The Kingston Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “You don’t spend that sort of money on clothes, either,” Joan pointed out.

  “That’s because I don’t generally care what I’m wearing,” Janet said, laughing.

  “We’ll have to come back again in a few weeks and do some shopping for you,” Joan told her sister as they climbed back into their car.

  “I don’t need anything,” Janet protested. “I don’t have a handsome suitor taking me out to dinner nearly every night.”

  “We don’t go out that often,” Joan replied, flushing. “And William Chalmers would take you out regularly if you’d let him.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Janet said. “And anyway, I want to see what his ex-wife is like before I agree to go anywhere with him again. She sounds a little bit scary.”

  “I’m not looking forward to having her as a guest,” Joan replied. “If I’d known who she was, I might have told her we were fully booked.”

  “At least she’s only staying two nights,” Janet said. “It could be worse.”

  The drive back to Doveby Dale was uneventful. The light on their answering machine was blinking when they got home.

  “You have two new messages,” the machine told them. “Joan, it’s Michael. Please ring me when you get home,” the first message said.

  Joan pushed pause on the machine so that she could use the phone. Janet went into the kitchen to see how Aggie had done with her lunch while her sister talked with Michael. She was just refilling the kitten’s water bowl when Joan joined her.

  “He wants me to have dinner with him and them,” Joan announced.

  “Them? The sister-in-law and the nephew?” Janet asked.

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “Tonight,” Joan said anxiously.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said yes, because I’ve taken complete leave of my senses,” Joan told her. “I can’t have dinner with them. It will be horrible.”

  “It will be stressful,” Janet said. “But he’s been a widower for two or three years now, right? Surely they expect him to see other people?”

  “I don’t know what they expect,” Joan said, sounding slightly teary. “I don’t know anything about them, except that Michael said that they want to meet me.”

  “You should be flattered,” Janet suggested.

  “I might be if I didn’t feel so unwell,” Joan replied. “I’m not ready to meet them. I’m too old for this sort of thing. It’s like meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time, only worse.”

  “So tell him you can’t make it,” Janet said.

  “I already told him I could. If I cancel now, he’ll never believe whatever excuse I come up with.”

  “At least you have two lovely new dresses to chose between,” Janet said brightly.

  “I suppose so. You don’t think they’re too nice, do you? I don’t want them to think that I’m trying too hard.”

  “They’re both beautiful and perfectly appropriate,” Janet said. “Wear whichever is more comfortable.”

  Joan sighed and began to pace back and forth across the small room. “I’m too old for this sort of thing,” she repeated herself. “Why did I ever agree to have dinner with him the very first time? I should have said no that night. Think of the aggravation it would have saved me.”

  “And think of the fun you would have missed out on,” Janet said.

  Joan sighed. “I have a headache coming on. I’m going to go and lie down a while.”

  Janet found a book and curled up in the library to read. A few hours later, Joan was feeling somewhat better, or at least resigned to her fate.

  “I’m off,” she told Janet, who was still in the library. “You’ll have to make yourself some dinner.”

  “After that gorgeous lunch, I’m not terribly hungry,” Janet said. “I’ll probably heat up a frozen pizza or something.”

  Joan looked as if she wanted to argue, but she didn’t. “Don’t wait up,” she muttered to Janet as she turned and walked away.

  Janet followed at a leisurely pace, checking that her sister had locked the front door behind herself.

  “It’s just us tonight,” she told Aggie. “Let’s make pizza and popcorn and watch mindless telly.”

  “Meeroowww,” Aggie agreed.

  Janet gave her a treat and then filled her food bowl with her dinner while she waited for the oven to preheat. She slid her pizza into the oven and then wandered back into the sitting room. The light on the answering machine was still blinking.

  “We never played the second message,” she told Aggie who had followed her. “It’s probably just an insurance salesman, though.”

  It wasn’t. “Janet? It’s William Chalmers. Please ring me when you get this message.”

  Janet frowned. William sounded upset and he’d rung several hours earlier. Feeling guilty for not listening to the message when they’d first arrived home, she quickly dialed the number for William’s shop. This time she got an answering machine.

  “William, it’s Janet,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t ring you back sooner, but we were in Derby for the day. I’m home now if you want to ring me back.”

  She replaced the receiver and began to pace around the sitting room. William had sounded upset when he’d rung, but that didn’t mean anything was wrong, she told herself. Joan had taken the car, which meant Janet couldn’t simply drive over to the antique shop to check that everything was okay. Pacing did nothing to help her nerves. She was seriously considering ringing Robert at the police station when someone knocked on the door.

  “William? But whatever is wrong?” she asked when she saw the man’s face.

  “There were two letters in today’s post,” William said tightly. “And they were definitely threatening.”

  Chapter 5

  “Come in,” Janet said, stepping back to let the man into the house.

  “I’m sorry that I just stopped in unannounced again,” William said. “But you didn’t ring me back and I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “I did ring you back,” Janet said. “About five minutes ago.”

  William nodded. “I should have waited at the shop for you to ring me back,” he said.

  “Why didn’t you ring Robert?” Janet asked.

