Boats and Bad Guys

by Diana Xarissa

“Someone told me you found the body,” Justin said.

  “Well, yes, that’s true,” Fenella replied. “But I didn’t know the man, or anyone else on the ferry for that matter.”

  “Don’t have many friends, then, do you?” the girl on Justin’s right drawled. “Every time I sail, I know at least a dozen people on the ferry, even if I didn’t know they were going to be there.”

  “I’ve only been on the island for a short time,” Fenella told the girl. “I haven’t had time to make many friends.”

  “I heard you and Inspector Robinson from CID were good friends,” Justin said, making the statement sound like an accusation.

  “Is that the gorgeous new inspector from across?” one of the other girls asked. “I had to pay a parking ticket the other day and he was in the office doing something or other. I was tempted to break some law, just so he could arrest me.”

  “Oh, come on, Tiffany. He’s like forty,” the girl that Shelly had identified as Justin’s sister scoffed.

  “I like older men,” the other girl shot back.

  “I don’t even know how I got mixed up in the whole thing,” Justin complained loudly. “I was just trying to get across to visit a friend. You got the whole sailing cancelled, and I missed a great party.”

  “You could have sailed later in the day,” Fenella pointed out.

  “Yeah, but by that time I was too fed up to even think about it,” Justin replied.

  “He means he was too seasick to even think about it,” Justin’s sister interjected. “He’s a terrible sailor. He even has to book himself a cabin so he can just lie flat for the entire journey. Aside from when he’s in the loo being sick, that is.”

  “You have a big mouth,” Justin said to his sister. “I don’t know why I even bother hanging around with you.”

  “You hang around with me because I have much cooler friends than you do,” the girl told him. “If you weren’t with me, you’d be stuck at home with mum and dad, and they’d be nagging you about getting a job and doing something with your life. This is much better, isn’t it?”

  “Not much,” Justin muttered.

  “So what did the dead guy look like?” Justin’s sister asked. “Was there blood everywhere like on telly when someone gets murdered?”

  “I’m sure I’m not meant to be talk about what I saw,” Fenella said. “But it was terribly unpleasant. I can tell you that much.”

  “I think it would cool to find a dead body,” Tiffany said. “I’d ring up Inspector Robinson and then sob in his arms until we fell into bed together.”

  Several of the others at the table laughed at that. “Maybe you should kill someone,” someone shouted.

  “That’s a thought,” Tiffany said. “Who’s most expendable?”

  “Surely that must be Justin,” his sister said. “No one would miss him.”

  Fenella took a deep breath. “That’s a terrible thing to say about your brother,” she said sternly. “Everyone has value and no one has any right to kill anyone else. Even joking about it is in terribly bad taste, especially after what Justin and I went through yesterday. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  The woman looked Fenella up and down and then shrugged. “It’s easy to see why you’re friends with Mrs. Quirk. She was one of my least favorite teachers ever.”

  Fenella glanced over at Shelly, but she was far enough away that she couldn’t have heard the nasty remark. “Murder is no laughing matter,” she said.

  She turned and walked briskly away from the table, ignoring the rude comments that followed her across the room. When she sat back down next to Shelly, she found that she was shaking.

  “What did they say to you that’s upset you?” Shelly asked.

  “They’re just horrible people,” Fenella replied. “They were laughing about the idea of murder, and then Justin’s sister suggested that he was expendable if one of the other girls wanted to kill someone so that she could meet Inspector Robinson.”

  “Oh, dear, that does sound like Jennifer,” Shelly said. “I usually managed to see some good in all of my students, but I never did find anything to like about her.”

  “She didn’t like you either, apparently,” Fenella said dryly.

  Shelly laughed. “I suppose I ought to feel bad about that, but really, I couldn’t care less. Let’s go to the pub, shall we?”

  Fenella was happy to agree. They paid their bill and headed for the exit. Fenella pointedly ignored the group that was still eating and drinking and being loud. She and Shelly were only a few steps away from the restaurant when she heard her name being called.

