Aunt Bessie Invites (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 9)

by Diana Xarissa

  “I wish I’d known,” Bessie said. “I would have bought you better presents.”

  Fenella laughed. “I don’t really remember anything you brought,” she confessed. “But I know I was awfully excited at the time.”

  “Well, I’m glad you both have such fond memories of me,” Bessie said, laughing.

  “Christmas is always more fun when you have children to buy for, isn’t it?” Sarah asked. “I loved the holidays when our five were small.”

  “Maybe one day one of them will get around to giving us a grandchild or two,” Nicholas said. “Although none of them seem eager to settle down.”

  “You took your time,” Sarah reminded him gently.

  “I surely did,” he admitted.

  “So tell me about your children,” Bessie suggested.

  “Do sit down,” Fenella said. “I’ll just get the tea.”

  “Please let me help,” Sarah said.

  “Oh, no, you sit down and chat with Bessie,” Fenella replied.

  “Did you say you have five children?” Bessie asked once they were all seated.

  “We did,” Sarah said. “Unfortunately, our second son, Teddy, passed away when he was still quite young.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said.

  “I was lucky to have the others,” Sarah told her. “Between looking after them and running the farm, I was too busy to fall apart, even though I wanted to.”

  “It was a difficult time,” Nicholas said. “But we got through it, at least as much as you ever can.”

  Bessie nodded. “I’m sure Fenella told me that your oldest helps run your farm now,” she said as Fenella passed around cups of tea.

  “Oh, yes. Ned’s wonderful,” Sarah said. “He’s taken over ninety per cent of the work, and he’s doing so much to make the farm more efficient and profitable as well; it’s amazing.”

  “He went to university and studied farming,” Nicholas said. Bessie could hear the pride in his voice. “He’s a really smart kid.”

  “It’s nice that you have someone to take on the farm work as you get older,” Fenella said quietly as she joined them at the table. Sarah put her hand over Fenella’s and gave it a pat.

  Before anyone spoke, Fenella jumped back up again. “There are biscuits and sandwiches and scones,” she told them all. “Everything is laid out. Please help yourselves.”

  Nicholas stood up and then held Sarah’s chair for her as she rose. “Guests first,” Sarah said, smiling at Bessie.

  Bessie selected a few biscuits and a scone and then sat back down while the others fixed their plates. There were so many questions she wanted to ask Nicholas, but she didn’t want to be rude.

  “Fenella tells me you were on the farm the day the body was found,” Nicholas said as everyone began to enjoy their tea.

  Bessie nearly choked on a biscuit at the unexpected turn in the conversation. “I was,” she agreed after a moment. “Do you remember Jacob Conover?”

  Nicholas looked at Fenella and then back at Bessie. “Not really,” he said. “I have some vague recollection of the man, but I was pretty busy causing trouble and chasing after girls in those days.”

  “I thought you might remember him since he did quite a bit of girl chasing himself,” Bessie commented.

  “If I recall correctly, I spent most of that summer running after Anna Long. She wasn’t interested, but I was sure that she’d come around eventually. I wonder what ever happened to her.”

  “I don’t think anyone knows for sure,” Bessie told him. “She left the island and as far as I know, no one knows for certain where she went.”

  “Really? How very strange,” Nicholas said. “Maybe she came looking for me,” he laughed.

  “I think the police were the only ones looking for you after you left,” Fenella said dryly.

  Nicholas laughed again. “You could be right about that,” he agreed.

  “So how long are you planning to stay?” Bessie asked after a short lull in the conversation.

  “About a week,” Sarah replied. “We’ve left our return open for the moment. We came over because we want to help out, with Eoin’s health being so fragile. We might stay a bit longer if Fenella and Eoin will actually let us do a few things around here.”

  “We’re managing,” Fenella said shortly.

  “But why struggle?” Nicholas asked. “We’re here and we’re both quite used to farm work. Take advantage of us.”

