Boats and Bad Guys (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 2)

by Diana Xarissa

“But I was going to pay for lunch,” Fenella complained.

  “You’ll have to pay next time,” Peter told her with a grin.

  The drive back seemed to go by very quickly. When they reached the promenade, Fenella insisted that Peter drop her off at the far end so that he could get to his office. “I’m more than happy to walk home,” she told him. “I ate far too much lunch.”

  “Maybe we can go to the pub tonight,” he said. “I’ll stop by later, if I can.”

  Fenella walked slowly, enjoying watching and listening to the sea, until a light rain began to fall. As she picked up her pace, the rain seemed to pick up as well. Feeling too full to walk any faster, she resigned herself to getting soaked and tried to enjoy the experience.

  She was mostly unsuccessful, however, and when she finally walked into the lobby of her building she was feeling quite cross with the world. The elevator seemed to take forever to arrive and Fenella was very conscious that she was dripping all over the lobby floor as she waited.

  As she walked down the corridor to her apartment, she could hear a telephone ringing. At her door, as she dug around for her keycard, she realized it was her phone that she could hear. Of course, that made it nearly impossible for her to find the stupid card. Sighing deeply, she finally dug out the card as the phone went silent.

  Chapter Nine

  Of course, whoever it was didn’t bother to leave a message. Fenella kicked off her shoes and frowned at the answering machine. What was the point in having the device if people weren’t going to use it?

  “Your phone has been ringing all afternoon,” Mona said crossly from her seat near the window. “It’s incredibly annoying.”

  “You bought the phone,” Fenella pointed out. “And the answering machine that no one uses.”

  Mona shrugged. “The phone wasn’t nearly as annoying when I could answer it,” she said. “Although I must say, I wasn’t often home when it rang. My friends used the answering machine, of course.”

  “As I’ve no idea who has been calling, I can’t possibly be expected to apologize for their behavior,” Fenella said. “I suspect they’ve all been insurance salesmen or some such thing.”

  “How was your trip to Peel, then?” Mona asked. “I wasn’t expecting you back until later.”

  “Peter got a phone call and had to come back to sort something out for work,” Fenella explained. “But Peel Castle was wonderful.”

  “Maybe I’ll have to go and have another look at it,” Mona said. “I haven’t been out there in years.”

  Fenella wanted to ask her aunt a dozen questions about how that would work, like could she fly or just magically transport herself or what, but whenever she asked Mona about being a ghost, Mona always teased her with her answers. Instead, she shrugged and went into the kitchen to make sure that Katie had something to eat and water in her bowl. She’d just refilled Katie’s water when the phone began to ring again.

  “Hello?”

  “May I speak to Fenella Woods, please,” a voice on the other end of the line said.

  “Speaking,” she replied, readying herself to politely refuse whatever the caller was selling.

  “This is Jessica Harris with the Isle of Man Ferry Company. How are you today?”

  “Fine,” Fenella said hesitantly. What did the ferry company want?

  “Excellent, that’s good to hear. I know that the unpleasantness on Saturday must have been upsetting for you. I’m just ringing to make certain that you’re okay,” the woman said.

  Fenella raised an eyebrow. Surely the ferry company wasn’t worried about her suing them, were they? “I’m fine,” she said slowly.

  “Captain Howard is, of course, conducting his own internal investigation into what happened,” Jessica continued. “He was hoping you might be willing to attend a small meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the matter.”

  “I thought the police were handling the investigation,” Fenella said.

  “Of course, the police are investigating the murder,” Jessica said. “But Captain Howard is quite concerned as to how Mr. Grosso managed to be on board the vessel well before passengers were meant to be admitted. He also wants to determine how the man came to be in someone else’s cabin. I’m sure you can understand that there are several issues that are of interest to the ferry company that are not of interest to the police as they investigate the man’s unfortunate death.”

  “I suppose so,” Fenella said, knowing she sounded as doubtful as she felt.

