A Fair Murder (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 6)

by Gillian Larkin

Cain’s smile returned. “Yes! There were questions about literature. I did a lot of reading inside and I could answer the questions. It came down to a tiebreaker between us and a group of train drivers. It was a question about George Orwell’s 1984. I’ve read that book dozens of times. And …” he paused for dramatic effect.

  “Get on with it. We haven’t got all day,” Julia interrupted.

  “I got the answer right! And we won! Your dad was so pleased.” Cain looked out of the window and chuckled to himself. “It was the best night of my life. I think I’m making more friends, with Ray’s help.” He turned back to Julia. “I can never say thank you enough for employing me. My life has changed for the better since I met you.”

  Julia gave him a gruff, “It’s okay, no big deal. I’m happy that you won the quiz. Now, what about Bessie, Seth’s wife. Was she at the pub?”

  Cain shivered. “I’d forgotten about her. Ray and everyone else call her Big Bessie, I wouldn’t dare call her that to her face. Yes, she was there. She was sitting in a corner booth surrounded by people. Ray nudged me when she first came into the pub. She was carrying a large bag and it was obviously heavy. She sat in the corner booth and the landlord bought her a drink. He’s her brother, did you know that?”

  Julia nodded. “I did.”

  “After a few minutes people started to wander over to her table. They were trying to keep a low profile but it was obvious they were up to no good. They had that shifty look about them. One by one, these people sat down and mumbled something to Big Bessie. And one by one, they left, clutching plastic carrier bags. I couldn’t see what was in them, and I couldn’t see what was going on in the corner booth from where I was, I could only see the back of Big Bessie’s head.”

  Julia frowned and looked out of the windscreen. “I wonder what she was selling. Shall we go back to the pub tonight and get a closer look?”

  Cain took his phone out. “No need. When there was a break in the quiz I told Ray I needed to get closer to Big Bessie. He came up with the idea of me taking photos in the pub. No one ever blinks an eye now when you take photos, do they? I don’t think people even realise when a photo is being taken.”

  “That’s true. Did you get some photos of Big Bessie?”

  Cain held his phone up to her. “I got some cracking ones of your dad, doesn’t he look funny? I might get this one printed out.”

  Julia tutted. “Never mind my dad! What about Bessie?”

  Cain tapped on his screen. “Ray made a show of doing silly poses around the pub, he was pretending to be a model, he moved over to Big Bessie and I took plenty of photos.” He handed his phone to Julia.

  Julia’s eyebrows rose. “Cleaning materials? Toilet rolls? Is that stationery? Hang on.” She took a closer look. “I’ve seen those bottles of bleach before. They’re industrial-sized, you can only get them from certain wholesalers.” She lowered the phone. “I’ve seen these in Seth’s room at the school. I’ve seen all of these things that Bessie is selling.”

  They looked at each other and pursed their lips as if trying to keep their words in.

  Julia spoke first, “If these have come from the school then Seth must have stolen them and given them to his wife to sell.”

  Cain cut in, “And maybe Deborah Paignton found out what was going on and threatened to tell the police.”

  Julia ended with, “And Seth killed Deborah Paignton to stop her doing that.” She handed the phone back to Cain, a sad look on her face. “I don’t like this. I’ve known Seth for years, I can’t imagine that he’d kill someone.”

  Cain took his phone back. “But it does look like he was stealing supplies from school.”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if Bessie was forcing him to steal things. She’s three times bigger than Seth.” Julia sighed. “I wish we could talk to him, find out what is really going on.” She looked at Cain again. “I know what we have to do though.”

  “Tell DI Clarke?” Cain said.

  Julia took her own phone out. “Yes. Can you send those photos to me, and then I’ll send them on to DI Clarke? Thanks.”

  Cain forwarded the photos and Julia phoned the inspector. DI Clarke listened politely and didn’t ask at all why Cain was in the pub the same night that Big Bessie was. Julia tentatively asked if he’d spoken to Seth yet.

  “No, we haven’t managed to locate him yet. And before you ask any further questions, Ms Blake, we haven’t managed to track down where the blackberry wine came from either. Was there anything else?”

