The Appleton Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 1) Read online

  The man drew a deep breath and then smiled tightly. “Look, ladies, I don’t mean to argue with anyone,” he said. “I’m Gavin Appleton, Margaret’s son. Here’s the thing. My mother left some very personal things in that house. Things she meant for me to have. All I want is a chance to go in and get them. I only need five minutes, maybe ten, and then I’ll be out of your way forever. What do you say?”

  “The property isn’t ours yet,” Joan answered in a firm voice. “I’m sure if you contact Doveby Trust they’ll be able to make those arrangements for you.”

  “Except they won’t,” the man said. He shook his head. “I’ll admit I may have shouted at the woman in charge a little bit. It was such a shock, mum leaving the property to them and not me. But that doesn’t excuse my behaviour, I’ll admit that now. Anyway, they’ve made it clear that I’m not welcome at their offices and they certainly won’t let me in the house.”

  “Yes, well, I’m sorry to hear that, but it really doesn’t concern us,” Joan told him. Janet hid a smile as she saw her sister give the man her very best serious teacher look. Stronger men than this one had backed down from that.

  “Once you’ve purchased the property, you’ll let me have a minute, won’t you?” he said plaintively. “It’s just that mum died so suddenly, you see. She meant to give me some things and she never had the time.”

  The catch in his voice might have impressed Janet if she hadn’t noticed how keenly he was watching to gauge their reaction to it.

  The sound of a car door shutting had them all turning towards the car park. The man walking away from the police car had an amused look on his face. He didn’t look much older than eighteen, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was tall and looked physically fit, but Janet couldn’t help but think that Gavin could knock him out with a single punch.

  “Now Gavin, I thought we’d agreed that you’d stay away from Doveby House,” he said when he reached the small group.

  “Aye, we did at that,” the man replied, looking down at the ground. “I just want my things.”

  “Yes, but the courts have decided that they aren’t yours. Everything in your mother’s house was given to the trust and it’s their right to do what they like with it,” the policeman replied.

  “That don’t make it right,” the other man snapped.

  “He has my keys,” Henry said in an angry voice. “He must have locked us in the coach house yesterday and stolen them.”

  “Gavin, do you have Mr. Fitzsimmon’s keys?” the policeman asked.

  “I found them,” Gavin told him, reaching into his pocket. “I was just walking through the garden, looking at the house, and I tripped over them.”

  “You stole them yesterday,” Henry accused him.

  “If I stole them yesterday, I’d have let myself in last night and found what I’m looking for,” Gavin shot back.

  “Perhaps you could give us a list of the things you’re after. If we come across them, we could get them to you,” Janet found herself offering.

  “Nah, never mind,” the man said, turning away.

  “Now Gavin,” the policeman said in a stern voice. “The lady made you a good offer. Why don’t you tell her what you’re so desperate to get your hands on and see if she can find it for you?”

  “Ah, it was just letters and stuff,” the man said with a shrug. “It doesn’t much matter, I guess.”

  “Give the lady your contact details,” the policeman suggested. “If they find any letters with your name on them, they can send them to you.”

  The man hesitated for a moment and then shrugged again. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a business card, turning it over in his hand and then handing it to Janet.

  She read it slowly. “Gavin Appleton, Doveby Dale Garage.”

  “If your car needs fixing, stop by,” he told her. Then he turned on his heel and stomped off towards the car park before anyone else spoke.

  The policeman sighed as they watched him drive away.

  “Sorry about that,” he said to Henry and the sisters as Gavin’s new sedan disappeared in the distance. “He’s not supposed to be coming here, but he doesn’t seem to want to listen.”

  “I found him trying to get the front door open,” Henry told him. “He had my keys. The ones that went missing yesterday.”

  “I have to believe that he’d already have been through the house if he’d found them yesterday,” the policeman said. “He may well have really just tripped over them this morning.”

  “What’s he after?” Janet asked.

  Both men shrugged. “It certainly isn’t letters,” the policeman told her. “I’m Robert Parsons, by the way. I’m the village constable, but I’m only here part of the time, as I also cover the next village. Usually one constable is more than enough between the two places, but Gavin is making me work hard at the moment.”

  The sisters introduced themselves.

  “Well, ladies, it’s nice to meet you, and welcome to Doveby Dale. I hope this is the last I ever see of you,” Robert said, smiling.

  “Indeed,” Joan said crisply. “I can’t imagine us needing a police constable in the future.”

  “I’ll just give you my card, in case you are bothered by Mr. Appleton any further.”

  The sisters each took one of his cards before he headed back towards his car.

  “Sorry about that,” Henry said as they turned to look at him. “I believe I mentioned yesterday that there were some difficulties with the previous owner’s son.”

  “You did,” Joan said. “I do hope it’s all sorted now. Did you say our offer has been accepted?”

  “It has,” the man confirmed.

  Janet and Joan exchanged glances. They hadn’t really been expecting the trust to agree to their low offer. They’d thought that reaching an agreement would take rather more time. Now it seemed as if they were about to own a bed and breakfast, ready or not.

