The Zachery Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 26)

by Diana Xarissa

  The baby wriggled and then her tiny mouth scrunched up.

  “She’s getting ready to scream,” Peter said.

  “We have a space where you can nurse her, if you prefer privacy,” Bridget said. “You are, of course, welcome to feed her anywhere you’d like.”

  “I think I’d rather have privacy,” Paula replied. “She’s not used to crowds.”

  As the trio walked away, following Bridget, Janet could hear the baby starting to cry.

  “Congratulations,” Robert Parsons said.

  Janet smiled at the police constable who was responsible for policing both Doveby Dale and the neighbouring village of Little Burton. He was young, but he was very good at his job.

  “You look beautiful,” Stacey added. The pretty blonde worked at the café with Todd and Ted and had been seeing Robert for several months now. Janet thought that it was likely that Robert would propose before too much longer.

  “What a beautiful dress,” Beverly Osborne said. “I don’t believe you’ve ever met my son. This is Daniel.”

  Janet smiled and shook hands with the man. “Edward, I know I’ve told you about Beverly.”

  He nodded. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said, shaking hands with both Beverly and Daniel.

  “Where’s the bar?” Daniel asked Edward.

  “Along the wall at the back,” Edward told him.

  Beverly shook her head as she followed her son.

  “Nancy pushed her way to the front,” Edna Green said as she hugged Janet. “But the rest of us decided to be polite.”

  Janet laughed. “Edward, meet the rest of the lovely ladies from the Doveby Dale Ladies’ Club. This is Edna Green, this is Martha Scott, and this is Harriet Thomason.”

  Edward shook hands with each of them in turn. “It’s very nice to meet you all,” he said.

  “He’s very handsome,” Edna whispered loudly. “But who were all of the men in the dark suits? None of them looked happy to be here.”

  “Those are my business associates,” Edward told her.

  Edna raised an eyebrow. “They’re either dangerous criminals or spies,” she said. “For Janet’s sake, I hope they’re spies.”

  Edward was still laughing as the three women walked away.

  “Congratulations,” Gretchen Falkirk Murray said. “Being married is the most wonderful thing ever.”

  Janet smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear that you still feel that way.”

  Gretchen smiled at her husband, Jack. “I waited a lifetime to be his wife. I’ll always feel that way.”

  Janet introduced them both to Edward.

  “And now I must go and find Bessie and Doona,” Gretchen said. “And I suppose I must say something to Beverly, although I’ve no idea what to say to her.”

  “Congrats,” Mack Fenton said, giving Janet an awkward hug.

  “Thank you,” Janet replied. “You’ve met Edward, of course.”

  “Yeah, nice to see you again,” Mack said. He glanced backwards and then slipped away into the crowd.

  “That was odd,” Janet whispered to Edward.

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Edward replied.

  “Paul!” Janet exclaimed, pulling the man into a hug. “Edward, this is Paul Nichols. He stayed with us for several weeks while he was working in Doveby Dale. Aggie thought the world of him.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Edward said. “Aggie is a very good judge of character.”

  Aggie, which was short for Agatha Christie, was the cat that Edward had given to Janet. Joan had promised to take good care of her while Janet and Edward were on their honeymoon.

  “I do miss you and Joan,” Paul said. “Life in Doveby Dale was much less hectic than it is in London.”

  “You know you can come back and stay any time,” Janet told him.

  He shrugged. “My father is thinking about buying the antique shop and sending me up here to manage it. There are a lot of details that still need to be worked out, though.”

  “We’d all love to have you in Doveby Dale,” Janet replied happily.

  Paul had worked at the shop when William Chalmers had been the owner. The man who’d purchased it when William had decided to leave Doveby Dale was currently in prison awaiting trial on several charges. A “For Sale” sign had been put in the shop window in late October.

  “And now for my friends,” Edward murmured as Paul walked away.

  “My dear, I can’t begin to congratulate you enough,” Marcus Talford said. “I’m ever so happy for both of you.”

  Janet hugged the man tightly. “I can’t believe that it’s been a year since you stayed with us,” she said as she released him. “You should have come for Christmas again this year.”

  He shrugged. “As it happens, I spent Christmas with a friend this year. It’s still early days, but we may be more than friends by next Christmas.”

  Edward had sent Marcus to help the sisters out of a difficult situation involving their distant cousin, Roland Dickerson. Although Roland was the only other relative the sisters had, neither of them had invited him to her wedding.

  “Darlink, what a wonderful thing,” Eugenie Snelling said in her unusual and exotic accent. “I knew that Janet was perfect for you, but I didn’t trust you to be smart enough to agree.”

