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

by Diana Xarissa

  “Inspector Hammersmith is just doing his job,” Shelly said. “Lance was murdered, after all.”

  “Yes, but that’s nothing to do with any of us,” Neil replied. “We’re always told that the crime rate on the island was very low, but clearly that isn’t the case. The police simply need to work out who broke into Lance’s flat. No doubt whoever it was has done similar things before, albeit perhaps without actually killing anyone.”

  “What if it wasn’t random?” Fenella asked. “Can you think of any reason why someone might have wanted to kill him?”

  “We talked about this before,” Neil told her. “If someone came over from across to get rid of him, it certainly wasn’t someone we’d know anything about.”

  “What if someone on the island found out that he wasn’t who he claimed to be?” Fenella wondered.

  “I don’t think that claiming to have been born on the island is at all likely to get someone murdered,” Neil said with a chuckle.

  Fenella flushed. “Maybe that wasn’t all he was claiming,” she suggested.

  “You’re very interested in this,” Eric said. “Almost obsessive.”

  Laura laughed. “Oh, you mustn’t mind Fenella. She makes something of a habit out of finding dead bodies. Everyone on the island is talking about it, but of course you wouldn’t know that.”

  “Really?” Neil asked, staring at Fenella. “How many have you found?”

  “Not many,” Fenella snapped. “And it isn’t something I want to talk about, either.”

  “But she’s great friends with one of the police inspectors,” Laura continued. “Otherwise everyone might start to think that she’s killing people herself.”

  Fenella stood up. “It’s nothing like that,” she said, swallowing hard. She was not going to cry in front of Laura.

  Shelly jumped to her feet. “It truly is nothing like that,” she said, putting an arm around Fenella.

  “Good night,” Fenella said, turning and starting to walk away.

  “Don’t rush off,” Neil said. “Things were just getting interesting.”

  Fenella didn’t stop. She and Shelly crossed to the bank of elevators and pushed the call button. Fenella frowned as Neil followed them across the room.

  “You mustn’t mind Laura,” he said to Fenella. “She’s just jealous because you’re younger, prettier, and richer than she is. And she knows that I’d drop her in a heartbeat if I thought I had a chance with you. Do I?”

  Fenella sighed. “No,” she replied.

  “Are you certain? I know I came on strong the other night, but there were other things going on that you don’t know about. I can be a perfect gentleman, truly I can. Maybe you could let me buy you dinner one night and we could really get to know one another?”

  “I’m sorry, but no,” Fenella said, pushing the elevator call button again.

  “Donald can’t be trusted, you know,” Neil said. “He’s out with another woman tonight. We saw them at a party earlier.”

  Fenella shrugged. “As I said before, Donald is welcome to date other women. I see other men, as well.”

  “But not me?”

  “No, not you,” Fenella replied. She hit the elevator button again, feeling frustrated.

  “Leave the poor woman alone,” Adrian said as he walked up behind them.

  The elevator doors suddenly opened. Fenella and Shelly jumped inside and pushed the button for the lower level. Adrian followed them into the elevator car. No one spoke as the car descended.

  “It’s late and dark,” Adrian said as the trio exited the elevator a moment later. “I don’t want you walking home alone.”

  “It’s only a few steps,” Shelly told him. “We do it all the time.”

  “And a few days ago someone broke into a flat in your building and killed the owner. I’d feel better if I walked you home. I’m not sure the security in your building is as good as it should be,” the man replied.

  Shelly glanced at Fenella, who shrugged. Adrian had always seemed the nicest of the men, and they all knew where Shelly and Fenella lived anyway. Fenella couldn’t think of a reason to argue, but maybe that was because she was still so upset about everything else that had happened.

  The walk from the Tale and Tail to their building only took a minute or so. “I’d like to see you both into your own flats,” Adrian said. “Just be sure that everything is okay.”

  “You’ll want to get back to your friends,” Fenella objected.

  Adrian made a face. “I’m not in any rush,” he assured her.

  “Why not?” Shelly asked as the threesome crossed the lobby toward the elevators.

  “They aren’t really my friends,” he told her. “They’re business associates. I never really bothered to make the distinction before, but the longer I spend with them, the more important the distinction becomes to me. I do have friends at home, you see, and Neil and the others are nothing like them.”

  “Were you friends with Lance?” Fenella asked.

  Adrian shook his head. “I barely knew him, really. Neil was the driving force behind getting us all over here. He knows we’re all getting close to retirement age and that we’re all looking for affordable options if we leave London. Also, he owns property around the island. I suspect he was hoping to offload a few properties on myself and the others.”

  “And now you’re stuck here until the police finish their investigation,” Shelly said. “What a shame.”

  “It wouldn’t be so bad, but I don’t actually know anyone else on the island,” he told her. “And I’m not like Neil. I can’t just start asking every woman I meet to have dinner with me. I’ve never been great with women. I’m sure my ex-wife would agree.” The man flushed and looked down at his feet as the elevator doors slid open.

  “You’re much nicer than Neil,” Shelly told him. “I’m sure lots of women would love to spend time with you.”

