“I wouldn’t normally agree, of course, but as we’ve been friends for so long, I’m happy to see you settle things amicably between yourselves,” Eldridge replied.
“As I said, I’d like to do this as quickly as possible. If I don’t have an agreement from you before I leave on the thirty-first, I’ll start court proceedings when I get back to London,” Roland said.
Janet swallowed a dozen angry replies. While she was trying to work out something useful to say, Joan spoke.
“You’d better hurry up and provide us with a copy of the will and proof of identity, then, hadn’t you?” she asked.
“I’ll have those for you tomorrow,” Eldridge said. “I didn’t bother to bring them with me because I truly thought this would be a simple matter. Foolishly, it seems, I thought that you’d trust your cousin.”
“We only met him yesterday,” Janet replied dryly. “As yet, we’ve no proof that he actually is our cousin, anyway. Anyone could turn up here and claim to be a long-lost relative. We have to protect ourselves, obviously.”
Roland and Eldridge exchanged glances. “I’ll ring my office and have someone send copies of the necessary documents with overnight delivery,” Eldridge said.
“In the meantime, let’s all go and have dinner somewhere nice,” Roland suggested. “You tell me where we can get the best food in Doveby Dale.”
“I believe we mentioned that there’s an excellent French restaurant near the centre of the village,” Janet said. “Whether they’re doing anything other than Christmas parties at the moment, I can’t tell you.”
“We aren’t far from Derby,” Eldridge interjected. “One of my assistants is from Derby. He gave me a long list of restaurants he enjoys there.”
“So let’s go into Derby, then,” Roland shrugged. “I’m happy to drive everyone in my car.”
“I’m afraid Janet and I have other plans for this evening,” Joan said.
“Surely you can change them. We’re family and we don’t often see one another, after all,” Roland replied.
“One of the neighbours is having his annual Christmas dinner party,” Joan told him. “We were invited weeks ago. We can’t cancel on such short notice, I’m afraid.”
“Perhaps you could bring Roland and myself to the party with you,” Eldridge suggested.
“It’s a sit-down dinner. I would never ask Michael to try to accommodate two extra guests on such short notice,” Joan replied.
Roland looked over at Eldridge and sighed. “I suppose we’ll have to go and get something on our own, then, old friend.”
“I suppose so,” he replied.
“I’m not doing anything tonight,” Peter said brightly.
Janet frowned. He was meant to be acting on their behalf. Going out for a meal with the enemy didn’t seem smart.
“You’re more than welcome to join us, then,” Eldridge said quickly. “Perhaps you could even suggest somewhere for us to go.”
To Janet, time seemed to slow to a standstill as the trio of men discussed various restaurants and the relative merits of different cuisines. All Janet wanted was for the men to leave so that she and Joan could talk. They needed to discuss Roland’s offer. At some point, they’d have to have dinner as well. It was just as well that Michael wasn’t actually having a dinner party that evening, being that Janet wasn’t feeling at all like celebrating Christmas or anything else.
Eventually, the three men agreed to a plan. As Eldridge had to find a hotel in Derby anyway, it was deemed best to have dinner somewhere there. Eldridge and Roland left to find the hotel, arranging to meet Peter later in the evening at the restaurant they’d agreed upon.
“So, what do you think of Roland’s offer?” Peter asked as Janet shut the door behind the two men.
“We don’t have the money,” Janet told him. “The only way we could get that much money in a hurry would be to sell Doveby House. I can’t see any banks giving us a mortgage on it, not at our ages.”
“Was the estate worth much more than the value of the house?” was Peter’s next question.
“I believe the total we received was about twice the sale price of the house,” Janet admitted.
“So going to court could cost you twice as much as reaching a quick settlement,” Peter concluded. “You’ll have to consider the fees associated with a court case, as well, in your decision.”
“I keep hoping the will is fake or that Roland isn’t really related to us,” Joan said.
“Robert seems to think he truly is our distant cousin,” Janet sighed. “The will could still turn out to be a forgery, though.”
“You need to discuss between yourselves what you’re going to do if the will is genuine,” Peter told them. “We won’t make any counteroffers until we’ve seen the will, of course, but start thinking now about what your counteroffer might entail. Perhaps you could offer a small lump sum now and then make payments to the man.”
“I don’t like that idea,” Joan said.
“Of course you don’t, but if you did receive the money from your aunt in error, you will have to make restitution to the rightful heir,” Peter replied.
“Joan and I need to talk,” Janet told Peter. “We’ll discuss every option we can think of while we wait for the copy of the will to arrive. We’ll meet again tomorrow, if you’re available.”
“Ring my office when the will arrives here. I’ll drop whatever I’m doing and come straight over,” he replied.
Janet let him out and then shut the door behind him. Leaning against it, she took several slow breaths, trying not to let herself cry.
“We need a better solicitor,” Joan said angrily. “He’s actually encouraging us to settle with that loathsome man and his vile solicitor.”
“We could lose a lot more money if we fight him,” Janet pointed out. “I can’t even imagine how much going to court would cost us.”
