The Norman Case

by Diana Xarissa

  Joan shrugged. “Nothing is wrong. I’m just tired, that’s all. It’s my own fault for staying out late last night.”

  “You weren’t out that late,” Janet countered. “I think you’ve just been working too hard. I shouldn’t have left you to do everything yourself yesterday.”

  “I didn’t have that much to do. It’s just been a long summer, that’s all. I’m really looking forward to autumn when things should be quieter.”

  “They will be quieter, even if you have to turn down bookings,” Janet said firmly. “We both need a few days off now and again.”

  Joan nodded and then stood up. “Let me make you some breakfast.”

  “I can make my own breakfast, and breakfast for the guests, too. Why don’t you have a morning off?”

  It took Joan a moment to reply. When she did, Janet could tell that she was choosing her words carefully. “I’m sure you could get breakfast for our guests and that you would do a fine job, but I’d rather not test that theory unnecessarily. I’ll make breakfast and you can make lunch for both of us, how about that?”

  “Maybe I could buy us both lunch at the café,” Janet suggested. “I’d like to hear what Todd and Ted thought of our guests.”

  “Do you still think one of them could be stealing from the local shops?”

  “I certainly hope not, but it’s one possibility.”

  Joan began cracking eggs while Janet plugged in the toaster. It didn’t take Joan long to have breakfast ready for herself and her sister. Once they’d eaten, Joan started on breakfast for their guests. The Fosters came down as scheduled, both looking more tired than Joan.

  “Why are we up at this ridiculous hour?” Roy asked after his first sip of coffee.

  “You were the one who wanted to tour a bunch of stately homes,” Bridget replied.

  “Yes, but they’ll all still be there this afternoon,” he laughed.

  “The earlier we start, the more we’ll be able to squeeze into our day,” Bridget said. “We still have to decide where we want to start.”

  The pair discussed their options with the sisters while they ate. Janet and Joan had been to all of the different possibilities numerous times, so they were able to offer opinions on which were the most interesting. By the time the couple were finished with breakfast, they had their day planned.

  “Thank you for everything,” Bridget said as they got up to leave. “I just hope the gift shops are as good as the houses.”

  Janet walked them to the door and let them out. When she returned to the kitchen she was shaking her head. “I wonder what those two do for a living,” she told Joan. “They seem to have a lot of money to spend.”

  “They’ve paid for their room already. Whatever else they want to buy is their business, not ours.”

  Janet did the cleaning in the Fosters’ room while the Conners were having their breakfast. Once they’d gone out for the day, she and Joan cleaned their room, ready for their return. Before midday, Janet was starving.

  “I should have waited to have my breakfast until later,” she told Joan. “I need to get lunch now.”

  Joan looked at the clock. “It’s a little early for lunch.”

  “By the time we get to the café, it will be close enough.”

  “I thought I would make something.”

  “No, you need a break from cooking all the time. Let’s go to the café and ask Todd and Ted about our guests.”

  Joan took a little bit more persuading, but a short time later they were both in Janet’s car on their way to the café.

  “I don’t understand why you like this car so much,” Joan said as Janet went over a small bump in the road. “It isn’t nearly as comfortable as my, er, our car.”

  “You can call it your car if you’d like. I know your car is more comfortable, but my car is more fun.”

  Joan didn’t respond as Janet pulled her car into the café’s car park.

  “Two of our favourite people,” Ted said as they walked into the café. “It’s quiet this morning, so you may have your choice of tables.”

  “We aren’t fussy,” Janet replied. “What’s most convenient for you?”

  “Stacey has the day off, so I’ll put you near the kitchen so I don’t have to walk so far,” he replied. He led them to a table for two near the kitchen but away from the handful of other customers.

  “This is perfect,” Janet said. Ted told them the specials and they ordered. “Come back when you have a minute. I want to ask you something,” she told him after he’d written down their order.

  “How intriguing,” he said, winking at her.

