An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collection - ABC

by Diana Xarissa

  “Sophia’s second choice was Douglas, another outsider, really,” Fenella mused.

  “She doesn’t want it to have been her brother-in-law or Christopher’s closest friend. Or maybe she’s just trying to divert suspicion from herself,” Daniel suggested.

  “Any of those could be true,” Fenella admitted. “Although I’m not sure what her motive would have been.”

  “The papers at the time hinted at her infidelity,” Daniel reminded her. “And of Christopher’s as well. She may tell people now that they were devoted to one another, but at the time it appears that they were both cheating.”

  “If they were both doing it, why kill him?”

  Daniel shrugged. “Maybe she decided she wanted to marry one of her lovers and Christopher wouldn’t cooperate,” he suggested. “Or maybe a hundred other options. As far as I’m concerned, she had a motive and she’s on my short list. But the short list isn’t all that short, really.”

  Fenella smiled. “If you can pin it on Herman Clucas, I won’t complain,” she said. “He was horrible.”

  “I’ll be taking a good look at him, for sure,” Daniel said, frowning. “I’m especially interested in learning more about his wife and their marriage.”

  “But they weren’t married when Christopher died,” Fenella pointed out.

  “No, they weren’t,” he agreed. “And a lot of the rumors that swirled up around Sophia involved him. From what I’ve heard, many people expected Sophia and Herman to get married after a suitable interval. Instead, he married Jennifer, and I want to know why.”

  “Is she from the island? Was she seeing Herman before Christopher’s death?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

  A buzzer interrupted their conversation. Daniel jumped up and opened the oven. Fenella sighed as several different delicious smells hit her nose at the same time.

  “I think everything is ready,” he said. A minute later he had food spread out across the kitchen counters. “If you don’t mind, we can fill our plates in here and then eat in the dining room.”

  “I’m happy with that, or we can just eat in here,” Fenella said.

  Daniel grinned at her. “I never use the dining room,” he said. “I thought I should make the effort since I have a guest today.”

  “In that case, dining room it is,” Fenella smiled back.

  Daniel lit the candles and they sat down next to each other at the table for four. It might have been romantic if there hadn’t been so much sunshine coming in through the sliding glass doors that led to the yard at the back of the house.

  Fenella took a bite of chicken. “It’s really good,” she said, feeling relieved that she could tell the truth.

  “It’s my mother’s recipe,” Daniel told her. “Although it’s so simple it probably doesn’t even qualify as a recipe.”

  “If it has more than one ingredient, it’s a recipe,” Fenella told him.

  He chuckled. “It just barely qualifies, then,” he said.

  Fenella frowned at the Brussel sprouts that she’d felt obliged to take. Although she’d only taken three, she was sorry that she’d taken any at all. She stabbed one with a fork and was surprised to find that it was soft and easily pierced. After popping it in her mouth, she reached for her drink, ready to quickly wash the vegetable down. As she chewed, she hesitated.

  “I’ve never actually liked sprouts before,” she said in surprise after she’d swallowed. “What magic have your performed on them?”

  “Ah, that’s another of my mother’s secrets,” Daniel said.

  “Well, they’re really good,” Fenella told him as she stabbed her second one.

  “It isn’t really a secret recipe. I just tossed them in some olive oil and then roasted them in a pan for about an hour with some chopped bacon. Only three ingredients, so barely a recipe, really.”

  Fenella laughed. “Simple, but delicious,” she said. “Everything is very good. I’m terribly impressed.”

  “My mother was determined that I should be able to cook and clean at least as well as my sister,” Daniel told her. “Deborah never liked to cook, though, so I think I’m probably better than she is, really.”

  “Tell me about your sister, then,” Fenella invited.

  “She’s four years younger, happily married to a wonderful man who also cooks better than she does, and she has two little boys who take up all of her time and energy.”

  “How old are the boys?”

  “Seven and five. She and Michael got married about fifteen years ago, but they wanted to wait to start their family until they’d had some time as a couple. Deborah ended being the oldest woman in her antenatal classes, and that was with the first one. She didn’t go to the classes with her second.”

  Fenella laughed. “I suppose she’d already been through it once.”

  “Yes, and she’s a midwife and Michael is a pediatric emergency care doctor, so they both pretty much knew what they were getting into anyway.”

  “Are they in Liverpool?”

  “No, they’re in London. Michael works at Great Ormond Street Hospital.”

  “Even I’ve heard of Great Ormond Street,” Fenella said. “It’s meant to be one of the best children’s hospitals in the world.”

  Daniel nodded. “He loves it there, as well, although Deborah isn’t terribly fond of London. I suspect they’ll stay there now until Michael retires, though. I can’t see him giving up the work he loves.”

  “I can’t believe I ate so much,” Fenella said after her last mouthful. “Everything was so good.”

  “There’s apple crumble for pudding,” Daniel said. “Or rather, there will be, in about forty minutes.”

  “I might just be able to manage a tiny portion in about forty mintues,” Fenella said with a laugh.

  She helped Daniel clear the table and carry the dishes into the kitchen.

  “Just pile everything on the counter,” he told her. “I’ll fill the dishwasher once I put the crumble in the oven.”

