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

  Julia Blake – Death Takes A Trip

  For Kathleen – thank you

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  Julia Blake - Death Takes A Trip

  Chapter 1

  Julia Blake glanced at her colleague as she drove along. “You haven’t met our next client yet, his name is Douglas Pedley.”

  Cain said, “Is he a new client? I thought I knew them all by now.”

  Julia turned left. “Douglas doesn’t want his house cleaning every week, he prefers me to give it a thorough going over once a month. He lives on his own so his house doesn’t need much cleaning, although it has three large bedrooms. It’ll take us a couple of hours to get all the cleaning done.”

  Cain frowned. “Why doesn’t he want you to clean more often?”

  Julia smiled as she drove past a new housing estate. “You’ll soon see. I get on well with Douglas but he prefers his own company, he’s not the most sociable of men. His bark is worse than his bite, as the saying goes.”

  “Does he know about me?” Cain asked.

  Julia slowed down. “Not yet, I’ll tell him straight away. You’ll be fine, no one has objected to having you in their homes.”

  Cain looked out of the window and added, “Not yet. Is this his house?” He looked to the left and right of the detached property. “It looks out of place next to all these new houses.”

  Julia switched the car engine off and released her seatbelt. “Douglas’ house was built about eighty years ago, there were similar houses surrounding him at one point. But, one by one, people have sold their houses to make way for the new ones. From what I’ve heard, the building contractor who’s responsible for these new houses offered the homeowners a good deal.”

  Cain clicked on his seat release button and said, “What about Mr Pedley then? Didn’t they offer him anything?”

  Julia laughed. “More than once! They even offered him more than the house is worth. But Douglas is as stubborn as a mule. He won’t sell, ever. This house means too much to him. It belonged to his wife’s family, she was an only child so she inherited it. Val, that’s his wife, died about twenty years ago.” Julia got out of the car and opened the boot to retrieve her cleaning bag.

  Cain joined her at the boot and said, “Most people want to move on when a spouse dies, make a fresh start, that sort of thing.”

  Julia looked towards the house. “Not everyone feels like that, some people just can’t say goodbye. I think that’s why Douglas prefers his own company, he’s still living with Val’s memories.” She headed towards the house. “It’s not just the house that’s valuable to the building contractor, there’s a lot of land with the house. Three acres I believe.”

  Cain faltered in his step, his eyes wide. “Three acres! Where? I can’t see anything.”

  Julia headed down the garden path. “It’s all round the back, I’ll show you, if Douglas will allow me.” She stopped and looked at Cain. “His house can be a bit oppressive, and so can Douglas. Don’t let it upset you, I know how sensitive you are.”

  Cain puffed his skinny chest out and said, “I’m not that sensitive. I’m a real man.”

  Julia smiled and said, “So it wasn’t you who was crying at Downton Abbey, I saw you watching it before I picked you up this morning.”

  Cain held his hands out. “But it was Lady Sybil! Why did she have to die?”

  They both jumped as the front door was flung open. A straight-backed elderly man glared down at them, his thin moustache bristled as if it was annoyed on the owner’s behalf. Julia always felt like saluting Douglas Pedley, he had that military air of authority about him.

  “Julia Blake!” Douglas boomed out. “Is it the last Friday of the month already?”

  “It certainly is,” Julia said. She raised a hand to her left and said, “This is Cain Andrews, my colleague.”

  Douglas’ eyes narrowed as he studied Cain. “So, this is the famous young man. Or should I say infamous! I’ve heard about his manslaughter charge! I’m surprised you’ve got the nerve to bring him here, Julia Blake!”

  Julia held a hand up. “Now look here, Mr Pedley, you can stop that shouting right now! Cain has done his time in prison, and I am more than happy to employ him. And all my other clients are happy to have him in their houses! If you don’t want him in yours, then we’ll happily leave.”

  Douglas’ moustache twitched. His mouth lifted slightly and he said, “So, you’re calling me Mr Pedley now, you’ve gone all formal.” His mouth lifted more and he burst out laughing. “I’m only joking with you! I know all about Cain and his time in prison. And I know that he was wrongfully accused.” He opened the door wider. “Come in, come in. I’m not very good at baking so I popped out to the supermarket this morning and got a chocolate cake, its sliced up and ready on the kitchen table. Don’t just stand there, Cain, come in, I won’t bite!”

  Cain shot Julia a quizzical look. She shrugged in return. She didn’t know what was going on with Douglas Pedley, she’d never seen him look so jolly. And as for popping out for a cake! Why did her clients feel the need to feed Cain? She knew he was a skinny-looking thing, but still. They never offered her anything. She glanced down at her tummy. Perhaps there was a reason why they never offered her anything.

  Douglas led them through to the large kitchen. Julia sniffed and said, “You’ve been cleaning in here.”

  Douglas shook his head and said, “I haven’t, but my new friend has.”

  Julia’s heart sank. “Have you got a new cleaner? Are you getting rid of me? Is the cake to soften the blow?”

  Douglas said, “The cake isn’t for you at all. And no, I haven’t got a new cleaner. Why would I do that?” He turned to Cain and said, “Julia keeps me up to date on all the local gossip. I don’t get out as much as I should so she lets me know what’s going on.”

