Murder Makes A Claim (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Gillian Larkin

  “Give me some credit. Karl ended our affair a few months ago. I was devastated. I broke down one night in the office and Joe found me crying at my desk. He insisted on taking me out for a drink to cheer me up. I didn’t tell him the real reason as to why I was crying.” She smiled and looked towards the window. “Joe’s lovely. So different from any of the other men that I’ve dated. He treats me even better than Karl did.”

  Another terrible thought shot into Julia’s mind. She wasn’t sure she was brave enough to voice it.

  Lorraine suddenly clutched her tummy and winced.

  Julia cried out, “Are you alright? Is it the baby?”

  The colour drained from Lorraine’s face. “I’ve been feeling peculiar all morning. Excuse me.” She stood up and walked quickly out of the room, one hand over her tummy.

  Julia felt like following her. There was obviously something wrong. Julia clasped her hands together and waited for Lorraine to return. After a couple of minutes, Julia stood up and began to pace up and down the small room. After another couple of minutes Julia walked to the doorway and shouted, “Lorraine! Are you alright?” She cocked her head and listened for a reply. Nothing. She walked into the hallway and looked up towards the first floor.

  There was the sound of a toilet flushing. A few seconds later a pale-faced Lorraine appeared at the top of the stairs, tears cascading down her cheeks. Her voice cracked as she said, “I think I’m losing the baby.”

  Julia raced up the stairs and put her arm around Lorraine. She led her into a nearby bedroom and helped her on to the bed. Julia phoned for an ambulance. The lady who answered said she might be waiting for a while as there had been a traffic accident on the motorway. Julia told the lady that she’d drive to the hospital instead.

  Lorraine was crying quietly on the bed. “It’s all my fault. I don’t deserve to be a mum. I’m a terrible person.”

  Julia gently helped her to her feet and told Lorraine they’d have to drive to the hospital. Lorraine seemed oblivious to Julia’s words and continued mumbling to herself. Julia soon had Lorraine in her car and she set off in the direction of the hospital.

  Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to get there. And it didn’t take much longer for a nurse to lead Lorraine towards the prenatal department.

  Lorraine’s hand shot out and she insisted that Julia came with her.

  Julia did so. She sat next to Lorraine as she gave her details to the nurse on the reception desk. Julia even went into the side room when Lorraine had an internal scan, which seemed far too intimate a thing to share in Julia’s opinion.

  And Julia was right at Lorraine’s side when the doctor confirmed that the baby was going to be alright. Julia didn’t show any emotion when the doctor confirmed that the baby was fourteen weeks old.

  When the doctor left the two of them alone for a moment, Lorraine placed a hand on her tummy and gave Julia a sad smile.

  Julia said, “It isn’t Joe’s baby, is it?”

  Lorraine slowly shook her head. “It’s Karl’s baby.”

  Chapter 26

  After the doctor had prescribed bed rest for Lorraine and talked to her for a while about taking things easy, he asked how she was getting home.

  Julia stepped forward. “I’m taking her.”

  The doctor gave her a satisfied nod and walked away.

  Julia helped Lorraine to her feet. Lorraine said, “I can get a taxi. I’ll understand if you want to go. I’m a terrible person.”

  Julia linked her arm through Lorraine’s and steered her towards the exit. “I’m not leaving you alone for a second. Who the father is has nothing to do with me. Did you see the baby’s heartbeat on the scan? So strong. It always amazes me how strong babies are.”

  Lorraine gave a small laugh. “It looks like an alien though.” She sighed as they walked along. “What a mess! What am I going to do?”

  “That’s up to you. Does Joe know that Karl is the father?”

  Lorraine shook her head. “Karl didn’t want to know about the baby. When I found out I was pregnant, I told him straight away. He told me to get rid of it. He even gave me money for an abortion and said I could have as much time off as I needed. Obviously, he ended the relationship at that point.”

  “He sounds a real charmer,” Julia said. “Or should that be ‘sounded’?”

  “It doesn’t matter now. I didn’t mean to trick Joe. I was shocked when I discovered I was pregnant, but I was pleased too. I knew I couldn’t get rid of it, I just couldn’t. But how can I bring a baby up on my own?”

