A Fair Murder (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 6) Read online

  “Maybe she needs something that gets her out of the house. Is she married?”

  Mum nodded. “She’s got a lovely husband. He’s an engineer or something. She’s very proud of him, you can hear it in her voice when she talks about him. I’ve only met him a few times but he treats her like a princess. I don’t know if he realises that she’s doing too much.”

  Lesley Humphries walked over to them, a big smile on her face. “Julia, you’ve done a wonderful job on our school. Make sure you give us your invoice, we’ll get that settled promptly. I think you’re down to help on my lovely tombola stall! Do you want to help me set it up? I managed to get tickets on every item last night.”

  “Of course. Mum, do you want Cain to stay here with you?”

  Mum nodded. “That’ll be great. Between us we can make sure that Imogen doesn’t have to do so much.”

  Lesley tutted. “I told her we could manage without her. She just won’t listen.”

  Julia followed Lesley to the other side of the hall and to a table. There were boxes and bags at the side of the table. Lesley laughed and picked up the sole item that had been placed on the table. She said, “As you can see, I’ve made a start on filling the table up.”

  Julia looked at the bottle in Lesley’s hand. “Are you allowed to have alcohol on your stall?”

  Lesley shook the bottle at her. “It’s non-alcoholic. It’s home-made blackberry wine. I put it out first because I didn’t want the bottle to break. You start on that bag there and I’ll do this box. I’m aiming to get them in numerical order, it’ll make it easier for us when someone pulls out a ticket.”

  “That’s a good idea. I would have put them anywhere and everywhere!”

  Julia was soon engrossed in her task. She smiled as she pulled out one strange item after another. There was a cuddly panda bear, some balls of wool and many bottles of bubble bath. She suspected that people took this opportunity to get rid of presents that they didn’t want.

  A shiver suddenly went down her back. The noise in the room abruptly dropped. Julia looked up from her bag and whispered to Lesley, “What’s happening? Why has everyone gone quiet?”

  Lesley nodded towards the hall entrance. “You’re about to see our new head teacher.”

  Chapter 4

  Julia’s eyes took in the vision that strode into the hall. Mrs Deborah Paignton looked liked she’d just stepped out of the corporate world. Her perfectly styled hair didn’t move as she clipped across the floor on impossibly high heels. Her business suit looked expensive and so did the briefcase that she was carrying.

  The atmosphere in the hall was one of apprehension. People still placed things on tables but at a slower speed whilst they kept an eye on Mrs Paignton.

  Lesley gently nudged Julia. “We’d better get on, she’ll be over here in a moment to inspect our table. Don’t let her appearance put you off. Or her tone, if she speaks to you. She’s trying to do the best for this school, even if that makes her unpopular.”

  Julia picked another bottle of bubble bath out of the bag in front of her. She couldn’t help but watch where Mrs Paignton was going. The head teacher marched over to a table full of cuddly toys. The young woman behind blanched as Mrs Paignton picked up a tatty-looking teddy bear by the ear. Julia could see the woman behind the table moving her lips but she couldn’t hear what was being said. Mrs Paignton gave a brisk shake of her head and threw the offending teddy bear at the woman behind the table.

  “I guess that bear didn’t come up to Deborah’s high standards,” Lesley said. “Poor bear, he’ll end up in the bin.”

  Mrs Paignton turned and headed towards their table. Julia’s heart speeded up, the bottle almost dropped from her hand as Mrs Paignton looked straight at her. Julia placed the bottle down on the table and smiled at the approaching woman. Mrs Paignton’s mouth moved at the corners. Julia wondered if that was her attempt at a smile.

  Mrs Paignton stopped at the table and thrust her hand out. Julia tried to guess her age. Early-thirties? Late-thirties? Julia took her outstretched hand and shook it. Mrs Paignton said in a clipped tone, “It’s Julia Blake, isn’t it? Mrs Rosenthorpe’s daughter. Thank you for your cleaning work. Send the invoice to me.” She dropped Julia’s hand and turned her attention to Lesley. “Has everyone signed in?”

