Aunt Bessie Observes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 15)
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“Maybe he didn’t,” Bessie suggested. “Maybe she was just afraid he might.”
“No, he definitely knew who she was, eventually. Jacqueline claims he tried to blackmail her and that she killed him accidently,” John said.
“Do we want to know the details of how she did it?” Janet asked.
“I suspect she agreed to be their local accomplice and then set up a meeting with Jonathan, either at the holiday cottage or just on the beach. He was good enough at breaking and entering to have broken into the cottage if she suggested it. The same is true for Nathan. She probably just arranged a meeting at a house that she knew was empty and he probably broke in for her.”
“It’s all very sad,” Bessie said. “But I’m glad it’s over.”
“I should add that I spent a lot of today on the phone with solicitors for Jacqueline’s second husband’s family. In light of everything we’ve discovered, they are planning to sue Jacqueline for the estate. They should win, as well.”
“I don’t feel the least bit sorry for her,” Joan said. “She killed two men, even if they weren’t nice men.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t just disappear with the money,” Bessie said.
“We believe she was planning to do just that,” John told her. “She had a flight to the Bahamas booked, leaving Friday morning.”
“And now she’ll spend the rest of her life in prison,” Joan said.
“We expect so, anyway,” John replied.
The foursome chatted a bit more about the case, until Bessie began to yawn.
“And you have to give your talk tomorrow,” John said. “I should go.”
“Thank you for coming,” Bessie replied, too tired to argue.
“I’ll see you at the museum tomorrow,” John told her. “I’m looking forward to your talk.”
“I would rather not know you’re going to be there,” Bessie said. “I’m nervous enough.”
John nodded. “Sorry. I may get held up with work, anyway. I may not be there.”
Bessie chuckled. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“Maybe,” he told her. “Or maybe not.”
Bessie let everyone out and went to bed. She tossed and turned for several minutes before falling into a restless sleep. Every dream seemed to be about her speech and in every one she seemed to lose her notes, except in one rather more dramatic dream where her notes spontaneously burst into flames as she tried to read them. She was grateful to wake up and start the day, really.
“Are you excited?” Janet asked in the car on the way to the museum.
“I feel sick, does that count?” Bessie replied.
It seemed only a very short time later that Bessie found herself at the podium, ready to address the small crowd that included dozens of random strangers as well as John, Hugh, Grace, Doona, Janet and Joan. She cleared her throat and looked down at her notes.
“Wills tell us a great deal about many things. People use their wills to distribute their earthly belongings to the people that they cared about while they were alive. This usually means their family, but it can also mean friends. Today I want to talk about what we can learn from the island’s wills about friendships through the years.”
She looked out at the crowd and found her eyes moving along the row where her own friends were gathered. She was very fortunate to have them, she thought before she continued.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
House Names – Manx to English
Thie yn Traie — Beach House
Treoghe Bwaane — Widow’s Cottage
English to American Terms
advocate — Manx title for a lawyer (solicitor)
aye — yes
bin — garbage can
biscuits — cookies
booking — reservation
boot (car) — trunk
car park — parking lot
chemist — pharmacist
chips — french fries
cuppa — cup of tea (informally)
dear — expensive
deposit — down payment (on a house)
estate agent — real estate agent (realtor)
fairy cakes — cupcakes
fizzy drink — soda (pop)
holiday — vacation
jumper — sweater
lie in — sleep late
midday — noon
pavement — sidewalk
plait (hair) — braid
primary school — elementary school
pudding — dessert
starters — appetizers
skeet — Manx term for gossip
supply teacher — substitute teacher
telly — television
till — checkout (grocery store)
torch — flashlight
trolley — shopping cart or a gurney (ambulance)
windscreen — windshield
OTHER NOTES
CID is the Criminal Investigation Department of the Isle of Man Constabulary (Police Force).
When talking about time, the English say, for example, “half seven” to mean “seven-thirty.”
