Gavin's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 4) (3 page)

Chapter
7

“When
your gran told you to use her house as your own I don’t think she meant for you
to sell it,” Robin said the next morning.

“I’m
not really selling it, it’s a ploy to get Gavin here,” Cara explained. “And
anyway, Gran doesn’t need to know, does she? Are you going to tell her?”

Robin
held his hands up. “If Abigail ever finds out about this I want to make it
completely clear that I had nothing to do with it.”

“Wimp,”
Cara said with a smile. She parked outside Gran’s detached house. “Are you sure
Gavin isn’t in any immediate danger? I know you kept an eye on him last night
but I can’t shift this feeling that something is going to happen soon.”

“Always
trust your feelings, Cara. He wasn’t in danger yesterday. I stayed with him at
the office and then he went to see his mum again.” Robin sighed. “She was just the
same, she recognised him at first but then forgot who he was. It’s
heartbreaking for you humans to witness such a change in a beloved one. I hope
you never have to experience it.”

“Me
too. Have you got an update on Gavin’s death?”

“I
have indeed.” Robin checked his watch. “Oh, his time frame has shortened, he’s
going to be murdered between ten and twelve today. It’s nine o’clock now so you
don’t have to worry too much yet.”

“I
can’t help but worry! Robin, what if I don’t stop him from being murdered?”

“You’ll
do fine,” Robin assured her.

She
pointed at him. “You’ve got your fingers crossed!”

Robin’s
cheeks matched the red of his T-shirt. “Time to go!” He zoomed through the car
door and on to the pavement.

Cara
collected her things and joined him. She muttered out of the side of her mouth,
“Are you invisible? I wish I could tell when you are.”

“I
am invisible.” Robin’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t believe I’m going in Abigail’s
house! The other angels will be so jealous! I bet she has pictures of angels
everywhere.”

“I
doubt that,” Cara said. She walked up the drive and towards the front door.

“Cooee!
Cara!” a voice called out.

Cara
closed her eyes and mumbled, “No, please no.”

Robin
looked at the owner of the voice. He laughed. “Look at that old woman! She’s so
cute. Look at her wrinkles and smiley face. Are you going to talk to her? She’s
waving at you.”

Cara
pasted a smile on her face and turned around. She said, “Hello, Ada. How are
you?”

“Pardon?
You’ll have to come closer, my hearing aid is on the blink again.”

“She’s
got a hearing aid!” Robin clasped his hands together. “How adorable is that! Go
and talk to her, Cara.”

Cara
could see that she didn’t have a choice. She walked over to the fence that
separated Ada Clement’s property from her gran’s. She said again, “How are you,
Ada?”

Ada’s
face wrinkled up even more as she smiled. “I mustn’t grumble, I’m still alive!
How are you? I haven’t seen you for a while. Your gran said you were doing
something with computers. Do you fix them?”

“I
do work on the Internet. I build websites and deal with online problems,” Cara
said, hoping she didn’t have to explain what the Internet was.

To
her relief, Ada said, “I love the Internet! How did we manage without it?” She
chuckled. “I go a bit mad with online shopping sometimes. It’s so easy, you
only have to press a button and it’s done! I bought a leopard-skin thong last
week by mistake, I wanted a pair of support tights.”

Robin
laughed. “Ask her what else she bought, she’s so funny!”

Cara
ignored Robin. Gavin Bennett would be turning up any minute and she didn’t want
to get into an elaborate lie with Ada. Cara said, “You know that my gran has
gone away?”

Ada
nodded. “She’s gone on a cruise. Yes, I did know that. She’s been to some
amazing places, hasn’t she? She sends me a postcard twice a week. I expect she
sends you some too.”

Cara’s
eyes narrowed. “She’s been in touch with me recently. In fact, she said I should
use her house if I wanted to. She’s already letting me use her car.”

Ada’s
hands flew to her chest. “Oh, Cara, are you going to move in? That would be
wonderful. I miss having Abigail around, it would be smashing to have someone to
talk to.” She looked towards Gran’s house. “I hate seeing Abigail’s house
empty. I’m glad you’re thinking of moving in, you’re a sensible girl, you’d
take good care of the house. You wouldn’t have one of those rave things behind
Abigail’s back, or try to sell the house without her permission! Imagine if you
did that!”

Robin
burst into laughter. “Ha! That’s so funny! If only she knew what you were up
to!”

Cara’s
attention was caught by a car driving down the road. Her eyes widened. It was
Gavin Bennett’s car. Cara blurted out, “Is that your phone I can hear?”

Ada
cocked her head. “I can’t hear anything.”

Cara
said, “There it is again! You should get it, it might be important.”