  “Very good,” Jessica said briskly. “So you’ll come to the meeting and help us with our investigation?”

  “When is it?” Fenella asked.

  “Tomorrow morning at eight,” the girl said. “It will be here, at the ferry terminal building. Just tell the girls in the ticket office that you’re here to see Captain Howard and you’ll be shown to the right place.”

  “Will there be any police officers there?” Fenella asked.

  “As I said, this is an internal investigation. There’s no need for the police to attend.”

  Fenella agreed to be there and then disconnected, wondering whether she should let Daniel know about the meeting.

  “What was all that about?” Mona asked.

  Fenella explained about the internal investigation and the meeting set for the next morning. “The question is, do I call Daniel and tell him about it or not?” she asked her aunt when she was finished.

  “I think you should ring him,” Mona said. “If nothing else, it gives you a good excuse to talk to the man.”

  “I’m not looking for excuses,” Fenella said, blushing.

  “Of course not,” Mona said with a wink.

  “I’m not,” Fenella said, feeling cross. “I’m just concerned that the ferry company and the captain are poking their noses into a murder investigation. I know from my own experience how dangerous that can be.”

  “Yes, I see your point,” Mona said. “I think you should ring him straight away.”

  Fenella rolled her eyes at Mona and went back into the kitchen, more to get away from the woman than for any other reason. She added more fresh water to Katie’s bowl and put a fresh handful of dry food out as well.

  “Where’s Katie?” she asked her aunt, as she realized that she hadn’t seen the kitten since she’d been home.

  “I didn’t realize I had to look after her,” Mona said. “I think she’s in your bedroom.”

  Fenella walked into the large master bedroom and gasped. Katie wasn’t anywhere visible, but she’d clearly been there. It looked as if the kitten had found the toilet paper roll in the adjoining bathroom and decided to play with it. The bedroom floor was covered in tiny bits of toilet paper, ranging in size from entire squares to nearly microscopic pieces.

  “Katie!” Fenella shouted.

  “Merow,” a muffled voice replied.

  “Where are you?” Fenella demanded.

  “Meeeoowww,” was the muted reply.

  “Whatever happened?” Mona asked from the doorway.

  “I think she decided to have some fun with the toilet paper,” Fenella replied. “It might be best to leave the bathroom door shut in the future.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Mona said. “For once, I’m not sorry that I’m intangible. Otherwise, I would feel as if I should help with the clearing up.”

  “First I need to find Katie, though,” Fenella said. She looked under the various pieces of furniture but couldn’t spot the little black cat. “Okay, Katie, where are you?” she asked again.

  After a moment, Katie’s little head appeared from behind one of the thick curtains at the window. “Merow,” she said softly, hanging her head.

  “You know exactly what you did wrong and that I’m quite cross, don’t you?” Fenella said sternly.

  Katie looked up at her and then quickly looked back down at the ground.

  “No special treats for a week,” Fenella said firmly. “And no new toys, either.”

  Katie stared at her for a moment and then glanced arou
nd the room at the mess. “Yooowww,” she said, sounding surprised.

  “It’s no good pretending you didn’t do it,” Fenella told her. She turned and went to get trash bags and the vacuum cleaner. Half an hour later, the mess was gone, but Fenella was still feeling cross.

  “It was only half a roll of paper,” she said to Mona. “Imagine if it had been a full roll.”

  “Perhaps keeping a kitten isn’t the best idea,” Mona said. “She was probably just bored, but you can’t be expected to keep her entertained all of the time.”

  “Maybe I was out for too long,” Fenella said thoughtfully. “Especially after leaving her with Shelly the other morning. The poor little thing is probably just confused.”

  “Have you talked to the veterinarian lately?” Mona asked. “It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that someone has been looking for Katie.”

  “I need to speak to him, actually,” Fenella said. “I’ve brought her up-to-date on her vaccinations, but now I have to make arrangements to have her spayed. I’m not looking forward to that.”

