An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  “Meeroww,” Katie called from somewhere.

  “She’s under here,” Daniel told Fenella as he looked under the bed. “She’s seems to be tangled up in something.”

  With Daniel’s help, Fenella pulled Katie out from under the bed. “She must have jumped inside the tissue box once she’d emptied it,” Fenella said as she rescued the kitten. “And then she managed to get herself tangled in the plastic sheet that keeps the tissues in place.”

  “She seems to have had a pretty good fight with it,” Daniel said, chuckling.

  The kitten had managed to shred most of the tissue box, leaving herself wrapped in bits of plastic with only two corners of the box still intact. Fenella gently unwound the plastic that was around Katie’s neck. “I hope you’ve learned a lesson,” she said sternly. “Stop playing with my things.”

  Katie stared at her for a moment and then tossed her head and walked out of the room.

  “I don’t think she’s learned anything,” Daniel said with a laugh.

  “Would you like a kitten?” Fenella asked as she surveyed the room.

  “Maybe, but not that one,” Daniel told her.

  Fenella sighed. “I’m starting to see why her previous owner didn’t come looking for her,” she complained.

  “It isn’t that much to clear up,” Daniel told her. He started rolling all of the tissues into a large ball. Fenella went to get the vacuum, and only a few minutes later the bedroom was clean again.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad,” Daniel said.

  “I’m so sorry,” Fenella told him. “I’m sure you have better things to do than clean my apartment.”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m counting that as a break,” he told her. “My brain needed to shut off for a few minutes, and clearing up after Katie’s mischief was the perfect tonic. Now I feel ready to talk to you about the murder.”

  “Coffee?” Fenella asked.

  “Can’t hurt,” Daniel winked at her.

  He sat at the counter in the kitchen while Fenella started a pot of coffee. She found some cookies in the cupboard and handed them to him.

  “They’re chocolate-covered,” she said. “They’ll help, too.”

  Daniel didn’t speak until he’d had a few sips of coffee and several cookies. “Thank you,” he said. “It’s been a very long day.”

  “I’m sorry,” Fenella said. She glanced at the clock. “It’s time for lunch,” she exclaimed. “Would you like a sandwich?”

  Daniel opened his mouth and then shut it and shook his head. “You’re still a suspect, at least on paper,” he said. “Coffee is just about okay, but I can’t let you make me lunch.”

  Fenella sat down next to him with a frown on her face. “How can I be a suspect? I don’t even know who’s dead.”

  “Have you ever met a man called George Mason?” he asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Fenella said. She sipped her coffee and tried to think. After another minute, she shook her head. “It doesn’t ring any bells. I’m assuming you mean here on the island. It seems a common enough name that I might have met someone in the US with that name.”

  “Yes, I did mean on the island,” Daniel agreed. “I know you haven’t been here that long and you’ve not met that many people. The name isn’t familiar to you?”

  “I’m sorry, but it isn’t. Is that who died?”

  “Yes, he was found in his flat this morning,” Daniel told her.

  “And he was murdered?” Fenella asked.

  “He was,” he confirmed. “Where were you last night between midnight and six this morning?”

  Fenella blinked at him. “In bed,” she said.

  “Alone?”

  She knew she was blushing as she replied. “Yes, alone.”

  Daniel nodded and then pulled out a notebook. He wrote in it for a moment and then looked up at her. “Please think back to Saturday. Do you remember speaking to any of the ferry crew?”

  “So he was someone from the ferry,” Fenella exclaimed.

  Daniel sighed. “Constable Richards told me that you and the others had worked out that much,” he said. “Yes, he was an employee of Isle of Man Ferries. Do you recall speaking to him?”

  “I may have said a few words to the security people as I went through the gate,” she said. “But the only other person I remember speaking with was the woman at customer service.”

  “Mr. Mason was working on the car decks, so it’s unlikely you would have encountered him,” Daniel told her. “But I had to ask.”

