Julia Blake – A Party To Die For

Chapter 1

“I can’t believe all this is for a children’s party. I’m glad you asked me to do the catering, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!” Anna said with a laugh.

“Well, you are my favourite sister. Who else would I ask?” I said.

Anna gave me a pitying look. “For the millionth time, I’m your only sister. I don’t know why you have to say that, it’s not even funny.”

I thought it was, and I intended to use it again whenever I got the chance.

Fiona Doyle walked over to us. “How’s everything going, ladies? Did you get my most recent email, Julia? The one I sent first thing this morning?”

“The one at 6 am? About the little boy who’s allergic to chocolate? Yes, we’ve got a special chocolate free cupcake just for him,” I reassured her.

“And what about the other children with allergies?” Fiona asked.

“All taken care of,” Anna replied and she pointed to plates that were placed separately at the end of the catering table. Each plate contained a certain child’s name.

Fiona gave us a little smile. “Thank you for being so understanding. I wouldn’t want to get sued because some child had a fit or something. Why do children’s parties have to be such a nightmare!”

Fiona wandered off to check on something else.

Anna shook her head. “How can it be a nightmare for her? She hasn’t done anything.”

I corrected my sister, “She’s been sending emails out for the last four months about this party. It has to be perfect.”

“I don’t know how you can do cleaning work for her. I bet she follows you around the house, making sure you’ve scrubbed everything perfectly.”

“She’s okay, just very organised and business like. A bit like you really,” I said.

Anna tutted. “There’s nothing wrong with being organised, you should try it sometime. Stop chatting to me and go to the van for the sandwiches.”

“Yes sir!” I mock saluted Anna. A tiny smile crossed her face.

I walked through the dining room and into the enormous kitchen. I had given this room an extra scrub yesterday and it still looked gleaming.

Was that a spot of dirt? I moved closer to the work surface. It wasn’t a spot of dirt, it was even worse – it was a spider.

“Come on you, you don’t belong here,” I said. I cupped the little creature in my hands. I’d have to give the surface a quick wipe down now.

I walked over to the back door, it was slightly open so I nudged it open more. I carefully put the spider on the ground and told him politely to clear off.

I heard something coming from the nearby Wendy house. It sounded like sobbing.

I went over and peered through the window. I saw who was making the noise.

I opened the door and crouched inside. I came face to face with a little girl. A little girl whose birthday it was today.

“Megan-Rose, whatever’s the matter? You can’t cry today, it’s your birthday. Shouldn’t you be inside getting ready for your party?”

Megan-Rose wiped her runny nose on her party dress sleeve. “I don’t want a party! I never did. It’s Mummy who wants a party. I don’t like my mummy and I know she doesn’t like me!”

“That’s not true. Your mummy loves you.”

“Then why does she want to send me away?” Megan-Rose began to cry again.

Her sobs were so heart breaking that I felt like joining in.

Chapter 2

I took Megan-Rose’s hand and led her back into the house. Fiona spotted her immediately. She could see that her daughter had been crying. If it was me, I would have given Megan-Rose a big cuddle and asked her what was wrong.

Fiona didn’t do that.

She frowned disapprovingly and said, “Is that...snot on your sleeve, young lady?”

Megan-Rose looked at the floor and nodded.

Fiona gave a big dramatic sigh. “Go upstairs and change at once. Our guests will be arriving soon.”

“Would you like me to take her?” I offered.

“No, she’s a big girl, she can manage to dress herself. Anyway, Julia, haven’t you got work to do?”

Megan-Rose let go of my hand and ran towards the stairs. Fiona walked away towards the kitchen.

I’d noticed before that Fiona wasn’t the motherly type.

I went out through the side door to Anna’s catering van, I didn’t want to meet up with Fiona in the kitchen. I took out two trays of sandwiches.

When I returned to the catering table Anna said, “Where have you been? I thought you’d done a runner on me.”

I explained about Megan-Rose.

Anna shook her head. “Well, it’s not surprising, is it?”

“What isn’t?”

“That Fiona isn’t the maternal kind.”

“Well, I think she tries,” I said.

“But she isn’t Megan-Rose’s real mother,” Anna said.

“Isn’t she? How do you know that?”

Anna smiled. “You never do keep up with gossip, do you Julia? I thought everyone knew about Megan-Rose’s real mother. It’s Fiona’s sister.”

“Gina? I didn’t know that.” I was amazed. I’d been cleaning for Fiona for years. I’d often met Gina. I never suspected she was Megan-Rose’s real mum.

“She was the surrogate for Fiona. Apparently, Fiona can’t have children. As Gina wasn’t married she was in a good position to offer to be the surrogate. I think Fiona and her husband paid her good money too.”

I thought for a moment and then said, “Did she use Fiona’s eggs, or her own?”

Anna’s eyebrows shot up. “How on earth would I know that? And what does it matter anyway?”

“If Gina used her own eggs then she is the biological mother and not Fiona. I think that means she has rights over Megan-Rose.”

Anna gave a wry smile. “This is the first time I’ve met Fiona but she seems the type that would make sure Gina signed away all her rights.”

“You’re probably right.”

We carried on putting the food out. The table looked inviting.

Anna looked at me and said, “Would you ever be a surrogate for me? If I decided I actually wanted children.”

I thought of the weight gain, tiredness and painful piles that I’d suffered with my two. “Absolutely not. Find someone else.”

She gave me a little nudge and said, “I thought I was your favourite sister!”

Talking of sisters, I saw Gina come into the house. She quickly spoke to one of the party helpers, who then pointed towards the kitchen. Gina smiled and walked over to the kitchen.

