Aunt Bessie Remembers

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’m prepared to hear your story and then compare it to the evidence,” John told him, “but this isn’t the place for this discussion.”

  Hugh took another step closer to the man. Richard looked around the room, a desperate look in his eyes. As Hugh moved closer again, he started shaking his head. “No, I won’t,” he said firmly.

  As Hugh’s hand closed over Richard’s arm, Richard twisted away. He raced across the room and ran out the door with both Hugh and John right behind him. Mary was on her feet, starting after them, but George stopped her.

  “Let the police handle it,” he said softly as he pulled Mary into a hug.

  Bessie felt a tear slide down her face as she watched Mary bury her face in George’s chest. Elizabeth was crying on Andy’s shoulder and many of the others looked shaken and upset. Susan had dropped into a chair and was sobbing into her hands.

  Picking up a tissue box, Bessie crossed to the girl and put her hand on Susan’s back. After a moment, Susan lifted her head and took a tissue. Before she spoke, John walked back into the room.

  “We’ve had to ring for an ambulance,” he said in his senior policeman’s voice. “I’ll need additional statements from everyone.”

  No one complained this time. Instead, everyone waited in silence as John spoke with Michael and Mona first. Hugh walked back into the great room a short time later. Bessie knew him well enough to be able to tell that he’d been shaken by what had happened as well. She gave him an encouraging smile, which he acknowledged with a nod.

  “I’ve sent Mr. Higgins and Ms. Kelly home,” John announced when he walked back in a short while later. “If I could speak to Mr. and Mrs. Hammersmith next, they’ll be able to leave when we’re done as well. Then I’ll work my way through those of you who are staying here.”

  Bessie wasn’t sure where that left her, but she didn’t say anything. If John wanted to leave her for last, that was his business.

  “Is it okay if people have more food?” Mary asked.

  “Yes, that’s fine,” John said in a tired voice.

  “You should take a plate back to the interview room with you,” Mary suggested. “Young Constable Watterson should eat as well.”

  “The constable is welcome to have something,” John said, nodding at Hugh. “I may get something later. Right now I’d rather get through these interviews.”

  Liza and Leonard followed John out of the room while Hugh put a few things onto a plate. Bessie frowned when she noticed how little he’d taken. Hugh must be very upset if he wasn’t eating. The room was oddly silent as people moved around, getting drinks or more food. No one looked at anyone else or spoke. Eventually Bessie couldn’t take it any more.

  She got up and crossed to Hugh. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He looked surprised and then nodded. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “It was all just a bit of a shock.”

  Bessie wanted to ask him what had happened to Richard, but she knew he couldn’t tell her, especially not in front of the others. Instead, she gave him a hug and then crossed to the bar where Susan was slowly sipping a drink.

  “Are you okay?” she asked the girl.

  “I don’t know,” Susan replied. “I think I’m in shock, really. I knew that my father had been murdered, but, well, I hadn’t really thought about what that meant. I hadn’t really considered the idea that someone killed him, someone in this house. I can’t imagine why Richard did it. I can’t believe that he knew my father.”

  “That’s for the police to work out,” Bessie said. “First they’ll have to establish his guilt, though.”

  “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s guilty of something,” Susan said. “The police will have to work out exactly what, of course.”

  Bessie got herself a glass of water and then walked over to the food table. Elizabeth and Andy were standing together, staring at the display.

  “It isn’t as good as yours, but it’s all quite edible,” Bessie told them.

  Andy smiled at her. “I’m not really hungry,” he said.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever want to eat again,” Elizabeth said with a dramatic sigh. She glanced at Andy and then flushed. “I mean, that was just horrible to witness,” she said in a low voice.

  “It was, indeed,” Bessie agreed.

  “Mr. Caine, I can talk to you next if you’re anxious to get away,” John said from the doorway.

  “I do want to get away,” Andy said. Elizabeth frowned. “Will you let me take Elizabeth with me when I go?” he asked.

  “Certainly, why don’t you both come and talk to me together,” John said. “Once we’re finished, you’ll be free to go.”

  Elizabeth walked over and had a word with her mother before she and Andy walked out of the room. Bessie filled a plate, more for something to do than because she was hungry, and then rejoined Mary on the couch.

  “I’ve told Elizabeth that she can stay with Andy tonight,” Mary said softly. “She knows I’d rather have her here when she has guests, but after everything that happened, I think it might be better if she had a break from them.”

  “Perhaps John will let them go as well,” Bessie suggested, “and maybe there will be room on tonight’s late flight to London.”

  “If Inspector Rockwell is willing to let them leave, I’ll charter them a plane back,” Mary said.

  Bessie hid a smile. Clearly Mary was tired of playing host to Elizabeth’s friends.

  Ernest was the first of Elizabeth’s friends to talk with John. When he walked back into the room, he was smiling. “The inspector has given me permission to leave,” he told everyone. “He’s said you’ll all be free to leave after he speaks with you as well. I’m going to ring the airport and see about flights back to London.”

  “Make sure you get me a seat,” Norma said as she left the room for her conversation with John.

