The Bennett Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 2)

by Diana Xarissa

  As everyone finished eating, Michael insisted that Joan remain seated while he cleared away the dirty dishes. He was back with a plate of biscuits a moment later. Janet tried to make conversation again as everyone sipped tea and nibbled biscuits.

  “That was very good,” she told her sister. “And your lemon biscuits are the perfect final course.”

  “Thank you,” Joan replied.

  “Everything was wonderful,” Michael said, beaming. He patted Joan’s hand. “I’ll take you somewhere for a meal to thank you properly one day soon.”

  “We’ll see,” Joan said, pulling her hand away.

  Michael frowned. “Just as soon as Leonard has gone, we’ll go to your favourite place,” he said firmly.

  “Thanks,” Leonard muttered.

  Michael shook his head. “You know what I meant.”

  “I did, and I’m sorry if I’m in the way,” Leonard replied. “You know things are, well, difficult, right now. I’m sure I won’t have to hide up here forever, though. Just a few more days, I hope.”

  Michael nodded. “You’re welcome for as long as you need to stay,” he told his friend.

  “Ta,” Leonard said before he piled another six biscuits on his plate.

  “Joan, I hope I’m welcome a little bit longer, as well,” Edward said now, with a smile. “My plans changed rather suddenly and I’d like to stay a few more nights.”

  “Of course you can,” Joan said. “You’re more than welcome.”

  An awkward silence followed Joan’s pronouncement until Janet couldn’t take it any more.

  “I’ll just get started on the washing up,” she announced, getting to her feet. “No, you visit with our guests,” she told her sister. “You’ve done all the hard work so far today.”

  “And I’ve done nothing but eat,” Edward said with a chuckle. “I’ll give you a hand,” he told Janet.

  Janet frowned to herself as she carried her biscuit plate into the kitchen. She was trying to avoid Edward.

  In the kitchen, the pair soon had the dishwasher loaded up and ready to go once the final pudding plates had been added.

  “I wonder what or who Leonard is hiding from,” Edward remarked as Janet began hand-washing the pie tins.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He said something about not hiding up here forever. I just wondered what happened that he needs to hide at all.”

  Janet shrugged. “Maybe he forgot his wife’s birthday,” she suggested. She’d been thinking the exact same thing, but she didn’t want Edward to know it. The last thing she wanted to discuss with Edward was the missing conman, since it was still quite possible Edward himself was the man in question.

  The pie tins didn’t take long to wash, but by the time she’d finished them Joan had brought in the rest of the dishes.

  “Leonard and Michael have gone,” she told Janet. “Michael did mention that he might stop over later tonight, though. Apparently there’s something on the telly that Leonard never misses, so Michael might just leave him to it and come over for a cuppa while it’s on.”

  Janet smiled at her sister, who was clearly in a better mood. “Hopefully Leonard will be heading home soon,” she said to Joan.

  “Indeed,” Joan murmured.

  Joan set the dishwasher running and the trio walked out of the kitchen and into the sitting room.

  “It’s too a nice an evening to stay inside,” Edward said. “Let’s take ourselves down to the pub or something.”

  “I have a few things I need to do around here, and then Michael might be stopping by,” Joan said. “You two go, though.”

  A knock on the door interrupted Janet’s flustered attempts to get out of the trip. She rushed over and threw the door open.

  “Mr. Chalmers? What can we do for you?” she asked, surprised to see the man back on their doorstep.

  “I was just visited by a police constable,” the man said angrily. “What do you mean sending the police to my store? He asked all sorts of incredibly prying questions.”

  “We didn’t send the police to your shop,” Janet said firmly.

  “As you’re the only people I’ve spoken to about my new business, it must have been you,” the man retorted. “This constable person knew far too much about me. You must have told him everything I said when I was here.”

  “Do you have something to hide?” Edward asked, coming up behind Janet.

  “Who are you?”