The spider! I suddenly remembered the spider that had crawled on the worktop. I’d forgotten to clean it. As inconspicuously as possible I followed Gina.

Chapter 3

I peeped into the kitchen before I walked in. I didn’t want to find Fiona and Gina standing there. I would have to explain to Fiona what I was doing.

The kitchen was empty. I went over to my store cupboard. Fiona was a client who let me keep cleaning products in her house. I needed a lot to clean Fiona’s house, it was huge.

The fluid I wanted was at the back so I got down on my hands and knees so that I could reach it. I grabbed it along with a fresh cleaning cloth.

As I turned back around I found myself staring at a pair of enormous red sparkly shoes, shoes that had fluffy red pompoms on them.

Had a giant been invited to the party?

I looked up into the face of a grinning clown.

The clown held out a white gloved hand to help me up.

I took the hand and stood up.

The clown grinned even more. Or perhaps it looked like a bigger grin because of the painted smile.

“Hello there! I’m Clara Chuckles. I’m looking for an 8 year old birthday girl. Have you seen her?”

“Yes, she’s upstairs getting changed. I’m Julia Blake. I’m helping with the catering today. I’m assuming you’re the entertainment?”

Clara pointed to my cleaning fluid. “Are you doing a spot of cleaning whilst you wait for the party to start? I’ve heard that Fiona Doyle works people hard but I didn’t think she’d have you doing two jobs. Perhaps I’m expected to help too! In which case – lead me to the vacuum cleaner!”

Clara started to laugh. It was such a booming laugh that I couldn’t help but join in.

I explained about my day job and the spider incident.

“I will leave you to it. I shall try and find the birthday girl. By the way, Julia, did you know you’ve got something behind your ear?”

“What?” I reached up to my left ear. There was nothing there.

Clara reached towards my right ear and gave it a little tug. She showed me what she’d found.

“A one pound coin! What a peculiar place to keep your change!” Clara laughed again.

I laughed too, I knew it was a trick but it made me feel about ten years old.

“Do help yourself to food later, we’ve got plenty,” I told her.

Clara gave me the pound, waved goodbye and then did a funny walk out of the kitchen.

I put the pound in my pocket. Clara Chuckles seemed the perfect person to cheer Megan-Rose up.

I squirted my cleaning fluid onto the offending work surface and gave it a good wipe down. When I was satisfied that it was clean I took my supplies back to the cupboard. As I got down on the floor again my knees gave a little creak of protest. It was lovely that I had a cleaning cupboard here but I wished Fiona had given me one a bit higher up.

As I struggled to stand up I could hear voices outside in the garden. They were arguing. I crouched back down. My cupboard was near the kitchen window and I didn’t want to pop up suddenly and let whoever was arguing think I was listening to them.

So I stayed where I was to listen instead.

One of the voices belonged to Fiona, I thought the other one was Gina’s.

“But you can’t send her away! I’ve told you before that I’ll look after her,” Gina was saying.

“And I’ve told you before that I’m her real mother, not you. What have you got to offer her? You’ve no husband and no proper job. Hardly a worthy role model,” Fiona replied.

“I’d  make sure she’d be happy and well looked after,” Gina said more quietly.

“She’s going to be fine at the boarding school. It’s the best in the country. I can’t stand here arguing with you, I’ve got things to do!”

I heard heels clicking across the patio.

Then I heard Gina mumble to herself, “I’ll never let you send my daughter away.”

Chapter 4

When I was sure that Gina had gone I straightened up. I walked back into the main party area and over to the food table.

“I wish you’d stop disappearing,” Anna grumbled. “I’ve had to sort out the sausage rolls on my own.”

I looked at the sausage rolls, they were arranged artfully in a pyramid. I didn’t like to point out that the first child to see the pyramid would probably take the bottom roll, just to see it collapse. Anna wasn’t used to catering for children.

The door bell rang and guests were ushered in. Fiona greeted them all in the manner of a queen welcoming her subjects.

I heard a few people ask where the party girl was. Fiona mentioned that she’d gone to change into her very best outfit.

At that moment Megan-Rose ran down the stairs. She was not in her best outfit. She was wearing grubby jeans and a T shirt. They were crumpled as if they had been in the washing basket for a few days.

Fiona gave her daughter a horrified look. Megan-Rose pulled herself up as tall as she could and walked regally past her mother.

I couldn’t help but give a little smile. Not many people stood up to Fiona Doyle.

“What a tremendous party! Must have cost you a fortune!”

A shrill voice rang out. It was one that I recognised. It belonged to Kim Blackburn, Fiona’s neighbour.

“I’ve been watching out of our window all morning to see how young Megan-Rose was celebrating her birthday, haven’t I Bob?” she went on.

Bob nodded, his cheeks wobbled.

“You haven’t spared a penny, have you? The beautiful decorations, the tables and chairs! And the cake! Just perfect for a princess, isn’t it Bob?”

Bob nodded again. I noticed his eyes were fixed on Fiona’s cleavage.

Fiona must have noticed too because she firmly guided the Blackburns towards the main party area.

Fiona fairly jumped when Bob Blackburn gave her a ‘friendly’ tap on the bottom.

I was too busy staring at the guests in all their finery to notice a hand sneaking towards the sausage rolls. Until Anna slapped the hand away.

“No food till I say so!”Anna warned.

“But Julia said I could help myself.”

Anna looked pointedly at me. When I saw who had tried to steal a sausage roll I smiled.

“I did say that. Come on, Anna, how can you say no to a clown?” I said.

