Aunt Bessie Likes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 12)

by Diana Xarissa

  Bessie patted the woman’s arm. “But surely you want to know what happened to Helen?” she asked.

  “I really don’t,” Amy replied emphatically. “It’s been nearly thirty years. If she were able to, she would have contacted someone by now. They say not knowing is harder, but I don’t want to know. She must be, that is, she can’t still be…” Amy trailed off and looked down at her hands. They were tightly clenched.

  “I can’t stop John and Hugh from reopening the file,” Bessie said.

  Amy nodded. “I didn’t really think you could,” she said flatly. “Every night, before I go to bed, I ring Henry to check on him and my grandchildren. Henry indulges me because of, well, everything. In my head, I also ring Helen. I’ve given her a whole life over the last twenty-nine years. She got married young, but it didn’t work out. She was a single mum for a few years before she met the perfect man. They have two kids together and he adopted her son from her first marriage as well. The kids are getting older, of course. The oldest, Jack, is getting married himself soon.” Amy stopped and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, swallowing hard. “It’s all in my head, but it feels real to me. Maybe I’m crazy, but it’s kept me going over all these years. If we find out what happened to Helen, what really happened, I’ll lose them all, Jack and the other kids and Helen’s wonderful husband and…” She stopped and wiped furiously at the tears that were flowing rapidly.

  “I don’t think you’re crazy,” Bessie told her. “I think you’ve done what you needed to do to survive an impossible situation. Maybe you should talk to your doctor, though, make sure he’s aware that the case has been reopened and that you could be in for a shock.”

  “I have a counselor that I see regularly,” Amy replied. “I made an emergency appointment with her after Constable Watterson rang me to make an appointment for an interview.”

  “When do you talk to Hugh?”

  “This afternoon at four,” Amy replied, glancing at her watch. “I was going to ring you after my job interview, so running into you was serendipitous.”

  “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  “Talking about it has helped,” Amy told her. “I haven’t really talked about Helen in, oh, maybe twenty years. Henry gets upset when I bring her up and I don’t speak to Harold and Brandy any longer. I moved back up north about fifteen years ago, but I live in Ramsey and most of my friends there don’t even know I have a daughter.”

  “Maybe talking to Hugh will help as well,” Bessie suggested.

  “As I don’t have a choice, I will have to hope so,” Amy replied with a wry smile. “I wonder, that is, I keep wondering if he’ll find anything after all this time.”

  “He’s hoping people might be more willing to talk after so many years,” Bessie told her. “Maybe they’ll remember something that they didn’t think mattered all those years ago, something like that.”

  “The whole thing caused so much trouble within the family. Some people haven’t spoken to one another since it happened. I really hate to see it all dragged up again for that reason as well.”

  “I’m surprised it hasn’t been reopened in the past,” Bessie said. “It seems like something the police would revisit occasionally.”

  “I’m pretty sure Donald Clucas did his best to keep the file gathering dust,” Amy said.

  “Donald Clucas?” Bessie asked. “He owned a great deal of property in Laxey, didn’t he? Why was he involved?”

  “He owned enough of Laxey to be able to influence the police,” Amy said. “And his son was the prime suspect.”

  Bessie sat back in her seat, trying to remember. “Jonas?” she asked after a moment. “It’s all coming back to me now.”

  Amy nodded. “Jonas was spending a lot of time with Karen Kelly before she disappeared. As I understand it, the police inspector in charge of the investigation thought Jonas knew something, but he could never prove anything.”

  “He was quite a bit older than Karen, wasn’t he?”

  “He was twenty-something and Karen was fifteen,” Amy said. “That didn’t raise as many eyebrows in those days as it would today, of course.”

  “What’s Jonas doing these days?” Bessie asked.

  “He just sits around living off the money he inherited,” Amy said scornfully. “Donald tried to get him interested in the family business, but Jonas wasn’t having it. He drank and partied his way through the seventies and then married some really young model-slash-actress that he’d met in London. Eventually Donald cut him off, and he moved back to the island with his wife and a couple of kids. His mother, Laura, supported him for ages behind Donald’s back, and then when Donald died about five years ago, Jonas inherited a fortune.”

