“Okay.”
Julia and Cain stopped for a quick bite and then went on to their next client’s home. After they’d finished at that one Julia headed towards the market.
She shook her head. “There’s never anywhere to park around here. I’ll have to stop quickly while you get out. I’ll circle around the parking area. Look out for me when you come back out.”
Cain grinned at her. “It’s like we’re about to rob a bank and you’ve got to keep the car running.” His face shifted into a different expression. “I’m getting into character, just like I do for the play.”
Julia handed him her phone. “You look as if you need the toilet.” She slowed down and came to a stop. Ignoring the beep of protest behind her, she waited until Cain leapt out of the car, and then continued driving.
She’d circled the car park three times before Cain came running out of the market doors. Julia repeated her illegal stop to pick him up.
Cain nodded and said, “Mission accomplished. John asked what was wrong with it this time.” Cain started to laugh. “He is funny. He asked what kind of wine had you dropped it into this time. I said none. And then he asked if you’d started drinking beer instead!”
“I’m not sure I like this wine-drinking reputation that I seem to be acquiring. Did you tell him it was your fault?”
Cain shook his head. “I was too busy laughing, I just handed it over.”
“When will it be ready?”
“It’s late-night opening today, he said you should call back just before seven. You can come to the rehearsal after that.” There was a pause and then Cain added in a hopeful tone, “You could pick me up on the way to collect your phone.”
Julia smiled. “I could do.”
Cain’s face dropped. “Does that mean yes?”
“It does. Do you know, Cain, I feel all out of sorts today. It’s not just my phone, I feel as if something terrible is going to happen. I hope it’s nothing to do with Louisa.”
Chapter 28
Julia was exhausted by the time she dropped Cain off. She told him that she’d pick him up about six-thirty. “We can collect my phone together, and you can tell John that it was your fault that it got damaged.”
Cain gave her a nod and said, “See you later.”
Julia watched him walk up his drive. How did he still have so much energy? She was barely able to lift her arms on to the steering wheel.
She was happily surprised to see Dad’s car parked outside her house. The aroma of something delicious hit her nose the moment she stepped into her kitchen.
“Hello, love,” Dad began. “I’ve made you a lasagne. I found it in the freezer. You look done in. Sit down, I’ll get the kettle on.”
Julia dropped her bag next to the kitchen door and collapsed into the nearest kitchen chair. “You’re a welcome sight.”
“I know, that’s what everyone says about me. How was your day?”
“Not good. Cain broke my phone. How are you? Are you still going about in disguise? Do you still think you’re a murder suspect?”
Dad laughed as he filled the kettle up. “No, I’m back to my normal, lovable self.” He switched the kettle on, leant against the worktop and folded his arms. His expression became serious. “Do you know what people are saying about the murder? Who they think the suspect is?”
“No, who?” Julia said warily.
“They think it’s lovely Louisa.” Dad shook his head. “I don’t believe it was her for a minute. But the other night, at rehearsals, I heard some people talking about her. Somehow, they found out that Brandon and Louisa were at high school together, and that they were a couple for a while. One of the gossips said that Brandon broke off their relationship and Louisa never forgave him. When she saw him again at that first meeting,” Dad paused as he stared at the ceiling. “Let me get their words right, ‘When Louisa saw Brandon, her face was flushed with anger and there was murder in her eyes.’ Those were the exact words that one of the gossips used. And the others all nodded.”
“That’s awful, they’re just making it up. I was there when Louisa saw Brandon, she looked embarrassed if anything. Dad, did Mum tell you about Louisa’s past, about her involvement with Brandon? Louisa said it was okay to let you and Mum know.”
Dad pressed his lips together and turned around to pick up the now boiled kettle. He looked back over his shoulder and said darkly, “If anyone did anything like that to anyone I knew, I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions. That poor girl.”
Julia told Dad that Louisa might not have been the only one. Over a cup of tea, and then her meal, Julia told him about what she’d discovered.”