Clara Chuckles gave a huge crinkly cheeked smile. “I’m going on soon. I need some energy and those look delicious. Did you make them yourself?”

Anna said, “I did. I suppose you can have one roll, just take it from the top.”

“Will do, thanks.” Clara took a roll and bit into it. “Yum. I may come back for more soon.”

There was a clicking sound. We looked over to see Fiona clicking her fingers at us.

“I don’t pay you to stand around and chat! You, clown person, it’s time for you to go on now. You’d better be good, or I’ll demanding a refund.”

“Wish me luck,” Clara muttered.

She needed it. I’d never seen Fiona look so angry.

Chapter 5

Clara was brilliant. She had the children, and the grown ups, laughing with her antics. Even Fiona smiled. She became a volunteer in the show at Clara’s insistence.

Megan-Rose laughed the hardest when Clara produced flowers from her mother’s ears and nose. I thought she was going to have an accident when Clara pulled a bunch of flowers from  Fiona’s rear end. I was pleased to see that Fiona took it well. She finally seemed to be enjoying herself.

When Clara had finished Fiona told everyone that the food was ready.

The children raced over first and little hands grabbed at sandwiches and crisps. The pyramid of sausage rolls was demolished by the first child.

Anna looked horrified but I pointed to the fast emptying plates and said, “I hope we’ve brought enough food. These children are acting as if they’ve never been fed!”

We did have enough food, although we had to restock from the van a few times.

I put a few sausage rolls to one side for Clara. She beamed when she saw them.

“How kind of you. Can you do the catering at all my parties? I usually have to bring my own food, people must think that clowns don’t need to eat!” Clara laughed loudly.

I asked Clara how long she’d been a clown.

“It’s only recent. I’ve tried so many jobs, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many. I once worked in an office. That was a mistake.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I couldn’t get my big feet in the revolving door!” Clara winked at me.

I asked Clara for her card, in case anyone needed a clown. I was tempted to ask her to come to my next birthday celebration.

Fiona walked over to our almost empty table. Clara saw her and quickly walked away.

Fiona gave a tired smile. “I’m so sorry for shouting at you earlier. It was uncalled for.”

“That’s okay. You’ve had a stressful day,” I said.

I heard Anna at my side giving a small sniff of disapproval.

Fiona touched my arm and moved me to one side.

“You always understand, Julia. I wish I was more like you. I just wanted today to be perfect for Megan-Rose. I’m not very good at showing how I feel about her, I know I spend too much money on her and not enough time.”

“I’m sure she appreciates it,” I said.

“I hope so. It’s been difficult these last months, doing everything on my own.”

I had noticed the absence of Fiona’s husband but I didn’t like to ask where he was. I didn’t need to.

“Mr Doyle has been working overseas for months now. He couldn’t even find the time to come back for his only daughter’s birthday,” Fiona said sadly.

I was shocked to see her like this. Fiona was one of the strongest women I knew.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and have a lie down for a while. The party is going well, everyone’s enjoying themselves. We can take care of everything,” I offered.

“Oh! I couldn’t. What would people say?” Fiona looked mortified.

“They can say what they like. You’ve just given one of the best children’s parties that people around here have seen. Even Kim Blackburn seems impressed!”

Fiona smiled. “That woman is never impressed with anything, she always thinks she can do better. I’m sure she’ll be planning little Lily’s next birthday party to be better and bigger than this one.”

“You’ll never please everyone, so don’t even try,” I told Fiona. “Now go upstairs and have a lie down for thirty minutes. The world won’t stop because you have a rest.”

Fiona put her hand to her forehead. “Perhaps you’re right. I can feel a bit of a headache coming on. I’ll just lie down for a while. Are you sure everything will be alright down here?”

“I’m certain,” I said and I gave Fiona a gentle push towards the stairs.

“Will you come and check on me in thirty minutes please? If I’m not awake, give me a shove.”

“Will do,” I promised.

But I broke my promise. We were so busy tidying up that I forgot to check on Fiona in thirty minutes, it was nearer to one hour.

And when I did check on her, it was too late.

Fiona was dead.

Chapter 6

When I walked into Fiona’s bedroom to check on her, I knew immediately that something was wrong. The air felt too still and quiet. It took me a moment to realise that even though I could see Fiona lying on the bed, I couldn’t hear her breathing.

I walked slowly over, dreading what I knew I was going to find.

Fiona was staring up at the ceiling, her mouth was open as if gasping for breath. I checked her pulse. As I suspected, there wasn’t one.

It wasn’t the first time I’d found a dead body so I had an idea of what to do. I didn’t touch anything in Fiona’s bedroom in case the police wanted to check for fingerprints.

I left the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

As I approached Anna she must have known something was wrong by the look on my face.

“Something terrible has happened,” I told her.

Anna’s hands flew to her chest. “Food allergies! Is some poor child in hospital because I gave them the wrong food? It’s not my fault, I double checked everything on the list that Fiona Doyle gave me.”

“It’s not a child,” I said.

Anna wasn’t listening. “I’ll be sued! The parents round here have got loads of money for fancy solicitors. They’ll take everything! I can’t afford to be sued, Julia!”

I was almost tempted to slap her, like they do in old black and white movies. But I was quite sure she’d slap me back, harder.

“Be quiet!” I hissed. “It’s nothing to do with you. It’s Fiona, she’s dead.”

“Dead? Did she eat some of my food?” Anna panicked.

“It’s nothing to do with your food! I’ve got to phone the police without anyone knowing about Fiona, especially Megan-Rose. Can you politely ask people to leave quickly? Without anyone getting suspicious? And don’t let anyone go upstairs.”

