Free Aunt Bessie Goes (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 7) by Diana Xarissa Page A

went so far away.   She
didn’t like George or Fred either, but she was a little sad, at least for a
while, when they each moved across.”
    “There wasn’t
anything you could have done,” Bessie told her firmly.  
    “I wish I’d
looked behind the wall while dad was building it,” Sarah replied.   “At least if I’d found the body, my
parents could have been punished.   I
wish my mum were still alive so she could go to prison for what she did.”
    “You’re
getting rather ahead of things,” Mike said, patting her hand.   “The police haven’t determined if it’s
Adam or not and they don’t know how the man died, either.”
    “I offered to
help dad with the wall,” Sarah said, continuing as if she hadn’t heard what
Mike had said.   “He didn’t think
women could handle tools.   He did
complain, though, that Adam had gone.   He actually said that it was a shame that Adam had moved away just when
he could have been the most helpful.”  
    Sarah began to
cry again, softly but steadily.   Mike shook his head and pushed back his chair.   He stood up and pulled Sarah up into his
arms.   He stroked her back for a few
minutes, before tipping her chin up and staring into her eyes.
    “You have to
stop this,” he said firmly.   “This
isn’t helping.”
    Sarah
nodded.   “I know, and I’m
sorry.”   She sat back down and took
a sip of tea.   After a moment she
pulled her plate towards her and picked up her scone.   She finished it with several large bites
and then washed it down with the rest of her tea.
    “Can I have
another scone?” she asked Mike, giving him a forced smile.
    “Of course you
can.”   Mike jumped up and fixed her
another plate, carrying the teapot back with him as well to refill her
cup.   He also topped up Bessie’s
drink before he sat back down.
    “I didn’t
invite you over to watch me cry,” Sarah said to Bessie once she’d taken another
sip of tea.   “I really want your
help in figuring out what happened to Adam.”
    “That’s what
the police are for,” Bessie reminded her.
    Sarah waved a
hand.   “I’m sure they’ll try, but
the nice inspector that came to talk to me said that it was highly unlikely
that they’ll even be able to be sure what killed Adam after all these
years.   Mum and dad are both dead,
so even if it was murder, and I’m sure it was, they’ve no reason to pursue the
case, have they?   But I need to know
what happened.”
    “Tell me what
you can remember about Adam’s disappearance,” Bessie suggested.   While she had no intention of
investigating anything, talking about the past should help Sarah come to terms
with it.   At least that was what
Bessie was hoping.
    Sarah picked
up a biscuit and nibbled on it, her brain clearly occupied.   After a moment, she sighed.   “I was so busy with my own life,” she
said.   “I wasn’t paying enough
attention to Adam.”
    “You were,
what, twenty, and no longer living at home.   You were perfectly entitled to live your
own life,” Bessie told her.
    “Thank you,”
Sarah said softly.   “Anyway, I tried
to visit Adam at least once a week or so.   He was working for dad at the bank and he hated it.   Adam was smart, but he was also lazy and
easily influenced.   He and Mark Carr
were best friends, and Mark was nothing but trouble.”
    Bessie
nodded.   “I remember the pair of
them getting into all sorts of mischief,” she said.   “I seem to recall them starting out
quite small, swiping sweets from the corner shop and that sort of thing, but I
remember Joan Carr telling me that nothing she did to punish Mark ever seemed
to make any impression on him.”
    “Adam was much
the same,” Sarah said with a sigh.   “Mum did try to discipline him, but he never seemed to care.   I don’t think mum tried all that hard,
mind you, and dad wasn’t really interested in Adam at all.   He was an accident that dad saw as
nothing but a burden, really.”
    “And yet