An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  “It’s my world-famous recipe cottage pie,” Shelly told him. “You’ll love it.”

  “No doubt,” Daniel said.

  Fenella and Daniel moved over to the kitchen as Shelly pulled the casserole dish out of the oven. The mashed potato topping was golden brown and Fenella could see dark rich gravy bubbling up around the edges of the potato. Her mouth began to water as she got plates down out of the cupboard.

  “Fenella and I are having wine,” Shelly told Daniel. “Would you like a glass?”

  “Not while I’m working,” he said. “If you have milk, that would be great, otherwise, just water is fine.”

  “I do have milk,” Fenella said. “Thanks to Shelly, who took me grocery shopping this afternoon.”

  She poured milk into a glass for the man and topped up Shelly’s wine glass before refilling her own. “I hope it’s okay that I’m drinking,” she said to Daniel.

  “It’s fine,” he said with a smile. “This visit was only semi-official anyway, and now that I’m joining you for dinner, it’s even less than that.”

  “I hope that means I’m not a suspect,” Fenella said.

  “Everyone who was on the ferry is a suspect, at least on paper,” he told her. “But you come very far down the list.”

  “I suppose that’s better than nothing,” Fenella replied.

  Shelly spooned generous helpings of cottage pie onto plates while Fenella got out knives and forks.

  “Ooh, I love this flatware,” Shelly said. “Mona always insisted that we use these, even though I’m sure the set was really expensive.”

  “Why wouldn’t you use them?” Daniel asked.

  “They just seem too nice for everyday,” Shelly replied. “My husband and I never used the silver service we received for our wedding. We always wanted to keep it nice for something special.”

  “Every day is special,” Fenella replied.

  “Yes, I know that now,” Shelly agreed. “Mona used to say the same thing. For what it’s worth, I use that set every day now, and I feel terrible that my poor hubby never got to eat with it.”

  “Do men care?” Fenella asked.

  Everyone laughed before Daniel replied.

  “Speaking on behalf of my entire gender, no,” he said. “I didn’t even notice the forks. I will admit, now that you mention it, that they seem quite heavy, but I’m not sure why that makes them any better. As long as they get the food safely from my plate to my mouth, I’m happy.”

  “Well, using them makes me happy,” Fenella told him. “They’re much nicer than anything else I’ve ever owned.”

  The trio chatted about nothing much as they ate the delicious meal.

  “Shelly, I can see why your cottage pie recipe is world-famous,” Daniel said after he’d cleared his plate twice. “That was the best I’ve had.”

  “I’ll let you in on a secret,” Shelly told him. “It’s Delia Smith’s recipe.”

  Even Fenella laughed at that. She’d been on the island long enough to know that Delia Smith was a famous British chef who’d written dozens of cookbooks and starred in several television series about cooking. Some of her cookbooks were on the shelf in the corner of the kitchen.

  With the meal out of the way and the wine bottle empty, Fenella and Shelly cleared up the kitchen.

  “Let me help,” Daniel offered.

  “Why don’t you and Fenella go into the other room and have your conversation, and I’ll take care of the washing-up?” Shelly suggested.

  “You did all of the cooking,” Fenella protested. “Anyway, most of the things can simply go in the dishwasher.”

  “I don’t mind doing everything by hand,” Shelly insisted. “Get the unpleasant questions over with and then we can open a box of biscuits and have them with some tea for pudding.”

  Unable to argue with that, Fenella followed Daniel into the living room. Mona quickly moved over to a chair in the corner as Daniel headed for where she’d been only a moment earlier. Fenella hid a smile as she sat down on the couch.

  “The replacement ferry sailed about five hours late,” Daniel told her after a moment. “About three-quarters of the original passengers were on it.”

  “And the rest of us will get our money back?” Fenella checked.

  “Either that or a ticket for a comparable sailing,” Daniel replied.

