Aunt Bessie Observes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 15)

by Diana Xarissa

  “Do you have any idea who might have done it?” Bessie asked.

  Anthony shrugged. “I’d like to think it was someone from across,” he said. “But I don’t know. Everyone has been acting a bit odd lately, haven’t they? But I need to get some food. How about you?”

  “Food sounds good,” Bessie agreed. “Even though I ate a lot of pizza and garlic bread.”

  Andy and his friends had done an amazing job. Bessie was impressed with the variety of items on display as well as with the gorgeous presentation. She filled a small plate and nibbled her way through the lot. When she was done, she stopped the man who was refilling the trays.

  “Tell Andy that Aunt Bessie says that everything is wonderful,” she instructed him.

  “Thank you,” the man replied.

  “When does the auction start?” Jacqueline demanded in Bessie’s ear.

  “Oh, I suspect any time now,” Bessie replied.

  “I want to get out of here,” Jacqueline told her. “But I can’t go until I’ve bid on a few items.”

  “The food is excellent,” Bessie said. “Try something.”

  “I’m sure it is,” she replied. “But I’m not hungry.”

  Bessie nodded. “Is everything okay?” she asked hesitantly. “You seem upset.”

  “I just have a lot going on right now,” Jacqueline told her.

  “I’m here, finally,” Linda Cotton said as she rushed up to join Bessie and Jacqueline. “I love my grandbabies, but they can be incredibly demanding.”

  “I need to speak to you,” Jacqueline told Linda.

  “Is something wrong?” Linda asked.

  “Not at all,” Jacqueline replied coolly.

  “I’m sorry, but, Ms. Cotton? I’m Inspector John Rockwell with Douglas CID. I’d really like a few minutes of your time.”

  Linda laughed. “Goodness, but I’m popular tonight,” she said. “But you’ll all have to wait, as the auction is about to start and I don’t want to miss it.”

  John frowned and Jacqueline began to protest.

  “If I could have everyone’s attention, please,” Agnes announced. “If you could all find seats, we’ll begin the auction.”

  Bessie held back as people from around the room began to make their way towards the stage. Trying to keep an eye on Jacqueline and Linda was more difficult than Bessie had hoped, as they were both swallowed up by the crowd. She could only hope that John was having better luck. He’d been on Linda’s heels as she’d walked away.

  With the many items on offer, the auction seemed to take a very long time. George acted as auctioneer, working his way through the silent auction items, announcing each winner and the winning bid to much applause. Bessie was too distracted to care that she’d won the box of mystery books. By the time the live auction items had all been sold, at what seemed to Bessie to be very high prices, Bessie was eager for the evening to be over. As soon as the last item was sold, it felt as if everyone in the room stood up at once and began to crowd their way forward to pay for and collect their items.

  Bessie knew that Linda had won a few items, as had Jacqueline. She tried to keep an eye on both women, but she could only see Jacqueline in the crowd. That the woman’s dress was fuchsia probably helped.

  By the time the crowd cleared and people began to leave, more than half an hour later, Bessie had no idea where either woman had gone. It didn’t take her long to spot Jacqueline again, though, and she quickly crossed to her.

  “Did you get some nice things?” she asked.

  “Oh, just a holiday to Paris and a few little things,” Jacqueline replied airily. “Just enough to justify my place on the committee, really.”

  “Linda seemed to get quite a few items as well. Do you know where she’s gone?”

  “I haven’t seen her since before the bidding started,” Jacqueline replied. “Which is unfortunate, because I need to speak to her.”

  “I’m sure she’s here somewhere,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, I suppose so, but I really must go,” Jacqueline frowned.

  “That was exciting,” Janet said as she joined Bessie and Jacqueline. “Even if I couldn’t afford to buy anything.”

  “What would you have bought, if you’d had the money?” Bessie asked.

  “Oh, the trip to Paris, maybe,” Janet replied. “Or those diamond earrings.”

  “Well, this has been fun, but I must be going,” Jacqueline said.

