Aunt Bessie Solves

by Diana Xarissa

  Amanda nodded. “And now I must go home and have a good cry, I think,” she said, getting to her feet. She opened her handbag and pulled out her wallet.

  Bessie waved a hand. “Tea is on me,” she said firmly.

  “Are you quite certain?” Amanda asked, looking surprised.

  “I am, yes. You’ve had an upset. Buying you a cuppa and a few biscuits is the least I can do,” Bessie replied.

  “Well, thank you,” Amanda said. She put her wallet back in her bag and headed towards the door. “Yes, thank you,” she repeated herself, glancing back at Bessie before she pushed open the café’s door.

  As the door swung shut behind Amanda, Bessie looked at Andrew. “That was interesting.”

  “It was indeed. We’ve learned a great deal about Jeanne, not least that Amanda didn’t much like her or approve of her lifestyle. Obviously, John couldn’t share what Amanda said in her original statement, but I suspect she told us more today than she told Inspector Kelly five years ago.”

  “I suspect you’re right. I don’t think she would have told him how she really felt about Jeanne, especially not right after the woman’s untimely death.”

  Bessie took a biscuit and bit into it. Making a face, she put it down quickly.

  “Yeah, they aren’t great,” Andrew whispered, “but I ate three of them because my breakfast seems to have been a long time ago.”

  “We should go and get some lunch somewhere, then,” Bessie suggested. “Although it is a bit early for lunch, really.”

  Andrew grabbed another biscuit from the tray and then stood up. As he did so, the waitress wandered out from the kitchen. “All set?” she asked, handing Andrew the bill.

  “Yes, thanks,” he replied. He glanced at the slip of paper and then pulled some money out of his wallet. “That’s fine, thank you,” he told the woman as he handed her the money.

  “Oh, my, well, thank you, sir,” the woman replied.

  Bessie raised an eyebrow and then stood up and followed Andrew out of the café. “That must have been a very generous tip,” she suggested as they reached the car.

  “It was, yes. I can afford it and she seemed as if she could use something to make her smile.”

  Bessie couldn’t argue with the man. She slid into her seat and fastened her seatbelt as he climbed in beside her.

  “Where are we going now?” he asked.

  “How about lunch in Castletown?” Bessie suggested. “We may even have time for a short tour of the castle if you’d like to see it. I’m sure the café in Port St. Mary is open all day.”

  “It’s open until six, and more importantly, Mabel works from one to six today,” Andrew replied. “I rang this morning while I was waiting for my porridge to cook.”

  “What reason did you give for wanting to know when Mabel would be there?”

  “I didn’t give a reason, I just asked.”

  “I never would have thought to do that,” Bessie told him.

  “I’m rather used to simply asking questions and getting answers. I was with the police for a long time, remember?”

  Bessie laughed. “And I’m just a nosy middle-aged woman. There is a difference.”

  Andrew smiled at her. “And yet you did wonderfully well getting information from Amanda just then.”

  “She was angry about the story in the paper. She just needed someone to talk to, and I happened to be there at the right time.”

  “Let’s hope that Mabel has seen the article and is feeling similarly loquacious about it.”

  Bessie directed Andrew out of the car park and onto the mountain road that led to Douglas. As they went, she pointed out various points of interest.

  “This road is a part of the TT Course,” she said as they drove around a hairpin bend. “I assume you know all about the TT.”

  “It’s a motorcycle road race, isn’t it? I’ve heard of it, but I never really thought about what that meant. The bikes race on actual roads, then?”

  “Oh, yes. The course is about thirty-seven miles long and goes from Douglas, across the centre of the island, and then around to Ramsey, across the mountains, and then back into Douglas. We can drive past the grandstand if you’d like to see it.”

  “If it’s on our way, maybe, but let’s not go out of our way. I’d really rather see the castle if we can find the time.”

  “It isn’t out of our way, really,” Bessie told him. “In fact, it’s probably the fastest way to get through Douglas and head south.”

