Aunt Bessie Observes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 15)

by Diana Xarissa

  “I have a set and my business partner has a set. When we got down to the last few properties, we turned responsibility for the sales over to an estate agent. He has a set of keys for this property as well,” Pete said.

  “Jack will get it all down,” John told him. “And then you can go home and get some rest.”

  “I may never sleep again,” Pete said, turning to follow the young constable up the beach. Bessie could see him deliberately putting his hand up to his face to block his vision of the murdered man.

  “He’s badly shaken,” Bessie told John.

  “Yes, I’m sure he is,” John agreed. “You and your friends seem to be holding up better.”

  “We’re made of sterner stuff,” Janet told him.

  John nodded. “I believe you are,” he said. “The question is, how much sterner? Would you be willing to take a look at the body and tell me if you think you recognise him?”

  Janet shuddered. “I’m willing to try,” she said after a moment. “But I’m not sure my stomach can handle it. From what I saw, there was a lot of blood.”

  “There was,” John agreed. “I’m going to have you take a look once we’ve moved the body onto a trolley. It should look a lot better.”

  “From what I could see, it could have been the man we knew as Norman Glover,” Janet said.

  “I’d rather not look, if I don’t have to,” Joan said. “I’m not usually squeamish, but, well, I’d simply rather not.”

  “Of course you don’t have to,” John told her. “If it is the man we think it is, we should be able to identify him by his fingerprints. They should be on file, as we know he had a criminal record. I’m just trying to speed things up a bit by getting him identified as quickly as possible.”

  Joan nodded. “If Janet isn’t certain, I can try,” she said, clearly reluctantly.

  “Let me see how much we can get him cleaned up,” John replied. “I don’t want to give either of you nightmares.”

  “It might be too late for that,” Janet said softly.

  “I’ll be back shortly,” John promised. “In the meantime, I’ll send Hugh back over. He’s finished talking with the neighbours, I believe.”

  Hugh traded places with the other young constable a few minutes later. The floodlights made everyone look unnaturally pale, or at least that’s what Bessie told herself as they all stood and tried not to look into the house where the police were working.

  “No one saw or heard anything,” Hugh said with a sigh. “Which is to be expected, I suppose.”

  “Why didn’t anyone notice the body earlier?” Bessie asked. “I’m sure people were out on the beach.”

  “A few people were out, including a man walking his dog, but most of them were at work all day. The people here are residents, not holidaymakers.”

  Bessie nodded. “Even so, I would have thought that people would have been out, since the weather was so nice.”

  “The man walking the dog didn’t see anything?” Janet asked.

  “He didn’t, but he did admit to making an effort to not look into the other houses as he went, as well,” Hugh told her. “There have been some complaints among the neighbours about people looking into one another’s windows, apparently.”

  “I’ll bet I can tell you who complained,” Bessie muttered.

  Hugh glanced at her. “Do you know anyone who lives here?” he asked.

  “Not really, but there was a couple moving in recently who objected to me walking on the beach behind their home,” Bessie replied. “They seemed to think that the beach was private property and that I was trespassing.”

  Hugh nodded. “I’m sure I know which couple you mean,” he said. “But I don’t know who complained or to whom. I just know that at least one person who might have found the body earlier was deliberately not looking.”

  “What a shame,” Janet sighed.

  “John will take a better look tomorrow, but I think the body was far enough away from the window that it would have been difficult to spot anyway,” Hugh said. “Especially if the sun was shining directly on the sliding doors.”

  “If that’s the case, if not for that security light, the body might not have been found for several days,” Bessie said.

  “Possibly not,” Hugh agreed.

  John returned a short time later. “Okay, he doesn’t look all that bad,” he told Janet. “Try to imagine that he’s just sleeping, okay?”

  “I’ll try,” Janet said, her voice a bit shaky.

  “Come with me, then,” John invited.

  Janet took a few steps and then glanced back at the others. “Can you come with me?” she asked them. “I think I need the moral support.”