  “No, thank you,” Julia said. She always felt like she was talking to a bad-tempered teacher when she spoke to DI Clarke.

  He ended the call with, “As I’ve told you many times in the past, please leave the investigations to us.” There was a pause, Julia held her breath waiting for his next words. “But, as you have an amazing talent for interfering, if you do come across any information that would help our enquiry, please do contact me. Goodbye.”

  Julia stared at her phone. “That was weird.” She related the conversation to Cain.

  Cain’s brow wrinkled. “Does that mean he wants you to get involved, or to leave the case alone?”

  “I’m not sure.” Julia put her phone away. “I’ll have to think about that later. We need to get to our first job.”

  Cain put his seat belt on. “Are we going to leave everything to the police now?”

  Julia started the car and gave him a quick smile. “Of course. But we are going to see Barney Samson this afternoon. He never came back for that pirate colouring-in book that he won. He’ll be wondering where it is. We must return it to him. It’s vitally important.”

  “And we can have a little chat with him whilst we’re there,” Cain added.

  Julia nodded. “I knew it was a good idea to employ you.”

  Chapter 15

  Julia pulled up outside Barney’s home just after 3 p.m.

  “That’s a nice bungalow,” Cain said. “Why is there a ramp? And why are there handrails on the walls?”

  Julia said, “They’re for Barney’s wife, she’s disabled. I’ve met her a few times at school events but I haven’t seen her recently. Let’s go.”

  Julia picked up the colouring-in book and headed towards the neat-looking bungalow.

  A woman in a light blue uniform answered the door.

  “Hello, I’m Julia Blake, and this is my colleague, Cain Andrews,” Julia began. She had the secret raffle prize to use as an excuse to speak to Barney, but she also had his book. Which one to use first? She held up the book. “We helped out at Cloverfield School fair on Saturday and Barney won this. Is he in?”

  The woman frowned and shook her head. “No, he’ll be at the school now. It’s nearly home time for the children, Mr Samson always sets off just before three.”

  “Oh.” Julia shared a look with Cain, it was clear that the woman didn’t know Barney had been fired. “Of course. We’ll go to the school and deliver it to him. Sorry for disturbing you.”

  The woman smiled. “That’s okay. Do you know Mr Samson well?”

  Julia nodded. “I do. My children went to Cloverfield School. I don’t think there was ever a day that Barney wasn’t at the school crossing.”

  “He’s a lovely man, so kind-hearted,” the woman went on. She indicated her head towards the inside of the bungalow. “I’ve been working for him for a few years now, I help out with his wife, she’s disabled.” She sighed and shook her head. “Poor Mr Samson, he loves his wife so much, he’ll do anything for her. Does too much for her in my opinion! I’m glad he’s got that school job, gives him a break from his wife. I had to force him to take more time away from her, to recharge his batteries so to speak. He goes to evening classes during the week, he’s learnt all sorts there! Cooking, watercolour painting, winemaking, even car maintenance and he hasn’t got a car! Does him good to get out. He loves that school job of his though, I don’t know what he’d do if he ever lost it!” The woman folded her arms and leant against the door frame as if settling in for
a good natter.

  Julia abruptly said, “Thank you for your help, we’ll try and catch Barney at the school.” She turned on her heel and walked away, Cain at her side.

  Once they were in the car and had driven away, Cain said, “She was a chatterbox, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes. Normally I’d let someone like her continue talking but I want to see if Barney really has returned to his school job. When he had that run-in with Deborah Paignton on Saturday, he came back to the hall and told me and Lesley that Deborah had sacked him. Mum said he hasn’t been back to school since Saturday. They’ve tried ringing him but he hasn’t answered. It’s obvious that he’s lying to that woman who’s looking after his wife.”

  Cain said, “Unless Deborah never made the sacking official. Did you hear what that woman said about evening classes?”

  Julia pressed her lips together and nodded.

  Cain said, “She mentioned winemaking classes. Do you think Barney donated that bottle of blackberry wine? Do you think he poisoned it at home?”

