An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  Fenella nearly drew blood as she bit her tongue. This was not the time or the place to argue about the importance of historical properties. Charlotte didn’t seem to agree.

  “Flatten it?” Charlotte echoed, her voice angry. “What a preposterous notion. Do you have any idea of the historical significance of that building? Why it was built…” She was interrupted when the door at the back opened again.

  Constable Hopkins stuck his head into the room and looked around. “If I could have Charlotte Masters, please,” he said.

  “I thought you were going in alphabetical order,” Charlotte said as she stood up.

  “Just following orders,” the constable replied.

  “Yes, well, this is highly irregular,” Charlotte complained. “You should talk to Harry’s wife next. She’ll want to get back to him as quickly as possible.”

  The constable glanced over at Sherry Hampton, who was busy whispering something into Justin’s ear. When she realized she was being watched, she moved a few inches away from the young man.

  “We have friends in common,” she said quickly.

  “More like common friends,” Charlotte muttered just loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

  Sherry flushed, but didn’t reply. Justin looked from Sherry to Charlotte and back again, an angry look on his face. When he opened his mouth to speak, Sherry shook her head. After a moment the constable broke the silence.

  “Ms. Masters, if you’d like to follow me, please,” he said, turning to go.

  Charlotte shrugged and crossed the room, disapproval etched on her face. In the doorway, she turned and looked back at the others, staring for a moment at Sherry, before she walked away. The door banged shut behind her.

  As it did so, it seemed to Fenella as if everyone let out a sigh of relief. She sat back in her chair and inhaled deeply. Perhaps under different circumstances, she might not have disliked Charlotte so much, but with visions of the dead man haunting her, she’d had a difficult time being polite to the nosy woman.

  “Well, that’s cleared the air,” Justin said loudly.

  The door swung open again, catching everyone by surprise.

  “Ah, good afternoon,” the young man in the doorway said. “I’m Constable Corlett. In an effort to get the questioning done more quickly, I’m going to start taking some preliminary statements from you each in turn. I’d like to start with Sherry Hampton, please.”

  “Oh, must you?” Sherry asked. “I’m quite enjoying relaxing in here. I’m certainly not in any hurry to get on another ferry.”

  The constable smiled. “The other ferry is still some hours away,” he said. “But your husband is quite insistent that we talk to you and then let you both get on your way.”

  Sherry sighed deeply. “Harry is like that,” she said, sounding tired. She rose to her feet and then bent back down to whisper something to Justin. He smiled and nodded at her. Fenella was sure that his eyes were glued to the woman’s bottom as she swayed out of the room on incredibly high heels.

  Apparently the police effort to speed things up was successful. It didn’t seem very long at all before Constable Corlett was back to ask Nick Proper to join him, and Nick’s wife, Brenda, followed soon after that.

  No one left behind to wait seemed to want to make conversation, which suited Fenella. She sat back in her seat and tried to guess which one of the remaining people would be called for next. When she got tired of that game, she started wondering if any of the people she’d met in this waiting room had actually killed the victim. That got her exactly nowhere, so she thought about Robert Grosso instead. He was the only person that she could imagine as the victim, which proved nothing at all, but gave her something to consider. Poor Sarah would be devastated if Fenella was right.

  “Justin Newmarket?” Constable Hopkins asked from the doorway.

  “Oh, yeah, that’s me,” the young man said. He rose to his feet and quickly walked to the doorway. “Bad news for you lot, I suppose,” he said with an obnoxious smile. “You’re stuck waiting even longer.”

  He turned and walked away, following the constable down the corridor. The door banged shut behind him, leaving Fenella alone with only Stanley and Florence March for company.

  “We’d better be next,” Stanley said crossly after a moment.

  “It’s fine,” Florence said softly. “The police are just doing their job, after all.”

  “Harassing innocent civilians isn’t their job,” Stanley snapped. “Whatever has gone wrong on that damn ferry, it’s nothing to do with us.”

  “Yes, dear,” Florence said.

  When the door opened again several minutes later, Constable Corlett smiled at them all. “If I could have Florence March, please,” he said.

  “Oh, no, you aren’t talking to my wife without me being there,” Stanley said. He rose to his feet. “And depending on what’s going on, I might want an advocate as well.”

  The constable smiled. “Of course, sir,” he said patiently. “Why don’t you ring your advocate while I arrange transportation.”

  “What sort of transportation?” Stanley demanded.

  “Transportation down to our Douglas station,” the constable explained. “We’ve only just borrowed a tiny office here, and there’s no way we can accommodate both you and your wife and an advocate in that space. We have much larger rooms at the station. Have your advocate meet us there in half an hour or so.”

  “That’s absurd,” the man shouted. “I won’t be treated like this.”

  “I’m trying to accommodate you,” the constable said patiently.

  “You can interview us in here,” Stanley said. “There’s plenty of room for us and our advocate.”

  “I’m afraid Isle of Man Ferries needs this space back as soon as possible,” the constable told him. “They have customers to accommodate.”