  William sighed. “I knew you were going to say that. And I don’t have any answer for you, except that I still think Alice might be behind it and I don’t want her in trouble.”

  “You need to ring Robert,” Janet said firmly. “Whoever is behind it, this has gone on long enough. What did today’s notes say?”

  A loud buzz from the kitchen sounded before William replied. He gave her a questioning look.

  “My pizza,” she explained. “Would you like to share it with me?”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” William asked. “I was too upset to eat much lunch, but I’m starving now.”

  “I’ll put some garlic bread in the oven when I take the pizza out,” Janet told him. “Otherwise there won’t be enough food for two.” Especially as she had been planning on eating the entire pizza herself, Janet thought, feeling annoyed.

  “I’m imposing,” William said quickly. “Why don’t I come back later, after you’ve eaten? I’ll go up to the café and grab some dinner and then come back.”

  Janet was very tempted to agree with the plan, but it seemed quite mean to send him away. She really didn’t need the whole pizza, either, not after all she’d eaten lately. “Come and have some pizza,” she said. “And tell me about the letters.”

  The pizza looked wonderful; the crust a lovely golden brown and the cheese perfectly melted across the top. Janet thought about telling William she’d changed her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she sliced the pizza into eight slices and set it in the centre of the table. Then she put two loaves of frozen garlic bread onto a tray and slid them into the oven.

  “They’ll only need about ten minutes,” she told William. She handed him a plate and a fizzy
drink before joining him at the table with her own drink and plate.

  After a few bites, Janet felt oddly relieved to discover that the pizza wasn’t nearly as good as it had looked. By the time she’d finished her first piece, she was quite happy to share the rest with William and was looking forward to the garlic bread. William ate two pieces in rapid succession before he spoke.

  “I really am starving,” he said apologetically. “I won’t eat more than half, though.”

  “Eat as much as you like,” Janet said, taking a second piece that was probably her last. “I like the garlic bread and I’ve made two loaves of it.”

  William nodded. “I’m hugely grateful,” he said. “I didn’t come here expecting dinner.”

  “But you were going to tell me about today’s letters,” Janet reminded him.

  “I’ve put them in my safe,” he told her. “But I remember exactly what they said. One was postmarked two days ago, so I assume I was meant to get it yesterday, but I didn’t. That one said ‘Leave Doveby Dale now. Your time is running out,’” he told her.

  Janet shuddered. “That is threatening,” she said. “I can’t believe you didn’t ring Robert immediately.”

  “The second one said ‘Get out while you still can,’” William said.

  The oven buzzed again. Janet thought about everything William had told her while she took the garlic bread out and piled it onto plates. When she sat back down, she took his hand and stared into his eyes.

  “Why do you think Alice is involved in this?” she asked.

  William shrugged and looked away. “It just seems like something she might do,” he said. He pulled his hand away and picked up a slice of bread. Janet waited until he looked at her again before she spoke.

  “There’s something more specific than that,” she said. “Otherwise you’d have gone to Robert by now.”

  William chewed silently and Janet could almost see him thinking. She crunched her way through two slices of bread before William spoke again.

  “Alice has a favourite perfume. It’s very distinctive. The anonymous letters all smell of that perfume,” he said softly.

  “Is it an unusual scent?” Janet asked. “Or can you buy it on the high street?”

  “I used to buy it for her at the local chemist’s shop,” William replied. “I suppose that means it’s readily available anywhere.” He sighed. “Every time I smell it, I think of Alice, but I really don’t want to think that she’s behind this.”

  “You need to go and see Robert with the letters,” Janet said firmly. “If Alice isn’t behind them, you could be in real danger.”

  William nodded slowly. “I know you’re right,” he said sadly. “I just don’t want to do it.”

  “I’ll meet you at your shop tomorrow morning and go to the police with you, if you want,” Janet suggested. “You can even tell Robert that talking to him was my idea. You can tell Alice that as well, if they arrest her.”

  William gave a forced chuckle. “I don’t still love her, but she was my wife. I hate the thought of her going to prison over this.”

  “If it is just her idea of a good way to win you back, she probably won’t go to prison,” Janet said, guessing wildly.

  “I hope not,” William said.

  When the pizza and garlic bread were all gone, Janet walked William to the door. “Thank you for everything,” he said softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow around nine.”

  Janet nodded. She reached for the door at the same time as William reached for her. The gentle kiss might have turned into something more if the door hadn’t suddenly sprung open in front of the pair.

  Janet jumped backwards, nearly tripping over Aggie, who had followed her out of the kitchen. William took a step in the other direction and they both looked guiltily at Joan, who was standing in the doorway.

  “I didn’t realise you were coming over,” Joan said to William.

  “Neither did Janet,” William said with a chuckle. “But I needed to talk to her, so I just turned up.”

  “I hope everything is okay,” Joan said.

  “I don’t know if Janet told you anything about the anonymous letters I’ve been receiving,” William replied. “But I’ve had two more.”

  “What did Robert say when you talked to him?” Joan asked.

  “I’m, um, seeing him tomorrow,” William said, looking down at his shoes. “Janet is going to come with me to talk to him.”

  “Is she?” Joan asked. “That’s good of her.”

