The Kingston Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “It’s fine,” William replied. “Maybe you could come back later?”

  “Oh, no, I’m not shopping,” the man said. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Jonathan Hamilton-Burke. I’ve just purchased the small parade of shops in Little Burton. In the coming weeks, I’ll be opening my own little antique shop there.”

  Janet frowned as William’s face fell. There had been a small craft and gift shop in Little Burton when William first opened. Janet wasn’t sure how much competition the shop offered before it had closed down some months ago. Another antique shop was a different matter, however. Janet knew William was barely making ends meet now. Jonathan Hamilton-Burke might just drive him out of business.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” William said after a long pause. “I’m William Chalmers and this is my friend, Janet Markham.”

  “It’s lovely to meet you both,” Jonathan said brightly. “I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone in Doveby Dale and Little Burton over the coming weeks and months.”

  “If we’re lucky, we’ll be too busy over the summer with tourists to get better acquainted,” William said.

  “Oh, I shall be hiring staff to handle the day-to-day running of the place,” Jonathan said airily. “I’ve always fancied living up north, you see. The shop is really just a hobby.”

  “How fortunate for you,” Janet said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt.

  “I know, I’m a very lucky man,” Jonathan laughed. “I’ll be stocking my shelves with the contents of my maternal grandfather’s estate. He’s left me the entire thing and I’ve no use for ten bedrooms’ worth of furniture. Not when I’ve bought myself a tiny five-bedroomed home.”

  “Well, welcome to the Doveby Dale area,” Janet said, refusing to ask him how tiny a five-bedroomed home could possibly be. “I’m sure you’ll be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.” The lie nearly choked Janet, but it was a social nicety that needed to be said.

  “Thank you so much, Janice,” Jonathan replied. “Now I must get away. I’m having lunch at Chatsworth House. The Duke of Devonshire is friends with my father, you understand.”

  Janet and William watched silently as the man turned and walked away. He climbed into an expensive-looking car and roared away.

  “I don’t really need the competition,” William said softly as the car disappeared around the corner.

  “Maybe he doesn’t want any competition, either,” Janet said. “Maybe he’s been sending you the letters.”

  William sighed. “I’d like to believe that, but I don’t think he’d bother. He’s quite capable of running me out of business without any such tactics.”

  Janet didn’t know what to say to that. After a minute, William sighed again. “Let’s go and see Robert, then,” he said. “This day can’t possibly get any worse.”

  Chapter 6

  “Good morning,” Susan Garner greeted them when they walked into the police station a few minutes later. The station was only a short walk up the road from the shops and near a small coffee shop. “Robert is on his phone, but I’ll buzz him to let him know you’re here.”

  Once she’d done that, she and Janet chatted about nothing much while they waited. Susan was a forty-something blonde who worked as civilian front desk staff for the constabulary. Janet knew she was married and had children, but she didn’t know much more about the woman. She did know that Susan loved to knit and spent much of her spare time creating beautiful blankets, jumpers, and scarves. Several of Susan’s creations were carefully displayed at Doveby House where they were proving very popular with guests.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Robert said from the doorway of his small office a moment later. “Do come in.”

  Janet made a face, already feeling claustrophobic in what had once been a small cottage. Robert’s office was only just big enough for the three of them and William had to move his chair in order for Robert to close the door.

  “You both look worried,” Robert said once he’d taken a seat behind the battered desk. “But clearly it isn’t an emergency or you would have rung 999, not booked an appointment to see me.”

  “It’s not an emergency,” William agreed. “I’m not even sure it’s a police matter. But Janet insisted that we come and speak to you about it anyway.”

  Janet bit back a sharp retort, making allowances for the man, who was under some strain. That was the only allowance she was prepared to make for him, though, she thought crossly.

  “I’m glad you listened to her,” Robert said. “I can spare half an hour to hear all about it. If it isn’t a police matter, no harm done.”

  William nodded. The pause that followed was awkward. Janet finally sighed deeply and turned to William.

  “If you don’t tell him, I will,” she said tartly, her patience just about gone.

  “I’ve been receiving anonymous letters,” William blurted out.

  “I see,” Robert said. “Did you bring them with you?”

  William wordlessly handed the man a large envelope. Robert opened a desk drawer and pulled on gloves before he opened the envelope. The room was quiet as he shuffled through the letters and their envelopes. Eventually he looked up at William.

  “You weren’t sure that this was a police matter?” he asked.

  William flushed. “I wasn’t sure if it was serious or just someone being, well, annoying.”

  “I don’t find these sorts of threats annoying,” Robert said sternly. “They need to be taken seriously.”

  “I suppose,” William muttered.

  “Let me get some background first,” Robert said. “When did you start getting the letters?”

  “The first couple arrived last week,” William told him.

  Robert made careful note of which letter arrived on which date. “The tone seems to be getting increasingly threatening,” he remarked as he went back through the letters a second time.