  Julia walked closer to the kitchen table. “I don’t gossip. Tell me who’s been cleaning your kitchen. Have they cleaned the rest of the house too?”

  Douglas gave her a wide grin, his eyes seemed to sparkle. Julia couldn’t help but smile at him, he looked years younger today, he could pass for someone in his sixties.

  Douglas clasped his hands together and declared, “Julia, I’ve got a girlfriend! And she’s older than me!”

  “Oh! I wasn’t expecting that.” Julia sat down on the nearest chair. “Good for you. When you say older, how much older?”

  “She’s eighty, just a few years older than me.” Douglas paused as if lost in thought. “She’s beautiful. And charming. And she makes me laugh! I haven’t laughed so much since … I lost my Val.”

  Julia stood up and put her hand on his arm. “I truly am pleased for you.”

  Douglas suddenly looked nervous. “Would you like to meet her? She’s coming round soon. I know she’d like to meet you. And Cain.” They both looked towards Cain. He was sitting at the kitchen table and appeared to be on his second slice of cake. He didn’t return their look as he tucked into the chocolate icing.

  Julia shook her head. “Shall we make a start on the upstairs?”

  “You can. Or you could show Cain around outside.” Douglas gave her a wink. “I know you need to stock up on your supplies. Does Cain know your secret?”

  Chapter 2

  Cain looked at Julia and said, “What secret?”

  Julia replied, “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

  “Ha! Don’t try that with me, Julia Blake, tell your colleague the truth.” He turned to Cain and said, “She’s a witch! Did you know that? She goes foragin
g around my garden looking for herbs and plants to make into spells and potions. I’m surprised she hasn’t turned me into a toad by now.”

  Julia tutted. “Don’t listen to him, Cain, he’s having you on.” She paused for a moment, she’d never known Douglas to joke about anything, he really was acting like a different man. “What Douglas is trying to say is that I collect herbs and certain plants from his garden, with his permission of course.”

  Cain didn’t look convinced. “And what do you use those herbs and plants for?”

  “Love potions!” Douglas boomed out. “Or if she doesn’t, she should do. A bit of romance in your life works wonders. I feel like a new man.”

  Julia ignored his outburst. “I use the herbs and plants to make my cleaning products. You’d be surprised how many natural ingredients you can use.” Julia pulled an old-looking notebook from her pocket. Cain smiled softly when he saw it. Julia continued, “You remember this notebook that you gave me, that belonged to your gran? Well, there are some things that I’d like to try out.”

  Douglas looked closer at the book, one eyebrow raised. “Are you sure there aren’t any love potions in there? When did you last go on a date?”

  “None of your business,” Julia said. She put the notebook back in her pocket. “Right, shall we start on the bathroom?”

  Douglas looked at his watch. “No, you can leave that. My lady friend will be here soon. You may as well show Cain the garden, and the land.”

  Julia didn’t wait for him to offer again. She did need to stock up on her supplies. She grabbed Cain by the arm and dragged him out of the kitchen door. He snatched another piece of cake as he left.

  Julia led him into the large garden. She waved her hand over to the right and said, “Douglas is a keen gardener, he loves growing herbs and vegetables. He’s more than happy to share them with me. I’ve told him many times to give some to his neighbours in the new houses at either side of him, but he refuses. He’s never forgiven the builders for tearing down the original houses and putting these new ones up in their place. I think he blames the house owners too.”

  “That’s a shame,” Cain said. He pointed to the bottom of the garden. “Does that gate lead to his land?”

  “It certainly does. You can see the field behind the wall, and can you see those trees further on?”

  Cain nodded. “You mean the forest?”

  “I don’t know if it’s big enough to be called a forest, but yes, that’s Douglas’ land too.”

  “Wow. Why does he need so much land?”

  Julia walked over to the herb garden and looked down at a patch of mint. “The land belonged to his wife’s family, like I said before. The plan was to build homes for the large family that Val’s parents were planning to have.” She picked a mint leaf and sniffed it. She straightened up and said, “But they only had one child, just Val. And Douglas and Val never had any children. Douglas said Val always felt guilty about that, as if it was her fault.”

  “Didn’t they want to adopt? Or try being foster parents?”

  Julia put the leaf in her pocket. “Val did start adopting, but it wasn’t children, it was cats.”

  “Cats?”

  Julia nodded. “There’s a cat rescue charity shop in town that has links to cat rescue centres, it’s run by one of Val’s friends from school. I can’t remember her name. But Val started to adopt the cats when she finally accepted that she couldn’t have children. Not just one cat, but many.” Julia laughed. “Douglas hated the cats but he put up with them for Val’s sake. From what he’s told me, the cats made Val happy. And look at all the land they had to roam around. Val wouldn’t give up the land, her cats needed it.”

  “What happened to the cats after she died?”

  “Douglas kept them, until the inevitable happened. But when the last one died he went to the cat rescue centre and got another one. Just one this time. Even though he swears he hates cats I think he likes to keep one as it reminds him of Val.” Julia looked from left to right. “Speaking of which, where is Cat?”