  Edward laughed. “I’m not certain how to reply to that,” he told her.

  “It doesn’t matter. Just know that I’m incredibly happy for both of you,” Eugenie said.

  “As am I,” a nearly unrecognizable Tamela Underwood added. The woman looked beautiful, her hair cut short and styled to frame her face. Her dress was stunning and her eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm for life that had been absent the last time Janet had seen her.

  “How are you?” Janet asked.

  “So much better, thank you,” Tamela replied. “After very carefully going through everything that my mother left me, I’ve found several accounts about which my uncle knew nothing. It turns out that I’m quite wealthy. I’ve given up worrying about the money that my uncle stole from me. He has enough problems to worry about, anyway.”

  Janet nodded. “I’m so pleased that things have worked out for you,” she told the woman.

  “Welcome to the family,” Margaret Burns, Edward’s sister, said, hugging Janet tightly.

  “Thank you,” Janet said.

  They chatted for a moment before Edward put his arm around Janet.

  “I think that’s everyone,” he said.

  Janet looked around the room. “But what about all of your friends? The men in the black suits?” she asked.

  “They couldn’t stay for the party,” he replied.

  Janet opened her mouth to ask a dozen more questions, but she was interrupted by a waiter with a tray of finger foods. As she helped herself to something, Edward handed her the champagne flute she’d put down some time earlier.

  Half an hour later, they all sat down to a delicious dinner. After dinner, they had both traditional wedding cake and a selection of additional puddings.

  “I’m stuffed,” Janet said after she’d swallowed her last bite of chocolate cake. “Everything was delicious.”

  “Thank you,” Bridget replied as she cleared the plates.

  For several hours, the newly married pair drank and danced and talked with their friends and family. Janet giggled every time someone called her “Mrs. Bennett,” and Edward kissed her every time she laughed.

  “It’s getting late,” he said as the clock on the wall struck nine.

  “We have a plane to catch,” she sighed.

  “And it’s an hour later in Paris,” he reminded her.

  She nodded. “We should go.”

  “But you don’t want to leave.”

  “I do want to leave, but I’m also sad to leave. All of my friends are here and I’ve not had a chance to speak to everyone, not as much as I’d like, anyway,” she explained.

  “I can change our flights until tomorrow, if you’d rather stay here tonight.�
��

  She looked at him and had to blink back tears. “You would, wouldn’t you? You’d change all of our plans just for me.”

  “I made all of our plans just for you,” he said with a chuckle. “I want you to enjoy our honeymoon, and I want to make the rest of our life together one long holiday for both of us. One more day here won’t change anything in our forever.”

  After kissing him, she shook her head. “I want our first night together to be special,” she said. “Paris is the most romantic city in the world. I want to be there with you, and only you, tonight.”

  “Then we really do have to think about leaving soon,” he replied.

  Half an hour later, she and Edward walked out of Ashcroft Hall and into a waiting limousine. Their family and friends waved as the car slowly drove away, heading for a London airport.

  “More champagne?” Edward asked as they settled back in the seat.

  “I think I’ve had quite enough,” she replied with a giggle.

  “Then get some rest,” he suggested. “We’re going to be travelling for hours.”

  They snuggled up together, and Janet let herself doze on and off as they made their way to London. The small private plane was waiting for them when they arrived.

  “I’m not certain about this,” Janet said as she looked at the plane. “You know I’ve never flown before.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Edward assured her. “You know I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  Janet nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. Inside the plane, the young flight attendant did her best to make Janet feel at ease. The takeoff was nerve-wracking, but once they were in the air, Janet felt herself relaxing.

  “It’s actually a bit boring,” she told Edward after a while.

  He laughed. “It is, yes. It should feel more exciting than it does.”

  Another limousine was waiting for them at the other end. Janet greeted the driver in French. Once they were on their way, Edward grinned at her.

  “I’d forgotten how good your French is,” he said.

  “I’m sure I told you that Joan and I spent two years living in France in the early years of our teaching careers. We taught English, but outside of the classroom we spoke nothing but French for those years, even at home with one another. Once we came back to the UK, I taught French until I retired, so I was still able to speak it fairly regularly.”

  “And now you shall be able to speak it every day for a fortnight.”

  She smiled. “I’m looking forward to that, but I’m a bit worried about our fortnight in Venice.”

  “I speak more Italian than French,” he assured her. “We’ll be fine.”

  They arrived at their hotel, a small boutique property near the Eiffel Tower, after midnight.

  “Please sign the register,” the man behind the desk said, handing Janet a pen.

  She wrote “Janet Markham” and then passed the pen to Edward.