“I’ll try,” Anna said. She looked a bit calmer now she knew she wasn’t going to be sued.

Anna walked towards the guests, she had an abnormally large smile on her face as she talked to them. She looked quite scary but whatever she said must have worked because people began to say their goodbyes to each other.

I went into the kitchen to use the phone there. I spoke to the police, they said they’d send someone round immediately.

I glanced through the kitchen window. It was open and I could see somebody on the patio. Had they heard me on the phone just now? I moved closer to the window to see who it was.

It was Kim Blackburn. She had turned slightly away from me but I could see what was in her hand.

It was Fiona’s phone. It was quite distinctive and I recognised it immediately. Kim was scrolling down and reading things. It looked like she was reading Fiona’s messages or contacts.

Why would Kim Blackburn be doing that?

Chapter 7

I went outside and over to Kim. She was too engrossed in Fiona’s phone to notice me standing there.

I gave a polite cough.

Kim froze. Then she looked up from the phone. I noticed her cheeks getting redder.

“Isn’t that Fiona’s phone?” I asked.

“Yes! Yes it is. She said I could have a look at it. I wanted to know who she’d used for Megan-Rose’s party, you know, party planners, caterers, entertainers etc. Hasn’t it been a wonderful party? I’ve never seen anything like it! My Lily would love something like this, she’s only two but you’re never too young for a party!”

“When did Fiona say you could look at her phone?” I asked. The Fiona I knew would never have agreed to that.

“I popped into her bedroom and saw she was having a nap. Her phone was next to her so I thought I’d have a quick peep. I’m sure Fiona won’t mind. You won’t tell her, will you? I can put it back before she wakes up.” Kim was beginning to get more flustered.

I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her that Fiona was dead. I would leave that to the police.

From what Kim had just admitted to me I thought she could be a suspect. I would let the police know about this conversation when they arrived.

I put my hand out and said, “Why don’t I give it back to Fiona? Save you the trouble.”

Kim looked at the phone as if there was more she wanted to look at, but then she must have thought it would be less trouble for her if I took the phone.

With a false smile she handed me the phone.

“I must go and find Bob. He gets worried when he can’t see where I am. He’s so possessive!” she trilled. She tottered past me and into the kitchen.

I wasn’t sure about Bob being possessive. Whenever I’d seen Mr and Mrs Blackburn together he seemed to have eyes for any other woman but his wife.

I went back inside and found Anna.

“Nearly everyone’s gone,” Anna told me. “But Julia, I think we’ve made a terrible mistake.”

“Why?” I asked.

“One of these guests have probably killed Fiona, and we’ve let them go! What will the police say?”

I had thought of that too but I knew we had names and addresses of everyone who attended the party. Fiona had made sure that someone marked down who arrived so that she could send thank you letters after the event. Also, there had been many photos taken during the party. So if someone declared that they weren’t at the party I’m sure we could prove that they were.

I really hoped it wouldn’t come to that though, or I’d be in big trouble with the police.

Anna nudged me. “I think the police have arrived.”

“Where’s Gina and Megan-Rose? They need to be told about Fiona first,” I said.

Anna pointed over to the corner of the room. Megan-Rose was sitting on the floor surrounded by birthday presents. She was laughing and showing something that she’d just unwrapped to her Auntie Gina.

They had no idea that their world was about to collapse. I was so glad that I wasn’t going to be the one to tell them.

I hoped it wasn’t going to be DI Clarke who would be investigating this murder. We’d met a few times and he always made me feel guilty with his piercing stare.

I heard an commanding voice boom out, “Who told these people they could leave?”

I instantly recognised the voice, my heart sank.

Anna pointed meekly in my direction.

DI Clarke glared at me.  He stormed over and said, “Ms Blake! I don’t believe this. Did you find the body this time?”

I nodded and tried to smile. My smile failed.

“This is the third time in three months that this has happened to you. This is becoming quite a hobby, isn’t it?” the inspector said.

“I’m sorry, I’m not doing it on purpose,” I said quietly.

DI Clarke looked as if he was about to launch into a lecture, but someone stopped him by tugging on his coat sleeve.

It was Megan-Rose. “Have you found a body? In my house? Whose is it?”

Chapter 8

DI Clarke looked down at the little girl. His face softened and he smiled.

Gina came rushing over. She looked closer at the inspector. She must have soon realised who the body belonged to because she gave the inspector a small nod and then led Megan-Rose away.

“Where is the body?” DI Clarke asked me more quietly.

“This way,” I said and I headed towards the stairs. The inspector and two uniformed officers followed me. As we went upstairs I told the inspector who Megan-Rose was.

I led them into Fiona’s bedroom and without really needing to, I pointed to her lifeless body.

DI Clarke walked over to her. He stared at her face for a while and then said, “It looks like suffocation. The bedclothes aren’t disturbed too much so it looks like she didn’t thrash about. She was probably asleep, or nodding off to sleep when someone came in and put a pillow over her face. She most likely didn’t see her killer.”

“Do you think they used the pillow next to her?” I asked. I had noticed Fiona’s lipstick on the adjacent pillow.

DI Clarke nodded. He told one of the officers to take the pillow away as evidence.

“How long had she been upstairs, Ms Blake?” he asked.

“Not long, about one hour. She wasn’t feeling well so I suggested she had a lie down. I wish I hadn’t now.”

“Did anyone come upstairs whilst the victim was having a lie down?”

“Fiona, she was called Fiona Doyle. The only person for sure that I know about is Kim Blackburn.” I then told him about the phone incident.

