“Good morning, Maggie,” Bessie said with a sigh.
“Not so good, really, but it is morning,” Maggie replied. “Thomas is still tucked up in bed, but I wanted to come down and get some work done somewhere. I can’t do anything with the last cottage, but there’s plenty to do in the others.”
“Good for you. I’ve always been an early riser, of course.”
Maggie shrugged. “’I’d much prefer to lie in all day, but then nothing would get done, would it? Thomas has an excuse, of course, because he’s been poorly, but now it’s all down to me and I can’t afford to waste the morning. Did you recognise Phillip Tyler, then?”
Bessie blinked at the sudden change of subject. “Um, no, as I said yesterday, I didn’t look at the body,” she said eventually.
“I was surprised to hear it was him. When he left he said he was never coming back.”
“Did he? I didn’t realise.”
“Oh, yes, that Nicole Carr broke his heart and he never wanted to see her again. He told his friend, Harvey, that he was moving across for good.”
“Moving across for good doesn’t preclude visiting,” Bessie suggested.
“He and Harvey had a big falling out over the whole thing, actually. Phillip said he wasn’t even going to visit, not when there was always a chance that he’d see Nicole while he was here. Harvey didn’t understand the problem. He’s never been in love, of course.”
“Hasn’t he?” Bessie asked, not at all interested in the reply.
“Harvey Holt?” Maggie laughed. “He’ll still be single when he’s fifty. That’s about when he’ll realise that he’s getting older. I imagine he’ll find himself some twenty-five-year-old trophy bride around then.”
Bessie raised an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about him.”
“I rang a few people last night. More than one of my friends had a story about Harvey. He’s broken a few hearts, that man. It would have been better if he’d been the one involved with Nicole. He wouldn’t have cared in the slightest if she’d cheated on him.”
“But Phillip cared very much.”
“He did. So much so that he swore he’d never come back to the island.”
“Except he did come back.”
“Yes, I have a theory about that. I think he was kidnapped across and then dragged back here against his will.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would someone kidnap him and bring him here?”
“So that they could kill him on the island.”
“Surely it would make more sense for them to kill him somewhere else, somewhere where no one knew him, maybe. It would be to the killer’s advantage if no one could identify the body.”
“There must have been a good reason why the killer wanted Phillip to die on the island. Once the police work out the reason, they’ll know who killed him.”
“Unless he was killed because he came back to the island,” Bessie suggested.
“You think Liam Kirk killed him?”
Bessie felt her jaw drop. “I never said that.”
“But he’s the only one who’d have a reason to kill Phillip for coming back to the island.”
“You don’t know that, unless you know why Phillip was killed.”
“He must have been killed because he came back for Nicole,” Maggie said thoughtfully. “She and Liam have been having difficulties. Liam even got himself a flat in Douglas to use when he and Nicole are arguing.”
“Have you told the police all of this?”
“I haven’t spoken to the police. They’ve no reason to question me. I barely knew the man.”
“You seem to know a lot about him.”
“As I said, I rang a few people.”
“People with whom the police will be speaking, I hope.”
Maggie shrugged. “I’ve no idea how a police investigation works. Will the police question Nicole and Liam’s neighbours?”
“I don’t know,” Bessie replied. But I’m going to suggest that they do, she added to herself.
“The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Liam must have killed Phillip to keep him away from Nicole,” Maggie said. “Phillip’s relationship with Nicole was the only interesting thing that he’d ever done.”
“He was very hard working.”
“Yes, but with charities. None of his jobs would have paid very much. It isn’t as if he was wealthy. Money must be the most common motive for murder, and love must come second, surely.”
Bessie thought about the various cases she’d been involved with over the past two years. Maggie was probably right. “Maybe he’s in line to inherit a fortune or some such thing,” Bessie suggested.
“His parents would know about anything like that. What did they say when they visited you yesterday?”
“Nothing about money,” Bessie replied, feeling annoyed that Maggie knew about Rebecca and Peter’s visit. The woman didn’t miss much.
“I’m sure they blamed Nicole. They’re still angry with her, not that I blame them.”
“Did your sources suggest anyone else who might have wanted Phillip dead?”
Maggie shook her head. “It must have been Liam. Phillip was good at fundraising, but all the lovely money that he raised went to good causes, not his own bank account. Oliver might have been annoyed that he was back, I suppose, after the way he left him so suddenly, but I can’t see him killing Phillip over it, not after two years.”
“Phillip left The Liliana Fund suddenly?”
“Don’t you remember? It was right before their annual ball at the Seaview. Phillip had made all of the arrangements, but then he quit overnight and left the island. Poor Oliver had to scramble desperately to make everything happen. Dylan helped, of course, but he isn’t the brightest bulb in the box.”
Bessie frowned. Now that Maggie had mentioned it, she had a vague recollection of the incident. “I can’t see Oliver killing Phillip over a fundraiser that happened two years ago.”
“It was all good in the end, anyway. I believe they raised even more than their goal because people felt sorry for Oliver. Some people ended up buying tickets twice, because Phillip had the list and hadn’t sent out all of the tickets, too. Oliver did he his best to work out who’d paid, but I know at least a handful of couples paid twice.”
