Julia Blake – Virtually Scared To Death

Chapter 1

“You’re not supposed to kill the fairies, you’re supposed to save them!”

“But they keep getting in the way. I’m trying to get to the diamonds,” I said.

“Every time you kill a fairy you add 30 seconds to your time. And if you kill more than ten fairies, which you nearly have, you’ll have to go back to level 1,” Mark patiently explained to me.

I took my hands away from the keyboard. “I give up! It’s too frustrating. I don’t know how you can play these games all day, let alone design them.”

“It’s fun, once you get the hang of it. Making virtual worlds is great, you can do what you like,” Mark  said with a grin.

I stood up. “I’d better get on. You pay me to clean your home, not to play games.”

“It’s my fault for slowing you down. My latest game is nearly finished and I wanted to see how someone ... less experienced would cope with the beginning,” Mark said.

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment! Shall I clean the bathroom this time?” I asked.

Mark nodded and then said, “Sit down a minute, Julia. I wanted to ask you something. It sounds silly but I’ll ask you anyway. Do you believe in ghosts?”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. I sat back down and waited for him to continue.

Mark looked nervous as he carried on, “It’s probably my imagination but I’m sure I can hear things, and sometimes I see things.”

“What things?” I asked.

“I hear a little girl crying for help. And then I hear screams and the sound of machinery.”

I looked around the apartment. “Well, you are living in a converted mill. I think young children used to work in mills like these. You might have a ghost of some poor child who got trapped in a machine and was mangled to death.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better at all!” Mark said. “It’s probably nothing. I haven’t been sleeping well and it’ll be my imagination working overtime. One more thing, a favour?”

I looked at my watch. I would be late for my next cleaning job if I didn’t hurry up here.

“It won’t take long,” Mark said. “I’d like your unbiased opinion on the complete version of this game. From a beginner’s point of view.”

“As someone a bit dim?” I said with a smile.

“I never said that! You’re not dim at all. Someone intelligent who can tell me if the game doesn’t make sense in parts. I can email you the prototype version and you could have a quick look. You’d be doing me a big favour,” Mark said.

“Don’t you have someone to do that for you? A games expert?” I asked.

Mark frowned. “I do, but I’ve got a feeling that they’re not as trustworthy as they used to be.”

I was flattered that Mark would trust me with his latest game creation. “Okay. I’ll do it. It might take me a few days to look at it properly.”

Mark smiled. “Thanks Julia, you’re probably thinking I’ve gone mad. Talking about ghosts and thinking my colleagues are out to get me.”

I smiled back. I didn’t think Mark was mad, but he certainly wasn’t his normal cheerful self.

“I’ve got your email haven’t I?” Mark asked.

I nodded.

There was a loud beeping noise and a man’s face appeared on the computer screen in front of us.

It was Jasper Parker. He grinned at me like a crocodile would grin at its next meal.

“Why, if it isn’t the delectable Julia,” Jasper said, he  almost licked his lips.

I shivered. There was something about Jasper that I just didn’t like.

Chapter 2

I said a polite hello to Jasper and then stood up. “I’ll leave you to your call,” I said to Mark.

I walked to the kitchen area and picked up my cleaning supplies. I didn’t mean to be nosey but I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mark and Jasper. Mainly because Jasper was shouting.

“Come on, man! The game must be nearly ready by now. I’ve got three companies in Japan waiting to buy it. I can get you big money! You don’t have to do anything, let me do it all the talking,” Jasper was saying.

Mark quietly answered, “I’ve told you before, I’m using the local company that I’ve always used. They supported me when I first started out and I’m more than happy to stay with them. Have you heard the word ‘loyalty’ before, Jasper?”

Jasper snorted. “Loyalty won’t make you rich. Just say yes and I’ll get things moving.”

I didn’t want to hear anymore so I took my cleaning things into the bathroom. I closed the door behind me so I didn’t have to listen to Jasper badgering Mark.

It didn’t take me long to clean the bathroom. I straightened some bottles and had a wipe around. I suspected that Mark cleaned his apartment before I came round so that he could have more time to chat with me. It must be lonely working from home.

Jasper was still arguing with Mark when I came out of the bathroom. I raised my hand in farewell to Mark. He waved back.

There was a knock at the door. I motioned to Mark that I would open it.

I opened the door to Annabel Christie. She did her usual examination of me, looking me up and down, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

My own nose wrinkled. Annabel’s perfume was obviously expensive but it was so overpowering that it made my eyes water.

Annabel clutched her handbag closer and said, “Hello Julia. Don’t you have some ... scrubbing to do?”

“I certainly do,” I said, trying to smile. “Are you coming in?”

Annabel held her head up and walked past me.

I didn’t want to hang around and listen to the ex spouses arguing. Mark told me that Annabel only came round when she needed something, usually money. Even though I didn’t want to know, he told me how much maintenance he pays her. It was more per month than I made all year.

As I closed the door I heard Jasper calling out, “Annabel! How beautiful you look today? When are you going to come down to London and marry me?”

I laughed as Mark replied, “A train leaves every thirty minutes. I can book her a ticket straight away.”

Chapter 3

Mondays were my busiest days and I was exhausted when I got home. I checked my messages. None from my children. Too busy living it up at university no doubt. There was one from my dad.

I took my coat off, eased my shoes from my aching feet and then phoned my dad.

“Hello love. I’ve had a few calls about new cleaning jobs for you. I’ve got the names and addresses. You’ll have to get someone to work for you soon, you can’t keep putting in such long hours,” Dad said.

