Cars and Cold Cases

by Diana Xarissa

When they reached the restaurant door, she quickly changed her mind. “It’s pouring,” she exclaimed.

  “I don’t even want to walk home in this,” Shelly said.

  “We only live two minutes away. I don’t think a taxi could get us much closer, really,” Fenella replied.

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

  The pair walked home as quickly as they could and then made their way up to Fenella’s apartment.

  “It feels really empty,” Fenella said, looking around the living room.

  “Just pretend she’s having a nap on your bed,” Mona suggested from the couch.

  “Pretend she’s just out of sight,” Shelly said. “If she’s anything like Smokey, she sleeps at least half of the day, anyway.”

  The pair chatted about the various pets they’d had as children, although Fenella had very little to contribute to the conversation. “We had a fish for a while,” she said. “And one of my brothers brought home a dog one day. He said he’d agreed to watch him for a friend. My mother was about to take him to a shelter when the friend finally turned up and took him back.”

  “How long did you have him?”

  “Oh, maybe three days. My mother really didn’t like animals, especially animals that had to be walked three times a day and cleaned up after.”

  “We had everything when I was a kid,” Shelly said. “I don’t think my mother liked animals, either, but my father loved them. He was forever bringing home a new addition.”

  Shelly had several funny stories about the dogs, cats, rabbits, and other furry friends that had populated her childhood home. By the time she’d run out of stories, it was nearly six o’clock.

  “We should have some dinner before we head to the pub,” Shelly suggested.

  “After all that lunch, I don’t want much more than a sandwich,” Fenella replied.

  “That sounds about right,” Shelly agreed.

  Fenella pulled out bread, meat and cheese, and the pair made themselves sandwiches in the kitchen.

  “Any news on your cold cases?” Shelly asked while they ate.

  “I don’t think so,” Fenella replied. “While we were driving around yesterday, Mel mentioned that he’d talked to the police. He seems more annoyed than anything else about the whole thing.”

  “I suppose it’s distressing, having it all come back up again.”

  “Maybe,” Fenella said. “Although he seemed more angry than distressed. Apparently Daniel hasn’t started talking to anyone about the Christopher Manderly case yet. He’s going to start interviewing the witnesses in that case after he’s finished talking with everyone about Kay Belsom.”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Shelly exclaimed. “What are you doing Saturday night?”

  “This coming Saturday?”

  “Yes, I know it’s short notice, but I’d completely forgotten about it.”

  “Forgotten about what?” Fenella asked, feeling confused.

  Shelly laughed. “I’m not making any sense, and I haven’t even started drinking yet,” she said. “Let me start over. I’ve been invited to a party on Saturday night and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me.”

  “What sort of party?”

  “That’s just it,” Shelly said. “Carl Manderly has a party every year on the anniversary of the company’s founding. He invites all of the men and women who currently have investment accounts with him.”

  “Oh, my,” Fenella said.

  “You have to go,” Mona said insistently.

  “Hubby and I used to go every year,” Shelly said. “It’s always very nice. They have it at the Seaview in Ramsey, which is very fancy.”

  “Donald took me there once. It is nice.”

  “So you’ll come?” Shelly asked.

  “Yes, if you’re sure you want me to.”

  “Of course I want you to,” Shelly said. “It will give you a chance to talk to some of the suspects in one of Daniel’s cases, and maybe you can help me with a little problem of my own.”

  “What problem?”

  Shelly blushed. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “What problem?” Fenella repeated.

  “I’m not really ready to get involved with another man,” Shelly said, her face bright red.

  “But?”

  “But there’s this man who might be at the party…” Shelly trailed off.

  “Tell me everything,” Fenella said sternly.

  Shelly laughed and looked embarrassed. “I don’t know. I think I might need to tell you over a bottle of wine.”

  “That’s your prerogative.”

