An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  Just to prove her aunt wrong, Fenella flopped down on her bed with one of her books. She opened it to the first page and tried to focus on the words, but her mind was racing and she couldn’t concentrate. Aware that Mona was watching her, Fenella waited a moment and then turned the page. A minute later, she turned the page again.

  Mona laughed. “You’re too upset to read,” she said. “You aren’t fooling me. And it’s just about time to head down to the bench anyway.”

  Fenella looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was quarter to three. She probably should make her way downstairs. The last thing she wanted was for any of the suspects to knock on her door.

  She ran a comb through her hair and added a fresh coat of tinted lip balm to her lips. Glancing out the window, she grabbed another layer that she threw on before she slid into a warm jacket. She thought about taking an umbrella, but if it really did start to rain, they could simply move into the building’s lobby. Neither she nor her guests would want to sit and talk in the rain.

  When she sat down to put on her shoes, Katie jumped in her lap. “Merow,” she said, staring at Fenella.

  “She’s worried about me,” Fenella said.

  “She’s hungry again,” Mona told her.

  Fenella slid her feet into sneakers and then topped up Katie’s food and water.

  “Here goes nothing,” she said to Mona as she headed for the door.

  14

  Fenella crossed the promenade and settled herself on the bench. She looked back over her shoulder, trying to see if she could spot Mona in the window of her apartment, but she was too far away to make out anything specific. She sighed and turned back around. Whether Mona was there or not didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like Mona could do anything if someone suddenly pulled a knife on her, she thought. Or maybe she could. Fenella really didn’t understand the whole ghost thing. Maybe Mona had all sorts of tricks up her sleeve. The thought cheered her up as she waited.

  The air felt damp and cold and it quickly penetrated Fenella’s jacket. Glad she’d put on an extra layer, she was debating going back for a heavier coat when Mandy dropped onto the bench next to her.

  “I didn’t see you coming,” Fenella gasped, her heart suddenly racing.

  “You were watching the water,” Mandy said. “It’s beautiful, even when the weather is cold and wet.”

  “It is,” Fenella agreed.

  “So what did you want?” Mandy asked.

  Fenella flushed. She wasn’t as ready for the question as she wanted to be. “I was just worried about you, really,” she said, struggling to work out what to say. “You seemed upset at the, um, gathering yesterday.”

  “Gathering? That’s one word for it, I suppose,” Mandy said, giving Fenella a bitter smile. “It should have been a proper memorial service, of course, but with Mark gone, well, it was just awful, wasn’t it? Kara had no business being involved. I should have organized something myself.”

  “You’re in a difficult position to do that,” Fenella said softly.

  “I’m in an impossible position,” Mandy replied. “We were divorced, and Alan didn’t want anyone to know we were talking about reconciling. Sometimes I think maybe I dreamt all of that, the last few weeks, when Alan started ringing me again and asking to see me. Sometimes I wish I had, because it’s so much more difficult now, wondering what might have been.”

  “You were prepared to take him back?” Fenella asked.

  “I was thinking about it,” Mandy admitted. “Or at least I was until the day he died. That morning I received an envelope in the post. It was full of photographs of Alan with another woman.” Mandy blushed and looked out at the sea. “He was, um, they were, well, they were naked and, um, together.”

  “Maybe they were old photos?”

  “There was a calendar on the wall behind the bed, open to this month,” Mandy said. “I know that doesn’t actually prove anything, and I know those sorts of things can be digitally altered, but it was enough to make me suspicious.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I rang Alan and we had a screaming row,” she replied. “He said that we weren’t back together yet, so who he was fu, er, um, sleeping with wasn’t any of my business. I told him I never wanted to see him again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Fenella said, patting the woman’s arm.

  “You know what’s worse?” Mandy asked. “He asked me to meet him for lunch and I actually agreed. Even though I knew he’d cheated on me and I knew he was lying to me, I actually agreed to meet him.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why, but he always knew exactly how to manipulate me. I simply couldn’t say ‘no’ to the man.”

  “So you were going to meet him for lunch? When?”

  “That day,” Mandy said, shuddering. “I was actually in the restaurant, waiting for him, and the police came instead. They’d gone to my office and someone there had told them where to find me.”

  “How awful for you.”

  “At first I thought he was just hurt, you know? Like maybe he’d been in a car accident or something. I didn’t believe them when they said he was dead. I’m not sure I believe it now. I keep expecting him to ring me or simply turn up somewhere and surprise me. I keep thinking the whole last month has been a bad dream and when I wake up, everything will be all right again.”

  “It’s going to take you some time to get over all of this,” Fenella said.

  “My friends keep telling me that Alan would have just broken my heart again,” she said. “But I feel better thinking that he really wanted to change and that we’d have made it work the second time around.”

  “You should believe whatever makes you happiest. No one can be certain either way, so why not?”

  Mandy nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “I think you’re right. I was angry at Alan for a long time, when we were married and just after the divorce. I was starting to forgive him before I received those photos. Maybe I’ll just pretend I never saw them and let myself mourn for the man I loved and lost.”