  Cain snorted. “Cat? He calls his cat, Cat?”

  “He likes to keep things simple. I wonder if she’d wandered into the woods. I hope she’s okay, she is getting on a bit.”

  Hope lit up in Cain’s eyes and he casually said, “Should we have a look for her? In the forest?”

  Julia caught his look and smiled. “Is that an excuse for you to have a nosy about?”

  “I’ve never been in a forest before, it looks exciting.”

  Julia nodded. She kept forgetting that he’d been in prison for the last twelve years. A small woodland area must look like some sort of adventure playground to him. She said, “Yes, let’s have a look. I’ve been in a few times with Douglas, and hopefully, we shouldn’t get lost.”

  Cain clutched his hands together, his eyes shone. “Shall we take some supplies? Some water and food, something to shelter in?”

  Julia shook her head and smiled. “We’ll be in and out in thirty minutes.”

  Cain’s face fell. “Oh, okay.” He followed Julia down the garden path and through the wooden gate at the bottom.

  As they walked across the field his tone changed back to excitement. “I’ve seen lots of detective shows where they find a dead body in a forest. Sometimes hanging from a tree, sometimes hidden in the undergrowth.”

  Julia’s step faltered. “Just because we found one deceased person last month doesn’t mean we’re going to find another.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

  Julia hoped she was right too. She crossed her fingers as they entered the woods.

  Chapter 3

  The woods were a pleasant place to be. The trees were far enough apart so as to not block out the daylight, and there were several well-trodden paths that led through the trees.

  Cain bounded ahead of Julia like a playful puppy. He called out, “I can hear water! Can I go and find out where it’s coming from?”

  “Off you go, I’ll catch you up,” Julia said and waved him away. She looked at the low-growing plants around her. She wished she knew what they were. There were some names in Cain’s gran’s notebook that she wasn’t familiar with, some plant names that sounded old-fashioned. Julia took her phone out and began to take photos of the plants. Perhaps she could post them on the Internet and ask for their names.

  She wandered after Cain, taking photos as she went. She stopped. “That’s funny.” She looked closer at what had caught her eye. There were a lot of footprints, all stamped into the ground in front of her. The footprints were large, and the grooves were deep. They looked like they’d come from some sort of boot, possibly a work boot. Hmm, she didn’t recall Douglas having any work boots lined up on his shoe rack. She looked closer. There seemed to be two different sizes of boots, one slightly larger than the other. It looked like two people had been standing here recently. She stood near to the boot prints and looked around. She could just see the top of Douglas’ house from here. Had someone been spying on him?

  Some impulse told her to take photographs of the prints.

  She walked towards the small stream and smiled when she saw Cain crouched at its side, his hand in the gently flowing water. He looked up at her, a big grin on his face. “I saw a frog! And some fish. This place is amazing!”

  Julia’s heart ached as she thought about how much the young man had missed out on his life. When he’d first come to her house for an interview he had told her honestly about his life. His mother had never cared for him, his father didn’t know of his existence until it was too late, and his four brothers had treated him worse than a dog. His life had improved when his gran took him in. But then things had turned worse for him when he was wrongly accused of manslaughter. He had done his time in prison out of a misplaced sense of loyalty for the real culprits - his no-good brothers.

  Julia was glad that she had taken a chance on him and given him a job. And her dad, Ray, was overjoyed too as he had become good friends with Cain.

 
Cain looked a lot younger than his years as he moved his hand around in the water.

  Julia cocked her head to one side. “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Cain asked, his hand moving in a circle in the water.

  “Shh! Listen!”

  Cain took his hand out and stood up. He adopted the same pose as Julia as he listened. After a moment he nodded and said, “It sounds like a trapped animal or something. It’s coming from over there.”

  “Cat! It must be Cat! Come on!” Julia ran away from the river and deeper into the trees. The screeching noise that she’d heard became louder. She ran towards some low-lying bushes, the noise was even louder. Julia fell to her knees and moved the spiky branches to one side. “Cat! What have you done? Are you stuck?”

  Cain joined her and peeped through the branches. “She’s got her fur caught on a branch. If you hold the branches up I’ll try and get her free.”

  Julia lifted the branches, wincing as a spike cut into her hand. She said, “Be careful, it’s very prickly.”

  Cain flattened himself down on the grass and inched forward, his hand outstretched. He made soothing noises to Cat as he moved even closer. Soon, half of his body was inside the spiky plant. Cat’s howls of distress stopped. Cain slowly moved backwards. Blood dripped down Julia’s hand as another spike caught her. Her arm was aching but she couldn’t let the branches drop.

  Cain moved fully backwards with a disgruntled-looking ginger cat in his arms. When he was fully free he set the cat down and said, “So, you’re Cat.”

  Cat lifted her head and tail at the same time and swiftly trotted away.

  “You’re welcome!” Julia cried after the ungrateful creature. She let the branch go, took out a tissue and wiped the blood from her hand.

  Cain was just about to speak when a noise made them both freeze. Julia’s finger flew to her mouth and she lowered herself further on the grass.