  “Oh, the heck with it,” Shelly laughed again. “His name is Gordon Davison, and I’ve known him for twenty years or more. I don’t think I’m the only woman who was happily married but still noticed that other men are attractive.”

  “I’ve never been married,” Fenella said. “But even when I was in what I thought was a good relationship, I never stopped noticing attractive men.”

  “Yeah, Gordon is very attractive,” Shelly said. “But he’s also a nice man. He’s a widower and he brought up his daughter on his own after his wife died. We’ve become something like friends after talking to one another at these annual parties for the last twenty years. This is the first party that I’ll be going to since John passed away.”

  “So it’s going to be an emotional evening, whatever else.”

  “Yes, I suppose it is,” Shelly said. “I wasn’t even going to go, but, well, the more I thought about it, the more curious I was to see Gordon. I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy, but we always got along well. Maybe he was just polite to me because he liked John. Anyway, I’m really not ready to start seeing someone else.”

  “But talking to Gordon would be like testing the waters,” Fenella said. “It sounds like it could be a very interesting evening, really.”

  “The food will be wonderful and the wine will flow everywhere,” Shelly said. “It’s just finger foods, but there’s always tons of it. I never eat dinner before the party.”

  “I’m already sold,” Fenella laughed. “As long as Katie is okay,” she added. She tapped on her phone and caught Mr. Stone giving Katie a scratch. The animal looked content as she snuggled against the vet’s hand.

  “She’ll be fine,” Shelly assured her.

  A knock on the door dragged Fenella away from her phone.

  “I was sure Shelly said it was pub night,” Peter said from the doorway. “But I haven’t seen Shelly all day and she isn’t home now.”

  “She’s here, keeping me company while Katie is at the vet’s overnight,” Fenella explained.

  “But we’re just about ready for the pub,” Shelly added as she walked to the door. “I just need to give Smokey her dinner and we can be on our way.”

  Ten minutes later the trio was heading out to the Tale and Tail. Fenella was running down her phone battery by checking on Katie far too frequently, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Hopefully, she’d be able to relax a little bit at the pub.

  6

  There were half a dozen people scattered around the main floor of the pub as they entered. Shelly waved merrily at everyone as they approached the bar.

  “The usual?” the man behind the bar asked.

  All three of them nodded as Fenella felt a rush of warm affection for the pub that she’d now visited often enough to have her “usual” choice known by the regular bartender. Back in Buffalo she and Jack had rarely gone out anywhere. Jack preferred to stay at home, although he wasn’t averse to opening a bottle of wine now and again. Fenella had told herself for many years that she was happier at home as well, but now she was discovering that she greatly enjoyed her almost nightly glass of wine at the pub with her new friends for company.

  They took their drinks to the upper level, settling in at the only empty table in the room.

  “It’s busy tonight,” Fenella remarked.

  “There was an article about the place in the local paper,” Peter told her
. “It’ll be more popular for a few days, until everyone forgets about it again.”

  “I knew I forgot something yesterday,” Fenella said with a sigh. “I forgot to get the local paper.”

  “You can borrow mine,” Shelly said. “I’ve read it all. There was an interesting article about Daniel Robinson. You won’t want to miss that.”

  “What did it say?” Fenella asked.

  “It was about how he’s going to be reinvestigating some cold cases,” Shelly said. “They mentioned both Kay Belsom and Christopher Manderely in the article.”

  “Maybe the article will get people talking, and someone will remember something relevant,” Peter said. “I think we’d all like to see those two cases solved.”

  “They just seem so long ago,” Shelly said. “You’d think that if anyone knew anything they would have said something long before now.”

  “You never know,” Peter said. “Maybe they’ve been keeping quiet to protect someone, but that someone has died now. Daniel just needs a small break, really, in either case.”

  “Peter? I thought that was you when you came in,” a voice said from behind Fenella. She turned to see who had spoken.

  The woman who was smiling at Peter looked to be about his age. Her brown hair, which Fenella suspected was colored, was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Blue eyes blinked behind thick glasses. The woman was about average height and weight, and she looked pleasant and friendly as she waited for Peter to reply.

