THE TATE FILE

AN AUNT BESSIE COLD CASE MYSTERY

BOOK TWENTY

DIANA XARISSA

Copyright © 2026 by DX Dunn, LLC

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The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

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1st edition 2026

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CHAPTER 1

The knock on the door surprised Bessie. She glanced at the clock. It was half six in the morning. While Bessie was an early riser, she very rarely received visitors before she’d had breakfast and taken her morning walk on the beach. The visitor knocked again. Bessie grabbed her mobile phone and dialled 999, stopping short of actually connecting the call. Then she opened her door a few inches.

“Ah, Bessie Cubbon, good morning to you,” the woman at the door said. “I’m sorry for turning up on your doorstep out of the blue, but I didn’t know where else to turn.”

“Joan Quayle?” Bessie recognised the woman, even though she hadn’t seen her in years. “My goodness, it’s been a while.” She dropped her phone into her pocket and opened the door more widely. “Do come in.”

Joan made a face. “Do you mind terribly if we talk on the beach? I tried to time my visit so that I could walk with you when you take your morning walk, but when I got here I thought maybe I’d already missed you and you were already out walking. That’s why I knocked.”

“I was just eating breakfast before I headed out,” Bessie told her.

“Oh, goodness, I am sorry. I’ll just sit on the rock behind your cottage and stare at the sea while you finish. Please don’t rush on my account.”

The woman turned and walked away before Bessie could do much more than nod. Bessie shut the door and then walked back to the kitchen table. As she finished her toast and yoghurt, she watched Joan make her way to the large rock behind the cottage. The tide was out enough so that Joan was able to walk to the rock without getting her feet wet. As Joan settled on to the rock’s flat top, Bessie put her breakfast dishes in the sink. As she got ready to go out, she tried to imagine what Joan could possibly want that was important enough to get her to Laxey Beach at such an early hour.

Bessie studied Joan as she walked towards the rock where the other woman was sitting. In the years since she’d seen her last, Joan’s long hair had turned grey. She still looked fit and healthy, although when she’d been at Bessie’s door, it had been obvious that she was upset or worried about something. Now Joan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Bessie coughed quietly to let Joan know she was behind her. Joan quickly jumped up and turned around.

“I am sorry,” she said. “Now that I’m here – now that I’ve disturbed your morning – I’m starting to think that coming here was a bad idea.”

Bessie thought about arguing but chose a different approach. “Let’s take a walk together,” she suggested. “We can catch up on each other’s lives while we walk. It’s been a fair few years since we last saw one another.”

“It has, and I truly don’t know where the time has gone,” Joan said as the two women began to stroll along the sand. “We moved to Ramsey nearly thirty years ago. I missed Laxey terribly for a very long time, but it was the right move for Ewan and for Brian.”

“I believe the last time I saw you was at Ewan’s funeral,” Bessie said.

Joan sighed. “And thank you for being there. I probably didn’t tell you that at the time. I’m afraid everything was a bit of a blur for many weeks or even months. Poor Brian had to step up and take care of me, even though he was mourning the loss of his father.”

“He thanked me for coming to the funeral.”

Joan nodded. “He was my rock during those very difficult first days, weeks, and months. He had to take a semester off from uni to be here with me, but he never complained. He was only nineteen when his father died, but he was already a kind and caring young man.”

“That must have been nearly twenty years ago,” Bessie said, trying to do the math in her head.

“I don’t want to believe it, but I know you’re right. It has been twenty years since I lost Ewan. And I still miss him. Not all the time, and not as painfully as when he first died, but there are times when I miss him terribly. This is one of those times.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Brian did wonderfully well at uni, and then he was offered a job in Manchester. I was sad that he didn’t want to come back to the island, but he’s had ever so many more opportunities in Manchester than he would have had here. He’s very happy there – or he was, anyway.”

“Do you visit often?”

“I always go across for his birthday. He usually comes home for Christmas. And we try to travel somewhere together in the summer. We’re supposed to go to Portugal this summer.”

“That sounds lovely.”

“I’m not certain we’re going to be able to go, but let’s talk about you. When I lived in Laxey you were ‘Aunt Bessie,’ everyone’s favourite honorary auntie. I always knew when I brought Brian to Laxey Beach to play that you’d offer us tea and biscuits at some point during the day. Tea at Aunt Bessie’s was Brian’s favourite part of coming to Laxey Beach.”

Bessie laughed. “I doubt that, but if it was, then it was only because of the biscuits.”

“When I told him that I was going to come to see you, he started talking about his childhood days on Laxey Beach. He remembers having cakes and American-style cookies along with his first-ever cup of very weak milky tea at your table. I believe most of the children who visited your cottage thought it was a magical place full of sweets and happiness.”

Bessie swallowed a lump in her throat. “I wanted it to be a welcoming place for everyone.”

She’d never married or had children of her own, but she’d very much enjoyed spending time with the boys and girls who’d played on the beach outside her cottage.

“Brian liked living in Ramsey, but when he was a teenager he did complain that living there meant that he couldn’t run away to Aunt Bessie’s in the same way his friends in Laxey could.”

When boys and girls who’d grown up playing on Laxey Beach reached their teenage years, they’d sometimes found life at home difficult for a variety of reasons. Thinking back now, Bessie couldn’t remember which teenager had been the first to knock on her door and ask to stay with her for a night or two because of an argument at home. That first child had been followed by hundreds of others over the decades, but it had been a few years now since Bessie had had an unexpected overnight guest.

“He would have been welcome,” Bessie said. “But he would have had to find his own way here and then back to Ramsey again.”

“He did ask me to drive him to your cottage one night after we’d argued about his latest girlfriend. I was even going to do it, but then one of his mates rang and suggested a movie, and the idea and our argument were both forgotten.”

The pair had reached the steps to Thie yn Traie, a huge mansion that was perched on the cliff above the beach. Bessie glanced up, but there didn’t seem to be any lights on in the great room, which was all that could be seen from the beach. She sometimes turned around when she reached this point, but Joan wasn’t showing any signs of tiring, so Bessie kept walking.

Joan sighed. “Your life has changed a great deal since we lived in Laxey, though. For the past several years, you’ve been making newspaper headlines on a regular basis.”

Bessie sighed. “Life took a decidedly unpleasant turn a few years back.”

“I rang Brian every time you found another body or got caught up in another murder investigation. It seemed to happen almost monthly for over two years.”

“It was quite awful, but I take comfort from the fact that every case was solved.”

“And then everything went quiet, and I thought you’d gone back to your quiet life on the beach. I was shocked when I found out that you’d joined a cold case unit. I had no idea that anyone other than police officers were part of such units.”

“It’s a very unconventional cold case unit,” Bessie said. “Andrew Cheatham, the man who runs it, chose members he thought would work well together and could bring different perspectives to the various investigations we’ve considered.”

“I sent Brian the article that Dan Ross wrote about the unit. He was as surprised as I was when he heard about it. Andrew Cheatham is a retired Scotland Yard inspector, isn’t he?”

“He is.”

“Where did you meet him? Did he come to the island for some reason, or were you in London?”

“I actually met him at a holiday park in the Lake District.”

Joan nodded. “That’s the one that Doona Moore inherited, isn’t it? I read about that, too. I’ve never met her, but I know her first ex-husband. He’s a wonderful man, and he says very nice things about Doona. He’s very happy with his second wife, too.”

“As I understand it, he and Doona got married very young and then realised that they weren’t especially happy together.”

“That’s exactly how he puts it. He’s also very happy that Doona has now found someone special.”

“We’re all very happy for her and John.”

“I do hope he isn’t going to leave the police after he and Doona get married. She’s quite wealthy now, isn’t she? She owns a holiday park, after all.”

“She owns half of a holiday park. As I understand it, it generates some income for her, but it hasn’t exactly made her rich. I don’t think John has any intention of leaving the police after they get married.”

“And they’re part of the cold case unit, too. I remember telling Brian that Inspector John Rockwell from the Isle of Man Constabulary and Doona Moore, who used to work for them as well, were both part of the unit.”

“They are both part of the unit.”

“But we were talking about Inspector Cheatham. You met him at Doona’s holiday park?”

Bessie nodded. “But it wasn’t Doona’s park back when we met Andrew there. Doona’s second husband got Doona there under false pretenses because he was hoping she might be persuaded to give their marriage another chance.”

“Oh, now I remember,” Joan said. “And then he got murdered, and Doona got arrested, and John had to fly over to help with the investigation.”

“That’s mostly correct. Andrew was staying in the cabin next to the one that Doona and I were sharing, and he was kind enough to try to help us during the investigation.”

“And some time later, he invited you to join his cold case unit?”

“Some considerable time later, after he’d visited the island and we’d talked about a cold case that was bothering a friend of his. We were able to come up with a different angle for Andrew’s friend to consider, and he was eventually able to solve the case.”

“Is that what gave Andrew the idea for the unit?”

“I think he’d been considering setting up a unit for a while, but that was probably why he eventually decided to include me in it.”

“And Constable Hugh Watterson is part of it, too. I don’t know him at all, but I do remember the family from when I lived in Laxey. We moved away before Hugh was born, though.”

“He’s a lovely young man and a very hard-working member of the constabulary. Not only does he work full-time and take part in the cold case unit, but he’s also taking classes to earn his degree, which will help increase his chances of becoming an inspector one day.”

“Didn’t I hear somewhere that he and his wife just had a baby?”

“They did. Johnny is their second child. They also have a toddler, Aalish.”

“One of each. How lovely for them. I always wanted a little girl, but for whatever reason, I never fell pregnant again after I had Brian. Is Hugh’s wife from Laxey?”

“No, Grace grew up in Douglas. She was a primary school teacher before she had Aalish, but she hasn’t returned to work yet.”

“It does seem a very unconventional cold case unit,” Joan said. “But there are other police inspectors on it, too, aren’t there? I’m certain I read that some of the members come across from London each month for your meetings.”

“Andrew comes from London each month, although his daughter is moving to the island, so he might start spending more time here. He usually stays in one of the holiday cottages here on Laxey Beach. Harry Blake and Charles Morris are two other former Scotland Yard inspectors who are part of the unit. They usually stay at The Seaview when they’re on the island.”

“Because that’s where you have your meetings. I remember reading that. It’s a lovely old hotel. The new owners have done a fantastic job renovating it while still keeping its former character. At least, I think they have. I’ve never been in a guest room, but the lobby is gorgeous and the restaurant is my favourite place to eat in Ramsey. Brian and I always go there when he comes home.”

“Jasper and Stuart have done wonderful things at The Seaview. The guest rooms are lovely, and the conference rooms are all very nice.”

“Brian and I both agreed that Harry Blake looked quite intimidating in the photo that was in the local paper. Please tell me that he’s actually incredibly friendly.”

“He’s very smart and not unfriendly, but he spent his entire career working in the homicide department, often working on the worst kinds of cases. I believe he’s happiest keeping everyone at something of a distance.”

“What about Charles Morris? I thought he looked sad in his picture.”

“Charles is an expert in finding missing persons. I’m certain it’s very rewarding work, but no doubt it can also be incredibly sad.”

Joan nodded. “And you meet every month?”

“We do.”

“And every month you look at a different case?”

“Yes, just one case at a time.”

“I know you’ve solved at least a few of your cases, because some of them made the papers. I hope you’ve solved most of them.”

We’ve solved them all, Bessie thought. But I’m not allowed to talk about it. “We don’t talk about our results,” she said.

“One of the reasons I turned up on your doorstep so early this morning was because I wasn’t certain if you were in the middle of a cold case or not. I thought if I came later in the day, you might be in Ramsey, sitting in The Seaview, talking about murder with your illustrious colleagues.”

“Andrew and the others are flying over to the island later today. We’ll start our next round of meetings tomorrow.”

Joan frowned. “I suppose the unit takes up a great deal of your time when you’re meeting. How long do the members from London stay on the island?”

“Harry and Charles come for only a week. Andrew stays for a fortnight.”

“What happens if you don’t solve the case in a week?”

“We continue to work on it after Harry and Charles have flown back to London,” Bessie replied. At least in theory, because that’s yet to happen.

Joan stopped. “We’ve walked a long way,” she said, looking back down the beach towards Bessie’s cottage.

“We can turn around at any time.”

“I think we should turn around. I walk every day, but not usually this far – at least not all at once.”

The pair turned and began to walk again. Bessie noticed that Joan had slowed her pace somewhat, so she did the same, matching her stride to the other woman’s.

“I’m a bit out of practice,” Joan said apologetically. “I try to walk every day, but I don’t get out as much as I should in the winter months. I hate walking in the rain.”

Bessie laughed. “We get a lot more rain in Laxey than you do in Ramsey, and I still walk every day. If I waited for dry weather, I’d rarely walk at all.”

“But now it’s spring and the weather has been lovely lately. I’ve no excuse for not getting out and walking every morning, except laziness.”

“May has been lovely so far,” Bessie agreed.

“Of course, the TT will be here at the end of the month. It becomes more difficult to walk around Ramsey during the racing.”

Bessie nodded. The annual Tourist Trophy motorcycle races went around large parts of the island and right through the centre of Ramsey, complicating traffic and transportation for every island resident over a fortnight of practices and racing.

“But the TT is good for the island’s economy,” Bessie said.

Joan nodded. “I’ve been doing Homestay for years. The same biker and his family come every year and stay in my spare bedrooms. We’ve become good friends over the years, and it’s nice to make a bit of extra money from their stay.”

Bessie knew that the Homestay programme allowed island residents to open up their homes to visitors who came for the TT, or for the Manx Grand Prix at the end of the summer. Some residents chose to go on holiday elsewhere during the racing, giving them the chance to rent out their entire property. Others rented out just one or two rooms in their homes. Some portion of the income received from their visitors was tax-free under Manx law.

“Does he race?” Bessie asked.

Joan shook her head. “He loves bikes, but he’s never raced them. He and his family come to watch the races, cheer on their favourite riders, and enjoy the atmosphere.”

“The island does feel rather different during TT Fortnight – not so much in Laxey, but certainly in Ramsey and Douglas.”

They’d reached the stairs to Thie yn Traie again, which meant Bessie’s cottage was in sight.

“These holiday cottages weren’t here when we lived in Laxey,” Joan said, nodding towards the neat row of identical cottages that ran along the beach from not much past the stairs until quite close to Bessie’s cottage. “Are the guests who stay in them difficult neighbours?”

“Not for the most part. There have been a few difficult groups over the years, but most people just come to enjoy the beach and the island.”

Thomas and Maggie Shimmin had spent years buying up properties along the beach until they’d owned every property aside from Bessie’s. When she’d steadfastly refused to even consider selling her cottage to them, they’d put in planning permission to build cottages on the rest of the beach, regardless. For a few years, the cottages had seemed to be filled with guests from early spring into late autumn, but over the past year or two they’d seemed to become less popular. Now it was early May, and as far as Bessie knew, only two or three of the cottages were occupied. And that included the cottage that Andrew and his daughter, Helen, would be moving into that afternoon.

A few minutes later, the two women arrived back at the large rock behind Bessie’s cottage. The tide had been coming in slowly, so there was now at least an inch of water around the base of the rock. Joan looked at it and laughed.

“I don’t suppose I want to wade out to the rock to sit down again,” she said. “But I do need to sit down.”

“Come inside and have a cuppa,” Bessie suggested.

Joan hesitated and then nodded. “I could do with a cuppa.”

“Maybe over tea you can tell me what’s bothering you,” Bessie suggested as they walked towards Bessie’s door.

Joan sighed. “I’m going to have to tell you everything. I don’t know what else to do.”

She was crying quietly by the time Bessie unlocked her door.

CHAPTER 2

Bessie ushered Joan to the kitchen table and then put a box of tissues in front of her. As Joan wiped her eyes, Bessie put the kettle on and pulled two teacups out of the cupboard. Then she got out a box of fancy chocolate-covered biscuits and put several on a plate. She put that plate in the centre of the table along with smaller plates for herself and Joan. By that time, the kettle had boiled. Bessie made two cups of tea and then carried them over to the table and sat down across from the other woman.

“Extra sweet and extra milky,” Bessie said, nodding at the teacup she’d put in front of Joan.

“Thank you,” Joan replied. She took a sip of tea and then sighed deeply. “And fancy biscuits, too. You’re spoiling me.”

“You seem to need a bit of spoiling.”

“I do, actually. Although not as badly as Brian does.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me about it?”

“No. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I just want it all to go away.”

“Is it likely to go away on its own?”

“No. Not at all. Which is why I’m here. As I said earlier, I don’t know where else to go. I told Brian to ring the police, but he doesn’t want to do that.”

“Maybe you should start at the beginning.”

“Yeah,” Joan muttered. She took another sip of tea and then picked up a biscuit and took a bite. “I wanted to talk while we were walking because I have such happy memories of being in your cottage. I didn’t want to bring this unpleasantness here, but then we just kept talking and I couldn’t bring myself to say anything on the beach, either.”

Bessie took a sip of tea, deliberately not replying. Joan would get around to telling the story eventually, maybe even sooner if Bessie kept quiet. As Bessie picked up a biscuit, Joan sighed again.

“Brian has been living happily in Manchester since he went away to uni. He loves the city, and he’s made quite a lot of friends there. He’s still single, but I live in hope that he might one day find the right woman. He very nearly got married once about ten years ago, but he and his fiancée both got cold feet at the same time, and they called it off before they’d done much more than get engaged.”

“I’m glad he found a place he loves,” Bessie said after another long silence.

“Life has had its ups and downs, of course. He’s changed jobs a few times, not always because he wanted to. He’s had his heart broken, but he’s also broken a heart or two. Through it all, I’ve simply loved him and supported him as best as I could, even though I’m some distance away.”

Bessie finished her biscuit and took another sip of tea. While part of her wanted to start peppering Joan with questions, another part was willing to sit back and let Joan tell the story at her own pace.

“He’s had the same group of friends for years,” Joan said eventually. “I’ve met them all over the years. Brian usually has a party at his house for his birthday. He’s kind enough to include me in the party, even though it’s mostly for him and his friends.”

“And do you like his friends?” Bessie asked after another long silence.

“I used to like them. Now I’m not so certain how I feel about them.” She put her teacup down and sat forward in her seat. “I’m going to tell you everything. Maybe you should take notes.”

Not wanting to argue, Bessie got up and took a small notebook out of one of the drawers. Then she sat back down, pen in hand, ready to take notes.

“Brian went to a party on Friday night,” Joan said. She stopped and stared at Bessie.

Hiding a smile, Bessie carefully wrote the word “Friday” in her notebook.

“It was at a friend’s house. Peter Malik.” Joan spelled the man’s surname as Bessie wrote it down. “It was to celebrate Peter’s engagement to Ginnie Baker, another of Brian’s friends.” She spelled both of Ginnie’s names for Bessie.

Bessie wrote down the name and then noted that she and Peter were celebrating their engagement.

“According to Brian, there were about two dozen people there, all happy for the couple. They all had a few drinks and listened to some music. Peter ordered some pizzas and Ginnie got a cake from a nearby bakery. The evening was winding down when Brian went to the loo.”

Not knowing what might be relevant, Bessie made a note about the food before looking back up at Joan.

She cleared her throat. “Brian wasn’t drunk, but he’d had a few drinks. He said he was feeling pretty happy with the world when he realised he needed the loo. He thought about just going home, because he doesn’t live far from Peter, but then he decided that he didn’t want to wait that long. He’d walked to the party, and he didn’t want to walk home needing the loo the entire time.”

Bessie didn’t comment as she made another note.

“Ginnie was just coming out of the loo when Brian got there. He’s been trying to remember exactly what they said to one another as they crossed paths, but he really can’t. He said it was just idle party chatter. Whatever, he went inside the loo, shut the door, and did what he needed to do. After he washed his hands, he opened the door and found Ginnie standing outside with Peter. She rushed past him and then stopped and started screaming.”

Joan stopped again. Bessie reached for another biscuit while Joan wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

“When she stopped screaming, Ginnie told Brian that she’d accidentally left her engagement ring on the side of the sink when she’d washed her hands after she’d used the loo. And then she demanded that he give it back to her.”

“Oh dear,” Bessie murmured.

Joan nodded. “Brian had seen the ring on Ginnie’s finger earlier. He told me that it was hard to miss it, because Ginnie kept waving it in everyone’s faces. Apparently, it had a large central ruby that was surrounded by diamonds.”

“It sounds lovely,” Bessie said as Joan took another sip of tea.

“Whether it was lovely or not, it was valuable. Peter was very upset that Ginnie had taken it off and forgotten to put it back on. Brian said that at first Peter didn’t seem to want to blame him for anything. Peter seemed to think that the ring must have been knocked on the floor or something, so he started looking. After a minute or two, the other people who were still at the party all came and joined in the search. Brian said it was almost funny because there were six of them crawling around on the floor in a not-very-large loo. The longer they looked, though, the more upset Ginnie got.”

“And the ring didn’t turn up,” Bessie said.

“It did not. Eventually, they gave up looking and moved back into the sitting room. Peter turned off the music and they all sat down together to talk. Ginnie flat-out accused Brian of taking the ring. He denied it, of course, and even turned out his pockets to try to prove that he hadn’t done it. He even offered to get undressed and let Peter search all of his clothes, but Peter just shook his head.”

“Brian should have insisted on being searched,” Bessie said. “I’m surprised the police didn’t search everyone.”

“They didn’t ring the police.”

“Why not?”

Joan sighed. “Peter didn’t want to ring them. He didn’t want to accuse one of his friends of stealing the ring. Ginnie didn’t agree, but Peter finally convinced her.”

“Ginnie was right,” Bessie said.

“And she’s going to get her way soon,” Joan said. “She agreed not to ring the police right away, but only because Peter promised that the ring would turn up. Brian reckons that Peter thinks someone took it and that that someone will return it in the next day or two to avoid getting the police involved.”

“Surely that must mean that Peter thinks that Brian took it.”

“Not necessarily. Peter suggested that anyone who helped with the search might have picked it up, planning to give it back, of course. He seemed to think that one of the remaining guests might have thought keeping it for a short while was funny.”

“They all knew that Ginnie was upset. I can’t imagine how anyone could think it would be funny to find it and not tell her.”

“Brian thinks that Peter said that mostly to try to take some of the pressure off of him. He and Peter are good friends, and Brian reckons that Peter thinks he has the ring and wants to give him a chance to return it before the police get involved.”

“I think everyone would have been better off if the police had been called on Friday night.”

“Except Brian works in corporate security. Even being a suspect in a police investigation could cost him his job and make it nigh-on impossible for him to find another.”

Bessie sighed. “Poor Brian.”

“It’s Sunday today. He didn’t even tell me anything about what had happened until last night. He didn’t want to worry me. And he really thought that the ring would turn up. He reckoned that Ginnie must have stuck it in her pocket and then maybe it fell out somewhere else in the house. When he suggested that to Peter, everyone spread out and they searched the entire ground floor of the house, but the ring didn’t turn up.”

“Unless it did turn up and someone else pocketed it,” Bessie said thoughtfully.

Joan nodded. “That’s Brian keeps thinking. He can’t believe that any of his friends would do such a thing, but if that isn’t what happened, then where is the ring? He really thought that someone was going to find it while they were searching. Now he doesn’t know what to think.”

“When are Peter and Ginnie going to the police?”

Joan shrugged. “They haven’t said exactly. Ginnie keeps saying that she’s ready to ring them now, but Peter keeps saying that they need to give everyone more time. He suggested that the ring might have accidentally fallen into a pocket or a fold in someone’s clothes while they were all searching and that the person who has it probably hasn’t noticed yet.”

“That seems unlikely. Surely they all checked their pockets at the time.”

“Brian certainly did. He even turned the pockets in his jeans inside out to prove that he hadn’t taken the ring. He said a few of the others did the same, and both of the women insisted that Ginnie check their handbags, just in case the ring might have fallen into one of them in some weird way.”

“That was smart of them,” Bessie said.

“But now Brian doesn’t know what to do. If the police get involved, he might lose his job, but he has no idea what happened to the ring. When I talked to him last night, he was considering going to a jewellery store today to see if he could get an exact duplicate made, regardless of the expense. He reckons that’s better than losing his job.”

“Maybe the whole thing is a plot by Ginnie to get herself a second ring,” Bessie said, only half kidding.

“At this point, I’m prepared to believe anything,” Joan said. “I know Brian didn’t take the ring. That’s all I know for certain.”

Bessie turned a page in her notebook. “Tell me about everyone who was still at the party when the ring went missing.”

“Peter was there, of course. It was his house. I’m sorry, but what do you want to know about him?”

“How did he and Brian meet? How long have they been friends? How long has he been with Ginnie? Anything you can tell me, really.”

“He and Brian met at uni. Then they both went to work for the same company right after they left school. Peter changed jobs after a year or two, but he and Brian had already fallen into the habit of going to a pub near where they worked every Friday night. Peter’s new company’s HQ wasn’t far from the old one, so they continued the tradition for the next several years. When Brian started looking for a house, Peter started looking too, and as I said earlier, they ended up buying properties in the same housing estate. I gather that after that they spent most Friday nights together at one or the other of their houses rather than at the pub, but they still went out together once in a while.”

Bessie looked up from her notes. “They’ve been friends for a long time, then.”

“Over twenty years.” Joan frowned. “I can’t remember what else you asked me about him, though.”

“I asked about his relationship with Ginnie. Why don’t you tell me about her before you tell me about their relationship, though.”

“She’s thirty-five, about five years younger than Peter and Brian. I know that because the last time I talked to her, she told me that she was getting quite worried about her biological clock. Apparently, a woman’s fertility drops dramatically once she gets to thirty-five. And Ginnie had just celebrated her thirty-fifth birthday.”

“Is that possibly part of the reason why Peter proposed?”

Joan shrugged. “Maybe. She and Peter have been together for two or three years now. I don’t know why it took him so long to propose, but I do know that Brian is happy for both of them. Well, he was happy for them. I’m not certain how he feels now.”

“How did Ginnie and Peter meet?”

“They met through Brian, actually. Ginnie is the woman I was telling you about earlier, the one that Brian got engaged to very briefly ten years or so ago.”

“In that case, how did Brian and Ginnie meet?”

“They actually met in a coffee shop across the street from a garage. They’d both taken their cars in for service at the same time, and then they’d both gone to get coffee while they were waiting. Apparently, the place was full of people who were waiting for cars, so they ended up sitting together at the only empty table in the room. By the time Brian’s car was ready to be collected, he and Ginnie were already planning to have dinner together later that week.”

“How long were they together?”

“I believe they’d been together about a year when Brian proposed. As I said, the engagement didn’t last long.”

“Was there a ring? And did Ginnie keep it?”

Joan laughed. “Brian was going to give her this ring,” she said, holding up her left hand. She was wearing a gold band with a small diamond set in it, along with a wider gold wedding band. “I offered it to him, actually, and he and Ginnie had both agreed. I was supposed to give it to him to give to her when I went across for his next birthday, but their relationship was over before that happened.”

“And they remained friends?”

“Oh, yes, great friends. They still cared deeply about each other. They just realised that they didn’t want to get married.”

“What do you think of Ginnie?”

Joan frowned. “That’s a difficult question, considering recent events. I was quite fond of her when she and Brian were together. I never would have offered her my ring if I hadn’t thought she and Brian were well suited, but I also wasn’t terribly disappointed when they ended things, either. I was very happy when I found out that she and Peter were together. I thought they were better suited than she and Brian had been.”

“We’ll talk more about everyone in a minute,” Bessie said. “But first, who else was still at the party when the ring disappeared?”

“Jeanne Park was there. Jeanne is smart and funny and beautiful, and I’ll never understand why she isn’t married. She’s turning forty later this year and she’s not excited about it. What else can I tell you about her?”

“How did she meet Brian, and how long have they been friends?”

“They met at uni and have remained friends ever since. Jeanne owns the house that is only three doors down from Peter’s. They all bought their homes in the same area at the same time. It was a brand-new housing estate when they bought their homes.”

“And she’s never been married?”

Joan shook her head. “She often brings someone with her to parties, usually a different man every time I see her. I think she truly prefers being single, though. She said something once about not having enough patience to put up with a man for more than a few hours at a time.”

Bessie smiled. “I can understand that.”

“Flora Campbell was also still there. She’s the youngest of the group, still in her early thirties. Brian met her at work ten years or so ago. She was twenty-two or twenty-three and just out of uni. He took her under his wing and mentored her for a while until she got settled in.”

“That was nice of him.”

“He likes to help people, and Flora is a sweetheart. When she and Brian first met, she was still involved with the guy she’d been with at uni, but they broke up after a year or so. She’s introduced me to a few other guys over the years, but I don’t think any of the relationships have been serious. She does want to get married one day, though. And I’ll admit that I’d be quite happy if she and Brian decided to settle down together, although I’ve never suggested it to either of them.”

“Maybe you should.”

Joan sighed. “I don’t like to interfere in Brian’s love life. I keep hoping they’ll realise how perfect they are for one another, but maybe one or both of them needs a small push.”

“And the last person?” Bessie asked.

“Jake Day,” Joan replied, making a face.

“You don’t care for Jake.”

“He’s not my favourite person, anyway. He’s another one who was at uni with Brian and Peter, but after he finished, he moved to London. He was there for over a decade before he moved back to Manchester. He’s more on the periphery of the friend group. Brian said he only sees him once a month or so, whereas he and the others typically get together two or three times each week. And while the rest of them take it in turns to host events at their houses or plan outings to the cinema or whatever, Jake never does any of that. Jake bought a flat about three years ago, and Brian still hasn’t been there.”

“I assume it’s not in the same area where the others live.”

“It’s not, which is another problem. When anyone has a party, Jake always wants to crash on someone’s couch or in a spare bedroom so that he doesn’t have to drive home after drinking. I appreciate that he doesn’t want to drink drive, but Brian does get tired of having the man stay with him.”

Bessie looked down her list. “And these are the only suspects?” she asked.

Joan shrugged. “Those are the only people who were still there when Ginnie went into the loo. She swears she remembers taking the ring off to wash her hands. Brian swears it wasn’t there when he washed his hands.”

“Is it possible it fell down the drain?”

“No. It’s a newer house and the drain has a cover with very small holes. There’s no way the ring could have fallen down it.”

“And they searched the entire house,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “Which suggests that someone on this list took the ring.”

CHAPTER 3

Joan sighed deeply. “Brian really doesn’t want to believe that,” she said. “These people are his friends. They’ve been his friends for years and years. He doesn’t want to believe that any of them would steal, especially not from another friend.”

“Let’s talk about each of them in turn,” Bessie suggested. “For the sake of this discussion, we’ll assume that they all had an opportunity to take the ring, however that happened. Really, we need to discuss possible motives.”

“I hope you don’t have Brian on your list.”

Bessie shook her head. “If his job could be at stake, I believe he would have returned it by now if he had taken it. But we can talk more about him after we’ve discussed the others.”

“My son did not have anything to do with the theft,” Joan said angrily.

“Tell me more about Peter. Is there a reason why he might have found the ring and then decided to remain quiet about it?” Bessie asked.

Joan took a deep breath. “He’d only just given it to Ginnie. I can’t imagine why he’d want to hide it from her, especially when, according to Brian, she was incredibly upset when she realised it was missing.”

“Was it insured?” Bessie asked.

“Not yet. As I said, he’d only just given her the ring a day or two before the party. Apparently, the jewellery shop where he bought it tried to sell him insurance, but he’s worked in the insurance industry for long enough to know that what they were offering was overpriced, so he turned them down. He was supposed to be taking the ring to get it formally appraised one day this week. Then he was going to arrange for some sort of insurance for it.”

Bessie sat for a minute, processing that information.

“Is it possible that the ring was a fake?” she asked eventually. “Or at least not what it was purported to be? Maybe Peter took it so that Ginnie wouldn’t find out when he took it to be appraised.”