  “I was always surprised his father didn’t write him out of the will, but Donald had some very ill health at the end, didn’t he? I remember someone telling me that Donald and Jonas reconciled just before Donald passed,” Bessie said, the conversation stirring up many old memories.

  “Jonas was an only child. I believe Donald always hoped that Jonas would change and he was able to convince himself at the end that he had.”

  “But he hasn’t?”

  Amy laughed. “You can say that again,” she said. “He spends as much time as he can in London, without the wife and kids, of course, but as I understand it, the money is starting to run out so he’s been back here for the last few months.”

  “Do they still have the family home in Laxey?” Bessie asked, trying to remember what she’d heard about the family lately. She had a feeling they’d moved away, but as she didn’t know any of them personally, she didn’t pay much attention to any stories she’d heard about them.

  “Laura sold that when Donald passed. She moved into a retirement community in Douglas and Donald bought himself a small mansion in Andreas for some reason. He has a flat in Douglas as well, and I gather that’s where he prefers to spend his time.”

  “Does he still own property all over Laxey?”

  Amy shook her head. “His father had a few financial setbacks and started selling off pieces of his property years ago. Don’t get me wrong, he still left a substantial amount to Jonas, but I gather Jonas is burning through that quite quickly. I don’t think Jonas ever understood that in order to spend money, someone has to make some first. He’s lucky at the moment, of course, as property prices are soaring. He’ll be doing quite well whenever he sells off a house or business now.”

  “Jonas couldn’t have been the only suspect,” Bessie suggested.

  “Oh, no, his cousin Peter Clucas was also questioned extensively, but Peter was a good kid. He and Helen had some of the same friends, but he did his best to avoid the wildest of the antics. And Matthew Kelly was questioned more than anyone else, but I never believed the people that thought he knew something.”

  “He and Helen were a couple, weren’t they?” Bessie asked.

  “I don’t think it was anything that serious,” Amy replied. “They were spending time together, but I think they were just having fun. Helen was seventeen and she was hoping to persuade her father to send her to university. She wanted to be a nurse. I don’t think a serious boyfriend fit into her plans.”

  “I understand Helen’s father had a falling-out with his brother, Susan’s father, over the disappearances,” Bessie said.

  Amy nodded. “Susan’s father, James, always thought Harold knew more than he’d admit. He thought that, since Helen was the oldest, she must have planned everything. I’m pretty sure he thought Helen was pregnant and went across to take care of it.”

  “If that was the case, where do Susan and Karen fit in?”

  “James accused Helen of dragging them along because she didn’t want to be on her own in Liverpool or wherever, but that never made sense to me. The three girls got along okay, but they weren’t particularly good friends or anything. Helen had a couple of friends at school that would have been much more likely to have gone with her if she’d needed to trav
el across for any reason.”

  “So what do you think happened?” Bessie had to ask.

  Amy shrugged. “I’ve asked myself that a million times or more,” she said. “Late at night, when I’m alone, I imagine that something awful happened to them all. Like I said, mostly I try to convince myself that my little fantasy world is real. In that world, she left because her father wouldn’t let her go to nursing school, even though Harold has always said they never discussed the matter.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “Not entirely,” Amy replied. “Helen told me she’d talked with both Harold and Brandy about nursing school and I’ve no reason to think she would have lied. As far as I know, though, no decisions had been made before she went away. I’ve never got a chance to ask Brandy about the matter. As I said earlier, we don’t speak any longer.”

  “Do you mind if I ask why?”

  “There isn’t really a reason that I could give you. Harold and I had to get along while the children were young, for their benefit, but once Henry finished school, we simply never saw one another. I can only speak for myself, but I’ve no interest in seeing them, either. Henry always invites us to separate events when the grandchildren have birthdays and the like. I have his family for Christmas Eve and they spend Christmas with Harold and also with Henry’s wife’s family. It was never a conscious decision to stop speaking to them, it just sort of happened.”

