“Todd and Ted have stepped in and are going to do the food,” Janet said. “And Stuart is asking all of the committee members to bring wine with them.”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “Do you know what was supposed to happen?”
“Julian and Norman said that they’d talked to Simon Hampton and he was going to donate the food and wine,” Janet said. “But apparently he’s gone on holiday and forgot to leave instructions about it with anyone.”
“That’s believable,” Robert said. “Simon doesn’t have the best reputation for supporting charities. Maybe he forgot on purpose.”
Janet shrugged. “Maybe. I just hope tonight goes smoothly.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m going to be there,” Robert said. “To make sure everything goes to plan.”
“If there is a plan,” Janet muttered.
The sisters chatted with Robert for a few minutes more about the event and the committee members. He left as Joan added pasta to the boiling water. Janet showed him out and then the sisters enjoyed their dinner.
“I’m going to have a shower,” Janet said after the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher. “We worked too hard this morning for me to put my fancy dress on like this.”
She’d only just come out of the shower when her mobile rang.
“Janet? It’s Edward,” the sexy voice came down the line. “How are you?”
Janet talked while she got dressed and did her makeup. She told the man all about the fundraiser she was getting ready to attend.
“Give me all the names of the committee members again?” he asked when she’d finished.
She complied, but couldn’t resist questioning him. “Why do you ask?”
“One of the names sounds familiar, but I’m not sure which one or why,” he replied. “I’ll let you know if I remember, but now I’d better let you go to your party.”
“It was nice talking to you,” Janet said.
“And you,” Edward replied.
Janet disconnected the call and was halfway down the stairs when she remembered that he still hadn’t given her the combination for the library safe. He’d promised to get it for her as soon as he was back in London. Maybe he wasn’t there yet, though.
The safe in the library, hidden behind a small picture, was only one of a number of secrets that Doveby House held. Edward admitted to knowing the combination, but hadn’t managed to open the safe on his last visit. Janet would have to make sure to ask him again the next time they spoke. For tonight, though, she had other, more pressing concerns.
Chapter 6
Joan and Janet arrived back at the Little Burton Community Centre a few minutes before seven. Joan parked in the car park and the sisters looked at the nearly empty rows around them.
“I suppose we’re early,” Joan said.
“I’m sure it will get busier,” Janet said with more confidence than she felt.
“Maybe we should wait until someone else turns up before we go in,” Joan suggested.
“I think we should get in there and get a glass of wine before they run out,” Janet said. “I’d like to get something for my hundred pounds.”
“You know I don’t drink much or often,” Joan said. “But this time I’m going to agree with you.”
The sisters made their way to the door and Janet pulled. The door didn’t open.
“It’s locked,” she said in surprise. She looked through the window and saw someone walking towards them.
“Good evening,” Robert Parsons said as he opened the door. “They aren’t quite ready for guests yet. I’ve been told to leave the door locked for another five minutes.”
“Are all of the committee members here?” Janet asked.
“Yes. And Todd and Ted seem to have done a wonderful job on the food. Everything smells delicious, anyway,” he told them. “Julian and Norman brought some wine, so with what the committee came up with, there should be plenty. It looks as if it’s going to be a nice evening.”
“I thought it would be busier,” Joan remarked.
“Perhaps people are simply fashionably late,” Robert suggested.
Another car pulled into the car park. “That’s Michael,” Joan said. She took a few steps away, greeting Michael as he emerged from his car.
“Surely you can let us in,” Janet said to Robert. “We did all of the decorating, after all.”
“Did you? You did a wonderful job,” Robert said. “I’ve never seen the place looking so beautiful.”
“Norman supplied everything. I just worked out where to put it,” Janet told him.
“I’m going to let you three in,” Robert said. “It looks as if it’s going to rain and I don’t want you getting wet, not when you’re all dressed up.”
He stood back and let the trio into the small foyer before locking the door again. “You go on through,” he said. “And remind Stuart that someone from the committee is meant to be taking tickets, please.”
“Do you want ours?” Janet asked.
“I don’t, but they might,” he replied. “Check with Stuart.”
That was easier said than done, though. Michael gasped as they entered the large main room.
“This is stunning,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m in the Little Burton Community Centre. It looks like the ballroom of a fancy hotel.”
Janet blushed. “It took a lot of hard work,” she said. “Todd, Ted, Stuart, George, Joan, and I were here all day putting this together.”
“Well, you did a splendid job,” he told her.
“I don’t see Stuart anywhere,” Joan said.
Janet looked around. She could see Todd and Ted working in the kitchen along the back, but besides them, no one else was in sight.
“Where are all of the committee members?” Janet asked.
“That’s a good question,” Joan replied.
On a long table near the stage, the various items that were going to be auctioned were spread out. Janet decided that she’d look them over as soon as she could. She was really hoping that there wouldn’t be anything there she wanted to bid on, but she knew she or Joan would probably have to buy something, under the circumstances.
Not knowing what else to do, she crossed to the kitchen. “Where is everyone else?” she asked Ted when she caught his eye.
