The Moss File by Diana Xarissa

Author:Diana Xarissa [Xarissa, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

“To do with the cold case?” Hugh asked.

Bessie shook her head. “To do with my cottage.”

“You aren’t thinking of selling it, are you?” Doona asked.

“Not even for a second,” Bessie replied quickly.

“Sorry,” Doona said.

“What about the cottage?” John asked.

“I’ve been wondering about the name,” Bessie explained. “It already had the name Widow’s Cottage when I bought it. I wanted to find out why.”

“I hope it’s an interesting story,” Doona said.

“It might be very interesting,” Bessie told her. “I haven’t found out much yet, but I do know that I bought the cottage from Ewan and Margaret Christian. In turn, they bought the cottage from Margaret’s sister, Joney Carlson. Joney was a widow.”

“So there you are,” Hugh said.

“Maybe. The cottage had its name when Ewan and Margaret bought it, but I’m still not certain that Joney was the one who named it. I did find this, though.” Bessie held up the copy of the newspaper’s front page.

“A body on Laxey Beach!” Doona exclaimed. “I know it was some years ago, but I’m surprised I never heard about it.”

“You’re surprised?” John asked. “I thought I was familiar with every murder investigation that took place in Laxey for the last two hundred years. There weren’t many, not up until a few years ago.”

Bessie frowned. “I’d rather not think about how many murders happened in Laxey over the past three years or so. They seem to have stopped – for now, at least.”

Hugh had picked up the paper when Bessie had put it down on the table. Now he looked up at Bessie. “It doesn’t say that this man was murdered,” he said. “It’s possible that he simply had a heart attack while walking on the beach.”

Bessie nodded. “And he may not have any connection to my cottage, either, but when Joney sold the cottage, the newspaper said that she’d been widowed almost exactly ten years before the sale. That headline is from almost exactly ten years before the sale.”

“I can’t give you access to the police files,” John said. “But I can have a look and see what I can find. Records that are that old are housed in Douglas, in our archives, unless they’re still active investigations.”

“So if it was murder, the case was solved,” Bessie said.

John nodded. “If it hadn’t been solved, it would still be considered active, even after all these years.”

“Andrew is having dinner with the Chief Constable tonight,” Bessie told him. “He said he might see if the Chief Constable will let us take a look at the file.”

John grinned. “I’ll stay out of it for now, then. If the Chief Constable says no, my offer still stands.”

“Thank you,” Bessie said. “I should be able to find out more from the Museum archives, but everything is on microfilm, and you have to book readers in advance.”

“Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the file you want might be on microfilm in our archives,” John said. “But if it is, it’s easy enough to get copies made.”

“We’ll see what the Chief Constable says and go from there,” Bessie said.

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