Aunt Bessie Understands

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’ll be back one day soon,” Bessie promised as she headed for the door.

  “Thank you so much.”

  Feeling as if things had just improved in her world, Bessie walked back down the hill smiling. Back at Treoghe Bwaane, she put the biscuit packets and other things away and then sat down with a book while she waited for her friends.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m early,” Doona said as she hugged Bessie. “I hope you don’t mind. I did bring pudding.”

  Bessie laughed. “You know you’re always more than welcome, with or without pudding.” She took the bakery box and set it on the counter, only just resisting the temptation to look inside. Doona had taken a seat at the kitchen table. “How are you?” Bessie asked.

  “I’m okay, I suppose,” Doona replied with a sigh.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, really.” Doona sighed again as Bessie sat down next to her. Anyone who didn’t know the pair might think they were unlikely friends. Doona was twice divorced and in her forties. She and Bessie had met when Doona had signed up for the beginner’s class in the Manx language, hoping to meet some unattached men. Instead, Doona had been the youngest in the class by a considerable margin. She and Bessie had bonded over the difficult Celtic tongue while Bessie helped Doona get through the difficult end of her second marriage.

  In the years since, the pair had supported one another through numerous murder investigations, including that of Doona’s second husband. Now Bessie was trying to limit her involvement in Doona’s personal life as the woman seemed to be getting closer and closer to John Rockwell.

  “I think I’m going to quit my job,” Doona blurted out after a moment.

  “You aren’t happy at the station?” Bessie asked.

  Doona had moved to Laxey from elsewhere on the island, to take a job with the island’s constabulary as civilian front desk staff at the Laxey police station.

  “I wouldn’t say that exactly, but, well, I don’t know. I’m spending a lot of time with the children and it would be easier if I weren’t working. They don’t need me around all the time, obviously, but Amy needed a ride somewhere yesterday and John and I were both working. I felt terrible telling her that I couldn’t take her to her game.”

  “There are buses and taxis,” Bessie pointed out.

  Doona flushed and nodded. “And I’m sure most of her friends arrived by bus, but I feel responsible for her and Thomas, especially as Sue isn’t around.”

  Sue, John’s ex-wife, was honeymooning in Africa with her second husband, Harvey. She and Harvey had been a couple years before Sue had met John. They’d ended things, at least partly because Harvey hadn’t wanted children. Some years after Sue had married John, while she was pregnant with their first child, she’d admitted to him that she was still in love with Harvey. John and Sue had tried hard to make their relationship work anyway, even having a second child together, but when circumstances reunited Sue and Harvey, the marriage had crumbled. Harvey was an oncologist who’d always dreamt of travelling to a developing country where he could help people in need. Now he and Sue were following his dream, leaving the children, who were in their teens, with John. They’d left in July with plans to return in September, but it was nearly Christmas and from what Bessie had heard, they still hadn’t arranged return flights.

  “John doesn’t know when she’ll be back yet?” Bessie asked.

  “No, she hasn’t rung in over a week, which is worrying in its own way. At first she rang twice a week, then it dropped to once a week, but at least she still rang every Wednesday. When she rang last week she only talked to John for a minute, and spoke with the children for not much more than that, really. She and Harvey were heading into a more remote area, but she promised that she’d find a way to ring this week, no matter what.”

  “Is John worried?”

  “A little bit. I think he’s also frustrated. The kids are upset and worried, and there’s nothing John can do to make things better. I just keep thinking that, as I don’t need to work, I could quit and help out more.”

  Doona had been shocked to discover that her second husband had left his entire estate to her, even though they’d been separated when he’d died. Once she’d been cleared of his murder, she’d received a small settlement, but the rest of the estate was currently caught up in a messy battle with the man’s former business partner and several solicitors. The business partner had been found guilty of a number of crimes, so the courts were busy trying to work out how much, if any, of Doona’s former husband’s estate had been amassed through criminal activity. A short while ago, though, her solicitor in the UK had sent her a cheque for a large amount of money from a life insurance policy he’d discovered. Doona could quit work at any time and live off of her unexpected inheritance.

  “At least you’re around to help some of the time,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, but that’s starting to cause tensions, too.”

  “Oh?”

  “John and I need to talk. I’m happy to help with the kids, as his friend and because they’re great kids, but they seem to think that John and I are, well, a couple. Amy has even been asking me about wedding dresses and whether she and Thomas can be in the wedding party. John has to talk to them and make them understand that he and I are just friends.”

  “But are you?” Bessie asked.

  Doona blinked hard. “I wish I knew what John was thinking,” she said softly. “He’s become far too important to me, him and the kids. I don’t want to get my heart broken, but it may be too late for that.”

  Bessie patted her arm. “As you say, you need to talk to him.”

  “Yes, but we never seem to find the time to talk. Obviously, we can’t talk at work, but when we’re together, the kids are always there. Thomas stays up later than John most nights, so it isn’t as if we can tuck them up in bed and then have a serious conversation. There simply isn’t any time.”

  “You should have had him drive you tonight.”

  “He’s coming straight from the station. I had the afternoon off.”

