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

our old cottage,” Joan pointed out.   “These have been in here for some time.   We can go through them after we’ve
figured out a system for cataloguing what we already have.”
    Janet nodded
reluctantly.   Joan was right, but
somehow these books, hidden away in the coach house, seemed more interesting
than the ones neatly shelved in the library.
    “We’d better
get back to work,” Stuart said.   “Thank you for the tea break.”
    “Any time,”
Joan told him.   She picked up the
tray and she and Janet headed back towards the house.   Janet could hear the men talking in low
voices as they walked away, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.
    In the
kitchen, Joan pulled out some cold cuts and bread for sandwiches.   “I’ll cook something nice for dinner,”
she said.   “I hope a light lunch is
okay.”
    “It’s fine,”
Janet agreed.   She wasn’t really
hungry.   Her mind was on too many
other things.
    “I’ll make a
steak and kidney pie for later,” Joan said.   “Is Edward going to be joining us?”
    “I don’t
know,” Janet snapped.   “He certainly
didn’t tell me his plans.”
    Joan patted
her arm.   “Never mind.   I’ll make two pies so we’re sure to have
plenty.   If it’s just the two of us,
I can freeze the second one for a rainy day.”
    After their
lunch, Joan got to work on the pies while Janet made her way back to the
library.   She spent several minutes
twisting and turning the dial on the wall safe that they’d discovered,
occasionally attempting to open the door.   It was a pointless exercise and she knew that, but she couldn’t stop
herself from trying.
    The letters in
the desk seemed to be calling to her, teasing her and tempting her to read
them.   She felt a curious mix of
curiosity and dread whenever she thought about the letters from Edward.
    They may not
even be from Edward Bennett, she told herself, as she headed towards the
desk.   Edward is a common name,
after all.   She sat down in the desk
chair and pulled open the bottom desk drawer.   The folders were right where she’d left
them, and she quickly found the one that she was looking for.  
    “Here goes
nothing,” she muttered to herself as she opened the folder.
    Half an hour
later she shut the folder and pushed it away from her.   While the letters were less explicit
than she’d feared, it was clear from reading them that Edward and Maggie had
been lovers .   What she couldn’t be certain of was whether this Edward was Edward Bennett.   All of the letters were simply signed “Edward”
or even just “E,” which was no help.  
    They were
fairly short and said little more than how much Edward missed Maggie and what
he was planning to do with her when he saw her again.   If the author had deliberately tried to
avoid providing any information about himself , he
couldn’t have done a better job of it.
    Already
feeling uncomfortable about reading someone else’s private correspondence,
Janet opened the next folder and read through some far more graphic notes from
someone called Simon.   There were
only a few of them, but the content left her blushing.   They also gave her a surprising amount
of information about Simon.   While
the letters weren’t long, Simon managed to mention his job (dentist), where he
lived (Bristol), and with whom he lived (his wife, who didn’t understand
him).  
    Janet felt
struck by the contrast between Simon’s correspondence and Edward’s.   She sighed and shook her head.   Maybe she was creating something from
nothing.   The Edward in the letters
might not be the Edward who was staying with them anyway.   She put all of the folders back in the
bottom desk drawer and stood up.   She’d be better off helping Joan fix dinner than sitting here snooping
through Maggie’s past.

 
    Chapter
Eight
    Joan already
had the pies in the oven, so Janet decided to curl up with a book for a short
while.   She felt unsettled and a bit
cross