The Norman Case

by Diana Xarissa

“So it could have gone missing any time in the past three months?” Robert checked when William was finished.

  “Yes, something like that,” William agreed, looking sheepish. “I suppose I should keep better track of my merchandise, but it wasn’t a very valuable piece. It was really just an extra in one of the boxes I’d purchased some time back. If someone had broken it, I wouldn’t have minded.”

  “But it could have still been here yesterday? And you’re quite sure the lamp disappeared yesterday?”

  “It could have still been here yesterday, yes. As for the lamp, it disappeared sometime between my showing it to Janet yesterday morning and Janet noticing it was gone this morning. I suppose someone might have come in during the night and taken it, but that seems unlikely. The shop wasn’t open for the day yet when Janet noticed its absence.”

  Robert nodded. “I’ll write up a full report and get you a copy in case you want to file an insurance claim.”

  “It isn’t worth it, not for that lamp, not even if you add in the dish,” he said, “but I’ll have a copy of the report anyway, for my records.”

  Robert nodded. “I’ll circulate a description of the two items in the local area, in case someone tries to sell them, but neither sounds particularly unique.”

  “They aren’t. I’m sure there are dozens of homes in Doveby Dale with dishes like the one I’m missing. The lamp might be less common, but it certainly isn’t rare.”

  “I’m afraid there isn’t much else I can do,” Robert told him. “Unfortunately, some people seem to think that shoplifting is a good way to acquire things they can’t afford or don’t want to spend their money on. Such casual theft is often very difficult to track down.”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” a voice said from the doorway, “but I’d quite like a word with Robert when you’re done with him.”

  Janet smiled at Owen Carter. “I hope everything is okay,” she said.

  Owen nodded and then frowned. “It’s fine, really,” he said. “I’ve just noticed a few little things missing in the shop today.”

  “Really?” Robert said. “What sort of things?”

  “It’s silly, really, but a bottle of shampoo and a box of tissues.”

  “You must keep a very exact inventory,” Robert said.

  Owen flushed. “Not at all. Corporate sends in a specialist inventory company once a month to inventory the whole shop. They do it overnight, while I’m at home, asleep. Thus far they haven’t found any major differences between what we’re meant to have and what we actually have on the shelves. I suspect that they wouldn’t count these two missing items as a problem, either. A small amount of shrinkage is expected in every retail shop.”

  “But you noticed?”

  “The thing is, the shampoo is on sale. It’s buy one bottle, get a second bottle free. I noticed when I put up the signs for the sale that I only had fourteen bottles, but I don’t sell that much shampoo, so I wasn’t too worried about it. Since then, I know I’ve only sold that shampoo in sets of two, because of the buy one, get one. Tonight I just happened to notice that I have an odd number of bottles left.”

  Robert nodded and made a few notes. “You can’t combine the offer with anything else? Maybe a conditioner or some soap or something?”

  “No, this one is a very specific deal on a very specific shampoo,” Owen told him.

  “What about the tissues?” Janet asked.

  Owen shrugged. “I’m a bit obsessive about my displays. These tissues come in three different coloured boxes and I try to keep them arranged by colour. Otherwise, it all just looks disorderly to me.”

  Janet nodded. She’d noticed that the shop’s displays were always neatly arranged, but she hadn’t spotted that the man even arranged things by colour.

  “Anyway, last week one of my customers bought all of tissue boxes that were red, except for one. I even offered to give her a sale price if she’d buy the last one because it looked so out of place with the others, but she wouldn’t.” He stopped and shook his head. “I know that probably sounds crazy.”

  “Not at all,” Robert said reassuringly.

  “Anyway, that red box has been making me crazy ever since. I tried hiding it behind some of the other boxes, but somehow it keeps getting moved to the front. I’ve ordered more so that I can rearrange the display, but they won’t arrive until next week. This evening, right after I spotted the missing shampoo bottle, I noticed that the red tissue box is gone as well.”