  “Castletown is near the airport, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “So I may have driven right past the grandstand on my way to Laxey when I arrived.”

  Bessie laughed. “You may have. I’m not sure what route you took on your way north.”

  “The man at the car hire place gave me a map and I followed it. I probably should have left it in the car, but I think it’s sitting on the table in my cottage right now doing me no good whatsoever.”

  “As long as I’m with you, you won’t need it,” Bessie assured him. “Even though I don’t drive, I know the island well. Watch out here for trams.”

  “Trams?”

  “This is the Snaefell Mountain Railway line,” she told him as they passed over the bumpy tracks. “It’s an electric railway that takes passengers from Laxey to the top of Snaefell, the highest peak on the island.”

  “Which one is Snaefell?” Andrew asked as he pulled his car over to the side of the road.

  Bessie pointed out the railway line that could be seen snaking up the side of the mountain.

  “It doesn’t look taller than the other mountains,” Andrew said.

  “It is, though. You can see seven kingdoms from the top of Snaefell, if the weather is clear.”

  “Can you? Seven? England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. I’m missing two.”

  Bessie laughed. “You’ve missed the Kingdom of the Sea and the Kingdom of Heaven,” she told him.

  “And can you really see them all?”

  “On a very clear day, yes, but there aren’t very many clear days.”

  “So maybe I won’t worry about getting to the top of Snaefell, at least not on this trip.”

  “I haven’t been up there in years,” Bessie told him. “Whatever the weather, there’s a little café. It isn’t a bad way to spend a few hours, if you have the time. Of course, I’d suggest the castles and museums are a better way to spend your time, but it is your holiday.”

  “I’m happy with castles and museums. Maybe the next time I come over we can take a tram up Snaefell.”

  “That sounds good,” Bessie said. She hadn’t realised that the man was planning another visit, but she was enjoying his company, so she wouldn’t complain if he did come across again one day. She wasn’t certain that his family would be as excited by the idea, but that was his problem, not hers.

  Bessie pointed out a few more landmarks as they made their way towards Douglas. “And there’s the TT Grandstand,” she pointed out.

  “They start and stop here? On what appears to be an ordinary piece of road?”

  “It is an ordinary road most of the year,” Bessie told him, “but it’s also the start and finish of the TT.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I’m going to have to find out more about the TT. Now that I’ve seen some of the course, I’m fascinated by it all. Are we going to be driving on more of the course?”

  “Not really. We need to head south now.”

  “Well, I remember this part of my journey from the airport,” Andrew said a short time later. “All I kept thinking was how lovely the island is.”

  “I hope you said hello to the little people,” Bessie said. “Wave now as we go over the bridge.”

  Andrew glanced at her and then raised a hand as Bessie waved. “Should I ask?”

  “That was Fairy Bridge. You must always wave or say hello to the little people as you go over the bridge or else you’ll have bad luck.”

  “Do people actual
ly believe that?” Andrew demanded.

  “I don’t know if we all believe it or if we simply don’t want to tempt fate,” Bessie laughed. “It only takes a moment to wave, so why not?”

  Andrew looked as if he wanted to argue, but after a moment he grinned at her. “Since I waved nicely, do I get extra good luck?”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  “And there’s the airport,” Andrew said a few minutes later. “I have a rough idea where I am now, but everything south of here will be new to me.”

  “Castletown isn’t hard to find. There are plenty of signs, and once you get close you’ll be able to see the castle.”

  As they approached the island’s former capital, Bessie directed Andrew down a side street and then into a small car park. “I find this is the best place to park for the castle,” she told him. “We can walk over and take a look and then get some lunch. If you want to take the time, we can even go around the castle, either before or after lunch.”

  “Let’s see how it looks from the outside.”

  They had only just gone around the corner when Andrew sighed. “I have to go inside. It’s too wonderful to miss.”

  “Before lunch or after?”

