She frowned at her silent phone and then paced a few times around her kitchen. The rain had slowed to a miserable drizzle, at least temporarily, but she didn't dare go for a walk and risk missing Doona's call. As she frowned at the phone again, it rang, startling her.
“Okay,” Doona didn't bother with preliminaries. “All I know is one little thing and it’s going to be part of a press conference in a few hours, so I’m not telling tales. Just don’t repeat this until after four. Apparently Jack White was supplying prescription drugs to someone in the Pierce household. Unfortunately for Mr. White, he was doing so without a prescription.”
“What does that have to do with the murders?” Bessie asked.
“Maybe nothing,” Doona admitted. “But it's enough to get the man arrested and for Inspector Kelly to get all the credit.”
“So what happens now?” Bessie asked.
“Inspector Kelly has been questioning Mr. White all morning,” Doona told her. “He only stopped when Mr. White’s advocate arrived and insisted on a break. The Inspector and the Chief Constable are giving the press conference I mentioned to talk about this latest break in the murder investigation.”
“Do they really think he's the killer, then?”
“It sounds like it,” Doona answered. “I don't know all of the details, but we’ll all know more after four o’clock.”
“Maybe I should get over to Thie yn Traie before that, then,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “I can see if they've heard about the arrest and let them know about the press conference.”
“And poke around a bit,” Doona added.
“Well,” Bessie said, “I'm curious how they'll take the news, that's for sure.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Doona told her friend. “Inspector Kelly might be convinced that Jack White is guilty, but there are still several other suspects and they all live at Thie yn Traie.”
Bessie sighed. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall while they’re questioning Jack White. I’d love to know what he’s telling them.”
“I don’t know anything else, and I couldn’t tell you if I did,” Doona answered her. “I only found out that little bit because I overheard a phone call that I shouldn’t have. Inspector Kelly isn’t talking to anyone except the Chief Constable. Even Inspector Rockwell got told that he has to wait for the press conference if he wants to know anything.”
“I’ll bet that didn’t go over well,” Bessie chuckled.
“He wasn’t pleased,” Doona told her. “But he stayed polite about it anyway. I suggest you just sit tight and wait and see what I can tell you tonight. We’ll meet at seven as planned and by then everything that the police are willing to release will be public knowledge. And maybe Inspector Rockwell will know even more.”
Bessie sighed. “I suppose I can wait to pay my respects until tomorrow,” she said slowly. “It’s a miserable day anyway. Walking to the Pierces’ doesn’t really appeal to me.”
Bessie ate a quick lunch and then curled up with a book, frowning at the steady rain that was falling outside her window. A nice hot cup of tea took the chill off, in spite of the dampness. She was so deeply involved in her fictional tale that she barely registered the ringing telephone.
It rang half a dozen times before Bessie really heard it. She sighed when she remembered that she’d turned off her answering machine when Doona had rung earlier. If she hadn’t, the machine would have picked up by now and she would have been able to completely ignore the whole thing.
After ten rings she decided she had better answer the call. Anyone that was willing to hang on that long deserved an answer. She walked as quickly as she could to the phone and grabbed it after more than a dozen rings.
“Hello?”
“Oh, you are there.” The slightly breathless voice was familiar, but Bessie couldn’t place it immediately. “I figured I needed to let it ring a whole bunch so you had plenty of time to get yourself up and answer.”
Bessie frowned. Vikky Pierce, as rude as ever. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Pierce?” Bessie said coolly.
“Oh, well, the thing is, like, the police have just rung,” Vikky told her. “It seems likely that we’re going to be allowed to leave tomorrow, which is great. I can’t wait to get off this island.”
“Leave tomorrow?” Bessie echoed. “I suppose that means that they’ve found the murderer?”
“I guess,” Vikky said vaguely. “I didn’t talk to them. It was the Chief Constable what called, and he talked to Mr. Pierce. I only know what Mr. Pierce told us all. Which is what I just said. We’re going to be allowed to leave tomorrow.”
