Friends and Frauds (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 6)

by Diana Xarissa

  “He wants me to persuade Shelly to have lunch with him.”

  “I see. And have you agreed to do so?”

  “Yes, because it seemed a reasonable request when I was talking to the man, but now I’m already having second thoughts.”

  “Perhaps it would be best if you left it up to Shelly.”

  “But if I don’t talk her into coming along, I’ll have to have lunch with Lance by myself tomorrow,” Fenella replied with a sigh.

  “You’ve arranged to meet him for lunch tomorrow?”

  “Yes, that also seemed like a good idea when I was talking to him.”

  “You could always ring him and cancel,” Donald suggested as he helped Fenella into his car.

  She waited to reply until he was settled behind the steering wheel. “I didn’t get his number, or else I’d probably do just that.”

  “You could simply not turn up.”

  “That would be incredibly rude. No, I’ve agreed to have lunch with him. I have to go. At least I chose a restaurant that’s very quick.”

  “The Chinese place near your flat?” Donald guessed as he began the drive back to Douglas.

  “Exactly. They produce delicious food faster than any other restaurant I’ve ever been in, and the prices are low enough that I won’t feel guilty about his buying me lunch, even if I don’t deliver Shelly.”

  Donald took her hand. “I hope it all works out. If Neil gives you any trouble, do let me know. I can stop him.”

  “That sounds very ominous,” Fenella said with a nervous laugh.

  “He was out of line with you, especially in front of me, and he knows it. I assume he was trying to upset Laura for some reason, but that’s certainly no excuse. I never liked Neil anyway; he needs to tread more carefully around me.”

  “But he’s so much wealthier than you, at least that’s what he implied.”

  Donald laughed. “I would put my bank balance up against his any day. Neil is all flash and no substance. I suspect he’s moving back to the island because he’s having financial difficulties. I can find out more if you’re interested.”

  Fenella thought about it for a moment. “I’m not really interested,” she said eventually. “All things considered, I’d prefer to never hear the man’s name again.”

  “I won’t mention it,” Donald promised, squeezing her hand and then releasing it to shift gears. “I’m not sure that his friend Lance will be so considerate.”

  “I’m more worried about what Lance might say about John Quirk than anything else.”

  “Perhaps it would be better if you went alone to the lunch tomorrow. Maybe then you could convince Lance to stay away from Shelly.”

  “I suspect that Shelly will want to talk to him eventually. He’s a link to John, after all. I simply don’t trust the man.”

  “You don’t think he really knew John?”

  “I don’t know,” Fenella said, feeling frustrated. “Maybe after everything that has happened since I’ve been on the island, I’m extra suspicious of everyone, but there’s something about him that doesn’t ring true.”

  “Why would he lie?”

  “That’s the big question, isn’t it? Perhaps Shelly has a great deal of money.”

  “She bought a flat in your building and retired from her job. That suggests that she inherited quite a bit when her husband passed away.”

  “I’d never really thought about that.”

  “She’s not in your league, of course, but she’s probably wealthy enough to attract the sorts of men who might try to take advantage of her.”

  “My league? What do you mean by that?” Fenella demanded.

  “I mean you inherited Mona’s fortune. You’re a very wealthy woman now.”

  “I am? I’m not actually certain about that.”

  Donald pulled to a stop in front of Fenella’s building. He turned and looked at her curiously. “Mona was incredibly wealthy by the time she died. What did Doncan tell you about the estate?”

  Fenella frowned and tried to remember exactly what the lawyer had said. “He said that I’d inherited everything, including the apartment and several bank accounts. He told me that he would leave everything exactly as it was until I was ready to sit down and go through the accounts. Thus far, he’s simply been depositing money into my bank account each month and I’ve been using that as spending money.”

