Aunt Bessie Finds (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 6) (22 page)

She held out the invitation towards the woman.
 
After a moment, Ruth reached a hand out
through the crack and took it from her.
 

“I hope to see you Saturday,” Bessie said cheerfully as the hand
snaked back inside the flat.
 

Bessie could just make out the “maybe” that was said before the
door slammed shut in her face.

“Lovely,” Doona muttered from behind Bessie.

“Maybe she’s just lonely,” Bessie suggested.

“Maybe everyone leaves her alone for a reason,” Doona shot back.

Bessie laughed and then knocked firmly on the door to number eight.
 
After a few moments, the door swung
open and Bessie blinked at the plump and friendly-looking woman who was now
standing in the doorway.

“Oh, good evening, I’m Bessie
Cubbon
,”
she began.
 
“I’ve just moved into
number ten and I’m having a housewarming on Saturday.
 
I do hope you can make it.”

She handed the woman the invitation with her name on it.
 
The woman took it and looked it over for
a moment, giving Bessie time to study her.
 
She had to be in her sixties, at least, and she was very generously
built.
 
Her hair was grey and pulled
back into an untidy bun at the back of her head.
 
Her clothes were the sort that could be
bought at any shop on the high street in the section marked “plus sizes,” but
they were reasonably
well-fitting
and looked clean and
neat.

“So, who’s been telling you about me, then?” the woman demanded now
in a thick Scottish accent.

“Bertie was kind enough to supply everyone’s names,” Bessie
explained.
 
“And I’m friends with
Bahey and Howard as well.”

“Aye, so you’ll be knowing everyone’s business before you’ve even
unpacked, won’t you?”

Bessie shrugged.
 
“I’m
not really interested in prying into people’s private lives,” she said.
 
“I just want to get to know my new
neighbours
.”

The woman nodded.
 
“Well, I’d be delighted to come to your little gathering.
 
Especially if Bertie is going to be
there.”
 
She looked at Bessie for a
moment and then narrowed her eyes.
 
“You aren’t going to be interested in my Bertie, are you?
 
He’s too young for you, anyway.”

Bessie laughed.
  
“I’m not interested in Bertie,” she assured the woman, whose bright
smile had now disappeared.
 
“I’m
quite happy on my own.”

The woman nodded slowly.
 
“Well, then, I’ll see you Saturday,” she said, slowly shutting her door.

Bessie turned away before the door was shut in her face.

“My, what interesting
neighbours
you
have,” Doona muttered, as they headed for the next door.

Bessie laughed and knocked on Bertie’s door.
 
After a moment she looked at Doona and
shrugged.
 
“Maybe he’s gone out,”
she said.
 
She waited a moment
longer and then sighed.
 
“I’ll just
slip his invitation under the door.”

Having done so, the pair crossed to the lift and headed down to the
ground floor.
 
Nigel Green was still
sitting behind the small desk in the foyer.
 

“Ah, Ms.
Cubbon
, I hope you’re settling
in okay,” he said, giving her a huge smile.

“I am, thanks,” Bessie replied coolly.

“And who is this?” he asked, turning towards Doona and extending
his hand.

“I’m Doona Moore, one of Bessie’s closest friends,” Doona replied,
taking the offered hand reluctantly.

“Well, any friend of Bessie’s is definitely a friend of mine,” he
said, raising
Doona’s
hand to his lips.
 

Doona pulled her hand away just before it reached his mouth.
 
“Yeah, whatever,” she muttered.

“I have an invitation for you and your mother for Saturday,” Bessie
told the man, handing him the envelope.
 
“I do hope you’ll be able to make it.”

“Will you be there?” he asked Doona, winking at her.

“I’m hoping to be there with my boyfriend,” Doona replied.

Nigel frowned and then shrugged.
 
“I might make it,” he said
noncommittally.

“Well, you and your mother are both very welcome,” Bessie said,
putting emphasis on the ‘your mother’ part of the sentence.
 
She was very eager to meet the woman for
some reason.

“We’ll see,” was all that she received as a reply.
 

Bessie headed past him now, down the hallway between the ground
floor flats.
 
Outside the first
flat, there was small, framed mirror hanging next to the door.
 

“I wonder if this is the mirror that Bahey says keeps moving,”
Bessie whispered to Doona.

“It doesn’t look terribly exciting,” Doona replied, glancing at it.

Bessie shrugged and knocked on the door to flat number one.

“One minute,” someone called from inside.
 
A moment later the door swung open and
Bessie drew a deep breath.
 
The man
who stood looking out at her was one of the most attractive older men she’d
ever seen.
 
