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

by Diana Xarissa

  “That was lucky for the killer,” Doona commented. “If Scott had yelled or even moved around a bit, someone might have seen what was going on.”

  “It’s difficult to speculate on what might have gone differently,” John told her. “It was very dark and fairly noisy. We need to focus on what we know.”

  “Means, motive, opportunity,” Hugh said. “Those are the keys, right?”

  “Since we’ve gone over Scott’s murder once already, let’s start with Sienna’s accident,” John suggested. “Although, again, it seems like the five main suspects all had plenty of opportunity and equal access to the means.”

  “I can’t believe no one noticed anyone tampering with the balcony,” Doona said.

  “Some people probably did notice,” John replied. “But apparently Jack from MNH was doing work all over the place for much of the day. If someone else started doing a bit of carpentry, no one would have paid any attention.”

  “Motive is tricky, because we aren’t sure who the intended victim was,” Hugh said. “If Sienna was the target, I’d suspect Penny, but if Penny was the target, I’d suspect Sienna.”

  “What about Candy or the men?” Doona asked.

  Hugh shrugged. “It just feels like something done hastily and in anger. No one seems to think it was another murder attempt, and I’m inclined to agree.”

  John nodded. “I’m inclined to agree as well,” he said. “Although I’m not sure I would discount Candy or the men as suspects.”

  “What was Candy’s motive?” Hugh asked. “And who was her target?”

  “Perhaps, if Candy was the culprit, she didn’t care who the victim was,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “Candy’s broke and she’s desperate. She needs William to give her a job. Maybe she figured by sabotaging the balcony, someone would get injured and have to quit the show, creating an opening for her.”

  “Sounds logical to me,” Doona said. “Can I make coffee?”

  Bessie laughed. “Help yourself,” she told her friend.

  “It sounds logical to me as well,” John told them. “William knew about the cast change, so if he did the damage, he did so intending to hurt Sienna. Anyone have any idea why he might have wanted to do that?”

  “I can’t see William doing anything to damage the troupe,” Bessie replied. “Having anyone out of the cast at this point has to be damaging. I’m not sure what they’re going to do for the school show tomorrow.”

  “It might be interesting to find out, though,” John said. “I wonder if we can get tickets?”

  “Grace is taking her class,” Hugh said. “I can see if the school has any extra tickets.”

  “That’s a good idea,” John told him.

  Hugh flushed with pleasure at the praise and then quickly pulled out his mobile and called Grace. Doona bustled around fixing everyone’s coffee, while they all tried hard not to eavesdrop on Hugh’s conversation. After just a few minutes, he hung up.

  “We’re all set,” he said with a grin. “She said half the kids in the school aren’t being allowed to go to the show because of all the negative things their parents have heard about it, so they have tons of tickets left over. She’s going to leave four at the ticket booth with my name on them.”

  Bessie sipped her coffee to avoid yawning. “So where does that leave us?” she asked. “Do you think that Scott’s murder and the attack on Sienna were done by the same person?”

  John shrugged. “Murderers do vary their methods,” he said. “So it is possible, but it really doesn’t seem as if the attack on Sienna was a murder attempt, where the attack on Scott definitely was. The question is, who had a motive for both attacks?”

  Bessie grinned. “Let’s go through the suspects one at a time,” she suggested. “Let’s start with William. Everyone says he hated Scott because of Scott’s success, and he might have believed that Penny had an affair with Scott, as well.”

  “But why would he want to hurt Sienna?” Hugh asked.

  “Candy suggested that he was tired of her demands and wanted to get rid of her,” Bessie said. “But he could simply have fired her or let her quit if that was the case. Sabotaging his own show seems a bit extreme.”

  “Okay, how about Penny?” Doona asked. “What did she have against Scott?”

  “I don’t think she had anything against Scott,” Bessie replied. “He said he’d help her and William out. His death was bad news for her, as far as I can tell.”

  “What about the balcony?”

  “Sienna suggested that she did it,” Bessie replied. “But I can’t see Penny tampering with the balcony that she thought she was going to be standing on herself.”

  “Didn’t Sienna say she thought Penny did it to garner sympathy from William?” Hugh asked.

  “It seems like quite an extreme way to get a bit of extra attention,” Doona remarked.

  “More extreme than pretending to have an affair?” Bessie asked.

  “Potentially more dangerous,” John pointed out.

  “I’m not sure Penny has enough sense to realise that,” Doona said.

  “Ouch, that’s harsh,” Hugh said.

  “But maybe accurate,” John sighed. “Who’s next?”

  “Adam,” Bessie said. “And he seems to me to be the best candidate if the same person did both things. He hated Scott, even he admits that, and I can see him wanting to get rid of Penny, at least for a while, so that Sienna would get a bigger role in the show and be willing to stay.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” John said. “But it just doesn’t feel right for some reason.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Bessie agreed. “I just didn’t get the feeling that Adam actually cares enough about anything to take such serious action. What about Sienna?”

  “She seemed to have the best motive for wanting Scott alive,” Doona said. “He’d offered her a break, maybe even a big break. I can’t see her being responsible for his death.”

