The Lawley Case

by Diana Xarissa

  They ignored her and headed into the antique shop. Curiosity quickly overcame Janet’s uncertainty about seeing William and she followed the pair as rapidly as she could.

  “…to sell, maybe an entire household,” Nick was saying as Janet walked into the shop.

  William looked over at her and smiled brightly. “I’ll be with you as quickly as I can,” he called. William was a grey-haired man in his sixties. His suits all seemed to have been tailor-made for him, even though Janet knew that he wasn’t as wealthy as he pretended to be. She also knew that he’d spent some time in prison for selling fake antiques at his shop in London. He still maintained his innocence, and Janet chose to believe him.

  She nodded and began to look around. There were several new pieces scattered around the place. It wasn’t her fault that the most interesting ones were closest to where William and Nick were talking.

  “I’d be happy to make an appointment to come out and take a look at what you have,” William told Nick. “But I’m very selective in what I purchase. If you’re looking to clear an entire house, you would probably do better with Stanley Moore. He has a warehouse just outside of Derby and he’ll be more willing to simply take everything off your hands.”

  “Maybe you could come out first and pick out the more valuable pieces,” Nick suggested. “Then we could offload the rest on the warehouse guy.”

  “That might be an option,” William said. “Let’s start with an appointment for one day next week and then go from there.”

  Once that was set, Nick headed for the door. Jim didn’t follow. “I have some coins,” he told William. “Can you tell me if any of them are valuable?”

  William nodded. “I’m not a coin expert, but I can probably tell you if they’re anything special, at least.”

  Jim nodded and then pulled a handful of coins out of his pocket. William laid them out on the counter and looked at each one in turn.

  “This one is worth two pounds,” he said after a minute, handing the coin back to Jim. “It’s a modern coin that must have been mixed up with the others.”

  Jim laughed. “I should be more careful, shouldn’t I? I’d hate to accidently spend one of the others if it’s truly valuable.”

  William nodded and then went back to studying the coins. “I don’t think any of them are worth a fortune, but my friend the coin dealer would probably like a good look. Let me get you his details.”

  William walked to his desk near the back of the room. He jotted something down on a sheet of paper and then returned to where Jim was still standing. “Tell him I sent you,” William said.

  “Yeah, right, thanks,” Jim replied. He turned and looked at Nick. “We should go.”

  “I’m waiting for you,” Nick said.

  Jim nodded and then scooped his coins off the counter. By the time he and Nick were out the door, William had crossed to Janet’s side.

  “I should probably start by telling you how sorry I am that I haven’t been in touch,” he said softly. “I’ve no real excuse, either, other than cold feet.”

  Janet flushed. “Cold feet?” she repeated.

  William took her hands and waited until she looked into his eyes to reply. “Yes, cold feet. You’re pretty and clever and, well, wonderful. I know we talked about taking things slowly and seeing where they went, but, well, I got scared. There, I’ve said it. I’ve always been terrible at relationships and I don’t want to ruin everything. I love Doveby Dale and I want to stay here, and if I get things badly wrong with you, well, I know I’ll have to go.”

  “So you don’t want to be anything more than friends?” Janet asked.

  “I don’t know what I want,” William told her. “That’s why I haven’t rung you in weeks. It’s a stupid excuse and I...”

  “Ah, good afternoon,” a voice said from the doorway.

  William dropped Janet’s hands and they both looked at the man who’d just walked into the shop. He was probably in his mid-forties, with brown hair and eyes. He was wearing jeans and a grubby T-shirt, and Janet wondered what he wanted at an antique shop.

  “I have a few coins I was hoping you could value for me,” the man said.

  “Really?” William replied. “Coins aren’t my specialty, but today seems to be my day for looking at them.”

  “What do you mean?” the man asked, giving William a suspicious look.

  “Just that you’re the second person to ask me to look at coins today, that’s all,” William replied with a wave of his hand. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but I’ll probably give you the same advice I gave him, which is to visit my friend in Derby who is an expert on the subject.”

  “Yeah, I can’t get to Derby right now,” the man said.

  “I’m happy to take a look and give you my opinion, but I don’t generally buy coins,” William explained.

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I just want to know if I could get anything for them if I do find the time to get to Derby, that’s all,” the man replied.

  He handed William a handful of coins and again William spread them out on the counter. This time Janet didn’t have to pretend she wasn’t watching.

  “I can’t give you an exact value on any of them, but I suggest you take them to my friend,” William said after a few minutes. “These two in particular should be worth something, which isn’t to say the others aren’t.”

  The man nodded. “Are we talking hundreds of pounds or thousands of pounds?” he asked.

  “Hundreds, certainly, but possibly those two could be worth as much as a thousand pounds or more each,” William replied. “As I said, though, I’m not an expert.”

  “How about you give me five hundred pounds for the lot, then,” the man suggested.

  William hesitated and then shook his head. “I’m afraid I simply don’t know enough about coins to be sure,” he said. “I could be mistaken about what you have. Let me give you the name and number for my friend in Derby.”

  “Nah, that’s okay,” the man said. “I’ll take them to Little Burton. I’ve heard they’ll buy anything at the antique shop there.”

