Dawn nodded. “It must be wonderful to live right by the water,” she sighed. “Walter and I always talked about getting a house on the water, but he couldn’t seem to stay out of prison long enough to make it happen.”
Bessie wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement, so she simply smiled at the woman. After an awkward moment, Dawn spoke again.
“We’re going home tomorrow,” she told Bessie. “My father has gone to talk to the inspector to let him know.”
“I’m not sure he’s going to allow that,” Bessie said slowly.
“He can’t stop us,” Dawn replied. “We have jobs to get back to, and appointments and things. Walter’s death doesn’t have anything to do with us, anyway.”
“Constance told me that she’d told Brandon that they were here,” Bessie said in what she hoped was a casual tone.
“Constance talks too much,” Dawn snapped.
“Who has she been talking to now?” Brandon asked as he joined his sister in the cottage doorway.
“You remember Bessie from the cottage down the beach,” Dawn replied.
“Of course I do,” the man said, looking at Bessie and smiling. It was a nasty smile that nearly made Bessie shiver.
“Did Constance tell you where she and Walter were?” Bessie asked, feeling brave on the crowded beach.
“I don’t really talk to Constance,” the man replied. “She was Dawn’s friend, not mine, after all.”
Bessie opened her mouth to ask about their lunch together that afternoon, but she shut it again as Brandon walked out of the cottage and onto the patio. Dawn followed, and before Bessie could speak they were joined by Horace and Mike.
“Is it raining yet?” Mike asked. He had a can of lager in his hand, and he popped it open and took a long drink as he waited for someone to reply.
“You’re standing outside, surely you can answer that question yourself,” Dawn snapped. “I thought we were going to wait to start drinking until Dad got back.”
“He’s not my father,” Mike laughed.
Horace looked at Dawn and then at Mike. After a moment he shrugged and opened his own can with a resounding snap. “It’s our last night, right? We should enjoy it,” he said.
“Why can’t you enjoy it without alcohol?” Dawn asked.
Horace took a drink before he replied. “I can enjoy it anyway, it’s just better with booze.”
“Everything is better with booze,” Brandon said loudly. He stepped back into the cottage for a minute and then emerged with his own can.
Dawn frowned. “You should wait for Dad, anyway,” she suggested.
“If I drink a few before he gets here, he’ll never know how many I’ve had,” Brandon argued.
“Dad can count the empties,” Dawn replied.
“I’ll just tell him Mike drank them all,” Brandon retorted with a wave of his hand. “You’re just grumpy because we don’t have any more wine, and you think you’re too sophisticated to drink lager.”
“That’s not it at all,” Dawn told her brother. “What if the police come back with Dad to ask us more questions? I’d rather deal with that when I’m sober, thank you.”
“Nah, the police are best dealt with after a few drinks,” Brandon laughed. “Besides, why would they come back with Dad? They must be done with their investigation by now. What do you know about that?” he challenged Bessie.
“Nothing,” she replied flatly. “I believe the investigation is ongoing.”
“You can’t expect an inspector on a tiny island like this to actually catch anyone,” Brandon told his sister. “This is probably his first-ever murder investigation.”
Bessie almost laughed out loud. While she’d have loved to set Brandon straight, maybe it was better that he was underestimating John and the local constabulary.
“I just hope they let us leave,” Dawn said. “I need to get back for work.”
“We’ll go, no matter what,” Brandon said. He glanced at Bessie. “You can tell your friends at the police that I said that, as well. They’ve no cause for keeping us here.”
“Take it easy, mate,” Horace said. “Have another beer. We need to get it all gone before we leave, right?”
“There’s no point in taking any back with us,” Brandon replied. “We have plenty at home.”
“Exactly, so drink up and relax,” Mike said. “Cheers.” He waved his can in the air and then emptied it. “Bring me another,” he added as Brandon went back inside.
“I really wish you’d all stop until Dad gets back,” Dawn said, sounding anxious.
“I’ll stop, if it matters that much to you,” Horace said. He drank whatever was left in his can and then threw the empty can through the cottage door. It clattered loudly as it bounced across the tile floor. “Come and sit with me and relax,” he told Dawn.
There were a few chairs on the patio, and Horace crossed to one and sat down. He pulled a second one closer to him and gestured towards it. “There you are,” he told Dawn. “Sit down and we’ll talk. I’ve been wanting to talk to you since we arrived, but I haven’t had the opportunity.”
“That’s because Lucas is always around,” Mike said loudly. “He stays real close to his little girl to protect her from men like you.”
Horace laughed. “I don’t think it’s me he’s trying to protect her from.”
“He isn’t trying to protect me from anyone,” Dawn said angrily. “He’s just been trying to keep an eye on me because he knows how upset I am about Walter, that’s all.”
“More fool you,” Brandon said as he walked back out of the cottage. He handed Mike a can and then opened the one he’d kept for himself. “You knew Walter was trouble when you married him. He treated you badly, but you kept going back to him, time after time. Even after he ran off with your best friend, you still cried when he died. I don’t understand it.”
“You’ve never been in love,” Dawn snapped.
