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

by Diana Xarissa

  “Yeah, I know that,” Mary replied. “He just got out of prison and came to stay with us while he figures out what he wants to do next. So what?”

  “Did he happen to mention how he got out of prison?” Edward asked.

  Mary shook her head and sighed. “He escaped again, didn’t he?” She shook her head. “That man will never learn.”

  “How are you related exactly?” Edward asked.

  Mary laughed. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “We first met about twenty years ago at a family party. He claimed to have been briefly married to my stepsister who had emigrated to New Zealand a few years earlier. He was funny and charming and it didn’t really seem to matter.”

  “And you’ve kept in touch ever since?” Edward asked.

  “Not really,” Mary shrugged. “He just seems to pop up in my life every so often. I knew he’d been to prison a bunch of times, but he never stole anything from me and he’s wonderful company, really.”

  Stuart coughed loudly and everyone turned to look at him. “Sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t find him ‘wonderful’ in the slightest.”

  Everyone got on with eating their breakfast while Joan and Janet kept coffee cups filled.

  “Who’s Ethel?” Joan asked Leonard suddenly.

  Leonard frowned and looked down at his plate. “My wife,” he said, finally. “I figured she’d sent the police to round me up and send me home.”

  “You’re hiding from your wife?” Joan asked.

  “Yeah, well, not really hiding, just having a break, like,” Leonard replied. “She’s well, she’s rather demanding sometimes.”

  Joan and Janet exchanged looks and Janet bit her tongue. She couldn’t imagine what being married to Leonard would be like, so she thought it best not to comment. Instead, she turned to William Chalmers.

  “I do wish you’d stop throwing accusations around,” she said sharply. “Joan and I most certainly did not call the police on you.”

  The man flushed. “Sorry,” he said. “I think I should be going.”

  Janet didn’t argue, she simply walked the man to the door. He handed her a ten-pound note and then left without saying another word.

  “I still don’t like him, even if he isn’t Peter Smith,” Janet said when she rejoined the others.

  Edward nodded. “I think Robert Parsons will be taking a very close look at that man,” he said. “Anyone who’s that bothered about the police is suspect.”

  It was quiet for a few minutes as breakfast plates were cleared. Janet had a million questions for Edward, but she didn’t want to quiz him in front of everyone. Finally Stuart and Mary headed for home with Stuart promising to come back in the afternoon to work on the garden.

  “James wasn’t any help anyway,” he muttered. “He knew nothing about gardening.”

  Leonard and Michael weren’t far behind. “I wanted to tell you that Leonard is heading home tomorrow,” Michael told Joan in the kitchen. Janet was loading the dishwasher, pretending not to listen. “I was hoping we could have dinner together after he’s gone?”

  “I might be able to manage that,” Joan said after a moment.

  Michael smiled brightly, and then he collected Leonard from the dining room and they left.

  “Well, I guess that’s that,” Janet said as she pushed the dishwasher shut. “It was a rather exciting morning.”

  “We were both wrong about Peter Smith,” Joan pointed out.

  “We were close,” Janet said with a shrug. “And Leonard is leaving tomorrow anyway.”

  “That is good news,” Joan admitted.

  “And I’m leaving today,” Edward said from the doorway. “But I’d still like a few minutes of your time if you can spare it,” he said to Janet.

  Janet felt less reluctant to talk to him now that she knew he wasn’t an escaped conman.

  “Let’s talk in the library,” Edward suggested.

  She opened her mouth to argue, but changed her mind. It was as good a place as any, she supposed.

  She unlocked the library door and then went inside, switching on the nearest light. Sinking into a comfortable chair, she looked expectantly at Edward.

  He smiled and sat down across from her, taking her hand in his. “I don’t want to leave today,” he told her. “But I don’t have a choice. You intrigue me and I’d really rather stay and get to know you better.”

  Janet felt her face turning red. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, too,” she muttered, looking down at the floor.

  “There are a few things I need to tell you,” Edward continued. “For a start, Maggie and I were just friends, although I can’t possibly prove that. She wasn’t really my type.”

  “Why not?” Janet couldn’t help but ask.

  Edward shrugged. “She was loud and flamboyant, all flash and no substance.” He shook his head. “We worked well together, but I never wanted a personal relationship with her.”

