The Norman Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “I apologise. My wife always opens up for me, but she’s away. She’s visiting her sister, you see,” Stanley replied.

  Trevor raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t ask for an explanation,” he said sharply. “Your sign says that you open at nine. It is considerably past nine. I’ve half a mind to take my business elsewhere.”

  “By all means,” Stanley told him. “I can give you a long list of other antique dealers in the area if you’d like.”

  Trevor frowned and then shook his head. “I’ve been told you stock more than most. I’d like to look around, but you’re going to have to work hard to get my business.”

  Stanley shrugged. “Have a look around. I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

  Trevor didn’t look pleased at the man’s nonchalant words, but he didn’t say anything else, he simply marched into the building.

  “Where’s your wife today?” Janet asked.

  The man looked startled and then stared at her. “Have we met?” he asked.

  “I’m Janet Markham from Doveby House. You were there yesterday,” she replied.

  “Doveby House? Oh, yes, that ghastly little bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere. I’d forgotten all about that.”

  Janet thought she might draw blood as she bit her tongue hard. William put a hand on her arm as he stepped forward.

  “Yes, where is your wife?” he asked. “I so enjoyed meeting her yesterday at my shop in Doveby Dale.”

  Trevor glanced at him. “Amelia is in the car. If I see anything worth bothering with, I’ll ring her to come in. Is that satisfactory for both of you?”

  “More than,” Janet said softly. “Let’s go,” she told William.

  Stanley walked out of the building with them.

  “You should be nice to him,” William said. “He and his wife spent a fortune in my shop yesterday.”

  “I’m doing okay without having to be nice to men like that,” Stanley replied. “And here he comes. I suppose he didn’t find anything he liked.”

  Trevor ignored them all as he walked over to one of the cars in the car park. He opened the driver’s door and climbed inside. Janet waited to hear the engine start. Instead, after a few minutes, the driver’s door opened again. Trevor climbed out and then walked around to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door and helped Amelia from the car. The pair walked past Janet and her friends, back into the building, without saying a word.

  “I imagine that means he saw something he liked,” Stanley said.

  “Good luck,” William told him. “I hope you sell everything in the warehouse.”

  Stanley laughed. “I’ve more than enough in my other buildings to refill it, you know.”

  “I do know and I’d love to see what you have in those other buildings,” William replied.

  “It’ll all make it into the main building one day,” Stanley said with a wave of his hand. “Or the wife will sell it all off cheap once I’m gone. I’d better get in there, hadn’t I?”

  He turned and walked back into the warehouse as Janet and William headed for his car. William glanced at the backseat, which had been carefully stacked with all of his purchases. “I suppose we should take all of this back to my shop, rather than do any more shopping today,” he said.

  “That’s probably wise,” Janet agreed.

  William drove back to the centre of Doveby Dale. He pulled his car into the alley that ran behind the row of shops and then parked.

  “It won’t take me much more than a few minutes to unload. Is it too early for lunch?”

  Janet glanced at her watch. “It won’t be, by the time you’ve unloaded,” she said. “I’m sure we can get something at the café, anyway, even if it is early.”

  “Todd will happily make us breakfast or lunch, no doubt,” William said with a grin.

  Janet got out of the car and helped William carry everything into the small storeroom in the back of the shop. It took them three trips to get all of it.

  “I hadn’t realised that I’d bought quite that much,” William laughed as they found places to put the last few items.

  “You did very well. Do you have buyers for all of this?”

  “Most of it. One or two items are simply replacements for things I’ve recently sold, but the rest are to fulfill requests from customers who didn’t want to drive to Derby themselves.”

  While William locked up the storeroom, Janet wandered around the shop. She always found pieces she liked, even though she had nowhere to put any of them. As she rejoined William in the back, she smiled at him. “I see you sold that lamp.”

  “Which lamp?”

  “The lighthouse one that you thought I would like.”

  “I haven’t sold it.”

  “You must have just moved it, then,” Janet shrugged. “It isn’t where it was yesterday, that’s all.”

  “It’s not?” William said, sounding upset. He crossed into the shop and spent a minute looking around. “It’s gone,” he said softly a moment later.

  “Are you sure you didn’t sell it?”

  “Oh, yes, I’m very sure,” William replied firmly. “Which means someone must have taken it.”

  Chapter 5

  “Who would have taken that thing?” Janet demanded.

  William raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you liked it?”

  Janet flushed. “I didn’t dislike it,” she said quickly. “I just meant why would someone take that when there are other pieces here that must be more valuable, that’s all.”

  “There are other items that are more valuable,” William conceded. “Some of which would probably be easier to steal, as well. I probably should have some of them in cases, rather than just out on display, but nothing has ever gone missing before.”

  “You need to ring Robert.”

  “Yes, I suppose I do. I’ll ring him right after lunch.”

  “You should ring him now,” Janet said firmly. “Lunch can wait.”

  William looked as if he wanted to argue, but after a moment he shrugged and then picked up the telephone. “Ah, yes, it’s William Chalmers. Is Robert available?”