  “I think I’ll take the money and try flying next time,” Fenella said. “Although Shelly recommended some tablets for me to try that are supposed to fight seasickness.”

  “The tablets are good,” Daniel told her. “My ex-wife used to take them and she found them very effective.”

  Fenella found herself unreasonably annoyed to discover that Daniel’s ex-wife had also been prone to seasickness. “We’ll see,” she muttered. “But what did you want to ask me?”

  Daniel flipped open his notebook and turned the pages slowly. “When you found the body, did you notice a mobile phone anywhere?”

  Fenella thought about her answer for a moment and then shook her head. “I didn’t,” she said. “I didn’t notice much of anything. I don’t even remember really looking around the room. As soon as I spotted the body on the berth, I turned around and left.”

  “How close did you get to the man?”

  “Too close,” Fenella said, shuddering. “I went up on my tiptoes to get a good look at him. A quick glance was more than enough to tell me that he was dead.”

  “Did you touch him?”

  Daniel had already asked her most of these questions, but Fenella didn’t point that out. “No, although I’m not sure why I didn’t,” she said. “There was just something odd about even the little bit of him that I could see from the doorway, I guess. His feet were oddly twisted or stiff or something. He didn’t look as if he was just sleeping, even before I saw his face.”

  “Did you see Captain Howard anywhere on the ship before you found the body?”

  Fenella shook her head. “I may have, but I didn’t notice him,” she said.

  “And you didn’t notice any of the others, either? The people who were in the other cabins?”

  “Not that I recall,” Fenella said.

  “I know I’ve already asked you all of this before,” Daniel said now as he flipped through his notebook again. “But sometimes people’s answers change after they’ve had some time to think.”

  “I’ve been trying not to think,” Fenella told him. “I’ve been trying to block out everything that happened today before I got back here thanks to Constable Hopkins.”

  “I don’t have any further questions, then,” he said. “I really just wanted to go back over those points.”

  “I ran into Nick and Brenda Proper at ShopFast,” Fenella said as Daniel got to his feet.

  He looked at her for a moment and then sat back down. “Did you now? Did you speak to them?”

  “I did,” Fenella replied. She repeated as much as she could remember of the conversation she’d had with the couple in the grocery store.

  “Why did she want your phone number?” Daniel asked when she’d finished.

  “I have no idea,” Fenella replied.

  “I don’t want you meeting her,” he said in a serious voice. “I shouldn’t have to remind you that spending time with murder suspects is dangerous.”

  Fenella thought back to what had happened the last time she’d been caught up in a murder investigation. “If she does want to see me, I’ll make sure we meet somewhere very public,” she replied. “And I’ll take Shelly with me.”

  “Oh, thanks,” Shelly called from the kitchen. “Because that doesn’t sound at all dangerous.”

  Fenella smiled. “Surely the Propers aren’t suspects,” she said.

  “I told you, everyone is a suspect,” Daniel replied. “That’s especially true at this point, when we’re only just beginning the investigation. For now, I suggest you stay well away from all of the suspects. If any of them contact you, please let me know.”

  “Have you come up with a motiv
e yet?” Shelly asked as she dropped onto the couch next to Fenella.

  “We’re working on that,” Daniel replied.

  “Which means you aren’t going to tell me,” Shelly said with a grin.

  “It’s very early days yet,” Daniel said. “But at this point, I honestly don’t have any idea why the man was killed.”

  “I’ve put the kettle on,” Shelly told them both. “Once it boils and we have tea and biscuits, maybe we should talk about possible motives.”

  “I really do need to get back to the station,” Daniel said. “And I’d advise you both to simply forget all about the investigation. Let the police handle it. I’m sure you can come up with many other things to talk about.”

  Fenella walked Daniel to the door while Shelly was making their tea.

  “I don’t think I’ll have any more questions for you, at least not in the short term,” he told her in the doorway. “I’d still appreciate it if you’d stay on the island until the investigation is complete. If you do decide to go across, please let me know.”

