Aunt Bessie Decides (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Diana Xarissa

Bessie and Doona laughed. “It’s an all-day festival,” Bessie explained. “After the ceremony, which is fascinating, if not exactly fun, there’s all sorts of things to do and see. They’ll be live bands and demonstrations by martial artists and Manx folk dance groups and choirs. There’s a whole tent devoted to Manx businesses. They pass out their brochures and free pens and things with their names on them. Manx National Heritage will have a big display as well. And then, at the end of the night, there’s a huge fireworks display.”

  “I didn’t realise there was that much to do,” John answered her with a grin. “I guess I’ll have to check it out. If Sue and the kids are here, I’ll have to drag them along. Sue might take advantage of the long weekend to take the kids to see her mother, though. She’s doing better, but still isn’t back to her old self.”

  Bessie thought about asking for more details, but it not only felt like prying, she really didn’t like hearing about the various ailments that affected older people. She was blessed to be in good health herself and she tried to avoid thinking about all the things that could go wrong with her somewhat past middle-aged body.

  “I think we shall have to make a day of it,” Doona said brightly. “Hugh said he’s going to try to get there and Grace is planning to come. It should be fun.”

  “It’s not another occasion to pack a picnic, is it?” John asked.

  “You can,” Bessie answered. “But there will be loads of food vendors and all sorts of delicious things to try. I usually just eat my way from one of the food carts to the next, buying just a little bit from each vendor.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” Doona said from the back.

  “It does indeed,” the inspector replied. “I think I’m going to like Tynwald Day.”

  “You can try your hand, or rather your feet, at a bit of folk dancing as well,” Bessie told him. “They always let people from the crowd join in and that way you can burn up all those extra calories.”

  “Um, maybe not,” John laughed. “But I’ll be happy to cheer you and Doona on if you want to give it at try.”

  “Maybe we should just watch this year,” Doona said.

  “We’ll see,” Bessie told them both.

  The inspector turned the car down the steep hill past the House of Mananan, heading for the causeway to Peel Castle. As they came around the corner, Bessie gasped. Cars were backed up all along the road, trying to get into the car park next to the castle.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I’ve no idea,” John replied.

  They sat in the traffic jam for several minutes, inching forward a little at a time as, presumably, the person at the front of the queue found a parking space at the other end. It was only a few minutes before two when John finally reached the small car park. It was jammed full of cars, parked every which way. Many of the drivers would be trapped until most of the cars around them left. John grinned and pulled forward, following the road around the castle to the end. The entire length was clearly marked “no parking.”

  John pulled up at the very end of the causeway and parked. He pulled a “police vehicle” sign from his glovebox and set it on the dashboard. Cars that had followed him along the road now had to turn around and head back down the road, past the castle and the full car park, to try to find parking further away.

  “I don’t think anyone will ticket drivers if they park along here today,” John remarked as he helped Bessie from the car. “But I’m not telling anyone else that.”

  Bessie shook her head. “But where are they all going?” she asked. “The castle is the only thing down here.”

  She got her answer only a few minutes later as she, John, and Doona made their way to the castle entrance. A long queue of people snaked down the stone steps to the road below.

  “This is crazy,” Doona muttered, looking at the crowd of people carrying picnics, blankets, and folding chairs.

  “Why are they all here?” Bessie asked the inspector. “I’m sure Henry said they’d had nothing but cancellations.”

  John shrugged. “Maybe no one could find anything else to do on a sunny Sunday afternoon?”

  “Can I have your attention, please?” A loud voice shouted down from the castle entrance. “Can you please quiet down and listen?”

  The crowd grew quieter as everyone turned their attention to Bob, from Manx National Heritage, who’d appeared at the top of the stairs.

  “Thank you,” he said with a nervous-looking smile. “Um, I’m sorry to tell you all this, but the afternoon showing of Much Ado About the Shrew is now completely sold out. Unless you already have tickets, I’m afraid I can’t let you in. We have some limited availability for next weekend, but you’ll need to call the ticket office on Monday to purchase those tickets. Thank you.”

