“They’re sure,” Bessie said. “And I’d be grateful if you could think about that question for a bit. An answer might be helpful.”
Grace nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. “Is Hugh staying with you, then?” she asked tentatively.
“He is, although he’d like to stop at the flat to get some of his things.”
“Oh, of course,” Grace said quickly. “I didn’t even think about that. The poor man only has the clothes he was wearing at the party. I really should just move back to Douglas. Then Hugh could have his flat back.”
“But you would have to drive back and forth every day for work,” Bessie said.
“Yes, and I’d hate that,” Grace said with a sigh. “But it’s Hugh’s flat, not mine.”
“I think you should stay there for now. As long as Hugh is staying with me, I can keep an eye on him,” Bessie explained. “I don’t think he should be on his own right now, and he doesn’t want to stay with you.”
“No, that would awkward,” Grace agreed. “But I have some shopping to do, so maybe you could ring him and let him know that the flat will be empty until, I don’t know, maybe five? He could go over and get what he needs.”
“I’ll do that,” Bessie agreed. “John has lent him some clothes, but I’m sure he’ll feel better with his own things.”
Grace insisted on paying the bill when the waiter brought it over. “You’ve made me feel ever so much better,” she told Bessie. “Paying for your cake seems like a very small way to repay you.”
“Please ring me if you think of anything that might help with the investigation,” Bessie told her as they hugged again. “Or ring if you just want someone to talk to.”
“I will,” Grace promised. “And I’ll think about who might have killed Gennifer, but I don’t know if I’ll get anywhere.”
When she’d gone, Bessie pulled out her mobile and rang Hugh.
“Grace has gone to get some shopping and won’t be back at your flat until five. She’s happy for you to go and collect some of your things while she’s out,” she told the man when he answered.
“That’s great,” Hugh said. “Is she okay? Did she ask about me? Is she still really angry?”
“I’ll tell you all about our conversation tonight,” Bessie told him. “But she’s fine and she’s worried about you.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Hugh exclaimed.
“I’m having dinner in Ramsey, so I won’t be home until later. Please eat up all of the Chinese food in the refrigerator while I’m gone. I hope you had some for lunch.”
“Oh, lunch, I forgot,” Hugh replied. “I’ve been caught up in these cold cases and I never even thought about it. I’ll have something in a little while.”
“Make sure that you do,” Bessie said sternly. “You need to keep your energy level up.”
“Yes, Aunt Bessie,” Hugh said dutifully.
Bessie chuckled and ended the call before she could lecture the man any further. She hoped he and Grace were both feeling better; she certainly felt more optimistic about their future together now that she’d spoken to Grace.
With a few hours to fill before her dinner with Elizabeth, Bessie decided to take a short walk. She headed out of the city centre, keeping to the pavement and heading towards the sea. It was cold but dry and she enjoyed wandering through the streets, admiring the various houses. She couldn’t help but wonder what some of them were like inside. Maybe, if she ever needed to work, she should become an estate agent. They were allowed inside other people’s houses all the time. It seemed the perfect job for someone as nosy as Bessie.
Time seemed to get away from Bessie as she walked. With a start, she realised that she’d gone some distance from the city centre and it was nearly time to meet Elizabeth. She was often in Ramsey to shop, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d simply walked through its streets. She’d have to do more of that when the weather improved, she decided.
Back in the familiar part of town, she hurried to the pub and asked for a table in the back. She’d only followed the host a few steps when she heard Elizabeth’s voice behind her.
“There you are, Bessie,” she called. “I was afraid I was late.”
Bessie turned around to greet the girl and was dismayed to find that Elizabeth was surrounded by her friends.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Elizabeth said quickly, clearly correctly reading the expression on Bessie’s face. “They’ve come along to have dinner themselves, but they’ll sit out here and leave us alone so we can talk about whatever mum thinks is so important.”
Bessie smiled. “I hope they don’t mind, but I really do need to talk to you,” she said.