  “Can’t we just have a nice lunch?” Joan asked. “Do you have to stick your nose into everything all the time?”

  “It isn’t all the time, just sometimes,” Janet replied. “I find the stealing worrying. And you should be worried, too. If one of our guests is the thief, he or she might steal something from Doveby House.”

  “I doubt that will happen.”

  Janet was sure she saw a flicker of uncertainty on her sister’s face as she spoke, but she didn’t argue any further. Ted returned with their drinks and then pulled over a chair.

  “I hope there isn’t anything wrong?” he said.

  “No, not really,” Janet replied. “It’s just that a few little things have gone missing from the village shops. It’s just remotely possible that one of our current guests has been helping him or herself to things. As both couples ate here last night, I was just wondering what you’d thought of them?”

  “I didn’t like the Normans,” Ted said. “They were incredibly demanding and no matter how hard I tried, they were still complaining as they left.”

  “The Normans ate here last night?” Janet asked.

  “I thought they were one of the couples you were talking about,” Ted said, looking confused. “I’m sure one of them said something about Doveby House at some point.”

  “They were meant to be staying with us, but they decided that we weren’t up to their standards,” Janet said with a laugh. “I’m hugely grateful to them for making that decision.”

  “I wish they’d have decided that when they arrived here, instead of staying and complaining about things for over an hour. I’d like to say that I can see them stealing, but really, I think they’d simply complain loudly until whatever they wanted was given to them in an effort to get rid of them.”

  “Everything that’s gone missing has been of fairly low value,” Janet said. “We were wondering if it might simply be someone suffering from kleptomania.”

  Ted shrugged. “I don’t know much about that. But if the Normans aren’t your guests, I don’t believe I know who is staying at Doveby House.”

  “Floyd and Vera Conner for a start,” Janet replied. She briefly described the couple.

  “Oh, yes, they were here yesterday. They seemed nice, or at least they didn’t complain about anything. I asked another party to move so that I could seat them near the door, so that Mrs. Conner didn’t have to walk too far. As I said, they seemed nice enough. I didn’t realise they’re staying at Doveby House.”

  “The other couple is Roy and Bridget Foster,” Janet said.

  Ted laughed. “I did know they’re staying with you, actually. They wanted to buy the little display cabinet on the counter and wanted me to deliver it to them at Doveby House.”

  Janet looked at the small glass cabinet that was full of biscuits and cake slices. “Why would Roy and Bridget want to buy a display cabinet?” she had to ask.

  “I’ve no idea. I should say that the wife wanted it and the husband didn’t seem to want to argue. I told them it wasn’t for sale.”

  “That was definitely Bridget and Roy,” Joan said.

  “Beyond that, again, they seemed decent enough. We were busy, so I didn’t really get to talk to any of them. Any one of the six could be a shoplifter or a kleptomaniac, I suppose.”

  A bell rang in the kitchen and Ted jumped to his feet. “That will be your lunch,”
he said. He was back a few minutes later with their meals. While the women ate, he was busy serving food and clearing tables. It was only when they went to pay their bill that they spoke to him again.

  “Here’s something odd for you to add to your list,” he told them as he took their money. “We’re missing a sugar bowl.”

  “A sugar bowl?” Janet repeated.

  “We have them on every table, with packets of sugar and sweeteners in them. I only noticed this morning, when I was checking all of the tables, that one was missing. I assumed that something had spilled on it and that Stacey had put it in the dishwasher. Todd just finished emptying the first load of the day, and it isn’t there.”

  “I hope it wasn’t valuable.” Joan said.

  “No, not at all. We just used a bunch of old bowls that we bought at car boot sales and the like. They don’t match or anything, so finding a replacement will be easy enough. It’s just odd.”

  “You should ring Robert,” Janet said.

  “About a missing sugar bowl? As I said, it wasn’t worth much of anything. Maybe someone broke it and then snuck the pieces out to avoid having to pay for it.”