“It’s still far too early to be discussing any sort of settlement. I don’t believe that Roland is who he claims to be, and even if he is, I don’t believe that Mildred changed her will.”
“What if she did, though?” Janet asked as she sat down on the couch next to Joan.
“Then we’ll work something out,” Joan replied. “We might not be able to get a mortgage, but we might be able to get some sort of loan against the business. We may be able to sell some of the furniture to raise some money. Everything here is antique, after all.”
“And I love every single piece. I can’t bear the thought of selling anything.”
“Maybe there’s something of value in the carriage house,” Joan suggested.
“There may well be, but we’ll never find it, not before tomorrow.”
“We could take a quick look,” Joan suggested. “Perhaps the ghost could give us a hint as to where to look.”
“You don’t believe in ghosts.”
“No, but desperate times call for desperate measures,” Joan replied.
Janet grabbed the key to the carriage house and a torch. While there was a light to illuminate the building’s interior, the resident ghost often switched it off when people were inside. He or she also liked to lock the door. Janet always made sure to keep the key with her rather than leaving it in the lock.
“Every time I come in here it seems as if there are more boxes,” Joan said as Janet switched on the light.
“Maybe Stuart is storing more things in here,” Janet suggested.
Their neighbour, Stuart Long, was a retired gardener. He looked after the extensive grounds around Doveby House in exchange for a small stipend and unlimited tea and biscuits. He left a great deal of gardening equipment in the carriage house, and had stored a few boxes of papers and other personal things there as well at one point. As far as Janet knew, though, he’d taken those things out months earlier.
“How do we get the ghost to help us, then?” Joan asked nervously.
“I’ve never known him to do anything except cause mischief,” Janet replied. “Hey, ghost, we need help here
. We need something very valuable that we can sell, or we might have to sell Doveby House. Any ideas?” she called.
She and Joan stood in the centre of the room, waiting for the door to slam shut and the lights to go out. Nothing happened.
Joan opened the box nearest to her. She dug through layers of tissue paper and pulled out a small silver creamer. “It’s pretty, but it isn’t hallmarked as real silver. I can’t see it being worth much,” she sighed.
The first box Janet opened was full of books. “They appear to be romance novels from about thirty years ago,” she told Joan. “I might enjoy reading a few of them, but I doubt they have any monetary value.”
Joan sighed. “This was a stupid idea, and yes, I’m well aware that it was mine. Let’s go back inside.”
Janet locked up the carriage house and then followed Joan back into the kitchen. “Maybe the ghost didn’t bother because he or she knows we are worried completely unnecessarily.”
Joan sank into a chair. “Do you think we should settle if the will seems genuine?”
“I don’t know what to think. Roland said he wants an answer before he leaves, which doesn’t really give us time to find a handwriting expert, does it?”
“I’ve no idea where to look for a handwriting expert, anyway,” Joan sighed. “I was hoping our solicitor might know what to do, but I don’t have a lot of faith in Peter Plumber.”
“I think I’d have more confidence in him if he weren’t having dinner with Roland and Eldridge tonight.”
“Yes, that does seem odd to me, but I’m not sure it matters. We both love Doveby House, don’t we? We don’t want to sell it?”
“No, we don’t want to sell Doveby House. I don’t want to sell anything inside of Doveby House, either, though. All of the furniture fits perfectly exactly where it is.”
“Except for the desk in my bedroom, but we’ve been talking about moving that for ages. I suppose we could sell that desk, but I can’t see it making anywhere near enough money to satisfy Roland.”
“I’d rather sell the furniture than sell Doveby House,” Janet said reluctantly.
Joan nodded. “There’s another option, but I hate to even mention it.”
“Is there?”
“Michael made quite a lot of money when he sold his business,” Joan told her. “As he didn’t have anything he needed to buy with the funds, they’re just sitting in the bank, earning a low rate of interest now. He’s offered to give me whatever I need to pay off Roland.”
“Does he have any idea how much money we’re talking about here?”
“He knows exactly how much money we’re discussing. I told him about the inheritance from Mildred and he’s offered to give me the whole amount if we need it.”
Janet sat back in her chair, feeling stunned. “I know he cares about you, but that’s a hugely generous offer.”
Joan nodded. “I can’t accept, of course, but it was very kind of him to offer.”
“You’ve already turned him down?”
“He wouldn’t let me turn him down, not yet, anyway.”
“So we could simply use Michael’s money to pay Roland to go away,” Janet mused. “If we took the settlement he offered, it would only be about half of what we actually inherited, too.”
“We can’t take Michael’s money.”
“Maybe we could borrow it from him,” Janet suggested. “We could even pay it back with interest. I wouldn’t mind paying him back over time. That’s much more acceptable than paying Roland over time.”
Joan nodded slowly. “I’m afraid the money might come between us, though,” she admitted in a low voice. “I care about Michael more than I want to admit.”
Janet patted her hand. “Let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings,” she suggested. “Maybe there isn’t any new will and we’ve just called Roland’s bluff. If a will does arrive tomorrow, we can spend a day or two going over it before we have to make any decisions.”
“Of course, Christmas falls right in the middle of all of this,” Joan sighed. “Whatever happens, it doesn’t seem as if it’s going to be a very happy one this year.”