  Lesley nodded. “They have. And they know to sign out.”

  “Make sure they do. Is everything under control? Does everyone know what they’re doing?”

  “Yes, and yes.”

  “What about tomorrow? Does everyone know what time they should be here? Have all the safety precautions been undertaken?”

  “I’ll let everyone know about that later on, after they’ve sorted their tables out.”

  Mrs Paignton looked Lesley up and down. “You should have undertaken that earlier. Are you sure you’re up to this work? You are the deputy head, you know what your duties are. Or you should know.”

  Lesley forced a smile on her face. “Everything is under control. I’ve been organising these school fairs for years, they always run smoothly.”

  “I don’t want it to just run smoothly, I want it to be a success, better than any other year. Can you deal with that, Mrs Humphries, or should I ask one of the younger members of staff to take over?”

  Julia felt Lesley stiffen at her side. Lesley’s smile looked as if it was glued on. “I can manage, thank you.”

  Mrs Paignton looked down at the table. Her hand rose and moved towards the bottle of blackberry wine. She straightened it a fraction, gave Julia a curt nod and then strode away towards her next victim.

  Julia let out a breath. “I don’t care what you say about her, I don’t like her! Fancy talking to you like that, after all you’ve done.”

  “It’s okay. She’s under a lot of stress. She has to report back to the local authority on how this school is performing. She only wants the best for the school.”

  “Hmm.” Julia kept her thoughts to herself. She watched as Mrs Paignton made her way over to Mum’s book stall. If that woman upset her mum she’d be over there in a flash.

  Mum gave Mrs Paignton a friendly smile and then turned her back as she collected more books from the boxes beneath the table.

  Mrs Paignton had turned her attention to Imogen, who was standing at the other side of the book table. Imogen nodded at something that Mrs Paignton had said. Imogen reached under the table and produced a clipboard. Mrs Paignton took the clipboard and ran her finger down it. She tapped her finger several times at a particular point and said something to Imogen. The young woman began to shake, she tucked her long hair nervously behind her right ear. She looked like she was going to cry.

  Mum had her back to them and was oblivious to what was going on. Julia was tempted to go over and offer whatever support she could. It was obvious that Mrs Paignton was not happy with something, and that Imogen was bearing the brunt of her anger.

  Cain took that moment to walk into the hall, he was carrying another box of books. He smiled and nodded at Julia as he passed her table. He crossed the hall and stopped at Mum’s table, he placed the box on the floor. Mrs Paignton’s head turned as she looked at Cain. Cain gave her a friendly nod. Julia felt her mouth drop open as Mrs Paignton’s face twisted with sudden hate.

  Mrs Paignton jabbed a finger at Cain and thundered, “How dare you come into my school! You murderer! You lowlife! Get out of here at once before I call the police!”

  The whole world seemed to move in slow motion. Julia saw everyone’s mouths drop open, including Mum’s who had now turned back to the table. Cain’s head and shoulders dropped as if someone had cut an invisible string that was holding him up.

  Mrs Paignton hadn’t finished. She threw disgusted looks around the room and cried out, “Who let this person in here? Who’s responsible for allowing this despicable criminal in here?”

  Heat flared up in Julia. She dropped the soap that she’d picked up and marched over to Mrs Paignton. She placed her hands on her hips and was just ab
out to yell at the head teacher when someone put their hand over her mouth.

  It was Dad. He nodded at Julia and said, “I’ve got this, love, you go back to your stall.” He released his hand.

  Julia wasn’t going to walk away. She pointed at Mrs Paignton and said to Dad, “Did you hear what she said about Cain? What she called him?”

  “I’ll call him what I like!” Mrs Paignton spat out. “I know who he is. I know what he’s done. This is my school and we don’t allow criminals in here! Get him out at once!”

  Dad stepped forward and calmly said, “Mrs Paignton, there’s no need to shout, we can all hear you. I’ll thank you to not talk about my young friend like that.”

  “He’s a criminal! He’s been in prison! I can’t have him wandering about my school!”

