The Chalmers Case

by Diana Xarissa

  With her arms full of flowers, Janet returned to the house. George and Nancy were just tucking into their breakfast. She was surprised to hear footsteps on the stairs as she arranged the flowers.

  “Good morning,” Harold said as he and his wife wandered into the dining room.

  “Good morning,” Janet replied. “Are you ready for some breakfast?”

  “We told your sister what we wanted,” Mildred told her. “She said we should come in and meet your other guests.”

  Janet quickly introduced the two couples and then headed into the kitchen to help Joan. When she brought Mildred and Harold their plates, the foursome were chatting away like old friends.

  “Janet, have you been to this antique store that Harold was just telling us about?” Nancy asked. “Because he makes it sound like a wonderful little find.”

  “It’s a nice little shop,” Janet replied. “Mr. Chalmers has some lovely pieces and some interesting artwork as well.”

  “Then that will be our first stop today, then,” George said.

  “Excellent,” Mildred said. “William will be so pleased.”

  Janet cleared away dishes and refilled coffee cups while the guests talked about this and that. Once everyone had eaten, the two couples headed out together, apparently on their way to WTC Antiques. Janet carried the last of dirty plates and cups into the kitchen.

  “They seem to be getting on incredibly well,” she told her sister.

  “Who?”

  “The Harrisons and the Stones,” Janet replied. “Harold and Mildred talked the Harrisons into paying William a visit at his ‘charming little antique shop’ right after breakfast.”

  “They’re very different sorts of people,” Joan said thoughtfully. “Anyway, I’m sure William will appreciate the customers.”

  “I just hope they don’t feel as if they have to buy something just to be polite,” Janet said.

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Joan told her. “Anyway, there were lots of little bits and pieces that weren’t terribly dear. I’m sure they’ll be able to find something affordable if they do feel that way.”

  “We didn’t buy anything,” Janet said suddenly. “I suppose we really ought to have.”

  “You were too taken with that painting to look at anything else,” Joan reminded her.

  “I was rather,” Janet admitted.

  “I must say, now that you mention it, I feel quite guilty for not at least buying a useless, dust collecting something or other to help poor William with his business,” Joan said.

  “But we don’t like William,” Janet retorted.

  “No, but he sent business our way, even if the Stones aren’t our favourite guests. I should have thought to purchase something from the man.”

  “The guests are all out. We could run down now and buy something if it will make you feel better,” Janet suggested.

  Joan thought for a moment and then nodded. “I really do think we should,” she said.

  Janet wasn’t sure she agreed, but she didn’t argue. “Give me five minutes to change into something appropriate for going out,” she told her sister.

  In her room, she quickly changed and then picked up her handbag. Dropping her phone into it, she remembered the middle of the night conversation with Edward. Why had he rung? What did he really want? She couldn’t help but think that he’d rung to find out about their guests. The idea made her feel very uncomfortable.

  She locked her bedroom door and then checked both guest rooms. They were both locked.

  “Are we supposed to make up the guest’s rooms for them every day?” she asked her sister when she got back downstairs.

  “No. I told them both that we’d do as much or as little as they’d like, and both couples opted to have us stay out of their rooms until they’ve gone.”

  “Is that normal?” Janet asked.

  Joan looked at her for a moment and then laughed. “I’ve no idea,” she replied. “They’re our first guests.”

  Janet sighed. “This bed and breakfast thing is turning out to be harder than I expected.”

  “It’s harder than I expected, too,” Joan admitted in a quiet voice. “There are so many things to think about.”

  “Still, it is a good deal more interesting than teaching primary school, isn’t it?” Janet asked.

  “I’m not sure interesting is the right word,” Joan muttered. “I certainly got more sleep when we were teaching.”

  “They’ll all be gone in a few days and then it will be just us again,” Janet said. “Unless you’ve taken more bookings that I don’t know about?”

  “No. I think after these guests leave we need a bit of a break. We should probably work our way into this gradually, just an odd guest once in a while until we get used to the whole thing.”

  Janet laughed. “Now you’re sounding more like yourself,” she told her sister. “And I’m all ready to suggest that we should push onwards and start taking bookings on a regular basis. The only way we’ll work out if we like it or if we can actually make a good go of it is if we jump in with both feet.”

  Joan didn’t say anything for a minute and then she sighed. “Let’s go and do some antique shopping,” she said. “I’m too tired to think about our future anyway. I’m really hoping all of our guests have an early night tonight.”

  “Perhaps when we have guests, we should take it in turns to stay up with them,” Janet suggested. “You stayed up last night, so tonight will be my turn.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Joan said, her tone suspicious. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Janet replied. “But it is our bed and breakfast, regardless of whose idea it was to buy it. I should do my fair share.”

  “We can talk about it later,” Joan told her.

  The pair headed out to the car. Janet sat in the passenger seat lost in thought. She hadn’t mentioned her late night phone call, telling herself that she didn’t want to worry her sister. Edward had wanted to know about their guests. That suggested that one of the couples had something to hide, something that a man who was quite probably some sort of spy was interested in.

