A Deadly Restoration (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

more.”
    “And
it’s money that goes to Stephen when I die. It was like Mr Kennedy was stealing
money from Stephen, hurting him just like his dad did.”
    There
was a knock at the door.
    “That
will be DI Clarke. Shall I let him in?” I asked.
    Cora
smiled. “No, I’ll do it. Then I’ll tell DI Clarke exactly what I’ve told you. I
expect he’ll take me to the police station. I’ve never been inside a police
station before.”
    Cora
stood up and left the room. I could hear the door opening and Cora chatting.
She sounded cheerful, as if she let policemen into her house every day.
    I
looked at Stephen. He didn’t meet my gaze. He reached for yet another bun.
    He
didn’t seem too bothered that his mum had just admitted to killing two men.
     
     

Chapter 14
     
    DI
Clarke came into the room, followed by a smiling Cora.
    She
looked at Stephen. You could see the love radiating from her.
    Cora
invited the inspector to sit down. He said no to her offer of tea.
    “Has
someone confessed to the murder of Leo Kennedy?” D I Clarke asked me.
    “It
was me. I did it. I’ll get my bag and then we can go to the police station,”
Cora said.
    I
said, “I’m not sure how you got to Leo Kennedy’s house that night, Cora.”
    Cora
stopped smiling and thought for a second, “I got the number 53 bus.”
    “It
doesn’t run past 6 o’clock,” I told her.
    “Yes!
Of course. I got a taxi,” Cora corrected herself.
    I
highly doubted that Cora had spare money for a taxi.
    I
carried on talking, “So how did you kill Leo?”
    Cora
glanced at Stephen. He was examining his trouser leg.
    “Tiles.
I pushed tiles onto him.”
    “Those
tiles were heavy. I’m surprised you had the strength to push them, aren’t you
surprised Stephen?”
    Stephen
shrugged. He reached for another bun. I whipped the plate away before he could
reach them.
    “Haven’t
you anything to say? About your mum’s confession?” I asked.
    There
was silence as we all waited for Stephen to speak.
    He
didn’t speak.
    “It’ll
be awful for your mum in prison, won’t it?” I prompted.
    Stephen
still didn’t speak.
    I’d
had enough. “For goodness sake! Are you going to let your mum lie for you? What
sort of man are you?”
    He
threw his hands up and said, “Alright! Mum didn’t kill anyone. I did it. I
killed that nasty crook, Kennedy. I knocked him onto the floor and then pushed
tiles on top of him. He deserved it, stealing my inheritance!”
    Cora
moved closer to her son. “No Stephen! It was me. I’m going to prison, not you!”
    Stephen
stood up and moved over to his mother. He leant down and gave her cuddle.
    “No,
Mum. I won’t let you take the blame for what I’ve done, even though I know you
would happily do that. I’m a terrible son, I don’t deserve a mother like you.”
    I
gave a little nod of agreement.
    D
I Clarke interrupted, “And what about the skeleton in the garden? Who wants to
admit to that?”
    Stephen
put his arm around his mum and said, “That was me too. It happened when I was
about sixteen. I couldn’t bear to see him hitting my mum anymore. I whacked him
on the head with a shovel. Then used the shovel to dig a hole under the apple
tree.”
    “Did
you know about that?” I asked Cora.
    She
nodded. “It was self defence. Derek was having a real go at Stephen, and then
he turned on me. I knew he was buried under the apple tree. I thought he was
going to turn the apples sour, but he didn’t. We got some lovely apples the
year after. “
    I
suddenly thought about the apple pies Cora had made me over the years. My
stomach felt queasy.
    “I’ll
need to talk to you further about that, Mrs Roberts. Self defence or not, you
should have reported your son at the time. One of the skeleton’s arms is
missing. Can you explain what happened to it?” D I Clarke asked.
    Stephen
frowned. “He was  in one piece when I buried him.”
    My
hand flew to my mouth as I remembered something. “Razor has it! That’s the dog
that