Aunt Bessie Remembers

by Diana Xarissa

  “And yes, I believe that’s what the inspector said. I might have misunderstood, of course,” Bessie replied.

  “I’m not being horrible, but I’d much rather she didn’t come back here,” Richard sighed.

  Madison wandered over as Norma McCormick was led away. “This is awful,” she said in a low voice as she joined Richard on his couch.

  “We’ll get through it,” he told her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

  “Oh, Richard, do you think so?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Of course we will,” he replied firmly. “The police will have to let us go soon. We’ve all been incredibly cooperative.”

  “I don’t want to do this reconstruction thing,” Madison sighed. “It’s going to bring back all manner of awful memories.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Bessie said. “We all have to do what we can to help solve Mr. Rhodes’s murder and also help work out what happened to Vivian.”

  “She probably hit herself over the head, just to cause drama,” Madison suggested.

  Bessie sat back and listened as the trio discussed ways in which someone could hit themselves on the head hard enough to cause serious injury. Something was nagging at her, but she couldn’t quite work out what it was. Norma joined them a short while later and her brother quickly followed her.

  “This is growing tedious,” Ernest said as he joined the group. “I can’t help but think that if the police haven’t solved the case by now they simply aren’t going to manage it.”

  “I don’t think Inspector Rockwell will be giving up,” Bessie told him.

  “Perhaps not, but he will have to let us all go soon. He can’t keep us here forever,” Ernest replied.

  “Perhaps the reconstruction will help,” Bessie said. “It should be interesting going back through everything that happened that night.”

  “I still don’t see how anyone managed to get away from the party, kill someone, and get back in the dark. It was incredibly dark,” Richard said.

  “That’s for the police to work out,” Norma said, “and it’s probably what the inspector is hoping the reconstruction will show.”

  “But what if the reconstruction shows that it isn’t possible?” Sean asked. “Maybe they should check again. Maybe Mr. Rhodes stabbed himself.”

  Elizabeth’s friends laughed as if that was the funniest thing they’d heard in a long time. Bessie played with the idea in her head, but she had confidence that John and the coroner knew what they were doing. They’d decided that it was murder.

  Susan was the next to join the group, sliding into a chair and then folding her arms and staring straight out at the sea, ignoring everyone.

  “Are you okay?” Bessie asked her.

  Susan glanced over at her and then rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window. Her mood seemed to be contagious as the rest of the group lapsed into silence. While Bessie was trying to work out an appropriate way to restart the conversation, John walked back into the room with Andy and Elizabeth.

  “I’ve spoken to everyone who was here before Vivian’s disappearance,” he said from the doorway. “Did anyone who arrived later in the day see Vivian at all?”

  Liza and Leonard exchanged glances and shrugged. Mona was silent. After a moment John continued.

  “In that case, I think it’s time we start working on that reconstruction. I’d like to do things a little bit differently than the original plan, however. I would appreciate it if you could all take seats around the dining table where you were at the very start of the evening, please.”

  There was a good deal of muttered grumbling as everyone got back to their feet, and some arguments back at the table as people tried to remember where they’d been sitting for the first course of the dinner party.

  Bessie took her seat next to George, who’d dropped into his chair at the head of the table almost before John had finished speaking. She wasn’t sure where he’d been while the questioning had been going on, but she was pretty sure she could smell whisky on his breath as he greeted her.

  When everyone was seated, John sat down next to Bessie in the seat that Mr. Rhodes had occupied on the night of his death. Hugh flushed as he sat down between Sean and Michael in Vivian’s place.

  Chapter 13

  “I’d like you all to chat together, trying to remember what you talked about the night of the party,” John said. “We’re only going to do this for a few minutes, but I’m hoping it might jog memories.”

  “Jog them in what way?” Sean demanded.

  “I want you all to be thinking about how the people around you were behaving on the night of the party,” John told him. “Did anyone seem particularly nervous or upset? Did anyone say anything about Mr. Rhodes or about the party’s theme? Did you feel as if anyone was avoiding Mr. Rhodes or seeking him out? Go back over your conversations that night in light of subsequent events. And yes, I’m asking you to think of every other person here as a possible murderer. I won’t apologise for that, because someone in this room murdered Jerome Rhodes.”

  A few people gasped at the words. Bessie could only hope that they’d be effective. Someone in the group had probably heard or seen something that would help solve the case; it was just a matter of working out what that something was. Bessie couldn’t help but feel as if she’d missed a hint somewhere along the line, but she simply couldn’t work out where.

  “Susan, where were you during dinner?” John asked.

  The woman had been standing near the door; now she walked towards the table. “I walked around, mostly,” she said. “I had to explain how everything was meant to work, you see.”

  “Right, so can you please repeat your introductory remarks? You don’t have to be exact, but I’d like to hear what you said,” John said.

  “I just explained that after each course the gentlemen would all move two places to the right,” Susan said in a dull voice. “And I reminded everyone to stay in character and to share the background information that they’d been given.”

  “I have copies of all of the character cards that were handed out that night, don’t I?” John asked.

