The Fenton Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 6) Read online

  While Joan was preparing an evening meal for the two of them, Janet went back to her book. With only a few pages to go, she was quite cross when she heard Margaret coming down the stairs.

  I should have locked myself in the library, she thought to herself as she stood up to greet the woman.

  “I’m just off out for some dinner,” Margaret told her. “Edward recommended a little French restaurant and he’s usually right about such things.”

  “The food is excellent there,” Janet agreed, wondering if she ought to mention that she’d only been there once, with Edward.

  “I don’t think I’ll be terribly late,” Margaret told her.

  “You have the key to the front door if you need it,” Janet said. “I’m sure either Joan or I will be up when you return.”

  After locking up behind their guest, Janet was quickly back into her book. She’d only just finished the last page when Joan called her for dinner.

  “That was good timing,” she told Joan as she walked into the kitchen. “I just found out who the killer was.”

  “Haven’t you read that book before?” Joan asked.

  “Well, yes,” Janet admitted. “But I’d quite forgotten who did it.”

  “You forgot?” Joan asked.

  “I did. There are some advantages to my having a terrible memory,” Janet told her with a laugh.

  “As long as you remember to get up tomorrow morning to help with breakfast,” Joan muttered as she spooned steak and kidney pie onto plates.

  “Oh, I won’t forget that,” Janet replied. As much as I’d like to, she added silently.

  When there were guests staying at the house, neither sister liked to go to bed before the guests were in for the night. Janet often went up to her room and read there while waiting, but she felt odd about trying to sleep before all of the guests were tucked up in their rooms.

  “Why don’t you head to bed and I’ll wait up for our guests?” Janet asked Joan after they’d finished tidying the kitchen and getting it set up for breakfast.

  “I’m not all that tired,” Joan replied. “Anyway, Michael might be coming over to watch some telly with me.”

  A knock on the door suggested that the man had arrived. Janet thought about hiding in the library, but decided that she had to at least greet the man. She followed Joan into the sitting room and watched as her sister opened the door.

  “Mr. Fenton? This is a surprise,” Joan said, her tone suggesting that it wasn’t a pleasant one at that.

  “I’m awfully sorry to bother you again,” the man said. “But I thought I ought to warn you. My garage was broken into this afternoon.”

  The man looked more than a little upset and Janet was quick to take pity on him. “Come in and have some tea,” she suggested. “I’m sure we can find a few biscuits for you as well. You’ve had something of a shock.”

  Only a few minutes later, Mack was sitting in the sisters’ cosy kitchen with a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits in front of him. He took a long drink of the hot liquid and then sighed deeply.

  “I needed that,” he said softly. “I’m sorry to impose on you like this, but after Constable Parsons left I started thinking about you ladies here all alone in this big house. It just seemed like it might be a target as well, you see.”

  “But what happened?” Janet asked.

  Mack shrugged. “I went into Derby to pick up some supplies and talk to the man who is making the new signs for the business and things like that. I was gone until about an hour ago, and when I got back I noticed that the side door to the garage was open. I was sure that I’d locked it when I left, so I rang the police and they came right away.”

  “Robert Parsons is very good at his job,” Janet said soothingly.

  “Yes, he seemed to be,” Mack replied. “He wouldn’t let me go inside until he’d checked the place over and then he had me go through and see what was missing.”

  “I hope they didn’t take much,” Janet said.

  “There wasn’t much there to take,” Mack said with a rueful chuckle. “There were a few cars sitting in the garage bays and a lot of heavy tools, but that was about it. There was about twenty pounds in the till and some loose coins on my desk, and those were taken, but that seems to be about all.”

  “That’s good,” Joan said, holding the tray of biscuits out towards the man again.

  He took several more and then swallowed one with a gulp of tea. “It is good, but I still feel funny about it. I was so excited to buy my own little shop and now someone has almost ruined it for me.” He shook his head. “I’m sure it will be fine eventually, but I can’t help feeling less excited about the business now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Janet said. “I can’t begin to imagine how you feel. I’d hate to think that anyone was in our house uninvited. It’s hard enough welcoming paying guests.”

