Free The Donaldson Case by Diana Xarissa

respect for
the controlled substances we work with.   The idea of one of us selling them on the street is just crazy.”
    “How are you
feeling?” Joan asked after the awkward silence that followed Owen’s
pronouncement.
    “I’m fine,” he
said with a wave of his hand.   “Really, they should have let me go last week, but I’ve no one to go
home to and they don’t want me totally on my own for a while.   I’m lucky it’s pretty quiet in here and
they haven’t had to ship me off somewhere else.”
    “I’m glad
you’re doing so well,” Joan replied.  
    “I’ll still be
signed off work for another six weeks or so,” he told her.   “That’s why they sent this Matthew
Rogers up.   He’s meant to cover for
me.”
    “Could he be
the culprit?” Janet asked.
    “I’ve never
met the man, but the bosses at the central headquarters seem to think very
highly of him.”   Owen shrugged.   “As I understand it, he was only here for
about an hour before he rang the police.   Changing all of the records and things would have taken quite a bit of
time.   I can’t see how he’d have
managed it.”
    “Michael said
there have been a lot more returns and other little issues lately as well,”
Janet said, hoping she wasn’t being too nosy.
    “There have
been too many people in and out of there since I’ve been unwell,” Owen told
her.   “I wanted Michael to cover for
me, but head office kept chopping and changing things.   Michael did a few days and then they
called George and he did a week, but before he was properly settled in they
called Ethan for the next week.   It’s hardly surprising that a few little errors occurred.”
    Janet
nodded.   “Have you spoken to the
police?” she asked.
    Joan shook her
head, but Janet ignored her.
    “They’ve been
to talk to me a couple of times,” Owen replied.   “But I haven’t had much to tell them.”
    “We should
have brought you a book,” Joan exclaimed.   “I do hope you have plenty to keep you busy while you’re here.”
    Janet sat back
and let her sister chat with the man about the relative merits of crossword
puzzles and science fiction novels.   She had dozens more questions to ask, but she didn’t want to be
rude.   After twenty minutes, a nurse
stuck her head in.
    “Sorry to
interrupt, but the doctor would like to see Mr. Carter now,” she said.
    “We should be
going anyway,” Janet replied, standing up quickly.   “It’s been lovely to see you, though.”
    “Likewise,” he
said.   “I do hope you’ll stop to
visit me at the shop once I’m back to work.”
    “Of course we
will,” Janet assured him.   They
walked with him down the corridor to his room, as it was on their way out.
    “Thank you
both for stopping by,” he said at his door.   “It’s always nice to have visitors.”
    “It was nice
to see you, too,” Janet told him.   “We’ll see you back in Doveby Dale soon.”
    “Are we still
planning to walk to the shop where George Hawkins is working?” Janet asked as
the sisters boarded the lift.
    “I suppose
so,” Joan replied.   “It isn’t
raining and it doesn’t look far on the map.”
    They stopped
at the car to check the map again and then set out, happy that they had a
better idea of where they were going than they had in the hospital.   The walk was longer than they’d expected,
however, and Janet was quite pleased to finally see the shop in the distance
after several minutes of making their way through the busy city streets.
    At the door to
the shop, Janet paused.   “I don’t
know what to say here either,” she told Joan.   “I’m so glad that Michael told Owen we
were coming.   That broke the ice
nicely.”
    “Maybe he’s
told George as well,” Joan suggested.
    “Oh,
dear.   I was just planning on doing
some shopping and then trying to start a conversation.   If Michael’s told him we’re coming, that
makes it awkward,” Janet said.
    Before they
could debate further, a