  “Maybe it’s time for Amy and Thomas to spend a night here,” Bessie suggested. “I’d love to have them, and then you and John could have that conversation.”

  “Maybe you should suggest it to John. Not the part about him and me talking, but the part about having the kids, anyway.”

  “I’ll do that tonight. As I said, I’d love to have them.”

  “I’m sure they’d enjoy staying here as well. Even in winter, the beach is beautiful.”

  “Is seeing John every day at work difficult?” Bessie asked.

  “It’s just frustrating. I have so many things I want to say to him and I can’t. I took a message in to him in his office this morning, and I very nearly grabbed him and kissed him. He just looked so gorgeous, sitting at his desk with his jacket off and his shirt partly unbuttoned. He would have fired me, no doubt.”

  “He may have because it wasn’t appropriate behaviour for work, but maybe not because of the kiss.”

  Doona smiled “I’d love to believe that you’re right about that.”

  “Let’s see what I can do about having the children for a night,” Bessie said. “Maybe, instead of having a long talk with the man, you could simply kiss him.”

  Doona blushed again. “I’m not sure I’m that brave.”

  Another knock on the door had Bessie getting back on her feet. Hugh rushed in and gave Bessie a big hug.

  “They’re coming home tomorrow,” he said loudly. “Grace and the baby are coming home tomorrow.”

  “That’s good news,” Bessie said.

  Hugh looked at her with a wild expression in his eyes. “I’m not sure about that. I don’t know anything about looking after babies. I know Grace’s mum will be there for a few days, but she might want to sleep some time, and I know Grace will have to sleep, too. What if they leave me in charge of the baby?”

  Bessie and Doona exchanged glances and then they both began to laugh. />
  “You’ll be fine,” Bessie said, patting Hugh’s back. “No one knows what to do with a baby when they first have one. You’ll work it all out eventually.”

  “But she’s so tiny,” he said in a low voice.

  John knocked before Bessie could reply. Hugh sat down next to Doona as Bessie opened the door. John came in carrying a large box full of takeaway containers.

  “It smells good,” Bessie said as John began to unpack the box.

  “I hope it is good. I’ve not heard very good things about this place,” John replied. “I would have gone elsewhere if I’d had time.”

  “How bad can it be?” Bessie asked.

  She passed out plates and everyone filled them from the various containers. Doona got drinks for them all and then they sat down together to eat.

  “This one isn’t bad,” Bessie said after a while, gesturing towards one of the items on her plate.

  “Yeah, I liked that one,” Hugh agreed. “That was about the only one, though.”

  “Some of it is barely edible,” Doona said.

  “I am sorry,” John replied.

  “It isn’t your fault,” Bessie said stoutly. “Where is this new restaurant?”

  “It’s right across from the station,” John said. “In that space that no one stays in for more than a few weeks.”

  “That’s the good news, then,” Doona laughed. “They’ll be gone soon.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Bessie said, pushing her plate away. She’d only eaten a few bites, but she didn’t want any more. Even Hugh, who was always hungry and would eat anything, struggled to clear his plate.

  “I’m glad I brought extra fairy cakes,” Doona said as Hugh cleared the table. “I thought John could take the leftovers home for the children, but we can eat them all to fill ourselves up instead.”

  Bessie took a chocolate and a vanilla fairy cake. They were delicious and helped fill the void that dinner should have sorted. When she was finished, she made tea and served everyone.

  “Are we ready to talk about Phillip Tyler, then?” John asked.

  “I’d really rather not,” Hugh said. “Finding the body myself makes the case feel too close to home.”

  “And it did happen just down the beach from your house,” John said. “I hope that isn’t worrying you?”

  “No, not really. Grace’s mum said a few things, but I think I was able to reassure her. The holiday cottages were all sitting empty, whereas we have neighbours in residence on both sides. We also have much better locks on our doors and we’re not far away from the main road. The whole incident has reminded everyone that we did have a murder in our house once, but the new baby has everyone pretty well distracted.”

  “Babies have a way of doing that,” John replied.

  “So, where should we start?” Bessie asked.

  “Means, motive, opportunity,” Hugh rattled off the list.

  “The local paper already printed the fact that the knife used in the murder was one from the cottage itself,” John said. “Maggie Shimmin was happy to share that fact with Dan Ross after she identified the knife for us.”

  Bessie made a face. “So the means were at hand once someone had broken into the cottage.”

  “Yes, and breaking in wasn’t much of a challenge,” John said. “Someone simply forced the front door open. He or she damaged it so badly that it wouldn’t close properly afterwards. I suspect that the killer held the door shut with something while he or she was in the cottage, but then simply left the door ajar on the way out. There was a large mixing bowl on the floor in the kitchen that would have been suitable for that purpose.”

  “Did Callum find the door open when he arrived, then?” Bessie asked.

  John made a face. “Believe it or not, he climbed in through a window. He broke the small window on the side of the cottage and then climbed inside. Did you see his interview in the paper today?”

  Bessie frowned. “I forgot to get the paper when I was at the shop earlier.”

