The Donaldson Case by Diana Xarissa

Author:Diana Xarissa [Xarissa, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, British Detectives, Cozy, Traditional Detectives
Amazon: B019JK4HQY
Published: 2016-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Back at home, Janet was delighted to see Michael’s car parked in front of his house.

“Michael’s back,” she said happily.

“I’ll just ring him and see if he wants to come over early,” Joan replied.

Janet went into the kitchen to put the kettle on while Joan was on the phone. A moment later her sister joined her.

“He’ll be here at six,” she told Janet. “Although he took a lot of persuading. He’s very upset about this whole thing.”

“I don’t blame him,” Janet replied. “You’ll have to try to cheer him up over dinner.”

“I wish you weren’t going out tonight,” Joan said.

Janet went into the sitting room and played through the messages on their answering machine and then laughed. “Your wish just came true,” she told Joan when she rejoined her in the kitchen. “My meeting has been cancelled. Nancy has the flu.”

Joan smiled slightly. “I’m sorry for you, but pleased for me,” she said quietly.

Considering her sister’s current mood, Janet decided it was the perfect night for her to help out with dinner. They kept it simple and Janet watched carefully and kept pots turned up or down as needed, so that by the time Michael arrived the food was ready and nothing was spoiled.

“I’m not really in the mood for company tonight,” Michael said as a greeting. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Janet said. “You’re worried about the mess at the shop. That’s totally understandable.”

“I’m trying to put it out of my mind,” Michael said sadly. “But I’m failing miserably.”

“So let’s talk about it over dinner and see if we can’t work anything out,” Janet said.

Joan gave her an angry look, but Janet ignored it. She knew Joan didn’t want Michael to know they were investigating, but they couldn’t do much of anything without some help from the man.

“I’d rather talk about just about anything but the shop,” Michael said.

“I think everything is ready,” Joan interrupted. “Let’s eat.”

“You two sit down and I’ll serve,” Janet said firmly. Joan looked as if she might argue, but after a moment she sank down onto one of the chairs at the small kitchen table. Michael sat down next to her and sighed.

“Let me open a bottle of wine,” Janet suggested.

While none of the three drank often, wine sounded like exactly when they needed tonight. Janet dug a bottle of red out of the small cupboard in the corner and opened it quickly. She poured and served the wine before passing around a large bowl of salad.

The conversation felt stilted at first, but gradually everyone began to relax. Janet mentioned a television programme she’d seen a few nights earlier and the trio settled into a chat about the quality, or lack thereof, of television these days. Janet served generous portions while the conversation ebbed and flowed and the wine disappeared.

“I didn’t make a pudding,” Joan said as Janet cleared the dinner plates.

“We can have ice cream,” Janet suggested. “There are a few different types in the freezer.”

“Ice cream sounds good,” Michael agreed easily. “Do you have chocolate?”

“Chocolate or chocolate with chocolate chips,” Janet answered.

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