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

Me too. We could wipe down the surfaces
again with my own cleaning fluid,  it ’ s all natural.
Hugo loved the smell of the lemons and the …” She stopped herself and quickly
looked away.
    Cain
laughed. “ You
nearly told me your secret ingredient then. I think I know what it is. ”
    Julia
lifted her head dramatically and declared, “ I
shall never reveal my secret ingredient! ”
    Cain
laughed again. Julia smiled. It was lovely to see him looking more relaxed and
at ease. She said, “ Come on, let ’ s go
into the kitchen. ”
    “ Can I
walk through the back door one more time? ” Cain asked eagerly.
    “ Of
course. ”
    The
chemical smell was almost overpowering in the kitchen. Julia tutted in disgust.
The police must have dusted everywhere for fingerprints if they ’ d had
to clean up so much. What had they discovered in the kitchen?
    Cain
jogged over to the back door, a big grin on his face.
    Julia
called out, “ Hang
on! You need the key. ”
    “ No
need, it ’ s
open. ”
    Cain
pulled the door towards him and reverently stepped through, and out into the
garden. As he came back through he said, “ What
are you looking for? ”
    “ Something, ” Julia replied as she pulled open
a cupboard door. “ He must have put it somewhere. I know he
was tired the other day but he always puts it away. ”
    Cain
came over to her side. “ What? What is it
you ’ re
looking for? Can I help? ”
    Julia
raised a hand, her index finger pointing upwards. “ He
might have actually hung it up this time! He might have finally listened to me. ”
    “ What? ” Cain said, his voice louder than
Julia had heard it before.
    “ His
travelling jacket, he wore it on all his business trips, ” Julia explained. “ Whenever
he came back from a trip he would fling that coat anywhere. I once found it
inside the fridge. I was forever telling him to hang it up in his wardrobe.
Come on, let ’ s go
upstairs. ”
    Cain
followed Julia out of the kitchen. “ But why is it so
important? ”
    “ You ’ ll
see, ” Julia called over her shoulder.
She bounded up the stairs and into Hugo ’ s
bedroom.
    She
sniffed. “ The
police haven ’ t
been in here. ”
    There
were a few garments scattered around the room. Julia said, “ It ’ s khaki
in colour. It must be here somewhere. ”
    “ Is
this it? ” Cain said. He was standing by the
wardrobe and pointing to a jacket hanging neatly.
    “ That ’ s it!
Can you see all the pockets? He used to keep notes in all those pockets. He
said it was like a mobile filing system. Oh! There could be information about
his last client! ”
    Cain
pulled the jacket off the hanger. “ There ’ s a
note pinned to the collar. ” He handed the jacket to Julia.
    She
read the note: ‘ Dearest Julia, you will see that I have
finally taken your advice and hung my jacket in the appropriate place. And, my
dear lady, I have emptied my pockets! Ha! I bet you never expected me to be so
neat and tidy! Your friend, Hugo. ’
    The
note fluttered to the ground. Cain handed Julia a tissue from a nearby box and
said, “ Please
don ’ t
cry. ”
    Julia
took the tissue and wiped her eyes. “ Sorry, it was a
combination of seeing his writing, and then discovering that the idiot may have
destroyed any clues that could have led us to his killer. ”
    Cain
picked the note up and turned it over. “ There ’ s
something on the back, some scribbling. ” He passed it to Julia.
    ‘ Divorce
papers? Death certificate? Sins of the fathers???? ’
    Julia
frowned. “ I don ’ t
know what it means, but it ’ s better than
nothing. ” She froze. “ What
was that noise? Did you hear it? ”
    Cain
nodded. He whispered, “ I think it was
the front door opening. ” He cocked his head. “ I can
hear voices. ”
    Was
it the police? Or someone else? Julia folded the note and put it in her pocket.
She said, “ Come
on, let ’ s
find out who it is. ”
     

 
     
    Chapter 16
     
    Despite
the fact that she intended to