The Fenton Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 6)

by Diana Xarissa

  Janet laughed. “It’s fine,” she told him. “We’re just happy to see you get some extra business.”

  “Yes, we’ve just gone over what we were expecting to take in for the whole month of January, so we’re thrilled,” Ted replied.

  “I wonder if any of them need any antiques or collectables,” William said as the trio got up from their table.

  Janet laughed and quickly followed her sister out of the café. William was right on her heels, which made her nervous.

  “Are you free for dinner tonight?” he asked her as they crossed the car park together.

  “Um, no, actually, not tonight,” Janet stammered. “I don’t like to go out when we have guests,” she explained.

  “And I’m off to London for a few days early next week,” William told her. “I’m leaving Paul in charge, which might be a very foolish idea, but I have some business to take care of there. I’ll ring you when I’m back and ask again.”

  Janet nodded and quickly climbed into the car. William held her door for a moment.

  “I won’t keep asking, if you’d rather I didn’t,” he said quietly.

  Janet took a deep breath. “Ask again when you’re back,” she replied, her heart hammering in her chest.

  William’s face lit up with a huge smile as he pushed her door closed for her. He walked away with a spring in his step. Janet slid down in her seat and wondered if she’d just made a huge mistake.

  Chapter Seven

  Back at Doveby House, the afternoon seemed to fly by. Janet began unpacking the boxes of books that she and Joan had brought with them when they’d moved into the bed and breakfast. The boxes she’d brought had her rearranging the mystery section of the library, which took many hours.

  “Did you unpack my books yet?” Joan asked when she came to collect Janet for dinner.

  “Not yet,” Janet replied. “Maybe tomorrow. I thought I’d left some room in the mystery section for my books, but I didn’t leave nearly enough. I had to move a lot of other books in order to squeeze everything in.”

  “It will be nice to have my books on the shelves,” Joan said. “I’m looking forward to rereading many of them.”

  “Yes, well, as I said, maybe tomorrow,” Janet replied. She felt as if she’d done quite enough hard work for today. Joan was going out with Michael and Janet was determined to put her feet up and enjoy having the house to herself, assuming the guests didn’t come back early, of course.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me make something for you for dinner?” Joan asked for the third time.

  “I’m quite certain,” Janet told her. “I think I’ll make a frozen pizza.”

  Joan frowned. “Pizza isn’t the best thing for you,” she said.

  “No, but I haven’t had it in months,” Janet replied. “It sounds quite good, actually.”

  “I could make you a small cottage pie,” Joan offered. “I have just enough time.”

  “I’m sure Michael would be more than happy if you turned up early,” Janet told her. “I’ll be just fine.”

  Joan looked doubtful, but she didn’t argue any further. “I’ll go and get ready, then,” she said.

  Janet ran her hand along the shelf where she’d just put some of her favourite titles. “What to read,” she muttered softly to herself. After a moment, she pulled out the first book in a series about an American female detective. It had been a while since she’d reread this particular book. If she enjoyed it as much this time as she had the first time, she’d probably work her way through the rest of the series again, as well. With that important decision made, what to have for dinner seemed less vital.

  In the kitchen, she dug the frozen pizza she’d bought some weeks ago out of the freezer. It looked better on the box than it did when she removed it from its wrappings. It would surely improve on cooking, she thought as she switched the cooker on. Joan rushed through a moment later.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want for your dinner?” she demanded as she looked at the frozen pizza on the counter.

  “Quite sure,” Janet replied.

  Joan raised an eyebrow, but didn’t argue. “I’m off then. I won’t be very late, though. I know we have guests and you were kind enough to wait up for them last night. Tonight it’s my turn.”

  “You were up as well last night,” Janet pointed out.

  “Yes, but tonight I shall take my turn in the sitting room, waiting for everyone to get in for the night,” Joan told her. “I won’t feel right going to bed otherwise, not with the problems in the area.”

  “No one would be foolish enough to break in here,” Janet said, hoping she was correct. “We haven’t any money lying around.”

  “But the burglar might not know that,” Joan replied. “Maybe Robert has already caught someone and we’re both worried over nothing.”

  “Let’s hope,” Janet said.

  She followed her sister to the door and then watched her as she walked across the road. It wasn’t dark yet, and Janet found herself wondering when the guests might return as she walked back to the kitchen. The cooker was up to temperature, so she slid the pizza into the oven and set a timer. She picked up her book and read the first chapter while she waited for her dinner to cook.

  It did look better hot, she decided as she removed it from the cooker. She cut it into six slices and then carried it into the television lounge. Leaving it on the table, she returned to the kitchen for a fizzy drink. She didn’t really care to read while she was eating. Getting food on a favourite book was too upsetting. Instead, she found a mindless television programme that she could watch and settled in. A handful of biscuits finished off her meal nicely.

  Mindful that they had guests, after she was finished eating Janet switched off the telly and took her book into the sitting room. She’d only just sat down after clearing up her plate and glass when the front door opened.

  “If we win the lottery,” Sue was saying as she walked into the house.

  “Even then, we couldn’t possibly afford it,” Harry told her. He was carrying a large umbrella and he stopped in the doorway to collapse it.