  “I’m starving, but maybe we should do it straight away. If I’m hungry, then I won’t be as inclined to linger. I’d like to be at the café in Port St. Mary by two at the latest. I’ve arranged to ring Lukas at five and I’d rather do that from my cottage than anywhere else.”

  Bessie nodded. “Let’s go, then. There is a lot to see, but I’ve seen it all hundreds of times. We can speed through most of it.”

  That was her plan, anyway, but it quickly became obvious that Andrew wasn’t going to speed anywhere. As Bessie looked at her watch for the tenth time, he sighed.

  “I’m really sorry, but I can’t rush past all of this amazing history,” he told her from in front of one of the castle’s large display boards. “I really should have been a historian instead of a policeman.”

  “I don’t mind, but I don’t want you to be late for your phone call later.”

  “Yes, I know. It’s my own fault. Maybe we could come back here again another day?”

  “We can do whatever you want,” Bessie assured him.

  The assurance seemed to speed him up slightly, but it was still nearly two o’clock when they finally made their way out of the building and into the castle grounds.

  “We don’t have time to walk around the grounds, do we?” he asked.

  Bessie shook her head. “Not if you want to get lunch and then talk to Mabel and still be back in Laxey for five.”

  “Maybe we should just get lunch at the café in Port St. Mary,” he suggested.

  “The last time I ate there the food was dreadful,” Bessie reminded him.

  “Yes, I know, but maybe it’s improved? Or maybe we could just get something light like a toasted teacake or something and then make up for it at dinner time?”

  Bessie was starving, but she was also sympathetic. She could hardly blame the man for being so enamoured of Castle Rushen that he’d taken his time admiring the place. “Let’s go and see what they even have to eat,” she suggested. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find something on the menu that will keep us going for a few more hours.”

  The drive from Castletown to Port St. Mary didn’t take a terribly long time. “I haven’t been down here in a long time,” Bessie said as they went. “I have a few friends who live down this way. I don’t visit them as often as I should.”

  “It’s rather a long way from Laxey,” Andrew suggested.

  “It feels as if it is, anyway. I’m sure it isn’t as far as one side of London to the other, though.”

  “No, you’re right, it isn’t. Now, where am I going?”

  Bessie navigated through the streets of Port St. Mary, eventually directing him into a small car park. “The café is only a few doors away. Let’s just hope Mabel is in the mood for a chat.”

  Chapter 7

  “I should have expected you, shouldn’t I?” Mabel Lloyd demanded as Bessie and Andrew walked into the café. At least that was who Bessie assumed the woman was. It had been years since she’d seen the woman, and those years had not been especially kind to Mabel. While the woman had always been plump, she was larger now than Bessie remembered. Mabel was wearing thick glasses and an unflattering pink dress. Her brown hair was now more grey than brown and it was piled into a messy bun on the top of her head.

  “Expected me?” Bessie echoed as she glanced around the empty café.

  “Yeah, what with your friend Inspector Rockwell reopening the investigation into Jeanne’s death and all. He sent you down here to snoop, didn’t he? You’ll ask me a bunch of rude questions and then you’ll tell him everything I said. He can compare that to the statement I made five years ago and then decide that I’m lying and arrest me,” Mabel suggested.

  Bessie shook her head. “No one sent me down here to snoop. I’m showing a friend around the island and we thought we’d stop for a tea break, that’s all.”

  “A friend? He looks like police.”

  “I was police,” Andrew said with a small bow. “But I’m long retired. I’m Andrew Cheatham. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Yeah, likewise,” the woman drawled. “If you can find an empty table, take a seat.”

  Bessie and Andrew exchanged glances. Andrew crossed to a table near the wall and slid into a seat. Bessie sat down across from him.

  “The menu is on the board,” Mabel said, gesturing towards a chalkboard on the wall.

  Reading through the list of options made Bessie’s stomach growl. Andrew chuckled. “I’m hungry, too, but I’m not sure I want to eat anything in here,” he said in a low voice.