“We don’t mind,” Howard said. “We just had to get out of that house for a while. And Elizabeth said the food here was good. We’ll just have our dinner and then you both can join us for a few pints after you’ve eaten.”
Bessie laughed. “I don’t know about that, but thank you for the invitation.”
“I’ve never seen such a dreary pub,” Nigel said with a sigh. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Stop it, Nigel,” Elizabeth scolded. “Have something to eat and try to enjoy yourself.”
Nigel opened his mouth to respond and then shook his head and looked down at his shoes. After a moment, Howard spoke again. “Anyway, we’ll need a table for six after you’ve seated them,” he told the young man who was still waiting for Bessie to follow him.
“Yes, sir,” the man replied.
“Oh, goodness,” Bessie exclaimed. “Sorry to hold everything up.”
She and Elizabeth followed him through a narrow doorway and into a tiny room. There were only four tables, seating no more than ten diners in total. He showed them to a table for two at the very back and left them with menus.
“It’s too dark to read this in here,” Elizabeth hissed as she looked at her menu.
“If you can’t read it, I don’t have a chance,” Bessie said. “But I’m going to have the steak and kidney pie, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“If that’s good, maybe I’ll just have that as well,” Elizabeth said. “It’s certainly easier than getting eye strain trying to see what else is on offer.”
With food and drinks ordered, Bessie tried to work out how to politely ask what she wanted to know. Elizabeth watched her for a moment and then laughed.
“I’m going to guess that you have a load of questions for me about my friends and you’re trying to decide how to ask,” she said. “You must think they’re the best suspects for Gennifer’s murder.”
“Would you agree?” Bessie asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t know any of them all that well,” she said. “I went to uni with them, but I wasn’t there very long. I mean, Howard and I have been a couple for a few months, but we aren’t serious or anything. Most of the others are his friends and he invited them across for the party.”
“Would you mind telling me about each of them?”
“I suppose not,” Elizabeth said. “As much as I know, anyway. Where would you like me to start?”
“Oh, anywhere,” Bessie said. “I’d like to talk about Gennifer as well, but let’s leave her for last.”
“Okay, well, let’s see, let’s start with Bruce. He’s a dear sweet man. I’m sure he has a little bit of a thing for me, but he’s so not my type that it doesn’t need mentioning. His father owns a chain of grocery stores and he’ll inherit millions eventually, but that won’t improve his looks, will it?”
“I don’t know,” Bessie commented. “I think a lot of women would find millions of pounds incredibly attractive, no matter to whom they were attached.”
Elizabeth giggled. “Yes, well, I’m not that type. Anyway, he works for his father, when he feels like working, which isn’t often. Is that enough?”
“How did he feel about Gennifer?”
“I suppose he might have felt slighted, as she was always hanging all over one man or another but never gave him a second look, but if he did, he never men
tioned it.”
“That doesn’t seem much of a motive for murder,” Bessie murmured.
“No, but I suppose it could have been. Anyway, let’s move on to Jeremy, who is the sweetest guy I know. He’s smart and he’s kind and he’s funny and he’s gorgeous. He has a great job and he makes loads of money, and he’s due to inherit a fortune one day as well.”
“But you aren’t interested in him,” Bessie added.
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Maybe in another ten years, when I’m ready to get married and have kids, he’ll be what I want. But he’s just too nice for now.”
“And did Gennifer agree with your opinion on him?”
“Gennifer used to try to get him into bed, but he always politely refused. She gave up some time back, although I’m sure she’d have jumped at the chance if he’d given it to her. There is something incredibly sexy about the man, but I don’t know what it is.”
Bessie nodded. “What about Howard?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s meant to be my boyfriend, but it isn’t anything serious. We have fun together when we see each other, but I’m sure he’s seeing other women when he’s in London.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“Not really,” Elizabeth shrugged. “We’re both too young to be tied down. I’ll worry about a serious relationship when I’m thirty.”
