An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - DEF

by Diana Xarissa

  Fenella frowned. “I don’t suppose you want to keep Winston here as well, as he and Fiona are getting along so beautifully?” she said.

  “We don’t have the room for Winston right now,” Mr. Stone told her. “I’ve three surgeries today and two tomorrow. Fiona doesn’t need much space, but Winston is another matter. Besides which, he needs several walks each day and that simply isn’t possible for me, not with everything else I have to do.”

  “You could take Smokey for a few days,” Shelly suggested to Fenella. “Then I could take Winston and Fiona to my flat.”

  It was a tempting offer, but Fenella was starting to get used to having Winston around. If she had to have an extra pet, she’d rather it was Winston than Smokey, who could be difficult when she didn’t get what she wanted. But now it seemed that having Winston also meant having Fiona, which wasn’t at all in Fenella’s plan.

  “You don’t have to take Fiona,” Mr. Stone said. “She’s my responsibility until Mortimer turns up. She can spend most of the day with Bethany. She’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll take her,” Fenella was surprised to hear herself say. “She won’t need nearly as much walking as Winston and she probably doesn’t eat much, either.”

  “I can give you a bag of food for her,” Mr. Stone said. “It all goes on Mortimer’s bill as part of the fee for boarding her. I just hope she’ll start eating again once you get her home.”

  “I’ll call you if she doesn’t,” Fenella said. “Or if I have any problems.”

  “And we’ll ring you if Mortimer turns up and wants her back,” Mr. Stone said. “I hope he understands that we’re simply doing what we think is best for poor Fiona.”

  “If he turns up,” Shelly said darkly.

  “I’m sure he just went to visit his family across and forgot to tell me,” Mr. Stone said quickly. “Maybe he fell ill over there and can’t get back or something.”

  “You’d think he would ring,” Shelly said. “You’d think he would be worried about Fiona.”

  “Maybe he’s too sick to ring,” Bethany suggested. “I just wish we had a number on file for his family across.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t leave one with you for when he left Fiona here,” Shelly said.

  “We have an emergency contact number, but when I rang it the man who answered had never heard of Mortimer. He’d only had the number a few months. Presumably Mortimer’s emergency contact moved or got a new phone number and Mortimer just never thought to tell us,” Bethany explained.

  “How often did he go across?” Fenella asked.

  “It was usually twice a year,” Bethany said. “Once in the spring and once in the autumn. But he hadn’t gone recently. I checked his files for the police and he hadn’t left Fiona with us for more than a single night in the last eighteen months, well, before last week, at least.”

  “Maybe his relative died and that’s why the number isn’t good anymore,” Shelly speculated. “I’m sure the police can track down whoever used to have the number.”

  Mr. Stone found a leash for Fiona. He gave Fenella a large bag of dog food specially designed for smaller dogs. “If you run out, come back and get some more from me. I don’t want you having to spend any money on Fiona,” he told her.

  “I wish you didn’t have to spend any money on Winston,” Shelly said as the pair walked out of the office, each leading a dog. “You should have let me pay for his grooming.”

  “It’s fine,” Fenella replied. “It wasn’t terribly expensive. Anyway, aside from the extra work, I’m rather enjoying having Winston around. We’ll see how things go with Fiona added to the mix.”

  “I hope Katie likes her,” Shelly said. “Although if she doesn’t, maybe Smokey wouldn’t mind having her.”

  “I think she’ll be happier if she can stay with Winston,” Fenella replied. The two dogs were walking next to each other, and Fiona seemed to be staring at Winston with adoring eyes.

  “She does seem rather fond of him,” Shelly laughed.

  At their building, they rode to the top floor and then made their way down the corridor. “Do you want me to try taking Fiona into my flat?” Shelly asked.

  “I don’t want to separate them. Fiona has had a difficult time lately. As long as Katie is okay with her, I’ll keep them both.”

  “Let me come in and help you finish with the cleaning, then,” Shelly offered. “There’s still a lot of sand all over your flat.”

