“Maybe I should go and rescue him,” Fenella suggested.
“That might be wise,” Gordon said. “Send Stella over to sit with Stan and Joe. They’ll enjoy her company.”
Peter jumped up from his seat as Fenella approached. “I have to go now,” he told the pretty blonde who had been snuggled up next to him on the couch. “I need to walk Fenella home.”
“But we were having such fun,” the blonde said, pouting.
“Gordon suggests that you go and talk to Joe and Stan,” Fenella told her. “They’re over there.” She pointed to the two men who were still sitting where she’d left them.
“Ring me,” the woman said as she got to her feet. She gave Peter a hug that Fenella felt embarrassed to witness and then, hips swaying, crossed the room to the other two men.
“Let’s go,” Peter said quickly, taking Fenella’s hand.
He pulled her to the elevator and then out of the building. They were in the elevator in their own building before he spoke. “Thank you. She was fun for the first five minutes and then she got really intense. She’s been married seven times and I got the feeling she was sizing me up to be number eight.”
“She was very pretty.”
He shrugged. “Not my type,” he said. He walked her to her door and then stopped. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Donald or you and Daniel, so I’m trying not to get in the way. If things don’t work out with either of them, though, remember that I’m right next door.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently before turning and walking away.
Fenella let herself into her apartment. She barely registered the fact that her hair still looked perfect before she took the clip out and brushed it before washing her face. She was asleep the minute her head hit the pillow and didn’t even feel it when Katie joined her a moment later.
That banging noise was really annoying. What had Katie found to cause trouble with now, she wondered as her brain struggled back to consciousness. When the noise came again, she realized that someone was at her front door. Groaning, she climbed out of bed and struggled into her bathrobe. Knowing she looked a mess, she deliberately didn’t look in the mirror as she walked past it. Daniel was standing on her doorstep, looking exhausted.
“We’ve found Leonora,” he said sadly.
13
Fenella took a step backwards to let the man into the apartment. “From the look on your face, I’m guessing she isn’t okay,” she said softly.
“She’s not okay,” he agreed as he followed her into the kitchen.
Getting coffee started was Fenella’s first priority. Katie was still stretched out in bed, so there was no need to worry about refilling her bowls in a hurry. A glance at the clock made Fenella blink.
“I am sorry I woke you,” Daniel said.
She thought about denying that she’d been sleeping, but it was only six o’clock and she knew exactly how she looked. “It’s fine,” she said. “You don’t look as if you’ve slept.”
“I haven’t. I went straight from the pub to Laxey and I’ve been there ever since.”
“Laxey?”
“That’s where the body was found,” he explained.
Fenella pulled out coffee mugs and then opened her refrigerator to see what she could make the man for breakfast. “How about a ham and cheese omelet?” she offered.
“Stale cereal would do me,” he replied. “All I really want is coffee.”
“You and me both,” Fenella muttered as she piled eggs, ham, and cheese onto the counter. “Knowing you, you won’t take time for lunch. I’ll feel better if I can answer your questions while you have something more substantial than stale cereal.” She moved across to stand in front of the coffee maker, eagerly waiting for it to stop so she could pour out the first cups.
Daniel smiled and then reached over and took her hand. “Thank you,” he said. “I don’t really have questions for you, though. I came here because, well, I just wanted to see you.”
Fenella felt her cheeks redden at his words. “Oh,” was all that came out of her mouth.
The light on the coffee maker switched off to indicate that the brewing cycle was finished. Daniel’s eyes lit up and he released her hand so that she could fill their mugs.
Think of something to say that isn’t “oh,” she ordered herself as she poured the steaming hot liquid into the mugs. “Milk or sugar?” she asked, feeling stupid.
“This is perfect,” he told her, taking a hesitant sip.
Fenella took her own drink, nearly burning her tongue in the process. She felt the heat and the caffeine and was sure her head was instantly clearer. “Let me get started on that omelet. While I’m cooking, you can tell me whatever you’re allowed to tell me about poor Leonora.”
“Dan Ross from the Isle of Man Times was already on-site when I arrived. The whole story will be all over the local paper today.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Daniel shrugged. “I’m hoping someone will see the story and come forward with some information that might help. At the moment, we’ve no idea what happened.”
“Could it have been an accident?”
“The coroner hasn’t determined anything yet. She was found at the bottom of steep steps that lead from Laxey Beach to a huge mansion on the cliff above it. She may have fallen, she may have been pushed, or she may have died elsewhere and the body may have been simply left there.”
“Who owns the mansion?”
“George and Mary Quayle,” Daniel replied. “They’re a very wealthy older couple. Mrs. Quayle has had health issues in the past year, so they’ve been living in Spain during the winter months. They were due to return to Thie yn Traie later this month, but, under the circumstances, they’re returning earlier.”
“Tie and Tray?”
“Thie yn Traie,” he corrected her pronunciation. “It’s Manx for Beach House. Inspector Watterson at Laxey CID had to spell it for me three times before he taught me how to pronounce it.”
