Aunt Bessie Joins

by Diana Xarissa

  He picked up the backpack he’d carried in with him and pulled out a bottle of wine and some of the paper cups that had been provided at lunch for water and fizzy drinks. He poured wine into a cup and held it out to Carolyn. “Go on, you know you want to.”

  Carolyn took the cup and took a small sip. “I still want the tree fixing,” she said.

  “You’re really pretty,” Michael told her. “I hope your husband knows how lucky he is.” He poured himself a cup of wine and took a large drink.

  Carolyn blushed. “Thank you. I’m sure he does.”

  “I doubt it,” Michael replied. “You don’t seem happy. I don’t think your husband appreciates you at all. I’d appreciate you, lots.”

  Bessie watched, appalled, as the man leered at Carolyn. “I don’t think this is the time or the place for this conversation,” she said, walking over to join the pair. She glanced around the room, fully aware that everyone watching the scene with keen interest.

  “Maybe we should take a short break,” Michael suggested to Carolyn. “Care for a walk?”

  Before Carolyn answered, her mobile rang. She glanced at the display and then shook her head. “I have to answer this,” she said, walking quickly from the room.

  “You don’t think the tree is too bad, do you?” Michael asked Bessie.

  Bessie sighed. “Maybe you should go and get a cup of coffee,” she suggested to the man.

  “Nah, I’m having way too much fun,” he told her. He grabbed a string of tinsel and rolled it into a ball. Taking a step back from the crooked tree, he squinted at it and then threw the ball at the top of it. He laughed as the tinsel rolled down the tree, catching on a low branch and then hanging half on and half off the tree.

  “It’s how Picasso would have done it,” he told Bessie.

  “I think we need to straighten things up,” Natasha said. She quickly pulled the tree apart and snapped it together again, this time correctly.

  “You should have wine,” Michael told Natasha. He found another paper cup, splashed wine into it, and then handed it to the woman.

  “Gee, thanks,” Natasha said. She put the cup to her lips, but Bessie could see that she didn’t actually drink anything. “Maybe we should have a quick stroll,” she suggested to Michael.

  “Yes, let’s,” Michael agreed. He picked up his backpack, but Natasha shook her head.

  “Leave that here. We won’t be gone long,” she told him.

  Michael hesitated and then dropped the pack. Bessie heard several bottles clink together as the pack hit the ground.

  “I’ll try to get him to have some coffee and sober up a bit before I bring him back,” Natasha whispered to Bessie. “I’m sorry I won’t be here to help, though.”

  “Getting rid of him for a little while is a big help,” Bessie said quietly.

  A couple of hours later the little group had the trees just about done.

  “All of the charity volunteers are supposed to be the press conference in ten minutes,” Henry reminded everyone from the doorway. Agnes, Harriet, Margaret and Liz quickly finished what they were doing and headed out.

  Bessie exchanged glances with Mary, who was now the only other person in the room, the men from MNH having hung the crepe and departed.

  “Well, I suppose it’s just us to finish everything,” Bessie said with a sigh.

  “I don’t mind,” Mary told her. “I love feeling useful, really.”

  “I like being useful,” Bessie agreed. “But I’d much rather Carolyn was doing the bulk of the work, seeing as it’s her room.”

  “Well, yes, you make a good point,” Mary said.

  “Once you’ve finished that one, we’ve done the trees,” Bessie said as she hung the last ornament on the tree she was decorating. “I suppose I should start on the horsemen.”

  Bessie began to unpack the box that Carolyn had left on the table in the centre of the room. The four men were clearly meant to be wise men, although it appeared that they had each come from a different nativity set. Bessie unpacked the first horse and began to laugh.

  “Is that a plastic toy horse?” Mary asked as she walked over to join Bessie.

  “It is,” Bessie told her.

  The four horses were also all different, and different sizes. “This one is smaller than the wise men,” Mary said as she unwrapped the last horse.

  “How are we meant to make this look like anything other than a mess?” Bessie demanded.

