“Perhaps we should let John know about the gathering at the pub,” Bessie said as the waiter presented their dinner plates. “If half the people I’m thinking might be there actually do show up, it could turn into an interesting evening.”
Doona nodded and then took a bite of her entrée. “This is delicious,” she told Bessie as she picked up her handbag. She rummaged around in the bag for a moment before pulling out her mobile. Before using it, she took a second bite.
Bessie concentrated on her own meal as Doona spoke to John. The conversation was short and Doona was quickly eating again.
“He’s going to try to get there,” she told Bessie between bites. “Or he might send Inspector Lambert.”
Bessie frowned and took another bite to prevent herself from speaking. She didn’t like Anna Lambert and she wasn’t convinced that the woman was good at her job, but Doona already knew all of that. As Doona worked with the woman every day, she had her own reasons to dislike the disagreeable woman.
“I told John I thought it would be best if he was there,” Doona added. “Or Hugh, as it is still technically his case.”
The women ate every bite of their meals and then turned their attention to the new sweets menu. Bessie debated for a moment between two choices, but in the end chose the selection with the most chocolate.
“Two triple chocolate sponge cakes,” the waiter said. “Excellent.”
When they were finished, both Bessie and Doona agreed that they’d made the right choice.
“Andy may be slightly better, but I can’t possibly complain about your new pastry chef,” Bessie told their waiter. “That was delicious.”
Dinner had been thoroughly enjoyable, but now, as Bessie slipped on her jacket, she felt apprehensive. She was suddenly grateful that Doona had rung John. Knowing a senior police official was going to be there made her feel slightly better about the evening ahead, even if it did turn out to be Anna Lambert at the pub.
Chapter Eleven
The pub was busy when Doona reached the car park. She pulled into one of the only spaces left and glanced at Bessie.
“It looks as if Matthew was a popular man,” she said.
“I suspect people are here for Joanna’s sake, rather than because they were fond of Matthew,” Bessie replied.
“I didn’t think it would be this busy,” Doona remarked as she opened her car door. “Maybe no one will notice us and we’ll manage to hear something interesting.”
“No doubt we’ll hear a lot of skeet,” Bessie answered. “Whether any of it will be relevant to Hugh’s cold case is another matter.”
Bessie was disappointed when they got inside. While the pub was crowded, she couldn’t see anyone that was in any way involved in the investigation into the Kelly girls’ disappearances. Joanna was sitting on a bar stool in the centre of a large group. She’d clearly been crying recently, but the man next to her said something that made her laugh just as Bessie caught her eye.
“Ah, Bessie, you came,” Joanna shouted across the room. “Come and get a drink. Peter is buying for everyone tonight.”
“That explains the crowd,” Doona murmured as she and Bessie crossed the room.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Bessie told the woman as she Joanna hugged her tightly. “It’s so nice to see so many people have come out to pay their respects.”
Joanna laughed. “They’re here because the drinks are free,” she told Bessie in a confiding tone. “But I don’t mind. I need to keep my mind off my troubles and getting drunk with friends is the perfect way to do that.”
Bessie didn’t agree with the sentiment, but she wasn’t about to argue with Joanna right now. “Meet my friend Doona,” Bessie said, gesturing.
“Nice to meet you, I’m sure,” Joanna replied, nodding in Doona’s direction. “Get yourselves some drinks and then come back and talk to me, won’t you? Doona, you can tell me your life story. You look like you’ve had an interesting life.”
Doona shrugged and then she and Bessie took the handful of steps needed to reach the bar.
“Ah, Bessie, I’m ever so glad to see you,” Peter said from behind the bar. “I know you’re here to support Joanna and pay your respects. You didn’t just come in for a free drink.”
Bessie shook her head. “I’ll happily pay for my drink, even,” she told the man. “I do what I can to support our local businesses.”
Peter laughed. “That’s kind of you, but unnecessary. I can afford to pour a few free drinks tonight for Joanna. What would you and your friend like?”
