Aunt Bessie Knows

by Diana Xarissa

  “Maybe,” Doona said. “But he’s still on the top of my list.”

  “He’s on the top of mine, too,” John told her, holding up his notebook. Nigel’s name was printed neatly on an otherwise blank page.

  “Right, off we go, then,” Hugh said. “What about Howard? He’s Elizabeth’s boyfriend. How did he get along with Gennifer?”

  “Elizabeth told me that he went out with Gennifer in the past, briefly at least,” Bessie said.

  “And what did he say about that when you asked him?” John wondered.

  “That it wasn’t anything serious. He said something about wishing it could have been, but that Gennifer wasn’t the type for a serious relationship,” Bessie replied.

  “But maybe he’s still carrying a torch for her,” Hugh suggested.

  “He doesn’t seem that broken up by her death,” Bessie said. “But he might be a really good actor, I suppose.”

  “So he could have been the man with Gennifer in the unused room,” John said.

  Bessie thought for a moment. “I think if Gennifer had offered, he would have taken her up on it. He and Elizabeth both said that their relationship isn’t anything serious. Why would he turn her down?”

  “If he was the mystery man, is he also the killer?” Doona asked.

  Bessie shrugged. “I suppose he might be,” she said. “Although I’m not sure why he’d kill her if he’d just been intimate with her.”

  “Maybe she laughed at his performance,” Doona said. “Or maybe he thought that she wanted to get back together and she said no. Or maybe they fought about the time he left the cap off the toothpaste when they were together.” Doona sighed. “Couples don’t need much of any excuse to argue, and I suspect Gennifer was even more argumentative than most.”

  “Boy, marriage is sounding better and better,” Hugh muttered, helping himself to another cookie.

  Everyone laughed, and Bessie slid the last tray of cookies into the oven. With Hugh’s appetite coming back, she was probably going to need them.

  “From where did the killer get the knife?” Bessie asked as the thought popped into her head.

  “It came from the kitchen at Thie yn Traie,” Doona told her. “There was a large block of knives on the counter right inside the kitchen door. According to the head of the catering staff who was running the kitchen, no one was paying any attention to the block; they were far too busy. He couldn’t even tell police how many knives were in it at the beginning of the evening, so no one knows how many are missing.”

  “And the kitchen is only a few steps away from the great room,” Bessie said.

  “According to the same man, just about every guest stopped in at the kitchen at some point during the evening. It wouldn’t have been difficult to slide a knife out of the block and into a pocket or handbag,” Doona said.

  “I didn’t go near the kitchen,” Bessie said.

  “I did,” Doona said sheepishly. “There were these little cheese and onion tarts that were delicious, and I went into the kitchen to ask if they had any more. I must say, I didn’t notice the knife block, but then, I wasn’t looking for a knife.”

  “I spent a few minutes in the kitchen, too,” Hugh told the others. “When I first left the great room, I thought I might hide from Gennifer in there, but it was too busy, with the staff rushing about and chefs shouting orders at one another. I didn’t notice the knives, either, but I was only watching for Gennifer.”

  Bessie looked at John curiously. He met her gaze and chuckled. “No, I didn’t go into the kitchen during the party. But I did go in there while we were hunting for Gennifer. I did see the knife block and I noted that at least five knives were missing from it.”

  “It’s a wonder we weren’t all murdered,” Doona muttered.

  “I expect most of those were being used for food preparation,” Bessie said.

  “When the kitchen staff finished washing up, they were still two knives short. One was obviously in the body, but the second is still unaccounted for,” Doona told her.

  “Of course, Elizabeth and her friends are all staying at the house,” Bessie said. “They could have pocketed a knife at any time.”

  “Which suggests serious premeditation,” John said.

  “And that doesn’t sound like young Howard, at least to me,” Bessie said. “I can just about imagine him being the man in the room with Gennifer, and even see him fighting with the woman, but I can’t picture him stabbing her. If she’d just been pushed, maybe.”

  “What does he do for a living?” John asked.

