An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - DEF

by Diana Xarissa

  “Yes, very,” Fenella replied. “Your car is wonderful.”

  “Yes, I know. Shelly has been over twice, knocking on the door. I don’t know what she wants.”

  Fenella nodded and then headed for the door. She was halfway to it before she realized that she couldn’t simply appear on Shelly’s doorstep without an explanation. Telling Shelly that the ghost of her dead aunt had told her that she’d visited probably wasn’t the best idea. While she was trying to think of an excuse to go next door, someone knocked.

  “Shelly, come in,” Fenella said, giving her friend a hug. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not really, I suppose,” Shelly replied. “I had a text from Adrian, that’s all. He can’t make it tomorrow.”

  “Are you terribly disappointed?”

  “I’m a little disappointed, as I was hoping he could answer some of my questions, but I’m also somewhat relieved, as I didn’t really like him. He’s supposed to text me again when he’s ready to do some sightseeing.”

  “I wonder what happened? He seemed really keen this afternoon.”

  “Is it too much to hope that the police have had a breakthrough on the case and have started arresting Lance’s friends?” Shelly asked.

  Fenella thought back to her conversation with Mark. “It’s possible,” she said. “I know they’re working hard.”

  She let Shelly out and then got herself ready for bed. It had been a very long day, full of many ups and downs. Driving Mona’s car had been the best part, she decided, although dinner with Donald had been pretty good, too.

  Katie was already in place when Fenella crawled into bed. She fluffed her pillows and then settled in, trying to clear her mind. Her dreams were once again full of men demanding her hand in marriage, but this time it was Neil and his friends who were doing the asking. Fenella kept rushing around the room, shouting no at each of them in turn, but they all simply kept asking, over and over again. When Katie woke her by tapping on her nose, Fenella was so happy to escape the dream that she didn’t even complain about the time.

  15

  The local paper didn’t mention Lance or his murder the next day or the day after that. Adrian didn’t text Shelly again, and she and Fenella were both starting to wonder what was going on when Mark paid Fenella a visit. She and Shelly were playing with the cats while Mona looked on.

  “Good afternoon,” he said. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “No, not at all. Come in,” Fenella said. “Would you like a cold drink or tea or coffee?”

  “A cold drink would be great,” Mark told her. “I have a few things to share with you. Shelly may as well hear them, too, as you’d probably ring her the moment I left, anyway. It’s all going to hit the local papers tomorrow, and it’s probably already on their website.”

  “What’s happened, then?” Fenella asked.

  Mark took his drink and settled on one of the couches. He stared out at the sea for a moment, while the three women stared at him. When he looked around, he shrugged. “I love your view,” he said. “I could sit here all day.”

  “And you’re welcome to do so,” Fenella told him. “After you’d told me why you’re here.”

  “Ah, yes, well, we’ve arrested Jared Welch for the murder of Lance Thomas, also known as Robert Hanson. It was your comment about someone saying that he’d been murdered in his bed that pointed me in the right direction, so thank you.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” Fenella said as Mona silently applauded.

  “But why did he kill Lance?” Shelly asked.

  “From what Jared has said, it was all to do with a con that went wrong. It seems the group was planning several different things for the island, and almost as soon as Lance arrived, things started going wrong.”

  “You can’t stop there,” Shelly exclaimed. “Not when I was meant to be one of the victims.”

  “I can’t be totally certain that everything Jared has told me is true, but from what he’s said, he was meant to be the man claiming to have known your husband in childhood. The group worked out the cons together, and they were all intertwined. It seems that Lance took it upon himself to use the story Jared had developed on you before Jared got the chance to meet you himself.”

  “Wow. I don’t feel sorry for Jared, really, but that does seem rather nasty,” Fenella said.

  “Apparently, it wasn’t the first time Lance had done something like that,” Mark said. “In the past he’d always managed to make enough money to placate his disgruntled business associates, but this time Jared felt as if he’d had enough. Or at least that’s how Jared tells the story.”

  “So he killed Lance,” Fenella sighed.

  “But how did they even find me?” Shelly asked.

  “That’s an interesting story, too,” Mark replied. “From what I’ve learned, Adrian actually grew up on the island. As I understand it, he’d been planning to move back here for years. He used to get the island paper when he was in London, and he apparently used it to plan several different cons. When he mentioned his plans to Lance, it seems things snowballed from there.”

