Virtually Scared To Death (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

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