  Mack shrugged. “I didn’t want to worry you, but I thought you should know,” he said. “Maybe it was just an isolated incident.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Joan said.

  As Mack finished his tea and half a dozen more biscuits, the talk was more general. It wasn’t until he was leaving that the break-in was mentioned again.

  “Make sure you lock your doors,” Mack said as they walked him to the door.

  “But you did lock yours,” Janet pointed out.

  “Yes, but if they do intend to break in other places, we should make it as difficult as possible,” he replied.

  “I can’t argue with that,” Janet said.

  As she opened the door to let Mack out, she startled Michael Donaldson, who was on their small porch.

  “Oh, good evening,” he said.

  Janet smiled at their handsome neighbour. “Joan was hoping you’d be over,” she said. “But have you met Mack Fenton yet?” Janet performed the necessary introductions.

  “Oh, I’ve been needing an oil change for months,” Michael said. “But I’m simply too lazy to take the car to the garage in Little Burton. Can I come by tomorrow?”

  “Of course,” Mack replied. “But I’m only open until one o’clock on a Saturday. If you have it in by nine, I can have it done by one, if you’d like.”

  “Perfect, I’ll see you in the morning,” Michael said.

  “One of our guests mentioned coming in to see you as well,” Janet remembered. “I hope you’ll have time for him if he does come by.”

  “I’m there from eight to one tomorrow,” Mack said. “The earlier he gets there, the sooner I’ll get to work on his car.”

  “I’ll tell Harry that when he comes back in,” Janet promised.

  She locked the door behind him and then wandered back into the kitchen. Joan had gone with Michael to the television lounge, leaving Mack’s teacup and plate in the sink. Shaking her head at her sister’s uncharacteristic behaviour, Janet quickly washed up the cup and plate. She didn’t want to join Joan and Michael in front of the telly, so she went up to her room and found a book. Not wanting to go to bed until she’d spoken to Harry about Mack’s garage, she took the book back to the sitting room.

  Before she curled up, she made herself a cup of tea and filled a small plate with biscuits. Feeling as if life didn’t get much better than this, she turned to page one and began to read, nibbling on a custard cream.

  Chapter Five

  Harry and Sue timed their return perfectly, arriving during a lull in the action in Janet’s book.

  “Did you have a nice evening?” Janet asked.

  “We did, thank you,” Sue replied.

  “Mack Fenton, who owns the garage was here and he wanted me to tell you that he’ll only be open from eight to one tomorrow,” Janet said. “He said you should take the car in early if you want him to have time to repair it tomorrow.”

  “We can do that,” Harry said. “If you don’t mind having breakfast for us at half seven.”

  “No, that’s no problem,” Janet agreed. “Joan and I are usually up early anyway.”

  The pair headed upstai
rs, leaving Janet alone with her half-finished cup of tea. As she’d been interrupted anyway, she decided to make herself a fresh cup and while she was at it, she helped herself to a few more biscuits as well. Margaret Burns arrived back at Doveby House as Janet was nervously reading her way through a dark graveyard. When the front door opened, Janet nearly shrieked.

  “Oh, dear, you’re at the good part, aren’t you?” Margaret asked after she saw Janet.

  “We’re in the cemetery and I’m sure the killer is there somewhere,” Janet explained.

  “I won’t keep you with idle chatter, then,” Margaret said. “I hope it all works out.”

  “Oh, but did you enjoy your meal?” Janet asked, wanting to be polite almost as much as she wanted to finish the book.

  “It was just as good as Edward said it would be,” Margaret replied. “But I can tell you about it over breakfast. I hope eight isn’t too early. I’d like to get around a few stately homes in the area tomorrow, so I want to get an early start.”