  “Ah, but it’s Annie, isn’t it?” Peter exclaimed after a minute. “I couldn’t place you for a second, I’m embarrassed to admit.”

  The woman shook her head. “We’re all older, aren’t we? And I don’t get into Douglas very often. I don’t think I’ve seen you in, gosh, twenty years or more.”

  Peter stood up and gave the woman a hug. He pulled her down onto the couch next to him and then introduced her to the others.

  “Fenella and Shelly, this is Annie Marshall. She grew up a few streets away from me. I’ve known her since I was a toddler, I think.”

  Annie laughed. “But we don’t see very much of each other,” she said. “I haven’t gone by Annie for twenty-five years, and I’m Anne Maxwell now. I got married fifteen years ago.”

  “And you didn’t invite me?” Peter demanded with a chuckle.

  “We got married across. Even my parents weren’t invited. The marriage only lasted two years, anyway. As I’d only just finished getting my name changed on everything, though, I decided to keep his name after the divorce,” Anne told him.

  “Maxwell? I don’t think I know the name,” Peter said.

  “No, he was from across. He came over to work as an assistant chef in one of the hotels in Port Erin, where I’ve lived for many years. What can I tell you? He swept me off my feet, we ran away and got married, but it didn’t work out. I’ve stayed away from men since then,” Anne laughed.

  “I was just thinking about you the other day,” Peter told her. “When this whole business with Kay came back up.”

  Anne frowned. “That’s why I’m in Douglas, actually,” she said. “The police asked me to come in to talk to them about Kay. Since I was here, I grabbed some dinner, and then I thought I’d have a drink in the hot new pub that everyone is talking about before I headed for home.”

  “It isn’t new,” Shelly said. “The Tale and Tail has been here for years.”

  “Well, I’d never heard of it before yesterday,” Anne replied. “So it’s new to me. And it’s lovely. I’d come here a lot if I lived closer.”

  “We all live just down the promenade,” Peter told her. “We’re here all the time.”

  “That’s good to know,” Anne said. “I’ll make a point of stopping here the next time I’m in Douglas in that case.”

  “You definitely should,” Peter told her. “It’s a great place.”

  “And they have a nice wine selection,” Anne said. “This is a personal favorite.” She waved her glass and then took a sip out of it.

  “So how have you been?” Peter asked.

  Anne shrugged. “I was doing okay,” she said after a moment. “But now I’m not so sure. I hate seeing Kay’s name dragged through the papers again.”

  “It would be nice to know what happened to her,” Peter suggested.

  “I don’t know about that,” Anne said. “It’s been thirty years. I can’t imagine we’ll get good news after all this time, can you?”

  Peter shook his head. “I suppose not,” he agreed. “But surely it would be better to know than to live with the uncertainty?”

  “Maybe for Mel,” Anne said. “But I’m fine with uncertainty. You know how you lose touch with friends over the years? I’ve just told myself that Kay and I have lost touch, that’s all. I mean, look at us, we haven’t seen each other in twenty-odd years and we live on the same island. I just pretend that Kay moved across and I don’t have to worry about her.”

  “Maybe she did,” Shelly suggested.

  Anne frowned and then shook her head slowly. “We were really close all those years ago,” she said. “If she’d decided to move across, she would have told me. We told each other everything.”

  “How did she come to get involved with Mel in the first place?” Fenella asked. “Peter said you’d all known each other since childhood. Why did she and Mel suddenly become a couple?”

  Anne stared at her for a minute and then looked at her glass of wine. She drained the glass and then frowned at Fenella. “I’m not sure I should be talking about any of this,” she said.

  “You don’t have to talk about it,” Peter assured her, patting her arm. “We’re all just curious, that’s all. The new investigation has dragged up a lot of old memories for me, and I’m afraid I’ve bored my new friends with them.”