  Dad said, “He’s not a criminal. Everyone in this town knows about Cain and why he was in prison. Cain Andrews is a wonderful, honest, hard-working man. I would trust him with my life.”

  “And so would I!” Mum shot out.

  Cain raised his head and muttered, “It’s okay Ray, I’ll leave.”

  Dad hadn’t finished with Mrs Paignton. “This young man has given his time freely to help your school. And he helped our Julia yesterday with the cleaning work.”

  “He did what?” Mrs Paignton seethed. “I didn’t know he’d already been in my school. Who allowed that to happen?”

  “I did.” Lesley stepped forward. “I know about Cain’s past and I didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t be in our school.”

  A cold look came into Mrs Paignton’s eyes as she looked at Lesley. “I was right about you, you’re too old for this job. You can’t think straight.” She turned and gave Mum a direct look. “And she’s not the only one.”

  Dad raised a hand and said, “Too far, Mrs Paignton, you’ve gone too far, you don’t speak to my wife like that. These amazing people in this room have given up their time to help this school. A thank you from you would be appreciated, not insults. Or would you like everyone here to leave? Would you like to organise everything on your own?”

  Mrs Paignton looked him up and down. “I see no need to apologise.” She turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall.

  Dad walked over to Cain and put his arm around him. “Pay no attention, lad.”

  Chapter 5

  Julia was still reeling from the unfairness of Mrs Paignton’s comments as she pulled into the car park at nine-thirty the next morning.

  Mum released her seat belt and said, “I know what you’re thinking but you’ll have to get rid of those thoughts, they’re making your face look funny.”

  “I can’t help it. Is she always like that? She really upset Cain. I don’t know how you put up with her!”

  Mum patted Julia’s arm. “Sometimes you have to deal with people you don’t like. I’m in the classroom most of the time so I don’t have much to do with Deborah. She never comes into the staffroom at break or dinner times, so I only have to speak to her now and again. Come on, we’ve got the fair to look forward to. My children were so excited when we were talking about it in class yesterday. And look at the weather! We can put some of the tables outside.”

  Julia gave a little grunt. “I’ll try to stop thinking about her. Cain didn’t want to come with me this morning, I think Deborah Paignton has scared him off for good.”

  “Don’t worry about Cain. Your dad took him to the pub last night and had a good chat with him. They’re coming to the fair together later on.”

  Julia gave Mum a small smile. “Thanks for keeping an eye on Cain, both of you. And thanks for calming me down. I just can’t bear to see people being mistreated!”

  Mum looked out of the car window and tutted. “Imogen’s car is here. I told her to get here later. I bet she’s been here since the early hours.”

  After signing in, Julia and Mum walked into the hall. Imogen waved to them from behind the book stall. They walked over to her. Mum nodded towards her and said, “I told you not to come in early. What time did you get here?”

  Imogen shrugged. “About eight. I couldn’t sleep anyway, I kept thinking about all the things that needed doing. I want everything to be perfect for Deborah’s sake, this being her first school fair at Cloverfield and all.”

  Julia and Mum shared a quick look. Julia said, “I thought we got everything set up yesterday?”

  “We did,” Imogen agreed. “But Deborah phoned me last night. She wanted me to make sure everything was absolutely perfect. I didn’t mind coming in early.” She stifled a yawn. “Sorry. I think I need a strong coffee. Do you want one?”

  “I’ll get them,” Julia offered. “Is Mrs Paignton here?”

  “Not yet. I let myself into the school. It was funny being here without Seth. I’ve never been in the school without him being here. I wonder if he’ll turn up today. I hope he does, the children are already missing him.”

  Julia walked away before she could add any comments about Deborah Paignton not even bothering to show up. She headed to the refreshment area and asked for two teas and a coffee. The woman behind the table said Julia could have them for free seeing as she was a helper. Julia dropped some money into the cash tub anyway.

  Julia handed the tea to Mum and the coffee to Imogen, who was yawning again. She told Mum she’d see her later and then made her way over to the tombola stall.

  Lesley was already there, she smiled at her. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming or not. I thought Deborah had scared you away for good!”

