An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  “Like Shelly said, it’s going to seem strange not having you here,” Peter said as they reached his door. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but then he simply gave Fenella a quick hug and let himself into his apartment.

  “What’s going on with you two?” Shelly asked as the door shut behind Peter. “You went out to dinner a few times and I thought maybe there was going to be a bit of a romance there, and now, nothing.”

  Fenella shrugged. “We went out a few times, but Peter seems quite content for us to just be friends. I’m not going to push for more, not while I’m still recovering from my last relationship.”

  Shelly nodded. “Well, I think you two would be great together, if you ever did decide to push for more. There’s nothing wrong with being friends, though.”

  Fenella thought about Peter. He was a handsome man in his early fifties, just about the right age for her as she sped toward fifty herself. He had salt-and-pepper hair and lovely blue eyes, but he also had two ex-wives, one of whom was significantly younger than Fenella. Shelly was right. They might well be better off staying just friends.

  “Good night, dear,” Shelly said now as she gave Fenella a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning when you bring Katie over.”

  “Yes, I’ll be over around eight, sorry.”

  “No need to be,” Shelly assured her. “As long as you don’t mind that I won’t look quite this fabulous.”

  Fenella laughed as she looked her friend up and down. Shelly was wearing a bright green top with a hot pink skirt. The combination, especially when paired with the woman’s red hair, was striking to say the least. The longer Fenella knew her, the less she noticed what Shelly was wearing. No matter how loud Shelly’s outfits were, her personality was always bigger and better. Shelly insisted that Fenella’s Aunt Mona had been instrumental in pulling Shelly out of her depression when Shelly’s husband had died suddenly. Apparently Mona had encouraged the bright colors and the dyed hair that now seemed inextricably Shelly.

  Fenella opened the door to her own apartment, a smile still on her face. She’d left a few lights on for Katie, and the kitten looked up at her from her favorite spot on a couch in the living room.

  “Merow,” she said softly.

  “Hello, Katie,” Fenella replied. “I know it’s late, but I was having fun with my friends.”

  “Yes, well, it’s high time that little kitten was in bed,” a voice said from the kitchen.

  Fenella shook her head. “Aunt Mona, you know as well as I do that Katie sleeps whenever and wherever she likes. She couldn’t care less what time I go to bed.”

  “That isn’t true,” Mona argued. “She waits up for you every time you go out.”

  Fenella sighed. Mona would know, she supposed. As Mona was either a ghost or a figment of Fenella’s imagination, Mona was nearly always in the apartment. Fenella didn’t think her imagination was all that good, so as time went by and Mona didn’t show any signs of leaving, Fenella was coming to believe that the semi-transparent woman who seemed to pop in and out at random really was the ghost of her recently departed aunt.

  “Well, I’m home now, so I’ll just get off to bed,” Fenella told Mona. “You will keep an eye on things while I’m gone, won’t you?” she asked over her shoulder as she turned toward her bedroom.

  “Oh, I’ll be watching,” Mona replied. “I can’t do anything if burglars break in, for instance, but I’ll be watching for them.”

  “And then you can describe them to me and I can tell the police,” Fenella said. “Although how I’ll explain how I know what the burglars looked like to the police, I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Mona told her. “This building is very safe.”

  “There have been rather a lot of burglaries in Douglas in the last few weeks, though, haven’t there? According to the local papers, that’s quite unusual.”

  “Yes, well, perhaps a gang of criminals has moved in from across or something,” Mona said. “They’ll soon find that there isn’t much to steal in most people’s houses here and move on again.”

  Fenella glanced around her comfortably furnished apartment. “I’d hate for anyone to take anything from in here, except maybe that lamp,” she said after a moment.

  “The lamp your mother bought me,” Mona laughed. “You really don’t like it, do you?”

  Fenella wrinkled her nose. “It just isn’t to my taste, although nearly everything else is.”

