“Joan is still clearing up from breakfast,” Janet told him as she shut the door behind him. “Have you eaten?”
“I have, actually, for a change,” Robert said. “My supervisor from Derby came up to collect Kara and he took me for breakfast before he headed back home.”
“So Kara was behind the break-ins?” Joan asked as she walked in from the kitchen.
“She was,” Robert said. “She’s actually confessed to everything.”
“And Paul wasn’t involved?” Janet asked, worried about the young man who seemed nice, if a bit dim.
“Not according to Kara,” Robert said. “Apparently he had no idea what she was getting up to while he was at work.”
“I hope he isn’t too upset,” Janet said. “He was quite taken with her, I gather.”
“When I spoke to him this morning, he seemed more relieved than upset. Apparently she was involved in the trouble he found himself in when they were in London, but he believed her when she said she’d been tricked into things like he had,” Robert said.
“They weren’t getting along very well the last time I saw them together,” Janet said. “I think she was planning to leave anyway.”
“That’s probably why she wasn’t too worried about leaving fingerprints all over the properties she broke into,” Robert said dryly.
“Oh, dear,” Janet said.
“From what she said, she was just bored and she’d learned a little bit about picking locks from a friend, so she thought she’d give it a try. She never did more than have a quick look around and help herself to any spare cash she found, which will be in her favour when it comes time for sentencing.”
“I just hope she doesn’t come back to Doveby Dale,” Joan said.
“I can’t imagine she will,” Robert told her. “She didn’t have anything nice to say about the place when I spoke with her.”
“And Paul won’t want her back, not now,” Janet added. “He’s smarter than that.”
“Only just,” Joan muttered.
“As glad as I am to have the burglaries off my open case list, I do have one question for you two,” Robert said. “According to Kara, she picked the lock to the carriage house and then switched on the light. She’d only just gone inside a few steps when she heard a strange noise, the light switched off and the door slammed shut. I don’t suppose either of you know anything about that?”
Janet glanced at her sister and then sighed. “That happened to me once in the carriage house, too,” she said. “Stuart told me it was the carriage house ghost.”
“Don’t be silly,” Joan said sharply. “It must have been the wind. It was quite windy last night, wasn’t it?”
“Actually, it wasn’t,” Robert said. “But I’d rather put the wind in my official report than a ghost. Which isn’t to say I don’t believe you,” he told Janet. “Doveby House has been around for a very long time. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that it had a few ghostly visitors now and then.”
“You can’t possibly believe in such things,” Joan said.
“I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my short career as a constable,” Robert said. “I’m keeping an open mind.”
Joan frowned but didn’t reply as the young man got up to go. “Thank you again for your help with the investigation,” he told them both. “I’m sure I’ll find some excuse to come back and check on you soon.”
Janet smiled ruefully as she let the man out. He seemed to have decided that she and Joan needed a great deal of looking after, and nothing they did seemed to change his mind. Or maybe he just liked to drop in because of Joan’s baking. That was a happier idea for Janet.
A few minutes after ten, Margaret was back, carrying a large box that she set down right inside the front door. Joan and Janet looked at her expectantly from their seats on one of the long sofas.
“I suppose I owe you some sort of quick explanation,” Margaret said. “But I’ve only been acting under orders from Edward, you see.”
“What do you mean?” Janet demanded.
“He’s quite taken with you,” Margaret told her. “I’ve never seen him quite so bothered about a woman, really. Anyway, he asked me to come and stay with you and sort this out for you.” She patted the box. “If you don’t like it, you’ll have to take it up with him.”
“I thought maybe you were a former girlfriend of his,” Janet said.
Margaret laughed. “Oh, no, I’m his baby sister,” she explained. “He doesn’t really like me to tell people that. He’s afraid that it might make me a target or some such thing, but you, of all people, should know the truth.”
“His sister?” Janet echoed. “Oh, but I have so many questions I want to ask you.”
Margaret laughed again. “We should have had a good long talk while I was here,” she said. “But I’m afraid I have to go now. I must get back to London and start making arrangements for Harry and Sue, along with a dozen million other things I’ve forgotten all about.”
“But what’s in the box?” Janet asked.
“You’ll have to look, won’t you?” Margaret replied. She turned and let herself out of the house. By the time Janet reached the door, Margaret was climbing into her car. Janet watched and waved as the woman drove away.
“Whatever it is, you can’t keep it,” Joan said from where she was still sitting. “The man can’t keep buying you presents when he won’t even come and stay.”