  Fenella opened her door and escorted the two dogs inside. Katie came racing out of the kitchen. She looked at Winston and then at Fiona. Fenella thought she saw the small animal sigh as she turned around and stalked back to the kitchen.

  “Well, she didn’t complain, anyway,” Fenella said.

  “What have you done now?” Mona asked from her seat on the couch. “I thought you said just this morning that you didn’t want to look after two dogs.”

  Winston walked over to his spot by the window and flopped down. Fiona was right on his heels, and once he was settled, she carefully positioned herself as close to him as she could get before lying down practically on top of him.

  “Hopefully, if I put some food out, she’ll eat,” Fenella said. “She must be hungry. Mr. Stone said she hadn’t eaten much in days.”

  “The poor little thing,” Mona said. “It was very good of you to bring her here. We’ll nurse her back to health.”

  “Hopefully, being with Winston will cheer her up,” Fenella continued. “I wonder if they already knew each other?”

  “They might have, as they live in the same building,” Shelly said. “But I think Mortimer kept to himself.”

  In the kitchen, Fenella dug out the two bowls that Mr. Stone had provided. She filled one with water and the other with Fiona’s food. While she was at it, she filled up bowls for Katie and Winston as well. She’d barely finished when she heard footsteps behind her.

  Winston “woofed” gently as he lumbered into the kitchen with Fiona on his heels. She stood next to her food bowl and watched the big dog. When he began to work his way through his bowl of food, Fiona took a cautious nibble of hers.

  “Well, her appetite seems to have improved,” Shelly said happily a few minutes later. Both dogs had emptied their food bowls and taken long drinks of water. Katie had jealously guarded her own bowls, waiting to eat until the dogs returned to the living room.

  “Thank goodness for that,” Fenella said. “I just hope they’ll rest for a short while. I don’t feel like going for another walk just yet.”

  She and Shelly spent some time vacuuming up the rest of the sand that Winston had deposited around the apartment before Fenella made them both some lunch.

  “And now, I suppose the two beasts need some exercise,” Fenella sighed as she loaded the lunch dishes into the dishwasher.

  “I’ll take them,” Shelly said. “You’re already doing far too much.”

  “This is the first time they’ll be walked together,” Fenella replied. “I don’t expect that to be a problem, but just in case, I think it might be better if we both go.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Shelly agreed.

  The women kept the walk fairly short. Fiona seemed happy when trotting along behind Winston, but the larger dog wanted to run.

  “He’s very strong,” Fenella said as Winston tried to pull her off the promenade and onto the beach below.

  “He’s just going to have to learn that he can’t go in the sea every day,” Shelly replied.

  “Or any day,” Fenella muttered.

  They’d only just returned to Fenella’s apartment when someone knocked on the door. Fenella looked at Daniel’s face and sighed.

  “You have bad news for us, don’t you?” she said sadly.

  The man nodded. “I’m terribly sorry, but Mortimer Morrison was found dead this morning.”

  6

  Fenella gasped and then looked over at Fiona, who was curled up against Winston’s chest. The little dog didn’t seem to have heard her owner’s name
.

  “Is that Fiona?” Daniel asked as Fenella stepped back to let him into the apartment.

  “It is,” Fenella replied. “She wasn’t eating at Mr. Stone’s. He thinks that his office was too busy for her. We were visiting with Winston and she really seemed to like him, so I agreed to keep her as well.”

  “That was very kind of you,” Daniel said. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Not at all,” Fenella said with a laugh. “But I couldn’t leave the poor thing there. She was miserable.”

  “And now she’s lost her owner,” Shelly said.

  “Mr. Stone will have to find her a new home,” Fenella said. “I can’t keep her forever.”

  “But what happened to Mortimer?” Mona demanded.

  “Oh, but what happened to Mortimer?” Fenella asked after she realized that no one else had heard her aunt’s question.

  “All I can tell you at the moment is that his body was found in his car,” Daniel replied. “It was parked in a car park in Andreas and it was really only dumb luck that it was discovered at all.”