  “No, but it’s the responsible thing to do,” Mona replied. “If you have any doubts, go and visit one of the local animal shelters. There are far too many animals that need loving homes.”

  “I really must do that, actually. Not for that reason, but to help Shelly find a kitten of her own.”

  “Maybe she’d just like to take Katie,” Mona suggested.

  “You don’t mean that,” Fenella said.

  Mona opened her mouth to reply and then shrugged. “What are you doing with the rest of your evening?” she asked after a moment.

  “I don’t really know,” Fenella told her. “Why? Did you want to do something?”

  “I’d love to do something,” Mona replied. “I miss having a body to use. Still, I mustn’t complain, really. I’ve a pretty good afterlife, at least so far. Not like some people, I must say.”

  “Really? What do you mean?” Fenella asked.

  “Not everyone has the same choices,” Mona told her. “I’m not planning on staying here forever, but it is nice that I’ve had the chance to get to know you.”

  “It’s kind of nice, sharing the apartment with you,” Fenella admitted. “Nice, but strange.”

  “Anyway, if you aren’t doing anything interesting, I have been invited to a party tonight,” Mona said. “A few of the other ghosts from the building are having a small gathering in what used to be the ballroom.”

  “Seriously?” Fenella asked skeptically.

  “This time I’m totally serious,” Mona said. “There are quite a few of us, you know, still living here, even though we’re dead.”

  “So you have ghost friends?”

  “I suppose you could call them that, although I wouldn’t.”

  “What do you all talk about when you get together?” Fenella asked.

  “Our lives and our families, mostly,” Mona said. “It isn’t much different to being alive.”

  “If I came down, I wouldn’t be able to see you, would I?”

  “I don’t know,” Mona replied. “You might be able to see me, but you probably wouldn’t be able to see the others. I’d look like a sad and lonely woman, sitting all by myself in what used to be a grand ballroom but is now a bunch of boring old offices.”

  “Maybe I’ll just make myself some dinner and watch some television,” Fenella said.

  “I’ll give Winston Churchill your best, shall I?” Mona asked.

  “Winston Churchill is going to be there?”

  “Probably not, but you never know,” Mona said.

  Before Fenella could ask her any more questions, Mona faded away. Fenella frowned. “I never know when she’s telling me the truth and when she’s lying,” she complained to the kitten.

  “Meemmeow,” Katie said.

  Fenella went into the kitchen and got Katie a small treat. “Here you are,” she told the pet. “But just the one, as I’m still quite cross with you.”

  Katie rubbed her head against Fenella’s hand and then gobbled down the treat. When she disappeared into the master bedroom, Fenella was quick to follow her. Katie blinked at her from the middle of the huge bed and then shut her eyes and curled up in a ball.

  “You aren’t fooling me,” Fenella said. She crossed the room and pulled the bathroom door shut. “That might just protect my toilet paper,” she said. Katie didn’t look up as Fenella left the room.

  Having eaten too much at lunch, Fenella made herself a light dinner. Going to the pub on a Monday night seemed a bit too indulgent, so she curled up in front of the television with a bag of microwave popcorn. Katie still hadn’t moved when Fenella took herself to bed a few hours later.

  “I guess shredding toilet paper takes a lot out of you,” she said to the slumbering animal.

  While Fenella had a restless night, she was grateful that the nightmare didn’t return. As she switched off her alarm, she realized that she’d never talked to Daniel about the meeting she was going to that morning. Katie jumped off the bed and raced into the kitchen, with Fenella following at a more leisurely pace. She gave the kitten her breakfast and then headed for the shower. Maybe she’d try reaching the inspector when she was ready to go.

  Time and the morning didn’t want to cooperate with Fenella, though. First she dropped a bottle of shampoo on the bathroom floor and had to clean that up, then she couldn’t find a matching pair of socks anywhere. She managed to spill her handbag when she picked it up to move its contents to a different bag. Crawling around on the floor to find everything she’d dropped left her with dusty knees on the black pants she’d been planning to wear.

