“No doubt they’ll be looking,” Bessie told her.
“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I tried really hard to not know what Jeanne was doing at any given time. I didn’t want to hear about her latest troubles with men. Kenny was always talking about it when he came home from seeing her and I was always trying to shut him up.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe that I stayed with him for as long as I did. I even had a third child for him. And now I have to raise my kids on my own while battling over custody. What was I thinking?”
“Presumably you were in love,” Bessie suggested.
Sandra laughed. “I thought I was, when I first met Kenny. When I found out I was pregnant, I was over the moon. Then I found out that Kenny was already married. I should have cut all of my ties then and there, really. I should have realised that I couldn’t trust the man and cut him out of my life.”
“You tried to do what you thought was right for the baby,” Bessie said.
“Yeah, and now look at the mess I’m in. But you don’t want to hear about all of my problems, really, do you? You’re investigating Jeanne’s murder, aren’t you?”
“Not really,” Bessie said, glancing at Andrew.
“I used to be a police inspector, so I’m fascinated by the case,” Andrew told the woman. “I’m afraid I can’t help but stick my nose into such things when I come across them.”
“I wish I could give you more information, but I really don’t know anything. As I said, I tried to avoid hearing about Jeanne whenever the subject came up. I’d be delighted if you’d have Kenny arrested, though. If he could go to prison until my baby is eighteen, well, that would be fine by me.”
“I’m sure the children would miss him,” Bessie replied.
“Ha! They’d miss being spoiled rotten by him, that’s for sure. He simply can’t say no to any of them, no matter what they ask for. We fought about money nearly all the time, because he couldn’t stop buying things for the kids. Now he’s on his own and he can spend his money on them if he wants, but I can still put a roof over their heads and food on the table. Maybe he’ll get locked up for failing to pay his bills one of the these days, if not for murder.”
“Is he still living in the house in Douglas?” Bessie asked.
Sandra flushed. “I’m living in the house in Douglas. It seemed only fair that I stay there and Kenny move out. I’m the one looking after the children, at least most of the time.”
“So where is Kenny living?” was Bessie’s next question.
“He’s been staying with different friends,” Sandra told her. “I think he’s nearly run out of them, though. They all get tired of having him around after a while. I think he’s staying with his brother, Jack, at the moment, but I’m not sure. I try not to talk to him when he comes to collect the children. Once we start talking, we start fighting, and it isn’t good for the children to see or hear that.”
“Did you ever meet any of Jeanne’s friends when you and Kenny were together?” Bessie asked as an idea occurred to her.
“Jeanne’s friends? No, I don’t think I did. She and I only met once or twice and it was always incredibly awkward. The island is so small that it was inevitable that we’d cross paths once in a while, but I know I used to go out of my way to avoid doing so whenever possible.”
“I’m sorry if talking about all of this has been difficult for you,” Bessie said.
“I just hope the police finally solve the case. I’m not sure if I really believe that Kenny killed her or not, but it would be nice to finally know for sure. I think he’ll feel better, too, once the killer is behind bars. Unless it’s him who did it, of course.”
Andrew ended up buying three books, and Bessie couldn’t resist getting a copy of the book to which she’d contributed as well.
“What else do you like?” Andrew asked Bessie as they stood in the centre of the shop. “The scarves are very pretty and there is some lovely jewellery.”
“The jewellery is gorgeous, but I would never wear any of it. And I have a dozen scarves and rarely wear them, either,” Bessie told him.
“I was hoping to buy you a little gift,” Andrew said. “Just a little something to remember me by.”
Bessie shook her head. “I don’t need any gifts. I’m just enjoying spending time with you, showing you around the island.”
Andrew nodded, although he didn’t look satisfied. Bessie paid for her book and then Andrew paid for his.
“Where did you say Kenny’s brother lives?” he asked Sandra as she was putting the books into a bag.
“Oh, he’s in Douglas now. He and his wife have a flat on the promenade or near to it. They don’t have children, and I’m sure they’re sorry now that they bought a flat with two bedrooms. If Kenny is staying with them, I mean.”
“Thank you for talking with us,” Bessie said. “I hope it wasn’t too difficult for you. If you think of anything else that might be relevant to the case, you should ring the police. You can ring John Rockwell in Laxey at any time.”
Sandra nodded. “I’ve seen his name in the papers a lot, too. I’ll ring him if I think of anything, but I doubt I will. I’ve told you everything I can remember about Jeanne, which isn’t much at all. But then, that’s hardly surprising under the circumstances.”
It only took Andrew and Bessie a few minutes to walk back to Andrew’s car. “That was interesting,” he told Bessie after they’d climbed inside. “But I’m starving. We need to get some lunch, I think.”
Bessie gave him directions to the nearest pub. “After all that ice cream this morning, I think maybe I’ll just have something light,” she said as she read through the menu.
“Then we can have something more substantial for dinner,” Andrew agreed.
They ordered their meal and ate quickly. As they walked back outside, Andrew smiled at Bessie. “I’d really like to speak to Kenny now.”