  “And you don’t miss it a bit,” Janet suggested.

  Owen chuckled. “I really don’t, although I hate the idea of anyone stealing from the shop, of course.”

  “Robert is here because I’ve had something go missing in the past twenty-four hours,” William told Owen.

  “Really? I hope it wasn’t anything valuable,” Owen replied.

  “Luckily it was one of the least valuable things in my shop,” William said with a grin. “But as you said, I hate to think that people are stealing from the shop.”

  Robert looked up from his notes. “I’ll just come over and take a quick look around, if I may,” he said.

  Owen nodded. “I doubt you’ll be able to spot anything, but you’re welcome to try. I’d appreciate it if you’d write up a proper report on it, though. I’ll send it on to corporate to cover myself if the next inventory does highlight the shortfall.”

  Robert nodded. “I think we were finished anyway?” he said to William.

  “I believe so,” William agreed. “Thank you for your time.”

  Robert nodded and then he and Owen left the shop.

  “I wonder if anything has gone missing at the newsagent’s in the past day or two,” Janet said thoughtfully.

  “We should go and ask Donald,” William suggested.

  “I wouldn’t want Robert to think that we’re interfering in his investigation.”

  “But knowing Donald, someone would have had to have stolen something significant before he’d think to ring Robert. We should tell him what’s going on so that if he’s missing something small, he’ll talk to Robert.”

  Janet was pretty sure that Robert would be speaking to Donald himself, but she was curious enough to go along with William anyway. William locked up the shop and the pair made their way past the chemist’s to the newsagent’s.

  Donald was behind the counter in the back, flipping through a magazine. “Hello, hello,” he called. “What brings you here, then?”

  “We were just talking to Robert Parsons,” William explained. “One or two little things from my shop went missing in the past day or so. Owen Carter said the same thing happened in his shop.”

  “Oh, dear. I am sorry to hear that,” Donald said.

  “I don’t suppose you’re missing anything?” Janet asked.

  Donald glanced around the shop and then laughed. “I probably am, at that, but I couldn’t begin to tell you what.”

  “How often do you do an inventory of the shop?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t bother. Look around. I have thousands of magazines, at least that many bars of chocolate and other sweets, and a huge number of other bits and pieces. As long as no one steals the actual fixtures, I’m reasonably happy. A bit of shrinkage now and then goes along with having the shop, I’m sorry to say. I expect I lose more money from people manhandling the magazines and leaving them in an unsalable condition than I do from people stealing things, anyway.”

  Janet nodded. She hadn’t thought about it, but the man was right. His shop was full of small and easily stolen items. It would be virtually impossible for him to keep track of each and every pack of gum or magazine.

  “If you do notice anything unusual, you should ring Robert,” William said.

  “Oh, I will, but I keep the really valuable stuff back here with me. I’d notice if I started losing dozens of items in a day, but one or two things here and there aren’t worth my time worrying over.”

  Janet bought herself a bar of chocolate before the pair
headed back to William’s shop. “I suppose I should head for home,” she said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to get dinner somewhere?” William asked.

  “I truly am quite full from lunch still,” Janet said, “and Joan has probably cooked something nice for dinner, anyway. As I didn’t tell her I’d be out, she’ll be upset if I’m not back.”

  They made tentative plans for Saturday night and then Janet climbed back into her car and drove home. She was tempted to drive out of her way, just to spend some extra time behind the wheel, but she didn’t want to upset Joan. When she got home, she found that she needn’t have worried.

  “Having dinner with Michael. I’ve left some soup for you in the refrigerator. I won’t be very late. Joan.”

  Janet read the note on the kitchen table out to Aggie, who shrugged and then went back to chasing her tail.

  “Soup is just what I need,” Janet said firmly. She heated the soup and ate it with some crusty bread before curling up in the sitting room with Aggie and a book. Vera and Floyd arrived back only a short time later.