  Joan and Bessie exchanged glances. “Is it okay if we come, too?” Bessie asked John.

  “Yes, but you’ll have to follow my instructions very closely,” John said. “I don’t want the crime scene or the body contaminated in any way.”

  John, with Janet on his arm, led the little group across the sand. Bessie followed, with Joan behind her and Hugh bringing up the rear. They walked between two houses further down the beach before making their way back to the front of the vacant house. Bessie could feel curious eyes watching her from the windows of the other homes, and she carefully avoiding looking at anyone.

  “Right, just wait here a minute,” John said as he stopped in the road behind the properties.

  “All these flashing lights are going to give me a headache,” Janet said.

  Bessie nodded. There were several police cars, a police van, and two ambulances all parked on the road. Every one of them had their emergency lights flashing.

  “They’re bringing the body out now,” John said when he returned a moment later. “I’m going to walk with you to the ambulance. You’ll only have a moment to take a look, okay?”

  Janet nodded and took a deep breath. Bessie gave her shoulder a squeeze.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Joan hissed.

  “No, not at all,” Janet whispered back. “But it might help.”

  It seemed as if everyone stopped and stared when the two men appeared in the doorway of the house, pushing a trolley. Janet took another deep breath as John took her arm and led her forward. As Bessie took a step to follow, John turned and shook his head at her.

  Bessie couldn’t take her eyes off Janet as the other woman stood next to the ambulance and waited for the men with the trolley to arrive. When the men stopped next to John, he nodded and one of the paramedics pulled the sheet down from over the dead man’s head. Bessie was suddenly grateful that she was as far away as she was, although she couldn’t help but think that she’d prefer to be even further away, like maybe in London.

  As the paramedics loaded the body onto the ambulance, Janet spoke to John. He nodded several times and then said something to the two men. A moment later, they shut the ambulance doors and drove away. Janet and John slowly walked back across the road to where Bessie and Joan were standing with Hugh.

  Janet opened her mouth, but John held up a hand. “Before anyone says anything, I’d like to get statements from everyone,” he said. “Bessie, if you could give Hugh your statement, I’d appreciate it. I’ll take Janet’s and I’ll find someone to take Joan’s.” He pulled out his mobile and pushed a few buttons. A moment later the young constable who had been standing with them earlier rushed up.

  “Yes, sir?” he said.

  “I’d like you to take Ms. Joan Markham’s statement,” John told him. “Please take her through her entire day, from the time she got up this morning until right now. Write down everything that she tells you, whether it seems relevant or not.”

  The man nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said smartly.

  “You can talk to her in your car or take her back to her cottage, whichever she prefers,” John said.

  “Where will Janet be?” Joan asked.

  “I’m going to talk to her here,” John replied. “But I’ll make sure she gets home safely when we’re done.”

>   “I think I’d like to go back to our cottage, then,” Joan said. “If you don’t mind,” she added, addressing her sister.

  Janet shook her head. “You go,” she said. “And put the kettle on.”

  Joan nodded and the followed the constable to his car. Bessie watched as they drove away.

  “Bessie, do you want to go home or talk to Hugh in his car?” John asked.

  “I suppose I should go home,” Bessie said. “As long as Janet doesn’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Janet said. “I’m fine.”

  Bessie nodded, and then she and Hugh walked over to his car, which was parked nearby. Before she climbed inside, Bessie glanced back at her friend. John was leading her to his car and Bessie couldn’t help but feel as if the sisters’ holiday was turning into something of a disaster.

  Back at Treoghe Bwaane, Bessie switched the kettle on as soon as she was inside the door. She dumped some fancy chocolate-covered biscuits onto a plate and set it in the centre of the table. If ever there was a night that called for chocolate, this was it, she thought grimly as she pulled down mugs for tea. Hugh sat quietly, out of the way, until Bessie joined him at the table with mugs of tea for both of them. When she was settled in her seat, Bessie realised that Hugh had been so quiet because he’d eaten his way through half a dozen biscuits while he waited. Feeling as if she might just eat that many herself, Bessie picked up a biscuit and nibbled at it while Hugh made a few notes in his notebook.

