The Chalmers Case by Diana Xarissa Page B

of the office.   I’ve many more boxes full of finished
items at home, anyway.   Let me know
if you need more.”
    “We’ll let you
know when we need more,” Joan
corrected her.  
    Susan smiled
at the words and then went back into the police station while the sisters
climbed into their car.
    “We should
have told her about the paintings in the back of the antique shop,” Janet said.
    “Why?”
    “Because then
Robert could investigate.”
    “The man sells
artwork,” Joan said.   “It doesn’t
seem strange to me that he has a few unfinished paintings in his back room.”
    “But someone
was working in there,” Janet said.   “Even though he told us he doesn’t sell work by local artists.”
    “Just because
someone was working in his back room, doesn’t mean they are a local artist,”
Joan pointed out.   “I think you’re
just looking for a bit of excitement like in all the books you read.”
    “Bessie seems
to get caught up in murder investigations all the time.   I don’t see why you don’t think William
might be doing something criminal.   I haven’t accused him of murder or anything like that.   Just a little bit of art forgery.”
    Joan shook her
head.   “Bessie is a dear woman who
has had a terrible run of bad fortune lately.   I can’t imagine how terrible it must be
to keep finding dead bodies and discovering people you know are murderers.   But sometimes I think you’re just
looking for something out of the ordinary so you can tell Bessie that our lives
are just as exciting as hers.”
    Janet opened
her mouth to reply and then shut it again while she thought about what Joan had
said.   She didn’t envy Bessie Cubbon , the friend they’d made on a recent trip to the Isle
of Man.   There was such a thing as too much excitement, and it seemed as if Bessie was
having rather more than was good for one person at the moment.   But Janet didn’t think she was being
unreasonable in suspecting William Chalmers of doing something illegal in his
new shop.  
    “I still don’t
like the man,” she said loudly.
    “I don’t like
him either, but that doesn’t mean he’s a criminal.”
    “Susan told us
he’s a criminal,” Janet reminded her sister.
    Joan shook her
head.   She’d driven them back to Doveby House and now she parked the car.
    “There was no
point in going grocery shopping with the car stuffed full of Susan’s things,”
she told Janet.   “Let’s unload them
and then one of us can go back out.”
    Janet pulled
the first box from where it was tucked in the backseat.   Joan was doing the same on the other
side of the car.  
    “Here, let me
help,” Janet heard Michael calling from behind her.  
    “I’ll lend a
hand as well,” Stuart added as he appeared from the garden.   “I was just looking for an excuse to
take a break from trimming hedges, anyway.”
    The women were
happy to let the men carry the boxes into the house for them.   It took them several trips, and Joan had
the kettle on before they’d finished.
    “Come and have
a cuppa , then,” she told them after they’d brought in
the last box.
    “Just a quick
one,” Stuart said.
    “I was just
heading out to do some grocery shopping,” Michael told Joan.   “So I’ll want to make it quick as well.”
    “Why don’t you
go with Michael and do the shopping and I’ll start figuring out where we want
to display Susan’s items,” Janet suggested after they’d all enjoyed tea and
biscuits.
    “I thought we
could use the long table against the wall in the sitting room,” Joan told
her.   “It’s not being used for
anything else.”
    “I was
thinking the same thing,” Janet replied.   “I’ll just pull out a few examples of each item and try my hand at
making a proper display.   I’m sure
you’ll change everything once you get back, though.”
    Joan
laughed.   “Let’s see how you do,”
she said.  
    Janet noticed
that she didn’t rule out changing everything, which didn’t