An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  “I feel like a teenager again,” Shelly said with a laugh as Fenella poured them each a glass of wine. “I don’t think I’ve done my hair and makeup with a friend since my wedding.”

  “You never did this with Mona?”

  “No, Mona was always perfectly made-up, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I never saw her without makeup or without every single hair in place.”

  “My goodness, how did she manage that?” Fenella asked.

  Shelly shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I asked her once, when we’d been out in the convertible for hours, how she managed to still look perfect, and she told me it was magic.”

  Fenella laughed, but Shelly didn’t. “It was remarkable, really,” Shelly said.

  “Yes, well, unfortunately I didn’t inherit her magic touch,” Fenella said. “I shall have to work quite hard on my hair and makeup.”

  She did her best and then slipped into the fabulous red dress. Once she’d added the shoes, she looked in the mirror again. No doubt it was just her imagination, but the crooked line of eyeliner that she’d drawn on now seemed just a little bit straighter. Her hair seemed less messy as well, but she hadn’t touched it.

  “You look wonderful,” Shelly said. “That’s such a beautiful dress.”

  “It was one of Mona’s,” Fenella told her. “She had much nicer clothes than I do.”

  “No one will notice me when I stand next to you.”

  Fenella looked at Shelly’s bright blue dress and silver shoes. There was no way anyone was going to miss the other woman. “Your dress is very pretty,” she said. “And I love your shoes.”

  “They’re surprisingly comfortable,” Shelly told her. “At least they are at the moment. Ask me again in an hour, though.”

  “Yes, mine are the same,” Fenella said. “Are we ready?”

  “I hope so. I’m starving. The food better be good.”

  “I never did get around to having a snack,” Fenella said. “Maybe we should have the taxi take us to a drive-through along the way.”

  Shelly shook her head. “I promise the food at the party will be wonderful,” she said. “And if it isn’t, we’ll stop somewhere on the way home.”

  “By that time, we’ll be too drunk to care,” Fenella laughed.

  Shelly finished the last of the wine in her glass and then winked at her friend. “Let’s go.”

  The scenery was beautiful as they made their way over the mountain to Ramsey. Fenella was fascinated by her new home and disappointed in herself for not having seen more of it already. “I must make more of an effort to get out and see the island,” she said.

  “Once you’re driving, it will be a lot easier,” Shelly pointed out.

  “Yes, I suppose that’s why I haven’t gone very far yet. I’m not used to being at the mercy of public transportation. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”

  “It isn’t easy. The island has a decent public transportation network, but there are gaps. Taxis are hugely expensive, though.”

  “We do our best to keep the prices down,” the man behind the wheel interjected.

  “I’m sure you do,” Shelly said. “But you simply aren’t a practical choice for day-to-day use.” She turned back to Fenella. “You really must get your driving license. Then you’ll be able to explore on your own.”

  “I’m working on it,” Fenella said.

  The Seaview Hotel in Ramsey was every bit as glamorous as Fenella remembered. As the taxi rolled to a stop, a uniformed man opened the rear door and helped Fenella and Shelly out of the car.

  “The Manderly gathering is in the ballroom,” he told the women. “Would you like an escort?”

  “Thanks, but I know where we’re going,” Shelly told him.

  “I’m glad you do,” Fenella whispered as they walked into the sumptuous lobby. “I’ve only been here once before, and I don’t remember which way we went.”

  Shelly led her down a long corridor and into the magnificent ballroom. Everything seemed to sparkle as they made their way across the room. Fenella looked around, but she didn’t recognize a soul. There were maybe twenty-five people scattered around the space, helping themselves to food and drinks.

  “Ah, Shelly, it wouldn’t be a party without you,” a deep and cultured voice said as Shelly and Fenella headed for the nearest bar.

  “Carl, my dear, it’s lovely to see you again,” Shelly said. “This is my good friend Fenella Woods. She’s just moved in next door to me. Fenella, this is Carl Manderly.”