  There was a great deal of grumbling among the crowd, but after a few moments, where Bob kept apologising profusely, people began to accept that they weren’t going to be able to get in and they started to disperse.

  “That might clear out some of the mess in the car park,” John said quietly.

  “I just hope Hugh’s already here,” Bessie replied. “Otherwise he’s going to get caught in the mass exodus.”

  A few minutes later, Bessie and her friends were the only people remaining on the stone steps.

  “Bessie,” Bob said with a smile. “Of course you and your friends are welcome, with or without tickets.”

  Bessie shook her head. “I keep telling you not to give me any special treatment,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, we do have tickets. I wouldn’t have stayed otherwise.”

  Bob grinned. “Of course you wouldn’t have.”

  “But what’s going on?” Doona demanded. “I thought everyone cancelled their bookings.”

  Bob shrugged. “After the mess on Friday night, we almost cancelled the rest of the run, but then last night people started lining up before five o’clock for the show. By seven, when the show was due to start, we were turning people away. From what I can gather, everyone’s heard how appalling the show is and they all want to see for themselves.”

  “Some of them probably want to see where Scott Carson, off the telly, was murdered as well,” the inspector suggested. “Some people are fascinated by ghoulish things like that.”

  The trio followed Bob up the steps and into the castle grounds. Bob carefully shut and locked the entrance door, to which a sign saying “Sold Out” had been posted.

  Bessie was surprised, as they crossed the grass, at how much had changed since Friday night. The stage had been moved some considerable distance from where it had been, and Bessie tried not to stare at the section of grass that was marked off with police tape in a now empty section of the castle grounds.

  “Your friend Mr. Watterson arrived around half one,” Bob told Bessie. “Henry and I figured we might as well put you all back in the VIP section again.”

  Bessie would have protested, but she relished the idea of having the best possible view of proceedings, especially in light of the huge crowd that was packed tightly across the grass. Bessie was most interested in who went in and out of the changing room tent during the second half.

  There were several large groups in the VIP section already, but Hugh had claimed a fairly large section of the grass for them right next to the new, light blue, changing room tent. Although they were in a completely different part of the castle grounds, they were sitting roughly where Scott and Candy had been on Friday night in relation to the tent.

  “We’ve wired up lights in there now,” Bob whispered. “Of course it won’t matter today, since it’s the middle of the afternoon, but it helped last night, I can tell you.”

  It was already time for the show to start, so Bessie and her friends quickly spread out their blankets and settled in.

  Hugh grinned and gestured to a collection of Styrofoam cups with lids in front of him. “I got everyone hot milky tea,” he said. “And I brought back a bunch of sugar packets in case you prefer yours sweet.”


  Bessie and the others thanked him, and Bessie was quick to add a packet of sugar to hers and take a big drink. It was delicious and strangely comforting in the midst of the unexpectedly large crowd.

  “I don’t care,” the shrill voice cut through the ambient noise. “You’re mean and hateful and I can’t wait to get away from you.”

  Bessie was almost certain the voice belonged to Sienna. But who was she arguing with?

  “By all means, go,” was the reply. Adam’s voice sounded amused by Sienna’s words, rather than angry. “Just remember what I said,” he added, his tone sharpening. “The next time you go, you won’t be welcome back.”

  “Ha,” Sienna laughed. “The troupe needs me.”

  Adam chuckled. “Girls like you are a dime a dozen,” he said in a dismissive voice. “I could pick any half-decent looking woman out of the extras and she could do your part tomorrow.”

  “But you need me,” Sienna said, her voice sounding pleading now.

  Adam laughed harshly. “Any girl in the extras could replace you in my life tonight.”