  “Oh, Stanley, do stop being silly,” Florence interjected. “I’ll go and answer all of the man’s questions, and then you can have your turn and we can be on our way. Let’s not drag things out any longer.”

  “I don’t want you alone with that police inspector,” Stanley said.

  “Why ever not?” Florence demanded. “What are you afraid I’m going to tell him?”

  Stanley flushed. “I’m your husband,” he said. “It’s my job to look after you in difficult situations.”

  “You’re the one making this difficult,” Florence retorted. “Let me go see what this is all about. If I feel like I’m in over my head, I can always refuse to say anything further without my advocate.”

  Stanley looked like he wanted to argue more, but after a moment he sat back down. “Just watch out for tricks,” he told his wife. “If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up confessing to all manner of things.”

  “I’m not a small child,” Florence replied. “I think I can answer a few questions without getting flustered enough to confess to anything.”

  On that she walked away, through the door and down the corridor. Stanley watched her go, his face a picture of misery. The door had barely closed behind Florence when it swung open again. This time Constable Hopkins pushed it open.

  “Ah, Stanley March? We’re ready for you,” he announced.

  “About bloody time,” Stanley muttered loudly. He crossed the room in only a handful of steps and swept out, leaving the constable to follow him.

  As the door shut yet again, Fenella sat back in her seat and swallowed hard. Suddenly alone, she felt sad and a little bit lonely. She could only hope that Daniel would get to her before too much longer.

  4

  With nothing else to do, Fenella watched the clock as the hands moved slowly around the face. She had her bag with the books she’d packed for her journey, but for once reading didn’t appeal. Twenty-six minutes and fourteen seconds after he’d left with Stanley March, Constable Hopkins was back.

  “Ah, thank you so much for waiting patiently,” he said to Fenella. “Inspector Robinson is ready to see you again now.”

&nb
sp; Fenella walked down the short corridor behind the constable, pulling her suitcase. She was eager to get the meeting over with and get home. The door to the office Daniel was using was ajar. Daniel was sitting behind the desk, taking notes in one of his ever-present notebooks, when the constable knocked and then pushed the door open.

  “Hello, Fenella,” Daniel said. He smiled at her when he looked up.

  “You look tired,” she said as she sat down in the chair he’d indicated. Constable Hopkins slid into the second chair behind the desk.

  “I am tired,” the inspector admitted. “Many of our witnesses have been less than cooperative, which doesn’t help.”

  “They were an odd group of people,” Fenella said. “I won’t mind if I never see any of them again.”

  Daniel smiled. “I expect I’ll be seeing them all again, but anyway, let’s get down to business.”

  Fenella sat up straighter in her chair and folded her hands in her lap, suddenly feeling like she’d been called before the dean of her department after a student complaint or something.

  “We’ve identified the body,” he told her.

  “Robert Grosso,” Fenella guessed.

  “I should have left an officer with you in that waiting room,” Daniel said. “I wasn’t worried about everyone talking together, as you were the only one who knew about the body and I knew you wouldn’t mention it. I didn’t think about Sarah Grosso talking about her missing husband.”

  “So it was him?” Fenella confirmed.

  “Yes, it was. His wife positively identified the body for us,” Daniel replied.

  “That poor woman,” Fenella said. “She was worried about him and so happy to be having a vacation with him.”

  “Yes, we’re checking into that,” Daniel said. “I have to ask whether you had ever met or even seen either him or his wife prior to today?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Fenella replied. “I don’t know what he did for a living, or what he wife does for that matter. It’s possible I might have come across one or the other of them in a shop or restaurant or something, but neither looked familiar.”

  “Sarah Grosso is a nurse at Noble’s,” Daniel said.

  “Well, fortunately I haven’t had to visit the local hospital, yet,” Fenella said. “What did Robert do?”

  “He worked for an import and export business,” Daniel said. “That meant that he travelled a great deal, both by ferry and by plane.”

  “So, no, I doubt very much I’d ever seen them and I know I’d never met either of them,” Fenella said.

  “And you didn’t see Sarah Grosso on the ferry at any point?” Daniel asked.

  Fenella tried to think. “Give me a minute,” she requested. She shut her eyes and sat back, mentally walking back through her morning. “I’m sorry,” she said eventually. “I simply wasn’t paying that much attention. I don’t think I saw her, but there were a lot of people rushing around every which way. I think the only person I actually remember seeing is the girl who was behind the customer service desk, and I’m not one hundred percent certain I could pick her out of a lineup.”

  Daniel nodded. “Sarah was a car passenger, so she wouldn’t have been waiting with you inside the terminal. I assume you don’t remember seeing any of the other cabin passengers before you found the body?”

  Fenella shook her head. “They were probably all behind me in the line at customer service, but I felt so bad about how long it took for the woman to give me the key to my cabin that I sort of slunk away without looking back.”

  “And you’d never met any of them before today?” Daniel asked.

  “No, I hadn’t. And as I said, I won’t be in a rush to see them again.”

  “You mentioned seeing two different couples in the corridor after you found the body,” Daniel said.

