Mavis’ eyebrows rose. “That sounds intriguing, tell me more.”
“Sherry has become a murder suspect and I wanted to try and clear her name. I am sorry for lying to you and I’m not sure if you will be able to help me.”
Mavis stood up and said, “A murder suspect? I need to hear more about this. Let’s go to the café on the second floor, I’m due a break.”
Mavis spoke to one of the shop assistants and told him she was going to the café for a little while. She walked at Julia’s side as they went up to the next floor and into the café. Julia insisted on buying the drinks.
A few minutes later, Julia placed two skinny lattes on a table that Mavis was sitting at. Julia soon found herself opening up to Mavis and giving her the full details of Brandon’s murder.
Mavis frowned when Reverend Thompson’s name was mentioned. “I can’t believe he said that to Sherry. Let me call him, I’ve still got his number.”
Julia waited whilst Mavis made the phone call. The call was ended after one minute and Mavis said, “He always was a pompous ass, he wouldn’t give me any information at all. Let me tell you this, I did get to know Sherry very well over the years and I can’t believe she’s capable of murder. But the Reverend must have a reason, however idiotic. I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m going to be able to help you with anything.”
“Sherry has told me about her abusive marriage and how she put on weight during that time. Is there anything from her past that might have given the reverend a just reason to take the hall away from her?”
Mavis took a sip of her coffee as she thought about it. “I haven’t spoken to Sherry properly for a few years, although we do keep in touch by email. If anything has happened, it must have happened in the last few years. I think you will have to confront Sherry.”
Julia pulled a face. “That’s what I was thinking too, but I really don’t want to.”
“The alternative is to speak to Reverend Thompson again and demand that he tells you the truth. I would be happy to confront that silly man with you.”
“I’m tempted to take you up on that offer. I’m sorry that I’ve taken up your valuable time.”
Mavis smiled. “I enjoyed talking to you and hearing about your murder mystery! You must let me know how it turns out.” Mavis finished the last of her drink and got to her feet. “I must return to my table. I don’t think there will be a big queue waiting for me, but you never know!”
Julia quickly finished her drink and stood up too. “I think I’ll buy some copies of your book, would you be able to sign them for me? They’ll make good presents for people.”
Julia felt guilty about taking up Mavis’ time and bought far more books than she actually needed. Still, she would always have a last-minute present if she ever needed one. She said goodbye and thank you to Mavis and left the bookshop.
DI Clarke was waiting in his car for Julia when she returned home.
He waited for her to get out of her car before getting out of his. “Good afternoon, Ms Blake, do you have time to talk to me?”
Julia gave him a suspicious look. “Is that actually a question? Can I say no?”
DI Clarke gave her the benefit of one of his piercing stares.
Julia said, “You’d better come inside. Can I just say that you shouldn’t stare at people so intently, it’s quite unnerving. Do you practice that stare at home? Do you use it on people to get what you want?”
DI Clarke’s face remained serious as he said, “How do you think I got my wife to marry me? This won’t take long.”
Julia took the inspector into her front room and offered him a cup of tea. He declined a drink but he did sit down.
“Is this about Brandon’s murder?” Julia said. “Have you found out who murdered him yet? Was it Eric Murphy?”
“Why would you mention Eric Murphy’s name? You’ve been making your own enquiries, haven’t you?”
Julia shifted in her seat. “People around here are interested in local affairs, and some of those people have spoken to me about it. So, I might have picked up a bit of information here and there. That isn’t a crime. Is it?”
Julia was startled as the inspector actually smiled at her. What was wrong with him today?
DI Clarke said, “I knew you’d interfere. Would you like to share what you’ve found out?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Julia waited for an answer, there wasn’t one so she continued. “I did give a statement the other day about my movements that night.”
“Yes, I read your statement. I wanted to ask you more about that man you saw, the one dressed in black. Could you describe him a bit more? He could be a person of interest.”
Julia suddenly clicked her fingers. “A photo! There could be a photo of him. Yvonne Murphy has been taking photos for her blog. She might have caught him in the background. I’ll have a look online now.”
The inspector held his hand up. “Do that when I’ve gone. If you find anything, send it on to me. Now, what were you saying about Eric Murphy?”
Julia told him what her mum and Ivy had said about Eric.
The inspector’s mouth twitched as he said, “Reliable sources.”
Julia pointed at him. “You came here to ask me what I knew. You don’t have to be sarcastic. Why are you really here? You can’t honestly be wanting my help, you never have done before.”
A serious look came onto DI Clarke’s face. “I wanted to warn you. The person who attacked Brandon hit him hard on the back of his head several times, it was a vicious attack. There’s a killer out there and if they find out that you’re looking into the murder, they might come after you. Remember what happened last time? I got to you in the nick of time.”
Julia gave a small shrug. “I would have managed.”
The inspector stood up. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that you will get involved in this case, no matter what I say. I can understand why you’d want to clear your friends’ names. Just be careful, that’s all. And see if you can get some photos of that man in black. Tonight would be good.” He gave her a curt nod and added, “I’ll see myself out.”
Julia stood up and saw him to the door anyway. She looked up and down the street to see if any potential attackers were lurking out there. As she closed the door she realised that the inspector was expecting her to do some police work for him.