  Fenella offered her hand as she noted the man’s expensive suit and heavily polished shoes. His black hair had streaks of grey that almost seemed too perfectly placed to be real. As their hands met, she looked into his dark brown eyes and felt a twinge of unease. While his words were welcoming, his eyes were cold and calculating.

  “Ah, Ms. Woods, I’ve been wanting to meet you. It was so kind of Shelly to bring you tonight,” the man said smoothly. He held her hand, covering it with his other one. “I understand you inherited Mona Kelly’s estate,” he said. “I’m not sure who is handling your investments, but if you ever want any additional advice, please let me know.” He released her hand and pulled a business card out of his jacket pocket. “I’d be delighted to talk with you informally about your financial situation,” he added as he handed her the card.

  Fenella took the card and forced herself to smile at the man. “That’s very kind of you,” she said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Excellent,” he said. “But get some champagne and enjoy the party.” He nodded at Shelly and then called out a greeting to someone else. As he was swallowed up by the crowd, Shelly frowned.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she said. “I never thought he’d try a sales pitch on you like that.”

  “It’s fine,” Fenella said. She slipped the card into her handbag. “Who knows, maybe I should find someone to handle my investments for me.”

  “Well, as I told you before, I’m very happy with Carl,” Shelly said.

  They each took a glass of champagne and then walked over to the nearest table full of food. For several minutes they focused on eating and drinking.

  “The food is fantastic,” Fenella said after a while.

  “It always is,” Shelly told her. “But this year seems even better than normal. I love these little garlic bread things.”

  “I think I’ve eaten at least a dozen of those,” Fenella admitted, all worries about making a pig of herself forgotten in the face of so much wonderful food.

  “Now that I’m getting full, I’ll tell you who everyone is,” Shelly offered.

  “That sounds good,” Fenella said with a grin.

  They turned their backs to the table, small plates in hand, and surveyed the room.

  “The stunning blonde in the corner is Sandy Manderly,” Shelly began, nodding toward the opposite side of the room.

  “She’s gorgeous,” Fenella said. “And very, very thin.”

  “You won’t see her eating any garlic bread,” Shelly said. “Or anything else for that matter. I think she lives on air and attitude.”

  “Oh, dear,” Fenella said. “But who is she?”

  “She’s Carl’s trophy wife,” Shelly explained. “He married his first wife more than twenty-five years ago. She gave him two children, one of each, as expected. Once the kids were at university, he got rid of her in favor of a much younger woman.”

  “Sandy?”

  “No, the first one was called Suzy, I think. She didn’t last long. He introduced her to everyone at one of these little gatherings, but she was gone before the next event. After three or four years of having a different woman on his arm every few months, he settled on Sandy. I’ve no idea why. She’s gorgeous, of course, but she’s very difficult to like.”

  “Who knows how men think?” Fenella said.

  “They’ve been married for a few years now. I’ve no idea if they’re happy or not. Actually, I doubt anything makes Sandy happy, but I could be wrong.”
>
  Fenella studied the blonde from across the room. She looked as if she was sulking as she sipped her drink and stared at the ceiling. An attractive young man stopped and spoke to her for a minute, and Fenella was surprised to see a bright smile light up the woman’s face. When the man walked away, Sandy’s bored expression returned.

  “Who was the man that made her smile?” Fenella asked Shelly.

  “Her stepson,” Shelly replied.

  “Oh, dear,” Fenella said.

  “He’s a few years younger than she is, I believe, and he’s called Christopher,” Shelly told her. “The daughter is called Sophie.”

  “Interesting choices for names,” Fenella murmured. “But where is Sophia? She’s the person I think I’m most interested in meeting.”

  “She’ll be making an entrance later,” Shelly said. “She’s always fashionably late.”

  “So who else is here that I’ll be interested in?” Fenella asked.

  “The tall man with the badly thinning dark hair and the thick glasses is Herman Clucas,” Shelly told her.

  “I thought he was rich.”

