A Party To Die For (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 3)

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.