The Chalmers Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “Did the Stones happen to say where they were from?” Robert asked after he’d finished his third biscuit.

  “They weren’t here long enough to say much of anything,” Janet said.

  “I don’t remember William Chalmers mentioning it,” Joan added. “I got the impression that they were coming up from London, but I don’t really know why, now that I think about it.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Robert assured them. “I’ll ask them when I meet them in the antique store.”

  He turned down Joan’s offer of more tea and biscuits. “I really must get going. I’m in Little Burton for the rest of this week. Do ring the station if anything out of the ordinary happens, though. Susan will be there to take a message during our regular hours.”

  “She seemed very nice when we met her,” Janet said. “We really must stop and see her, actually. We’d like to put some of her knitted items around the place like Margaret Appleton did. Hopefully, we can help her sell them.”

  “Oh, please do,” Robert said. “Maggie Appleton used to sell quite a few of her blankets and things, and now that Susan isn’t making things for selling, she keeps making things for me. I have more jumpers, blankets, and wooly hats than I’ll ever be able to use. Susan just knits all the time when it’s quiet at the station, which is most of the time.”

  “She does beautiful work,” Joan said. “We’d be delighted to be able to help her find loving homes for her things.”

  Robert frowned. “I really do appreciate everything she’s given me,” he told the sisters. “Please don’t think I don’t. It’s just too much, really. I only have one head and she’s made me at least a dozen hats.”

  Janet laughed. “I’ll try to stop by to see her this week,” she told the man. “Joan will be busy with our guests, but I should have a few minutes.”

  “Do let her know if anything else comes up,” Robert reminded her. “I worry about you two here on your own.”

  “Michael is just across the road,” Joan said. “And so are Stuart and Mary. We aren’t exactly on our own.”

  “Is Stuart still doing all of your gardening for you?” Robert asked as he rose to his feet.

  “He is,” Joan answered. “And he’s doing a wonderful job.”

  The sisters walked their guest to the front door. “I’ll stop back to visit early next week,” Robert said in the doorway. “I hope everything goes well with your guests until then.”

  “They’re meant to be gone by that time,” Joan told him. “William said they wouldn’t be staying through the entire weekend, whatever that means.”

  “Well, good luck,” Robert said. He crossed the porch and headed down the stairs with Janet and Joan watching. Janet continued to watch as he climbed into his car and drove away.

  “What did he want?” she asked Joan as the car disappeared around the corner.

  “He was just checking in on us,” Joan said as she plumped the pillow on the nearest chair.

  “Why?” Janet demanded.

  “Because that’s all part of his job?” Joan suggested. “He’s responsible for Doveby Dale and likes to know what’s happening all around the place.”

  “He seemed very interesting in William Chalmers’s friends,” Janet said thoughtfully.

  “They were the only interesting thing we had to tell him,” Joan pointed out.

  Janet had to laugh. “I suppose you’re right,” she said.

  The sisters spent the rest of the day feeling as if they were just waiting for their guests to return. Janet did some more work in the library, but she wasn’t really in the mood. After clearing and cleaning a few shelves, she gave up for the day. After making certain that the mysterious panel was completely covered up, she locked up the library and curled up with her book instead. She was just pages away from discovering who was behind the art forgeries when Joan called to her from the kitchen.

  “Janet? We may as well have dinner. We don’t know when the Stones will be back.”

  Janet glanced at the clock and was surprised to find that it was half six. She hadn’t realised it was that late. Her tummy rumbled, letting her know that it had noticed the passage of time, even if her brain hadn’t.

  In the kitchen, Joan was standing the middle of the room, frowning. “I had meals planned for four people while the Stones were going to be here,” she told Janet. “I’m going to have to freeze a great deal.”

  Before Janet could reply, the sisters heard the front door opening. Janet hurried to the sitting room, reminding herself along the way that the Stones had a key and it was highly unlikely to be anyone else.