“Have you still got the phone?”

I told him yes and then handed it over.

DI Clarke looked at the phone for a while and then said, “Do you think Kim Blackburn had a motive to kill Fiona? Had you heard them arguing about anything?”

“No, Kim gave the impression that she was always best friends with Fiona. Fiona didn’t feel the same way, she told me several times. She said Kim was like a leech that would latch onto her and copy her in any way she could.”

“I’ll be having a word with Kim Blackburn. I take it she’s one of the people you told to leave the party?” DI Clarke asked me with a glint in his eyes.

I felt my cheeks go warm. “Yes, but she only lives next door.”

DI Clarke had a quick look around the room. “We’ll have to question everyone about their movements, see if anyone else came upstairs.”

“Somebody must have. Look, there’s a glass of water on the bedside table,” I pointed out.

“Couldn’t Fiona Doyle have brought that up herself?” DI Clarke questioned.

“She could have but she always uses a coaster, she keeps them inside the table drawers. Fiona was quite fussy about things like coasters.”

DI Clarke considered that for a moment, then he told the same officer to take the glass too.

“We need to examine this room a bit more but I shall have to tell that little girl about her mother, before anyone else does,” the inspector said.

We went back downstairs. Anna was waiting for us with a worried look on her face.

“I’ve just remembered something that I saw earlier, when Fiona was having a rest upstairs,” Anna began.

“Go on,” the inspector said.

“I saw someone go upstairs with a glass of water. It was Fiona’s sister, Gina.”

Chapter 9

“Where is this Gina?” DI Clarke asked.

I pointed over to where Gina was. She was sitting on the carpet next to Megan-Rose. Megan-Rose was looking at a doll that someone had bought her.

“Does Gina know about her sister?” DI Clarke asked.

“No, but I think she might suspect, considering police officers are in the house and Fiona is nowhere to be seen.”

“There’s no need to be sarcastic, Ms Blake, a simple ‘no’ would have done. I’ll break the news to both of them.”

“Shall I come with you?” I offered.

“I can manage, I’ve done this many times before. Too many times. Ms Blake, this investigation has nothing to do with you now. You can go home. If I need anything else I’ll get in touch.”

“That told you,” Anna whispered to me.

The inspector started to walk towards Gina and Megan-Rose. I suddenly remembered something. I grabbed his sleeve.

He stopped in surprise and looked at me, and then pointedly looked down at his sleeve.

“Sorry,” I quickly said and let go of his sleeve, “but I need to tell you something about Gina. She gave birth to Megan-Rose, she was a surrogate for Fiona.”

“And?” DI Clarke said.

“What if she’s actually Megan-Rose’s real mother? Fiona was going to send Megan-Rose away. If Gina was the real mum, wouldn’t that give her a motive to kill Fiona?”

DI Clarke’s eyebrows raised. “As I’ve just told you, Ms Blake, you’re free to go home. I’m the one investigating this case. Goodbye.”

I opened my mouth to say more. Anna gently pulled me back.

“You’ll get yourself into trouble if you’re not careful,” she said.

“But I want to find out who killed Fiona. I liked her, and I don’t want her killer to go free!”

“I’m sure the police know what they’re doing. You’re working for me today. Come on, we need to tidy up.” Anna pushed me towards the food table.

I sighed when I saw the mess.

Anna bossily kept on at me until I helped her clean the mess up. I noticed that DI Clarke took Gina and Megan-Rose into another room to break the news to them.

About thirty minutes later we were ready to leave.

“I’ll just let Gina know we’re leaving,” I called out and walked quickly away before Anna could stop me.

I found Gina in the family room. She was alone with Megan-Rose. Megan-Rose was sitting on Gina’s knee and silently crying.

Gina was stroking her hair.

I couldn’t intrude on such a private moment so I turned away.

As I did so I heard Gina say to Megan-Rose, “It’s okay, my darling. Everything is going to be okay. I promised you that, didn’t I? I’ll look after you now. No one loves you more than me.”

Chapter 10

I couldn’t stop thinking about Fiona for the rest of the day. I hoped that DI Clarke found the murderer soon.

I was still feeling sad when I got home. I took my coat off and hung it up. A card fell out of the pocket, it was Clara Chuckle’s business card. She had a website listed.

I was sure that looking at Clara’s website would cheer me up so I powered up my computer.

My computer is quite old and takes a good five minutes to warm up so I made myself a cup of tea whilst I was waiting. One of these days I would have to buy a new computer.

When the computer was ready to work I logged onto Clara’s website. It was bright and colourful, it reminded me a bit of some of Fiona’s websites that she designed.

A heavy feeling settled in my stomach as I thought of Fiona again. She was going to help me update my website, mine was very basic as I had done it myself. I couldn’t afford Fiona’s professional designer fees, but she had agreed to give me some advice and tips.

That wasn’t going to happen now.

I didn’t feel like looking at Clara’s website anymore, I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate the videos that she’d put on. I’d look at them another time.

I decided to sort my things out for the following day. I checked my diary to see what I had booked. I had some lovely clients in the morning, nothing too strenuous.

Then I groaned. Oh, not her! I’d forgotten all about that appointment.

Kim Blackburn had been bothering me for months to give her a quote for cleaning her house. I’m sure she only wanted me to do it because Fiona employed me. Every time I went to Fiona’s house to clean I noticed that Kim was also cleaning some part of her house. She didn’t really need me to clean for her.

I’d made the appointment last week but thought I’d be able to get out of it when the appointment came round.

Never mind. I’d go and make the best of it.