  “Really? I didn’t realise the shop there was even open yet,” William replied. “Good luck to you, then.”

  The man looked slightly surprised before he gathered up his coins and strode out of the shop.

  “That was odd,” William said.

  “What, that you were asked to look at coins by two customers in a row?” Janet wondered.

  “That was a little bit odd, but it was stranger that both men had some of the same coins, one of which I thought was rather rare. Maybe I’m confusing it with something else, though. I probably should have taken him up on his offer. There was at least a thousand pounds worth of coins there, even if I’m only right about half of them.”

  “Could any of them have been counterfeit?” Janet asked.

  “That was what I was wondering, especially with the duplicates that the two men had. That’s why I said no, actually.”

  “Maybe you should go and talk to Robert about them.”

  “I don’t think a few duplicate coins are a police matter,” William replied. “Anyway, I don’t even know who the first man was.”

  “I knew the first one,” Janet told him. “He’s called Jim Rodgers, and he’s here visiting Martin Lawley, who has a farm between Doveby Dale and Little Burton.”

  “The second man was Joseph Jones,” William told her. “His father, Jasper, shops here from time to time. He brought Joseph in a week or so ago and introduced us.”

  Janet frowned. “I’ve heard the name before,” she said. “I don’t like either man. I’m glad you didn’t buy the coins. I don’t trust either of them.”

  William nodded. “But we were talking about us,” he said. “Maybe we should have dinner together one night soon and really talk.”

  “I’d like that,” Janet replied. “Do you want set a date and time now or do you want to ring me?”

  “Let’s set it now, otherwise I’ll chicken out.”
>
  Janet laughed and then agreed to dinner on an upcoming Saturday evening.

  “Do think about talking to Robert,” she said as William walked her to the door. “There’s something suspicious about those two men, I’m just not sure what it is.”

  William shrugged. “I get a lot of odd people in here,” he said. “I don’t want to start bothering Robert every time.”

  Janet swallowed a sigh as she walked back into the car park. She couldn’t very well tell William that Aggie had warned her about the men, could she?

  Chapter 9

  As she walked back towards her car, she noticed that Martin’s car was still in the car park. A quick look around suggested that Nick and Jim weren’t in the newsagent’s or the chemist’s. Where could they have gone? There was a small coffee shop a short distance away, but the last Janet knew, it was closed. Next door to that was the police station. Surely the men weren’t there.

  Janet stopped at her car and looked at the coffee shop. It was just possible that there were lights on inside it. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to investigate. The police station was right next door. What could go wrong?

  A small handwritten sign was taped to the door. It read “open.” Janet pushed on the door and walked inside. Her first thought was that the new owners hadn’t put any effort into the place. It looked exactly the same as it had under the previous ownership, which meant tired and in need of work.

  At least the tables seemed to be clean, Janet thought as she looked around the room. Only one table was occupied. Nick and Jim were sitting with the man that William had identified as Joseph Jones. In such an empty room, Janet couldn’t think of any reason why she should sit next to them, even though that was what she wanted to do.

  “Oh, hi,” a young girl with a blonde ponytail said as she walked out of the kitchen at the back of the room. “You can sit anywhere, I suppose, although it might be easier if you sit in the same section as the others, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Janet assured her as she selected a table next to Nick and his friends.

  “We’ve only just opened and we’ve a lot more work to do, but I can get you tea or coffee and we have a few cakes on offer today,” the girl told her.

  “Just tea for now,” Janet said.

  “Sure,” the girl replied. She disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Janet alone with the three men. They ignored her and carried on with their conversation.

  “…three or four more days,” Joseph said.

  “That long? I’d really like to get out of this place. It’s so quiet, it’s creepy,” Jim replied.

  “I’d rather do it right,” Joseph replied.

  “I can’t go back to Manchester before then, anyway,” Nick said. “I’m still waiting for my car, remember?”

  “You should have had it towed to a proper garage,” Jim said. “The guy here doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

  “I actually think he’s good,” Nick replied. “But he has to wait for the right parts. He can’t stock parts for every car in the country, you know.”

  “I’ll bet he has parts for that piece of junk you’ve borrowed from your father,” Jim laughed.

  “He probably does,” Nick chuckled. “But only because my father probably has the car in that garage every other week.”

  “Maybe you should help your father out and total that thing. Then he could get a new car,” Jim suggested.

  “Nah, he loves that car. He’d never forgive me if I did anything that damaged it.”

  “Maybe I should total it for him, then,” Jim said.

  “I told you I don’t want you driving it anymore,” Nick said. “You weren’t meant to be driving it in the first place.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Jim shrugged. “Can we just get everything done and get out of here?”

  “I think we’ll be better off with the guy in Little Burton,” Joseph said. “He didn’t seem to have any idea what he was doing.”

  “Yeah, but he also didn’t have any idea of the proper value for anything,” Jim said.

  “I’d rather get what we can and get out of town than worry about getting a bit more money and finding the police at my door,” Joseph said.

