The Moody Case

by Diana Xarissa

  The car park for the pub at Little Burton was only about a quarter full.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I park out here,” William said as he pulled the car into a largely empty part of the car park. “Obviously, I worry about my doors getting dinged.”

  “I don’t mind. We’re walking back to the antique shop, anyway,” Janet replied.

  It only took them a few minutes to cross the road and then walk along to the short row of shops. The antique shop was occupying the largest space in the row and from what Janet could tell as they approached, the other two shopfronts were empty. A huge white banner was hung over the door. It said ‘Grand Opening’ in large red letters. From the look of the mostly empty car park, Janet didn’t think the shop would be too busy.

  She was right. As William held the door for her, Janet quickly counted the number of customers inside the shop. There were three of them, and the couple nearest to the door were on their way out.

  Jonathan Hamilton-Burke, the shop’s owner, was standing near the back. Now he rushed forward to greet them.

  “Ah, good afternoon,” he said loudly. “Welcome to my little world. And congratulations.”

  “Congratulations?” Janet echoed.

  “Yes, congratulations. You are my one hundredth customer. You’ve won a prize from the prize table. Remind me before you leave, won’t you? But what are you shopping for today?” he asked.

  Janet glanced at William. It seemed obvious that Jonathan hadn’t recognised either of them, even though he’d met them both before. She wondered if William would out himself as Jonathan’s competition or not.

  “We’ve met,” William said. “I’m William Chalmers. I have the antique shop in Doveby Dale.”

  Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yes, of course,” he said vaguely.

  “And it’s a lovely little shop,” the last remaining customer said, “with clearly marked prices on each and every item.” She nodded at William and then swept out the door, shaking her head slightly.

  Janet swallowed a smile as she began to walk through the shop. It didn’t appear that anything had changed since her visit the previous month. The tags still appeared to only offer single-word descriptions of the items on display.

  “I suppose you think I should put prices on my tags,” Jonathan said to William.

  “I believe most customers expect that,” William replied mildly.

  “I prefer to leave my prices open to discussion,” Jonathan explained. “If a customer is particularly nice or nasty, I can adjust my prices accordingly.”

  “I’ll be interested in hearing how that works for you,” William said.

  “I’m sure it will be very successful,” Jonathan said tightly.

  “I also include some information about the items on each tag,” William said. “Sometimes customers are a bit shy when it comes to asking about pieces.”

  Jonathan shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll have my staff work on that, once they start. I simply haven’t had time to try to work out which pieces are from what time period or anything like that. Having grown up simply surrounded by antiques, it all seems rather ordinary to me.”

  Janet bit her tongue and then crossed to the bookshelves in the back of the room. There were only a few books spread across them, but she wanted to see what the titles were. She was unsurprised to find mass-market copies of classic novels.

  “Do you need bookshelves?” Jonathan asked her.

  “Oh, no, not at all,” she replied, “but I always look at books.”

  Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “At books? Whatever for?”

  “I love to read.” Janet felt odd explaining herself to the man.

  “Really? How…nice,” he replied.

  Janet flushed and then turned and walked back to where William was standing, not far inside the door.

  “I’ve seen quite enough,” she said in a low voice.

  “Have you? Good. It’s a bit early for dinner, but maybe we can have a drink first or something.”

  “Or anything,” Janet agreed.

  They were nearly at the door when Jonathan stopped them. “But you haven’t had your prize,” he said. “Come and choose something.”

  Janet glanced at William and then walked over to the small table next to Jonathan. There were several small boxes on the table, all wrapped in brightly coloured paper.

  “Choose whichever you’d like,” he told her.

  “I really don’t think…” Janet began.

  “No, no, I said in my advertising that there would be prizes for randomly chosen customers. I have to honour that.”

  Janet glanced at William, who shrugged. She looked back at Jonathan, who was staring at her, looking annoyed. “Just choose any one box,” he said.

  Janet reached forward and grabbed the closest box. “Thank you,” she muttered as she headed for the door.

  “Don’t you want to open it now?” Jonathan asked. “Each prize was carefully selected from among my grandmother’s very favourite things. I’m sure I can tell you a great deal about whatever you’ve chosen.”

  “We have a booking for dinner,” Janet said, exaggerating slightly. “Maybe I’ll visit again the next time I’m in the area so that I can hear about whatever I’ve won.”

  “Yes, do come back,” Jonathan told her, “and think of me first when you need antiques.”

  Janet bit her tongue. Saying that in front of William was in poor taste, but she was too eager to get out of the shop to argue. The look on William’s face suggested that he, too, was struggling not to be rude to the man.

  They walked quickly back to William’s car. He dropped her “prize” into his boot and then slammed it shut. Janet looked at him for a moment and then began to laugh.

  “I’m sorry, but that was just bizarre,” she said when William didn’t join in. “He’s no idea what he has or how to price it. I can’t imagine what he thinks he’s doing.”

  “But he could still put me out of business,” William reminded her. “Especially as he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He did tell us that he inherited everything in the shop, remember. He could sell it all for far less than it’s worth and take away all of my customers.”

  “I didn’t think much of what he was selling was very nice.”