  “I thought that as well,” Janet said.

  “Who do you think is sending them?” Robert asked William.

  “I’ve no idea,” William said, looking down at the floor.

  Robert sighed. “You must have a suspect in mind, one that you’re trying to protect. This will be easier for both of us if you tell me who he or she is.”

  “I did think, at first anyway, that they might be from my former wife,” William admitted. “But I can’t believe that she would carry things this far.”

  “Why would she want you to leave Doveby Dale?” Robert asked.

  “I believe she wants me to move back to London,” William told him. “She often suggests that we try again with our relationship.”

  “But you aren’t fond of the idea?”

  “You could put it that way,” William told Robert. “Alice is somewhat unstable. She’s harmless, but I try to spend as little time with her as possible.”

  “Tell me about Alice,” Robert invited.

  “She’s Alice Chalmers. She kept my name even after the divorce,” William said. “What do you want to know about her?”

  “Just give me some basic facts for now,” Robert suggested.

  “She’s eleven years younger than I am,” William said. “She’s quite short and rather slender, which made me feel quite protective of her in the beginning. We weren’t married for very long, not much more than a year.”

  “Can you tell me why you separated?” Robert asked.

  “She, um, that is, she cheated on me,” William stammered out.

  “I’m sorry,” Janet said quietly.

  William gave her a grateful look before turning back to Robert. “Alice likes excitement and she likes to be spoiled. For a short while I enjoyed her company and her attention, but eventually she began to seem needy and demanding and I started working longer hours and avoiding her. I don’t really blame her for cheating, as I wasn’t around a lot, I suppose. Anyway, as soon as the divorce was final, she started ringing me and suggesting we try again. I gave our relationship a couple more tries, but eventuall
y I gave up.”

  “And when did you see her last?” Robert asked.

  “Just before I moved up here, I had dinner with her and told her about my plans. She wasn’t best pleased, but she had a new man in her life, so she didn’t complain that much,” William said.

  “You haven’t seen her since?”

  “No, although I spoke to her on the phone last week,” William said. “She’s coming to visit this weekend. She’s booked herself a room at Doveby House.”

  Robert shot a quick look at Janet before returning his gaze to William. “Did you invite her to visit?”

  “Not at all,” William said. “She just rang and announced that she was coming. I’m sure she was disappointed with my lack of enthusiasm.”

  “But she’s still coming?”

  “Oh, yes, she won’t let me stop her,” William said sadly.

  “And you can see her sending you anonymous letters to try to get you to move back to London?” Robert asked.

  William shrugged. “I hope not,” he said. “But she doesn’t always consider the consequences of her actions before she acts. She’s impulsive and she likes to go after the things she wants.”

  Robert nodded. “Is there anything specific that makes you think she might be involved in sending the letters?”

  “She wears a very recognisable perfume and the letters seem to smell of it,” William said quietly.

  Robert nodded and made a note in his notebook. “Right, let’s talk about other possible candidates for the sender,” he said. “What do you think?”

  “That’s part of the problem,” William replied. “I can’t imagine why anyone else would want me out of Doveby Dale.”

  “Let’s start with your personal life,” Robert suggested. “Have you upset anyone in the village lately? Are you romantically involved with someone?”

  William looked at Janet and they both blushed. Robert made another note in his notebook.

  “When I first arrived in the village, I was arrogant and demanding,” William said. “I didn’t want anyone to know about my past, especially not that I’d been in prison, so I acted like I thought I was someone important and hoped that no one would see through my disguise. You know that didn’t work out very well for me.”

  Janet grinned. “We like you much better now,” she told the man. “Criminal record or not, you’re much easier to like.”

  William smiled at her. “After a short while, I began to realise that I needed to change if my shop was going to succeed in this village. I’d like to think that I’ve become friends with several people in Doveby Dale. To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t upset anyone in some months.”

  “And romantically?” Robert asked.

  “I’m not, that is, I’m taking my time on that front,” William said. “But there’s only one woman I’m interested in in the village and she’s sitting next to me.”

  Janet felt her cheeks flood with colour. She looked down at her hands and found that she’d twisted them together. When she looked up, Robert was studying her.

  “Janet, are there any other men in your life who might want to get William away from you?” he asked gently.

  Even as Janet was shaking her head, she couldn’t help but think of Edward Bennett. Surely he was far too sophisticated to resort to something like anonymous letters to keep William away from her, she thought.

  “So let’s talk about the business side of things,” Robert said. “Has your shop put anyone else out of business or is there a danger that it might?”

  William shook his head. “One of the reasons I chose Doveby Dale was because of the lack of similar businesses in the area. The next nearest antique shop is in Derby and there’s no way I’m pulling any of their business away from them.”

  “Tell me about the men and women locally who are your business colleagues,” Robert said.