He must have been
somewhere in his sixties, but his silver hair and artfully arranged wrinkles
simply made him look distinguished rather than old.
 

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise,” he said in a lilting Irish
accent.
 
He gave Bessie a perfect
smile.
 
“Two lovely young ladies on
my doorstep.
 
To what do I owe this
unexpected pleasure?”

Bessie opened and then closed her mouth, for a moment unable to
speak.
 

“Bessie’s just moved into the building,” Doona spoke for her.
 
“She’s having a housewarming on Saturday
and wanted to invite all of her new
neighbours
.”

“Oh, how delightful,” the man said, clapping his hands
together.
 
“I’ve always thought it
was a shame we didn’t do more as a building.
 
It will be such fun to get together with
everyone.”

Bessie gave herself a mental shake and then handed the man his
invitation.
 
“I do hope you can make
it,” she said politely.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” he assured her.
 
“I never miss a party.”
 
He gave Bessie a wink and then slowly
shut the door.
 
Bessie turned to
Doona and surprised herself by giggling.

“He’s gorgeous,” she gasped.

“And you’re not his type,” Doona replied dryly.
 

“But he’s made the whole building feel much more scenic,” Bessie
replied with another giggle.

No one was home in number two or number three, so Bessie simply
slipped their invitations under their doors.
 
At number six, she was happy to finally
find someone at home.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked in an Irish accent that made
Bessie smile.

“I’ve just stopped by to invite you to my housewarming on
Saturday,” she explained as she studied the other woman.

“Oh, how lovely of you,”
Tammara
replied.
 
She, too, looked to be
somewhere in her sixties, with long grey hair and matching eyes.
 
She was slender and very elegantly
dressed.
 
“It would be nice if the
whole building was friendlier,” she told Bessie.
 
“I do feel rather isolated down here in
my corner sometimes.”

“Well, I’m doing my best,” Bessie replied.

Bessie couldn’t resist knocking on the door to number five, even
though everyone said it was empty.
 
She waited a moment, listening intently.
 
After several seconds, she was sure she
heard movement within the flat.
 
She
knocked again, but this time the only sound she heard was from the foyer.

“Aye, that flat’s empty, you know,” Nigel called from the entrance
to the hall.
 
“No point in knocking
there, or on my door, either.
 
Mother will be dead to the world by this time of night.”

Bessie figured she wouldn’t get any more snooping done with Nigel
watching, so she gave him a bright smile and then she and Doona headed towards
the lift.
 
Bessie thought about
asking him about the missing man, but he disappeared into his own flat before
she managed to do so.

“Well, that was interesting,”
Doona
said
as they walked back into Bessie’s flat.
 
“But I’m going to have to call it a night.
 
I have to work tomorrow.”

Bessie was sorry to see her friend leave, but she knew
Doona’s
job demanded a great deal of her.
 
Doona needed to be well rested,
especially with Inspector Kelly in charge.

“Are you turning in now?” Doona asked as Bessie showed her out.

“I think I might just pop over to Howard’s for a quick glass of
wine,” Bessie replied.

Chapter Ten

Howard was happy to pour Bessie a glass of wine.

“Come and sit down and tell us what you’ve been up to,” he said,
waving towards the comfortable looking sitting area past his kitchen.

Bessie sank down in one of the overstuffed chairs and grinned.
 
“This is very comfortable,” she said.

“I love this furniture,” Bahey told her friend.
 
“I spend most of my spare time over
here, sitting on Howard’s lovely furniture.”

“And all this time I thought it was me that was the draw,” Howard
said, making a sad face.

Bahey flushed.
 
“You
know what I mean,” she scolded the man.

He laughed.
 
“I do,” he
agreed.
 
“And I know it is wonderful
furniture as well, so I suppose I wouldn’t blame you if it were part of the attraction.”

The trio drank wine and chatted about nothing much for several
minutes.
 
“I suppose I should get
back to my flat,” Bessie said after a while.
 
“I’m not sure how well I’ll sleep.
 
The first night in a different place is
always strange.”

Bahey nodded.
 
“It took
me a few weeks to feel comfortable here,” she told Bessie.
 
“And now, with all the odd things going
on, I’m not sleeping well again.”

“Has anything else happened since we last talked?” Bessie asked.

“Aside from hearing noises from the flat below me, not really,” Bahey
said.
 
“Although the mirror has
disappeared again.
 
It was outside
my flat for about a week and now it’s gone.”

Bessie described the mirror she’d seen outside of Simon’s
flat.
 
“Is that the one you’re
talking about?” she asked.

“It is indeed,” Bahey confirmed.