  “What are you wanting to buy?” Janet couldn’t help but ask.

  “Oh, Chatsworth House, maybe,” Sue said with a laugh. “Actually, I can’t imagine living anywhere that grand, but it might be nice to have the option.”

  Janet laughed. “Doveby House is far more grand than anywhere I thought I’d ever live,” she told the girl. “You never know what your future might bring.”

  “I’d love to own a house like this,” Sue said, her eyes shining. “I wouldn’t even mind having to get up and make breakfast for guests, not much, anyway.”

  As the girl had pretty much summed up exactly how Janet felt about having guests, she smiled. “Maybe when you’ve retired you’ll be able to buy something like this.”

  “I don’t know,” Sue said. “It seems a long way off and right now we’re struggling to save up for a deposit on a tiny flat in Milton Keynes.”

  “Spending money is always more fun than saving it,” Janet told her. “I’m fortunate, in a way, that Joan doesn’t agree with me. She always wants to save and I always want to spend. Together we manage quite well.”

  “Harry and I are like that,” Sue said with a warm smile. “He’s much better at saving money, while I tend to want to buy everything I see. He managed to save up for this holiday and I never even knew about it until we were on our way.”

  “What a wonderful surprise for you,” Janet said.

  “Yeah, we needed to get away,” she replied. Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back and then turned away.

  “Maybe we should have an early night,” Harry suggested, his voice gentle.

  “Yeah, probably,” Sue agreed. “I can’t believe we have to go home tomorrow. I’d like to stay for a week or longer.”

  “Maybe next time,” Harry told her. “What time do we need to check out by?” he asked Janet.

  “Oh, there’s no rush,”
she told him. “We don’t have any other guests arriving, so you can leave whenever you’re ready.”

  “Great, we’ll see you in the morning, then,” he told her.

  “Did you manage to get the car repaired?” Janet suddenly remembered.

  “Oh, yeah, Mack was great,” Harry told her. “He just had to tighten a few things and he didn’t even charge us for the trouble.”

  Janet smiled. “I’m glad he could help.”

  Janet watched as the pair headed for the second floor. She’d only just sat back down when she heard someone coming back down the stairs.

  “Is there any way we could stay one more night?” Harry asked. “Sue doesn’t have to work on Monday and I can get the morning off, that won’t be a problem. I’d love to let her have one more night away.”

  “I’m sure that will be fine,” Janet said, having no idea what Joan might say about the idea. “You can work it out with Joan in the morning.”

  “Thank you so much,” Harry replied. “Only please don’t say anything to Sue. I want it to be a surprise.”

  Janet nodded, thinking that young Sue seemed to get a lot of surprises from her husband and hoping that they would continue to be good ones as the years progressed.

  Half a chapter later, the front door opened again. Margaret Burns stomped in, struggling to fold an umbrella as she went.

  “Good evening,” Janet said from her seat.

  “It would be a bit better if it wasn’t raining quite so hard,” Margaret told her with a laugh. “Even with the umbrella, I got quite soaked just walking from my car to your door.”

  “Would you like a cup of tea?” Janet asked.

  “I would, but I’m not going to have one,” Margaret replied. “I’m going to go up to my room and change out of my wet clothes and then go to bed. I don’t suppose I could stay one more night? I didn’t get to see half the things I wanted to see today because of the miserable weather.”

  “I’m sure you can arrange that with Joan in the morning,” Janet said, hoping she was correct.

  “Excellent, well, thank you for everything. Good night.”

  Margaret disappeared to her room, leaving Janet waiting for her sister rather than their guests. She was about halfway through the book before Joan returned.

  “I did mean to be home some time ago,” Joan said apologetically as she removed her wet raincoat. “We went to that little French restaurant and they were very slow.”

  “I think they’re meant to be,” Janet told her. “It’s fine dining, after all.”

  “Yes, maybe a bit too fine for my taste,” Joan replied. “I don’t like all the fuss and bother.”

  Janet nodded, even if she didn’t exactly agree. She’d really enjoyed her meal there, although Edward’s company might have been a large part of the reason why.

  “I don’t suppose any of the guests are home yet?” Joan asked, sitting down opposite Janet.

  “Actually, they’re all tucked up,” Janet told her. “And they all want to stay an extra night as well. I’ve told them to speak to you in the morning.”

  “We could accommodate them,” Joan said slowly. “Would you mind terribly?”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Janet assured her. “They’ve been no trouble at all, really.”

  “I’ll sort it out tomorrow,” Joan said. “If everyone is here, I’m going to go to bed.”

  “Oh, Harry wants to surprise Sue with the extra night, so don’t mention it in front of her,” Janet told her.

  “Okay,” Joan shrugged. “Are you staying up for much longer?”

  “I’ll head upstairs now,” Janet replied. “I can always read in bed, if I can’t sleep.”

  Sleeping wasn’t a problem, though. Janet got ready for bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched her pillow. The alarm the next morning seemed to go off very early.

  “Good morning,” she greeted Joan, feeling as if the two words didn’t properly go together.

  “Good morning,” Joan muttered back, clearly in a similar mood.