  “And I’m still a suspect, as I don’t have an alibi,” Fenella said.

  “You’re fairly low on my list,” Daniel told her.

  “Why do you think that someone from one of the other cabins killed Robert Grosso?” she asked.

  “I can’t tell you that,” Daniel replied. “And that’s only one possible angle that we’re investigating.”

  “What can you tell me?” Fenella demanded.

  “About the investigation? Nothing,” he said. “Even if you weren’t involved, I can’t talk about open investigations with anyone.”

  “Well, I find it odd that you suspect the cabin passengers,” Fenella said. “They all seem like perfectly ordinary people.”

  “And most of them probably are. But I have reason to believe that one of them is hiding a secret.”

  “What sort of secret?” Fenella asked.

  Daniel smiled at her. “I wish I could tell you everything that I know,” he said. “But satisfying your curiosity isn’t worth my job.”

  “Shall I tell you what I think?”

  “Go ahead, then,” he said.

  “I think Robert Grosso was involved in all the burglaries that have been taking place in the area recently. I think he was using his connections through his job to sneak stolen objects onto the ferry and get them across. He must have had an accomplice on the ferry, which is probably where poor George Mason fits in. I’m guessing he also had another accomplice and that’s who killed both men.” Fenella sat back and took a sip of coffee, watching Daniel closely.

  “That’s certainly one theory,” he said. After a moment he sighed. “And it makes excellent sense,” he said. “If we could identify the third man, I think we’d be well on our way to solving the two murders.”

  “Or woman,” Fenella suggested.

  “Yes, of course, or woman,” he agreed. “Or couple,” he added.

  “You think it’s a married couple that are in on it together?” Fenella asked.

  “I’m not ruling anything out,” he said. “A number of the suspects are married. In my experience it’s hard to hide secrets in a marriage, and being involved in a burglary and smuggling ring is a pretty big secret to try to keep.”

  “Stanley and Florence March seem to have a lot of money,” Fenella said speculatively.

  “Stop,” Daniel held up a hand. “I’m not going to discuss the suspects with you,” he said firmly. “Rest assured that we are looking into the finances of everyone who had a cabin booked.”

  “Even mine?”

  Daniel hesitated and then nodded. “I’m sorry, but we have to be thorough.”

  “And I did just come into a large amount of money,” Fenella said.

  “Lucky for you, your advocate can account for every penny of it,” Daniel told her.

  “So Aunty Mona wasn’t smuggling stolen property across the Irish Sea?” she asked.

  “Certainly not,” Mona sounded indignant from across the room.

  Fenella glanced at her and then bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  “While her source of income is something of a question mark,” Daniel said, “we’re fairly certain she wasn’t doing anything criminal.”

  Not wanting to press that particular subject any further, Fenella got up and topped up her coffee. “Would you like more?” she asked Daniel.

  “I’d better not,” he said, sounding sorry. “I need to get back to the station and wade through all of the paperwork from today’s interviews. I’
ll need you to sign your statement. Can I stop back later today?”

  “If you stop around six, you can share my dinner with me,” Fenella invited him.

  He nodded. “If I were to accidently interrupt your dinner, I suppose it wouldn’t be breaking any rules if I were to have something to eat,” he said.

  “Excellent, I’ll make enough spaghetti for two,” Fenella told him.

  “I’ll be back around six,” he said. “And Katie,” he added, “see if you can be good until then.”

  Katie was sitting on her favorite chair. When she heard her name, she looked up, and when Daniel finished speaking she gave him a soft “mew” as a reply.

  “Time for us to solve these murders,” Mona said as soon as Fenella had shut the door behind Daniel. “I’m starting to worry about you. What if the killer thinks that you saw something you shouldn’t have?”

  “Don’t be silly,” Fenella snapped. “There wasn’t anything to see.”

  “There’s something that makes Daniel think that the killer was one of the other cabin passengers,” Mona pointed out. “Maybe he or she is worried that something else was left behind as well.”