  “Fenella? I’m sorry, I don’t remember your surname,” Justin said as he caught up to them.

  “It’s Woods, but you’re more than welcome to call me Fenella,” she replied.

  “I just wanted to, well, thank you for trying to stick up for me,” Justin said. “Jennifer was just teasing, but she can be, well, difficult.”

  “She was deliberately mean to you. I’m not sure why you put up with it,” Fenella said.

  Justin shrugged. “She was right. Her friends are cooler than mine and going out with them is better than sitting at home. My parents, well, they aren’t happy with me right now. I would have gone out with just about anyone tonight to get out of the house.”

  “Are you feeling okay after yesterday?” Fenella asked.

  Justin blushed. “The police part wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I’ve been questioned by the police lots of times, and the inspector yesterday was better than most. Jennifer was right, though. I do get really seasick. If I could have found the money, I would have flown across for the party, but I barely scrounged up enough to pay for a foot passenger ticket and a cabin.”

  “And once you got off the boat, you couldn’t stand the idea of getting back on,” Fenella guessed.

  “Yeah,” he said. “And I’d already missed my ride from Liverpool to the party anyway. I could have tried to work something else out, but, yeah, getting on another boat when I was already feeling sick didn’t sound like fun.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Fenella told him.

  “I sort of knew the dead guy,” Justin said. “He was friends with a mate of mine, at least.”

  “Robert Grosso? I hope your friend isn’t too upset over his death,” Fenella said.

  “He’s angry, more like,” Justin said. “He and Robert were doing some sort of business together and now it’s all a mess.”

  “What sort of business?” Fenella asked.

  “I think Robert was going to get him some quality items for his market stall,” Justin explained. “My friend sells bags, like handbags and suitcases and the like. Robert told him he could get him some designer bags at a really good price. My friend had already paid in advance for some stuff and now he doesn’t know if he’ll get it or not.”

  “Designer bags?” Fenella repeated, feeling confused.

  “Well, not real ones,” Justin told her. “Really good knock-offs, you know.”

  Fenella nodded. “I hope you told the police about that,” she said.

  “I didn’t know about it when I talked to the police,” Justin said. “I just saw my friend last night. He came over to ask me what I knew about the murder, and then he told me about his business deal going wrong.”

  “You should call the inspector and tell him,” Fenella suggested.

  “Ah, I don’t want to get my mate in any trouble,” he said. “I mean, I suppose he hasn’t done anything wrong, but you never know. Maybe it would be better if I let him talk to the police. I probably shouldn’t have said anything to you, but, well, I sort of needed someone to talk to.”

  “Yesterday was upsetting for all of us,” Fenella said soothingly.

  “Yeah, I mean, it’s weird. It started out like a normal day. Life is really short, though. I bet Robert Grosso didn’t wake up yesterday expecting to be dead before lunch. It’s all sort of freaked me out.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Fenella tol
d him. While she wasn’t sure she’d have used those exact words, she felt more than a little “freaked out” herself.

  “Anyway, I’d better get back to my friends. I’ll probably see you around or something,” he said. Before Fenella could reply, he turned and walked back into the restaurant.

  “Maybe yesterday’s events will get that young man to take a good look at his life and make a few changes,” Shelly said as she and Fenella continued on their way to the pub.

  “He didn’t seem like such a bad kid, really,” Fenella said.

  “He’s just lazy and unfocused,” Shelly told her. “He never quite worked out what he wants to do with his life.”

  “I still don’t know what I want to do with mine,” Fenella replied.

  Shelly laughed. “There is that,” she said. “I always thought I would teach for a few years and then something amazing would happen, and I’d do something totally different with the rest of my life. As it happened, I retired from teaching, and I’m still waiting for something amazing to happen.”

  “You met me,” Fenella teased.

  “That was amazing,” Shelly said, laughing again.