  “I can’t see why that’s any of your business,” Edward said smoothly. “But the name is Edward Bennett. And you are?”

  “William Chalmers,” the other man replied. “In answer to your question, I’ve nothing to hide, but I also don’t want everyone in town talking about my new business. Not yet, anyway. It’s going to take some time to get everything arranged exactly right before I can open. If another, similar shop were to open between now and then, it would be catastrophic.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t be going around telling people about it, then,” Edward suggested mildly.

  “I’m not,” William replied hotly. “I told two people. I certainly didn’t expect them to call the police about it.”

  “We didn’t call the police,” Janet protested. “Constable Parsons was here to see us about something else and we happened to mention your visit, that’s all. We certainly didn’t send him to question you and we haven’t mentioned you at all to anyone else.”

  “Yes, well, see that you don’t talk about me,” the man said haughtily. He turned on his heel and stomped back down the steps. Edward and Janet watched him walk to the small car park and climb into a fairly new estate car.

  Janet winced as the man accelerated out of the car park at high speed. He turned onto the main road, nearly striking a car that was coming towards him. Janet shook her head and then shut the door.

  “What an unpleasant man,” she said.

  “Another man who’s hiding something,” Edward commented. “Or hiding from someone. He was very upset that the police came to speak to him.”

  “I almost wish we had sent Robert Parsons to see him,” Janet remarked. “I do hope he doesn’t come back again.”

  “Don’t let him in,” Edward said sternly. “I don’t trust him.”

  And I don’t trust you, Janet thought sadly.

  A ringing noise startled them all.

  “My mobile,” Edward explained as he reached into a pocket. He disappeared down the corridor with his phone in hand. A few moments later he was back.

  “Sorry, we’ll have to do the pub another day,” he told Janet as he headed for the door. “Something’s come up rather suddenly.”

  He was out the door and down the steps before Janet could reply.

  “Well, that was rude,” Joan said as Janet shut the door behind Edward.

  “It was, wasn’t it?” Janet said thoughtfully. “He keeps pointing out how other people are hiding things and then he behaves mysteriously himself.”

  “I like him,” Joan told her. “But I’m not sure I trust him.”

  “I like him as well,” Janet admitted. “And I’m very sure that I don’t trust him.”

  The sound of the bell on the French doors startled them both.

  “It’s just going to be one of those days, isn’t it?” Joan muttered as the sisters headed towards the conservatory.

  Stuart smiled at them through the glass as he waited for them to open the door.

  “Have you seen James?” he asked as Janet opened the door.

  “No, have you lost him?” Janet asked.

  “We went in for dinner and then we were going to do some weeding in the flower beds on the south side of the garden. I gave Mary a hand with the washing up and James said he was going to get started. I can’t seem to find him anywhere, though,” Stuart replied.

  “Maybe he’s weeding in the wrong bed and you missed him behind a tree or something,” Janet suggested. “I’ll come and help you look.”

  She stepped through the door and followed Stuart down th
e path that ran through the centre of the garden. “You go that way and I’ll go this way,” she suggested, gesturing to the left.

  Stuart headed off as Janet suggested, leaving Janet to slowly make her way along the right side of the small grounds. She walked along the side of the house, where low hedges separated their property from the road. Constable Parsons drove past in his police car and gave her a small wave, which she returned cheerily.

  She was making her way between the various flower beds, enjoying their colours and scents, when she heard her name being called.

  “Janet? I’ve found him,” Stuart shouted.

  Quickly retracing her steps, Janet found the two men standing together near the coach house.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, looking intently at James, whose face was flushed.

  “It’s fine,” James said sharply. “I just took a short walk around the neighbourhood while I was waiting for Stuart, that’s all.”

  Janet shrugged. “If you’d like a cuppa later, ring the bell at the back,” she suggested to the men. “Or we could fetch you cold drinks, as it’s still rather warm tonight.”

  “I doubt we’ll do much more today,” Stuart told her. “We got most of what needed doing sorted out this afternoon.”