  “My goodness, what a lovely village,” Vera said as she dropped heavily into the first chair she reached. “The man at the chemist’s, was so helpful and the newsagent’s had every magazine I wanted and a few I didn’t even know existed.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying your stay,” Janet said.

  “And then we had dinner at the little café near here,” Vera continued. “The food was delicious and the waitress was so friendly. I think Floyd and I should think about moving here, I really do.”

  “I’m not sure that my employers would be open to that idea,” Floyd said. “Maybe we could think about retiring to this part of the country, though.”

  “Retirement just seems so far away,” Vera sighed. “I’m not going to want to leave on Sunday.”

  “At least we’ve several more days here to enjoy,” Floyd reminded her. “Let’s not start worrying about going home yet.”

  Vera laughed. “I always do this,” she told Janet. “I start fussing about leaving almost as soon as I’ve arrived somewhere. Floyd always has to remind me to stay in the moment.”

  “And so many other things,” Floyd said. “For now I’ll just remind you that you wanted an early night tonight.”

  Vera sighed and then nodded. “Yes, I suppose, as I have to go up the stairs at some point, I should simply get it over with.”

  Floyd offered his arm and he and Vera left the room. The front door opened again just as Janet found her place in her book.

  “I want to buy that little café and move it near us,” Bridget told Janet as she and Roy walked into the house.

  “I hope you don’t. I’d really miss it,” Janet told her.

  Bridget laughed. “Maybe we’ll just have to buy a house in Doveby Dale.”

  “It seems as if everyone wants to move here at the moment,” Janet told her.

  “I’m not surprised. It’s idyllic, really,” Bridget replied.

  “And if we’re going to get around a stately home or two tomorrow, we need an early night,” Roy told her.

  “Yes, of course, dear,” she said. “But I’m not sure about stately homes. What about shopping?”

  “I believe all of the stately homes have gift shops,” Janet said.

  Bridget clapped her hands. “Perfect,” she said. “Okay, stately homes it is.”

  She and Roy disappeared up the stairs talking about which home they wanted to visit first. Janet opened her book and then sighed as the front door opened yet again.

  Joan grinned. “Am I interrupting your reading?” she asked.

  “Yes, rather,” Janet told her. “You and everyone else.”

  “Does that mean that our guests are all home?” Joan asked.

  “They are. We can lock up and go to bed whenever.”

  “How was your afternoon?” Joan asked after she’d locked the front door. “I hope William didn’t discover anything else missing?”

  “He did, actually,” Janet said. “Let’s talk about it over tea.”

  Chapter 8

  Joan put the kettle on while Janet piled some of Joan’s homemade biscuits onto a plate.

  “I don’t want any,” Joan said. “I ate a great deal at dinner.”

  Janet looked at the pile of biscuits on the plate. She could always put some back if they didn’t get eaten, she decided.

  When they were both sitting at the table with their drinks in front of them, Janet told her sister about the missing plate from William’s shop. Then she told her about the things that Owen was missing. When Janet was done, Joan was frowning as she nibbled on a biscuit.

  “It does sound as if someone has suddenly started stealing from our local shops,” Joan said.

  “Yes, and I can’t help but wonder about our guests,” Janet said in a low voice.

  “Our guests? You can’t be serious? Our guests are all lovely people.”

  “But both couples were in William’s shop yesterday and in the chemist’s today,” Janet said. “Did I mention that I saw the Normans in Doveby Dale as well?”

  “No, you didn’t, but if you want to suspect someone of wrongdoing, I would suggest them.”

  “You never even met them,” Janet laughed.

  “No, but they were rude on the phone and they arrived on the wrong date. That’s two marks against them before they were rude to you when they were here.”

  Janet nodded. “Maybe, but they seem quite well-off. Why would they be stealing from our local shops?”

  “Maybe they seem wealthy because they steal what they need to give that impression.”

  Janet raised an eyebrow. “They have a very fancy car, too. I can’t imagine that stealing that would have been easy.”

  “I can’t believe you’d suspect the Conners or the Fosters, though.”