  Fenella patted the woman’s arm, wondering what else she could possibly say to the woman. After a moment, Mandy turned and smiled sadly at her.

  “Thank you for this,” she said. “I feel better than I have in a long while.”

  “I’m glad we talked, then. I hope you continue to feel better.”

  Mandy nodded and got to her feet. “Thanks again,” she murmured before she turned and began to walk slowly down the promenade. Fenella watched her go as the wind picked up and a few spots of rain began to fall.

  “Not really sitting outside weather, is it?” Abigail asked.

  Fenella jumped and turned to look at the new arrival. She’d been so intent on watching Mandy that she hadn’t noticed Abigail’s approach. Anyone could sneak up on you and stab you and you wouldn’t even know they’d been there, a voice in her head chided her.

  She ignored the voice and forced herself to smile at Abigail. “I hope the worst of the rain holds off for a little while,” she said. “I’m enjoying sitting out here.”

  “Really? I can’t imagine,” Abigail said. “And I have no intention of sitting here in the rain, talking to you for ages. What do you want?”

  “I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Fenella said. “I know how upset you were about losing your husband. I suppose I just worry about people, even people I’ve only met once or twice.”

  Abigail rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re playing at,” she said. “But I don’t buy that at all. Is this the part where you tell me that you saw something in my husband’s office that makes you think I killed him?”

  Fenella gasped. “But, I mean, well, why would I do that?”

  “Blackmail, of course,” Abigail snapped. “You think you can blackmail me or at least someone. I saw you talking to Mandy earlier. She’s probably a lot more likely to believe your empty threats than I am. She isn’t very bright.”

  “I have no interest in blackmailing anyone,” Fenella said hotly. “M
andy is very upset and I was just trying to help her. You can call her and ask her what we talked about if you like.”

  “Maybe I will,” Abigail replied. “So, go on, what did you see in my husband’s office?”

  Fenella glared at her. “I saw a man sitting behind a desk with a knife in his chest. There was blood everywhere. If you’d like more details than that, you’ll have to ask the police. I was too upset to notice anything else.”

  “If you aren’t interested in blackmailing me, why did you want to see me?”

  “I don’t know,” Fenella answered honestly. “But whatever I was thinking when I called you, I’m sorry now that I did.”

  Abigail laughed. “That was honest, at least,” she said. She sat down on the bench next to Fenella. “I did still love him,” she said. “Even though we were separated. I still thought we’d get back together.”

  “I’m sorry,” Fenella felt as if she’d said those words far too much in the last hour.

  “Now I just have to hope that he left me his money. When we first separated, he told me he was going to rewrite his will and leave everything to charity. I’m hoping he never got around to it.”

  “I wonder if Mr. Collins had a will,” Fenella said thoughtfully.

  “Probably not. He thought he was going to live forever,” the other woman told her. “Mark and I made out our wills right after we were married. It seemed like the proper, grown-up thing to do. I remember mentioning it to Alan and him laughing at us. In those days we didn’t have much money. Alan and Mark were just starting out. Alan thought it was hilarious that we were worried about where our money would go if we died, as in those days we were probably talking about a few hundred pounds.”

  “Wills are still a good idea,” Fenella said. “Even if it’s just a few hundred pounds, it should go where you want it to go.”

  “Exactly. But Alan wasn’t worried about dying. At the time, he said he was going to make his will on his sixtieth birthday. He may have changed his mind about that, of course, but Mark never mentioned it if he did.”

  An idea popped into Fenella’s head, and before she could stop to think about it, she blurted out an awkward question. “You don’t think the woman your husband had the affair with could have killed him, do you?” Fenella turned bright red when she realized what she’d said. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Abigail spoke first.

  “Maybe,” she said. “If I knew who it was, I’d have set the police on her for sure. But Mark would never tell me who she was and I never found out. It might have been several women, for all I know.”

  “I’m sorry. That was a rude question.”

  “It’s fine. Don’t think I haven’t spent a lot of my time trying to answer it myself. Both who the woman was and if she might have killed Mark.”

  “You’ve no idea as to her identity?”

  “None, and it haunts me. I walk down the street and I look at every woman I pass and I wonder if she might be the one.” Abigail shook her head. “I try not to dwell on it, but it’s always on my mind.”

  “I’m surprised you found out he was cheating, but not who the woman was,” Fenella said.

  “I found lots of little clues,” Abigail said. “Credit card receipts for flowers I never received and for lunches for two in fancy restaurants, for example. I finally confronted him and asked him what was going on and he told me that he’d been seeing someone else. He wouldn’t answer any questions about her. though, no matter how much I begged.” She sighed. “That was one of the conditions I put on our trying again. I wouldn’t move back home until he told me who she was.”

  “That seems fair.”

  “Of course it’s fair. For all I knew it was someone who works in his building or our next-door neighbor or whatever. I think I could get over the affair, as long as I knew that he wasn’t seeing her anymore, not even just in passing.”

  Fenella nodded. “But he never told you.”

  “He promised he’d tell me over dinner that night,” Abigail said. “I don’t know if he would have, but I’d like to think so.”

