Aunt Bessie Likes

by Diana Xarissa

  “My car is at Bessie’s,” Julie told him.

  John arranged to have Bessie and Julie taken to Bessie’s cottage. The constable would follow Julie back across the island to Peel to make sure she reached home safely.

  “I’ll come over when I’m done here,” John told Bessie. “It shouldn’t be long now.”

  “I’ll just go to Bessie’s, then,” Doona said. “I’d rather not be alone anyway.”

  John nodded. Bessie and the others climbed into a police car and headed back to the cottage.

  “Thank you for everything,” Julie said, hugging Bessie tightly when they’d reached Troeghe Bwaaue.

  “Thank you,” Doona told her. “Now that we know more about Peter, I’m ever so glad you turned up when you did.”

  “The police were right behind me,” Julie said, waving a hand. “You would have been okay, anyway.”

  “I’ll always wonder what he had planned for me.” Doona said.

  Julie climbed into her car and drove slowly away while Bessie let Doona into the cottage.

  “John didn’t say whether Peter has been caught or not,” Bessie said as she glanced around her kitchen.

  “I’ll check the cottage,” Doona said. “I always do anyway.”

  Bessie opened her mouth to protest, but Doona was already gone, walking briskly through each room, banging doors and shouting.

  “No one here but us,” she said cheerfully as she walked back into the kitchen a minute later.

  “Thank goodness for that,” Bessie said. She’d put the kettle on, now she went into the cupboard for more biscuits. The plate from earlier was still on the kitchen table and Doona idly grabbed a biscuit and popped it in her mouth.

  “Goodness,” Bessie gasped. “I never had any dinner.”

  Doona looked at her. “I didn’t either,” she said. “And now that you’ve said that, I’m starving.”

  Bessie found some spaghetti sauce in her freezer and set it reheating while she boiled water. A slightly stale baguette was perfect for garlic bread. “I don’t have any salad,” she apologised to Doona. “We’ll have to have extra garlic bread to make up for it.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Doona told her.

  Bessie dumped an entire box of pasta in to boil. She could always keep leftovers for another day and she was suddenly very hungry. John knocked on her door as she was getting ready to serve.

  “Perfect timing,” she told him as Doona let him in. “And I’ve made more than enough for all three of us.”

  “Did you make enough for Hugh, too?” John asked. “He should be here in a few minutes.”

  Bessie grabbed a second baguette and smothered it in garlic butter. “We’ll have to make do,” she said.

  She was just passing around plates when Hugh arrived. He greeted Bessie with a hug and then looked at the kitchen table. “Oh, I’m not very hungry,” he said apologetically. “I think I’m a bit too nervous to be hungry.”

  Bessie filled a plate for him anyway, and then they all sat down and enjoyed the thrown-together meal.

  It wasn’t until the dishes were cleared away and everyone was enjoying biscuits that John spoke.

  “I really can’t stay too much longer,” he said. “I have a lot of paperwork to get done tonight.”

  Hugh groaned. “Paperwork is the bane of my existence right now,” he said.

  “That’s why I’m going to go in and do what needs to be done from tonight,” John said. “You have enough on your plate.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Hugh said smartly.

  “But it is your case that I’m wrapping up,” John said. “So you’ll need to go through it all with me and it will be your signature on the reports.”

  “Oh, thank you, sir,” Hugh said.

  John nodded. “You should be very proud of your efforts,” he told him. “You’ve solved several decades-old murder cases.”

  “So you’re certain Peter was the killer?” Bessie asked.

  “Nothing is certain yet,” John said. “But after everything that’s happened, I’m fairly confident that we’ve found the killer.”

  “And you have him in custody?” Doona asked.

  “He’s dead,” John said somberly.

  “What happened?” Bessie demanded.

  “From what we can put together, after he ran from me, he stole a car,” John said. “Apparently, he was quite good at doing so when he was a teenager, and he still knew exactly what to do.”

