A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read online

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  A Secret Killer

  Chapter 1

  “So, how many dead bodies have you actually seen?”

  “A few,” Julia Blake replied. “Can you tell me more about your cleaning experience, Mrs Donnington?”

  A chuckle came from the large lady sitting on the sofa. “Please call me Val, we might as well use first names if we’re going to be working together.” Her chubby hand reached for another slice of cake. She looked back at Julia and said, “I’m a slave to my appetite. Go on, you were telling me about the dead bodies you’ve discovered.” She waved the cake at Julia, oblivious to the crumbs that fell to the carpet.

  Julia shot a look at her dad. He caught her look and swiftly glanced down at his tablet on his knee. Julia’s eyes narrowed as she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. This was all his idea. She was adamant that she didn’t need anyone to help her with her cleaning business, she could cope on her own. Even if that meant working over the weekends. But no, Dad insisted on her hiring someone. He insisted on placing the advert, and then helping her with the interview process. Not that he was providing much help at the moment.

  Julia tried again. “Mrs Donnington, can you tell me about your last job? You’ve put down on your form that you worked for a family. What sort of work did you do for them?”

  Mrs Donnington licked her thumb. She put her plate down and gave Julia a stern look. “I did everything for that family! They treated me like a slave! Expected me to do all their polishing, to clean the toilet, vacuum up! Pah! A servant would be treated better. I’m glad to be out of that line of work. Any chance of another cup of tea? My throat is parched after that lovely cake.”

  The last request was directed at Julia’s dad. He smiled at Mrs Donnington and nodded his head. “It’s my pleasure.”

  Mrs Donnington’s chest seemed to grow larger as she looked him up and down. “What did you say your name is again?”

  With a blush on his cheeks, he answered, “Ray. Is it three sugars again?”

  Mrs Donnington giggled and said, “Ray, like a ray of sunshine. Is there a Mrs Ray?”

  Julia stopped her eyes from rolling. She glanced at her watch. She had paperwork to catch up on. In a firmer voice she said, “The work that you just mentioned, that’s exactly what this job will entail. Are you sure you want to apply for it?”

  Mrs Donnington batted her eyelashes as she took a fresh cup of tea. Without looking at Julia, she said, “This job will do. I can’t do Wednesdays, Thursdays or Friday mornings. No bending or kneeling, and no reaching up too high. Doctor’s orders.”

  Julia stood up, smiled politely and said, “Thank you for coming to see us today. We’ll be in touch.”

  Mrs Donnington’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Julia. “Oh! Is that it? We were having such a lovely chat. When do you want me to start? I can’t do next week, and I’ll need three weeks off in May.”

  Julia maintained her smile. “As I said, we’ll be in touch. Thank you again.”

  Mrs Donnington reluctantly put her cup down. She turned her attention back to Dad and said, “Would you mind helping me up, Ray?”

  Dad leapt to his feet and held his hands out. “Of course. Let me see you to the door.”

  Julia’s cheeks were starting to hurt from keeping her smile in place. She finally let it go as her dad escorted Mrs Donnington out of her front room. She sank into her chair and sighed. This was taking such a long time! She took her phone out and had a quick check of her emails. More enquiries about her doing some cleaning work. It was a good thing, of course it was, she was glad to be so busy. Perhaps Dad was right, she did need someone to help her. Not Mrs Donnington though.

  Dad returned with a smile on his face. “What a lovely woman. Totally inappropriate for the job, of course, but a lovely woman.”

  “Don’t let Mum hear you saying things like that.”

  Dad patted his slightly rounded tummy and said, “Your mum knows what a catch I am. She knows that women often throw themselves at me.” He gave a dramatic sigh and then winked. “It’s a curse, being this handsome, but I’m happy to live with it. Who’s next on the list?”

  Julia checked her list of interviewees. “Someone called Tiger Lilly Thomas.”

  “How exotic. Do you think tea will be okay for her? Or should I open the pineapple juice?”