  “Colleagues?” William repeated. “I suppose I would consider Owen at the chemist’s shop a colleague, and Donald at the newsagent’s. I do a lot of business with Stanley Moore. He has a warehouse full of antiques in Derby. Richard Kingston, who owns the coffee shop next door, might be considered a colleague as well, although he’s so rarely around that I think I’d name Stacey, the poor girl who works there, before him.”

  “Don’t forget Jonathan Hamilton-Burke,” Janet said.

  “That’s a name I don’t know,” Robert said with a frown.

  “He just stopped in the shop this morning,” William told him. “He’s opening an antique shop in Little Burton, apparently.”

  Robert raised his eyebrows and wrote something in his notebook. “Why did he visit your shop?” he asked when he was done writing.

  “He said he wanted to introduce himself,” William replied.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me about him?” was Robert’s next question.

  “He claimed he’s only opening the shop as a hobby,” Janet said. “Apparently he has plenty of money, but he wants to get rid of some furniture that was his grandfather’s. What better way to do that than to open your own little shop? He drives a fancy sports car that cost too much money and he needs to cut his hair.”

  William chuckled. “Janet has summed him up eloquently,” he said.

  “Whatever he’s told you, he’s the first person you’ve named who might actually have a reason for wanting you out of Doveby Dale,” Robert said. “Aside from Alice, maybe.”

  William nodded. “It would be nice if the letters were coming from Jonathan,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing him in prison, or at least out of Little Burton.”

  “I’ll check him out thoroughly,” Robert promised.

  “He claims to be friends with the Duke of Devonshire,” Janet added. “You might want to be discreet.”

  Robert nodded. “I can certainly do that. Next question. Do you have any enemies?” he asked William.

  “I don’t think so. I made full restitution to everyone who was cheated in my London shop, and the people behind that are still behind bars, as far as I know. There may be one or two former acquaintances of mine out there who wouldn’t cross the road to help me, but that’s a long way from sending me threatening letters. I don’t think most people from my past know where I am, anyway, and for the most part they’d probably be happy that I’m up north and away from them.”

  “We can’t immediately rule out the idea that someone from your past is simply trying to disrupt your life here,” Robert said. “I’d like you to give the idea some thought. See if you can think of anyone who might be holding a grudge against you.”

  William nodded, frowning. “I have been thinking about that, actually,” he said. “But so far I haven’t come up with anyone.”

  “I’ll want to take your fingerprints,” Robert told him. “I don’t imagine the crime lab will be able to do much with these letters, but I’ll send them off so that they can try.”

  “The police have my fingerprints on file,” William reminded him dryly.

  “Janet, have you touched any of the letters?” Robert asked.

  “No. I never even saw them before today,” Janet said.

  Robert asked William what time his post usually arrived. “I want to be there today when the postman turns up. I have a few questions for him and I want to see if you get another letter today,” Robert told William. “I’ll see you later.”

  William and Janet walked back through the small reception area on their way out. Janet said a warm goodbye to Susan, but William was silent. Outside, Janet put her hand on his arm.

  “Are you in a hurry to get the shop opened up or do you have time for a cuppa?” she asked, nodding towards the coffee shop.

  “I think I need a cuppa,” William said. “No one is beating down my door, at any rate.”

  The street was still quiet and the car park for the shops was just as empty as it had been when Janet arrived. They walked together into the small and brightly lit coffee shop. The girl who worked behind the counter was nowhere to be seen.

 
“Hello?” Janet called.

  “Maybe it’s time to get someone else in here,” a loud male voice said. There was a small door behind the counter that led to what Janet assumed was the kitchen. The voice must have come from there.

  “You’ve no cause to get rid of me,” another voice, this one female, snapped back. “I work hard. This is only the second time I’ve asked for time off in two years.”

  “And it isn’t convenient,” the first voice said. “I told you that you could be late today, which you were. Taking the afternoon off as well is too much.”

  “My mum is sick,” the woman said. “I’ve left her home alone so that I could handle the morning and lunch crowds for you, but then I’m going back to sit with her.”

  “And you can stay with her for as long as you like. You won’t be welcome back here,” the man told her.

  Janet could hear someone crying. She looked at William who shrugged. “Hello?” she called as loudly as she could, walking towards the counter.

  Chapter 7

  “We have customers,” the male voice said harshly.

  “As I no longer work here, I don’t care,” the other voice said.

  There was a short pause before the door to the kitchen swung open and a tall and heavyset man with dark hair and eyes stomped through it. He glared at William and Janet for a moment and then sighed deeply. Janet watched as his angry expression gave way to a forced smile.

  “Good morning,” he said. “What can I do for you this morning?”

  “Hello, Richard,” William said. “We were hoping for a cuppa and a cake, if it isn’t too much bother.”

  “Of course it’s no bother,” the man replied. “Sit anywhere and I’ll bring everything over in a minute.”

  “Don’t you want us to tell you which sweet we want?” Janet asked politely.