  Bessie nodded. “I feel like I’m prying,” she admitted. “And I shouldn’t be. None of this is any of my business.”

  “You’re easy to talk to,” Amy replied. “And as I said, it actually feels good to talk about Helen. Maybe I should do more of that.”

  “Well, you have Hugh to talk to later,” Bessie pointed out.

  Amy laughed. “You’re right, and now I’m not dreading it nearly as much.” She glanced at her watch. “But I’d better get home and get myself ready for the interview. Thank you so much for your time.”

  “I’m always happy to talk, any time,” Bessie assured her. “Feel free to ring me or even come to my cottage.”

  Amy grinned. “I haven’t been to Treoghe Bwaaue in years,” she said. “But I was there once. Do you remember?”

  Bessie thought for a moment. “It was when Helen and Henry were quite small,” she recalled. “You’d brought them to Laxey Beach for the day and Henry managed to fall off some rocks and bang his head.”

  “And you provided ice for the swelling and tea for my shattered nerves,” Amy continued the story. “That was when things were starting to fall apart between Harold and me.”

  “You never said a word about that when you were with me,” Bessie said.

  “I never said a word to anyone,” Amy replied. “It wasn’t something I could ever talk about. Finding out that my husband had never loved me was a huge and difficult shock, and it was rather embarrassing, as well.”

  “Again, I’m sorry,” Bessie said.

  This time Amy laughed. “Oh, it was so long ago now that it really doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said. “In hindsight, I probably should have tried harder to make things work, anyway. But once I’d learned that Harold had been deeply in love with another woman and had only married me because he’d lost her, I was too proud to stay in the marriage. I’ve learned a lot about love and loss since then, though. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have stuck with it for a while longer.”

  “Isn’t hindsight an awful thing?” Bessie asked.

  “Of course, it’s all tangled up with what happened with Helen, as well. I can’t help but feel that she’d never have disappeared if I’d been there for her, even though that probably isn’t true.”

  “It isn’t true,” Bessie said firmly. “Maybe Hugh’s investigation can help prove that to you.”

  Amy nodded and then rose to her feet. “I really must dash. Thank you again, for everything.”

  Bessie nodded and then watched as the other woman made her way out of the café. Hugh was certainly stirring things up by reopening this case. Bessie could only hope he’d find the answers he was looking for. As the door shut behind Amy, Bessie noticed Mary sitting at a table with Dan and Carol. She got up and crossed the now nearly empty café to them.

  “Mary, you should have gone home ages ago,” she greeted her friend.

  “We started talking and I lost all track of time,” Mary said.

  Dan stood up. “That must be my cue to get back to work,” he said with a laugh. He gave his wife a quick hug and then headed back towards the kitchen, stopping to clear a few tables along the way.

  “And I’d better get the dining room ready for the dinner crowd,” Carol said. She stood up as well and when Mary rose, gave the older woman a tight hug. “Thank you, as always, for everything,” she whispered to Mary.

  “Thank you for a lovely lunch,” Bessie told the woman. “I would have thanked your very talented husband, but he rushed away too quickly.”

  “I’ll pass it along for you,” Carol promised.

  Bessie followed Mary outside, where the wind had died down slightly but a steady rain was falling.

  “Nothing like winter on the Isle of Man,” Mary said cheerfully as she started the car’s engine. It only took a moment or two for the car to warm up to a comfortable temperature and Bessie was happy to sit back and enjoy the ride.

  “Do you have time for a cuppa?” Bessie asked her friend as Mary pulled into the small parking area near Bessie’s cottage.

  “I shouldn’t,” Mary replied. “I promised Elizabeth I’d come over to Thie yn Traie to see what the new designer we’ve hired has planned for her suite. She’s already texted me four times to remind me.”

