An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - DEF

by Diana Xarissa

  “But have a seat,” Fenella suggested. “The kettle has just boiled. Would you like some tea?”

  “I’d love some,” Gloria replied.

  “Help yourself to the cookies,” Fenella added, nodding at the plate on the counter.

  “No wonder you wanted me to come down here,” Gloria said to Daniel with a laugh. “All we have at the station is bad coffee and stale digestives.”

  “If we had anything nicer, the constables would eat them before we could offer them to anyone else,” Daniel said.

  “That’s very true,” Gloria nodded. “The constables are always hungry.”

  “So am I,” Daniel remarked as he reached for a cookie.

  Fenella put teacups in front of everyone and then took a cookie for herself. Shelly was sitting quietly, looking upset.

  Gloria looked over at her. “I’m sure you’re very worried about your friend,” she said in a soothing voice to Shelly. “Why don’t you tell me the whole story?”

  Shelly repeated everything that she’d told Daniel as the foursome sipped tea and nibbled their way through the entire plate of treats. Winston settled himself between Shelly and Gloria, resting his head on Shelly’s lap as she spoke. When Shelly was finished, the inspector patted her hand.

  “Most of the time when an older person goes missing, it’s simply because he or she has become confused or disorientated. Do you know if he was suffering from any early signs of mental health issues?” she asked.

  “Not as far as I know,” Shelly said. “He seemed perfectly fine the last time I saw him.”

  “Which was when?” Gloria asked.

  Shelly frowned. “I’m not sure. Let me think for a moment.”

  “You didn’t know the man at all?” Gloria asked Fenella while Shelly was thinking.

  “No, although I often saw him on the beach, walking Winston,” she replied.

  “Do you recall the last time you saw him?” was Gloria’s next question.

  “I just got back yesterday from two weeks in London,” Fenella told her. “I’m sure I saw him once or twice in the days before I left, but I really didn’t notice.”

  Gloria nodded and turned back to Shelly with a questioning look.

  “I saw him on Sunday,” Shelly said. “I went for a walk around six o’clock that evening and he was walking Winston. We had a short chat about the weather before I went off to the pub and Harvey continued down the promenade.”

  “And how did he seem?” Gloria wanted to know.

  “Exactly the same as always,” Shelly said with a shrug. “He complimented my outfit, which he nearly always did unless I was wearing something completely outrageous. I fussed over Winston for a short while and then invited Harvey to join me for a drink. He pretended to consider it and then used Winston as an excuse not to do so.”

  “That was typical?” Daniel wondered.

  “Absolutely. I believe he used to drink heavily in his younger days,” Shelly explained. “From what I’ve heard, he had to quit for his health, so he does his best to avoid temptation. I’ve never seen him in a pub, even though there are several quite close by. I always make sure to invite him, though, just in case he ever changes his mind.”

  Daniel and Gloria exchanged glances. “You didn’t see him yesterday?” Gloria asked.

  “No, but I didn’t take a walk yesterday, either. I gave myself the day off from exercising and stayed home and ate chocolate all day instead,” Shelly replied.

  Gloria laughed. “That sounds like my kind of Monday,” she said. “Too bad my kids eat all of my chocolate when my back is turned.”

  “You need to find better hiding places,” Shelly suggested.

  “I had a really good one, but my husband discovered it,” Gloria told her. “And he eats more chocolate than the kids do. I’m better off hiding it at work, but that means I actually have to go into the office to get it.”

  “You have chocolate in your office?” Daniel asked.

  Gloria shook her head. “Not after yesterday,” she said. “I had a rather stressful day yesterday.”

  Daniel nodded. “I did hear that,” he said.

  “But it was all good in the end,” Gloria added. “I love happy endings.”

  “I just hope we get one for Harvey and Winston,” Shelly said.

  “Me, too,” Gloria told her. “Do you know if Mr. Garus had any next of kin on the island?”