  “Bridget Foster seems quite obsessed with owning anything and everything she can get her hands on. Maybe she steals things when her husband says she can’t buy them.”

  “Have you ever heard him say no to her?”

  “Well, no, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t.”

  “I can’t imagine him telling her she can’t have a bottle of shampoo or a box of tissues,” Joan said.

  “Remember that documentary about kleptomania that we watched? Maybe she has kleptomania and that’s why her husband keeps buying her everything she sees. Maybe he’s hoping he’ll be able to keep her from stealing if he keeps buying her things.”

  “Except it doesn’t seem to be working.”

  “But he doesn’t seem to have been paying much attention to what she’s buying. Maybe he thinks she bought the lamp and little dish and everything else.”

  “Maybe, or maybe someone else is suffering from kleptomania.”

  “Maybe it’s Amelia Norman.”

  “Or Trevor?”

  “Yes, I suppose so. I’d happily believe it of either of them.”

  Joan shook her head. “Just because you didn’t like them doesn’t mean that either of them is doing anything criminal.”

  “No, but it might.”

  “It might. What about the Conners?”

  “The Conners? I can’t imagine either of them doing anything wrong. They seem to have enough problems with Vera’s health.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Joan said. “I quite like both of them.”

  “I hope nothing goes missing from either of our guest rooms. Everything in them is just right.”

  “I agree. I keep worrying that something might get damaged or broken, but that’s part of the cost of doing business, I suppose.”

  Janet nodded and then yawned. “And now I must get some sleep,” she said. “Didn’t you say something about breakfast at six for someone tomorrow?”

  “Yes, the Fosters want to get an early start. They’re planning on visiting some stately homes.”

  Janet sighed as she got to her feet and began to load the dishwasher. “I’ll be down by half five, then,” she said as she
pushed the machine shut. “Did you and Michael enjoy your evening?”

  “We did, thanks. We just went to the pub in Little Burton, but it made a nice change from having to cook here.”

  “You should go out with Michael more often,” Janet told her. “I can make my own meals sometimes, too. You don’t always have to leave me soup, either.”

  “Yes, well, we’ll see. Once the summer is over and things are quieter here, I may well start spending more time with Michael.”

  Janet raised an eyebrow. A dozen questions sprang into her mind, but none of them seemed appropriate. Instead of asking anything, she gave her sister a hug and then headed up to bed to give the matter some thought. It sounded almost as if Joan had fallen in love with Michael. That was both wonderful and worrying to Janet.

  “What do you think?” she asked Aggie after she’d crawled into bed. Aggie looked up from her pillow and blinked several times.

  “I should ask you about the stealing, though, shouldn’t I?” she said. “It seems as if one of our guests might be involved. What do you think?”

  Aggie shrugged.

  “What about Roy Foster? Bridget Foster? Trevor Norman?”

  “Yooowwll,” Aggie said.

  “Ah, ha,” Janet grinned. “What about Amelia Norman?”

  “Yooowwwwww,” Aggie told her.

  Janet settled back on her pillow and smiled to herself. She’d known those two couldn’t be trusted. Now she just had to convince Robert of that fact. “I knew Floyd and Vera weren’t involved,” she said softly.

  “Yoooowwwwwllll,” Aggie said.

  Janet frowned at her pet. “What was that? Don’t tell me that Floyd and Vera have something to do with it, too?”

  Aggie sighed and then curled up in a ball and shut her eyes tightly, leaving Janet to try to work out what she’d meant with her various pronouncements. No doubt Joan would tell her that Aggie was simply picking up Janet’s own emotions as she talked about the different people, but if that were the case, then Aggie shouldn’t have reacted negatively to the Floyd and Vera’s names. Janet liked them both a great deal. Feeling unsettled, Janet slid down under the covers and fell into a restless sleep.

  When Janet walked into the kitchen the next morning, she was surprised to see Joan sitting at the table sipping a drink. “What’s wrong?” she asked.