Dad shook his head. “It beggars belief. What are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll see if Saffron Kershaw has replied to my email. I’d love to know exactly what went on with her and Brandon, and Fabian. And I’d love to know the real reason why Fabian was at the town hall. He could have been the one that killed Brandon. I don’t like all this talk about Louisa. She’s been through enough already. I hope she turns up tonight.”
Dad picked up Julia’s empty plate. “I’ll have a drive round there now, see if she’s in. I’ll use the excuse of the extra rehearsal tonight, she might not know about it. Are you coming to the rehearsal tonight?”
“I am. I’m picking Cain up first.” Julia stood up and hugged Dad. “Thanks for being here, you’re wonderful.”
Dad patted her back and said, “I know. And so are you. I could tell you to let the police sort this matter out, but I know what you’re like.” He released her.
“I’m not too bothered about finding out who killed Brandon now, I just want everyone to know it wasn’t Louisa.”
Dad kissed the top of her head and left.
Julia had a quick wash-up and then settled down in front of her laptop. She sent a silent prayer out as she pressed the power button – please let there be an email from Saffron Kershaw.
Julia punched the air as she saw that there was. She clicked on it and blinked when she saw how long it was.
Saffron began by explaining how she first met Brandon Briggs. They’d met after she hooked up with Fabian. She always knew that Brandon fancied her, she could see it in his eyes. She was flattered by all the attention that Brandon gave her and it wasn’t long before she left Fabian and moved on to Brandon.
Julia nodded as Saffron explained how attentive Brandon was. She’d heard the same things from Louisa. Saffron mentioned the notebooks that Brandon carried with him everywhere. Julia looked up from the screen. The notebooks! Would the police find them somewhere? Where had he been staying? Julia wrote a quick note down, she could mention that to DI Clarke.
Saffron explained how Brandon’s attitude changed. Again, just like it had with Louisa. Then Saffron admitted that she had been tricked into going to a party in an unknown area of the town. As soon as she walked into the party room, the door had been locked behind her. She had been kept prisoner for about three or four days. She knew someone was watching her as there were two cameras set in the corners of the room. Julia’s heart twisted at the pain and suffering that Saffron had gone through.
Saffron said that Brandon was the one who rescued her. He was frantic with worry and had been looking everywhere for her. He insisted on telling the police on Saffron’s behalf, she never heard anything from them and assumed they’d done what they could.
Saffron ended the email by saying that Brandon broke up with her a month after that saying that he had to concentrate on his writing career. Saffron fell into a depression but her friends helped her through it.
Julia sighed heavily. It seemed obvious to her that Brandon had been the one who’d kept her a prisoner. But Saffron was unaware of that. Or did she have a small suspicion? Julia was torn, should she tell Saffron about Louisa? Or would it be better to leave it alone? She didn’t know what to do. She’d have to think about it.
Julia was about to sign out of her emails when another message came from Saffron.
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‘Hi, it’s me again. I hope that earlier information helped you somehow. I’ve just read about Brandon’s death, the reports say that it’s a suspicious death. Is that true? Was he murdered? I don’t know if I should tell you this, or if I should tell the police but Fabian Black was heading up that way. I mentioned Fabian in my other email, we keep in touch. He and Brandon had a huge falling out, I think it was something to do with their work. Fabian had found something out recently and was furious. He said he was going to kill Brandon Briggs. Do you think I should tell the police? Or can you do it for me?”
Julia replied immediately. Much as she’d like an excuse to speak to DI Clarke, she thought it would be better if Saffron spoke to him. Julia gave her the inspector’s details.
Within seconds of sending her message, Julia got another one from Saffron.
‘Thanks for that, I’ll ring DI Clarke. One more thing, Fabian had become obsessed with a website, it had something to do with plays and all that sort of thing. The site was written by someone called Oscar Pennington. If I can help in any way, let me know.’
Julia rubbed her hand over her forehead, she was beginning to get a headache.
