Bessie frowned. “I hadn’t considered that,” she said softly.
The man nodded and rose to his feet. “I really must go,” he said, “but I may be back. Thank you again for your time.”
Doona opened the door and then stood and watched as the man walked to his car. As it pulled away, Bessie noted that it had a sticker from a hire car firm on the back bumper.
“That was interesting,” Doona said as she sat back down across from Bessie at the table.
“It was, wasn’t it?” Bessie replied. It was getting late and she wanted to tell Doona to leave, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to be alone in her cottage yet. As she opened her mouth to broach the subject, once again someone began knocking on the door.
Chapter 11
Doona frowned. “It’s too late for visitors,” she said.
“Clearly not,” Bessie replied, as whoever it was knocked again.
“Maybe I should ring John,” Doona said hesitantly, “or Hugh.”
“For goodness sake, just open the door,” Bessie snapped. While she was nervous about who might be on her doorstep, she really hated it when Doona fussed over her.
Doona shook her head and then walked over to the door. “You need a window in this door,” she said.
“Yes, well, it’s a bit late in the day for that now,” Bessie replied. “Are you going to open the door, or am I?”
Bessie knew Doona didn’t want to open the door, but she did so anyway.
“Andy? What brings you here this late at night?” Bessie asked as she recognised her visitor.
“The kitchen lights were still on, otherwise I wouldn’t have knocked,” he explained. “It’s just, well, after we got home, Mum and I were talking, and we agreed that we weren’t happy about you being here on your own. Not while the person who broke into the cottage hasn’t been found, anyway. Mum wondered if you’d like to come and stay with us, but I didn’t think you’d like that idea. I reckon I stayed here a lot when I was a teenager, so maybe you wouldn’t mind if I stayed over again for a few nights.”
“That’s a very kind offer, but I’m perfectly fine on my own,” Bessie said firmly. She wasn’t sure she actually believed it, but she wasn’t prepared to admit that to herself, let alone to anyone else.
“I was going to stay tonight,” Doona told them both. “I just need to pop home and get my things. I was so focussed on getting the cottage clean that I forgot to bring them when I came earlier.”
“You go home and don’t worry about me,” Bessie said, “and Andy, you can go home as well. I’m sure my intruder is long gone.”
“Yeah, halfway down the beach,” Doona muttered. “I’ll go home and stay home if you let Andy stay.”
Before Bessie could reply, Andy held up a hand. “Don’t argue,” he said sternly. “I’m not leaving. I brought a bag with everything I’ll need for three or four days, and Mum has promised to come by and collect my laundry and bring me clean clothes if I want to stay longer.”
“I appreciate the offer, but it really isn’t necessary,” Bessie said.
Andy crossed the room and sat down next to Bessie. He took one of her hands and held it tightly. “You were one of the most important people in my childhood,” he said. “I’m not sure I would have made it through without your support. I’m sure you’re perfectly safe in your cottage, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at home for worrying about you. Please, just let me stay a few nights. As soon as the police arrest someone for the break-in, I’ll go quietly.”
Bessie sighed. “I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“Oh, I brought all my things to do with me,” he laughed. “I’m working on a few new recipes. I brought all of my ingredients. I was hoping you might help me taste-test some of my ideas.”
“What sort of recipes?” Doona asked.
“Puddings, mostly, as that’s my favourite thing to make,” Andy told her. “I’ve been working on an American-style brownie for a few days now and I think I’ve just about got it where I want it, but I want to try adding chocolate chips or maybe topping them with caramel sauce. I want them to be just a tiny bit more decadent.”
“If Bessie won’t let you stay, you can come and stay at my house,” Doona offered.
Bessie and Andy both laughed. “You’ll have to come and visit tomorrow,” Andy told her. “I plan on baking brownies all day tomorrow.”
“If I let you stay,” Bessie said.
“You can’t throw him out,” Doona told her. “He’s going to make me brownies.”