  Sighing deeply, Fenella went back into her bedroom and took off the now dirty bottoms. Of course, then she couldn’t find anything else in the wardrobe that would be a suitable replacement. Finally pulling on a black skirt, she wasted several minutes more looking for a pair of pantyhose that didn’t have a run in them. It was ten to eight when she finally made her way out of the apartment, all thoughts of calling Daniel Robinson completely forgotten.

  She walked briskly along the promenade, not wanting to be late. Of course, once she arrived at the sea terminal, there was a long line of people waiting in the ticket office. While she was tempted to push her way to the front, as she simply needed directions, she’d already lived on the island long enough to know that that sort of behavior was inappropriate. Instead, she stood patiently behind a young couple with two toddlers who were taking it in turns to see which could shout the loudest.

  “It was Fenella, wasn’t it?” a voice said from somewhere behind her.

  Fenella turned around and smiled at Sarah Grosso who was three people behind her in the line. “My dear, I’m so very sorry for your loss,” she said quickly.

  “Thank you,” the woman replied. “I’ve been trying to keep busy and not think about things, but today seems like it’s going to be difficult.”

  “I’m sure it will be,” Fenella said. “You should have refused to come.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Sarah said. “I want to do everything I can to help solve Robert’s murder.”

  The man between Fenella and Sarah was clearly listening intently. He looked shocked and took a large step backwards when he heard the word “murder.”

  “Are you two together?” he asked Sarah. “Because I don’t mind if you want to move up to be with your friend.”

  Sarah smiled and moved up to stand next to Fenella. The woman who had been between them gave her a nasty look. She was on her phone and clearly hadn’t heard the exchange between Sarah and the man.

  “We’re together,” Sarah said apologetically to the woman.

  “Hmph,” the woman said. She glanced at the man, but he was staring off into the distance, looking as if he was trying to pretend he was anywhere but there.

  “Do you think they’ve asked everyone who had a cabin to come in?” Fenella asked Sarah.

  “I don’t know,” Sarah replied. “I didn’t realize that anyo
ne else would be here until I saw you.”

  “What time were you meant to be here?” Fenella asked.

  “Eight o’clock, but I was running a little late.” Sarah glanced at her watch. “It’s only ten past, though, and I might even have been on time if the queue wasn’t so long.”

  “Yes, I hate being late for anything, but I didn’t anticipate there being this many people here,” Fenella agreed.

  A moment later a door opened behind the customer service desk and a woman peered out. She frowned at the crowd and then stepped forward.

  “If Fenella Woods, Sarah Grosso, or Nick and Brenda Proper are here, please make yourselves known,” she announced.

  Fenella glanced at Sarah and then they both raised their hands. From the back of the room, a loud voice shouted.

  “We’re here. Parking was horrible and then we got stuck in this queue,” Brenda Proper announced. “We’d have been on time if you’d simply told us where to go instead of insisting that we check in here first.”

  The woman frowned again and then sighed. “Right, if you’d all like to come with me, please?”

  Feeling slightly self-conscious, Fenella walked around the other waiting customers to join the woman at the desk. Sarah and the Propers were right behind her. The woman opened the door between the desk and the waiting area and motioned for them all to walk through.

  “Right this way,” she said, leading them through another door and into a long corridor. At the end of the corridor, she stopped and opened a door. The large room had a single long table that stretched nearly the entire length of the space. At least twenty chairs were spaced around the table. Captain Howard was sitting at the head of the table, scowling at the new arrivals.

  “Sit,” he barked at them.

  Fenella and the others quickly took seats. While she was tempted to apologize for being late, she bit her tongue. It only took a moment for her to look around the table and see that all of Saturday’s cabin passengers were there.

  “As we are all finally here,” Captain Howard said, “perhaps we can begin.”

  “We’d have been on time if you hadn’t had such a long queue at customer service,” Brenda told him. “I told Nick that we should simply walk to the front of the queue and explain why we were there, but he insisted on waiting for our turn.”