“I can’t believe he stayed in contact with Lauren and lied to his wife about it,” Doona replied.
Bessie sighed. “I think Angela was correct. I feel fortunate that I’ve never been married.”
The drive back to Laxey didn’t take long. Bessie rang Anna immediately.
“Why didn’t he tell me all of this?” she demanded after Bessie had repeated everything that had been said in the Onchan café.
“He thought he could get away with lying,” Bessie suggested. “I don’t think he would have told us if his wife hadn’t confronted him.”
“I interviewed them separately,” Anna sighed. “That’s usually the best way to get one half of a married couple to tell his or her secrets.”
“Never mind. I just hope you can find Lauren Bell so we can cross her off the list,” Bessie said.
“The list is getting shorter and shorter. I have a lead on Daisy Evans, by the way. If I’ve found the right woman, she’s Daisy Eckles now.”
“That just leaves Joselyn to track down. Surely Sam knows where to find her?”
“He refused to speak with me,” Anna told her. “He’s a man of some wealth and influence on the island, so I have to tread carefully. I made an appointment to see him, and he was perfectly polite, right up until I mentioned Joselyn. He seems to think that I should take his assurances that she’s fine as fact, even though he’s not prepared to provide any proof.”
“I’m going to have to see if I can find a way to talk to him,” Bessie mused. “I wonder if Mary knows him.”
“If you’re talking about Mary Quayle, I believe she knows everyone,” Anna said.
Bessie chuckled. “You could be right about that.”
She put the phone down and then picked it up again, dialling the number for Thie yn Traie from memory.
“The Quayle residence.” The man who’d answered the phone had a deep voice that sounded authoritative.
“It’s Elizabeth Cubbon. I was wondering if Mary was available?”
“Aunt Bessie?” The voice changed completely. “How are you, my dear? I saw in the papers that you’d found another body. How awful for you.”
“It was pretty awful, but at least this one wasn’t recently murdered,” Bessie replied. “But how are you, Jack?” she asked.
Jonathan Hooper had grown up on the island, and to Bessie he’d always be “Jack,” the young boy with the ginger hair who’d scraped his knees on Laxey Beach daily throughout the summer months. As the butler at Thie yn Traie, he was known as Jonathan, and he had the necessary accent and proper training to go along with the position. Bessie knew that Mary thought he was the best butler they’d ever employed. Bessie was just delighted that he was back on the island after several years of living across.
“I’m very well, thank you. Mr. and Mrs. Quayle have very kindly offered to send me for some additional training at their expense. I’m quite looking forward to that, although it isn’t for some months yet.”
“What sort of training?”
“It’s a course in modern security and technology. Mr. and Mrs. Quayle employ an outside firm to handle security here and at the Douglas house. That will continue, but the course should give me a better understanding of how the systems work. Additionally, the family is hoping to integrate more technology into the household, including the use of wireless networks and household servers.”
“I didn’t understand most of that,” Bessie laughed.
“I’m not sure that I do, but I will once I’ve taken these classes.”
“When do you go?”
“We haven’t booked the course just yet. Mum hasn’t been well for a few weeks, so we’re waiting to be certain that she’s on the road to recovery before I go away.”
“I shall have to go and see her,” Bessie exclaimed. “Is she well enough for visitors?”
“I’d say so. She’s bored to bits, actually, stuck at home. She’d been battling a cold all winter, and that turned into flu and then pneumonia. She’s been on antibiotics for a fortnight now, though. I’m sure she’d love some company.”
Bessie made a note to go and visit the woman. “I’ll try to get to see her this week,” she promised.
“And after all of that, Mrs. Quayle isn’t even home,” Jack laughed.
“Just ask her to ring me when she has a minute. It isn’t anything important.”
“Is it about your body from Peel Castle?” Jack asked.
“It isn’t my body,” Bessie said tightly.
“Of course not. I didn’t mean it that way at all.”
“I was wondering if she knew someone who is tangentially tied to the investigation, that’s all.”
“I shouldn’t ask, but if you don’t mind telling me, in whom are you interested?”
“Sam Owens.”
“Oh, him,” Jack replied. “Mrs. Quayle does know him, or rather, he’s been to the house, but I don’t think she very fond of him. You’d be better off talking to Mr. Quayle about Mr. Owens.”
“Really?”
“They did some business together years ago. It must have been reasonably successful because they still get together for golf at least three or four times a year, or so I understand.”
“Interesting.”
“Should I have Mr. Quayle ring you, then?” Jack asked.
“Yes, please, if you think he might be able to help.”
“Actually, I may have an even better idea, but leave it with me for a short while. I’ll ring you back, or someone will.”
“What does that mean?” Bessie demanded as the phone went dead in her hand.
Sighing, she replaced the receiver and then made a face at it. When that did nothing to improve the situation, she made herself an early lunch. A brisk walk on Laxey Beach in a strong wind made her feel better. She walked past Thie yn Traie, intent on walking as far as the new houses, but the wind kept pushing her back, as if it wanted to blow her home. Eventually, she conceded to nature and turned back around.
