The Kingston Case

by Diana Xarissa

  “That was what I thought,” William said.

  “That little old dear you sent me bought half a dozen things,” Stanley said. “Thank you for that.”

  “I knew she’d be good for a big sale,” William replied. “She spent quite a lot in here, but she had a long list of other things she wanted. She’s just bought a house in the area and she’s trying to furnish the entire thing with antiques.”

  “She’s coming back next week to see if I got anything new in. I may have to send her to Blake, actually, as I didn’t get much this week,” Stanley told him.

  William nodded. “Blake has a lot of inventory right now. She’ll do well there.”

  “And he’s a good guy, too,” Stanley said. “I don’t mind sending business his way once in a while. I was just upset to miss out on the Peabody sale.”

  “As am I,” William told him. “He wouldn’t even look around in here.”

  Stanley nodded. “I’d better get back to work, then.” He turned to leave and then glanced back over his shoulder. “Um, sorry about the shouting,” he said quickly.

  He was gone before William replied. Janet blew out a breath that she felt as if she’d been holding since the man arrived.

  “He’s mostly noise,” William told her.

  “He threatened you, though,” Janet pointed out. “And he’s a business competitor. Maybe he’s behind the letters.”

  “I don’t think Stanley is that subtle,” William said. “You saw how he gets when he’s upset. He came here and shouted a bit. If he wanted to get rid of me, he’d tell me to my face, I reckon.”

  “You could be right,” Robert said. “But he’s still on the suspect list.”

  Janet suddenly remembered that she had shopping in the boot of her car. “I’d better go,” she said. “Joan will be worrying about me.”

  Back at Doveby House, Janet carried the shopping into the kitchen where Joan was baking a cake. “I thought our guests might like a slice of cake to welcome them,” she told Janet, not mentioning how long Janet had taken to do the shopping.

  “Is this a new service we can start charging for?” Janet asked as she put the groceries away.

  Joan shook her head. “I was just trying to be nice,” she said. “Maybe little touches like that will make us more popular than the bed and breakfast in Little Burton.”

  “We’re already more popular than they are, aren’t we?” Janet asked.

  Joan shrugged. “I had someone ring to cancel a booking for next month. She said they’d been offered a better deal in Little Burton.”

  “They sound like the type to order an early breakfast and then come down at eleven,” Janet said. “They can make the woman in Little Burton’s life miserable, rather than ours.”

  Joan laughed. “You may be right, but I do hate to lose business.”

  “You said we were going to be busy for the next three months,” Janet reminded her. “An odd cancellation won’t hurt.”

  “I suppose you’re right. Oh, and the postman left a parcel for you,” Joan told her.

  “For me?”

  “Yes, I put it on your bed.”

  Janet went up to her room and looked at the large box on her bed. She didn’t remember ordering anything recently. Aggie watched as Janet carefully cut through the tape that sealed the box. Buried inside what seemed like a million tiny foam balls, Janet found a small ceramic rabbit. It was white, but covered with a sort of patchwork pattern that had blue flowers on it. Janet set the rabbit to one side and dug back around in the box. At the very bottom, she found a note.

  “Just so that you know that I’m always thinking of you, Edward,” she read to Aggie.

  Aggie sniffed at the rabbit and then shrugged and jumped down off the bed. Janet found a space for it on top of one of her bookshelves and then tucked the note in a drawer. She’d wonder about it later, for now she needed to help Joan finish the tidying for their guests.

  “We’re locking the library, right?” Janet asked. “So it doesn’t need to be tidied.”

  “We’re locking it, but if the guests want to use it, we will let them,” Joan reminded her. “It needs to be tidy.”

  Janet made a face. She loved her little library and she kept it spotlessly clean, but it wasn’t always perfectly tidy. Sometimes she liked to leave a few books scattered around the room, books that she’d started but not finished or ones that looked interesting but that she hadn’t found time to read yet. There were a few papers scattered on the desk and an empty tea mug on one of the small tables, as well. It only took Janet a minute to tidy it all away, but it made the room feel unused. She pulled a random book off a shelf and put it on one of the tables, just for aesthetics. Satisfied, she shut the door and locked it.

  “William has had more letters,” Janet told Joan, as they sat in the sitting room later that day waiting for their guests to arrive.

  “Does he still think his ex-wife is behind them?” Joan asked.

  “I think he’s hoping it’s her, otherwise it’s quite scary,” Janet replied.

  “Who else could it be? Why would anyone else want William to leave Doveby Dale?”

  “Robert had him make a list of business associates. Maybe someone wants to eliminate some of his or her competition. And there’s a man opening a new antique shop in Little Burton, as well. Maybe he’s trying to get rid of William before he even opens.”

  “Sending threatening letters seems an extreme way to get rid of a business rival,” Joan said.

  “Stanley Moore is angry with William because he sent a customer to another antique shop, rather than his,” Janet offered.

  “I can’t see how getting rid of William would help in that case. Goodness knows where the man would have shopped if William wasn’t around.”

  “I suppose so,” Janet sighed.

  A knock on the door kept them from speculating any further.

  “Ah, good evening,” Joan said when she opened the door. “Welcome to Doveby House,” she told the couple on the doorstep.

