Yes, but your
definition of help and mine are totally different. Who else is in the house?
”
“
Cain, and Nina
Sapphire. She was Douglas
’
girlfriend,
”
Julia said.
“
She
’
s very upset.
She
’
s convinced
that Joshua Bentley, he
’
s the one that fixed the carpet, is at fault. She thinks you
’
re here to look into that.
”

“
I think it
’
s best if we send the grieving girlfriend home. If I
’
m going to look into this case properly I don
’
t want to be interrupted by wailing and whining.
”

“
You
’
re all heart,
”
Julia said.

The inspector
’
s mouth rose at one side and he said,
“
I
’
ve been told
on many occasions that I don
’
t have a heart. Lead on, Ms Blake. I trust you haven
’
t contaminated anything in the house.
”

Julia took DI Clarke into the house and introduced him
to Nina. DI Clarke had already met Cain on a previous occasion.

DI Clarke listened politely to Nina
’
s accusations against Joshua Bentley. When she paused for breath, he
said,
“
Thank you, I
will make a note of your concerns. You can leave now, I
’
ll be in touch.
”

Nina turned panic-filled eyes to Julia and said,
“
I can
’
t go home! I
don
’
t want to be
alone! Julia, what shall I do?
”

Julia said,
“
What about your friend, Doris? Could you go to her house? If you
’
ve got her number I
’
ll phone her for you.
”

“
Thank you, you
are too kind.
”

DI Clarke clasped his hands behind his back and waited
patiently until the phone call had been made. He politely coughed when Julia
said she
’
d phone a taxi
for Nina. He said firmly,
“
There
’
s no need for
you to stay, Ms Blake. You can drive Ms Sapphire to her friend
’
s house.
”
He caught her inquisitive look and added,
“
I
’
ve got everything
under control here, back up is on its way. Off you go.
”

Julia could tell from his expression that there was no
point arguing with him. She helped Nina to her feet and walked past him,
shooting him a look to say that she wasn
’
t happy at being told to leave.

Nina began a fresh bout of crying as they drove away.
Julia pressed her lips together. DI Clarke wasn
’
t going to dismiss her that easily. Something fishy was going on here,
and she was determined to find out the truth behind Douglas
’
death.