  By the time Norma, Sean, and Madison had finished with John, Ernest had a plane chartered for early the next morning.

  “I’m off to pack,” Ernest said after he’d shared the news. “We need to be at the airport at six, so everyone should have an early night. Susan, do you want to come with us? There’s plenty of room on the plane.”

  Susan, who was just getting up for her session with John, shook her head. “I really appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to stay here for another day or two. I want to find out everything I can about what happened to my father.” She glanced at Mary. “Don’t worry, though, I’ll be moving into a hotel tonight, if I can. I may even look up the woman who claims to be my stepmother. We probably have a lot to talk about.”

  A short while later John walked back into the great room. He looked exhausted as he glanced around the room. “Mr. and Mrs. Quayle, I haven’t taken your statements yet,” he said.

  “Why don’t you do it in here, while having something eat,” Mary suggested. “We can talk in the corner, away from Bessie, if you prefer.”

  “That would probably be for the best,” John said. At Mary’s urging, John put a few things on a plate and then he and Mary and George settled into the corner to have their chat. Bessie felt rather alone as she waited for them to finish. After a few minutes, though, Jonathan joined her.

  “He’s saving the best for last,” he said, nodding towards John as he sat down.

  Bessie smiled. “I suppose he’s left me for last because he doesn’t think I’ll be able to contribute anything.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Me, I’m fine,” Bessie said firmly. “Since you’re here, tell me how you found the secret door.”

  “After the ambulance took Vivian away, I had a word with the inspector. They’d had the study under lock and key since the murder, but after Vivian’s attack, any evidence that might have been in there was probably gone or contaminated. At least that was the argument I gave the inspector. Fortunately for me, he agreed and told me I could have a try at finding the secret door from inside the study.”

  “And you managed it,”
Bessie said. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. I’ve found quite a few secrets at Thie yn Traie since I’ve been here, actually.”

  “One day you’ll have to share them all with me,” Bessie told him.

  “First I should probably share them with Mr. and Mrs. Quayle,” the man laughed.

  Across the room, John was getting to his feet. His voice carried to Bessie as he spoke. “Thank you for your time. I will probably be in touch again soon.”

  He walked over to Bessie and offered his arm. “Why don’t we go back to your cottage for our conversation?” he asked.

  Chapter 15

  “Tea?” Bessie asked as she and John walked into her cottage a few minutes later.

  “No, Mary insisted that I have something to eat and drink. I’m fine,” John replied.

  “Can you tell me what happened to Richard?”

  “He ran off and used another secret door to get outside. We had a man stationed behind the house, though. When Richard saw the constable outside, he, well, he jumped off the cliff.”

  Bessie shuddered. “You said you needed an ambulance. Please tell me he survived the fall.”

  “He did, but he’s in pretty bad shape. He’s been taken to Noble’s. The last update was critical but stable.”

  “What about Vivian?”

  “She’s in serious condition, but expected to survive. It may be some time before we can ascertain whether any serious damage has been done to her.”

  “And you’re convinced that Richard killed Jerome Rhodes?”

  “He certainly showed that he had insider knowledge of Thie yn Traie,” John replied.

  “I wonder how he acquired that.”

  “I suspect we’ll find that out when we investigate his past further. Now that we only have one suspect to consider, things should move fairly quickly.”

  “And everyone else can go home,” Bessie sighed.

  “I wasn’t going to be able to keep them much longer anyway. Several of Elizabeth’s friends had solicitors ringing up to demand that they be allowed to leave. I believe the chief constable would have insisted on letting them go tomorrow regardless.”

  The pair talked through the evening, with John taking notes while Bessie recounted her version of events. “You were there, of course,” she concluded.

  “Yes, but I need to be sure that everyone’s account is in agreement, especially since Richard is critically injured.”

  “It will be interesting to hear what you find out,” Bessie said as she walked the man to the door. She hoped that the subtle hint would be enough to get him to visit again once the investigation was complete.

  A few days later, as Bessie returned from her morning walk, she saw John’s car parked outside Treoghe Bwaane. She picked up her pace and met the man as he climbed out from behind the steering wheel.

  “Moghrey mie,” she said brightly.

  “Moghrey mie,” he replied.

  “I can make tea or coffee,” Bessie offered as she let them into the cottage.

  “I don’t really have time for either,” John said apologetically. “I just wanted to share a few things with you that will be in the local paper later today.”

  “Sit down,” Bessie suggested.

  John took a chair at the kitchen table. “I suppose I could manage a cuppa,” he said.

  Bessie put the kettle on and then piled biscuits onto a plate. By the time she’d put them on the table, the kettle had boiled.

  “Okay, what’s the skeet?” she asked once the tea was made and she’d sat down across from the man.

  “Richard is going to make it, but he may be paralyzed from the waist down,” John said sadly. “He broke his back when he fell.”

  “How awful!” Bessie exclaimed.

  “It’s terribly sad, especially considering that he may well be spending the rest of his life in prison.”

  “He did kill Mr. Rhodes, then?”