“Then I’ve seen it,” Bessie told her.
 
“It’s outside flat number one at the
moment.”

Bahey shrugged.
 
“I’m
sure Simon enjoys having it there,” she said.
 
“If I had his gorgeous face, I’d look in
the mirror all the time.”

Bessie smiled.
 
“He is
very attractive,” she agreed.

“Should I be getting jealous?” Howard asked, giving
Bahey’s
hand a squeeze.

“Not even a little bit,” Bahey answered, blushing.

“Have you heard any more about the mystery man?” Howard asked.

Bessie shook her head.
 
“I gather he left Noble’s and disappeared.
 
I assume you haven’t seen him around
since?”

Both Bahey and Howard shook their heads.
 

“No sign of him,” Bahey said.

“Thank you for the wine,” Bessie said, standing up
reluctantly.
 
The chair truly was
incredibly comfortable.
 
“I’d better
go before I fall asleep in your chair.”

“Oh, but I have a little present for you,” Bahey said.
 
She followed Bessie to the door.
 
“I’ll just get it for you.”

Bessie tried to protest, but Bahey waved her words away.
 
“It isn’t really a present so much as an
experiment,” Bahey told Bessie as she unlocked the door to her flat.
 
Bessie waited in the hallway as Bahey
rushed inside and then back again.
 
She handed Bessie a bag with something flat inside of it.

Bessie peeked into the bag and then laughed.
 
“A welcome mat?”

“I thought you could put it outside your door and we could see if
it disappears like mine did,” Bahey told her.
 
She flushed.
 
“I will get you a proper housewarming
gift, too.
 
This is just a little
something.”

“It’s lovely,” Bessie said.
 
She pulled the mat from the bag and smiled.
 
The dark mat was covered with a bright
floral pattern that spelled out “Welcome.”
 
While it wasn’t anything Bessie would have bought for herself, its
cheery
colours
were perfect for the somewhat dimly
lit hallway.

“Anyway, I don’t want any presents,” Bessie told Bahey
sternly.
 
“This is wonderful as it’s
bright and cheerful and will be an interesting test of what’s going on here,
but nothing else, okay?”

Bahey shrugged.
 
“Do you
have plans for the rest of the week?” she asked.

“I thought I’d spend tomorrow playing tourist in my new town.
 
On Friday, I need to get the shopping
done for Saturday in the morning and then I’m going to a barbeque in the
afternoon.
 
That will probably run
into the evening as well.”

“Would you like a ride to the shops on Friday?” Bahey offered.
 
“We usually go out to the
ShopFast
in
Onchan
at least once
a week anyway.
 
They have a bigger
selection than the one down here.”

“That would be wonderful,” Bessie told her.
 
They agreed to meet at nine and then
Bessie opened the door to her flat.
 
Before she headed inside, she carefully put the mat in front of the door
with the “Welcome” facing out to greet visitors.
 

Inside her flat, she made sure everything was tidied and put away
from dinner and then made her way into her bedroom.
 
She’d already unpacked the two suitcases
of clothes that she’d brought; now she changed into her favourite
nightgown.
 
In the loo, she brushed
her hair and teeth and washed her face before heading back into the
bedroom.
 

She’d only brought a single box of books for now, so she quickly
flipped through it until she found something that appealed to her.
 
She crawled into bed and adjusted the
small reading lamp she’d brought.
 
After
only a single chapter, she decided to try to get some sleep.
 
In the dark, she found herself listening
carefully to all the unfamiliar noises that surrounded her.
 
Someone was running water somewhere in
the building and at one point she was sure she could hear footsteps in the
hallway outside her flat.

It felt like hours to Bessie before she finally drifted off to
sleep.
 
It was a restless and
interrupted sleep as well, as doors opened and closed outside her flat and
below her.
 
She could hear traffic
noises from the car park below her and perhaps even from the promenade that
wasn’t terribly far away.
 
By the
time six o’clock arrived, Bessie was ready to give up on trying to sleep.
 
She took a quick shower and then, once
dressed, looked out the window at a lovely sunrise.
 
A morning walk along the promenade and
Douglas beach would no doubt improve her mood.

She pulled her door open and stopped short as she met her own eyes
in the mirror that was now hanging in the hall outside her door.
 
She blinked and then reached out and ran
her hand down the frame.
 
It
appeared to be the exact same mirror that she’d seen hanging outside Simon’s
door the previous evening.
 
Shaking
her head, Bessie turned and locked her door.
 
She took a few steps and then stopped as
her tired brain registered another anomaly.
 
Her brightly patterned mat was right
where she’d left it, but the word “Welcome” was now facing inwards, as if
welcoming Bessie into the hallway rather than welcoming her guests to her flat.

