Boats and Bad Guys

by Diana Xarissa

  “That can’t feel good,” Shelly commented as she carried in a tray with tea and cookies on it.

  “I’m just feeling a bit frustrated,” Fenella admitted. “I can’t quite believe that I found another dead body. The police are going to start suspecting me of something if this keeps up.”

  “They can’t possibly suspect you this time,” Shelly told her. “You didn’t even know the poor man.”

  “No, but from what I could tell this morning, neither did anyone else from the other cabins, aside from his wife,” Fenella said. “Maybe the killer wasn’t someone from one of the cabins, even though that seems to be what Daniel suspects.”

  Fenella worked her way through a handful of cookies and two cups of tea without saying a word. Her mind was racing in every possible direction. Shelly ate her own cookies and sipped her tea while playing with Katie, who seemed to love the extra attention.

  “Are you okay?” Shelly asked as she and Fenella cleared away the plates and cups. “You haven’t said a word for the last hour.”

  Fenella flushed. “I’m terribly sorry,” she said. “I’m just a mess, that’s all. My brain is running away with me.”

  “I was going to start a dozen different conversations,” Shelly said. “But every time I looked at you, you seemed to be lost in thought.”

  “I’m sure I was,” Fenella said. “I can’t stop thinking about poor Robert Grosso, and even more about his wife, Sarah. I hope she has family and friends on the island to help her through this.”

  “Did you say she works at Noble’s?” Shelly asked.

  “That’s what Daniel told me.”

  “I have some friends who work there,” Shelly said. “I’ll ring one of them and check on her, if you’d like.”

  “I don’t want to pry into the poor woman’s life,” Fenella replied. “But I’m sure I’ll feel better if I know she’s being looked after by someone.”

  “I’ll go and ring now and then come back over and let you know what I’ve learned,” Shelly offered. “I’d ring from here, but I’d feel awfully self-conscious talking with you listening in.”

  “I’d appreciate it,” Fenella said, hoping that Shelly would find someone who could help quickly. Fenella wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep without knowing that Sarah was okay.

  She let Shelly out, leaving the apartment door unlocked so that her friend could let herself back in. While she waited, Fenella settled on the couch and stared out at the sea.

  Chapter Six

  “Shelly’s cottage pie was always delicious,” Mona said from the chair next to her. “Sometimes I miss being alive.”

  “It was really good,” Fenella replied. “But I think when I’m dead, I’ll miss chocolate more.”

  “Tell me everything you can remember about the dead man,” Mona suggested. “Maybe we’ll be able to come up with a viable motive for his murder.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Fenella snapped. “Daniel was right. This is a job for the police, not me.”

  “The problem with the police is that they don’t have any imagination,” Mona said. “They’ll look for simple and logical explanations for the murder.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “But what if this murder wasn’t simple or logical?” Mona demanded. “Maybe the motive is quite complex. It could take Daniel years to work that out. And while we’re waiting for that to happen, you aren’t allowed to socialize with him, which is criminal in itself.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I’m sure Daniel won’t need years to work it out,” she said. “Shelly said the man’s business might have involved smuggling. If that’s the case, then surely he was killed due to his being tied up in something illegal. Daniel should be able to solve the case quickly, if that’s true.”

  “But what if that isn’t it at all?” Mona demanded. “What if he was having an affair with the ferry captain’s wife, or maybe he was secretly the heir to a huge fortune and the next in line for the money killed him. Daniel probably hasn’t given either of those motives any thought at all.”

  “I think they’re both a bit of a stretch,” Fenella said. “But I’m sure Daniel will be very thorough. That’s his job, after all. And now I really don’t want to talk about it any more.”

  Before Mona could reply, Shelly walked back into the apartment.

  “I spoke to my friend. She actually works with Sarah,” Shelly told Fenella. “She was meant to be covering one of Sarah’s shifts for her while Sarah was away, but Sarah rang her and told her that she needn’t bother. Apparently Sarah is planning on going back to work tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Fenella repeated. “But her husband was murdered today.”