  “I wish you were right, but that hasn’t been my experience thus far,” he sighed. “That isn’t actually true, though. I do meet lots of women who want to spend time with me, but only once they find out my net worth. What I don’t ever meet is women who want to get to know me as a person, rather than as their own personal piggy bank.”

  They walked down the corridor on the sixth floor, stopping at Fenella’s door.

  “I won’t come inside, but I’d appreciate it if you’d check that everything is okay before I go,” Adrian told her.

  Fenella opened her door and looked into the apartment. “It looks exactly the same as when I left,” she said, nodding at Mona, who hadn’t been there earlier but was now sitting on one of the couches.

  “Great. And now yours?” he asked Shelly.

  Fenella stayed where she was, not trusting the man at all. Shelly opened her door and glanced into her apartment. “It’s all fine,” she said.

  Adrian nodded and then turned and began to walk away. After a few steps, he stopped. “I don’t suppose you’d both like to have lunch with me tomorrow? I mean, I’m really tired of eating every meal with Neil and the others. I’d be so grateful for the company that I’ll happily pay.”

  Shelly glanced at Fenella. “I suppose we could do that,” Shelly said when Fenella shrugged.

  “Anywhere you want to go; money is no object,” he told her.

  “Let’s just go to the Indian place on the corner,” Shelly suggested.

  “I’ll see you both there at midday,” Adrian replied. “And thank you very much.”

  He walked back down the corridor, and Fenella couldn’t help but notice something like a spring in his step as he went.

  She looked over at Shelly. “It seems we have plans for lunch tomorrow,” she sighed.

  “Yes, and another chance to find out more about Lance, Neil, and everyone else,” Shelly replied.

  13

  Why didn’t you tell me how wealthy you were?” Fenella asked Mona as she gave Katie a snack.

  “Talking about money is in bad taste,” Mona replied.

 
; “Yes, but you knew I was worried about finances. I’m sure I told you that I was being really careful with my spending until I worked out exactly what I could and couldn’t afford.”

  “Which was a wise thing to do.”

  “Yes, but you should have told me that I can afford anything and everything,” Fenella countered.

  Mona shrugged. “Not quite. I left you a considerable sum, but there are still a great many things you can’t afford.”

  “Massive diamonds and super-yachts don’t interest me. I can afford to not work and to simply enjoy my life. That’s a huge weight off my mind.”

  “You must take care that you don’t get bored. You’re used to working, after all.”

  “But I haven’t worked in six months and I don’t miss it one little bit,” Fenella laughed. “And I’m not the least bit bored, either.”

  “It’s still a novelty. Anyway, you’ve spent some portion of your time since you’ve been here on research for that book you’ve always wanted to write. If you give up on that, you may find you’ve nothing to do all day.”

  “Maybe, but maybe I’ll keep working on it, just for fun. We’ll see. I don’t have to decide tonight, anyway.”

  “That’s true. But let’s talk about murder,” Mona said. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to talk to any of the suspects in the case since we last talked?”

  “I did see Neil and his friends at the pub, actually.”

  “And did Neil try to talk you into going out with him again?”

  “Yes, although he was a bit more discreet this time, as Laura was with him.”

  Mona frowned. “I never liked that woman. She spent years pestering Timothy to make her something and then when he finally agreed, she complained to everyone about the finished product. She didn’t think her dress fit her as well as my dresses always fit me. She was right, of course, but it was hardly Timothy’s fault that he found her, well, less than inspiring.”

  “She was a little bit nasty to me,” Fenella said. “She told the others that I keep finding dead bodies.”

  “Which is, sadly, true,” Mona pointed out. “But she’ll have been trying to upset you. Nothing makes Laura happier than making someone else cry. I hope you didn’t cry in front of her.”

  “No, I did not. I simply got up and left.”

  “Good girl. I’m surprised Neil didn’t offer to walk you home. But who was the man in the corridor with you? I’m sure I’ve never seen him before.”

  “That was Adrian Graves.”

  “Ah, yes, another of Neil’s friends. What was he doing in the corridor?”

  “He insisted on walking Shelly and me home. He said he didn’t trust the security in this building, not after what happened to Lance.”

  “I can see his point, although I suspect Lance let his killer in. It had to have been one of his friends that killed him, surely?”

  “Neil thinks it was random. He suspects that someone tried to break into Lance’s apartment to steal things and found Lance at home.”

  Mona shook her head. “Those sorts of things simply don’t happen on the Isle of Man,” she said firmly.

  “I don’t believe it, either. I’m pretty sure one of Lance’s friends killed him, although they are all going to great lengths now to tell everyone that they weren’t actually friends with him. Apparently they were all simply business associates.”

  “Next they’ll be claiming they barely even knew him.”

  “They’re pretty much there, especially because it turns out the man’s name wasn’t Lance Thomas at all. Neil said he was really someone called Robert Hanson.”

  “Really? Does that mean he wasn’t really from the island, either?”

  “Not according to Neil. I don’t know where he’s getting his information from, but he seems to think the man was actually from Devon.”

  “Why would he pretend to have been from the island, then?”

  “I’ve no idea, but maybe it was all to do with Shelly,” Fenella suggested.