  They took their time going back through the property. Janet found herself seeing it with different eyes, as they had now agreed to purchase it. By the time she’d made two complete circuits of the home, she was very happy with the decision she and Joan had made.

  “It’s just about perfect,” she told Joan as they joined Henry in the conservatory. “I think I love everything about it.”

  “Yes, well, we’ll need to do a great deal of painting and decorating,” Joan said. “And we’ll have to recover some of the furniture.”

  “I love my bedroom just the way it is,” Janet said. “I don’t want to paint it or change any of the furniture.”

  “We’ll have to get rid of your current bedroom furniture, then,” Joan pointed out.

  “Or we could use it in one of the other bedrooms, where the furniture isn’t as nice,” Janet said. “Let’s not worry about that for today. I want another look in the coach house and then I want to meet the neighbours.”

  Henry let them into the coach house and then remained outside while the two women had a quick look around.

  “What did you want to see in here?” Joan asked after a moment.

  “I don’t know,” Janet admitted. “I just felt as if I wanted another look.” They both headed towards the open door just as the light went out.

  Joan grabbed Janet’s arm. “I didn’t think that single bulb was providing that much light,” she said as they both stood still in the suddenly very dark room.

  “No, it seemed quite ineffectual until it went off,” Janet agreed.

  The pair moved cautiously towards the open door that seemed brightly lit compared to the darkness within the space. Janet tripped once on a broken piece of furniture and Joan slipped on a piece of paper that managed to get under her foot, but eventually the two made it more or less unscathed to the door.

  Henry was sitting on a bench in the garden, talking on his phone, apparently unaware of the situation.

  “Did you turn off the light?” Joan demanded of him when he jumped up.

  “Turn off the light? In the coach h
ouse? Why would I do that? You were still in there.”

  “Well, someone turned it off,” Joan told him.

  Henry walked over to the door and found the light switch. He pushed it and the bulb inside the coach house flickered on again.

  “I was sitting right here the whole time,” he told the sisters. “No one has been anywhere near that door.”

  Joan looked at Janet and rolled her eyes. Perhaps young Henry was feeling bored and had turned off the light to hurry them along, Janet thought.

  “You can lock everything up now,” Joan told the man. “We’re just going to have a chat with the neighbours.”

  “Did you want me to come along?” Henry asked as he locked the door to the coach house.

  “Of course not,” Joan told him.

  Doveby House sat at the end of a very short road. It branched off from a rather busier road that came off of the main road through Doveby Dale. There were a few houses scattered along that busier road and quite a few along the main street. Doveby House, itself, was almost alone on its short street. Only a single semi-detached property sat opposite it.

  Joan and Janet made their way to the semi and knocked on the door to house number one. After a few moments, the door opened and Janet found herself smiling at a rather handsome gentleman. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties and was only a few inches taller than the sisters. His completely bald head was covered in a smattering of freckles and his brown eyes were warm.

  “Ah, good morning,” he said brightly. “I take it you’re the ladies who might be buying Doveby House? Very kind of you to drop by.”

  “Yes,” Joan answered for them. “We’ve just had our offer accepted.”

  “How nice,” he replied. “I’d invite you in for a cuppa, but I’m just on my way out to the shops. Promise you’ll come back and visit another time?”

  “Of course we will,” Janet said quickly. “And you must come and visit us once we’re settled in. Joan is wonderful at baking. You must come for tea.”

  “I’d like that,” he replied. “Oh, I’m Michael Donaldson. I nearly forgot to mention that.”

  The sisters introduced themselves and then Michael excused himself to finish getting ready to go out.

  “Well, he seemed very nice,” Janet said as the pair walked down the short path from his door to number two.

  “He did indeed,” Joan murmured. She knocked on the door at number two and after a moment it swung open.

  “Ah, the ladies from yesterday,” Stuart Long said. “Do come in and meet the wife, won’t you?”

  The sisters followed him down a short corridor and into a large sitting room.

  “Mary, we have guests,” Stuart said.

  The woman who was sitting on one of the couches looked up and frowned. “The house is a mess,” she protested.

  “It’s fine,” Stuart said. “These are the women who are buying Doveby House.”

  “Oh, really? In spite of all that trouble with the Appleton lad? I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side, I can tell you,” Mary said.

  She stood up and Janet studied her as she took a step towards them. Mary Long looked to be a few years younger than her husband. She was about the same height as the sisters, and slender with grey hair and brown eyes. When she’d taken a few steps, she held out her hand.

  “I’m Mary Long. It’s lovely to meet you,” she said to Janet.

  Janet shook her hand and supplied her own name. Joan did the same in turn.

  “Welcome to the neighbourhood, I guess,” Mary said after insisting that the sisters sit down.

  “Stuart, why don’t you fix the ladies some tea?” she suggested.

  “Oh, we’re fine,” Joan assured her. “We just wanted to ask a few questions about the area and that sort of thing.”

  Mary nodded. “Very sensible,” she said. “Always better to know what you’re getting yourself into.”

  “So, how much of a worry is Gavin Appleton?” Joan asked.

  The couple exchanged looks.