  “Lots of people do. I think you’re a strong person, Lorraine, stronger than you think.” They walked out of the main hospital doors. Julia watched out for cars as they made their way over to Julia’s car. Julia opened the passenger door and eased Lorraine into her seat.

  When Julia got into the driver’s seat she said, “I’ll have to phone Cain and let him know I won’t be there for a while. In fact, he’ll have to do the rest of the cleaning jobs himself today. I’m not leaving you alone.”

  “No, don’t do that. I’ll be fine. Please. I’ll go straight to bed when I get home. I’m going to be sensible, I’ve got an alien to protect.” Lorraine gave Julia a half smile.

  Julia laughed. “Okay. But I’m not leaving you alone until you’re safely tucked up in bed with all that you need on a table at your side.”

  Lorraine started to cry again. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “Thank you. I’ve been such a cow to you this week, I don’t deserve your kindness.”

  Julia waved a hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Lorraine sniffed. “It does matter. I’m sorry for talking to you like I did. I think part of me still loved Karl and I was so upset when he died.” She hesitated as if not sure whether to go on. “I did go to see Karl that night, the night that he died. I wanted to let him know I was keeping the baby. I had this crazy hope that he might change his mind and leave his wife.” She gave a bitter laugh. “He told me I was an idiot and to not expect any child support money from him. And then he said Joe was an even bigger idiot for taking me and my baby on. I called him a few names and then left the office.”

  Something occurred to Julia. “Joe didn’t get that job in Hong Kong. Did that have anything to do with you?”

  Lorraine hung her head in shame. “Yes. I started to spread rumours around the office about Joe’s behaviour. I knew the rumours would get back to Karl. I couldn’t let Joe go to Hong Kong.” She looked back at Julia. “I told you I’m a terrible person. How can I tell Joe what I’ve done?”

  “I think you have to. He’s a good person, he might understand. What time did you visit Karl in his office?”

  Lorraine thought for a moment. “It was just before eight. Our conversation lasted for about two minutes and then he picked up his phone and turned his back on me.”

  “Was anyone else on floor eight when you left?”

  Lorraine frowned. “I didn’t see anyone but, come to think about it, I’m sure I heard some footsteps coming from the far side of the room. Near Ivor’s desk I think. I called out but no one answered me.”

  Julia nodded. “When you were talking to Karl about the baby was his office door open?”

  Lorraine said, “Yes, I think so. I stood near the open door when I was talking to him. I’d checked to make sure no one was nearby before I spoke to Karl. The whole floor was empty. Why are you asking?”

  Julia shrugged. “It might be nothing but someone could have overheard you talking to Karl about the baby. He was stabbed by something long and sharp, something like a stiletto heel.”

  Lorraine gasped and Julia instantly regretted voicing her concerns. Lorraine said, “Do you think that Olivia was in the office and heard me talking to Karl? Oh! She could have been the one that killed him!”

  Julia took one of Lorraine’s hands. “Calm down, please. Remember what the doctor said. Would you mind if I told DI Clarke about Karl being the father of your baby? He could have another
talk with Olivia.”

  Lorraine gulped and turned tear-filled eyes to Julia. “I’m scared. What if Olivia comes after me? Can you do something? Can you find out who really killed Karl?”

  Julia gently squeezed her hand. “I’ll do all that I can. Please don’t worry.”

  Julia drove Lorraine home and settled her into her bed. After consulting with Lorraine, she quickly phoned Joe and said that Lorraine was okay but just feeling a bit under the weather. Lorraine assured Julia that she would tell Joe the truth later on. Julia wrote her number on a piece of paper and left it on the table at Lorraine’s side.

  After checking with Lorraine that she would be okay, Julia reluctantly left the house.

  She contacted Cain and then drove over to where he was. He was waiting outside a client’s house when Julia picked him up. She brought him up to speed as soon as he got in the car.

  Cain whistled. “Do you think it was Olivia who killed Karl?”

