“Which is what exactly?” Joan asked. “I’ve barely spoken to the man. Where is he from? What does he do for a living? Is he married? Does he have children?”
Janet held up a hand to stop the flow of questions. “He works in imports and exports,” she told her sister. “Although I’m not sure I know exactly what that means. And he doesn’t act as if he’s married, but I haven’t actually asked him.”
“Why on earth not?” Joan demanded.
Janet shrugged. “It simply never came up,” she muttered.
“Well, it should have,” Joan said stoutly. “You might be dating a married man. That would never do.”
“He wouldn’t have been dating Maggie if he were married,” Janet said as the thought occurred to her.
“He might have been,” Joan argued. “We don’t know much about Maggie Appleton, but what we do know suggests she led a rather different life to ours.”
Janet nodded. It was a good thing Joan hadn’t read the letters in the desk yet. Once Joan read them, she’d think Maggie would have been capable of just about anything.
“He did behave oddly tonight,” Joan said. “Dashing off like that without any explanation.”
“You’re right,” Janet said miserably. “Maybe it was his wife calling.”
Joan shook her head. “I don’t think he’s married,” she told Janet. “But I don’t trust him, either. He’s hiding something.”
“Everyone seems to be hiding something,” Janet replied. “Leonard has admitted that he’s hiding from someone or something. James did a disappearing act this afternoon and doesn’t seem to be who he says he is. William was upset that we told anyone he was here, with an excuse I didn’t believe as to why. And now Edward is dashing about Derbyshire with no explanation as to why he had to leave so suddenly.”
“So where does that leave us?” Joan asked.
“Nowhere,” Janet told her. “We’re no closer to figuring out which man is Peter Smith than we were when we started. The only thing we’ve managed to accomplish is eating two big bowls of popcorn.”
Joan looked into the bowl and shook her head. “Where did it all go?” she asked. “I don’t feel as if I ate much at all.”
“Me either,” Janet told her. “But there’s nothing left but a few kernels that didn’t pop.”
“Maybe we should gather all of the suspects together and question them,” Janet said after a moment. “That always works in detective stories.”
“You know I don’t read such things,” Joan said. “But I thought the detective got everyone together to dramatically announce who the criminal was. We don’t have any idea which man is Peter Smith.”
“Who might just as well be hiding in London or Scotland or the Isle of Man,” Janet said.
“Indeed, maybe we should alert Bessie,” Joan said with a grin.
Janet laughed. “I guess you’re right,” she admitted.
“I know I’ll sleep better at night once Peter Smith is back behind bars,” Joan said.
“You mean you’ll sleep better once you know he isn’t sleeping in our house,” Janet told her.
“Well, yes, that’s part of it,” Joan admitted. “I’m happy we have our very first paying guest, and he’s paying handsomely, but if he is a convicted conman, I’d rather not have him in the house.”
“And I’d rather not be dating him,” Janet added.
“Are you dating him?” Joan asked. “You’ve been out with him once, but you seem to be trying to avoid him most of the time.”
“I don’t trust him,” Janet told her. “But I wish I could.”
Joan nodded. “I think you’re better off avoiding him, then,” she counselled.
“He’s quite interesting, and rather attractive,” Janet replied.
The sound of the front door opening made her snap her mouth shut.
“And he’s back,” Joan hissed. “At least I hope it’s him.”
The two sisters headed for the sitting room, with Joan in the lead.
“Ah, it is you,” she said loudly as she walked into the room.
“It is me,” Edward said with a bright smile. “I hope you haven’t sat up waiting for me to get home.”
“Of course not,” Janet said too loudly. “We were just having a snack and chatting. It’s only.” she trailed off as she glanced at the clock, “…midnight,” she added in a surprised tone.
“Where did the evening go?” Joan asked. “I guess Michael never managed to get away.”
“Clearly not,” Janet said. “Anyway, as it is so very late, I’m off to bed.” She headed for the stairs as quickly as she could, not wanting to get caught alone with Edward.
“What would you like for breakfast tomorrow?” Janet heard her sister ask the man. Clearly Joan had realised the reason for Janet’s haste and was helping her sister get away. Janet didn’t wait to hear Edward’s reply.
In her favourite nightgown, with her teeth brushed and her face washed, Janet climbed into bed. She was just finding her place in her book when someone knocked on her door. It had be Joan, she decided. Edward wouldn’t visit this late at night. She crossed the room and opened the door a crack, frowning as she realised she was mistaken.
“Janet, we really need to talk,” Edward said quietly. “And I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“I thought you were staying a few more days,” Janet hissed back.
“I thought I was, but my plans have changed again.”
“Well, this isn’t the time to discuss things,” Janet said firmly. “We can talk over breakfast.”
Edward frowned. “I don’t want to talk in front of your sister,” he objected.
Janet shook her head. “Then you’ll have to find time for a short conversation after breakfast,” she said. “I’m going to bed now.”
She shut the door in Edward’s face, feeling fed up with the man. Cosy midnight chats were exciting when she was in her twenties, but now she needed her sleep if she were going to be able to function the next day. Tomorrow she was determined to figure out who Peter Smith was, although Edward’s recent behaviour seemed to suggest that he might be the man Robert Parsons was looking for.