“Bessie, I knew I would find you out here,” a voice called from somewhere above her as she was pushed back down the beach towards home.
She stopped and looked up at the stairs to Thie yn Traie. “Elizabeth, my dear, be careful on those stairs in this wind.”
“It’s fine,” Elizabeth replied carelessly. She dashed down the last few steps and then jumped down onto the beach. “It is quite the wind, though, isn’t it?”
“Come back to Treoghe Bwaane with me so we can both get indoors,” Bessie suggested.
“I will, thank you,” Elizabeth replied. She tucked her arm into Bessie’s and they walked back to Bessie’s cottage together. Inside the cottage’s door, Elizabeth finger-combed her long blonde hair and then pulled it all back into a quick ponytail.
“I should have done that before I went out,” she laughed.
Bessie put water in the kettle and then switched it on. “Biscuits?” she asked.
“I shouldn’t,” the girl replied, wrinkling her nose. “I’ve put on nearly a stone since I’ve been seeing Andy and it doesn’t seem to be coming off, even though he’s away at the moment.”
Bessie grinned. Andy Caine was away at culinary school, learning everything he was going to need to know in order to open his own restaurant. It was his lifelong dream, and a substantial and completely unexpected inheritance had made that dream possible. He and Elizabeth had only recently started seeing one another, but they seemed well suited as far as Bessie was concerned. Andy’s difficult upbringing made him appreciate the money that he now had, and he seemed to be teaching Elizabeth to realise just how privileged her own upbringing had been.
“I thought he was due back soon,” Bessie said.
“He’s taking an extra class, which means one more month away,” Elizabeth sighed. “It’s on dealing with difficult staffing issues, like terminating someone who isn’t doing his or her job properly. I know Andy needs the class, because he’s far too nice and won’t ever want to get rid of anyone, but I really wish he’d
come home.”
“You may not feel that way when he’s here all the time,” Bessie pointed out.
Elizabeth frowned. “My mother says that all the time. I know you’re both right, but I hate thinking that all we had was a brief romance. I really care for Andy a lot and I’m hoping we might have a future together.”
Bessie was surprised to hear Elizabeth put those thoughts into words. She knew the girl cared for Andy, but she hadn’t realised that Elizabeth was that serious about the man. “You’re both still young,” Bessie reminded the girl, who was in her mid twenties. “Take your time and make sure you’re certain before you do anything permanent.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Andy keeps saying that we can’t even talk about marriage until we’ve been in the same place together for at least a year. He’s far more sensible than I am. I’d marry him tomorrow if he asked.”
And be divorced before that year was up, Bessie added to herself. “Did you want to talk to me about Andy?” she asked as she made tea.
“Oh, no, not at all,” the girl laughed. “I wanted to talk to you about Sam Owens.”
“Oh?” Bessie replied as she set a plate full of biscuits on the table.
Elizabeth grabbed one and took a big bite before she replied. “Jonathan said you wanted to speak to him.”
“I do, yes, but I don’t think he wants to speak to me.”
“Too bad for him,” Elizabeth giggled. “He’s coming to Thie yn Traie at eleven to talk to me. You should be there.”
“Why is he coming to talk to you?”
“He wants to have some sort of party, although that might be too grand a word for what he’s planning. Really, he just wants to have a few people at his house for drinks and snacks. He’s no idea how to plan that, though.”
“So you’re going to plan it for him.”
“Exactly. I won’t even charge him much for my time as it will only take a few minutes to arrange everything.”
“You should charge him less if you’re setting him up for a conversation he doesn’t want to have, as well,” Bessie suggested.
Elizabeth laughed. “Maybe I will, at that.”
“I don’t want to upset him to the point where he decides not to use your services.”
“I don’t mind in the slightest if he does. As I said, I wouldn’t be charging him much anyway, and I don’t much like him, either.”
“Why not?”
“I should have known better than to say that to you. I should have known you’d want to know why and I’m not sure I can tell you. There’s just something about him that I don’t like. He’s cold. Maybe that’s the best word for him. Haven’t you ever met him?”
“I’m sure I have, once or twice, but I don’t really remember anything about him.”
“I’m sure he’d be delighted to hear that. I think he prefers to go through life as anonymously as possible.”
“The situation with his wife must be very upsetting for him, then.”
“I didn’t even know he has a wife,” Elizabeth told her. “He and Daddy are business associates, so I’ve known him for years, and I never once heard anything about a wife. It was only when the papers were full of the story that I found out.”
“I’m sure Sam isn’t very happy about that.”
“He’s furious. Apparently Dan Ross has been pestering him for a statement, and he said something about some nosy old woman ringing him out of the blue and demanding to know where Joselyn had gone. I know that couldn’t have been you. You’re much more subtle.”
Even if I’m just as nosy, Bessie thought. “I suspect it was Maggie Shimmin.”
“That makes sense,” Elizabeth nodded. “She would do that.”
“I’m not sure there’s any point in my trying to talk to him, then,” Bessie sighed.
“Of course there is. People always tell you everything.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Whatever, it’s still worth a try. Come back to Thie yn Traie with me now. You can chat with Mum for a short while until Sam arrives.”