  The tent flap snapped open and Sienna appeared in the opening. She looked as if she was about to cry. She was dressed in an elaborate costume for the first act and she blinked out at the large group in the VIP section. Nearly everyone within earshot had been hanging on every word of her exchange with Adam.

  Adam came up behind her now and smiled smarmily.

  “Oh, dear, we should have been rehearsing a bit more quietly, shouldn’t we, darling?” he said to Sienna, slipping an arm around her waist. “We certainly don’t want to spoil the show by shouting out our best lines before it even begins.”

  Sienna blinked a couple of times before she nodded slowly. “Sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t realise there were so many people out here.”

  “Everyone back in the tent,” William’s voice boomed out from the small enclosure. “It’s nearly show time. No more rehearsing, it’s time to perform.”

  Bessie exchanged looks with Doona.

  “That wasn’t part of the show on Friday night,” Doona whispered.

  “No, it certainly wasn’t,” Bessie agreed. “It will be interesting to see if they try to add it in somewhere, though.”

  Doona giggled. “Surely Adam won’t be rewriting the script during a performance?”

  “I wouldn’t put anything past this group.” John leaned in to add his thoughts.

  They all laughed and Bessie passed around a packet of chocolate digestives while they waited for the show to start. They would enjoy the rest of the hamper’s contents during the interval.

  A few minutes later they could see the steady stream of extras beginning to make their way from behind the stage towards it.

  The first half didn’t seem much different from Friday’s show to Bessie. She supposed that the transitions between scenes were somewhat smoother, and the extras seemed a little bit more confident in their roles, but for the most part it was still something of a confusing mess.

  “I’m not sure the extra rehearsals have helped much,” Doona whispered to Bessie as the main cast members disappeared into their tent and the extras wandered back off the stage towards their larger one that had been moved behind the new stage location.

  “It was less disorganised,” John said with a shrug. “At least I think it was.”

  Bessie laughed. “I still didn’t really follow what was going on,” she said with a shrug. “I wonder what everyone else thought.”

  “I’m going to go and try to find out,” John said. “I’m going to wander through the crowd and see what people are saying.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Hugh said enthusiastically. “I think maybe I’ll go walk around the different vendors and see what’s being said over there.”

  Doona and Bessie both laughed. “Why don’t you grab yourself a little snack as well?” Doona suggested with a wink.

  “Oh, aye, I might just,” Hugh replied.

  “So what do you want to do?” Doona asked Bessie after the men left.

  “I think I’m going to stay right here,” she answered. “I don’t want to miss anything exciting that goes on in the tent.”

  “Good point,” Doona said. “Do you mind if I leave you for a short while? I really need to stretch my legs a bit.”

  “Off you go,” Bessie told her. “I’m going to get up and have a stretch as well, but I’m going to stay here.”

  “Okay, I won’t be long,” Doona told her friend. “You stay here and don’t go in the tent, no matter who invites you.”

  Bessie rolled her eyes at her overprotective friend. She got up slowly, stretching muscles that were unaccustomed to sitting on the ground for such long periods. She noticed a folding chair that one of the others in the VIP section was using. Surely they couldn’t be all that expensive, she thought. I’m going to have to look into buying one. She frowned at herself.

  It could be argued that such a purchase would be another concession to her age. She looked around and noted that nearly everyone sitting on chairs was middle-aged or younger. Several small children even had their own little chairs. She grinned and added a chair to her mental shopping list.

  “Bessie, wasn’t it?” The deep voice came from behind her. Bessie turned and smiled at William Baldwin.

  “Yes, that’s right. How are you today, Mr. Baldwin?”

  “I’m well, thank you,” he said with a small bow. He was wearing jeans and T-shirt and Bessie was surprised at how different he looked in the casual clothes. “Are you enjoying the show more today?” he asked.

  Bessie smiled graciously. “I can tell that you’ve been rehearsing,” she replied. “And I’m looking forward to the second half.” She didn’t say the “being over” out loud.