  “Did you sleep well?” Janet asked.

  “No,” Joan said shortly. “I’m sure I heard someone moving around downstairs in the middle of the night. Didn’t you hear anything?”

  “No,” Janet said in surprise. “You don’t think the house was broken into, do you?”

  “I was thinking that one of our guests was having a walk around, but I suppose a break-in is a possibility, too,” Joan replied.

  “You should have rung 999,” Janet said.

  “And dragged poor Robert down here to arrest one of our guests for watching late night telly?” Joan asked.

  “Did someone come down and watch telly?”

  “I don’t know,” Joan admitted. “I went all through the house this morning and it looks exactly the same as when I went to bed, at least as far as I can tell.”

  “And you checked the back door?” Janet asked.

  “It was locked, same as always.”

  “I can’t believe I never heard anything,” Janet said. “If one of the guests came downstairs, they would have had to walk past my room.”

  “It’s carpeted,” Joan pointed out. “I don’t think it would be too difficult to sneak past your door.”

  Before they could speak further, they heard voices in the corridor. A moment later, all of their guests joined them.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Janet said. “Have a seat and we’ll get started on breakfast.”

  The weather seemed to be on everyone’s mind this morning and that was all that Harry, Sue, and Margaret discussed as Joan and Janet served their breakfast. When Sue ran back upstairs to get her bag for their planned day of sightseeing, Harry quickly spoke to Joan about extending their stay.

  Janet walked the pair to the door a short while later, carefully locking it behind them. When she returned to the kitchen, Margaret was just concluding her own arrangements for an extra night. Janet walked her to the door as well and then went back to help clear the breakfast dishes.

  “I gave Harry and Sue a small discount on their extra night,” Joan told Janet. “Harry was very grateful.”

  “That was nice of you,” Janet said, feeling somewhat surprised.

  “I also charged Margaret a little bit extra,” Joan said, blushing. “So it all works out in the end.”

  Janet laughed. “You’re getting to be quite good at this, aren’t you?”

  “I hope I’m learning something as we go along,” Joan replied.

  They’d just put away the last plate when someone knocked on the door.

  “Robert? I do hope you’ve come to tell us that you’ve arrested someone,” Janet said.

  “Unfortunately, I haven’t,” the man said seriously. “I’ve come to ask you a few questions about last night, and especially about your guests.”

  “Oh, dear, that doesn’t sound good,” Janet exclaimed. “Do you have time for tea and biscuits?”

  “Very quickly,” the man replied. “As I didn’t get any breakfast.”

  Joan was still in the kitchen, wiping down the countertops. “I put the kettle on as soon as I heard your voice,” she told Robert.

  “That’s very kind of you,” he said.

  “But what’s happened?” Janet asked.

  “Stuart and Mary Long had a break-in last night,” Robert told her.

  “But they’re right across the street,” Janet gasped.

  Chapter Eight

  Stuart and Mary Long owned the other half of the semi-detached property where Michael Donaldson lived. Stuart was a retired gardener who spent much of his free time looking after the extensive gardens at Doveby House. The sisters paid him a very modest salary and supplemented it with copious amounts of tea and biscuits. His wife, Mary, seemed to rarely be at home. She had three children and she seemed to spend much of her time visiting them in their homes around the country.

  “They were at home when the burglar broke in?” Joan asked.

  “Yes, they were in bed,” Robert t
old her. “It looks as if someone broke in through the back door. Mary and Stuart slept through the whole thing and only discovered it this morning when they found the door ajar.”

  “How awful,” Janet said. “Was much taken?”

  “Mary’s handbag was on the kitchen table. She only had about twenty pounds in cash in it, but that was taken,” Robert replied. “Fortunately for them, the thief didn’t bother with her credit cards or bank card.”

  “That’s odd,” Janet said. “You’d think they’d take everything they could get.”

  “It suggests we’re dealing with an amateur, or a young person who is only interested in cash. In a small community like Doveby Dale, whoever it was would struggle to use a stolen credit card.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Joan said. “I accidently took Janet’s card the other day and they wouldn’t let me use it at the shops, at least not until they rang Janet and checked that it was okay.”

  Robert laughed. “I hope she didn’t object,” he said.

  Janet smiled. “I made her buy a few extra treats to make it up to me,” she said.

  “Did either of you hear or see anyone in the area yesterday that didn’t belong here?” Robert asked, suddenly serious.

  “I don’t think so,” Janet said. “Our guests are the only strangers I saw.”

  “Yes, I want to speak to them,” Robert said. “Stuart and Mary went up to bed quite early last night. I gather they were watching telly in their bedroom from around seven, so the thief might have broken in as early as that. I think it’s more likely it was later, when everyone was asleep, though.”

  “They didn’t break into Michael’s, did they?” Joan asked, sounding concerned.

  “No. He had new locks put in recently and they’re very good quality. I suspect our amateur burglar took one look at his lock and decided not to even try.”

  “That’s good to know,” Joan said. “Maybe we should have our locks replaced.”

  “I always recommend doing so when you buy a new property,” Robert told her. “You never know how many keys Maggie Appleton might have given out for the place.”