  “I can see her damaging the balcony to upset Penny, though,” Hugh said.

  “Yeah, I can as well,” Doona agreed.

  “What about Candy?” John asked. “You two spent a lot of time with her last night. What did she have to say? Who does she think killed Scott?”

  Doona and Bessie exchanged glances. “We didn’t really talk about that,” Doona said slowly. “We were just trying to keep things friendly.”

  “Fair enough,” John nodded. “But surely you formed an impression of the woman. Did she kill Scott or sabotage the balcony?”

  “No,” Bessie said. “I don’t think she did either thing. Scott was her only source of income. She wouldn’t have done anything to hurt him. She is desperate to get her job back, but I can’t see why she’d have to hurt Penny or Sienna in order to do that. They all used to work together, after all.”

  “There’s something about her I don’t like,” John said with a frown.

  “That doesn’t make her a murderer,” Bessie said firmly.

  John smiled. “You’re right, of course,” he said. “I take it you enjoyed your evening with Ms. Sparkles.”

  “It was educational,” Bessie told him. “She’s had a tough life and she’s in a difficult situation now. I think she’s going to do great things once she gets back on her feet.”

  “I hope you’re right,” John said solemnly.

  “Candy did say something I found quite interesting,” Bessie said. “She said that William is devoted to Penny and never cheats on her, even though he wants her to think he does.”

  “That’s just sad,” Hugh said.

  Bessie nodded. “It is sad, but I found it interesting. I’m not sure why.”

  John yawned. ‘Even with coffee, I’m falling asleep,” he said. “The show is at two o’clock tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at one, okay?”

  Bessie nodded. “I’ll be ready. I’m not bringing a picnic to this one. This time I want to focus on exactly what happens on the stage.”

  Hugh frowned. “Not even a box of biscuits?” he asked sadly.<
br />
  Bessie laughed. “Surely Grace will be bringing something for the children? I’m sure she’ll be able to spare a biscuit or two for you.”

  Hugh’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. She’s bound to bring them a snack, and I’m sure she’ll have extra, especially if half the kids aren’t going.”

  Doona shook her head. “The way to a man’s heart,” she muttered under her breath.

  John grinned at her. “Especially a young man,” he told her.

  Doona insisted that Hugh take the rest of the Bakewell tart home with him. “You’ll appreciate it, and I don’t need the extra calories,” she told him ruefully.

  “The next ‘aerobics for beginners’ class starts next Monday,” John reminded her.

  “I was thinking I should save everyone the embarrassment of seeing me in exercise kit,” Doona replied with a sigh.

  John looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he fished his keys out of his pocket and headed towards the door. Hugh was right behind him.

  “Now promise me you won’t open your door to anyone after we’re gone,” Doona said to Bessie.

  “Stop fussing,” Bessie replied automatically.

  “Promise,” Doona insisted.

  Bessie sighed deeply. “I won’t open the door to anyone,” she told Doona. “Now stop fussing.”

  Doona gave Bessie a big hug. “I worry about you,” she told her friend. “I wish you didn’t live on your own.”

  Bessie laughed. “I love living on my own,” she said firmly. “Now off you go. Let me get some sleep.”

  Bessie sighed as she locked the door behind her friends. She did love living on her own, but Doona was making her feel quite paranoid now. She checked her back door and then checked the front one again. Everything was locked up tightly.

  Upstairs, she quickly got ready for bed and climbed in. She’d left a half-read detective story on her nightstand, so she settled in and lost herself in someone else’s problems. Half an hour later she was fed up. The identity of the killer was so obvious that she’d begun talking to the book. She slammed it shut and dropped it back on the nightstand.

  One day she would finish it and make sure she was correct, but for tonight she just wanted sleep. As she began to drift off, she wondered to herself whether the identity of Scott’s murderer wasn’t perhaps just as obvious.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Wednesday was drizzly, and Bessie worried that the show might have to be cancelled, as she took a shortened stroll on the beach. She waved to the Markham sisters through their cottage window. They both frowned and looked at the sky before waving back.

  Bessie found herself feeling restless as the morning dragged by. She ate a light breakfast and then spent some time going through some notes she had recently taken at the Manx Museum. After the conference the previous month, she’d been asked to submit the paper she’d given for publication.

  She’d been putting off doing the necessary work of tidying it up and double-checking her references for weeks because it was incredibly dull work. That remembering the conference made her feel sad didn’t exactly inspire her, either. Today, with light rain still falling and nothing better to do, she forced herself to sit down and do some of the work. By midday she felt like she’d accomplished something. She went down to fix herself some lunch and smiled at the sun that was doing its very best to dry up the morning’s rain.

  After lunch, she washed up her dishes and then checked that she had everything she needed in her handbag. The small folding umbrella that she usually carried was missing and she spent a moment hunting around for it. She’d left it to dry in the small shower in the downstairs loo, and then promptly forgotten all about it. Now she folded it down and dropped it in her bag, on top of her wallet. If the rain started back up, she’d be ready. Then she settled in to watch for John.

  Doona and Hugh were already settled in the backseat of John’s car when he pulled up at Bessie’s cottage. He jumped out while she was locking up her door.