I collapsed onto the settee, “I know but I’m too busy working to find anyone.”

“I can do it,” Dad offered. “It’ll give me something to do.”

“Thanks Dad, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’ll come over this weekend and we’ll try and sort something out. How’s Mum?”

“She’s got head lice again. I’ve told her to keep away from the children in her class but she won’t listen to me. I’ll be glad when she retires from that school. I’ve had to go out and get that special shampoo again,” Dad complained. “The man at the shop laughed when he saw me. He said they should start delivering the stuff to me and save me the journey!”

We chatted for a little while longer. I took down the details of potential new clients and said goodbye to Dad.

I turned on my computer. It was so old that it needed five minutes to warm up. I went into the kitchen and put a ready meal in the microwave - tuna pasta bake. By the time it was cooked my computer was ready to go.

I logged onto my emails to see if there was anything urgent. I saw an email from Mark with the subject title ‘Here’s the game! Enjoy!’

I was far too tired to open the game now. I looked at the other emails. Nothing needed immediate attention so I turned the computer off and then tucked into my meal.

I wished later that I had opened Mark’s email straight away. Perhaps things might have turned out differently.

Chapter 4

I was back at Canal View Court on Thursday morning.

Steve, the caretaker, was standing outside the lift. He looked worried.

“Hi Steve, is something wrong?” I asked.

“Did you clean for Mark Castle on Monday?” he said.

“Yes. Why?” I put my cleaning bag down.

“Did he say anything about going away? On holiday perhaps?” Steve asked.

“No. He only tells me if it interferes with when I’m going to clean for him again,” I replied.

Steve pointed to a pile of post, “If Mark goes away he tells me to collect his post and to drop it into his apartment. Look at that pile. He hasn’t collected his post for 2 days now. And you know how particular he is about collecting his letters.”

“That is strange,” I agreed. “Have you knocked on his door?”

Steve nodded, “There’s been no answer but I’m sure I heard some sort of noise inside. I didn’t want to use my master key in case he was in the middle of one of those games of his. I wouldn’t want to disturb him.”

I picked up my cleaning bag. “I’m due at Ivy Brown’s apartment now. We can go and check on Mark on the way. If he’s in the middle of something, and we disturb him, I’ll tell him it was my idea to check on him.”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, “There’s something else. The master key to the apartments, I’ve lost it. Or it might have been stolen. I have a spare but my bosses will go crazy if they find out I’ve lost the original.”

“Where do you normally keep it?”

“On a hook in my office. And I keep my office locked. It’s a mystery. I’m sure I didn’t leave it anywhere,” Steve said worriedly.

“We can have a good look for your key later. Let’s go and check on Mark first,” I suggested.

We got into the lift.

On the way up Steve said, “I could do with some more of your business cards. We’ve got new people moving in and I always suggest you as a cleaner.”

I smiled. “I know you do, Steve, and I can’t thank you enough. I haven’t got any cards with me but I’ll drop some off next time.”

“You don’t have to pay me, you know, every time you get a new client through me,” Steve looked uncomfortable. “I don’t like taking your money, you work hard for it.”

“I absolutely insist on paying you. It’s only a small amount and I declare it on my taxes! I love cleaning these apartments. They’re much nicer than some of the places I’ve cleaned.”

We got out of the lift and walked towards Mark’s door. I could hear something.

“It sounds like the game Mark was showing me the other day,” I said.

“So he is away with his fairies! We don’t need to bother him,” Steve began to walk away.

All of a sudden I felt uneasy.

I stopped Steve. “I think you should open the door. I’ve got a feeling that something terrible has happened to Mark.”

Chapter 5

Mark was lying on the floor near his computer. I called out his name and ran over.

“Is he all right?” Steve’s voice trembled.

It didn’t take me long to discover that Mark was dead.

“You need to phone the police, and an ambulance,” I told Steve. I didn’t know what the procedure was for dealing with a dead body, I’d never found one before.

Steve walked over and crouched next to me. His hands shook as he touched Mark on the arm, “Is he ... dead?”

I nodded. “Do you want me to phone the police?”

Steve straightened up. “No, I’ll do it.”

He took out his phone and was soon talking to someone. I looked at Mark. His face was twisted. There was a bottle of pills lying open at his side. I recognised the bottle from his bathroom, but there was something different about the pills, they looked a darker blue than normal.

Steve finished on the phone. He walked closer to Mark and looked at his face.

“He looks like he’s been scared to death. Do you think it was his heart? He had a weak heart, you know.”

“I didn’t know, he never spoke about it. I noticed the pills in his bedroom, and the ones next to his bed. I didn’t like to ask him about them,” I answered.

Steve went on, “He used to work for a marketing firm in London. He told me it was a stressful job and he had to work long hours. His wife, well ex wife now, kept wanting more and more things. He had a heart attack when he was forty.”

“Is that why he works alone now? Less stress?” I asked.

“Must be. I think he has to keep taking tablets, to keep his heart healthy. My granddad has the same ones but they’re much stronger,” Steve said. Then he sighed, “If it was a heart attack, that’s an awful way to go, all on his own.”

I agreed. “What did the police say?”

“They’re sending someone round now. They said they’d get an ambulance sorted too. Will you be okay here on your own? I’ll go downstairs and wait for the police.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ll just ring Ivy Brown and let her know I’ll be late today.”

Steve left me alone with the dead body.

I wasn’t scared. It didn’t feel like a dead body. It was Mark. Someone who I’d become friends with over the years.