  “It’s possible that he made the wine but I don’t think he’d poison it at home and then donate it. Barney wouldn’t do that.” She paused as she negotiated a roundabout. “But he could have poisoned the wine when he saw it in Deborah’s office. She’d just sacked him. He went into her office with his traffic-control stick. Somehow, that stick got damaged. Barney might have damaged it in a rage. And he had a key to Seth’s office, he could have put some sort of chemical in the wine.”

  “Didn’t Lesley say it was arsenic in the wine? Where would Barney get that from?”

  Julia shook her head. “None of this makes any sense.” She slowed the car. “I’m going to park on this side street. I don’t want to park right outside the school and annoy the residents.” She stopped the car. “Oh! The residents! One of them could have sneaked into the school and done something to the wine! What do you think?”

  Cain shrugged. “At this point, it looks like anyone could have done it.”

  Julia parked the car and got out. She walked towards the school with Cain. They rounded a corner and stopped abruptly.

  Cain said, “Is that your mum?”

  “It is. It looks like she’s attempting to do Barney’s job. Come on, let’s have a talk with her.”

  Julia’s mum waved the traffic-control stick at them as they walked towards her. She gave them a wry smile and said, “I’ve been promoted! Look at this stick, it’s falling to pieces.”

  Julia said, “What’s going on? Have you heard from Barney yet?”

  “Not a word. We’re taking it in turns to cover his work.” Mum looked towards the speeding cars. “It’s more dangerous than I thought.”

  Something caught Julia’s eye at the bottom of the road. She turned her face away and said, “I’ve spotted Barney, he’s hiding behind that tree on the corner. Come on, Cain, we need to talk to him. Mum, we’ll see you later.”

  Mum said, “Try and talk him into coming back.”

  Julia gave her a quick nod. Cain smiled at Mum and said, “Good luck, Kathleen! Don’t get run over!”

  Julia grabbed his arm and hissed, “I think Barney’s spotted us heading his way. Speed up, we’ll catch up with him, he can’t walk fast.”

  They increased their speeds. Cain put his head to one side. “He’s limping, has he hurt himself?”

  “He’s always had that limp. Mum told me that he got it by saving a child’s life. Apparently, Barney was helping a child across the road and was waiting for a gap in the traffic. The child didn’t wait, he shot out into the road and into the path of a speeding car. Barney ran out, pushed the child out of the way and got hit by the car. The child was okay, the driver was apologetic and Barney ended up with a limp.”

  Cain slowed down. “Julia, that’s terrible. He could have been killed. What a hero! Should we be chasing him? You can’t really think he killed Deborah Paignton.”

  Julia grabbed Cain’s arm and forced him to speed up. “Look, he’s turning in to the park.”

  Julia and Cain started to jog as they headed towards the park.

  Barney Samson was waiting for them on a bench near the entrance. He patted the empty space next to him and said, “Sit down Julia. As much as I like being chased by young women I’m afraid I don’t have the stamina to keep going.”

  Julia gave him an embarrassed smile and sat down. “Sorry, Barney, I just wanted to have a word with you. This is Cain, I don’t think you’ve met him yet.”

  Barney gave Cain a big smile. “I’ve heard all about him from your mum. Sit down, Cain. Now Julia, I suppose you want to know whether or not I murdered Deborah Paignton.”

  Chapter 16

  Julia waved a hand at Barney and said, “It’s none of my business.”

  Barney chuckled. “That’s a good try at nonchalance, Julia. I’m going to tell you anyway, you probably have me down as a suspect, and rightly so.”

  Julia gave him an earnest look. “I don’t think you’re capable of murder, Barney.”

  “Thank you, that means a lot. I’ve already spoken to the police about my movements on Saturday. I spoke to that inspector fella, the one with the piercing blue eyes. He must practise that stare of his, it’s very intense.”

  Julia nodded. “It’s like he’s staring right into your soul.”

  Cain nodded in agreement.

  Barney said, “Well you know what happened to me on Saturday after I spoke to you and Lesley in the hall. I got my stick from Seth’s room and I went outside to help people cross the road.”