  “Ah, yes, of course. He was a conman of some sort and he was interested in getting his hands on Shelly’s money. She’s far too smart to fall for something like that, of course, but he wasn’t to know, was he?”

  “Anyway, Neil and the others are now insisting that they didn’t know Lance very well and that they were simply connected through their business interests.”

  “In spite of the fact that they were all here on holiday together as Lance was moving into his new flat.”

  “Yes, in spite of that. Although from what Adrian said, that might have more to do with Neil than Lance. He said something about Neil trying to sell them all various properties he owns around the island.”

  “Knowing Neil, they’ll all be in a terrible state. He never looked after his properties. I took very good care of mine, and I’m sure Doncan has been looking after them since my death. When you’re ready, you can take over as property manager if you want something to do.”

  “I can’t see me doing anything like that. I’m not really good at fixing things and I don’t much like painting or decorating.”

  “Yes, I know that, as you’ve done absolutely nothing in here,” Mona said, glancing around the spacious living room. “I thought you would at least paint or rearrange the furniture.”

  “I’ve thought about it, but it all just seems so perfect the way it is, I can’t bring myself to make any changes.”

  Mona nodded. “It is extremely well done, of course, but it’s yours now. Maybe over time you’ll change a few things. But for now, let’s make a list of suspects and see if we can solve Inspector Hammersmith’s case for him.”

  “This is a waste of time,” Fenella complained as she found a sheet of paper and a pen.

  “Start with Neil,” Mona instructed her. “I never liked the man. He should be at the top of the list.”

  Fenella wrote Neil’s name on the sheet of paper. “Can you suggest a motive for him?”

  “Lance must have been killed due to something going wrong with some business arrangement or another,” Mona replied thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine any other reason.”

  “And he did a lot of business with Neil, so if that was the motive, he may well be the most likely suspect.”

  “Maybe Lance made a play for Laura,” Mona said. “I can’t see Neil killing anyone over a woman, though. And he’s been chasing after you in front of Laura, which suggests he doesn’t much care about their relationship.”

  “If the business angle did provide the motive, then Neil’s other friends have to be equally suspect.” Fenella wrote the other three men’s names down on her list. Because she barely knew any of them, she simply listed them in alphabetical order under Neil’s name.

  “Tell me about them,” Mona asked.

  “Adrian seems the nicest. He apologized for Neil’s behavior once and he told Neil to leave me alone tonight, as well. He also insisted on walking me and Shelly home.”

  “It’s a shame about the moustache. It truly doesn’t suit him,” Mona sighed.

  “I don’t really know anything more about him, but Shelly and I are having lunch with him tomorrow. Maybe we’ll learn more.”

  “Who’s next?”

  “Eric Palmer,” Fenella replied. “He seemed nice enough until he made a very clumsy attempt to ask me out. He claims to have known Lance for the shortest amount of time.”

  “Interesting. Maybe he didn’t like Lance and got rid of him straight away.”

  “As I said, if the murder had something to do with Lance’s business concerns, any of the men could have been the killer.”

  “What about the last man? What was his name again?”

  “Jared Welch,” Fenella replied. “I’ve barely spoken to him, really, but at least he’s not tried to talk me into going out with him.”

  “How long had he known Lance?”

  “I think he said they’d started working together about ten years ago,” Fenella replied.

  “But he didn’t know Lance’s re
al name?”

  “If he did, he isn’t admitting to it now.”

  “Who else is on the list?”

  “I can’t imagine anyone else who could be involved,” Fenella replied.

  “You should add Laura,” Mona told her. “Maybe she decided to end things with Neil and take up with Lance, and he turned her down.”

  “So she killed him? That seems a bit extreme.”

  Mona shrugged. “Put her on the list anyway. I don’t like her. It will amuse me to see her name on the list.”

  Fenella wrote the woman’s name under the list of men. “Is there anyone else you can think of to add?”

  “What about Donald?”

  “Donald? Why would Donald have killed him?”

  “Maybe Lance and Donald did business together at some point.”

  “Donald told me he didn’t know Lance.”

  “But he only saw Lance at the party, and you said yourself that he appeared to have had cosmetic surgery. Maybe after the party Donald realized that he knew him and that he’d been waiting for years to get back at him.”

  “So he killed him?” Fenella asked incredulously. “Anyway, I thought you liked Donald.”

  “I don’t dislike him, but it will amuse me to see his name on the list as well.”

  Fenella chuckled as she wrote Donald’s name under Laura’s. “Is that it, then? Have we exhausted the possibilities?”

  “We haven’t talked about means and opportunity,” Mona said. “How did the man die?”

  “I’ve no idea.”

  “Ring Daniel and ask him. We can’t possibly solve the case if we don’t know how Lance died.”

  Fenella shook her head. “First of all, I’m not calling Daniel ever again, and second of all, even if I did call him, he’d never tell me. He might not even know himself. It isn’t his case and he isn’t even on the island, remember?”

  Mona sighed. “Then we’ll have to assume that everyone had the means to do the job. But maybe we can get somewhere with opportunity. When did Lance die?”