Joan nodded. “Maybe. I can’t see why he’d buy her a ring with fake stones, but maybe it was simply meant to be temporary. Maybe he was planning to buy her something nicer, but then Ginnie started pushing to have the ring appraised and insured and he panicked.”

“Brian needs to find out more about the ring,” Bessie said. “Where was it purchased? Where was it going to be appraised? Is there any chance the stones weren’t real, or that the overall value of the ring wasn’t as much as Ginnie seemed to believe?”

“I need some paper and a pen.”

Bessie got a second notebook out of the drawer and handed it to Joan, along with a pen. Joan quickly wrote down what Bessie had said.

“That’s a sound motive for Peter, and one that doesn’t make him a criminal, just a man who doesn’t want to upset his fiancée,” Joan said. “Brian is going to hope that’s the answer.”

“I find it odd that Peter doesn’t want to involve the police,” Bessie said. “Maybe that’s because he knows the ring hasn’t actually been stolen.”

“Maybe.”

“Let’s talk about Ginnie next,” Bessie said. “Is it possible that she never lost the ring at all? Can you think of a reason why she’d lie about such a thing?”

“I can’t even begin to imagine. She’d spent the entire evening telling everyone how much she loved the ring.”

“Of course Peter bought it, but was it a surprise or did she have some say in the selection? Maybe she really hated it but didn’t want to tell Peter and hurt his feelings. Maybe she was hoping that Peter would offer to buy her a replacement, one that she could help choose herself.”

“If that’s the case, she shouldn’t be so insistent on involving the police.”

Bessie nodded. “That’s a good point. Her wanting to ring the police suggests that she isn’t behind the disappearance. I still think that Brian should try to find out just how much she actually likes the ring.”

Joan made another note. “Maybe Ginnie wants to end things with Peter, but she wants to keep the ring,” she said. “Maybe she’s only demanding that the police get involved to cause conflict with Peter so she can have an excuse to end the relationship.”

“Does that seem likely, considering what you know of her?”

“I don’t know what to think at the moment. I know and like everyone on your list. I can’t believe any of them would do anything awful, but here we are.”

Bessie nodded. “Can you think of any reason why Jeanne might have pocketed the ring?”

“Not at all. She and Ginnie are good friends, and according to Brian, she was thrilled for both Ginnie and Peter.”

“Is it possible that she’s simply a good actress?” Bessie asked. “Was she ever romantically involved with Peter? Is it possible that she’d like to be involved with him and sees Ginnie as in the way? Or is it possible that she’s simply jealous that Ginnie got an engagement ring from someone when her own love life is full of ups and downs? Maybe she simply wanted to wear the ring for a short while to see how it feels.”

“That’s a lot of maybes. I’m not certain what to ask Brian out of all of that.”

“Ask him whether Jeanne and Peter were ever involved, and ask him if he really believes that Jeanne was happy for Peter and Ginnie. That’s probably enough for now.”

Joan made another note. When she looked up, Bessie continued.

“What about Flora?” she asked. “Can you think of a motive for her?”

“Not at all,” Joan said flatly.

Bessie hid a smile. Joan was clearly very fond of Flora. “Was she ever involved with Peter?”

“No. I don’t know all of Jeanne’s romantic history, but if she was involved with Peter, it was probably during their university days. I think if they’d become involved later I would have heard about it, but Brian didn’t confide in me much during the years he was at uni. I do know quite a lot about Flora’s love life, at least from the time she met Brian. She and Peter were never involved, and neither were she and Brian, more’s the pity.”

Bessie nodded. “Some of the same possible motives apply to her as they did to Jeanne. Maybe she was jealous, or maybe she simply wanted to wear the ring for a day or two. You need to ask Brian whether or not Flora was truly happy for Peter and Ginnie.”

“Flora did go out with Jake a few times.”

“She did?”

“Yes, but only a few times. He moved back to Manchester around the same time she met Brian, and he introduced them to one another. Flora was still seeing someone else, but as soon as that relationship ended, Jake asked her out. They only went out a handful of times before Flora told Brian that they’d agreed to just be friends.”

“That’s interesting, but I’m not certain it has anything to do with the missing ring. It does help me understand the people involved better, though. Let’s talk about Jake.”

“Must we?”

“Is he that bad?”

Joan made a face. “He’s not that bad, really. I like him well enough, but I’ve simply never warmed to him. I don’t think he’s a jewellery thief, but if one of the people on your list did steal the ring, I hope it was Jake and not one of the others.”

“Can you think of a reason why Jake might have stolen the ring?”

“Maybe he wants to give it to some other woman, one that no one who was at the party even knows exists.”

“Surely if he were to get married, he’d invite Brian and the others to the wedding. And then they’d notice the bride’s engagement ring.”

“I can see him getting married and not telling anyone, or rather not telling anyone in that friend group. As I said, he has other friends, ones he probably spends a lot more time with than he spends with Brian and the others.”

“Maybe Brian needs to ask him if he’s seeing anyone special,” Bessie said.

Joan noted the question.

“I don’t suppose he and Ginnie were ever involved,” Bessie said.

“I don’t believe so, but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely. I can see Jake suggesting that they see each other quietly, without anyone else from the group knowing. And I can see Ginnie agreeing. I’m certain she’d think it was quite funny, them getting involved right under the others’ noses. If it did happen, though, it happened years ago, before Ginnie started seeing Peter. I don’t want to believe that she would cheat on Peter.”

“Maybe Brian can try to find out somehow,” Bessie suggested.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Joan said with a sigh. “They’re all good people who care deeply about one another. None of them had any reason to steal anything.”

“Are you certain of that?” Bessie asked. “Is it possible that one of them is in some financial difficulties and the ring offered them a chance to get themselves out?”

Joan looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know that the ring is worth enough to get anyone out of serious financial difficulties, but I suppose if one of them had a small loan to repay or some other unexpected expense, he or she might have been tempted to take the ring and try to sell it somewhere.”

“Which of the people we’ve discussed is most likely to be having difficulties?”

“Jake.”

Bessie ate another biscuit while she waited for Joan to elaborate.

“I told you that Peter and Brian and Jeanne all bought houses in the same housing estate when it was being built. That was fifteen years ago or so. By the time Jake moved back to Manchester, house prices had gone up considerably. Having said that, Jake didn’t buy a small house in a quiet neighbourhood. He rented an expensive flat in a building in the heart of the city. About three years ago, he bought a different flat in a new building not far from where he’d been renting. The cheapest flats in the building go for eye-wateringly huge prices, and Jake didn’t buy one of the cheapest flats.”

“How can he afford it?”

“That’s what Brian said at the time. They have similar jobs, so Brian has a rough idea of how much Jake is getting paid. There’s no way Brian could afford a flat in that building on his salary. Brian reckons Jake must have wealthy parents, or maybe he inherited some money from someone. Of course, Brian never once considered that Jake might be supplementing his income by stealing jewellery from his friends.”

“The others all seem to live comfortably within their means?” Bessie asked.

Joan frowned. “Peter used to be a bit of a gambler, but according to Brian, he gave all that up years ago now.”

“Maybe an old debt resurfaced,” Bessie speculated.

“As far as I know, Jeanne and Flora are both very responsible with their money.”

“And Ginnie?”

“Doesn’t worry much about money because she always has a man in her life to pay for everything she needs,” Joan said. Then she held up a hand. “That was mean. And somewhat unfair. As a mother, my own child’s needs always come first, and when Brian was with Ginnie it used to bother me that Brian always paid for everything when they went anywhere. That’s probably one of the reasons why I wasn’t unhappy when they stopped seeing each other. Brian has made a few comments over the past few years about how now it’s Peter who is always paying for everything for Ginnie and how it doesn’t seem fair, actually, because Ginnie has a good job and makes almost as much as Peter.”

Bessie looked back down the list. “Have Brian think about whether any of his friends might have a need for a quick influx of cash,” she said. “I don’t know how much the ring is worth, but maybe someone in the group is desperate.”

Joan made another note and then looked at Bessie. “I’ll have him ring everyone tonight with these questions. And then I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” She shook her head. “Except I can’t just impose in that way. You have your cold case meeting tomorrow. You’re going to be busy trying to find a murderer. That has to take precedence over Brian’s problems.”

Bessie shook her head. “I’m happy to do what I can to help Brian, but I’m not certain there’s much I can do.”

“Just talking about it with you has helped a lot.”

“Let’s talk again tomorrow, then. I’ll be in Ramsey for the cold case meeting. Would you like to meet somewhere there after the meeting?”

“Yes, please. I can meet you at The Seaview. I didn’t see a car outside, so I assume you still don’t drive.”

Bessie had never learned to drive. When she was younger, she’d used the island’s bus and train services to get from place to place, but she’d eventually come to rely more on taxis and the kindness of friends to get her where she needed to go.

“I do not.”

“What time is your meeting?”

“We’re meeting at two. We should be finished by three, or not much after three.”

“I’ll be in the lobby of The Seaview at three. And I’ll happily sit there for hours upon hours if your meeting takes longer than you’re expecting. It’s a beautiful space and the perfect place to sit to watch people.”

Bessie nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, then.”

“If we aren’t meeting until afternoon, that gives Brian more time to speak to everyone, too.” Joan got to her feet. “Thank you so much. I feel a million times better for having spoken to you. You’ve raised some interesting questions and given me a lot of ideas about things that could have happened to the ring.”

“I’m glad I was able to help.”

Bessie followed the woman to the door. Joan hesitated for a moment and then pulled Bessie into a quick hug.

“Thank you. See you tomorrow,” she said as Bessie let her out of the cottage.

“Yes, indeed,” Bessie murmured as she watched Joan walk back to her car. As Bessie started to push her door shut, she spotted another car turning in to the parking area outside her cottage. She frowned as the strange car with UK plates pulled in and parked. The frown vanished as Helen got out of the car. She waved at Bessie and then quickly crossed to Bessie’s door. The women hugged tightly.

“How are you? And why are you here so early?” Bessie asked.

Helen laughed. “I’m fine. I think I told you that I was going to come on the ferry this time so that I could start bringing some of my things across. I filled the car with as much as I possibly could fit. But I left booking my ferry ticket until too late, so the only sailing I could get was at silly o’clock this morning. I had to drive up to Liverpool yesterday and stay in a hotel overnight. Well, I say overnight, but I had to check in at the ferry terminal at two, so I wasn’t at the hotel for long.”

“My goodness, you must be exhausted.”

“I am totally exhausted, but also happy to be here with a car full of things. I’m excited to be moving to the island, even if it’s going to be a long process.”

“When does your father arrive?”

“His flight is supposed to land at three this afternoon. I promised him that I’d collect him at the airport. I hope I’ll be able to get some sleep between now and then.”

“You definitely need to make sleep your first priority.”

Helen sighed. “But I need to unpack my car and then unpack at least a few of the boxes. The holiday cottage is mine from now until whenever, so I want to start making it feel as if it’s home.”

“I wonder if Pat is busy.”

Pat was the young man who managed the holiday cottages on behalf of Thomas and Maggie. He and Bessie had become good friends since she’d first discovered that he was breaking into one of the empty cottages in the winter months because he didn’t have anywhere else to stay. Bessie had been able to persuade Thomas and Maggie to give him a place to stay in exchange for painting the cottages during the months they were empty. By the spring, they’d hired him as their on-site manager. Since then, Pat had gone back to school to earn more qualifications. He’d learned how to drive and now had use of one of Maggie’s old cars. And he’d been reunited with his two sisters, Peggy and Mary. They were family he hadn’t seen since they’d all been taken into care following their mother’s death.

Helen grinned. “That’s a great idea. I’ll pay him for his time, of course.”

“Give me a minute,” Bessie said.

She went back into her cottage and grabbed her handbag, then put her shoes and coat back on before rejoining Helen at the door. Bessie stepped outside and then locked her cottage.

“You get started. I’ll be right back,” Bessie told the other woman before she started walking briskly across the sand. When she reached the very last cottage in the row, she glanced at her watch. “I hope I don’t wake you,” she muttered as she walked up to the cottage’s sliding glass door. The curtains were drawn, which was slightly worrying. She was about to knock when the curtains suddenly slid open. Pat looked surprised when he saw Bessie right outside, but he just laughed and then opened the door.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning. Helen has just arrived with a car full of boxes. She’d be happy to pay you for your time if you’d be willing to help her move some of the heavier ones.”

Pat shook his head. “She doesn’t have to pay me. Maggie and Thomas pay me to look after the guests in the cottages. Helen is going to be a long-term guest. I’d be more than happy to move a few boxes for her.”

“It’s more than a few.”

He shrugged. “I don’t have anything else to do with my morning. I have to get one of the other cottages ready for guests who will be arriving later in the day, but I can do that after lunch. Maggie gave Helen the keys to that cottage when they arranged the long-term rental, so that’s taken care of. Tell Helen to make herself comfortable. I’ll be there in five minutes or less.”

Helen was hard at work unloading her car when Bessie got back to her cottage at the opposite end of the row.

“He’ll be here soon,” she promised.

“I just found the coffee maker,” Helen said happily. “I’m just going to take a break to make a pot of coffee. That should help a lot.”

Pat arrived while the coffee was brewing. While Helen quickly downed a cup of the hot liquid, he just as quickly brought everything from her car into the cottage.

“Now tell me where each box is supposed to go,” he told her after she’d shut and locked her car.

“I can manage from here. You’ve already done more than I’d dared hope,” Helen told him.

Pat shook his head. “Some of these boxes are quite heavy. Let me get them into the right rooms for you, at least.”

Helen sighed. “They’re all marked with their destinations,” she told him. “All of the boxes marked ‘bedroom’ go in the smaller room. The rest should be self-explanatory.”

“You sit down and rest,” Pat said. “I know where to find you if I have any questions.”

Helen nodded and then yawned. “I really appreciate your help,” she said as she crossed to the couch and sat down.

Pat just nodded and then started moving boxes. Bessie walked over and sat down next to Helen.

“How was the crossing?” she asked.

Helen shrugged. “Noisy. And surprisingly full, considering the hour.” She yawned again and then sat back and closed her eyes. “How have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve been fine. I had a visitor this morning with a problem. I really hope I was able to help her.”

Bessie paused for a moment and then another. She smiled as she realised that Helen had fallen asleep. As quietly as she could, she picked up her handbag and pulled out the paperback she was currently reading. She found her place in the story and started to read while Pat carried on working and Helen napped.

CHAPTER 4

“Do you think it will disturb her if I open the door?” Pat asked in a whisper a short while later.

Bessie shrugged. “You can’t stay here all day.”

He grinned. “I could stay for an hour or so, though. I could…” he trailed off as his mobile phone rang.

Helen sat up and looked around.

“Sorry,” Pat said. “It’s Maggie.” He answered the call as he walked away.

“I fell asleep,” Helen said. “I never sleep during the day.”

“But you didn’t sleep last night,” Bessie said.

“That’s true, but still. I drank two cups of coffee when I got here.”

“Coffee can do a lot, but sometimes the body just needs sleep. I suggest you go and lie down for a few hours.”

Helen looked as if she wanted to argue, but after a minute she sighed. “I’m too tired to disagree. I definitely need some sleep.”

She picked up her handbag and pulled out a few notes to hand to Bessie. “Give this to Pat and tell him I’m hugely grateful,” she said before she walked out of the room.

Pat was still talking on his phone. Bessie got up and gathered up her things. As she tucked her book back inside her bag, Pat walked back over to her.

“Is Helen going to take a nap?” he asked.

Bessie nodded.

“Good.”

“Is everything okay with Maggie?”

“Yeah, we just have another set of guests arriving today. I have to get another cottage ready.”

“That’s good news,” Bessie said as she and Pat walked towards the door together.

“It is good news, even if the latest guests are only staying for a single night.”

Bessie frowned. “That’s quite unusual, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. The cottages have a three-night minimum usually, but Maggie made an exception this time, and she might have to give up on the minimum, really, because bookings are down.”

“What a shame. I know how hard she and Thomas worked to make the cottages a success.”

Pat shrugged. “People want to fly to exotic places and holiday on warm, sunny beaches. The island is beautiful, but Laxey is rarely warm and sunny, unlike the sort of places people can take cheap flights to these days.”

They walked outside. Bessie pulled the door shut and then checked that it had locked behind them. Then she held the notes out to Pat. He looked confused for a moment.

“I don’t want that,” he said.

“But Helen wants you to have it. You helped a lot.”

“I was just doing my job.”

“Then you can fight with Helen about it later,” Bessie said. “For now, you need to take it.”

He took the notes and shoved them into his pocket. “You waited until we were outside so that I couldn’t leave the money on the table inside,” he said.

Bessie just shrugged.

Pat took a step away and then turned back to Bessie. “I might keep it,” he said. “Not for me, but for Peggy. Well, more for the baby than Peggy.”

“Baby?” Bessie echoed.

Pat nodded, a happy smile on his face. “She just found out that she’s expecting her first. She and her husband are over the moon. Mary is excited, too. Mary and I are doing everything we can to talk her into moving over here before the baby arrives. I can’t quite believe that I’m going to be an uncle. Life doesn’t get much better than this.”

“Congratulations to you and to Peggy, and to Mary as well. It’s wonderful news for everyone.”

“Mary is especially happy that she’s going to be an aunt. She told me that six months ago she had herself convinced that she didn’t need her family in her life. Now we spend as much time together as we can, and she wants Peggy to move here, too. We all owe you so very much.”

“I’m really glad I was able to help,” Bessie said after Pat gave her a hug.

“I need to go,” Pat said. “I have cottages to get ready. But thank you again and again for everything you’ve done for me.”

He spun around and took off running up the beach before Bessie could reply. Bessie walked back to her cottage and then sat back down with her book and continued reading. She was just starting to think about lunch when someone knocked on her door.

“I’ve had a short nap and unpacked a few boxes, and now I’m starving,” Helen said when Bessie opened the door. “My car was too full of everything else for me to stop at the grocery shop on my way here from Douglas, so I don’t have anything in the cottage to eat. Would you like to go into Ramsey with me? We can get lunch somewhere and then do some grocery shopping before I have to drive down to Castletown to pick up Dad.”

“That sounds good,” Bessie said. “I just need five minutes to get ready.”

Seven minutes later they were on their way to Ramsey. While Helen drove, Bessie told her about her early-morning visitor. She was very careful not to use any surnames as she told Helen about the party and the missing ring.

“I can think of all sorts of possible motives for everyone involved,” Helen said when Bessie was finished. “Maybe one of them was tired of having the ring waved in his or her face all evening and decided to make it disappear for a day or two when unexpectedly presented with an opportunity to do so. Or maybe none of them need money, but one of them took the chance to get a small bonus.”

Bessie nodded. “There are a lot of possibilities.”

“Including that the groom-to-be got cold feet and decided to hide the ring while he considers his options.”

“It seems odd to me that he didn’t want to ring the police, although I do appreciate that he considered everyone at the party a friend.”

“My father knows a few people in the Manchester Constabulary.”

“John does as well. He worked in Manchester before he came to the island.”

Helen laughed. “I knew that. I just forgot. Maybe you should see if John can get one of his former colleagues to do some discreet investigating.”

“I’ll see what Joan has to say tomorrow. It really isn’t my place to involve the police, especially since it might have negative repercussions for Joan’s son.”

When they reached Ramsey, Helen drove them to a small café where Bessie knew the food was good and the service was excellent. When they went inside, she was surprised to see a sign that read “Under New Management.”

“Oh dear,” Helen said.

“Maybe things have stayed exactly the same,” Bessie said in a low voice.

“Let’s hope so.”

‘Sit anywhere,” a woman called as she rushed across the room, carrying two plates of food. “Menus are on the table.”

Helen selected a table in the corner. She and Bessie sat down and looked around.

“It was busier the last time we were here,” Helen said.

Bessie shrugged and picked up the menu.

“Welcome to Explosion,” she read. “Every bite you enjoy in our restaurant should reward you with an explosion of flavours. Please let your server know if you have any allergies. Thank you for choosing Explosion today.”

“I’m not optimistic,” Helen whispered.

The menu was fairly short, with only a handful of sandwiches and a few other options. Bessie read through it twice before shrugging and putting the menu down.

“What are you going to get?” Helen asked.

“I thought I’d try the chicken casserole,” Bessie replied.

“That does sound good. It’s supposed to be full of carrots, celery, onions, and chicken, with fluffy dumplings on top. I think I’ll try that, too.”

“If we ever get served,” Bessie murmured.

They were chatting about the weather forecast for the upcoming week when the waitress finally walked over to them.

“Sorry. We’ve only been open for a few days and I’m still learning how to do this. It looks easy when you’re the customer, but waiting tables is really hard work. But you didn’t come here to listen to me complain. What can I get you?”

They both ordered the chicken casserole with tea.

“I’ll get that in right away. Thank you in advance for your patience.”

“That doesn’t bode well,” Helen said as the woman walked away.

“And it isn’t even all that busy.”

The two women chatted comfortably together while they watched the waitress rush around in what seemed to be an almost random fashion. She would deliver food to half of one table and then drinks to another before disappearing into the kitchen for several minutes at a time. It took her eleven minutes to bring Bessie and Helen their tea. Bessie timed it, just out of curiosity.

“I’d love to ask her what happened to the woman who used to work here,” Bessie said as the waitress walked away again. “But I don’t want to delay her in any way.”

“Do you think we’ll get our food before it’s time to drive to Castletown?”

“Oh, goodness, I hope so.”

Helen laughed. “We have plenty of time, and if we do end up in Ramsey for too long, I can ring Dad and he can either wait at the airport or ring for a taxi. It really doesn’t matter.”

Fourteen minutes later, the waitress returned, carrying large bowls of chicken casserole with several tiny dumplings floating on the top.

“Thank you,” Bessie said. “It smells wonderful.”

“It does,” Helen agreed.

Bessie picked up her spoon and took a small bite. “Very tasty,” she said.

Helen ate a dumpling and grinned. “Wonderful. The service could be better, but the food is excellent.”

Half an hour later, they walked back out to the car, each carrying a small box with pudding inside. Helen put the boxes in the boot before they drove to the grocery shop.

“Do you want to split up?” she asked as they approached the shop’s entrance. “We can meet back here in forty minutes or so.”

“I don’t need much, so that’s fine with me.”

Bessie walked around the store slowly, taking the time to look at some of the products she didn’t usually pay attention to when doing her weekly shop. Eventually, she made her way to the tills with her small basket of goods. She had to wait only a few minutes for Helen to join her at the exit. Helen was pushing a large and very full trolley.

“My goodness, are you planning on doing a lot of cooking while you’re here?” Bessie asked.

“No more than normal, but now that I’m moving here, I thought it would be wise to start buying things like cleaning supplies. I don’t expect Maggie to clean my cottage in between my stays before I move here, and I certainly don’t expect her to clean my cottage once I’m living there full-time.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that.”

They managed to fit everything into Helen’s boot and still leave room for the two small pudding boxes. The drive back to Laxey didn’t take long. Bessie carried her pudding and her shopping over to her cottage while Helen unloaded her purchases into the holiday cottage.

“Do you want to come with me to the airport?” Helen asked as Bessie picked up her last shopping bag.

Bessie thought for a minute. “I think I’d rather stay here and get a few things done around the house. Once our unit meetings start, I’ll have far less time to vacuum and dust.”

“Would you like to join us for dinner? Not here. I’m not cooking tonight. Dad and I will be going out somewhere.”

“I’d love to join you for dinner.”

“Six?”

“Perfect.”

Back in her cottage, Bessie made herself a cup of tea and then drank it with the slice of chocolate cake that she’d brought home from lunch. It was very good, and she decided that she definitely wanted to visit the café again, in spite of the less than stellar service. After tidying up from her snack, Bessie spent several minutes wiping down her counters and cabinets before vacuuming the kitchen. Then she dusted her sitting room and vacuumed that as well.

“I think that’s quite enough,” she said as she put the vacuum away. “Now it’s time to curl up with a good book.”

It took no effort at all to persuade herself to stop cleaning. She sat down in her favourite chair and picked up the book that she’d left on the table next to it. It reached a very satisfactory conclusion just a few minutes before six.

I should have saved the last chapter for after dinner, she thought as she rushed up to her bedroom to get herself ready for dinner with Helen and Andrew. But that would have meant leaving the killer undiscovered for several more hours. I couldn’t do that.

It was only a few minutes past six when she walked outside. Helen and Andrew were just emerging from their cottage as Bessie locked her door.

“Hello, hello,” Andrew called as he walked towards Bessie.

When he reached her, he hugged her tightly.

“It’s good to see you,” Bessie said as he released her. It was even better to see him looking more like his old self, she thought. Andrew had had surgery a few months earlier, and for the first time in many months, Bessie thought that he looked happy and healthy.

He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling. “Even after travelling today, I feel better right now than I have in years. I’m looking forward to doing some sightseeing and shopping in between cold case meetings this month. It feels as if it’s been ages since I had the energy to do anything.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.”

“My doctors think that in another month or so I probably won’t need someone to travel with me,” Andrew added. “Of course they say that now, after Helen has already decided to move to the island.”

“But once she moves here, she won’t be travelling with you, she’ll simply be living here.”

He nodded. “And I flew to the island by myself today. Matt stayed with me last night and drove me to the airport this afternoon, but I was all alone and unsupervised on the plane, anyway.”

Bessie laughed. “I hope you behaved on the plane.”

“I might have,” he replied with a wink.

“What sounds good for dinner?” Helen asked Bessie.

“What do you want to do?” Bessie asked Andrew.

“As good as I’m feeling, I don’t want to push myself too hard. I definitely want to visit Dan’s restaurant while I’m here this time, but for tonight why don’t we just go to the pub here in Laxey?”

“That’s fine with me,” Bessie said.

Helen grinned. “And it’s more than fine with me. I’ve been craving fish and chips all afternoon, and theirs is very good.”

The pub was only a short drive from the beach. It was nearly empty when they arrived. Helen got her fish and chips. Still feeling slightly full after her mid-afternoon pudding, Bessie opted to get a jacket potato with some salad. Andrew ordered the steak-and-kidney pie. The food arrived quickly as they sipped fizzy drinks and chatted about nothing much.

“That was wonderful,” Helen said as they walked back outside a short while later. “I ate too much, especially after having gone out for lunch, but I enjoyed it.”

“I think we all need a long walk on the beach after that,” Andrew said. “Or, rather, I know that we do, but I suspect a short walk is all that I’m going to be able to manage.”

Helen parked in the parking area outside of Bessie’s cottage, and then the trio started a slow stroll along the beach.

“It’s a perfect evening,” Andrew said. “May isn’t usually this warm, is it?”

Bessie shook her head. “I don’t think it’s going to stay this warm for long. I think we’re just having an exceptionally nice day today.”

“I’ll take it. And I hope it doesn’t get too cold or too wet, because I really do want to visit a few sights while I’m here. It feels as if it’s been ages since I felt up to sightseeing.”

“I doubt the castles have changed much,” Helen said.

Bessie and Andrew both laughed.

They walked as far as the stairs to Thie yn Traie and then turned around and began the walk home.

“Is there any news on Andy and Elizabeth?” Helen asked.

Elizabeth Quayle’s parents owned Thie yn Traie. She worked as a party planner and had recently been reunited with Andy Caine, a brilliant young chef who’d previously worked with her. The pair had been both professionally and personally involved before Elizabeth and her parents had taken a long holiday after a complicated murder investigation. After several difficult months, it now seemed as if the young couple had found their way back to one another and Bessie was expecting to hear any day now that they’d become engaged.

“Andy is spending a lot of time at Thie yn Traie, and he’s catered a few small events for Elizabeth, too, but they haven’t announced their engagement yet. I assume it’s coming, but I don’t know when.”

Helen sighed. “What are they waiting for? After everything they’ve been though, you would think they’d be in a hurry to make their relationship official.”

Bessie nodded. “I believe Mary has had a few setbacks recently. They might be waiting until she’s well enough to celebrate with them.”

Mary was Elizabeth’s mother. She’d had serious health issues during their holiday, and those concerns had continued to plague her since the family had returned to the island.

“What a shame,” Helen said.

When they reached the last holiday cottage, Andrew stopped. “Helen can check your cottage for you,” he told Bessie. “I’m sorry, but I need to rest.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Bessie said. “Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Let’s get lunch at The Seaview before our meeting,” Andrew suggested.

“I’d like that,” Bessie replied.

Both women watched as Andrew walked to the cottage’s door and let himself in. He gave them a small wave before he disappeared inside.

“He looks a good deal better,” Bessie said as she and Helen walked the rest of the way to Bessie’s cottage.

“He is a lot better, but now he’s at risk of pushing himself too hard and forgetting that he’s been unwell. Please support me during the next fortnight if I have to tell him to take a break once or twice.”

“You know I will.”

Back at Treoghe Bwaane, Bessie’s cottage, Helen quickly did a walk-through to check that nothing had been disturbed while they’d been out. Then she gave Bessie a hug before she left. Bessie locked the door behind her and then got the next book she wanted to read off the top of her pile of books that were waiting to be read. She turned the ringer off on her phone and checked that the doors were locked before heading up to her bedroom. Once she was ready for bed, she read several chapters in the new book before finally giving up and going to sleep.

CHAPTER 5

“It’s murder this month,” Andrew said as Helen drove them out of Laxey the next day.

“Did you choose the case?”

He nodded. “Partly, anyway. My supervisor is now going through the emails that I receive and flagging the cases he thinks we should consider. Luckily for me, I probably would have picked this one anyway. It’s another case that seems as if it should have been solved.”

“Is the future of the unit any more secure?”

“Sadly, no. There are still people who want to shut us down. For the moment, though, I’m ignoring them and focussing on finding us interesting cases from among the ones that my supervisor thinks we should consider. I already have a case lined up for next month and an idea for the month after. I reckon we should be able to keep going that long, anyway, and I’m still hoping we’ll make it to the end of the year.”

It was sunny in Ramsey, but noticeably cooler than the previous day had been. Andrew laughed as they got out of the car.

“Hugh’s been here to take my arm and help me into the building for the past few months. I hope he doesn’t sit in his car outside the building waiting for us for too long today,” he said as they walked towards the luxury hotel.

“Maybe I’ll text him and let him know that we’re already here,” Bessie said.

“What fun would that be?” Andrew asked, winking at Bessie.

Jasper Coventry, the manager and one of the hotel’s owners, was behind the reception desk as they walked into the beautifully decorated lobby.

“Ah, Bessie, hello,” he said as he walked out from behind the desk. When he reached them, he gave Bessie a hug before hugging Helen and shaking hands with Andrew.

“How are you?” Bessie asked.

Jasper laughed. “I’m just waiting for something to go wrong, really. The chef and the pastry chef have been getting along brilliantly for the past week. Stuart and I haven’t fought about anything since late April. Almost all of our guests have been lovely human beings. Hotel and restaurant bookings are both up. And I found a twenty-pound note in my pocket this morning that I’d forgotten I’d put in there. Really, life couldn’t get much better.”

“I’m really happy to hear that,” Bessie said.

“Of course, it’s only temporary. I’m sure the chef’s newest relationship will go wrong soon, and then he’ll start fighting with the pastry chef again, and that will upset Stuart, and everything will snowball from there.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Helen said. “Maybe everyone will continue to get along forever.”

Jasper laughed. “I never said this, but things might get a bit boring if everyone started getting along all the time.”

“We thought we’d have lunch here before our meeting,” Andrew said.

“And you need a space, too, don’t you?” Jasper asked Helen.

She nodded. “If you have an empty space I can use, I’d appreciate it.”

“The cold case unit will be meeting in the penthouse conference room,” Jasper replied. “The pastry chef has been playing with tarts this week, so you’ll have miniature apple tarts, pear and almond tarts, and Bakewell tarts.”

“I won’t be getting pudding at lunch,” Bessie said.

Everyone laughed.

“I’ll have tarts for you, too,” Jasper told Helen. “You’ll be in the fourth-floor conference room.”

“Wonderful, thank you,” Helen said.