Oscar Pennington? She frowned. She’d heard that name before, or part of that name. But where?
Julia stood up and went to the kitchen to get some aspirins. She could do with a lie down, but she had to continue. The uneasy feeling that she’d felt earlier was growing.
Chapter 29
Armed with a strong coffee this time, Julia resumed her online search. She typed in Oscar Pennington and was surprised by what came up.
There was an Oscar Pennington site, but there were also a lot of individual websites and blogs too that mentioned Oscar Pennington. Julia clicked on one of them. She quickly scanned the comments about Oscar. She then clicked on more of them. She shook her head, people really didn’t like Oscar Pennington or the blog posts that he’d made.
Julia braced herself as she finally clicked on Oscar’s site. She flinched as she read the posts. Oscar Pennington had made it his business to visit as many shows as possible. And then he’d written a detailed report on each one. If Oscar knew any kind words he didn’t use them. His reports were scathing and incredibly nasty. He belittled the actors, scoffed at the lack of character development and poured venomous scorn on the writers themselves. He’d even given out the plot details and spoiled many a surprise ending.
Not surprisingly, there were many comments at the bottom of Oscar’s reports. Many attacked him with words and some even threatened him physically if he continued with these reports. Oscar Pennington never replied to them.
Julia scrolled down to earlier posts. Ah, here was one about a play that Brandon and Fabian had put on. Oh, this was different. Oscar had been kind to Brandon and said that he showed real talent, but that Fabian should consider another career. A thought began to flitter around Julia’s mind.
She took a big drink of her coffee and rubbed her eyes. The aspirins that she’d taken were starting to work. She read some of the most recent posts. She frowned, and read the posts again. It was beginning to make sense now.
Oscar Pennington continued to praise the writing skills of Brandon Briggs. Then he ‘let slip’ that Brandon was going to bring his considerable skills to the north with his fabulous new script. Oscar gave a brief outline of the script, without spoiling the ending this time. Julia recognised the plot as the play that the amateur dramatics group were now working on. Julia looked at the comments at the bottom of that particular post. Fabian Black had written that the script didn’t belong to Brandon Briggs, and that he wouldn’t get away with it. Whatever ‘it’ was.
Julia took another drink while she let this new information sink in. It was like jigsaw pieces coming together in her mind. A picture was beginning to form.
Oscar Pennington knew Brandon Briggs, that’s why he’d been so supportive of him. Brandon had stolen a script that probably belonged to Fabian Black. Fabian had found out by reading this blog post and so had travelled north to confront Brandon.
Julia thought back to her first amateur dramatics meeting, the one where Eric Murphy had joked about changing his name. She smiled to herself as a memory became clearer. Eric had mentioned the names, Christopher Pennington and Oscar Blair-Diamond. Oscar Pennington was a combination of those names.
Despite claiming that he was useless with computers, Eric Murphy was writing under the name of Oscar Pennington. By being kind to Brandon he had set the groundwork for Brandon to put on a play in Eric’s home town, one where Eric could have a big part. Did Eric know the script had been stolen? Had he killed Brandon to silence him? And then tried to silence Fabian?
Julia’s eyes were stinging, she couldn’t read any more. She made a quick note of the site, she’d let DI Clarke know about it. She didn’t care what he said about her interfering ways. Louisa was her friend and she didn’t deserve to be the subject of nasty rumours around this town.
Julia turned the laptop off and placed it on the floor. She leant back on the sofa and closed her aching eyes.
She was asleep within a minute.
She screamed as a noise shattered the silence. It was a phone ringing. Julia patted her pockets. Where was her phone? Oh! Of course, it was with John in the market. Julia realised it was the house phone ringing.
When she answered it she got Cain’s mournful tone. “You’ve forgotten me again, haven’t you?”
“What?” Julia rubbed her forehead. “Cain? What’s wrong?”
“I’m waiting outside my house, for you, again. You said you’d pick me up. And you’ve forgotten me, again.”