She’d probably want to talk about Fiona’s death and try to get all the gory details.

Perhaps I could question her? Find out exactly why she wanted Fiona’s phone. Maybe discover what she was hoping to find on it.

The thought that I could help the murder investigation made me feel a bit better. I decided to ignore the fact that DI Clarke told me to leave the investigation to him.

Chapter 11

I had a full morning with my regular clients and then I headed over to Kim Blackburn’s. When I pulled up in her drive I noticed that DI Clarke’s car was parked outside Fiona’s house.

“I wonder what he’s doing in there,” I said to myself.

I got out of my car and walked up to the front door. It opened before I had chance to knock.

Kim Blackburn gave me an over bright smile. “Julia! I thought you’d forgotten our appointment. You’re a few minutes late.”

I looked at my watch. It was two minutes past the hour. “I do apologise, Mrs Blackburn.”

“That’s okay but if you do end up working for me I’ll expect you to be on time,” she said.

She opened the door wider and gestured for me to enter.

I made up my mind at that moment that I wouldn’t be adding her to my list of clients. I already had more than enough work to keep me busy, and I didn’t like being spoken to in that way.

However, I had an ulterior motive in talking with Kim so I put my best smile on and entered her house.

The first thing I noticed was a Chinese vase on the hall table. It was exactly like the one that Fiona had in her house.

And was that the same print of an orchid on the wall that Fiona had?

Kim was talking as she walked in front of me, “I’d like the skirting boards done every two weeks, the walls dusted down every month...”

I wasn’t really concentrating, I was too busy noticing all the similar things that Kim had in her house that Fiona had in hers. Who bought them first? My money was on Fiona.

We entered the formal dining room. It was spotless. Kim stopped walking and turned around to face me. She looked sad, but it looked like a false sadness because her eyes were twinkling.

“Isn’t it tragic about Fiona? I’m still in shock. Imagine dying like that, with a pillow over your face.”

“How do you know how she died?” I asked.

“That lovely policeman came round yesterday to question me. He asked me to clear up that misunderstanding about the phone. He seemed happy with my explanation.”

I wasn’t happy with her explanation, I was sure she was lying.

Kim carried on, “I wonder who will look after poor Megan-Rose now. I bet Gina will. She’s been more like a mother to that child than Fiona was. I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but she spent too much time at work. I make sure I spend quality time with my little Lily everyday.”

“Whether she wants it or not!” a voice boomed out behind us.

It was Bob Blackburn. He looked me up and down and smirked. It made my stomach heave a little.

Kim flushed. “I wasn’t expecting you home so early, darling. I’m just asking Julia here for a quote to clean the house.”

“Great idea! Why don’t you come into my office, Julia dear, and we’ll discuss the money side of things. Kim’s no good with stuff like that. This way,” Bob indicated towards a door.

“I’ll come with you,” Kim quickly said.

“No need, we can manage. Be a love and put the kettle on. I could do with a cuppa,” Bob said to his wife. His eyes were still on me.

Kim blinked rapidly a few times and then she walked away.

Bob put his hand on my back and led me forwards. It felt too intimate a gesture and I felt like slapping his hand away.

A few minutes later I did actually slap him.

Chapter 12

Bob led me into his office, his hand still placed on my back.

He closed the door behind us and then walked in front of me. He leant against his desk, his legs spread wide, an evil glint in his eyes. He smiled.

“So, Julia,” he began. He looked me up and down again.

I crossed my arms protectively.

“What sort of work do you offer?” he asked.

“The usual kind of cleaning work, dusting, vacuuming, polishing.”

He grinned. “Anything else?”

“It depends what you want. I’d be happy to consider most things. But not ironing, I don’t do that,” I told him.

Bob stood up straight and walked slowly towards me. I could see his big tummy straining against his shirt.

He licked his lips. “How about any extra work? Just for me?”

I looked around his office and said, “I can clean in here too.”

Bob laughed. “I don’t mean cleaning, Julia. I think you know what I mean. Shall I spell it out for you?”

I knew from the way he was looking at me what he meant. I could actually feel my toes curling up in disgust. I wasn’t going to be intimidated by the likes of Bob Blackburn!

I took a step closer and looked him right in the eye. “I’d like you to tell me exactly what you mean.”

Bob gave a sly grin and then told me exactly what he wanted me to do.

That’s when I slapped him. Hard. I was secretly pleased to see that I left a red hand mark on his fleshy cheek.

“What was that for?” Bob’s hand flew to his injured cheek.

“For insulting me. I certainly won’t be doing any kind of cleaning work for you, or your wife, ever!” I said and I stormed out of the room.

Straight into Kim Blackburn. She must have been listening at the door.

“I knew it! You’re after my Bob!” she jabbed her finger at me.

“What?” I said incredulously. Had she looked at her husband recently?

“You’re just like that trollop, Fiona. She was after him too! She thought I didn’t notice how she looked at him!”

“What?” I said again.

“My Bob said she was always texting him, asking him to come over. I knew what she was after!” Kim was almost screeching.

Bob came to his office door. He took one look at Kim’s red face and quickly closed the door.

Coward.

“How do you know Fiona was sending him texts? Is that what you were looking at yesterday, on Fiona’s phone?” I asked.

“Well, I had to check, didn’t I?”

“And what did you find?”

“She’d deleted them all! Because she had something to hide, obviously.”

It wasn’t obvious to me at all. I was quite sure that Bob wasn’t Fiona’s type. I’m not sure he was anyone’s type. Apart from Kim.

“Why did you think Fiona was after Bob?” I asked.

