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

by Diana Xarissa

  “With so many guests in and out all the time, it’s difficult to keep track of the keys we have anyway,” Janet said. “But I do hate the thought of anyone breaking in here.”

  “We’ll have to discuss the matter further,” Joan said. “But for now, what can we do to help you?” she asked Robert.

  “Firstly, what time did your guests return here last night?”

  “Harry and Sue Mortimer came in around eight,” Janet recalled. “And Margaret Burns was only a few minutes behind them.”

  “I wish we could pin down the timing on the break-in a bit better,” Robert said.

  “I heard someone moving around down here during the night,” Joan told him. “It’s possible someone even went out and then came back in again. With my bedroom door shut, the sounds were muffled.”

  Robert nodded. “Of course your guests are free to come down for a cuppa or watch some telly during the night,” he said. “But maybe you should put some sort of alarm on the doors to the outside.”

  “I’d hate to scare everyone in the house if one of the guests decided to get some fresh air,” Joan said. “We’re running a bed and breakfast, not a prison. As the weather gets warmer, I can imagine some guests might like a walk around the grounds if they can’t sleep.”

  Robert nodded. “I’m assuming you didn’t get up to see who was walking around the house last night.”

  Joan flushed. “We always tell guests to knock on my door if they need anything,” she said, somewhat defensively. “And that they should make themselves at home. I felt it was best to simply stay out of their way.”

  “I’m very glad you didn’t get up,” Robert told her. “I would hate to think what might have happened if you’d disturbed the burglar.”

  Joan and Janet both shuddered. “Could it have been the thief?” Janet asked.

  “Did you notice anything disturbed this morning?” Robert asked.

  “No,” Joan said firmly. “I checked the whole house, well, the ground floor anyway, as soon as I was up. The door from the conservatory to the gardens was locked up tight and so was the front door.”

  “I’m going to have to question your guests,” Robert said in an apologetic tone. “I don’t think any of them are suspects, but they might have seen or heard something, especially if they were up in the night.”

  “They’ve all gone out for the day,” Janet told him. “We don’t know when to expect them back.”

  “You don’t have a time that they have to check out before?” Robert asked.

  “We do if there are other guests arriving, but we’ve no one else booked. Actually, they’re all staying with us tonight as well,” Joan replied. “They’ve no need to come back here until late evening.”

  “I thought they were all leaving today,” Robert said.

  “They were supposed to,” Joan told him. “But they’ve both added an extra night to their stay. We’re quiet enough this time of year to be happy to accommodate them.”

  “In that case, perhaps you could ring me when they get back to the house?” Robert asked. “I’ll come over when I know someone is here to speak to.”

  “We can do that,” Janet said. “Should we just ring the station?”

  “You can ring the station until five,” Robert told her. “If I’m not there, Susan will know how to reach me. After five you’d better ring my mobile.” Janet wrote down the number he gave.

  “I hope Stuart and Mary aren’t too upset,” Janet said as she locked the door behind the constable. “Maybe we should take them some biscuits.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t be nosy,” Joan replied, giving Janet a stern look.

  Janet might have argued further if she hadn’t spotted Stuart making his way towards Doveby House. “Oh, look, there’s Stuart,” she said. “I’ll just go and see if he wants tea.”

  She walked through the television lounge into the small conservatory behind it. Stuart was making his way along the path to the carriage house when Janet opened the door.

  “How are you?” she greeted the man.

  “I’m fine,” he said with a shrug. “Mary’s more upset than I am, but she’s funny about people going in her handbag. I know better than to poke my nose in there, that’s for sure.”

  Janet smiled. “I’m very territorial about my bags as well,” she admitted. “I don’t even like Joan touching them, and we share nearly everything.”

  “I must admit to feeling a bit funny about there having been someone in the house,” Stuart continued. “Especially because we never heard anything.”

  “I suppose, with having a shared wall and all, you’re used to odd noises now and then,” Janet speculated.

  “Actually, Michael is a very quiet neighbour,” Stuart told her. “We rarely hear anything after nine, but then we’re usually in bed by ten ourselves.”

  “Robert said you were upstairs watching telly most of the evening.”

  Stuart rolled his eyes. “Mary had this idea about putting a telly in our bedroom,” he said. “We’ve only had it a few weeks and I’m not at all fond of it, but she seems to think it’s wonderful.”

  “Maybe whoever broke in did so while you were watching telly, rather than when you were asleep,” Janet suggested.

  “Could be. Mary’s a bit hard of hearing and she always puts the volume way up. I told her the other day that a bomb could go off outside our door and we’d never hear it. I’m surprised Michael hasn’t complained, really. He must be able to hear it when she’s watching something.”

  “All of these break-ins are very worrying,” Janet said.

  “I suppose it’s good that we haven’t much worth stealing,” Stuart said with a laugh. “I know Mary will keep her handbag upstairs at night now, so if they ever broke in again, they wouldn’t even get twenty quid.”

  “I don’t suppose you have any idea who might be behind it?” Janet had to ask.

  “I suspect it’s just kids,” Stuart said. “There isn’t a lot to do in Doveby Dale, is there? Some teens are probably just bored and have found that breaking and entering isn’t all that difficult. They aren’t getting much for their trouble, are they?”