With regard to Bessie’s age: UK (and IOM) residents get a free bus pass at the age of 60. Bessie is somewhere between that age and the age at which she will get a birthday card from the Queen. British citizens used to receive telegrams from the ruling monarch on the occasion of their one-hundredth birthday. Cards replaced the telegrams in 1982, but the special greeting is still widely referred to as a telegram.
When island residents talk about someone being from “across,” they mean that the person is from somewhere in the United Kingdom (across the water).
In the UK people measure their weight in stone. One stone is equal to fourteen pounds, so someone who weighs ten stone and four would weigh 144 pounds.
When someone is said to be “brewing something,” it means they are getting a cold or some similar illness.
Noble’s is the island’s main hospital, located in Douglas.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am (as always) hugely grateful to my editor, Denise, who works so hard to make these books the best they can be. The mistakes that remain are, of course, my own.
My beta readers, Janice, Charlene, Rose, and Betty, are wonderful women who give up their valuable time to share their thoughts on early drafts of my books. I truly appreciate their time and their insights.
Kevin takes the wonderful photos that grace my covers. Thank you for giving up your time to photograph the island on my behalf.
And thank you, readers, for sharing Bessie’s world with me.
Aunt Bessie Provides
Release date: January 19, 2018
Aunt Bessie provides help to Constable Hugh Watterson whenever she can.
Elizabeth Cubbon, Aunt Bessie to nearly everyone, has been involved in far too many murder investigations in the past year and a half. But when Hugh asks her to help him work out the identity of a body that washed up on Laxey Beach around twenty years earlier, she’s happy to help.
Aunt Bessie provides Hugh with a list of men who left the island not long before the body was found.
If Hugh can track them all down, at least he’ll know who the body isn’t, but the job isn’t as straightforward as it first appears.
Aunt Bessie provides a sympathetic ear for the family and friends of the various missing men.
But when one of them proves impossible to find, will anyone step forward to provide a DNA sample to compare with Hugh’s body?
ALSO BY DIANA XARISSA
The Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Series
Aunt Bessie Assumes
Aunt Bessie Believes
Aunt Bessie Considers
Aunt Bessie Decides
Aunt Bessie Enjoys
Aunt Bessie Finds
Aunt Bessie Goes
Aunt Bessie’s Holiday
Aunt Bessie Invites
Aunt Bessie Joins
Aunt Bessie Knows
Aunt Bessie Likes
&
nbsp; Aunt Bessie Meets
Aunt Bessie Needs
Aunt Bessie Observes
Aunt Bessie Provides
The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Mysteries
Arrivals and Arrests
Boats and Bad Guys
Cars and Cold Cases
Dogs and Danger
Encounters and Enemies
The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novellas
The Appleton Case
The Bennett Case
The Chalmers Case
The Donaldson Case
The Ellsworth Case
The Fenton Case
The Green Case
The Hampton Case
The Irwin Case
The Jackson Case
The Kingston Case
The Isle of Man Romance Series
Island Escape
Island Inheritance
Island Heritage
Island Christmas
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Washington, DC, and then found herself being swept off her feet by a handsome British man who was visiting DC on vacation. That was over twenty years ago.
After their wedding, Diana moved to Derbyshire, where her new husband had his home. A short time later, the couple moved to the Isle of Man. After more than ten years on the island, now a family of four, they relocated to the outskirts of Buffalo, NY, where Diana keeps busy writing about the island she loves and driving her children everywhere.
She also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future under the pen name “Diana X. Dunn” and fantasy/adventure books for middle grade readers under the pen name “D.X. Dunn.”
She would be delighted to know what you think of her work and can be contacted through snail mail at:
Diana Xarissa Dunn
PO Box 72
Clarence, NY 14031.
Find Diana at:
www.dianaxarissa.com
diana@dianaxarissa.com
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Glossary of Terms
Other Notes
Acknowledgments
Aunt Bessie Provides
Also by Diana Xarissa
About the Author