Aunt Bessie Finds
Page 25
Someone who is “made redundant” is let go from his or her job. (Roughly equivalent to being “laid-off” in the US.)
As the Isle of Man is a country in its own right, it has its own laws related to employment. Anyone seeking work on the island (unless they are classed as an “Isle of Man Worker”) is required to secure a work permit before taking up employment. The employer must apply for the permit and prove that there aren’t any Isle of Man Workers available to fill the position.
Refrigerators on the island (and in the UK) tend to be small (what Americans would consider “dorm-sized,” or slightly larger). Anything larger is considered “American-style” and, if you choose to purchase such an appliance, you shouldn’t be surprised to find that it won’t fit in your kitchen. (Ours lived in our utility room next to the washing machine.)
A “three-piece suite” consists of a sofa (couch) and two matching chairs.
The drinking age in the UK (and the island) is 18, but children from 16 can drink beer or wine with meals in public. When Hugh talks about Grace’s younger brother not being into drinking yet, the young man is probably unusual in that. (My son is 16 and has stayed in touch with many of his friends on the island. Many of them seem to be drinking a great deal on a regular basis!)
In the UK they measure weight in pounds and stone, where one stone is equal to fourteen pounds.
Digestive biscuits (usually just called digestives) are round, hard, slightly sweet and probably the most common biscuit in the UK. The closest US equivalent that I can come up with is a graham cracker, but digestives are less sweet and have a harder texture. You can find them covered with a layer of chocolate or even caramel and chocolate.
Acknowledgements
My beta readers continue to work hard to help make Bessie better. Thanks to Ruth, Charlene, Janice and Margaret for your continued support.
My editor, Denise, continues to put up with my creative spelling, questionable grammar and inconsistent punctuation. Any mistakes that remain are mine.
Thanks, as ever, to Kevin for the wonderful photographs that grace the covers of my books.
And a huge “thank you” has to go to my readers, who continue to follow Bessie along on her adventures. I would love to hear from you. My contact details are in the back of the book.
Coming October 16, 2015
Aunt Bessie Goes
An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery
By Diana Xarissa
Aunt Bessie goes house hunting with her friend, John Rockwell.
CID Inspector John Rockwell asks Bessie Cubbon, a longtime resident of the village of Laxey to help him find the perfect house for him in the village. What they find in one of the bedrooms of the last house they visit isn’t what either of them was expecting.
Aunt Bessie goes to look at furniture with John as well.
Again, they find the unexpected, this time in a furniture storage unit in Jurby. But are the two cases, separated by thirty years, connected?
Aunt Bessie goes to great lengths to try to figure out what’s happening before anyone else goes missing or ends up dead.
Have you read all of the
Aunt Bessie Cozy Mysteries?
Aunt Bessie Assumes
Aunt Bessie Believes
Aunt Bessie Considers
Aunt Bessie Decides
Aunt Bessie Enjoys
Aunt Bessie Finds
Aunt Bessie Goes (release date: October 16, 2015)
The Isle of Man Romance Series
Island Escape
Island Inheritance
Island Heritage
Island Christmas (release date: December 1, 2015)
The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery
Novella Series
The Appleton Case (turn the page for a sneak peek)
The Bennett Case (release date: September 18, 2015)
A sneak peek at:
The Appleton Case
A Markham Sisters Cozy
Mystery Novella
Diana Xarissa
Chapter One
“Where are we exactly?” Joan asked in a calm voice.
“We’re right here,” Janet answered, waving the map in the air. “At least I think we are.” Janet held her breath, knowing what was coming.
“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Joan asked, her tone somewhat less calm.
“Maybe just the tiniest bit,” Janet admitted, glancing at her sister in the driving seat.
Joan sighed deeply. “I’ll just find a place to pull over,” she muttered.
A few moments later a large pub appeared on their left and Joan pulled into the car park. She turned towards her sister in the passenger seat and smiled.
Janet wasn’t fooled. She knew the smile was fake and that Joan was cross with her. “I did suggest that I drive and you read the map,” she said quietly, handing the map to Joan.