  “Well, I do hope my Penny wasn’t too much of a bother this morning,” he told Bessie. “Sometimes she gets silly ideas in her head.”

  “She was no bother at all,” Bessie replied. “I think she just needed to get away from everyone for a short time. You’ve all been travelling together for years. Sometimes it’s helpful to have someone different to talk with.”

  “I suppose,” William shrugged. “Anyway, I hope you enjoy the second half.” He bowed again and then headed purposefully towards the stage.

  Before Bessie had a chance to wonder what he had really wanted, Penny herself was engulfing her in a hug.

  “Oh, Bessie, I’m so happy you came,” she said exuberantly. “We’ve had such a wonderful turnout and I’m so thrilled to be performing in front of such a lovely crowd.”

  “They were turning people away at the gate when I arrived,” Bessie told her. “And I’m sure Bob said there aren’t many tickets left for next weekend, either.” Penny was wearing a black T-shirt and black trousers, and Bessie wondered if she wore them under her costume to make changing between scenes easier.

  As they spoke, Bessie glanced around and realised that a slow but steady trickle of people were exiting the castle. Maybe Penny wouldn’t notice, she thought.

  “How are you finding the new location for the stage?” she asked Penny, hoping to distract the woman.

  “Oh, it’s fine,” Penny answered airily. “I don’t pay that much attention to the little details.”

  “And the new tent has lighting in it, I was told.”

  “Yes, it does, which is a huge help for costume changes once it grows dark,” Penny told her. “Oh, I need to go and check on the blocking for the next scene. I hope I have time to chat later.”

  Penny was gone before Bessie could frame a reply. Bessie watched her disappear behind the stage. Deciding it was time to have a snack, Bessie sat back down on the blanket and dug into her hamper. She was sorry she hadn’t asked anyone to bring her back some tea, but at least she had plenty of biscuits, or would do until Hugh got back.

  A moment later Sienna and Adam emerged from the tent and headed towards the stage. They appeared to be arguing, but they were doing so very quietly and Bessie couldn’t hear a single word. They
weren’t in costume either, and Bessie shook her head at how very short Sienna’s shorts were. As she watched them disappear behind the stage, she noticed someone else joining them. What was Candy doing at the show, and why was she hanging out by the stage?

  Bessie’s friends were back before she’d had time to eat more than a couple of biscuits. Doona brought her a huge container of tea, reminding Bessie once again why the two were such good friends.

  “So, what’s everyone saying about the show?” Bessie asked, after she’d thanked Doona profusely.

  “I think it’s safe to say no one is hugely impressed,” John answered. “Several people I talked to were packing up to head home. Apparently, half the show was enough for them. I got the feeling from the ones that were sticking around that they were just waiting for something to go badly wrong.”

  “Like what?” Bessie asked.

  “Many of them heard about all of the wardrobe problems with the first show. I think they were all hoping for mismatched shoes and shirts on the wrong way around.”

  “But that only happened because it was dark,” Bessie said.

  “I got the impression that most people were expecting the whole thing to be a good deal funnier, perhaps unintentionally funny, but funny nevertheless.” Hugh said. “One guy I know was packing up and he said it was just too boring.”

  “The people I talked to said they were just confused,” Doona added. “They couldn’t follow the plot, although one of my friends said she was just happy to sit and watch Adam, even if she didn’t understand a thing he said.”

  Everyone laughed. “I suppose a lot of my friends are just hanging around to watch Sienna,” Hugh said. “I’m sure her costumes are shorter today.”

  Bessie nodded. “I think you’re right. And I think she’s been on stage more today as well. I wasn’t specifically noticing who was doing what on Friday, but it seems to be that we’ve seen more of Sienna this afternoon than we did then.”

  “But if he gave her a bigger part, what was she fighting with Adam about?” Doona asked.

  “Maybe about what she did to get the bigger part?” Bessie suggested, nodding towards the back of the stage where Sienna and William had just appeared.