  Fenella did as she was told, and then sat back down in the corner of the kitchen to watch Daniel work again.

  “I believe you said you had four brothers,” Daniel said as he peeled and sliced apples. “Tell me about them.”

  “I’ll give you the quick summary,” Fenella said. “But I won’t expect you to remember any of it.”

  “That sounds about right,” Daniel replied as he sprinkled crumble topping over the apples.

  “John is the oldest. He’s sixty-six and he retired last year. He has two ex-wives, and recently married again, but he never had any children. He was the one who sent Christmas cards to Aunty Mona every year and he was the one I thought would inherit her estate.”

  “But she left it to you instead,” he said as he slid the tray of crumble into the oven. He set a timer and then sat down opposite her again.

  “Yeah, which is still a bit odd, but I’m not going to complain,” Fenella replied.

  “And John didn’t mind?”

  “He and his wife are happy where they are,” she said. “He has no interest in coming back to the island. Carol, his third wife, is quite well off, really. Her first husband was wealthy and he left her millions. They don’t need the money and they don’t want the apartment. So, no, he didn’t mind,” she said.

  “What about your other brothers?”

  “Joseph is next. He’s two years younger than John and he’s getting ready to retire next year. He’s been a high school teacher since he left college and he’ll be retiring from the same school he’s taught at since he was twenty-two. That’s where he met his wife. She was teaching home economics when he started. She’s nine years older than he is and their relationship was almost a scandal in those days,” Fenella recalled. “They’ve been married for nearly forty years now and most of the talk has finally died down.”

  Daniel laughed. “So they weren’t interested in moving to the island, either?”

  “No, not even a little bit,” Fenella said.
“They actually live in the house that Jean, that’s Joseph’s wife, grew up in, and I can’t imagine they’ll ever move. One of their daughters will probably inherit the property one day.”

  “They have daughters?”

  “Oh, sorry, I’m not doing very well with giving you the basics, am I?” Fenella asked. “Although I should be excused because the smell of the apples and cinnamon baking is quite distracting.”

  “We can move into the sitting room, if you’d like,” Daniel offered. “I don’t think you’ll be able to smell pudding in there.”

  Fenella shook her head. “It smells too good to leave,” she said. “I’ll try to focus. Yes, Joseph and his wife have two girls. Margaret is thirty-five and Megan is thirty-three, so maybe I shouldn’t call them girls anymore, though.”

  “Is there anything I should know about them?” Daniel asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Fenella laughed. “They’re both single and happy that way. Which leads us to Jacob, the next brother in line. He’s two years younger than Joseph, which means he just turned sixty-two this year. He’s a dentist and he’s semi-retired, which means he still looks after a few of his favorite clients, but only when he feels like it. He and his first wife had one child, Matthew, who is twenty-five.”

  “First wife?” Daniel asked.

  “Sadly, she passed away about ten years ago,” Fenella said. “Young Matthew spent a lot of time at my house in his later teen years. He and his father didn’t have the best relationship. Fortunately, now that Matthew is older, they’ve worked out a lot of their differences. Matthew is actually only a year or so away from finishing his degree in dentistry and then he’s going to take over the practice.”

  “And Jacob has married again?”

  “Yes, he got remarried about three years ago. Candy is only about thirty-five, but in spite of her age and her name, she’s incredibly sweet and she’s been really good for both Jacob and Matthew.”

  “What’s wrong with her name?” Daniel asked.

  Fenella laughed. “It always sounds like a stripper name to me,” she explained. “She was actually Candy Kane before she got married. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven her parents for that.”

  Daniel laughed. “That is quite the name to give a person,” he agreed.

  “And yet, she is really terrific,” Fenella said. “And she makes my brother happy.”

  “That just leaves one more brother,” Daniel said.

  Fenella frowned. “Yes, James,” she said.

  There must have been something in her tone, because Daniel gave her a concerned look. “If you don’t want to talk about him, that’s fine,” he said quickly.

  “No, it’s okay,” she said. “James is just the one of my brothers who wasn’t totally fine with my inheritance,” she said. “It’s made things a little bit awkward between us.”

  “Tell me about him,” Daniel suggested.

  “He’s sixty, so twelve years older than me. He was the baby of the family for a long time, though, and in some ways he still acts like that. He’s the wild one of the group. My other brothers all went to college, got good jobs, settled down, all of that grown-up stuff. Sometimes I think James is still nineteen, at least in his own head.”

  “What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s a writer,” Fenella said with a sigh. “Or rather, he wrote a book many years ago that he managed to get published. John insisted that he invest the advance rather than spend it, and it was enough that it’s provided a very small income for him for the last thirty-five years. He never managed to get another book published, but that first one has become something of a staple in some college English literature classes. He still gets royalty checks every year when thousands of college kids have to buy his book.”

  “How nice for him.”

  “Yeah, it isn’t enough for him to live on, but he scrapes by, mostly by sponging off of his siblings. He has a little house in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. At least that’s paid for, but he never seems to have any food in his cupboards. He used to come to visit me and empty my pantry on his way out. I’m sure he does the same with John, Joseph and Jacob.”