Bessie chuckled again. She knew she was being manipulated into letting the man stay, but it was hard to argue with fresh brownies, especially extra-decadent ones. “Okay, you can stay,” she told the young man, “but you can’t fuss over me.”
“I have no intention of fussing over you,” Andy retorted. “Fussing isn’t my style.”
Bessie looked at Doona. There was no way her friend could say the same. Doona fussed nearly all the time, or at least it felt that way to Bessie.
“I should get home, then,” Doona said, ignoring the look. “I’ve the day off tomorrow. Would you like to do something?”
“I thought you were taking Thomas and Amy into Ramsey,” Bessie reminded her.
“Oh, that’s right. I am. Would you like to go to Ramsey?”
“Actually, I suppose I could,” Bessie grinned.
“I’ll collect you around half nine. I’m collecting the children at ten. We’ll make a morning of it, if you’d like, and maybe have lunch there before we head back.”
“That sounds good,” Bessie replied.
“Bring the children in when you get back,” Andy suggested. “I’m sure they’ll be brutally honest if I have them taste the brownies. If I have the cottage to myself for a few hours, I should be able to bake several different batches.”
“The children and I will all come in when I bring Bessie home,” Doona said. “I can be brutally honest if I need to be in order to be allowed to try the brownies.”
With everything agreed, Bessie let Doona out of the cottage. She watched as her friend drove away and then spent a minute staring out the door down the beach. It was almost impossible for her to believe that someone had broken into her cottage, even though she’d seen the mess they’d left behind with her own eyes.
The beach was empty and nearly all of the holiday cottages were dark. Bessie fancied that she could see a few lights on in Thie yn Traie, high above the beach, but the mansion was so far away that she was probably seeing street lights rather than anything there.
“I’ll just bring in my things,” Andy said behind Bessie.
She moved out of the way and the watched, stunned, as he unloaded several large bags from his car boot. “I thought you were only staying for a few days,” she said weakly as he struggled back inside with the bags.
“I am, or I hope I am,” he grinned. “This is my bag for me,” he said, holding up a small backpack. “Everything else is work.” He unzipped the largest bag and let Bessie look inside. It was packed full of cooking utensils, baking pans, and weighing scales.
“I have all of those things,” Bessie said. “I’ll admit mine probably aren’t as nice as yours, but they all work.”
Andy shook his head. “When I’m working on a recipe, I always use the same pans and scales and whatnot. Precision is important until I get the recipe exactly where I want it. Once it’s just right, then I can relax a bit about everything.”
“But surely the most important variable is the oven that you use,” Bessie suggested. “My oven won’t bake anything like the oven in your mother’s house.”
“But I can adjust for that easily,” Andy assured her. “I’ll start with a test batch or two of the recipe I already have. Once I’ve worked out the differences in the ovens, I’ll be good to go.”
A second bag was full of flour, sugar, and other ingredients. With Bessie’s cupboards already full to bursting, Andy had little choice but to leave the bag largely packed. He put
the perishable items into the rather full fridge and left the rest of the items in the bag.
“Are you sure you don’t mind being here on your own tomorrow?” Bessie asked as he finished.
“I’d rather be alone, if I’m honest,” Andy said. “I love Mum, but when she’s underfoot, I can’t get anything done. I’m afraid if you were here, I’d feel self-conscious about my baking. I learned everything I know about it from you, after all.”
“I may have taught you the basics, but I’m sure you’ve learned a great deal since then.” She yawned before she could continue. “Maybe it’s time for bed,” she said eventually.
“I’m ready when you are. When I’m home I tend to go to bed early. Mum likes early nights, especially when she’s working, which she’s doing one or twice a week at the moment.”
“I don’t know who the girl was who was behind the till the last time I was in the shop. She seemed nice enough, I suppose, but she didn’t seem to like the job very much.”
