Aunt Bessie Finds (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 6) (29 page)

Back at her flat, she fixed herself some more tea and then packed
up her notebooks and pencils, ready for another day at the museum.
 
A knock on her door interrupted her.

“Bahey, what’s wrong?” Bessie asked when she’d opened the door to
her friend.
 
Bahey was wearing a
robe that appeared to have been pulled hastily over her
pyjamas
.
 
Her hair hadn’t been combed, and she
gave Bessie a desperate look.

“It’s Howard,” she said.
 
“He’s missing.”

Chapter Fourteen

“What do you mean ‘missing’?” Bessie asked as she pulled her friend
into her flat.

“He doesn’t answer his door,” Bahey replied, wringing her hands
together.

“Maybe he’s asleep or busy,” Bessie suggested.

Bahey flushed.
 
“I have
a key,” she told Bessie.
 
“Just for
emergencies, like.
 
Anyway, I let
myself in and he’s not there.”

“And he didn’t tell you he was going anywhere?”

“No, I know he’s been worried about his daughter, but he isn’t
meant to be visiting her until October.”

“Maybe he changed his mind and headed across early?”

Bahey shrugged.
 
“He
would have left me a note,” she said.
 
“I don’t want to ring his daughter to ask, because she’ll get upset if
he isn’t there.
 
She’s in the middle
of a very difficult pregnancy, you see, and she isn’t meant to be upset.”

“Did you try his mobile?”

“He doesn’t have one,” Bahey told her.
 
“He isn’t keen on modern gadgets like
that.”

“Is his car in the car park?”

Bahey nodded.
 
“I went
out and looked before I came here.
 
But he wouldn’t have taken it if he was going to the airport or the
ferry terminal.”

She sat down on Bessie’s couch.
 
“I don’t know what to do,” she said
softly.
 
“He’s never disappeared
before.”

“Maybe you should ring the police?” Bessie suggested.

“Oh, no, I can’t do that,” Bahey replied.
 
“He’d be ever so embarrassed if there’s
a simple explanation.
 
He’s a grown
man besides, the police will likely say he can do as he chooses.”

Bessie was inclined to agree with her friend.
 
There were many possible explanations
for Howard’s disappearance and most of them were benign.
 
“Were you suppose to get together this
morning?” she asked.

“We didn’t have formal plans,” Bahey answered.
 
“But I usually knock on his door when I
get up and we have breakfast together.”

“Maybe he woke up early and went for a walk or to do some
shopping,” Bessie suggested.
 
“Did
he take anything with him, like a suitcase or anything?”

Bahey shrugged.
 
“I’m
not about to start poking around in his bedroom to check,” she said.
 
“At least not yet.”

Bessie nodded.
 
That
made sense as well.
 
She couldn’t
imagine how awkward it would be for Bahey if she were going through his wardrobe
and he walked in on her.
 

“Don’t the police make you wait twenty-four hours before they’ll
investigate a missing person, anyway?” Bahey asked.
 
“I guess that’s what we should do.
 
If he hasn’t turned up or called by
tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the police.”

“Actually, I don’t think you do have to wait,” Bessie said.
 
“But I’m sure the first thing the police
would do is ring Howard’s daughter.
 
It might be better to wait until tomorrow for that, in case he is just
at the shops or something.”

“Yeah, okay,”
Bahey
said. “I guess I’ll go
grab a shower and get dressed.
 
I’m
supposed to do my volunteer hours at Noble’s today, but I’m not sure I want to
leave my flat.
 
What if Howard rings?”

“He knows your schedule, doesn’t he?
 
I’m sure, if he got called away
suddenly, he’ll ring later tonight,” Bessie said reassuringly.
 
“It’s up to you, but I think you should
go and do your volunteer work.
 
There’s no point in sitting around worrying, and they need you at
Noble’s.”

“They do at that,” Bahey agreed.
 
“I help out in the maternity ward,
cuddling babies so mums can rest.
 
It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

Bessie smiled.
 
She’d
never been overly fond of small babies, but as volunteer work went, it sounded
quite nice.
 

“I’m off to the museum for the day,” she told Bahey.
 
“I’ll be there if you need me.
 
Otherwise, I’ll come over when I get
back this afternoon.”

“Okay,” Bahey said.
 
She
left, seemingly reluctantly, leaving Bessie to puzzle over Howard’s unexplained
absence.
 

If only he had a mobile phone, Bessie thought to herself, and then
laughed.
 
She’d lived very happily
for nearly her entire life without a mobile, and now, after having had one for
six months or so, she was annoyed with others for not keeping up with the
newest conveniences.

Bessie took herself off to the museum, only slightly worried about
Howard and Bahey.
 
There she settled
in with her box, working steadily until it was time to meet Mary for lunch.

Mary was already seated in the small café, perusing the menu when
Bessie arrived.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Bessie said as she joined her.

“You aren’t,” Mary assured her.
 
“I’m usually early, and today I was
restless at home, so I was very early.”

Bessie quickly looked over her menu and made her selection.
 
As she ate at the café fairly regularly,
it took only a moment for her to choose.
 
The waiter knew her well and was very attentive.
 
Bessie had her tea before she’d even had
time to reply to Mary.

“I hope everything’s okay,” she said, letting her concern show in
her tone.

“It’s fine,” Mary said with a sigh.
 
“I’m just, well, things are just tense,
that’s all.
 
George is working more
and more hours and I’m simply not sure why.”

“Have you asked him?”

Mary laughed flatly,
 
“No, I haven’t,” she replied.
 
“We don’t seem to talk anymore.
 
I’m starting to regret ever moving here.”

Bessie patted her friend’s hand.
 