  Chapter Seven

  Joan had no difficulty in finding a parking space in Doveby Dale.

  “Is it ever busy?” Janet asked as they climbed out of the car.

  “Maybe during the holiday season,” Joan suggested. “Although the shops that are here don’t really have that much to offer holiday shoppers, do they?”

  “Maybe lots of people will want to buy William’s antiques for their family and friends this Christmas,” Janet said.

  “Maybe,” Joan replied in a doubtful tone.

  The pair made their way down the pavement towards the antique shop.

  “Do you know what sort of car Harold and Mildred have?” Joan asked suddenly.

  “I really didn’t notice,” Janet admitted. “I don’t know what George and Nancy have, either.”

  Joan nodded. “I suppose that’s something else we’re meant to be paying attention to,” she sighed.

  Janet pulled open the door at WTC Antiques and the sisters walked in. The buzzer sounded, but no one rushed to greet them. The shop looked empty, but after a moment Janet realised that she could hear voices from the back room.

  “Everyone must be admiring my painting,” she said.

  “I’m not sure we can afford both of them, my dear,” George was saying to his wife as the sisters walked into the back.

  The couple was standing in front of a medium-sized canvas with a few random squiggles on it. Next to it was a second painting done in the same colours, but instead of squiggles there were a handful of very straight lines. Janet shook her head. She hated them both and couldn’t imagine why anyone would want them.

  “They belong together,” Nancy said firmly. “We can’t take just one. It would look all out of place without its other half.”

  “I’m sure we can arrange some sort of price that works for you,” William said ingratiatingly. “But firs
t you should look around and see if there’s anything else you like. The more you buy, the bigger the discount I can give you, you see.”

  Nancy glanced at her husband and then smiled. “I don’t think George is going to be very happy if I keep looking,” she said. “But that won’t stop me.”

  “I rather love this one,” Mildred called from across the room. “You should take a look.”

  Nancy walked across the room towards where Mildred and Harold were standing. Janet cleared her throat, causing everyone to look over at her and Joan.

  “Oh, I didn’t hear the buzzer,” William said, looking flustered. “But it’s nice of you to visit again. Did you want to talk about that painting?” he asked Janet.

  Janet walked over and looked at the painting again. If anything, she liked it even better now, but she knew she couldn’t afford it.

  “I’ll just keep visiting it here until you sell it,” she told the man as he joined her. “Maybe I’ll inherit a fortune between now and then and I’ll be able to buy it myself.”

  “We can but hope,” William said. Janet guessed that he was trying to sound light-hearted, but the words came out harshly. “If you didn’t come for the painting, why are you here?” he added.

  “I didn’t get a chance to look around the entire showroom the last time we visited,” Joan told him. “I’m sure you must have something that would look perfect in one of our rooms.”

  William glanced over at Nancy who was still talking quietly with Mildred. “If you need anything, come and get me,” he called to the women.

  “We’re fine,” Nancy assured him. “I’ll just make a list of all the things I want and then you and George can argue about it.”

  William chuckled weakly and then turned back to Joan and Janet. “Come and have a good look around the other room, then,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what you think of it all.”

  Janet followed her sister and William back into the main showroom and then trailed along behind them as Joan looked around. She tried to pretend to be interested in the various items Joan inspected, but she really wanted to go and listen in on the conversation in the back.

  The two couples that were their guests seemed like very unlikely friends, and Janet was really curious what they were talking about. As William’s friends, she supposed Mildred and Harold were doing their best to sell the others as much as possible. After what felt like hours, Joan finally selected a pair of lamps.

  “What do you think?” she asked Janet.

  “They aren’t bad,” Janet replied honestly. They were one of the few things in the place that she didn’t hate, at least.

  “I thought they’d go nicely on the bedside tables in my bedroom,” Joan told her.

  Janet nodded. The lamps were very much her sister’s style, which made them not really something Janet would care to own.

  “While you pay for those, I’ll just go visit my painting again,” Janet told her sister.

  Joan laughed. “I think I may have to buy you that painting for Christmas,” she said.

  “I wouldn’t say no,” Janet told her, even though she knew she really would if Joan actually made such an offer. Both sisters were quite frugal and that extended to buying one another gifts. Neither would ever dream of spending that much money on themselves or each other.

  Janet walked into the back room and looked around. Harold was standing in one corner, talking on his mobile phone. Otherwise the room was empty. Janet turned slowly, looking for an exit, but it seemed as if the only way in or out of the room was the way she’d just come. Where had the others gone?

  Harold looked up from his phone and muttered something under his breath. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be back,” he said.

  “Where did everyone go?” Janet blurted out.

  “They’re just in the loo,” the man replied hastily. He gestured towards the door in the back wall that Janet had opened on her last visit.

  “Oh, is there a loo? I could do with one,” she said. She crossed towards the door, but before she got there it swung open. Mildred emerged with George and Nancy on her heels.

  “Ah, still shopping?” Mildred asked Janet in a bright voice.

  “I was just looking for the loo,” Janet told her. “Harold said it’s through there?”