Bessie frowned and continued down the hall towards the lift.
 
She was certain she’d put the mat the
other way around and she knew that that mirror hadn’t been there when she’d
gone to bed the night before.
 
Perhaps Bahey was right.
 
Perhaps
there was something mysterious going on at
Seaview
Terrace.

In spite of feeling slightly out of place on the unfamiliar beach,
Bessie greatly enjoyed her walk.
 
Although the beach was strange, the sea was an old friend and Bessie felt
invigorated by the fresh salty air that she filled her lungs with as she
strolled.
 
The beach was still very
quiet at this hour, though Bessie did nod and smile at a few other earlier
morning walkers.

When she went back into her building, she peeked down the corridor
on the ground floor.
 
The mirror
that had been outside Simon’s flat was missing.
 
Back
upstairs,
Bessie turned her welcome mat back around and then found a pen in the handbag
she’d taken with her.
 
She took down
the mirror and quickly made a small mark in a corner on the back of the mirror’s
frame.
 
She rehung it and then let
herself into her flat.
 

She’d had toast and tea before her walk now she brewed herself some
coffee, feeling as if the extra jolt of caffeine would be welcome after her
restless night.
 
As her time in
Douglas was meant to be a holiday, Bessie decided to spend the day playing at
being a tourist.
 
She headed back
down to the promenade and bought a ticket for the horse trams.
 
She joined several families as they rode
up and down the street behind “Matthew,” who didn’t seem the least bit bothered
by the weight he was pulling.
 

Bessie briefly considered a short trip on the electric railway, but
as that would take her out of Douglas, it didn’t appeal.
 
Instead, she made her way into the city
centre
, spending
hours
window
shopping and buying herself tea at one of the town’s small cafés.
 
An hour in the new bookstore rounded out
the day nicely and Bessie returned to her flat feeling almost as if she were on
a proper holiday.

She fixed herself a light meal, still feeling quite full after her
afternoon tea, and then settled in to read until she was tired enough to
sleep.
 
Her sleep was restless, as
she still hadn’t become used to the strange noises in her new home.
 
By six the next morning she was ready to
be up and about.
 

After her walk, while she waited for Bahey, she made a shopping
list of everything she thought she would need for the party the next
afternoon.
 
She would have snacks
and drinks, she decided, rather than proper food.
 
That way it didn’t matter if people
arrived all at once or just a few at a time.
 
By the time Bahey knocked on her door,
she had the list finished.

“Ready to go?” Bahey asked her friend.

“I am,” Bessie replied.
 
She followed Bahey down to the car park and Bahey led her to Howard’s
car, where he was waiting.

“Bahey said you’re getting ready for Saturday,” he said after
they’d exchanged greetings.
 
“Are
you going to be able to get everything you need at
ShopFast
?”

Bessie shrugged.
 
“I
hope so,” she replied.

“Well, I haven’t anything better to do today, so if you need to
stop anywhere else, just let me know,” Howard told her.

The drive was a short one and the trio split up in the store, each
with their own lists.
 
Bessie smiled
as she watched Bahey pull a paper list from her bag, while Howard headed off,
presumably with nothing but a mental list to shop from.

An hour later, Bessie met the others at the tills.
 
“I think I got everything I need,” she
told Bahey.
 
“I hope so, anyway,
since I’m tired of shopping and probably broke as well.”

Bahey laughed.
 
“Well,
your trolley is just about overflowing, so I guess that means it’s time to stop
shopping.”

For a moment Bessie wasn’t sure that everything was going to fit in
Howard’s boot, but he managed to squeeze it all in.
 
They made the short drive back to the
apartment building and then Howard insisted on carrying everything in for
Bessie and Bahey.
 

“You two go on up and get the kettle on,” he said cheerfully.
 
“I’ll be done before it’s boiled.”

“Should we do tea in your flat or mine?” Bahey asked Bessie as they
made their way into the building.

“Oh, let’s do mine,”
Bessie
replied.

With Howard following with some of Bessie’s shopping, they made
their way into the lift and up to the first floor.
 
Bessie quickly opened her door and went
inside, with Howard following, with the heavy bags.

Bessie filled her kettle with water and switched it on.
 
While Howard made several trips back and
forth to his car, Bessie worked on putting away the shopping he’d brought up
for her.
 
Then she piled biscuits
onto a plate and pulled out her tea things.
 
By the time Howard had finished by
bringing up the handful of bags that were his and
Bahey’s
,
the kettle had boiled.
 
Bessie
filled the teapot and set it on the table.