  “You need to talk to Doncan. If nothing else, you’ll probably want to make changes to how the various funds are being managed. I can help you with some of the options if you want a second opinion, but I know that Doncan can be trusted completely. Beyond that, though, you may want to sell some of Mona’s other properties or even think about moving into one of the houses elsewhere on the island.”

  “She had houses on the island?”

  Donald chuckled. “Max liked to buy Mona presents, especially after they’d argued. He used to give her real estate for her birthday, Christmas, and after every quarrel. She usually got some fabulous jewelry as well. My dear girl, you’re probably one of the wealthiest women on the island.”

  Fenella sat back in her seat, feeling stunned. She’d been told before that Mona owned other properties besides the apartment, and that Mona had been well off, but no one had given her any hint of the scale of Mona’s fortune. Fenella knew she should have followed up with Doncan months ago, but as long as he’d kept her bank balance steady, she hadn’t felt any need to rush to see him.

  “Are you okay?” Donald asked after a minute.

  “Yes, I’m just surprised. I didn’t realize that there was that much money.”

  “As I said, talk to Doncan. He’ll be able to tell you more and help you work out what you want to do with everything.”

  Fenella nodded. “I’m actually seeing him on Wednesday. I’m awfully glad I made the appointment last month. At the time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to bother.”

  “It isn’t that late. Why don’t you invite me up for a drink?” Donald suggested, picking up her hand again.

  Fenella blushed and then pulled her hand away. “After everything you’ve just said, I have to wonder if you’re just after my money,” she replied, only half joking.

  “I have plenty of my own, thank you,” Donald replied tightly.

  “I was only teasing,” Fenella told him. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Donald nodded. “Let me walk you to your door, then,” he said.

  Fenella climbed out of the car and then took the arm that Donald offered. They walked together into the beautiful lobby of her building. It was only a few steps to the elevators. Donald was silent on the journey, leaving Fenella struggling to think of something to say to lighten his mood. At her door, he waited while she found her keys.

  “Good night, then,” he said as she pushed her apartment door open.

  Fenella turned around, ready for the kiss that she knew was coming. Donald was already halfway back to the elevators. “Good night,” she said flatly to his back. He didn’t even acknowledge her words. She stomped into her apartment and very nearly slammed the door. She’d only been teasing. He’d overreacted. What was wrong with the man?

  “Oh, dear, and I thought Donald would be spending the night for sure,” Mona said from the kitchen doorway. “Especially after you sent Katie away.”

  “I didn’t send Katie away,” Fenella snapped. “Shelly offered to let her have a sleepover next door. Katie loves staying with Shelly and Smokey. That’s the only reason I agreed. Donald had nothing to do with my decision.”

  “And now you’ve quarreled with Donald. What sort of jewelry do you like? I think he should apologize with diamonds, but if the argument was your fault, perhaps rubies or emeralds are more likely.”

  “I don’t want any jewelry,” Fenella exploded. “I don’t want anything from Donald. Anyway, apparently I’m rich enough to buy my own diamonds if I want them.”

  “Well, of course you are, but what fun is that?”

  Fenella sank into the nearest chair and buri
ed her head in her hands. She wasn’t sure why she felt so much like crying or maybe screaming, but there wasn’t any reason not to indulge herself. A few tears squeezed their way out before she decided that she was more angry than sad.

  “I was only teasing,” she said loudly.

  “Of course you were,” Mona replied in a soothing voice. “Donald probably doesn’t have a sense of humor, that’s all. His father didn’t.”

  Fenella sighed and then got up and went into the kitchen. While she’d eaten at the party, the plates of finger foods hadn’t been terribly filling, or at least that’s what she told herself as she put a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

  “Do you want to tell me all about it?” Mona asked.

  Fenella looked at her and then shook her head. “I thought you were going to do something different with your appearance,” she changed the subject.

  “I did. I aged a few years. You don’t notice the difference?”

  Fenella studied the woman closely. “Not at all. You look exactly the same.”

  Mona shrugged. “I always took very good care of myself. No one ever thought that I looked my age.”