“They’re unloading Julian’s car, apparently,” he replied. “Julian has several cases of wine, I gather, so they all went to help.”
“As it’s gone seven, that seems rather foolish,” Joan said. “Someone needs to be here to greet the guests.”
“And tell us when to serve,” Ted said. He shrugged. “I suppose we’ll put food out whenever it’s ready, unless someone tells us otherwise.”
“I can’t believe I’m cooking for a hundred people in this kitchen,” Todd muttered. “Nothing will be edible.”
“It all smells good,” Janet said. “I’m sure it will be wonderful.”
“I just hope everyone has a glass or two of wine before they eat. Maybe they won’t notice the food, then,” Todd said.
“Or if they do,” Ted added, “maybe they won’t realise who prepared it.”
Janet laughed. “At the moment, we’re the only guests, so you’ve nothing to worry about,” she said.
“Julian said they were expecting a hundred and fifty people,” Todd told her. “Which is considerably more than we’re prepared for.”
“Can we help?” Joan asked.
“There isn’t any room in here for anyone else,” Todd told her. “Thank you for the offer, but we’ll have to manage.”
The door on the far wall suddenly swung open and the committee members began to straggle into the room, each carrying a case of wine bottles.
“No one is supposed to be in here,” Winifred snapped when he spotted the sisters and Michael.
“They’re fine,” Stuart said quickly. “Anyway, it’s ten past seven already.”
“Alvin, you were going to take the first shift on the door, right?” Julian asked.
�
��Oh, yes, that’s right,” he said. “I’ll collect tickets and remind everyone to bid early and often.”
Julian nodded. Alvin quickly crossed the room and disappeared into the foyer. The others had stacked their boxes on one of the tables, and now Norman went to work organising the drinks.
“When do you want the food to start coming out?” Ted asked.
“Once we have a dozen or so people in here, you can bring it out as it’s ready,” Norman said. “If that works for you.”
“That’s fine,” Ted said, nodding.
“Come and have a glass of wine,” Norman invited the sisters and Michael. “I must congratulate you on the decorations. You’ve worked magic in here.”
Janet blushed again as she took a glass of wine from the man. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“I should have you come to Cornwall with us,” he said. “We could use your magic touch in the space we’re using there. I don’t suppose you’d like a week’s holiday in Cornwall, starting Monday?”
Janet shook her head. “We have guests coming for the weekend and one couple is staying for the week. I can’t get away right now.”
“If you change your mind, have Stuart ring me,” Norman told her. “I’d love to work with you more.”
Janet nodded and then turned away. She was flattered, but there was something she didn’t like about the man. Maybe it was the way he’d left poor Stuart with the bulk of the work for tonight’s event.
An hour later, the party seemed to be in full swing. Janet had chatted briefly with her friends from the Doveby Dale Ladies’ Club, who all seemed to be having a good time. She’d said hello to a number of small business owners she knew from the area as well. She was chatting with William Chalmers when Norman’s voice came over the tannoy.
“We’re ready to begin the auction,” he announced. “If everyone could take seats, please, we’ll begin.”
It took the crowd about ten minutes to settle, most of the guests stopping to grab another glass of wine on their way to the seats around the stage. Janet found herself sitting between Michael and William Chalmers. Joan was on Michael’s other side. The auction opened with a number of gift vouchers for local shops in the Doveby Dale and Little Burton area. When the first one went for more than twice its value, Janet decided that she was probably not going to buy anything after all.
When the auction was over, Janet was astonished at how much money had been donated. Several of the items were sold for what she considered silly prices, but no one else seemed surprised.
“I can’t believe what people paid for things,” she whispered to Joan as they got up from their seats.
“Me either,” Joan hissed. “But Michael has been to this sort of thing before and he said it’s always like this. It’s for charity, you see.”
“I didn’t think the good people of Doveby Dale had that much money,” Janet muttered.
Joan laughed. “A lot of the guests are from Little Burton,” she pointed out. “And a fair few are businessmen from Derby, as well. I don’t think anyone we know spent any money.”
Janet thought back through the auction. Joan was right. No one they knew had purchased anything, although William had bid on a few items before their prices had skyrocketed. A large group of young people, probably in their early twenties, had stood by and watched the auction, eating and drinking throughout. Janet could only hope there was enough wine left for her to have another glass.
With the auction finished, the evening wound down very quickly. Joan walked Michael out to his car. Janet found a seat in a quiet corner and watched as people paid for their purchases and left. Todd and Ted were cleaning up in the kitchen and Stuart was busy collecting used wine glasses from around the room. After a few minutes, Janet decided to help.
“The food was fabulous,” she told Todd as she carried several glasses into the kitchen. “You should be very pleased with how it went.”
“It wasn’t as bad as I feared,” he admitted. “No one complained, anyway.”
“I should think not,” Janet said.
She carried in a second lot of glasses a minute later. “Where do you want these?” she asked.