  “I don’t believe he has any next of kin anywhere,” Shelly said. “He told me once that he’d used Fenella’s aunt Mona as the emergency contact on Winston’s paperwork at the vet’s office. I wonder if he changed that after Mona passed away.”

  “We’ll go and take a look,” Daniel said. “I’ll come back over after we’re finished there and in the flat and let you know if we found anything,” he told Shelly and Fenella.

  “Thank you,” Shelly said, her tone anxious.

  Fenella walked the police inspectors to the door. “I’ll see you in a little while,” Daniel told her. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he shook his head slightly and walked away. Fenella pushed the door shut behind them.

  “She seems really nice,” Shelly remarked as Fenella rejoined her.

  “She does,” Fenella agreed. “I was surprised she didn’t take any notes.”

  “Maybe you’re just used to Daniel, who writes down everything,” Shelly said. “I’m sure he’ll make certain everything is done right.”

  “What should we do with our time while we wait?” Fenella wondered, feeling impatient. Winston barked several times in reply.

  “You can’t need to go out again so soon, can you?” Fenella asked him.

  “Woofff,” Winston replied.

  “Does that mean yes?” Fenella asked Shelly.

  “I have no idea, but I’m not sure we should wait around to see,” Shelly said. “Let’s take him out just in case.”

  “I’ll leave a note on the door for Daniel,” Fenella said. “Although he should see us when he walks from the building next door to ours.”

  “Leave a note anyway, just in case,” Shelly told her.

  A minute later they were back in the elevators, taking Winston out for another walk. Winston seemed far happier about the outing than Shelly and Fenella were.

  “I really hope Harvey turns up soon,” Fenella said as Shelly cleaned up after Winston. “I can’t imagine doing this for days on end.”

  “It’s a good thing it was a cat that adopted you,” Shelly said.

  “Indeed. I was thinking that I’d like a dog, but I’d never get anything done if I had to keep walking him every few hours.”

  “Maybe a smaller dog would have less energy and would be less work,” Shelly suggested.

  “I think I’ll stick to Katie,” Fenella laughed.

  It was clear that Winston would have stayed out for hours. He strained at his leash, eager to get back down to the sea again. Fenella shook her head. “Sorry, but I don’t have the energy to deal with you having another swim,” she told the animal. “Let’s go back inside for now. I promise we’ll come back out later and have another walk, okay?”

  Winston barked twice, which Fenella could only hope meant yes. She and Shelly collapsed onto chairs when they got back to Fenella’s apartment.

  “We’re going to have to take it in turns taking him out,” Shelly said. “I walk every day, but this is exhausting.”

  “I think Winston has the right idea,” Fenella told her. The dog had found another sunny spot and he was curled up with his eyes shut. A moment later Katie settled in next to him again.

  “Katie’s smarter than we are, as well,” Shelly said. “They’ll both nap now and we’ll both have to stay awake with them later.”

  “At least they’re getting along,” Fenella replied. “Knock on wood, of course. I don’t know what we’ll do if they start arguing.”

  “I’d take Winston home and shut Smokey up in the bedroom,” Shelly said. “And I can do that, if Winston starts to be a bother. Smokey spe
nds most of her day in there anyway, although I’m sure she’d complain loudly about it if I made her stay in there.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I’d rather not upset poor Smokey. Maybe Daniel will have good news when he gets back.”

  Shelly went next door to give Smokey some dinner while the pair waited for Daniel. He finally knocked while Fenella was looking through her cupboards, trying to work out what to make for her own dinner.

  “Sorry, that took longer than I’d anticipated,” the man said as he walked into the apartment.

  “I hope everything was okay?” Shelly asked nervously.

  “It took some time for us to find the building’s manager,” Daniel explained. “We needed him to go through the flat with us and to lock it behind us.”

  “I assume that means you didn’t find Harvey,” Shelly said with a sigh.

  “No, we didn’t,” Daniel replied. “Gloria has gone back to the station to file the necessary reports and do the initial groundwork. She’s going to make him her first priority tomorrow, although she’ll have her counterpart, who is working tonight, make a start.”