  “He’s loaded.”

  “So why doesn’t he have a decent haircut and nice glasses?” Fenella demanded. “And why does his suit look like he borrowed it from a much larger man?”

  “He’s rich enough to not care,” Shelly said. “He made his money in property management, not money management, but he’s retired now. He doesn’t need to worry about impressing anyone.”

  “And the woman with him?”

  “That’s his wife, Jennifer,” Shelly said. “I suspect a lot of Herman’s money goes into her upkeep.”

  Fenella took a sip of wine to keep from laughing out loud at the remark. Jennifer could have been anywhere between twenty and sixty. Her face had the tight, surprised look that only too much plastic surgery could provide. As she spoke to her husband, her face barely moved, and when she sipped her drink, Fenella could see fancy rings on every finger.

  “How long have they been married?” she asked Shelly.

  “They got married a few years after Christopher’s death,” Shelly said. “They also have two children, a boy and a girl, but they’ve stayed together. I’ve never heard any stories about either of them cheating, but I don’t really move in the same social circle.”

  “They have investments with Carl?”

  “I suppose so,” Shelly said. “Or maybe they’re just invited for old times’ sake. Herman was one of Christopher’s first investors, way back in the early days.”

  “I don’t suppose any of the other, um, witnesses will be here,” Fenella said, looking around the room.

  “Actually, Douglas Richards might turn up,” Shelly said. “He and Christopher hated each other, but he gets along okay with Carl. He invested with Carl after Christopher died, and he’s been to a few of these parties, but he doesn’t come every year.”

  “Really? That seems odd to me,” Fenella said.

  “That he comes at all or that he doesn’t come every year?”

  “Having tried the food, I can’t imagine not coming every year,” Fenella said with a laugh. “But I really meant that it seems odd that he’d invest with Carl. I thought he hated Christopher.”

  “He did, and he doesn’t get along very well with Herman either,” Shelly said. “Maybe you should ask him about it if he comes.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I’m just here for the food and drink,” she said. “I won’t be asking anyone anything.”

  The pair filled their plates again from a different table that was piled with foodstuffs they hadn’t yet tried. “Let’s go and sit down for a few minutes,” Shelly suggested as they each took another glass of champagne. “My feet are starting to ache.”

  “Mine feel surprisingly good,” Fenella said. “But I won’t object to sitting anyway.”

  There were tables and chairs in a quiet corner. The friends had just made themselves comfortable when a hush fell over the room.

  “Sophia,” Shelly hissed as all eyes turned to the doorway.

  After a moment, a woman in an enormous black fur coat walked through it. She glanced around and then sighed deeply.

  “Someone needs to take this,” she said throatily, her voice projecting through the near silence as everyone watched her. She undid a button or clasp at her neck and let the coat slide to the floor. A passing waiter quickly picked it up, earning himself a small nod from the woman.

  Fenella tried hard not to gape at the dress that Sophia was wearing. It was white, which flattered the tremendous amount of darkly tanned skin that it revealed. The front was cut so low that the neckline ran into the belt that cinched Sophia’s tiny waist. While the gown was floor-length, the slits on either side almost reached the belt as well. As Sophia took a few steps forward, Fenella could see that the dress was backless.

  “If she breathes too heavily, the whole thing will just drop to the floor,” she whispered to Shelly.

  “She might be planning that for later,” Shelly said dryly.

  Sophia took several more steps and then stopped and looked around the room. “I was late because the police were questioning me about my husband’s murder,” she announced dramatically.

  8

  Carl quickly crossed the room and took Sophia’s arm. “Come and have a drink,” he suggested, his voice tight.

  Fenella noticed that Sandy was frowning. “Sandy doesn’t seem happy,” she remarked to Shelly.

  “She doesn’t like Sophia,” Shelly told her. “And if there’s going to be drama, she’d prefer to be at the center of it herself.”

  Fenella sighed. “What is wrong with people?” she asked.