“I see,” Bessie said, trying to keep her surprise out of her voice.
“Anyway,” Vikky continued. “I went up to pack and then I realised that I still have your clothes. I mean the staff washed them and everything, but I never got around to returning them to you. I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to give them to Bahey and she can get them back to you. Is that okay?”
Bessie thought quickly. “Actually,” she told the woman, “I’d rather just pick them up this afternoon if I might.”
“I guess.” Bessie could almost hear Vikky’s shrug. “I mean, I’ll be here if you want to stop by.”
“I do,” Bessie said firmly. “I wanted to come by and pay my respects for Samantha anyway, and it sounds as if I need to do that today or else you’ll all be gone.”
“Well, yeah,” Vikky answered. “We’re all eager to get out of here. This hasn’t been the most pleasant visit ever for any of us.”
“No, of course not,” Bessie agreed. “I’ll walk over now. It should take me about twenty minutes to get there, as I still have to come along the road.”
“Okay, I’ll tell everyone you’re coming. It will make a nice break from sitting around and staring at each other, I guess.”
Bessie hung up the phone and then thought about picking it back up. She probably ought to let Doona know where she was going, especially since Doona had tried to talk her out of this visit.
Her hand hesitated over the receiver and then she changed her mind. Doona would try to persuade her not to go and she didn’t want to take the time to have that argument. Bahey would be at the Pierces’; she would keep an eye on things.
Bessie pulled on her waterproof coat and Wellington boots for the walk. The rain was steady, but there wasn’t much wind, so she added an umbrella to her outfit. “Here goes nothing,” she muttered to herself as she locked the door to the cottage behind her.
The walk along the road felt longer than ever as she stomped through puddle after puddle in the pouring rain. At one point, behind the cottages, she stopped for a second and then leaped into one particularly impressive puddle with both feet. She laughed like a small child as the water splashed up around her. She was already soaked; she might as well have some fun.
The crowd of reporters in front of the Pierce cottage had now dwindled down to a single car with a man and woman sitting inside. Bessie frowned at them as she walked past, but they were both busy on their phones and barely glanced at her. At the gate she pushed the call button, and a moment later Robert Clague emerged from the garage door. He grinned at Bessie as he approached the gate.
“Nice to see you again, Aunt Bessie,” he greeted her.
“You too, Robert,” she answered. “But I don’t think I need security this time. There are only a few reporters left and they don’t seem interested in me.”
Robert chuckled. “You can never be too careful,” he told Bessie. “If we just buzzed the gate open, those two might just charge forward and be in the house before we could stop them.”
Bessie looked back over her shoulder as she walked through the gate. The two reporters were still on their phones and neither seemed to have even noticed the activity at the gate. She shrugged. “I shouldn’t complain if the Pierces want to keep paying you, should I?”
“Nope,” Robert grinned again. “I’m happy to have the work. We were told this was our last day a
bout two hours ago, and then about ten minutes ago they said we would be needed at least until after the weekend. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
Bessie frowned. “That’s strange. I talked to Vikky a short time ago and she said they were all heading back across tomorrow.”
“I guess that was the plan, but something has come up,” Robert shrugged. “It’s not really my place to question it, or even talk about it, really.”
Bessie patted his arm as he escorted her to the door. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Bahey will tell me absolutely everything.” Robert smiled and then took her umbrella from her hand and folded it neatly for her.
“I’ll leave this just inside the door,” he told her as she entered the house. “Don’t forget it on your way home.”
Bessie thanked him quickly as Bahey rushed up to give her a hug. She stopped short when she saw that Bessie was dripping wet.
“Let me take that coat,” Bahey told her, holding out a hand.
Bessie was happy to slip off the sodden and heavy coat.
“I’ll just hang it by the door for you,” Bahey told her. After she did so, she returned to Bessie’s side and gave her the hug that had been delayed.
“Oooo, Aunt Bessie, I didn’t know you were stopping by,” Bahey told her. “I was just thinking about you.”