  “Ah, we’re back,” Harold Stone said brightly when he spotted Janet.

  “I see that,” Janet replied.

  Mildred looked over at her and gave her a crooked grin. “You said something about food earlier,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  Janet felt herself pressing her lips together firmly. Although she was no expert, it seemed to her that Harold and Mildred were both rather drunk.

  “We have shepherd’s pie with veggies,” Joan announced, having joined Janet. “With Victoria sponge for pudding.”

  “Oh, I never eat pudding,” Mildred said, slurring her words slightly. “Too fattening.”

  “You know I love you anyway,” Harold said loudly. “Have some cake. I want some cake.”

  “Dinner’s just about ready if you want to freshen up, then,” Joan announced.

  “I’ll just do that,” Mildred replied. She headed towards the stairs, but it seemed as if she couldn’t manage to walk in a straight line. Instead, she stumbled sideways to the left, nearly bumping into Janet, then abruptly back to the right, lurching past the stairs and nearly falling over.

  “Oh, never mind,” she said brightly. “I’ll freshen up later.”

  “If you’d like to take seats in the dining room, I’ll bring the food through to you,” Joan said stiffly. She turned and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Janet to show their guests through to the dining room.

  “Please sit anywhere,” Janet said as she escorted the pair into the room. Harold fell heavily into the first chair he came to at the large rectangular table. Mildred giggled as she brushed past him and sank down in a seat next to him.

  “I need a glass of wine,” she said loudly.

  “I’m sorry, we don’t serve alcohol,” Janet told her, not feeling the least bit sorry.

  Mildred frowned and looked at her husband. “Why are we eating here?” she demanded.

  “William said it’s included in our room rate,” Harold replied, clearly trying to whisper, but failing miserably. He held his hand over his mouth and leaned in closer to Mildred. “The other sister is supposed to be a good cook,” he shouted at her.

  “Do we get to order now?” Mildred asked Janet.

  “Tonight Joan has done shepherd’s pie with roasted vegetables,” Janet replied.

  Mildred made a face. “But why can’t I pick what I want?” she demanded petulantly.

  “Because this isn’t a restaurant,” Joan told her as she swung into the room carrying steaming plates. “William asked if I could do evening meals for you as part of your room package and I told him that I could as long as you ate whatever I was already preparing. We aren’t meant to do evening meals at all. This is a bed and breakfast.”

  “I’m sure it’s going to be won, er, wonner, er, great,” Harold slurred. “Don’t mind Mildred; she’s just all out of sorts because William wouldn’t take us out for a fancy meal.”

  “Well, we came all this way to see him. I thought it was the least he could do,” Mildred said grumpily.

  “Where have you come from?” Janet asked casually as the couple began to eat.

  “Oh, down London way,” Harold replied lightly.

  “Coffee or tea?” Joan asked.

  “Oh, I want wine,” Mildred replied. “Coffee or tea would just make me sober and no fun at all.”

  “I’m sorry, we haven’t any wine,” Joan told her. “We do have wate
r or soft drinks.”

  “Just a glass of water, then,” Mildred said with a sigh. “We’ll go down to the pub after dinner, I suppose.”

  “Something fizzy for me, whatever,” Harold said.

  “So you’re William’s cousin?” Janet asked as Joan left the room to get the drinks.

  “Yeah, somewhere along the way,” Harold said with a shrug. “Our family isn’t close, like, but we knew each other as boys and then worked together later.”

  “Worked together doing what?” Janet knew she was being nosy, but she was hoping the pair was too drunk to notice.

  “Oh, this and that,” Harold said.

  Joan returned with the drinks and some fresh bread rolls.

  “Oh, those look tasty,” Mildred said. She took a roll and spread a thick layer of butter inside it.

  Joan watched the pair for a moment and then smiled grimly at Janet. “Do let me know if anyone needs anything,” she said tightly before returning to the kitchen.

