Aunt Bessie Solves

by Diana Xarissa

  “They weren’t married yet, of course,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “I believe if I were in Mabel’s shoes, I’d have wanted to keep Howard and Jeanne apart. I’ll put Mabel on the list under Kenny and Sandra, and I’ll put Howard there, as well.”

  “What was his motive?” Hugh asked.

  “Maybe he was having an affair with Jeanne and she threatened to tell Mabel,” Doona suggested. “Or maybe he was just tired of being sent over to change light bulbs and wanted it to stop.”

  “Or maybe he was going around and helping her and she wasn’t having an affair with him,” Hugh said. “Maybe he was the one guy she turned down. That would make him angry, especially if she was sleeping with all of his friends.”

  “We don’t have any evidence to suggest that she was sleeping with anyone,” John pointed out.

  “And maybe his friends were bragging about sleeping with her but they really weren’t,” Doona added. “Men can be like that.”

  Hugh nodded. “Anyway, he goes on the list. What about this Max Rogers?”

  “We know nothing about him, aside from his name,” John said. “At this point, I suggest he goes at the very bottom of the list, right above person or persons unknown.”

  “We know he was friends with Howard five years ago,” Bessie said as she added his name to her list. “And that he may have had a fling with Jeanne. Is there any way you can track him down?”

  “I’ll do some discreet digging,” John told her. “Or rather, Hugh will. It will be good practice for him. I’ll let you know if we find him.”

  “What about the former boyfriends for whom we have names?” Bessie asked. “I’m looking forward to meeting Ron Adams tomorrow. Where does he fall on the list?”

  “Somewhere near the middle, I would suggest,” Andrew replied. “We know he and Jeanne had a relationship and we’ve been told it was volatile. He’d be higher on the list if they hadn’t split up years before Jeanne’s death.”

  “And James Poole?” Bessie wondered.

  “If he truly was living across when Jeanne died, it’s hard to imagine a motive for him,” Hugh said. “I’m sure Inspector Kelly checked to make sure he wasn’t on the island at the relevant time.”

  “I’m not certain that he checked,” John replied, “but I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “We haven’t mentioned Nick Grant,” Bessie said suddenly. “He was Amanda’s first choice. As she worked with the man, she must have known him well.”

  “From everything you’ve said, it seems as if he and Jeanne might have had an affair,” Doona said.

  “That was one thing that Inspector Kelly tried to pin down. He couldn’t find any evidence that they ever saw one another outside of the office,” John said.

  “But they could have been very discreet,” Hugh said. “If they were having an affair, she might have threatened to tell his wife.”

  “Did Inspector Kelly look at the bank’s accounts at all?” Bessie asked.

  “I don’t believe so,” John replied. “There was no reason to suppose that the murder had anything to do with Jeanne’s job.”

  “What if Jeanne had discovered that Nick was stealing from the bank in some way?” Bessie asked. “That might have been an even stronger motive for murder.”

  “We’ve no evidence to suggest that anyone was stealing from the bank,” John said. “It was all wound up years ago without any hint of anything criminal having ever happened.”

  “I still think it’s worth someone taking a look,” Bessie said. “I’d really like to talk to Nick Grant, as well.”

  “A trip to Australia it is,” Andrew said. “I won’t tell my children we’re going. They can find out when we return.”

  “I’m not sure I’m ready to jet off to Australia,” Bessie gasped.

  “I’ve been working on tracking Nick down,” John said. “I don’t think anyone will have to go down under to find him. It appears the family moved back to the UK in the past year.”

  “All of them?” Bessie asked.

  “Yes, Jefferson and his wife, Julie, and Nick and his wife, Heather,” John replied.

  “Did any of them get into any trouble while they were away?” Hugh asked.

  “I’ve sent a request to the police in Australia, requesting that information,” John told him. “I’ve not heard back yet.”

  “What about Jefferson?” Doona wondered. “Did he ever spend any time at the bank? Could he have been having an affair with Jeanne?”