I looked around the room. I noticed the computer game was still playing. He must have been putting the final touches to it. I’m surprised the computer hadn’t gone into sleep mode if it hadn’t been touched for a while. Mine did.

I didn’t know how long Mark had been dead, although he’d felt cold when I checked him for vital signs.

If Mark had died from a heart attack, what had brought it on? His tablets were near by. If Mark took some at the onset of an attack, why didn’t they work?

I was beginning to get a peculiar feeling about Mark’s death.

Chapter 6

The police arrived within ten minutes.

A tall thin man approached me. “I’m Detective Inspector Clarke. Who are you and why are you contaminating the crime scene?”

“I was just making myself a cup of tea, for the shock,” I replied. I put the kettle down that I was just about to fill.

DI Clarke said loudly, “Don’t touch anything else! You could be destroying evidence.”

I felt guilty as I walked over to the inspector. He had such a stern look in his eyes that I felt I should be confessing to something.

I told him who I was and what I was doing there.

“Is this a crime scene? Is that why you’re here?” I asked.

DI Clarke gave me a stern look again. “We always investigate sudden deaths in people’s homes. Do you think it’s a crime? Do you know something that you want to tell us? How well did you know the deceased?”

I gulped. “Do I need a solicitor?”

DI Clarke said, “Do you think you need one?”

“No! I haven’t done anything. I came here to clean for Mrs Brown. I hadn’t seen Mark, Mr Castle, since Monday,” I gabbled on.

The inspector pointed to a nearby constable and said, “Take a full statement from Ms Blake here.”

The constable opened his notebook and began to ask me about what had happened from the moment I walked through Mark’s door. As I did so I remembered something about the tablets.

“It’s a new bottle,” I told the constable. “He didn’t need to open a new bottle. He had a half full one in the bathroom and one next to his bed. Why did he need to open a new bottle?”

The constable walked over to DI Clarke and said something quietly to him. DI Clarke nodded and the constable walked into the bathroom, and then the bedroom.

When he returned I heard him say to DI Clarke, “There are no other bottles anywhere.”

“Yes there are! I saw them on Monday,” I said.

DI Clarke gave me a searching look. Again I felt the need to confess. He said to the constable, “Bag the tablets on the floor and have them tested.”

Then the inspector walked over to me and said, “Tell me everything you know about Mark Castle. Did he have any enemies?”

“Do you suspect murder?” I asked.

“I’m not ruling it out at this stage,” the inspector said.

I frowned, “Who would want to murder Mark? He was one of the kindest people I knew.”

Chapter 7

I told the inspector that I had a cleaning job to go to and that I was already late.

He gave me his card and said, “We’ll probably need to speak to you again. If you can think of anything that could help, give me a ring on my direct line.”

I took the card, picked up my cleaning bag and walked up the next flight of stairs.

Ivy Brown was waiting for me at her open door.

“What’s going on down there?” she indicated down the stairs. “I saw the police cars from my window.”

I told Ivy what I knew, about Mark and his possible heart attack. I didn’t add anything about a suspicious death.

Ivy pursed her lips and folded her arms. “I bet he was murdered and it was probably that flashy ex wife of his. I’ve heard them arguing, you know. His apartment is right under mine. Well, I’ve heard her shouting at him. Always asking him for money. She probably did him in so she can have all his money.”

I gently pushed my way inside and started getting my cleaning things ready. The windows looked as if they could do with a polish.

Ivy followed me and carried on talking, “Did you know Mark was rich? You wouldn’t think so by the clothes he wore. He made a fortune from his computer games business. It wouldn’t surprise me if that ex wife of his had wangled herself onto his life insurance policy.”

I had found out more about Mark Castle in the last hour than I had in the two years that I cleaned for him.

Ivy’s eyes narrowed as she considered something, “One of my friends at work said there was a new game coming out from Mark, and it was supposed to be his best ever. Did he talk to you about it?”

I wasn’t going to tell Ivy about the fairy battle game. “He didn’t talk about his work. He always asked about my business. He gave me lots of marketing tips. He was a kind man.”

Ivy moved to the window and looked out. “I wonder how she did it? Has she got a key to his place? I’ve seen him go out to the gym over the road every other night. I bet she snuck in and did something.”

“Like what?” I asked. I finished the windows. I made a move towards the kitchen.

“I don’t know, but whenever I’ve seen her she has this sly calculating look in her eye,” Ivy said.

I glanced at my watch. I was running late again. I cleaned Ivy’s apartment as quickly as I could. I made sure I did a good job though, Ivy’s got eyes like a hawk.

I said goodbye to Ivy and made my way downstairs. I could have taken the lift but I was interested to see if the police had finished in Mark’s home.

As I walked casually past the door someone called my name. It was DI Clarke.

“Ms Blake! I need another word with you. Come here,” he ordered.

I entered the apartment and walked towards him. I was pleased to see that Mark’s body had been removed. The inspector was pointing at the game on the screen.

“Do you know anything about this game? It seems to be on an endless loop.”

I told the inspector what I knew about the game. As I was talking a loud bleeping noise came from the computer.

“What’s that?” the inspector asked.

“I think it’s a video call,” I said and I pressed the button that I had seen Mark press the other day.

Jasper Parker’s face came into view.

DI Clarke immediately began to interrogate him. I moved out of the way.

I listened as DI Clarke explained that Mark had died.

I heard Jasper’s booming voice in reply, “Well, that’s a tragedy! I knew Mark well. We were great friends. Do you know when the funeral will be? I’ll come up from London as soon as I can.”

I was standing near the window whilst the two men were talking. The chimes from Leeds Town Hall began to sound out the hour. I automatically began to count the bell notes.