  “He works in the City,” Bessie told him. “Apparently he does very well for himself.”

  “And his relationship with Elizabeth isn’t serious?” Hugh checked.

  “They’ve both said that,” Bessie said. “In fact, Howard said something about probably not seeing her again once he goes back, as she doesn’t want to move back to London and he can’t be bothered to visit her here.”

  Doona winced. “That’s rather cold,” she said.

  “I don’t get the feeling Elizabeth will mind,” Bessie replied.

  “Is there anything else to say about Howard?” John asked now, making a note in his book.

  “At this point I’d put him second, after Nigel, on my suspect list,” Doona said. “If Nigel’s alibi holds up, we should take a closer look at Howard.”

  John nodded. “What about Jeremy Lee?”

  Everyone looked at Bessie, who shrugged. “He seems very nice,” she said. “No one had anything bad to say about him except for Bruce, who didn’t have anything nice to say about anyone.”

  “What didn’t he like about Jeremy?” Hugh asked.

  “Oh, just that he was nice to everyone, but Bruce thought it was fake,” Bessie answered. “He reckons Jeremy has a dark soul.”

  “What did you think of him?” John queried.

  “He certainly has the nicest manners of anyone from that group,” Bessie said. “But I can see Bruce’s point. There is something superficial about the man. On the surface he’s kind and sweet, but, I don’t know, maybe he isn’t as nice as he appears.”

  “What about him and Gennifer?” asked Doona.

  “Elizabeth told me that she used to try to get him into bed, but he always politely refused,” Bessie answered.

  Hugh frowned. “Was he interested in any of the other girls?”

  “He told me that he’s nearly engaged to a woman he’s known since childhood, but that the others don’t know about her,” Bessie reported.

  “Interesting,” John said. “Why wouldn’t he want his friends to know about her?”

  “He said he isn’t really that close to the group, that he hasn’t been spending time with them lately. Apparently the invitation to the island was rather last-minute, and he didn’t have anything better to do because his girlfriend is in New York with her family.”

  “Could he have been the man with Gennifer?” Doona suggested.

  “I hope not,” Bessie said. “Not if he has a serious girlfriend elsewhere.”

  “Maybe he wanted one last fling; lots of men do,” Hugh said.

  Bessie gave him a look that had him blushing. “Not me,” he said hastily. “Grace is the only woman I want, but I’ve heard that some men, well, they get engaged and then panic about never being with another woman and they, well, behave badly.”

  “But then they worry that their girlfriend might find out, so they murder the poor girl,” Doona added.

  “Possible, but unlikely,” was John’s verdict on the matter.

  “Again, I can see him as the man in the room much more readily than as the murderer,” Bessie said. “We keep coming back to that knife. Stabbing someone must take incredible nerve, mustn’t it?”

  “Or incredible anger,” John replied.

  “What would Jeremy have been angry at Gennifer about?” Bessie wondered.

  “Again, maybe things didn’t go as planned in bed and she made fun of him or something,” Doona suggested.

&nb
sp; Bessie shook her head. “He’s a distant third on my list of possible murderers,” she said. “Although all three men are joint first as the possible mystery lover.”

  “This isn’t going well,” Hugh muttered as he reached for another cookie.

  Bessie took the last tray of cookies out of the oven and offered everyone a fresh cookie with more ice cream. Hugh was the only one who took her up on the offer. When she’d finished preparing his treat and sat back down, John spoke up.

  “The only man we’ve missed is Bruce Durrant. Tell me about him.”

  “He’s not a nice person,” Bessie said. “He was here for over an hour, spreading all manner of nasty gossip about his friends, although I hesitate to use that word, considering.”

  “Is any of it worth repeating?” John asked her.

  “Not really, at least not as far as I can tell,” Bessie said. “He told me all about Howard and Gennifer, but I already knew about them. He had several nasty things to say about Nigel and his string of female friends, but none of them are on the island, so I can’t see how that’s relevant. I’ve already told you what he thinks of Jeremy.”