With glasses of wine in hand, Doona and Bessie turned back around to survey the room. “Is there anyone here you’d like to talk to?” Doona asked curiously.
Bessie let her eyes wander around the space. She knew nearly everyone there, at least in passing, but she didn’t really want to talk to anyone she saw. Maybe coming wasn’t such a good idea, she thought as she looked back at Joanna, who had a small crowd around her now. A couple sitting in the corner of the room caught her eye.
“My goodness,” she exclaimed. “It’s James and Sarah Kelly. I wasn’t expecting to see them here.”
“Which ones are they?” Doona asked.
“Susan’s parents,” Bessie told her. “I haven’t spoken to them in years. Time to remedy that.”
She crossed the room with Doona on her heels. As she approached the table where the couple was sitting, James was just getting to his feet. Bessie walked a bit faster, but she needn’t have bothered, as James struggled to get upright. He’d just dropped back into his seat when Bessie arrived.
“James and Sarah, how wonderful to see you both,” she gushed as she reached the table. “Neither of you seems to have aged a bit since I saw you last.”
Bessie wasn’t lying. The hard-working farmers had both always looked somewhat older than their years. Now, as time had passed, their appearances seemed to have stayed the same while the calendar caught up with them.
“Ah, Bessie, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” James told her. “Mind you, I wasn’t sure who might turn up. I suppose you’re less of a surprise than most of the people here.”
“I’m sure I don’t know any of them,” Sarah said. “And I doubt many of them had any connection to Matthew, either.”
Bessie sat down next to Sarah and introduced Doona before she replied. “With free drinks on offer, I’m sure all of Laxey will turn up at some point tonight,” she said. “But I wasn’t really expecting to see you two, either.”
“Oh, I always had a soft spot for Matthew,” Sarah told her. “He spent a lot of time at our house when he was young. His mother had the twins only eighteen months after he was born, so she was a bit overwhelmed. We weren’t far away, just across the fields. He used to come to ours after school every day when he was in primary school.”
“I’m sorry. This must be difficult for you,” Bessie said.
“We’ve lost so many people over the years,” James replied. “Family and friends. No idea why we’re both still plodding along, but here we are.”
“All sorts of ugly rumours are going around,” Sarah said. “We needed to come and make sure that people knew we didn’t believe them.”
“Rumours?” Bessie asked.
Sarah glanced around and then leaned in closer to Bessie. “You know they’ve found some bodies out at the old Grantham place, right?” Bessie nodded.
“They think they might have found Susan,” James said. “After all these years, it hardly seems worth the bother.”
“We’ve known she was dead for years,” Sarah told Bessie. “At least, that was what we hoped. If she was alive, someone was keeping her from contacting us, which was horrible to think about. Otherwise, she’d have rung or sent us a letter or something. She was a good girl, our Susan.”
“She was,” Bessie agreed. “But what does that have to do with Matthew?”
“Someone said he killed himself because he’d been found out,” Sarah replied. “That he’d buried the bodies out at
the Grantham place and when they were found, he, well, ended his life rather than go to prison.”
“He was always one of the suspects in the disappearances, wasn’t he?” Bessie asked.
Sarah shrugged. “The police never told us anything,” she replied. “He probably was, though. He was a little bit wild in those days. Hung out with the wrong crowd, really. But we knew he’d never have done anything to hurt Susan. No one would have.”
“So what do you think did happen?” Doona asked.
Bessie glanced at her and Doona flushed. Neither one of them was meant to be questioning suspects, but Doona worked for the police. Bessie didn’t want her friend to get in trouble.
“Maybe there was an accident,” James suggested. “Or maybe the bodies don’t have anything to do with us. Or maybe some visitor came over and killed them and then left the island. I’ll bet the police aren’t even considering that.”
“They are, actually,” Doona told him. “There are two officers going through ferry and airline records, trying to find out exactly who was the island at the time.”
