The Zachery Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 26)
Page 9
The house had been dark when they’d returned home, and Janet hated the idea of disturbing her sister and Michael.
“You can show her in the morning,” Edward said, leading her towards the library.
“She’ll be angry that I didn’t wait for her,” Janet protested.
“It’s up to you, of course, but I think now is the perfect time.”
Janet hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. “We can always lock it back up and pretend that we didn’t open it.”
Edward chuckled. “That’s my girl,” he said with a grin.
Janet unlocked the library door and then switched on the lights. Edward walked across the room and removed the small picture that covered the safe. It only took him a few moments to unlock the door.
“You knew the combination all the time,” Janet said accusingly.
“But I needed to wait for the right time to use it,” he replied. “I haven’t opened this door since my first visit, over two years ago.”
“So what’s in there?” Janet asked.
“Just this,” Edward replied. He reached into the safe and pulled out a small wooden box. He handed it to Janet, who frowned.
“It’s another safe,” she complained. The front of the box had a metal door that needed a combination to open it.
“I got it from a friend in the US,” Edward told her. “Open it.”
“Am I simply meant to guess the combination?”
“It’s your birthday,” he replied with a wink. He explained how the locking mechanism worked, and then she slowly twisted the knob back and forth to the correct numbers. Inside the wooden box was a small jewellery box.
Janet pulled it out and stared at it. As she moved to open it, Edward caught her hands.
“Now that this is actually happening, I’m getting nervous,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m never nervous. In my line of work, nerves can get you killed.”
“But you’re retired now.”
“Yes, and you need to understand that I never wanted to retire. I loved my job and I loved travelling the world. There were a few women who wandered through my life, but I never got serious about any of them. They were a diversion, which sounds horrible, but I never promised any of them anything more. I thought I’d keep working until I died on the job. My job was my identity and it was the only thing that mattered to me.”
“They made you retire, then?” Janet asked.
Edward chuckled. “Not at all. They didn’t want me to retire and they did everything in their power to keep me on the job. I’ve spent the last two years fighting to be allowed to retire.”
“I’m confused.”
“I’m sorry. I’m doing this badly. I was a hostage negotiator for several years and now I can’t come up with the right words.”
“This isn’t a hostage situation,” Janet said.
He laughed. “Two years ago, in the middle of a perfectly ordinary day at work, I knocked on the door to Doveby House. A beautiful blue-eyed woman opened the door, and my life changed in ways I could never have imagined it would. I never believed in love at first sight and I suppose I still don’t, but in those first few moments I suddenly discovered that I wanted more from life than just my job. I wanted to retire and travel, and I wanted to spend my retirement years with her, with you, that is.”
Janet took a deep breath. “You felt all of that the day we met?”
“I did, all of that and more. I, well, I set things up in here before I left because I knew this day would be coming and I wanted everything to be ready. I didn’t expect it to take two years to get to here, but, well, here we are.”
“Yes, here we are,” Janet repeated.
He took the small box from her hand and then got down on one knee in front of her. As he opened the ring box, he looked up at her. “Janet Markham, will you marry me?”
Letter to Bessie, part two
Of course I said yes, and then I woke up Joan and Michael and we drank champagne and talked until the wee small hours of the morning. After helping Joan plan her wedding, I know exactly what I want for mine, and Edward is determined to get it all arranged as quickly as possible. Watch for an invitation in the post very soon. That was what Clive was hinting at, of course, although I didn’t realise it at the time.
Edward was correct. Harold did confess, claiming that he and Wes had argued over Maggie Appleton. I’m calling the entire episode the Zachery Case in honour of poor Wes. In Harold’s version of the story, Wes tried to punch him, so Harold hit back. Wes was knocked down, and he banged his head on something as he fell to the ground. Harold claims that he didn’t realise that Wes was dead, that he thought he was just badly injured. While he was standing there, staring at the man, Maggie Appleton dragged Wes away. He’s insisting that that’s why he didn’t suspect that the body was Wes’s. He claims that he thought that Wes had recovered and was living happily somewhere else.
I don’t think anyone believes him, but maybe a jury will. I’m not worrying about that because I have a wedding to plan. I can’t quite believe it, but I’m getting married. Edward has promised that we’ll travel as much as I want after the wedding. Joan and I still have to work out what we want to do with the bed and breakfast. Michael is happy to buy my half, but I’m not certain I want to sell. Edward owns several homes around the world, though, so I don’t imagine we’ll be staying in Doveby Dale very often.
It’s all very overwhelming, but I’ve never been happier. I’m scared, but also very excited to see what’s coming in the next chapter of my life.