  “You know how this works,” he said to Bessie when he was done. “Can you please walk me through your day, starting with what time you woke up this morning?”

  Bessie swallowed a sigh. She’d known it was coming, but that didn’t make it any less of a chore. “I woke up at six, as I usually do,” she began. She told Hugh all about her day with Janet and Joan, starting with their tour of the House of Mannanan. Hugh took notes as she told him about the committee meeting and the subsequent visit to Douglas to look at possible decorations. When she was done, she sighed and sat back, another biscuit in her hand.

  “I should have a lot of questions for you,” Hugh said. “But I can’t think of any. Maybe I’m too tired to think straight.”

  “I’ve told you everything I know,” Bessie replied.

  “Yes, but I know John would have questions if he were here,” Hugh said.

  “Perhaps, but then I imagine he’ll be here before too much longer.”

  Hugh nodded. “No doubt he’ll want to talk to you,” he agreed. “I can’t help but wonder if Janet identified the body or not.”

  “John didn’t give you any hint?”

  “None,” Hugh sighed.

  Bessie took another sip of her tea and then ate another biscuit. “John will tell us when he gets here,” she said confidently.

  “Probably. I just hope I can stay awake until then.” Hugh sighed. “I’ve been working nights for ages, but I just can’t seem to get into a proper routine. I’m exhausted when I’m on duty, but I can’t sleep when I get home.”

  “Hopefully, you’ll be back on days before too much longer,” Bessie said encouragingly.

  “Yes, hopefully, although Grace went and looked at a house today. We can afford it, and it’s three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but, well, it isn’t really habitable. It needs new floors, a new kitchen, and two new bathrooms, and Grace said she didn’t think we could even live in it while the work was being done. Apparently there were structural issues as well. We can’t afford to buy a house, and keep paying rent, and pay for renovations.”

  Bessie patted his hand. “The right house is out there, you just have to find it,” she said.

  “We’re going to look in Lonan as well. Property prices are slightly lower there, or at least that’s what the estate agent said. We’ll see.”

  “I think I’ll make some coffee,” Bessie said after a yawn. She was just switching on the coffee maker when someone knocked on her door.

  “I’m sure you’re tired,” John Rockwell said from the doorway. “But I’d appreciate a few minutes of your time.”

  “I just started a pot of coffee,” Bessie told him. “Come in and have a seat.”

  She put the rest of the box of chocolate biscuits onto the plate on the table and then poured three cups of coffee before she joined the men at the table. While they’d been waiting, Hugh had shared his notes on Bessie’s statement with John.

  “Janet has given us a preliminary identification of the body,” John said after a long drink from his mug. “She’s fairly certain it’s the man she knew as Norman Glover. We’re waiting for a match on his fingerprints, but we’re reasonably confident that that is who we’ve found.”

  “And you think he was the man who was calling himself Nathan Groves on the island?” Bessie asked.

  “Yes, but we’ll have someone from the Mannanan’s Kids fundraising committee confirm that,” John replied. “It can wait for morning, though.”

  “I thought Norman or Nathan, or whatever his name was, killed Jonathan,” Bessie said.

  John nodded. “That was the angle we were pursuing,” he said. “But now it seems less likely.”

  “You don’t know how long the man had been dead?” Bessie asked.

  “Not yet, but I don’t think it was more than twenty-four hours. I suspect that he was still alive when his partner died,” John replied.

  “So he could have killed Jonathan,” Bessie exclaimed.

  “Yes, he could have,” John agreed.

  Bessie sat back and sighed. “Even if he did kill his partner, he didn’t kill himself. Why would anyone kill him?”