  “Yes, he’s confessed to that and to the attack on Vivian.”

  “Was he being blackmailed?”

  “He was,” John sighed. “Not that that justifies his killing the man, but all things considered, I do have some sympathy for him. Less so for the attack on Vivian, of course.”

  “Do you know why he was being blackmailed?”

  “Apparently Richard used the pub that Mr. Rhodes frequented as a meeting place. He used to meet unsuitable women there, but also met a drug dealer there on occasion.”

  “My goodness, he seemed like such a nice young man,” Bessie said.

  “From what he’s said, I believe he was under a great deal of pressure at work and that he’s rather shy. I think he had trouble meeting women and found that, um, paid companions were simply easier. He also found that drugs made coping with the pressure easier, although I don’t believe he was using regularly.”

  “And then Mr. Rhodes started blackmailing him?”

  “When Mr. Rhodes met everyone on Saturday evening, he recognised Richard. When he had a chance to speak to him, apparently Mr. Rhodes suggested that he might just tell everyone what he knew unless Richard wanted to buy his silence. He and Richard were going to talk after the party.”

  “But instead, Richard killed him.”

  “Richard knew the Pierce family. Apparently when he was younger he used to spend time with the two boys, Daniel and Donald. They told him all about Thie yn Traie and its secret doors, passages, and tunnels.”

  “There are tunnels?” Bessie gasped.

  John chuckled. “I’m going to have to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Quayle. I don’t think they have any idea.”

  “So when the lights went out, he found his way to the secret door and let himself into the study?”

  “Yes. He took a torch with him and switched it on once he was in the room. He claims he just went in to talk to the man and that Mr. Rhodes was passed out in the chair when he found him.”

  “So he stabbed him? How horrible.”

  “Richard claims he tried to talk to the man, but he couldn’t get anything sensible out of him. He says he was worried that once Mr. Rhodes rejoined the party he’d start talking about everything because he was so drunk. Richard also insists that the knife was on the desk in the study. He suggested that Mr. Rhodes brought it with him for protection or something.”

  Bessie shivered. “And then he needed it, but it was used against him.”

  John nodded. “The solicitors are going to have a tough time working all of this out, but that’s their job. I’ve done my part.”

  “What about the attack on Vivian?”

  “Vivian actually accidentally tripped into the skirting boards and opened the secret door. Richard happened to be behind her and saw it happen. He was convinced that once the secret door was found, we would know he was guilty, so he hit her over the head to keep her quiet. He insists that he didn’t mean to hurt her, but I’m not sure I believe that.”

  “How is she?”

  “Making a slow recovery. She doesn’t remember the attack or anything about that day, but otherwise she seems to be doing well. Her parents have had her transferred to a specialist clinic in London now.”

  Bessie nodded. “It’s all incredibly sad.”

  “Yes, it is. There are times when I question my career choice.”

  Bessie patted his arm. “You’re an excellent police inspector and the island is a much safer place with you here doing your job. I hope you aren’t seriously considering doing something else?”

  “Not really, but cases like this are difficult.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said.

  “Anyway, I can’t quit now, not when Andrew Cheatham is coming to visit next month. I’m looking forward to sharing a few cold cases with him.”

  “Andrew Cheatham? The man we met at Lakeview Holiday Park? He’s coming to the island?”

  John frowned. “I assumed you knew. Oh, dear, maybe he was planning to surprise you.”

  “Maybe he was hoping to avoid me,” Bessie countered.

  “
Oh, no, I’m sure that’s not the case. He rang me to check on where you lived and to get the number for the holiday cottages. He specifically said he was looking forward to seeing you again.”

  Bessie sat back in her chair, not sure what she was feeling. She’d enjoyed getting to know Andrew when they’d been on holiday, but the thought of seeing him again made her feel slightly ill. Or maybe she was just a little bit excited.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve spoiled the surprise,” John said.

  “I’m glad you have,” Bessie replied.

  Glossary of Terms

  Manx to English

  moghrey mie - good morning

  House Names – Manx to English

  Thie yn Traie - Beach House

  Treoghe Bwaane - Widow’s Cottage

  English to American Terms

  advocate - Manx title for a lawyer (solicitor)

  aye - yes

  bin - garbage can

  biscuits - cookies

  bonnet (car) - hood

  boot (car) - trunk

  car park - parking lot

  chemist - pharmacist

  chips - french fries

  cuddly toys - stuffed animals

  cuppa - cup of tea (informally)

  dear - expensive

  dosh - money

  estate agent - real estate agent (realtor)

  fairy cakes - cupcakes

  fancy dress - costume

  fizzy drink - soda (pop)

  ginger (hair) - red

  holiday - vacation

  jumper - sweater

  lie in - sleep late

  midday - noon

  pavement - sidewalk

  plait (hair) - braid

  primary school - elementary school

  pudding - dessert

  skeet - gossip

  skirting boards - baseboards

  starters - appetizers

  supply teacher - substitute teacher

  telly - television

  torch - flashlight

  trolley - shopping cart

  windscreen - windshield

  Other Notes