  “Did you really own property all over the island?” Fenella asked.

  “I did. It’s all yours now, of course. There are several houses, a few commercial spaces, and some farmland that is rented out to various farmers. Why? Are you thinking of moving out of this flat?”

  “No, not at all. I love this apartment. I just didn’t realize that you were as wealthy as all of that.”

  Mona smiled. “Max was very generous to me over the years. He wasn’t the only one, of course, but he was the most generous. When we first met, I had very little. He helped me invest my savings in a number of schemes that all did very well. And he showered me with gifts, of course. He always wanted to be certain that I was looked after. We never married. When he passed away, his estate went to his business partner and his sister. I wasn’t even named in the will.”

  “My goodness,” Fenella exclaimed.

  “His sister didn’t approve of me, you see. If Max had left me anything, she would have contested the will. It would have been an ugly mess, because her husband was a solicitor in London. Max didn’t want me to have to deal with all of that, so he made sure that he gave me everything he could while he was still alive. His sister didn’t end up with very much, really, but there was nothing she could do about it.”

  “Is she still alive?”

  “Oh, yes. I believe she’s too mean to die. She and her husband are in London, making each other miserable, just as they always have.”

  “What about Max’s business partner?”

  “Bryan? He passed away just a few months after Max died.”

  “Was he happy with Max’s will?”

  “Oh, yes. Bryan had plenty of his own money, of course, as the pair had been partners for many years. Bryan and his wife never had children. All of their money went to charity when she died a year after Bryan.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I need some sleep,” she said.

  “But you haven’t told me what you and Donald quarreled about.”

  “It was nothing. I was just teasing. Donald mentioned how much money I’ve inherited and I suggested that he was only after me for the money, that’s all.”

  Mona chuckled. “As I said, he probably hasn’t much of a sense of humor. I wonder if it upset him because there might be some truth in it.”

  “I thought Donald had lots of money.”

  “He used to, but never as much as he pretended, of course. But maybe he’s having problems now. Perhaps your money is at least as attractive to him as you are.”

  “Or maybe it’s a lot more attractive to him than I am,” Fenella said dryly.

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You aren’t even fifty yet and you don’t look a day over forty. Donald would be interested anyway, even if you didn’t have money.”

  “Maybe, or maybe he’s hoping to persuade me to invest in one of his companies or something.”

  Mona shrugged. “Just tell him that Doncan handles all of that for you. That’s what I always told men who wanted to get their hands on my money. I can’t see Donald doing anything that obvious, though. He’s more the type to marry you first.”

  “Marry me?” Fenella squeaked. “I don’t want to marry the man.”

  “Ah, but if he took you to bed, you’d probably change your mind. You’re just old-fashioned enough to think that way, I believe.”

  “I’m not going to sleep with him and I’m not going to marry him,” Fenella said loudly.

  “No need to shout,” Mona told her. “I’m dead, but there’s nothing wrong with my hearing.”

  Fenella opened her mouth to reply, but couldn’t imagine what to say. She shook her head and then sighed. “Donald is mad at me, anyway. He’s not likely to propose at the moment.”

  “He’s not likely to propose until you’ve slept together,” Mona countered. “While he might be after you for your money, he’s also attracted to you and will want to be sure that if you did marry you would be physically compatible.”

  “Whatever. I don’t even want to think about this anymore. I’m going to bed, where I’m going to miss Katie and forget all about men.”

  Fenella crawled into her bed a short time later. As she tossed and turned, she realized that she truly was missing Katie, who always slept in the exact middle of the king-sized bed they shared. While Fenella often grumbled about sharing the space with the animal, the bed felt lonely without her. After a restless night Fenella was happy the next morning to find that she couldn’t remember any of her dreams.

  “How early is too early?” she asked her reflection as she combed her shoulder-length hair the next morning.