“I feel better knowing that we have Michael on our side, anyway. I didn’t realise he had a fortune in the bank.”
“Neither did I,” Joan admitted. “He always insists on paying when we go out together, and I used to worry about him spending money on me. I’ll be far less worried in the future.”
Janet’s stomach growled. “I thought maybe I’d be too upset to eat, but clearly not,” she said.
“Michael did invite us to have dinner at his house tonight, actually. It isn’t exactly a neighbourhood Christmas party, but it will be dinner.”
Janet laughed. “I should have known that you’d never have lied outright to anyone, not even Roland.”
She and Joan freshened up and then headed across the road to the semi-detached houses opposite their own. Michael lived on his own in one of them and Stuart Long and his wife, Mary, owned the other. Mary spent much of her time visiting her children from a previous marriage, so Stuart was often home on his own.
“I hope you don’t mind that I invited Stuart to join us,” Michael told the women. “Mary has gone to spend Christmas with one of her children and won’t be back until some time in January.”
“Theirs is an odd sort of marriage,” Janet muttered. Then she spent several minutes thanking Michael for his generous offer.
He flushed and shook his head. “It isn’t a big deal,” he insisted before rushing off to the kitchen to check on dinner.
Once Stuart arrived, Michael served a feast in his small dining room. With Stuart there, the conversation revolved around local politics and the weather. No one mentioned Roland or Doveby House over dinner.
“Joan is a great cook, but this is excellent,” Janet said as she ate.
“The recipes are all hers,” Michael replied.
After dinner, Janet excused herself and went home. She could only hope that Stuart wouldn’t overstay his welcome and would give Joan and Michael some time alone together.
Back in Doveby House, Janet found herself walking from room to room with tears in her eyes. While she was never going to love welcoming strangers into their home, she loved Doveby House more than she’d realised. Now that their ownership of the property was under threat, she was determined to do everything she could to stay there. She was still wandering around when the telephone rang.
Chapter 8
“Janet, Robert rang me and said you might be having a spot of bother,” Edward Bennett’s voice came down the line.
“That’s one way to put it,” Janet sighed.
“Tell me everything.”
Janet sat down on the nearest chair and took a deep breath. “Our cousin, Roland, has turned up,” she began. Edward didn’t say a word as Janet told him all about the letter they’d received from Roland and his subsequent arrival. When she told him what he’d said about taking Doveby House from them, Edward interrupted.
“That is not going to happen,” he said firmly. “Carry on, though. Tell me everything that’s happened since.”
Janet filled him in on the conversation she and Joan had had with Peter Plumber, before mentioning Michael’s generous offer. “We had dinner with Michael, and since then I’ve just been walking around the house worrying myself sick,” she concluded.
“You must stop worrying immediately,” Edward told her. “I’m not sure what he is playing at, but there’s no way he’s going to get Doveby House from you. Even if he is your cousin, he still has to prove that the will he’s claiming to have found is genuine. As he’s rushing you for a quick settlement, I have my doubts about that.”
“But if we make a quick settlement, we only have to give him the value of Mildred’s house. The estate was worth twice that. If the will is genuine, it seems a very generous offer, really.”
“Which is another reason why I doubt the validity of this new will. If it were real, I’m sure he’d want every single penny he cou
ld squeeze out of you.”
“We are family,” Janet protested.
“Or so he wants you to believe. You and Joan mustn’t agree to anything until I’ve had a chance to investigate.”
“Robert has been investigating. He thinks Roland truly is our cousin.”
“I have a great deal of respect for Robert and I think he does an excellent job at policing Doveby Dale and Little Burton, but I’m not sure he has the necessary resources to investigate what sounds as if it may be a very sophisticated fraud scheme,” Edward told her. “You sound as if you believe Roland, which suggests that he’s very good indeed.”
“He’s very believable, I suppose,” Janet said slowly. “Joan and I didn’t know Mildred, either, which adds to our doubts. We were shocked when we inherited her estate, especially when we found out how much money was involved. For ages afterwards Joan and I both kept saying that we couldn’t believe our luck.”
“Yes, well, I’ll be starting my investigation tonight. Don’t be at all surprised if that will you were promised doesn’t arrive tomorrow after all. There’s something suspicious about all of this and I’m going to find out what.”
“I’m sure you have better things to do,” Janet protested.
“I have other things to do, but not better ones. I can spare a bit of time for your benefit. I won’t be doing the investigating myself, anyway. My staff will be taking care of most of the work.”
“You have staff?” Janet asked.
Edward chuckled. “I shouldn’t have put it quite that way, but I suppose it’s as accurate as anything else. Once I’m finished speaking with you, I’ll be ringing around and putting several different things into motion. By morning, there should be at least a dozen men and women digging into Roland Dickerson’s past and present. I’ll have at least as many investigating Eldridge Quinton, as well.”
“All of that sounds very expensive.”
“Domestic fraud investigations are one of the areas dealt with within the government department for which I work. That’s why I have such confidence in my team. They’ve done this many times before.”
The Quinton Case: A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Page 6