The Lawley Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “Why doesn’t Nick want us going that way?” Janet wondered as Stuart began turning the car around.

  “I don’t know, but I’m determined to find out,” Stuart replied.

  “We need to go to the police,” Janet said. “Robert can take a look around, no matter what Nick says.”

  “Yes, but first we have to get out of here.” It took several minutes for Stuart to successfully turn the car around on the narrow road. He only just missed a small tree and a large rock. When they were finally on their way back towards the farmhouse, he glanced at Janet.

  “Nick’s following us,” he said tightly.

  “Yes, I see that,” Janet replied. “I wonder where Jim is?”

  She didn’t have to wonder for long. As they approached the farmhouse, she noticed Jim standing near the front door.

  “I wonder what they’re up to,” Stuart said as Nick pulled up next to the man. Jim climbed into the car and then Nick continued to follow them towards the main road.

  “Where should I go from here?” Stuart asked when he and Janet finally reached the main road.

  “I think we should go and see Robert immediately,” Janet replied.

  “I’m inclined to agree, but I’d rather not drive straight there from here, not with those two following behind.”

  Janet nodded. “I’d rather you didn’t drive back to Doveby House, either. I know they’ll find us easily enough if they want to, but I’d rather not lead them straight to our homes.”

  “Let’s drive out to Little Burton,” Stuart suggested. “Maybe Nick and Jim won’t follow us.”

  Chapter 6

  Stuart pointed the car towards Little Burton. Janet couldn’t help but look back to see what Nick was doing.

  “They’re following us,” she said with a sigh.

  “Maybe they’re just going the same way we are,” Stuart replied. “We’ll visit the shops in Little Burton. Hopefully, they’ll just keep going.”

  There was a small parade of shops in the centre of the tiny village. Stuart pulled into the oversized car park and stopped his car. Janet tried not to be obvious about it as she watched Nick and Jim drive past them.

  “I think I need a cuppa,” Stuart said.

  “I don’t know where we can get one here,” Janet frowned. “Unless you want to go over to the pub.”

  “If we go to the pub, I’m going to want something much stronger than tea. Maybe we could just have a short walk around the shops. That confrontation with Nick was upsetting.”

  Janet nodded. “I agree, but we don’t want to spend too long out here. We need to get back to Doveby Dale to talk to Robert.”

  “I know. I just need a few minutes.”

  They both got out of the car. Janet found herself looking with interest at the antique shop in the centre of the row. She knew the owner of the small antique shop in Doveby Dale. William Chalmers had been arrogant and rude when she’d first met him, but he’d worked hard over the past six months or more to make friends in Doveby Dale. He’s also begun hinting that he might like to be more than just friends with Janet, but they’d both agreed to take things very slowly.

  Janet had been at William’s shop one day recently when Jonathan Hamilton-Burke had paid him a visit. Jonathan had informed them that he was opening his own antique shop in Little Burton, news that had worried William. This was the first time Janet had been in Little Burton since, and she was surprised to see that the shop appeared to be open for business.

  “I didn’t realise the antique shop was already open,” she told Stuart.

  “I didn’t realise Little Burton had an antique shop,” Stuart replied. “I hope it doesn’t hurt William’s business.”

  “I met the owner. Apparently he inherited a huge house full of antiques and he’s simply going to sell them all here. I suppose that means that everything he makes will be profit, doesn’t it?”

  “Aside from the cost of renting the shop and paying for things like electricity and whatnot.”

  “I understand he bought the entire building. I suppose he’s planning to rent out the other spaces, but he hasn’t managed that yet.”

  “Should we do some antique shopping, then?” Stuart asked.

  “If the owner is here, I wonder if he’ll remember me,” Janet said.

  “Ah, hello,” Jonathan said from behind a long counter at the back of the large shop. “Welcome. Was there something you were looking for specifically, or are you just trying to find something that catches your eye?”

  “We were just driving past and stopped on impulse,” Janet told him.

  The man barely glanced at her, and clearly didn’t remember that he’d met her before. He looked Stuart up and down and then sighted. “If you want more information about any of the pieces, just ask.” He then went back to flipping through the magazine that was on the counter in front of him.

  Janet glanced at Stuart and then shrugged. When she’d first met the man, he’d told her that he was planning to hire staff to actually work in the shop. It seemed obvious that customer service was not the man’s strength, but maybe whoever he’d hired had rung in sick today or something.

  She turned her attention to the items on display. There were a few nice pieces, but a lot of it looked like inexpensive modern pieces rather than antiques. A lovely small table caught Janet’s eye. The tag on it said “table,” and nothing more. A quick check of a few other tags revealed more of the same. Across the room, she saw Stuart shaking his head.

  “The tags aren’t very helpful,” he told Janet as they crossed paths. I thought Mary might like that bowl, but the tag simply says ‘bowl,’ with no description or price.”

  “The tags are all the same, completely useless,” Janet replied. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

  “Do you think that we should ask for a few prices, just to let William know?”

  Janet frowned and then glanced at Jonathan. He appeared to be reading an article in his magazine, his lips moving along with the words.