“We’re just stacking them into their trays and taking them back to the café to wash,” Ted told her. “I’m not washing all of these by hand, that’s for sure.”
Janet laughed. “You should have used plastic glasses,” she said.
“If we’d had any, we would have,” Ted replied. “Stuart rang us at six, as we were packing up the food, to ask if we had any wine glasses. They were just lucky we did. We don’t use them at the café.”
“So why did you have so many?” Janet asked. She blushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “That’s a rude question,” she said. “You don’t have to answer it.”
Ted shook his head. “It’s fine,” he assured her. “Before we bought the café, we did a lot of catering. We keep talking about selling all the extras, but we haven’t found the time to do that yet. Now that Todd’s done this event, he’ll probably want to start catering again, anyway.” Ted sighed.
“You don’t like catering?” Janet asked.
“I don’t mind, but I like the set hours at the café,” Ted said. “The problem is, we’re barely breaking even at the café. A few catering jobs each month would help a lot with the bottom line.”
“Maybe you’d only need to do the catering in the off-season,” Janet said. “I’m sure the café will be busy during the summer.”
“It’s picking up,” Ted acknowledged. “We’ll see. I know Todd misses cooking for crowds, though. Even if we’re busy, he’ll still want to do an event now and then.”
“Well, he’s very good at it,” Janet said.
“Yes, he is,” Ted agreed with another sigh.
When Joan returned, she began helping with the clearing up as well. She and Janet got to work on taking down the decorations that they’d spent so much time putting up earlier. Janet couldn’t help but notice that she and her sister were working much harder than any of the committee members, but she bit her tongue and carried on. Really, she was mostly helping Todd and Ted, as they were probably eager to get out of Little Burton and back home.
“Thank you both so much,” Stuart said after a while. “We can help Todd and Ted. You two should go home. You’ve done more than your fair share of helping with this event.”
“Are you sure?” Janet asked.
“I’m quite sure,” Stuart said firmly. “The others from the committee can lend a hand.” He leaned in close to Janet. “Goodness knows they haven’t done much so far,” he whispered.
“Ah, Janet, there you are,” Norman said, walking up behind Stuart. “I can’t thank you and your lovely sister enough for all of your hard work. And now you’re tidying? You really mustn’t. That’s what we have a committee for, you know.”
“They seemed to be busy with other things,” Janet said. “I thought we would help Todd and Ted for a short while. They’ve worked very hard today as well.”
“Yes, I understand that they have,” Norman agreed. “We’ll all rally around and help them get everything cleared up. You and your sister should go home and put your feet up for a few days.”
“We have guests arriving in the morning,” Joan said. “So there won’t be any time to put our feet up, unfortunately.”
Stuart walked the sisters to their car. “Thank you both again,” he said. “I won’t take a penny from you for the garden for the next six months.”
“Don’t be silly,” Joan said. “You work far harder there than we did here.”
Stuart shook his head. “I just know how to make it look like I work hard,” he laughed. “Anyway, we can talk about it another time. Just know that I’m in your debt for now.”
The sisters drove home in a companionable silence, each lost in her own thoughts. Janet was exhausted after spending nearly the entire day on her feet. She wasn’t accustomed to doing that anymore, although she’d done it for years in the classroom. S
he could practically hear her bed calling to her as soon as they reached Doveby House.
“See you in the morning,” she muttered to Joan as she headed for the stairs.
“I’ll have breakfast ready at nine,” Joan told her. “Then we can do the final touches on the guest rooms before our guests arrive.”
“What time are they due?”
“Not until after lunch.”
Janet thought about arguing for a ten o’clock breakfast, but she knew that nine was a concession on Joan’s part. Joan was an early riser, no matter when she went to bed. Anyway, Janet was too tired to argue. She climbed the stairs slowly with Aggie on her heels and was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.
Their early morning breakfast was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“I do hope our guests haven’t arrived early,” Janet said.
She and Joan both walked to the door, just in case it was guests. It wasn’t.
“You have to do something,” Mary Long demanded as soon as Janet opened the door.
“Pardon?” Janet asked.
“You know Robert Parsons,” Mary said. “You need to tell him that Stuart isn’t involved.”
“Involved in what?” Joan asked.
Mary took a deep breath. “Julian and Norman have disappeared with all of the money that was raised last night,” she said. “And the police think someone local helped them get away with it.”
Chapter 7
Janet stared at Mary, too stunned to speak.
“All of the money?” Joan asked.
“Apparently. They had everyone pay in cash if they could. The idea was to present a huge cheque on Monday to the charity, and Norman said they could only do that if everyone paid in cash.”
“I remember Stuart saying that, but I never imagined that there was anything criminal behind it,” Janet said.
“But Stuart was just as much a victim as everyone else,” Mary wailed.
“Of course he was,” Joan said firmly. “He put a great deal of time and effort into the evening.”
“And he paid for a lot of things out of his own pocket. Norman said he’d reimburse him, but he never did.”
“Oh, dear,” Janet said. “I hope it wasn’t too much money.”
The Jackson Case Page 5