  “Oh, no, Harold is confused,” Mildred said with a laugh. She took Janet’s arm and began to steer her out of the room. “That’s just a storage space. I saw a little chest of drawers in the very back that I thought Nancy might like, and I just had to show them. Unfortunately, she didn’t care for it, but I had to try.”

  While she’d been speaking, she nearly dragged Janet back into the main room. Joan was just picking up the large box that William had packed her lamps into.

  “Ready to go?” Joan asked her sister.

  “Yes,” Janet replied, knowing that Mildred wasn’t going to let her do anything but leave at this point.

  “Excellent, perhaps you can open doors for me,” Joan suggested.

  Janet smiled at Mildred and William in turn. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll be back to look at my painting again soon.”

  “I’ll look forward to it,” William told her unenthusiastically.

  Janet grinned and then rushed forward to open the door for Joan. The box wasn’t large and Joan insisted it wasn’t heavy, but it was unwieldy. Janet walked in front of her sister as they made their way back to the car.

  “I do feel a bit selfish,” Joan said once they were on their way back to Doveby House. “Perhaps I should have purchased something for the house instead of for myself.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Janet told her. “We’ve spent a fortune on the house and anyway, you need lamps in your bedroom. Mine came with such nice ones and I’ve felt just the tiniest bit guilty about that ever since we moved in.”

  Joan laughed. “I don’t believe you’ve given it a single thought, but I appreciate your telling me that to make me feel better.”

  Janet grinned. Her sister knew her too well. She’d never thought about the bedside lamps that were already in her almost perfect bedroom when they bought the fully furnished house, but if she had thought about them, she would have felt bad that Joan didn’t have a similar set.

  “I hope you aren’t too sad about that painting,” Joan said. “Maybe, if we can keep the guest rooms filled for a few months, you can buy it in the new year.”

  “Maybe,” Janet said with a shrug. “I’m not going to lose sleep over it. There’s just something about it that I like, that’s all.”

  “I know. You visited it twice in ten minutes,” Joan teased.

  “I went back the second time to see what our guests were up to back there,” Janet countered. “And they weren’t even there.”

  “What do you mean? Where else could they have gone?”

  “Harold was there, on his phone, but the other three weren’t in the back. Harold tried to make excuses, but after a moment they came out of the storage room. You know, the one where I saw all those half-finished canvases.”

  “So maybe they were looking at something back there,” Joan said.

  “Or maybe they’re all part of the art forgery scheme,” Janet said excitedly.

  “You must stop reading crime fiction,” Joan tutted.

  “Edward rang last night,” Janet said as casually as she could. “He was quite interested in hearing all about our guests.”

  “Which suggests that he’s quite interested in what’s happening in your life,” Joan said. “I hope you aren’t suggesting that he suspects them of something criminal?”

  Janet flushed and looked out the car window. “I don’t know,” she said after a moment. “You have to admit you can see Harold and Mildred being mixed up in something unpleasant.”

  “Just because I don’t like them doesn’t mean I think they’re criminals,” Joan said firmly. “I don’t like William Chalmers, either.”

  “And I’m just as suspicious of him,” Janet exclaimed. “Remember how upset he was whe
n he thought we’d sent the police to talk to him?”

  Joan nodded. “I do, but that doesn’t prove anything. Robert Parsons will have investigated him thoroughly, I’m sure, after that. You just have an overactive imagination.”

  Janet laughed. “I’ve been accused of worse,” she told her sister.

  After a moment, Joan laughed as well. “Anyway, whatever you think of our guests, you must treat them nicely,” she said.

  “I will,” Janet promised.

  “And no snooping,” Joan added.

  As they were just pulling into the parking area in front of Doveby House, Janet was saved from replying, which was fortunate, as she had every intention of snooping if she got the opportunity.

  Joan opened the boot of the car and was pulling the box out of it while Janet headed toward their door.

  “Let me help,” a voice shouted from across the road.

  Janet smiled as Michael Donaldson, their other across the street neighbour, rushed across to help Joan. He had been rather busy filling in as a chemist in a shop in Derby for the last week, and Janet knew her sister had missed the man.

  Joan had never dated when she was younger, while Janet had dated a great deal, but had never become very serious about any one man. Now Janet was enjoying watching her sister taking baby steps into her first relationship. Michael seemed like a genuinely nice man and Janet couldn’t have been any happier for Joan. Now she opened the door for him as he carried Joan’s box into the house.

  “Where would you like it?” he asked Joan.

  “Oh, just put it in my sitting room,” Joan replied. “I’ll come and unlock the door.”

  “You’ve taken to locking your room?” Michael asked.

  “We have guests,” Joan told him.

  “I’ve missed rather a lot, then, haven’t I?”

  “You have,” Joan agreed. “Are you done working all those long hours now?” she asked.

  “I am,” he said happily. “The regular chemist is back from his surgery and he’s doing very well. I don’t know that I’ll take anything that demanding again. I’m meant to be retired and I really don’t miss working. But that’s enough about me. What’s going on over here?”