The Bennett Case (A Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Diana Xarissa

her.   She locked it carefully and then crept
to the stairs.   Stepping carefully
to avoid making any noise, she made her way down to the ground floor.   It was dark, but there was enough light
from the moon streaming in various windows that Janet felt fairly confident
that she could move through the house without turning on any lights.   She reached the television room without
incident and was relieved to find it empty.  
    Just as she
was about to cross to the library door, she heard a faint creaking noise.   Stepping back into the sitting room, she
slipped behind the door between the two rooms.   The library door opened slowly, creaking
again as it did so.   A moment later
Edward emerged from the room.   He
turned and did something to the door that he’d closed behind him.   After glancing left and right, he made
his way through the television room and then through the sitting room.
    Janet held her
breath as he walked past her and then headed up the stairs.   She listened to his footsteps on the
stairs as they faded away.   Making
her way to the library, she checked the door.   It was locked.   Did Edward have his own key or had he
somehow broken in and then managed to lock up behind himself, she
wondered.   She stood at the door,
debating what to do, for several minutes.   The sound of a car driving slowly past the house spooked her just enough
to send her back up the stairs to her bedroom.  
    She climbed
the stairs as quietly as she could, slipping into her room.   As she pushed her door shut, she was
certain she heard the door to the west room across the hall opening.   Turning her key in the lock as quietly
as she could, Janet stood for several minutes listening.   When she heard nothing at all, she
sighed to herself and headed for bed.   It seemed only a few moments later that the alarm she’d actually
remembered to set for a change woke her.
      Joan was already working on preparing
breakfast when Janet joined her at half seven.
    “I thought you
might lie in after your late date,” Joan said as a greeting.
    “I didn’t
think you’d approve,” Janet replied.
    While Joan did
the cooking, Janet went out in the light rain to cut some flowers for the
table.   She was just arranging them
into vases when Edward came into the kitchen.
    “Good morning,
ladies,” he said with a bright smile.   “I hope everyone slept well.”
    “Very well,
thanks,” Joan answered.
    “Yes, very
well,” Janet muttered as she slid bread into the toaster.
    “Excellent,”
he replied.
    Joan and
Edward chatted about nothing at all over breakfast.   Janet ate her share of everything, but
she felt tired and out of sorts as she did so.   Joan had made both tea and coffee and
Janet found herself drinking cup after cup of coffee, hoping the caffeine would
make a difference.
    “Are you
okay?” Edward asked, his voice full of concern, as Janet began to clear the
dishes from the table.
    “I’m fine,”
Janet replied.   “Just a little
tired.”
    “Does that
mean you don’t want to have dinner with me again tonight?” he asked quietly.
    Janet glanced
at her sister, but Joan was busy at the sink, running water for washing
up.  
    “I think I
need an early night,” Janet replied, hoping he would accept the excuse.
    “Perhaps we
should have lunch together instead,” he suggested.
    “I have to
help Joan with things most of today,” Janet said, desperately trying to think
of a more believable pretext to offer.
    Before Edward
could reply, a chime sounded.
    “What’s that?”
Joan asked.
    “It’s the bell
on the conservatory door,” Edward told her.   “You have a visitor.”
    “I didn’t know
there was a bell on those doors,” Joan said.  
    Janet headed
for the French doors, eager to get away from the conversation she’d been
having.   Stuart was standing outside
the French doors with another man Janet had never seen before.
    “Hello,
Stuart, how are you?” she asked after she’d opened the