“I hope you were thinking nice things,” Bessie replied.
“Oh yes, well, I was planning our lunch for next week, you see,” Bahey replied. “Mr. Pierce told me that they were all heading home tomorrow, so I thought I could start planning a day to have you and Joney over. But then, just when I had the menu all arranged in my head, he called me back in and said that they are staying until Monday. Now I’m all out of sorts.”
Bessie smiled at her friend. “Never mind, I’m sure it will all be figured out quickly enough,” she said reassuringly. “In the meantime, I came to see Vikky. She called and said she had my things to return.”
“Is she the only one you want to see?” Bahey asked.
“Well, I suppose I should pay my respects in regards to Samantha as well,” Bessie answered. “So I guess a few minutes with Donny would be useful as well. I guess he’s the right person to pay my respects to in this case.”
Bahey nodded. “Let me tell them that you’re here. You can wait in the great room.”
Bahey walked Bessie down the now familiar hall and pushed open the great room door. She flipped on several lights in the dark and empty room.
“I still don’t like this room,” Bessie remarked, more to herself than Bahey, as she walked towards the windows.
“Oh aye, it’s just not a welcoming space, is it?” Bahey replied as she left to find the others for Bessie.
“No, it most certainly isn’t,” Bessie said emphatically to no one. She stood at the windows and watched the rain that was still falling steadily. She sighed and turned away from the view as the door behind her opened.
“Hey, Aunt Bessie,” Vikky called as she bounced into the room with a plastic shopping bag in her hand. “How are you? It’s filthy out there, isn’t it? I wish I’d known that the police were going to change their minds and keep us here a couple more days. I wouldn’t have bothered you today.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bessie answered. “I didn’t have any other plans and I often walk in the rain. By why have the police changed their minds?”
Vikky shrugged and looked out the window. “I guess they can’t prove that the guy they arrested actually did it, at least not yet. Anyway, here, and thanks.”
Vikky handed the bag she was carrying to Bessie, who glanced inside at her clothes. “You’re welcome,” she said formally.
“Anyway,” Vikky told her. “I can’t wait to get out of here and back home. I hated the island when I was kid, and I hate it even more now.”
“And yet your husband loved it,” Mrs. Pierce said sternly from the doorway. “And if you had made any effort to be a good wife to him, you would have tried to love it for his sake.”
Vikky rolled her eyes at Bessie before turning to her mother-in-law. “I did try,” she said with tears in her voice. “I tried everything I could to be a good wife for the few short days that Danny and I had together.”
Mrs. Pierce just looked at her and then turned to Bessie. “It’s kind of you to pay another visit,” she said. “Bahey said you wanted to pay your respects for Samantha.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Bessie answered. “I don’t know anything about her family, but Donny’s the closest thing she had to family on the island. It seemed appropriate to offer him my sympathy, especially since I talked to him just that afternoon.”
“I’m sure he’ll be down shortly,” Mrs. Pierce said. “I’m sorry my husband won’t be joining us. He’s started taking long drives around the island lately and he doesn’t let the weather stop him.”
Bessie nodded slowly. That was what he was meant to be doing when Samantha was killed. “I understand that you were planning to leave tomorrow, but that’s changed?” she asked the other woman.
Mrs. Pierce sighed and made her way into the room. She headed towards the bar, but at the last minute she turned and took a seat in a small seating area just in front of it instead. “Please, join me,” she said.
Bessie walked across and tentatively took a seat on the couch opposite the one where Mrs. Pierce was sitting. “You have a lovely view,” she remarked politely, unable to think of anything else to say.
“I always loved it,” Mrs. Pierce replied. “But now, every time I look out there, I see the spot where my son died.”
Bessie winced. “That must be very painful,” she murmured.
“We’ll be selling the house,” Mrs. Pierce told her. “I expect someone will turn it into a bed and breakfast or something.”
“It’s awfully isolated isn’t it?” Vikky asked as she flopped down into a chair between the others. “I mean, who would want to stay all the way out here?”
