The Moody Case

by Diana Xarissa

  It was another accident, exactly what she’d been expecting. Three uniformed police constables were directing traffic around the two cars that were sideways across the entire road. Janet was forced to go straight across the junction where she’d wanted to turn. As she eased her way around the worst of the broken glass, she felt fortunate that she knew the area well, as otherwise she might have found herself quite lost.

  There were five people surrounding another uniformed constable, who had a clipboard in his hands. He was clearly taking the accident report. Janet glanced at the little group and then slammed on her brakes, nearly causing the car behind her to drive into her. He honked, causing everyone at the scene to stop and look at her. Flushing, Janet continued on slowly, her mind racing. Neither of the crashed cars looked at all familiar, but she was certain that one of the men talking to the police constable had been Mr. Weaver.

  She drove straight back to Doveby House and rang the police station. After several rings, the call was answered.

  “This is Derby Constabulary. How can I help you?”

  Janet frowned. She’d forgotten that Robert didn’t typically work on weekends, and if he did, he didn’t usually answer the phones at the station. All calls were routed to the nearest station in Derby and dealt with from there.

  “Oh, never mind,” she said. “I was trying to reach Robert Parsons, but I have his mobile number. I’ll ring him on that.”

  “If this is regarding a police matter, we’re best equipped to deal with it,” the woman on the other end of the phone told her. “Constable Parsons is not working this weekend.”

  “That’s fine,” Janet assured her. “I’ll talk to Robert and if he feels what I tell him is a police matter, he can take it from there.”

  “It would probably be easier if you simply told me why you’re ringing,” the woman persisted.

  “Thank you for your time. I’m sure Robert is the right person to ring,” Janet said firmly, putting the phone down before the woman could argue further.

  “She was just being nosy,” Janet told Aggie. Aggie made a face that suggested that she didn’t agree with her, and then loudly demanded her lunch.

  “I didn’t get any lunch, either,” Janet said in surprise. It was quite unlike her to forget to eat. “I’ll get you your food and then I should go out and get something for myself.”

  She filled Aggie’s food and water bowls and then paced around the kitchen for a minute. “I should ring Robert, but I don’t want to bother him on the weekend,” she told the kitten. “What would you do?”

  “Mmeerrooww,” Aggie said, munching her way through her lunch.

  “Yes, you’re right. I should go and get some lunch and then worry about it later,” Janet laughed. Now that she’d started thinking about food, she couldn’t focus on anything else. There was a nice little café just a short distance from Doveby House. Not only was it convenient and reasonably priced, the food was excellent and the owners were very nice men.

  Janet drove up the road to the café and parked in the nearly empty car park. She smiled brightly at Stacey when she greeted her at the doorway.

  “It’s so nice to see you,” the girl said. “I never thanked you properly for sending me here when I left the coffee shop. I’m so much happier here. Todd and Ted are the best people to work for, ever.”

  Janet grinned. The girl had worked for the small coffee shop near the police station for many years. When her mother had fallen ill, the previous owner of the shop had refused to allow her any time off to help her mother. Stacey had left the coffee shop in tears one afternoon, with Janet chasing behind her. Janet had sent her to the café, and from everything she’d heard, everyone involved was delighted with the result.

  “Janet, hello,” Ted said as Stacey showed Janet to a table.

  “Hello,” she replied.

  Ted was a slender and handsome ginger-haired man in his forties. He was responsible for everything that happened in the café’s dining room. His partner, Todd, a dark-haired man who tended towards plumpness, ran the kitchen. The pair had been running the café on their own for several months, but had mentioned to Janet that they thought they might need help during the busy summer months. That had coincidently happened to be right before Stacey had left the coffee shop. Janet wasn’t sure what was going to happen when summer turned to autumn, but she hoped that something could be worked out that suited everyone.

  “Thank you so much for sending Stacey to us,” Ted said as he handed Janet a menu. “She’s excellent with the customers, and she bakes wonderful cakes and pies. Puddings have never been Todd’s favourite things, so he’s especially grateful to you.”

  “I’m glad it’s all working out,” Janet said.

  “It’s doing better than that. Even with how busy our summer has been, Todd’s been able to take on a few small catering jobs, which he loves. And he’s booked quite a few more for the autumn, when it should be quieter here. It’s amazing what a difference having one extra person to help has made.”

  “I’m really pleased to hear that.”

  “Do you want some time to look over the menu or do you know what you want?” he asked.

  “Are there any specials?”

  “How about beef Wellington? It isn’t really the sort of thing that Todd does here, but he had to make some for an event he’s catering tonight, so he made some extra. I’m sure he’d be happy to share it with you.”

  “Beef Wellington? That sounds wonderful.”

  Ted glanced around the room. It was slowly filling up with customers. He frowned and then leaned down to Janet. “Would it be terribly rude of me if I asked you to eat in the kitchen?” he whispered.

  Janet looked at him in surprise. “The kitchen?” she repeated.