  Janet walked around the shop a second time while William was on the phone. When he put the receiver down, she walked back to him.

  “He’s going to come over now,” he said. “I’m to try to work out if anything else is missing.”

  “Can I help?”

  William shrugged. “I’m not even sure where to start. There are hundreds of items in here, both large and small. I don’t know that I can remember all of them.”

  “You have a list somewhere, I assume.”

  “Yes, of course, but it would take ages to go through the entire list. Anyway, it hasn’t been updated in the last week or so. I sold quite a lot yesterday, and I acquired several items today. I’d have to update the list first, really.”

  “Do you keep it on computer?”

  William shook his head. “I’m not that computer literate. It’s all on paper. I’ll go and see what I have, if you’ll let Robert in.”

  “Of course.” She didn’t have long to wait. Constable Robert Parsons knocked on the shop’s door a moment or two later.

  “Robert, come in,” she said, unlocking the door and then locking it again behind the man. The last thing they needed at the moment was any customers.

  “I didn’t realise you were here,” Robert told her as he glanced around the shop. Robert was a handsome man in his twenties with brown hair and eyes. He was responsible for policing both Doveby Dale and the neighbouring village of Little Burton, and as far as Janet was concerned, he did an excellent job.

  “William and I went into Derby this morning,” she explained. “We stopped here to drop off his purchases. That’s when I noticed that the lamp was missing.”

  Robert nodded. “And where is William?”

  “He went to try to find his inventory lists.”

  “But he didn’t have much luck,” William said from the doorway between the shop an
d the back room. “I haven’t been keeping the inventory as carefully as I should be.”

  Robert nodded. “That’s fairly typical,” he said. “I’ll file a preliminary report about the missing lamp, and then add to it as necessary after you’ve taken your inventory.”

  William nodded. “I’ll keep the shop shut and do a thorough inventory today,” he promised, “but let’s sit down. The couch and chairs in the corner are the most comfortable.” The trio moved over and took seats before Robert continued.

  “You’ll want the police report for your insurance claim,” Robert said. “That’s best done with a complete list.”

  “If it’s only the lamp that’s missing, I probably won’t file an insurance claim,” William said. “That particular lamp wasn’t terribly valuable.”

  “That’s up to you, of course,” Robert said. “Tell me the last time you remember seeing the lamp.”

  “Janet came in early yesterday to take a look at it,” William began. “She didn’t care for it, so I put it on the table in the corner and more or less forgot all about it. If Janet hadn’t noticed that it was gone, I might not have realised for some time.”

  “I’ll need a full description, and photos would help,” Robert said.

  William flipped through the file of papers he’d brought with him from the back. “Here you are,” he said, handing Robert a sheet of paper.

  Janet was close enough to see that it was a photo and description of the lighthouse lamp.

  “How do you happen to have this?” Robert asked.

  “I bought the lamp from a shop in Derby,” William explained. “They keep all of their inventory on computer and they provide a printout like that for everything that you buy from them.”

  “Very handy if something goes missing,” Robert commented.

  “Yes, well, if anything else is missing, I probably won’t be able to do the same again,” William told him. “I don’t buy much from that shop and they’re the only ones who do that.”

  “Were you busy yesterday? Did you have many customers?” Robert asked.

  “I did, actually,” William replied. “Janet can probably tell you more about some of them than I can, though.”

  “Really? Why is that?” Robert addressed the question to Janet.

  “Several of his customers are also guests at Doveby House,” Janet replied. “I can’t imagine any of them would steal anything from anyone, though.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about all of them?” Robert suggested.

  Janet told Robert about the Conners. “But they wouldn’t steal anything. They’re really nice,” she concluded.

  “Did they buy anything from you?” Robert asked William.

  “They bought a small glass bowl that Mrs. Conner said she was going to give to the woman who was looking after their home while they were away. That was all.”

  “And did you notice the lighthouse lamp still being in place after they left?” was Robert’s next question.

  “Not specifically, but I didn’t notice that it had gone missing, either.”

  Robert nodded. “Who else was here yesterday, then?”

  Janet told Robert about the Fosters, and then William explained that he’d put a number of items on hold for the couple.

  “The missing lamp wasn’t one of those items?”

  “No, definitely not,” William said.

  “Anyone else?” Robert wanted to know.

  “The only other ones that I know about are the Normans,” Janet said. She told Robert all about the unpleasant couple and their premature arrival at Doveby House. When she was done, he made a few notes and then turned to William.

  “And did they buy anything?”

  “They bought a great many things,” William replied. He told Robert how much the pair had spent, leaving Janet momentarily speechless.

  “And you’re quite certain they didn’t purchase the lamp in question?”

  “I have a list here of everything they bought,” William told him, holding out a sheet of paper. “It was mostly art from the gallery at the back, although they did buy a few candleholders and a large silver bowl as well.”

  Robert glanced down the list and then handed it back to William. “And at no point during the day did you specifically notice that the lamp was in place?”