Ada
frowned. “I must get my hearing aid sorted out. I’d better see to that phone.
I’ll speak to you later, Cara.” She shuffled towards her house.

Robin
gave Cara a funny look. “Her phone wasn’t ringing, why did you lie?”

Gavin
parked his car behind Cara’s and switched off the engine. Cara put her hand to
her mouth and hissed, “Robin! Keep Ada inside her house. I don’t want her to
know about Gavin’s visit. She’ll only worry. Quick, he’s walking up the drive!”

Robin
raised a finger towards Gran’s house. “But I want to go into Abigail’s house.”

“Later!”
Cara hissed.

Robin
folded his arms and muttered, “Fine.” He disappeared.

“Good
morning, Ms Daniels. I hope I’m not late.” Gavin extended his hand as he got
closer.

“Not
at all,” Cara replied as she shook his hand. She flinched, his hand felt
unnaturally cold. Why was that? His black death line looked thicker.

Gavin
didn’t notice Cara’s flinch. He looked admiringly at Gran’s house. “It’s not
often that houses in this street come up for sale. It’s a real privilege for me
to be here. Thank you for choosing Wright’s Estate Agents.”

“Looks
like I made the right choice!” Cara quipped, and then wished she hadn’t. Gavin
Bennett must have thought she was an idiot.

Gavin
waved his clipboard towards the house, an eager look in his eyes. “Shall we get
started?”

Cara
nodded and made her way to the front door. She opened it and was taken aback by
the familiar smell inside. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought about Gran.

She
didn’t have much more time to think about Gran as Gavin made his way around the
house. He took measurements and photos whilst making constant comments about
how wonderful the house was. Cara felt more than one flicker of guilt as she
showed him around. Mind you, she was intending to save his life so a bit of a
lie didn’t matter.

They
returned to the front door.

Gavin
beamed at her. “What a delightful property. I think …”

He
jumped as someone burst through the front door.

Chapter
8

Liam
Fox’s face was so red that Cara thought he was in danger of exploding.

“I
knew you were trying to keep properties from me!” Liam spat. He advanced
towards Gavin, his fist raised.

The
hairs on Cara’s arms lifted. Was Liam Fox going to attack Gavin? Was he going
to try and kill him? She planted her feet more firmly on the carpet. If Liam Fox
launched himself at Gavin she would launch herself at Liam. And then hope for
the best.

Gavin
held a hand up and calmly said, “Mr Fox, please lower your fist. Like I’ve told
you before, I don’t keep properties from you. Why would I? I’m in this business
to sell houses.”

Liam’s
fist wavered in mid-air. “Then why haven’t you told me about this house? I’ve
always wanted a house on this street.”

“This
property isn’t even on the market yet.” Gavin indicated towards Cara. “Ms
Daniels hasn’t yet confirmed that she’s going to place the property with
Wright’s Estate Agents.”

Liam
lowered his fist and turned his beady eyes towards Cara. He quickly sized her
up. “Well? Are you going to sell this house or not?”

“I
… I haven’t decided.”

Liam
snorted. “Typical woman! Where’s your husband? Let me speak to him.”

Cara
said, “I don’t have a husband, I am capable of making decisions on my own.”

“Well
make a decision then! I haven’t got all day to look at houses!” He looked
towards the stairs. “I might as well have a look around now while you’re making
your mind up.”

Anger
erupted in Cara. “You’ll do no such thing! You haven’t been invited into my
house so get out!”

Gavin
stepped forward. “I think you should leave, Mr Fox. Now. Ms Daniels can make
her own mind up, and in her own time.”

Liam
Fox bared his teeth as he snarled at Gavin. “I know what you’re up to! You’re
like all the other estate agents round here. You think I’m some sort of joke,
you don’t take me seriously.” A cold look came into his eyes. “You’ve just made
a mistake, Mr Bennett, a big mistake.” He threw Cara a disgusted look as he
turned on his heel and walked out of the door.

“I’m
so sorry about that, Ms Daniels. I don’t care if Mr Fox has a million pounds to
spend, I’m not going to do any more business with him.” Gavin looked at his
clipboard. “I’ve got all the information I need. I’ll be in touch with our
proposed selling price and details of our marketing plan. You can then decide
if you want us to go ahead. Do you have any questions?”

Cara
looked at him. She wanted to ask him where he was going next and would he mind
if she tagged along? Instead she said, “No, thank you for coming round.”

They
both walked out of the front door. Gavin’s phone rang. He asked Cara to excuse
him as he answered it. He walked a little way down the drive and spoke into his
phone. Cara took a couple of discreet steps after him so that she could listen.