  Tiger Lilly sashayed into Julia’s front room a few minutes later. She was an exotic-looking orange. What was it with young girls and fake tans these days?

  The teenager refused any offers of refreshment. Julia had to ignore the hurt look on Dad’s face. Julia started to ask her first question. She was interrupted by a beeping noise. Without an apology, Tiger Lilly took out her phone and read the text that had arrived. She frowned and swore, then she started tapping furiously on her phone.

  Julia spoke loudly, “Are you ready to begin our interview? Or have you important business to attend to?”

  Tiger Lilly looked up, her fingers still tapped away. “What?”

  Julia persisted, “I need to ask you questions about the job, to see if you’re suitable.”

  Tiger Lilly stopped tapping. She aimed her phone at Julia and said, “I want to ask you something. How many dead bodies have you seen? Were they decomposed? Did you take any photos?”

  Julia couldn’t keep her sigh in. Dad stood up and said firmly to Tiger Lilly, “This isn’t the job for you, young lady. I think you’d better leave. I’ll see you to the door, come on.”

  In a flash of orange the teenager was escorted quickly out of the room.

  When Dad returned, Julia said, “Thanks for that. I don’t think we’re going to find anyone, they’re only interested in the dead people that I’ve seen.”

  Dad held a hand up, “Let’s not be defeatist! When the next candidate comes in, you tell them in no uncertain terms that you won’t talk about those dead bodies of yours!”

  Julia nodded. “Good idea, but they weren’t exactly ‘my’ dead bodies. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who’s next?”

  “A young man. Interesting, he’s the only man to apply. I can hear someone at the door. Remember, tell him straight away that there’s going to be no talk of corpses!”

  That’s exactly what Julia said to the young man sitting opposite her a minute later.

  She was not prepared for his reply.

  Chapter 2

  “Good. I’ve seen enough corpses to last me a lifetime.”

  Julia blinked a few times and then said, “Excuse me?” She looked down at his application form. “I can’t see any details of previous experience.” She frowned and looked over at Dad as if to ask why this young man had been given an interview.

  Dad smiled back at her, oblivious to her inquisitive stare.

  The young man spoke, “No, I don’t have any experience with any kind of official job. I was quite surprised to get this interview.”

  Julia pressed her lips together, she was quite surprised too. She’d be having words with Dad later. She turned her attention back to the young man, Cain Andrews. She’d put him in his late twenties, he was slight-looking with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was very pale. He was dressed casually in jeans and a smart shirt. Julia said, “Can you tell me about yourself, and why you think you’d be suitable for this job?”

  Cain gave her a wry smile. “This could be the part where you ask me to leave, I’ve a story to tell, it’s a bit long-winded. Are you sure you want to hear it?” r />
  “We certainly do!” Dad interjected. “You’re our last candidate and we’ve plenty of time, haven’t we, Julia?”

  Julia looked at Dad’s eager face. How could she say no? And there was a part of her, the nosy part of her, that would love to hear Cain’s story. She was already impressed with how well-spoken he was. “Of course we have time. Would you like a cup of tea? A slice of cake? There’s a bit left.”

  Cain smiled. “Thank you, it does look delicious. Did you make it?”

  “I made it,” Dad moved forward with a proud smile on his face. “I’ve been going to cookery classes.” He put a slice of cake on a plate and handed it to Cain. “Since I retired I’ve been going to all sorts of classes, even knitting. See this cardigan I’m wearing? I knitted it myself!”

  “Really?” Cain took the plate and placed it carefully on his knee.

  “Yes! It was a bit tricky, I’m not happy with the buttonholes, but they’ll have to do. I made a scarf for Julia, but she hasn’t worn it yet.” He handed a tea-filled cup to Cain.

  Julia’s estimation of Cain rose slightly as Cain placed the cup carefully on a coaster. It rose even further when Cain said, “I think you’ve done an excellent job, I could never make anything like that.”