She climbed back into bed and burrowed under the covers. Half an hour later she threw back the duvet and sat up. I should have just had the stupid conversation, she said to herself. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep without knowing what Edward wanted. She paced around her bedroom, debating what to do. Creeping downstairs for a cup of tea held some appeal, but, having sent Edward away so that she could sleep, she really didn’t want to run into him now.
The book on her nightstand didn’t appeal in the slightest, but she forced herself to read a chapter from it. When she’d yawned for the tenth time, she slid back down in the bed and shut her eyes tightly. Counting backwards from a thousand, she finally fell into a restless sleep around twenty-seven. Joan was knocking on her door only a short time later.
Chapter Ten
“You look terrible,” Joan greeted her.
“You don’t look so great yourself,” Janet retorted. She knew she was a mess, with uncombed hair and tired eyes, but Joan looked as if she hadn’t slept either.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Joan replied. “This Peter Smith thing is starting to bother me.”
“I’ll just take a quick shower and then I’ll be down to help with breakfast,” Janet said, yawning. “And while we’re cooking, we’ll figure everything out.”
Joan grinned. “I hope we do,” she replied.
Janet shut the door behind her and then raced into the bathroom. After another very quick shower, she got dressed and fixed her hair and makeup. She frowned at her reflection as she added her lipstick.
“You don’t need to look your best,” she told herself sternly. “The man is leaving.”
With that depressing thought echoing through her head, she made her way down to the kitchen. Joan was pottering around, doing nothing much as she waited for Edward to arrive.
“I’ve put th
e coffee on,” Joan said.
Janet inhaled the heady scent and smiled in spite of her mood. She filled a mug and took a sip, feeling the hot liquid rushing through her system. “I needed that,” she told her sister.
“We both did,” Joan replied, lifting her own mug to her lips.
Janet heard Edward’s footsteps approaching the kitchen, and her heart raced. Before he actually came through the door, the bell on the conservatory door rang.
“I’ll go,” Janet said, rushing out of the room. She passed Edward on her way and shouted a quick “good morning” at him. He replied in kind, sounding a bit bewildered.
“Stuart, to what do we owe this pleasure?” Janet asked as she opened the glass door.
“I was just hoping that James and I could get a cuppa from you before we get started in the garden,” Stuart said. “Mary’s had to go out first thing and she’s actually taken our kettle with her.”
“I’m not sure I want to know why,” Janet said with a laugh. “Do come in. Of course you’re more than welcome.”
“She gone to help her youngest move house,” Stuart explained as they walked to the kitchen. “They’ve the movers in all day and Mary figured the men will need tea at some point, probably after her son’s kettle is already packed. She took our kettle, milk, sugar and several packets of biscuits.”
“Very sensible,” Janet replied. “You do have to keep the moving men happy, don’t you?”
In the kitchen, Edward was sitting at the table sipping a hot drink while Joan fixed his breakfast.
“Stuart and James need a drink before they start,” Janet told her sister. “I hope you managed to get some breakfast before Mary left,” she said to Stuart.
“We didn’t, actually,” Stuart replied. “I’d love some toast, if it isn’t too much bother.”
“I can do you both a full English breakfast, if you’d like,” Joan said from where she was frying eggs.
“That would be wonderful,” Stuart said.
“Yeah, great,” James said with a grin as he took a seat at the table.
Janet poured them each a mug of coffee and then tried to figure out how to help Joan without getting in the way. She gave up when she heard the knock on the front door.
“Mr. Chalmers? What brings you here?” she asked, keeping the door mostly shut.
The man gave her a fake smile that made her think of a used-car salesman. “I came to apologise,” he said tightly. “I think we got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to make sure that you and your sister didn’t have the wrong impression of me.”
Janet opened her mouth, ready to tell him exactly what she thought of him, and then snapped it shut. If he really was going to be living in Doveby Dale, she and Joan would have to be able to get along with him. “It’s fine, I’m sure,” she muttered instead.
“If I could just come in for a minute, I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”
Janet shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of breakfast,” she said. “Maybe Joan and I could stop by your shop one day?”
“Breakfast? I didn’t get any breakfast today. I’m staying in that horrid little hotel on the edge of town and they do ‘continental breakfast,’ which so far has consisted of nothing but day-old bread rolls from some chain supermarket and cold tea. I’ll happily pay ten pounds for a hot breakfast and a cup of coffee.”
Janet frowned. The last thing she wanted to do was spend more time with the man. But he was offering good money and she would happily sell him her breakfast. She was too tired to be hungry.
“Come on in, then,” she said with a sigh.
He followed her eagerly through the sitting room and into the kitchen. Joan was just starting to fill plates.
“Mr. Chalmers is starving,” Janet announced. “He’s happy to pay for a hot breakfast.”
Joan frowned and Janet knew she’d be in trouble later.
“Do sit down,” Joan told their new guest. He joined the other three men at the table while Joan cracked more eggs into the frying pan.