“Love should be a two-way street,” Brandon argued. “Walter never cared about you. He just wanted a place to stay between prison sentences.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Dawn replied. Bessie could see tears in the woman’s eyes. “He did love me and we might even have made things work again, if Constance hadn’t interfered.”
“You can’t keep blaming Constance for everything,” Brandon told her. “Walter was the one who left. It doesn’t matter that Constance went with him.”
“It does matter. It matters a lot,” Dawn countered. “He would have come back to me if she hadn’t persuaded him to run away.”
“So she did you a favour,” Brandon sneered. “You should send her a thank-you card.”
“When hell freezes over,” Dawn said.
“What is going on out here?” a loud voice interrupted.
“We were just talking,” Brandon said as his father appeared in the cottage doorway.
“And drinking?” Lucas countered.
Brandon looked at the can in his hand as if he weren’t quite sure how it had appeared there. “Just the one,” he said. “We have a lot to finish before we leave tomorrow.”
“We aren’t leaving tomorrow,” Lucas told him, “not unless something changes in the next few hours. The inspector is going to be here in another hour or so to talk to all of us again.”
“Why?” Brandon barked. “He’s questioned us over and over again. Does he think one of us is suddenly going to confess to something?”
“He said he’d learned a number of new things and that he wanted a chance to discuss them with each of us in turn,” Lucas explained.
“What sort of new things?” Dawn asked.
“He wouldn’t answer any questions,” Lucas told her, “and he didn’t ask me anything, either. I assume he didn’t want me coming back here and telling you all what he was asking about.”
“Constance has been talking to him,” Dawn suggested. “I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s told him.”
“Hopefully they realise that she can’t be
trusted,” Lucas replied. “As the police will be here soon, I suggest you all stop drinking for now, though.”
“I wasn’t drinking,” Dawn said. “We don’t have any more wine.”
“So let’s go and get some,” Lucas replied. “We can run up to the shop at the top of the hill and get what you want. It won’t take more than a few minutes.”
“You’d better be back before the inspector gets here,” Brandon said tightly.
“We will be,” Lucas assured him.
Bessie watched as Dawn followed Lucas into the cottage. A minute later she heard the front door open and close. Turning, she started back on her way home.
“Hey, wait,” Brandon shouted.
Bessie glanced over her shoulder, hoping he was talking to someone else. He was staring straight at her. She stopped and waited to see what he would do next.
“Why were you talking to Constance?” he asked.
“She sat down next to me in a park and started a conversation,” Bessie said, working to keep her voice steady as the man approached her.
“And she just happened to mention that she’d told me that she and Walter were here? I don’t believe it,” he challenged.
“You’ll have to take that up with her, then,” Bessie said, taking a step backwards as he got too close.
“I might just do that,” he muttered.
“How about a drink?” Mike shouted. When Bessie caught his eye over Brandon’s shoulder, she thought he looked worried.
“I can’t have another drink right now,” Brandon yelled back, his eyes never leaving Bessie. “You heard what Dad said. The police are on their way.”
“I meant something fizzy or maybe coffee,” Mike said. He walked over and stood next to Brandon. “Coffee might be good.”
“I don’t want coffee,” Brandon replied. “I’m just having a little chat with our neighbour here.”
“Except I need to get home and get my dinner,” Bessie said. “I hope that everything goes well with the police and that they let you go home soon.”
“They will,” Brandon said in a low voice. “But don’t rush off. You were just telling me about your conversation with Constance. What else did she tell you during your little heart-to-heart?”
“It was hardly that,” Bessie replied. “We only spoke for a minute or two.”
“I know Constance better than that. If she had a captive audience, she’d have talked for hours. What else did she tell you?”
Bessie shook her head. “As I said, it was a short conversation, but she happened to mention that she’d told you where she and Walter were, that’s all.”
“That’s all? That’s pretty significant in light of subsequent events, wouldn’t you say?”
“That’s for the police to consider, not me.”
“Have you told the police what Constance told you?” Brandon demanded.
“I have, yes,” Bessie said quickly. “I’ve also told them that I saw all of you having lunch with Constance this afternoon.” That last part wasn’t true. She’d completely forgotten to ring John when she’d arrived at home.
Brandon took a step closer to her. “You do get around, don’t you?” he hissed, “and you stick your nose everywhere it doesn’t belong, as well.”
“Having lunch with an old friend is hardly a crime,” Mike said brightly. “I mean, we were all good friends with Constance before she moved over here. We were all happy to see her again, to get caught up.”
Bessie nodded. She’d have agreed to just about anything at that point. She just wanted to get home. The crowded beach didn’t feel particularly safe with Brandon standing only inches away from her.
“Maybe that’s what the police inspector meant when he said he had new information,” Brandon speculated. “Maybe he wants to ask all of us about our lunch with Constance. I suggest we all tell him that it’s none of his business.”
He looked around and then stared at Horace. “Maybe you could tell the police you had lunch here today. Maybe we could all tell the police that. Then it would be our word against the little old lady’s. They’d probably believe us. She’s probably half-senile, anyway.”