All the best,
Janet (and Edward)
Glossary of Terms
bin - trash can
biscuit - cookies
bonnet - hood (of a car)
booking - reservation
boot - trunk (of a car)
car park - parking lot
chemist - pharmacist
chips - french fries
cuppa - cup of tea (informal)
CV - resume
estate agent - realtor or real estate agent
fizzy drink - carbonated beverage (pop or soda)
flat - apartment
fortnight - two weeks
ginger (hair) - red hair
high street - the main shopping street in a town or village
holiday - vacation
jacket potato - baked potato
jumper - sweater
lie in - sleep late
lift - elevator
midday - noon
pavement - sidewalk
plait - braid (hair)
pudding - dessert
puds - puddings (informal)
pushchair - stroller
queue - line
saloon car - sedan
shopping trolley - shopping cart
sleeping rough - being homeless and sleeping outdoors
solicitor - lawyer
takeaway - carry out
telly - television
till - checkout (in a grocery store, for example)
torch - flashlight
Other Notes
In the UK, dates are written day, month, year rather than month, day, year as in the US. (May 5, 2015 would be written 5 May 2015, for example.)
In the UK, when describing property with more than one level, the lowest level (assuming there is no basement; very few UK houses have basements) is the “ground floor,” and the next floor up is the “first floor,” and so on. In the US, the lowest floor is usually the “first floor,” and you count up from there.
When telling time, half six is the English equivalent of six-thirty.
A “full English breakfast” generally consists of bacon, sausage, eggs, grilled or fried tomatoes, fried potatoes, fried mushrooms and baked beans, served with toast.
A semi-detached house is one that is joined to another house by a common center wall. In the US they are generally called duplexes. In the UK the two properties would be sold individually as totally separate entities. A “terraced” house is one i
n a row of properties, where each unit is sold individually (usually called a row house in the US).
The Armstrong Assignment
A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller
Release date: March 19, 2021
Click here to pre-order.
Turn the page for a sneak peek!
Janet Markham’s wedding day is perfect in every way, and she can’t imagine anything better than spending two weeks in Paris and two weeks in Venice on her honeymoon. Less than twenty-four hours later, though, her husband, Edward Bennett, has gone missing.
The last thing Janet is going to do is sit around and wait for him to come back. It isn’t long before she’s managed to get herself tangled up in Edward’s top-secret assignment, whether he wants her there or not.
Can Janet help Edward protect Bobby Armstrong from whoever is trying to kill him? Can they both keep up the pretense that they’ve never met before? Or will Edward’s handler, Mr. Jones, get Janet sent back to Doveby Dale before she can do anything at all?
A sneak peek at The Armstrong Assignment
A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller
Release date: March 19, 2021
Click here to pre-order.
Final edits have not yet been completed on this excerpt. Please excuse typos or other minor errors.
Chapter One
“You may kiss the bride,” the woman told them.
Janet Markham looked at Edward Bennett and smiled. He leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss before pulling her into a tight hug that was followed by a more passionate embrace.
“I love you, Janet Bennett,” he whispered in her ear before he released her.
“I love you, too,” she mouthed at him before they turned to face the people in the rows of chairs behind them.
Janet felt tears well up in her eyes as she looked around the room. Her sister, Joan, was sitting in the front row, holding hands with her husband, Michael Donaldson. Behind Joan was a crowd of people, most of whom Janet had not yet met when she and Joan had purchased Doveby House, the bed and breakfast in Doveby Dale that they’d owned for over two years.
Owning a bed and breakfast had been Joan’s lifelong dream, one that she’d only shared with her sister after they’d unexpectedly inherited some money from a distant relative. They’d both been primary school teachers until their retirement. With some reservations, Janet had allowed herself to be persuaded to buy the beautiful seventeenth-century manor house and help her sister run the bed and breakfast. In the years since, both women had seen their lives change in ways neither of them had ever imagined.
Most notably, Joan, who’d never seemed to notice the opposite sex when she’d been younger, had been courted by Michael, who lived in the house across the road from Doveby House. The pair had been married for several months now, and Janet had never seen her sister so happy. And today, three days after Christmas, just three months after Edward had proposed, Janet and Edward were married.
Edward Bennett had been the first paying guest at Doveby House after the sisters had purchased the property. He’d arrived on their doorstep while they’d still been getting settled, insisting that he had an existing reservation that had been made with the former owner. It was only later that he’d told Janet the truth. Edward worked for a top-secret government agency that had used Doveby House as a safe house. He’d been sent after the sisters bought the house to make certain that any paperwork that could tie his agency to the property was destroyed.
He’d also told Janet that he was interested in a relationship with her, but things were complicated by his work. Although he was meant to be retired, he still spent all of his time travelling around the world, with only an occasional visit to Doveby Dale. Once Edward had finally managed to retire properly, he’d asked Janet to be his wife. When she’d said yes, she’d expected that they’d spend six months or more planning their wedding, but Edward had wanted to start the new year with Janet as his wife.