  “Why didn’t he approach me, then?” Shelly wondered.

  “Because he was afraid people on the island might remember him,” Mark explained. “That’s why he grew the moustache, to disguise his appearance. Apparently he was quite the troublemaker when he lived on the island and he left behind a few angry former girlfriends as well as some unhappy family members. Adrian Graves isn’t his real name, either.”

  “None of this is making any sense,” Shelly sighed.

  “Have they all been arrested, then?” Fenella asked.

  “Jared has, for Lance’s murder,” Mark replied. “Adrian is being sent back to the UK, where he’s wanted for questioning in connection with several different cases. I’m not sure where that will all end up, but we’ve nothing to charge him with over here. Eric has been allowed to leave the island, but the UK police are taking a good hard look at him and his business practices.”

  “What about Neil?” Fenella demanded.

  “For the moment, we can’t find anything to charge him with,” Mark told her. “The police in the UK have been watching him for a while, and our fraud department has kept a close eye on him, too. He seems to have just about managed to stay on the right side of the law, even if it’s been a close-run thing more than once. He’ll be back in London tomorrow, and I doubt we’ll see him on the island again in a hurry.”

  “I’m glad you worked out who killed Lance,” Shelly said. “I’ll sleep better knowing the killer is behind bars.”

  “Thank you again for your help,” Mark told Fenella as he got to his feet. “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I won’t see you again before Daniel gets back.”

  Fenella chuckled. “I don’t want to see you again, ever,” she told the man.

  “Now that’s a bit extreme,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind bumping into you in a restaurant or some such thing, but I’d rather not find you mixed up in any more murders.”

  “I’d rather not get mixed up in any more murders,” Fenella replied firmly.

  “Just a few more weeks until Daniel is back. I was happy to take over from him, but now I’m looking forward to going back to the drugs and alcohol unit.”

  “I’m sure Daniel will be happy to be back, too,” Shelly said.

  “I don’t know about that. He’s already taking a few extra days to go and visit some Scottish island with a woman he met on the course. It sounds even more remote than our little island, and with much worse weather. I suppose if there’s a woman involved, he probably won’t care about the weather, though, will he?”

  Fenella felt as if she’d had the wind knocked out of her. Mona looked concerned as Shelly jumped up.

  “You stay there,” she said to Fenella. “I’ll show Mark out. You should relax and enjoy feeling as if you solved the case for him.”

  Mark nodded. “It would have taken longer without your help, that’s for
sure,” he told her.

  Shelly let the inspector out and then rushed back to Fenella. “I’m so sorry,” she said, pulling her into a hug.

  Fenella let a few tears fall before straightening up and wiping her eyes. “We agreed that we could both see other people,” she said. “I can’t blame him for doing so. I’ve been spending time with Donald, after all.”

  “Yes, but, well, I mean,” Shelly stammered. She shook her head. “I’m just sorry, that’s all.”

  “I’m sorry, too, but Daniel has to make his own decisions. I’m sure the woman on his course is perfect for him, too. She’ll understand about police work and all of that.”

  Shelly nodded. “Maybe it’s all for the best. Maybe you and Donald are meant to be together.”

  Mona laughed, but Fenella ignored her. “We’ll see. Are you okay, though?”

  “I’m fine. I’d still like to know more about why those men targeted me, but I can live with not knowing. I’m having dinner with Gordon tonight. He’s been off the island for work, so I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

  “I hope you have a wonderful time,” Fenella said.

  “What are you doing for dinner?” Shelly asked as she and Smokey headed for the door.

  “Maybe I’ll call Donald and see if he’s free,” Fenella replied with a shrug.

  “So ring Donald,” Mona said as soon as Fenella had shut the door behind her friend.

  “I can’t just call him out of the blue and ask him to have dinner with me.”

  “Why not? He said he was crazy about you and you haven’t heard from him since. It’s time to find out what he really wants.”

  “I’m afraid I know what he really wants,” Fenella sighed.

  Mona laughed. “Donald isn’t chasing after you for sex. If that was all he wanted, he can get plenty of that.”

  “So what does he want?” Fenella asked.