  “I don’t know but I’m going to do all that I can to find out who killed him. I don’t care what DI Clarke thinks, this is something I have to do.”

  Cain said, “Do you still think Lorraine killed Karl? She could be lying to you.”

  Julia frowned. “I know, but I think she’s telling the truth. Well, I hope she’s telling me the truth.”

  Cain voiced what Julia wouldn’t. “People have lied to us before.”

  Chapter 27

  Julia and Cain had finished all their cleaning work by 4 p.m. so Julia decided to drive into Leeds and find somewhere to eat.

  They made their way to the new Leeds Trinity shopping centre and Julia led Cain to the Trinity Kitchen.

  Cain’s mouth dropped open. “Look at all these different places to eat! I don’t know what to have!”

  “Let’s have a walk round.” Julia had been there several times already. She pointed to the left. “You can have Vietnamese street food, or there’s a sushi bar over there. Greek food just next to it.” She smiled as she noticed Cain wipe a bit of drool from his mouth. Julia stopped at a stall. “Or we could have cakes, there’s plenty here to choose from.” Julia felt her own mouth watering.

  Cain continued walking. “Look! There’s a champagne bar! And there’s a fish and chip stall.” He stopped walking, his face dropped. “It’s too much, Julia. It’s overwhelming.”

  Julia took his arm and led him towards another stall. “I think you’ll like the burritos. It’s like a big sandwich in a roll. You only have to pick what meat you want and then you can have everything else in the burrito.”

  Cain still looked unsure.

  Julia took him to a table. “You sit here. I’ll get a burrito for you, I know what you like.”

  Cain gave her a small nod and looked around. “I feel like I’m in a different country.”

  Julia smiled and told Cain she wouldn’t be long. She returned to the burrito stall and picked a pork filling for Cain. She decided on a healthy version for herself and asked for a naked burrito, which was everything that Cain was having but minus the bread.

  When Julia returned to Cain with a tray full of food she found that Cain had a visitor. Julia set the tray down and said, “Hello, DI Clarke. I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this.”

  The inspector was sitting next to Cain, a takeaway coffee placed in front of him. He nodded at Julia. “I come here quite often, it makes a change from all the fast-food retailers that are on every high street.” He looked towards the tray. “Good choice, the burritos are particularly delicious.”

  Julia’s eyes narrowed. She sat down and placed a wrapped burrito in front of Cain. “Is there something you wanted, inspector? You’re not normally this civil to me.”

  DI Clarke’s left eyebrow rose. “I’m always civil to you, Ms Blake. You tuck into your meal. I do have something to tell you.”

  Julia pulled her food closer and took the lid off her burrito container. The smell of cooked pork hit her nose and she closed her mouth tightly. She did not want to dribble in front of the inspector.

  DI Clarke continued, “Thank you for letting me know about Lorraine Carver and her baby. I will be having another word with her at a later date.” He held a hand up. “I haven’t forgotten what you told me about her being in a delicate state.” He looked over at Cain and smiled. “You look as if you’re enjoying that.”

  Cain nodded. He couldn’t speak as his mouth was presently occupied with the top half of his burrito.

  DI Clarke turned his attention to Julia. “How well do you know Joe Ingram?”

  “I’ve worked for him for about five years,” Julia replied. “Why?”

  “And what do you make of him? Have you had much contact with him?”

  Julia frowned. “Not a lot of contact. I don’t with some of my clients. I interview them initially when I give them a quote but, like some of my other clients at the Canalside Apartments, I rarely see them after that. Most of them work during the day. I saw Joe a couple of times when he had days off. We chatted and he seemed friendly enough. Why?”

  DI Clarke passed a napkin to Cain who now had onions stuck on his chin. “We’ve been looking into everyone’s past, everyone who is connected with Karl Rayburn. Joe Ingram has a criminal record. He has convictions for grievous bodily harm.”

  Julia choked on a piece of pork. She opened her water bottle and took a big glug. When she was able to talk she said, “I don’t believe it! Joe?”

  The inspector nodded. “It was seven years ago. It seems he got in with the wrong crowd. I spoke to some of the officers who dealt with him at the time. It appears Joe Ingram has quite a temper on him.”