  “No, you’re right about that. A lot of it was fairly modern rather than truly antique. Still, I have to take him seriously.”

  “Take him seriously tomorrow,” Janet said. “For now, let’s get dinner.”

  William frowned for a moment and then smiled. “You’re right. Let’s get dinner.”

  The pub had a small dining room at the back, and as it was so early, the pair had the room to themselves for most of their meal. Janet had a glass of wine, but William limited himself to soda.

  “Every time I eat here, I wonder why I don’t eat here more often,” Janet said as she devoured her dinner. “The food is excellent.”

  “The puddings are nice, too,” William told her. “I eat here far more often than I should.”

  “I’m spoiled, having Joan to cook for me. If I were on my own, I’d probably never cook.”

  “I try to cook a few nights a week, but I don’t usually feel up to bothering. I’d like to cook for you one day, though,” William told her.

  Janet blushed. “That might be nice,” she said.

  She had the strawberry trifle for pudding. “All this fruit makes me feel as if it’s good for me,” she told William as she spooned up custard, sponge, and fruit together.

  “It’s better for you than my crème caramel, anyway,” William laughed.

  The drive back to Doveby Dale didn’t seem to take long at all as the pair discussed their favourite childhood books. William seemed to have read nearly everything that Janet mentioned, including many titles that she would have thought of as being primarily written for girls.

  “I was poorly a lot as a child,” he told Janet as he parked at Doveby House. “Our next-door neighbour had three little girls. She used to loan me books becau
se she knew I’d read everything I had at home.”

  “That was kind of her.”

  “It was, although I didn’t really appreciate it enough at the time.” He walked Janet to the door.

  “Did you want to come in for a short while?” she asked.

  He smiled. “I’d like that.”

  Janet opened the door and then ushered the man inside. Joan was sitting on one of the couches with Michael. They jumped apart as Janet walked into the room.

  “How was dinner?” Joan asked, her face flushed.

  “It was very good, thanks,” Janet replied. “They do very nice food at that pub.”

  “And how was the grand opening of the antique shop?” was Joan’s next question.

  “Odd, as expected,” Janet told her. “The tags haven’t changed. Jonathan told us that he prefers to settle on prices by discussion.”

  “I suppose with antiques, everything is negotiable,” Michael said, “but surely he should put a high price on the tags and then let the customers haggle a little bit. I would imagine most people would be hesitant to even ask unless they had some idea of the value of any given piece.”

  “For what it’s worth, I didn’t see anything that I would have wanted, anyway,” Janet replied.

  “Oh, your prize,” William exclaimed. “It’s still in my boot. I’ll go and get it.”

  Janet stood at the door while he dashed out to his car and back. When she’d shut it behind him, he handed her the wrapped package.

  “What is that?” Joan asked.

  “A prize,” Janet explained. “Jonathan said I was his one hundredth customer, so I won a prize.”

  “More like tenth customer,” William muttered.

  Janet laughed. “Yes, I find it hard to believe that he was that busy today, but whatever. He was very insistent that I take something from his table, so I simply grabbed the closest box.”

  “Well, open it up and let’s see what it is,” Joan said.

  Janet put the box on the nearest table and unwrapped it. She opened the top and then parted the thin sheets of tissue paper. Frowning, she pulled out the box’s contents.

  “What is it?” Joan asked.

  “It looks like a flower cart,” Janet said, turning the object over in her hands. “A flower cart made of metal, with metal flowers on it.”

  “It’s horrible,” Joan said, shaking her head.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Janet argued almost instinctively. “It has a certain charm.”

  “If you say so,” Joan shrugged. “You can keep it in your room.”

  Janet frowned. “I don’t know that I want to actually display it in my room. Maybe it could go in the carriage house until we work out the perfect place for it.”

  “Or you could just bin it,” Joan suggested.

  “Is it an antique?” Janet asked William, ignoring Joan.

  “I don’t think so,” he said. She handed him the cart and he turned it over in his hands. “It’s not in the best shape, either. It’s seen better days.”

  “Now I wish I’d opened it in the shop,” Janet said. “It would have been interesting to hear what Jonathan would have said about it.”

  “I’m sure he would have had a story to go along with it,” William laughed. “Maybe we should go back. I think I’d like to hear it as well.”

  Janet chuckled and then put the flower cart on the table. She’d work out what to do with it later. The foursome played some cards for a short while, until both of their guests were home for the night. Then the men left, and Janet and Joan headed for bed.

  “Don’t forget your prize,” Joan said as they locked up the house.

  “Oh, right. I suppose I can keep it in my room tonight,” Janet said. She carried the cart up to her bedroom and put it on her dresser. When she came out of the bathroom, Aggie was curled up on Janet’s pillow, and the flower cart was nowhere to be seen. Janet thought about looking for it, but decided that she couldn’t be bothered.

  Chapter 8

  Their guests declined breakfast again the next morning. Janet was in the sitting room when Mr. Cole came down. He did little more than wave to her on his way to the door. Mr. Weaver stopped for a quick chat.

  “I’m going to be sorry to leave,” he told her. “I’ve enjoyed getting away from my troubles here.”