  “I’m just afraid if everyone sees your lunch they’ll want it as well. We don’t have enough for everyone. There’s a nice table in the kitchen. It’s where I eat all of my meals.”

  Janet laughed. “I’m sure it’s lovely. I don’t mind at all.”

  She stood up and followed Ted through the door at the back of the room. Todd looked up from the stove and grinned. “Have you brought Janet back so that I can thank her myself?” he asked.

  “I thought you could thank her by giving her some beef Wellington for lunch,” Ted grinned. “I was afraid if the rest of our customers saw what she had, we’d have a riot on our hands.”

  Todd laughed. “I’m more than happy to share my beef Wellington with Janet, but only because I’m so grateful to her for sending us Stacey. No one else out there deserves it.”

  Janet laughed. “I’m flattered and I’m starving,” she said as she sat down at the small table for two in the corner of the room.

  “My favourite type of customer,” Todd told her.

  Ted brought Janet a drink, and only a few minutes later Todd put her steaming hot meal in front of her. It was every bit as delicious as Janet had hoped it would be, and she ate every bite of the beef Wellington with grilled vegetables.

  “That was wonderful,” she sighed as Todd cleared away her plate.

  “I’m sure Ted told you that it’s for a dinner I’m catering tonight,” he replied. “Stacey did the pudding.”

  “What did she do?”

  “Chocolate and vanilla fairy cakes. We’ve enough extra for you to try one of each,” he replied.

  Janet felt as if she should refuse, as she was very full, but when he put the beautifully decorated cakes in front of her, she simply couldn’t. When she’d cleared yet another plate, she sighed. “I’m not sure I can walk to my car, I’m so full,” she told Todd. “Maybe I could just have a nap in the corner for a short while.”

  “You’re more than welcome to stay for as long as you’d like,” he told her. “I rarely have guests back here. It’s quite a nice change.”

  The pair chatted together about nothing much as Todd cooked and Janet digested. Eventually, she got to her feet. “I need to pay for my lunch,” she reminded the man.

  “N
ot today you don’t. Today was my treat, as you’ve improved my life so much.”

  Janet tried to argue, but Todd wouldn’t listen. Instead, he took her arm and guided her towards the kitchen door. “Next time I’ll let you pay,” he told her. “But for today, let me show my gratitude.”

  She might have argued further if Todd hadn’t pushed the kitchen door open at that moment. One quick look into the dining room had her taking a huge step backwards, dragging Todd with her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking concerned.

  Janet shook her head. “Probably nothing,” she said. But it was odd that Mr. Cole and Mr. Weaver were having lunch together. Even stranger, though, was that Thomas Moody was with them as well.

  Chapter 9

  “Both of our current guests are at one of the tables out there, that’s all,” Janet explained, “and they are having lunch with the man who ran into the back of our car the other day. I was just surprised to see them all together, that’s all.”

  “You didn’t know that they knew one another?”

  “Our guests have never said anything to suggest that they know each other, although I suppose that they may have become acquainted in the week that they’ve been here. How they know Mr. Moody is a better question.”

  “That’s the man who hit your car?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Janet said. “It just seems odd to me, them being here together.”

  “Let’s see if Ted’s overheard anything interesting,” Todd suggested.

  Ted walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. “Is there anything interesting going on at table six?” Todd asked, having established which table Janet was talking about while they were waiting for Ted.

  “Interesting? Not really. They seem to be arguing about something, but they’re keeping their voices very low.”

  “Who is arguing with whom?” Janet asked.

  Ted shrugged. “They all seem angry with everyone else at the table. There was a woman with them when they first arrived, but she didn’t stay. They seemed angry at her, too.”

  Janet sighed. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall out there.”

  “I’ll send Stacey in,” Ted said. “She may have heard more. People don’t tend to notice her as much as they notice me.”

  Stacey walked into the kitchen a moment later. “Ted said you needed to see me,” she said, sounding nervous.

  “Janet was just wondering what’s going on at table six,” Todd told her.

  “I hope they aren’t friends of yours,” Stacey said, “because whatever is going on, I don’t think they’re going to be friends with one another for much longer.”

  “Really?” Janet asked.

  “They all seem to be very upset with everyone else at the table, but every time I get anywhere near the table they all stop talking and simply glare at one another until I’m gone. Then the low and angry buzz starts back up.”

  “I’m going to go home and ring Robert,” Janet told them.

  “You think they’re planning something criminal?” Todd asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll feel better talking to Robert about it, whatever,” Janet replied. “He’s very good at putting my mind at rest when I’m worried.”

  “He’s really lovely,” Stacey sighed, “very smart and very kind.”

  “He is both of those things,” Janet agreed. “After I’ve spoken to him, he may want to come and talk to all of you.”

  “Really?” Stacey asked, blushing bright red.

  “I don’t know, but maybe,” Janet told her. “Try to stay away from the men at table six in the meantime, just in case.”

  Stacey nodded, her expression serious. “I was trying to stay away from them anyway because they seem so angry.”

  “Leave them to Ted,” Todd told her. “He’ll deal with them.”