  “To start talking to one’s self? I should think one would want to wait until one was old enough to claim that senility was creeping in,” Mona said from where she’d settled on the bed.

  Fenella jumped and nearly stabbed herself in the eye with her mascara wand. “I didn’t see you there,” she said as she grabbed a tissue and began wiping away the streak of mascara that ran from her eye to her chin.

  “How early is too early for what?”

  “To go and get Katie back,” Fenella said. “I miss her terribly.”

  “Really? I can’t imagine why. But I know Shelly usually gets up quite early. Why don’t you ring her and see if she’s up?”

  “I will, once I’m ready.” Fenella finished her makeup and then rang her friend.

  “Yes, you can come and get Katie, if you must,” Shelly said when she picked up the phone. “And you can help me decide what to do about Lance.”

  Fenella was at Shelly’s door a moment later.

  “That was quick,” Shelly laughed as she let Fenella into the apartment.

  “I really missed Katie,” Fenella said sheepishly.

  “I’m sorry to say it, but I don’t think she missed you,” Shelly replied.

  Katie and Smokey ran into the room. Katie glanced at Fenella and then said a quick “meow” before she disappeared back into the bedroom with Smokey on her heels.

  “Yeah, meow to you, too,” Fenella replied.

  “Have you had breakfast?” Shelly asked.

  “Oh, no, I mean, I was going to make something after I brought Katie home.”

  “I gave Katie her breakfast a little while ago. I don’t have a lot of people food in, but I have a lot of cat food.”

  Fenella laughed. “We could go next door. I have three or four kinds of cereal, and a loaf of bread that isn’t very fresh but would work for toast.”

  “That’s more than I have, actually. I missed my usual day for shopping this week and never got around to making it up.”

  “So how was the party last night?” Shelly asked as Fenella slid slices of bread into her toaster a few minutes later.

  “It was interesting, I suppose,” Fenella answered. “Lance was there.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that?” Mona demande
d as she took a seat next to Shelly at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

  Fenella only just remembered in time not to reply to her aunt.

  “Why was he there?” Shelly asked.

  “He was with someone called Neil Hicks and some other men who were introduced to me as some of his business associates from across,” Fenella explained.

  “Neil Hicks is not a nice man,” Mona said. “Max only worked with him once and swore he’d never work with him again.”

  Fenella sipped her coffee to stop herself from replying to Mona.

  “I’m sure I’ve heard of Neil Hicks,” Shelly said thoughtfully. “And I don’t believe that what I heard was very nice.”

  “Donald worked with him many years ago, but hasn’t done anything with him lately,” Fenella told her.

  “Then he’s really crooked,” Mona said. “Donald doesn’t mind projects that get dangerously close to the edge of what’s legal or ethical. If he won’t work with someone, they’ve gone over that edge.”

  “What did Donald say about him?” Shelly asked.

  “Not much. He wouldn’t give me a firm answer as to why he’d never worked with the man again, but he suggested that Neil wasn’t entirely honest.”

  “And he and Lance are friends?”

  “I believe one of them said that they were business associates before Lance retired.”

  “Perhaps I shouldn’t have given Lance my phone number.”

  “Okay, so, the thing is, I mean…” Fenella began. Shelly and Mona were both looking at her as if she’d lost her mind when she trailed off.

  “What’s wrong?” Shelly demanded.

  “I’ve agreed to meet Lance for lunch today,” she replied. “He’s hoping I’ll be able to persuade you to join us, as well.”

  “No,” Shelly said. “I won’t do it.”

  “Fair enough. At least I can tell him that I tried.”

  “You’re still going to have lunch with him?”

  “I told him I would. It sounded like a better idea when we were talking about it last night.”

  Shelly sat back in her chair, frowning as the toaster popped. Fenella slid slices of toast into the toast rack and put it on the counter next to Shelly. She added containers of butter and jam and then topped up Shelly’s coffee. By the time she’d put her own bread into the toaster, Shelly was done thinking.