“We should be going,” Sarah said. “We were just getting up when you came over. We need to be away before Harold gets here, anyway.”
James pushed back his chair and struggled to his feet. “Bad knees,” he told Bessie after his third attempt at standing finally succeeded. “Too many years in the fields, I suppose. Doctor wants to replace them with something fancy, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.”
“Of course it is,” Sarah scolded him. “We just have to find the time to get it done, that’s all. One of these days.”
James shrugged and then took Sarah’s arm. The pair made their way slowly towards the door while Bessie and Doona watched.
“Who’s Harold?” Doona asked as the door shut behind the couple.
“James’s brother and Helen’s father,” Bessie told her. “I understand they haven’t spoken since the girls disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Something to do with James blaming Karen for Helen’s running away.”
“Maybe they’ll make up now that the bodies have been found,” Doona suggested.
“I hope so,” Bessie said. She sat back and looked around the room. “Ah, someone else I was hoping to see,” she told Doona.
“Who is it?” Doona asked as they both stood up.
“Claire Kelly,” Bessie replied. “The woman I had coffee with the other morning. I’m hoping that’s her husband with her.”
The couple was sitting at a small table together, and as they approached, Bessie could see that Claire had been crying.
“Good evening,” Bessie said as she reached the table.
Claire blinked at her and then gave her what looked to be a forced smile. “Miss Cubbon, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes, and this must be Todd. My goodness, you’ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you,” Bessie told the man who looked older than his years. He was almost completely bald and what hair he did have was very short and grey. His eyes looked tired as he studied Bessie.
“Of course, I remember you from my childhood,” he said eventually. “You used to shop at the market in Laxey and everyone knew you. You’re looking well.”
“Thank you,” Bessie replied. “I’m sorry to see you at such a sad occasion.”
“Matthew was, well, he was difficult in adulthood, but we both have fond memories of him in his youth,” Todd told her.
“As do I,” Bessie said. She introduced Doona and then sat down next to Claire. “But who’s watching the children?” she asked.
“Oh, we’ve left Uncle Timothy in charge,” Claire said, smiling. “The older two are out with friends, so it’s only the little one for him to manage.”
“And he does an excellent job with her,” Todd added. “She adores him.”
“But we can’t stay out for too long,” Claire said, looking at her watch. “If nothing else, Timothy wanted to stop in here to pay his respects.”
“He and Matthew were good friends when they were younger,” Todd said. “Until Matt started spending all of his time with Jonas, at least.”
“I might have to stay a while longer, then, if Timothy is coming,” Bessie said. “I haven’t seen him in many years, either.”
“You won’t have any trouble recognising him,” Todd laughed. “While the rest of us have been getting older, he looks exactly the same.”
“Lucky him,” Bessie said.
“Bessie, you know people in the police,” Claire said. “Is there any truth to the rumour that they think that Matthew killed himself because he’d killed the Kelly girls?”
“I know some police officers,” Bessie replied. “But I’m certainly not privy to that sort of information. I take it you don’t think that’s what happened?”
Claire looked at her husband and didn’t reply. After a minute, Todd spoke.
“We don’t know what to think any more,” he said. “I’d always thought Susan just ran away. Everyone always talked about what a sweet girl she was, but she had a new boyfriend and she was starting to behave differently, trying to sneak out and things. I suspected she got herself pregnant and went across to take care of it. When she didn’t come back, I thought maybe she’d decided to have the baby and stay there. I never once imagined that anything bad had happened to her.”
“They haven’t identified the bodies yet,” Bessie pointed out.
“No, but who else could they have found?” Todd asked. “It isn’t like dozens of young women go missing from the island every day. This isn’t London. I’m sure one of the bodies they’ve found is my baby sister. I just wish I knew what happened to her.”
“I’m not sure we really want to know,” Claire said, shuddering. “I just can’t believe that Matthew was involved.”