  “He was over seventy when Jeanne died,” John said. “I’m not sure that Jeanne would have been interested, even if he was.”

  “I never heard any hint that he cheated on Julie,” Bessie said. “He and Julie were quite prominent in the island’s high society for many years, and I never heard a whisper of scandal attached to either of them. Nick and Heather were a different matter.”

  “Go on, then. What did they get up to?” Andrew asked.

  “There were rumours of affairs on both sides,” Bessie told him. “I never heard anything definite, and I can’t recall any of the names with which either of them were linked, but I definitely remember hearing that he was seeing someone behind her back, and that she was cheating as well. I believe they’d originally planned to stay on the island and keep the bank running when Jefferson decided to leave, but then decided to go as well, perhaps as much to avoid the gossip as anything else.”

  “Maybe both Nick and Heather should be on the list, then,” Hugh suggested.

  “I’ll add them, but I’m going to put Nick higher up than Heather,” Bessie replied.

  “As he may have had a professional or a personal motive, that seems fair,” Andrew said.

  “Although, if Nick was stealing from the bank, Heather may have known about it. She may have been willing to kill to protect her husband and/or their money,” Doona suggested.

  “Add Jefferson and Julie, too,” Andrew said, “but at the very bottom.”

  Bessie complied. “Jefferson was mostly retired by that time,” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t know that he was spending much, if any time, at the office. Still, it was a small company. He must have known Jeanne.”

  “Is there anyone else to add to the list?” Doona asked.

  Bessie looked at the paper on the table in front of her. “It seems quite a long list, really,” she said. “I hope that’s everyone.”

  “We don’t have names for Howard’s other friends, the ones that he said had flings with Jeanne,” Andrew pointed out.

  Bessie added two lines to represent the unknown men. “Is that everyone?” she asked.

  “Except for person or persons unknown,” John said. “What’s significant is that it is already a longer list than the one from which Inspector Kelly was working. As I said, I don’t recall much mention of Howard, and there certainly isn’t any mention of Max Rogers or any other men who had short-term relationships with Jeanne in the last year of her life.”

  “And everyone had the means and the opportunity?” Doona questioned.

  “Jeanne was given a large number of sleeping tablets along with a variety of other medicines and some alcohol,” John told her. “While some of the drugs required a prescription, they were all common enough to be considered available if someone was determined to get his or her hands on them. Many of them would have been easy to acquire.”

  “I can’t even get sleeping tablets from my own doctor when I’m having trouble sleeping,” Doona said. “How did someone manage to stockpile a bunch of them?”

  “Are you okay?” Bessie asked, feeling concerned.

  Doona nodded. “I really wanted them back when Charles and I first split up years ago,” she explained. “My doctor offered me one tablet at a time. I decided not to bother.”

  “Maybe he was worried that you were suicidal,” Bessie said gently.

  Doona shrugged. “I wasn’t, but I was pretty devastated. Now that it’s all behind me, I’m glad I never tried sleeping tablets, though. I got through it and I’m stronger
for it.”

  “To get back to your question,” John said, “Jeanne was given many tablets, but there were several different types. It’s possible that someone was given only a few tablets from any one doctor, but that they were able to get a few others from another, and so on. It’s also possible that they found an illegal source for what they wanted. I understand that an illegal prescription drug ring was discovered on the island not long after Jeanne’s death.”

  Bessie nodded. “I remember that. One of the chemists in the Ramsey shop was selling one or two tablets out of every shipment. He might have continued to get away with it if he hadn’t become greedy and started stealing more and more of the shop’s inventory.”

  “What about opportunity, then?” Hugh asked. “Surely we can eliminate at least one or two people who couldn’t have done it?”

  “Because the exact time of death couldn’t be determined, it was difficult for Inspector Kelly to pin down alibis for anyone for the entire block of time when Jeanne might have died,” John explained. “Even James Poole, who was living across at the time in question, could have just about made it over to the island, killed Jeanne, and returned home before the next time he can be proven to have been anywhere.”

