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

glanced back towards the road before rushing
inside.  
    “Are you okay?” Joan asked.  
    They were both flushed and Lynne seemed to
be struggling to catch her breath.   She held up a hand and took several deep breaths.   Charles watched her, his face anxious.
    “I’m fine,” Lynne said after a moment.   “Although I think I need some water.”
    Janet glanced at Joan.   She didn’t mind getting the woman a
drink, but she didn’t want to miss anything else Lynne might say that might
explain the couple’s strange behaviour .
    “Why don’t we all go into the kitchen,” Joan
suggested.   “You can have some water
and I’ll put the kettle on as well.   A cup of tea might help as well.”
    “It can’t hurt,” Charles said heartily.
    Janet gave Lynne a glass of water and then
put out a plate of biscuits while Joan fixed the tea.   Charles and Lynne sat at the kitchen
table, seemingly glaring at one another while Lynne sipped her glass of water
slowly.
    “I do hope everything is okay,” Janet said
politely as she joined the couple at the table.
    “It’s fine,” Lynne snapped.   She took a deep breath.   “We, um, well, we had a bit of car
trouble, you see.   We had to leave the
car and walk back, which we weren’t expecting.”
    “You should have rung for a taxi,” Janet said.   “There are a few taxis in Doveby Dale and Little Burton.   You shouldn’t have had to wait long.”
    “I just hate to spend the money,” Lynne
replied.   “It didn’t seem like a
long walk, really.   But it
definitely felt like one.”
    Janet nodded.   “But what about the car?” she
asked.   “Did you have it towed
somewhere?”
    Lynne looked over at Charles and he shrugged
at her.   After a moment, he replied.
    “We’ll get it sorted in the morning,” he
said.   “It’s too late to try to find
a garage tonight.”
    “There isn’t one in Doveby Dale at the moment,” Janet told him.   “We had a little repair shop, but it’s no longer open.”
    “I guess we’ll have to try Little Burton or
maybe just get the car towed back to Derby,” Lynne said.
    “I might be able to tinker with it a bit,”
Charles muttered.   “Get it going
enough to get us home, anyway.”
    “I hope that doesn’t mean you’re planning to
leave early,” Janet said.
    “Oh, we might just have to,” Lynne
replied.   “We’ll have to see what
tomorrow brings.”
    “I’m ready for bed,” Charles announced, standing
up from the table.   “Good night.”
    He left the room quickly, leaving Janet and
Joan staring after him.   Lynne
swallowed the last of her tea and then disappeared after him, muttering
something inaudible at the sisters as she left.
    “That was strange,” Joan said.
    “They were strange,” Janet retorted.   “I’m not sure I believe that they had
car trouble.”
    “But if they didn’t, why did they walk back
from town?”
    Janet shrugged.   “I wish Robert had seen that,” she
said.   “Maybe we should ring and
tell him about it.”
    “I don’t know,” Joan said.   “It isn’t like they did anything
wrong.   Even if they didn’t have car
trouble, there’s nothing that says they can’t walk here from town if they want
to.”
    “It just feels odd to me,” Janet
replied.   “Like they’re hiding
something.”
    The sound of the house’s front door opening
stopped their conversation.   Janet
quickly made her way to the front of the house.  
    “And again it’s all my fault,” Paula was
shouting at Peter as Janet entered the sitting room.   “Everything is my fault, isn’t it?”
    “That isn’t what I said,” Peter replied, his
voice slightly calmer than his wife’s.  
    “You didn’t have to say it, I know you
thought it,” she snapped back.
    “Your mind reading talents are impressive,”
he replied dryly.
    “Did you have a nice evening?” Janet asked
loudly.
    Paula gasped, and both of them turned to
look at Janet.  
    “I’m sorry,” Paula said, her