  “Well, you’re always welcome to visit again,” Janet told him. “We’re busy for the rest of the summer, but things should be quieter after that.” She was pretty sure that Joan had already added the man to her list of guests she would never let book a room again, but there was no reason for Janet to share that information with the man.

  “I may just have to see what I can do,” he replied. “Perhaps I could spend Christmas here. It will be my first Christmas on my own.”

  “I believe we’re fully booked for Christmas week,” Janet said, trying to inject a hint of sympathy into her tone. Last year they’d stopped taking guests the week before Christmas and had not welcomed new guests until the new year. She was really hoping that was Joan’s plan for this year as well.

  “Oh, that’s a shame,” Mr. Weaver sighed. “I suppose I shall have to find somewhere else to go.”

  “There’s a bed and breakfast in Little Burton,” Janet told him. “I don’t know if they’re booked or not, but it isn’t far from here if you are enjoying Derbyshire.”

  The man shrugged. “It’s more the change of scenery that I’m enjoying than anything else. Nothing here reminds me of my former wife, you see.”

  “Yes, well, I can give you the number for the place in Little Burton, if you’d like it.”

  “Remind me on Monday morning, when I’m leaving. I’ll get it from you then.”

  “They’ve both gone,” Janet told her sister a few minutes later. “Mr. Weaver suggested that he might like to come and stay for Christmas as it will be his first Christmas on his own.”

  “What a shame we’re already booked for that week,” Joan said.

  “Are we?”

  “Yes, if you consider that I’ve drawn a big red line through the week and marked it ‘not available’ on my calendar.”

  Janet smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I’d much rather we didn’t have guests at Christmas.”

  “I’m prepared to make an exception for Bessie, but I don’t know that I’d do the same for anyone else.”

  “But Bessie might be coming in October, which is not to say she couldn’t come again in December, but I doubt she would.”

  “Yes, well, Mr. Weaver will probably find that we’re fully booked whenever he rings,” Joan told Janet. “I’m not terribly fond of guests who drink too much.”

  “That makes two of us,” Janet said.

  “Do you have plans for today?” Janet asked after the sisters had eaten breakfast.

  “I thought I might take the car for another drive. Mack said he should have our car finished early next week. I’m really going to miss our little red borrowed car.”

  “Michael has invited me to have lunch with him. Will you be okay to have lunch on your own?”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Janet assured her. “I’ll go for a drive and maybe stop somewhere for a bite to eat while I’m out. You should spend the day with Michael and have dinner with him as well. You’d both enjoy that, and I’ll be fine on my own.”

  “I don’t know about that, but we’ll see. I’ll text you later and let you know our plans.”

  “That’s fine. Really, though, if Michael wants to have dinner as well, please don’t worry about me. You two haven’t seen much of each other lately.”

  “We did see each other yesterday, but I would enjoy spending the whole day with him. We’ll see how the day goes.”

  Janet went up to her room and got ready to go out. She combed her shoulder-length grey bob and then added a swipe of lipstick to her lips. Her blue eyes stared out at her as she smiled at her reflection. People always insisted that she and Joan looked alike, but Janet never agreed. Joan was slender and angular where Janet wa
s curvy. It didn’t seem fair to Janet that Joan did all of the cooking and baking and never gained weight while Janet had to be careful that she didn’t get too curvy to fit into her clothes anymore.

  “I’m going for a drive,” she told Aggie. “Do you want to come along?”

  Aggie stared at her for a minute and then curled up in a ball and shut her eyes tightly.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Janet laughed.

  Driving the little red car was just as much fun today as it had been the first time she’d driven it. For a change of scenery, she pointed it away from Derby and simply followed the main road for miles. Eventually she realised that she was only a few minutes away from the tiny cottage that she and Joan had shared during their years of teaching. On impulse, she turned down the road towards the small village that they’d called home for many years.

  A few turns later left her driving slowly past the cottage. The new owners had put in a new front door. It was bright red and Janet thought it looked quite cheerful, really. They seemed to be taking very good care of the property, and as Janet drove away she felt a pang of nostalgia for the life that she and Joan had left behind.

  They’d bought the small cottage with help from their parents right after Janet had finished university. Joan had already been working for a few years, so she was able to get a mortgage for the balance after the generous deposit their parents had supplied. When Janet had first moved in, she’d been certain that she’d only be there for a year or two. She’d fully expected to find herself a husband and start a family of her own.

  Things hadn’t exactly worked out the way she’d expected all those years ago, but Janet didn’t have any regrets. She’d loved the life that she’d led, teaching primary school and touching many children’s lives over the course of her career. While she had fond memories of the life that she’d left behind when they’d moved to Doveby Dale, she didn’t really miss the cramped cottage that she and Joan had shared. While she’d never really thought to complain about it at the time, she was grateful now that she was no longer sharing such a small space with her sister.

  She was only a few miles away from their former home when she had to stop for traffic. For some reason, there seemed to be a problem for cars trying to turn off the road Janet was on and onto the main road out of the area. Janet found herself inching forward again as she had in Little Burton the day of the accident there. She sighed as she wondered what was waiting around the corner. It seemed to be a very long time before she found out.