  “So where do we go from here?” Hugh asked.

  “You’re going to try to track down Max Rogers,” John said. “Very discreetly, though. Unless Howard has rung him and told him that his name has been given to the police, he won’t know we’re looking for him. I’d rather he didn’t find that out until I know a great deal more about him.”

  Hugh nodded. “I’ll do my best,” he promised.

  “Bessie and I will talk to Ron and Sandra tomorrow, or at least that’s our plan,” Andrew said. “Maybe we can track down Kenny as well.”

  “Sandra may be able to tell you how to find him,” John said. “He isn’t working at the same place where he was when Jeanne died, and he isn’t living in the same house, either.”

  “Sandra should know where he is,” Bessie said. “I just hope she’s willing to talk to us. From what Mabel said, I don’t think she and Kenny are still together.”

  “I don’t think they are, but he is still the father of her children. She may be willing to lie to protect him,” John warned her.

  “Have you tried talking to Inspector Kelly about the case?” Bessie asked.

  John shook his head. “I was going to, once I received official approval to reinvestigate, but when the chief constable told me that I wasn’t to do so, I cancelled my meeting with the man. I’d rather the chief constable not know that I’m still doing some checking into the case.”

  And Inspector Kelly would tell the man, that was for sure, Bessie thought. “What about Carl Clague?” she asked. “Have you talked to him about it?”

  “I have. We had lunch together yesterday and went over the case file. He wasn’t involved in the initial investigation, though, so he wasn’t able to do much more than make a few suggestions based on his years of experience,” John told her.

  “I think that’s all we can do for tonight, then,” Andrew said. “Bessie and I will continue to do what we can while you try to find us more, um, witnesses to interview. If they are all as forthcoming as the three we met today, maybe we’ll be able to crack this case before I head for home.”

  “I doubt they’ll all be that forthcoming,” Bessie said. “At least one of them killed Jeanne, after all.”

  “Yes, but that might make someone even more talkative,” Andrew suggested. “Maybe he or she is feeling confident, having managed to get away with it for the last five years.”

  “Let’s hope,” John said as he got to his feet. “And now I should get home and see if my house is still standing. The kids each had a friend around. Those four teenagers have probably eaten everything in the house.”

  “Take the rest of the pizza and fairy cakes to them,” Bessie suggested.

  “We always let Hugh have the leftovers,” John replied. “He’s a growing boy, after all.”

  “I think I’m done growing,” Hugh said with a grin. “Take everything for your kids. I’m eating too much lately as it is. For some reason, whenever Grace gets a craving, I get it, too. We’ve been living on ice cream and mince pies all week.”

  “Mince pies?” Doona echoed.

  “Yeah,” Hugh flushed. “Grace started craving them, so she made a batch, and now we both can’t stop eating them. I think she bought every jar of mincemeat she could find, though. We’ll probably run out soon and have to wait until closer to Christmas for the shops to get mincemeat back in stock.”

  “By which time she’ll probably be craving something else,” Andrew laughed. “My wife craved all manner of things when she was pregnant with our children. After the first we were both less indulgent of the cravings, though. With a baby in the house, we didn’t have the time to rush out to the shops every time she wanted something different.”

  Hugh shrugged. “I’m not sure if we’ll have any more. This one is proving very stressful.”

  “I thought the same. They get easier,” Andrew assured him. “Maybe not on your wife, but on you.”

  Bessie and John packed up the leftover food while Doona and Hugh took care of the washing-up. With a flurry of hugs, they all headed out, leaving Bessie alone with Andrew.

  “I’d love to go for a long walk on the beach tonight, but I’m afraid I’m rather tired,” he said as Bessie sat back down next to him. “I think the sea air is proving almost too good for me. I feel as if I’m going to sleep well again tonight.”