  “Yes, and now I can tell you that they were Nick and Brenda Proper and Stanley and Florence March, thanks to the round of introductions that Charlotte Masters had us go through.”

  “Was anything said in the waiting room while you and the other cabin passengers were waiting that you think might be relevant to our investigation?” was the next question.

  “Charlotte had us all introduce ourselves,” Fenella told him. “That was about it, really.”

  “Just introductions?” he pressed.

  “Once Captain Howard arrived there was a discussion about why the ferry had been stopped from sailing,” Fenella recalled. “Stanley March in particular seemed to want answers as to what might have caused the delay.”

  “And what answers did anyone come up with?”

  “Charlotte was the only one who offered any ideas. She suggested drugs, people trafficking, and murder as the most likely explanations.”

  Daniel made a few notes. “And what did everyone else think?”

  “Mostly it seemed like they thought she was being overly dramatic. Stanley seemed to think the problem was with the ferry itself.”

  “Isle of Man Ferries is bringing in another ferry. All scheduled passengers will be permitted to travel later today, if they so desire,” Daniel told her. “I’d like to ask you to postpone your journey for a few days, if you don’t mind, however.”

  “I don’t mind,” Fenella said emphatically. “I’m in no rush to get on another boat, that’s for sure. I might have to look into flying instead.”

  “Under the circumstances, you’ll be able to get a full refund from the ferry company if you choose not to travel,” he told her. “They’re being as cooperative as they can be, all things considered.”

  “Do you have a particular reason for suspecting the cabin passengers?” Fenella asked. “I mean, your questions have focused on them.”

  “Right now we have to consider every person who was on the boat as a suspect,” Daniel replied. “We don’t have enough evidence of anything to force anyone to stay on the island while we investigate, unfortunately. I do suspect that the killer was most likely another cabin passenger, but at this point that’s little more than one possible scenario.”

  “It seems impossible,” Fenella said. “There were so many people on the ferry, between passengers and staff. How will you ever sort through them all?”

  “It won’t be easy, but it’s my job,” Daniel replied. “In a case like this we’ll have to start with motive and work from there, I think, considering how many people may have had the opportunity.”

  “Sarah Grosso seemed like such an ordinary person,” Fenella said. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want to kill her husband.”

  “That’s the question we need to answer,” Daniel replied. “And that’s why I have to be on my way. At this point in time, I know next to nothing about Robert Grosso. By the time I go to bed tonight, I need to know him as well as his best friend does.”

  Fenella nodded. “I don’t envy you the job,” she said.

  Daniel stood up. “I may have more questions for you as the investigation continues,” he said. “That’s why I asked you not to travel. I’ll be in touch.”

  Fenella only had time to nod before Daniel swept out of the room. She looked over at Constable Hopkins. “I guess I can go home, then,” she said.

  “You can,” he confirmed. “I’ll take you, if you don’t have a car here.”

  “I don’t. I was a foot passenger. But I walked here and I can walk home just as easily.”

  He shook his head. “I’d rather give you a ride, if you don’t mind,” he said. “You don’t want to have to walk through the pack of reporters who have gathered outside.”

  “There are reporters outside?” she asked.

  “The police stopping a ferry from sailing is big news,” he told her as they both got to their feet. “And Inspector Robinson has refused to answer any questions all morning. They’re probably getting frustrated by now.”

  “I’m surprised no one has told them what’s going on,” Fenella said. She pulled up the handle on her suitcase for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “There are so many people who
were supposed to be on the ferry. Surely one or two of them must have been willing to talk to the press after their police interview.”

  “I understand that most of them are still in the building,” the constable told her as he escorted her out of the room. He took the suitcase from her before he continued. “Isle of Man Ferries has been providing food and drinks to everyone who is waiting for the replacement ferry, which has encouraged many people to simply stay here and wait. I understand they’re showing movies in one of the waiting areas as well.”

  “They are being helpful, aren’t they,” Fenella remarked.

  “They want their ferry back as soon as possible,” the constable said. “I’m sure they were hoping we would wrap this all up within an hour or two.”

  “I didn’t get the impression from Daniel that you were anywhere near wrapping things up,” Fenella said.

  “Inspector Robinson is doing everything he can, but short of an unexpected confession, the investigation will take time,” he replied.

  While they’d been talking, the constable had led her through the Sea Terminal and out a door at the back that led to a small parking lot.

  “This one is mine,” he said as he stopped next to a small car that was at the end of a row. He unlocked the car and put her bag in the back before he held the passenger door open for Fenella. She slid inside, and once she’d fastened her seatbelt, the constable pushed the door shut.

  “You weren’t kidding about the press,” Fenella said a moment later as the constable steered the car through the lot and out toward the main road. What looked like several dozen people were clustered in front of the Sea Terminal building, taking pictures and talking on mobile phones. As the police car drew near them, a few people broke away from the group and began to walk toward the car.

  “Sorry about the noise,” Constable Hopkins said as he pressed a button on the dashboard. The wail of a police siren cut through the air and caused the approaching men to take a few steps backwards. Traffic on the main road came to a halt because of the sound, allowing the constable to slide into traffic easily.