“He was always going round there. He said she’d asked him for help with little jobs.” Kim had calmed down a bit by now.

I knew that Fiona kept a list of contractors in her kitchen, everything from electricians to  plumbers. It didn’t make sense that she would ask Bob for help. It sounded to me like it was Bob who was after Fiona. And Bob was in her house on the day of her murder.

An awful scene came into my mind. Perhaps Fiona had been having a lie down when Bob came into the room. Bob might have tried to get into bed with her but Fiona pushed him away. Bob could have lost his temper and suffocated Fiona.

Or Kim could have been so consumed with jealously that she killed Fiona. She had been in Fiona’s room and picked up her phone.

I had a sudden desire to leave the Blackburn’s house.

I didn’t need to think of an excuse.

Kim put her nose in the air and said, “I don’t want you to clean my house. I can’t employ someone who I don’t trust. I’ve seen how you look at Bob.”

With disgust, I thought to myself.

“It’s alright, Mrs Blackburn, I wasn’t going to offer my services to you anyway. Goodbye.”

I left the house with a feeling of relief.

Chapter 13

DI Clarke’s car was still parked outside Fiona’s house. I decided he should know about my suspicions over the Blackburns.

Gina answered my knock at the door. She looked terrible, as if she’d been crying all day. I explained why I was there.

“The inspector is in Fiona’s office, looking through some paperwork. Can I get you a cup of tea, Julia?”

“That would be lovely, thank you,” I said.

I followed Gina into the kitchen and waited while she made us both a cup of tea. We sat down at the table.

“How are you? And how’s Megan-Rose?” I asked.

“We’re both heart broken. Megan-Rose cried herself to sleep last night. This is going to be awful for her, every year on her birthday she will remember that this was the day that her mum died.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said.

Gina sipped her tea.

“Is Megan-Rose’s father coming home?” I asked.

“He’s flying in tomorrow,” Gina said. “Can you believe it, he said he had an important meeting today that he just couldn’t cancel! His daughter needs him and he isn’t here.”

Gina had a bitter look on her face.

“Thank goodness you’re here,” I said. “Megan-Rose needs her auntie.”

“Auntie...yes...that’s me,” Gina said thoughtfully.

“Who will look after her? Will her father be at home more?”

“I doubt it. He seems to forget that he has a daughter. Fiona was planning to send her away to boarding school. He’ll probably still go ahead with that.”

“You’ll miss her if that happens. You two seem very close,” I said carefully.

Gina gave me a searching look. I began to feel uncomfortable.

“You know, don’t you?” she said.

“I don’t know anything,” I replied.

“But you suspect, don’t you?”

I sighed. May as well admit the truth. “I suspect that you’re Megan-Rose’s real mum.”

Gina gave a little smile. “I am. The truth will probably come out soon. Do you know all about the surrogacy business? That I bore Megan-Rose for Fiona?”

I nodded.

“It was Fiona’s idea. I found out I was pregnant from a one night stand. It’s not like me to have one night stands! I don’t know what came over me that night. Anyway, there I was, pregnant with no father on the scene. I can’t remember his name, never mind what he looked liked. I told Fiona and she came up with this surrogacy plan.”

“Couldn’t you have had the baby and looked after her yourself?” I asked.

“I was too embarrassed. I had no money and no job. Fiona was very persuasive. She said I could live nearby and see Megan-Rose every day. It seemed the best solution for everyone.”

“Didn’t Fiona want her own children?”

“She married for money, not love. Her and Richard are seldom in the same country,” Gina said.

“Do you regret giving her up?” I asked.

“Every day,” Gina looked down at the table.

“Can’t you tell the truth now? You could have full custody of Megan-Rose,” I pointed out.

Gina said, “Fiona had a contract drawn up. I don’t even know if it’s possible to gain custody.”

I put my hand on top of Gina’s. “You have to try. She’s your daughter.”

Gina nodded. “You’re right. But I can’t tell Megan-Rose just yet. It’s a lot for a little girl to take in, especially when she’s still grieving over Fiona. Thanks for listening, Julia.”

“You’re welcome. I wonder if the inspector is free yet?” I said.

I said goodbye to Gina and left the kitchen. I had to go past the stairs to get to Fiona’s office. As I did so I thought I heard footsteps upstairs.

DI Clarke must be up there, I thought and I headed up the stairs.

As I got to the top of the stairs I saw someone coming out of Fiona’s bedroom.

It wasn’t DI Clarke.

Chapter 14

A woman stared at me. She looked familiar.

She smiled. “Hello, it’s Julia Blake, isn’t it?”

I nodded. This was awkward. She knew me but I couldn’t place her.

“Are you with DI Clarke?” I asked.

“Yes, yes I am. I’d better go downstairs before he starts yelling at me!” she said and she quickly walked past me and down the stairs.

I wondered what she had been doing in Fiona’s room. Had the police found new evidence?

I looked behind me, no one was coming up the stairs. I went into Fiona’s room.

The bed had been stripped. Evidence I presumed. I had a swift look around, I couldn’t see that anything else was missing.

Something scurried across the carpet. It was a spider. It scuttled under the bed.

“Not you again,” I said to it. I wasn’t sure if it was the same spider that I’d seen in the kitchen yesterday but I knew I’d have to get rid of it. Fiona couldn’t stand spiders. She was dead but I could do this last thing for her.

I got down on my knees and peered under the bed. I saw the spider and reached out towards it. I tried to grab it but the pesky little thing ran away. As it ran towards the wall I noticed something lying on the carpet. As my arm was outstretched I picked it up and brought it towards me.

I sat back on my heels and examined it.