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said.
 
“But I am sorry about George.”

Mary shrugged.
 
“One of
these days I’m going to have words with Mr. Robertson about the hours George
keeps.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“I’m just a little bit afraid of Grant, that’s all,” Mary
confessed.
 
“He seems to have some
sort of hold over George, and I find him quite intimidating.”

“Oh, dear,” Bessie exclaimed.
 
“I didn’t much like him when I met him.
 
I can see where you might find him
intimidating.”

“Never mind,” Mary said.
 
“Let’s talk about something pleasant.”

Bessie filled the lunch with all of the most interesting details
from the box she was indexing.
 
While she hadn’t found anything terribly exciting, she’d found a few
documents that would add bits of knowledge to the island’s fascinating
history.
 
By the time their sweets
arrived, Mary was looking more relaxed.

“How are things in the new flat?” she asked Bessie as she dug into
her sticky toffee pudding.

“They’re fine, I suppose,” Bessie replied.
 
“Do you remember Howard?
 
He’s been dating Bahey.”

“The very polite and handsome man who arrived with your
friend?
 
Yes, I remember him.”

“Well, he seems to have disappeared, although I’m sure there’s a
logical explanation.”

Mary frowned.
 
“When did
this happen?” she asked.

“I gather, from what Bahey said, that he was perfectly normal last
night but gone this morning,” Bessie replied.

“George got a phone call around midnight or even later last night,”
Mary told her.
 
“I only heard his
side of it, but I heard him mention ‘Seaside Terrace’ and something about
‘sorting out that problem once and for all.’
 
I don’t know what it all meant, but it
makes me worried for your friend.”

Bessie sipped her tea, grateful that she’d finished her
profiteroles before Mary had spoken.
 
She felt as if she’d suddenly lost her appetite.

“It might be nothing,” Mary said.
 
“George went out for a short while after
the call, but he was back this morning.
 
He didn’t seem upset or worried, well, not any more than normal.”

Bessie patted her friend’s hand.
 
“I’m sure whatever George was dealing
with had nothing to do with Howard, but I might just have a word with a friend,
just in case.”

“A friend like Inspector Rockwell,” Mary guessed.

“Except he’s not on the island at the moment,” Bessie said.
 
“I’ll have to settle for the next best
thing.”

After lunch, Bessie reluctantly returned her box of documents to
Marjorie and headed out of the museum.
 
The nearest police station was only a short walk away.
 
Once there, she asked for Inspector
Corkill.

“He works out of the main station,” the girl behind the counter
explained.
  
“Would you like to
go to him or should I ask him to come to you?”

“As I don’t have a car, I’d rather he came to me, if it isn’t too
much bother for him,” Bessie replied.

“I’ll ring him and ask.”

It seemed only a few minutes later, just as Bessie was getting
absorbed in the paperback she had tucked in her handbag, that the inspector
appeared.

“Miss
Cubbon
, this is a pleasant surprise,”
he greeted Bessie, his ever-present frown in place in spite of his words.

“I just want a quick and informal word with you, if I may,” Bessie
replied.

The inspector showed her into a small room that was marked
“Conference 1” on the door.
 
An old and
badly scratched wooden table sat in the middle of the room with five or six
folding chairs arranged around it.

“Sorry, this is about as luxurious as we get around here,” the
inspector said, waving Bessie into a chair.

“It’s fine,” Bessie replied.
 
“I hope I won’t be here long.”

“So what’s on your mind?” the man asked after he’d settled himself
across the table from her.

“Something strange has happened at Seaside Terrace.
 
It may well be nothing, but I wanted to
mention it to you in light of all of the other odd incidents.”

Corkill frowned more deeply.
 
“Go ahead.”

“You remember meeting Howard Mayer, who lives in number twelve?”
she asked.
 

He nodded.
 

“Well, he seems to have disappeared.”

“How long has he been missing?”

“I think I told you that he’s been dating my friend Bahey?
 
She went to his flat this morning for
breakfast and he wasn’t there.”

Corkill glanced at his watch.
 
“So about four or five hours?” he asked.

Bessie shrugged.
 
“About
that,” she agreed.
 
“But it’s out of
character for him.”

“Have you tried ringing his mobile?”

“He doesn’t have one,” Bessie said with a sigh.

“Do you want to file a formal missing persons report?”

“No,” Bessie said, shaking her head.
 
“It’s possible he was just out somewhere
or even that he’s gone across to see his daughter suddenly.
 
Bahey doesn’t want to ring her and worry
her in case he isn’t there.”

“I can ring and have someone from the local force take a look, but
I’d rather do that with an official report behind the request.”

“Bahey wants to wait until tomorrow to do that,” Bessie
explained.
 
“She doesn’t want to
embarrass Howard if there’s nothing wrong.”

Corkill shrugged.
 
“I’m
not sure what you want me to do, then,” he said.

Bessie sighed.
 
“I don’t
really want you to do anything,” she said, frustration evident in her
tone.
 
“I had lunch with Mary Quayle,
and she said George had a weird phone call in the night and she thought it was
something to do with Seaside Terrace.
 
I guess I’m just a little bit worried, that’s all, and I wanted to talk
to someone official, just in case.”

To Bessie’s surprise, the inspector leaned over and patted her
arm.
 
“I understand your concerns,”
he said.
 
“And after everything
that’s happened lately, I suspect there might be something going on at Seaside
Terrace that could concern the police, but I don’t think your friend’s
disappearance is part of that.
 
I
suspect he had a late-night call from his daughter and rushed off to see her
without giving Bahey a thought, or something like that.
 
I’ll stop by your flat tomorrow
afternoon, and if he’s still missing, we can talk more.”