  “You do, although why you wanted them I don’t understand,” Susan replied.

  “Investigations are all about gathering information,” John replied. “What happened after you were done with the introductions?”

  “The soup was served,” Susan replied.

  John nodded at Jonathan, who was standing in the doorway. He disappeared, and a moment later several waiters came in, carrying empty trays. While they mimed delivering soup bowls to everyone, Bessie turned to George. “I believe we said a few words to one another,” she said.

  “Yes, I think I told you about my part in the story,” George agreed, “and then told you about my new company in the south of the island, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, I believe you did.”

  George chuckled. “I’m very proud of my latest acquisition, really. Mary tells me that I’ve bored everyone I know with it.”

  “And then I asked after your children and grandchildren,” Bessie remembered.

  “Which is Mary’s concern, not mine,” George shrugged, “and then you started talking to Mr. Rhodes, didn’t you?”

  “I believe I did,” Bessie agreed. She turned and smiled at John. “The soup was very good, but Mr. Rhodes didn’t like soup.”

  “Is that all he said?” John asked.

  “He said something about Vivian not remembering her part at all and that that was fairly typical with these sorts of parties.”

  “Which suggests that he’d been to at least one or two before.”

  “Or that he wanted me to think that he had.”

  “Yes, there is that,” John mused.

  “That was about all that was said, really. The soup course didn’t take long.”

  “Did he seem very drunk?”

  Bessie thought for a minute. “He didn’t, really, even though I’d seen him drinking quite a lot. He wasn’t slurr
ing his speech, and when the men got up to move around, he didn’t stumble or have difficulty walking.”

  John nodded and then looked around the table. Most people were sitting quietly, not speaking. He looked over at Susan. “I assume the waiters cleared the bowls before the men moved around the table.”

  Susan shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

  “They did,” Bessie told him, “and then Susan told the men to take their drinks and move around the table.”

  “Susan, if you could,” John said.

  The girl frowned and then sighed deeply. “Yeah, well, guys, grab your drinks and shift two places to the right, please.”

  A moment later Ernest slid into the seat George had just vacated. “Good evening,” he said. “I’m meant to be some sort of disreputable rouge, I believe.”

  Bessie nodded. “That’s exactly what you said on Saturday.”

  “It’s what I said to everyone,” he told her. “I didn’t realise it at the time, but it’s certainly made tonight a lot easier for me.”

  “And then we talked about the price of property on the island for a bit.”

  “We did. I’m sure you can understand why Norma and I have agreed that the island isn’t for us.”

  “Yes, I suppose you haven’t had a very pleasant visit.”

  “No, we’re both eager to get home and, well, forget all about this week, I’m afraid.”

  “I don’t really blame you, considering the circumstances. But now I must speak to Richard.”

  Ernest nodded and began to chat with Elizabeth while Bessie turned to the man on her left.

  “Good evening,” she said.

  “Good evening. I’m sure I must have introduced myself as one of Elizabeth’s friends.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you did. And then we talked about the island and how nice it is to be able to see the sea.”

  “I believe that was about the extent of our chat,” he said. “I must say that, at the time, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again.”

  “Things haven’t exactly gone as planned, have they?” Bessie asked.

  “No, not at all,” he replied.

  At John’s prompting, Susan sent the men on their way again. As Leonard sank into the chair next to Bessie’s, he sighed deeply.

  “This was incredibly dull the first time, but the food was excellent. Doing it all again with imaginary food is just tedious,” he said.

  “But if it helps the police with their enquires, it will be worth it,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, well, that’s a very big if, I must say.”

  “But what did we talk about?”

  “My restaurants. And then the food came, and it was delicious, and I stopped talking so that I could enjoy it properly.”

  Bessie nodded. That was how she remembered it as well. Sean was on the other side of her, yawning.

  “My goodness, it’s only the middle of the afternoon,” she said.

  “I haven’t been sleeping well,” he told her. “I really hope the police get things sorted quickly. I don’t know that I’ll sleep until the killer is behind bars. What happened to Vivian is incredibly worrying.”

  “It is, I know, but we’re meant to be recreating our conversation from Saturday. You said something about your father and his third wife.”

  “Fourth wife,” Sean corrected her.

  “And then I told you that Liza was thinking of having one of these parties,” Leonard announced. “We won’t now, of course, not after everything that happened this time, but we were thinking about it before.”

  “I believe we talked for a short while about Mr. Rhodes,” Bessie said, “and about how much he’d been drinking.”

  “Did we? I don’t recall,” Leonard said. He turned and said something to Elizabeth as Sean touched Bessie’s arm.

  “This may have been when I started babbling about Vivian,” he said, blushing. “I was quite, that is, I was hoping, I mean, she’s really beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is,” Bessie agreed, glancing at Hugh who was sitting where Vivian had been on Saturday. He caught her eye and winked at her.

  “And then we talked about some of the women from my past and you were kind enough not to point out that I have terrible taste in women and deserve to be treated badly.”