  “We need Natasha,” Mary replied. She pulled out her mobile and had a short conversation. “She’s on her way,” she told Bessie after the call ended.

  Natasha walked in a moment later. “This is meant to be the four horsemen of the apocalypse?” she demanded as she looked at the figurines. “I’m not sure even I can fix this mess.”

  Bessie turned back to the trees, giving them all a careful inspection and rearranging a few ornaments here and there. By the time she got back to the centre of the room, Natasha was finished.

  “There. I’ve done my best,” the woman muttered.

  “It’s better than I imagined,” Bessie told her, surprised at what Natasha had accomplished.

  Natasha had used several small boxes to create a multi-dimensional display. After covering the entire table in black cloth, she’d staggered the wise men and horses and arranged them in such a way that their height differences were less noticeable. By swirling the black cloth around them, she managed to give the whole scene a somewhat menacing look that felt more apocalyptic than Bessie had expected.

  “It’s really very good,” Bessie said.

  “It is,” Mary agreed. “It’s creepy and I don’t like it at all.”

  “The whole room is creepy,” Natasha said. “I think Christopher Hart would have loved it.”

  “And that’s the whole idea,” Carolyn said grandly from the doorway. “Oh, it’s just about perfect,” she exclaimed, turning slowly to take it all in.

  “We weren’t sure how you wanted the figures on the centre table,” Bessie said.

  Carolyn looked over the display. “That’s very good,” she said. “I was worried because I couldn’t get the exact pieces I wanted, but in the end they work really well.”

  “Because Natasha spent a lot of time and effort on them,” Bessie said.

  “Oh, did she?” Carolyn said idly.

  “We all put a lot of time and effort in,” Bessie added. “While you were talking to your husband.”

  “He’s very demanding just now,” Carolyn replied. “I think we both need a little holiday. Maybe we’ll go away for Christmas.”

  Bessie didn’t bother to reply. If they did go and that got them into trouble with Pete Corkill, it wasn’t her problem.

  “Where’s Michael?” Bessie asked Natasha.

  “He said something about a press conference,” she replied. “He wasn’t in any fit state to talk to the press, but he wouldn’t listen when I told him that.”

  “Where’s Michael?” Henry asked from the doorway.

  “Wasn’t he at the press conference?” Bessie asked.

  “No, he never turned up,” Henry replied.

  Bessie looked at Natasha, who shrugged. “He told me he had to get back for the press conference and left me watching the sea. I wasn’t in any hurry to get back here.” She glanced around and then frowned. “That didn’t come out right. I love helping out here, but I was enjoying the fresh sea air and the break, that’s all. Michael and I talked for a while and then he said he needed to get back and I told him I’d see him later.”

  “Well, he never made it to the press conference,” Henry said. “Which means he missed out on some publicity.”

  “The board at the Alzheimer’s Research Fund isn’t going to be happy about that,” Mary said.

  “I’m on the board,” Carolyn said airily. “I’ll make certain they don’t fire the poor man.”

  “Maybe we should go and look for him,” Bessie said, a worried feeling growing inside her. “It isn’t like him to forget about w
ork responsibilities.”

  Henry stared at her for a moment and then sighed. “Here we go again,” he muttered as he turned and left the room.

  Bessie pulled out her mobile and rang Mark. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I know you’re really busy, but Michael seems to have wandered off and we’re all a bit worried about him.”

  “How’s Carolyn’s room coming?” Mark asked.

  “It’s finished,” Bessie told him.

  “Excellent. Why don’t you all come down to the courtyard and we’ll work out what we need to do next.”

  In the courtyard, the press were still milling around with glasses of wine and canapés. Bessie said hello to a few people she knew as she crossed the space. Mark was talking to Henry.

  “I don’t think we need to involve the police,” Mark was saying as Bessie joined them.

  “I wouldn’t normally, but after the murder and all,” Henry argued.

  “What do you think, Bessie?” Mark asked.

  “I think we should look for him, at least a little bit, before we bother the police,” Bessie said. “He might have just sat down on a bench and forgotten all about the press conference. I dare say he might have even fallen asleep.”