I could hear a faint echo of the chimes. It was coming from somewhere in the room. I moved closer to the computer.

I could hear the chimes coming from the room that Jasper Parker was in. How could that be possible? He was supposed to be two hundred miles away.

Chapter 8

I didn’t have time to voice my concerns to the inspector. He finished talking to Jasper and then turned to me.

“Mr Parker has explained to us about how the game could be on a loop. You can leave now,” he said.

He turned his back on me and started to talk to someone in uniform.

Something was bugging me about Mark’s death. I felt there were things going on that needed to be explained. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that Jasper Parker was somehow involved. And what was it about those tablets? Why had Mark opened the new bottle if he had bottles already opened.

Unless someone had come into his apartment, removed the older tablets and then substituted them for tampered tablets!

I shook my head as I left the apartment and walked towards the lift. I was beginning to sound as suspicious as Ivy Brown.

I waved bye to Steve as I reached the ground floor. The constable who had spoken to me was now talking to Steve.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the tablets. Then I remembered something my dad said about having things delivered from the chemist. I wondered if Mark had his tablets delivered.

I’d seen the name of the chemist often on the bottles in his bathroom. Their shop was nearby.

I knew I was late for my next job but I just had to put my mind at rest.

I walked into the chemist shop. It was only small and there were two people behind the counter.

I didn’t want to give details of Mark’s death so I made up a story about my mum moving into Canal View Court.

“She needs a lot of medication but she can’t get out often. Can you deliver?” I asked the woman behind the counter. I secretly prayed that my mum wouldn’t need medication anytime soon.

The woman smiled at me. “We do deliver. In fact, we already have someone there that we deliver to.”

I pretended to looked concerned. “The last chemist we used gave the pills to a neighbour because Mum had popped out. I wouldn’t want her tablets to end up in the wrong hands.”

The woman nodded. “I quite understand. We make sure the patient, or a member of the patient’s family, sign for them.”

The young man standing next to her butted in, “That’s what happened to me last week, when I was delivering some tablets to Mr Castle. He lives at those fancy apartments.”

The woman tried to shush the chattering youth, “Stephen! We’re not supposed to mention names!”

Stephen gave a little grin and carried on, “I had just pressed the buzzer for Mr ... somebody’s door, when this lady saw me and said she was his wife. I asked her to confirm the name and address of the patient, for security reasons.”

Stephen glanced at the older woman to make sure he’d done the right thing. She gave a little nod.

“And this woman told me the name and address, even his date of birth. She said she’d sign for them and take them up to her husband.”

I didn’t like to say that Annabel Castle was actually the ex Mrs Castle, the young man looked as if he was in enough trouble already.

“Thanks for all your help. I’ll let my mum know about your delivery service.” I smiled and left the shop.

Now I was really worried. Annabel Castle had taken a delivery of tablets for Mark. She could have easily tampered with them.

Did she kill him?

Chapter 9

I returned to the apartments the following morning to deliver some of my business cards to Steve.

He was in his office, the door was open.

“Caught you!” I said. Steve was staring into space.

He spun around with a guilty look on his face. “Oh Julia! You scared the life out of me! I was just daydreaming about becoming a wealthy games designer like Mark. It must be great doing a job like that.”

“Wouldn’t you miss unblocking sinks and changing light bulbs?” I asked with a grin.

Steve smiled. “Of course, there’s nothing like being called out in the middle of the night because someone’s lost their key somewhere in Leeds. Talking of which, my master key that went missing has turned up. It’s right there, on that hook behind you. I don’t know how it went missing, or how it was returned without me knowing.”

I quickly thought of Annabel Castle, but I didn’t say anything.

“Did the police talk to you for long yesterday?” I asked.

Steve raised his eyebrows. “Did that DI Clarke speak to you?”

“Yes. I don’t know why but he made me feel guilty.”

“Me too. It was like he had x ray eyes. I mentioned to him about my granddad having similar tablets to Mark. He started asking when I last saw my granddad and if I had easy access to his tablets.”

I tutted.

“And then he sent someone round to my granddad’s to see if he had any tablets missing. Like I’d swapped Mark’s tablets for stronger ones! I thought he was going to lock me up as a suspect.”

“I’m sure they have to question everyone. Has Annabel Castle been here since Mark died?”

Steve thought for a while and said, “No, I haven’t seen her since Monday. I wonder if the police are going to talk to her too.”

I put some of my business cards on Steve’s desk and said, “I’ll leave you to your game.”

The sun was shining so I decided to walk into the centre of Leeds. The outdoor cafes were full. People had even taken their coats off. I didn’t have to be at my next cleaning job for a while and the thought of sitting outside, sipping a latte, appealed to me. I hadn’t slept well the previous night as I couldn’t stop thinking about Mark. I could do with something to wake me up a bit.

I walked along, trying to see which cafe had spaces.

Something stopped me in my tracks.

Annabel Castle was sitting outside one of the cafes. She wasn’t alone. Jasper Parker was sitting opposite her.

They were holding hands and smiling at each other.

Chapter 10

They were in it together!

I ducked into a nearby shop doorway, which was a mistake as a group of teenage girls were coming out. They rudely pushed into me and forced me back into the street.

I discreetly turned my back on Annabel and Jasper and walked down the street a little way.

I dug out DI Clarke’s card and phoned him.

“I’m not able to get to the phone right now. Please leave a message.”

I quickly left a message saying that I’d seen Annabel and Jasper together. Then I paused. It sounded like I was just gossiping. I ended the call. I didn’t know what DI Clarke would make of that message.