  The ground floor of the Tale and Tail was about half full of customers.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” Shelly suggested after she and Fenella had taken their first sips of wine. “It might be quieter.”

  Fenella followed her friend up the steep spiral staircase. As they went, Shelly was busy waving and shouting greetings to various people she knew.

  “You’re very popular,” Fenella said as they sat down together on one of the comfortable couches. A large white cat jumped up and settled himself between the pair, rubbing his head against Fenella until she began to pet him.

  “When you teach in the island’s largest primary school for your entire teaching career, you meet just about everyone,” Shelly replied. “And I’m a friendly person. I love people and I make a point of learning all about them and remembering them.”

  “Whereas I taught at a huge research university,” Fenella said. “With two hundred undergraduates in a class, I never really got to know anyone.”

  “I’d hate that,” Shelly said.

  “I did get to know the research assistants and at least some of the young men and women who majored in history,” Fenella told her. “There are even a few I’ve kept in touch with over the years, but not many.”

  “The US is such a huge place, though,” Shelly said. “The island is so much smaller and more, well, friendly, I suppose.”

  “It certainly seems quite friendly to me,” Fenella said. “At least so far. I lived in the same house for many years in Buffalo and never even met my neighbors. Here, you and Peter have already become good friends.”

  “Speak of the devil,” Shelly said, laughing.

  Peter was standing at the top of the staircase, looking around the room. Shelly waved and he smiled and crossed to the couch. He sat down next to Shelly.

  “I was wondering if you two were here,” he said. “I stopped to see if you were okay,” he told Fenella, “but you weren’t home.”

  “Shelly and I went out for pizza before we came here,” Fenella explained.

  “I really need to stop working so hard,” Peter said. “Then maybe I could join you two for pizza once in a while.”

  “Why were you working on a Sunday, anyway?” Shelly asked.

  “I told you about my meeting last night,” he replied. “It ended with my being offered something considerably different to what I’d been expecting. I had to do a great deal more research than I’d intended, including talking to a number of people.”

  “And is it all good?” Fenella asked.

  Peter grinned. “It’s all very good,” he told her “The advantage to doing all of the hard work over the weekend is that now I’ll be ready first thing tomorrow morning with my counter-offer.”

  “I hope it all goes well,” Fenella said, wondering what he was talking about, but feeling as if asking him to explain would be a waste of time.

  “It all sounds incredibly complicated,” Shelly said, putting Fenella’s thoughts into words. “I just hope it’s profitable for you.”

  “It should be,” Peter said. “As long as I can get the deal I want. It’s good either way from my perspective. If they won’t agree, I’m happy to walk away.”

  “I’m sorry, but what do you do?” Fenella felt she had to ask.

  Peter smiled at her. “I used to own my own small business,” he said. “Or rather, I owned a succession of small businesses. A few years ago I got tired of the day-to-day hassle, so I sold up and started investing in other people’s businesses instead. Thus far, I’ve had pretty good luck in selecting with whom to invest my money, I must say. I don’t just invest money, though; I also work with the owners, offering advice and assistance. As I said, so far it’s all been very profitable.”

  “Like the program on telly?” Shelly asked.

  “On a much smaller scale,” Peter laughed.

  Another cat, this one black and white, decided to join them. He jumped into Peter’s lap and then surveyed the others. As Peter scratched under his chin, he studied both Fenella and Shelly. After a moment, he stepped off of Peter and snuggled into Shelly’s lap.

  “Well, that’s gratitude for you,” Peter said. “While I was giving him a good scratch, he was picking out a better prospect.”

  “We don’t usually attract two cats,” Fenella remarked. There were maybe half a dozen animals that called the pub home. For the most part they kept to themselves, lolling around on the various pillows and beds that were scattered around the building. Occasionally one might demand a bit of attention from a willing customer, but to have two sharing the couch with them was out of the ordinary.

  “Maybe we smell like pizza,” Shelly suggested.