“And now I’ll let you get some lunch. I’d escort you to the restaurant myself, but I need to cover the desk. Sandra had an exam this morning, so she won’t be in until later.”

Bessie nodded. Sandra Cook was a lovely young woman who’d moved to the island a few years earlier. She’d taken a job at the little shop just up the hill from Bessie’s cottage, and Bessie and Sandra had often chatted happily about the books they’d both enjoyed, until the owner of the shop had accused Sandra of stealing from the business. Bessie had stepped in to assist the woman and then helped her find her current job at The Seaview. Sandra was much happier there, working at the reception desk while taking classes towards a degree. Jasper was delighted with her performance and did all that he could to support her efforts.

As Jasper walked back to the desk, Bessie and her friends turned and headed down the corridor that led to the restaurant at the back of the building. When they arrived, they were quickly shown to a table near the windows which gave them a glorious view of the sea.

“Chef has been working on a few new dishes,” their waiter told them. He read off a list of specials, all of which sounded wonderful. After they’d all ordered something different from the specials menu, the waiter walked away.

“I’m excited about lunch, but I think I’m more excited about the tarts,” Andrew said. “After many months without any appetite at all, I’m suddenly starving all the time now. And sweets sound especially good.”

“Just don’t eat too many sweets,” Helen cautioned him. “You need a good mix of fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Sweets should be a very small part of your diet.”

Andrew nodded. “I ordered grilled veggies with my lunch. And I had both an apple and a banana at breakfast. And all three of the tarts have fruit in them. What could be healthier?”

“Just plain fruit,” Helen said. Then she laughed. “Honestly, I’m so happy to see you eating anything that I won’t complain if you eat several tarts at your meeting. As long as you’ve eaten all of your veggies at lunch.”

Andrew looked at Bessie. “She never ate all of her veggies when she was a child.”

“That isn’t true,” Helen said indignantly. “I ate nearly everything when I was a child, everything except for cauliflower. I didn’t like cauliflower.”

“I don’t think most children like cauliflower,” Bessie said. “Or most vegetables, really.”

“And then we become adults and we learn to appreciate them,” Andrew said. “Especially when they’re grilled with a mix of spices and seasonings,” he added as the waiter put his plate in front of him. The grilled vegetables on his plate looked delicious, as did everything else that the waiter put on the table.

“Does anyone need anything else right now?” he asked after everyone had been served.

“I think we’re good,” Andrew replied.

As the waiter walked away, Helen looked at Bessie.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I told my father about your friend’s problem.”

Bessie shook her head. “I was going to tell him when I saw him, and then I never did.”

“The unhappy bride-to-be isn’t going to be happy if she does ring the police now,” Andrew said. “So much time has passed that it’s unlikely they’ll be able to do much to help her.”

Bessie nodded. “I thought as much. If someone did pocket the ring, he or she has had plenty of time to get rid of it by now.”

“I think your friend should suggest that they search the house again, including every room on every level. It’s entirely possible that she dropped the ring somewhere earlier in the night and simply didn’t notice. Helen said that you’d told her that everyone had been drinking.”

“They had. I would hope that the owner of the house has done a thorough search by now, though. It’s the first thing I would have done.”

“You’d be surprised how often such things get overlooked. I don’t know if there are other loos in the property, but those should all have been checked the night the ring disappeared. It’s possible that she did take it off to wash her hands, but sometime earlier in one of the other loos.”

“That’s a good point. Joan said that they only searched the ground floor because no one had been upstairs all evening, but the woman whose fiancé owned the house could have gone up and down a dozen times and no one would probably notice or care.”

They talked a bit longer about the case before the conversation turned to engagement rings and then jewellery in general. They were still talking over coffee until just before two.

“We’d better go,” Andrew said after a look at his watch. “Not only do we have a meeting to get to, we have tarts waiting for us.”

They walked to the lifts together. Helen got off on the fourth floor while Bessie and Andrew continued to the top floor. The penthouse conference room had stunning sea views. Bessie stopped to admire them for a moment before she walked to the table at the back of the room where the tarts were beautifully displayed next to tea and coffee pots.

“I want two of each, but that’s probably greedy,” Andrew said.

“I want two of each, but I know I can’t possibly eat that much,” Bessie said. “I’m going to take one of each, though. I want to try them all.”

She poured herself a cup of tea and then carried that and her plate of tarts back to the table. As she settled in, the door opened. Hugh, John, and Doona all walked in together.

“Tarts,” Hugh said, his eyes lighting up. As he walked with a bounce in his step towards the back of the room, Bessie found herself marvelling at how young he still managed to look. And as he piled tart after tart on a plate, she wondered when he would stop having the appetite of a teenaged boy.

John and Doona both helped themselves to hot drinks and a few tarts before they took seats at the table. Doona took a sip of coffee and then sighed.

“You look tired,” Bessie told her friend.

Doona nodded. “It’s been raining in the Lake District. Raining a lot. Last night an entire section of cottages flooded. That meant moving a lot of families in the middle of the night. This time of year, we’re usually pretty heavily booked, so it was a struggle to find places to put everyone, especially because most of the families seemed to believe that they should be getting upgraded to nicer accommodations to make up for the inconvenience of having to move at midnight.”

“What were you supposed to do from the island?” Hugh asked.

“I spent a couple of hours talking to each of the affected families, assuring them that we would do everything we could to make things up to them, even though the weather clearly isn’t our fault. The section that flooded has never flooded before in the history of the park. Regardless, I had to give away a lot of future holidays during some of our busiest weeks of the year in order to satisfy some people.”

“How late were you up?” Bessie asked sympathetically.

Doona shrugged. “I didn’t look at the clock when I finally went to bed. I didn’t really want to know. I did get to lie in, at least. Not late enough, but later than normal.”

“What’s going to happen at the holiday park now?”

“We have an expert coming in today to look at the area that flooded. He’s supposed to offer us some suggestions for flood remediation in the future. Of course, none of the suggestions will be cheap, but at least we’re coming up to our busiest and most profitable season. The cottages that were affected are already being taken care of. Apparently, we’ve rented dozens of fans and heaters that will be working overtime to dry things out as quickly as possible.”

“Do you need to go across to help get things sorted?” Bessie asked.

“If we didn’t have our unit meetings this week, I probably would have already gone,” Doona replied. “But the work we do here is really important to me. And we have managers in place over there who are supposed to be able to deal with anything that goes wrong.”

“They rely on Doona too much,” John said.

Doona nodded. “And Doona is getting tired of it.”

The door opened again. Harry and Charles walked in.

“There are tarts at the back of the room, along with tea and coffee,” Andrew said. “Get what you want before you sit down.”

Harry took a seat that put his back to the wall. Charles got himself a cup of coffee before he sat down next to Harry.

“Good afternoon,” Andrew said. “We’re going to be looking at another murder this month.”

“One that you selected?” Harry asked.

Andrew nodded. “I think we have a good chance of solving this one. There are a limited number of suspects, and it happened only five years ago.”

Bessie picked up her pen. Andrew always gave them an overview of the case and the suspects before he gave them their case files to read through. While she didn’t need to take notes, because everything he told them was in the file, she preferred to have notes from the overview to refer to while she was reading.

“It was a Friday night in June 1997,” Andrew said. “And the Horse and Hammock pub was having a lock-in.”

Lock-ins were when a pub locked the doors at closing time but allowed the remaining customers to stay and continue drinking. The legality of them was questionable, but it was unusual for anyone to get into trouble over them as long as there weren’t any difficulties in the pub during the evening. They were typically by invitation only, with invitations limited to the pub’s regulars.

“Where is the Horse and Hammock?” Charles asked.

Andrew gave him the address. Charles made a note.

“It’s a nice area,” Andrew said. “And, before that night, the pub had never had to ring the police before.”

“What happened that night, then?” Doona asked.

“The bartender locked the door at closing time. The remaining patrons sat around talking and drinking for about an hour. At some point, Gareth Tate moved over from the bar to one of the booths in the back corner of the room. He stretched out in the booth and went to sleep. An hour later, when the lock-in ended, one of his friends went over to wake him and discovered that he was dead,” Andrew told them.

“How was he killed?” Harry asked.

“He’d been stabbed several times in the chest. The knife was later found outside. It appeared to have been tossed out of a window from one of the loos, but because of where it landed, it could have been thrown from either the men’s or the women’s loo,” Andrew said.

“Surely everyone in the pub saw what happened,” Hugh said.

“We believe that they did, but that none of them realised what they were seeing,” Andrew said. “The booth where Gareth was sleeping was right next to the doors to the loos. Over the course of the hour that he was there, everyone who was in the pub visited the loo, including the bartender. Most of the witnesses admitted to stopping at Gareth’s booth for at least a few seconds. Some claim they were checking on him, while others admitted to wanting to tease him for being unable to hold his liquor. Whatever the reason, everyone who admitted to having stopped at the booth said the same thing – that Gareth was fast asleep when they tried to speak to him.”

“Fast asleep or dead?” Doona asked.

“That’s the question,” Andrew replied. “Unfortunately, as you’ll discover when you read the files, none of the accounts from the witnesses agree about much of anything. At this point, everyone who was in the pub that night is a suspect.”

“And now you’re going to tell us that there were dozens of people in the pub,” Charles said with a sigh.

Andrew shook his head. “There were only ten people in the pub that night, which is one of the reasons why the murder should have been solved.”

“Did they all know each other?” Harry asked.

“They were all regulars at the pub, with at least a nodding acquaintanceship with one another,” Andrew replied. “There were two distinct groups of people there, and one man who didn’t belong to either group.”

Bessie made a note.

“Before you tell us about the suspects, tell us more about Gareth,” Harry said.

Andrew turned the page in his notebook. “Gareth was twenty-eight when he died.”

Bessie frowned. “So very young,” she murmured.

Andrew nodded. “He’d grown up in London, not far from the Horse and Hammock, and he still lived in the same area.”

“With his parents?” Doona asked.

“No, in a flat that he shared with two other men, neither of whom were at the Horse and Hammock that night,” Andrew replied.

“Was he not friends with his flatmates, or was there another reason they weren’t at the pub?” Bessie asked.

Andrew shrugged. “I don’t have that information. Jennifer gave me an overview of the case, but since the flatmates were never suspects, she didn’t include them in the overview. They were interviewed, however. Their interviews are included in the case file you’ll be getting today.”

“Jennifer?” John repeated.

“Sorry. Jennifer Martin is the inspector in London who sent the case to me. She’s fairly new to London and to the area where the murder took place. One of the first things she did when she was assigned to that area was to look through the backlog of unsolved cases. She’s already managed to clear up a few that were resolved but never properly cleared, but when she got to this one, she thought she’d see if we could help.”

“I’ve met her,” Charles said. “She’s young, but she’s very smart and very ambitious. She asked to meet with me to discuss missing person cases and then grilled me very efficiently. By the time she was finished, I think she knew as much about such cases as I do.”

Andrew chuckled. “I doubt that, but she has closed half a dozen missing person investigations since she started working in London. As I said earlier, most of them had already been resolved, but no one had bothered to let the police know that their loved one had been found.”

“I have an appointment with her next week,” Harry said. “She asked if we could meet so she could ask me a few questions about proper procedures for homicide investigations. I shall expect to be thoroughly grilled.”

“You should,” Charles said.

“What else can you tell us about Gareth?” John asked.

Andrew looked back down at his notes. “He’d left school with only the bare minimum of qualifications and got a job washing dishes in a local café. Over the years since, he’d worked his way up to waiting tables at a nice restaurant that wasn’t far from the Horse and Hammock. He’d been at work the night of the murder, but the restaurant closed about an hour before the lock-in started.”

“Did he usually visit the pub after work?” Harry asked.

Andrew nodded. “According to the bartender, Gareth stopped in for a pint just about every night. Usually only a single pint, but the bartender said that was typically because that was all he had time for after he got out of work and before last orders.”

“Did he drink more on the night he died?” Charles asked.

“He had his usual pint and then a second. After the lock-in started, he had two more,” Andrew said. “The bartender insisted that he wasn’t drunk, but according to some of the witnesses, Gareth staggered badly as he made his way over to the booth in the corner.”

“You need to tell us about the suspects,” Doona said as Bessie made another note.

Andrew nodded. “I’ll start with the bartender,” he said.

CHAPTER 6

“Mark Dodd was the bartender and also part owner of the pub,” Andrew said. “He was thirty-five on the night of the murder. He’d started working in pubs when he left school and learned to tend bar on the job. He told the inspector who conducted the original investigation that he’d always saved every penny of every tip he ever received with an eye towards buying his own pub one day. When the Horse and Hammock went on the market, he and a few others clubbed together to purchase it. The friends all have day jobs, so Mark ran the pub, and they shared the profits.”

“Were any of the other owners in the pub that night?” Harry asked.

Andrew shook his head. “None of the other owners were even in London that night. Mark’s parents, who lived in Devon, owned a quarter of the business. At the time of the murder, they’d never even visited the pub. They’d invested to help their son, and from all accounts, their investment was doing very well for them.”

“A pub in London can’t be cheap,” Doona said.

“The area wasn’t nearly as nice when they purchased the pub as it was when the murder happened,” Andrew said. “And the pub was in pretty rough shape back then, too. All of the details are included in the case file, more for background information than anything else. Jennifer didn’t think that the ownership of the pub had anything to do with the murder.”

“Did she tell you who owned the rest of the business?” Harry asked.

“Mark owned another quarter. One of Mark’s childhood friends owned another quarter. He lived in Cornwall at the time and only rarely visited London. I didn’t write down his name, but it’s in the file. The final quarter was owned by a group of angel investors who owned several other properties in the area. For instance, they also owned a share of the restaurant where Gareth worked. Their investments in the area were instrumental in improving the entire neighbourhood.”

“And none of the angel investors were in London on the night of the murder?” Harry asked.

“They were actually meeting at a castle in Scotland that weekend to discuss their investment portfolio and strategies,” Andrew said. “The entire team of investors was there.”

“That feels almost too convenient,” Doona said.

“The inspector in charge of the case at the time did everything he could to find a link between Gareth and any one of the men and women in the group, but he never managed to find anything. We can certainly suggest that Jennifer take another look at the investors, but even if one of them was behind the murder, the killer was one of the people in the room with Gareth that night.”

Doona nodded. “If one of the investors was behind the murder, that suggests that he or she paid Mark to murder Gareth.”

“That’s certainly one possibility. When he was questioned, Mark said that he and Gareth were friendly, but that he didn’t consider any of the pub’s patrons as his friends.”

“Did he have other friends?” Harry asked.

“He told the police that managing a pub left him with little time for friends. When he took a holiday, which didn’t happen often, he usually went home to Devon to see his parents. He and his childhood friend, the other investor in the pub, went on holiday to Greece together about eighteen months before the murder, but at the time of Gareth’s death, they hadn’t seen each other since that holiday – not because they were avoiding each other. They were both simply very busy.”

“We need to talk about the other suspects,” Harry said, glancing at the clock. “We’re going to have a lot of statements to go through once we’re done.”

Andrew nodded. “There is a lot in the file. There are also two sets of follow-up interviews after the murder. Everyone was interviewed again a year after the murder and then again last year. Obviously, Jennifer will be speaking to everyone again in the days ahead. She’s hoping we can suggest some new avenue for her to explore.”

Bessie made another note and then took a sip of tea. As she put her cup down, Andrew cleared his throat.

“Dawn Hawkins was twenty-five on the night of the murder. She was a waitress at the same restaurant where Gareth worked. According to Dawn, they were friends but nothing more. She did tell the police that Gareth had tried a few times to get her to go out with him, but she’d always turned him down.”

“And if she’d been murdered, he’d be at the top of the list of suspects,” Harry said.

“Maybe she got tired of turning him down,” Doona said. “Maybe, after the first time, he should have stopped asking.”

“Jason Hearn was one of the cooks at that same restaurant. He was twenty-seven when Gareth died. He was at the pub with his girlfriend, Abigail Aldridge. Abigail was twenty-five and she was a waitress at a café that was only a short walk away from the pub.”

“As close as the restaurant or farther?” Doona asked.

“Farther and in the opposite direction,” Andrew said.

Doona nodded.

“Who’s next?” Hugh asked.

“Tony Pollard was twenty-five at the time. He worked for a local builder, doing everything from construction work to painting and tiling. Gareth, Dawn, Jason, and Abigail were part of one group who was at the pub that night. Tony is the first of the second group.”

“Did the members of the two groups know one another?” Bessie asked.

“According to Mark, they were friendly enough but didn’t really speak to one another. There were a few others who sometimes were with one or the other group, too. They’re listed in the file, and they were all questioned, but none of them added much, at least as far as the original investigator was concerned.”

“Who was with Tony, then?” Harry asked.

“Stan Bland. He was thirty and worked for the same builder. With him was his girlfriend, Andrea Long. She was twenty-six and she was a model.”

“A model?” Doona repeated.

Andrew nodded. “Apparently, she did some catalogue work, but mostly she did trade shows. That’s where she’d met Stan. She was sitting in a hot tub wearing a bikini at a trade show that Stan attended with his employer. They were looking for hot tubs for a client, so while Stan’s employer talked to the salesman, Stan chatted up Andrea. In the end, they bought a tub for the client, and Stan got Andrea’s mobile number, so everyone was happy.”

“Lovely,” Doona said.

“With them was Scott Lovell. He’s Andrea’s brother. He was just visiting London from Rugby, where he worked as an electrician.”

“That just leaves one person,” Bessie said after she’d counted up her list of names.

Andrew nodded. “Owen Burrows was twenty-nine on the night of the murder. He’d only been in London for a few weeks. He was staying with some friends he’d met at uni and he was looking for work.”

“How did he get himself invited to a lock-in if he’d only been in town for a short while?” Harry asked.

“According to Mark, he’d been in the pub every day for a fortnight. Owen told the police that he spent his mornings and early afternoons job hunting and then took himself off to the pub to drown his sorrows in the evenings. Mark told the police that Owen always had two drinks over the course of three or four hours. Owen agreed, saying that he had to be very careful with his limited resources while he was out of work. He also told the police that he’d not been planning to go back to the pub again after the night of the lock-in because he still hadn’t found work and his friends had told him that if he was going to stay any longer, he was going to have to start giving them some money towards expenses.”

“I find it odd that Mark invited him after such a short acquaintanceship,” Charles said.

Andrew shrugged. “From what Mark said, he felt quite sorry for Owen. Apparently, Owen tried to talk Mark in to giving him a job at the pub, but Mark was more than capable of running the place on his own. From what Owen said, he’d applied for jobs just about everywhere in the city, including at the restaurant where Gareth worked and with the builder who employed Tony and Stan.”

“And then, suddenly, a job opened up at the restaurant,” Hugh said. “Is it possible that Owen killed Gareth in order to get his job?”

“Anything is possible,” Andrew replied. “It will be interesting to see whether or not Owen got the job after Gareth’s untimely death. We’ll go over the two sets of updates tomorrow.”

“Whether he got the job or not, it’s possible that he murdered Gareth in the hopes that he would get the job,” Hugh said. “It might not be the strongest of motives, but it is a motive.”

“According to Jennifer, everyone who was there had a motive of some sort, although obviously some were stronger than others. As far as she can determine, they all had the means and the opportunity, too. The knife that was used in the stabbing was a medium-sized kitchen knife that could have been bought at half a dozen different shops within walking distance of the pub.”

“Who brings a knife to a lock-in?” Hugh asked.

“Someone who is planning a murder,” Harry said.

Andrew nodded. “The pub didn’t do food other than packets of crisps and that sort of thing. Mark had a small knife behind the bar for cutting up lemons and limes, but according to him there weren’t any other knives in the pub.”

“According to him,” Harry said.

“Yes, and he might have been lying. He lived in a flat above the pub and had a full set of kitchen knives, all of which were present and accounted for when the police searched the flat after the murder.”

“The police searched Mark’s flat?” Harry asked. “Could you reach the flat from inside the pub?”

“No, but when the police were conducting their search of the pub itself, Mark offered to let them search his flat as well. He said he wanted to do everything he could to help with the investigation. They did only a cursory search, but found nothing related to the murder or anything to tie Mark to any of the people who’d been in the pub on the night of the lock-in.”

“Did the murder weapon match the knives in Mark’s flat?” Bessie asked.

“No, he had a fairly expensive set of knives. The murder weapon was nowhere near as nice.”

“What about the restaurant?” Doona asked. “Were there any similar knives at the restaurant where Gareth worked?”

“No. The chefs in the kitchen had professional knives. This was definitely not a professional knife. The restaurant also provided nicer knives to their customers than the knife that was used for the murder.”

“I assume there weren’t any fingerprints on the murder weapon,” Harry said.

“It had been wiped clean. There wasn’t any visible blood on the knife, either, but when it was examined in the lab, they were able to find traces of it where the handle met the blade. They were able to confirm that it was Gareth’s blood.”

Bessie shivered. She wasn’t looking forward to reading the autopsy or looking at the crime scene photos.

“Was there a great deal of blood at the scene?” she asked.

“Gareth was wearing a sweatshirt with a jacket over the top. Those two things soaked up quite a lot of the blood that he lost. The thick cushion on the booth also soaked up some of the blood, so what fell to the floor was barely visible, even after Mark turned on all of the lights.”

“How dark was it during the lock-in?” Harry asked.

“Pretty dark,” Andrew said with a sigh. “Dark enough for someone to stab Gareth to death without anyone noticing. Although, even if it had been brighter in the room, Gareth was far enough away from the bar that the killer probably wouldn’t have been spotted anyway.”

“I hope we have pictures and a scale drawing of where everyone was during the evening,” Harry said.

“They’re in the file,” Andrew assured him. “We can always attempt to re-create the scene if we decide it will be helpful, but considering how contradictory the witness statements are, I’m not certain we’d be able to do much more than mark out the dimensions of the room and work out where everyone was positioned when Mark locked the doors.”

“That might help, though,” Harry said. “And maybe if we work through every contradiction in the statements, we’ll be able to sort out what actually happened that night.”

Harry isn’t usually so optimistic, Bessie thought.

Andrew nodded. “Let’s see how we get on with the initial statements and then the updates. We can always plan for a reconstruction towards the end of the week if we decide we need one. For now, I have your case files with all of the statements that were taken in the immediate aftermath of the murder.”

Harry got to his feet. Andrew handed him the envelope with his name on it.

“Thanks. We’re meeting again tomorrow?” he asked as he headed for the door.

“Yes, at the same time. Probably in the same place, but check with the front desk to be certain,” Andrew replied.

Harry nodded and then let himself out of the room. Charles was on his feet before the door had fully closed behind Harry.

“Thanks,” he said as Andrew handed him his envelope.

“How many tarts is too many tarts to take home for Grace and Aalish?” Hugh asked as he got up.

“I suggest you fill a box for them and a second one for yourself,” Bessie said.

Hugh laughed. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

He walked to the back of the room and began to fill one of the takeaway boxes that Jasper’s team had left on the shelf under the table full of food.

“I think I’ll take a box of tarts back with me, too,” Andrew said as he handed out the rest of the envelopes. “A few tarts will be the perfect midnight snack tonight.”

“I’m supposed to be meeting someone shortly,” Bessie said after glancing at the clock. “I don’t suppose I ought to take a box of tarts to my meeting.”

“Fill one and I’ll take it back to Laxey for you,” Andrew offered. “Do you need me and Helen to stay in Ramsey while you’re having your meeting, so we can take you home after?”

Bessie shook her head. “My friend already offered to take me home after the meeting. If that’s no longer convenient for her, I can get a taxi.”

“Are you certain? I don’t think Helen would mind spending some time shopping in Ramsey. Then we would be here if you need us,” Andrew said.

“I’m certain. By all means go shopping if you want to, but I’ll find my own way home.” Bessie walked to the back of the room and took another look at the tarts. “But if you can take a box home for me, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Write your name on the box,” Andrew told her as he began filling one himself. “Otherwise, I might get confused and eat your tarts and mine.”

Bessie printed her name on the box’s lid and then filled it with a selection of tarts. As she shut the box, she frowned at the envelope that Andrew had left with her notebook.

“Maybe you’d better take that with my tarts,” she told him. “I don’t like the idea of carrying it around while I’m speaking with my friend.”

“I can take that and your box of treats back to Laxey. You can collect them when you get home,” Andrew replied.

He put her envelope back into his briefcase and then picked up the two boxes of puddings.

“Everyone ready to go?” he asked.

John and Doona had both been filling boxes. Now they shut them and then gathered up the rest of their things.

“I’m going home to take a nap,” Doona said. “I promise that I’ll read my case file as soon as I wake up.”

“I have to get back to the station. I have a few reports to get submitted before I can head home for the day,” John said. “Once I get home, I’ll tackle the case file.”

“I have class tonight, but once I get home from that, I’ll get to work,” Hugh said. “After I give Aalish her bath and her bedtime story.”

“Take good care of those babies,” Andrew said. “They aren’t babies for very long at all.”

Hugh nodded. Then he headed for the door, balancing his two boxes of tarts and his envelope in one hand while he carried his backpack in the other.

“I don’t miss those days,” John said. “But I do wish I would have appreciated them more. They really do grow up awfully quickly.”

The foursome walked out of the conference room together. They took the lift to the ground floor and found Helen waiting for them in the lobby. She, too, had a small takeaway box in her hands.

“I could eat one of those apple tarts every day for the rest of my life,” she said as a greeting. “Okay, maybe two of them. They are so good.”

“I like the pear and almond better,” Andrew said. “Which is not to say I didn’t love the apple.”

They were still talking about the tarts when Joan walked into the lobby. She looked around and then smiled and waved at Bessie. As Joan rushed towards her, the others said their good-byes to Bessie.

“I’d planned to get here ages ago,” Joan said as John, Doona, Andrew, and Helen walked away. “But then Brian rang with even more to report. We have a lot to discuss. I don’t know that we’re making any progress, but Brian and I are both feeling a lot better because we feel as if we’re doing something, anyway.”

Bessie nodded. “Do you want to go to the restaurant and get a cuppa while we talk, or would you rather just find a quiet corner?”

Joan frowned. “I’ve been drinking coffee all day, trying to keep my energy levels up. I don’t really want anything else to drink. Would you mind just talking in a quiet corner?”

“Not at all. I had tea during our unit meeting. Let me ask Jasper if we can use a conference room or some other space for a short while.”

“I don’t want to be any bother,” Joan said as she followed Bessie to the front desk.

Jasper was quick to offer them the use of just about any empty space in the hotel. The ground-floor conference room was nearest and seemed easiest, so he escorted them there.

“If you need anything, just use the house phone,” he told them as he ushered them into the small room. He gestured towards the phone on the wall near the door.

“We’ll be fine. Thank you,” Bessie replied.

Jasper bowed and then left the room, shutting the door behind himself.

Bessie and Joan sat down next to one another at the small round table.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Joan said as she pulled her notebook out of her handbag.

CHAPTER 7

“Did Brian have a chance to speak to everyone?” Bessie asked.

Joan nodded. “And they’re all upset. Brian said none of them seem to believe that he stole the ring, aside from Ginnie, of course, although Brian said she was very careful not to accuse him outright when he spoke to her.”

“Did Brian ask them all the things I suggested he ask them?”

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m just going to start with Peter and work my way down the list. But I might jump around a bit or get muddled. This is all very new to me.”

Bessie pulled out her notebook and found the page where she’d taken notes when she and Joan had first spoken. “What did Peter have to say, then?”

“First, he was the only one who said directly that he knew that Brian hadn’t stolen the ring.”

“That was good of him.”

“I’m certain I told you that he and Brian have been friends since uni. I like Peter a great deal. I’d be devastated if he actually thought that Brian was capable of stealing anything.”

Bessie nodded.

Joan looked down at her notes. “Brian said that he told Peter that he was going to ask him a bunch of questions that would probably seem strange, but that he was working with someone who had police contacts, who’d sent him the questions to ask. Apparently, Peter just laughed when he told him that. Then he told him to ask Brian anything and he’d do his best to answer.”

“I hope the others were as cooperative.”

“Most of them were, anyway,” Joan said. “But Peter was the most helpful. You want to know more about the ring. It was purchased at a small jewellery shop in the shopping centre.” Joan named the shop. “Peter and Ginnie were going to take it and have it appraised at a jewellery shop near Peter’s office that advertises that they do on-the-spot appraisals for insurance purposes.”

“I don’t suppose Brian thought to ask him why they’d bought the ring at the shopping centre instead of at the shop near Peter’s office?”

“He did, actually. Apparently, Ginnie and Peter spent several months looking at rings, until they finally found the one that Peter ended up buying. Ginnie wanted something different from a typical engagement ring, so they took their time looking at shops all over the city until they found exactly what Ginnie wanted.”

“She selected the ring, then,” Bessie said. “Which means she didn’t pretend to lose it because she doesn’t care for it.”

Joan nodded. “And she knew exactly how much the ring cost. If it came out at the appraisal that the stones weren’t real, both Ginnie and Peter would have been shocked.”

Bessie made a note. “Did Brian ask him if it was possible that the stones weren’t real?”

“He did. And apparently Peter laughed and said that he wished they weren’t, since Ginnie managed to lose the ring so quickly, but that the shop where they’d bought it had a solid reputation and they had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the ring.”

“What else did Brian ask Peter?”

“He asked him about the different relationships within the group. According to Peter, he was never involved with Jeanne or Flora, and he had no reason to suspect that either of them was anything other than happy for him and Ginnie. Then he laughed and said that he and Jeanne had had a very short, no-strings-attached sort of relationship back in their university days. He told Brian that he’d almost forgotten that it had happened and he wasn’t certain that Jeanne even remembered.”

Bessie made a note. “Interesting.”

“I thought so. We can talk about Jeanne next.”

“Did Peter have anything else to add?”

“As far as he knows, Jake isn’t seeing anyone and was never involved with Ginnie. And, again, as far as he knows, no one is having any financial difficulties. And he seemed to think that he would know. He said something to Brian about how he’s always the first one everyone asks for a loan whenever they get into trouble.”

“So some of the friends have had problems in the past,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “It might be worth trying to find out exactly what he meant by that. Which of the friends has he lent money to in the past? How often? Is it possible that one of them needs another loan, but decided that taking the ring would be a better option?”

Joan scribbled notes while Bessie spoke. “I’ll tell Brian to go back and talk to Peter again.”

“He might have to speak to all of them again if the ring doesn’t turn up.”

“Peter also tried to assure Brian that he and Ginnie weren’t going to go to the police about the lost ring. Brian was feeling better until he spoke to Ginnie. But we’ll talk about her later. I want to talk about Jeanne next.”

“What did Jeanne have to say?”

“Brian started the conversation by saying that he was happy for Peter and Ginnie, but also a bit jealous that his own personal life was a bit lacking. He said that Jeanne laughed and said she could sympathise, but that then she said that she was actually quite happy being single. Then Brian pretended that he remembered that Jeanne and Peter had gone out a few times at uni, even though he really doesn’t remember it. When he mentioned that to Jeanne, she laughed again and told him that their relationship had ended almost before it had begun.”

“Did she give any reasons why it hadn’t worked out?”

“She just said it was uni and that no one was looking for a long-term relationship at uni.”

“What else did Jeanne have to say?” Bessie asked.

“She said she didn’t think that Jake was currently seeing anyone and then said something that made Brian think that she might be interested in Jake. Brian told me that he’s going to work on encouraging that once the ring is found and things are back to normal in the group.”

Bessie wasn’t certain that things would ever be the same within the group, but she didn’t voice her thoughts to Joan.

“Jeanne also said that she didn’t think anyone was having any more financial troubles than normal. And then she added that even if one of them were struggling, she couldn’t imagine any of them actually stealing something, especially not from one of their closest friends.”

“Who was next?” Bessie asked after she finished making notes.

“Flora.”

“And what did Flora have to say?”

“Brian started in the same way, telling her that he was a bit jealous. Flora also agreed that she understood.”