  “But you bought the Paris trip, didn’t you?” Janet asked. “What were the dates for it?”

  Jacqueline looked at her for a moment and then shrugged. “Some time in July, I think.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” Janet said. “We’re fully booked for July. I wouldn’t have been able to go anyway. I don’t feel so bad about not being able to bid now.”

  “Yes, well, if you’ll excuse me,” Jacqueline said, taking a step towards the door.

  “Oh, but what else did you win?” Janet asked, putting a hand on Jacqueline’s arm.

  “What else did I win? A lot of things,” Jacqueline replied. “You can ask Agnes for the list, I suppose.”

  “Did you win the diamond earrings? I really liked those,” Janet told her.

  “No, I did not,” Jacqueline snapped. “I must go,” she added as she took another step.

  Janet glanced at Bessie. Hoping she’d read Janet’s desperate look correctly, Bessie touched Jacqueline’s arm. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she said, casually sliding her fingers around the woman’s wrist. “You know I research wills. I’ve been working on some more recent ones lately and I was wondering if you have a copy of your late husband’s will. It would be interesting to compare the language in that with wills from the island.”

  It might just have been the lighting, but Bessie thought Jacqueline went slightly pale. “I do have a copy,” she said after a moment. “But it isn’t the sort of thing I want to share with anyone.”

  “No, of course not,” Bessie said. “Of course, wills are a matter of public record. What was your husband’s name?”

  Jacqueline shook her head. “I can’t, that is, I don’t…you must understand that talking about him is very painful for me,” she said. “I haven’t said his name in thirty years.”

  “Where did you get married?” Bessie asked. “I can request a copy of the marriage license and work from that.”

  “You really are a nosy old woman, aren’t you?” Jacqueline demanded. “None of this is any of your business.”

  “I am sorry,” Bessie said, glancing at Janet, who seemed to be watching the door. “I was just curious, that’s all.”

  “Hmph, well, I’ll thank you to keep your curiosity to yourself,” Jacqueline said. “As I said, I must go.”

  “How did you know Jonathan and Nathan?” Bessie blurted out, desperate to keep the woman at the party.

  Jacqueline turned and looked at her for a moment before she took a long, deep breath. “I don’t know what you think you know,” she hissed. “But you aren’t anywhere near as smart as you think you are.” She spun back around and slammed into Hugh, who had come up behind her.

  “I am sorry,” Hugh said. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not,” Jacqueline shouted. “Get out of my way.”

  “I’m awfully sorry, but I’ve been asked to collect you, actually,” Hugh said in a calm voice. “Inspector Rockwell would like to speak with you about a few things.”

  “I’ve already talked to the police more than enough,” Jacqueline said. “Get out of my way.”

  Hugh frowned. “I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t do that. You’re going to have to come with me.”

  “I won’t, and you can’t make me,” the woman yelled.

  Hugh nodded and the two security guards who had been standing around all evening advanced towards Jacqueline. “We don’t want to hurt you, but you need to comply with the constable’s request,” the taller and broader of the two men said.

  “I want my advocate,” Jacqueline deman
ded.

  “We can arrange to have him meet you at the station in Laxey,” Hugh told her.

  Jacqueline looked around and seemed to suddenly realise that everyone in the room was watching the entire exchange. “I’m sure this is just a big misunderstanding,” she said, lowing her voice and smiling tentatively at Hugh.

  “It may be,” he said. “Let’s go see if we can sort it out.”

  Jacqueline took Hugh’s arm and patted it flirtatiously. “My, aren’t you a big handsome man. Maybe you and I could go somewhere and sort this out, just the two of us. I’d be very grateful, very, very grateful.”

  “Inspector Rockwell would like to speak to you in Laxey,” Hugh told her.

  “Do you like your job? I can always use a good security man. I’ll pay you triple what you’re making with the police.”

  “That almost sounds like an attempt to bribe me,” Hugh said.

  “It’s a serious offer,” Jacqueline told him. “Why don’t we talk about it over a drink somewhere?”