“If he was, Jonas was, too,” Todd said stoutly. “There’s no way Matthew would have done something like that on his own.”
“I’m surprised Jonas isn’t here,” Bessie remarked.
“No doubt he will be,” Todd told her. “That man has never once passed up a free drink in his life.”
“I thought Peter Clucas might be here as well,” Bessie said.
“Peter tries to avoid the pub,” Todd said. “Too much temptation, I think. Besides which, he doesn’t want to run into his clients. That would be awkward, to say the least.”
“It’s good to see that he’s turned his life around,” Bessie said.
“Yes, he was really wild for a little while there,” Todd replied. “And then, overnight, he just stopped.”
“Overnight?” Bessie echoed.
“It really was, wasn’t it?” Claire asked. “His parents split up and his mum moved to Port Erin. One day Peter was out drinking and carrying on and the next thing I knew, he’d moved to Port Erin and gone back to school.”
“And this was around the same time Susan disappeared?” Bessie asked.
Claire frowned. “It wasn’t long after,” she said after a moment. “Maybe a month or so after the disappearances.”
“There’s no way Peter had anything to do with that,” Todd said firmly. “The timing was just a coincidence. Or maybe the disappearances made him realise that life is too short to be wasted. Whatever, he would never have done anything to hurt the girls.”
“Todd? My goodness, it’s been years,” a voice said at Bessie’s elbow. She turned and smiled at Amy Kelly, who was staring at Todd.
“Mrs. Kelly, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Todd said, rising to his feet. “This is my wife, Claire,” he added.
“Nice to meet you,” Claire said.
“I can’t believe you’re old enough to have a wife,” Amy laughed. “I mean, I know my Henry is all grown up, but the rest of you didn’t have to go and grow up as well, did you?”
Todd grinned. “Growing up wasn’t so bad. It’s this growing old I could do without.”
A ringing mobile interrupted everyone’s laughter. Claire pulled her phone from her bag. After
a short conversation, she frowned at Todd.
“Your brother is eager to get over here and have a drink,” she said. “And it seems our little darling doesn’t want to go to bed, either.”
“Timothy will have her all wound up and excited,” Todd said with a sigh. “We’d better get home and calm her down.”
The pair got up and said their good-byes. Todd gave Amy a hug before they headed for the door.
“It was lovely to see you again,” he told her. “Even if the circumstances are quite sad.”
As they walked away, Amy sank down into one of the now vacated chairs.
“It is sad,” she said to Bessie. “Especially if it was suicide. Matthew didn’t have any reason to kill himself.”
“Presumably he didn’t see it that way,” Bessie suggested.
Amy shrugged. “The police think they’ve found Helen,” she said. “I can’t quite get my head around it, though.”
“I’m sorry,” Bessie told her.
“I said I didn’t want to know,” Amy said. “But now, when the answer seems so tantalizingly close, I want to know more than anything. If it is Helen, well, I suppose I didn’t realise how it would feel to finally have an answer.”
“I hope they can identify the bodies quickly,” Bessie said.
Amy nodded. “But, really, who else is it going to be? I’m starting to come to terms with it all, at least I think I am.”
Bessie patted her arm. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling,” she said.
“I’m not sure I know how I’m feeling,” Amy said, shaking her head. “So many years of uncertainty. So many years of looking for a face that wasn’t there in every crowd. So many years of answering every telephone call with just a smidgen of hope, every single time. And now, to have to consider burying my baby girl.” She took a shaky breath.
Doona pulled a packet of tissues out of her handbag and passed them to the woman. Amy took one and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m trying to be strong. I felt like I had to come tonight. I don’t want people thinking that I blame Matthew for anything.”
“That was good of you,” Bessie said.
“I knew him,” Amy said. “Not well, and I didn’t really like him, but I knew him. The man wasn’t a murderer.”
Aunt Bessie Likes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 12) Page 17