  “That’s what we need to work out,” John told her. “It’s possible that there was a third member of the group, perhaps someone who only worked behind the scenes, and that person decided to eliminate both men. It’s also possible that one or both of the men upset someone here and that someone killed them both.” John sighed. “At this point, just about anything is possible. I really need to get back to the scene. Thank you for the biscuits and the coffee. I needed them.”

  He got to his feet and Hugh was quick to follow suit. At the door, John paused and turned back to Bessie.

  “Tomorrow is Wednesday,” he said. “Are you available tomorrow night?”

  Bessie nodded. “I can be,” she said. “Do you want to come over and talk through everything?”

  “Yes, please,” John replied. “I’ll invite Hugh and Doona as well.”

  “I’d love to come,” Hugh said.

  John chuckled. “I didn’t mean to talk about you as if weren’t here,” he said. “I’ll invite Doona, though.”

  “Come around six,” Bessie suggested. “I’ll make spaghetti.”

  “Maybe we should include Janet and Joan in the meeting,” John suggested. “What do you think?”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Bessie replied. “They might have some interesting insights. And I’ll see if Joan can bring pudding.”

  John nodded. “We’ll be here at six, then, unless something happens in the meantime.”

  “If you solve the case between now and then, come anyway,” Bessie told him. “We can celebrate.”

  “I wish,” John muttered. He let himself out and Hugh was quick to follow. Bessie washed the tea and coffee mugs and the plates and then found herself pacing back and forth in her kitchen.

  “You need to go to bed,” she told herself sternly.

  I wonder if Janet and Joan are okay, she thought to herself. A good friend would check on them before she went to bed, a little voice said in her head. Bessie smiled as she quite agreed with the little voice. She threw on a jacket and slid her feet into the shoes nearest the door. She’d just walk as far as the sisters’ cottage. If the lights were out, she’d turn back around and take herself off to bed.

  The moon’s glow felt eerie as Bessie locked up her cottage and began the short walk across the sand. Somewhere a door slammed, causing Bessie to jump. “You drank too much coffee and now your nerves are on edge,” she muttere
d to herself, knowing that the coffee had nothing to do with her nerves. Two people had been murdered just down the beach from her home. It was no wonder she was a bit jumpy.

  She heard a car start somewhere and froze in place, watching as headlights moved slowly along the road that ran behind her home and the holiday cottages. When the car was out of sight, she continued on her way.

  All of the curtains were drawn in the Markham sisters’ cottage, but Bessie could see that there were lights on in the sitting room and dining area. After a moment spent arguing with herself, she walked up to the cottage door and knocked gently.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Bessie? We were just talking about you,” Janet exclaimed as she pulled the cottage door open. “We were wondering if we should walk over and check on you before we went to bed. Come in and have some tea and cake,” she invited.

  “I could do with some tea,” Bessie told her as she walked into the sitting room. “I made coffee, but now I’m too awake.”

  Janet nodded. “That’s why I’ve stuck to tea,” she replied. “Joan has been coping by baking. While she was waiting for me, she made a chocolate sponge and a tray of flapjacks.”

  “I wish I baked when I was feeling stressed,” Bessie said. “Actually, I wish I did something, anything, productive when I was stressed. Instead, I pace in pointless circles and worry.”

  “I eat,” Janet told her. “Which makes Joan the perfect sister for me.”

  Bessie laughed and then sat down in the dining area. Janet got her a cup of tea while Joan cut her a large slice of chocolate sponge.

  “It might still be warm,” she warned as she put the cake in front of Bessie. “And I didn’t bother to decorate it.”

  “It’s delicious,” Bessie said after the first bite. “Warm chocolate is incredibly soothing, as well.”

  “I’ve already had two pieces,” Janet told her. “I’m feeling so soothed that I’m almost ill.”

  “I told you not to have the second piece,” Joan chided.

  “I’d rather feel ill from too much cake than from everything else that’s happened today,” Janet countered.