  “Why don’t we talk after you’ve spoken to Inspector Rockwell,” Hugh suggested.

  Jacqueline glanced around the room and then shrugged. “Let’s go, then,” she said.

  The pair headed for the door, with the two security guards on their heels. Bessie, Janet, and Joan followed a few paces behind. It seemed as if everyone else at the party fell into step behind them. They were all clearly eager to find out what was happening.

  John Rockwell was leaning against a car right outside the door. When Hugh and Jacqueline appeared, he opened the car’s rear door and motioned to Jacqueline. “Thank you for agreeing to speak to me,” he said as she stood hesitantly in the museum’s doorway.

  “I’m not sure about this,” she said softly. “Maybe I could follow you in my own car? Then I’ll be able to get home when we’re done.”

  “I’m sorry, but your car is unavailable,” John told her.

  “Unavailable? What do you mean?” Jacqueline shouted.

  “We’re having it towed into Douglas,” John said. “Our experts want to take a good look at it.”

  “You can’t do that!” Jacqueline yelled.

  “Actually, we can, if we think that the car was used in connection with a crime,” John replied.

  “Are you accusing me of something?” the woman demanded.

  “At this point, I’d rather have your cooperation than have to make any accusations,” John said.

  “And if I don’t cooperate?”

  “I’ll arrest you for the attempted murder of Linda Cotton,” John replied.

  “Where is Linda?” Nicola asked from somewhere behind Bessie.

  “She’s been taken to Noble’s,” John replied. “We’re hoping she’ll make a full recovery.”

  Jacqueline made a noise and then crumpled. Hugh only just caught her before she hit the ground.

  CHAPTER 15

  “J oan and I agreed that we’d each keep an eye on one person,” Janet explained to Bessie as the trio made their way back across the island half an hour later. “I was watching Jacqueline and she was watching Linda.”

  “I was trying to watch them both, but I lost them in the crowd,” Bessie lamented.

  “I lost Jacqueline, and I was sitting only a few seats behind her,” Janet admitted. “But Joan never lost Linda, which was the important thing.”

  “I was sitting right behind her when someone sat down next to her and said something. When everyone stood up at the end of the auction, Linda left with the person and I followed.”

  “You didn’t recongise Jacqueline?” Bessie asked.

  “She’d put on a long coat and a fancy hat,” Joan told her. “From the back, she didn’t look anything like the blonde woman in the bright pink dress that I’d seen earlier.”

  “She must have had the whole thing planned,” Bessie speculated.

  “Maybe. Anyway, I followed them out to the car park and saw the person in the coat hit Linda over the head. She dumped Linda into the boot of the car and then went back into the party. I rang Janet and told her what I’d seen and then stood guard by the car,” Joan said.

  “And I found John and told him what was happening. He told me to keep Jacqueline at the party, no matter what, before he and Hugh went out to find Joan,” Janet added.

  “And that’s where I came in,” Bessie said.

  “So you were right to be worried about Linda,” Joan said. “Well done.”

  Bessie exchanged glances with Janet, who pressed her lips together tightly. While Bessie wanted to give Aggie the credit she deserved, it wasn’t her place to bring it up. Janet could tell Joan if and when she wanted her to know.

  On Friday the trio made a trip to Castle Rushen. By unspoken agreement, no one mentioned Jacqueline or the murders. Instead, they had a wonderful time enjoying the medieval castle. At five o’clock they presented themselves at the Manx Museum and enjoyed dinner with Marjorie and many of the other conference attendees and speakers. The keynote speaker was an old friend of Bessie’s, an expert on Viking remains, and Bessie enjoyed a long conversation with him before he spoke.

  They spent the entire day on Saturday at the conference, listening to a number of excellent papers about various topics in Manx history. Janet and Joan were happy to accompany Bessie to the talks she wanted to attend, and Bessie didn’t argue. After a dinner speech at the conference, Bessie and the sisters headed for home around seven. When they arrived at Bessie’s cottage, she was delighted to see John’s car in the parking area.