  “He’s not married?”

  “Oh, no. Marriage is too constricting. He’s an artist,” she said with a sigh. “He’s probably dated several hundred women over the last thirty-five years. They don’t tend to stick around once they realize that he’s more starving artist than successful author.”

  “And he wasn’t happy when you inherited Mona’s fortune?”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Fenella sighed again. “He actually talked to a lawyer about contesting the will. He thought one of the others might agree to fight it with him, but they all took my side, thankfully.”

  “Did the lawyer think he had a case?”

  Fenella shrugged. “You know what lawyers are like,” she said. “He told James he had a case, but John spoke to another lawyer who said it would be nearly impossible to contest the will. In the end, James simply didn’t have the money to pursue the matter, and the lawyer he spoke with didn’t have enough confidence in the case to agree to fight and take his fee out of whatever James managed to win.”

  “I suppose I’m lucky there isn’t much money in my family to fight over,” Daniel laughed.

  “My parents divided everything exactly five ways,” Fenella told him. “I received all of my mother’s jewelry, but the boys were given a larger share of cash to make up for it. They didn’t leave all that much, but they made sure that there wasn’t much opportunity for us to argue.”

  “But Mona did things differently.”

  “Yes, and if she’d left everything to one of my brothers, I wouldn’t have argued. It was her money, after all. I’m just ever so glad that she chose me, instead.”

  “Do you have any idea why she chose you?”

  Fenella opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. That was a subject she’d discussed with Mona more than once, but she clearly couldn’t tell Daniel that. “Not really,” she said eventually.

  “Are you and James not on good terms, then?” Daniel asked.

  “We’re still speaking, or rather, we’re still friends on social media,” she replied. “He keeps dropping little hints about wanting to come and visit, but I’m afraid if he does come that he’ll never leave, especially after he sees my beautiful apartment.”

  “Surely he’d need some sort of visa if he wanted to stay?”

  “He was born on the island,” Fenella reminded him. “And he lived here until he was twelve. I think he can move over and even find a job, if he wants to.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  “I think he’ll visit,” Fenella said. “And I can see him falling in love with the island once he’s here. I’m sure the views from my apartment will offer all sorts of inspiration for him. I should turn my second bedroom into an office and tell him he’ll have to stay in a hotel if he comes. That should keep his visit nice and short.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  Fenella sighed. “But I won’t do it, because he’s my big brother, and if he wants to come and stay with me, I’ll let him. I’d love it if John, Joseph, or Jacob came. They could stay as long as they liked as well, but James is, well, difficult.”

  “If he does come, we’ll have to work out a way to make sure he doesn’t overstay his welcome,” Daniel said.

  “For the moment, he can’t afford the flights, so I’m safe,” Fenella said. “He’s suggested that I should treat him to a short vacation over here, but I’m watching every penny right now until I work out exactly how much income Mona’s investments are going to provide.”

  “Who’s handling the investments? No, stop, don’t answer,” Daniel said. “I’m asking far too many very personal questions. It’s none of my business.”

  Fenella smiled at him. “I don’t mind answering, though. Doncan Quayle, my advocate, is handling the entire estate for me. Carl Manderly did suggest that I might like to move some of my funds to
his company, but I haven’t really given that any thought.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t give him any money until the murder investigation is wrapped up,” Daniel said. He stood up and pulled open the oven. The warm cinnamon smell that came out made Fenella hungry again. “That isn’t to say that I think Carl had anything to do with the murder,” he added. “I just think it might be better to avoid anyone connected with the case for the time being.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Fenella said.

  Daniel served the crumble with custard. Fenella ate what seemed like a huge serving, in spite of having just had a large meal.

  “That was delicious,” she said as she scraped up the last bite. “You are an excellent cook.”

  “Thank you.” Daniel looked at the clock. “Want to see what’s on Sunday afternoon telly?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Fenella replied.

  The pair sat together on the comfortable sofa in the living room and watched bits and pieces of various programs. Fenella wasn’t really interested in what was on; she was busy trying to ignore the hum of electricity that was buzzing between her and the handsome man sitting next to her.

  “It’s getting late,” she said eventually. “Poor Katie needs her dinner, even if I don’t think I’ll need to eat again until Tuesday.”

  Daniel laughed. “I’ll take you home, then.”

  “I can get a taxi,” she offered.

  “It’s no trouble,” Daniel assured her.

  He parked on the promenade and insisted on walking her to her door. “Thank you for a lovely afternoon,” she said in the doorway.

  “Thank you for coming over,” he replied. “And thank you for sharing everything that you learned last night. I’m hoping to get started on that investigation in the next day or two.”

  “We didn’t talk about Kay Belsom at all,” Fenella said.

  “Let me know if Mel says anything interesting when you have your next driving lesson,” Daniel told her.

  Fenella nodded and then took a hesitant step backwards into her apartment. Daniel stared at her for a moment and then closed the gap between them. The kiss was soft and gentle, almost friendly rather than passionate. Fenella felt disappointed until Daniel’s arms went around her and he deepened the kiss until she felt the ground beneath her starting to melt away.