  “Was he that drunk?” Mark asked.

  “He was still drinking while he was helping with the decorating,” Bessie replied.

  Mark sighed. “Where did Natasha see him last?”

  Mark quickly organised the castle staff into a search party. Natasha and Henry headed back towards where she had last seen the man and the others spread out to cover the small centre of the town. Half an hour later, everyone was back.

  “How could he have just disappeared?” Mark demanded.

  “Maybe he decided to head home for a short while before the party tonight,” Mary suggested.

  “He didn’t have his car,” Bessie reminded her. “Not that he should have been driving if he had, but he did say he wasn’t going to take a taxi again.”

  Mark tried ringing both Michael’s home and mobile phones, but no one answered.

  “Now I’m starting to worry,” Bessie admitted as the search party headed out to do a second turn through town.

  “Maybe we should ring the police,” Mary said.

  “That seems extreme,” Carolyn said. “He’s only been missing for what, an hour or two? I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

  When the search party returned again, having had no more success, Mark rang the Castletown police. After a short conversation, he hung up and turned to the group.

  “The police aren’t really interested,” he told them. “Michael is a grown man and he’s only been missing for a very short time. They’ve said I should ring again in the morning if he hasn’t turned up.”

  “And look at the time,” Mary gasped. “I have to get changed.”

  Bessie glanced at her watch and sighed. She needed to change and get herself ready for the grand opening party. With Michael missing, she wasn’t in the mood for a party, even this one that she’d been anticipating for weeks.

  “I’ve taken a room at the Castletown Hotel,” Carolyn said. “That way I have plenty of space to get ready.” She was quickly on her way out of the castle, leaving Bessie shaking her head.

  “You’re welcome,” she muttered. “We all really enjoyed doing all of the work getting your room ready for you.”

  Mary chuckled. “She’s so used to having staff that she simply doesn’t think to thank people.”

  “Do you thank your staff?” Bessie asked.

  Mary frowned. “Well, yes, I do, really. But Carolyn isn’t the type.”

  “No, she isn’t,” Bessie agreed.

  Mark had set aside several large rooms that weren’t part of “Christmas at the Castle” for everyone to use. Bessie and Mary changed, and then Bessie combed her hair and added a bit of lipstick to her lips. That was more makeup than she usual wore, and it was quite enough for her. Mary spent a good deal longer fussing over her hair and face, but she was ready with time to spare anyway.

  “Let’s go down and see if Mark needs any help,” Bessie suggested after she’d admired Mary’s dress.

  “I’m not even certain what we’re meant to be doing tonight,” Mary whispered as they walked through the castle.

  “Hopefully we’re meant to be eating lots of lovely canapés,” Bessie replied. “I know I ate a huge amount of lunch, but I’m starving again.”

  “Lunch does seem to have been a rather long time ago,” Mary said.

  In the courtyard, Mark looked extra handsome in his tuxedo, and Bessie was surprised to see Henry in one as well.

  “Don’t you look dashing,” she said to the man, who coloured brightly.

  “It’s not very comfortable,” he hissed at her. “But Laura seems to like it.”

  Bessie smiled. “Where is Laura?” she asked.

  “She’s taking tickets at the entrance,” Henry told her. “Or she will be in a few minutes, when we open. Wait until you see how gorgeous she looks.”

  “I’m sure she looks wonderful,” Bessie replied. She frowned as her mobile rang. She’d only just managed to cram it into the small evening bag that went with her black dress. At least that made it easy to find, she thought as she pulled it out of the bag.

  “Hello?”

  “Bessie? It’s Pete Corkill. What’s this I hear about someone disappearing from down there?”

  “It’s Michael Beach,” Bessie explained. “He had a few too many glasses of wine with lunch and then went for a walk with Natasha. He was meant to be back for a press conference, but he missed it.”

  “What does Natasha say?”

  “That he told her he was coming back to the castle and left her sitting by the sea.”

  “You should have rung me,” he told her.