  “You know you don’t have to keep it,” Mona said. “You own the flat and all of its contents. You can redecorate the entire place if you want to.”

  “That wouldn’t feel right, not with you still being here,” Fenella said. “I mean, even if you went, I probably wouldn’t do much. As I said, most of it is exactly right.”

  “Yes, well, as I understand it, it’s mostly computer equipment and jewelry that are being stolen in these break-ins. Items that are small and valuable and are easy to sell on the street. The furniture in here should be safe enough, and you can lock up your jewelry in the safe before you go.”

  “I meant to do that,” Fenella exclaimed. “Thank you for reminding me.”

  In the master bedroom, behind a lovely watercolor painting, was a wall safe. Fenella opened it and put her small jewelry box inside.

  “Are you wearing those earrings to England?” Mona asked.

  Fenella put a hand to her ear and then shook her head. “These are too nice,” she said, taking the small diamond studs out of her ears. “I’ll wear some simple gold hoops while I’m away.” She dropped the studs into the safe with the jewelry box and fished out a pair of plain gold hoop earrings.

  “I was thinking about changing my appearance again,” Mona said from where she was standing in front of the full-length mirror. “But then, I can’t see myself in the mirror if you aren’t here, so maybe it isn’t worth the bother.”

  “I thought you liked being around thirty,” Fenella said. “What were you thinking of changing to?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Mona sighed. “I’m just bored, I think.”

  “I hope you won’t be too bored while I’m away,” Fenella said, looking at her aunt with concern.

  “It’s strange being here all the time,” Mona said. “I miss my exciting life and I really miss the Tale and Tail. Maybe it’s time to move on to the next phase of my being dead.”

  Fenella swallowed hard. There were times when she thought it would be nice to have her apartment to herself, but she also knew she’d miss Mona once the other woman moved on to whatever was next. “You have to do what’s best for you,” she said after a moment.

  “Yes, I suppose I do,” Mona mused. “It doesn’t seem as if I’m helping much with your love life, either, does it? Of course, you don’t actually have a love life, so that might be the problem.”

  Fenella thought later that it was good that she’d had that extra drink. She didn’t even bother to argue with her aunt. She just stuck her tongue out at her and then went into the master bathroom and shut the door. Her love life was not something she wanted to discuss with Mona or anyone else for that matter, even if Mona was mostly right. There really wasn’t anything to talk about on the subject.

  She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She’d recently found an excellent hairdresser on the island, and even now, three weeks after her last cut, she loved the way she looked. Her grey was now covered under a rich chestnut brown, with enough blonde highlights sprinkled throughout to make her feel, and she hoped look, younger. Her eyes were somewhere between blue and green and they weren’t doing too badly. She’d worn contact lenses for many years and she knew she was going to need reading glasses or bifocals soon, but she was fighting the idea for the moment.

  After she slipped into her nightgown, she switched off the bathroom light. In the bedroom, Katie had taken up her position right in the center of the bed. Fenella shook her head at the cat and then went into the kitchen to fill up Katie’s water bowl, just in ca
se the kitten got thirsty during the night.

  Her alarm seemed to ring only a few minutes after she’d turned off the bedroom light. “It can’t be morning already,” she said to Katie as the kitten yawned and then snuggled back down into the duvet.

  Fenella sighed and slid out of bed. She had a ferry to catch. As she stood under the shower, she began to feel a tiny bit of excitement. She’d quit her job and moved halfway around the world for a new beginning. Part of that new beginning included writing the book that she’d been thinking about for years. A fictional autobiography of Anne Boleyn had sounded like a great idea when she’d been a hard-working university professor, teaching history to bored undergraduates, but now that she had all the time she needed to get the book actually written, it was proving harder than she’d anticipated. This trip was meant to inspire her. She was planning to visit several of the most important sites in Tudor history.