  “Eight is fine,” Janet assured her. “Our other guests have requested breakfast at half seven, so eight isn’t a problem.”

  “I might be down by half seven as well, then, if that’s okay,” Margaret replied.

  “We’ll be here and Joan will be cooking,” Janet told her.

  Margaret headed up the stairs, and Janet was quick to get back to her book. She’d just finished it when Michael and Joan came out of the television lounge.

  “Are you still up?” Joan asked.

  “I was lost in a book,” Janet told her.

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Joan said, rolling her eyes.

  Janet laughed. “You’re still up as well,” she pointed out.

  “We were talking,” Joan said, blushing.

  Janet would have teased her sister about what she and Michael might have been doing, but at their age it seemed too cruel. “Yes, well, we’d both better get some sleep. Our guests want breakfast at half seven.”

  “So they say,” Joan replied.

  Janet shrugged. Thus far they hadn’t had very good luck with guests ordering breakfast. Most mornings Joan and Janet sat in the kitchen for hours waiting for the guests to actually arrive. “We need to be up, just in case,” she said.

  “I’d better get off home, then,” Michael said. He gave Joan a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

  Joan let him out and then locked the door behind him.

  “He’s coming over again tomorrow?” Janet couldn’t help but ask.

  “We’re having dinner together tomorrow,” Joan replied. “As long as the guests aren’t having evening meals here, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “No, not at all,” Janet said quickly. As she climbed the stairs to her room, she started planning her menu for the next evening. Maybe she’d make herself a frozen pizza; that was a treat that Joan definitely didn’t approve of. Or perhaps she’d buy herself a ready-meal and eat it in front of the telly. Joan would have a fit if she found out, but Janet had no intention of letting that happen. Setting her alarm for half six, she slid under the duvet with a sigh. No doubt the guests would all sleep late and she and Joan would have nothing to do but complain about them for hours.

  Both sisters were surprised the next morning when Harry and Sue presented themselves in the kitchen doorway at half seven.

  “Right on time,” Joan said.

  “I really want to get the car seen to,” Harry explained.

  “Full English breakfast for both of you?” Joan asked.

  “Oh, yes, please,” Sue replied. “I haven’t had a proper breakfast in ages.”

  “You can sit in the dining room or just stay in here,” Janet told them. “Whichever you prefer.”

  “Would you mind showing me the dining room?” Sue asked, smiling shyly.

  “Of course not,” Janet replied. She slid bread into the toaster and then walked the couple through the kitchen and into the more formal dining space beyond.

  “It’s lovely,” Sue said. “But awfully formal. I think I’d rather eat in the kitchen, if we won’t be in the way.”

  “You’re more than welcome,” Janet told her. The pair took seats at the small kitchen table and Janet served them orange juice and coffee while Joan finished cooking their breakfast. She was just putting everything on plates when Margaret wandered in.

  “My goodness, that smells good,” she said as a greeting.

  “So full English for you as well?” Joan asked.

  “I shouldn’t, but I will,” Margaret answered.

  “You’re welcome to sit in here or in the dining room,” Janet told her.

  “I’ll join the others, if that’s okay with everyone,” Margaret said. She took a seat at the table and Janet quickly served her drinks as Joan started preparing another breakfast.

  “So, how are you enjoying your stay in Derbyshire?” Margaret asked Harry and Sue.

  “It’s lovely so far,” Sue replied. “It’s so nice to get away, isn’t it?”

  “It is, at that,” Margaret agreed. “Have you come very far?”

  “Just up from Milton Keynes,” the girl said. “What about you?”

  “I’m in London, so a bit further.”

  “London is too busy and too expensive,” Harry said. “I don’t think I’d want to live there.”

  “I’ve been there my entire life,” Margaret replied. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else, although I do love to travel.”

  “Have you been anywhere terribly interesting?” Sue asked.

  While the couple ate their breakfast, Margaret told them all about her adventures in various parts of the world. She was just finishing a long story about an elephant wandering into her tent in Kenya when Joan put her breakfast in front of her.