  “Robert is on top of it, I think,” Stuart said after an awkward pause. “Gavin never visited his mum, so I can’t imagine what she had over there that he’s after.”

  “He told us he was looking for some letters,” Janet said.

  “I find that hard to believe,” Mary said. “He doesn’t seem like the type to write letters to his mother.”

  “I’m not sure why he’d bother. He lived in the same town, after all,” Joan interjected.

  “He hardly ever visited her, though. Maybe he sent her some threatening letters and he’s eager to get them back before the police see them,” Stuart offered.

  “He’d have visited more if he’d known she was going to die so suddenly,” Mary said. “He’d have wanted to make sure of his inheritance, if he’d known.”

  “What happened to Mrs. Appleton?” Janet asked.

  Again the couple exchanged looks and Janet was desperate to know what they were thinking while they did so.

  “No one seems to sure about that,” Stuart said eventually. “You could ask young Robert, I suppose.”

  “Only she wasn’t technically Mrs. Appleton anymore,” Mary added. “She may never have actually been Mrs. Appleton, for that matter.”

  “What do you mean?” Janet asked.

  “She was married a couple of times during the years she was here. Her husbands were both much older men who left her a good deal of money when they passed on. I gather she had a different husband before she moved here. It was him that left her the money for Doveby House,” Mary told them.

  “So what was her proper name?” Joan asked.

  Mary shrugged. “She had everyone call her Mrs. Appleton, or Maggie. She said it was easier to have the same name as her son, and she never managed to be married long enough to bother getting everything changed.”

  Now the sisters exchanged looks. Janet shook her head. Sometimes other people’s behaviour still surprised her.

  “Anyway, Gavin was her only child. No doubt he expected to inherit everything,” Stuart said.

  “But she left everything to the Doveby Trust instead, as I understand it,” Joan replied.

  “Yes, well, I gather she and Gavin had a disagreement about something a while back and she was just angry enough to change her will. She may well have changed it back again once they’d made up, but she didn’t get the chance.”

  “How unfortunate for young Gavin,” Janet murmured.

  “But fortunate for you,” Mary pointed out.

  They chatted about the neighbourhood and the location of the closest grocery stores and other shops for a few minutes before Joan glanced at her watch.

  “My goodness, we really have taken up far too much of your time,” she said to the couple. “And we have an appointment with our solicitor to get to. Thank you so much for talking with us.”

  “It was our pleasure,” Stuart said. “We’re both retired, so guests are always welcome.”

  “You must come and visit with us once we’re settled in,” Janet said as she rose to follow her sister from the room.

  “We’d like that,” Mary said.

  The pair walked to the door behind the sisters.

  “Oh, yesterday you said something about a ghost,” Janet said to Stuart. “What ghost?”

  Mary laughed. “You mustn’t listen to that nonsense,” she told Janet firmly. “Stuart has some crazy ideas sometimes, that’s all.”

  Stuart opened his mouth and then snapped it shut.

  “We really must go,” Joan reminded her sister.

  Janet followed Joan out reluctantly. She really wanted to hear about that ghost.

  Chapter Four

  “I wanted to hear about the ghost,” Janet complained as they drove back towards home.

  “You know I don’t believe in such things, really,” Joan told her. “And clearly Mary didn’t want Stuart to tell us anything. We’ll have to get Stuart alone and ask him.”

  Janet shook her head. It seemed strange to hear Joan plann
ing such things. It was usually Janet who went chasing after ghost stories and other oddities. Clearly retirement was bringing out a different side in her big sister.

  “What if Mrs. Appleton is haunting the house? Maybe Gavin murdered her and that’s why no one knows what happened to her,” Janet suggested.

  “Maybe you have an overactive imagination,” Joan replied. It wasn’t the first time she’d said such a thing to her sister.

  The next fortnight flew past as the sisters put their cottage on the market and began to pack their belongings for their move. While they had lived in the cottage for more than twenty years, neither was particularly sentimental about things, so besides books, they found they had little to sort through. Most of their furniture they arranged to donate to a local charity that helped families in crisis situations. As Doveby House was fully furnished with good quality items, they were happy to share their good fortune with others.

  Their cottage sold almost immediately and the new owners, who had just been transferred to the area for work, were eager to move in quickly. Doveby Trust was happy to agree to a quick sale as well, and by the middle of July the two women found themselves the proud owners of their very own bed and breakfast.

  Some old friends threw a small party for them, with everyone promising to stay in touch. Doveby Dale was less than an hour from their previous home, and both sisters hoped that some of their friends would come and stay with them once they were settled.

  The sisters hired professionals to paint every room in the house except for Janet’s lilac bedroom, and once that was done, they moved in. They had little to do besides arrive with their suitcases, as all of the furniture was already in place. They hired a man with a van to follow them to Doveby House with the boxes and boxes of books that the sisters had decided to keep. Once he’d stacked the boxes in the library for them to sort out later and left, Joan found the kettle in the cupboard and made tea. They’d brought a small box of grocery items with them, little more than what they needed for a first cup of tea in their new home.

  “Welcome home,” Joan said to Janet as the pair sipped tea in the conservatory a short time later.