I decided to take some photos. Then I could prove that they were sitting together, and that Jasper wasn’t in London as he claimed.

It’s hard not to look suspicious when you’re taking photos on your own. A man stopped at my side as I raised my phone and aimed it towards the couple. He looked over to where I was looking. I glanced at him and gave him an annoyed look, but he didn’t move.

Then a woman stood next to him and looked over at Annabel and Jasper too.

“Who are they? Are they famous?” she asked. “They look famous.”

I ignored her and took a couple of shots.

Then the woman took her phone out and started taking pictures of the couple as well. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

A second later the man did the same thing.

“Can you stop that!” I hissed. “I’m trying to take secret photos.”

“Are you the press?” the woman asked, her eyes wide at the thought of seeing famous people in Leeds.

Within twenty seconds a small crowd had appeared at my side, all holding their phones up and taking photos.

I turned to the crowd and said as forcibly as I could, “Go away!”

They didn’t move.

I looked towards Annabel and Jasper. They had noticed the crowd, and they had noticed me.

Jasper looked furious. He stood up and began walking towards me.

I did the sensible thing. I ran away.

Chapter 11

DI Clarke never phoned me back. I was worried that Jasper would phone him and make a claim of harassment. I wasn’t looking forward to explaining myself to DI Clarke.

At home that night I spoke to my dad and took the messages that he’d kindly taken for me during the day.

“I’ve emailed you a job advert that I put together, for someone to help with your cleaning. See what you think. If it’s alright I’ll get it online tomorrow,” Dad said.

“Thanks Dad, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble, I really appreciate it,” I said.

When I’d finished talking to Dad I switched on my computer. It made a funny noise as it started up.

I pointed at it and said, “Don’t start messing about again or I’ll get a new one!”

I made a cup of tea while the computer decided to warm up. I logged onto my emails and read the job advert that Dad had written. It looked perfect. I emailed a reply back to him. I wrote ‘thank you’ about ten times.

Then I saw Mark’s email that he’d sent me the other day. A huge feeling of sadness washed over me. It was a peculiar feeling to read an email from someone who was now dead.

With a small sigh, I opened the email and read Mark’s message.

‘Hi Julia, thanks so much for agreeing to look at my game! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! It’s almost ready to be sold but I just wanted one last pair of eyes to scan it over. I trust your judgement – and your honesty. See you soon, Mark.’

I felt tears brimming up in my eyes.

I really didn’t feel like playing a game but felt like I owed it to Mark to at least give it a try.

There was a link at the bottom of the email. I clicked on it and then downloaded the game.

It took me a few minutes to get into the game and I wasn’t sure I was doing everything right.

Then my computer started making a chugging sort of noise.

“No! Not now!” I shouted at it.

I knew what was going to happen next. The annoying computer was going to freeze on me.

And it did. Sometimes it sorted itself out, and sometimes I had to reboot it. All I could do was wait.

I went into the kitchen to make another cup of tea. When I came back in I saw that my computer was still in frozen mode.

When I saw the image it had frozen on, I screamed and dropped my cup.

Chapter 12

Twenty minutes later I was letting DI Clarke into my house.

“What’s the emergency? Have you found another dead body?” he asked.

I led him into my front room where my computer was. I prayed that it hadn’t become unfrozen on its own.

It hadn’t.

I pointed to the screen and told the inspector that the image had come from Mark’s game.

“That’s a sick looking game. I hope there’s an age limit on it,” DI Clarke said.

“This isn’t the game that I was playing at Mark’s apartment. That one had fairies and goblins. This image was definitely not part of the game,” I explained.

We looked at the image. It was of a young girl, a girl that had been mutilated somehow. Her face looked out helplessly, her lips open as if she was saying something.

“Do you think she’s supposed to look like a child that worked at a mill? One that’s been injured?” I asked.

“That’s a peculiar thing to say.”

“When I was last at Mark’s he mentioned believing in ghosts. He said he kept hearing things, like a young girl crying and the sound of machinery. ” I looked at the inspector expectedly.

“Go on,” he said.

“I remember reading something about subliminal messages that had been broadcast at a cinema during the showing of a film. It showed images of a certain drink that could only be seen if the film was slowed down considerably. And then, after the film, people would go and buy the drink, and they didn’t know why.”

DI Clarke nodded, “Yes, I’ve heard about that but what’s it got to do with Mark Castle?”

“I think someone has put subliminal images, and maybe sounds, on Mark’s game. When he’s been working on it the images have been playing constantly. And when we found his body the game was on a continual loop. Do you think the images would be strong enough to scare him to death?” I asked.

DI Clarke looked deep in thought. After a while he said, “It’s possible. He could have been terrified by the background images so much that he needed his tablets.”

I nodded, “Yes! Of Course! Have you had the tablets tested yet?”

“Yes, they were four times the dose that Mr Castle takes,” DI Clarke admitted.

“Do you think Mark was murdered?”

“It’s staring to look that way. I’ll have to take your computer and get the game analysed.”

“It runs quite slow,” I warned him.

“Lucky for us that it does,” DI Clarke grimaced as he came closer to the image on the screen. “That really is quite disturbing.”

Whilst I helped the inspector unplug my computer I mentioned that I’d seen Jasper Parker in Leeds with Annabel Castle.

“Yes, he came into the station to complain about you. I’ll have to check the copy of Mr Castle’s game that he’s got.”

“Why would he have a copy?” I asked.

