Free A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Gillian Larkin

t
have to clean, we ’ ll send our own team in to clean up the
fingerprint dust. ”
    “ But I ’ d
like to. I feel like I owe him. ”
    There
was a sigh. “ You ’ re a
funny one. Okay. I ’ ll let you know when you can go in. You probably
won ’ t be
allowed into his office so don ’ t go snooping
about. ”
    “ I don ’ t
snoop, ” Julia said.
    There
was a heavy silence. DI Clarke broke it by saying, “ We
both know you ’ re
lying. Direct any further enquiries to DS Pendleton. ” He rung off without a further
word.
    Julia
gripped her phone in frustration. She wanted to tell him about Dinah Wells. And
the smoking man who had been watching her. There was no way she could speak to
DS Pendleton about any of this.
    Her
eyes began to prickle again as she thought about her last meeting with Hugo.
She wiped a tear away and said, “ Okay, Hugo, if
you ’ re
listening, I ’ ll
find out who murdered you. But if I end up in prison it ’ s all
your fault! ”
     

 
     
    Chapter 15
     
    Julia
told Cain about her conversation with DI Clarke when she picked him up the next
morning. She also told him about the man who had been hanging around her house,
she referred to him as Smoking Man.
    Cain ’ s
face creased in concern. “ You should tell
the police about him. Give them the cigarette ends, they might be able to get
something off them. Don ’ t approach him
though, there are some strange people out there. ”
    Julia
kept her next thought to herself. There was still the possibility that Smoking
Man was related to Cain, perhaps one of his brothers.
    They
whizzed through their cleaning jobs in no time. Julia said, “ You ’ d
better slow down, you ’ re making me
look bad! ”
    Cain
smiled as he wiped a kitchen top down. “ Sorry,
I can ’ t
help it. I feel good when I clean. Where are we going next? ”
    Julia
packed her cleaning things up and said, “ Nowhere.
We ’ ve
finished for the morning. ” She looked at her watch. “ And
it ’ s
only ten-thirty. I can drop you home if you like, you can have a long lunch. ”
    Her
phone beeped. She smiled as she read the message. She pointed her phone at Cain
and said, “ Or
you could come with me to Hugo ’ s house. That
message was from DI Clarke. He said we can go back to Hugo ’ s on
the strict proviso that we ’ re not to enter
the office. He says his team might need to look in there again. ”
    Cain
nodded. “ And
why are we going back? Is it just to clean, or … ? ”
    Julia
finished his sentence. “ Look for clues,
something the police might have missed? Yes, Cain, that sounds like a great
idea of yours. Come on. ”
    “ But I … it wasn ’ t my
idea …”
    Julia
grinned at him. “ I ’ m
only joking. I want to have a good look around too. I might spot something that ’ s out
of place, something the police haven ’ t picked up on. ”
    She
paused as she reached for the door. “ Oh, Cain, I
never thought. You might not want to come with me, bearing in mind you ’ ve
just got out of prison. I wouldn ’ t want you to
get into any sort of trouble. ”
    Cain ’ s
eyebrows rose. “ What are you planning to do? Something
illegal? If so, I learnt many tricks of the trade inside. ”
    It
was Cain ’ s
turn to grin as he caught Julia ’ s shocked
expression. “ I ’ m
kidding. Sort of. ”
    Julia
filed that information away. Not that she was going to do anything illegal. Of
course she wasn ’ t.
    They
soon arrived at Hugo ’ s house. Julia unlocked the front door
and stepped through. A sadness chilled her, the house felt empty without Hugo ’ s
presence. She looked towards his office, the door was closed. She was glad
about that as she wasn ’ t sure she could
look in the office without remembering Hugo lying on the carpet.
    Cain
said quietly, “ Are
you sure you want to be here? The place looks clean enough. ” He sniffed. “ The
police must have cleaned up after themselves, I can smell the chemicals. ”
    Julia ’ s
nose wrinkled. “