“If I were Mr. and Mrs. Quayle, I’m not sure I’d rush back under these circumstances.”
“We’ve asked them to go through the house to make sure nothing has been disturbed. They have a security service that is meant to watch the place, but it’s a huge property and the security people only monitor the outside. Supposedly no one has been inside for six months or more.”
“How awful for them. I hope no one has been staying in their home illegally.”
“They’ve been through murder investigations before, which isn’t something I can say about many people on the island,” he told her. “I’m sure the Isle of Man Times will mention that Thie yn Traie was the scene of other violent deaths during the odd cluster of murder cases that occurred in the late nineties in Laxey.”
“Odd cluster?”
“Murders, most of them completely unconnected, seemed to occur almost monthly for about three years, then they stopped as suddenly as they’d begun.”
“That’s weird.”
“Yes, and now we’ve had several murders in Douglas in a cluster,” Daniel told her. “The Chief Constable is hoping that this cluster isn’t going to keep going in the same way that that one did.”
“Was Leonora tied to any of the odd cases in Laxey in the nineties?” she asked as she beat the eggs.
Daniel gave her an appraising look. “I don’t know and I didn’t think to ask,” he said. “But it’s an interesting idea.”
“I wonder the same about Harvey and Mortimer.”
“Now that you’ve mentioned it, so do I,” Daniel grinned. “Although we aren’t certain that Leonora’s death is connected to what happened to Harvey or to Mortimer’s death.”
“It seems like too much of a coincidence for them to be unconnected,” Fenella said.
“Her disappearance and Harvey’s certainly seem connected. It’s only just possible that Mortimer didn’t disappear at all. He may have taken Fiona to Mr. Stone and then driven up to Andreas and died in the car park there.”
&nb
sp; “And yet Harvey is fine and Leonora is dead.”
“She may have fallen accidently.”
“But why was she even there?”
“That’s one question I’d like answered,” Daniel told her. “Maybe when the Quayles get back we’ll know more.”
Fenella melted butter in a frying pan and then added the beaten eggs. She knew she was moving slowly, but she hadn’t had enough coffee yet. If she was honest with herself, she was just a little bit hung over as well. She was too old to drink all evening.
“Were you at the pub very late?”
“Too late,” Fenella told him. “And I drank too much, as well.” Having confessed her transgressions, Fenella dug around in the cupboard for headache medicine. She shook two pills into her hand and washed them down with more coffee. Maybe by the time the food was ready the pounding in her head would subside.
“I should have just gone home and let you lie in,” Daniel said apologetically.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Fenella said, blushing at her bluntness. She turned and began to sprinkle the chopped-up ham and cheese over the eggs.
“I wish I didn’t have to go away right now,” Daniel told her. “But I also don’t want to jump into anything. You’re the first woman I’ve spent time with since my divorce and, well, maybe I’m not really ready to fall in love again.”
Forcing herself to focus on the omelet, she took a couple of deep breaths before she replied. “Take all the time you need,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “Having just moved and started a whole new life for myself, I’m in no hurry to jump straight into a serious relationship myself.”
She folded the omelet and then, a moment later, slid it onto a plate. After slicing off a portion for herself, she put the larger piece in front of Daniel and handed him a fork. “I hope it came out okay. I’m not one hundred percent this morning.”
Daniel took a bite and then a second before he spoke. “It’s delicious. I’ve tried to make omelets before, but I always end up with scrambled eggs with bits in them.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. They taste the same.”
“But the texture is different. This is incredible. What’s the secret?”
“I suspect it’s practice,” Fenella told him. “Jack, my, er, ex, he loved omelets. I used to make them for him several times a week.”
“Did you live together?”
“Um, no, but he often stayed over at my house,” Fenella said, blushing.
“How long were you together?”
“Ten long and incredibly wasted years,” she said.
The man laughed. “That doesn’t sound good. Why did you stay with him if you weren’t happy?”
“Because it was easier and less scary than being single?” She made the statement a question. “Why I stayed with Jack is something I ask myself nearly every day,” she told him. “It isn’t something I thought about at all when I was with him, though. I suppose I stayed because nothing ever came up that was serious enough to break up over.”
“He never cheated?”
“Jack? You wouldn’t ask that question if you knew him. He’s rather hopeless with women. I’ll be totally honest with you. I did all of the chasing back when we met. I thought he was wonderful. He was a few years older than me, and a full professor. When we spoke, he could talk about any subject, and I thought he was brilliant. To be fair, he is brilliant, at least at history. He can’t do his own laundry without turning everything pink, but he can write historical analysis that will make you question everything you thought you knew about the subject.”
“I don’t think I can compete with that,” Daniel said.
Fenella shook her head. “You aren’t competing with that,” she said firmly. “Jack is part of my past.”
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Fenella opened it to an obviously upset Shelly.
“Do you listen to the radio in the morning?” Shelly asked. “I have the local station come on as my alarm, and the first headline on the local news was about Leonora. They found her. She’s dead.”
Fenella pulled Shelly into the apartment. “I know. Daniel came by to talk to me about it,” she said. “Come on into the kitchen and have some coffee.”