  I’d like some food, Janet thought to herself. Clearly Joan was planning for them to eat after the guests had finished. Janet glanced at the pair and decided that it shouldn’t be long. They were clearing their plates at an impressive rate.

  A few minutes later Mildred sat back from the table and sighed. “That wasn’t half bad,” she said with a sniff. She grabbed another roll from the basket and buttered it generously.

  “Yeah,” Harold muttered as he shoveled his last bites into his mouth.

  Janet forced herself to smile at them both. “I’ll just get these plates out of the way,” she said. “And see about the Victoria sponge.”

  “Oh, just a very small slice for me, please,” Mildred said. “I must be careful.”

  “Huh,” Harold grunted “Maybe if you put on a few pounds you wouldn’t flirt with William so much, hey?”

  Mildred flushed. “I wasn’t flirting,” she said with a giggle. “Only maybe just a tiny bit.”

  Janet was torn between staying to hear more and wanting to get far away from the disagreeable couple. Deciding that duty called, she headed into the kitchen to see about the cake.

  “Here,” Joan said, handing Janet a tray with two large slices of cake on it.

  “Mildred only wanted a small slice,” Janet said.

  “No, Mildred said she only wanted a small slice. I bet if you take her a small slice she’ll complain. She can always leave most of that if it’s too much.”

  Janet shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense.”

  “Of course it does,” Joan told her. “Now hurry them along and then we can have our meal.”

  Janet smiled at her. “That sounds good.”

  Back in the dining room, Harold and Mildred were arguing.

  “…always flirt, and you always have.” Harold said.

  “I don’t flirt,” Mildred said loudly. “I’m just friendly.”

  “There’s a difference between friendly and acting like you’d like to get naked with...”

  “Okay, then, cake,” Janet interrupted the conversation. “Here we go.”

  She put the slices of cake in front of each of them and then gave them the biggest smile she could summon up. “Did you want coffee or tea with your cake?”

  “We’re fine,” Mildred told her.

  Janet waited a moment and then returned to the kitchen. Joan was busy filling two plates with shepherd’s pie and vegetables.

  “Did they want anything else to drink?” Joan asked.

  “They didn’t, but I want a glass of wine,” Janet answered.

  “I’m not certain we should be drinking with guests in the house,” Joan replied with a frown.

  Janet thought about arguing, but Joan was right. At least with these particular guests in the house, she thought to herself. With a deep sigh, she turned and walked back into the dining room, bracing herself for the unpleasant conversation she was sure she was going to interrupt.

  Instead, she found Harold sitting with his head on the table, fast asleep. He was snoring quietly while Mildred was just spooning up the last of his slice of cake. Her own plate was already scraped clean.

  “Oh, dear, I do hope he’s okay,” Janet exclaimed.

  “Oh, he’s fine. Just had a few too many, like. He’ll sleep it off by morning.”

  “Not at our dining room table,” Janet said firmly.

  “Oh, I suppose not,” Mildred shrugged. “Help me get him upstairs, will you?”

  “Help you? I’m not certain...” She trailed off, feeling totally out of her element.

  “Harold, wake up,” Mildred said loudly. She gave him a push and he nearly toppled off his chair.

  “What? Huh?”

  “Come on up to bed,” Mildred told him.

  “Oh, yeah, hey, did you eat my cake?”

  “You ate it before you fell asleep,” Mildred told him as she stood up. “Now come on.”

  She grabbed his arm and the pair stumbled their way out of the room, with Janet following behind. It seemed to take them ages to get up the stairs and Janet wondered at one point if she ought to try giving Mildred a push, but eventually they struggled their way to the first floor.

  Mildred managed to spill the entire contents of her handbag all over the landing while looking for the key to their door. Janet swallowed a sigh as she helped the woman collect her things and then opened their door for them. Giving Mildred the keys back, she practically shoved the pair into their guest room and shut the door behind them. Leaning against it, she took several deep breaths before rejoining her sister in the kitchen.