  “You needn’t worry about your inheritance,” Fenella said coolly. “Even if we don’t manage to keep up with the farm, the land will be worth a fortune when we go.”

  “We aren’t the least bit interested in inheriting anything,” Nicholas said, flushing. “If you’ve no one to leave things to, choose a useful charity and leave the farm to them. We’re here because we care, not for any other reason.”

  “You haven’t been back to the island in nearly forty years,” Fenella said.

  “No, and I’m sorry about that,” Nicholas said. “I can’t even offer any real excuse except we’ve been busy with our farm and our children. You and Eoin never came to see us, either, though.”

  “Eoin came to the wedding,” Fenella said.

  Sarah held up a hand. “Let’s not argue,” she said firmly. “None of us have done what we should have over the last forty years. Let’s not spend the next forty pointing fingers and blaming one another. We really are here to help, if you want help. If you don’t, we’ll stay and visit for a few days and then go home. As for inheriting the farm, that’s your choice, but I can promise you we have no expectations in that area.”

  “There isn’t anyone else,” Fenella told her.

  “As Nicholas said, there are charities,” Sarah replied. “It’s your farm and you may do what you like with it. Our farm is quite successful in its own small way and our children are all settled and happy. Please do what you’d like with your money.”

  “Maybe we’ll spend it all on alternative medicine,” Eoin said from the doorway. “Conventional medicine doesn’t seem to be helping me.”

  As he walked into the room and began to fix his own plate of food, Bessie couldn’t help but compare his appearance with his brother’s. Nicholas looked healthy and fit. Next to him, Eoin looked even more unwell than Bessie had previously believed.

  “There are some very good options in alternative medicine,” she said now.

  “Not for what I have,” Eoin told her. “I’ve actually seen every specialist out there. The only ones that have offered me a cure have been the dishonest ones.” He chuckled. “I told the last one that I’d pay him in monthly installments over the next three years. After he’d promised me a cure, he struggled to justify why I had to pay for the whole treatment in advance.”

  Bessie smiled. “You’d think he would have at least pretended to believe his own sales pitch,” she said.

  “He was more worried about getting paid,” Eoin replied. He sat down at the table and sipped his tea.

  “We should have visited more often,” Nicholas said quietly.

  “You were busy and so were we,” Eoin countered. “Farmers don’t have time for socialising.”

  “I’d love it if you’d come and see our farm,” Sarah said. “And it would be nice if you could meet our children.”

  “We’ll have to see,” Eoin said. “We’d have to find someone to take over here.”

  “Maybe you should go for a few days,” Fenella said. “I could keep things going over here.”

  Eoin shrugged. “Let’s see what the doctor says next week,” he said. “And see how your father is doing. You don’t want me gone if, well, you know what I mean.”

  Fenella nodded. “Does anyone need more tea?” she asked, getting up and bustling around the kitchen.

  Bessie shook her head. “I really should be heading for home,” she said. “Although it’s been lovely seeing Nicholas again and meeting Sarah.”

  “It’s been a real treat, seeing you,” Nicholas said.

  “You a
ll should come to the Thanksgiving feast,” Bessie said. “You’d be very welcome.”

  “I’m afraid we have other things to do on Saturday,” Fenella said. “We’ve arranged to take my father out for a few hours that afternoon. They don’t let me take him very often, because they have to send a nurse with us.”

  “I’m sure Niall will appreciate that,” Bessie said.

  “Last time we did it, he fell asleep in the car and didn’t wake up until we got back to the home,” Eoin said.

  “It was still worthwhile,” Fenella said softly.

  “Yes, dear,” Eoin replied, patting her hand.

  “Thank you for a lovely afternoon,” Bessie said. “I’ll just ring for a taxi and be on my way.”

  “I can take you home,” Fenella said. “Nicholas can help Eoin with the chores while I’m out.”

  “I’ll stay and help the men,” Sarah said. “I’m feeling as if I’ve been very lazy since we arrived.”