  “Have you decided not to take my name, then?” he asked in a teasing tone.

  Flushing, she took the pen back and carefully wrote “Bennett” after “Markham.” As she gave the pen to Edward again, she found herself giggling once more.

  “Congratulations on your marriage,” the man told them as Edward scrawled something illegible on the line under Janet’s neat signature.

  A uniformed bellhop showed them to their room while another followed with a cart carrying their luggage.

  The huge suite gave them a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding area. Janet stepped out onto the balcony as Edward got rid of the bellhops.

  “Happy?” he asked her when he joined her.

  She looked out at the illuminated tower and then back at her new husband. “I’ve never been happier in my life,” she told him.

  When Janet opened her eyes the next morning, she was momentarily discombobulated. The luxury suite was clearly not Doveby House, but it took her a moment to remember exactly where she was. A quick glance at her left hand made her smile. The simple gold band that Edward had given her yesterday looked perfect next to the gorgeous engagement ring he’d given her in September.

  Sitting up in bed, Janet looked at the empty space next to her. Edward wasn’t in bed. The door to the enormous en-suite was open. Janet stuck her head inside. No Edward. “Maybe he’s enjoying coffee on the balcony,” she muttered as she slipped on one of the thick bathrobes, which had the hotel’s name embroidered on it. When she pulled open the curtains, though, the balcony was empty.

  A nervous laugh bubbled up inside her. She’d been married for less than twenty-four hours and she’d already misplaced her husband.

  Also by Diana Xarissa

  The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novellas

  The Appleton Case

  The Bennett Case

  The Chalmers Case

  The Donaldson Case

  The Ellsworth Case

  The Fenton Case

  The Green Case

  The Hampton Case

  The Irwin Case

  The Jackson Case

  The Kingston Case

  The Lawley Case

  The Moody Case

  The Norman Case

  The Osborne Case

  The Patrone Case

  The Quinton Case

  The Rhodes Case

  The Somerset Case

  The Tanner Case

  The Underwood Case

  The Vernon Case

  The Walters Case

  The Xanders Case

  The Young Case

  The Zachery Case

  The Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Series

  The Armstrong Assignment

  The Isle of Man Cozy Mysteries

  Aunt Bessie Assumes

  Aunt Bessie Believes

  Aunt Bessie Considers

  Aunt Bessie Decides

  Aunt Bessie Enjoys

  Aunt Bessie Finds

  Aunt Bessie Goes

  Aunt Bessie’s Holiday

  Aunt Bessie Invites

  Aunt Bessie Joins

  Aunt Bessie Knows

  Aunt Bessie Likes

  Aunt Bessie Meets

  Aunt Bessie Needs

  Aunt Bessie Observes

  Aunt Bessie Provides

  Aunt Bessie Questions

  Aunt Bessie Remembers

  Aunt Bessie Solves

  Aunt Bessie Tries

  Aunt Bessie Understands

  Aunt Bessie Volunteers

  Aunt Bessie Wonders

  Aunt Bessie’s X-Ray

  Aunt Bessie Yearns

  Aunt Bessie Zeroes In

  The Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mysteries

  The Adams File

  The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Mysteries

  Arrivals and Arrests

  Boats and Bad Guys

  Cars and Cold Cases

  Dogs and Danger

  Encounters and Enemies

  Friends and Frauds

  Guests and Guilt

  Hop-tu-Naa and Homicide

  Invitations and Investigations

  Joy and Jealousy

  Kittens and Killers

  Letters and Lawsuits

  Marsupials and Murder

  Neighbors and Nightmares

  Orchestras and Obsessions

  Proposals and Poison

  Questions and Quarrels

  The Isle of Man Romances

  Island Escape

  Island Inheritance

  Island Heritage

  Island Christmas

  The Later in Life Love Stories

  Second Chances

  Second Act

  Second Thoughts

  Second Degree

  Second Best

  About the Author

  Diana grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania and moved to Washington, DC after college. There she met a wonderful Englishman who was visiting the city. After a whirlwind romance, they got married and Diana moved to the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire to begin a new life with her husband. A
short time later, they relocated to the Isle of Man.

  After over ten years on the island, it was time for a change. With their two children in tow, Diana and her husband moved to suburbs of Buffalo, New York. Diana now spends her days writing about the island she loves.

  She also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and middle grade and Young Adult books as D.X. Dunn.

  Diana is always happy to hear from readers. You can write to her at:

  Diana Xarissa Dunn

  PO Box 72

  Clarence, NY 14031.

  Find Diana at: DianaXarissa.com

  E-mail: Diana@dianaxarissa.com