“So it all ended well, which must have made Oliver happy.”
“I suppose, but he may still have been angry with Phillip.”
“Perhaps, but murder requires a good deal of anger,” Bessie said, shuddering as she recalled the amount of blood she’d seen.
“I wonder how angry Harvey was,” Maggie said thoughtfully.
“Surely he should have been happy to have Phillip back on the island.”
“Unless Phillip came back to see Nicole and didn’t tell Harvey he was coming. Maybe he found himself in trouble, hiding from Liam, let’s say, and he rang Harvey for help. That might have made Harvey angry, don’t you think?”
“I think we’re wasting our time speculating. Let’s leave the investigating to the police, shall we?”
“Oh, of course, but there’s one other theory I wanted to ask you about.”
“Really?”
“What if Callum Sharp killed Phillp?”
“I’m not sure what motive he would have had.”
“He’s been sleeping rough for weeks. Who knows how long he’d been making himself at home in my cottage? Maybe he broke in the other night and found that Phillip was already there. He’d have been furious.”
“When were you last in the cottage?” Bessie asked.
“I thought I told you that we’ve been working on clearing it out, ready for demolition.”
“So you’d have noticed if Callum was using it as a temporary home.”
“Maybe, if he’d left any mess behind, but perhaps he was very careful not to disturb anything.”
“I suppose that’s possible, but it seems unlikely. You and Thomas know every inch of every cottag
e. You’d have noticed if someone was staying in one without your knowledge.”
Maggie shrugged. “I hope you’re right. We’re having alarms fitted on all of them, although I’m sure they’ll be a nightmare when we have guests. No doubt Thomas or I will be down here every night resetting alarms that guests have set off themselves because they’ve forgotten the codes.”
“Will you change the codes after each guest, then?”
“Oh, heavens, I don’t know. I suppose we’ll have to, won’t we, or there’s no point in having the codes in the first place. Thomas and I need to think this through. Perhaps the alarms could only be used when the cottages are empty. Then we wouldn’t need to change the codes, as Thomas and I would be the only ones who would know them.” She sighed. “Maybe we should think about selling.”
“I hope you don’t,” Bessie told her.
Maggie shrugged. “I wish I had time to stand and chat with you all day, but I’ve ever so much work to do, you know. Let me know if you hear anything about the murder. I’m sure the next thing that will happen will be Liam’s arrest. Mark my words on that.”
Bessie nodded as Maggie turned and walked away. After a sigh and a deep breath, Bessie set off at a rapid pace across the sand. She passed Thie yn Traie quickly and kept pushing onwards. Curtains were tightly drawn in all of the windows at the new houses. Bessie kept walking, not stopping until she reached the large sign that gave the details of yet another housing estate being developed on the beach.
“Only seven plots remaining,” the sign said in big letters. Bessie counted and then smiled to herself. There were only eight plots in the development, so they’d sold a single plot thus far. Unless they were hugely overpriced, Bessie didn’t doubt that they’d end up selling them all fairly quickly, though. House prices kept going up all over the island.
She stood next to the sign and stared at the beach that still stretched out in front of her. While she was tempted to keep walking, it was getting late and she had a busy day in front of her. With a small sigh, she turned back towards home.
Hugh was opening the dining room curtains at his house as Bessie strolled past. “Good morning,” he called as he opened the sliding doors to the beach.
“Good morning. I hope you slept well,” Bessie said as she walked over to join him on the small patio behind the house.
Hugh flushed. “I feel a bit guilty, sleeping well, because I know Grace is up and down with the baby all night, but she has her mother with her and they both told me to come home and get some extra rest before Grace and the baby get here.”
“I haven’t wanted to ask, but do you have a name for the baby?”
Hugh sighed. “We’re struggling a bit with that, actually. We agreed on a name before the baby was born, but now Grace isn’t sure that it suits her. We can’t keep calling her the baby forever, but for now that’s easier than arguing all the time.”
Bessie grinned. “How long do you have before you have to register the birth?”
“I’m not sure, but a few weeks, anyway. It isn’t me being difficult, though, it’s Grace and her mother. They don’t agree and neither is prepared to compromise.”
“Oh, dear. I am sorry.”
Hugh shrugged. “I’m going to work for a few hours this morning and then spend the afternoon with Grace and the baby. I’m going to tell Grace’s mum to go home for a few hours and rest. Maybe Grace and I can agree on a name while she’s gone.”
“Good luck.”
“We’re going to need it. I believe they’re keeping Grace for one more night, so I should be at the gathering tonight. John said he’d collect dinner from the new Indian restaurant that just opened across from the station. Doona will be bringing pudding.”
“As much as I hope Grace gets home soon, I do hope you’ll be there tonight.”
Hugh nodded. “I’d hate to miss one of our discussions about a case, especially this case, since I found the body.”
Bessie was tired when she got back to Treoghe Bwaane. She drank a glass of cold water and then switched the kettle on for tea. Maybe, if she hurried, she’d have time to transcribe another of Onnee’s letters before her meeting at two o’clock, she thought. The phone interrupted her plans.