  “I would have thought that modern cars would be harder to steal,” Bessie said.

  “He took an older model car,” John told her. “The owner had left it unlocked as well, which had to make his job easier.”

  “But what happened next?” Doona asked impatiently.

  “I think his son was correct,” John said. “He headed for the Grantham farm at a high rate of speed. I have to assume that he hadn’t been there for a while and didn’t realise how badly maintained the road to the farm was, but he drove far too fast for the condition of the road surface. Unfortunately, he lost control and hit a tree. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and he was thrown from the vehicle.”

  Everyone was silent for several minutes. Bessie felt sad, but also relieved in a way. It seemed likely that the man had killed several women. The island was a safer place with him gone.

  “We’ll be searching his home, vehicle, and office for evidence in the coming days,” John told them. “And we’ll be questioning Jonas at length.”

  “It must have been Matthew that rang anonymously, mustn’t it?” Bessie asked.

  “I’m not sure if we’ll ever know the answer to that,” John said. “At this point I’m more interested in what Jonas knew. From all accounts those two were practically inseparable in those years.”

  “That should be an interesting conversation,” Bessie said.

  “Yes, I’m rather looking forward to it,” John said with a grim smile.

  John offered to take Doona home and she was happy to agree. Hugh stayed behind to help Bessie with the washing-up.

  “I hope you’re looking forward to Sunday,” Bessie told the man as they worked.

  “I’m too nervous for that,” Hugh replied. “You don’t think we’re rushing things, do you? I mean, we only just got engaged. Maybe we should wait a little while to get married.”

  Bessie laughed. “Whatever you do, don’t say that to Grace,” she told him. “No doubt she has cold feet, too. For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing things exactly right. You and Grace are perfect for each other and I think you’re going to have a long and happy life together.”

  “Thank you,” Hugh said. “I hope you’re right.”

  “When have I ever been wrong?” Bessie demanded.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bessie found the perfect dress for the wedding at her favourite shop in Ramsey. They had a hat that matched almost exactly, and the shoe shop a few doors away had the perfect shoes. With all of that sorted, Bessie had nothing to do but read and research in the days left before the wedding.

  Sunday morning was cold and wet. Bessie frowned at the rain as she patted on her rose-scented dusting powder. Even though she had a lot to do, she still paused for a just a moment to think about Matthew Saunders, the man she’d once planned to marry herself. When she opened her eyes, it was still raining.

  While Bessie didn’t allow herself to have any regrets, once in a while she did think about how differently her life might have turned out if circumstances had been different. She’d only been seventeen when she’d fallen in love with the handsome and clever Matthew. Bessie had never forgiven her parents for dragging her back to the island or for Matthew’s subsequent death.

  Weddings always made Bessie think of him, and today was no exception. She made herself breakfast and then sat and let her mind wander back in time. Over the years she’d seen a lot of marriages, both successful and otherwise, and she knew that she and Matthew would have struggled if they had married. Bessie wasn’t sure she would have enjoyed be
ing a mother, but in those days there was no reliable way to prevent repeated pregnancies. Her own sister had raised ten children, something that Bessie couldn’t even begin to imagine. A knock on her door shook her out of her reverie.

  “Bessie, I’m just too excited to sit at home on my own,” Doona said when Bessie opened the door. “I hope you don’t mind if I annoy you until time to go to the church.”

  “I don’t think you’ll annoy me,” Bessie laughed. “I’m quite unable to get my brain to focus on anything at the moment. I’ll enjoy the company.”

  “I keep thinking about my own weddings,” Doona told Bessie once they were both settled in Bessie’s sitting room. “I was an idiot the first time around, of course, just getting married because it seemed like the next box to tick on my life list, but the second time, well, I was so happy and so full of hope. I suppose I was more of an idiot that time, really.”

  Bessie shook her head. “You should never feel that way,” she said. “You went into the marriage thinking you’d found the right man for you. It certainly isn’t your fault that he wasn’t what you thought he was.”