“What a cheek,” she said to herself, “expecting me to get involved in a police enquiry!”
Chapter 15
After a spot of lunch Julia opened her laptop. She didn’t know the name of the website that Yvonne had set up so she typed in Eric Murphy’s name, the name of their town and the name of the play. Several sites came up, Julia saw one that was named ‘The Life And Times of The Great Eric Murphy’. She smiled and clicked on that one. It was the right one, there were blog posts about the play. Photos had been posted from Wednesday night’s rehearsal at the town hall.
She laughed loudly when she saw some photos of Dad and Cain in various poses. There was a lovely photo of Louisa in mid-sentence, Brandon Briggs had been caught in the photo too, just behind Louisa. Julia frowned as she studied his expression. Brandon’s mouth was lifted up at one side and his eyes were slightly closed. It looked like he was smirking. But why would he be looking at Louisa like that?
Julia scrolled down and saw a few photos of the rows of chairs where she was sitting. Yvonne had managed to catch Julia in the middle of a yawn, that was not a good look.
There! There he was! A few rows behind Julia. She squinted at the image, it showed only half of the man’s face. Would that be enough for DI Clarke to find out who he was?
Julia checked the rest of the site. That was the only photo of the man in black. Maybe Yvonne had more pictures on her tablet, she’d have to ask her later. Julia sent a copy of the photo to the inspector and told him that was the best image that she could find. She took a few moments to read the actual blog posts. Just as she suspected, it was mainly about Eric and how wonderful he was. T
here was no mention of Brandon’s death. Julia wondered if that was because Eric didn’t want such an event to cast a dark shadow over the life and times of the great Eric Murphy.
Julia spent the rest of the day going over her accounts and having a quick clean around her own house. She tried to take her mind off the murder but there was one thought that kept buzzing around her brain like an annoying wasp.
What if Louisa had killed Brandon? Julia suspected that there had been some sort of connection between them, something from the past. Was it anything to do with the rumours that surrounded Louisa, the one about her being attacked? Had Brandon attacked her? And if so, had Louisa now got her revenge on him?
Julia didn’t want to believe that Louisa could be guilty, she’d known her for years and she really was one of the nicest people that she knew.
Julia gave a big sigh and shook her head, trying to dislodge that annoying thought. Tomorrow was Sunday, perhaps she’d have a day of doing nothing, a day of not thinking about the murder of Brandon Briggs.
Those plans went out of the window early the next morning when Mum phoned her.
“Julia, you’ve got to rescue me,” Mum began. “I can’t spend another day in this house with your father, he’s driving me crazy!”
“What’s he done now?”
“He’s still under the impression that he’s a murder suspect and he’s taken to wearing dark glasses and a false moustache in an attempt to disguise himself - even inside the house! He’s walked into the kitchen table three times because he can’t see where he’s going. He’s insisting on keeping our curtains closed and he won’t answer his phone because he fears that he’ll get accusing calls from anonymous sources.”
Julia couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure DI Clarke doesn’t really think that Dad is a suspect.”
“Trying telling the condemned man that! I suspect that he’s enjoying this, it’s giving him chance to practise his acting abilities again, he’s even changed his accent! And he’s got poor Cain doing the same. I can’t spend today with him, come over and rescue me. Please!”
Julia paused for a moment. There was something wrong in Mum’s tone, it wasn’t just that she was annoyed at Dad, Julia had heard that tone many times. There was a note of sadness too. Julia thought she might know why that was. She said, “Mum, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Do you want to escape out of the window? Shall I bring a ladder, or will you knot some bed sheets together?”
Mum gave a small laugh. “I’ll use the back door. Thank you, I’ll see you soon.”
Julia was outside Mum’s house in less than ten minutes. As soon as Mum got into the car Julia could see that she’d been crying.
Julia said, “Mum, are you okay? You seem sad, is it to do with Lesley?” Julia thought back to the last murder case that she’d got herself involved in.
Mum sighed and nodded. “It is. I can’t believe she’s gone, she was one of my best friends. Despite being a murderer.” Mum shook her head. “Who knows what people are capable of. I still can’t believe that Lesley killed our previous head teacher, I know she had her reasons, and that they made sense to her at the time. I feel guilty because I’m glad Lesley didn’t spend much time in prison, I’m glad her end came swiftly. I do miss her though.”
Julia pulled away from the kerb. “I know, she was more ill than anyone suspected. I’m sorry you lost a friend, even if she was a murderer, we don’t like to think about our friends that way.” Julia pressed her lips together as that annoying thought about Louisa zoomed back into her head.
Mum said, “I wish the police would hurry up and solve this murder. I’ve had enough drama in my life recently without your dad adding to it. Can’t you help them? Get things moving?”
Julia shot a glance at her mum’s tired face. Perhaps she could do a bit more.
“Mum, let’s go to that garden centre, the one with the lovely cakes. I can tell you what I’ve found out so far, and what’s been bothering me. A fresh perspective might help. What do you say?”
Mum folded her arms, a determined look came into her eyes. “I think that sounds a great idea. We’ll have this murder business sorted out in no time.”