“Was he seeing Gennifer, do you think?”
“Oh, no, they went out before I met even met. He knew better than to go back to her. She treated him horribly.”
“Really? How sad,” Bessie murmured.
“Oh, not so badly that he’d kill her or anything,” Elizabeth said quickly. “I wasn’t suggesting anything like that. But I don’t think Howard would have invited Nigel if he’d known that Nigel was going to drag Gennifer over with him.”
“I see,” Bessie said. “What does Howard do?”
“Oh, he works in banking,” Elizabeth replied. “He’s the second son, so he won’t inherit as much as some of the others, but he’s good at his job and he gets paid well.”
“So tell me about Nigel,” Bessie suggested.
“He’s from old money, although I don’t think there’s really all that much of it anymore. Even so, he seems to think he’s a good deal better than the rest of us. I don’t know him very well, but Howard said something about how he’d never seen him so hung up on a girl before.”
“Meaning Gennifer?”
“Yeah, he’d really fallen for her, I think, and she just loved torturing him with it,” Elizabeth said.
“He seemed really angry at the party,” Bessie remarked. “He made a number of threats to her.”
“He didn’t mean anything, though. He would never have hurt her, as crazy as he was about her.”
Bessie didn’t argue; she’d wait and bring the conversation back around to Nigel again later. “So tell me about the girls,” she said.
“Sarah is good fun, but she’s not very bright. She’s been mooning after Bruce for years, I gather, but he isn’t interested, probably because she’s simply too available. She lives in London, primarily off of a trust fund, although she does have her own little shop that must pay some of her bills, I suppose.”
“And Emma?”
“I’ve barely spoken to her,” Elizabeth said. “She’s very quiet and seems to almost fade into the background everywhere we go. I’ve seen her staring at Nigel with a weird sort of intensity, like maybe she has a thing for him, but she may just have been lost in thought and looking in his direction, for all I know. The guys all tease her about it, though, and they give Nigel a hard time about her, too.”
“Can you think of any motive either of them might have for killing Gennifer?”
“If I’m right about Emma, then she might have wanted to get rid of her rival, but I can’t see Nigel paying her any attention anyway. As for Sarah, I can’t imagine. If she did do it, she’d have probably confessed by now anyway. She’s very fond of talking about everything she does, good or bad.”
“Why did Gennifer come to the party?” Bessie asked next. “I’ve heard she didn’t like the island very much.”
“Nigel invited her and she was having too much fun making his life miserable to not come. Well, that would be my guess, anyway,” the girl replied. “I’m sure she didn’t want to stay in London while her social circle was all here, anyway. I don’t think she had many friends.”
Bessie nodded. “So, if you had to pick out the murderer, who would it be?” she asked.
Their food arrived then, giving Elizabeth time to think. She took several bites before she replied to Bessie.
“Maybe one of the staff knew Gennifer from somewhere,” she suggested.
“I’m sure the police are looking into that, but it doesn’t seem very likely to me. If one of your friends did it, which one?”
“They aren’t really my friends,” Elizabeth argued. “And I’m sure I don’t know them well enough to answer that.”
Bessie wanted to push the issue, but she didn’t want to upset the girl. On the whole, Elizabeth had been very cooperative, even if Bessie didn’t think anything she’d been told was at all helpful.
“Do you really think one of them killed Gennifer?” Elizabeth asked a moment later, her voice slightly shaky.
“I think it’s one possibility, for sure,” Bessie replied.
“I thought the police had it almost all wrapped up.”
“Maybe they do, but the last I heard, they were investigating Hugh Watterson, which is just silly.”
Elizabeth nodded. “He’s actually very nice, for a policeman. He’s ever so polite and helpful when I get myself into trouble.”
“And he couldn’t possibly be a murderer, whatever the police believe,” Bessie said.