  “Hugh and Grace won’t have that problem,” Doona said happily. “They’re perfect for one another.”

  “I do think they have a good chance of making it work,” Bessie said.

  “I just wish it wasn’t raining,” Doona told her. “It’s meant to be bad luck to have rain on your wedding day.”

  “Nonsense,” Bessie said stoutly. “Did it rain on your wedding days?”

  Doona thought for a moment and then laughed. “Actually, they were both beautiful sunny days,” she said. “Maybe I’ll hope for rain if I ever get married again.”

  “Is there any news on the case?” Bessie asked.

  “John is holding a press conference on Monday to announce what they found in Peter’s home. He kept notebooks full of information about each victim. It’s quite awful, really, but it does make identification easier. There were seven bodies at the Grantham farm, but it appears that he killed more than twenty women over the years. The other victims were killed in various places around the world. Apparently Peter travelled regularly.”

  “How horrible,” Bessie said, shuddering.

  “It is, but at least twenty-two families will now know what happened to their loved ones,” Doona told her. “Jonas has been down at the station several times to answer questions. He’s slightly less obnoxious now that he’s realised that his best childhood friend murdered so many people.”

  “That’s good to hear. I assume they can’t find anything to charge him with, though?”

  “John’s still trying,” Doona grinned.

  “And how are you feeling?” Bessie asked.

  “I’m fine,” Doona insisted. “Nothing happened, and I have to believe that nothing would have happened. He must have known that he couldn’t kill me and get away with it.”

  Bessie made them both a light lunch and then they changed for the wedding.

  “Are you sure about the hat?” Doona asked, studying herself in the mirror.

  “Absolutely,” Bessie told her. “It’s perfect.”

  Doona drove them both to the small church in Douglas where the happy couple was having a traditional ceremony. Hugh was standing at the church door when they arrived.

  “Ah, Bessie, Doona, thank you for coming,” he said formally.

  “I’m delighted to be here,” Bessie told him. “You look very handsome.”

  Hugh flushed. “It’s pretty uncomfortable,” he told Bessie. “But it’s once in a lifetime.”

  “Or maybe not,” Hugh’s father said from behind Hugh. “I thought that when I married your mum and now here I am, all dressed up again.”

  Hugh insisted on Doona and Bessie sitting right behind his family in the small church. Doona waved to the crowd of young constables who were sitting together near the back.

  “My goodness, who’s policing Laxey and Lonan?” Bessie whispered as she took her seat.

  “The Chief Constable sent a handful of constables up from Douglas and Castletown to cover today,” Doona told her. “Everyone from our branch is here.”

  Bessie looked around the church and then sighed. “Even Inspector Lambert,” she said softly.

  Doona glanced over and then shrugged. “Hugh could hardly leave her out,” she said.

  A few minutes later Hugh took his place at the altar, John Rockwell by his side. Grace was only a few minutes late and as she entered the church, everyone stood up.

  “She looks radiant,” Doona whispered to Bessie.

  Bessie could only nod in reply. Grace’s dress was perfect and Bessie couldn’t imagine the girl looking any happier than she did as she glided down the aisle on her father’s arm. When her eyes met Hugh’s an even bigger smile appeared and Bessie felt herself tearing up. Hugh looked more stunned than anything else, as if he couldn’t quite believe his luck.

  “You look gorgeous,” he whispered loudly as he took Grace’s arm.

  The ceremony wasn’t long, but it was very touching. The pair said their vows with so much meaning and love that Bessie actually ran out of tissues and had to get extras from Doona. At the end, as Hugh kissed Grace gently, everyone cheered. Bessie hid a grin as she noticed that even Inspector Lambert was teary-eyed as she clapped for the happy couple.

  When Bessie arrived at the reception a short time later, Mary was waiting for her in the car park.

  “Okay, so after our talk last night, this is what I did,” she told Bessie. She opened the boot of her car and pulled out a large white box, tied up with a huge bow.