Chapter 16
It was a relief for Julia to talk about the murder. She told Mum everything, even what she was thinking about Louisa.
Mum pushed her empty cake plate to one side and said, “Right, let’s get the facts straight. Brandon went into the costume room just after eight, is that right?”
Julia nodded. “Yes. Eric Murphy went into see him about five minutes later to talk about the script. According to Dad he wasn’t gone long, and according to what I overheard Eric saying, Brandon was still alive at that point.”
“So he says. Louisa went to the costume room about eight-twenty-five, or thereabouts. She said that she couldn’t see Brandon in the room.”
“Which means he could have already been lying dead on the floor at that point, hidden by the rack of clothes, or …” Julia couldn’t finish.
Mum finished for her, “Louisa could have found Brandon alive but then killed him and dragged his body behind the clothes rack. It is a possibility, Julia, you have to admit that.”
“I know,” Julia said sadly. “But don’t forget that Sherry Cooper turned up at the town hall just after quarter past eight or so, she remembers the town hall clock chiming. She says that she didn’t go any where near the costume room, she just looked into the hall, saw how happy Louisa was, and then left.”
“So she says. Any one of these people could be lying,” Mum pointed out. She looked down at her cup. “People do lie, even to their friends.”
Julia tried to cheer Mum up. “We’re overlooking something. It could have been my dear Dad and my dear friend, Cain. They could have killed Brandon accidently with their silly messing about. They could have knocked him on the head without even realizing he was there.”
Mum looked up and smiled. “That sounds about right, they’re both daft enough.” She reached for her handbag and stood up. “Right, let’s sort this mess out. There is one thing we can clear up today, one question that we can have answered.”
Julia stood up. “Which question?”
“Why did Reverend Thompson suddenly take the church hall away from Sherry Cooper? I’m going to ask him.”
“I’ve already asked him, and so has Sherry and her friend, Mavis Littleton. He won’t talk.”
Mum gave her a grim look. “He’ll talk to me. I’ve known Reverend Thompson for a while. St Andrew’s Church has links with our school, we take the children there often.”
Julia nodded and picked up her handbag. She knew that look on Mum’s face, there was no point in arguing with her once she had that look on her face. Julia had tried during her teenage years but had failed every time.
They drove over to St Andrew’s Church and, being a Sunday, waited in the car until the service had finished. They watched as Reverend Thompson stood at the main door giving each of his parishioners a farewell smile.
When the last person had walked away Mum jumped out of the car and marched over to the unsuspecting clergyman. Julia had to run to keep up with her.
Reverend Thompson smiled when he saw Mum. “Ah, Mrs Rosenthorpe, what a pleasure to see you this fine Sunday morning.”
“Reverend.” Mum’s reply was curt. The reverend’s smile dropped slightly. Mum went on, “For reasons I don’t have time to explain, we’ve got ourselves caught up in a murder investigation. I want the investigation to come to a conclusion, and quickly. And one thing that will help us is you telling us why you took the church hall away from Sherry Cooper.”
Reverend Thompson blinked rapidly under Mum’s direct stare. “I don’t see how that is any of your business, Mrs Rosenthorpe.”
Mum folded her arms. “It is my business. I’m waiting for an answer.”
Beads of sweat appeared on Reverend Thompson’s forehead. “I really don’t think …”
“I’m still waiting. I haven’t got all day,” Mum inter
rupted him.
Julia stood at Mum’s side and mirrored her folded arms stance.
The reverend looked from one to the other. His shoulders dropped as if he realized he was beaten. “Would you like to come into the church? We could talk about it there.”
Julia was about to say yes but Mum spoke before her, “No, we don’t have time. My patience is running out.”
Reverend Thompson pulled at his collar and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I received a phone call about Sherry Cooper three weeks ago. The person said she wasn’t of good character, that I shouldn’t allow someone like that in my church.” He gulped and pulled at his collar some more.
Julia said, “What has she done that’s so bad?”
Reverend Thompson lowered his voice. “She got caught driving whilst under the influence of drink. Her licence was taken off her. It happened about two years ago.”
Julia frowned. “So that’s why she doesn’t have a car. Did she hit anyone whilst she was driving?”
“I’ve no idea.”
Mum was silent so Julia asked, “Who told you about Sherry? Was it male or female? Young or old?”
“It was a youngish man, he had a faint local accent but he sounded educated,” the reverend replied.
Julia turned to Mum and said, “That sounds like Brandon Briggs.”
“Brandon Briggs?” the reverend said. His forehead wrinkled. “Ah, it could be the same man, why didn’t I think about that before? Brandon Briggs phoned me a week after the anonymous call and asked if he could have the hall.” The colour drained from his face. “Oh! You don’t think it was the same person, do you? He could have made that anonymous call, then asked to use the hall! What a scoundrel!”
Mum finally spoke, “Did you check to see if the allegation against Sherry Cooper was true?”
“Well, I … no,” the reverend became flustered.
Mum continued, “So you didn’t think to find out if it was true. Did you think it would be courteous to discuss this with Sherry before taking the hall away from her at such short notice?”
Death Shows Up (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 7) Page 6
