Aunt Bessie's Holiday

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’m going to talk to her in the morning,” John said. “I’m hoping to persuade her to let you go home, as long as you promise to come back if circumstances warrant it.”

  Jack and Nancy were next out of the castle and they were quick to join Bessie and the others.

  “I saw him,” Nancy said excitedly.

  “Who?” Andrew asked.

  “Sir William,” Nancy replied. “The ghost in the chapel. Only the most famous ghost in the whole castle.”

  “How exciting,” Bessie said politely.

  “It was only a glimpse,” Nancy admitted. “Sort of out of the corner of my eye, but I’m sure it was him.”

  Jack shook his head, but didn’t speak. Within minutes, other groups began to arrive. Andrea appeared from somewhere and she knocked on the bus door. When the driver opened it, she suggested that everyone might want to climb back inside.

  “I’ll just start checking you all in,” she said brightly. “And if we’re all here, we can head back.”

  Bessie and her friends joined the queue. While Bessie waited, she tried to work out if anyone was missing or not. She wasn’t surprised to find that Herbert and Jessica weren’t anywhere to be seen.

  “I’m not sure where my husband has wandered off to,” the woman at the front of the queue was telling Andrea. “We split up because he was bored and wanted to skip half the rooms. I assumed he just came back here.”

  “I’m sure he’ll turn up,” Andrea said, making a mark on her list. “You can go ahead and find a seat.”

  Bessie was back in her seat near the front when Herbert Howe wandered into the courtyard. From where Bessie was sitting, he seemed to have come from the road, rather than from inside the castle.

  “Nice little pub across the street,” he announced as he lurched down the aisle. “No ghosts there.”

  Andrea climbed in after him. “We’re just waiting for two more people,” she said, looking and sounding quite tired. “I’m sure they’ll be along shortly.”

  “As my wife is one of them, I’d be willing to bet the other is a man,” Herbert shouted from his seat behind Bessie. “He’ll be younger and better looking than me, that’s for sure.” He laughed bitterly and then shut his eyes. Within seconds he began to snore.

  “What a strange marriage those two have,” Bessie whispered to Doona.

  “Whoever is with Jessica might find himself divorced,” Doona replied, looking down the aisle at the woman whose husband hadn’t arrived back at the bus yet.

  “If he’s with another woman, I’ll kill him,” the woman said angrily.

  Before anyone could reply, a man came running out of the castle and up into the bus. His shirt was buttoned incorrectly and his face was smudged with the same pink lipstick Jessica Howe favoured. Under the makeup, his face was pale.

  “I think she might be dead,” he said to Andrea. “She just stopped breathing. It wasn’t my fault.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  As everyone on the bus began to talk at once, John and Andrew got to their feet and walked down the aisle.

  “Ring 999,” John said to Andrea. “Request an ambulance and ask for Margaret Hopkins to be sent immediately.”

  Andrea nodded.

  “Tell them that there are two police officers checking on the woman and securing the scene, but we’re both out of our jurisdiction,” he added before turning to the man.

  “Show me,” he said sternly.

  The man shook his head. “I’m not going back in there,” he said. “There were all sorts of weird noises and flashing lights in every room as I came out. You’ll find her. She’s in the third room along on the left side once you go up the main stairs.”

  “That’s very specific,” John said.

  “She asked me to meet her there,” he replied sheepishly, glancing at his wife, who was giving him an angry look.

  “Sir, I’m going to ask you to have a seat on one of the benches in the courtyard,” John said. “Doona, can you sit with him, please? I don’t want him talking to anyone.”

  “Hey, he has a lot of questions to answer,” his wife shouted from her seat.

  “He does indeed,” John said. “But mine take priority in this instance.”

  The woman opened her mouth to argue, but John was already ushering the man out. Andrew and then Doona followed. Bessie had to stand up to let Doona out, and she was tempted to leave the bus as well, but she didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. Herbert was still snoring and Bessie wondered if she should wake him to tell him about his wife, but decided against it. John would probably rather do the telling when the time came.

  It wasn’t long before the police arrived, and an ambulance wasn’t far behind. Bessie was relieved when the stretcher that finally emerged from the castle was carrying a woman clearly getting treatment. John stepped back on the bus and gave Bessie a hint of a smile as he walked past her.

  He stopped at the next seat and spoke to Herbert. “Mr. Howe? Herbert? Can you please wake up?”

  “What? Hey, what’s going on?” the man said loudly. “Are we back at Lakeview, then? Did my wife ever turn up?”

  “She did turn up,” John said. “But she seems to have fallen ill. There’s an ambulance transporting her to hospital. The police have arranged for an escort to take you as well.”

  “Ill? Hospital? My Jessica?” Herbert jumped up and followed John back down the aisle. Bessie was surprised by the seemingly genuine concern she’d heard in his voice. Whatever problems the couple had, he seemed badly shaken by the news.

  A few minutes later John, Andrew and Doona all climbed back into the bus. John had a quiet word with Andrea and then she spoke to the driver.

  “We’ll just get underway, then,” Andrea said cheerfully over the tannoy.

  “What about my husband?” the very angry woman at the back shouted.