  Shelly shrugged. “My friend said that Sarah told her that she thinks she’ll be better off keeping busy. If I’ve learned anything from losing my husband, it’s that everyone mourns differently.”

  “It still seems odd to me,” Fenella said. “But at least Sarah mustn’t be too miserable if she’s feeling up to working.”

  “My friend said that when she talked to her, Sarah sounded the same as she always does. She didn’t even realize that Robert had died until Sarah actually told her.”

  “As you say, everyone has to deal with grief in their own way,” Fenella said. “At least I know Sarah isn’t sitting home crying all alone.”

  “No, once my friend heard what had happened, she asked Sarah if she needed company. Sarah told her that her parents were there and that Robert’s parents were on their way. Maybe that’s another reason why Sarah is so eager to get back to work.”

  Fenella laughed. “I used to put in a lot of extra office hours whenever Jack’s mom would come to visit,” she admitted. “But then, the woman never liked me and made it abundantly clear that she thought Jack could do much better.”

  “My mother-in-law was wonderful,” Shelly said. “She lived with us for many years, after my father-in-law passed away, and I never once minded having her around. She was retired, but she was busier than I was, even though I was working at the time. I think I was more upset when she died than my husband was.”

  Fenella opened her mouth to reply, but yawned instead. “Oh, dear, I am sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be,” Shelly told her. “You’ve had a very long day. I’ll just leave you to get some sleep.”

  Fenella walked her friend to the door and locked it behind her. She yawned again as she made her way into the kitchen to refill Katie’s bowls.

  “I’m completely worn out,” she told the kitten, who’d followed her across the apartment. “I’d like a late start tomorrow, please.”

  Katie narrowed her eyes at her and then seemed to shrug. “Merrow,” she said as she took off out of the kitchen in a sudden dash.

  Fenella walked more slowly behind her, switching off lights as she went. In the large master bedroom, Katie was settled in the exact center of the king-sized bed, seemingly already asleep. Fenella washed her face and then studied her reflection in the mirror.

  “You really must stop finding dead bodies,” she told herself sternly.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” her reflection argued back.

  “Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness,” Mona said from behind her.

  “Talking to a ghost is its own special kind of crazy,” Fenella shot back.

  Mona chuckled. “If you think that outfit is comfortable for relaxing in, you should try sleeping in it,” she told Fenella.

  “What a lovely thought,” Fenella said. She washed her face and rubbed in some face cream before brushing her teeth. Back in the bedroom she carefully climbed into bed and switched off the light, trying not to disturb Katie. Telling herself to not think about the events of the day, she snuggled down under the duvet and fell asleep almost immediately.

  She hadn’t thought to set an alarm for the next morning, but Katie was careful not to let her oversleep. Fenella opened one eye as the kitten began patting her on the nose. “It’s only just after six,” she
complained. “Surely you can wait another hour for breakfast.”

  “Merrow,” Katie replied. She jumped off the bed and raced away, no doubt straight to the kitchen to complain over her empty food bowl. Fenella sat up in bed. By the time she’d filled Katie’s bowls, she’d be too awake to go back to bed.

  Sighing deeply, she slid out from under the duvet and padded after the kitten. Katie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, staring disapprovingly at her bowl. Fenella opened a can of something and dumped it into the bowl before she refilled Katie’s water.

  “There you are,” she said. “That should keep you happy for five minutes.”

  Hoping to actually get a bit more time than that, Fenella headed for the shower. A short time later she was dressed and ready to face the day. A glance at the clock told her that she was ready for a day that hadn’t really begun yet anywhere else on the island.

  “It’s Sunday,” she told Katie. “I’m probably the only person awake on the whole island.”