Gavin
said, “Hi Susan. What? No, I won’t return Nora Silcoates’ call! While I’ve got
you on the phone, block any future enquiries from Liam Fox. I don’t want him on
our books any more, send him the standard letter. Was there anything else?
Okay. Bye.”

Gavin
gave Cara a final wave and then headed towards his car. Cara walked casually
back towards Gran’s house hoping she was giving the impression of being the
owner.

“Cara!
She’s coming out! I can’t stop her!” Robin flew into her vision and floated
down to her side.

Ada
Clements came out of her house and made her way over to the adjoining fence.
She put one hand on it and nodded towards Gavin who was standing near his car.
“Who’s that? Has he been in Abigail’s house? I’m sure I know him. Let me get a
closer look.” Ada turned towards Gavin.

“No!”
Cara said and she shot towards the fence. “He’s no one.”

Ada
frowned. “I’m sure I saw him coming out of Abigail’s house. Is he your
boyfriend?”

“Yes,”
Cara said. “That’s who it is. He’s my boyfriend. He wanted to have a look at
Gran’s house.”

“Why?”

“Because
he …” Cara faltered.

Ada
tapped the fence. “Because he’s an estate agent! That’s where I’ve seen him
before, at Wright’s Estate Agents.” Ada chuckled. “I like to look at other people’s
houses. I’ve been in that estate agent’s a few times, they never mind me
looking at the photos.” Ada’s smile dropped. “You’re not thinking of selling
Abigail’s house are you? Oh! Don’t tell me she’s not coming back!”

Robin
flew through the fence and over to Ada’s side. “Cara! She’s crying! You’ve
upset her!”

Cara
moved closer to the fence, leaned over and put her hand on Ada’s arm. “Gran
isn’t moving. I’m not selling the house. In fact, I think I will move in for a
while. My apartment hasn’t got a garden and I do miss sitting out in the sun.”

Ada
and Robin said at the same time, “Do you mean that?”

Cara
laughed. They both had the same hopeful expression on their faces. She said,
“Yes, I do mean that.”

Ada
wiped a tear away.

A
screeching noise from the road made all three heads turn. They watched
dumbfounded as a car skidded to a halt in the middle of the road and a man
wearing a woolly hat jumped out. He grabbed hold of the shocked-looking Gavin
and pressed a knife to his throat. The man forced Gavin towards his car, pulled
open a door and threw Gavin in. The man ran back to the driver’s side, jumped
in and roared away.

Cara’s
mouth dropped open. She looked from the road, back to Ada and Robin, and then
back to the road. Had that really just happened?
Ada sighed. “Cara, I think you need to find yourself another boyfriend.”

Chapter
9

Cara
leapt into action. She raced towards her car and flung herself into the
driver’s seat. Robin was at her side in a second. He said, “Did you see that? A
kidnapping! Right in front of our eyes!”

Cara
said, “Did you see who the driver was? Was it that Liam Fox? He threatened Gavin
a few minutes ago.” She drove down the street after the other car.

Robin
shook his head. “It all happened so quick. Careful, you’re going too fast.”

“I
don’t want to lose them. I can see the number plate. Robin, there’s a tablet
device in that briefcase under this seat. Can you get it? Gran showed me an app
on it before. You type in the licence number and the owner’s address and name
comes up.”

“Awesome.”
Robin soon had the tablet out and was typing in the details. “Aha! It isn’t
Liam Foxy-face at all! It’s someone called John Coldcott. I’ve got his
address.”

Cara
frowned as she negotiated a roundabout. “Coldcott? Where have I heard that name
before. Oh! Of course! Mrs Coldcott came to see Gavin yesterday. She’s the one
who complained about that abattoir being built near her house.”

Robin
placed the tablet on his knee. “And didn’t she say that her husband was going
to kill Gavin?”

Cara
shot him a look. “She did. Oh, Robin. I’m scared. What should we do? That man
had a knife. I can’t launch myself at him if he attacks Gavin!”

Robin
said firmly, “You must never put yourself in danger, Cara. If it looks as if
John Coldcott is going to hurt Gavin you’ll have to talk him out of it.”

“How
do I do that? I don’t know what to say!”

“You
will do.” Robin sniffed. “What’s that smell?”

Cara’s
nose wrinkled. “We must be near the abattoir. Pooh! It stinks. No wonder the
Coldcotts are angry about living here.”

Robin’s
hands flew to his ears. He screamed, “Cara! Stop the car!”

Cara
skidded to a stop. “What? Robin! What is it? Is Gavin already dead?”