  “No, at least they haven’t so far,” Janet agreed.

  “I thought I’d do some winter weeding,” Stuart said. “Gardening is my cure-all, you see. Whenever anything is bothering me, I pull some weeds or plant some flowers and I soon feel better.”

  “What’s Mary doing?” Janet wondered.

  “Drinking wine and ringing her children in turn to tell them how upset she is,” Stuart replied. “I didn’t want to hear the story over and over again, so here I am.”

  Janet nodded. “I’ll leave you to some gardening, then,” she told the man.

  “Mostly, I’ll probably just potter around in the carriage house,” Stuart replied. “I can tidy up a few things and make sure all my tools are clean and sharp, ready for spring.”

  “We’ll be home all day if you need a cuppa,” Janet told him.

  “I might just take you up on that,” Stuart said with a smile.

  Joan was in the kitchen, baking a cake when Janet went back inside.

  “Did I forget about some special occasion?” Janet asked as she watched her sister work.

  “No, I just thought a cake might be nice,” Joan answered vaguely.

  “When Stuart is feeling stressed, he likes to garden,” Janet said. “I’m just lucky you fight stress by baking.”

  “And what are you going to do this afternoon?” Joan asked her.

  “Read,” Janet said with a laugh. “I’ll just lose myself in someone else’s problems. That always seems to help.”

  “Maybe you could work on the library in between chapters,” Joan suggested.

  Janet made a face at her, behind her back, and then sighed. “Maybe,” was all she was willing to concede.

  In the library, she found the next book in the series she’d started rereading and sank down in her favourite chair. Ten minutes later, she found herself feeling slightl
y guilty as she turned from chapter two to chapter three. “Okay, five minutes of unpacking,” she announced loudly.

  Half an hour later, she’d cleared two shelves for Joan’s collection of classics and was putting the last one into its new place.

  “I didn’t think you’d really work on the unpacking,” Joan said from the doorway.

  “I want to be able to eat my cake without guilt,” Janet told her.

  Joan laughed. “I have lunch ready, with cake for after,” she said.

  “Can’t I just have cake?” Janet asked, only partly kidding.

  “Of course not,” Joan told her, shaking her head.

  Janet thought about arguing, but decided that she’d simply wait until the next time her sister was out with Michael and then have her pudding first. Really, being the elder sister was a terrible burden on Joan, Janet thought. Imagine having to always insist on everyone following the rules.

  “I’ve made another pile of books to take to William,” she told Joan as they walked towards the kitchen. “You should go through it first, of course, but I doubt you’ll find anything there you’ll want to keep. It’s mostly travel guides from the nineteen-sixties and what look like old mathematics textbooks.”

  “Maybe we should run them down to him after lunch,” Joan suggested. “Then the library would be finished, wouldn’t it?”

  “Someone needs to be here to ring Robert if the guests come back,” Janet argued.

  “So I’ll take the books down to William and you stay here,” Joan suggested.

  Janet frowned. “Or vice versa,” she replied.

  “If you go, I’ll probably just end up baking more,” Joan said.

  “I’ll go, then,” Janet replied quickly.

  Joan laughed. Janet got them each a cold drink while Joan served lunch. Both sisters had large slices of Victoria sponge when they were finished with their lunch.

  “What are you going to bake this afternoon?” Janet asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Joan said. “Maybe just flapjack or something simple like that.”

  “You know I love everything,” Janet said with a laugh. “But before you start, take a quick look at the books I’ve chosen.”

  Joan went through the pile quickly. “You were right, there’s nothing worth keeping there. And none of them are hollow, either.”

  Janet nodded. “I did check them as I went along,” she said, her hand going to her neck where the silver filigree necklace sparkled.

  “You’ve worn that every day since we found it,” Joan remarked.

  “I really love it and it’s not like anything else I have.”

  “I may still want to borrow it one day,” Joan told her.

  Janet nodded, even though she hated the idea. “I’ll just run these up to William then,” she said. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

  “There’s no rush, really,” Joan said. “I’ve plenty of baking supplies to keep me busy.”

  Janet found that she was humming to herself as she carried the box of books to the car. As long as Joan was worried about the break-ins, it seemed that they’d have a steady supply of delicious treats. She didn’t want her sister to be worried about the burglaries, of course, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the unexpected benefits.

  She waved to Stuart after she’d put the box in the boot. He was on his hands and knees in the corner of the front of the garden, digging up something and looking quite content. The drive to Doveby Dale was uneventful, and the small car park for the village shops was, as always, nearly empty. Janet parked and then carried the heavy box to the antique shop.

  Chapter Nine

  The buzzer announced her arrival, and Janet frowned as Paul came out of the back to welcome her.

  “Ah, it was Jean, wasn’t it?” he asked with a beaming smile.

  “Actually, it’s Janet. I was hoping to see William.”

  “He’s just stepped out for a moment, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Paul told her. “Maybe I can help, though?”

  “I have more books I thought he might like,” Janet explained. “I don’t mind waiting a few minutes.”