  “He’s talking to the police now,” John told her. “They’ll bring him back to Lakeview when they’ve finished speaking to him.”

  “They’d better take him to his mother’s lodge, not mine,” the woman replied. “I’m sure I don’t want him back.”

  John didn’t answer; he just slid into his seat. Doona was back next to Bessie. No one spoke as they bus made its way back to the holiday park.

  “I hope you all enjoyed your visit to Torver Castle,” Andrea said with little enthusiasm as they drove through the entrance to the park. She was first off the bus, and stood ready to help the others as they made their way down the stairs.

  Bessie gave her a small smile as she exited. “Not exactly the best evening,” she murmured.

  “I’ve actually had worse,” Andrea told her. “We had a group of guys in their early twenties on the tour once. They discovered the pub across the road as well and got unbelievably drunk in the ninety minutes we were there. Several of them got sick on the bus on the way back and two of them got into a fight as well and started throwing punches.”

  Bessie shook her head. “I don’t understand people,” she said sadly.

  Andrea shrugged. “And people wonder why I don’t drink,” she said.

  Bessie sat down on the nearest bench and watched as the rest of the guests made their way off the bus. John spoke for several minutes with the woman whose husband had been with Jessica. She was clearly still very angry, and Bessie didn’t blame her a bit. Doona came and joined Bessie on the bench as they waited for John to finish. After a moment Andrew crossed to them as well.

  “She’s very upset,” he commented quietly, nodding towards the pair who were still talking.

  “I don’t blame her,” Bessie replied.

  “No, me either,” Doona said.

  By the time John finished his chat, the woman was looking less angry. As he turned to walk away, she said something that caused John to turn bright red. He shook his head and then walked quickly over to Bessie and the others.

  “What did she say at the end there?” Andrew asked the question Bessie was too polite to put to her friend.

 
; “She suggested it would be good for her husband to find me keeping her company when he got back,” John said.

  Something about the way he said it told Bessie that the woman had actually suggested something rather different than merely “keeping her company.” Bessie shook her head and then got to her feet. It had been a long day and she was suddenly eager to get back to the cabin and into her bed.

  She and Doona fell into step together, neither bothering to make conversation. John and Andrew followed, and Bessie could hear the low murmur of their voices as they made their way down the path towards their little cul-de-sac.

  “They were supposed to drop my bag off at your cabin,” John told them as they reached the cabin door.

  Doona opened the door and went inside. “They did,” she yelled from the sitting room. “We just have to sort out where you’re going to stay.”

  “Andrew has suggested that I stay with him,” John replied. “He has two bedrooms and he’s only using the one.”

  Doona reappeared, carrying a small overnight bag. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “I’m sure,” Andrew answered. “It will be easier for everyone.”

  Bessie felt as if she should argue, but John would be far more comfortable in the spare bedroom in Andrew’s cabin than on the couch in theirs.

  “I’ll be over around half seven or eight,” John told them both. “And I’ll ring Margaret before I come over to see what news there is on Jessica.”

  “I’ll probably come as well,” Andrew said. “If I’m up early, I’ll go into the Squirrel’s Drey and get some fresh pastries.”

  “I’ll plan on doing the same,” Bessie said. “You can never have too many pastries at breakfast.”

  With their plans made, John and Andrew headed next door and Bessie and Doona went inside.

  “The castle was interesting,” Bessie said as she sank down in a chair in the sitting room. “But I wonder what happened to Jessica.”

  “John seemed to think she’d overdosed on something,” Doona replied. “She was certainly drunk, anyway.”

  Bessie thought of a dozen things to say, but she was too tired. “I need some sleep,” she said.

  “Me, too,” Doona said, yawning. “And I’ll need coffee in the morning, I’m sure.”

  They headed to their rooms. Bessie got ready quickly and then crawled into bed. She glanced at the books on the bedside table, but she was too tired to care that she hadn’t finished them all. She was asleep as soon as she’d switched out the light, and she slept soundly until her internal alarm woke her at six.

  There were no sounds coming from Doona’s room after Bessie had showered and dressed, so she made herself a piece of toast and washed it down with some orange juice. Coffee or tea could wait until they were all together sharing pastries later. Bessie let herself out quietly. It was too early to go to the Squirrel’s Drey for the breakfast treats, so she headed out around the large lake for a nice long walk.

  There was a definite autumnal chill in the air, but she’d worn her jacket, so she didn’t mind. As it was meant to be their last day at the park, Bessie found herself looking around and noticing more than she had in the last few days. She watched a red squirrel running up a tree and saw several rabbits chasing one another around in circles. When she reached the far side of the lake, she sat down on a bench and looked back towards the cabin that had been home for the previous week.

  The lake was calm, and Bessie watched as a member of the park staff began to open up the boat rental stand. There was a small family standing nearby, presumably waiting to hire a boat. After a few minutes, Bessie got up and headed back along the path. There was a second path that went off into the woods just a few steps away. Bessie had noticed it before but not paid it much attention. Now she gave way to curiosity and turned to follow it.