She thought it was probably best that she didn’t know how much money he’d spent arranging everything for her dream wedding in such a short amount of time, but as she looked around the beautifully decorated room in Ashcroft Hall, Janet thought things couldn’t have been more perfect.
Her gaze moved back to the rows of guests, and she wondered how Edward had managed to get so many of them to attend. Before she had too much champagne, she’d have to find time to thank each of them for coming. As she looked at the other side of the room, she felt her smile falter. Behind Edward’s sister and a few of his friends were several rows of men and women in black suits. They were all staring straight at her and none of them were smiling.
“Everyone is happy for us,” Edward whispered in her ear.
“Your friends don’t look happy,” she hissed back.
He chuckled. “Don’t mind them. They’re all delighted. They simply aren’t showing it. Shall we?”
He offered her his arm. She took it and the pair made their way between the rows of chairs to the back of the room. As they walked, Janet smiled and nodded at everyone on both sides of the room. Edward’s associates all stared back at her blankly, except for one man who looked a good deal younger than the rest. He matched her smile and then winked at her as she walked past.
“If everyone would like to move into the next room, we have champagne and starters for you to enjoy before dinner,” Bridget Jepson, the owner of Ashcroft Hall, announced. “Mr. and Mrs. Bennett will be receiving their guests at the entrance,” she added before she stepped out of the way.
“Ready?” Edward asked, giving Janet’s hand a squeeze as they moved into position right inside the door of the large room where they’d be having dinner.
“Not at all. I feel very odd,” she told him.
“I hope you’re feeling happy.”
“Mostly happy, partly queasy.”
He chuckled. “Champagne?” he suggested.
“That might help.”
“Here we are,” Bridget said, holding out a tray with two crystal champagne glasses on it.
Janet took one and sipped slowly. “Delicious,” she said. “But I can’t drink too much on an empty stomach.”
“You didn’t have breakfast?” Edward asked, looking concerned.
“I was too nervous to eat,” she confessed.
“Congratulations,” Joan said, pulling her sister into a hug.
“Thank you,” Janet replied, hugging Joan tightly. “I can’t believe we’re both married now.”
Joan laughed as she released her. “Two years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me that we’d both be getting married in the same year. It didn’t seem remotely possible.”
“Congratulations,” Michael said, offering his hand to Edward. “Welcome to the family.”
Edward beamed. “Thank you.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Bessie Cubbon said as she and her friend, Doona Moore, entered the room.
Bessie and Doona lived on the Isle of Man. Janet and Joan had first met Bessie when they’d been on holiday on the island, not long before they’d bought the bed and breakfast, and they had all become good friends over the years. Bessie had last been in Doveby Dale for Joan’s wedding, and Janet had been thrilled when she’d agreed to come back again.
“Congratulations,” Doona told Janet and Edward before the pair walked further into the room.
“Another beautiful wedding,” Stuart Long said, after hugging Janet tightly.
His daughter, Marie, smiled at Janet. “Thank you for inviting me,” she said politely.
“I’m so glad you both came,” Janet replied.
“I wasn’t certain about it,” Stuart admitted. “I thought a wedding might be difficult, being that I’m still sorting out the mess that was my marriage, but it was truly lovely.”
The pair moved away. They were quickly replaced by Ted and Todd, the two young men who owned the village’s small café. They hugged Janet and shook Edward’s hand before moving on.
“I don’t th
ink I know anyone else,” Edward whispered.
“Some of them are former guests,” Janet told him. In the time the sisters had owned the bed and breakfast, their guests had been something of a mixed bag. Although both Janet and Joan felt as if they’d had more than their fair share of difficult ones, they’d also had some who’d become more like friends than customers.
“Congratulations,” Sue Mortimer said, blushing slightly. “We were so surprised to be invited, but we’re so very happy for you.”
“Edward, meet Harry and Sue Mortimer,” Janet said. The couple still looked incredibly young to Janet, but they also still appeared to be madly in love. They shook hands with Edward before continuing into the room.
“I’ve heard of them, anyway,” Edward told her. “My sister helped get them both into good training programmes. She has high hopes for them.”
“So do I,” Janet told him.
“I must say, today’s event was something of a surprise,” Nancy Johnson said as she looked down her nose at Janet.
Janet forced herself to smile. “Edward, darling, this is Nancy Johnson from the Doveby Dale Ladies’ Club.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” he told her.
She nodded. “The others are behind me somewhere,” she said before turning and walking briskly away.
“Hello,” Paula Ellsworth said with a bright smile. “Thank you so much for including Tara in your kind invitation.”
Janet beamed at the woman and then shifted her gaze to the sleeping baby in her arms. “She’s lovely,” she said softly.
“Thank you,” Peter, Paula’s husband replied. “We’re completely over the moon, even though we haven’t slept in thirty-seven nights.”
Paula laughed. “He says that, but I haven’t slept well since before I fell pregnant. Men don’t know how good they have it.”