  “I hope you do. Tomorrow sounds as if it’s going to be an interesting day.”

  “It does indeed. I’m looking forward to it. Two more witnesses and another castle should keep us busy for much of the day, anyway. Then I’d like to take you somewhere nice for dinner.”

  “You’ve already spent too much money on me,” Bessie protested. “Let me buy dinner tomorrow night.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I’m just old-fashioned enough to feel as if I should pay when I’m with a lady. And I can certainly afford it. My ungrateful children will be inheriting quite enough money as it is.”

  Bessie wanted to argue, but she couldn’t work out exactly what to say. As the silence between them began to stretch, she sighed. “Let me cook for you one night, then,” she suggested.

  “Maybe, later in my holiday, if we find the time,” Andrew replied evasively.

  Bessie let it go at that. She’d have to find a way to make it happen. Andrew stood up and headed for the door. Bessie followed.

  “I’ll just walk you back to your cottage and then continue on for a bit,” she said. “It’s too nice an evening not to have a short walk.”

  “I may come part of the way with you,” Andrew said as Bessie locked her cottage. “It is a nice night.”

  It was a nice night for about ten minutes. Then the skies suddenly opened, sending Bessie and Andrew running back to Andrew’s cottage. Bessie stood inside the sliding doors that opened onto the patio behind the cottage and watched the rain for several minutes.

  “I’m just going to run home,” she told Andrew. “It isn’t stopping, and I’m already pretty wet, anyway.”

  She could feel Andrew watching her as she hurried down the beach. Inside Treoghe Bwaane she took off her wet things and hung them in the downstairs cloakroom. It was too early to head to bed, so she curled up with a book for a short while before taking herself off to her bedroom. Once she was ready for bed, she climbed under the duvet and read for another hour before finally switching off the light. She slept soundly, waking at six feeling refreshed.

  Chapter 9

  “I hope I’m not too early,” Andrew said in an apologetic tone. “I wouldn’t have knocked, but I could see that your lights were on.”

  “I’ve been up for hours,” Bessie assured him as she let him into her cottage. “I hope you aren’t up early because you couldn’t sleep last night.”

  “Not at all. I slept incredibly well and woke up at s
even feeling better than I have in years. After a leisurely shower and breakfast, I just couldn’t seem to find anything else to do to fill my time, though. When I went out for a walk, I noticed that your lights were on, so I thought I might as well just come over here.”

  “I’m glad you did. We can head to Peel anytime, really,” Bessie told him. “We can have a walk around the quayside if we get there too early to visit Ron at his office.”

  “I was wondering if we should ring him first,” Andrew said. “What if he’s out all day showing houses?”

  Bessie thought for a minute. “We want to go to Peel anyway,” she pointed out. “If we wait until nine to ring him, we won’t get to Peel until half nine or later. Let’s just go. If he’s not available, we can make an appointment for later today, or tomorrow, even.”

  “Is there anything interesting to see between here and Peel?”

  “We could stop at Tynwald Hill if you’d like. That’s where the island’s government meets every fifth of July.”

  “I heard about Tynwald Day when I was stationed here. I’m sorry now that I didn’t go along that year to see it. I didn’t do anything other than work. I knew I wasn’t going to be here for long, but at the time that seemed like a good thing. I wanted to be where the action was, not traipsing around historical sites or anything like that.”

  “You were much younger, of course. I remember wanting to do exciting things when I was younger as well. Instead, I stayed in my little cottage and simply enjoyed being where I was.”

  “But you lived in the US. For many people, that would be quite exciting.”

  “I don’t remember it terribly well now,” Bessie told him. “When I first bought my cottage here, I did think about moving back, though. The island felt very foreign to me, really. I’d been in the US from the age of two and didn’t remember living on the island before that. Now I’m glad I stayed here, but there was a time when thought I would go as soon as I could save enough money for the journey.”

  “If you were trying to save money, why did you buy a house?”