  Doona cleared away the plates from the fairy cakes while Bessie got up and filled a plate with biscuits. It was a good thing she’d bought more. She was still hungry, so no doubt Hugh was starving.

  “Callum sold his story to Dan Ross,” John sighed. “It’s pretty graphic, all about climbing into the completely dark cottage not knowing that death lurked in the shadows.”

  “There aren’t any shadows when it’s completely dark,” Doona said.

  “Yes, well, tell that to Dan Ross. That isn’t the only thing he got wrong in the article, but I can’t talk about the rest,” John replied.

  “So Callum climbed in a window?” Bessie repeated.

  “Yes, although Dan glossed over that part and didn’t bother to mention that Callum was in the cottage illegally,” John said.

  “I’m surprised Callum didn’t try the front door first,” Bessie said. “That seems as if it would have been easier.”

  “Easier, but more exposed. The front door faces the road, and even though it’s a short road that doesn’t go anywhere other than past the cottages, he was probably worried that he might be seen. Only someone walking on the beach in the middle of the night could have seen him climbing in through that side window.”

  “And no one walks on the beach in the middle of the night in December,” Bessie said.

  “Except for us,” Hugh added with a wink.

  Bessie took a biscuit and nibbled on it while she thought. “You’re sure Callum had nothing to do with the murder?” she asked John.

  “As sure as I can be under the circumstances. He has a solid alibi for the time of death, and if he had been involved, I can’t imagine why he would have gone back to the cottage hours later. I believe he simply broke in, looking for a place to stay for the night. I doubt he’ll do anything like that ever again.”

  “Where is he staying now?” Bessie wondered.

  “With a friend,” was all that John could or would tell her.

  “So if Callum is off the list of suspects, who is on that list?” Doona asked.

  “Pretty much everyone the island who can’t provide an alibi,” John replied. “While I was busy interviewing Phillip’s family and friends, Dan Ross tracked down his ferry crossing. Phillip arrived on the ferry at six o’clock the evening he died. He hired a car at the Sea Terminal. We found the car on the main road near the cottages. The mileage suggests that he drove straight there from Douglas.”

  “So he must have arranged to meet someone at the cottage,” Doona suggested.

  “Or told someone he was going to stay there for the night,” John said. “What we don’t know is why he’d select that holiday cottage for a meeting or to stay in overnight.”

  “Maybe he didn’t choose it. Maybe the killer did,” Hugh said. “The killer must be someone on the island, so it would make sense for Phillip to let him or her make the plans.”

  “So whom would he have journeyed back to the island to meet in secret?” Doona asked.

  “Nicole Carr,” Bessie said. “She was his ex-girlfriend. She cheated on him, which is why he’d left the island in the first place.”

  “If he left the island to avoid her, surely he wouldn’t arrange to meet with her now,” Hugh argued.

  “Maybe she rang him and told him that her husband was abusing her, or that she’d realised she’d made a terrible mistake and begged for a second chance,” Doona suggested. “If he’d stayed off the island for two years just to avoid accidentally bumping into her, he may well have still had feelings for her.”

  “I’m fairly sure that he did,” Bessie said. “We should also think about her husband.”

  “Liam Kirk,” John supplied. “They have a house together, but he also has a flat of his own.”

  “That suggests they’re having difficulties,” Hugh said.

  “From what Phillip’s mother said, Phillip wouldn’t have taken Nicole back under any circumstances,” Bessie said.

  “Maybe Liam didn’t know that,” Doona said.
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br />   “I don’t suppose Liam has an alibi?” Bessie asked John.

  “While everyone has given me some sort of alibi, I don’t believe any of them are completely solid. For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume that any of the susp, er, witnesses could have been at the cottage when Phillip arrived,” John said.

  “So Nicole killed him because he wouldn’t take her back or Liam killed him because he was going to take Nicole back,” Hugh said. “Those are both strong motives, in my opinion.”

  “They’re certainly strong enough to keep both parties on my short list,” John replied.

  “What about Phillip’s family?” Doona asked.

  “His mother, Rebecca, was heart broken. I won’t even consider her as a suspect in her son’s death,” Bessie said.

  “I’m inclined to agree with you,” John said.

  “She and her husband, Peter, both seemed shocked that Phillip was even on the island. He was angry, while she was hurt, but I can’t believe that either of them were aware of his visit,” Bessie added.

  “He has a sister, Madison,” Hugh interjected.

  “She’s coming to visit me tomorrow,” Bessie said. “Rebecca rang earlier and asked if she could. Apparently, Madison seems to think that I can solve her brother’s murder by speaking with her and some of Phillip’s friends.”

  John frowned. “You know I don’t like you spending time with witnesses during investigations.”

  “I couldn’t say no. The poor girl is devastated and wants to feel as if she’s doing something to move the investigation forward. I can meet with her somewhere else if you don’t think the cottage is safe.”

  “I may just have to pop over tomorrow,” John muttered.

  “I’ll come,” Doona offered. “I have the afternoon off and the kids both have activities after school, so they won’t need rides anywhere until after five.”

  John frowned. “I’m not sure I feel any better about you being here than Bessie,” he said. “You’re both important to me.”