“Yes, well, it’s rather too late for that, isn’t it?” Joan looked at the map for a moment. “Where are the directions from the estate agent?” she asked eventually.
Janet handed her the step-by-step directions that she’d taken over the phone from the man. Joan read through them while looking over the map and then shook her head.
“These directions don’t make sense,” she said angrily. “There isn’t any third turning after you leave the motorway.”
“That’s what I said,” Janet agreed, happy to have her sister angry at the estate agent rather than her.
“Didn’t you look at the map when you were talking to the man?” Joan asked sharply.
Not out of the woods yet, Janet thought. “I just assumed, since he’s getting paid to show us the house, that he’d want to give us proper directions,” Janet replied.
“Yes, well, one of us shall have to go into the pub and ask for directions from here,” Joan announced. “I suggest you go.”
Janet opened her mouth to argue and then shrugged. She didn’t mind doing it and she’d probably do a better job than her older sister anyway.
“I’ll just turn the car around, ready to leave,” Joan told her as Janet opened her door.
Yes, I suppose we must be ready for a quick getaway, Janet thought to herself, rolling her eyes at her sister when she was sure Joan couldn’t possibly see her.
The middle-aged man behind the bar in the empty pub was kind enough to trace the correct route on Janet’s map for her and she was thrilled to find that they weren’t all that far away from their destination.
“Come back for some lunch later,” he suggested. “We’ve cottage pie and chips on special today.”
Janet nodded. She’d love to come back, but Joan didn’t really enjoy pub food. She preferred to eat what she’d prepared herself. As Joan was an excellent cook and an even better baker, Janet never complained.
With the new directions, the pair found their destination only a few minutes later.
“It looks really large,” Janet said doubtfully, looking up at the guesthouse that they’d come to see.
“Well, we can’t very well run a bed and breakfast from a tiny flat, can we?” Joan asked. She climbed out of the car, leaving Janet shaking her head.
“I never wanted to run a bed and breakfast,” Janet muttered towards her sister, who was walking rapidly towards the front of the home. “This was your crazy idea, remember?”
Joan was knocking on the front door when Janet caught up to her. By the time she’d climbed the two steps to join her sister on the small porch, the door was swinging open.
“Ah, Ms. Markham? I’m Henry Fitzsimmons. We spoke on the phone.”
The man who opened the door looked exactly like Janet expected him to from their short phone conversation. He had to be somewhere in his mid-twenties and he looked uncomfortable in his suit and tie. His dark brown hair needed cutting and his thick glasses magnified his brown eyes. He was at least a few inches shorter than six feet tall, but that still made him half a foot taller than the two women.
“I’m Joan Markham,” Joan answered as she shook th
e man’s offered hand. “But you spoke to Janet on the phone.”
Janet smiled brightly as she took her turn shaking hands with the man. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, politely ignoring the fact that he’d given them the wrong directions.
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” the man muttered as he took a step back into the house. “Come on in and have a look then,” he suggested.
Joan followed him inside quickly while Janet took a moment to turn back to see what the view from the porch was like. There was just enough room for a few chairs, and Janet smiled to herself as she looked out across the Derbyshire dales. Maybe this bed and breakfast wasn’t such a bad idea.
About the Author
Diana Xarissa lived on the Isle of Man for more than ten years before returning to the United States with her family. Now living near Buffalo, New York, she enjoys having the opportunity to write about the island that she loves so much. It truly is a special place.
Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future under the pen name “Diana X. Dunn” and fantasy/adventure books for middle grade readers under the pen name “D.X. Dunn.”
She would be delighted to know what you think of her work and can be contacted through snail mail at:
Diana Xarissa Dunn
PO Box 72
Clarence, NY 14031
Or find her on Facebook, Goodreads or on her website at www.dianaxarissa.com.
You can sign up for her monthly newsletter on the website and be among the first to know about new releases, as well as find out about contests and giveaways and read the answers to the questions she gets asked the most.