  “A start on what?” Shelly wanted to know.

  “There is a fairly standard procedure to follow with missing persons,” Daniel explained. “Gloria is an expert. Harvey is in good hands.”

  “How do you get to be an expert in missing persons?” Fenella asked.

  Daniel shrugged. “There are extra courses that you can take as you come up through the ranks in policing. I know that Gloria likes it because she can usually work fairly regular hours. That helps when you have children. Most missing person cases are fairly easily resolved. She gets a lot more happy endings than I do in homicide, that’s for sure.”

  “She seemed like a really nice person,” Fenella said.

  “She is. She’s smart and she has great instincts. She’s the best investigator I’ve worked with when it comes to missing persons, and I’ve worked with quite a few good ones over the years,” Daniel said.

  “Let’s hope we all get a happy ending for Harvey and Winston,” Shelly said.

  Fenella glanced over at the dog, who was still snoozing on the floor with Katie. “He seems happy enough,” she commented. “I just hope he won’t have any trouble sleeping tonight.”

  “If he won’t sleep, ring me,” Shelly said. “Maybe we can take turns sitting up with him or something.”

  Fenella sighed. “This was not how I’d planned today,” she complained.

  “I’m sorry,” Shelly said quickly. “I can take Winston home with me.”

  “No, you can’t,” Fenella replied. “And I don’t mind, really, especially not after you looked after Katie for me. I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.”

  “Why don’t I take you somewhere for some dinner?” Daniel suggested. “Maybe you need a short break from Winston.”

  “I don’t know that I want to leave him alone here,” Fenella said hesitantly.

  “I can stay with him,” Shelly offered. “You two go and have dinner somewhere nice. I’ll watch some telly with the animals.”

  “What about your dinner?” Fenella asked.

  “I bought a pile of frozen pizzas that were on sale,” Shelly replied. “I’ll go and grab one while you’re getting changed. I won’t be a minute.”

  Fenella might have objected further, but Shelly didn’t give her a chance to do so.

  “Go and change into something much nicer,” Mona said as Shelly let herself out.

  Fenella blinked at her aunt and then nodded. “I’ll just get changed, then,” she muttered to Daniel, feeling as if everyone else knew what was happening, but she’d missed something.

  Mona joined her in the bedroom. “Wear a dress,” she told Fenella.

  “I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard,” Fenella hissed, trying to keep her voice low so that Daniel wouldn’t hear her.

  “But you do want to look as if you’ve made an effort,” Mona countered. “The man is taking you out for dinner and he hasn’t seen you in a fortnight. You need him to know that you’re happy and excited about it.”

  Fenella flipped through the things in her wardrobe, hoping for inspiration. It was sadly lacking.

  “There are some gorgeous spring dresses in my wardrobe,” Mona told her. “Look on the left side.”

  The largest wardrobe in the room was still full of Mona’s beautiful clothes. Many of the dresses had been custom-made for Mona, and they all seemed to fit Fenella perfectly. Now she pulled out a handful of light dresses in gorgeous spring shades.

  “Try the creamy pink one,” Mona told her.

  “I don’t really like pink,” Fenella replied.

  “It’s really cream,” Mona argued. “The pink only shows when you move the fabric.”

  Fenella put the other dresses back in the wardrobe and studied the dress Mona was talking about. Her aunt was right. The fabric seemed to change color, from cream to a soft cherry blossom pink, as she moved it around.

  “I have matching shoes,” Mona told her as Fenella changed.

  “How can they match this?”

  “They’re made of the same magic fabric,” Mona told her.

  The dress fit perfectly, and as Fenella turned slowly in front of the mirror, she marveled at the color that seemed to shift and change with every tiny movement.

  “It’s perfect on you,” Mona said.

  Fenella pulled her hair into a neat twist and then reapplied her makeup, trying for a slightly more glamorous look than her everyday efforts. The shoes were an exact match and looked perfect with the dress. They were also incredibly comfortable, which surprised Fenella.