  Stacey nodded. “I’d better get out there and help him with the rest of the tables, then,” she said.

  “I can let you out the back way,” Todd offered. “In case you want to get home before they leave.”

  Janet nodded. “I’d really like that,” she said.

  “Let me switch everything off for a minute and then I can walk you to your car,” he said.

  A moment later he unlocked the back door and led Janet out behind the building. They’d only gone a few steps when they heard the café’s front door open. Todd pulled Janet back into the building’s shadow and they both watched as Mr. Moody stomped out of the building. He climbed into his car, which was still dented from when he’d crashed into Janet. As he sped out of the car park, Mr. Weaver walked out and got into his car. He was driving the car that Janet had seen in the Doveby House car park when he’d arrived.

  A moment later, as Janet and Todd waited in the shadows, Mr. Cole came out. He slid into the passenger seat of an unfamiliar car.

  “Can you see who’s driving?” Janet whispered to Todd as she took a few steps backwards.

  As the car drove away, Todd walked into the car park. He rejoined Janet a moment later. “I’m pretty sure the driver was the woman who came into the café with him. They got a table for four and then the other two men joined them a short while later.”

  “Interesting, but I don’t know why,” Janet sighed. “Thank you for everything, especially that delicious lunch. Now I’d better get home and ring Robert.”

  “I hope they aren’t truly involved in anything criminal,” Todd told her. “We’ve had quite enough of that in Doveby Dale lately.”

  “I certainly agree with that,” Janet said.

  In spite of everything on her mind, Janet still found that she was smiling as she climbed behind the wheel of the borrowed car. “A second car would be a totally unnecessary indulgence,” she said loudly as she started the car’s engine. She was relieved when she got back to Doveby House and found the car park empty. At least their guests hadn’t returned to the house to continue their argument.

  “This is Robert Parsons. Please leave a message,” Janet was told when she rang the man’s mobile number.

  “Robert, it’s Janet Markham. Please ring me back. I don’t think it’s urgent, but it could be important. No, that isn’t right. It’s probably nothing, but I’d really appreciate it if you’d ring me back anyway. I’m just a little bit worried about something. Well, not worried, but it was something odd, that’s all.” Janet sighed. She sounded like a complete idiot. “Please ring me,” she said before she put the phone down.

  Pacing around the house didn’t do much to help her mood, but she couldn’t seem to settle to anything else. None of her books held any appeal, and the house was in its usual spotless condition. She was just contemplating completely rearranging the library when someone knocked on the front door.

  “Robert, thank you so much for coming,” she said, stepping back to let the man into the house. “Come through and have some biscuits and tea.”

  It only took Janet a few minutes to make tea and pile biscuits onto a plate. She handed the plate to Robert and then sat down opposite him with hot drinks in front of each of them.

  “You’re not having biscuits?” he asked after he’d eaten his first.

  “I had a huge lunch,” Janet replied. “I may never eat again.”

  Robert laughed. “I’m always surprised by how quickly I manage to get hungry again after a large meal.”

  “I am, too, but I don’t want anything right now, anyway.”

  “So what’s happened to upset you?” he asked.

  Janet shrugged. “I was going to ring you earlier, before I went for lunch. I took a long drive and I came across another accident.” She told the man exactly where she’d gone.

  “I heard there was a bit of a smash out there,” Robert said. “No one was hurt, but both cars suffered a lot of damage.”

  “I’m sure one of the men talking to the police was the other of our guests,” Janet told him.

  “Really? That’s an odd coincidence, although there have been a great many more minor accidents lately. I suppo
se visitors to the area are more likely to have problems, as they aren’t as familiar with the roads.”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Janet said. “It was also odd that neither of the cars involved is the one that I believe belongs to Mr. Weaver.”

  “Tell me about the man.”

  “His name is Cecil Weaver,” Janet began. She told Robert everything she knew about the man, including all of the details Joan had given her about the man’s failed marriage. She also told Robert about the drunken episode and the man’s unorthodox parking that evening.

  “I’ll ring my associates in that area and ask them about the accident report,” he told her when she was finished. “I hadn’t hear that there was any suggestion that either of the drivers had been drinking, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

  “There’s something else,” Janet said. “I had lunch at the café up the road today. I ate in the kitchen with Todd, and when I was done, I started to walk into the dining room and spotted both of our guests having lunch together.”

  “Did they know each other before they arrived?”

  “Not as far as we know. Neither of them ever mentioned it and they didn’t really speak to one another when they were together, at least not when Joan or I was in the room.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Is it also interesting that the third man at the table was Thomas Moody?” Janet asked.

  Robert frowned. “Thomas Moody?” The man who hit your car on Monday?”

  “That’s the man.”

  “Yes, I would say that is definitely also interesting. I wonder what the three of them have in common?”

  “According to Ted and Stacey, the three of them were arguing. Apparently there was a woman with Mr. Cole, but she left before they ordered their food. When Mr. Cole left, he got into a car that was being driven by a woman, and Todd was pretty sure it was the same woman who’d come in with him and then left.”