  “What did he think of Gennifer?” Doona asked.

  “He didn’t exactly say it, but I got the impression that he thought she deserved what happened to her,” Bessie said, shivering slightly. “He didn’t like her and he didn’t try to hide it.”

  John looked up from his notebook. “Any idea why?”

  “Someone suggested that he’d pursued her, but she ignored him,” Bessie said. “I suppose that would explain his dislike of her.”

  “What did he have to say about the other girls?” John wondered.

  “He knows Sarah is in love with him and he mocked her for it. He didn’t have much to say about Emma, mostly that she’s bland and that he was surprised that she managed to get Nigel into bed. The only person he didn’t say anything horrid about was Elizabeth. I got the impression that he’s very taken with her, actually.”

  “Lucky Elizabeth,” Doona said sarcastically.

  “This might sound odd, but I can almost see him as the murderer, more than the man in the room with Gennifer,” Bessie said after a moment’s thought. “He didn’t like her and he seems like he might have a temper. If she said the wrong thing to him, I can see him stabbing her.”

  Doona shivered. “How horrible.”

  “You don’t think Gennifer would have taken him to bed?” John asked.

  Bessie shook her head. “No, not even if there weren’t any other men at the party. I think she would have made up with Nigel before she’d have given Bruce the time of day.”

  John made a few notes. “What does Bruce do for a living?”

  “Apparently he works for his father’s chain of grocery stores. Someone suggested that he doesn’t really do much of anything, which I can believe.”

  “His not liking the girl seems a fairly weak motive for murder,” John suggested.

  “As I said, they might have had a fight. Maybe he propositioned her and she laughed in his face or something,” Bessie replied.

  “I’m going to put him down as the last on the list for being the man in the unused room, but maybe a bit higher on the list of possible murderers,” John concluded.

  “Which takes us to the ladies,” Doona said. “We know none of them were in the room with Gennifer, so now we’re just looking for a killer.”

  “I can’t prove it, but I like Elizabeth too much to believe that she’d ever kill anyone,” Bessie said.

  “What if Gennifer went after Howard?” Hugh asked.

  “I don’t think Elizabeth would mind that much,” Bessie replied. “She told me they weren’t serious, even before Gennifer died.”

  “Let’s leave her for now,” John suggested. “I have to say she’s fairly low on my list of suspects for a number of reasons. Tell me about Sarah.”

  “She’s not the brightest person in the world,” Bessie said. “And she’s crazy about Bruce, which just proves it, I suppose.”

  “Ouch,” Doona winced.

  Bessie sighed. “I shouldn’t be mean about her, but really, she’s wasting her life running after a man who isn’t interested.”

  “She isn’t the first woman to do that,” Doona pointed out.

  “No, I suppose not. But regardless, I can’t see where she had any motive for killing Gennifer,” Bessie said.

  “What if she found Gennifer in bed with Bruce?” Hugh asked.

  Bessie thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I suspect she wouldn’t have been surprised, really. She’d have been hurt, but I can’t see her going into a murderous rage over it.”

  “But it’s possible,” Hugh said.

  “What does she do?” John asked.

  “I gather she has her own little retail shop in London, although from what I’ve heard, it’s her parents who keep it running,” Bessie told him.

  “She’s still on the list, but only just,” John said tiredly.

  “That just leaves Emma. Let’s talk about her quickly or I’m going to need coffee,” Bessie said.

  “She’s very quiet and shy,” Doona said. “I barely noticed her at the party.”

  “Don’t they say you have to watch the quiet ones?” Hugh asked.

  “Everyone says she’s madly in love with Nigel, although she denies it,” Bessie said.

  “I would too, if I were her,” Doona said. “If it’s true, it gives her a strong motive.”

  “From where I was standing, it looked as if Nigel and Gennifer were breaking up,” Bessie pointed out.

  “Yes, but if she killed Gennifer, she wouldn’t have to worry that they might make up,” Hugh said.

  “Except she also has an alibi,” Doona mused.