  Bessie glanced around at the sticky table and the cracked and peeling wallpaper on the wall next to them. “Maybe just a slice of cake or some biscuits,” she suggested.

  “Get the Victoria sponge,” Mabel advised. “We buy that from a shop in Douglas. Everything else is homemade and I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  A dozen questions sprang to Bessie’s lips, but she bit her tongue and looked at Andrew.

  “Sure, two slices of Victoria sponge and two cups of tea, please,” he said after a moment.

  “Won’t take more than a minute,” Mabel said before disappearing into the kitchen.

  “She was expecting you,” Andrew said quietly.

  “I suppose I’m getting something of a reputation on the island,” Bessie sighed.

  “We can use that in our favour, though. Now that she’s brought it up, we can ask her about the case.”

  “I just don’t want her thinking that I’m going to run right back to John with everything she tells me.”

  “But you are.”

  “Yes, I know, but, oh, never mind.” Bessie sighed and rested her head in her hand. As soon as her elbow touched the table she realised her mistake. When she pulled her arm back, she didn’t want to look at her now sticky elbow.

  “Should I start the questioning when she comes back, then?” Andrew asked.

  “I will. It will seem more natural coming from me,” Bessie said, after a moment’s thought.

  “Assuming she ever comes back,” Andrew added, looking at his watch.

  They chatted for twenty minutes about the castle they’d just toured before Bessie lost her patience. “They only have to slice two pieces of cake and boil a kettle,” she complained. “What could possibly be taking so long? We’re the only people here.”

  “Maybe Mabel decided she didn’t want to talk to us, so she’s hiding in the kitchen until we leave,” Andrew suggested.

  “Well, as far as I’m concerned, she can have her wish,” Bessie snapped. She got to her feet and headed for the door. Andrew was only a few steps behind her when the kitchen door suddenly swung open.

  “Running out without paying the bill?” Mabel demanded.

  “We didn’t get served anything that needs paying for,” Bessie replied tigh
tly.

  “But I have your cake and tea right here,” Mabel told her, nodding towards the tray she was carrying. “I would have been faster, but the kettle kept shorting out.”

  Bessie looked at Andrew and he shrugged. Clearly the decision to stay or go was hers. She looked at Mabel and then sighed. “We don’t have much time,” she told the woman as she crossed back to her seat. “Maybe you could join us for a minute, though. Now that you’ve brought it up, I’d love to hear more about that murder case you mentioned.”

  Mabel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Now that I’ve brought it up? Are you trying to tell me that you don’t know anything about Jeanne’s murder?”

  “No, not at all. Obviously, I remember hearing about it when it happened, but that was five years ago, and you were right at the centre of the case. As Andrew said, he used to be with the police. I’m sure he’d enjoy hearing the story while we eat.”

  Mabel passed around their tea things and cake plates, looking thoughtful. When her tray was empty, she put it on a nearby table and sat down next to Bessie. “Sure, why not,” she said. “I’ll tell you about the case. I’ll expect a big tip for my time, though.”

  “That’s fair enough,” Andrew said. He took a sip of tea and then settled back in his seat.

  Bessie smiled at Mabel. “Why don’t you just tell us about Jeanne? How long were you two friends?”

  “Not all that long,” Mabel said with a shrug. “She was working for that bank in Ramsey and I was working at the café across the street. We got to talking one day when she was having lunch with some guy. They’d had a fight and he’d walked out, you see. She was kinda upset, so I took her in the back room and let her cry on my shoulder.”

  “That was kind of you,” Bessie said. She took a sip of the lukewarm, weak tea and then picked up her fork. How bad could the cake be?

  “We both had bad luck with men, me and Jeanne,” Mabel said. “I was on my second husband back then and she was in the middle of her divorce. That Kenny broke her heart and then he killed her, I’m sure of it.”

  “Why would he kill her?” Bessie asked. She still hadn’t worked up the nerve to try the cake. When she looked up, she saw that Andrew was watching her closely, his own cake still untouched.