  “You’ve got your own key to Seth’s room. Did you lock the door when you left?” Julia asked.

  “I did, I always do. I’d only been outside a few minutes when Deborah Paignton stormed over to me with a furious look on her face. She took me to one side and said I had no right to be working outside my contracted hours. I explained that the traffic was particularly busy and I was trying to help.” Barney looked away. Julia thought she saw his eyes watering. Barney said, “That’s when she told I was fired. She was going to tell me officially on Monday but she was so mad at me that I don’t think she could help herself. She told me that plans had already been approved for a zebra crossing.” He looked back at them, his eyes moist. “I felt my world come crashing down. I love that job, I love helping people. I thought I’d be there until I no longer had the strength to raise my stick.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I already feel half a man without that stick.”

  Julia said, “What happened to your stick? I saw it in the office, it was bent.”

  Barney ran his hand over his chin. “That was me. I was furious when I took my stick into Deborah’s office. I whacked it against the wall.” He laughed. “I immediately regretted it and thought Deborah will no doubt send me a bill for a new one.” He shook his head. “Of course, there won’t be a new one, will there?”

  Julia said, “I’m so sorry, Barney. You shouldn’t have been fired. Will you be able to get your job back now that … Deborah’s not in charge? I know Mum would like you to come back.”

  “I’m not sure that I can. If the zebra crossing plans are going ahead then I won’t be needed. I’ll have to do something though. You’ve met my wife, haven’t you? You know she’s disabled. I have a woman that comes round every day, and one evening, to help look after her. The woman is called Sharon, she’s a lovely woman but she can talk the hind legs off a donkey!”

  Julia admitted that they’d met her. She gave Barney a brief explanation about dropping off the pirate colouring-in book.

  Barney gave her a sideways glance. “I’d forgotten all about that book. Are you sure that’s the only reason you went round to my house?”

  Julia changed the subject. “After speaking to Deborah, you went into her office and whacked your stick against the wall. What did you do then?”

  “I felt annoyed with myself for damaging my stick. I was going to leave a note for Deborah when I saw a bottle of wine on her desk. I got annoyed again thinking that she was a secret drinker! It�
�s amazing how your mind can flit from one thought to the other. I could see her from the window, she was talking to some of the local residents. No doubt they were complaining about parents parking in front of their houses again. I muttered a few words at her, which I won’t repeat now, and then I left her office. I was going to spend more time at the fair but I couldn’t bear to face anyone so I left the school and went home.”

  Julia thought for a moment. Cain gave her a nudge and said, “What about Seth? Didn’t DI Clarke say he signed in to the school after twelve o’clock?”

  Barney lifted a hand. “Seth? Yes, I saw him walking towards the school as I was leaving. I waved at him but I carried on walking, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even Seth.”

  “I wonder what he was doing at the school,” Julia said. “Barney, did you know he’d left the school that week, that he’d handed his notice in?”

  Barney gave a low whistle. “No, I didn’t. I’ll bet it has something to do with Deborah Paignton, she seemed to follow him around a lot. Whenever I collected my stick from his room, she always seemed to be there looking at the shelves.”

  Julia said, “We met his wife, didn’t we Cain?”

  Cain shivered and nodded.

  Barney let out a loud laugh. “Big Bessie? Aye, I’ve met her too. She’s made Seth’s life a living hell. He spent a lot of time at school just to get away from her. I don’t know why he’s put up with her for so long, I’ve always suspected she’s got some sort of hold over him.”

  “The police want to talk to Seth. Bessie said that he’d gone to stay at his brother’s,” Julia said.

  Barney smiled. “Did she now? Let me tell you Seth’s secret, Julia. Seth doesn’t have a brother.”

  “But Bessie gave the police an address.”

  “Oh, the address is real but the police won’t find any brother. Seth confessed to me that he uses his so-called brother as an excuse to get away from Bessie. He knows she’s too lazy to check up on him. He goes away on fishing holidays.”

  “Do you know where he goes on these fishing holidays?” Julia asked.