  Bessie gathered up her handbag and followed Fenella back through the house. As they walked, she argued with herself about what she was going to say to Fenella in the car.

  “Thank you for joining us,” Fenella said after she’d pulled away from the house.

  “It was nice to see Nicholas again,” Bessie told her. “I was surprised he had such fond memories of me. Sarah seems very nice.”

  “She is,” Fenella agreed. “I think the family farm will be in good hands with them when Eoin and I are gone.”

  “You have a good many years left, though,” Bessie pointed out.

  “I might, but Eoin doesn’t,” Fenella said.

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said.

  “He hasn’t been well for a long time and the whole Jacob Conover thing isn’t helping,” Fenella told her. “It’s added a lot of stress to our lives.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t remember the man,” Bessie said, choosing her words carefully.

  “It was a long time ago,” Fenella replied.

  They’d reached the last pasture and several sheep were standing in the centre of the road. Fenella sighed as she rolled to a stop.

  “It was a long time ago,” Bessie agreed. “I had an interesting conversation with Jacob’s sister yesterday, though.”

  “Did you? She came up to the farm, but I didn’t really speak to her. Eoin showed her around a little bit and answered her questions.”

  “She has her own theory on why Jacob was here,” Bessie said, keeping her tone casual. “She thinks he was looking for a farmer’s daughter. Someone he could marry that would help him run his farm back home.”

  “As I said, I didn’t speak to her,” Fenella said.

  Bessie stared hard at the woman, but Fenella wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  “He wanted to marry you, didn’t he?” Bessie asked quietly.

  Fenella looked over at her and then burst into tears. “No one knows that,” she said through her tears. “No one except my father ever knew that.”

  Bessie put her arms around Fenella as she sobbed. She patted her back and whispered meaningless nothings as the sheep wandered off and the car idled. Eventually, Fenella lifted her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never cry.”

  “Then you were long overdue,” Bessie told her. “I didn’t mean to upset you, though.”

  “I’ve been upset since the body was found,” Fenella replied. “As soon as I saw the watch, I knew who it was, but I couldn’t talk about it. Eoin never knew that Jacob and I had had a relationship. It would break his heart to find out now, and his health is so fragile as it is, I couldn’t possibly say anything.”

  “So Jane Harris was right?” Bessie asked. “Jacob was looking for a wife?”

  “I don’t know if he was looking for one, exactly, but we fell in love,” Fenella told her. “He was, well, special. He was different from any other man I’d ever met. He swept me off my feet, but I didn’t want my father to know. He went out with all those other women so no one would know about me.”

  “It was very effective,” Bessie remarked.

  “He was supposed to come and get me after he left the pub that night,” she continued. “I was all packed and ready to go. I’d told my father I was going and we’d had a huge row. I sat outside, with my suitcase, waiting all night.”

  Bessie hugged her again. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

  “When he never came for me, I assumed he’d changed his mind and gone back alone,” Fenella said after a moment. “My father never said another word about it. A short time later Eoin started taking me out and I decided I might as well marry him and try to be happy. It worked reasonably well, I suppose.”

  Bessie shook her head. “You poor thing,” she said.

  “You can see why I’m feeling so much stress,” Fenella said. “My father was the only person who knew about Jacob and me. I can’t believe my father would kill him to stop me leaving, but I can’t imagine why anyone else would have killed him, either.”

  “How angry was your father?” Bessie had to ask.

  “He was furious at first,” Fenella replied. “But after a while, he just went really quiet. I was young and stupid and too wrapped up in my own happiness to think about how much my leaving would hurt him, of course. I was all he had and he needed me to help keep the farm running. But all I could think about was how much I loved Jacob.”

  “You were eighteen,” Bessie pointed out. “You had every right to chase your own happiness.”

  “I should have tried to persuade Jacob to stay here,” the woman said sadly. “I was so excited about leaving that I didn’t even consider the idea.”

  “From what Jane Harris said, Jacob wouldn’t have agreed,” Bessie said, not sure if she was helping the situation or not. “He needed to go back and run his family farm.”