“Mark Castle gave him a copy shortly before he died so that he could sell it on his behalf,” DI Clarke said. “Jasper Parker claims he had a company ready to buy it.”

I stopped moving and asked, “Did he mention which company?”

“I can’t quite remember the name. It was some big Japanese name.”

I shook my head furiously. “No! That can’t be. Mark said he would never sell to a company like that. I think that Jasper Parker stole the game and somehow, he and Annabel Castle killed Mark!”

Chapter 13

The inspector warned me not to make such wild accusations. He left with my computer and said he’d be in touch soon.

It all made sense to me now.

Annabel switched the pills so that when Mark needed them he would end up taking a dose that was fatally too strong for him. Jasper had got a copy of the game and put subliminal messages and sounds on them. Mark could have been subjected to them for months and not known.

It took me a while to get to sleep that night. It wasn’t just the thought that Mark had been murdered, it was the image of the mutilated girl that kept flashing into my mind.

I was called into the police station the next day. I hoped it was to witness the arrest of Jasper and Annabel.

I was shown into DI Clarke’s office.

He invited me to sit down.

“We’ve had the game analysed and found many brutal images of that same girl and other children. If it’s any consolation they are computer generated images and not actual photographs. We found sounds as well. I won’t play them to you, they’re too disturbing.”

“Can you tell me what kind of sounds they are?” I asked.

“Like you’d image a factory to make. You know, like machinery moving. There’s also the sounds of children screaming and a little girl asking for help. If Mr Castle was subjected to this for a sustained period of time ... well, I’m surprised he didn’t go insane.” DI Clarke shook his head sadly.

“Who do you think put the images there? Jasper Parker?” I said.

“Mr Parker said he never saw the game until Mr Castle gave it to him recently. Mr Parker sent us a copy of the game that he received so that we could test it. There were no subliminal messages. Also, I mentioned your surprise about Mr Castle agreeing to sell the game to a Japanese company. Mr Parker was surprised too when he got Mr Castle’s email to confirm the sale.”

“Email? I though they had meetings via video call,” I said.

“Apparently they usually do, but this communication came through email,” DI Clarke replied.

“That means anyone could have sent it,” I pointed out. “Someone could have been waiting for Mark to die, and then hacked into his emails and sold the game to Jasper Parker.”

DI Clarke gave a little smile, “You’ve got an active imagination, Ms Blake. I thought of that too. I asked Mr Parker to give me the account number of where he transferred the two million pounds to.”

“Two million pounds! What was that for?” I said a little too loudly.

“That was just the signing fee for the sale of the game. Mr Parker was due to send another ten million once the deal had gone through. I advised him not to take the deal any further. He wasn’t happy about that,” DI Clarke said.

We were both quiet for a while as we thought about the amount of money involved.

“Oh! I’ve remembered something that Mark told me. I told you that he asked me to look at the game, didn’t I? He said he usually has someone else to look at his games. I got the impression that he didn’t trust his usual contact anymore. Perhaps Mark suspected someone was trying to steal his game.”

“That’s interesting. If someone had access to the game, or to his computer, they could have put the subliminal text and audio in without Mr Castle suspecting. We’ll have to look into that. Thank you, Ms Blake, you’ve been most helpful,” DI Clarke said. He got to his feet and opened the office door for me.

A furious looking Jasper Parker was on the other side.

He glared at me and said, “I want a word with you! You interfering witch!”

Chapter 14

Jasper launched into a full verbal attack.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been accusing me of murdering Mark Castle! How dare you? I could sue you for that. And what’s this about putting evil pictures and sounds inside his game? First of all, I wouldn’t even know how to do that. And secondly, Mark never showed his game to anyone whilst he was still working on it, only those few in his precious testing group!”

I stood back a little, Jasper was practically spitting venom on me.

“And furthermore ...”

“That’s enough, Mr Parker,” DI Clarke stepped forward. “Ms Blake was just acting like a concerned citizen, I’m sure she didn’t mean you any harm.”

I did mean him some harm, I thought to myself.

Jasper wasn’t finished, “I caught her taking photos of me in the middle of Leeds. Can’t you charge her for that?”

“You were supposed to be in London! And what were you doing meeting Annabel Castle?” I interrupted.

Jasper folded his arms and said, “I don’t have to answer that.”

DI Clarke studied him for a moment and then said, “Actually, I’d like to know the answer to that.”

“I’ve a good mind to phone my solicitor!” Jasper threatened.

DI Clarke replied, “Go ahead, we’ll wait.”

Jasper gave a resigned sigh. “Alright, I’ve been in Leeds for the last week, not London. I was trying to persuade Mark to sell his game to one of the companies I’d lined up. He kept refusing so I thought I’d move closer and try to persuade him personally. I was planning to turn up on his doorstep, before he got himself killed.”

“And what about Annabel Castle? How well do you know her?” I asked.

DI Clarke frowned at me. “I’m respectfully asking you to be quiet, Ms Blake.”

“I’d spoken to Annabel on the phone after she found out about Mark’s death. She told me that she would likely be the beneficiary of Mark’s will so I ... well ... this is a bit embarrassing.”

“You thought you’d get on her good side so that she’d sell Mark’s game to you?” I suggested.

Jasper looked at the floor and muttered, “A man’s got to make a living.”

DI Clarke looked at me, “Does that satisfy you?”

“For now,” I said. I still didn’t trust Jasper Parker.

The inspector turned to Jasper and said, “You mentioned the testing group that Mr Castle used, do you know how we could find them? We’d like to question them.”

Jasper shrugged, “I think those computer geeks were scattered around the World. I’m sure there will be something on Mark’s computer.”