When Joan stopped speaking, Bessie looked up from her notes. “Is something wrong?”

Joan shrugged. “Sorry, I really like Flora. Apparently, after they agreed that they felt a bit left out because two of their friends were getting married, Flora suggested that they make a pact that if they were both still single in another five years, they would get married. Brian told me that he just laughed it off. I told him that I thought he could do a lot worse than Flora. At least he agreed with me on that.”

“What else did Flora have to say?”

“They talked about who in the group had ever been involved. She told Brian that she and Jake had gone out exactly twice and that neither of them had been interested in continuing the relationship after that. They remained friends, and she told Brian that they’ve grown a lot closer over the years, but only as friends.”

“Does she know if Jake is seeing anyone now?”

“According to Flora, he ended a relationship just before Christmas and hasn’t been seeing anyone else since. She also told Brian that she has a few friends at work that she might introduce to Jake, but that she’s waiting until he’s had time to get over his last relationship.”

“Anything else?”

“Brian asked her whether she thought anyone was having financial difficulties. Apparently, she got quite upset at the implication that one of them might have stolen the ring with an eye towards selling it. Flora told Brian that she will believe that the ring was accidentally lost unless someone can prove otherwise.”

“So she didn’t answer the question.”

“She did answer the question. She told Brian that as far as she knows, everyone is fine financially at the moment. She also told him that he’s welcome to look at her bank balance any time if he’s worried that she might have stolen the ring to get herself out of difficulties.”

“She was upset.”

Joan nodded. “Brian told her that she was the last person he suspected of stealing anything, but that he was rather desperate to clear his own name. That seemed to make Flora feel better. And she promised to do whatever she could to help him with that aim, too.”

“That just leaves Jake and Ginnie.”

“Jake didn’t have a lot to say. He told Brian that he was happy for Ginnie and Peter, but that he thought marriage was for fools and optimists, and that he’s neither.”

Bessie chuckled. “I suspect there are a lot of people who would agree with him, including quite a few who are married.”

“Jake told Brian that he’d barely noticed the ring, wasn’t interested in jewellery, had no idea what something like that would have cost, and that his own finances are in good order.”

“I hope he wasn’t upset with Brian for asking so many questions.”

“When Brian apologised for ringing, Jake said that he understood that Brian needed to clear his name. Jake also said that, in Brian’s place, he’d be over at Peter’s searching the house from top to bottom every day. He said he was pretty certain the ring was going to turn up one of these days.”

“That’s interesting. Did he give any reason why he feels that way?”

“Brian did ask. Jake just said something about how none of the people who’d been at the party would have stolen the ring, so it must be in the house somewhere.”

Bessie thought for a moment before nodding. “And what did Ginnie have to say?”

Joan made a face. “She was rather unpleasant, really, although Brian seems to believe that she’s just really upset about the loss and taking it out on everyone around her.”

“She was the one who was careless enough to take the ring off and then forget to put it back on,” Bessie said.

“And Brian believes that she feels really guilty about that, especially since the ring hadn’t been insured yet. Brian said he thought that she was practically in tears when he spoke to her.”

“Did he ask her all of the questions I suggested he ask?”

“I think so. He asked her what she really thought of the ring, and she told him that she’d fallen in love with it the moment she saw it in the display case. She told him that she and Peter had been ring shopping for a long time and that she’d found several rings that she’d liked but not loved. She also said that she’d almost been ready to compromise and just buy something so that they could officially be engaged. Then they walked into the shopping centre jewellery shop, and she found that ring.”

Bessie made another note. “What else did she have to say?”

“He asked her about relationships between everyone in the group, and she laughed and said that the only significant relationship that had ever happened between any of the others was her past relationship with Brian.”

Joan stopped and shook her head. “Brian had trouble telling me the next part.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently, Ginnie told him that she understood that he’d taken the ring because he was still in love with her and was unhappy that she was engaged to someone else, but that he needed to give the ring back before she’d be prepared to discuss their relationship.”

Bessie frowned. “What does that mean? What did they have to discuss?”

Joan shrugged. “Brian said he didn’t even ask, he just told her that he was really sorry, but he didn’t have the ring.”

“He should have asked,” Bessie said.

“He might have, but when he said that he didn’t have the ring, Ginnie got upset and started screaming at him. She said that she knows that he has it and that if he doesn’t give it back before the end of the week that she’ll call the police and have him arrested.”

“She can’t do that.”

“But she can cause a lot of problems for Brian.”

“Did he get a chance to ask her anything else?”

“He tried, but he said by that time she’d started crying and wouldn’t answer his questions. He said he finally just told her that he was sorry that she’d lost her ring and that he was doing everything he could to help find it. That made her laugh again, and then she said that she hoped no one would treat him like a hero when he pretended that he’d found the ring he’d stolen.”

“Poor Brian.”

“He told me that he just rang off rather than argue. But he’s upset that it seems as if Ginnie actually believes that he took the ring.”

“I thought she’d made that clear at the party.”

Joan sighed. “Brian was hoping that she would have had some time to think and that she would have realised that there isn’t any way he would have done such a thing. Instead, she seems more convinced than ever that he took the ring.”

“And she thinks that he’s still in love with her?”

“That’s what she said, but maybe she’s just trying to understand why he would have taken the ring.”

“Maybe, but it bothers me,” Bessie said. “She and Brian ended their relationship years ago.”

“They did. And they’ve both been involved with multiple people in the years since. I think Ginnie was just upset and wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Bessie looked back through her notes.

“I hope you have some idea of what Brian can do next,” Joan said. “Peter said he won’t let Ginnie ring the police, but I can’t see how he can stop her, really.”

“Give me a minute,” Bessie said.

She got up from her seat and walked over to the window. She watched the waves gently splashing on to the sand while she tried to think. Eventually, she turned back around. Joan was staring at her, an anxious look on her face.

“He needs to ring everyone again,” Bessie said. “He can start with Peter for clarification on past loans. And he can ask the others if they’ve ever lent money to any of their friends. I also think he should ask them all who they think took the ring.”

Joan looked up from her notes. “Who they think took the ring?”

Bessie nodded. “The ring has disappeared. Someone must know where it is. He needs to ask each of them who they believe is the most likely to know where the ring is right now.”

Joan frowned. “They’re all going to say that they think that Brian has it because he used the loo next after Ginnie.”

“Maybe, or maybe they’ll have different answers. Peter has already said that he doesn’t think that Brian took it. If that’s the case, what does he think happened to the ring? They searched the house and didn’t find it. That has to mean that someone has it.”

“Brian isn’t going to like that idea. Those people are his closest friends.”

“He needs to think about how he would answer the question, too. If one of his friends has the ring, which one does he think is the most likely to have it? I think his answer will be interesting and so will the answers from the others.”

Joan nodded. “I’ll ring him tonight. He might not want to speak to everyone again right away, though.”

“He doesn’t have to ring them all again immediately. It’s possible that the questions he’s already asked might have the desired effect. If someone does have the ring, that someone might be getting nervous. Maybe he or she will return the ring to Peter and Ginnie in the next day or two.”

“Today is Monday. How long should Brian wait before he rings everyone again?”

“Maybe he can ring them all again on Wednesday night,” Bessie suggested. “And maybe between now and then the ring will turn up.”

“I hope you’re right. Can we talk again on Thursday? That seems so far away. I want everything resolved today.”

“I can understand that. The biggest worry is that someone did take the ring and is planning to sell it, but if that is the case, he or she has already had several days to do just that. I don’t think another day or two will matter at this point.”

“Ginnie did say she wasn’t going to ring the police until Friday.”

“Maybe Brian can put the whole thing out of his head until Friday.”

“I wish he could, but the group was supposed to be having dinner together tomorrow night. They’ve cancelled their plans because of the missing ring. Ginnie said she didn’t want to sit down to a meal with people she wasn’t certain she could trust.”

“What a shame.”

“They’re all supposed to go to a movie and dinner on Friday night. I don’t think that’s been cancelled yet, but it might be.”

“Let’s hope that if someone did take it, that person is now feeling remorse and trying to work out how to return it undetected.”

“I hope you’re right. I’ll ring you if anything happens between now and Thursday. Otherwise, do you want to meet here again?”

Bessie nodded. “I’m assuming the cold case unit will be meeting again on Thursday. If not, I’m more than happy to meet you here anyway.”

“Thank you,” Joan said, blinking back tears. “I don’t know if anything we’re doing is helping, but at least I feel as if we’re trying. And it’s important that Brian feels as if we’re trying, too. He’s upset and angry and sad and confused. I’m very tempted to fly over for a visit, but I’m not certain it’s the best time.”

“If you do decide to visit and you can’t be here on Thursday, let me know.”

“Oh, I will,” Joan said. She glanced at her watch and sighed. “I really must go. I have so many things to do – things I’ve been neglecting because I simply can’t think straight at the moment.”

She got up and walked to the door. “Thank you again. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

As she walked out of the room, Bessie put her notebook back in her bag. Joan had offered to drive her home, but clearly she’d forgotten. It would be easy enough to get someone at the front desk to ring for a taxi for her. Bessie was walking across the lobby, heading towards reception, when Joan rushed back into the hotel.

“I promised to drive you home,” she said. “You should have reminded me. I very nearly drove away without you.”

Bessie laughed. “I can take a taxi. You have other things to do.”

Joan shook her head. “Giving you a ride back to Laxey is the least I can do after all the help you’re giving me. I’m parked right outside.”

Bessie followed Joan to her car, and they both got in.

“Let’s talk about something pleasant,” Joan said as she started the engine. “John and Doona are engaged. Have they set a date yet?”

“I don’t believe they have. I know they’re planning for August, but I don’t think they’ve set the final date yet.”

“August isn’t far away. They need to choose something and start planning.”

Bessie nodded. “They’re only having a small ceremony with dinner after, so it shouldn’t take too much planning, I don’t believe.”

Joan sighed. “I do wish I could get married again. Not that I actually want to be married again or anything, but when I got married my mother planned the entire thing. I didn’t even get to pick out my own dress. My mother had always dreamt that I’d get married in her wedding gown, so I didn’t feel as if I had a choice in the matter. I’d love to get married again, just so that this time I could plan everything just the way I want it.”

“Why don’t you just throw yourself a party?” Bessie asked. “Tell everyone that it’s the wedding you always wanted, or don’t tell anyone anything – just invite them to a party.”

“I could,” Joan said. “It simply never crossed my mind. I could throw myself a huge birthday party, and have food and cake and wear a fancy dress, and it would be almost as wonderful as a wedding and much more fun.”

“Please invite me.”

Joan laughed. “Of course I’m going to invite you. I shall have to wait until this mess with Brian is sorted, because, of course, I want him and his friends to attend, but once that’s all over with, perhaps I’ll start planning something for September. Or maybe I’ll just think about it and never do it. At least you’ve given me something wonderful to consider.”

“I hope you do it. I haven’t been to a birthday party in some time.”

“I haven’t had one since I was a small child. And then it was just a cake and a few gifts. Kids today get so much more.”

On the rest of the drive, the pair chatted about how much had changed in the world since their childhoods. Joan had many more thanks for Bessie as she pulled up outside of Treoghe Bwaane.

“See you on Thursday,” she said before Bessie shut the car door.

Bessie waved as Joan drove away.

CHAPTER 8

Bessie walked to the closest holiday cottage and knocked. No one answered. As she walked back towards her cottage, she shook her head.

“If they were home, their car would be here,” she reminded herself as she unlocked her door. While she felt a bit guilty for not working on the case file, it was out of her hands, quite literally, so Bessie curled up with a book and relaxed for a short while. About an hour later, someone knocked on her door.

“We weren’t certain if you were home yet,” Helen said. “Dad asked me to deliver these and see if you wanted to go for dinner around six.” She held out Bessie’s box of tarts and her envelope.

“Yes, and thank you,” Bessie said as she took the items.

“We’ll see you at six.”

Bessie shut the door behind the woman and then put her box in her refrigerator. For a moment, she was tempted to have just one tiny tart while she started working through the case file, but it was too close to six to eat anything. Instead, she got out her notebook and sat down with the envelope. The stack of papers inside was considerable.

Of course, because there were nine other people in the bar when Gareth died, Bessie thought. That’s quite a lot of statements to read through.

She looked at photos of the scene, forcing herself to study the body where it had been found in the booth. The pictures had been taken under bright lights, but even so the man looked very much as if he were simply sleeping. She blinked back unexpected tears for a man she’d never met and then turned to the next photo. It was a picture of the entire pub, taken from the entrance. She studied the small room and then turned the page.

There were a handful of additional photos of the pub and the body. Then there was a copy of a newspaper front page. The headline screamed “Locked In and Murdered.” Bessie skimmed the article, but it had no information that she didn’t already have. What it did have, though, was photos of the witnesses. It appeared that they’d been taken as each witness was permitted to leave the pub after having been questioned by the police. Most of the witnesses looked tired and surprised. No doubt they hadn’t been expecting to have a camera shoved in their faces as they left the pub.

Bessie stared at the pictures for several minutes. Every single person looked completely ordinary. She studied them again. One of them had just murdered a man. Even though she knew better, Bessie couldn’t help but feel that guilt should have been written all over one of the faces in the grainy black-and-white photos.

Next, she read through the autopsy. Gareth had been stabbed several times in the chest. The first stab wound would have been enough to kill the man. Bessie assumed that the killer hadn’t been certain that he or she had done enough and had continued. Gareth’s blood alcohol level was over the legal drink drive limit, and he’d also had a strong sedative in his system. Bessie read that line several times and then made a note.

Then she turned to the witness statements. Again, she felt as if she ought to be able to tell which of them was lying. She couldn’t imagine killing another human being and then going back to laughing and talking with her friends until the police arrived. While she didn’t have a clear plan, she decided to start with the bartender.

An hour later, she’d read through four of the statements and taken a few notes on each person. What she couldn’t do, though, was work out the timeline for the evening. She put her pen down and got up from the table. Then she paced back and forth for a minute, trying to clear her head. While she was up anyway, she went up to her office and got a large sheet of blank paper. Then she walked back down to the kitchen and sat down. For several minutes, she tried to make sense of where everyone had been during the hour that Gareth had been in the booth on his own.

“Nothing fits together,” she said after several minutes. She looked at her sheet of paper. She’d started by putting circles at the top of the page that represented each person at the bar. Then she’d tried marking which person had moved when, but none of the accounts agreed with any of the others.

“Maybe I need to read the rest,” Bessie muttered. “Maybe things will become clearer once I’ve done that.”

It took her until just before six to read the rest of the statements. As she put all of the paperwork back into her envelope, she shook her head.

“Everything is badly muddled. Everyone was drinking. No one was paying any attention to anyone else. And then someone was murdered. This might just be the first case we can’t solve.”

She flushed as the words came out of her mouth. You are not giving up yet, she told herself firmly. But you can stop talking to yourself.

Shaking her head at herself, Bessie carried the envelope up to her office and locked it in her desk drawer. Then she got herself ready for dinner with Andrew and Helen. They were standing next to Helen’s car when Bessie walked outside.

“I’m not late, am I?” Bessie asked as she joined them.

“We were early,” Andrew replied. “One, because I’m hungry, and two, because I’m fed up and frustrated with the case.”

Bessie nodded. “Everyone is quite vague about what happened in the hour while the victim was in the booth, but from what I read, none of the accounts match up anyway.” Because they were not supposed to discuss cases in front of Helen, Bessie chose her words with care.

“I think we might have to try to re-create the evening,” Andrew said. “There must be a way to work out who was where and when.”

“Does it matter, though?” Bessie asked. “Everyone admitted to walking past the victim at some point during that hour. That means they all had the opportunity to kill him. Does the order really matter?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that I’m incredibly frustrated with all of the witnesses.”

Helen shook her head. “I don’t know much about the case. Obviously, Dad hasn’t told me anything, but from what I’ve overheard when he’s been mumbling, there were a group of people in a pub and one of them was murdered.”

Bessie looked at Andrew. He nodded.

“Dad, I know you pay attention to everything happening around you all the time, but most people aren’t Scotland Yard inspectors. Most people go out to have a few drinks and relax. They pay attention to their friends, maybe, but certainly not to anyone else in the room. Except the bartender when they need a drink, of course.”

Andrew nodded. “One or two of them seemed to be paying more attention than the others. Maybe that’s suspicious.”

“Maybe,” Bessie said. “But that’s a problem for later. For now, let’s focus on dinner.”

Andrew grinned. “It’s wonderful to get hungry again. I was thinking about the Italian place here in Laxey, but the last time we were there, it had changed hands and wasn’t as good. Then I started thinking about the restaurant in Douglas that does that wonderful garlic bread. I don’t suppose the former chef in Laxey has returned to that restaurant?”

Bessie grinned. “He has, actually. He was only gone for a few weeks, and once he got back, he was very quickly given his old job back. The chef that had replaced him here in Laxey was apparently very happy to move back to London.”

“That’s good news for everyone, then,” Helen said. “Let’s go to the restaurant here in Laxey. Now that Dad mentioned it, I can’t stop thinking about their Alfredo sauce.”

They talked about Italian food on the short drive to the nearby restaurant. The restaurant was very popular in the small village, but tonight it was surprisingly quiet. They were shown to a table immediately. After they’d ordered, Bessie told them about her conversation with Joan.

“I shall be very interested in hearing how they all answer the question as to who they think has the ring,” Andrew said when Bessie was finished. “It could be quite telling.”

“I think Peter has it,” Helen said. “Otherwise, he would have rung the police by now.”

Bessie opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the arrival of their waiter. He put plates of wonderful-smelling food in front of each of them before walking away.

“Delicious,” Bessie said after her first bite.

“Mine is exactly what I wanted,” Helen said.

“The food is always good here,” Andrew said. “I’m looking forward to coming here more often once I move to the island.”

“Are you definitely planning to move here, then?” Bessie asked.

Andrew had often talked about moving, but Bessie had never been certain how serious he’d been about the idea.

He shrugged. “I’m not certain what I’m doing. I want to move, but I also can’t imagine not living in London. I won’t be doing anything until the cold case unit is wrapped up. As I’ve said before, I’m hoping we’ll be able to continue through the end of the year, but I don’t expect them to fund us after that. Once the unit ends, I’ll be retired again. And that means I can go wherever I want. I just have to work out what I want.”

“I’ll be here,” Helen said.

Bessie grinned. “And so will I.”

Andrew nodded. “Which makes me very tempted to move to the island. But my other children are all across. Not to mention the grandchildren. And great-grandchildren.”

“The only decision you need to make tonight is whether you’re going to have pudding or not,” Helen said.

Andrew laughed. “I would love to get pudding, but I have a box of tarts in our cottage. I can eat some of them when we get back to the beach. That’s far more sensible than ordering pudding here.”

“I brought a box back, too,” Helen said. “So of course now I’m craving chocolate, the one thing those wonderful tarts were lacking.”

“I have some lovely dark chocolate squares,” Bessie told her. “I’m happy to share a few with you, if you want a few to satisfy your craving.”

Helen laughed. “I have a box of chocolates in the cottage. I just made the mistake of reading the sweets menu when we got here. Now I want the chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce. But I’m not going to get it, because I have enough self-control to wait until I get home and then eat tarts and chocolates instead.”

“That’s a pretty impressive self-control,” Andrew said with a laugh.

Bessie nodded. “If those tarts weren’t so delicious, I might be tempted by something on the pudding menu, but they truly are excellent.”

Helen nodded. “But next time they need to add something chocolate.”

They were still talking about puddings and sweet treats as they walked back outside after their meal. The drive back to the beach didn’t take long.

“We should probably take a walk on the beach before we start eating tarts,” Andrew said as Helen parked.

They got out of the car and began a slow stroll along the sand. Within minutes a light rain began to fall.

“I have an umbrella in the cottage,” Helen said, looking up at the sky.

“Or we could just go back and have pudding,” Andrew said.

Bessie nodded. “It wouldn’t be bad if it were a bit warmer, but I’m getting quite chilly now that I’m getting wet.”

They turned around and walked back to Bessie’s cottage together.

“Do you want to come in for a cuppa?” Bessie invited them.

Helen nodded. “I’ll go over and grab our boxes of tarts.”

“I have plenty,” Bessie told her. “I don’t mind sharing mine.”

Helen shook her head. “I took far too many. I need to eat mine so I don’t feel guilty about wasting them.”

Ten minutes later, they were all sitting around Bessie’s kitchen table with tea and tarts.

“Are you going to spend more time with the case file tonight?” Andrew asked Bessie.

She nodded. “I don’t think I’ll accomplish anything, but I need to try. If nothing else, we need to go back to Jennifer with questions.”

“But not until Wednesday, after we’ve had a chance to work through the other two sets of interviews.”

Bessie sighed. “I’m looking forward to finding out where everyone is now. Maybe there will be something there to work with.”

“We can hope.”

“But Jennifer has already been through those statements. If there were anything there, she’d have probably already found it,” Bessie added.

“You aren’t usually so pessimistic about our cases,” Andrew said.

“There’s just something about this one. I don’t know what is bothering me, but I just feel as if I can’t get my head around any of it.”

“All we can do is the same thing we’ve been doing since the unit started – work our way through the case file and hope we spot something that was missed,” Andrew said.

“You can’t solve them all,” Helen said softly.

“I want to solve them all,” Bessie said.

“That’s one of the most difficult parts of policing,” Andrew said. “I always wanted to solve every case. I can’t tell you how often I failed. I try not to think about my failures, but they sometimes keep me up at night. My failures mean that people got away with murder. That’s a horrible thing to consider.”

“You did your best,” Helen said, resting her hand on her father’s arm.

“And now you’re trying to do even more,” Bessie said. “The cases that we consider are other people’s failures. And we can’t expect to succeed every time. I just want us to, because we’ve always succeeded in the past.”

“And you might just solve this one,” Helen said. “It’s far too soon to give up.”

“I’m not giving up,” Bessie said stoutly. “I’m just feeling more discouraged than normal this time.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Helen suggested. “Who has been following the cricket?”

Bessie and Andrew both laughed as they shook their heads. As they finished their tea and sweets, the trio talked about sports in general terms. Helen was passionate about tennis, while Andrew enjoyed watching both rugby and football. Bessie paid little attention to any of it, but she was happy to listen to Helen and Andrew talk about their favourites. After the discussion, Helen did the washing-up while Bessie tidied the kitchen.

“Should we do something tomorrow morning?” Andrew asked as he and Helen got ready to leave.

Bessie shrugged. “I should spend more time with the case file.”

“What about going into Ramsey a bit early and doing some shopping and getting lunch there before the cold case meeting?” Andrew suggested. “Helen and I were going to do some shopping there this afternoon, and then we ended up driving into Douglas instead.”

“Douglas?” Bessie echoed, surprised.

Helen nodded. “I remembered that I’d forgotten a dear friend’s birthday, and I knew one of the shops in Douglas sells her favourite perfume. I didn’t think I’d find it in Ramsey, so we drove down to Douglas. I bought a bottle of perfume and a card and then posted them off to her before we drove back here.”

“What time do you want to head to Ramsey, then?” Bessie asked.

“Ten?” Andrew suggested. “That should give us ninety minutes or so to shop before lunch. Is that enough time?”

“It’s plenty, as long as we spend at least half of it in the bookshop,” Helen said.

Bessie laughed. “I’m not going to disagree with that.”

“Meet us at the car at ten,” Andrew said.

“Perfect.”

Bessie hugged them each in turn and then watched as they walked back to their holiday cottage. Once they were safely inside, she locked the door and then went up to her office and retrieved her case file. She spent another hour going through the statements, trying to focus on what everyone had said about his or her relationship with the dead man, rather than on where people had claimed to be when. Of course, only three of the witnesses knew Gareth.

“Unless someone was lying,” Bessie said. “And of course someone was lying, because they all denied having and using the knife.”

She sighed and decided to try something different. After cutting out a pile of squares, she wrote a name on each square and then lined them up across the table in the order in which people were sitting at the bar when Gareth decided to move over to the booth. Everyone had agreed as to where they’d been at that point. It was after that when everything fell apart.

Bessie worked through each statement in turn, trying to move the squares around the room according to each person’s statement, but after an hour she gave up.

“No one was paying attention to the people they didn’t know. Mark was busy behind the bar. We’re never going to work out what happened in the Horse and Hammock that night.”

She tossed the scraps of paper into the rubbish and then checked that her doors were locked. After turning the ringer off on her phone, she picked up the case file and carried it up the stairs with her. She locked it in a drawer and then stared at the key in her hand.

If I lost the key, could I forget all about the case forever? she wondered. Then she sighed and shook her head. Maybe one of the others is having better luck. Or maybe the answer lies in the updates we’re going to get tomorrow. Or maybe inspiration will strike while I’m sleeping.

With that thought in mind, Bessie got ready for bed.

CHAPTER 9

Bessie’s sleep was restless. She got out of bed at half five, eager to put her difficult night behind her. Feeling out of sorts with the world, she made herself some porridge for breakfast. It was one of her least favourite things to eat, but she knew it was good for her, so she tried to eat it at least occasionally, often choosing it when she was already in a bad mood. She dotted the surface of the porridge with blueberries, which improved it considerably. With breakfast out of the way, she headed out for her walk.

It was cool and misty outside. Bessie walked briskly along the sand, reaching Thie yn Traie quickly. After a moment’s thought, she continued onwards in spite of the weather. Walking in the rain held more appeal than going back to the case file, a thought that made Bessie both sad and frustrated. She walked for several more minutes before turning and walking home again. Then, after she’d dried off, she sat back down with the case file. This time she focussed on what she could learn about each witness as a person. It was impossible to tell from the words on the page which of them was lying, but she hoped she might get some insights into their individual characters as she reread and took more notes about each of the suspects.

By the time ten o’clock arrived, Bessie felt slightly better about the case. She hadn’t really learned anything new, but she had a full page of notes on each witness. And today they’d be finding out what had happened to each of them over the years since the murder. That had often proven to be very telling in past investigations.

Bessie was waiting by the car when Helen and Andrew emerged from their cottage.

“I overslept,” Andrew said. “It was wonderful.”

Bessie laughed. “I never manage to oversleep, not unless I’m completely exhausted.”

On the drive into Ramsey, they chatted about sleep. Helen parked outside the large bookshop, and then they spent a short while wandering up and down the town’s high street, popping in and out of random shops as they went. After a long visit to the bookshop, they put all of their shopping into the boot of the car before walking to the nearby pub. There they had a delicious meal together.

“I’m not going to get pudding,” Helen said after she’d finished her chicken-and-leek pie. “If nothing else, Jasper will give me some biscuits and tea while I work from The Seaview.”

“I hope we have something nicer than biscuits,” Andrew said. “But that’s only because Jasper has well and truly spoiled us. We’re only paying for biscuits.”

They walked back to the car, and then Helen drove them to The Seaview. Helen found a parking space near the entrance. Hugh was just getting out of his car as she parked hers.

“Good afternoon,” Hugh called as Bessie and her friends got out of Helen’s car.

“Good afternoon,” Andrew replied. “I don’t need your arm, but I’m happy to walk with you and hear all about the babies.”

As the two men walked away, Bessie and Helen fell into step behind them.

“I’d quite like to see the babies,” Helen said. “I must ring Grace and see if she’d mind some company one of these days.”

“I’m certain she’d be delighted to see you.”

“I would imagine so. I remember what it’s like to be at home with two small children. You’re exhausted all the time, even though you don’t feel as if you’re doing anything. I do hope little Johnny is sleeping through the night, at least.”

“The last I heard, he was doing so some nights, anyway.”

“It’s amazing what a difference that makes. I can remember being so tired that I could fall asleep standing up with the baby in my arms. It’s scary how badly we function when we’re lacking in sleep.”

They walked into the hotel together. Sandra waved from behind the reception desk. “Penthouse,” she said. “And you have fairy cakes today. Chef has been making birthday cakes for three different parties all day. He made fairy cakes with the leftover batter and icing.”

“Wonderful,” Bessie said.

“Where am I?” Helen asked.

“The fourth-floor conference room. It’s open for you, with a few fairy cakes and tea and coffee.”

“You really should be charging me for all of that,” Helen said.

Sandra shrugged. “You’d have to speak to Mr. Coventry about that.”

“I will,” Helen said.

Bessie and Helen walked to the lifts together. When Bessie reached the conference room, Hugh was already sitting behind a plate full of fairy cakes.

“There’s chocolate and vanilla cakes,” he told Bessie. “It’s all vanilla icing, though. I suppose birthday cakes usually have white icing, don’t they?”

Bessie took one of each of the fairy cake varieties to go with her cup of tea. Then she sat down next to Andrew.

While she was getting her case file and notebook out of her bag, the others all arrived at once. A few minutes later, they were all sitting around the table, ready to begin.

“Before we start going through the updates, does anyone have any comments on the original statements or questions for Jennifer based on what you’ve already read?” Andrew asked.

“I want to know more about the sedative that was found in Gareth’s system,” Harry said.

Bessie nodded. “I had the same question.”

A few of the others nodded.

Andrew made a note. “I hope everyone was asked about that during the follow-up interviews.”

“I’m surprised no one was asked in the days immediately after the autopsy,” John said.

“It wasn’t the cause of death,” Andrew said. “Perhaps the inspector in charge of the case didn’t think it really mattered.”

“It wasn’t the cause of the death, but it could have been a contributory factor,” Harry said. “It definitely made the job easier for the killer. Gareth wasn’t just sleeping, he was out cold. The killer didn’t have to worry about missing his mark and waking the man up. Gareth probably didn’t even feel the knife going in.”

Bessie shuddered. “I hope he didn’t,” she said.

“Anything else?” Andrew asked.

“The witness statements are some of the most muddled accounts of a night out that I’ve ever read,” Harry said. “And I’ve read a lot of accounts of bar fights in rough neighbourhoods. I think Jennifer should ask each of the witnesses to try again to remember who was where and when.”

“If they couldn’t do it five years ago, they aren’t going to be able to do it now,” Charles said.

Harry nodded. “I don’t expect them to do better. I’m more interested in seeing how they answer the question. Those who were drinking and having fun probably won’t remember anything, possibly including what they told the police five years ago. But at least one person at the lock-in had to have been paying attention to where everyone was, at least for a few critical minutes. It’s just possible that that person might say something different this time that helps point to his or her guilt.”

Andrew made a note. “That’s an interesting thought,” he said. “We were talking about doing a reconstruction. Maybe we need to wait to do that until after we have the newest statements back from Jennifer.”

“It would be interesting to try to re-create things from the first statements and then again from the second,” Harry said. “We might get very different results.”

Bessie nodded, suddenly feeling slightly more optimistic about the case.

“Let’s have the updates,” John suggested.

Andrew nodded. “I’m going to give you both sets of statements – the ones from a year after the murder and the ones from last year. For now, though, we’re just going to talk about where everyone was a year ago. You can read all of the details in the two sets of statements later.”

“When is Jennifer going to start questioning them all again?” Harry asked.

“I’m going to send her an email later today. I was going to suggest that she wait until after we’d read through the updates, but maybe I’ll tell her to get started but to just ask about the timeline for now.”

“That might be a good approach,” Harry said. “It will get them thinking about the case again, and it might make them think that the police have learned something that is making them question the timeline. She can go back with more questions after we’ve done our reconstruction.”

Andrew made a note. “Okay, let’s talk about where they all are now. I’ll start with Mark again. Anyone want to guess where he is now?”

“He owned the pub, or part of it, anyway. He’s probably still working at the Horse and Hammock,” Doona said.

Andrew nodded. “He is still working at the Horse and Hammock, but only part-time. Two years ago, he bought a second pub. He’s the sole owner there and he spends several nights a week working there. His childhood friend, the one who owns part of the Horse and Hammock, is behind the bar there most nights now.”

“He moved to London from Cornwall?” Doona asked.

Andrew nodded. “About a year after the murder, apparently. According to Jennifer’s notes, she doesn’t believe that there is any connection between the murder and the man’s decision to move.”