  “I spent a long time working on the displays with the books you brought before,” Paul told her. “Have a look.”

  Janet followed him towards the back of the shop where William had several desks and bookcases on display. Where he’d previously had rows of fake cardboard books, there were now several clusters of the books Janet and Joan had previously brought.

  “They do look nice,” Janet said, wondering how it could have taken the man any time at all to arrange a few books on each shelf.

  “I think more will look even better,” he said brightly. “But we don’t want to have too many out or we’d have a lot to move if we sold the shelves.”

  “Yes, well, if William doesn’t want to buy what I’ve brought today, that will be fine with me,” Janet said. She could always add this box of books to the piles of boxes that were in the carriage house. Sorting out the carriage house was her next project.

  “Was there anything I could show you while you wait?” Paul asked. “I’ve been learning about everything on the shop floor. I can probably answer nearly all of your questions now.”

  Janet smiled. She didn’t have the heart to test him again. “I’ll have a look around and let you know if I have any questions,” she replied.

  She was taking another look at an armoire that she’d seriously considered buying Joan for Christmas when the door buzzer sounded. She frowned when Kara walked through the door.

  “Paul?” the girl shouted. “Where are you?”

  “I’m right here,” the man called from where he’d been dusting a large dining table. He quickly crossed to the door. “I thought you weren’t going to bother me at work anymore,” he hissed at her.

  “I’m bored,” she snapped. “I think I’d be happier back in London with Jack and Frank.”

  Paul smiled tightly. “We can discuss this later,” he said. “For now, you need to go. I’ll be back at the flat by nine.”

  “Don’t be surprised if I’m not there,” Kara told him. “If I’d known how boring it was going to be up here, I’d have never come in the first place.” She spun around and stomped out of the shop, shooting an angry look at Janet as she went.

  “Sorry about that,” Paul said. “She’s used to living in the big city and she’s struggling to adjust to village life.”

  “Did you get a flat somewhere in Doveby Dale?” Janet asked.

  “No, we’re staying just outside Derby. That was the closest place we could find an available flat. There aren’t many places to rent in Doveby Dale or Little Burton.”

  “That’s a long drive for you every day, though,” Janet said.

  “It is, yes, and we only have the one car between us, so Kara has to drive me in every morning and collect me most nights.”

  “How will you get home tonight?” Janet asked, knowing she was being nosy.

  “William offered me a ride tonight,” the man replied. “He has a meeting in Derby tomorrow morning, so we’re going to shut the shop until midday tomorrow and he’ll bring me back in as well. Then he’s off to London for a few days.”

  “Surely there’s plenty for Kara to do in Derby,” Janet said. “It’s a large city.”

  Paul shrugged. “I suspect she’ll be heading back to London very soon,” he said. “Then I can look again for a place in Doveby Dale or Little Burton. I don’t need more than a room for just me.”

  Janet suspected that Kara had demanded quite a bit more when they’d been looking at flats, but she didn’t voice the thought. The door buzzer startled her.

  “Janet, this is a lovely surprise,” William said.

  “I brought you some more books,” Janet told him, walking back to the table where she’d left the box.

  “Excellent,” William replied. “The previous ones have done a lot to improve the bookcase displays. More books can only improve things further.”

  He wen
t through the box quickly and then offered Janet a small sum for the books.

  “That’s fine,” Janet agreed, not interested in haggling.

  “Joan would have insisted on at least five pounds more,” he told Janet as he counted the money out of the till. “Here, you’d better take it and tell her you had to persuade me.”

  Janet laughed as she slipped the money into her wallet. “I could have just told Joan that you offered five pounds less than you did and that I argued you up,” she said.

  “Ah, I should have thought of that,” William replied, laughing.

  “But now I’d better get home and see what Joan has been baking,” Janet said. “She’s worried about all the break-ins and when she worries, she bakes.”

  “How very fortunate for you,” William said.

  “Indeed,” Janet agreed.

  Back at Doveby House, Janet was greeted by the smell of something warm and chocolate.

  “That doesn’t smell like flapjack,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.

  “I thought I’d try the chocolate chip cookie recipe that Bessie sent with her Christmas letter,” Joan replied. “Out of the five or six recipes she sent for American-style Christmas cookies, it was the only one I actually had all of the ingredients for.”

  “How wonderful,” Janet said as she picked up a still-warm cookie. The taste of butter, sugar and vanilla mixed with oozing melted chocolate and made Janet sigh with delight. “You should try some of the other recipes,” she suggested as she took a second cookie.

  “I’d have to go shopping,” Joan replied. “And besides, I think we have quite enough sweet things in the house right now.”

  Janet looked at the racks of cookies that were cooling, the remaining three-quarters of Victoria sponge and the pan of flapjacks that had joined the boxes of biscuits that Joan had already prepared for their guests. Maybe Joan had a point.

  “No sign of our guests?” Janet asked.

  “Not yet.”

  With nothing else to do, Janet finally curled up in the library with the book she’d started that morning. When Joan came to get her for dinner, she didn’t feel as if she’d moved in hours.

  “You should read this series,” she told her sister as she stretched. “I think you’d enjoy it, really.”