“I think it’s up to me whether I keep it or not,” Janet replied. She bent over the box and slowly lifted the lid. She gasped as she looked down at a tiny grey kitten who looked up at her and purred softly.
Of course Joan wanted me to get rid of Agatha immediately, but I wouldn’t hear of it. The box also had everything we could possibly want for looking after her for at least a month or two. (Although Aggie had managed to tear a hole in the bag of food and had eaten a bit more than she probably should have. I’m sure that’s why she was sick later, although all that moving around in a box probably didn’t help.) Joan doesn’t like her name, either, but as she’s still working her way through everything Agatha Christie wrote, I won’t listen to her complaints.
Aggie isn’t terribly fond of Joan anyway. She spends most of her days in my room, curled up on my bed. At night she explores the house, and I’m certain we don’t have to worry about anyone breaking in any more, as Aggie is very territorial. I’m not sure how that will work when we have guests again, but I’ll worry about that when it happens.
Paul is still working hard for William, and actually seems to be slowly learning his job. I think he was almost as happy as we were to see the last of Kara. I’ve taken to calling the whole thing The Fenton Case, in honour of Mack who was the first person to experience a break-in. Joan doesn’t agree, of course, but I don’t mind.
Please do consider coming to stay. We’d love to see you again.
All my very best,
Janet Markham
Glossary of Terms
bin
trash can
biscuits
cookies
booking
reservation
boot
trunk (of a car)
car park
parking lot
chemist
pharmacist
cooker
oven
crisps
potato chips
cuppa
cup of tea (informal)
deposit (for a house)
down payment
fizzy drink
carbonated beverage (pop or soda)
fortnight
two weeks
high street
the main shopping street in a town or village
holiday
vacation
jumper
sweater
lie in
sleep late
midday
noon
pavement
sidewalk
pudding
dessert
queu
e
line
rubbish
trash
shopping trolley
shopping cart
telly
television
till
check-out (in a grocery store, for example)
torch
flashlight
trainers
sneakers (athletic shoes)
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.)
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 “ready-meal” is a chilled, prepared meal that can be bought at the grocery store and cooked at home.
The emergency number in the UK is 999, rather than 911.
Acknowledgments
As ever, I need to thank my beta readers, Janet and Charlene and my editor, Denise.
I truly appreciate all of the their efforts to make my stories the best they can be.
Thank you, readers, for joining the Markham sisters on their adventures.
Available December 16, 2016
The Green Case
A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella
Joan and Janet are starting to feel at home in Doveby Dale. Janet has even joined the Doveby Dale Ladies’ Club, a group of women who meet for dinner on a monthly basis.
But when one of the other members suggests adding men to club, the ladies find they can’t agree. An arranged gathering with the ladies and a few potential male members worries Janet. Gerald Butler-Smythe is a retired investment banker who seems far too interested in everyone else’s finances.
Janet doesn’t really care one way or other about letting men into the club, but she doesn’t want to stand by and see her new friends being cheated out of their hard-earned money.
With a long-term guest staying at the bed and breakfast and other guests coming and going, can Janet find time to investigate the sophisticated Gerald? What else will the sisters find in their carriage house? And should Janet invite William Chalmers to join the club as well, if men are welcome?
Also by Diana Xarissa
The Markham Sisters Cozy
Mystery Novella Series
The Appleton Case
The Bennett Case
The Chalmers Case
The Donaldson Case
The Ellsworth Case
The Fenton Case
The Green Case (release date: December 16, 2016)
The Aunt Bessie Cozy Mystery Series
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 (release date: October 14, 2016)
The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Series
Arrivals and Arrests (release date: November 18, 2016)
The Isle of Man Romance Series
Island Escape
Island Inheritance
Island Heritage
Island Christmas
About the Author
Diana Xarissa lived in Derbyshire, and then on the Isle of Man for more than ten years before returning to the United States with her family. Now living near Buffalo, New York, she enjoys writing about the island and the UK.
Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future under the pen name “Diana X. Dunn” and fantasy/adventure books for middle grade readers under the pen name “D.X. Dunn.”
She would be delighted to know what you think of her work and can be contacted through snail mail at:
Diana Xarissa Dunn
PO Box 72
Clarence, NY 14031.
Or find her on Facebook, Goodreads or on her website at www.dianaxarissa.com.
You can sign up for her monthly newsletter on the website and be among the first to know about new releases, as well as find out about contests and giveaways and see the answers to some frequently asked questions.
The Fenton Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 6) Page 9