  It wasn’t long before she found herself on the outskirts of a large section of holiday cabins. The buildings looked somewhat smaller than the one that Bessie and Doona were sharing. There were cars parked in front of several of them, in spite of the fact that it was Saturday and no one should have been coming or going. Bessie followed the path past several cabins, stopping when a door suddenly opened and someone she knew emerged from the last house in the row. Bessie smiled and increased her pace to say hello.

  “Monique? How are you?” she said as she reached the girl’s side.

  Looking startled, Monique glanced around before she spoke. “What are you doing here? This area is for staff only,” she said.

  “I didn’t see any signs,” Bessie said. “So these are staff cottages?”

  “Yes,” Monique replied, seemingly reluctantly. “Most of the staff live in the area and drive back and forth every day, but some of us live on-site.”

  “That’s convenient for you, since you and Nathan keep such late hours,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Monique nodded. She glanced around again and then inched closer to the car that was parked in front of the cabin, its boot open and packed full of boxes and suitcases.

  “Oh, but I’m keeping you from getting somewhere,” Bessie said. She looked at the car. “And from the suitcases in the boot, I’m guessing you’re going away.”

  Monique looked at the car and then at the cabin before she spoke. “My, um, my father isn’t well,” she said. “I’m going home for a few days to see him.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Bessie said. “I hope he gets better quickly.”

  Monique flushed. “Yes, well, thank you,” she said. “I must get going.”

  Bessie watched as the girl shut the boot and then jumped into the car and drove away. I wonder if Inspector Hopkins knows she’s leaving? Bessie thought to herself as she continued down the path into the woods.

  The path continued for a short while and then stopped abruptly at a large fence. Bessie could hear traffic whizzing past on the other side of the fence, but couldn’t see the road through the trees. She shrugged and turned around to retrace her steps. While she did so, she pulled out her mobile. She’d just ring John and let him know about Monique, she’d decided.

  He didn’t answer. Bessie was just trying to find Andrew’s number on her phone when she found herself back in front of the row of cabins. Nathan Beck was standing in front of the end unit, looking miserably at the empty space where Monique’s car had been.

  “Good morning,” Bessie called out to him.

  Nathan jumped. He looked over at Bessie and shook his head. “Not good,” he said.

  “Monique said she had to go home because her father was ill,” Bessie told him. “I hope everything is okay.”

  “Is that what she told you?” Nathan asked. “I suppose it could have been worse.”

  Bessie walked up the short path towards the cabin’s front door. She stopped in front of Nathan and looked into his eyes. “Is everything okay?” she asked softly.

  “Monique thinks I killed Charles,” Nathan replied. “She’s left me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said, her mind whirling. “Why would she think such a thing?”

  Nathan laughed harshly. “She knows me too well,” he said. “I did it for her, but she doesn’t believe me. Can you ring the police, please? They can come and get me. She’s gone. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Bessie opened her mouth, but no words came out. For a long moment she just looked at the man and then she pulled out her phone. As she hadn’t reached John a moment ago, she tried Doona’s mobile.

  “Bessie, where are you?” Doona demanded. “The police just rang. Apparently Monique rang them and said she thinks Nathan killed Charles and that you’re wandering around in the woods by their cabin. What’s going on?”

  “I’m here with Nathan,” Bessie said as calmly as she could. “We’ll just wait here for Margaret.”

  “Margaret is on her way,” Doona said. “Where will she find you?”

  Bessie told her about the path behind the lake and then disconnected. Nathan hadn’t moved or spoken during the call
. Now he looked at Bessie and shrugged.

  “It was all working so well,” he said sadly.

  “Let’s sit down,” Bessie suggested, gesturing towards a nearby bench. “The police will be here soon.”

  Nathan followed her to the bench and sat down beside her. “She was having an affair with Charles and then he dumped her,” he told Bessie. “She wanted to leave.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said. She was torn between asking him questions and wishing the police would hurry.

  “Maybe I’ll get to cook in prison,” he said, staring off into the distance. “I’m not a bad cook. Monique was the genius in the kitchen, of course. Without her, I’m just an ordinary cook.”

  Bessie tried to fit the pieces together as the man spoke. “I didn’t know that,” she said after a moment.

  “Of course you didn’t,” Nathan replied. “We were very careful to make sure that no one knew. Her father wouldn’t let her run their kitchen. He didn’t think it was a job for a woman. Lots of people seem to agree, so we always told employers that she was my assistant. The job here was just about perfect, because Harold didn’t care what we did as long as the guests were happy. Charles ruined everything.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said, feeling as if everything that came out of her mouth was the wrong thing.

  “He cut my staff so much that Monique had to start waiting tables instead of helping in the kitchen. We found ways to work around that, but then he started buying cheaper ingredients as well. Monique was furious.”

  Bessie watched Nathan’s eyes fill with anger. “How frustrating for you,” she murmured.

  “All I ever wanted was to have my own little restaurant,” the man said sadly. “Monique was happy to help me until Charles broke her heart.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bessie said, wishing the police would hurry.

  “We had an agreement, Monique and I,” Nathan continued, almost talking to himself. “We didn’t love each other, but we worked well together. She hated what Charles was doing to the restaurant, but she fell madly in love with the man.”