Mrs. Pierce and Bessie both bristled at the comment and when their eyes met a rare moment of understanding passed between them. Neither bothered to address Vikky’s remark.
“I’d love to see another family buy it,” Mrs. Pierce said. “It was a great summer home for the children.”
“I’m sure it was,” Bessie answered.
The conversation was interrupted when the door suddenly burst open and Donny came crashing into the room. Bessie could tell at a glance that he’d been drinking heavily.
“Hey, Aunt Bessie, my Laxey Wheel buddy, how the blazes are you?” he asked, sliding onto the couch next to her.
“I’m fine,” she answered primly, pulling her knees to the side away from the man who was now sprawling across most of the couch.
“Good, good, good,” he muttered. “I’m not so good, you might have guessed.”
“I’m very sorry about Samantha,” Bessie answered.
“Oh, thank you, yes,” the man’s face reflected his struggle to try to figure out what he should say next. “That is, thank you for your simmm, er, shimm, er, sympathy.”
“Donald, you’re drunk,” his mother said sharply. “I don’t think you should be spending time with guests right now.”
Donny rolled his eyes at Bessie. “I’m not drunk,” he whispered loudly to her. “I just had one little drinky to help me forget about Sam and Danny. Just the one, or maybe it was two. I forget.”
Mrs. Pierce shook her head. “I apologise for my son’s behaviour,” she said tartly. “He hasn’t been himself since Samantha died.”
“I’m sure it was a huge shock to you all,” Bessie replied.
“Shocking,” Donny agreed. “Simply shocking.”
Mrs. Pierce frowned at her son. “Donny, why don’t you go and lie down for a little while?” she asked. “I think you could do with some rest.”
“Have to get packed,” Donny told her. “Police said we can go tomorrow. I need to pack my things.”
“Haven’t you heard?” Vikky drawled. “They’ve only gone and changed thei
r minds. We’re stuck here until Monday, earliest.”
Donny’s face went pale for a moment then he sat up and glared at Vikky. “You’re lying,” he said harshly.
“I’m afraid she isn’t,” Mrs. Pierce interjected smoothly. “Apparently the police haven’t yet received all of the information they need. We have been asked, politely, to stay here for just a few more days.”
Donny sank back in his seat, an angry look on his face. “What do you know about this?” he demanded of Bessie. “I see the police going in and out of your cottage all the time. What’s going on? You have to tell me.”
Bessie shook her head. “I don’t know anything,” she said truthfully. “I came over because Vikky said you were leaving and I wanted to get the things I’d loaned her back and pay my respects.”
“But I thought the police arrested someone,” Donny said.
“They have,” Vikky answered. “Some chemist who was dealing drugs on the side. They seem to think that Danny was taking drugs and his murder was a drug deal gone bad.”
“Preposterous,” Mrs. Pierce erupted. “My son did not take drugs,” she said insistently. “And I won’t hear anyone say otherwise.”
Bessie glanced over at Donny, but he was staring at his mother intently. Bessie gave a mental shrug. She wasn’t going to tell Mrs. Pierce where the police first got the idea. The family had enough problems without Bessie suggesting that Donny knew about Danny’s drug issues.
Mrs. Pierce looked over at Bessie. “I know that when you were here a few days ago I was a little bit out of it,” she told Bessie. “But you need to understand that when they told me about Danny, I, well, I guess I sort of lost control.” The woman frowned and looked away for a moment.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me,” Bessie began, but Mrs. Pierce held up a hand.
“I feel that I do,” she told Bessie. “We, as a family, have always been passionate opponents of the use of illegal drugs. We aren’t even that fond of legal ones. I take headache tablets rarely, and my husband hasn’t taken anything in years. The doctor who treated me when I found out about Danny gave me something strong to help me get through the first few days. I was very tempted to keep taking them. Forgetting my pain had a certain appeal, but that would have been cowardly. So I stopped taking them, and I shan’t take them again.”
Aunt Bessie Assumes: An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Page 15