“Where is Mark’s new pub?” Charles asked.

Andrew gave him a London address. “Not far from the Horse and Hammock, really,” he said.

“He was single at the time of the murder,” Bessie said. “Is he still single?”

“He’s not married, but he and Dawn Hawkins have been living together for three years,” Andrew replied.

“Which tells us where Dawn is now,” Doona said. “Or part of the story, anyway.”

“She sounded very sweet in her interview,” Bessie said. “And a little bit naïve.”

“She seemed very upset,” Doona said. “She kept saying she couldn’t believe that Gareth was dead.”

“Mark was a lot more matter-of-fact,” Charles said. “But he’d been working in pubs for years, including some in rougher areas. He was less likely to be shocked.”

“And now he and Dawn are living together,” Bessie said thoughtfully.

“They were a year ago, anyway,” Andrew said.

“Who’s next?” Doona asked as she turned the page in her notebook.

“We’ll work through Gareth’s friends first,” Andrew said. “Does anyone want to guess where Jason is now?”

“He’d been moving up slowly, taking different jobs at different restaurants to learn the business,” Harry said. “He’s probably changed jobs at least twice since the murder.”

Andrew nodded. “But from what Jennifer could find out, it seems as if he might be moving in the wrong direction now. The restaurant where he’s currently working isn’t anywhere as nice as the place he was working at the time of the murder. And he’s a line cook and dishwasher there.”

“What part did the murder play in his changed circumstances?” Bessie wondered.

“I can have Jennifer ask him that question. I don’t know that he’ll know the answer,” Andrew said.

“What about Abigail?” Doona asked. “I suspect she didn’t stick around once Jason changed jobs.”

“They are no longer together, but I don’t know exactly when the relationship ended,” Andrew said. “Abigail got married a year before the most recent set of interviews, so two years ago. She was expecting her first child when she spoke to the police a year ago.”

“Did she marry anyone connected to the murder in any way?” Charles asked.

Andrew shook his head. “She married the man who owned the café where she was working at the time of the murder. She told the police last year that he was a huge help to her as she struggled through her shock and upset after the murder.”

“She did seem quite upset when she was initially interviewed,” Doona said. “For what it’s worth, so did Jason.”

“That’s all of Gareth’s friends,” Harry said. “What about the other group of friends?”

“Anyone want to make any guesses?” Andrew asked.

“I suspect they are all still doing the same things they were doing before the murder,” Charles said.

Andrew nodded. “As of a year ago, Tony and Stan were both still working for the same builder. Stan and Andrea were still together. Andrea was getting less modelling work and had taken a part-time job at a card shop in the area. Scott, Andrea’s brother, moved to London after the murder. He was also working for the same builder a year ago.”

“I didn’t care for any of them,” Bessie said. “I don’t know why, but they all seemed impatient and annoyed about being questioned. They all kept saying that they didn’t even know Gareth, so they didn’t understand why they were being questioned.”

“They also all seemed a good deal drunker than the others,” Harry said.

“They might have been. Or maybe Gareth’s friends sobered up faster when they lost their friend,” Charles said.

“That just leaves Owen,” John said. “If I’d been in his place, I might have moved myself right back to whatever town I’d left in the weeks before the murder.”

Doona nodded. “He seemed really badly shaken by the murder. He told the police that people didn’t get stabbed to death in the pubs back in…” she frowned. “I’ve forgotten where he’d moved to London from.”

Andrew named a small town. “It’s north of Leeds,” he told them. “It’s just a small village.”

“And is Owen back there now?” Harry asked.

Andrew shook his head. “He did go back there after the murder. He was there for about a year and then he moved back to London. This time, though, he brought his girlfriend with him. They both found jobs and got a flat together almost immediately. They got married just a few days before he was interviewed last year.”

“Interesting,” Doona said.

“All of the details are in the statements you’ll be getting today. Can anyone think of anything else that we should have Jennifer ask everyone? Or anyone in particular, really?”

“Maybe she should wait to ask them about the sedative,” Harry said. “They might have already been asked. We need to read the updated statements to get that information.”

Bessie frowned. “If we think that Gareth was given the sedative without his knowledge, then would it be worth asking Jennifer to ask each of the witnesses to try to give her a timeline from the time Gareth arrived at the pub until after the murder, instead of just focussing on the hour after he went to the booth?”

“That’s a great idea,” John said.

Harry nodded. “I like that. It might just worry the killer, too.”

“Were they asked to revisit the timeline in either of their later interviews?” Doona asked.

Andrew shook his head. “At the sessions the year after the murder, they were given copies of their initial statements and asked to read through them and update anything that they now remembered differently. Apparently, no one changed anything. Last year, they were simply questioned about whether they’d seen anyone spending a significant amount of time with Gareth, without any reference to the timeline of events.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t want to be critical of their efforts, but that isn’t how I would have done either of those things.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ve already had a conversation with my supervisor about some of the things that might have been done differently in this case. He’s going to look into it further.”

“You’re going to have to go back to Jennifer and ask her to interview everyone again, specifically about the timeline for the entire evening,” Harry said. “And once we have that information, we need to try to re-create the evening.”

Andrew nodded. “I hope she’ll be able to speak to everyone tomorrow, but if we meet again on Thursday afternoon, she’ll have Thursday morning as well.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say,” Harry said. “I hope there will be something interesting in the updates you’re giving us today, too.”

“Good luck,” Andrew said as he handed him his envelope.

Harry tucked it into his bag and then left the room. Hugh was already boxing up fairy cakes as Charles got his envelope and left.

“We should have dinner at Bessie’s tomorrow night,” Doona said. Then she flushed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t just invite us all to dinner.”

Bessie laughed. “You’re all more than welcome. I can even cook if you want me to.”

“Don’t do that,” John said. “We’ll bring something from somewhere.”

“Is the restaurant across the street from the station still a pizza place?” Bessie asked. “That is what it was last month, isn’t it?”

Everyone laughed.

“Whatever it was, it’s been closed for over a week,” Hugh said. “I saw a sign in the window today that said ‘Reopening Soon.’ I don’t know how soon ‘soon’ is, though.”

“I’m not certain I want to try the food at a new restaurant on their opening night,” Bessie said.

“That’s a good point. I’ll get food from somewhere else,” John said.

“And I’ll bring pudding,” Hugh said. “Grace has been trying to do some baking with Aalish every day. It’s their special time together while Johnny is napping. Aalish is a big girl who doesn’t need to take naps and gets to help in the kitchen. They baked bread today, but Grace will be delighted if I ask her and Aalish to bake a cake tomorrow for our meeting.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Bessie said.

“I can’t promise it will look great, because Aalish is going to want to help with the icing, but it should taste good. Grace does all of the measuring. Aalish just helps with the mixing,” Hugh told her.

“I remember those days,” John said. “Sue and Amy used to bake together when Amy was quite young. Of course, I was working so many odd hours in those days that whatever they’d made was usually gone before I got home from work, but I did get to try a few lopsided fairy cakes with fingerprints in the icing and a misshapen biscuit or two over the years.”

“As tempting as all of this sounds, I’m afraid I can’t make it to dinner tomorrow night,” Andrew said. “If you were planning to invite me,” he added, looking at Bessie.

“You would be more than welcome, and so would Helen, but we usually discuss the current cold case, so we’d have to wait until Helen left in order to do that,” Bessie said.

“It’s just as well Helen and I have plans for tomorrow night, then,” Andrew said.

Bessie bit her tongue. Andrew’s plans weren’t any of her business.

“Are you doing something fun?” Doona asked.

Andrew shrugged. “The chief constable has arranged for me to have dinner with a few of the other inspectors from around the island. We’re going to talk about homicide investigations and cold cases. That probably isn’t most people’s idea of fun.”

“I’m surprised Helen wants to be there,” Bessie said.

“She doesn’t want to be there, but she doesn’t trust me to go alone,” Andrew said, making a face. “She’s afraid that I’ll stay too late, talking. She’s going so that she can insist that we leave at a reasonable hour.”

“That makes sense,” Bessie said.

Bessie put a few fairy cakes into a box, but only a few, because she still had tarts left from the previous day. Andrew took several more than Bessie had. Then they all walked out of the room together. Helen was waiting for them in the lobby. Again she had her own box of treats.

“I’m going to cook tonight,” Helen said on the drive back to Laxey. “I’m going to roast a chicken and serve it with as many vegetables as I can find in the cottage. Then I won’t feel nearly as guilty if I eat the rest of my tiny tarts and a fairy cake or two for pudding.”

Bessie and Andrew both laughed.

“You are, of course, welcome to join us,” Helen told Bessie. “Did Dad tell you that we have plans for tomorrow night?”

“He did. John, Hugh, and Doona are coming to my cottage for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Then you won’t miss us at all,” Helen said.

She parked next to Bessie’s cottage. “Come over at six,” she told Bessie as they all got out of the car.

Bessie nodded. “That gives me a few hours to go through the case file.”

Helen grinned. “You don’t sound enthusiastic.”

“I’m more interested in what we’re going to learn about in the next round of questioning, but for tonight I have a lot of reading to do.” She patted her bag and then headed towards her cottage. Helen caught up to her as she reached her door.

“Dad wants me to check the cottage over,” Helen said apologetically.

Bessie sighed. “Go ahead,” she said. While she hated being fussed over, she also appreciated that her friends wanted to keep her safe. And she could still remember how she’d felt the day she’d come home and discovered that her cottage had been broken into. She stood patiently in the kitchen while Helen did a quick walk-through. Then she hugged Helen before shutting the door behind her. Bessie made herself a cup of tea before she sat down with the case file.

CHAPTER 10

By the time Bessie walked over to the first holiday cottage for dinner, she was feeling less optimistic about their chances of solving the case. Andrew opened the door to her knock.

“You don’t look happy,” he said.

Bessie laughed. “I didn’t realise it was that obvious. I’ve just been reading the updated interviews and feeling as if I’m getting nowhere.”

He nodded. “I feel much the same way. It seems foolish to focus on the timeline, because it isn’t really all that important, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else to focus on. No one seems to have had an obvious motive.”

“Did anyone gain anything from Gareth’s death?” Bessie asked. “We talked about how Owen might have killed Gareth to get his job, but if that was his intention, he failed. Who did get Gareth’s job? Was it someone with a connection to anyone who’d been in the pub that night?”

“I can certainly ask Jennifer to find out those things.”

“There isn’t anything in the file about Gareth’s will,” Bessie added. “It’s probably unlikely that he had one, but who inherited his estate? Did he have any life insurance or anything significant to leave to anyone?”

“Again, that’s something else for Jennifer to explore.”

“Dinner is nearly ready,” Helen said as she walked into the sitting room. “What can I get you to drink?” she asked Bessie.

“Just water, please. I’ve been drinking a lot of tea and coffee lately,” Bessie replied.

“Did you have anything else to add about the case, or should we talk about other things?” Andrew asked as Helen went back into the kitchen.

“Let’s talk about other things. I’d really like to forget about the case for a few hours.”

A short while later, Bessie, Helen, and Andrew were sitting together around the table, enjoying roast chicken with vegetables.

“You are a wonderful cook,” Bessie told Helen.

She laughed. “I can make a few things very well, anyway. I don’t do anything fancy, but we used to have a roast chicken at least twice a month when the children were small. I think I could put this meal together in my sleep.”

While they ate, they chatted about cooking and baking. After Helen cleared the table, they enjoyed fairy cakes from the afternoon’s meeting while they talked about Rushen Abbey, the historical site they were planning to visit the next day. Helen walked Bessie home after pudding.

“I’ll just check the cottage over,” she said when she and Bessie reached Bessie’s door.

“I’ll wait here,” Bessie replied.

Helen was only gone for a few minutes. “I’ll see you at half nine,” she said after giving Bessie a hug. “I’m looking forward to visiting Rushen Abbey again.”

“I’ve been there countless times and I still enjoy every visit. But the same is true for every historical site on the island. I think I could visit Castle Rushen every day for the rest of my life and never grow bored with it.”

Helen nodded. “Every time we revisit a site, I see things that I missed on all of my previous visits. I don’t know how many visits I’d need to actually see everything, but I suspect that by the time I’ve seen it all, I will have started forgetting some of it.”

Bessie laughed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She locked the door behind Helen and then went back up to get her case file. The book on her bedside table called to her before she’d managed to open her desk drawer. After a short mental debate, she got ready for bed and then climbed under the duvet and read until she felt tired enough to sleep.

It was crisp and cold the next morning as Bessie took her morning walk. It feels autumnal, not like spring, she thought as she turned around at Thie yn Traie and headed for home. Once inside, she made herself a warming cup of tea and then sat back down with her case file for a short while. Time seemed to go past very slowly as she read and reread the various statements. Bessie found herself watching the clock as the minutes ticked their way towards nine. Finally feeling as if she could quit, Bessie put the case file away and then got ready to go out. She let herself out of her cottage early and then took a slow stroll on the beach while she waited for Helen and Andrew.

“Good morning,” Helen called as she walked out of the cottage at half nine.

“Good morning,” Bessie replied. She walked up the beach to meet the woman near the car.

Andrew emerged from the cottage a moment later. He greeted Bessie before they all got into the car.

“I need to head south, don’t I?” Helen asked.

Bessie nodded. “If you remember the way back to the airport, that’s the most direct route. Once we reach Ronaldsway, instead of turning into the airport, simply keep driving. The entrance to the abbey is on the main road that goes through Castletown.”

About half an hour later, Helen turned in to the entrance for the abbey. The trio took their time exploring the exhibits in the small museum before going outside and walking around the ruins of the abbey buildings. Then they walked through the re-created gardens and had a conversation with the archeologists who were digging in one corner of the site.

“I think it’s time for lunch,” Helen said as they walked away from the dig site.

“The restaurant here is excellent,” Bessie said.

“And convenient,” Andrew added.

Helen laughed. “Let’s eat here, then.”

The food was every bit as good as Bessie remembered. As they enjoyed their meal, they talked about what they’d seen that morning.

“What about a stop in Douglas on the way home?” Helen suggested once they were back in the car. “Dad, do you have enough energy to do some shopping this afternoon?”

“I think I can manage an hour,” Andrew said. “But then I’m going to want a nap when we get back to the cottage. I’ll need to rebuild my strength for tonight.”

“Bessie, do you need anything in Douglas?”

“Not specifically, but I’m happy to make a stop there on the way back to Laxey. I’m certain I can find a few things I need once we get there.”

A short while later, Helen drove in to one of the large parking garages in Douglas town centre. The three of them walked down the high street together.

“I need a few things at the chemist and some chocolate,” Helen said. “Do you want to stay together, or should I go and get what I need and meet you two back at the car?”

“You go and get what you need,” Andrew said. “I’m going to stroll slowly to the bookshop and then browse the shelves until it’s time to meet you.”

“That’s a lovely plan,” Bessie said. “I’ll meet you in the bookshop after I visit the chocolate shop.”

Andrew laughed. “I’ll see you soon.”

Helen went in to the large chemist shop while Bessie walked a bit farther to the chocolate shop. Andrew continued on his way to the bookshop. In one of her favourite shops, Bessie selected a small box of chocolates and a few loose truffles. After she’d paid for everything, she made her way to the bookshop.

“I’m afraid I found far too many books,” Andrew said when he found Bessie half an hour later.

She looked at the pile of books in his arms and laughed. “I have a similar number,” she said, nodding towards the stack she’d been building on the floor next to her.

“We should probably stop looking.”

Bessie nodded. “We need to meet Helen soon. And we both have more books than we can probably comfortably carry.”

After they’d both paid, they walked outside together. Helen was standing just outside, an amused expression on her face. She took Andrew’s large bag from him and then reached for Bessie’s.

“I knew you’d both buy too many books,” she said. “Let me carry them for you both.”

When Bessie tried to protest, Helen shook her head. “If you won’t let me carry yours, Dad will want to carry his and he really shouldn’t,” she said.

Andrew chuckled. “I am standing right here.”

Bessie sighed and then handed Helen her bag. “I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own books,” she said as they started walking back towards the parking garage.

“As am I,” Andrew said. “But Helen enjoys feeling as if she’s helping.”

“I do,” Helen agreed.

“Did you find everything you needed?” Bessie asked as they walked.

Helen nodded. “Everything I needed and a few truffles that I didn’t know I needed but clearly did.”

Bessie laughed. “I bought more truffles than I’d planned, but that’s because they had some new flavours that I’d never tried before.”

“Exactly. I couldn’t resist buying one of each of the new ones, even though I only went in to get a few of my usual favourites.”

They hadn’t driven far outside of Douglas before Andrew fell asleep. Bessie sat back and enjoyed the view while Helen drove. It wasn’t until Helen had parked outside of Bessie’s cottage that anyone spoke.

“Should I leave him sleeping here or wake him up?” Helen asked Bessie.

“I suggest you wake him. It’s awfully cold out here, really,” Bessie replied.

“And, again, I’m right here,” Andrew said, laughing as he opened his eyes. “And I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes.”

“And practicing your snoring?” Helen asked.

He laughed again. “It’s always good to practice such things.”

They all got out of the car. Helen opened the boot and took out Bessie’s bags.

“I’ll just carry these to your cottage for you and then check it over,” she told Bessie. “Dad, you can leave your books in the boot. I’ll get them after I’ve walked Bessie home.”

Andrew nodded and then gave Bessie a hug. “Have fun with your friends tonight.”

“I hope we’ll have a productive conversation, but I don’t know that we will. I hope you enjoy your conversation with the police inspectors.”

He shrugged. “I love talking about policing. I’m afraid Helen will be bored to tears, but I will thoroughly enjoy every minute of it.”

“Maybe I’ll take a book,” Helen said. When Bessie looked at her, she laughed. “I’m kidding. I enjoy hearing my father’s stories, and no doubt the inspectors will all have interesting stories of their own. I’m looking forward to it.”

As Andrew turned and walked towards the holiday cottage, Helen walked Bessie back to Treoghe Bwaane. She put Bessie’s bags on the kitchen counter before walking through the cottage.

“Have a good evening,” she said, hugging Bessie tightly when she returned to the kitchen. “Having taken much of today off for our trip to Rushen Abbey and then Douglas, I’m afraid I’m going to have to put in some extra hours tomorrow and work through lunch. We’ll leave around half one for Ramsey.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Bessie watched Helen walk back to her car, grab Andrew’s bag of books, and then make her way to her cottage. After pushing her door shut, Bessie unpacked her shopping. She spent several happy minutes stacking and restacking her new books, getting them into the order in which she planned to read them. Once those difficult decisions had been made, she picked up the book on the top of the pile and read until someone knocked on her door just before six.

“Grace? Hello,” Bessie said, feeling slightly confused as she greeted Hugh’s wife.

Grace laughed. “I’m dropping Hugh off. My car is in the shop getting new tyres. Hugh was going to walk over, but I told him that I’d drop him off. I’m taking the kids to my parents’ house for dinner tonight. Anyway, we were a few minutes early, so I wanted to say hello.”

“Hello. It’s good to see you. How are the kids?”

“They’re in the car with Hugh. Aalish doesn’t like her car seat at the moment, so I didn’t want to get her out and then have to put her right back into it again. And Johnny is fast asleep, bless him.”

Bessie grinned. “How nice for him.”

Grace laughed. “I’ll be sorry later, because he probably won’t sleep through the night if he sleeps for too long now, but it’s much easier to drive to Douglas with a sleeping baby than a crying baby in the back of the car.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“I brought your cake,” Grace added, holding up the box in her hands. “It’s a bit of a mess, because Aalish helped a lot, but it should taste good.”

“You should have taken some for you and Aalish. We didn’t need a whole cake,” Bessie said after she’d taken the box and peeked inside.

“Oh, we made several cakes. One for you. One to take to dinner tonight. And one for Hugh.”

Bessie laughed. “He gets his own cake?”

“It’s only a small cake, but yes, Daddy gets his own cake whenever we bake cakes. Aalish is allowed to do all of the decorating on Daddy’s cake.”

“I’m certain Hugh loves that.”

“He really does.”

“I’ll just come out and say hi to Aalish,” Bessie said after she’d put the cake on the counter.

“She’d love to see you. She’s very fond of you.”

Bessie walked with Grace to Hugh’s car. Hugh was sitting in the back, between the two car seats. Johnny was sleeping, and Aalish was glaring at her father.

“Out now!” she demanded when Grace opened the door.

Grace shook her head. “We’re going to have dinner with Granny and Grandpa.”

Aalish shook her head. “Stay here.”

“You can’t stay here. Daddy has a meeting here,” Grace told her.

“Stay with Daddy. He loves me,” Aalish said.

Hugh sighed. “Daddy does love you, but Granny and Grandpa love you, too. You go and have a nice dinner with them and then you can play with Daddy when you get back.”

“Play what?”

Hugh made a face. “We can play dress up,” he said.

Aalish clapped her hands together. “Okay, Daddy,” she said.

Grace laughed. “Go and have your meeting, then,” she told Hugh as he carefully climbed out of the car.

“Love Daddy,” Aalish said.

“I love you, too,” Hugh told her. “And you,” he told the sleeping baby. “And you,” he said to Grace, pulling her into a kiss.

Bessie waved to Aalish and then turned and walked back towards her cottage. Hugh caught up with her before she reached her door.

“How are you?” he asked Bessie as they went inside.

“A bit frustrated with the case, but otherwise fine.”

He nodded. “I’ve read through everything multiple times, but I still don’t think I’m getting anywhere. No one seemed to have a motive for murdering Gareth. I hate the idea that someone might have killed him for no reason.”

“That’s a horrible thing to consider, but it did cross my mind, too.”

“We should talk about something more pleasant,” Hugh said.

“Your children are beautiful.”

He flushed. “They take after their mother.”

Bessie laughed as someone knocked on the door.

“I’m going to apologise in advance,” Doona said as she and John walked into the cottage. They were each carrying a large box. “We ran out of time to go anywhere else, so we had to get dinner from the new restaurant across from the station. They opened today and it was chaos in there. I don’t know if we got what we ordered or if we’ve been given someone else’s order. Or maybe they just threw a bunch of food into some boxes and handed them to us.”

“Something smells good,” Hugh said.

“It does, but it doesn’t smell like anything we ordered,” Doona said with a laugh. “Let’s see what we have, then.”

She and John began unpacking the boxes, lining up smaller boxes along the counter.

“I think this is stir-fried chicken,” she said after she’d opened the first smaller box. “And a box of plain rice, which is good.”

“Did you order either of those?” Bessie asked.

Doona shook her head. “This one is spaghetti Bolognese. I did order that, actually. And this is beef stew. I ordered that, too.”

“It all looks good,” Bessie said as she got plates out of the cupboard.

“Liver and onions?” Doona said. “I definitely didn’t order that.”

Bessie put serving spoons on the counter. “What’s in the last box?” she asked.

“Mixed veggies,” Doona said. “I ordered steamed veggies and these look as if they’ve been roasted, but whatever.”

Bessie picked up a plate and took a small serving from each of the boxes. The others followed. Bessie noticed that Hugh was the only other person who took any of the liver and onions.

“Liver is very good for you,” she said as they all sat down around the table.

Doona shook her head. “I’d rather be unhealthy.”

John laughed. “My mother-in-law used to serve liver and onions every time we visited. The children both hated it and used to cry. I ate enough to be polite, but I would prefer to never eat it again.”

“Did Sue like it?” Hugh asked.

John shook his head. “She used to eat a few bites – again, to be polite – but she didn’t care for it either.”

“Why didn’t she ask her mother to make something else?” Doona asked.

John shrugged. “Sue and her mother had a complicated relationship. I stayed out of it.”

“Everything is actually quite good,” Bessie said after she’d tried everything on her plate.

“The stir-fry is excellent,” Doona said. “And the stew is good, too.”

Hugh nodded. “It’s all good. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Bessie looked at his very full plate and wondered how much he would have taken if he’d thought the food would be good.

Everyone took seconds of their favourites, and Hugh took thirds. Then Doona and John cleared away the leftovers and did the washing-up. While they were doing so, Bessie cut slices from the slightly lopsided and interestingly decorated cake for everyone.

“This is wonderful,” Doona said after her first bite.

John nodded. “And now that we have something sweet to eat, should we talk about the case?”

“Do we have to?” Doona asked with a sigh.

John shrugged. “The timeline is a mess, and we don’t have nearly enough information to work with, but I’d really like to discuss each of the suspects. I’m curious what you all thought of each of them as people.”

Bessie got her notebook and a pen and then sat back down at the table. She took a bite of cake and then looked at the others. “Where should we start?” she asked after she’d swallowed.

CHAPTER 11

“Let’s start with Gareth,” Doona suggested. “I don’t feel as if we know much about him.”

Bessie nodded. “He only knew a few of the other people who were there, and they weren’t really asked too many questions about him.”

“The inspector was looking for a motive for his murder,” John said. “And no one seemed to be able to provide one.”

“We know he was twenty-eight and that he was a popular waiter at the restaurant,” Hugh said. “We also know that he was single but that he had a girlfriend until about four months before the murder.”

“I found the statements from his flatmates interesting,” Bessie said. “They’d only lived together since Gareth’s relationship ended and he moved out of her flat. Neither of them seemed to know much about him, and neither seemed interested in getting to know him better.”

“London is a big city. Lots of people move into flats with strangers and never become friends with them,” John said.

“I wish the police had spoken to Gareth’s former girlfriend,” Bessie said. “Dawn said that they broke up because the former girlfriend moved to Paris, so it seems highly unlikely that she had anything to do with the murder, but she might have told us more about Gareth.”

“Dawn had a lot to say, but it was all quite vague. Gareth was nice and kind and he worked hard,” Doona said. “But when she was asked why she didn’t want to go out with him, she couldn’t really answer the question.”

“Jason said that he didn’t know Gareth all that well, that when he was at work he was in the kitchen and the wait staff were in the dining room, so they didn’t really get to talk. And Jason also said that he only visited the Horse and Hammock a few times each month,” Hugh said.

“Even though Mark said that Jason was there at least once a week, if not more.”

“We’re bouncing all over the place,” John said. “Let’s get back to Gareth for a moment. All three of his friends said much the same things about him. They all used the word ‘ordinary’ to describe him at one point or another every time they were interviewed. None of them could suggest a reason why anyone would have wanted to murder him.”

“And Gareth’s flatmates said the same,” Bessie said. “One of them speculated that it was a case of mistaken identity.”

“And everyone else who was there didn’t know him at all,” Doona said. “Or so they claimed, anyway.”

John nodded. “Gareth’s friends all agreed that none of the others spoke to Gareth during the first part of the evening, before he went over to the booth. None of the others admitted to trying to speak to him after he moved to the booth, either, but any of them could have said something to him on the way to or from the loo. And any of them could have stabbed him as well.”

Bessie sighed. “Dawn seemed quite nice. I thought that when I read her first statement, and I still feel that after having read her subsequent statements.”

“She sounded really happy when she talked about her relationship with Mark,” Doona said. “I really hope he didn’t kill Gareth for her sake.”

Hugh nodded. “If I were involved in a murder investigation, I’m not certain I’d get involved with any of the other suspects until the case was solved.”

“It’s been five years,” Doona said. “No one wants to put his or her life on hold for that length of time.”

“And she’s been working at Mark’s second pub since he bought it,” John said. “They’ve been living together for three years.”

“We don’t know that they are still together, though,” Bessie said. “The updates are from last year.”

“We should talk about Mark,” Hugh said. “He claimed he barely knew Gareth, that their only interactions were transactional.”

“I got the feeling that he usually keeps some distance between himself and his customers,” Doona said. “He was friendly, but only during opening hours.”

John nodded. “When he was questioned, he didn’t know much about any of the others. He knew where they all worked because they’d all complained to him about their jobs, but he didn’t know much about their lives otherwise. He wasn’t even certain that Jason and Abigail were a couple, because they usually bought their own drinks.”

“He didn’t have any doubts about Stan and Andrea,” John said. “According to Mark, Stan paid for everything when he and Andrea were together.”

“Mark also said that Andrea was the boss of that relationship,” Hugh said. “And he didn’t really seem to like either of them.”

Doona nodded. “He said that he’d invited Tony to the lock-in, and then Stan and Andrea just sort of invited themselves. They were good customers, though, so he didn’t say anything.”

“Not even when they brought along Andrea’s brother,” Hugh added.

“We’re all over the place again,” John said. “Let’s back up for a minute. Where would any of you put Dawn on your list of suspects?”

There was silence around the table for a minute. Eventually, Bessie got up and refilled her teacup. While she was doing that, Hugh helped himself to more cake.

“She’s near the bottom,” Bessie said as she sat back down. “But it’s very difficult to put anyone anywhere, really. I feel as if she ought to be higher on the list than the people who didn’t even know the victim, but I didn’t like them as much as I liked Dawn.”

John nodded. “Let’s do two separate lists. One for the people who knew Gareth and a second for everyone else.”

“She’s at the bottom of my list of people who knew Gareth,” Bessie said.

Doona nodded. “Although Abigail is also at the bottom. Which means Jason is at the top, even though I don’t think he killed anyone.”

Hugh sighed. “They all seemed like nice people who were good friends with Gareth. If one of them killed him, he or she doesn’t seem to have had a motive.”

“Where does Mark fall on your list?” John asked.

“Are we ranking him with the people who knew Gareth?” Bessie asked. “If so, then he’s at the top of my list, along with Jason, but only because someone has to be at the top. Abigail is just above Dawn on my list. She complained a lot about being questioned again a year ago.”

“To be fair, she was also heavily pregnant and feeling quite dreadful, according to her statement,” Doona said.

“And now she’s a mother with a small child, so I hope she didn’t do it,” Hugh said.

“We haven’t talked much about Jason. Anyone have any comments about him before we move on?” John asked.

“I want more cake,” Doona said. “I’m sitting here, watching Hugh eat cake, and now I can’t think about anything else.”

Everyone laughed. Hugh cut slices of cake for everyone while Bessie made another pot of tea. Once they were back around the table, Bessie picked up the conversation where it had left off.

“I found myself feeling sorry for Jason after his latest interview,” Bessie said. “His life seems to have gone downhill since the murder. He’s changed jobs twice and he’s no longer with Abigail. In his initial statement, he said he was absolutely crazy about her.”

Doona nodded. “He didn’t say anything about why his circumstances had changed, but he was clearly unhappy in his most recent interview. Maybe that’s why I put him at the top of my list. Maybe he’s unhappy because he’s lying awake at night thinking about how he murdered his friend.”

“It will be interesting to hear what’s changed since those interviews last year,” John said.

“Let’s talk about the people who didn’t know Gareth, then,” Doona said. “We’re going to have to rank them according to what we thought of them as people, because I can’t imagine any of them had a reason to murder a stranger.”

“We didn’t really talk about motives for the first group,” Bessie said. “Maybe Dawn was tired of turning down Gareth’s advances. Maybe Gareth had been trying to talk Abigail into going out with him, too. That might have given either Abigail or Jason a motive.”

“Or both,” John said. “They might have been working together.”

“If I murdered someone with my boyfriend, I don’t think I’d end that relationship,” Doona said.

“I don’t think I’d want to stay in it, either,” John said.

Doona nodded. “That’s a good point.”

“There might have been something at work that gave one of Gareth’s friends a motive, something that only Gareth and the killer knew about,” Hugh said. “But once we start talking about secrets that only Gareth and the killer knew, then anyone in the pub could fall into that category.”

Bessie nodded. “I want to assume that whoever killed Gareth had a strong motive, because I hate the idea that someone might have killed him for no reason.”

“But people do murder random strangers,” John said.

“If it was entirely random, then I think Owen is at the top of my list,” Hugh said. “The others had been drinking in the same pub with Gareth for months, if not longer. Owen was new to London and new to the pub. I wonder if Jennifer has looked for similar crimes elsewhere. Maybe Owen moves around a lot because he’s a serial killer.”