  “Well, the offer is good whenever you’re out here,” she replied. “I’m sure we aren’t paying you enough.”

  Stuart laughed. “I’m quite happy with our arrangement,” he assured her. “And if I don’t stop in for tea today, I’m sure I will another time.”

  “James is welcome as well, if he’s still staying with you,” Janet said.

  “Thanks,” James muttered, turning away. He took a couple of steps towards one of the flower beds and then crouched down and began to poke and prod at something that Janet could only assume was weed by the way he was treating it.

  “That’s meant to be there, mate,” Stuart said quietly. “I did these beds yesterday. Let’s move over to the other side.”

  James stood up and followed Stuart across the grass. Stuart waved to Janet as they disappeared from view. She frowned and then turned and headed back to the house. Four strange men in the area, all behaving oddly, she thought to herself. Any one of them could be Peter Smith.

  Chapter Nine

  Janet and Joan settled down in front of the telly. Neither was properly focussed on the American comedy show that was on, however. Janet could tell that her sister was on edge, waiting to see if Michael turned up. She herself was wondering where Edward had rushed off to and when he might be back.

  “I’m going to make some popcorn,” Janet announced during the advertisements.

  “That sounds good,” Joan said. “I’ll come and help. This is boring, anyway.”

  Joan switched off the television and the sisters went into the kitchen where Janet pulled a box of microwave popcorn from the cupboard.

  “I never thought we’d eat all of that,” Joan told her. “It isn’t anything we’d normally buy.”

  Janet laughed. Right after they’d moved in, while Joan had been on her first date with Michael, Janet had made a late-night run to the grocery store for custard cream biscuits. She’d ended up filling a shopping trolley with all sorts of snacks that she and Joan rarely ate. A few bags of popcorn were just about the only things left from the excursion, now.

  Janet unwrapped a bag and put it in the microwave. Joan got them each a cold drink while Janet pulled out a large bowl. The loud popping noises that filled the kitchen made conversation impractical. Once Janet had emptied the bag of hot, buttery popcorn into the bowl, the pair sat down at the table.

  “You didn’t get out separate bowls for each of us,” Joan chided, starting to get to her feet.

  “Oh, just help yourself,” Janet suggested. “It’s just us at home. We don’t need to be formal.”

  Janet could see her sister’s indecision. While she watched Joan’s face, she reached into the bowl and grabbed a handful of popcorn. After a moment, Joan picked up a few kernels herself and ate them carefully.

  “So, who do you think is Peter Smith, assuming he’s one of the new arrivals to the area?” Janet asked after a sip of soda.

  “Leonard,” Joan answered firmly.

  Janet laughed. “You just don’t like him,” she said.

  “I don’t like him, but he could still be Peter Smith,” Joan pointed out.

  “I think William Chalmers is more likely,” Janet told her.

  “Let’s discuss them one at a time,” Joan suggested. “We can start with Leonard Simmons.”

  “The poor man’s only fault is that he’s keeping you and Michael apart,” Janet said.

  “He said he was hiding up here,” Joan reminded her. “What is he hiding from exactly?”

  “I don’t know. But he seems too dull and uninteresting to be a conman. I barely notice him when he’s in the room unless he talking loudly about events from forty years ago.”

  “But that could be an act,” Joan said. “He could be just pretending to be boring.”

  Janet shook her head. “I’m pretty sure he really is boring,” she said firmly. “I think he’s just an ordinary and dreary man who is currently taking advantage of his friendship with Michael.”

  “What could he be hiding from, then?” Joan asked.

  “His wife? His children? The tax man?”

  “It’s hard to imagine that he’s married,” Joan said pensively. “But I suppose he might have been attractive many years ago.”

  “There’s someone out there for everyone,” Janet said. “If they want to find someone, that is.”

  “Yes, well, assuming he’s married, why would he need to hide?”