  “If we can believe it,” Hugh said. “It seems strange that they suddenly fell into bed together just in time to provide an alibi for one another.”

  “It is strange,” Doona agreed.

  “And what does Emma do back in London?” John asked.

  Bessie thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” she said eventually. “No one mentioned it and I didn’t think to ask. She does rather blend into the background, even in my head.”

  “I don’t know where to put her on my list,” John said. “It’s hard to picture her, as tiny as she is, stabbing a much taller woman and pushing her off a cliff, but I suppose she could have managed it if suitably provoked.”

  “Maybe she caught Gennifer with Nigel and just snapped,” Hugh suggested. “Maybe Nigel is providing her with an alibi because he feels guilty about the whole thing.”

  “That’s one possibility,” John said, taking more notes.

  “Is that everyone?” Bessie asked, yawning as she finished speaking.

  “I certainly hope so,” Doona laughed. “Before you fall asleep on us.”

  “I still haven’t caught up on my sleep properly from the party,” Bessie explained. “I’m not sleeping very well at the moment.” She didn’t want to mention Hugh’s snoring, but it was definitely a factor.

  “Well, we’ll get out of your way,” John said. “I want to let all of the pieces settle in my brain overnight. Maybe we can do this again tomorrow night and get even further.”

  “Perhaps we should try working out where everyone was throughout the evening,” Bessie suggested.

  “I’m not sure we’d be able to get anywhere close,” John said. “I can tell you when people left and came back, but not where they went when there were out of the room. Beyond that, Anna is relying on people’s own statements. Clearly at least one person is lying, and possibly two or more are.”

  Doona quickly helped Bessie clear up the kitchen as John and Hugh talked about several of the cold case files that Hugh had been studying.

  “Once we’re both back at work, I want to tackle some of them seriously,” Hugh told his boss.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” John said. “I was hoping to do that myself, but every time I try to get started, something else comes up that ta
kes priority.”

  John and Doona left together, as John had driven them both down to the cottage. Bessie headed up to bed as quickly as she could, hoping to be fast asleep before Hugh began to snore.

  “I’ll be up in an hour or so,” Hugh told her. “I’m just going to go through one more file.”

  Bessie managed to get about ninety minutes of solid sleep before the snoring began.

  Chapter Twelve

  Feeling as if she’d accomplished nothing more than a bit of random dozing once Hugh began his noisy onslaught, Bessie rolled out of bed at six and rubbed her eyes. She was more tired than she had been when she’d gone to bed, so she stood in the shower for several extra minutes, hoping the hot water would wake up her body, if not her mind. After absentmindedly patting on some dusting powder and mechanically getting dressed, she headed downstairs to start a pot of coffee.

  Bessie was unable to muster up any enthusiasm for her morning walk once she noticed that a heavy rain was falling. Instead, she sat at her kitchen table breathing in coffee fumes and waiting for the pot to finish brewing. As soon as she possibly could, she poured herself a cup of the hot liquid and took a very careful sip. By the time the cup was empty, she was feeling more like herself.

  After pulling on Wellington boots and a heavy raincoat, she walked briskly up the beach as far as the holiday cottages and then returned home. A second cup of coffee left her feeling even better. After a quick look in the cupboards, she realised that she need a trip to the grocery store. With a hungry Hugh in residence, she needed to stock up. She was debating whether or not to leave Hugh a note and just go when she heard the shower turn on. A short while later, Hugh stumbled into the kitchen.

  “Do I smell coffee?” he asked.

  Bessie handed him a cup and he drank eagerly. “I didn’t sleep well,” he told Bessie between sips. “I kept having the most horrible dreams.”

  “I am sorry,” Bessie replied. “Perhaps you should take a nap this afternoon.”

  “I’m terrible at napping. I’ll just have an early night. The coffee is helping, anyway.”

  “I’m afraid there isn’t much in the house for breakfast,” Bessie said apologetically. “There’s some bread for toast or a few boxes of cereal, although they’ve been in the cupboard for a while. I’m not sure they haven’t gone stale.”