One of the previous cases they’d considered had involved a serial killer, so Bessie gave the idea some thought.

“He sounded lost and confused in his first interview,” she said. “And a year later, he still sounded slightly shaken by what had happened. Even in his latest interview, a year ago, he still got upset when discussing the murder. I know he might just be a skilled actor, or maybe he comes across more sympathetically in the statements than he actually is, but I don’t think he’s a serial killer.”

“Let’s talk about Tony,” John said.

“He seemed like a decent guy,” Hugh said. “He sounded genuinely shocked by the murder, and when he was interviewed last year, he got quite upset when he learned that the killer still hadn’t been found. He’s near the bottom of my list.”

“He’s near the bottom of mine, too,” Doona said.

“What about Stan?” John asked.

There was a short silence around the table.

“I didn’t care for him,” Doona said eventually. “I didn’t care for him or for Andrea. They both came across as rude in all of their interviews.”

“I especially didn’t care for Andrea,” Bessie said. “She complained the most about being interviewed every time.”

“She was very insistent that she didn’t know Gareth so there was no way she’d killed him,” Hugh said.

“Stan and Andrea are joint top of my list,” Doona said. “Mostly because I don’t care for them.”

“Scott was very quiet,” John said. “Or, rather, he came across as very quiet. He truly didn’t know anyone else at the pub that night, aside from his sister and Stan.”

“Maybe Jennifer should see if there have been any similar murders anywhere that Scott has been,” Hugh said.

“He seemed quite protective of his sister,” Doona said. “In his most recent interview, he said something about how upset she’d been by the murder and how he hoped that the police weren’t planning to question her again, too.”

“He’s near the bottom of my list,” Doona said. “Unless he was working with Stan and Andrea. Maybe the three of them were working together.”

Bessie frowned. “If there were people working together, than maybe it makes more sense that the timelines are so confused. If two or three of the witnesses were lying about everything that happened, then it would very quickly seem as if everything was muddled up.”

Hugh’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “Grace is on her way back home and she wants to know if she should collect me on her way past,” he said.

John dropped his pen on the table. “She might as well. I think we’ve done as much as we can for tonight. Bessie’s idea is an interesting one that will be worth exploring tomorrow at the reconstruction. I’m also very interested in seeing how people react to being questioned about their behaviour earlier in the evening.”

Doona yawned. “I agree. I think we should stop there. It’s been a fascinating conversation, but aside from establishing which suspects we like and don’t like, I don’t know that it has helped much.”

She and Bessie began to clear the table. John quickly started washing up the teacups and cake plates.

“Take the extra food home with you,” he told Hugh. “Unless Bessie wants to keep it.”

Bessie quickly shook her head. “You and Grace will appreciate it more. Take it with you.”

“You can keep the liver and onions,” Hugh offered.

“Thank you, but you take everything. Does Grace like liver and onions?”

Hugh shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’ll eat it rather than let it go to waste if she doesn’t. And maybe Aalish will like it if she doesn’t know what she’s eating.”

“That’s probably the key,” Doona said. “I just can’t get past knowing what I’m eating to even try it.”

Hugh put all of the leftover food into a box. A moment later, he got a text.

“Grace is here. Both kids are asleep, so she’s just waiting in the car with them,” he said.

Bessie walked him to the door and then gave him an awkward hug around the box he was holding. She opened the door and waved at Grace, who waved back. As Bessie shut the door, Doona put the last of the cake plates away in the cupboard.

“Thank you for taking care of the washing-up and for putting everything away,” Bessie said.

She hugged John and Doona in turn and then let them out of the cottage. As John drove away, Bessie shut the door. She got out her notes from earlier and made new squares with the names of each suspect on them. Working from one statement at a time, she tried to make the timeline make sense. She was still working with Mark’s statement when her phone rang.

“Bessie? It’s Joan. Would it be possible for you to meet me for lunch tomorrow before your meeting instead of after? The planning committee for our church’s TT outreach programme has called an emergency meeting for two o’clock tomorrow, you see. I would hate to miss that.”

“We can meet for lunch,” Bessie said. “At The Seaview?”

“That would be good. My two o’clock meeting is there.”

Bessie laughed. “So is mine, of course.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you at the restaurant at The Seaview at midday. Or do you need me to collect you?”

“I’ll get a taxi,” Bessie told her. “I’ll see you there.”

She put the phone down and then frowned at the clock on the wall. It was getting late, but she wanted to let Helen know that she wasn’t going to need a ride into Ramsey the next day. She walked to the door and opened it so that she could take a look outside. Helen’s car wasn’t parked in its usual spot yet.

“You can ring her in the morning,” Bessie told herself.

Then she looked at the pile of papers on the table and decided to give herself a break. She put the paperwork away and then let herself out of her cottage. After a very short walk, she settled on the rock behind the cottage and simply sat and watched the water. She was starting to feel chilled when she heard a car approaching.

“Good evening,” Helen said after she’d parked her car and emerged.

“Good evening,” Andrew said as he got out of the passenger side.

“Good evening,” Bessie replied. “How was your dinner?”

“Very good, but very tiring,” Andrew said. “The inspectors had a lot of questions for me.”

“And Dad had a lot of very clever answers,” Helen added. “Sometimes I forget how smart he is.”

Andrew laughed. “I just hope I was able to help in some way.”

“I know you were,” Helen said. “The inspectors were very grateful.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Bessie said.

“How was your dinner?” Andrew asked. “Did you solve the case?”

Bessie laughed. “I wish. We talked about the suspects and which ones we thought were nicer than others, but it’s very difficult to rank them in any way when none of them seem to have had a motive for the murder.”

Andrew nodded. “I found the same thing when I tried to rank them. There were definitely people I didn’t care for in the mix, but that doesn’t make them more likely suspects.”

“It does in my book,” Bessie told him.

Helen laughed. “It would in my book, too.”

“One thing we did discuss was whether it was possible that two or more people were working together,” Bessie said. “And if they were, is it possible that they were lying about the timeline to try to deliberately confuse things?”

“We can work through each statement and see if we can find any commonalities among them tomorrow,” Andrew said.

“I think that might be an interesting exercise,” Bessie said.

“Are we still meeting here at half one?” Helen asked.

Bessie shook her head. “That’s why I came outside. I was hoping to catch you when you returned. I’m meeting Joan for lunch tomorrow at midday at The Seaview.”

“Do you need a ride?” Andrew asked.

“I can get a taxi,” Bessie said. “I take them all the time when you aren’t on the island. It isn’t a problem.”

Andrew hesitated and then shrugged. “Helen needs to work through lunch tomorrow and she won’t let me drive her car. I probably need a quiet morning myself after all of the excitement of today.”

Bessie nodded. Even under just the light of the streetlamp in the parking area, she could see that Andrew looked tired.

“You go and get some rest,” she said. “I’ll see you at The Seaview at two.”

“I’ve asked Jasper to set up the ballroom for us,” Andrew said. “We’ll be meeting there.”

“I’m looking forward to getting a better understanding of the layout of the pub, if nothing else,” Bessie said.

“Jennifer has been sending me statements all day, too. Maybe we should start with the timelines in the newest statements and then work with the original ones.”

“That might be very interesting. If some people were lying, they might have very different lies to tell this time around.”

Andrew nodded. “But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Tonight’s problem is how to get myself ready for bed before I fall asleep on my feet.”

Helen laughed. “Let’s go,” she said. “Good night,” she added, nodding at Bessie.

“Good night. Sleep well,” Bessie told them. She let herself back into her cottage and took a moment to tidy the kitchen, straightening a few things that Doona and John had left slightly out of place. Then she turned off the phone’s ringer and headed up to bed. She had just enough energy to read a single chapter in her book before she switched off the light and went to sleep.

CHAPTER 12

After her walk the next morning, Bessie thought about playing with the timeline again but decided against it. The cold case unit was going to be spending the afternoon doing just that, and they would have better results working together than Bessie would trying to work through it all on her own. She felt only the tiniest bit guilty as she ignored the case file and curled up with her book instead. It was just gone eleven when she read the final page.

She frowned as she shut the book. The ending hadn’t been as satisfying as she’d expected, having enjoyed the story right up until the very last chapter. Things had gone wrong when the author had introduced another character who hadn’t appeared anywhere else in the story, a second, long-lost brother to the victim, who turned out to be the killer. Bessie put the book on her pile to donate to a local charity shop and then rang her usual taxi service to request a car to take her to Ramsey.

“Dave should be with you soon,” the dispatcher told her.

Bessie smiled to herself as she went up to her room to get ready to go out. Dave was her favourite driver, and he’d been on holiday for a fortnight. She was looking forward to seeing him and hearing about his holiday. She combed her hair and put on some lipstick before getting her case file out of her desk. Back in the kitchen, she put the case file into her bag and then checked that she had everything else that she needed. She was putting on her shoes when she heard a familiar knock.

“Dave, hello,” she said when she opened the door. “Welcome back from sunny California. At least, I hope it was sunny. It’s always sunny in the movies.”

Dave laughed. “It was sunny, all day, every day. My wife and I both agreed that we were happy to see some rain when we got back to the island. All that sunshine was lovely for a holiday, but neither of us would ever want to live with it.”

Bessie locked up her cottage and then followed Dave to his taxi. While he drove her to Ramsey, he told her all about his fortnight in the US.

“Will you be needing me to get you home again later?” he asked when he parked at the entrance to The Seaview.

“I don’t think so. One of my friends will probably be able to take me home.”

“Well, you know where to find me if you need me.”

“I do,” Bessie agreed. She gave the man a hug once he’d helped her out of the car. “Give my love to your wife,” she said before she headed into the hotel.

Jasper waved from behind the desk. “You’ll be in the ballroom at two,” he said. “And don’t look in there now, because it’s a disaster area. I gave my team the drawing that Andrew gave me, and I promise the room will be ready by two, but right now it looks as if a bomb went off.”

“We don’t need it before two,” Bessie assured him. “I’m meeting a friend for lunch.”

“Enjoy. And get the pork.”

“The pork?”

He nodded. “It’s one of the specials today and it’s exquisite. I tried it before it went on the menu and then had it for my lunch today. I’ll be having it for dinner, too. It’s that good.”

Bessie grinned. “Thanks for the tip.”

She walked along the corridor and into the hotel’s restaurant. They were quick to seat her at a table for two in a quiet corner.

“Get the pork,” the host told her before he walked away.

Joan was shown to the table a few minutes later. Bessie was looking over the menu when she arrived.

“I’ve been told I need to have the pork,” she said as she sat down opposite Bessie.

“I was told the same, but I want to hear all of the specials before I agree.”

The waiter told them about the day’s specials. “I suggest the pork,” he added when he was done.

Bessie laughed. “You win. I’ll have the pork.”

“Me too,” Joan said. “It sounds wonderful.”

As the waiter walked away, Bessie studied her friend.

“You look more relaxed today,” she said.

Joan shrugged. “I’m feeling better about the situation, although I’m not certain I should be. The ring is still missing, and Ginnie is still making threats, but they sound increasingly hollow as the days go by.”

“Did Brian talk to everyone again?”

Joan nodded. “And he got some very interesting answers to your question as well.”

“Here we are,” the waiter said, putting their drinks on the table. “Lunch should be out shortly,” he added before he walked away.

Bessie took a sip of her drink before she spoke. “Did he get to ask Peter about loaning money to anyone?”

“Yes, but Peter just laughed and tried to brush it off. When Brian tried to push a bit, Peter just said that Ginnie had probably borrowed the most from him over the years, but that he never minded giving her a few pounds to get her to her next payday.”

“Ginnie?” Bessie said thoughtfully. “That’s interesting.”

“That’s what I thought. Brian didn’t think it mattered very much, but I’m almost convinced that Ginnie took the ring herself and is planning to sell it.”

“She might already have done so,” Bessie said.

“I hope not. Even though they all insist that they don’t believe that Brian stole it, I know the missing ring has cast a shadow over the entire group. They still haven’t seen one another since the party, although Brian is going over to Peter’s tomorrow night so that they can talk.”

“Just him and Peter?”

“That’s what Brian is hoping, but Ginnie might be there. Brian asked if he could come and talk to Peter, but he didn’t feel that he could ask that Ginnie not be there.”

“What else did Brian learn?” Bessie asked.

“The pork special,” the waiter said as he put a plate in front of Bessie. He put Joan’s plate in front of her and then smiled at the women. “Do either of you need anything else right now?” he asked.

They both shook their heads.

“It smells wonderful,” Bessie said, picking up her knife and fork.

“Just wave if you need anything,” the waiter said before he walked away.

Bessie felt silly using a knife on the tender piece of pork. She tried a bite and then took a second before she spoke again.

“This is wonderful. The pork is very tender, and the sauce is wonderful.”

Joan nodded. “Wait until you try the mash. It’s rich and buttery, and it’s even better with the sauce that’s on the pork.”

Bessie ate a few more bites, trying the potatoes and the shaved and grilled Brussels sprouts before putting down her fork and taking a sip of her drink.

“I could eat this every day for the rest of my life,” Joan said. “I love everything on the plate.”

“How is everything?” the waiter asked.

“Wonderful,” Bessie said.

He grinned. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Joan took another bite and then shook her head. “I’m too distracted by this gorgeous food to focus. We’re supposed to be talking about the missing ring.”

“You said Brian learned some interesting things.”

“He asked them all who they thought was the most likely to have taken the ring. No one wanted to answer the question, but when he pushed a little bit, he got everyone to answer.”

When Joan paused for another bite, Bessie did the same, not wanting to rush her friend’s enjoyment of her meal.

“Jeanne thought about it for a while and then said that the only thing that made sense to her was that Ginnie must have misplaced the ring and then tried to blame it on someone else. She said that she couldn’t imagine any of them stealing from Ginnie and that she could imagine Ginnie lying if she thought she needed to do so to get herself out of trouble.”

Bessie frowned. “That makes it sound as if she doesn’t care for Ginnie.”

Joan nodded. “Brian said much the same thing, to which Jeanne replied that Ginnie wasn’t her favourite person but that they got along well enough.”

“Interesting.”

“Indeed. Then Brian asked Flora the same question and got a very similar answer. Flora didn’t suggest that Ginnie was lying, but she did say that she suspected that Ginnie had misplaced the ring and then forgotten where she’d had it last.”

“A kinder interpretation of events, but it still makes Ginnie the guilty party.”

“Exactly,” Joan said in a satisfied tone. “Then Brian asked Jake what he thought.”

Bessie took her last few bites and then frowned at the now-empty plate. She was very full, but she still wished she had one or two mouthfuls left to enjoy.

“That was wonderful,” Joan said as she pushed her empty plate towards the centre of the table.

“What did Jake say?” Bessie asked.

Joan blinked at her and then laughed. “I completely forgot where we were in the conversation. Sorry. Jake said that he reckoned that Ginnie probably knew exactly where the ring was and was simply trying to stir up trouble.”

“My goodness. Why would she do that?”

Joan shrugged. “When Brian asked Jake, he just said that in his experience Ginnie often enjoyed making life difficult for her friends.”

“Is that true?”

“Ginnie can be a bit bothersome sometimes. She enjoys being at the centre of attention and has been known to walk out of group events when she feels as if someone else is getting more attention than Ginnie thinks is deserved.”

“Why are they friends with her?” Bessie asked.

Joan chuckled. “She’s also kind and caring and very supportive of everyone in the group. She can just be a bit of a diva sometimes. But they’ve all known her for years and years, and they’re all used to her behaviour.”

“That’s three people who think Ginnie has the ring,” Bessie said. “What did Peter say?”

“He said that he suspected that Ginnie had just misplaced it and that it would turn up eventually. He also said that he was probably going to buy her a replacement because she was really sad about losing the original.”

“I think that’s a horrible idea.”

Joan nodded. “I agree, and so did Brian. He actually told Peter that everyone else agreed that Ginnie probably had the ring somewhere and that he didn’t think Peter should buy a second one. He said Peter got a little upset at that point, which is when Brian asked if they could meet face to face tomorrow.”

“Did Brian ask Ginnie who she thought had the ring?”

Joan frowned. “He did. And she insisted again that he was the only person who’d had a chance to take it. Then she started again about how she knew that he was still in love with her and that she understood how hard it must have been for him to see her wearing another man’s ring.”

“And she wouldn’t listen when Brian tried to tell her otherwise,” Bessie guessed.

“She would not. She told Brian that stealing the ring wasn’t necessary, that if he wanted her back, they should talk. When Brian said that he was happy for her and Peter and looking forward to their wedding, she just laughed and told him that the sooner he stopped pretending, the sooner everyone would be happy.”

“Except Peter, if she were right that Brian was still in love with her,” Bessie said.

“Brian said that to her, and she said that she loved Peter, but that true happiness was the most important thing, and that she felt they needed to talk about whether or not they could find that happiness together.”

“I hope Brian told Peter about the conversation.”

“He did, which was also quite awkward. Peter just laughed it off and said that Ginnie was simply being dramatic in the way that only Ginnie can, but Brian is, obviously, concerned.”

“Let me get these out of the way,” the waiter said, picking up their empty plates. “Would you care to see the sweets menu?”

Bessie shook her head. “We’ll have something sweet at our meeting later.”

“As will we,” Joan said. “While I adore your puddings, I’m going to pass today.”

The man nodded and then walked away.

“Everyone thinks Ginnie has the ring,” Bessie said. “Ginnie seems to want to get back together with Brian, even though she’s very publicly accused him of stealing from her. Peter doesn’t want to believe that Ginnie is still in love with Brian. And poor Brian is caught in the middle of it all.”

“That pretty much sums it up,” Joan said. “In his last conversation with Ginnie, she never said anything about ringing the police, so Brian is feeling less anxious about the missing ring. What he’s anxious about now is the state of the relationship between Peter and Ginnie.”

“As he should be.”

“Indeed.”

“You said he’s going to meet with Peter tomorrow night?”

Joan nodded. “He wants to talk about the ring and the likelihood that Ginnie has it. He told me that he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the ring suddenly reappeared tomorrow before he’s supposed to meet with Peter.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened, either. It seems likely that Ginnie has had it all along. I wonder why she hid it in the first place.”

“Maybe just to cause trouble, as Jake suggested. Or maybe because she thought it would help her win Brian back, although I can’t imagine how she thought that would work.”

Bessie nodded. “Please ring me tomorrow night and let me know what happened when Brian talked to Peter.”

“I’ll ring you,” Joan promised. “I just hope the ring turns up and Brian can put the whole thing behind him.”

They paid for their lunches and then sat together in the lobby for a short while, talking about mutual friends. Just before two, Joan headed up to the penthouse conference room, where her meeting was taking place. Bessie walked back along the corridor towards the restaurant but stopped outside the ballroom. It was dark and appeared empty. As she took a step towards the door, Jasper appeared in the corridor.

“It isn’t two yet,” he said. “And everything is ready. I just had them switch off the lights to save a bit of electricity. I’m not certain why I bother. The guests never think to switch off the lights in their guest rooms. Stuart and I were talking about fitting those switches that only work if you insert your room key into them, but I hate the idea.”

Jasper shook his head and then walked into the ballroom. He used a key to turn on a row of light switches. Bessie gasped as she looked around the room. Room dividers had been used to create a small room inside the much larger space. When Bessie walked in through the opening where the door had been, she found herself inside the Horse and Hammock. Everything looked almost exactly the same as it had in the photos from the crime scene. She found herself staring at the booth in the back corner of the room. Jasper had used two couches, one on either side of a table, to replicate the booth.

“This is wonderful,” Bessie said.

“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy helping you with your investigations. I truly hope that I’ve helped put at least one bad person behind bars.”

“You have,” Bessie told him.

“I have? Truly?” Jasper beamed. “I’ve set up tea and coffee, and piles and piles of biscuits and cakes and other sweet treats on the table just outside of the pub setup. We have a church group meeting in the penthouse and they always order our fanciest selection of sweet treats, so we simply made some extras for you and your friends.”

“Thank you,” Bessie said. She walked around the bar and stood behind it, trying to see the room as Gareth had seen it the night of the murder.

“If you find that you need anything else, just pick up the phone and ring reception,” Jasper said. “And good luck with your reconstruction.”

“Thank you.”

Bessie followed him out of the pub space into the larger ballroom. She walked around the pub and poured herself a cup of coffee. She was nibbling on a cake square when Andrew arrived.

“Jasper did a wonderful job,” he said as he looked at the pub space.

“It’s smaller than I was expecting. I can’t imagine being brave enough to stab someone to death in front of a room full of witnesses, especially not in a room this small.”

Andrew nodded. “I paced out the dimensions, but actually seeing the space is much more effective.”

“Did Jennifer have a chance to speak to everyone?”

“She did. All she asked them each for was a full account of where everyone was and when for the entire evening, starting with the moment when Mark locked the door. I haven’t looked at the replies yet, but Jennifer said they’re just as muddled as the original statements.”

“Did anyone question why they were being asked about the first hour, when Gareth was still at the bar?”

Andrew shrugged. “If they did, Jennifer didn’t mention it. We’ll see as we go through the statements, I suppose.”

“It’s smaller than I was expecting,” Hugh said as he walked into the room, his eyes on the pub space.

“It is small,” Doona said. She and John were right behind Hugh. “And the bar is shorter than I was expecting. During the first hour, when everyone was sitting at the bar, the groups must have almost been on top of one another.”

“Which means Gareth might have overheard a conversation or two from the other group,” Hugh said. “Maybe there’s a motive for murder there.”

While the others got themselves drinks, Bessie filled a plate with a few of the sweet things on offer. Then she stood near the door, eating and sipping her tea. Harry and Charles arrived just a few minutes later.

“I thought the bar was longer,” Harry said as he examined the pub space. “It must have been pretty crowded with nine people sitting at it.”

“There are ten stools,” Andrew said. “Which is accurate for the Horse and Hammock. They’re pretty close together. I don’t know that anyone could have had a very private conversation.”

“Some of the witnesses did talk about moving the stools around so they could talk to one another,” Doona said. “I’m not certain why they didn’t all go and sit in the booths or around a table instead of staying at the bar, though.”

“I think sitting at the bar is part of the tradition of a lock-in,” Charles said.

“Maybe,” Doona said with a shrug.

Bessie put her empty cup and plate on a nearby empty tray and then walked back into the pub space.

“I hope they were all asked where they were sitting before Gareth went to lie down,” she said.

Andrew nodded. “That’s part of what Jennifer asked when she asked them to give her the longer timeline. She sent me a sketch of who was where when Mark locked the door.”

Andrew had left his briefcase on a table near the door. As he walked over to it, the others all quickly finished their drinks and put down their plates. Hugh popped an extra cake square into his mouth as Andrew pulled a thick stack of papers out of his bag.

“I made a sign for each of the witnesses,” he said, holding up several sheets of paper. “We can put them on the correct stools.”

Andrew also had some sticky tape in his briefcase. He consulted the sketch from Jennifer and then started putting names on the stools in front of the bar. Bessie followed with the tape, affixing each name to a stool. When they were finished, everyone came to look at their work.

“Gareth was sitting next to Dawn on one side and Stan on the other,” Doona said. “They had easiest access to Gareth’s drink to add the sedative.”

“Except this is just how they were arranged when the door was locked,” Andrew said. “According to all of the statements, everyone moved around a great deal during the lock-in.”

“And now we get to try to work out who is lying and who is telling the truth,” Hugh said. “Where should we start?”

“Let’s start with Mark’s statement,” Andrew suggested. “He was behind the bar, and he was working. He should have been paying attention to where everyone was all the time.”

“If he didn’t murder Gareth, his statements are likely the most reliable. He was the only one not drinking heavily, although he did have a pint after he’d locked the door,” John said.

“Let’s start with his statements, then,” Andrew said.

CHAPTER 13

“Do you want someone to pretend to be Mark?” Charles asked.

Andrew shrugged. “We don’t have enough people to take all of the parts. That’s why I printed out the names. I think we’ll just have to move them around. I don’t think more than one or two people were ever moving around at the same time, anyway.”

“But you didn’t print a sheet for Mark,” Bessie said.

Hugh grinned. “I’ll be Mark,” he said, walking behind the bar.

Andrew looked at the statement in his hand. “Hugh, go over and lock the door and then go back behind the bar.”

Hugh walked to the opening where the door should have been and mimed closing and locking a door. Then he walked back behind the bar.

“And get yourself a pint,” Andrew said.

Hugh pretended to pull himself a pint of something. As he lifted an imaginary glass to his lips, Andrew put the statements on the bar.

“According to Mark, nothing much happened for the first half hour or so. He washed some glasses and kept an eye on things. The telly was on, but the sound was muted. After half an hour, people started ordering more drinks.”

“We haven’t seen the statements from anyone about what happened in that first hour,” Bessie reminded him.

Andrew nodded. “I’m going to take you through them all in turn. I should add that just about everyone complained about having to try to remember specific details about something that happened five years ago.”

“Of course they did,” Harry said. “And that’s fair enough, really. It’s a shame the police didn’t ask about the entire lock-in when the murder happened.”

“What happened after the first half hour, then?” Doona asked.

“Tony and Stan asked for drinks. Mark remembers getting drinks for them and for Andrea. Scott apparently didn’t want another at that point. While Mark was pouring drinks, Tony and Stan shuffled their stools around a bit.”

“Did they?” Harry asked. “That’s interesting.”

“Jennifer had Mark draw the way things ended up,” Andrew said. He put a sketch on the bar.

Hugh and John quickly rearranged the bar stools from their neat line into the new configuration.

“They moved their seats into something like a circle,” Doona said. “And they moved farther away from Gareth and his friends.”

Andrew nodded. “According to Mark, when they were finished, Jason moved his stool over so that he was more or less between Dawn and Abigail, farther from the bar but closer to his friends.”

John moved the stool with Jason’s name on it into its new position.

“Did something happen to make the two groups want to be farther apart?” Doona asked.

Andrew shrugged. “Mark said he didn’t notice anyone from either group speaking to anyone from the other group. He said it was getting late, and at the time he just assumed that people wanted to be able to talk more easily without shouting up and down the bar.”

“Why didn’t either of the groups move to the tables or booths?” Doona asked.

“Jennifer asked Mark that. He just shrugged and said that maybe it never occurred to anyone to move.”

“People shuffled their seats around. Then what happened?” Harry asked.

“Jason ordered another drink. As Mark was getting that, Abigail and Dawn put in orders, too. When Mark asked Gareth if he wanted anything, Gareth just shook his head,” Andrew said.

“Maybe he was already feeling unwell,” Bessie said.

Andrew nodded. “Mark told Jennifer that one of his biggest regrets in life is not telling Gareth to go up to his flat to sleep it off. He said that in some ways he feels responsible for Gareth’s death, even though he didn’t wield the knife.”

“What happened next, according to Mark?” Doona asked.

“Owen, down at the far end of the bar, ordered another drink. And then everyone sat around and talked quietly for another twenty minutes or so until Gareth got up and said he needed to lie down.”

John picked up the sheet of paper with Gareth’s name on it and carried it to the booth in the corner.

“Now things get interesting,” Hugh said.

For several minutes, Andrew read through Mark’s most recent statement. He remembered a few people making the trip past the booth to the loos, but he wasn’t certain of the order. He also remembered going himself at one point. Doona and John walked back and forth with the appropriate names to represent trips to the loo. When they were finished, they did the entire exercise a second time, with Mark’s original statement. The results were much the same.

“He remembered just about everyone going past the booth,” Harry said. “And he put them in the same order in both of his statements.”

“If we assume that his statement is correct, then we need to compare it with the rest to see if we can determine who was lying,” John said.

“Let’s work through Gareth’s friends first,” Andrew suggested.

“Start with Dawn,” Bessie said. “I trust her more than the others.”

Andrew nodded. “Her statement about the timeline for the first hour is virtually identical to Mark’s. She didn’t remember Tony and his friends rearranging their stools, but she did remember Jason moving over to sit nearer to her and Abigail. She said that at the time she felt a bit as if they were ignoring Gareth, but that he stayed hunched over his drink at the bar while the rest of them chatted.”

“Because he’d been drugged,” Hugh said.

Andrew nodded. “Let’s walk through what she said happened after Gareth went to the booth.”

They worked through both of her statements, which were quite similar.

“Everything she says fits in with what Mark said,” Doona said when they were finished. “They have one or two people in different order, but I don’t think that’s significant.”

Andrew nodded. “Let’s see how Jason’s statements compare. He told Jennifer that he remembered next to nothing about the first hour of the lock-in, but that he knew he’d had at least one more drink before Gareth went to lie down. He also told Jennifer that he’d been doing everything in his power to forget all about that evening over the past five years.”

“What a shame,” Bessie said. “I mean, good for him. I’m sure the evening was horrible for him, but it doesn’t help with our investigation.”

They worked their way through both of Jason’s statements.

“It’s close,” Andrew said when they were finished. “Very close, actually. He put Andrea’s trip to the loo before Stan’s, and Dawn had them the other way around, but otherwise the statements are very similar.”

“Especially since Jason admitted that he wasn’t paying that much attention to the people from the other group,” Hugh said. “He and Dawn agree exactly on when everyone from their group did anything.”

Andrew nodded. “Let’s see if Abigail agrees.”

Twenty minutes later, they’d worked their way through Abigail’s statements and found them fairly close to the others. Then they worked through Owen’s statements.

“That’s a mess,” Harry said after they’d looked at his original statement. “I realise that he didn’t know any of the others, but he just refers to people as ‘the blonde’ or ‘the tall man,’ with no clear indication of which person he’s referring to. Whoever interviewed him should have been fired.”

Andrew nodded. “Jennifer did a much better job when she interviewed him this time around. She gave him pictures of each of the suspects and had him refer to them when talking about who was where.”

They worked through his new statement.

“It’s close,” Harry said. “Close enough that I’m starting to think that we’re getting a clearer picture of the evening.”

“Except we haven’t even touched the statements from the other group,” Andrew said.

“I think I need a cuppa and a cake before we do any more,” Doona said.

Andrew nodded. “I think we could all use a short break.”

They walked out of the pub space and over to the table with drinks and sweets. Bessie poured herself a cup of tea and then helped herself to a few small cake squares. She sat down at one of the nearby tables and took a sip of tea.

“That’s better,” she said to herself as Andrew joined her.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the statements seem to fit together,” Andrew said as he sat down. “When I read through them, they all seemed horribly muddled.”

“I think the rest of them are more muddled than the ones we’ve looked at so far,” Bessie said. “I tried working through them in different ways and never could get them all to fit together. I didn’t notice it at the time, but now that I think back, I believe the biggest problems were with the statements from the other group of friends.”

Harry nodded as he sat down with a cup of coffee in his hand. “There are a lot of discrepancies in the other statements. I’m not looking forward to trying to get them to make sense based on what we’ve established so far.”

“So far, we have five statements that mostly agree,” Andrew said. “I think that’s enough for us to assume that they are predominantly accurate. That means we have to question everything we read in the other four statements.”

“Is it possible that those four worked together to murder Gareth?” Bessie asked.

“Anything is possible,” Harry answered. “Four people working together would be somewhat unusual, but it does happen.”

“Can anyone think of a reason why they might have wanted to kill Gareth?” Doona asked.

Harry shrugged. “There are a number of possibilities. Maybe Gareth asked Andrea out and that upset her and Stan. Maybe they got Scott and/or Tony to help, too. Or maybe they simply decided to see what it would be like to kill someone. Sometimes one person in a group has the idea, and once they start discussing it, it snowballs into action.”

Bessie shivered. “I hate thinking that poor Gareth was murdered just because a small group of people thought it would be interesting or different to kill someone.”

“If I’d decided to commit a murder in a pub, I wouldn’t do it during a lock-in,” Doona said. “I’d do it when the pub was busy and full of random strangers.”

Harry nodded. “The killer or killers took a huge risk killing Gareth during the lock-in.”

“Except it’s been five years, and he or she or they are still walking around free,” Hugh said.