“It’s scary to think that there might be a murderer staying at Thie yn Traie with me, though.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m trying to help John Rockwell work out what really happened that night,” Bessie told her. “The sooner the killer is caught, the better.”
“You should talk to everyone,” Elizabeth said. “You’re good at asking questions. I’m sure you could get the killer to confess if you asked them the right question.”
“I’m not the police, I’m just nosy,” Bessie replied.
“Let’s finish up. Maybe you can talk to everyone tonight, since they’re all here.”
The pair finished their dinner and opted not to have pudding. One slice of cake a day was enough for Bessie, or so she tried to tell herself as Elizabeth waved away the sweets menu.
“I can’t eat anything like that,” she told Bessie. “Howard would disappear fast if I got fat.”
“Then perhaps he doesn’t truly appreciate you,” Bessie suggested.
“Of course he doesn’t,” Elizabeth laughed. “We’re just having fun.”
“We’re going out front to join my friends,” Elizabeth told the waiter when he came back to check on them. “Just add all of this to the bill out there.”
“Oh, you must let me pay my share,” Bessie said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Elizabeth said airily. “I’m sure Nigel will end up paying for everything. He likes to make grand gestures like that and he can certainly afford to.”
Bessie wanted to protest further, but again she didn’t want to upset the girl. Sighing deeply, she followed her out of the room at the back and into the main building. While they’d been eating, the pub had been getting full. The noise level had increased dramatically, and it took Bessie several minutes to spot the group she was looking for in the rambunctious crowd.
“There they are,” Elizabeth said in Bessie’s ear. She took Bessie’s arm and led her across the room to a small table where her friends were gathered. Bessie took one look at them and decided she would be wasting her time trying to speak to them that evening. While she and Elizabeth had been eating, they’d clearly been busy drinking. None of them looked as if they’d be able to manage to string a complete sentence to
gether, let alone answer the sorts of questions Bessie wanted to ask. Clearly Elizabeth drew the same conclusion.
She shook her head and then pulled Bessie out of the building altogether. “They’re all drunk. You won’t learn anything tonight. What if I send them to you tomorrow, one at a time? I’ll feel like Watson to your Holmes or something. Can we do that?”
Bessie nodded. “I’ll be up any time after six,” she said. “If you can find an excuse to send them to me, I’d be happy to talk to all of them.”
“Oh, I’ll think of something,” Elizabeth said confidently. “Maybe you can wrap the whole case up tomorrow and they’ll all be able to leave on Monday. I’m rather looking forward to getting rid of them.”
“The last few days have been difficult for everyone. Hopefully it will all be over soon.”
Elizabeth nodded. “You’re welcome to come back and have a drink with us, if you’d like.”
“No, I think I’d rather get home. I’ve been out all day, which isn’t like me.”
“Let me send you home in my car,” Elizabeth said, pulling out her mobile. “We won’t need it for hours yet and there’s no point in you taking a taxi when my driver is just sitting around.”
She made the call over Bessie’s protests and then waited with Bessie until the car arrived. Before Bessie climbed in, they hugged. “Thank you for trying to work out what happened to Gennifer,” she whispered in Bessie’s ear. “I thought things were pretty bad when dad was in that trouble a few months ago, but this is worse. I shall have to get quite drunk if I’m going to sleep tonight.”
Bessie thought about warning her not to, as there was a very real possibility that there was a murderer staying at Thie yn Traie, but she didn’t want the poor girl any more worried than she already was. “Take care of yourself,” she said instead.
“Oh, I will,” Elizabeth assured her. “I’ll start sending you people when we all get up tomorrow. Don’t expect it to be early.”
In the car on the way home, Bessie wondered if she should have offered to let Elizabeth stay with her. But she couldn’t have left her guests on their own, and Bessie certainly couldn’t accommodate them all. Besides, she was just trying to protect Elizabeth from the killer, and at this point Bessie didn’t have any idea whom to suspect.
Aunt Bessie Knows (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 11) Page 13