  “I hope the weather holds,” he said as a greeting.

  “Me, too,” Bessie said with a smile. He helped her into the car and then shut the door behind her. By the time she’d buckled her seatbelt, he was back in the driver’s seat.

  “Anyone have any idea what we should expect today?” Bessie asked. “I mean, can they do the show without Sienna?”

  “They’re doing a show,” Hugh told her. “Grace checked with MNH yesterday and she was told that the show would go ahead. Apparently, instead of Much Ado About the Shrew, they will be performing a series of short selections from various Shakespeare plays without all the weird drama in between.”

  “It can’t be any worse than what they were doing,” Doona laughed.

  “No, it really can’t,” John agreed.

  “Apparently, they’ve done away with all the extras as well. It will just be the main actors doing whatever it is they’re going to do,” Hugh added.

  “I don’t think the extras really added anything anyway, did they?” Doona asked.

  No one disagreed. Bessie didn’t want to bring up Scott’s murder on the drive. The day was getting brighter, and everyone was in such good spirits that it seemed a shame to spoil it. At the castle, the car park was about half full with several large buses. John parked and they walked carefully along the road to the castle. Another bus was just pulling in as they started their climb up the castle steps.

  “It seems like they’re going to have a decent turnout,” Doona remarked.

  “I hope so,” Bessie said.

  Henry greeted them with a big smile. “It’s great to see you all,” he said. “I have your tickets.” He smiled at Hugh. “Your young lady is ever so nice,” he told him.

  Hugh blushed. “Thanks,” he muttered.

  “We aren’t having a VIP section today, not with all the kids in,” he told everyone. “But I’ve set aside a small section for you guys towards the front. I thought you’d like to be a little bit away from all the little ones.”

  Bessie grinned. “We’ll take whatever we can get,” she told him.

  Doug came over and offered to take over the ticket window so that Henry could show Bessie and her friends to their seats.

  “Here we are,” Henry announced as he showed them a row of folding chairs that were set up quite near the small changing room tent.

  “You got us chairs?” Doona exclaimed. “I could kiss you.”

  Henry turned fuchsia. “I just thought that Bessie’s done way too much sitting on the ground lately, that’s all,” he muttered, turning away.

  “Thank you, Henry,” Bessie said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness.”

  Henry blushed even more. “It wasn’t anything,” he said, rushing off back towards the ticket booth before anyone else could speak.

  Bessie settled into a chair and grinned. “I’m enjoying the show more already,” she said.

  The tent flap on the small tent opened suddenly, and Bessie smiled at Penny, who looked over at her anxiously. For a moment, Bessie thought she was going to say something, but just as suddenly she disappeared back inside.

  “Penny looked really nervous,” Doona remarked, after she’d sat down on Bessie’s left.

  “She did,” Bessie agreed.

  “I wonder what that was all about?” John said from Bessie’s right.

  “I wish I knew,” Bessie replied.

  Hugh was still standing, scanning the crowd. “Ah, there’s Grace. I’m just going to go and say hi,” he told the others, walking quickly away.

  Bessie grinned. “I’m so happy that he’s found such a nice girl,” she remarked.

  “She does seem perfect for him,” Doona said. “What do you think?” Doona asked John.

  “Me? I don’t know. She’s seems fine,” John replied.

  Doona rolled her eyes at Bessie. “Men,” she muttered.

  John looked from one woman to the other and then shrugged. “I think I’ll just keep my mouth shut for n
ow,” he muttered to himself.

  Bessie and Doona laughed.

  A few minutes later Hugh was back. “Man, little kids are noisy,” he complained. “I could barely hear what Grace was saying over all the shouting and singing.”

  “They are rather loud over there,” Doona said, looking at all the clumps of school children spread out across the grass. “I’m not sure that William and his troupe are going to be able to get their attention for five minutes, let alone hold it for an hour or more.”

  A moment later William himself strode out of the tent. He headed straight for the stage and quickly climbed the steps. Then he turned to face the audience. He was wearing an elaborate costume that made him look like royalty and for a moment that was enough to capture everyone’s attention.

  “Ah, Shakespeare,” he said, his rich baritone booming across the castle grounds. “Put up your hands if you’ve been forced to read something written by Shakespeare.”

  Just about every hand went up in the school groups.

  “Keep your hand up if you thought it was endlessly boring,” William continued. A round of giggles went through the crowd, and nearly all the hands stayed up.

  “Put your hand down if you actually understood what you read,” William said.

  More giggles, but most hands stayed in the air.

  William bowed to the crowd. “You may put your hands down while I tell you why I think your teachers are crazy for making you read Shakespeare.”

  Bessie glanced around. From what she could see, every child was fascinated by William’s words.

  “What did Shakespeare write?” he asked now. “Aside from a few sonnets, he wrote plays. Plays aren’t meant to be read, they’re meant to be experienced. They’re meant to be lived. Sitting in a hot classroom surrounded by twenty-five other kids who are just as bored as you are, you have no chance of experiencing a play. Instead, you get lost in the language and bogged down by stage directions and start to forget which character is related to which other character.” William laughed.