  “Mark rang the local station,” Bessie replied.

  “But I’m investigating Christopher Hart’s murder.”

  “Surely this doesn’t have anything to do with that,” Bessie argued.

  “I certainly hope not. We’ll know more once we find the missing man.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t ring you.”

  “Please ring if he suddenly turns up,” Pete said. “I’m going to start doing some checking around.”

  After Bessie put her phone away, she rejoined the party. Everyone was busy complimenting one another.

  “I feel as if I’m playing dress-up,” Liz confessed to Bessie. “I never wear long gowns.”

  “Well, you look lovely and very comfortable in it,” Bessie told her.

  “It certainly isn’t that,” Liz laughed. “It’s quite tight and I can barely walk in it.” She leaned in close to Bessie and whispered. “I was really worried about fitting into it, actually. We just found out we’re having another baby and I feel as if I’ve grown two sizes already.”

  “Congratulations,” Bessie exclaimed, delighted for her young friend.

  Liz flushed. “We aren’t really telling anyone yet,” she told Bessie. “But some days I feel as if I’ll burst if I don’t tell someone.”

  Bessie laughed. “Well, I’m honoured and delighted that you told me, and I won’t say a word to anyone else about it.”

  “Thanks,” Liz said. “I’ve only a few weeks to go before we’ll feel more comfortable telling people, but I feel as if I’m gaining so much weight that people are going to start to notice anyway.”

  “I don’t think you look like you’ve gained weight,” Bessie told her. “And anyway, this time of year you can always blame mince pies and Christmas pudding.”

  Liz laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that. What a great idea.”

  “What’s a great idea?” Mary asked as she joined them.

  “Having another mince pie before it gets busy,” Liz told her. She turned and walked away, leaving Bessie with Mary.

  “Only a few minutes before the doors open,” Mary said. “Are you nervous?”

  “Not really,” Bessie said after a moment’s thought. “I know the rooms look good. The
only worry is that people won’t know what to expect and might be disappointed, but I think Mark did a great job in describing the event in all of the publicity, so we should be fine.”

  “I wish Michael were here,” Mary said.

  Bessie glanced around the space and sighed. “I’m trying not to worry about him,” she said. “Carolyn’s not here, either.”

  “She’ll be waiting to make an entrance,” Mary predicted.

  A moment later, Mark cleared his throat loudly. “I know I thanked you all at lunch today, but I just wanted to say it one more time. You should all be really proud of what we’ve accomplished here. Now let’s just hope we raise lots of money for all of our respective groups.”

  While everyone was clapping, Carolyn made her entrance. She swept into the courtyard with a long red cape flapping in the wind behind her. Stopping a few paces into the courtyard, she paused and smiled before unhooking the cape and dropping to the ground behind her. Bessie nearly gasped when she saw the tight-fitting and very short black dress Carolyn was wearing. It didn’t seem at all appropriate for the grand opening of an event that was being promoted as being family-friendly. Before anyone in the courtyard spoke, a voice came from behind Carolyn.

  “Wow-wow-wow! That is some dress,” Michael said. He took a step forward and then stumbled, but caught himself before he fell to the ground. “We need some wine, darling Carolyn,” he said, slurring his words.

  Carolyn laughed. “Come along, then,” she said.

  Michael slid an arm around her waist and the pair headed straight towards the bar that was set up in one corner of the space. Mark was quick to follow them, and Bessie was sure he was planning to have a serious conversation with Michael. Now Bessie needed to ring Pete.

  Chapter Seven

  It was a short conversation, as all Bessie could tell him was that Michael was at the castle.

  “See if you can find out where he’s been,” Pete said before Bessie disconnected.

  An hour later, the castle was full of people and Bessie was overwhelmed by how much everyone seemed to be enjoying the event.

  “It’s going well,” Mark whispered to her as they passed one another in one of the rooms.

  “The door to Carolyn’s room isn’t open,” Bessie told him. “I’d almost rather it stayed shut, but Carolyn will be upset when she finds out.”