  “She’s been wonderful,” William said quickly. “I’m truly grateful to her.”

  An awkward silence followed his words. Eventually Janet cleared her throat. “So I’ll see you around nine,” she said to William. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” he replied. Joan was still standing in the doorway. She took a couple of steps out of the way and then shut the door behind the man.

  “How was your evening?” Janet asked.

  “It was, well, interesting,” Joan replied. “Harriet, that’s Michael’s sister-in-law, was polite, but I don’t think she liked me. Her son, Mike, didn’t seem to want to be there at all and spent most of the evening on his mobile phone, texting other people. The important thing, I suppose, is that it made Michael happy.”

  “That’s good news,” Janet said.

  “How was your evening?”

  Janet shrugged. “William turned up just as my pizza finished baking, so I had to share my dinner with him,” she said. “But I made some garlic bread to go with it, so we managed.”

  “He seemed a bit distracted when I arrived,” Joan said. “No doubt he’s more worried about these letters than he’s willing to admit.”

  “He’s really concerned that they’re from his ex-wife, but I think he’s more afraid that they aren’t,” Janet replied.

  After giving Aggie one last treat, Janet headed to bed. She set her alarm for seven so that she would have plenty of time to get ready for her meeting with William and Robert. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she wondered if Robert was going to be in the office or not. He split his time between Doveby Dale and Little Burton. If tomorrow was a day for him to be in Little Burton, she and William would be wasting their time. With that thought niggling at her, she managed to fall into a restless sleep.

  The alarm finally put her out of her misery and angered Aggie. “Go back to sleep,” Janet told the grumpy kitten. “Your breakfast will be in the kitchen whenever you want it.”

  Aggie gave her a satisfied smile and then put her head back down and closed her eyes tightly.

  “If I got to choose, I’d come back again as my own cat,” Janet told her reflection in the mirror as she got ready.

  Joan had breakfast nearly ready when Janet came down the stairs.

  “Oatmeal and fruit today,” Joan said brightly as Janet walked into the kitchen.

  Janet hesitated, thinking about going back upstairs and crawling back into bed. She didn’t like oatmeal. Fruit was okay, but it was never going to replace pancakes with maple syrup as her breakfast of choice. Joan usually only made oatmeal when she was upset with Janet about something. Janet poured herself a cup of coffee while she tried to work out what she’d done to anger her sister.

  “Why oatmeal today?” she asked eventually, as she couldn’t come up with anything.

  “We both ate a lot of rich and delicious foods on our holiday,” Joan told her. “I thought we should make an effort now that we’re home to eat more sensibly.”

  You can’t get much more sensible than oatmeal, Janet thought sourly. Knowing that Joan was right didn’t improve Janet’s mood either. She forced herself to eat her breakfast, feeling cross with the world as she spooned up each bite. Covering the oatmeal in slices of strawberries and bananas only helped a little. “I’m meeting William at his shop at nine,” she reminded Joan as they cleared the table.

  “Our first guests of the weekend arrive tomorrow night,” Joan said. “But you needn’t worry about that. I can get their room made
up and ready. Good luck with Robert.”

  “Thanks,” Janet said. Upstairs, she combed her hair and added a touch of makeup before she headed out. The drive into the centre of Doveby Dale was a short one. The small car park for the shops was, as usual, nearly empty. Janet pulled the car into a space and looked at the short row of shops in front of her. The newsagent’s was open for business, the door held open with a large rock. The chemist’s shop, however, was still dark. William’s shop, WTC Antiques, was also dark, but when Janet got out of her car, she could see that there were a few lights on in the very back of the building.

  The door was locked, so Janet tapped on it lightly. After a moment, she saw William walking towards her.

  “Thank you for coming,” he told her. “We’re meant to open at nine, but I won’t bother until we get back from seeing Robert. It isn’t as if customers are queuing up outside.”

  Janet smiled. She hadn’t seen anyone else anywhere near the shops this morning. “I hope Robert is in today,” she told William.

  “He is. I rang last night and booked us an appointment,” William told her. “The woman who works at the front desk at the station said we could come in at quarter past nine.”

  “Susan is lovely,” Janet said. “And I don’t know what Robert would do without her.”

  “We just have a few minutes to wait, then,” William said. “I don’t think I’ve added anything new to the shop since your last visit.”

  Janet looked around. “I’ve been thinking that I need a small table,” she said thoughtfully. “Something to go in my bedroom, near my little desk.” She’d only taken a few steps towards one of William’s displays when someone knocked on the shop’s door. Janet jumped and only just managed not to scream.

  “Just what I need, a customer,” William complained. He crossed to the door and unlocked it. “Good morning,” he said politely. “I’m afraid we’re opening a bit later today, due to, um, unforeseen circumstances,” he told the man at the door.

  “I do hope everything is okay,” the man, probably in his mid-thirties, replied. Janet walked a few steps closer and studied him. He had dark brown hair that was cut in a casually floppy style that had Janet itching to suggest that he get it cut. For some inexplicable reason, he was wearing sunglasses, even though the morning was overcast. His jeans and T-shirt probably both had designer labels, Janet thought. Both were spotless and had obviously been recently ironed.