  Fenella was grateful that he hadn’t mentioned her connection with Daniel and the case. She had a feeling that the woman would be even more reluctant to talk to her if she knew about that.

  “Let me get another round in,” Shelly suggested.

  “That would be great,” Peter said, watching Anne closely.

  “I really shouldn’t,” Anne protested.

  “Are you driving home later?” Peter asked.

  “No,” she said. “My car is in the garage, actually. It needs a new battery and some other things I’ve forgotten. The police sent a car for me this afternoon, and the man I spoke with gave me taxi fare to get home after I told him I wanted to spend some time in Douglas after the interview.”

  “Well, then, a second drink can’t do you any harm,” Peter said. “If you have too much, you can always sleep on my couch tonight, anyway. I can drive you home tomorrow morning.”

  “Did you say you live nearby?” Anne asked.

  “In Promenade View Apartments,” Peter replied.

  “I’ve heard those are beautiful,” Anne said. “I wouldn’t mind having a look at your flat, anyway.”

  “I’ll get the drinks,” Shelly said brightly. Anne told her which wine she was drinking and Fenella went with her friend to help her carry the glasses back.

  “I hope Peter realizes what she’s playing at,” Shelly said crossly as they waited at the bar.

  “What do you mean?” Fenella asked, fairly certain that she knew exactly what Shelly meant.

  “Oh, can I come and sleep on your couch in your fancy flat?” Shelly simpered. “She’s making a play for our Peter and I don’t like her one bit.”

  “She’s an old friend,” Fenella argued. “Besides, didn’t you say Peter was already involved with someone?”

  “I got my signals crossed on that one,” Shelly said. “I saw him at a fancy restaurant with a woman, but he was just having lunch with his former wife.”

  “The first one or the second one?”

  “Oh, the first one, I’m sure. She was close to his age and impeccably dressed, anyway.”

  “I wonder why they were having lunch together,” Fenella said, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “When I asked
him about it, he said they have lunch together about once a month. They’re still friends, apparently,” Shelly replied.

  “That’s nice,” Fenella said, wondering how nice it actually was. You and Peter are just friends, she reminded herself firmly. And then there’s Daniel, a little voice added. You certainly can’t object to whomever Peter wants to spend time with.

  Back at their table, Anne seemed to have move considerably closer to Peter. Shelly shot Fenella a knowing look as they sat back down.

  “So, what do you do in Port Erin?” Shelly asked the woman.

  “I’m an assistant manager at the ShopFast there,” Anne said. “I’ve worked for ShopFast since I finished school.”

  “And do you like Port Erin?” was Shelly’s next question.

  “The scenery is beautiful and I quite like the slower pace that village life offers,” Anne said. “But I have to say that spending a day in Douglas reminds me of what I’m missing. I don’t come into the capital very often, but I think I might have to start. It’s changed a lot over the last ten years or so. There are lots of new shops and restaurants, among other things.”

  “And are you single?” Shelly clearly wasn’t finished interrogating the woman. Fenella sipped her drink to keep from smiling.

  “I am, yes,” Anne said. “I’ve been single nearly my entire life, aside from that one brief marriage. Most men don’t seem to be interested in me, for some reason or another.”

  “Nonsense,” Peter said, patting her hand. “You’re lovely, and I’m sure there are plenty of men around who would enjoy the opportunity to get to know you better.”

  Anne shrugged. “Well, they’re very quiet, if they are out there,” she told him.

  “I’m sure I know a dozen men I could introduce you to,” Shelly suggested. “I have a wide circle of friends.”

  “Oh, no, thank you,” Anne said quickly. “I think I’m probably better off on my own.” She looked over at Peter and smiled. “Or finding a man on my own, at least.”

  Shelly narrowed her eyes at the woman. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fenella interrupted.

  “So, what is there to see in Port Erin?” she asked. “I’ve only been on the island for a few months and I’ve not been that far south yet.”