Julia looked at the wall clock. “Oh, heck. Cain, I’m sorry. I fell asleep. I’m setting off now.”
Julia ended the call. She grimaced as she took a swig of the cold coffee. She grabbed her belongings and left her house. She was all out of sorts today. The sooner she got herself to bed and said goodbye to this day, the better.
Julia’s day was about to go from bad to worse.
Chapter 30
Cain was wearing his hurt look when Julia pulled up in front of his house. Cain got in, his bottom lip sticking slightly out. He did a double-take when he saw Julia. “Whoa! What’s happened to your face? And your hair?”
Julia took a quick look in the mirror. She ran a hand through her hair and wiped away traces of mascara that had gathered under her eyes. “Is that better?”
Cain pulled a face. “Not much. Are you alright?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve got a lot on my mind. I’ll tell you what I’ve found out as we drive along. I think we’ve still got time to pick my phone up from the market.”
Julia explained everything to Cain as they drove along. She managed to find a space outside the market. With Cain at her side, they ran towards John’s stall.
The friendly-faced man beamed at them as they approached. “Hiya, you two! You’re cutting it fine, I was going to close up in a minute.” He squinted at Julia. “Are you alright? Have you been ill?” He suddenly laughed. “Have you started drinking earlier today?”
Julia scowled at him. “John, I don’t know why you think I’m some sort of alcoholic. I only spilt a tiny bit of wine on my laptop twice, anyone could have done that.”
John chuckled. “I seem to recall that it was three times.”
“Well, whatever,” was Julia’s reply. She remembered why they were there and attempted to smile. “Have you managed to fix my phone? The one that Cain dropped?”
John smiled and reached under the counter. He produced Julia’s phone with a flourish. “Tah dah! The surgery went well and I’m pleased to report that the patient can be taken home. You’ve got a lot of messages to catch up on.” He handed it over to Julia and added, “Be careful with this, I don’t think it could take another accident. You should think about getting a newer model.”
Julia took the phone. “I like this one, it’s simple to use.”
Cain tutted. “You can’t even take a selfie with it.”<
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“I don’t want to take a selfie.” Julia smiled down at her phone, it was good to have it back. She looked up at John. “How much do I owe you?”
“Let’s call it twenty pounds.”
“Is that all? Are you sure?”
John nodded. “It’s a discount, to say thank you for all the referrals you send my way. Like that lady the other day …”
Julia’s phone rang, she looked at the caller’s name. It was Dad. “Sorry, John, I have to take this.” She turned slightly away. “Dad! Hi! Have you been round to Louisa’s?”
Julia could hear John muttering to Cain behind her, he was saying, “That lady who came in with her tablet, I didn’t think I’d be able to save it, I thought I was going to be have to call it at one point, you know, call the time of death.”
Julia heard Cain laugh. She could barely hear Dad. “Dad, say that again, it’s a bit noisy in here.”
John was still talking, “She must have dropped it from a great height, the front of the tablet was okay, but the cover was cracked in various places. I had to throw the cover away. She said she’d dropped it but it looked to me like she’d hit it on something, several times …”
Julia waved frantically at him to be quiet. John closed his mouth abruptly.
“Dad! What do you mean? Where is she? Is she alright? Can I see her?” Julia gripped her phone tighter, tears stung her eyes. Cain came over to her side and touched her arm. Julia looked at him and said, “Louisa’s in hospital.” She nodded at her phone and listened a bit more. She ended the call and said, “Dad went round to Louisa’s house today. She didn’t answer the door. He went round again thirty minutes ago, he said something didn’t feel right. She didn’t answer again so Dad broke the door down.” Julia gulped and wiped her wet cheek. “He found her unconscious on the floor.”
“No! Is she alright?” Cain asked.
“She’s still alive. Dad said there was a bottle of pills at her side, it looked liked she’d taken an overdose. Cain, I knew something was wrong! I just knew it.”
Death Shows Up (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 7) Page 11