“Perhaps we should move into the dining room,” Edward suggested. “Otherwise, you ladies have nowhere to sit.”
“Oh, stay where you are. We can eat after you’ve finished,” Joan told him.
Janet didn’t dare argue with Joan, who was clearly in a bad mood. Hearing someone knock was a relief.
“I’ll go,” she called out, turning towards the front door.
“Whatever you do, don’t invite whoever it is in for breakfast,” Joan called after her.
Janet’s heart sank when she saw Michael and Leonard on the doorstep. How could she not invite them in?
“I just wanted a quick word with Joan, if that’s okay?” Michael said as Janet invited them in.
“She’s just making breakfast for, well, everyone,” Janet said with a laugh. “Come on in and join the party.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be in the way,” Michael protested.
“If you want to wait in the sitting room for a few minutes, I can send her out,” Janet suggested.
Michael and Leonard sat down on the one of the couches and Janet went back to the kitchen.
“Michael is here and he’d like a quick word with you,” she told Joan.
“I hope he’s had breakfast,” Joan murmured as she quickly ducked out of the room. A moment later she was back with Michael and Leonard in tow.
“They haven’t eaten,” she told Janet, giving her a look that seemed to dare Janet to argue.
“In that case, we’d better move into the dining room,” Janet replied.
The six men were quickly resettled. The men who’d already been given plates carried their own breakfast in with them.
“I’ll have food out to the rest of you in a just a few minutes,” Joan told the others.
Janet was quick to join her in the kitchen.
“Did you set this up?” Joan hissed at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Last night you were saying that you wanted to get all the suspects together and now you have,” Joan pointed out. “Did you plan this somehow?”
Janet shook her head. “I’m not that clever,” she protested. “And anyway, we’re too busy making them all breakfast to ask them any questions.”
Joan shook her head. “I still think it’s Leonard,” she said firmly.
“And I still think it’s William Chalmers,” Janet replied.
When someone knocked on their door again, the sisters just looked at each other.
“We don’t know anyone else,” Joan said with a small smile.
“Maybe it’s a double-glazing salesman,” Janet suggested.
“I bet, whoever it is, he or she is hungry,” Joan added wryly.
Janet laughed and headed for the door.
“Constable Parsons? What brings you here?”
“I’m very sorry, but I have reason to believe that Peter Smith is in your house,” the man, dressed today in casual trousers and a polo shirt, said. “I’d like to come in and arrest him, if I may.”
Janet flushed. “Of course you can,” she said, stepping backwards quickly. “But who….”
The man held up a hand. “If you could just show me where everyone is?”
Janet nodded and then led him through the kitchen to the dining room. As the pair entered the room, the six men stopped talking and looked up.
The policeman cleared his throat just before the chaos began.
William Chalmers jumped to his feet. “You called the police on me again?” he shouted.
“He’s the cop?” James yelled, jumping up.
“Ethel sent you, didn’t she?” Leonard asked in a resigned tone.
Robert cleared his throat again, but James pushed past him and ran.
“Stop him,” Robert shouted, chasing after the man.
“Stop him?” Joan echoed from the kitchen, looking confused as the men ran past. “How on earth am I meant to do that?”
Edward now followed James and Robert
through the kitchen towards the front of the house. It took James a moment to get the door open, but then he was down the steps, running full speed towards the road.
Robert wasn’t far behind him and Edward had nearly caught up as well. Janet found herself being joined by her sister and the others on the porch where they all stood silently, watching the scene.
A car turned onto the street and nearly hit James. The driver slammed on the brakes, and then James ran around and tried to open the passenger door. When that failed, he spun away from the car, but by that time both Robert and Edward had caught up to him. Robert took his arm and with Edward’s help escorted him to his waiting car. Once the man was locked in the back, Robert and Edward had a short conversation, and then Robert waved to everyone on the porch and got into his car.
Edward walked back towards Doveby House slowly while the woman who’d been driving the car that had almost hit James climbed out.
“What’s going on?” she demanded angrily of no one.
Janet recognised Mary Long and called down to her. “Mary, come on in and have some breakfast,” she suggested.
Mary pulled her car into Doveby House’s car park and then joined Janet on the porch. She was short and slender and she looked as if she was in a bad mood.
Everyone else had gone back inside as soon as the police car had driven away. Now Edward joined Janet and Mary on the porch. He gave Janet’s hand a quick squeeze before the trio turned and went into the house.
In the dining room, Joan was distributing more plates, each one laden down with delicious breakfast foods.
“I hope someone can tell me what just happened to my brother-in-law,” Mary said angrily.
“I thought you were helping Philip all day,” Stuart said.
“Yes, well, let’s just say Jennifer had other ideas,” Mary said sourly.
“Who’s Jennifer?” Edward asked.
“Philip’s wife,” Stuart replied.
“Ah,” Edward hid a grin as he sat back down at the table.
“What happened to James?” Mary demanded as she sat down in the single empty seat at the table.
“His real name isn’t James Abbott,” Edward told her. “And he’s a notorious conman.”
The Bennett Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 8