“Daniel, please tell me you know what’s going on,” Shelly said as sat down next to the man.
“I wish I did,” he said solemnly. “All I can do is assure you that the Ramsey CID are taking both cases very seriously.”
“Ramsey CID again?” Shelly asked. “Why aren’t you handling this one?”
“Laxey falls under Ramsey’s jurisdiction,” Daniel explained. “As Leonora’s death and Mortimer’s may be connected, that’s probably for the best.”
“I’d feel better if you were investigating both cases,” Shelly said. “Thank you,” she added as Fenella handed her a mug of coffee.
“I’m assisting where I can,” Daniel replied. “Both victims lived in Douglas, after all.”
“And so does Harvey,” Shelly said. “The murders have to be tied to what happened to Harvey.”
“Technically, they’re both unexplained deaths, not murders,” Daniel told her. “Under the circumstances, I don’t know if they’ll ever be anything else.”
“I think they were both murdered,” Shelly said firmly.
“Why?” Daniel asked.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Shelly replied, waving a hand. “Three people, all dog owners of the same approximate age, living in the same area, disappear without a trace. Two of those people end up dead and the third can’t remember anything about where he’d been or why. Something odd is going on and I’m worried who might be next.”
“At least you and Shelly don’t have dogs,” Mona said with a chuckle as she joined the others.
Fenella opened her mouth to reply and then snapped it shut again when Mona winked at her. Mustn’t reply to Mona when you have guests, she reminded herself sternly.
“When you put it that way, it does seem as if the cases are connected and that murder is likely,” Daniel said. “But playing devil’s advocate, I could argue that Harvey hit his head on something. Someone found him and looked after him for a few days before sending him on his way.”
“Who would do that? Surely, if you found an elderly, confused man wandering around, you’d ring the police,” Shelly insisted.
“Maybe whoever found him had good reason to not want the police involved,” Mona suggested. “Maybe they were somewhere they weren’t meant to be and didn’t want to have to explain themselves.”
“Surely they could just lie about where they found him,” Fenella said.
“Pardon?” Daniel asked.
Fenella shook her head “I was thinking out loud,” she said, blushing. “But only the second half of the thought came out. Sorry.”
“What were you thinking?” Shelly wanted to know.
“That maybe the person who found Harvey found him somewhere they weren’t meant to be,” Fenella said, glaring at Mona, who smirked at her.
“And you’re right, they could have simply lied about where they found him,” Daniel told her.
“But what happened to Leonora?” Shelly demanded. “Where has she been all this time and how did she die?”
“Inspector Watterson in Laxey is working on finding the answers to both of those questions. Once George and Mary Quayle get back to the island, he’ll be able to search Thie yn Traie to see if Leonora might have been staying there.”
“We couldn’t come up with any motives for anyone for Mortimer’s death. What about Leonora’s?” Mona asked.
“Who benefits from Leonora’s death?” Fenella reworded the question.
“As far as we know, she didn’t have any family on the island and only one close friend. Doncan Quayle was her advocate. We’re waiting for him to get back to us as to the contents of her will,” Daniel replied.
“Doncan is suddenly getting a lot more work,” Shelly said. “You don’t suppose he’s bumping off
his clients so that he can make more money?”
Fenella and Mona both laughed. Even Daniel chuckled. “I would be very surprised if it turned out that Mr. Quayle was behind any of this,” he said. “If he wanted to increase his business, surely he would just murder people outright. The lengthy disappearances confuse things considerably.”
“There must be a reason why they’ve all disappeared,” Fenella said. “What would someone gain by keeping any of them locked away, though?”
“Maybe someone made Mortimer and Leonora change their wills in his or her favor,” Shelly suggested. “Once they signed the new wills, then our kidnapper killed them.”
“I suppose that’s one possibility,” Daniel said. “But if someone suddenly produced a new will, he or she would have to explain how they happened to get it.”
“Why else would you want to kidnap someone? None of them took large amounts of money from their bank accounts or anything, did they?” Shelly asked.
“Not as far as we’ve been able to ascertain,” Daniel said. He frowned at them both. “I’ve drunk about four cups of coffee and I’m still falling asleep sitting here. I think I need to go home and go to bed.”
He slid off his stool and swayed back and forth for a moment, using his hand to steady himself.
“You really do need sleep,” Fenella said. “Why don’t you just crash in my spare room? I hate the thought of you driving when you’re so tired.”
“I should go home,” Daniel said. He took a few steps forward and then sighed. “Or maybe I should just lie down for a few minutes,” he said, sounding defeated.
Fenella took his arm and led him to the guest room. “The bed is very comfortable,” she said as she switched on the light.
“There are men’s pajamas in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe,” Mona told her.
Fenella really wanted to ask her aunt why she had men’s pajamas, but when she thought about it further, she decided she really didn’t want to know. Since she couldn’t ask in front of Daniel, that was probably for the best. She opened the drawer and pulled out the top pair.
An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - DEF Page 21