  “Maybe he forgot their wedding anniversary or something,” Janet said with a shrug. “I don’t know enough about marriage to understand its finer points. Maybe he goes away for a week every year, just to give his wife a break from his, um, charming personality.”

  “Did Michael say what Leonard does for a living?” Joan asked.

  Janet frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think so,” she said after a moment. “I don’t think he said much of anything about the man except that he was an old school friend.”

  “Interesting,” Joan murmured.

  “Let’s talk about William Chalmers,” Janet said. “I don’t like him even a little bit and he was very upset that Constable Parsons visited him.”

  “Yes, but surely the constable would have arrested him if he really were Peter Smith,” Joan replied.

  “Maybe Robert didn’t recognise him, at least not well enough to be certain. I don’t think the police can just arrest someone because he might be a conman in disguise.”

  “He is certainly unpleasant,” Joan said. “I wouldn’t mind him leaving Doveby Dale, either to go to prison or just to go away.”

  “I’ll second that,” Janet said. She looked down at the bowl of popcorn. She and Joan had been munching steadily and it now contained little more than a few unpopped kernels. “And I’ll make more popcorn,” she added.

  While she was making the popcorn, Joan refilled their drinks. “I can’t believe we ate the whole bowlful after our big dinner,” Joan remarked as they sat back down.

  “Me either, but it was delicious,” Janet replied, setting the refilled bowl between them. “Now, where were we?”

  “We were just trying to get rid of William Chalmers,” Joan reminded her.

  “Yes, well, if we could find a way to convince Robert Parsons that he’s the conman, I’d be happy.”

  “But I’d still be stuck with Leonard,” Joan said sadly.

  Janet laughed. “Well, they can’t both be Peter Smith,” she said.

  “Unless they are,” Joan said. “Maybe the conman is actually more than one person. That would help explain how he can look so different all the time.”

  “I suppose anything is possible,” Janet said slowly. “But it doesn’t seem likely, somehow. I’d like to think the police are smart enough to have figured that out if it were th
e case.”

  “I suppose,” Joan said with a sigh. “It would be nice to be rid of both of them, though.”

  “Leonard is leaving soon,” Janet told her, patting her hand. “Hang in there.”

  “What about James Abbott?” Joan asked.

  “I don’t mind him in the slightest,” Janet replied. “He can stay as long as he wants.”

  Joan smiled. “But could he be the man Robert is looking for?”

  Janet shrugged. “I guess so. Stuart said he was an expert gardener, but he didn’t seem to know the difference between plants and weeds when I saw him earlier.”

  “Why couldn’t Stuart find him when he first looked?” Joan asked.

  “He said he’d gone for a walk,” Janet told her.

  “I don’t know if that’s suspicious or not,” Joan replied.

  “I did see Robert Parsons drive by while I was looking for James,” Janet said thoughtfully. “Maybe James was trying to avoid Robert.”

  “That would certainly be suspicious.”

  “But it seems just as likely that James was just walking off his dinner,” Janet said. “Besides, he’s related to Mary in some way. Surely she wouldn’t have him in the house if he were a criminal.”

  “We don’t know Mary well enough to answer that,” Joan replied.

  Janet sighed. “We aren’t very good at this detecting thing.”

  “No, I suppose not,” Joan answered. “At least we haven’t managed to get ourselves locked in anywhere this time,” she added, staring at Janet.

  Janet blushed. “I didn’t mean to,” she replied weakly. “Besides, you agreed that we wouldn’t talk about that ever again.”

  “And you agreed to stop snooping,” Joan retorted.

  “We aren’t snooping, we’re just talking,” Janet answered.

  “And we still haven’t talked about Edward Bennett,” Joan pointed out.

  Janet felt herself blushing again. “Surely he can’t be Peter Smith. He was one of Maggie’s boyfriends.”

  “I’m not sure why that lets him out,” Joan replied.

  “Stuart and Michael both know him from before anyway. Neither of them seems to think he’s anything other than what he claims to be.”