  Shelly shrugged. “Sandy always lets Sophia have her big entrance. We all expect it, really. But if Sophia monopolizes Carl for too long, Sandy will start something, I bet.”

  “I’m not sure if I want to see that or if I want to leave now,” Fenella confessed.

  “It should be interesting, but I don’t know that it will help with solving Christopher’s murder. Sandy usually accuses Sophia of having had too much plastic surgery or wonders loudly about who she might be sleeping with.”

  “Happy families,” Fenella muttered.

  “My dear Shelly,” a voice interrupted. “It’s so brave of you to come without John. You must be so devastated.”

  Shelly pressed her lips together for a moment and then took a deep breath. “Jennifer, you must meet my friend Fenella,” she said. “We’re neighbors, actually.”

  “Really?” Jennifer asked. Fenella thought the woman was trying to raise an eyebrow at the remark, but nothing on her face moved.

  “Yes, I’ve just moved to the island from the US,” Fenella said.

  “And you found Shelly, all alone and needing companionship,” Jennifer said in a saccharine sweet voice as she sat down next to Shelly.

  “I’ve been fortune to make several new friends,” Fenella told her.

  “Have you? Of course, I don’t need friends. I’ve been happily married to my best friend for twenty-eight years.”

  “And John and I were married for longer than that,” Shelly said. “You just never know what life is going to bring.”

  Jennifer shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d feel up to coming tonight,” she told Shelly. “Not after losing your husband your husband so recently.”

  “John’s been gone for eight months,” Shelly said in a carefully controlled voice. “I can’t sit home feeling sorry for myself forever.”

  “No, I suppose not. And there are a number of wealthy men here, as well. Would you like me to introduce you to anyone?”

  Shelly shook her head. “I’m not ready to start looking for another man,” she said firmly.

  “Shelly? My goodness, it’s good to see you,” another voice said.

  Shelly looked up and flushed. “Gordon,” she said. “It’s nice to see you as well.”

  The man was every bit as handsome as Shelly had suggested. He had dark hair and green eyes, an
d his suit had obviously been made for him. Fenella suspected that he’d gained a few pounds since he’d bought the suit, but that simply made her like him more.

  “Do sit down,” she suggested to the man.

  Gordon hesitated for a minute and then slid into the chair opposite Shelly. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I saw it in the local paper, but only after I’d already missed the service.”

  “Thank you,” Shelly told him. “It was a huge shock at the time. You could even tell me that you’d been there. The entire thing is all a complete blur now. But I’m recovering, slowly.”

  “And Gordon is single,” Jennifer said suggestively. “You don’t want to be alone for too long. You’ll start collecting cats or something.”

  Fenella and Shelly exchanged glances and then they both burst out laughing.

  “I actually just acquired a cat,” Shelly told the woman. “And I’m ever so glad that I did.”

  “Tell me all about her,” Gordon said. “My daughter loves animals and she has three cats at the moment. I hear nothing but stories about her pets.”

  Fenella sat back in her chair and let the conversation wash over her. Shelly told Gordon about every cute thing that Smokey had ever done while Jennifer sat and stared disapprovingly at them.

  “I take it you don’t have any pets,” Fenella said to Jennifer after a while.

  “No, I have children,” the woman replied.

  “How nice. Boys or girls?”

  “One of each. Margaret is twenty-five and Harrison is twenty,” Jennifer said.

  “I had four older brothers,” Fenella told her. “I always thought a younger brother would be much more fun.”

  “I must go and…” the woman trailed off into a mumble that was clearly meant to be an excuse. Fenella smiled as Jennifer got to her feet and walked away.

  “I didn’t think she was ever going to leave,” Shelly said to Fenella as the woman disappeared into the crowd.

  “If I’d known that all I had to do to get her to leave was to start a conversation, I would have done that half an hour ago,” Fenella said.

  Shelly and Gordon both laughed. “I’m going to find myself another drink,” Fenella told the pair. “I’ll be back.”