The Ellsworth Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novella Book 5) by Diana Xarissa

Janet cheerfully.  
    She stood and watched him push the
wheelbarrow back out of the room.   He was back a few minutes later with a large box.   “I’m sorry, but what did you say that
was?” she asked.
    “It’s some sort of silkscreen printing
machine,” he told her.   “I don’t
really know what it does or how it works, but my wife used to print shirts for
herself and others.”
    “I see,” Janet said slowly.  
    “Thanks again,” Stuart told her as he locked
up the carriage house behind them.   “The next time my daughter visits, I’ll try to persuade her to take a
few things home with her.”
    “You don’t think you could use a silkscreen
machine to print money?” Janet asked Joan when she returned to the house.
    “No, I don’t think you could,” Joan told
her.   “They wouldn’t sell them to
the public if just anyone could print money on them, would they?”
    Janet shrugged.   “Maybe not,” she said after a
moment.   “But I still think it’s
interesting that Stuart is suddenly hiding that machine in our carriage house.”
    “I do hope you aren’t suggesting that he’s
the counterfeiter and now he’s hiding the evidence in our carriage house,” Joan
said sharply.   “We could get into a
lot of trouble with the police if that’s the case.”
    “I’m sure it isn’t,” Janet said.   “It’s just odd.”
    “I thought you were going to work in the
library,” Joan said pointedly.
    “I was, but now I think I’d like to pop into
town and visit with William,” Janet said.   “I’d really like to have a word with him about his art.”
    “Would you now?” Joan asked in a suspicious
voice.  
    “Yes, I would,” Janet said.   “I’m hoping that Karen won’t
be around.   She can’t be there all
the time.”
    “I suppose I’ll come as well,” Joan
said.   “If he is ready to talk about
selling us some paintings, we’ll have to agree on a fair price.   And maybe, if Karen is there, you can
distract her while I chat with William.”
    The sisters made the short trip into town.   Janet couldn’t help but look around the
small car park as Joan parked their car.   “I don’t see the Walters’s car here anywhere,” she remarked.
    “Maybe they got it towed,” Joan
replied.   “I don’t see that it’s any
of your business.”
    The antique shop looked empty as the women
entered.   For once, the loud buzzer
didn’t sound as the pushed the door open.  
    “Maybe William is in the back,” Janet
suggested.   She crossed towards the
doorway to the back, but stopped when she heard voices.
    “You’d better do exactly what I say,” a
woman shouted.   “Or you’ll be
sorry.”
    “Don’t be angry, pet.”   Janet recognised William’s voice as he tried to placate the woman.
    “But you aren’t listening to me,” the woman
shot back.   Janet was sure now that
it was Karen Holmes who was shouting at William.  
    “I am listening, but I’m not prepared to...”
    Janet wasn’t sure what he wasn’t prepared to
do, as just then Karen began to shout over him.   Janet found herself blushing brightly as
some very colourful language met her ears.   After glancing over at Joan, who was
still standing near the door and either couldn’t hear or was pretending not to,
Janet sighed deeply.
    “Knock, knock,” she shouted as loudly as she
could.   “William?   Are you in the back, then?”   While she was shouting, she shuffled as quietly
as she could back towards the front door.   She heard a shocked exclamation from the back, and then William and
Karen appeared it the doorway.
    “Ah, Janet and Joan, what a lovely
surprise,” William said smoothly, glancing nervously at Karen.
    “Hello,” Karen said.   “How nice of you to drop in.”   Her tone was bright with artificial
cheer, but Janet fancied that she looked angry.
    “It’s so lovely to see you again,” Janet
gushed.   She walked over to
Karen.   “I wasn’t sure if you were
still in the