  Katie blinked at her and then walked out of the room. Fenella followed and watched as the kitten jumped up on the bed and curled back up in her favorite spot. Within seconds the tiny animal seemed to be fast asleep again.

  “You have some nerve,” Fenella said to the slumbering animal.

  “Oh, leave her alone,” Mona said. “She’s had a hard morning, eating all that kibble.”

  Fenella laughed. “It’s a tough life,” she said.

  “What are you planning for your day?” Mona asked her.

  “I’ve no idea,” Fenella replied. “I wasn’t meant to be here, after all. Maybe I’ll just curl up with a good book and relax.”

  “We should talk about the murder,” Mona told her. “You should try to work out what happened.”

  “I’m not interested in what happened,” Fenella said. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I thought you would at least ask me if I know any of the suspects,” Mona said.

  Fenella swallowed a sigh. “Gee, Mona, do you know any of the suspects?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  “I do, as it happens,” Mona said. “But if you’re going to take that attitude, I don’t think I want to discuss it with you.”

  Now Fenella did sigh. “Oh, stop being silly,” she said. “Who do you know and why didn’t you mention knowing them earlier?”

  “You didn’t ask,” Mona said with a small shrug.

  Fenella took one more look at her pet, and was jealous of the animal that was fast asleep. Fenella was tired, and she had to deal with her aunt, who seemed to be in a particularly annoying mood.

  “Let’s go and sit in the other room,” Fenella suggested. “I don’t know if you get tired of standing up, but I do.”

  “I don’t get tired,” Mona replied. “But I still prefer sitting comfortably.”

  Fenella didn’t question her aunt any further. In the living room, Fenella sat on the couch and waited for Mona to join her. “So, who did you know from the people I met yesterday?” she asked once Mona was settled.

  “I didn’t know any of them well,” Mona began. “But I’d certainly met several of them. Let’s start with Sarah Grosso.”

  “You knew the widow?” Fenella gasped.

  “She’s a nurse at Noble’s,” Mona told her. “I wasn’t often unwell, but many of my friends suffered with ill health. Sarah used to work in the general medical ward, although she moved to the surgical ward in the last year. Before she moved, I saw quite a lot of her, really. It seemed as though one friend or another was nearly always falling ill with something.”

  “What did you think of her?” Fenella asked.

  “She’s a very hard worker,” Mona replied. “Some of the nurses act as if doing some little thing for a patient is a huge favor, but she never acted like that, no matter what she was being asked for. She used to take on extra hours whenever they were offered, which is probably why I saw so much of her. She was nearly always there. I know she moved to the surgical ward because it pays better. Money was tight for her and her husband.”

  “Which was why she was so excited about his winning the trip across,” Fenella said.

  “I doubt very much he won anything,” Mona said. “I met the man once and I didn’t like him one bit. He was, well, shifty, I would say. If someone else had died instead of him, he’d be at the top of my list of suspects.”

  “So you think he might have been involved in something criminal?”

  “Undoubtedly,” Mona replied. “I always thought it was rather unfortunate that he wasn’t more successful, really. Perhaps if he had been, poor Sarah wouldn’t have had to work so hard.”

  “But if he didn’t win the trip, how was he paying for it?”

  “Perhaps someone needed something taken across and he was being paid to take it,” Mona suggested.

  “Why would he include Sarah if it was work?”

  “Maybe he needed to look innocent,” Mona said. “What could be more innocent than a married couple having a short holiday?”

  “Could Sarah have known about it?”

  “From what I know of the woman, I don’t think so,” Mona said. “She didn’t seem the type to engage in criminal activity. I suspect she was completely in the dark as to what her husband was doing, if he was doing something wrong.”

  “Can you be married to someone and not know what they’re doing?” Fenella asked.

  “Perhaps she had her suspicions and chose to ignore them. From what I could see, she was more than a little in love with the man.”

  “And yet she’s planning on going to work today,” Fenella said.