It couldn’t be!

I blinked and looked again.

Not her? Surely.

But how else would it have got here?

There was no time to lose, she could already have left the house.

I stood up and ran down the stairs.

Where was DI Clarke? He wasn’t in Fiona’s office. Or in the kitchen.

I looked in the room where the party had been held the previous day. The woman I’d met coming out of Fiona’s room was on her hands and knees, peering under a table.

I walked over to her and said, “Are you looking for this?”

She turned around and looked at me. She saw what I was holding out. She stood up and faced me.

“Where did you find that? I’ll need to give it to the inspector,” she said.

“You don’t work for the inspector though, do you? You had me fooled for a moment but now I recognise you. You’re Clara Chuckles. You look different without your clown make up on.”

Clara gave a little smile. She was still looking at the red pompom that I was holding out.

“Is this yours?” I asked. “It looks just like the one you had on your shoes at the party yesterday.”

Clara thought for a few seconds and then said, “Yes, it’s mine. I lost it somewhere.”

“I found it in Fiona’s bedroom. Under her bed. What were you doing in there?”

Clara folded her arms. “I don’t have to answer to you.”

I took a big breath and asked the question that I was thinking, “Did you kill Fiona?”

Clara sneered. “Why would I kill her? I didn’t know her.”

A thought came to me. “You have similar websites. Fiona had special features that were unique to her style, I noticed you had something like that on your site.”

Clara didn’t respond so I carried on, “Although of course, Fiona’s style was more professional. I don’t mean to be rude but yours was more amateur. Did you copy one of Fiona’s websites?”

Clara practically erupted, “I didn’t copy her! She stole the designs from me!”

“So you did know her.”

Clara glared at me, a cold look in her eye. “We used to work together years ago. We were partners, or so I thought. She stole my designs and claimed them as her own. When I got wise to her she framed me for a theft from a big client. I had to leave the company that we’d set up together. I couldn’t get a reference so I’ve had to do stupid little jobs, just to bring money in.”

I didn’t like the look on her face so I took a step back and said again, “Did you kill Fiona?”

“Yes I did. I didn’t plan it though. I didn’t even know that Fiona lived here until I turned up on the doorstep yesterday. She didn’t recognise me, she didn’t even give me a second glance.”

Clara looked around the room we were in. “Look what she ended up with. The perfect house, the perfect life. This is what I would have had, what I should have had if it wasn’t for her. As the party went on I suppose I got more angry. I saw her going upstairs and decided to tell her who I was, and how she’d ruined my life. When I saw her lying down with her eyes closed...”

“I don’t want to hear any more,” I said. “I’ll have to let DI Clarke know what you’ve just told me.”

Clara gave me a knowing smirk. “I’ll deny it. It’s your word against mine.”

I held up the pompom. “And what about this?”

“You removed it from Fiona’s room. Now there’s no evidence to say that I was ever there.”

A cold feeling washed over me as I realised she was right.

Chapter 15

“She’s right. So it’s a good job I overheard everything,” a voice said behind us.

It was DI Clarke.

“I was standing in the hallway, I heard everything.” He turned to me and stared at me intensively until I began to squirm. “Ms Blake, don’t ever remove evidence like that again. You could have seriously jeopardised this case.”

“I won’t,” I mumbled. I passed the pompom to him.

DI Clarke turned to Clara and read her her rights. She didn’t even look sorry. The friendly clown look had definitely gone.

Two uniformed officers led her away, leaving me with DI Clarke.

“Alright, you can give me a lecture. I know I got in your way. I know you told me to keep my nose out. I can’t help it if I find out things, can I?” I said.

He said, “You seem to get yourself involved quite easily in other people’s business.”

I nodded. That was true.

He went on, “I just wanted to say thank you. If you hadn’t found that little fluffy ball then we wouldn’t have found out who killed Fiona.”

“So it was a good job that I was around.”

“ Don’t push your luck. Don’t be offended, but I hope I won’t be seeing you anytime soon. Goodbye.”

I smiled as the inspector walked away. At least I’d got a thank you.

Gina walked into the room with Megan-Rose. They were holding hands.

Gina said, “I am going to do that thing that we talked about earlier. I’ve made an appointment with a solicitor. It’s my duty to look after this little one. Will you still come back and clean Fiona’s house until we get everything sorted out? I don’t know if Richard is going to sell it yet.”

“Of course I will. And if you need anyone to talk to...about that thing you’re going to do...I’ll be more than happy to listen to you.”

Gina smiled. “Thank you, Julia. You’re a good listener. I bet people tell you their problems all the time.”

They did. And I was finding more often that their problems were leading to murder.

I hoped this was the last one that I became involved in.

I had a nagging feeling that it wouldn’t be.

About the author

I’ve always loved mystery stories and used to devour Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books when I was young. When I got older I discovered Agatha Christie. Some of her plots can be confusing but her characters are so vivid and full of life, apart from the murdered ones of course. My favourite detective has to be Hercule Poirot as I love the methodical way that he solves mysteries.

I’ve wanted to write murder mysteries for a long time - and now I have!

Julia Blake’s first story ‘Virtually Scared To Death’

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Julia Blake’s second story ‘A Deadly Renovation’

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To see more of my work, and to connect with me, please visit :

www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

Best wishes

Gillian

A PARTY TO DIE FOR

By

GILLIAN LARKIN

KINDLE EDITION

www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

Published by Gillian Larkin on Kindle

Copyright 2013 by Gillian Larkin

Cover illustration by Vectorstock.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronically or mechanical without permission from the author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About the author

Copyright