  “No, let’s just get out of here,” she said. “William can come and see the place for himself. I’m pretty sure Jonathan won’t recognise him, either.”

  They were back in the car before Stuart burst out laughing. “What sort of shop does the man think he’s running? I can’t imagine he’s going to get much business with things done that way.”

  “It was definitely odd, but I believe he has plenty of money. I got the impression that the shop was just something he was doing for fun, so maybe he doesn’t care whether it’s successful or not.”

  “Well, unless he makes some changes, I can’t see it being successful.”

  “There weren’t very many nice things, anyway, whatever he’s charging. I’d suggest that his grandfather didn’t have very good taste, if everything in there truly did come from his grandfather’s estate.”

  “Let’s get back to Doveby Dale. I’m ready to talk to Robert now.”

  The village police station had once been a small two-room cottage. Now the front of the cottage held a desk and chair for Susan Garner, the friendly receptionist who was in her mid-forties. She worked a regular schedule at the station, while Robert moved back and forth between Doveby Dale and Little Burton during the week. As the station was usually quiet, Susan spent her spare time knitting. She was very talented, and Janet and Joan had several of the items she’d made on display in Doveby House. They were very popular with their guests, and the sisters regularly dropped off money and picked up more items from the woman.

  “Good afternoon,” Susan said brightly as Janet and Stuart walked into the station. “I’ve a nice big pile of blankets that I’ve just finished. I’m sure you won’t want them now until autumn, though, will you?”

  Janet smiled. “I’ll take a few, certainly. Even in the heat of summer, the nights can have a chill, and maybe we can encourage our guests to start thinking about their Christmas shopping while they’re here. Your blankets would make wonderful Christmas gifts.”

  “Tell that to
my family,” Susan laughed. “I’ve made so many blankets for everyone that I’ve been told I’m not allowed to make any more. Even my mother doesn’t want any more, and she’s always cold.”

  Janet grinned. “Our guests seem to really appreciate them. If I find they aren’t selling, I’ll let you know, but for now we’re more than happy to keep taking them.”

  “And I’m more that happy for you to have them. I’ve no more room for anything else at home. But that isn’t why you’re here, is it? What can we do for you?” Susan asked.

  “Is Robert available?” Janet wondered.

  “He’s been on the telephone all afternoon, chasing down some stolen property. I think he’ll be happy to be interrupted.” Susan picked up the telephone on her desk and pressed a button. A moment later the door behind her opened and Robert stuck his head out.

  “Hello, hello. Come on back,” he said.

  Janet followed Stuart into the tiny office that always made her slightly claustrophobic. Robert settled in behind his desk while Janet and Stuart took chairs opposite him.

  Constable Robert Parsons was somewhere in his twenties, with brown hair and eyes. Janet was very fond of the young man. He frequently visited the bed and breakfast to check on the sisters, although Janet wasn’t sure how much his visits were motivated by the treats that Joan baked rather than anything else.

  “What can I do for you today?” he asked, his pen poised over a notebook.

  Stuart looked at Janet and then sighed. “I wasn’t sure if we should bother you or not, but Janet thought we should,” he said.

  Robert looked at Janet and smiled. “Janet is usually right about such things.”

  Stuart nodded. “It’s probably nothing, though, and I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

  “I don’t make it a habit of arresting people without a proper investigation,” Robert told him. “Why don’t you tell me the whole story and we’ll go from there?”

  Stuart still looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t object further. “I was at the garden centre the other day and I overheard two men talking,” he told the police constable. “It sounded as if they were discussing the planting and cultivating of illegal plants.”

  Robert made a few notes and then looked at Stuart. “What plants, exactly?” He made more notes as Stuart told him. “Can you remember their exact words?” was Robert’s next question.

  Stuart did his best, but Janet couldn’t help but feel at his reply was somewhat vague. “I should have written it all down or something,” he said at the end. “At the time I was so surprised by what I was hearing that I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “Were the two men people that you know?” Robert asked.

  “No, but I recognised the car they were driving,” Stuart told him.

  Robert raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain?”

  “It was Martin Lawley’s car. It’s quite distinct.”

  “But Martin wasn’t with the men?”

  “He might have been waiting in the car, I suppose,” Stuart replied. “I was too far away to tell.”

  “As far as I know, Martin lives alone,” Robert said. “I’m not sure why he’d be driving two other men around the village.”

  “His stepson is staying with him right now. His name is Nick Berry, and he has a friend staying there as well. His name is Jim Rodgers,” Stuart said.

  “How do you happen to know that?” Robert wondered.

  “We, ah, went and visited Martin today,” Stuart replied.

  “Really? Why?”

  “I wanted to meet him,” Janet said. “I wanted to ask him about Alberta Montgomery. He’s one of the few people around who actually knew her.”

  “And the timing of your visit has nothing to do with what Stuart is telling me?”

  Janet flushed. “Sort of,” she said. “Stuart told me the whole story, and when he’d done so, I realised that Martin was probably old enough to remember Alberta. We couldn’t see any harm in paying the man a short visit.”

  “You weren’t concerned that you might be walking into some sort of illegal drug-manufacturing operation?”