  “You should believe whatever makes you feel the happiest,” Fenella repeated herself. “Believe that he wanted you back and was prepared to do whatever it took to accomplish that if it helps you.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Abigail said. “It isn’t easy, though. I have so many questions and doubts. I’m sure I’d feel better if I could get some sleep, but I simply can’t.”

  “You should see your doctor. Maybe he can prescribe something, just for the short term, to help you sleep.”

  “Maybe,” Abigail said. She stood up and stretched. “I’d better be going, I suppose. I didn’t want to come and talk to you, but I’m rather glad I did. I actually feel a little bit better.”

  “I’m glad,” Fenella told her.

  “And I’m glad the rain is still holding off,” Abigail told her. “It’s easier to talk out here, in the wind and the sea air. Thank you.”

  “Any time,” Fenella replied, hoping the other woman wouldn’t ever take her up on the offer.

  Abigail smiled and then walked away. Fenella watched her go for a moment or two and then looked around. She’d been caught by surprise by her first two visitors; she was determined to spot Kara coming.

  It was only after she’d seen Kara emerging from a car a few spaces away that Fenella remembered that she was supposed to be recording her conversations with the suspects. It was a good thing neither Mandy nor Abigail had confessed to the murders, she thought as she pulled out her phone and pressed the button to start recording. She’d never used it before so she wasn’t sure how long it would record for or how good the quality would be, but it was worth trying. She slid the phone back into her pocket and smiled at Kara, who had reached the bench.

  “It’s cold out here,” Kara complained. “Let’s go up to your flat.”

  “We can go and sit in the lobby of the building, if you’d like,” Fenella offered.

  Kara looked around and then shrugged. “If you want to stay here, we can stay here,” she said. She sat down next to Fenella and stared at her for a moment.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” Fenella said eventually.

  “How did you happen to find both bodies?” Kara asked.

  “I keep asking myself that same question,” Fenella said. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time twice, I guess.”

  “What did Mark say to you when you found him?”

  “He didn’t say anything. He was already quite dead when I got there.”

  Kara studied her for another minute and then shook her head. “One of them must have said something to you,” she said angrily. “Which one was it?”

  “They were both dead when I found them,” Fenella replied.

  “Why were you at Alan’s memorial service yesterday?” Kara changed the subject.

  “My next-door neighbor was going and she invited me along. It seemed like the right thing to do, being that I found the body and all.”

  “He was going to marry me, you know,” Kara said conversationally.

  “Alan Collins?”

  “Yes. We were soul mates. He knew that as soon as he saw me for the first time, when I came in to interview for the job. I thought he was sort of odd and creepy.” She laughed.

  “He did seem rather odd when I met him,” Fenella said tentatively.

  “After I started working there, he started taking me out for lunch. At first I just went to get the free meal, but over time I began to appreciate Alan more and more.”

  She held out her wrist. A very expensive-looking bracelet dangled from it. “He bought me this for the one-month anniversary of my coming to work with him,” she said.

  “How very kind of him,” Fenella murmured.

  “He had all these other women ringing him all the time. It was sad, really, because we were destined to be together.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Fenella said automatically.

  Kara looked at he
r for a moment and then laughed. “You needn’t be sorry,” she said. “I killed him, after all.”

  Fenella felt her heart skip a beat. “I’m sorry, but what did you just say?” she asked, feeling as if she couldn’t think.

  “I killed him,” Kara repeated herself calmly. “But you already knew that. That’s why I wanted to meet you today. I need to know how you worked out that I killed him and Mark so I can hide the evidence or whatever.”

  “I didn’t know you killed him,” Fenella said, trying to work out how she could get away from the girl.

  “Oh, dear, that’s a shame,” Kara laughed again. “And here I was, all ready to kill you as well.”

  Fenella shook her head. “Oh, there’s no need to do that,” she said. “It was nice talking to you, but I’d better be going.” She stood up.

  “Sit down,” Kara demanded. She opened her jacket and reached a hand inside. The knife she pulled out looked sharp and deadly. “Sit down or I’ll stab you now,” Kara said. “Maybe, if you talk fast, you can talk me out of killing you.”

  Fenella sat back down, as far away from Kara and the blade as she could. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out a way out of the situation. She looked up and down the beach, but it was deserted. The skies seemed to darken and Fenella frowned as streetlights began to turn on in response to the increasing cloud cover. “You don’t have any need to kill me,” she said to Kara eventually.

  “I just told you that I killed Alan,” Kara said. “I can’t have you running to the police with that little fact, can I?”

  “I won’t say anything to anyone,” Fenella offered. She glanced around again and thought she could see someone in the distance. Maybe if she could keep Kara talking, the other person would get close enough that she could shout for help.

  “If you were going to marry him, why did you kill him?” she asked Kara.

  “He told me he’d stopped seeing other women,” Kara told her. “But he hadn’t. I took a bunch of photos of the two of us together and sent them to all of the women he’d been seeing. I thought that might put them off, but some of them didn’t seem to mind sharing him.”