  “You worked together?” Janet asked.

  Edward nodded. “I’m not really supposed to tell you this, but I think you have a right to know,” he said after a moment. “I am supposed to be retired, but I guess I really still work for Her Majesty’s government in the security services.”

  “You’re a spy?” Janet tried not to let him see how surprised she was, but she was certain she failed.

  Edward chuckled. “I guess you could say that, but that isn’t how I would have put it.”

  Janet pulled her hand away and sat back in her chair, her mind racing. “Why did you come here?” she asked after a moment.

  “Maggie very occasionally helped us out by letting people we sent stay here,” he explained. “When she died so suddenly, there were some concerns that she might have left information about that lying around.”

  “So you wanted to go through her papers,” Janet said.

  “I did, until I found what I wanted elsewhere.”

  “In the safe?” Janet asked.

  Edward nodded and then handed Janet a card that he pulled from his pocket. “Here’s the combination,” he told her. “I’ve taken out everything that I needed to remove. You and your sister can go through the rest.”

  “What’s in there?” Janet asked.

  “Wait and see,” Edward told her with a wink.

  “But Maggie died months ago,” Janet suddenly recalled. “Why did it take you so long to visit?”

  “Her connection to my office was a closely held secret,” he replied. “A bit too closely as it happens. I was busy in America and no one thought to notify me about her death until quite recently. I came up as soon as I could, once I heard the news.”

  “And now you’re leaving,” Janet said. She was annoyed when she heard the sadness in her voice.

  “I am,” Edward agreed. “But I can come back and visit again, if you’d like.”

  Janet shrugged. “I’m not sure,” she said truthfully.

  Edward nodded. “I know. The nature of my job doesn’t lend itself to relationships,” he said. “But I am meant to be retired. I’m hoping I’ll be rushing around the world a good deal less in the future.”

  “Well, if you find yourself with some free time, it would be nice to see you again,” Janet said after a moment.

  Edward smiled. “I’ll write,” he suggested. “And I’ll call when I can. I’m off to Madrid, though, so calling might be difficult.”

  “Did you often write to Maggie?” Janet had to ask.

  “Maggie? I never wrote to Maggie, why?”

  Janet struggled to find an answer, but before she spoke, Edward began to laugh.

  “I didn’t write the letters in the desk,” he said eventually. “That was a different Edward altogether.”

  “You read them?”

  “I was looking for my paperwork,” he said. “I just skimmed through every sheet of paper I found.”

  “You could have asked us to let you search the library,” Janet said. “You didn’t have to break in in the middle of the night.”

  “I wasn�
�t supposed to tell you who I really am,” he reminded her. “I’m only doing it now because, well, because I want you to understand.”

  “I’ll tell Joan,” Janet warned him.

  “I figured as much,” Edward said.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Joan said in the doorway, “but there’s a man at the door asking for you,” she told Edward.

  He frowned and got to his feet. “That’s probably my ride,” he said with a sigh. He offered a hand to Janet. “Walk me out?”

  Janet took his hand and they walked to the door together. The man in the doorway looked as broad as he was tall, and Janet had no doubt every inch of it was muscle rather than fat. He had short black hair and he was wearing a black suit and very dark sunglasses.

  “Sir, I’m here to take you back to London,” the man said. “Danny is coming for your car later today.”

  “I’ll leave the keys with you, if I may?” Edward asked Janet. “When Danny arrives, you can give them to him.”

  “How will I know it’s Danny?” Janet asked as she pocketed the keys.

  “He looks just like me,” the man in the doorway told her.

  Edward grinned and then leaned over and gave Janet a quick kiss. “I’ll be back,” he whispered in her ear.

  So you see, Bessie, we had a rush of gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and only one of them was a wanted criminal. I’ve taken to the calling the entire episode “The Bennett Case” in honour of our first paying guest. Joan thinks I should call it “The Abbott Case” or “The Smith Case,” but I ignore her.

  Joan is in much better spirits since Leonard left. I can only sympathise with poor Ethel who has to live with him.

  We haven’t seen William Chalmers since he had breakfast with us, but I hear he’s been busy making enemies of just about everyone he encounters in Doveby Dale. If he ever does get his business up and running, I can’t imagine anyone will want to shop there.