  “Why?” Shelly asked.

  “The car park is for the café, which went out of business several months ago. The owner has gone back across and no one has any reason to be out there. The owner hasn’t put it on the market yet, but one enterprising young estate agent thought he’d have a look around. He was hoping to persuade the owner to let him list the property, but instead he stumbled across a dead body,” Daniel told them.

  “The poor man,” Fenella said. Having found a few dead bodies herself lately, she knew how upsetting the experience could be.

  “How did Mortimer die?” Shelly asked.

  “That’s up to the coroner to work out,” Daniel said. “At this point, we don’t know.”

  “Do you suspect murder?” was Shelly’s next question.

  “It isn’t my case,” Daniel replied. “I haven’t actually seen the body or even any crime scene photos. CID out of the Ramsey station will be taking care of the investigation. As of right now, they aren’t saying anything about what they suspect.”

  “But what’s your gut feeling?” Fenella asked.

  Daniel looked at her for a moment and then shrugged. “It’s odd,” he said. “If it were my case, I’d be very suspicious of the circumstances.”

  “But who had any reason to kill Mortimer Morrison? He was just an ordinary man, living an ordinary life, at least as far as I know,” Shelly said.

  “Gloria and I will probably be working with the CID investigators from Ramsey,” Daniel replied. “We’re better placed to look into Mortimer’s life and his last days. Can either of you tell me anything more about the man?”

  Fenella sighed. “I wish I could,” she said. “But I only ever spoke to him one time and I’ve already told you everything I can remember about that.”

  “What about you, Shelly?” Daniel asked. “You notice people. Can you remember anything else about Mortimer?”

  “I’m sorry,” Shelly told him. “But I’ve been trying to remember what I can since we heard that he was missing. As I said, he wasn’t very friendly. I was still polite, but I didn’t try to make him talk to me.”

  “We’ve no reason to suppose that Mortimer’s death has anything to do with Harvey’s disappearance,” Daniel said. “But I want you both to be extra careful, just in case there is a link. Something odd is going on, and I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

  “Harvey,” Fenella exclaimed. “I was going to ring Gloria. The woman at the dog groomers told us that Harvey said something about seeing his doctor regularly in the days before he disappeared,” she told Daniel. “I don’t know if it matters, but I thought it might.”

  “Indeed, it might,” Daniel agreed. “I’ll go and have a word with her when we’re done here. Assuming the place is still open.”

  “She was a little apprehensive about talking to the police.” Fenella said.

  “Isn’t everyone?” Daniel sighed.

  “I like talking to you,” Shelly told him.

  “Thanks,” Daniel said with a grin.

  Fenella opened her mouth to say something similar, but she felt herself blushing before she’d even spoken. She didn’t want to blurt out something she’d regret later, so she changed the subject. “Can I get you some coffee or tea or anything?” she asked Daniel.

  “I wish I had the time,” he told her. “But I need to get back to my office. I’m hoping that an official request for assistance on the Morrison case will be there when I get back so I can take a look at the crime scene photos and initial reports. And now I need to visit the dog groomers before that. I’d better get going.”

  “If I remember anything about either man, I’ll ring you,” Shelly told him as he pulled open the apartment door.

  “I’d appreciate that,” Daniel replied. He turned to Fenella. “I’ll try to come back in the early evening. Maybe I can give you a hand with all the dog walking.”

  “I’d be eternally grateful,” Fenella told him.

  He smiled at her and then let himself out. Fenella made sure the door had locked properly before she walked over to the couch and sat down.

  “Poor little Fiona,” she said softly, watching the small dog as she snoozed against Winston’s chest. The dog opened one eye when Fenella said her name, but then shut it again, seemingly unconcerned.

  “Maybe she’ll find a better home,” Shelly said. “Mortimer wasn’t the best dog owner in the world. Maybe her new owner will treat her better.”

  “Maybe her new owner will take Winston as well,” Fenella said in a quiet voice.