“It’s a tough job, I reckon. Mum never complained, at least not to me, but I know she didn’t much like it. She only does it now as a favour to the owner, even though I don’t think she owes him any favours after the way he treated her.”
“She probably likes getting out of the house,” Bessie suggested, “and spending time with the regular customers.”
“She does. It’s a bit frustrating, because she doesn’t have to work, but she simply can’t relax and enjoy herself at home all day, every day.”
“I’ve never had a problem doing that,” Bessie laughed. She gave the man a hug. “Thank you for coming to stay with me,” she told him. “I don’t need you, but I am glad that you’re here.”
Andy followed Bessie up the stairs, carrying his backpack. “Do you still get up at six every morning?” he asked from the guest room doorway.
“I do. I’ll try to be quiet.”
“No need. I probably won’t be far behind you.”
Bessie got ready for bed as quickly as she could in the small bathroom. When she came out, she tapped on Andy’s door. “Good night,” she called.
“Good night, Aunt Bessie,” he replied.
Bessie wasn’t sure if it was Andy’s presence in the house or just exhaustion after her stressful days of late, but she was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. When she woke up, she felt slightly disoriented, as if she’d overslept, but her clock showed that it was only one minute past six. She showered and dressed and then had a slice of toast with honey, all while trying to be as quiet as possible. When she let herself out of the cottage, she breathed a sigh of relief. Out on the beach she didn’t have to worry about how much noise she made.
With that thought on her mind, she headed for the water’s edge and then kicked off her shoes and splashed into the sea. The water felt ice-cold and surprised her feet. It wasn’t long before she headed back up the beach to slip her shoes back on. She walked as far as Thie yn Traie and then continued for a short while longer. As the skies began to cloud over, she turned and headed for home.
“My goodness, I didn’t even think you’d be up yet,” Bessie exclaimed as she opened her cottage door and found Andy working at the cooker.
“I really am an early riser now,” he replied, “and since I was up, I thought I would make breakfast.”
Bessie had opened her mouth to tell him that she’d already had toast, when she spotted the pancakes he was expertly flipping. Maybe I can find room for a few pancakes in spite of my earlier snack, she thought as she shut the cottage door behind her.
Andy had a pile of pancakes with strips of bacon on a plate at the table for her before she’d crossed the room. “I brought maple syrup,” he told her. “It’s the best for on pancakes.”
Bessie wasn’t about to argue. She sometimes bought maple syrup herself, although she hadn’t done so lately. While Andy cooked his own breakfast, Bessie poured the syrup onto her pancakes.
“Go ahead and start eating,” Andy told her. “Pancakes are best when they are hot.”
“These are delicious,” Bessie said after her second bite. “They’ve come up much fluffier than mine ever do.”
“I have a trick, but I’m not going to tell you what it is,” Andy teased.
“I don’t need to know. If I could make pancakes this good, I’d have them for breakfast every morning, and that would be bad for my health and my waistline.”
“But it would make you happy,” Andy suggested.
“I think I’ll settle for being pancake-happy only once in a while,” Bessie told him.
“Well, while I’m here, I’ll probably make them every morning. I don’t have time to make breakfast when I’m at culinary school. I eat a lot of cold cereal while I’m walking back and forth to class. Being able to make pancakes is a real treat for me.”
“It’s a treat for me as well, and I’ll enjoy them while you’re here, as long as you don’t stay for more than a few days.”
“Let me know when you want to me to stop,” Andy replied.
Bessie insisted on doing the washing-up since Andy had cooked.
“I’m going to be dirtying dishes all day,” he argued. “I can wash the breakfast dishes while I’m washing everything else later.”
“This way you can start with a clean kitchen,” Bessie told him. “That will be nicer for you.”
Doona arrived at exactly half nine. Bessie was sitting on the rock behind the cottage when her friend drove up. She waved as Doona climbed out of her car.
“I hope this doesn’t mean that Andy is getting on your nerves already,” Doona said as a greeting.