  Mona shrugged. “You’ll have to find that out yourself.”

  The phone interrupted before Fenella could ask any more questions.

  “Ah, Fenella, I hope I’m not ringing at a bad time,” Donald’s voice came down the line.

  “No, not at all. I was just trying to decide what to do for dinner.”

  “I so wish I could offer to take you somewhere wonderful, but I’m afraid I’m ringing to let you know that I’m going to be off the island for a while.”

  “I hope everything is okay.”

  “So do I. My daughter was in an accident this morning. The doctors can’t or won’t tell me much over the phone, so I’m heading to New York. I’ll be in touch when I can.”

  “Donald, I’m so sorry. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  “At this point, I don’t think there’s anything that anyone can do, aside from the doctors who are treating her. Just keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”

  “I will. And you as well.”

  “Thank you, my darling. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”

  Fenella put the phone down and blinked back tears. “Poor Donald,” she said. “I can’t even imagine.”

  “I suppose you’ll just have to have dinner with your Aunty Mona,” Mona said. “I’ll warn you now, though, I don’t want to watch any reality television after we eat. Let’s find a nice classic movie or something.”

  Fenella swallowed a sigh. “Maybe we can find an old James Bond film,” she suggested.

  “Oh, yes, that would do nicely. But only if it’s Sean Connery. He was my favorite Bond. Did I ever tell you about the first time I met him?”

  Fenella headed into the kitchen to find something for her dinner while Mona recounted an increasingly implausible story about herself and the famous actor. She might be alone, but with Mona around Fenella wasn’t going to have a chance to get lonely.

  Guests and Guilt

  The next Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy

  Release date: May 18, 2018

  Fenella Woods is less than excited when her brother James announces that he’s coming to visit her. She’s starting to feel truly settled in her new home on the Isle of Man, but James made it clear when she inherited their Aunt Mona’s fortune that he didn’t think it was fair. She can only hope that he’s just coming for a visit and not for a fight about the estate.

  When he arrives with a girlfriend Fenella knew nothing about in tow, she’s even less excited about the three-week visit. But James’s girlfriend, Stephanie, grew up on the island and she has her own reasons for wanting to be there.

  When Stephanie turns up dead, is it just an unfortunate accident or was someone unhappy to see the woman back on the island? Police Inspector Mark Hammersmith is on the case, and he’s quick to consider James as a suspect.

  When James recounts a story from Stephanie’s past that sounds impossible, Mark seems inclined to discount it as fiction. When someone tries to kill James, though, Fenella is convinced that it’s true.

  Can she persuade Mark to see things her way? And can she keep her big brother safe from a killer who might just try again?

  Acknowledgments

  My editor works incredibly hard to fix all of my mistakes. Those that remain are, of course, my fault.

  I continue to love the gorgeous covers that Linda at Tell Tale Book Covers designs for my books. Thank you.

  And I am always grateful to my beta readers who help find plot holes, continuity errors, and other things that stop the flow of the story.

  My biggest thanks, as always, go to each and every person who reads my books. I’m grateful to you all and I hope you continue to enjoy spending time with Fenella and her friends.

  By the Same Author

  The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Series

  Arrivals and Arrests

  Boats and Bad Guys

  Cars and Cold Cases

  Dogs and Danger

  Encounters and Enemies

  Friends and Frauds

  Guests and Guilt

  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

  Aunt Bessie Meets

  Aunt Bessie Needs

  Aunt Bessie Observes

  Aunt Bessie Provides

  Aunt Bessie Questions

  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 Lawley Case

  The Isle of Man Romance Series

  Island Escape

  Island Inheritance

  Island Heritage

  Island Christmas

  About the Author

  Diana Xarissa grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, earned a BA in history from Allegheny College and eventually ended up in Silver Spring, Maryland. There she met her husband, who swept her off her feet and moved her to Derbyshire for a short while. Eventually, the couple relocated to the Isle of Man.

  The Isle of Man was home for Diana and her family for over ten years. During their time there, Diana completed an MA in Manx Studies through the University of Liverpool. The family is now living near Buffalo, New York, where Diana enjoys writing about the island that she loves.

  Diana 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.

  Or find Diana at:

  www.dianaxarissa.com

  diana@dianaxarissa.com