  “Who was sitting at the table from which the bowl went missing?” Janet asked.

  “None of the people we’ve discussed,” he replied, “but that doesn’t really prove anything. The bowls get passed around a lot. I’ve found as many as six on a single table before.”

  “Ring Robert,” Janet said as she and Joan headed for the door. “He’ll want to know.”

  Chapter 9

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Joan asked for the tenth time as she paced around the sitting room.

  “I’m sure,” Janet replied firmly. “Going out with Michael is good for you. I’ll be just fine here on my own. I had a nice lunch. I’ll just make myself a snack for dinner.”

  “Make sure you eat something healthy. I could make you something before I go.”

  “No, you can’t. Michael will be here any minute now. I’m quite capable of looking after myself, you know.”

  Joan stopped pacing and looked at Janet. “I know you are, dear. I just feel guilty going out again tonight.”

  “I could go out if I wanted to go out,” Janet said, wondering what William would do if she rang him out of the blue and suggested dinner. “But I’d rather have a quiet evening at home.”

  “That sounds nice, too.”

  “Go and have fun with Michael,” Janet laughed. “I’ll be here when you get back.” Stuffed full of chocolate and biscuits, probably, she added to herself.

  Joan frowned, but a knock on the door kept her from arguing further.

  “Good evening,” Michael Donaldson said as Joan let him in. “I brought flowers for Janet, to apologise for taking you out two nights in a row.” He held out a huge bouquet to Janet.

  “My goodness, thank you!” she exclaimed. “That wasn’t necessary, but it is appreciated.” She beamed at the handsome man as he offered his arm to Joan.

  “Shall we?” he said.

  “What are you going to have for dinner?” Joan asked her sister.

  “I don’t know. Maybe a frozen pizza or maybe just a sandwich. I’ll see what sounds good when I’m hungry. Now off you go. Have fun.”

  Joan was still frowning as Michael led her down the steps towards his car.

  “It must be awful being the older sister,” Janet said to Aggie. “We’re both over sixty and she still feels responsible for me.”

  “Meroow,” Aggie said.

  “I do not take advantage of her,” Janet replied. “Well, I mean, I try not to take advantage of her. She does insist on doing all of the cooking, though, and the bed and breakfast was her idea, not mine.”

  Aggie stared at her for a minute and then walked out of the room. Janet laughed. “I haven’t put your dinner out yet,” she called after the animal. “You’ll just have to wait until I’m hungry.”

  Aggie didn’t have to wait long. Janet was in the kitchen a few minutes later, poking through the cupboards, looking for something for dinner.

  “Nothing sounds good,” she told Aggie. “Maybe I should go to the café.” Having eaten there twice in the past two days, Janet decided that she couldn’t go back again so soon. She was still considering her options when someone knocked on the front door.

  “Robert? What a lovely surprise,” she said. “Come in.”

  “I hope I’m not interrupting your dinner,” he said as she shut the door behind him.

  “No, you’re interrupting my trying to work out what I want for dinner. Joan has gone out and I’m finding it difficult to make a simple decision.”

  “I won’t stay for long, then,” he said. “I was just wondering if you knew when your guests would be back tonight?”

  “Not specifically, but neither couple has been out late since they’ve been here.”

  “So if I were to return around eight, I might get a chance to speak to them?”

  “I would imagine it will be closer to nine when they get back, but probably not much later than that.”

  “I’ll probably try to be here around eight, then. I’d rather not miss anyone.”

  “Is this to do with the thefts from the village or something else?” Janet asked.

  “The thefts from the village, and a few other incidents that have happened in the area. I don’t have any reason to suspect your guests, but I do need to speak to them, if only to eliminate them from my list.”

  “Other incidents?”

  “Stanley Moore and Jonathan Hamilton-Burke have both reported the loss of small items in the past few days. In Mr. Hamilton-Burke’s case, one of the items in question was considerably more valuable than anything else that’s been taken.”