“We’ve got people working on his computer now. Did you want to speak to me, Mr Parker? Or did you just come here to shout at Ms Blake?”

Jasper looked uncomfortable. “No, I’ll be on my way now.”

He turned and walked away.

DI Clarke warned me, “Watch out for men like him, he’s the kind to sue you for everything and anything at the drop of a hat. You should keep your opinions to yourself.”

“I’ll try,” I said. But I wasn’t going to stop until I’d found out who was responsible for Mark’s death.

Chapter 15

I was busy with work for the next few days and I didn’t have much time to think about Mark, although I was hoping that DI Clarke would be making progress.

It was late on Tuesday night when the inspector called at my house. I was surprised to see that he had two uniformed officers with him.

I opened my front door wide and invited them in.

DI Clarke looked grim. He said, “Julia Blake, I have reason to believe that you were involved in the death of Mark Castle. I’d like you to accompany us to the police station to help us with our enquiries.”

I was so shocked that I actually collapsed onto the floor.

DI Clarke rushed forward and helped me to my feet. He had a concerned look in his eyes and softly said, “I hope this is all a misunderstanding but we have strong evidence to link you to Mr Castle’s death. Please put your coat on.”

I did so in a daze. The uniformed officers guided me towards a police car. I got in, noticing the curtains moving at my neighbours’ windows.

I was still in shock when we arrived at the police station. A man at the reception desk took my name and other details and then DI Clarke led me into a windowless room. The uniformed officers came with us. DI Clarke instructed one of them to get me a drink of water.

“Ms Blake, we are about to conduct an official interview. Do you need to have a solicitor present? We can arrange for one on your behalf if needed,” he asked.

I shook my head and tried to smile. “I’ve nothing to hide.”

The uniformed officer came back with my drink and a thick file that he handed to DI Clarke.

DI Clarke opened the file and took out some papers.

“Do you remember when we spoke a few days ago and we found out that Mr Castle had a special group of testers who would look at his game for him?”

I nodded. I was finding it hard to talk.

“We traced them. There are six people in various countries, all computer experts. We’ve worked out that Mr Castle sent a different portion of a new game to each of them. Each person would not get the game in full. He also sent different codes that each person had to work out before they could open the game. Are you following me, Ms Blake?”

Another nod from me.

“Have you heard of call forwarding?” DI Clarke asked.

“Yes, I use it to forward my calls to my dad’s telephone number so that he can take my messages,” I managed to say.

“Exactly. Well, our computer experts have found out that the six people Mark worked with on his latest game are actually one person. And this one person very cleverly managed to forward all the emails that Mark sent to their own email account. So this means that this person had the full game and that when the portions of the game were returned to Mr Castle they had the opportunity to add the subliminal programme.”

I was just about following, “So who is this one person?”

DI Clarke looked at me sadly. “We’ve traced the forwarded email account to you, Ms Blake.”

Chapter 16

“That’s impossible!” I finally managed to say. “I would have seen any peculiar emails, wouldn’t I?”

“We discovered that the emails were deleted within seconds of them arriving in your inbox. Do you ever check your deleted emails?”

“Does anybody?” I asked.

“Aside from the emails, we have been advised that you have a spare set of keys to Mr Castle’s apartment. Is that true?” DI Clarke said.

“Yes, I have spare keys to most of my clients’ homes. They give them to me for when they go on holiday, so that I can still clean for them. I keep them in a locked drawer at home. Who told you about the keys?”

DI Clarke continued, “We further understand that you had access to Mr Castle’s medication. He kept bottles in the bathroom and his bedroom, is that right?”

I nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I switched the bottles. Wouldn’t I have to get a prescription from the doctor to do that?”

“The tablets that Mr Castle took just before he died are available over the internet, not legal of course. We’re trying to trace the supplier. Can you tell us who it is?” DI Clarke gave me a searching look.

I withered under his stare. I was beginning to feel guilty even though I’d done nothing wrong.

“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t kill Mark, and I certainly didn’t put secret pictures on his game. I wouldn’t know how to. Mark had my email address on his computer. Someone could easily have seen it,” I asked.

“We know that Mr Castle died on Wednesday evening. Whoever was responsible for his death must have been in his home shortly after he died because the sales transaction of Mr Castle’s game took place the same evening. Where were you on Wednesday night?” DI Clarke asked me.

I said quietly, “At home, on my own. No witnesses.”

“The signing fee of two million pounds was wired to several bank accounts. The money from those accounts was then immediately transferred to one hundred more. It looks like the person who sold Mr Castle’s game was trying to cover their tracks. We will trace the money but it will take a bit of time. But whether we trace it before it’s all withdrawn is another matter. Do you recognise any of these account numbers?” DI Clarke pushed some papers towards me.

I had several bank accounts and I knew the numbers off by heart. I scanned the list of numbers. My bank account digits were not on the list.

Then something caught my eye. My heart almost stopped as I recognised something.

I looked up at DI Clarke. “I think I’ve been set up. And I’ve got an awful feeling that I know who killed Mark Castle.”

Chapter 17

Early the next morning I was back at Canal View Court.

I called on Steve in his office. “I’m going to give Mark’s apartment a final clean.”

He stood up, “Do you want me to open the apartment, or have you got your spare key on you?” he asked.

“I’ve got my key.” I smiled back at him.

Inside Mark’s apartment I was giving the balcony doors a good scrub when I heard the front door open.

Steve came in. “Do you need a hand with anything? Can I make you a cup of tea?”