  “I will,” Fenella promised. “But I’m not in any hurry, really. I think I’ll focus on things I can do on the island for a short while and leave trips across for later.”

  Daniel nodded. “I’ll probably see you at the pub one of these days,” he said. “It’s best if we limit our socializing for the time being, however.”

  Fenella nodded, feeling as if she wanted to cry. She and the handsome inspector had only just started sending one another the odd text and now they were back to square one. As she pushed the door shut behind him, she banged her head gently against the door’s frame.

  “That can’t feel good,” Shelly commented as she carried in a tray with tea and cookies on it.

  “I’m just feeling a bit frustrated,” Fenella admitted. “I can’t quite believe that I found another dead body. The police are going to start suspecting me of something if this keeps up.”

  “They can’t possibly suspect you this time,” Shelly told her. “You didn’t even know the poor man.”

  “No, but from what I could tell this morning, neither did anyone else from the other cabins, aside from his wife,” Fenella said. “Maybe the killer wasn’t someone from one of the cabins, even though that seems to be what Daniel suspects.”

  Fenella worked her way through a handful of cookies and two cups of tea without saying a word. Her mind was racing in every possible direction. Shelly ate her own cookies and sipped her tea while playing with Katie, who seemed to love the extra attention.

  “Are you okay?” Shelly asked as she and Fenella cleared away the plates and cups. “You haven’t said a word for the last hour.”

  Fenella flushed. “I’m terribly sorry,” she said. “I’m just a mess, that’s all. My brain is running away with me.”

  “I was going to start a dozen different conversations,” Shelly said. “But every time I looked at you, you seemed to be lost in thought.”

  “I’m sure I was,” Fenella said. “I can’t stop thinking about poor Robert Grosso, and even more about his wife, Sarah. I hope she has family and friends on the island to help her through this.”

  “Did you say she works at Noble’s?” Shelly asked.

  “That’s what Daniel told me.”

  “I have some friends who work there,” Shelly said. “I’ll ring one of them and check on her, if you’d like.”

  “I don’t want to pry into the poor woman’s life,” Fenella replied. “But I’m sure I’ll feel better if I know she’s being looked after by someone.”

  “I’ll go and ring now and then come back over and let you know what I’ve learned,” Shelly offered. “I’d ring from here, but I’d feel awfully self-conscious talking with you listening in.”

  “I’d appreciate it,” Fenella said, hoping that Shelly would find someone who could help quickly. Fenella wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep without knowing that Sarah was okay.

  She let Shelly out, leaving the apartment door unlocked so that her friend could let herself back in. While she waited, Fenella settled on the couch and stared out at the sea.

  6

  “Shelly’s cottage pie was always delicious,” Mona said from the chair next to her. “Sometimes I miss being alive.”

  “It was really good,” Fenella replied. “But I think when I’m dead, I’ll miss chocolate more.”

  “Tell me everything you can remember about the dead man,” Mona suggested. “Maybe we’ll be able to come up with a viable motive for his murder.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Fenella snapped. “Daniel was right. This is a job for the police, not me.”

  “The problem with the police is that they don’t have any imagination,” Mona said. “They’ll look for simple and logical explanations for the murder.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “But what if this murder wasn’t simple or logical?” Mona demanded. “Maybe the motive is quite complex. It could take Daniel years to work that out. And while we’re waiting for that to happen, you aren’t allowed to socialize with him, which is criminal in itself.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I’m sure Daniel won’t need years to work it out,” she said. “Shelly said the man’s business might have involved smuggling. If that’s the case, then surely he was killed due to his being tied up in something illegal. Daniel should be able to solve the case quickly, if that’s true.”

  “But what if that isn’t it at all?” Mona demanded. “What if he was having an affair with the ferry captain’s wife, or maybe he was secretly the heir to a huge fortune and the next in line for the money killed him. Daniel probably hasn’t given either of those motives any thought at all.”