  “Thank you, thank you,” the man said. The pair stepped inside, dragging their large suitcases in with them. Both of them appeared to be somewhere in their sixties. He was of average height and plump, with thinning grey hair and glasses. She was taller than he was, and her grey hair was pulled back in a tidy ponytail. They looked around the sitting room and then exchanged glances before the man spoke again.

  “I’m Brock Banner and this is my wife, Helen,” he said in a loud voice. “We’re happy to be here.”

  “You’re American,” Janet said in surprise.

  Both Banners laughed. “The accent always gives us away,” Helen said. Her voice was softer than her husband’s, but the accent was the same.

  “We are; we are,” Brock agreed. “But you mustn’t hold that against us.”

  Janet laughed. “Of course not,” she said. “But what brings you to Doveby Dale?”

  “We’ve been travelling all across your beautiful country,” Helen explained. “We started in Cornwall and we’ve been slowly working our way up towards Scotland. We’re trying to stay in places like this rather than chain hotels and to really see the country rather than just visit the tourist sites.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Janet said. “I’d love to do the same thing through the US.”

  “It would take you a good deal longer than our trip will take us,” Helen said. “But we did that last year. We’ve done nothing but travel since Brock retired.”

  “How lovely,” Janet said. “I wish we could travel more.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Janet felt guilty. She and Joan had planned to travel when they’d retired, before Joan had ever mentioned wanting to buy a bed and breakfast. Janet had agreed to the purchase of Doveby House, even though she’d known that it would mean giving up on travelling. She could only hope that Joan wouldn’t take the remark as a complaint about their new lifestyle.

  “We’ve been thinking about buying ourselves a little shop or something in a village like Dov
eby Dale,” Brock told them.

  “I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to own a little bookstore in a small village,” Helen said. “Does Doveby Dale have a bookstore?”

  “No. But I wish it did,” Janet replied.

  “Me, I’ve always been more interested in antiques than books,” Brock said.

  “We do have an antique shop,” Janet told him.

  “We’ll have to stop in,” Helen said.

  “Maybe the owner would like to sell it to us, maybe?” Brock said.

  “I think William is quite happy here,” Janet said. “But there is an empty space in the parade where his shop is located. A bookshop would fill it nicely.”

  “We’ll have to see,” Helen said. “Maybe we’ll just keep travelling.”

  “Would you like some tea and cake?” Joan asked the pair.

  “That would be great, just great,” Brock said.

  “Why don’t I show you your room first?” Joan suggested.

  “I’ll go and put the kettle on,” Janet offered.

  The trio disappeared up the stairs while Janet headed to the kitchen.

  “They’re American,” she told Aggie. “And they seem very nice, at least so far.”

  The Banners insisted that Joan and Janet join them for their snack. By the time they’d finished, Janet felt as if she’d known the couple for many years. She and Joan had heard all about how they’d met, their struggles with infertility, their years as foster parents, and about Brock’s job in the finance industry. They’d also learned a great deal about the US as the couple told them about their travels across that vast country.

  “And now we’re off to explore Doveby Dale,” Helen said over an hour later.

  “I’m not sure there’s much to explore at this hour,” Joan told her. “The shops will all be shut for the night. The café and the French restaurant are probably the only things open.”

  “Maybe we should just have an early night, then,” Helen suggested to her husband.

  “Early night? An early night sounds good,” he said. “I just need a short walk to work off some of that cake.”

  “The house has its own small grounds,” Janet told him. “You’re welcome to walk there. If you want to go further, there’s a pavement that will take you to the main road. Just be careful, as it’s quite a busy road.”

  “Oh, I think once or twice around the grounds will be plenty,” Helen said. “We’ve a lot of sightseeing planned for the next two days. We need to save our energy.”

  “They seem very nice,” Joan commented after Janet rejoined her in the kitchen once she’d opened the French doors onto the patio for the couple.

  “Nice, but very, well, I mean I don’t know if I know as much about you as I do about Brock and Helen,” Janet said. “Some of the things they told us were rather personal, don’t you think?”

  “As I understand it, Americans can be like that,” Joan said.

  “I suppose it’s just a cultural thing.”

  “No doubt.”

  The couple was back only a few minutes later. They settled into the television lounge for a while, but everyone got an early night that evening at Doveby House. Janet curled up in bed with Aggie, feeling reasonably happy with their newly arrived guests. She was still incredibly apprehensive about Alice Chalmers, but that was tomorrow’s problem.

  Chapter 9

  The next morning was sunny and warm. Janet helped Joan get breakfast for their American guests and then, after they’d gone out for the day, gave her a hand with cleaning their room.

  “You don’t think they could be behind the anonymous letters, do you?” Janet asked her sister as they worked.

  “I can’t imagine why they would be,” Joan replied. “They have the whole country to choose from if they do decide to open a shop. It isn’t like they have any special reason to want to settle in Doveby Dale.”

  “Maybe they do but they haven’t mentioned it.”

  Joan laughed. “We’ve heard their entire life story. I can’t believe they left out anything.”

  Janet chuckled. “You may be right about that,” she said.