“Me, too, but we can’t really go knocking on his brother’s door, can we? I think maybe John will have to follow up with him, if he’s allowed to reopen the case, that is.”
“Maybe we could just go and see where the brother lives,” Andrew suggested. “Maybe Kenny will decide to take a walk while we’re having a look.”
“That would be incredibly lucky,” Bessie said.
“First we need an address,” Andrew told her. “Do you want to ring John or should I?”
“Maybe you should ring him. He’s probably more likely to give it to you, as you’re police and I’m not.”
“I’m not police anymore. Maybe we should try the telephone directory before we do anything else. Where can we find a Douglas telephone directory?”
“There isn’t one specifically for Douglas. The telephone company just does one for the whole island.”
“So where can we find one?”
“I’m sure they’ll have one at the castle, but I’d feel funny going back in to ask,” Bessie said. “Let’s walk over to the House of Mannanan and ask to see theirs. I nearly always know the person behind the ticket desk there.”
Today was no exception. The woman behind the desk was the same one who usually worked there.
“Come to show another friend around our museum?” she asked Bessie as Bessie and Andrew walked into the lobby.
“Maybe, but not today,” Bessie told her. “What I really need is to borrow your telephone directory.”
“Are you going to take it away with you or just look at it here?” the woman asked as she opened the desk drawer.
“Just look at it here, thanks,” Bessie replied.
“I’m only asking because we seem to have three copies at the moment. I wouldn’t mind at all if you wanted to take one away.”
Bessie looked at Andrew. He shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to have one, I suppose.”
“If you’re sure it won’t be missed,” Bessie told the woman.
“I’m quite sure. In fact, quite the opposite. I can barely close the desk drawer with three of them in there. I’m not sure if we were meant to sh
are them with someone else or if the telephone company made a mistake, but we’ve had three for months now and I’m more than happy to see the back of one of them.” She handed Bessie the book in question with a smile on her face.
“Thank you very much,” Bessie said. “We may be back later in the week to take the tour.”
“You know you’re always welcome,” the woman replied.
Bessie and Andrew headed back outside. Once they were in the car again, Bessie flipped through the book. “Wilkins, Wilkins, Wilkins, ah, here we are. J.A. and C.A. Wilkins. I assume that’s Jack, although it doesn’t have to be.”
“Is it a Douglas address?” Andrew asked.
“Yes, in one of the large and newly remodeled block of flats. That would work with what Sandra told us.” She read out the address and Andrew made a note of it in his notebook.
“Tell me about the neighbourhood?”
“It’s in a building right on the promenade,” Bessie replied. “I believe there are hotels on either side of it. I know it was a costly renovation and that flats in that building are very expensive.”
“Do the hotels on either side have restaurants?”
“I believe so. I’m not certain, though.”
“Let’s go and see. Maybe we can get dinner at one or the other of them later this afternoon, while we keep an eye on the building.”
“Keep an eye on the building?”
“Perhaps Kenny will decide to take a stroll.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“But anything is possible. Kenny is the next person we need to interview. We’ve had really good luck thus far with finding people and getting them to talk to us. I’m choosing to believe that our luck will continue.”
Bessie thought the man was being far too optimistic, but she didn’t argue. There were worse ways to spend a pleasant autumn evening than having dinner on the promenade. She helped Andrew navigate his way back out of Peel and back across the island.
“You can park anywhere along the promenade,” she told him when they’d reached Douglas. “The address we want is about halfway along.”
Andrew found a space near their destination. They got out of the car and then stood and looked at the block of flats that was Kenny’s temporary home.
“It’s far too modern-looking,” Andrew said after a minute. “It doesn’t look as if it belongs with the others.”
“No, but I suspect the hotels on either side will soon follow suit. That’s the latest trend, turning old hotels into modern flats. So many of the hotels are struggling to find guests, now that tourism isn’t as popular. TT is going to be a problem one day if all of the hotels keep turning themselves into flats, though. The island’s population doubles during TT, and not everyone wants to camp in a tent.”
“I’ve been assuming that you’ll be able to recognise Kenny if he suddenly walks out of the building. Do you actually know the man?” Andrew asked.
Bessie laughed. “I hadn’t thought about that. Actually, no, I don’t know the man. There were pictures of him in the paper when Jeanne died, though. I have a vague recollection of what he looked like five years ago, anyway.”
“This is never going to work,” Andrew sighed. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Let’s go for a walk,” Bessie suggested. “It’s a beautiful day to spend some time on the promenade.”
“You’re right about that. Let’s.”
The pair strolled along, chatting about the weather and other unimportant topics. It seemed to Bessie that they were both avoiding talking about Jeanne Stowe’s murder, but it may just have been her wanting to avoid the subject. She felt as if they’d reached a dead end unless they could find a way to speak to Kenny. When they reached the Sea Terminal building, they turned around and headed back towards Andrew’s car.
“Let’s sit and enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes,” Andrew suggested, nodding towards a conveniently placed bench.
Bessie sat down and stretched her legs out in front of her. It was the perfect day to sit on the promenade and watch the sea.
“What’s our next move?” Andrew asked after a moment.