  “Martin would never allow such a thing on his land,” Stuart said firmly. “If his stepson is growing anything, it’s without Martin’s knowledge.”

  “Was his stepson one of the men at the garden centre?”

  “I don’t think so, but I think his friend, Jim Rodgers was one of them,” Stuart replied. “And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Nick is involved. He and his friend were both behaving very suspiciously when we were at the farm.” He told Robert about their visit and the drive they took after it.

  “Again, didn’t you think you might be in some danger? I’m sure I’ve told you before not to get involved in these things,” Robert said to Janet. “Men and women who get involved in the drug trade tend to put little value on human lives.”

  Janet shivered. “We didn’t think we were in any danger. Martin told us we were welcome, and Joan knew where we were.”

  “If Martin doesn’t know what’s happening, then he wouldn’t have any reason to discourage your visit. I’m going to have to find an excuse to pay Martin a visit myself, it seems.”

  “I don’t know if you actually need to visit,” Stuart said.

  “Nick chased you off the farm for one reason or another,” Robert said. “I really want to find out why.”

  “Just don’t tell Nick or his friend that we sent you,” Janet said. “They already don’t like us.”

  “Don’t you worry about that. I’ll find a plausible reason to visit. I’ll probably wait for tomorrow, though. If I turn up only a few hours after you two left, that might make Nick suspicious.”

  “That’s probably wise,” Stuart said.

  “I can start doing some investigative work from here. I’m going to find out as much as I can about Nick Berry and Jim Rodgers before I visit.”

  “We’ll let you get started, then,” Janet said, getting to her feet.

  Stuart followed suit. “I hope we aren’t wasting your time,” he said hesitantly.

  “You should always pass your concerns along to me in cases like this. If I investigate and it turns out to be nothing, I won’t consider it a waste of my time, I assure you. Anyway, it’s good to know that Martin has guests who are using his car.” He escorted Janet and Stuart back into the outer room before saying his goodbyes.

  “Here you are,” Susan said, handing Janet a large box. “Four more blankets. I’ve put a note on the top with the prices I’d suggest for each of them. The white one is a bit more, as it was a very complicated pattern. I don’t think I’ll make another like it, at least not in a hurry.”

  Stuart insisted on carrying the box out to the car. He loaded it into his boot and then drove Janet home. At Doveby House, he carried the box inside for her as well. She only just remembered her candleholder as she climbed out of the car.

  “Thank you for coming with me today,” he told Janet as he set the box down on a couch.

  “You’re more than welcome,” she replied. “I hope Robert investigates and doesn’t find anything.”

  “I hope he doesn’t find anything drug-related, but I wouldn’t mind if he found something that meant that Nick and Jim left. I don’t think Martin likes having them around.”

  “I agree that he didn’t seem very happy about their visit, but I’m not sure he should be on his own, either.”

  “He’s fine on his own,” Stuart said firmly.

  Janet let him out and then locked the door behind him.

  “What have you brought home now?” Joan asked from behind her.

  “The candleholder is from Martin Lawley. He used to make them for Alberta. The box is full of blankets from Susan.”

  “We could do with a few more,” Joan said. “They’ve been very popular lately.”

  “I hope we don’t owe Susan any money. I didn’t give her any where I saw her.”

  “We don’t. I paid her last week,” Joan assured her. “But let’
s see what she’s sent this time.”

  The blankets were all beautiful, especially the white one. “I’ve never seen such gorgeous knitting,” Janet sighed as she spread the blanket out on the couch.

  “That one is especially nice,” Joan agreed. “I think we should try getting more for it than Susan suggested. I’m sure she must have put a lot of time and effort into it.”

  Janet agreed, and then the pair redid the display table at the back of the room, with the white blanket taking centre stage. Janet was amending the price list when she heard the front door open behind her.

  Chapter 7

  “I don’t know that we want to stay for the whole weekend,” Judith Armstrong said.

  “Oh, dear, I’m sorry to hear that,” Janet replied.

  “We’ll expect a full refund if we do go,” Malcolm snapped.

  Janet took a deep breath and then replied very carefully. “Of course, we’ll refund you for any nights that you choose not to spend with us,” she said. “Will you be leaving in the morning, then?”

  “We haven’t said we’re leaving for sure,” Judith replied. “We’ll let you know.”

  Janet thought about arguing, but decided it wasn’t worth it. She’d even be happy to give the unpleasant couple the full refund that Malcolm wanted if they’d just leave.

  “Where would you recommend for dinner?” Malcolm asked. “I’m tired of driving around and I want to eat somewhere nearby.”

  Janet hesitated. The small café that was nearest to Doveby House would be perfect, but she didn’t want to make Todd’s and Ted’s lives miserable.

  “There’s an excellent French restaurant near the centre of the village,” she said after a moment.

  Judith shook her head. “I don’t like French food,” she said. “Never mind. We’ll find something on our own.”

  She turned and stomped up the stairs with Malcolm behind her. Janet briefly considered ringing the café to warn them, just in case that was where the couple ended up, but she decided against it. Todd and Ted had been in the restaurant business for a long time. No doubt they could handle difficult customers.