“Is there any chance you could do a lunch meeting?” Mark asked when Bessie answered. “Otherwise, we’ll have to move the meeting to six o’clock tonight.”
“I can do lunch,” Bessie said. “I can’t do this evening.”
Mark sighed. “Sometimes organising this committee is more work than organising the entire event.”
Bessie laughed. “Everyone is busy this time of year.”
“Yes, I know. I don’t suppose anyone would come if we did Christmas at the Castle in September, though.”
“No, probably not.”
“I’ll collect you in half an hour, if that’s okay.”
“I can get a taxi.”
“But you’re practically on my way as I’m working in Ramsey today,” he replied. “Or rather, I’m working in Ramsey this morning. I suspect I’ll be at Castle Rushen all afternoon. You’ll probably need to get a taxi home after our meeting.”
“I’ll see you in half an hour, then.”
Bessie put the phone down and headed for the stairs. It only took her a few minutes to comb out a few windblown tangles from her hair. She added a touch of lipstick to her lips and decided that she was done. The other committee members all knew her well. She could be herself with them.
Mark was at her door a short while later. “I’m sorry about all of the changes in plans,” he said as he drove south.
“I’m the one who couldn’t make it yesterday,” Bessie reminded him.
“It wasn’t just you, though, and it was the first time you’ve ever had an issue. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the committee.”
“You said Mary couldn’t make it yesterday either?”
“One of her grandchildren had a bit of an accident. He’s fine,” Mark added quickly, “but she wanted to be at Noble’s with her daughter-in-law while they were treating his bumps and bruises.”
“It isn’t like Mary to miss a meeting, either.”
“No, she’s a wonderful asset to our committee.”
Bessie hid a smile. After everything that had happened last year, Mark had been very careful this year when selecting committee members. Carolyn Teare, who’d been nearly impossible to work with, had been left off the list. In her place, Mark had added another wealthy woman who made a habit of joining committees. Anabella Patterson turned out to be a very hard worker when she managed to actually be at the meetings. It was getting her to attend that was difficult. Her husband, Edgar, travelled a great deal, and Anabella often dropped everything to fly to wherever he was, just for a day or two. Bessie had lost track of how many meetings had been rescheduled because Anabella had suddenly been unavailable. As December had progressed, Mark had finally decided that the committee would simply meet without Anabella if necessary.
“I thought we were about done with committee meetings, actually,” Bessie said. “We aren’t that far away from opening night.”
“We aren’t, but we have something of a problem to deal with, which is why we’re meeting today.”
“Oh?”
Mark sighed. “I’d prefer to just wait and discuss it with the whole committee, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. Tell me about your plans for Christmas,” Bessie suggested.
They chatted for the rest of the journey about Christmas dinner and the best way to roast a turkey. As Mark parked in the car park next to the castle, Bessie found herself smiling up at Castle Rushen. The huge medieval castle was still one of her favourite places on the island, even after having to spend so much time working there for the past month or so. The clock on the tower, a gift to the island from the first Queen Elizabeth, showed exactly midday as Mark escorted Bessie across the street and up the steps to the castle’s entrance.
“Everyone else is already here,” D
on, one of Manx National Heritage’s staff, told Mark.
Mark nodded and then led Bessie towards the staff rooms that were tucked up behind the spaces open to the public.
Bessie greeted Mary Quayle with a hug. “I hope your grandson is okay,” she said.
“He’s fine. He has a few bruises, and he may even be left with a scar on his forehead, but he’s delighted with the idea and has already come up with a dozen different exciting stories to tell people about how it happened.”
“How did it happen?”
“He tripped over his own feet and fell down a few stairs,” Mary told her. “He hit his head on the banister on his way down.”
“That sounds painful.”
“He’s young enough to not really mind.”
“Can’t you go anywhere without finding a body?” Anabella demanded as she greeted Bessie with elaborate air kisses.
“I didn’t find the body,” Bessie said, feeling as if she’d said that a dozen times already.
“Technically, maybe not, but you were there,” Anabella said. “I told my darling Edgar that I was going to start following you everywhere. I’ve never found a body in my life and I think it would be quite exciting, just the once.”
“It isn’t at all exciting,” Bessie said flatly.
Anabella shrugged. “I haven’t time to follow you around anyway. Please don’t find any bodies at Christmas at the Castle this year. We’ve all worked too hard to have to deal with all of that.”
“Bessie, there you are,” Marjorie Stevens interrupted. “How are you coming with Onnee’s letters?”
“I’ve completed the first year, but it’s hard going. Every time I think I’m getting accustomed to the woman’s handwriting, she seems to change a few letters here and there. It’s frustrating, but fascinating.”
“I want to hear all about it after Christmas,” Marjorie said. “There are another forty-eight years of letters for you, as well.”
Bessie sighed. “I may need forty-eight years to get through them all.”
“Bessie, dear, I was so sorry to hear that you’d found another body,” Agnes Clucas said.
As she gave Agnes a hug, Bessie made a face. “I didn’t actually find the body,” she said again.
Aunt Bessie Understands Page 6