  “She doesn’t scare me, she annoys me,” Julia said. “Have you got a tea? I can nip over and get you one.”

  Lesley held up a flask and announced, “I am prepared! I won’t be leaving this table unless I absolutely have to. I don’t want to give Deborah any more ammunition to fire me.”

  Julia gasped. “Fire you! She can’t do that! You’re part of the school.”

  “Seth was part of the school, and he’s gone. I don’t want to leave but I can see how Deborah’s mind works. She wants the school to be updated, she wants to get rid of everything that’s not working as efficiently as it could. And that includes staff.” She sighed. “I suppose she’s only doing what she thinks is right.”

  Julia took a sip of her tea. Keeping all these thoughts about Deborah Paignton under control was giving her a headache.

  Lesley put the flask on a ledge behind her and said, “I think we’re all ready to go. Some of the stalls have been moved outside, including that face-painting one. I always get a shock when I see some little boy or girl painted as Spider-Man!”

  Julia laughed. “My two loved having their faces painted. I didn’t love having to clean it off afterwards.” She looked at her watch. “Not long to go until the crowd arrives!”

  “I hope it is a crowd. I hope people haven’t decided to stay at home on this …”

  Lesley’s eyes narrowed as she looked over Julia’s shoulder. Julia turned around to see who she was looking at. She felt her eyes narrowing too.

  Deborah Paignton walked into the hall, a huge smile on her face. Julia could see that her smile was false, it didn’t reach her eyes. What was going on? Deborah stopped in the middle of the floor and opened her arms. In a loud voice she said, “I want to thank you all for the hard work you’ve done.”

  Julia saw mouths drop open around the room. An older woman rubbed her ears as if she wasn’t sure they were working right.

  Deborah continued. “I must apologise for that slight misunderstanding yesterday.” She turned to Julia. “Please convey my apologies to that man.”

  That man? He’s got a name. Julia gripped her cup tighter.

  Deborah continued to smile. “I’m sure this fair is going to be the most successful ever! Doors will open soon but let me be the first to donate some money.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pound coin. She held the coin up and walked over to Julia and Lesley’s stall. Still using an overly loud voice she said, “I think this is a good place to start! Here’s my money. Please giv
e me my tickets.” She hesitated then added, “Thank you.”

  “You can get the tickets yourself from the tombola drum,” Julia pointed out.

  Lesley said, “No need. I’ll get them out for Mrs Paignton. Julia, can you take her money?”

  Deborah dropped the pound coin into Julia’s hand. Her smile was so stretched out that Julia worried for the safety of her cheeks.

  Lesley looked at the tickets. She held one up and said, “Congratulations! You’ve won!”

  Deborah’s smile wavered slightly as she looked at the items on the table. “Great. What have I won?”

  Lesley held up the bottle of home-made blackberry wine.

  Deborah stared at it for a moment. Then she seemed to remember where she was. Her smile returned in full force. “How fantastic!” She took the bottle, turned around and waved the bottle at the room. “Isn’t this wonderful? Aren’t I lucky? Our parents and friends are going to have an amazing day today. Thank you again for all your help.”

  Lesley started to clap. Everyone joined in, so did Julia but with less enthusiasm. Deborah Paignton might be fooling them with her act but she wasn’t fooling Julia. Those thoughts were confirmed as Deborah turned back to them. Her smile disappeared. She hissed, “Put this dreadful bottle somewhere! I’ll be glad when this damn fair is over.” She looked at Lesley. “How long do I have to stay?”

  “Until the fair is over. You could mingle for a while and then go to your office,” Lesley said kindly.

  Deborah thrust the bottle at Julia, pasted her false smile back on her face and then walked towards another stall.

  Julia took the bottle. She knew exactly where she was going to put it.

  Chapter 6

  Julia waved the bottle at Lesley and said, “Can I put this in Deborah’s office? I’ve got my invoice to hand in before I forget. Or can I give it to you to hand in?”

  “Go put them in her office now, Deborah won’t mind. She says she operates an open-door policy. Although, her door is often closed. Go now before we get inundated with tombola-mad customers!”