  “It’s perfect,” Bessie said.

  “I hope the card is okay,” Mary said anxiously.

  Bessie looked at the attached card and smiled. “I never would have done anything this nice,” she told other woman as she looked over the beautifully written list of names of everyone who had contributed to the honeymoon package.

  “I’m ready for some champagne,” Mary said. “I just hope they like the surprise.”

  “Champagne sounds good,” Bessie agreed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t much help with the planning. If it all goes wrong, it’s all my fault, of course.”

  Hugh had said they were keeping everything small and as inexpensive as possible, but there was far more food and drink on offer than Bessie had been expecting. She enjoyed chatting with Hugh’s family and meeting the members of Grace’s family who’d been able to attend.

  “Oh, you’re Bessie,” one of Grace’s aunts said. “We’ve heard ever so much about you.”

  Bessie wasn’t sure exactly how to take that, but she didn’t get time to ask before she was whisked away to meet some of Grace’s friends and fellow schoolteachers. Her energy was flagging by the time the happy couple cut the cake.

  “We just want to thank everyone for coming,” Hugh said after he’d wiped icing off his face. “I understand there are a few presents as well. We’ll open them once we’re back from our honeymoon. That gives us something to look forward to.”

  Everyone clapped and Bessie looked over at Mary. They’d planned for this, just in case.

  “I’m sorry, Hugh,” Bessie said, standing up. “But there is one gift you have to open now.”

  Hugh smiled at her. “I don’t know,” he said. “We were really looking forward to opening everything when we got home.”

  “This is the one exception,” Bessie said firmly. Mary handed her the box and she passed it over to Hugh. “Rather a lot of us pooled our resources,” she added. “You can see that from the card.”

  Grace joined Hugh and the pair looked at the card before Grace untied the bow. Hugh slowly opened the large box and looked inside. Nothing but tissue paper was immediately visible.

  Grace pushed aside the paper and reached inside. She pulled out a small model airplane. She gave Hugh a confused look. He reached into the box and removed a tiny model of one of the ferries that cruises the Seine. The pair exchanged puzzled glances and then removed the rest of the tissue paper.
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  Bessie was close enough to see that their passports were next, on top of a thick folder. Hugh picked up the passports while Grace took out the folder. As everyone watched, she opened it and stared at the plane tickets that were on the top of the pile.

  Bessie found that she couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “You leave in the morning for a week in Paris,” she told the shocked couple. “All of the details are in the folder, but you’ll be met at the airport and taken to your hotel. There’s a detailed itinerary in there as well, but we’ve left as much of the week up to you two as we could.”

  Grace began to cry as Hugh opened and closed his mouth, speechless. Grace’s mum hugged Hugh’s mum and they cried together as they watched their children react to the surprise.

  “But what? How?” Hugh stuttered.

  “We wanted to give you the perfect honeymoon,” Bessie said. “Mary did all of the work. She can explain.”

  Mary smiled and shook her head. “It was all Bessie’s idea,” she said. “But then she was busy trying to help with your cold case, so I did some of the planning. But really, it was everyone’s surprise. You can see from the card that nearly everyone in Laxey knew about it and contributed.”

  Hugh looked at the card again and then at Grace. “But we can’t,” he began. “I mean, we, Paris? I can’t get my head around it.”

  “There’s a list of restaurants in the folder,” Mary told him. “We’ve arranged at each of them for you to have a lovely, romantic dinner, but you can choose which night you’d like dine at which restaurant. Obviously, everything is paid for, even the gratuity. Your hotel includes breakfast, and they do gorgeous breakfasts, I can promise you. There are a handful of gift certificates for other restaurants around the city for you to try for lunches each day. We’ve also booked a few sightseeing packages for you, but you can work with the company to chop and change whatever you’d like once you arrive. Please feel free to ring me at any time if you have any questions.”

  “The only question is how can we ever thank you?” Grace said through her tears. “I can’t even imagine how wonderful it’s all going to be.”