  As for Edward, I’ve had one quick note from him. His handwriting is nothing like the handwriting on Maggie’s letters from the other Edward. He’s hoping to come and visit again soon, but “things keep cropping up,” apparently.

  I wasn’t sure about telling you about his job, but he agreed that I could tell Joan, and I decided telling you was much the same thing. As you are far away on the Isle of Man, you’re unlikely to ever meet the man, so I can’t imagine it will hurt anything.

  Meanwhile, it seems having our first guest has inspired my sister. She is now insisting that we get the business up and running before the end of this month. I hope you can come and stay soon. We’d love to see you!

  With all good wishes,

  Janet Markham

  P.S. The combination that Edward gave me doesn’t open the safe after all. Hopefully he will be back soon to give us the correct combination.

  Glossary of Terms

  biscuits

  cookies

  booking

  reservation

  boot

  trunk (of a car)

  car park

  parking lot

  cuppa

  cup of tea (informal)

  estate car

  station wagon

  fortnight

  two weeks

  high street

  the main shopping street in a town or village

  holiday

  vacation

  jumper

  sweater

  lie in

  sleep late

  midday

  noon

  pavement

  sidewalk

  pudding

  dessert

  queue

  line

  saloon car

  sedan

  shopping trolley

  shopping cart

  starters

  appetizers

  ta

  thank you (informal)

  telly

  television

  till

  check-out (in a grocery store, for example)

  Other Notes

  In the UK dates are written day, month, year rather than month, day, year as in the US. (May 5, 2015 would be written 5 May 2015 for example.)

  In the UK when describing property with more than one level, the lowest level (assuming there is no basement; very few UK houses have basements) is the “ground floor,” and the next floor up is the “first floor” and so on. In the US, the lowest floor is usually the “first floor” and up from there.

  When Janet says she might be “brewing something,” she means she thinks she might be coming down with a cold or flu.

  When telling time, half six is the English equivalent of six thirty.

  A double-glazing salesman would be going door-to-door trying to get people to purchase new windows for their homes.

  A “full English breakfast” generally consists of bacon, sausage, eggs, grilled or fried tomatoes, fried potatoes, fried mushrooms and baked beans served with toast.

  Coming December 16, 2015

  The Chalmers Case

  A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella

  Now that Janet and Joan Markham have had their first (albeit unexpected) guest, Joan is eager to get the bed and breakfast running properly. A shopping trip for some paintings to decorate the guest rooms leaves Janet convinced that William Chalmers, a man she doesn't like anyway, is up to no good.

  When some of William's friends come to stay with the sisters, Janet's suspicions are heightened. A second set of guests keeps the women busy, but Janet can't help but wonder when the two couples become unlikely friends.

  What exactly is William Chalmers doing in the back room of his new antique shop? Are their disagreeable guests, the Stones, working with him on something criminal? And why can't all of their paying visitors be like the Harrisons, who are quiet and respectable?

  The Markham Sisters Cozy

  Mystery Novella Series

  The Appleton Case

  The Bennett Case

  The Chalmers Case (Release date: December 16, 2015)

  The Aunt Bessie Cozy Mystery Series

  Aunt Bessie Assumes

  Aunt Bessie Believes

  Aunt Bessie Considers

  Aunt Bessie Decides

  Aunt Bessie Enjoys

  Aunt Bessie Finds

  Aunt Bessie Goes (Release date: October 16, 2015)

  The Isle of Man Romance Series

  Island Escape

  Island Inheritance

  Island Heritage

  Island Christmas (Release date: December 1, 2015)

  About the Author

  Diana Xarissa lived in Derbyshire, and then on the Isle of Man for more than ten years before returning to the United States with her family. Now living near Buffalo, New York, she enjoys writing about the island and the UK.

  Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future under the pen name “Diana X. Dunn” and fantasy/adventure books for middle grade readers under the pen name “D.X. Dunn.”

  She would be delighted to know what you think of her work and can be contacted through snail mail at:

  Diana Xarissa Dunn

  PO Box 72

  Clarence, NY 14031.

  Or find her on Facebook, Goodreads or on her website at www.dianaxarissa.com.

  You can sign up for her monthly newsletter on the website and be among the first to know about new releases, as well as find out about contests and giveaways and see the answers to some frequently asked questions.