  “Oh, dear. That’s a worrying turn of events.”

  “Indeed. It’s possible that the thief is unaware of the value of the item, but its value makes getting it back a priority.”

  “Can I give you permission to search the guest rooms?” Janet asked.

  “No, that would be for your guests to decide. I’m not sure it will come to that, anyway. At this point I just want to speak to them. If we are dealing with someone with a compulsion for stealing, he or she might chose to return the valuable item rather than risk arrest.”

  “Is that possible? Can they just hand it to you?”

  Robert shrugged. “It would easy enough for them to tell me that they found that they’d accidentally put it into a pocket while they were shopping, or something like that,” he said. “I’d much rather simply get the item back than have to arrest someone who has a mental health issue rather than criminal intent.”

  “And you think whoever is stealing is a kleptomaniac?”

  “From what I’ve seen so far, yes, but I’m certainly no expert. At this point, I simply want to get Mr. Hamilton-Burke his silver letter opener back.”

  “As I said, the guests should be back around nine. I’m sure they’ll all be happy to speak with you. They’re all very nice people.”

  “I’ll go and get some dinner and then come back around eight, then.”

  “Would you like half of a frozen pizza?” Janet asked. “I’m not hungry enough to eat a whole one myself, but it sounds good.”

  “I don’t want to make extra work for you.”

  “It isn’t extra work at all. I’d be cooking the whole pizza anyway. This way, I won’t have to throw half of it away.”

  It took Janet another minute to persuade the man to join her for dinner. In the kitchen, he sat at the table while she prepared the pizza for the oven. “A little extra cheese doesn’t hurt, does it?” she asked as she added a generous handful of cheese to the frozen pie.

  “I didn’t realise you could add things to a frozen pizza.”

  “Of course you can. Do you like anything else on pizza?”

  “I’m not particular.”

  Janet grinned. “Then we’ll just have extra cheese. Would you like some garlic bread, too? I’m sure there’s some in the freez
er.”

  Half an hour later, they were enjoying their pizza and garlic bread with fizzy drinks. They talked about their childhoods and how much the world had changed in the years between their births. Janet served large scoops of chocolate ice cream for pudding.

  “That was delicious,” Robert said as the pair settled back into the sitting room to wait for the guests to return. “I should buy some frozen pizzas and keep them at home for nights like tonight.”

  “I’d have thought you’d get most of your meals at the café,” Janet said. She knew that Stacey really liked the handsome policeman, but Robert seemed oblivious to the fact.

  “The café? I don’t go there much. It’s just a little bit out of the way. I often get lunch at the coffee shop next to the station, but it isn’t the same with the new owners.”

  “Yes, I thought it was much better when Stacey was there,” Janet said. “Of course, she’s at the café now.”

  “The coffee shop seems to have new staff every time I go in. The menu changes just as often now, too. I wish the café was closer to the station.”

  “Maybe Todd and Ted should buy the coffee shop,” Janet said thoughtfully. “They could leave Stacey to run it. She did before, when Richard Kingston owned it.”

  “Maybe you should suggest it to Todd and Ted,” Robert said.

  The front door swung open and Vera Conner walked in with Floyd on her heels.

  “Good evening,” Janet said brightly.

  “Ah, good evening,” Vera replied. She sounded tired to Janet.

  “Good evening,” Floyd said. “We thought we might have an early night. I’m afraid Vera pushed herself too hard today.”

  “I was hoping you might have time to answer a few questions for me,” Robert said. He stood up and introduced himself.

  Vera studied him for a moment and then giggled. “I’m to be interrogated by the police. How intriguing. My friends at home will never believe me.”

  Floyd frowned. “I hope this won’t take long. Vera is far more tired than she appears.”

  “I suspect I look exhausted, which is what I am, but I’ve no one to blame but myself. I just hate the thought of missing out on anything,” Vera sighed.