  “If something had been, the police would have it now and the killer would be behind bars,” Fenella said.

  “Unless the killer thinks you’ve taken it,” Mona said. “Maybe he or she is waiting for you to try to blackmail them.”

  “That’s crazy. I can’t blackmail anyone because I don’t know who they are, and if I did know who they were, I’d tell the police.”

  “Yes, but you don’t have a criminal mind. Whoever is behind these murders is probably running some sort of massive burglary and smuggling operation. If they found evidence that someone had murdered someone else their first instinct would probably be blackmail, not to ring the police.”

  “Aunty Mona, you aren’t making me feel any better,” Fenella said.

  “Once we solve the case, you’ll be fine,” Mona said airily. “Tell me about the suspects. What happened today?”

  Fenella sighed deeply, but didn’t have the energy to argue. While she made herself some lunch, she told her aunt all about the meeting at the Sea Terminal.

  “So Sherry Hampton accused her husband of smuggling; that’s interesting,” Mona said.

  “She was just being awful,” Fenella told her.

  “I wonder what she means by a lot of money,” Mona mused.

  “Probably not all that much. Young people don’t seem to appreciate how much everything costs these days. My students were always talking about how they could live on virtually nothing as if it were a great virtue. I always pointed out to them that it wasn’t too hard to live on a small income if your parents were paying for tuition, room, and board.”

  Mona chuckled. “Yes, that’s true,” she said. “I’m sure Harry has saved up a decent little nest egg, but if that’s all he has to support himself through retirement, he may have to get rid of his expensive trophy wife.”

  “I’m not sure either of them would mind that,” Fenella muttered.

  “I can’t believe Stanley and Florence could be involved in anything criminal,” Mona said. “There was tons of money on both sides, anyway, and Stanley has always been good at making more. As much as I’d like to see them both in trouble with the law, I don’t think they’re involved.”

  “What about Justin Newmarket?” Fenella asked.

  “He’d be easy to recruit to do some light burglary and heavy lifting, but if we’re looking for the criminal mastermind behind the crimes, I don’t think he fits,” Mona said.

  “Maybe he’s just pretending to be dumb,” Fenella suggested.

  “I suppose it’s possible. We’ll keep him on the short list. What about the Propers?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve only spoken to them a few times. They aren’t my favorite people, but they don’t seem like criminals.”

  “Also on the short list, then,” Mona said. “Nick cheated on his wife, after all. Perhaps he’s dishonest in other ways.”

  “So you think it was Justin or Nick and Brenda that killed Robert and George Mason?” Fenella asked.

  “You didn’t mention Sarah Grosso,” Mona said. “We can’t rule her out.”

  “The widow? But why would she have killed her own husband?”

  “Maybe she was just tired of him and decided this was the perfect time to get rid of him,” Mona suggested. “Maybe his death doesn’t have anything to do with burglaries or stolen property.”

  “She was so upset on Saturday.”

  “She seems to be getting over it, though,” Mona pointed out. “You said she was quick to agree with Shelly about how handsome Inspector Robinson is.”

  “Well, yes, but she didn’t ask him out or anything. It was just a conversation between women.”

  “You don’t know that she didn’t ask him out,” Mona said. “Anyway, it hardly matters. What does matter is that she’s on the short list as well.”

  “I forgot about Charlotte,” Fenella exclaimed. “I can’t see her strangling anyone with a rope, though.”

  “She could do it,” Mona said. “She’s just nasty enough.”

  Fenella grinned. “I nearly forgot that you didn’t like her,” she said.

  “Yes, well, she’s definitely on my list, as well.”

  “I think just about everyone is on your short list,” Fenella said.

  “And that’s why you have to start doing some investigating.”

  “Because we were so successful last time,” Fenella said sarcastically.

  “Oh, don’t be like that,” Mona said. “It isn’t like you’re working on your book. You’ve nothing better to do.”

  “That’s a good point, actually,” Fenella said. “I should be working on my book.”