  When the chores were out of the way, Janet found herself pacing anxiously around the house. The phone startled her.

  “Hello?”

  “Is that Joan Markham?” a soft voice asked.

  “No. I can get her for you, though,” Janet offered.

  “If you could, maybe you could just take a message?” the woman replied.

  “Of course I can,” Janet told her.

  “This is Alice Chalmers. I’m booked for two nights starting today and I told Joan that I would be arriving some time around midday. I’m afraid I’ve become rather tangled up in something here and I’m going to be late. Please tell Joan that I won’t be arriving until three or four o’clock this afternoon.”

  “I will do,” Janet replied. “We’re looking forward to your stay.”

  “Oh, thank you so much,” the woman said.

  Janet put down the phone and went to find her sister. Joan was in the kitchen, putting lunch together.

  “Alice Chalmers is running late,” Janet announced. “She won’t be here until three or four.”

  Joan raised an eyebrow. “It was nice of her to let us know,” she said after a moment.

  “Yes. I think I might let William know as well,” Janet said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll nip over to his shop after lunch. I’d like an update on the letters anyway, and he probably won’t want to talk about that on the phone.”

  “You go. I’ll ring your mobile if Alice arrives before you get back,” Joan said.

  The car park outside the shops was nearly empty, as usual. As Janet climbed out of her car, she glanced over at the coffee shop. Its car park was also mostly empty, which was less common, especially at this time of day.

  William was dusting furniture when Janet walked in. The loud buzzer announced her presence and made her wince at the same time.

  “Janet, how are you?” the man greeted her.

  “I’m fine,” she replied. “How are you?”

  “Ah, well, I’ve been better,” William said. “There was another letter this morning. Robert’s sent it off to the police laboratory for all manner of tests that will reveal nothing, I’m sure.”

  “Think positive,” Janet told him. “Maybe the culprit made a mistake this time and left a fingerprint or two on the letter.”

  “Maybe,” William sighed. “It’s all quite frustrating, and with Alice arriving today, it’s too much on my mind.”

  “She just rang, actually, to say she’s running late,” Janet told him.

  “When you started that, I was hoping you were going to say she wasn’t coming at all,” William said.

  “So let’s try to work out who has been sending those letters,” Janet suggested. “Let’s assume it isn’t Alice, for the sake of this discussion.”

  “If it isn’t Alice, I have no idea who it is,” William argued. “I’ve been over it a dozen times with Robert. I just don’t see any reason why anyone would want to chase me away from Doveby Dale.”

  “What does Robert say?”

  “That it’s probably tied to this shop in some way,” William replied.

  “We have a couple staying with us now that might be interested in buying a little shop like this.”

  “Brock and Helen Banner? They were here this morning for a short while. You can’t possibly suspect them of being behind the letters. They were charming, if a bit talkative.”

  “Did they offer to buy the shop?”

  “No,” William chuckled. “Brock mentioned that having a little shop like this was one of his dreams, but Helen reminded him that travelling the world was also one of his dreams and that the two weren’t compatible. I can’t take them seriously as suspects.”

  “Okay, what about Stanley Moore?”

  “If he wanted me gone, he could accomplish it easily,” William said. “I buy from him and he sends customers my way. Of course, I return th
e favour, but he’s a much bigger fish. He could undercut everything I sell and take away three-quarters of my business in short order if he wanted to. He doesn’t need to send me anonymous letters to get rid of me.”

  “Have you told Robert all of this?”

  “We talked about Stanley this morning. His outburst yesterday had Robert wondering about him, but I think he’s crossed him off his list now.”

  “Who else is on the list?” Janet asked.

  “Well, there’s Jonathan Hamilton-Burke,” William replied.

  “He doesn’t seem like the type to send anonymous letters, but I did only meet him once, briefly,” Janet said thoughtfully.

  “I’m inclined to agree with you. He’s just playing at having a shop. I can’t see him worrying about competition.”

  “Is that everyone?”

  “Robert did mention Owen at the chemist’s next door and Donald from the newsagent’s, but if anything I think I’m good for their businesses. Even if only a few people stop here because of my shop, that’s more foot traffic for their shops. It’s bad enough we have one empty shopfront. I don’t think Donald or Owen would like there to be two.”

  “Owen doesn’t even own his shop,” Janet said. “The men in suits at the corporate headquarters could decide to shut it tomorrow. I don’t think he’s that in love with Doveby Dale that he’d mind being moved elsewhere, either.”

  “He likes it here, but he’s been moved fifteen times in the twenty years he’s worked with the company,” William told her. “He almost expects it now.”

  “So where does that leave us?”

  “The only other suspects that Robert has mentioned are Richard and Stacey at the coffee shop.”

  “I hardly think you’re competition for a coffee shop,” Janet said. “Which reminds me, are they even open today? There was only one car it the car park, and I think it was Richard’s.”

  “They’re open, but they aren’t doing very well without Stacey. Richard bakes well but he isn’t very good at dealing with customers. He used to go in early in the morning and do the baking and then leave Stacey to run the place all day. That worked for everyone. Now that she’s gone, he’s doing it all himself and, well, it isn’t good.”