  “How do I look?” she asked her aunt, suddenly nervous about the night ahead.

  “Much better than you did earlier,” Mona replied dryly.

  Fenella flushed when she recalled how she’d looked earlier. “Let’s hope Daniel has forgotten all about that,” she muttered as she picked up her handbag.

  “You look wonderful,” Daniel said when she walked back into the living room. “We’ll have to go somewhere very special.”

  Fenella blushed. “We can go anywhere, even for fast food,” she said quickly. “I just found this dress in the wardrobe the other day and I’ve been wanting an excuse to wear it.”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Shelly said. “I love the fabric and how it seems to change color as you move.”

  Daniel pulled out his mobile. “Let me just ring someone and we can be off,” he said.

  Fenella and Shelly got dinner for the animals while Daniel was on the phone.

  “We won’t be too late,” she told Shelly as Daniel escorted her to the door a short time later.

  “Take your time and enjoy,” Shelly replied. “I have my pizza and there’s loads on the telly tonight to entertain me. I might pop home and see if Smokey wants to come over later as well. Maybe she won’t mind Winston in someone else’s flat.”

  “Good luck,” Fenella said. “And call me if you need me.”

  “I will,” Shelly assured her.

  Daniel escorted her out the door and down to his car, which was parked on the opposite side of the road. “Here we are,” he said as he held the passenger door open for her. She slid inside and he pushed the door shut as she fastened her seatbelt. He was silent as he drove them along the promenade.

  “Where are we going?” Fenella asked after a moment.

  “I’ve been hearing about an amazing Italian restaurant in Laxey since I moved here,” Daniel told her. “I thought maybe we should give that a try if you don’t mind a short drive.”

  “As long as it’s only short,” Fenella replied. “I don’t want to leave Shelly on her own with Winston for too long.”

  “It’s not that far away,” the man told her. “It really is a small island.”

  Fenella nodded and then settled back in her seat to watch the scenery go past. Daniel drove out along the island’s coast, giving Fenella amazing views of the sea for the journey. It only seem
ed to take them a few minutes to arrive at the restaurant.

  “It looks busy,” Fenella remarked as Daniel parked in one of the few empty spaces in the lot.

  “I understand it’s always busy,” Daniel told her. “But I made a booking.”

  “A booking?”

  “I called and asked them to hold a table for us,” Daniel explained.

  “You made a reservation,” Fenella translated his words into American English. “I’ll have to try to remember that one. A booking is a reservation. I’ve probably heard it before, now that I think about it. I shall have to start working harder on remembering British terms.”

  Daniel laughed and then escorted her to the door. The man who greeted them was quick to show them to a small table for two on the building’s upper level. He left them with menus and the wine list.

  “I’d better not,” Daniel said, setting the wine list down on the table. “You’re more than welcome to have something if you’d like, of course,” he told Fenella.

  “I think I’ll stick to soft drinks for tonight,” Fenella said. “I have a strange dog to look after. I may need my wits about me.”

  Their waiter took their drink order and then tempted them with a list of specials, each one sounding better than the previous offering.

  “How can I ever decide?” Fenella asked. She’d already found several things on the menu that sounded good.

  “Our regular menu only changes twice a year,” the waiter replied. “If you come back, you’ll have other opportunities to try the choices on that menu. The specials change daily, and sometimes items are never repeated or are only available once or twice a year. I always suggest that if something on special sounds good you should get it.”

  “Which only narrows my choices slightly,” Fenella laughed.

  “Maybe we can agree on our two favorites and then share them,” Daniel suggested.

  “That would help,” Fenella replied.

  A few minutes later, when the waiter returned with their drinks, the pair was ready to order.

  “Ordering appetizers is a huge indulgence,” Fenella said after he’d left. “But everything sounds so good.”

  “I’ve been told there isn’t a bad thing on their menu,” Daniel replied. “As I didn’t get any lunch, I hope everyone is right about that.”