  She got up from her seat and put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher before she headed into the master bedroom. Sitting down at the desk, she glanced around the room.

  “Maybe I should make the other bedroom into a proper office,” she said thoughtfully. With that thought in the back of her mind, she opened the biography of Henry the Eighth that was on the top of the pile and began to read. While she struggled to keep focused on the words on the page, she managed to kill a few hours. She was just getting to the part where Henry met Anne when she decided to stop.

  That was the material that needed her complete attention, and she couldn’t provide that at the moment. A glance at the clock told her that it was only a little bit too early to start on dinner. Deciding she could drag her preparations out, she headed for the kitchen to make dinner for herself and Daniel.

  11

  By the time Daniel arrived, the water was boiling and the meat sauce was dangerously close to burning. Fenella turned off the heat under the sauce as she headed for the door.

  “I’m sorry I’m a little late,” Daniel said as a greeting. “Paperwork is the bane of my existence.”

  Fenella laughed and led him into the kitchen. “Sit down and have a glass of wine,” she suggested.

  “I’d better not,” he replied. “Technically, this is probably a working dinner rather than a social one.”

  “I’ll put the wine back in the fridge, then,” Fenella said, annoyed with herself for sounding disappointed.

  “You’re welcome to have some,” Daniel told her.

  “No, that’s okay,” she said. “I’ll have a soda. I love them and I try not to drink too many.”

  As Daniel sipped on his own soft drink, Fenella dumped dried pasta into the boiling water. She slid the baguette that she’d smothered in garlic butter into the oven and then shrugged. “I think that’s everything,” she said.

  “It all smells wonderful,” Daniel told her.

  “The sauce is from a jar,” Fenella admitted. “Although I’ve improved on it, or at least I hope I have.”

  “After the day I’ve had, I’ll eat anything,” Daniel said. “I never got any lunch.”

  “You need to take better care of yourself,” Fenella told him
. “Eating is important. You need to keep your body fuelled.”

  “Yes, I know. My ex-wife used to nag me about meals as well,” Daniel told her.

  Fenella took a deep breath. “Maybe she wasn’t nagging,” she suggested. “Maybe she was worried about you because she loved you.”

  Daniel looked at her in surprise and then frowned. “Maybe I could go out and come back in again,” he said. “I could try harder not to say stupid things.”

  “Let’s just pretend you did,” Fenella said. “There’s no point in you walking back and forth. We’ll just start over.”

  “Dinner smells wonderful,” Daniel said.

  “It’s only jar sauce, but I’ve tried to improve on it.”

  “I’m sure it will be delicious. I was too busy with reports to get myself any lunch today, so I’m starving. I’m going to have to start taking better care of myself, really.”

  “Yes, you are,” Fenella agreed.

  Katie wandered into the kitchen and nibbled her way through her bowl of dry food. When it was empty, she glanced up at Fenella, who shook her head at the tiny kitten. “Meowww,” Katie said, looking away. She walked over to the counter and jumped up onto the empty stool next to Daniel. Before Fenella could say anything, Katie made the leap onto Daniel’s lap. She rubbed her face against his chest and then snuggled down on his lap, giving Fenella a smug grin before she rested her head on her front paws.

  “Put her on the floor if she’s bothering you,” Fenella told Daniel.

  “Puurrrrrrrr,” Katie said as Daniel began to rub behind her ears.

  “She’s fine,” Daniel said. “A little affection after a long day helps no end.”

  “You could give him a cuddle,” Mona suggested as she appeared on the couch across the room.

  Fenella very nearly spit out a reply to her aunt, biting her tongue at the very last moment and covering herself with a forced cough.

  “Are you okay?” Daniel asked.

  “Fine,” Fenella said. “Just, um, I’m fine.” She glared at Mona and then turned her attention back to dinner. It wasn’t long before the pasta and garlic bread were ready. As Daniel kept Katie happy, Fenella served up generous helpings of spaghetti and piled the garlic bread onto a large serving platter.