  “I can’t help but wish I’d tried. Maybe Jacob would still be alive. Things might have been very different.”

  “You need to talk to John Rockwell,” Bessie said. “What you’ve told me might be relevant to the murder investigation.”

  “I can’t,” Fenella said. “If I tell him everything, it will get back to Eoin. I don’t want to upset him. Not now.”

  “But John needs to know,” Bessie argued.

  “That Anna Lambert already thinks my father killed Jacob,” Fenella argued. “This would just give her more ammunition.”

  “I can’t keep what you’ve told me a secret,” Bessie said, feeling miserable.

  “Please, please, please, if you have to tell him, beg him not to tell Eoin,” she said, sobbing again. “I think finding out might kill him, even before the cancer can.”

  Bessie sighed. “I’ll do my best,” she promised.

  “And please don’t tell Anna Lambert anything,” Fenella added. “That woman already hates me and my father.”

  “I don’t have any intention of speaking to her,” Bessie said emphatically. “But I can’t promise that John won’t talk to her.”

  Fenella sighed. “I’m hoping to persuade Eoin to go back across with Nicholas and Sarah,” she said. “Maybe you could wait to talk to the police until he’s off the island?”

  “I don’t think this should wait,” Bessie said. “Hasn’t Jacob waited long enough for justice?”

  Fenella laughed bitterly. “If I thought the killer was anyone other than my father, I’d agree with that sentiment,” she said.

  Before Bessie could reply, Fenella held up a hand. “Never mind,” she said. “You do what you have to do. I’ll deal with Eoin and my father. That’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

  The pair was silent as Fenella drove Bessie home. At the cottage, Bessie turned to her.

  “I’m really sorry,” she said, “but John needs to know.”

  A sudden burst of noise interrupted Fenella’s reply. “My mobile,” Fenella said. She reached into her bag and found the phone. Bessie watched the woman’s face as she spoke.

  “Hello?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  �
��I’ll be right there.”

  Fenella disconnected the call and then stared at the phone in her hand.

  “What’s wrong?” Bessie asked after a minute.

  “That was Eoin,” Fenella said. “Douglas Gardens just rang the house. My father’s gone.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What can I do to help?” Bessie asked quickly.

  Fenella shook her head. “There’s nothing,” she said softly. “We made all of the arrangements a few years ago, while my father still had some good days. He wanted to be buried next to my mother and he wanted…” she trailed off and began to cry.

  “Come inside,” Bessie said as she hugged the woman again. “I’ll make tea.”

  “I have to go home,” Fenella said. “Eoin needs me. He’ll be more upset than I am. My father was like a father to him, you know.”

  “I do know,” Bessie said. “But I don’t think you should be driving.”

  “I’m fine,” Fenella said. “It isn’t that far.”

  Bessie wanted to argue, but she couldn’t think of any easy solution to the problem. If she rang for a taxi for Fenella, the woman would have to leave her car at Bessie’s cottage. For the first time in a long while, Bessie was sorry she’d never learned to drive.

  “It’s okay,” Fenella said now, her voice stronger. “It isn’t exactly a shock. And with everything that could be coming, it might be a blessing.”

  “Please drive carefully,” Bessie told her. “And ring me if you think of anything I can do. I’ll ring you tomorrow morning to see what help you need.”

  “Thank you, Bessie,” Fenella said. She gave Bessie another hug. Bessie walked to her cottage door, conscious that the woman was watching her. After she opened the door, she turned and waved. Fenella nodded and then drove slowly away.

  Inside her home, Bessie paced around the kitchen. She knew she needed to ring John and tell him what she’d learned, but she didn’t want to add to Fenella’s troubles. Before she’d made up her mind what to do, her phone rang.

  “John was wondering if we could all come over tonight,” Doona said when Bessie answered. “He wants to discuss the case with you in light of today’s sad news.”

  “That’s fine,” Bessie said. “But I haven’t any food.”