“It’s getting rather late if you wanted to do any more sightseeing today,” Bessie replied.
Andrew laughed. “I meant in our murder investigation. We need to find a way to meet Kenny, but we may have to be sneaky about it. Do you know where he works?”
“We should have asked Sandra that, shouldn’t we? I wonder if John knows.”
“He said something about having trouble finding the man, so perhaps he doesn’t.”
“I could ring Sandra, but that would be odd.”
“Yes, we should have thought to ask her when we were there. I can’t believe I didn’t, actually.”
“It wasn’t like it was a formal interview,” Bessie reminded him. “We were just chatting.”
“And we’ve no excuse to ring up James Poole over in the UK,” Andrew sighed. “Nick is in Australia or the UK, out of reach, anyway. Is that everyone?”
“What about Max Rogers? I wonder if Hugh has tracked him down.”
“He was Howard’s friend who supposedly had a fling with Jeanne. He might be interesting to question.”
“Do you want to ring John or should I?” Bessie asked.
“I don’t mind either way.”
Bessie pulled out her mobile phone and dialled the number for the Laxey station.
“Laxey neighbourhood policing, this is Doona. How may I help you?”
“It’s Bessie. I don’t suppose John could spare a few minutes?”
“I’m sure he could. He was just out here complaining because we’ve run out of those little notebooks he always uses. Ordering office supplies isn’t even in my job description, but I’ve ordered a box anyway. I’m going to hide it in my desk, and then the next time he forgets to place an order I’ll give him a couple.”
Bessie laughed. “I can’t imagine how John’s functioning without his notebooks.”
“Oh, he rang Ramsey and they’re sending some over. In fact, the constable from there just pulled up. Let me transfer you to John.”
“John Rockwell.” The voice was clipped and her friend sounded annoyed.
“It’s Bessie. Have I reached you at a bad time?”
“No, not at all. Doona usually tells me when she puts you through. This time she just put you through.”
“Andrew and I had conversations with both Ron and Sandra today. Now we’re trying to track down Kenny and Max Rogers. We were hoping you could help with that.”
“Max Rogers sells insurance from an office in Ramsey,” John told her. “He should be easy to find.”
“Excellent. We may have to leave him for tomorrow, though.”
“And Kenny is staying with his brother at a flat on the promenade because Sandra kicked him out.”
“We found out that much, but we can’t exactly go knocking on their door, can we?”
“He works at Noble’s. He’s a lab technician there.”
“Oh, dear. We can’t exactly just drop in on him there, either, can we?”
“Probably not.”
“We may have to think about how to find Kenny, then,” Bessie sighed. “Maybe we’ll try to find an excuse to knock on his brother’s door, after all.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You don’t want anyone to think that you’re interfering in a police investigation.”
“No, that’s very true. I’ll talk to Andrew. Maybe he’ll be able to think of something clever.”
“If anyone can come up with something clever, it’s you and Andrew,” John chuckled.
Bessie dropped her phone back in her bag and told Andrew what she’d learned.
“So, tomorrow we’ll go and talk to the insurance salesman. That wouldn’t be on the top of my list of favourite things to do, I must say,” he said when Bessie was done.
“At least we don’t actually have to buy any insurance.”
Andrew laughed. “There is t
hat. I assume Noble’s is a hospital?”
“Yes, sorry. It’s the island’s main hospital. It’s here in Douglas. I’m not sure there’s any way to simply bump into Kenny there, though.”
They sat together, watching the people who were making their way up and down the promenade. A couple came out of one of the hotels and began a slow stroll towards Bessie and Andrew. As they went, the woman opened her handbag and pulled a small dog out of it. She snapped a lead onto its collar and then put it down on the ground.
“I wonder if the hotel knows that they have a dog,” Andrew said.
Bessie nodded, but she couldn’t stop staring at the couple. As they went past her, she put a hand on Andrew’s arm. “I may be crazy, but I’m almost certain that was Nick and Heather Grant,” she whispered.
Chapter 11
Andrew stared at her for a minute. “You aren’t certain, though?”
“Not one hundred per cent, but probably ninety-nine per cent. He has a very distinctive nose.”
“They’ll have to come back this way, won’t they?”
“Unless they decide to cross the road and walk on the other side. This side is much nicer for walking, though.”
Andrew nodded. “So we’ll wait for them to come back and then strike up a conversation.”
A few minutes later, the pair turned around and began to make their way back towards Bessie and Andrew. It seemed to Bessie as if they were ignoring one another, but maybe they simply weren’t the type to chat as they strolled. When they were nearly at the bench, Bessie stood up.
“What a lovely little dog,” she exclaimed.
The woman picked up the dog and held it tightly. “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
“What sort is he, or she?” Bessie asked.
The woman rattled off the animal’s pedigree, which meant nothing to Bessie. As she spoke, Bessie studied the man, who seemed to be ignoring the conversation.
“Nick Grant?” she said when the woman finally stopped talking.
The man jumped and then narrowed his eyes at Bessie. “Do I know you?” he asked haughtily.
Aunt Bessie Solves Page 16