  “Harvey still might turn up,” Shelly said. “We have to stay positive.”

  Fenella nodded, but she couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her chest. Mortimer had been found in a remote area in the north of the island. Was it possible that Harvey’s body had been left somewhere equally isolated where it had yet to be discovered?

  “I have a few errands to run,” Shelly said. “I’ll bring pizza when I come back, as it will be dinner time by then.”

  “Pizza sounds good,” Fenella replied. “If I felt like I could leave these three alone together, I’d go and get something for dessert.”

  “I’ll bring pudding,” Shelly told her. “Do you need anything else? Groceries or anything?”

  “I don’t want to add to your list of errands,” Fenella protested.

  “But I’m the reason you’re stuck in the flat with two dogs,” Shelly pointed out. “The least I can do is pick up a few groceries for you.”

  Fenella made her friend a short list of the things she really needed and had forgotten the previous day. In spite of all of the walks she’d been taking with Winston, she was feeling as if she was stuck in her apartment, and she would have enjoyed a chance to do her own shopping. “I’m going to have to try leaving the animals on their own soon,” she told Shelly. “I’m meant to be having dinner with Donald on Friday night.”

  “Let’s get through today and tomorrow,” Shelly replied. “I can always watch the dogs on Friday for you.”

  “Maybe I’ll try leaving them for a short while tomorrow, just as a test,” Fenella said.

  “You can always come and look at flats with me and Gordon,” Shelly offered. “He’s looking at two in the building next door tomorrow.”

  “Is he now?” Fenella said. “That might be interesting.”

  “I wonder what the estate agent would say if we asked him about the missing men,” Shelly said.

  “Maybe you should find out,” Fenella replied.

  “I’d better go and get your shopping,” Shelly told her. “I’ll be back with pizza around six.”

  Fenella nodded. She locked the door behind Shelly and then sat down and stared at the sea. After a moment, Winston looked up at her and “woofed” softly. He walked over and settled on the ground next to her, his head on her knee. Fiona jumped up onto the couch and then climbed right into Fenella’s lap. Katie took one look at the little tableau and s
talked out of the room.

  “That looks cozy,” Mona remarked as she sat down on a chair next to Fenella.

  “They must be picking up on my mood,” Fenella replied.

  “You’re feeling sad about Mortimer, even though you never even met the man,” Mona suggested.

  “I spoke to him once,” Fenella reminded her. “And it’s always sad when someone dies, anyway.”

  “It’s especially sad for little Fiona,” Mona said. “She does seem a sweet little thing.”

  “Did you ever have any pets?” Fenella asked.

  “I’m far too selfish,” Mona replied. “I could never imagine giving up that much of my time and effort without getting anything in return.”

  “You get unconditional love,” Fenella said as she scratched Winston’s head. “That’s what makes it worth it.”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Mona replied. “But you must admit they are a lot of work. You were vacuuming for ages this morning.”

  “Hmmm,” Fenella replied.

  Mona sighed. “I simply couldn’t have had cats, especially once I reached a certain age. People already talked about me a great deal. I couldn’t bear the idea of being an old lady with too many cats. I was many things in my life, but I was never a cliché.”

  “Why not a dog, then?”

  “They are rather sweet,” Mona admitted. “But they are also a great deal of responsibility, far more than a cat. They need walking and exercising and cleaning up after. Having a dog would have clipped my wings and destroyed my image as a free spirit. All of those times when I simply dropped everything to jet off to an exotic island with one gentleman or another would have been impossible.”

  “And did that happen often?” Fenella had to ask.

  Mona laughed. “That would be telling,” she said with a enigmatic smile. “Said gentlemen could always rely on my utmost discretion.”

  Fenella wanted to ask more, but she could tell from the look on Mona’s face that she would be wasting her time. Her aunt never told her anything more than what she wanted Fenella to know.

  “But we must talk about poor Mortimer,” Mona said after a moment. “I can’t believe his body was left in a car park. The poor murdered man.”