  “I think they’re both a bit of a stretch,” Fenella said. “But I’m sure Daniel will be very thorough. That’s his job, after all. And now I really don’t want to talk about it any more.”

  Before Mona could reply, Shelly walked back into the apartment.

  “I spoke to my friend. She actually works with Sarah,” Shelly told Fenella. “She was meant to be covering one of Sarah’s shifts for her while Sarah was away, but Sarah rang her and told her that she needn’t bother. Apparently Sarah is planning on going back to work tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Fenella repeated. “But her husband was murdered today.”

  Shelly shrugged. “My friend said that Sarah told her that she thinks she’ll be better off keeping busy. If I’ve learned anything from losing my husband, it’s that everyone mourns differently.”

  “It still seems odd to me,” Fenella said. “But at least Sarah mustn’t be too miserable if she’s feeling up to working.”

  “My friend said that when she talked to her, Sarah sounded the same as she always does. She didn’t even realize that Robert had died until Sarah actually told her.”

  “As you say, everyone has to deal with grief in their own way,” Fenella said. “At least I know Sarah isn’t sitting home crying all alone.”

  “No, once my friend heard what had happened, she asked Sarah if she needed company. Sarah told her that her parents were there and that Robert’s parents were on their way. Maybe that’s another reason why Sarah is so eager to get back to work.”

  Fenella laughed. “I used to put in a lot of extra office hours whenever Jack’s mom would come to visit,” she admitted. “But then, the woman never liked me and made it abundantly clear that she thought Jack could do much better.”

  “My mother-in-law was wonderful,” Shelly said. “She lived with us for many years, after my father-in-law passed away, and I never once minded having her around. She was retired, but she was busier than I was, even though I was working at the time. I think I was more upset when she died than my husband was.”

  Fenella opened her mouth to reply, but yawned instead. “Oh, dear, I am sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be,” Shelly told her. “You’ve had a very long day. I’ll just leave you to get some sleep.”

  Fenella walked her friend to
the door and locked it behind her. She yawned again as she made her way into the kitchen to refill Katie’s bowls.

  “I’m completely worn out,” she told the kitten, who’d followed her across the apartment. “I’d like a late start tomorrow, please.”

  Katie narrowed her eyes at her and then seemed to shrug. “Merrow,” she said as she took off out of the kitchen in a sudden dash.

  Fenella walked more slowly behind her, switching off lights as she went. In the large master bedroom, Katie was settled in the exact center of the king-sized bed, seemingly already asleep. Fenella washed her face and then studied her reflection in the mirror.

  “You really must stop finding dead bodies,” she told herself sternly.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” her reflection argued back.

  “Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness,” Mona said from behind her.

  “Talking to a ghost is its own special kind of crazy,” Fenella shot back.

  Mona chuckled. “If you think that outfit is comfortable for relaxing in, you should try sleeping in it,” she told Fenella.

  “What a lovely thought,” Fenella said. She washed her face and rubbed in some face cream before brushing her teeth. Back in the bedroom she carefully climbed into bed and switched off the light, trying not to disturb Katie. Telling herself to not think about the events of the day, she snuggled down under the duvet and fell asleep almost immediately.

  She hadn’t thought to set an alarm for the next morning, but Katie was careful not to let her oversleep. Fenella opened one eye as the kitten began patting her on the nose. “It’s only just after six,” she complained. “Surely you can wait another hour for breakfast.”

  “Merrow,” Katie replied. She jumped off the bed and raced away, no doubt straight to the kitchen to complain over her empty food bowl. Fenella sat up in bed. By the time she’d filled Katie’s bowls, she’d be too awake to go back to bed.

  Sighing deeply, she slid out from under the duvet and padded after the kitten. Katie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, staring disapprovingly at her bowl. Fenella opened a can of something and dumped it into the bowl before she refilled Katie’s water.