  “I’ll let you go, then. I’ll ring you when I’ve spoken to Hugh’s mum.”

  “And I’ll ring you after I’ve spoken to Grace’s parents,” Mary replied. “I’m really excited about our surprise.”

  “Me, too,” Bessie agreed. “I just hope it all works out,” she added under her breath as she made her way to her cottage’s front door. The problem with big surprises was that they could go wrong in so many ways.

  There was no answer at Hugh’s parents’ house, and they didn’t seem to have an answering machine. Bessie let it ring a dozen times and then hung up. She’d have to try again later. After her large lunch, she was happy to settle for a simple bowl of soup for dinner. She was just curling up with a book when her phone rang. Although she thought about ignoring it, the sound reminded her that she still needed to talk to Hugh’s mum, so she answered it instead.

  “Bessie, I’m not going to be able to make it tonight,” Hugh told her. “The interviews have taken all day and I still have to write everything up for John. There are a lot of things I’d like to ask you about, though, if you’re free tomorrow night?”

  “I am,” Bessie replied. “Will you be coming after work? Do you want me to cook dinner?”

  “I thought I’d try to get there around six and maybe try to persuade John and Doona to join me,” he said. “I’ll bring Chinese, if that’s okay with you.”

  “It’s fine; in fact, it sounds wonderful,” Bessie told him, suddenly hungry again. “I’ll make something nice for pudding.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then,” Hugh said before disconnecting.

  Since she had the phone in her hand, she went ahead and rang Hugh’s mum again.

  “Ah, it’s Elizabeth Cubbon,” she said when the woman answered. “I was hoping we could meet for tea or something. I’d like to talk to you about the wedding.”

  “The wedding? That’s Hugh’s affair, not ours,” the woman replied. “We’d love to be able to help more, but we simply can’t.”

  “I understand that, but I’d still like to speak to you, if I could.”

  “No reason why not. Why don’t you come for lunch tomorrow? My husband is out all morning at some thing or another. Come around half eleven and I’ll make us some soup and sandwiches or some such thing.”

  “That sounds good,” Bessie agreed. �
��But I do have to be home before two.”

  “Oh, aye, my other half will be home by that time anyway. You’ll be wanting to get away before he gets here.”

  Bessie laughed, but she knew Hugh’s mother was only half-teasing. Hugh hadn’t had the happiest of childhoods, although Bessie knew his parents had done their best. Neither of them had been pleased with his plans to join the police, which hadn’t helped. Still, Hugh’s mother was the right person to consult before Bessie and Mary started working in earnest on their surprise.

  Bessie read for a few hours, but she had a busy day planned for Wednesday, so she forced herself to get to bed at a decent time, even before she’d found out who the killer was in her mystery novel.

  “He or she will still be there tomorrow,” she reminded herself as she washed her face. “That’s the good thing about fictional criminals; they stay in place, right on the page.”

  Chapter Four

  Bessie kept her walk short the next morning. It was cold, but clear and with no rain in the forecast, she decided that she’d walk to her luncheon date. It would probably take twenty minutes, but walking sounded better than getting a taxi. She spent her morning working on her transcriptions, this time setting an alarm to remind her that she had other things to do. It was just as well that she had, as she was completely lost in her work again when the alarm sounded.

  “Oh, bother,” she said loudly. She was just getting to the good part of the will she was working on. But it too would wait patiently for her to return, she reminded herself as she changed her clothes and combed her hair. Hugh and Grace were getting married in less than a fortnight.

  Walking to the small semi-detached property where Hugh had grown up took almost exactly the twenty minutes Bessie had predicted. Hugh’s mum answered Bessie’s knock almost instantly.

  “I was just looking out to see if you were coming,” she said, blushing brightly. “And there you were, on my doorstep.”

  Bessie laughed. “Perfect timing,” she said lightly.

  Hugh’s mother nodded and then stepped backwards to let Bessie into the house. “It isn’t as tidy as it should be,” she said apologetically. “I had good intentions, but I never really found the time.”