  Chapter Five

  “Don’t say it,” Joan greeted her sister as Janet walked in and sat down at the small kitchen table. “I’m so sorry about all of this, I can’t even tell you.”

  Janet looked at her sister and then began to laugh. “I must say, teaching was far easier than running a bed and breakfast,” she told her sister.

  “It isn’t the least bit funny,” Joan snapped.

  “No, but we might as well laugh,” Janet replied. “It’s better than crying.”

  For a moment Joan looked as if she might argue, but then she smiled and then chuckled softly. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “We need to be far more particular about our guests.”

  “I don’t know,” Janet said. “A little bit of variety is always interesting. They’re only here for a few days. I’m sure we’ll survive their stay and laugh about it in years to come.”

  “You’re being very understanding about all of this,” Joan said. “I don’t know that I deserve it.”

  “Nothing disastrous has happened,” Janet pointed out. “Having a couple of unpleasant guests goes with the job. Anyway, it’s entertaining in a train wreck kind of way.”

  Joan shook her head. “I’m not entertained,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  “Me, too,” Janet said with alacrity.

  The pair quickly ate their meal and very generous helpings of Victoria sponge with vanilla ice cream, a special treat.

  “I don’t suppose either of them said anything about breakfast,” Joan said as she and Janet loaded up the dishwasher.

  “No, but I don’t think they’ll be up very early.”

  “Harold said when they arrived that they’d probably lie in and that I shouldn’t worry about breakfast,” Joan said worriedly. “But I don’t want them complaining about it if they change their minds.”

  “Like they did with dinner,” Janet finished the thought.

  “Exactly,” Joan replied.

  “I think we’ll have to get up and have things ready early, just in case,” Janet said with a sigh.

  “I think you’re right,” Joan said sadly.

  “Before we go to bed, we need to hide all of the alcohol in the house,” Janet told her sister. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one or the other of them came down looking for a drink later.”

  “I’m ahead of you on that one,” Joan said with grim satisfaction. “While you were helping them up the stairs, I moved all of our
wine into my bedroom. If you need it when I’m not here, it’s in the very back of my wardrobe inside the hat box.”

  Janet shook her head. “If I need it and you’re not here, I’d better not drink it.”

  “You’re probably right about that,” Joan agreed.

  In her room, Janet made certain that she locked her door before she got ready for bed. She slept more soundly than she expected, until stomping footsteps outside her door at midnight woke her. She listened as someone stumbled down the stairs, wondering if she needed to get up and deal with whoever it was. After a few minutes, she heard someone coming back up the steps.

  She heard the west room door open and then: “No booze anywhere,” Harold said in a disgusted voice.

  “We could go to the pub,” Mildred replied.

  “Too tired,” Harold said. “We’ll stock up tomorrow for the rest of our stay.”

  Their bedroom door slammed and Janet slid down under her duvet, hoping the pair might decide to cut their holiday short.

  Janet and Joan were up and ready to fix breakfast before eight the next morning. Janet went back to work on the library while Joan fussed in the kitchen, wondering exactly what she ought to do. It was nearly midday before they heard movement from the first floor.

  Janet could hear the shower turning on and then off as she dusted shelves and books. About half an hour later, she heard footsteps on the stairs. Locking up the library, she headed towards the kitchen to help Joan.

  Harold and Mildred were standing in the kitchen doorway. They both looked as if they felt miserable.

  “Good morning,” Janet said brightly. “How are you this morning?”

  “Oooh, could you keep your voice down?” Mildred asked, wincing. “I took tablets, but they haven’t started working yet.”

  “Oh, dear, I hope you’re okay,” Janet said, maybe just a tiny bit more loudly than she normally would.

  “I’m fine,” the woman said through gritted teeth.

  “So what about breakfast?” Harold growled. “I just want lots of black coffee and maybe some toast. What about you?” he asked his wife.

  “Coffee, that’s all,” she muttered.