  As if on cue, both cats suddenly sat up straight and looked around the room. They exchanged glances and then they both jumped to the floor and raced away, down the stairs and out of sight.

  “And that’s the end of that,” Fenella laughed.

  “As my lap is now free, I’ll go and get us a second round,” Shelly said. She walked away before Fenella could decide whether she wanted to object or not. Peter slid closer to her and took her hand.

  “How are you?” he asked. “I hope yesterday’s events haven’t upset you too much.”

  “I’m doing okay,” Fenella answered. “Shelly has been keeping a close eye on me and keeping me busy.”

  “I feel as if I’m letting you down somehow,” Peter said with a frown.

  “You’re busy with work. I understand. Besides, it isn’t your job to entertain me.”

  “But you’ve had a huge trauma. I feel, as your friend and neighbor, that I should be doing something to help.”

  Fenella felt a pang of something she didn’t want to think about as her brain processed his words. “Friend and neighbor” was a long way from potential romantic partner, she thought sadly. “I’m fine, really I am,” she said after a moment.

  “You must let me take a turn at distracting you, though,” Peter said firmly. “You haven’t been to Peel Castle yet, have you?”

  “No, the only historical site I’ve managed thus far is Castle Rushen,” Fenella said, blushing. “I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t even been to the Manx Museum, well, aside from the one time I went and it was closed.”

  “And you call yourself a historian,” Peter teased.

  “I know. I said I was embarrassed,” Fenella replied. She didn’t even have a good excuse to offer. She wasn’t working and she spent most of her days curled up in her apartment with a good book, watching the sea crashing on the promenade and enjoying not having to be anywhere. Now that she’d had to change her plans for the week ahead, maybe it was time to start exploring her new home a bit more.

  “Why don’t I take you to Peel Castle tomorrow?” Peter asked as Shelly stepped off the elevator with three very full wine glasses in her hands.

  “I thought
you had your big deal to sort out tomorrow,” Fenella reminded him as she took a glass from Shelly.

  “It might be best if I’m unavailable,” Peter replied. “I’ve given them my best offer. It’s up to them to decide what they want to do with it.”

  “But what if they have questions?” Fenella asked, not sure why she was arguing, as she really wanted to see Peel Castle.

  “That’s one of the things I pay my advocate for,” Peter told her. “He’s more than capable of answering any questions that might come up. If you don’t want to go, you can simply tell me that. You needn’t try to find excuses for me to back out.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I do want to go,” she said. “As long as you’re sure you can take the time off.”

  “I’m quite sure,” he said firmly, giving her hand a squeeze.

  “Where are you going?” Shelly asked from where she’d sat down in Peter’s former place.

  “Peel Castle,” Peter told her. “Would you like to join us?”

  Shelly shook her head. “No offense. I’m sure it would be great fun, really, but I took class trips there for many years. Having seen the ruins through the eyes of everyone from five-year-olds who simply wanted to roll down the hills to bored teens who kept trying to sneak away and snog in the crypt, I’m not in any hurry to visit again.”

  Peter laughed. “I’m sure seeing it with Fenella, through the eyes of a historian, will be fascinating,” he said. “But I can understand your not wanting to join us.”

  Shelly glanced at Fenella and then shook her head firmly. “Thank you for inviting me, but you two should go and have fun.”

  “We will,” Peter said. “We’ll have a good look around and then I’ll buy Fenella lunch somewhere nice. If my deal has gone through, it will be a celebration, and if it hasn’t, she can commiserate with me over something delicious.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” Shelly said.

  “It does,” Fenella agreed, trying not to mind that Peter had invited Shelly to come along. Clearly the man simply wants to be friends, she told herself. And never mind why he’s holding your hand. Maybe it’s a British thing.

  The trio talked about local news for a short while as they finished up their second round. “I think that’s enough for me,” Fenella said as she put down her empty glass. “I’ve been drinking more than I should lately. This pub is just too tempting.”