“No, it’s okay, thanks,” I said and I carried on cleaning.

Steve hesitated, “Did the police get any further with looking into Mark’s death?”

I stopped cleaning and turned to face Steve. “They’re going to have a word with Annabel Castle. She signed for Mark’s tablets just before he died so they think she could have swapped them for the stronger type.”

Steve nodded. “She probably did.”

I clutched my cleaning cloth a bit tighter and said, “It seems that you can get those tablets on the internet, if you know what you’re looking for. Is that what you did, Steve?”

Steve looked straight at me. “What do you mean?”

“You knew what kind to order, you said your granddad had the same kind,” I went on.

Steve took a step closer to me.“What are you trying to say, Julia?”

I moved back a bit and said, “I think you killed Mark. And that you sold his game.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying this. What proof do you have?” Steve moved even closer.

“When we were outside Mark’s door, just before we found him, you said, ‘So he is away with his fairies’. Why would you mention fairies unless you knew what Mark’s game was about?”

Steve shrugged. “It’s just a saying.”

“And that business about losing the master key, I don’t think you lost it at all. I think it was just to throw suspicion off you,” I said. I twisted the cleaning cloth as if it could give me the strength to carry on. “The police showed me a list of the bank accounts that the game money had been sent to. I recognised your number from when I’ve sent you money for recommending me to new clients.”

Steve looked at the floor as if he was considering something. Then he leapt towards me and plunged his hand down my shirt.

“A recording device, Julia? That won’t help you now,” he sneered and he ripped the device off me and threw it on the floor. He crushed it under his boot.

Then he turned back to me and gave me a little smile. “Well, you’ve turned into a right little Miss Marple, haven’t you? Yes, I did kill him. It took me months to redirect all those email addresses so that I was the only one in the select group that Mark sent his game to. I gave him lots of feedback but he never even said thank you!”

Steve began to move even closer to me. I tried to move backwards but I was already right up against the balcony doors.

“It didn’t seem fair that he should make all the money when I was giving him ideas. It used to get on my nerves seeing how he lived while I was stuck in that dingy office downstairs. It was me who was the computer genius, not him! Well, I proved it when I put those scary photos and sounds in his game,” Steve boasted.

He was so close now that I could feel his breath on my face. He had a nasty  look on his face. I was terrified.

Steve unlocked the balcony door behind me.

“Using my own bank number was a stupid mistake though. I’d set up all the other accounts but I wanted a bit of ready cash immediately. My escape money. It’s a shame you worked it out Julia, now I’ll have to get rid of you,” Steve said and he grabbed my arm. “How about a trip into the canal. You’d be amazed how deep it us, you won’t survive from this height.”

I called out, “DI Clarke!”

Steve snorted, “Don’t bother calling for backup. I saw the inspector’s car on my CCTV feed. I knew what you were up to, get me to confess and then the police would come rushing in. Unfortunately, the inspector and his men are now stuck in the lift. They’ll be pressing the bell for help – but help won’t come, for them or you.”

Chapter 18

Steve pulled me out onto the balcony and towards the edge. I looked down at the canal. It seemed a long way down. My legs felt wobbly and I felt like crying.

Steve laughed. “There’s no point struggling, Julia. I’ve killed once and I’m not bothered about killing again.”

I was still clutching my cleaning cloth. I suddenly remembered my cleaning spray that I kept in my apron pocket.

I dropped the cloth, whipped out the spray and squirted a stream of the liquid into Steve’s face.

He screamed, his hands flew to his face, “You’ve blinded me!”

I ran from the balcony and into the apartment. I turned around and locked the balcony door. Steve probably had a key so I stood ready with my cleaning fluid held up like a gun, ready to fire.

“Put your weapon down!” a voice called behind me.

It was DI Clarke.

“It’s not a weapon! It’s lemon juice!” I called back. I turned my head to look at the inspector. His coat was torn. “What happened to you?”

“We’ve had to crawl through a hole in the lift,” he said. “Lower your lemon juice, we’ll take over from here.”

“Did you hear everything? Did you get all you needed?” I asked.

I suddenly felt faint and slithered to the floor. DI Clarke ran over. He helped me up and took me over to a chair. The uniformed men that came in with him were now arresting Steve.

“I’ve never been wired up before. Did I do it right?” I said.

“Perfect. Good thinking of yours to have two wires. You can take the existing one off yourself.”

I blushed a little. The location of the second device was between me and my underwear. Literally.

“ We’ll be able to charge him with murder. Are you feeling okay, Ms Blake?” the inspector looked concerned.

I smiled. “I’m not used to such excitement! I’ll be alright in a while.”

DI Clarke and his men took Steve away. I couldn’t look at Steve, not after what he’d done.

I told DI Clarke that I’d lock the apartment up. The inspector checked me again before he left to see if I was okay.

When I was alone I looked around Mark’s home. He really was a good man and didn’t deserve to die.

I looked at my watch. I had plenty of time before my next cleaning job.

I’d only given Mark’s apartment half a clean, that wouldn’t do at all. I held up my trusty cleaning spray and then headed towards the kitchen.

As I worked I thought I’d buy one of Mark’s games on the way home. I might surprise myself and become a games expert.

I’d also be buying myself a bottle of wine. Solving a murder mystery had done nothing for my nerves.

But I knew that I would do it again – if I had to.

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!

You will receive 3 free short stories in pdf form, including the next two Julia Blake stories, when you sign up to my newsletter at :

www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

Best wishes

Gillian

VIRTUALLY SCARED TO DEATH

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

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

About the author

Copyright