  “Everyone deals with grief differently,” Mona replied. “I suspect she’ll bury herself in her work and try to block out everything else. It might even help. She does love her job.”

  “Who else did you know?” Fenella asked.

  “The lovely Stanley and Florence March were, well, acquaintances of mine,” Mona said.

  “Not friends?”

  “Oh, goodness, no,” Mona laughed. “I was a woman of questionable morals with no visible means of support. Stanley and Florence were carefully polite when we used to see one another at various charity functions, but they were also carefully distant so as not to seem to be approving of my lifestyle.”

  “I knew I didn’t like them,” Fenella said.

  “Florence is, well, difficult to like,” Mona told her. “Stanley is worse, though. He was quite fond of getting me alone and trying to seduce me.”

  “Oh, dear,” Fenella gasped.

  “He’s quite a bit younger than I am, or rather than I was, and he seemed to think he was doing me a tremendous honor by even speaking with me. This was all some years ago now, of course, when I was closer to your age and Stanley was in his thirties. He could never understand why I always turned him down.”

  “Do you think either of them killed Robert Grosso?” Fenella asked.

  “If they did, they would have hired someone else to take care of it,” Mona told her. “And whoever they’d have hired would have done a better job of it than that. All the killer needed to do was stay with the body until the ferry sailed. Once you were underway, they could have thrown him overboard and no one would have been the wiser.”

  “Surely the body would have washed ashore eventually?”

  “Perhaps, but goodness knows where, or in what condition.”

  Fenella shuddered. “How horrible,” she said.

  “I’m afraid I didn’t know Justin Newmarket,” Mona told her. “But I did know Nick and Brenda Proper.”

  “You’re making me think the island is really quite small,” Fenella remarked.

  “It isn’t all that large and the population was smaller years ago. It’s only in the last fifteen or twenty years that we’ve had an influx of new arrivals from across to work in banking and insurance. That’s all thanks to the changes in the tax laws, of course.”

  “So how did you know Nick and Brenda?” Fenella asked.

  “Agai
n, I used to see them at charity events on occasion. Not the fancy ones that Stanley and Florence would attend, but smaller ones for little local charities. I knew them before they were married, actually, when they were both on their first marriages. Nick’s first wife was a dear woman who deserved a better husband, if I can be frank.”

  “Nick didn’t treat her well?”

  “He cheated on her fairly regularly. Brenda was his last mistress. They started seeing one another after Brenda’s husband died, and when Nick’s wife died rather suddenly Brenda insisted that he marry her.”

  “Perhaps they deserve each other,” Fenella suggested.

  “Yes, I rather think they do,” Mona agreed.

  “But can you see either of them as the murderer?”

  “Perhaps. Although I can’t imagine a motive. They’re both retired and as I understand it, they spend most of their time visiting their various children in turn. It’s an inexpensive way to live, I believe.”

  “The poor children,” Fenella remarked.

  “Yes indeed.”

  “Is that everyone?” Fenella asked, feeling tired of the conversation.

  “I also knew Harry Hampton and his first wife,” Mona told her. “He was always too frugal to donate much to charity, but his first wife was a keen volunteer on a great many committees. She died rather suddenly as well and Sherry Kelly didn’t waste any time seducing him.”

  “I can’t imagine what he sees in her,” Fenella said.

  “Really?” Mona asked, raising an eyebrow. “I would have thought by your age that you’d understand men better than that.”

  Fenella flushed. “Well, I mean, I know she’s a lot younger and she’s really pretty, but he doesn’t seem the type to fall for that sort of woman.”

  “As I said, she was quick,” Mona told her. “Mary fell ill quite suddenly and needed care around the clock. Sherry was one of the nursing assistants who came to help look after her. When Mary passed away, Sherry was right there to offer a sympathetic shoulder to poor Harry. And over time, she offered more than her shoulder.”

  Fenella shook her head. “They didn’t seem to be getting along terribly well yesterday,” she told her aunt.