  Thoughts of Hever Castle and Hampton Court Palace filled her brain as she got dressed and put on a little makeup. It only took her a few minutes to finish packing, which meant she was ready to go as soon as she dropped Katie off next door. She looked at the tiny kitten, who was still in bed, and sighed. She hadn’t wanted a pet, but she was really going to miss Katie while she was away.

  “It’s only a week,” she reminded herself sternly as she double-checked the list of instructions she’d written out for Shelly. “And Shelly will spoil her rotten,” she added, knowing that her neighbor would fuss over her little furry guest at every opportunity.

  Sighing deeply, she scooped the kitten up from her nap, earning herself a “meeeooowww” of protest.

  “Hush, now,” she said. “Shelly will take good care of you and you’ll have a whole new apartment to explore. It will be like having a vacation.”

  Katie blinked at her and then snuggled into her arms. “You aren’t making this easier,” she muttered as she carried the kitten into the corridor. Katie’s contented purr just made Fenella feel worse.

  “Ah, there’s my new flatmate,” Shelly cooed as she opened her door only a few seconds after Fenella’s knock. “I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve bought you a new toy for each day that Fenella will be away and I’ve bought a box of special kitty treats and special bottled water, designed just for kittens.”

  “Bottled water for kittens?” Fenella echoed faintly.

  Shelly flushed. “It was on sale in the pet shop,” she said. “The shop assistant said it was much better for their tiny digestive systems than tap water.”

  Fenella couldn’t help but smile. “As soon as I get back, we’re going to go to a shelter somewhere to get you a kitten,” she told her friend.

  Shelly beamed. “I think that’s a good idea,” she said. “Otherwise I might be tempted to keep Katie.”

  Fenella gave the top of Katie’s head a quick kiss and then handed the seemingly unconcerned animal over to Shelly. “I’ll be back next Sunday,” she reminded the other woman. “And I will want Katie back.”

  Shelly grinned. “I know. I promise not to get too attached.”

  As Fenella turned away, she heard Shelly whispering to Katie about all of the fun they were going to have. Her neighbor definitely needed a cat of her own. Back in her apartment, Fenella grabbed her suitcase and headed for the door. The Sea Terminal was only a short walk away, and a glance out of the huge windows at the front of her apartment showed her that the sun was coming up on a lovely spring morning.

  “I just hope it stays like this,” she said to herself as she walked out of her building and turned along the promenade. The sea journey from Douglas to Liverpool took over three hours and she understood that if the wind picked up things could get quite rocky on the boat. The last thing she wanted was to arrive in Liverpool having been seasick for several hours.

  She’d walked past the Sea Terminal many times in the weeks she’d lived on the island, but she’d never had an occasion to go inside. The reservations for today’s journey had been made online and she’d been able to print her ticket herself. Inside the building, she found the check-in desk and waited in line behind an older gentleman and a young couple.

  “We’ll be boarding in just a few minutes,” the girl behind the desk was telling the man. “You can wait in our lounge, just through those doors.”

  “I want to be in the quiet lounge on the boat,” he shouted at the girl. “I like things nice and quiet and I don’t want any children underfoot.”

  “Yes, sir, you’ve booked a seat in the quiet lounge,” the girl told him.

  “Pardon?” he yelled.

  “I said, you’re booked into the quiet lounge,” the girl repeated herself more loudly.

  “Right, well, I’ll just go and wait then, shall I?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” the girl said. “Through those doors.” She pointed to a set of double doors to the man’s right.

  “Through there?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. Right through there,” she said loudly.

  As the man headed off, slowly dragging his small suitcase behind him, the young couple approached the desk.

  “Wasting his money on the quiet lounge, with his hearing that bad,” the man muttered as he felt around in his pockets for his ticket.

  “But at least he’ll be away from children,” the woman with him said. “That does sound like a good idea. The last time I took the ferry, a small child wanted to talk to me for most of the journey.”

  The man grimaced and looked at the woman behind the desk. “Are there any more seats in the quiet lounge?” he asked.