  “I don’t think anyone deserves to be treated badly,” Bessie told him.

  “Maybe not, but I really should learn from my mistakes, shouldn’t I? I keep falling for the same type of woman, over and over again, and it always ends badly. I’m sure if I could just get Vivian’s attention, I would do things right this time.”

  “Perhaps you should start looking for a different type of woman, rather than try to change your behaviour with the women you like.”

  “But I can’t help being attracted to certain types of women,” Sean argued. “I mean, Madison is sweet and all, but I’m not at all attracted to her. No, Vivian is the woman for me, I just need her to see it that way.”

  “After everything that has happened this week, you might be better off looking for another woman,” Bessie said dryly.

  Sean sighed. “Maybe getting hit on the head will make her realise how perfect I am for her. It could happen, couldn’t it?”

  Bessie stared at the man for a minute, unable to work out how to reply. She felt fortunate when Susan interrupted.

  “Time for the sweet course,” the woman said unenthusiastically. “Gentlemen, you need to move for the last time, please.”

  “And what a delicious sweet course it was,” Bessie told Andy as he sat down next to her. “I wish you’d done that again for us tonight.”

  Andy shrugged. “I offered to do some food, even just snacks and finger foods, but the inspector didn’t want to complicate things. I believe we’re all going to have access to soft drinks after the dinner portion of the reconstruction is over, at least.”

  “I could do with a drink,” Bessie murmured.

  “Yeah, me too, and not a soft one,” Andy told her.

  Bessie turned to Michael Higgins. “And how are you finding the reconstruction?” she asked the man.

  “It’s always interesting to watch a professional at work,” he said, nodding towards John.

  “Do you think all of this will actually accomplish anything?”

  “It’s surprising how often these things do. People who are trying to hide something make mistakes all the time. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone noticed something today that helped crack the case. It may take a day or two for that person to realize it and let John know, but I am expecting some result from today.”

  “I hope it isn’t too much later,” Bessie told him. “The attack on Vivian is worrying.”

  “Yes, it is,” Michael agreed.

  “And that’s the end of that,” Susan announced.

  The waiters all moved in and began to pretend to remove plates from the table under Jonathan’s watchful eye. When they’d finished, Susan waved a hand. “Time to move into the sitting area, I believe.”

  Bessie pushed back her chair and stood up. Mary was already making her way towards the couches where she and Bessie had sat for the rest of the evening. John caught Bessie’s arm as she walked towards Mary.

  “I’d like you and Mary to sit a little bit closer today,” he said in her ear. “Just in case.”

  He walked away before Bessie could ask what he’d meant by his words. Presumably he was hoping she’d hear or see something that she’d missed from her seat on the other side of the room. She crossed to Mary.

  “John wants us to sit closer today,” she told her friend.

  “Oh, dear, I was hoping to stay out of the way,” Mary sighed. “I’m still waiting for several people to ring me back. Vivian’s mother was trying to arrange a flight over and her father suggested that he might send his private physician to oversee her treatment. I’d hate to disrupt the reconstruction, but I’ll have to answer if either of them ring.”

  “I’m sure everyone will understand,” Bessie said. “Let’s move ov
er towards the centre of the room. That should be close enough for John, but still out of the way.”

  Bessie and Mary settled into chairs not far from the others. Almost as soon as they’d sat down, Jonathan crossed to them.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Quayle, but Mr. Walker is on the phone for you,” he said.

  Mary nodded and then followed Jonathan out of the room. She stopped to say something to John on her way past. He nodded and then looked over at Bessie. The others were still wandering around the room as John joined Bessie.

  “I don’t really want to carry on until Mary is back,” he told Bessie in a low voice. “The longer they take to organise themselves, the better, really.”

  “I’m sure no one can remember exactly who was where,” Bessie replied. “It didn’t seem important at the time.”

  John shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s important now,” he said, “but I do think you and Mary are the most likely to spot any anomalies.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Bessie said.

  “Right, everyone stop,” John said, getting up and walking over to the others, most of whom seemed to be simply wandering around. “You seem to be having difficultly working out who was where,” he said.

  “Liza and I were here,” Leonard said from his seat on one of the couches. “We sat here as soon as we left the table and we didn’t move until we were told to walk in pointless circles around the row of chairs.”

  “I’m sure I was on this couch,” Richard said firmly. “And Madison was sitting beside me.”

  “I thought I was in a chair,” Madison sighed. “But if you say so, I’ll sit on the couch.” She plopped down next to Richard and stared down at the floor.

  “Ernest was at the bar,” Norma said.

  “Was I? I suppose you’re right,” Ernest replied. He crossed to the bar and leaned against it.

  “Andy and I were at the bar, too,” Elizabeth said, pulling Andy with her across the room.

  “I was chatting with Vivian,” Norma told John. “I think we were standing about here.” She walked to a random place and stopped. Hugh, still taking Vivian’s place, moved to join her.

  “Sean was standing behind Vivian, staring at her,” Norma added. “It made me uncomfortable, so after a short while I walked over to the bar.”