Robin
lowered his hands. He turned pain-filled eyes towards her. “The animals! Cara,
the animals in the abattoir! I can feel their pain, I can hear their cries.”
His hands flew to his ears again and his face scrunched up. “Ouch! It hurts!”

Cara
shouted, “Go! Robin! Get away from here.”

“I
can’t leave you!”

Cara
put her hand out and shoved him. “You can leave me, you have to! I’ll be fine.
Go!”

Robin
gave her one last look and then disappeared.

Cara
didn’t know her heart could beat so fast. She set off once more. She must be
near the Coldcotts’s house, the smell was almost overpowering.
There! The car that stopped at Gran’s house was parked outside a bungalow. Cara
pulled up behind it and checked the address that Robin had found for her. This
was definitely the right address.

Cara’s
stomach flipped as she switched off the engine. She was not ready for this! She
wished she could drive away and pretend none of this was anything to do with
her.

No.
She had to go in. She had to somehow try to save Gavin’s life.

She
got out of the car and ran along the drive. She thumped on the front door. No
answer. She raced around to the back of the house. The back door was open. Cara
could see Gavin inside, he was tied to a kitchen chair, a tea towel stuffed in
his mouth.

Cara
burst into the room and over to Gavin. A hand grabbed her shoulder and threw
her to one side. It was the man with the knife. Thankfully, he was no longer
holding the knife. He glared at Cara and said, “Who the hell are you?”

“Never
mind who I am! I know who you are. You’re John Coldcott and you’re going to
murder Gavin Bennett!”

“What?”
John Coldcott blanched. “Murder? I’m not going to murder him. Why would you
think that?”

Cara
pointed a shaking finger at him. “I saw you! You had a knife, you forced him
into your car.” Cara turned her finger towards Gavin. “And you’ve got him tied
to a chair!”

“Ah,
yes,” John said, he gave her a small smile. “It does look rather suspect,
doesn’t it? I only used a knife to persuade him to get in my car. I knew he’d
say no if I asked him politely. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“What?
No! You’ve kidnapped him! What are you going to do with him?”

Mrs
Coldcott chose that moment to walk through the open door. She took in the scene
and sighed. “John, what have you done now?”

John
Coldcott folded his arms and stuck his chin out. “I wanted him to experience
what we have to go through every day. I wanted him to smell that disgusting
stench.”

Mrs
Coldcott put her handbag down. “You idiot! Look at the poor man, you’ve scared
him half to death.”

John
shrugged. “I had to do something. I had to make him pay for what he did to us.”

Mrs
Coldcott shook her head. “It’s not his fault. I told you I was going to see a
solicitor this morning. I’ve spoken to one and he said he’s going to look into
things for us. He’s quite certain that we will get a substantial compensation
package from the abattoir owners. It seems some of our neighbours already have.
And that company that Mr Bennett told me about have made us an offer for this
house.” She shook her head again. “We’ve wasted such a lot of time blaming Mr
Bennett when we should have been looking into solutions.” She turned to Gavin
and took the tea towel from his mouth. “I’m so sorry. My husband is not
normally so stupid.” She untied him.

John
Coldcott gave an embarrassed laugh. “What a pickle! We’ll laugh about this
later!”

“I
doubt it,” his wife added. “Mr Bennett, are you okay?”

Gavin
stood up and rubbed his wrists. “I am okay, thank you.” He tried to smile.
“That was quite an experience, I’ll have to tell my mum about this.”

John
Coldcott moved closer. “I really am sorry about kidnapping you. I don’t know
what came over me.”

“You
kidnapped him!” his wife shrieked. “Mr Bennett, call the police! Get this fool
locked up.”

John
backed towards the open door, purposely avoiding his wife’s glare. “Would you
like a lift back to your car Mr Bennett? We’re going to need a new house soon,
you can tell me what you’ve got on your books.”

Gavin
nodded. “As long as you don’t bring that knife with you!”

“Knife?”
Mrs Coldcott let out another shriek.

Cara
looked at Mrs Coldcott and raised her eyebrows. How could these two men joke about
this? Mrs Coldcott gave her a puzzled look and said, “Who are you?”

Time
to leave. Cara said, “Just a concerned client of Mr Bennett’s.”

Gavin
said to Cara, “Did you follow me here?”

She
nodded. “I thought you might be in danger.” She noticed that his death line
didn’t look as thick as before. Did that mean he was out of danger? Was his
death line slowly shrinking?

She
said a swift goodbye and headed towards her car. A few minutes later John
Coldcott and Gavin got into the car in front, chatting amiably like old
friends. They drove away.

Cara
was just about to drive away when someone tapped on her window.

It
was Nora Silcoates.