Bessie nearly bit her tongue in half as she struggled with the urge to reply. There was no doubt in her mind whom John would believe if Brandon and his friends denied having been in Lonan for lunch today. After a long, deep breath she smiled at the man. “They do have security cameras in the café in Lonan,” she said lightly.
Mike took a step closer to Brandon, almost getting between him and Bessie. “Let’s talk about this inside,” he suggested, staring hard at his friend.
“I’d rather talk out here with the old lady,” Brandon replied. “You seem to think you know something. Go on, then, what do you think you know?”
“I don’t know why you’re so upset about my mentioning that you had lunch with Constance,” Bessie told him. “If you didn’t want anyone to see you with her, you should have met privately, not in a busy restaurant.”
“I don’t have anything to hide,” Brandon said. “It’s just that Constance and I are trying to keep our friendship quiet until certain things get sorted.”
“I really must go,” Bessie said, looking at her watch. It was nearly six. Andy would start to worry before too much longer.
“I’m not done talking to you,” Brandon objected.
“Let her go,” Mike suggested. “You don’t want her complaining to the police about you.”
“And there’s no doubt she would,” Horace added from where he was still standing on the patio.
“Yeah, she would,” Brandon agreed. “She’s the type that runs to the police all the time, complaining about her neighbours or getting upset when kids break into her cottage.”
Bessie very nearly asked the man what he knew about the break-in at her cottage, but she stopped herself. He was already angry. She didn’t want to upset him any further. Instead, she turned and began to walk away, slowly at first, but gradually increasing her pace as she went.
“That’s it,” Brandon shouted after her. “Run away home. Go up to your pathetic pink bedroom and your collection of cuddly toys and hide.”
Bessie’s blood ran cold at his words. There was only one way he could possibly know about her bedroom. She started to walk even faster, telling herself not to turn around or react to his words.
He must have realised what he’d said, though, because he began shouting again. “Wait. Hold on. Wait a minute,” he yelled.
Bessie could see the front door to her cottage, but she could hear the man gaining on her, as well. She glanced around the beach and then made an impulsive decision.
“I need your help,” she said in a low voice as she sat down on the blanket in front of her.
The very large man with the anchor tattoo gave her a confused look. “Pardon?”
“There’s a man chasing after me, and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt me,” she explained. The words were barely out of her mouth when Brandon reached them.
“Come on, granny. Stop bothering the nice man,” Brandon told her. “I’m very sorry. She wanders off and then she gets disoriented. She forgets who I am, as well, which complicates things.”
Bessie met the other man’s eyes and shook her head very slightly. He looked from her to Brandon and back again.
“Come on, now,” Brandon said. He put his hand on Bessie’s arm and began to try to pull her to her feet.
The tattooed man sighed and then stood up slowly. Although Brandon was well over six feet tall, the other man seemed to tower over him. “I don’t believe the lady wants to go with you,” he said in a conversational tone.
“She needs to come with me. It’s time for her medication,” Brandon said. He pulled again on Bessie’s arm.
“I think you should take your hands off her,” the other man said. He took one step closer to Brandon and then another. “If there’s a problem, I can ring the constabulary and have someone come and sort it for you.”
Brandon let go of Bessie
’s arm and took a step backwards. “It’s all good,” he said. “I just want to take Granny home, that’s all. She needs her meds.”
“I’ll just talk to her for a minute or two and then help her get home if that’s where she wants to go,” the man said. “You go home and let me worry about her for a few minutes.”
Bessie could tell that Brandon wanted to object, but the larger man clearly intimidated him. After a few seconds, he turned and stormed back down the beach. Bessie sighed with relief.
“Thank you,” she told the stranger. “I’m going to get home before he comes back with his friends.”
“I’m not worried about them,” the man said as he helped Bessie to her feet. “I was in the Royal Navy. Anyway, I’ve seen him and his friends around. None of them would be any good in a fight.”
Bessie gave him a shaky smile and started to walk away. He fell into step with her. “I’m Dave Horton, by the way,” he said.
“I’m Elizabeth Cubbon, but everyone calls me Bessie,” she replied.
“You’re Aunt Bessie,” the man said, sounding delighted. “My closest friend in the Navy talked about you all the time. You probably don’t remember Oliver Boyd, but he had very fond memories of you.”
“I do remember Oliver,” Bessie said. “I wouldn’t have thought he was tall enough to join the Navy, actually.”
Dave laughed. “That’s Oliver. He told me he always got bullied as a kid because he was so much smaller than the other boys. I think he bribed a doctor to lie about his height in order to get in, but he loved the Navy. The first day of training, he came up to me and asked me to be his friend. He reckoned that no one would pick on him if his closest friend was the biggest guy in the fleet.”
Bessie chuckled. “That sounds like the Oliver I remember. He isn’t here with you?”
“He, um, that is, he passed away a few years ago. Lung cancer, I’m sorry to say. We all started smoking in training, and he was never able to break the habit. He’d always talked so much about the island that I had to come and see it.” He paused and looked at Bessie for a moment. “The thing is, this is the first time I’ve been able to get over here. I promised Oliver that I’d scatter his ashes on Laxey Beach when I could, but I haven’t been able to do it.”
Aunt Bessie Questions (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 17) Page 22