  Dad beamed. He gave Cain a quick look up and down. “I could knit one for you, I’ve got enough wool left.”

  “That’s so kind, but I can’t expect you to do that, we’ve only just met. And,” Cain paused and looked down at his yet untouched cake, “you haven’t heard my story yet.”

  Dad sat down and shared a look with Julia. Julia said to Cain, “Please tell us, we won’t judge you.”

  “And don’t forget to eat your cake!” Dad insisted.

  Cain put the cake on the table. “Perhaps in a moment, thank you. I may as well come out and say this, I’ve been in prison for the last twelve years. That’s why I haven’t any work experience. I worked all the time in prison but it doesn’t count as official work.” He looked closer at Julia. “You don’t look shocked. Do you want me to leave?”

  “Of course not. Why were you in prison?” She laughed. “If you say murder, I might have to chuck you out!”

  Cain said quietly, “It was manslaughter.” There was a pause. “Shall I go now?”

  Julia shook her head. There was something about Cain that was intriguing, she wanted to know more about him. There was also something she’d noticed about his eyes. Despite his happy demeanour, there was a great sadness in his eyes, as if he’d seen things that he hadn’t wanted to see. She said, “Please, go on. Start at the beginning, that’s a very good place to start. Oh! I almost broke into song then! Do you ever do that, Cain, say the lyrics of a song and then feel like you have to sing them?”

  Cain gave her a quizzical look. “Not really.”

  “Must be just me then,” Julia said with a smile. “Right, start again.”

  Cain took a sip of his tea. “Have you heard of the Clover Estate? The one at the far side of town?”

  Dad said, “I certainly have, the buses refuse to drive through it after dark.”

  “I don’t blame them,” Cain said. “Well, that’s where I grew up. I was the youngest of five boys, and Mum, let’s just say that Mum had a few problems. I know she was doing her best now, but at the time I couldn’t see it. She worked three jobs and then spent her money on drugs and drink. I suppose she had to get by somehow. I didn’t see much of her, I had to fend for myself. My brothers watched out for me now and again, but most of the time I was free to go out when and where I wanted. I hardly ever went to school, I didn’t see the point. And when I did go, the other children made fun of me, they used to say I stank. I did, and I was filthy, I hardly ever washed.”

  “You poor mite, eat some of your cake. I’ll make you a sandwich if you like,” Dad offered.

  Cain smiled. “Thank you, you’re so kind. Don’t feel sorry for me, it happened a long time ago. Things did change for me, but they got worse before they got better.”

  Dad moved forward in his chair, “Is that when you killed someone? You can tell us all about it.”

  “Dad!” Julia shot out. “Cain doesn’t have to tell us. He did say he was in prison for manslaughter, not murder.”

  Dad frowned. “I don’t really understand the difference. Someone died who shouldn’t have died, that’s right, isn’t it?”

  Cain nodded. “It is. My story gets even worse, I haven’t told you who the victim was yet.”

  Chapter 3

  Cain went on, “I got in with the wrong crowd, I tried to do things that would make me part of the gang, like shoplifting, that sort of thing. I wasn’t very good at it and often got caught. The police soon knew my name. Mum would give me a good thrashing whenever she had to pick me up from the police station. Still, I was surviving, sort of.

  “Things changed when my dad turned up. Mum had always told me that he was dead so you can imagine the shock I got when he turned up. I won’t go into all the details, but needless to say there was a lot of shouting between Mum and Dad. He didn’t even know I existed. When he laid eyes on me for the first time he looked disappointed. I remember his words, ‘Are you sure that’s mine?’ Mum was adamant about him being my dad, she said she wanted nothing from him, and wanted him to go away before there was trouble.”

  Cain smiled and gave a small shake of his head. “I’m sorry, I’m supposed to be making this brief. Are you sure you want to listen?”

  Julia nodded. “Please, go on. You said that things got better for you. Did your dad take you away from the estate? Did you spend more time at school?”