  “This looks wonderful,” Margaret said. “Thank you so much.”

  “We’d better get moving if we want to get the car looked at today,” Harry said, pushing back from the table.

  “It was so nice talking to you,” Sue said to Margaret. “And thank you both for a wonderful breakfast.”

  The pair was gone before anyone replied. Janet followed them slowly, just to make sure that the door was locked behind them. When she returned to the kitchen, she didn’t feel she should start asking Margaret questions while the woman was eating. By the time she’d finished, Janet felt as if she might burst with curiosity about the woman, though.

  “I’m off to explore the very best of Derbyshire,” Margaret said, getting up from the table. “I don’t expect I’ll be too late home.”

  Before anyone could speak, she’d turned and left the room. Janet sighed as she began to collect the dirty dishes from the table.

  “You did very well,” Joan said. “I thought for sure you’d start asking all manner of rude questions.”

  “She got away before I could,” Janet grumbled.

  Joan laughed, which didn’t improve Janet’s mood. It was several minutes before either woman thought to check the front door.

  “We have to be more attentive,” Joan scolded her sister. “We don’t want to risk leaving the door unlocked.”

  “You forgot, too,” Janet reminded her crossly as she tested the lock. “It’s locked anyway,” she told her sister. She jumped several inches when someone suddenly knocked.

  “Constable Parsons, how nice to see you,” she said as she pulled the door open.

  The young man smiled back at her. He was only in his mid-twenties, but he was responsible for policing both Doveby Dale and nearby Little Burton. It seemed as if, lately, he’d been rather more busy than normal. Janet thought his brown eyes looked tired and she was sure his brown hair needed to be trimmed.

  “It’s always a pleasure to see you as well,” he replied.

  Knowing that he came over as much for Joan’s baking as anything else, Janet was quick to suggest a cup of tea.

  “I haven’t much time,” he replied. “But I can probably manage a quick cuppa. But you must call me Robe
rt.”

  In the kitchen, Janet put the kettle on while Joan filled a plate with biscuits. Robert took a few and then sat back in his chair.

  “I’m sure you’ve met Mack Fenton by now,” he began.

  “Yes, we have,” Joan agreed. “He came by to introduce himself and then he came back to tell us about the break-in at his garage.”

  Robert frowned. “I did rather hope that he’d leave informing you of that to me,” he said.

  “He just wanted to warn us,” Janet said. “And it is rather worrying.”

  “Yes, and that’s why I’m here,” Robert replied. “There were two other break-ins reported yesterday, all at small businesses in the Doveby Dale area. Nothing of great value was taken from any of them, but then there wasn’t anything of great value to take at any of them, either.”

  “Oh, dear, who else had a break-in?” Joan asked.

  “The little café around the corner,” Robert said. “They shut up for the evening at nine and when they came in this morning they found the back door ajar.”

  “Was much taken?” Janet asked.

  “There was only about thirty pounds in the till, just enough to make change for the breakfast customers,” Robert told her. “As far as they can tell, nothing else was touched.”

  “We’ll have to go and see Todd and Ted later,” Janet said, referring to the two men who owned the café. “They’re such nice young men. It’s a real shame.”

  “I didn’t realise you knew them,” Robert said.

  “We’ve tried to meet everyone in the area,” Janet told him. “And of course, I wanted to eat there before I suggested it to guests.”

  “That makes sense,” Robert said. “Have you sent any guests there lately?”

  “We sent the young couple staying with us there last night,” Janet told him.

  “And what time did they get back to Doveby House?”

  “You can’t possibly suspect them of anything,” Janet said.

  “I suspect everyone,” Robert replied. “But really, I’m just checking. Assuming they were back here before half nine, they’re in the clear.”

  Janet looked at Joan and then frowned into her teacup. “It was closer to ten when they arrived back,” she said softly. “But Harry said something about car trouble; I’m sure that’s all it was.”