  “I can’t say for certain that I did,” William shrugged. “It was at the back and I was busy with customers all day. I’d like to think that I would have noticed today, when I did my walk-through before opening, but I’m not sure that I would have. A wardrobe or dining table I would obviously miss, but a small lamp like that? Unless someone came in and asked about lamps, I might have not noticed for a while.”

  “Were those three sets of customers the only ones you had yesterday?” Robert asked.

  “No, not at all. Owen Carter from the chemist’s shop came by. He was looking for something for his mother for her birthday. He bought a lovely little gilded mirror. There were two or three others about whom I know nothing, as well. One man who was maybe forty-something bought a silver snuffbox, but he was the only one of the strangers who purchased anything.”

  “Do you remember any of them spending a lot of time in the corner near the lamp?” Robert wondered.

  William frowned and then scratched his head. “I’m sorry, but no. For much of the day I was here on my own. It seemed as if every time I had one customer, I had two or three or more. Even though none of them seemed to know one another, aside from the couples, of course, groups of customers seemed to come and go together all day.”

  Robert nodded. “If you were missing a great deal more than a single lamp, I might find that suspicious. The sooner you can complete that inventory, the better.”

  William nodded. “As I said, I’ll work on it all day. I doubt anyone will notice if I don’t open the shop.”

  “When is Bridget Foster coming back?” Janet asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll be here working all day. If anyone knocks, I’ll let them in, I suppose.”

  “I don’t mind how you go about doing it, but as I said, the faster you can complete an inventory the better,” Robert told him. “I assume there were no obvious signs of a break-in.”

  “No, not at all. If someone were going to break in, they’d take a lot more than just one low-value lamp, anyway,” William said.

  “Do you have any idea why anyone might have wanted that particular lamp?” Robert asked as he got to his feet.

  “None at all. As I said, it isn’t a very valuable item and I wasn’t asking much for it. I believe everything I sold yesterday cost more than the asking price of that lamp. It may well have been the least costly thing in the entire shop.”

  “Was it particularly attractive? It’s hard to tell from the photo.”

  William looked at Janet and then smiled. “Janet didn’t like it,” he said. “I thought it was unusual enough to be interesting, if not attractive, but she didn’t agree.”

  “I didn’t dislike it,” Janet said. “It just wasn’t what I was looking for, that’s all.”

  Robert raised an eyebrow and then made a note in his notebook. “I’m going to leave it there until you’ve done your inventory,” he told William. “I’ll come back later today to see how you’re doing.”

  “Tomorrow might be better,” William suggested as he walked Robert to the door. “I have a lot of stock to get through.”

  “As I’m only a short distance away, I’ll probably come over tonight around five, just to see how you’re doing. If you haven’t finished, I can always return some time tomorrow as well.”

  William locked the door behind the man and then turned to Janet. “He’s only coming back today because he knows I’ll work harder that way.”

  “You could be right. Robert’s a smart man,” Janet laughed.

  “I’ll pay you ten pounds an hour to stay and help with the inventory,” William said, his tone a bit desperate.

  Janet chuckled. “You know I have to go home and help Joan
, but if we can get everything done there quickly enough, I’ll come back and help. How’s that?”

  “I’d be eternally grateful.”

  “What about lunch?”

  William frowned. “I’m probably going to have to give that a miss. I really should get started on my inventory.”

  “Why don’t I go over to the café and get you something,” Janet offered. “You can take me back to Doveby House now. I’ll just go in and see how much work Joan had planned for me this afternoon and then pop over to the café. I can drop off your lunch and then go back to the house to help Joan. Then, once I’m done there, I’ll come back here.”

  “That seems like a lot of running around for you.”

  “Yes, but as you said, I do love my little car,” Janet laughed.

  William drove Janet home and then sped away, eager to get back to the shop and get started. Janet found her sister in the kitchen as usual.

  “I’m only home for a few minutes,” she greeted Joan. “I have to go and get William some lunch and drop it off at the antique shop. Then I’ll come back and get to work, I promise.”

  “I thought you and William were going to have lunch before you came back,” Joan replied. “You aren’t even due back for over an hour.”

  Janet quickly explained about the missing lamp. “So now William has to do a complete inventory of his shop, which will probably take him a week, but Robert wants it done today,” she explained. “I promised to bring him some lunch and that I’d come back and help once I was done here, as well.”

  Joan nodded. “That’s good of you. Poor William. I’m glad the lamp wasn’t terribly valuable, but it’s still a shame it was taken.”

  “Yes, it is. William is just hoping that’s all that is missing.”

  “Well, the guest rooms are all finished and I’ve nothing I need you to do this afternoon, so you may go and help William now, if you’d like.”

  “Really? Are you certain?”

  “I’m quite certain. The Fosters left their room nearly as immaculate as the Conners had done. I did both rooms in less than an hour.”

  “I don’t think we’ve ever been done that quickly before, even when working together,” Janet said. “Maybe the Fosters and the Conners could just stay forever.”