Andrew nodded. “And we’re about to end that,” he said firmly. “Let’s get back to work.”

They walked back into the pub space. Hugh went back behind the bar. Andrew shuffled through the statements.

“Andrea,” he said. “In her original statement, she said that she was too drunk to have been paying any attention to what was happening around her. She remembered that Stan had gone to the loo fairly early in the evening and that she’d gone at some point, but then she’d said that everyone else had been up and down all night long. She insisted that Dawn had gone back and forth to the loo at least three times in the hour that Gareth was in the booth. And she insisted that Mark had disappeared at least twice during that hour.”

“Did she have a different story to tell this time around?” Bessie asked.

“She told Jennifer that she couldn’t remember anything about the first hour of the lock-in, that she’d been drinking and talking to her boyfriend and her brother and hadn’t been paying any attention to anything else. Then she said that that hadn’t changed when some other person in the place went to lie down in the back of the pub. This time around, she insisted that she never went to the loo after Gareth moved. She also said that Stan hadn’t left her side all night.”

“She’s lying,” Harry said. “And she’s not very smart about it.”

Andrew nodded. “Let’s see what Stan had to say.”

“I remember his first statement,” Hugh said. “He was the only one who insisted that none of his group had gone anywhere near the loos after Gareth moved to the booth. He said he’d gone just before Gareth moved and that Andrea had gone at the same time and that they’d stayed at the bar after that.”

Harry nodded. “And when he was told that everyone else in the pub said that he’d made a trip to the loo while Gareth was in the booth, he just shrugged and said that everyone else was wrong.”

“In his new statement, he told Jennifer that he was just sitting at the bar for the first hour of the lock-in. She asked him about moving the bar stools around, and he said he might have moved them, but he didn’t remember doing so. When asked about the second hour of the lock-in, he said that he remembered watching all of Gareth’s friends walking back and forth to the booth where Gareth was lying several times over the hour.”

“I hope Jennifer asked him why he was changing his statement,” Hugh said.

Andrew nodded. “To which he said that when the murder happened he hadn’t wanted to get anyone into trouble, but in the years since, he’d been questioning his silence. He told Jennifer that it really bothered him that one of Gareth’s friends was getting away with murder.”

“Did she ask him why he’d said in his original statement that he’d gone to the loo in the first hour and was now saying he hadn’t?” Doona asked.

“She did. And he said that he was probably remembering things wrong, but that it had been five years, so she should understand.”

“He’s not wrong about that, but I still don’t trust him,” Charles said.

“What about Tony?” Doona asked.

“According to Jennifer, Tony simply kept insisting that he didn’t remember anything,” Andrew said.

“That’s very similar to what he said in his initial statement,” Doona said. “He said he thought everyone in the pub had walked past Gareth’s booth at some point, but that he hadn’t been paying attention to who’d been where when.”

“He also doesn’t remember anything from the first hour,” Andrew said as he looked through the man’s new statement.

“I wonder if he’s trying to cover up for his friends,” Bessie said thoughtfully. “Maybe he didn’t have anything to do with the murder, but maybe he suspects that Stan and Andrea did.”

“He might be the person to go back to first,” Harry said.

“We just need the right questions for Jennifer to ask him,” Andrew said.

“What about Scott?” Harry asked. “His initial statement was very exact, as if the man had spent the night watching everyone.”

Andrew nodded. “Let’s compare his original statement to Mark’s.”

They worked through the statement. When they were finished, Harry frowned.

“It’s almost identical, except he has both Stan and Andrea going to the loo almost immediately after Gareth moved to the booth. Everyone else had them going later in the hour,” he said.

“What about his more recent statement?” Doona asked.

Andrew skimmed through it quickly. “His account of the first hour is virtually identical to Mark’s. Interestingly, his account of the second hour has become less exact. He also told Jennifer that he thinks that he might be wrong about when Stan and Andrea when to the loo. He told her that they might have gone during the first hour, not the second.”

“He’s trying to give them an alibi,” Doona said. “He knows they killed Gareth.”

“It certainly seems as if he suspects something,” Andrew said.

“Jennifer needs to focus on Scott and Tony,” Harry said. “They both know what happened that night.”

“One or both of them might also have taken some part in the murder,” Charles said.

Harry nodded. “But I think they’re the weak links.”

“What should Jennifer go back and ask them?” Andrew asked.

“I keep wondering if anyone had anything to gain from Gareth’s death,” Bessie said.

“If we’re right about what happened, the only gain might have been some sort of murder pact between the friends,” Harry said.

“And maybe that’s the angle to pursue,” John said. “Maybe Jennifer needs to tell Tony and Scott that she knows that the murder was a group effort and that once one person confesses, everyone else is going to be in more trouble than the first person to confess.”

Andrew nodded. “That’s a good point. And if we are right, I suspect that Andrea will be quick to try to put the blame on everyone else even if she was the one who actually stabbed the man.”

“You need to get them to turn against one another,” Harry said. “And that might not be all that difficult. The new line of questioning has probably already made them all a bit nervous.”

“Maybe Jennifer should go back and ask more questions about the sedative,” Doona said. “Maybe she could even hint that new tests have revealed that the drugs killed Gareth before he was stabbed, so whoever gave him the sedative actually killed him.”

Andrew made a note. “That’s an interesting angle. If there were several people working together, then one of them probably did nothing more than add the sedative to Gareth’s drink. That person might be very upset to hear that his or her actions actually caused the man’s death.”

“Jennifer is smart. Now that she’s started asking about the hour before Gareth went to the booth, she’s in the perfect position to make that suggestion,” Charles said. “And she’ll be able to find a way to do it without actually coming right out and lying, too.”

“Any other ideas?” Andrew asked.

“She could tell each of them that their statements don’t match with any of the others, but that their statement is the only one that’s different,” Doona suggested.

“That could be quite effective,” Andrew said. “Especially if two or three of them agreed to lie in the same ways.”

Bessie sighed. “I’m afraid we’re getting close to an answer that is quite unpleasant.”

Harry gave her a sympathetic smile. “People can be quite horrible to one another. But if we can find the answer, then we can prevent these people from being horrible again.”

She nodded. “And that would be a very good thing.”

They talked for a short while longer before Andrew shrugged. “I think that’s all we can do for now. I’m going to ring Jennifer when I get back to my cottage and suggest that she speak to Tony and Scott tomorrow. We’ll meet on Saturday morning if she has anything to report by that point.”

“What time?” Harry asked.

“Ten?” Andrew suggested.

“I can do that,” Harry said.

“So can I,” Charles said.

John nodded. “I’ll be here.”

“So will I,” Doona said.

Hugh frowned. “I promised Grace that we’d go to the Wildlife Park this weekend, but we can go on Sunday.”

“You don’t have to be here,” Andrew said. “You can miss one meeting.”

Hugh shook his head. “I don’t want to miss this one. I think it’s going to be an interesting one.”

Andrew grinned. “I certainly hope so. Bessie, are you available on Saturday morning?”

“Yes, of course,” Bessie replied.

Andrew gave them all copies of the new statements so they could read through them at their leisure. Then they all walked out of the ballroom together.

“That was exhausting,” Andrew said as he and Bessie made their way towards the hotel’s lobby.

“But I think we’re making progress,” Bessie said.

“I certainly hope so.”

Helen was waiting in the lobby. They made the drive back to Laxey in silence. Bessie was lost in her own thoughts, and she assumed that Helen and Andrew were lost in theirs as well.

CHAPTER 14

“Let’s go to Onchan for dinner,” Andrew suggested as they all got out of the car outside of Bessie’s cottage. “We can eat at Dan’s restaurant. I think we all need a treat after today’s very long day.”

“I love that idea,” Bessie said. “I hope he’s doing something wonderful tonight.”

“Every time I’ve been there it’s been wonderful.”

Dan was a talented and creative chef. His restaurant had a menu, but Bessie had never looked at it. Every evening Dan created what he called a “sample plate” based around a theme. Each sample plate contained small servings of three or four different items, giving diners a great deal of variety for their meal. As far as Bessie was concerned, the very best part was that he did the same with puddings.

“We’ll meet back here at six,” Andrew said. “Assuming that works for everyone.”

“It works for me,” Bessie said.

Helen shrugged. “I have to ring a few people and deal with one minor issue, but I should be finished by six.”

“And I need to ring Jennifer, but that shouldn’t take long,” Andrew said.

They parted ways. Bessie went into her cottage and sat down with the envelope Andrew had just given her. Dan’s servings were generous, so Bessie was already regretting the number of cake squares she’d eaten during the reconstruction. Now she didn’t even make herself a cup of tea to sip while she worked through the statements.

Andrew and Helen were waiting by Helen’s car when Bessie emerged from her cottage a few minutes before six.

“I think we’re all eager to get to Dan’s,” Andrew said with a chuckle as they got into the car.

“I’m starving,” Helen said. “Even though I ate quite a few cake squares and biscuits this afternoon.”

Bessie nodded. “I wonder what Dan’s theme is today.”

Andrew shrugged. “Let’s guess. Whoever is closest gets, well, nothing but the satisfaction of being closest.”

They all laughed.

“I think it will be a shape again,” Helen said. “Maybe one he hasn’t done before.”

“I suspect he’s done just about every shape that food can easily be cooked or baked or shaped into,” Bessie said. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t repeat himself. I’m certain he must repeat himself often.”

“I think it’s going to be a colour,” Andrew said.

“I think it’s going to be a country,” Bessie said. “I can still remember how delicious everything was when the theme was France.”

Helen laughed. “Everything has always been delicious, every time I’ve been there.”

The car park outside the small restaurant was nearly full, but Helen found a parking space not too far from the door. When they walked into the restaurant, there was a short queue of people waiting for tables.

“We’ll be right with you,” a woman told them as she rushed past. A few minutes later, she returned to the entrance. “Sorry, I should be used to it being busy, but I’m still fairly new. Table for three?”

“Yes, thanks,” Andrew said.

“It shouldn’t be too long. I’ve been serving pudding to a lot of tables lately.”

Andrew nodded. “We don’t mind waiting for Dan’s food.”

“It’s something special. I told Dan and Carol when they offered me the job that I didn’t even need to be paid if I could have lunch and dinner here every day. They’re paying me anyway, but I really meant what I said.”

As the people around a table in the back of the room began to gather up their things and prepare to leave, the woman rushed away.

“I wonder where Carol is,” Helen said.

“Home resting, probably,” Bessie said. “She’s expecting their second child, and it’s been a somewhat difficult pregnancy for her.”

Helen frowned. “I had my suspicions the last few times we ate here, but she wasn’t saying anything yet.”

“She’s due in September,” Bessie told her. “And she and Dan are very excited. Wendy is too young to properly understand, of course.”

The group at another table got up to leave. The party in front of Bessie and her friends was shown to it once it was ready.

“We’re next,” Helen said. “And I’m not looking at the plates coming out of the kitchen so I can be surprised when the waiter tells us the special today.”

A few minutes later, they were shown to a table along one wall. Their waiter arrived almost as soon as they were seated.

“Good evening. I’m Dale and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Dan has been extra busy in the kitchen today and he’s prepared a feast based around the number three.”

“The number three?” Bessie echoed.

Dale grinned. “Carol just announced that she’s expecting twins.”

“Oh, goodness, congratulations to her and Dan,” Bessie said.

“I’ll pass that along. They’re very excited.”

“What are we getting in threes, then?” Helen asked.

“A small nest of spaghetti with three tiny meatballs inside, a serving of three-cheese lasagna, three pieces of chicken in white wine sauce, and a portion of pork tenderloin, stuffed, and wrapped in bacon.”

“That all sounds wonderful,” Helen said.

Bessie nodded. “I’m excited to hear about pudding.”

Dale laughed. “We’ve been packing up most people’s pudding for takeaway. Not only is the sample plate a lot of food, but so is pudding. You get three tiny cakes, one chocolate, one vanilla, and one strawberry. You also get a scoop of triple chocolate ice cream and a tiny triple berry pie. If you decide to take pudding with you, we’ll put the ice cream in its own container that you can put in your freezer as soon as you get home.”

“Yes, please,” Helen said.

“I’m probably going to need to take mine away, but I definitely want the sample plate and the sample pudding.”

Dale nodded. “Sir?”

Andrew grinned. “Oh, the same, of course.”

They ordered drinks and then, while they waited, they sat back and chatted about which things they thought they’d enjoy the most from the various offerings. They didn’t have to wait long.

“Wonderful,” Bessie said as Dale put her plate in front of her.

The trio focussed on enjoying their meal for several minutes.

“I could eat this chicken every day for the rest of my life,” Helen said as they were eating their final bites. “The sauce is wonderful.”

“I like the pork,” Andrew said. “I especially like the stuffing. I think I’d like a full portion of that one day.”

“Except you’ll never order it, even if it’s on the menu, because the sample plates are too tempting,” Bessie said.

Andrew nodded. “You’re right, of course.”

“What about pudding?” Dale asked as he cleared away their empty plates.

“I need mine to take away,” Bessie said.

“I think that would be best,” Helen said. “I want to eat it now, but I know I’ll enjoy it more later.”

“I’m too full to eat another bite,” Andrew said. “But by the time we get back to Laxey, I’ll probably be ready for a tiny cake and some ice cream.”

They walked back outside together a short while later. They were each carrying a small box.

“I’m really tired,” Andrew said as Helen started the car. “I might have to enjoy my pudding for breakfast.”

“Or you could have a healthy breakfast and eat your pudding later in the day tomorrow,” Helen suggested.

They hadn’t gone far before Andrew fell asleep. Bessie sat back and tried to relax. She was very aware that the next day was going to be a long one while she waited to hear from Joan and the cold case unit waited to hear from Jennifer.

“I’ll let him sleep while I check your cottage,” Helen said when she parked outside of Bessie’s cottage.

Bessie put her ice cream in the freezer while Helen did her walk-through.

“We should do something tomorrow,” Bessie said when Helen returned.

Helen frowned. “I need to work, but I can drive you and Dad somewhere in the morning if you want to spend the day in Douglas or something similar.”

Bessie shrugged. “We can get a taxi somewhere. You focus on what you need to do. Tell your father to come and see me when he’s ready for the day.”

Helen gave Bessie a hug before she left. After locking the door behind Helen, Bessie put the kettle on. After it boiled, she made herself a cup of tea and then sat down with her box of puddings from Dan’s restaurant and a good book. She read until it was time for bed.

Andrew knocked on her door at ten the next morning.

“Good morning,” Bessie greeted him.

“It’s an excellent morning,” he replied. “I slept like a rock and then had puddings from Dan’s restaurant for breakfast. Helen was already working, so she couldn’t stop me.”

Bessie laughed. “They were delicious, weren’t they? I was especially fond of the little pie.”

“It was something special,” he agreed. “What shall we do today, then? I don’t want to spend all day just sitting around waiting to hear from Jennifer. She probably won’t get back to me until tomorrow, anyway.”

“Where haven’t we been lately?”

He shrugged. “What about the Laxey Wheel? We can climb to the top of the wheel and then go into the mine, and finish with lunch at the little café near the wheel.”

“I’m not sure that the café is open, but if it isn’t, there are other places to eat in the area.”

“I don’t think I have enough energy to walk to the wheel, but maybe we could walk back. It’s mostly downhill on the way back.”

Bessie shrugged. “It’s still a long walk. We’ll probably want to get a taxi both ways.”

She rang for a taxi and then got ready to go out. Dave arrived a short while later.

“I haven’t visited the Laxey Wheel in years,” he said as he drove them the short distance to the Laxey landmark. “I wonder if the wife would like to visit it this weekend.”

“It’s always a good time to visit,” Bessie told him. “The views from the platform at the top are always beautiful.”

Dave dropped them as close as he could to the wheel. Bessie and Andrew walked from the car park to the site’s entrance. A short while later, they stood together on the viewing platform, looking down at Laxey below them.

“We should take the train to the top of Snaefell,” Andrew suggested, gesturing towards the mountain in the distance.

“We could. The train station is only a short walk from here.”

They made their way back down the steps. Then they walked the short distance to the entrance to the old mine shaft. Bessie and Andrew put on hard hats and then made their way into the narrow tunnel that led to the mine. It was cold and damp inside the tunnel. A replica mine cart blocked the entrance to the actual mine. Bessie didn’t look too closely at the cart as she tried not to think about the young woman she’d found dead in the cart some years earlier. She knew that Manx National Heritage had replaced the cart where the body had been found with a new one, but from what she could see the new one was identical to the previous one.

“And now the trains,” Andrew said enthusiastically.

Bessie smiled. “You have a lot of energy today.”

“I probably had too much sugar for breakfast, but it’s also wonderful to have any energy at all after so many months of feeling exhausted all the time. I really thought I was going to die.”

“I knew you’d be fine,” Bessie said, not wanting to admit that she’d had her own fears about his health.

Andrew nodded. “I kept telling myself that I couldn’t die, because Bessie would never forgive me.”

She laughed. “You’re right about that,” she said.

He took her hand, and they strolled from the mine to the nearby train station. The next train going to the top of Snaefell wasn’t due for an hour, so they wandered outside and sat and watched the world go by while they waited.

“I’m getting hungry,” Andrew said after a while.

“There’s a café at the top of the mountain.”

“There is? I didn’t realise that. Let’s have lunch there.”

The train made the journey slowly. Bessie enjoyed looking out the window as they moved higher and higher up the mountain. When they reached the top, she and Andrew disembarked and went into the small building. The café was nearly empty. They ordered sandwiches and then sat together at a table near the windows while they enjoyed their lunch. Then they walked along the path that led to the large stone marker that identified the highest point on the island.

“You can see seven kingdoms from here,” Bessie said. “Or you could if it were a very clear day.”

“Seven?”

“England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Man, the heavens, and the seas.”

“Even though there’s mist, the views are stunning.”

“They truly are,” Bessie agreed.

As they turned around to walk back to the station, a small herd of sheep walked across the path. Bessie laughed when one of the sheep stopped directly in their way.

“We’d like to get past, please,” she said politely.

The sheep stared at her for a moment and then began nibbling on the grass on the path’s edge.

“It might be easier to go around her,” Andrew suggested.

They walked off the path, walking carefully between the large animals, who completely ignored them. When they got back to the train station, the next train was just about to disembark on its way back to Laxey. They rode back down the mountain to the village, where they got off.

“This has been wonderful,” Andrew said as he and Bessie strolled through Laxey, looking in the handful of shops along the main road. “I’ve barely even thought about the case.”

Bessie nodded. “I’m glad we were able to keep busy for a while, anyway. The waiting is the worst part of the cold case unit.”

“What’s been happening with your friend’s son and the missing ring?”

Bessie filled Andrew in on everything that had happened since they’d last discussed the case.

“We’re both waiting for others to ring us back. You’ll probably hear from Joan before I hear from Jennifer,” Andrew said.

“I hope she’s going to ring me later today. I also hope that the missing ring will have turned up by that time.”

When they got tired of wandering around Laxey, Bessie rang for another taxi. This time they got a different driver, one Bessie had never met before. Bessie had to give him directions to her cottage and help him find the road that led down to the beach.

As he pulled into the parking area outside of Bessie’s cottage, he looked surprised. “This is lovely down here. I didn’t even know there was a beach down here.”

“It isn’t the easiest to find,” Bessie said.

“I’m going to have to bring my wife and the little one down here. The little one loves the beach.”

“Helen will be working for the rest of the day,” Andrew said as the taxi drove away. “Would it be a terrible imposition if I came and sat very quietly in your sitting room for a few hours?”

Bessie laughed. “You are more than welcome. Do you need to get a book or something else to do while you’re there?”

“I’ll get a book, but I probably won’t read much. I’ll probably nap more than anything.”

Andrew went into his cottage to grab a book while Bessie let herself into Treoghe Bwaane. She put the kettle on and put a few biscuits on to a plate while she waited for the kettle to boil. When Andrew arrived, they sat together at the kitchen table and enjoyed tea and biscuits while they talked about nothing much. Then they both curled up with books and read for the rest of the afternoon. Bessie jumped when someone knocked on the door just after five.

“I hope my father hasn’t been too much trouble,” Helen said when Bessie opened the door.

“We’ve both been reading all afternoon,” Bessie told her. “I haven’t heard a sound out of him.”

“How much did he nap?”

“I don’t think he did,” Bessie replied.

“I was planning on it, but this book is too good,” Andrew said as he walked into the kitchen. “But now that I’ve finished it, I’ve realised that I’m hungry. Let’s go and get dinner.”

They went to the pub in Laxey again and had another nice meal. Helen drove them back to the beach after dinner.

“We walked a lot today,” Andrew said as they got out of the car, “but I feel as if would enjoy a short stroll along the beach before bed anyway.”

The trio walked along the sand together, talking about the weather, local politics, and the price of housing on the island while they strolled. When they got back to Bessie’s, Helen checked the cottage over while Bessie and Andrew chatted together.

“What time do you think Joan will ring?” Andrew asked.

Bessie looked at the clock on the wall. “Soon, I hope. I’m really curious what’s happening in Peter’s sitting room right now. Except it might not be right now. That meeting might be all over. I think it probably is, actually. Joan didn’t tell me exactly what time Brian was supposed to meet with Peter.”

“I’m certain she’ll ring as soon as she has any news to share.”

“I certainly hope so. Ideally, not too late, but I’ll probably find it impossible to sleep until I’ve heard from her.”

“She might not ring after nine.”

Bessie looked at the clock again and sighed. “And the news won’t be any different if I have to wait until morning. I’m just anxious to hear what happened tonight.”

Andrew nodded. “I’m anxious for you, but I’m also eager to hear back from Jennifer.”

“If we’re correct and three or four of the suspects were working together, then she only needs to get one of them talking.”

“And I think either Scott or Tony might be ready to talk.”

“Ready for home?” Helen asked Andrew as she rejoined him and Bessie in the kitchen.

He shrugged. “Maybe we should stay and keep Bessie company for a short while. She’s waiting for Joan to ring.”

“I’ll put the kettle on,” Bessie said.

“I’ll go and get all of the boxes of treats that are all over our cottage,” Helen said. “Dad and I have both been bringing things back from The Seaview every day. We have tarts and fairy cakes and little cake squares.”

“I have a few fairy cakes left, too,” Bessie said.

“We should try to eat everything,” Andrew suggested. “We’re meeting again tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get something else nice.”

A few minutes later, they were sitting together around the table with tea and a selection of treats.

“I truly don’t eat this way at home,” Helen said as she reached for a fairy cake.

“Neither do I,” Andrew said. “But everyone has been nagging me to put on a few pounds since my surgery, so I refuse to feel guilty about enjoying a few delicious treats now and again.”

“I don’t eat this way in between cold cases,” Bessie said. “Perhaps we should tell Jasper that we’d prefer nothing but plain digestives for tomorrow’s meeting.”

Andrew shook his head. “I’m hoping for doughnuts. Or maybe jam roly-poly. Or maybe a nice sticky toffee pudding.”

Bessie laughed. “Those all sound good, but sticky toffee pudding is difficult to eat at a meeting.”

“What about…” Helen was interrupted by the ringing of Bessie’s mobile.

Bessie tapped to accept the call. “Hello?”

“Bessie? It’s Joan. I just finished speaking to Brian. You’ll never guess what happened tonight.”

CHAPTER 15

“Ginnie admitted that she’d had the ring the whole time,” Bessie guessed.

Joan sighed. “Okay, but can you guess why she hid it?”

Bessie frowned. “She doesn’t really like the ring. Or maybe she has cold feet about the engagement.”

“I’m going to take you through the conversation the way that Brian did with me,” Joan said. “I hope you’re sitting comfortably.”

“I am,” Bessie said. She put the phone into speaker mode and then set the device on the table in front of her.

“Brian had arranged to talk to Peter at seven. When he got to Peter’s house, Peter and Ginnie were both there. They sat together in the sitting room. When Brian asked whether the ring had turned up or not, Peter told him that it was still missing and that he was now considering ringing the police.”

“That must have upset Brian,” Bessie said.

Joan laughed. “Not at all. Brian was so convinced that Ginnie had the ring that he rang Peter this afternoon and suggested that they set a trap for her. Peter didn’t want to believe that Ginnie took the ring, but he reluctantly agreed to play along, at least for a short while.”

“What happened next?” Bessie asked.

“Brian said he sat back and told Peter to go right ahead and ring the police, that he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. That’s when Ginnie said that she thought that Peter was being too hasty.”

“But she was the one who’d been talking about ringing the police from the very beginning,” Bessie said.

“Exactly, and that’s what Brian said. Ginnie said that she’d had time to think about it and that she didn’t want to accuse any of their dearest friends of stealing. She also said that maybe she was mistaken about where she’d left the ring and that she hadn’t given up hope that it might still turn up somewhere.”

“That’s very different to what she was saying last Friday.”

“Then Brian suggested another search of the house. Peter told him that he thought that was a good idea but that he didn’t want Brian to help. Brian just sat on the couch while Ginnie and Peter started searching.”

“How long did it take Ginnie to find the ring?”

“Not long. Peter started searching in the loo where Ginnie said she’d left the ring. Ginnie started in the kitchen and, within a minute or two, she started shouting about having found the ring.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Bessie said.

“Brian said she was very convincing, even crying as she had Peter slip it back on her finger, but at that point both Peter and Brian were fairly certain that she’d set the whole thing up. They just didn’t know why.”

“But they did find out.”

“Oh, yes. This was also part of the plan that Brian and Peter came up with. As soon as the ring was found, Peter excused himself for a few minutes. When he left the room, Brian told Ginnie how relieved he was that the ring had been found. Then he asked her if she was truly excited about marrying Peter.”

“Smart question.”

“It certainly did the trick. Apparently, Ginnie burst into tears and threw herself into Brian’s arms. Then she told him that she was still madly in love with him. She told Brian that she’d only started seeing Peter in an attempt to make him jealous, and when that didn’t seem to work, she’d nagged Peter into proposing. She seemed to think that getting a ring from Peter would make Brian realise that he still loved her.”

“Oh dear.”

“Exactly. Brian told her that he still cared about her but that he was no longer in love with her. And he told her that he thought she and Peter were well suited to one another.”

“I’m not certain I agree with that.”

“Oh, neither does Brian, but he was trying to be kind. Anyway, Ginnie just kept insisting that they belonged together. Then Brian asked her if she’d taken the ring herself. She denied it but told him that she’d been quite careless with it because she didn’t really want it.”

“Poor Peter.”

“That was the point at which Peter walked back into the room, actually. He asked Ginnie for the ring back since she didn’t really want it. Apparently, she tried to argue for a moment or two and then gave up and handed him the ring. Then she turned to Brian and asked him to take her somewhere so that they could really talk. He told her that he didn’t think they had anything to discuss.”

“What an awkward situation for him.”

“He said it was awkward but that eventually Ginnie seemed to realise that she was wasting her time with him. Apparently, then she said something to Peter about continuing to see each other in spite of what she called ‘this little hiccup,’ but he told her that as far as he was concerned, their relationship was over.”

“I feel sorry for both of them,” Bessie said. “Peter and Brian, I mean.”

“I actually have some sympathy for Ginnie, too,” Joan said. “But if she still had feelings for Brian, she should have spoken to him about them, not gone out of her way to try to make him get jealous. And she never should have accepted another man’s marriage proposal if she was still in love with Brian.”

“What’s going to happen to the friend group now?” Bessie asked.

“Before she left, Brian and Peter both told Ginnie that she’s still welcome to be a part of the group but that she needs to tell everyone else what happened and she needs to not do anything similar ever again. Apparently she told them that she’ll think about it before she flounced out.”

“I hope she finds some new friends,” Bessie said.

“That’s exactly what Peter said. Brian said Peter wasn’t all that upset about the breakup. He told Brian that he really cared about Ginnie but he wasn’t certain he wanted to marry her. I gather she really had kept nagging until he’d proposed, more to shut her up than because he wanted to marry her. He was planning on having a very long engagement.”

“I hope the rest of the friend group can recover,” Bessie said. “And I hope Ginnie finds some new friends, so that everyone can move on with their lives.”

“I’m just so relieved that everything is resolved,” Joan said. “And so is Brian. Thank you so much for all of your help. Brian said he knows he’ll sleep well tonight for the first time in a week.”

“I’m glad I was able to help.”

“I’d love to take you to lunch to thank you properly,” Joan said.

The pair set a date a fortnight later before the call ended.

“I love a happy ending,” Helen said. “Even if it was only happy for Brian and not Ginnie.”

“At least now she knows that she and Brian won’t be getting back together,” Bessie said. “She can get on with her life.”

“How long ago were they engaged?” Helen asked.

“I believe Joan said that they broke up ten years ago.”

“She’s been wanting him back for ten years?”

“It sounds that way.”

Helen sighed. “I feel a bit sorry for everyone involved.”

“I mostly feel tired,” Andrew said. “I just hope I’ll have a similar conversation with Jennifer tomorrow.”

“We all want that,” Bessie said.

They arranged to meet at half nine the next morning for the drive to Ramsey for the ten o’clock meeting. Bessie hoped that Andrew would have something interesting to share with them by that point.

She walked the pair to the door and then watched as they made their way back to their cottage. Then she locked the door behind them. It didn’t take her long to tidy the kitchen. When that was done, she took herself off to bed.

Bessie’s sleep was restless, filled with dreams about missing rings and pint glasses full of poison. When she woke up just before six, she was happy to get out of bed and ready for the day.

“You could have porridge,” she told herself as she walked down the stairs. She shook her head. She was too tired and out of sorts for porridge. Instead, she made herself some toast and covered it in butter and honey. Then she picked up an apple and took it with her on her morning walk. When she got back to her cottage, she sat down with a book of logic puzzles and did her best to concentrate on working out the solution to a particularly difficult puzzle. When that proved impossible, she flipped back to the easier puzzles she’d skipped at the beginning of the book and worked through a few simple ones. That was enough to fill the time until she needed to meet Andrew and Helen.

Andrew was grinning ear to ear when Bessie joined him and Helen at Helen’s car.

“We’ve done it again,” she said happily.

Andrew sighed. “I really must work on my poker face,” he said.

Bessie knew better than to ask any questions. Andrew wouldn’t want to tell her anything before he shared it with the entire group. Instead, in the car, they talked about breakfast foods and why coffee was so essential in the morning. Helen parked at The Seaview a short while later.

“I’m going to go and do some shopping while you’re having your meeting,” she said as they got out of the car. “Ring me when you’re finished.”

“Thank you,” Bessie said.

Andrew set off across the car park at a brisk pace. Bessie rushed to catch up with him. Jasper waved from behind the reception desk as they walked into the building.

“Penthouse,” Jasper said, putting his hand over the receiver as he spoke. “Breakfast pastries.”

“You’re the best,” Bessie replied.

Jasper winked at her and then went back to his phone conversation. “Madam, I do understand what you’re saying, but I simply do not have a booking for you for next month. Are you certain you booked The Seaview in Ramsey on the Isle of Man?”

As Bessie walked away, the next part of the conversation made her laugh.

“No, this is not the Isle of Wight. You’ve rung the Isle of Man.”

“Poor Jasper,” Bessie said. “I suspect the Isle of Wight isn’t the only other place in the world that has a hotel called The Seaview.”

Hugh was sitting behind a plate full of pastries when they walked into the conference room. He looked at Andrew and grinned.

“We did it,” he said happily.

Andrew frowned. “I’m going to hide my face behind a giant cinnamon roll when the others get here.”

John and Doona arrived a few minutes later. True to his word, Andrew picked up his cinnamon roll and took a huge bite as they greeted everyone. He was still eating the large pastry when Harry and Charles arrived.

“It’s good news,” Charles said as Andrew took a sip of his tea.

“It is good news,” Andrew replied. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but Scott has been cooperating with the investigation.”

“And how much does Scott know?” Doona asked.

“Jennifer is still working through that. Thus far, Scott has admitted to being the person who put the sedative in Gareth’s drink, at least.”