  “William Chalmers isn’t going to ring the police,” Jim told him. “I did my research. The man spent time in prison in London for misrepresenting what he was selling in his shop there. He’ll be doing his best to avoid the police, I would imagine.”

  “Here we are, then,” the young girl was back with Janet’s tea. “Are you sure you don’t want to try a slice of Victoria sponge or a piece of lemon cake?”

  “I’ll try the Victoria sponge,” Janet said, more to get the girl to go away than out of a genuine desire for cake.

  The girl nodded and then moved over to the other table. “Did you gentlemen need anything else?” she asked.

  “No, we’re done,” Nick said. He got to his feet and pulled out his wallet. He handed the girl a twenty pound note and then headed for the door, his two friends on his heels.

  Janet frowned. “I don’t really want that cake,” she said quickly, but the girl was already gone, back into the kitchen. Janet got to her feet and walked to the café’s door. She could just see through the small window as Nick and Jim got into Martin’s car and drove away. She couldn’t see where Joseph had gone.

  “Here we are, oh, there you are,” the girl laughed. “I was afraid you’d left for some reason.”

  “Just stretching my legs,” Janet muttered. She sat down and smiled as the girl put her cake on the table. “I’ll need a fork,” she said after a moment.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” the girl said. “I will get the hang of this eventually.”

  Janet ate her cake and sipped her tea, trying to decide what she wanted to do next. There was nothing in what she’d overheard to suggest that the three men were involved in anything to do with drugs, but she’d heard enough to make her think that they were up to something illegal.

  “I hope everything was okay,” the girl said as Janet finished.

  “Oh, yes, it was fine,” Janet lied. The tea had been lukewarm and weak, and the cake had been dry and tasted like shop-bought rather than homemade, but Janet decided to be polite, at least for this first visit. No doubt the girl would get plenty of complaints from the good people of Doveby Dale if things didn’t improve over time.

  Janet paid her bill and then walked from the café to the building next door. Susan looked surprised to see her.

  “You don’t normally visit me twice in two days,” she said.

  “And I didn’t even bring your money,” Janet sighed. “The white blanket sold immediately. Actually, there’s a story to that.”

  Susan looked indignant when Janet told her what Judith had said about the blanket, and then laughed when Janet finished the story.

  “Fancy telling her it wasn’t handmade just so that she’d not want it anymore,” Susan sighed. “She doesn’t sound like a very nice person.”

  “She isn’t, but as I said, I forgot to bring your money. I’ll bring it next time. I was really hoping to see Robert today.”

  “He’s in Little Burton today,” Susan said apologetically. “I should have told you that when you first arrived.”

  “That’s okay. I wanted to tell you the story about the blanket anyway,” Janet assured her.

  “I can ring Robert, if it’s important.”

  “I don’t know if it’s important or not. Maybe just leave him a message and ask him to ring me when he has a few minutes to talk,” Janet told her. “It may be nothing at all.”

  “Robert trusts your instincts, though. I’m sure he’ll ring you later today.”

  “Thanks,” Janet said. She spent the drive back to Doveby House trying to work out what the three men were plotting. If all three of them were involved, of course, that meant that Aggie had missed out identifying Nick. Janet hated to think that Aggie might have made a mistake.

  “You were gone for ages,” Joan said whe
n Janet walked into the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry. I stopped to talk to William and then I decided to get a cuppa at the coffee shop. It has new owners, so I thought I should pay them a visit.”

  “I hope you didn’t feel as if you had to have some cake to go with your cuppa,” Joan said, giving Janet a suspicious look.

  “I bought a huge case of tissues,” Janet dodged the question. “Owen was selling them off.”

  “We do seem to go through a lot of them,” Joan said.

  When Janet told her the price she’d paid, Joan smiled. “That is a good price, well done.”

  Janet flushed. She’d left nearly all of the work that went with running the bed and breakfast to Joan and she’d never really given any thought to their expenses or profits. Maybe it was time to start taking a more active role in the business, especially as Joan didn’t seem to be tiring of it. It seemed as if the bed and breakfast was going to be a part of her foreseeable future.

  “Dinner in half an hour,” Joan told her.

  Janet nodded and then went up to her room to freshen up. “Maybe I should start doing more of the cooking, as well,” she said to Aggie.

  “Yooowwl,” Aggie replied.

  Janet laughed. It seemed Aggie didn’t like that idea, anyway. “But let’s talk about the men I saw today,” she began, determined to get Aggie’s thoughts again. Aggie blinked at her and then curled up on the bed and shut her eyes.

  “You can’t go to sleep on me, not now,” Janet said. Before Aggie could reply, Janet’s mobile phone began to ring.

  “Janet, my dear, it’s Edward. How are you?”

  Janet sat down on the bed and tried to think of how she wanted to respond. Edward Bennett had been their first guest, turning up on their doorstep before they were ready to open for business. He’d insisted that he had a booking made with the previous owner, Margaret Appleton. During his stay, he and Janet had had a romantic dinner together, and before he’d left he’d told her about himself. If he were to be believed, he worked for a top-secret government agency that had occasionally used Doveby House as a safe house. He’d told Janet that he was interested in pursuing a relationship with her, and then disappeared for months on end.