“Not at all,” Bessie assured her, “but he wanted to get started on his baking and I was in his way.”
When Doona looked surprised, Bessie continued quickly.
“He didn’t tell me that I was in the way, but I could tell that he wanted to be alone.”
“I just can’t wait to see what he comes up with,” Doona said. “I dreamed about brownies all night last night.”
Bessie laughed and then got down off the rock. “I just need to grab my bag, and I’ll be ready to go.”
“No rush. We aren’t due to collect the children for nearly half an hour. They probably won’t be ready when we get there, either.”
Bessie nodded and then crossed back to the cottage. She let herself in the back door and headed up the stairs. After running a comb through her hair and adding a touch of lipstick to her lips, she went back down and stuck her head into the kitchen. The wonderful smell of warm chocolate filled her nose.
“Someone should bottle that smell and sell it to restaurants. I’m sure they’d sell many more puddings if that smell was always in the air.”
Andy laughed. “You could be right,” he said. “Maybe I’ll try that for my restaurant.”
“I’m going with Doona now. I should be back some time after one. I need to make dinner for my friends who are coming over tonight, so I will need to get into the kitchen at some point.”
“Right,” Andy nodded. “What are you planning to make for them?”
“I’m not sure. I might throw a chicken in the oven or make spaghetti Bolognese. We’ll see how much energy I have when I get back from shopping all morning.”
“I hope you have fun,” Andy told her. “I’ll be hard at work on the perfect brownies.”
Bessie met Doona back on the beach. Doona had taken Bessie’s spot on the rock.
“Is everything okay?” Bessie asked her friend when she joined her.
“My solicitor from across rang last night,” Doona replied, still staring at the sea. “He’s unearthed another life insurance policy on Charles that’s payable to me. I should be getting a cheque for a fairly large six-figure sum in the next few weeks.”
“My goodness,” Bessie gasped, “but that’s wonderful news, isn’t it?”
Doona sighed. “Of course it’s wonderful, but it’s also strange and odd and, well, I don’t know what to do with that much money. It’s a life-changing amo
unt, you know? I’m sure Doncan will have all sorts of excellent advice, but he’s booked up until next week, so for now I’m just imagining selling up everything and moving to the south of France or some island in the Caribbean, or something equally crazy.”
“Doncan always has excellent advice,” Bessie agreed. The man had been her advocate for many years, following on from his father. His son, the third generation of advocates, was also turning out to be very good at the job, even if Bessie couldn’t quite believe that he was even old enough to drive a car.
“I think I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed,” Doona told her. “The solicitor in the UK has been warning me all along that there might not be any more money, and that the legal fees will probably take nearly everything by the time it’s all sorted with Charles’s former partner, and then he dropped this on me yesterday with no warning.”
When Doona’s second husband had died, she’d been shocked to learn that she was still his heir even though they’d been separated for some time. She’d received a large lump sum right after his death, but the rest of the estate had been tangled up in legal proceedings ever since. Charles’s business partner had been arrested for illegal business practices within days of Charles’s death, and the police, the solicitors, and the courts were all still working to determine a fair settlement of the man’s estate.
“Try not to think about it until after you’ve spoken to Doncan,” Bessie suggested.
“I’ve been trying that, but it’s hard. I can think of a million things I’d like to do with the money, all of them stupidly indulgent. Would you like to go to Disney World with me for a month or two?”
“Disney World? In Florida? I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s my sort of holiday.”
“It may not be mine, but I’m tempted to find out. Maybe I should take Thomas and Amy with me. They’d probably love it.”
“They probably would, but you’d have to talk to John about that.”
“Yeah, and I’d probably have to take John with us, and that would be, well, awkward,” Doona sighed. “Never mind. Maybe I’ll go on a cruise around the world or buy a totally unsuitable car or something. Let’s go into Ramsey and see what I can buy.”
Aunt Bessie Questions (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 17) Page 17