  “Hello, hello,” Bessie called as she climbed out of the back of the Markham sisters’ car.

  “Hello,” John echoed. “I can’t stay long, but I thought you and your friends deserved an update on the murder investigations.”

  Bessie unlocked her cottage and switched the kettle on. Although she felt as if she’d drunk an awful lot of tea during the day, she was sure the upcoming conversation warranted more. While the kettle heated up, she piled biscuits onto a plate and put it in the centre of the table. John, Janet, and Joan waited patiently for Bessie to make the tea and join them.

  “Thank you,” John said as he sipped his tea. “I needed this today.”

  “Oh?” Bessie replied.

  “I spent most of the day dealing with Ms. Garrett’s advocate and her solicitor from across,” John said. “But I have reason to believe that neither of them will be a problem soon.”

  “Stop being cryptic and tell us the story,” Bessie demanded.

  John laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be cryptic. Let me get everything straight in my head and I’ll tell you.”

  Janet picked up a biscuit and nibbled it slowly. Bessie was sure that she was only doing so to keep herself from shouting at John to hurry up and talk. Bessie did the same with a biscuit of her own. Joan was the only one who seemed calm as she sipped her tea.

  “Linda is fine, by the way,” John said. “She still has a bit of a headache, but the doctors say she’ll recovered completely.”

  Bessie nodded. “Someone at the hospital shared that with me,” she said. “But I won’t tell you who.”

  “I should have known you’d have your own sources,” John replied. “Anyway, Linda has been very helpful; in fact, she’s been the key to the whole thing, she just didn’t realise it.”

  “I was told that she’s been blackmailing Jacqueline for years,” Bessie said.

  “From everything both women have told me, I don’t think it was exactly like that. Jacqueline seemed to feel as if she was being blackmailed into doing things, but I don’t think Linda intended it that way, mostly because I don’t think Linda realised what she knew.”

  “And what did she know?” Bessie asked, feeling as if she were pulling the information from John in tiny bits.

  “She was one of the witnesses at Jacqueline’s wedding,” John replied.

  “And?” Bessie demanded.

  “When Jacqueline married Jackson Smythe, also known as Jonathan Symons and Julian Snyder,” John said.


  Bessie sat back in her seat. The information didn’t surprise her as much as it might have done. When she’d heard that the man had been married, she’d wondered about Jacqueline.

  “But I thought you’d said that her husband was a rich man,” Janet objected. “Or did she steal all of his money or something?”

  “It was Jacqueline’s second husband who was wealthy,” John replied. “Unfortunately for Jacqueline, she never actually divorced her first husband, so she and her second husband were never legally married.”

  Now Bessie was surprised. “Was that why she didn’t like to talk about him?” she asked.

  “That may have been part of it, but she also didn’t like to talk about him because he made his fortune in organised crime,” John told her. “He was actually shot on a trip to the US not long after they’d married. In his will, he left everything to his, quote, ‘legal wife,’ end of quote, without mentioning a name.”

  “Oh, dear,” Janet exclaimed.

  “Exactly. Jacqueline took the money and ran back to the island. A few of his relations tried to contest the will, but she had a marriage license and no one could prove that she wasn’t his legal wife. Linda claims she’d always assumed that Jacqueline had divorced Jonathan. Jacqueline was kind enough to help Linda financially when she was alone and pregnant, and in return Linda never asked her friend about either of her marriages,” John said.

  “Jacqueline must have thought she was safe,” Bessie said speculatively. “She’d been getting away with it for thirty-odd years, after all.”

  “Yes, but then Jonathan showed up on the island and threatened to ruin everything,” John said.

  “He tried to blackmail her, no doubt,” Bessie said.

  “We’re still trying to work out exactly what happened,” John told her. “We know that he didn’t recognise her immediately. She’s had a lot of cosmetic work done over the years, of course. We believe that he tried to recruit her to help him steal the proceeds from the auction night before he knew who she was. Jacqueline herself actually told us that part. What we don’t know is when or how he worked out who she was.”