“I’m sure your mother has other things to do.”
“She’s redecorating the master bedroom. I’m sure she’ll be happy to be interrupted.”
“I thought the master bedroom was redecorated before you moved into Thie yn Traie.”
“It was, but Daddy decided that he didn’t care for the wall colour when he had to see it every day. It’s now being painted a shade that is just fractionally different to what was there before, but that means all of the bedding has to be changed as well. Since they’re changing all of that, Daddy thought it would be a good time to get some new furniture, too.”
Bessie sighed. Many years ago, more than she’d care to remember, she’d decided to paint her bedroom a nice bright, cheery pink. The colour had turned out to be a good deal brighter than she’d expected, but she hadn’t had the money in her budget to cover over it right away. All these years later, she was still hoping that she might grow to like the colour, as she put off repainting again and again.
“Do you need any bedroom furniture?” Elizabeth asked. “Mum doesn’t know what to do with the things they just bought last year. Daddy said she can’t put anything else into storage because they already have so many units full of stuff.”
“I don’t need anything, and I doubt very much that anything they had in their bedroom would fit into my cottage.”
Elizabeth blinked a few times and then looked around the snug kitchen. “I never thought about how small your cottage is,” she said softly. “It feels so comfortable and warm that I never even considered the size. It’s quite tiny, really, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so. I’ve added to it twice, so it’s considerably larger than it was originally.”
“Goodness,” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I think your entire cottage would fit into the great room at Thie yn Traie.”
“It probably would,” Bessie agreed.
“I can’t imagine you living anywhere else, though.”
‘No, I can’t, either.”
“But let’s get going. I don’t want to be late for my meeting with Mr. Owens. Or rather, I do want to be late so that you can have a quick chat with him. What I don’t want is for you to be late.”
Bessie shook her head at the girl’s ramblings and then stood up. “Just let me freshen up,” she said. “I’m not dressed for visiting Thie yn Traie.”
“You look fine,” Elizabeth said carelessly.
“I’m still going to change,” Bessie replied firmly.
She was only gone a few minutes, just long enough to change into a skirt and jumper and comb her hair, but by the time she returned there was a man in the kitchen with Elizabeth.
“I didn’t hear anyone at the door,” Bessie exclaimed.
“This is Charles, our new driver,” Elizabeth replied. “I rang him to come over and collect us.”
Bessie smiled at the middle-aged man in the black uniform. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
“Likewise, Madam,” he replied.
“You must call me Bessie. Everyone does.”
He looked surprised, but then he nodded.
“Ready, Bessie?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, let’s go,” she replied.
Charles opened the door and then waited to follow until Bessie and Elizabeth had exited. He then had to wait while Bessie locked the door behind them. When they got to the car, he opened the rear door for them. Bessie climbed in after Elizabeth.
“This feels odd,” Bessie whispered as the car began the short journey to Thie yn Traie.
“The car and driver? I’m quite used to having them at my disposal. I’m not sure why I bothered to learn to drive, really, except it’s quite fun when the weather is nice and I can drive with the top down on my car.”
“If you say so.”
“I should teach you how to drive. It would be fun.”
“Thank you, but I think I’m better off not worrying about that at this point in my life.�
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Elizabeth looked as if she wanted to argue, but just then the car pulled into one of the vast garages at Thie yn Traie.
“Here we are,” Charles said as he opened the door next to Bessie.
She let him help her from the car and then stood back to let Elizabeth lead the way into the house.
“Mum is probably in the great room. Can you find her on your own while I go and do something with my hair?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course,” Bessie agreed.
She walked down the long corridor, only just resisting the urge to look into every open door. She’d been to the huge mansion many times, but she never grew tired of seeing all the different spaces around the house. The huge great room was far too large to feel comfortable to Bessie. She found Mary sitting on a couch, staring out at the sea.
“Bessie? I didn’t know you were here,” she said, jumping to her feet as Bessie walked into the room.
“Elizabeth invited me to come over so that I could have a word with Sam Owens when he comes to see her this morning.”
Mary nodded, a frown on her face. “I read in the paper that his wife is one of the possible candidates for what you found at Peel Castle.”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you know him well?”
“I don’t. He and George play golf together occasionally, but George would play golf with Satan himself if he could get eighteen holes in.”
“Oh, dear. You sound unhappy.”
Mary shook her head. “Just a bit frustrated, really. We were done with the redecorating here, aside from this room. I was excited to finally get started in here, as the room is too large as it is. I was hoping we could find a way to divide the space without losing any of the amazing views. Anyway, just before our designer started working on the plans for here, George decided that our bedroom needed to be completely redone. He has a million different ideas, most of them impossible, impractical, or unattractive. The designer has been here all morning, but George is off playing golf, leaving me to make all of the decisions.”
“It’s awfully windy to try to play golf.”
“Oh, I’m sure they aren’t actually playing. They’ll be sitting in the clubhouse, watching the wind and hoping it will die down enough for them to fit nine holes in before it gets dark.”
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