  Cain gave her a small smile. “No, seems my dad wasn’t welcome on the estate. He’s what you call a ‘grass’. He’d given evidence to the police many times in exchange for money, there were a lot of people after him, most of them from the estate. It seems my dad wasn’t the cleverest of people. He’d returned to see Mum and to get some information from her about what was happening on the estate. He needed money and wanted some information to sell to the police. Apparently, the news that he had a son didn’t stop him going ahead with his plans. News got round immediately that he was back, a lot of people had scores to settle with him.” There was a pause. Cain picked a bit of fluff from his trousers and carefully placed it in his pocket. He looked directly at Julia and said, “He was killed, two hours after meeting me. He was shot as he walked through the estate. There were no witnesses, of course, who would say anything about his killing? There was a feeling that justice had been done.”

  “Was your mum upset?” Julia asked.

  Cain shrugged. “She didn’t care. She was more concerned for me. Nobody knew who my real father was, she’d kept it a secret. She knew what my father was like, knew his reputation, she didn’t want anyone to know I was his son. But, like a bad smell, the news filtered around the estate. Things got much worse for me. I got used to the beatings, it’s funny how you do. But what hurt more was my brothers turning against me, they called me all sorts of names. They treated me worse than a dog. When I look back now, I’m not sure how I survived those days. Mum didn’t seem to care at all about me.”

  Julia blinked away a tear. She looked over at Dad, he pressed his lips together and shook his head at the sorry tale.

  Cain made to stand up. “I’ve upset you. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll go.”

  In a gruff voice Dad said, “Stay where you are. I want to know what happened next. You look clean, and you speak well, so I’m assuming something happened.”

  Cain sat back down. He smiled and said, “My gran, that’s what happened. She didn’t know she had a grandson. She’d heard through friends about me. My dad had been awful to her growing up, stole from her many times. She knew he was a bad penny but she never gave up on him. She went to his funeral, she was the only one. Apart from me. I hid behind a tree, but that eagle-eyed woman found me. She came with me back to the flat. She took one look around the place, grabbed my hand and marched me out of there. She told
me I was going to live with her.”

  “Didn’t your mum try to find you?” Julia asked.

  “No. Gran spoke to her later and sorted everything out. Gran said that Mum would be in touch to see me soon, but she never did.” He frowned. “It’s alright, don’t look so sad. I understand why Mum didn’t want to see me. Anyway, Gran took care of me. Cleaned me up, fed me, made me go to school. She changed my life for the better, she told me every day how wonderful I was, how loved I was. After a while I started to believe it. Which brings me round to you and this job. Gran used to have a cleaning job, I helped her whenever I could. I loved our times together. I think I associate cleaning with being loved! I know that’s strange, but that’s how I feel. I’m a good worker, Gran taught me how to clean things without using chemicals.”

  “She sounds lovely,” Julia said. “You do seem like a presentable person, and I would love to give you the job but …”

  “It’s the manslaughter thing, isn’t it? Okay, here are the short details. When I was eighteen, I saw one of Gran’s friends being mugged outside a shop. I ran over to help her, she must have thought I was one of the attackers because she lashed out at me. She lost her balance, fell to the floor and cracked her head. I stayed with her and called for an ambulance but she died on the way to the hospital. The police were waiting for me. They knew me from my past, they were ready to charge me there and then.”

  Julia said, “You told them the truth, didn’t you?”

  Cain shook his head. “I couldn’t. I knew who the muggers were. I wasn’t a snitch, I wasn’t like my father. There were witnesses from the Clover Estate, they lied and said I’d attacked her on purpose. I suppose they were getting even more revenge for what my dad had done to them. I went to prison. Gran was heartbroken. She knew I was innocent, she pleaded for me to tell the truth. She said I didn’t need to pay for the sins of my father.” He sighed. “I served my time, saw things I didn’t want to including many dead bodies. I was released six months ago.”