  Julia shook her head. “I’ve never seen that side of him.”

  “You’ve just admitted that you haven’t seen much of him at all. You can’t judge someone on the few times that you’ve met them,” the inspector pointed out.

  Julia picked up her fork and pointed it in the direction of DI Clarke. “I did see something the other day, a look on Joe’s face. He was coming out of Karl’s office, he’d just been speaking to Ivor inside the office and I happened to overhear what they were talking about.” She ignored the look that DI Clarke gave her. “Ivor told Joe that he couldn’t give him the job promotion that he was after. Joe was furious when he came out of Karl’s office, rage was written all over his face.”

  Cain put his empty wrapper down, wiped his mouth and said, “DI Clarke, do you think that Joe killed Karl because he wouldn’t give Joe a promotion?”

  “I really can’t say.” The inspector tapped his chin and said, “You’ve missed a bit.” He stood up and grabbed his coffee. “Well, this has been fun.”

  “Is that all you wanted to tell us?” Julia said. “How far have you got with your investigations? Who’s your main suspect?”

  DI Clarke chuckled. “You know I can’t tell you that.” His smile faded. “Be careful, Ms Blake. There’s a killer out there and you know what you’re like for getting close to killers, intentionally or not.” He turned and walked away without saying another word.

  Cain looked at Julia. “He thinks Joe did it, doesn’t he?”

  “I think he does. I didn’t know about Joe’s past.” Julia pushed her food away. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.” She caught Cain’s look and pushed the food towards him. “Help yourself. It’s our last night for cleaning at the office, let’s see what we can find out.”

  Chapter 28

  Fred waved to them from his sitting position behind the reception desk as they walked through the revolving doors later.

  Cain said to Julia, “He looks terrible!”

  Julia had to admit that Fred looked especially tired tonight. She walked closer to him and rested her hands on the reception desk. “Hi Fred. How are you tonight?”

  Fred blinked tired eyes in their direction. “I’m feeling a bit peaky tonight. I think my age has caught up with me. That nice Mr Walsall has been bringing me cups of tea to wake me up a bit.”

  Julia shared a quick look with Cain. She hadn�
��t forgotten about the sleeping tablet packet that she’d found in Ivor’s house. “Does he normally bring you cups of tea?”

  Fred chuckled. “Never! But he wanted to have a word with me. He wanted me to know that my job was safe but that he thought I’d be better off in a different role. Something to do with the future security of the company, it’ll be more money. He said he’s going to get someone else to do the actual walking around the building.”

  “What kind of security work does he want you to do?” Julia asked.

  Fred shrugged. “He didn’t say. He asked me if I could be discreet about matters. He told me that if I’d seen anything worrying that I should report it to him first. He also told me that he’d had a meeting with the shareholders and it seems most likely that he’ll be getting Karl’s old job.”

  Julia said, “Why does he want you to be discreet? Have you seen something that you shouldn’t have?”

  “I don’t think so.” Fred looked quickly away and tried to stand up. “I’ll get your cleaning trolley.”

  Cain moved forward. “I’ll get it, Fred.”

  Fred held a hand up. “No, sorry lad. Mr Walsall said I shouldn’t let people go where they’re not authorised to. Won’t be a minute.” He shuffled into the room behind him.

  Cain frowned. “It’s only a cleaning supply room.”

  Julia whispered, “I think Ivor Walsall is up to something. Maybe he thinks Fred saw something on the night that Karl was killed and he’s trying to get Fred to tell him.”

  Cain looked over to the small room. “What if Fred saw Ivor going into Karl’s office? Ivor might want to find out exactly how much Fred saw.” Cain grabbed Julia’s sleeve. “If Fred saw something then Ivor might kill him!”

  Julia indicated her head towards Fred’s empty cup. “I was thinking the same. Ivor might have put something in Fred’s tea to make it easier to kill him.”

  Fred huffed as he came out of the small room, he pushed the cleaning trolley towards them. Cain moved closer and took it from him. “I’ve got it, Fred. Thank you.”