“How did she get him to admit to that?” Charles asked.

“She followed our suggestion and hinted that new evidence suggested that the sedative might have killed Gareth. Apparently, when she said as much to Scott, he got very upset. When she asked him what was wrong, he said that he’d been promised that it was just a bit of harmless fun.”

“Harmless fun?” Doona echoed. “A man was murdered.”

“But according to Scott that wasn’t anything to do with him. He was just supposed to put a sedative into someone’s drink. Stan and Andrea gave him the drugs and told him to add it to a stranger’s drink, and then they’d all laugh as that person seemingly got really drunk after just a single drink.”

“Not funny,” Harry said.

“No, of course not, but Scott said Andrea told him that she and Stan did that sort of thing all the time. And she told him that lock-ins were the perfect place for it, because everyone was there with friends, so whoever they drugged would have someone to make certain he or she got home safely.”

“Except Gareth didn’t get home safely,” Bessie said sadly.

“Jennifer said that Scott seemed shocked when she suggested that Stan and Andrea had murdered Gareth. He kept saying that it was all supposed to be a bit of a joke. When Jennifer pointed out that by drugging Gareth he’d made him the perfect victim, she said Scott started to cry.”

“I hope she’s keeping Scott somewhere where he can’t talk to any of the others,” Harry said.

“He’s been arrested and is being held while Jennifer questions the others.”

“Scott was supposed to choose someone at random?” Doona asked.

Andrew nodded. “And he told Jennifer that he didn’t even make a conscious decision, he just dumped the sedative into one of the glasses on the bar when he had a chance.”

“Poor Gareth,” Bessie said.

“Does Jennifer believe that that is all that Scott knows?” Harry asked.

“At this point, she thinks that she’s learned as much from him as she can. She suspects that, once he starts thinking about things again, he might realise that he knows more than he thought he did, but she doesn’t think he’s going to be ready to admit to that until he’s had time to think it all through.”

“Imagine realising that your sister and her boyfriend murdered someone and you set it up,” Doona said. “I feel sorry for him, even though his actions led directly to Gareth’s death.”

“We don’t know that,” Harry said. “It’s possible that someone else took advantage of the fact that Gareth was unwell to end his life. We’re assuming it was Stan and Andrea because their statements don’t match the others, but it’s still possible that someone else was behind the stabbing.”

“Well, I think it was Stan and Andrea,” Doona said.

Harry nodded. “I think it was Stan, under orders from Andrea, but I might be wrong about that.”

“Maybe Jennifer should try talking to Stan next,” Charles said. “If he hears that Scott has been talking, maybe he’ll share some new information, too.”

“Jennifer is interviewing both Andrea and Stan this morning,” Andrew said. “She also spoke to Tony last night. He didn’t have much to add, not even after he was told that Scott had admitted to being involved in what had happened to Gareth, but he did tell Jennfer that Stan and Andrea had spent a lot of the evening whispering together and ignoring the rest of them.”

“Information he didn’t share five years ago,” John said.

Andrew nodded as his phone buzzed. He read the screen and then got to his feet. “I need to ring Jennifer,” he said before he left the room.

Hugh quickly got up and began to fill another plate. Bessie couldn’t resist getting another small chocolate croissant. She also refilled her teacup before she sat back down. When Andrew returned, he was beaming.

“I’m not even going to bother to try to hide anything,” he said. “Jennifer sat Stan down and told him that Scott had confessed to adding something to Gareth’s drink the night of the murder – something that Stan had given him. Stan immediately told Jennifer that the drugs Scott had used had come from Andrea, not him. When Jennifer hinted that the drugs might have killed Gareth, she said Stan looked really relieved. After a bit of questioning, Stan finally said that he’d never meant to kill anyone, that it was supposed to be a joke.”

“He stabbed Gareth as a joke?” Harry asked.

“According to Stan, he and Andrea made a pact. They were going to stab someone as a way of permanently uniting their souls. No one was supposed to die. Stan insisted that the whole thing was all Andrea’s idea. No doubt she’ll say the opposite, but Stan’s version is that Andrea got the drugs and the knife from somewhere and came up with the plan. They got Scott to dump the drugs into a random drink. The plan was to follow the victim home and stab him or her on the street, but then Gareth went over to the booth and went to sleep. Stan told Jennifer that he wanted to scrap the whole plan at that point, but Andrea insisted that they keep going. She took the knife and went over and stabbed Gareth. Then she came back and gave Stan the knife so that he could take his turn.”

“The first strike was fatal,” Harry said.

Andrew nodded. “Apparently, when she gave Stan the knife, she told him to stab Gareth a few times in the chest and said that he was too asleep to notice. She also told him that he wasn’t going to be able to stab deeply enough to cause any real damage. Stan was foolish enough to believe her.”

“Or so he says,” Hugh said.

Andrew nodded. “Andrea’s version will probably be quite different. Jennifer is going to speak to her next.”

Harry looked around the room. “Are we all waiting here to find out what Andrea has to say?”

“I am,” Andrew said. His phone buzzed before anyone else replied. He went back out into the corridor with the device.

“That was quick,” Charles said. “I’m going to guess that Andrea isn’t talking.”

“Probably not,” Harry said. “But I think it’s safe to assume that we’ve solved the case.”

This time when Andrew returned, he was scowling.

“Andrea is denying any involvement in anything that happened that night. Jennifer is going to keep questioning her, but right now Andrea is demanding a solicitor and insisting that Stan and Scott are trying to frame her for murder.”

“The case is solved, regardless,” Harry said. “Jennifer can work out the finer details, but we all know that Andrea, Stan, and Scott worked together to kill Gareth.”

Charles nodded. “It’s quite sad that Gareth was simply a random choice,” he said. “I suggest that Jennifer take a good look at both Andrea’s and Stan’s lives since Gareth’s murder. It’s possible that one or both of them have done something similar since.”

Andrew made a note. “They’ve never been flagged as witnesses to any other murders, but if they drugged someone in a pub and then followed the person home, not killing the victim until they were some distance away, they might never have even been suspects in the investigation.”

The group talked for a while longer about the case before Harry gathered up his papers and got to his feet. “I’ll be flying back to London tomorrow. I’ll see you all next month.”

As he walked out of the room, Charles stood up. “See you next month,” he repeated before he followed Harry out.

“Take lots of pastries for Grace and Aalish,” Andrew told Hugh.

He grinned. “I will, thanks. We can share them tomorrow morning before we go to the Wildlife Park.”

John and Doona took a few pastries as well. Then they all made their way back down to the lobby. Andrew rang Helen, and he and Bessie sat in the lobby and watched people coming and going while they waited for her.

The next week was an enjoyable one for Bessie. She and Andrew did some sightseeing, some shopping, and enjoyed meals out all over the island. The day before Andrew was due to leave, he knocked on Bessie’s door quite early in the morning.

“Good morning,” she greeted him. “I hope nothing is wrong.”

He laughed. “Believe it or not, I used to get up this early every day. Nothing is wrong. Quite the opposite. Jennifer rang me last night. I almost rang you after we spoke, but it was nearly midnight, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Do you want to come in and have a cuppa?”

“Yes, please. I came over as soon as I got up, so I haven’t had any coffee or breakfast yet.”

He sat down at the table while Bessie got him a cup of tea. She made him some toast and put that in front of him, along with butter and strawberry jam. He ate a slice of toast before he started talking.

“Thanks. I needed that. Jennifer has been digging, and she’s found at least four other cases that might possibly be linked to Stan and Andrea. She found the first one by looking for cases that appeared to be random stabbings, but where the victim had some amount of drugs in his or her system. Once she found the first match, though, she discovered a link that made it easier for her to find the others.”

“A link?”

Andrew nodded. “It appears that someone has been drugged and stabbed at random every year on the anniversary of Gareth’s death.”

Bessie gasped. “But that’s horrible.”

“Jennifer has been trying to work out exactly where Stan and Andrea were on each of the occasions in question. So far, she’s been able to place them in the same pub with one victim on the night of the murder and in the same neighbourhood as another on the night he died. Stan and Andrea have both been arrested, and a team is now working on linking all of the cases and proving that Stan and Andrea were behind each of the murders.”

“And Gareth was the first?”

“Jennifer believes he was the first. She was unable to find a similar case on the date of his death in the year before he was murdered. She’s going to look back farther, but that’s a fairly low priority right now.”

Bessie nodded. “What about Scott? Did he play any part in any of the other murders?”

Andrew shook his head. “He wasn’t anywhere near where the murder took place on the first anniversary of Gareth’s death, and he has an alibi for two of the other murders. Jennifer doesn’t think he was involved in any of them.”

“I hope she can put Stan and Andrea into prison for the rest of their lives.”

“So does Jennifer. Stan has already confessed to stabbing Gareth. She hasn’t spoken to either of them about the other murders yet, but she’s hoping that Stan will be eager to share his version of events when he’s asked.”

“I’d almost feel sorry for Andrea if we weren’t talking about people being murdered.”

Andrew nodded. “We’re supposed to be going to Castle Rushen today. Do you still want to do that?”

“I’m always happy to revisit the castle, but we can do something else if you or Helen would rather.”

“Helen is excited about seeing the castle again. We’ll meet at the car at half nine.”

“Perfect.”

Bessie let him out and then sat down and spent a few minutes thinking about Gareth and his untimely death.

“At least we found the killers,” she said as she wiped away a tear. The work she was doing with the cold case unit was the most satisfying thing she’d ever done.

THE UPTON FILE

AN AUNT BESSIE COLD CASE MYSTERY

Release date: February 5, 2027

Click here to pre-order.

It’s June and time for another cold case.  This time the cold case unit has been asked to investigate a thirty-year-old murder that happened just days before Christmas.  Billy Upton had only been married for a few days before his brutal murder.  His girlfriend on the other side of the small town where they lived had been expecting an engagement ring for the holiday.

Meanwhile, another member of the unit, Charles Morris, comes to Bessie to ask for her help in another investigation.  Long before he’d become one of the world’s leading experts in missing person investigations, someone he’d cared about had disappeared.  It’s been fifty years since Mandy Montgomery simply vanished.  And Charles has been looking for her ever since.  He’s an expert at such things, but Bessie might have a few sources he never managed to find.

As Bessie and the rest of the unit try to work out what happened to Billy Upton, Bessie finds herself far more interested in her search for Mandy.  After some promising initial results, she hits a dead end, but Bessie isn’t ready to give up on either investigation in this twenty-first book in the series.

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE UPTON FILE

AN AUNT BESSIE COLD CASE MYSTERY

Release date: February 5, 2027

Click here to pre-order.

Please excuse any typos or minor errors. I have not yet completed final edits on this title.

Chapter One

Bessie was sipping tea and reading a book on a warm June morning when someone knocked on her door.

“Susan?  Hello,” Bessie said, surprised to see a woman who’d once been a regular visitor on the doorstep.

The other woman grinned.  “Surprise,” she said with a laugh.  “I came across on the ferry yesterday and I’m revisiting all of my favorite places while I’m here.  Your cottage was near the top of the list.”

“That’s very kind of you.  Please come in.  Would you like a cup of tea and some biscuits?”

Susan laughed again.  “Yes, please.  I have so many fond memories of drinking tea and eating biscuits at your table.”

Bessie stepped back to let the other woman into the cottage.  As Susan took a seat at the small kitchen table, Bessie switched the kettle back on.  While she waited for it to boil, she got out a box of her favorite chocolate-covered biscuits – a special treat for her unexpected guest.  She filled a plate with biscuits and then carried it to the table along with smaller plates for herself and her guest.  By that time the kettle had boiled, so she made tea for her guest and then topped up her own cup.

“It’s wonderful to see you again,” Bessie said as she sat back down opposite her visitor.  “How long has it been since you left the island?  I want to say ten years, but it was probably more.”

Susan nodded.  “It’s been nearly twenty years since I left the island.  I was nineteen, and I swore that I’d never come back.”

“And yet here you are.”

She shrugged.  “Yeah.”

As her guest took a sip of her tea, her eyes firmly focussed on the table in front of her, Bessie put her hand on Susan’s arm.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to talk about,” she said.

There were tears in her eyes when Susan looked up her.  “Mum isn’t well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s so weird.  We didn’t speak for the first fifteen years after I left.  We had a huge fight about me going, of course.  You know all of that.  I cried on your shoulder about it often enough.”

“You were understandably upset that your mother didn’t support your dreams.”

“She said they were crazy dreams.  She took every opportunity to drag me down and tell me that I’d never amount to anything.  And I believed her for a long time.  If you hadn’t been here, telling me otherwise, I probably would have believed that I was stupid and worthless and doomed to end up just like her, working two jobs to support kids whose fathers hadn’t wanted them.”

Bessie shook her head.  “I’m glad you didn’t believe her.”

“She was right, though,” Susan said with a chuckle.  “My dreams were crazy.  I watched too much telly and didn’t really understand the world.  I thought if I could just get off the island that everything would be different and wonderful.”

“We talked a lot about your expectations,” Bessie said, remembering long conversations around the same table.

Susan nodded.  “But I didn’t think you knew what you were talking about.  You’d lived on the island for all of your adult life.  How could you possibly know what life would be like for me in London?”

When Bessie opened her mouth to reply, Susan held up a hand. 

“I know.  I know.  You knew a great deal more than I did, and you were able to see the world without the rose-coloured glasses that I viewed everything off the island through.  You warned me that London would be expensive and that jobs might be hard to come by.  You suggested that I get more than the minimal qualifications I had.  You told me that I should get some work experience and save up some money before I left the island.  And you were right about all of those things, but I ignored you anyway.”

Bessie chuckled.  “I do hope that everything worked out in the end.”

“It did.  And looking back now, I can see that I had a great deal of luck on my side, too, although I didn’t want to believe that at the time.  When I was nineteen, I wanted to believe that everything that was happening was coming about due to my hard work and innate intelligence.”

“I remember when you came to say goodbye,” Bessie told her.  “You told me that you were going to stay with some friends from school who were at university in London.  They were going to help you get settled and find a job.”

“And they did.  They were far kinder to me than I deserved, really, even though we’d been good friends at school.  I just turned up with my suitcase and about ten pounds in loose change and they let me stay with them for over a year.”

“That was kind of them.  Were they able to help you find work?”

“Yes and no.  They both had part-time jobs while they were studying, and I was able to get part-time hours at both of the places where they worked, but I needed something full-time really unless I wanted to spend the rest of my life living with multiple flatmates, which wasn’t what I wanted.”

“What did you do, then?” Bessie asked as Susan took a bite of biscuit.

“I realized that I needed to get more qualifications.  Feel free to say I told you so,” Susan replied with a laugh.

Bessie laughed.  “I would never say that,” she said, feeling pleased that she’d given the woman good advice all those years earlier.

“I started taking classes around my two jobs.  I did that for over a year.  And then I met Jacob.”

“Oh?”

She flushed.  “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Congratulations.”

“I was working in a coffee shop, waiting tables.  He sat in my section and left a far too generous tip.  I chased after him and told him he’d made a mistake.  He laughed and told me it was very intentional.  Then he asked me to have dinner with him.”

“Goodness,” Bessie said.

“I said no,” Susan told her with a laugh.  “I told him that he couldn’t buy my time with a generous tip and then I tried to give him the money back.  He shook his head and told me that I deserved it, regardless.  And then he turned around and walked away.  I didn’t think I’d ever see him again.”

“But clearly you did,” Bessie said as Susan stopped for a sip of her drink.

“He was back the very next day.  This time he sat in someone else’s section, and he left him a very generous tip, too.  By the end of the week, everyone was fighting over getting to wait on him because he was so generous.  I went out of my way to avoid him, though.”

“Because you still thought he was trying to buy your time?”

“Because I’m an idiot,” Susan said, laughing.  “I thought he was too handsome, too sophisticated, and too rich to be genuinely interested in me.  And then one night my friends and I went to the local pub, and he was there with some of his mates.  One of my friends actually knew one of his friends, so we all ended up sitting together.  Somehow Jacob managed to sit next to me, and we started talking.  I will admit that I’d been drinking.  If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have talked to him.  That’s how convinced I was that we were all wrong for each other.”

“How long did it take him to persuade you otherwise?”

“By the end of the evening, he’d managed to talk me into having lunch with him one day the following week.  I wouldn’t agree to dinner, but lunch felt less significant.  And money was tight.  He’d offered to pay, and I didn’t want to turn down a free meal.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t agree to a fancy dinner.”

Susan laughed.  “I am, too, really.  But I would have felt guilty if he’d spent that much on me.  I felt a bit bad about lunch, because I was convinced that it was going to be our one and only date ever.”

“Instead of the first of many.”

She nodded.  “Yeah.  Exactly.  We met at a little café near my flat at midday on a Saturday.  I was supposed to be studying.  Instead, we had lunch and then sat and talked until six that evening.  Then we had dinner and kept talking until the café closed at midnight.  Jacob walked me back to my flat and slept on my couch because we didn’t want to be apart, but I wasn’t ready to sleep with him yet.  We’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.”

“How lovely.”

“He proposed just a few months later and we got married not long after that.  I sent invitations to my mother and my brother and sister, but they didn’t reply.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was upset, but not surprised.  I sent them a card that Christmas, from me and Jacob, with our new address on it.  Jacob’s family helped us buy a flat together.  They didn’t reply to that, either.”

“I’m surprised your mother didn’t at least send you a card.”

“She was hurt and angry that I’d left.  And she’d managed to convince Ted and Annie that I was a horrible person who’d abandoned my family for selfish reasons.”

“And they were too young to know otherwise.”

Susan nodded.  “Annie was only eight when I left.  Ted was ten.  Mum told them all sorts of horrible stories about me.  After that Christmas card, I didn’t bother to try to keep in touch.  Jacob and I were busy, anyway.  I ended up earning a degree in mathematics and got a job at an accountancy firm.  Jacob was already working for his father’s company when we’d met.  Once I’d finished school, we decided to start trying for a baby.  That didn’t go as easily as we’d hoped, but we finally had our first thirteen years ago.”

“Congratulations.”

Susan grinned.  “Thanks.  Jason is amazing.  He’s a lot like his father, which is a very good thing.  Our daughter, Sarah, is ten and she’s exactly like me, which is not such a good thing.”

Susan’s smile contrasted with her words.

“I’m sure they’re both wonderful children.”

“They are both wonderful children.  I quit working when I finally fell pregnant the first time.  It was a high-risk pregnancy, and we didn’t want to take any chances.  All these years later, I still haven’t gone back to work, although Jacob and I keep talking about me looking for something at some point in the future.”

“I’m sure the children appreciate having you at home.”

“They do and so does Jacob, but I’m starting to feel as if I want to return to work.  But that’s a problem for another time.  Right now, all of my problems are on the Isle of Man.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t speak to my mother for fifteen years.  As I said, I invited her to my wedding, but she never replied.  About five years ago, I got a letter in the post from her.  She’d sent it to the address where I’d stayed when I’d first moved to London, the flat I’d shared with my two friends from the island.  Luckily for her, one of them was actually still living there and was kind enough to pass the letter on to me.”

“I thought you said you’d sent her your new address after you and Jacob got married.”

“I had, but apparently she never even opened the card. She was surprised when I told her that I was married.  And she was even more surprised to find out that she had two grandchildren.”

“Happily surprised, I hope.”

Susan nodded.  “The letter was actually full of apologies for the way that she’d treated me.  She said she’d been doing a lot of thinking about her life and the choices she’d made and that she’d realised that she’d made a lot of mistakes.  And then she asked me to ring her so that we could talk, adult to adult, and maybe find a way to reconcile.”

“Good for her,” Bessie said.

“I rang her that evening.  We talked for hours.  She apologised over and over again for just about my entire childhood.  Then she let me talk to Ted and then Annie.  They were less apologetic, but I really enjoyed getting caught up on their lives.  A few months later, they all came over to London to visit me.”

“How did that go?” Bessie asked as Susan paused for a bite of biscuit.

“It went better than I was expecting.  We paid for them to stay in a hotel because we don’t have room for three extra people in our flat.  None of them had ever been to London before, so we took them all over the city and showed them the sights.  It was nice.  Nicer than I thought it was going to be when I’d first invited them.”

“I’m glad.”

“That was nearly five years ago.  After that visit, I talked to Mum on the phone nearly every week, but she never wanted to come back to London again.  And I couldn’t bring myself to come back here.  Jacob and I talked about taking a family trip to the island, but I wasn’t ready to come back.  I don’t know why, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“But now you’re here.”

“Yeah, because Annie rang me the other day to tell me about Mum.  They aren’t giving her much time, really.  I dropped everything and booked myself a flight before I could think too much.  And here I am.  I spent hours with Mum last night after I got here.  She has a number of doctor’s appointments this morning, but I’m planning to spend the afternoon with her.  Jacob and the kids will be arriving on Saturday so they can spend some time with her, too.  And I woke up this morning feeling as if I needed to escape to Aunt Bessie’s in the same way I did when I was a teenager in my mother’s house.”

“I’m glad I was home when you knocked.”

“So am I,” Susan told her.  She took a sip of her tea and then slowly shook her head.  “I probably shouldn’t have expected you to be here, really.  Mum told me that you’re involved in some sort of Scotland Yard police unit now.”

Bessie nodded.  “I’m part of a rather unusual cold case unit, yes.”

“I’m fascinated.  Of course, Mum kept me informed about all of the murder investigations you were involved in over the years.  But this is something very different.”

“It is very different.  We meet monthly, for a fortnight at a time and each month we consider a different cold case.”

“Are they always murders?”

Bessie shook her head.  “We have considered missing person cases as well.”

“According to Mum, you’ve solved at least a few of your cases.”

“We don’t talk about our success rate, but a few of the cases we’ve considered did get some publicity.  We solved those cases.”  And every other one, but I can’t tell you that, Bessie added silently.

“Since Mum has lived in Laxey for her entire life, she knows a lot about the other members of the unit,” Susan said.  “She told me all about John Rockwell when he moved to the island and then was put in charge of the police station here.  She told me that his wife hated the island and left him to move back to wherever they’d come from.  Then she got remarried and went off to Africa with her new husband.  According to my mother, she left their kids with Inspector Rockwell and then died of a fever in Africa, leaving him to raise the children on his own.”

“All of that is pretty accurate,” Bessie said.

“Mum also told me that Inspector Rockwell recently got engaged to Doona Moore, who used to work at the police station until she inherited a fortune.”

“I don’t think she inherited a fortune, but she did inherit some money and property when her husband passed away.”

“I hope the inspector isn’t marrying her for her money.”

Bessie almost laughed.  “If you knew John and Doona, you wouldn’t worry.” 

Bessie knew that the couple was still working out their prenuptial agreement, but most of the disagreements they’d been having had to do with John wanting Doona to be less generous than she wanted to be. 

“And Mum knows Hugh Watterson, of course.  According to her, he’s kind and charming and a very hard-working young constable.”

Bessie nodded.  “He works incredibly hard as a constable, and he’s taking classes toward a degree.  He and his wife, Grace, have two small children, too.”

“Mum said that the man who started the cold case unit looked really handsome in the photo that was in the local paper.”

Bessie felt herself blush.  “Andrew Cheatham is very handsome,” she admitted.

“What about the other two men in the unit?  Mum said one looked scary and the other looked sad.”

“Harry Blake used to work in the Homicide division at Scotland Yard.  He’s seen the worst sort of human behavior, and I think that’s reflected in his eyes.  They can look a bit scary, but he’s a good person.  Charles Morris is an expert in missing persons.  And he does often look sad, but he’s kind and very smart as well.”

Susan nodded.  “Is that everyone in the unit, then?”

“That’s everyone.”

“When do you meet next?”

“Actually, we’re having our next meeting tomorrow afternoon.  The members from London will be arriving either today or tomorrow morning.  Andrew will be coming on the ferry, because he’ll be travelling with his daughter, Helen, who is moving to the island.”

“The daughter of the man who started the unit is moving to the island?  Do I want to ask how that happened?”

Bessie laughed.  “Helen travelled to the island with her father a few times and fell in love with it,” she explained, leaving out Andrew’s health concerns.

“I wouldn’t have believed that twenty years ago, but now that I’m visiting, I can see a lot more of the island’s charm than I did when I was nineteen.”

“For some people, it simply feels as if it’s home.”

Susan nodded.  “I can understand that.  I can’t imagine I’d ever persuade Jacob and the children to move here, but I can understand why some people would visit and fall in love.  Is Helen moving to the island soon?”

“I believe she’ll be staying once she arrives tomorrow morning.”

“I have to say, when I first started talking to Mum again, I took a look at house prices on the island.  She’s still renting the same little council house I grew up in.  I was shocked when I saw house prices on the island.  Is Helen buying or just renting?”

“She’s hoping to buy, but she might buy Doona’s house from her after Doona and John get married.”

“That’s what I need, a friend who wants to sell me their house for a fair price.”

“Do you want to buy a house on the island?”

Susan shrugged.  “Jacob and I were talking about buying a little house for Mum.  We’d own it but let her stay there rent-free.  We were still discussing our options when she fell ill, though.  I don’t think we’ll do it now.  I don’t think she’s going to be with us long enough for it to be worth the bother.”

Bessie got up and got a box of tissues for the woman.  As Susan wiped her eyes, Bessie topped up their drinks.

“Sorry.  It’s all quite overwhelming, really.  Mum’s illness, being back on the island, being away from Jacob and the children.  Just being here, in your cottage, is strange and wonderful, but also very emotional for me.”

“How are Annie and Ted?” Bessie asked.  “They both spent a night or two here over the years, but not much more than that.”

“I love them both, but they’re both a lot like Mum.  Neither of them has any real ambition to do anything with their lives.  Ted left school with only a few qualifications, and he’s been bouncing around from one low-paying job to another ever since.  Annie did a bit better at school, but then she got married and had three kids.  She’s a stay-at-home mum to them while her husband works two jobs and is never at home.  She seems happy with the arrangement, though.”

“Is Ted happy?”

Susan shrugged.  “He doesn’t complain, but he doesn’t seem happy, either.  Jacob and I have talked about trying to help him and Annie, but we aren’t certain how best to do so.”

“What about…”

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation.

ALSO BY DIANA XARISSA

The Isle of Man Cozy Mysteries

Aunt Bessie Assumes

Aunt Bessie Believes

Aunt Bessie Considers

Aunt Bessie Decides

Aunt Bessie Enjoys

Aunt Bessie Finds

Aunt Bessie Goes

Aunt Bessie’s Holiday

Aunt Bessie Invites

Aunt Bessie Joins

Aunt Bessie Knows

Aunt Bessie Likes

Aunt Bessie Meets

Aunt Bessie Needs

Aunt Bessie Observes

Aunt Bessie Provides

Aunt Bessie Questions

Aunt Bessie Remembers

Aunt Bessie Solves

Aunt Bessie Tries

Aunt Bessie Understands

Aunt Bessie Volunteers

Aunt Bessie Wonders

Aunt Bessie’s X-Ray

Aunt Bessie Yearns

Aunt Bessie Zeroes In

Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Collections

ABC

DEF

GHI

JKL

MNO

PQR

STU

VWX

The Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mysteries

The Adams File

The Bernhard File

The Carter File

The Durand File

The Evans File

The Flowers File

The Goodman File

The Howard File

The Irving File

The Jordan File

The Keller File

The Lawrence File

The Moss File

The Newton File

The Olson File

The Phelps File

The Quinn File

The Richards File

The Snow File

The Tate File

The Upton File

The Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mystery Collections

ABC

DEF

GHI

JKL

The Agnes Hale Book Club Cozy Mysteries

Alchemy and Allegories

Bats and Biographies

Curses and Classics

Darkness and Dramas

The Margaret and Mona Ghostly Cozies

Murder at Atkins Farm

Murder at Barker Stadium

Murder at Collins Airfield

Murder at Dreeym Gorrym Point

Murder at Edgewater Lane

Murder at Fairleads Fort

Murder at Greyson Cottage

Murder at Hooper Lodge

The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Mysteries

Arrivals and Arrests

Boats and Bad Guys

Cars and Cold Cases

Dogs and Danger

Encounters and Enemies

Friends and Frauds

Guests and Guilt

Hop-tu-Naa and Homicide

Invitations and Investigations

Joy and Jealousy

Kittens and Killers

Letters and Lawsuits

Marsupials and Murder

Neighbors and Nightmares

Orchestras and Obsessions

Proposals and Poison

Questions and Quarrels

Roses and Revenge

Secrets and Suspects

Theaters and Threats

Umbrellas and Undertakers

Visitors and Victims

Weddings and Witnesses

Xylophones and X-Rays

Yachts and Yelps

Zephyrs and Zombies

Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Collections

ABC

DEF

GHI

JKL

MNO

PQR

STU

VWX

The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novellas

The Appleton Case

The Bennett Case

The Chalmers Case

The Donaldson Case

The Ellsworth Case

The Fenton Case

The Green Case

The Hampton Case

The Irwin Case

The Jackson Case

The Kingston Case

The Lawley Case

The Moody Case

The Norman Case

The Osborne Case

The Patrone Case

The Quinton Case

The Rhodes Case

The Somerset Case

The Tanner Case

The Underwood Case

The Vernon Case

The Walters Case

The Xanders Case

The Young Case

The Zachery Case

Markham Sisters Novella Collections

ABCD

EFGH

IJKL

MNOP

QRSTU

VWXYZ

The Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thrillers

The Armstrong Assignment

The Blake Assignment

The Carlson Assignment

The Doyle Assignment

The Everest Assignment

The Farnsley Assignment

The George Assignment

The Hamilton Assignment

The Ingram Assignment

The Jacobs Assignment

The Knox Assignment

The Lock Assignment

The Miles Assignment

The Nichols Assignment

The Owens Assignment

The Palmer Assignment

The Quayle Assignment

The Ross Assignment

The Smith Assignment

The Troutman Assignment

The Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Collections

ABC

DEF

GHI

The Sunset Lodge Mysteries

The Body in the Annex

The Body in the Boathouse

The Body in the Cottage

The Body in the Dunk Tank

The Body in the Elevator

The Body in the Fountain

The Body in the Greenhouse

The Body in the Hallway

The Body in the Igloo

The Body in the Junkyard

The Body in the Kayak

The Body in the Laboratory

The Body in the Maze

The Lady Elizabeth Cozies in Space

Alibis in Alpha Sector

Bodies in Beta Sector

Corpses in Chaos Sector

Danger in Delta Sector

Enemies in Energy Sector

Fires in Flux Sector

Gambling in Galaxy Sector

Homicide in Helix Sector

The Midlife Crisis Mysteries

Anxious in Nevada

Bewildered in Florida

Confused in Pennsylvania

Dazed in Colorado

Exhausted in Ohio

Frustrated in Massachusetts

Grumpy in Minnesota

Hopeful in Texas

Interrogated in California

The Isle of Man Romances

Island Escape

Island Inheritance

Island Heritage

Island Christmas

The Later in Life Love Stories

Second Chances

Second Act

Second Thoughts

Second Degree

Second Best

Second Nature

Second Place

Second Dance

Second Opinion

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diana started self-publishing in 2013 and over a decade later she now has over a hundred books available for readers. Writing remains her passion and she has no plans to stop writing in the foreseeable future.

Diana grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and earned a history degree from Allegheny College. She met her husband, an Englishman, while living and working in Washington, DC. Following their marriage, she moved to Derbyshire. A short while later, the happy couple moved to the Isle of Man.

During their years on the island, Diana and her husband welcomed two children, and Diana completed a master’s degree in the history of the island. In 2008, the family made the decision to move to the US. Now empty-nesters, Diana and her husband are living in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, and contemplating moving somewhere that doesn’t get snow.

Diana also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and Young Adult fiction as D.X. Dunn.

She is always happy to hear from readers. You can write to her at:

Diana Xarissa Dunn

PO Box 72

Clarence, NY 14031.

Find Diana at: DianaXarissa.com

E-mail: Diana@dianaxarissa.com