  The girl grinned. “Plenty,” she said. “It’s only the middle of April, so it’s fairly quiet today. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about noisy children anywhere on board, but if you’re really worried, you can pay for reserved seats in the quiet lounge.”

  The pair had a quick conversation and Fenella lost interest. She looked through the doors where the older man had disappeared. The small waiting area reminded her of every airport she’d ever been in, with uncomfortable-looking chairs arranged in clusters. The room was only sparsely populated and Fenella didn’t know anyone among the passengers.

  That was hardly surprising, considering she’d been on the island for less than two months, but she still found herself looking at everyone as if expecting to recognize a familiar face. Often, she found herself smiling at someone who looked familiar, only to realize, as they stared blankly at her, that they resembled someone she’d known back in Buffalo, New York.

  “How can I help you?” the woman behind the desk called as the young couple made their way through the waiting room doors.

  “Oh, I’m sailing to Liverpool,” Fenella said. She handed over her printed ticket.

  “Okay, we’ll be allowing foot passengers to board very soon,” the girl said. “And I see you’ve booked a cabin. You’ll need to stop at customer service once you’ve boarded and they’ll be able to give you the key and tell you how to find your cabin.”

  “Excellent, thank you,” Fenella said.

  “You can wait in our waiting room,” the girl told her. “Listen for the boarding announcement soon. They’re just loading up the last of the freight. Then they’ll load car passengers and foot passengers.”

  Fenella nodded and walked through the doors into the waiting area. A quick look around confirmed that she didn’t know a soul. Not feeling like making new friends, she dropped into a seat and pulled out a book. Within minutes she was miles away, joining a detective who was hunting a killer through the Florida Everglades.

  “Good morning, passengers. At this time, we’d like to invite all of our foot passengers to make their way on board for today’s sailing to Liverpool.” The announcement interrupted an exciting part of the story, but Fenella was eager to get underway, so she didn’t mind. She was going to have over three hours in her cabin on the ferry to read, anyway. Saving the book for later was probably a good idea.

  All around her, everyone was getting to their feet and gathering up their belongin
gs. Fenella picked up her handbag and began the long walk from the building to the ferry, dragging her suitcase behind her. She was surprised when she arrived at a security desk.

  “Please put your suitcase and handbag on the belt and walk through the metal detector. Thank you,” the man at the desk told Fenella.

  Thinking that this was even more like flying than she’d realized, Fenella was quick to comply. As she collected her bags after their trip through the x-ray machine, the man she’d been behind at the check-in desk tottered up.

  “This is a lot of bother,” he complained loudly. “You aren’t making the car passengers go through all of this and they could have anything in their cars, you know.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man behind the desk said with a long-suffering smile.

  Fenella gathered up her belongings and continued along the long corridor. In the distance, she could see the ferry, seemingly bobbling up and down gently in the sea. Just watching it made her feel slightly seasick. Reserving a cabin had seemed like an extravagance when she’d made her reservations, but now she was glad she’d done so. At least she’d have the space to lie down if she did feel sick and her very own bathroom if she needed it.

  She slowed her walk and looked down at the long line of cars that were snaking their way onto the ship. If this was a quiet sailing, she wondered how busy they could get. There seemed to be an awful lot of cars filing into the belly of the boat. Maybe, if she ever learned to drive a stick shift, one day she could bring Mona’s fancy sports car with her on the ferry. Then she wouldn’t have to rely on friends or the train for getting around in England. Driving a stick shift on the wrong side of the road still seemed like an almost insurmountable challenge to her. The racy red sports car was a huge temptation, though. Fenella had always dreamed of owning something like it, although she couldn’t imagine that she’d ever have bought it herself.

  It’s your imagination, she told herself firmly as she stepped onto the ferry and immediately began to feel as if the ground was shifting under her feet. They were still solidly anchored in Douglas Habour, so the boat was barely moving, she thought.