Aunt Bessie Finds (An Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

investigate why he
was here, if anyone cares.   We’re
going to take him to Noble’s now.   He’s badly beat up, but I think he’ll survive.”
    They’d only just pushed the stretcher out the front door of the
building when Bessie spotted a man with a familiar face getting out of a car in
the car park.  
    “Inspector Corkill, what brings you here?” she asked as the man
approached.
    “I might ask you the same question,” he replied, giving Bessie a
thoughtful look.   Corkill was in his
mid-forties and his hair seemed to have more grey now than the last time she’d
seen him.   He also appeared to have
put on a few extra pounds.
    Bessie had met the inspector just after finding a body a few months
earlier.   At least this time the man
she’d found was still breathing.   She could only hope he’d stay that way.  
    “I was having lunch with friends,” she told the inspector.   “We heard a strange noise from the flat
under the one we were in, so we went down to investigate.”
    “Who owns the flat where the man was found?” he asked.
    “As far as we know, it’s empty and up for sale,” Howard replied.   “The building manger, Nigel Green, is
who you need to talk to.”
    Corkill nodded.   “And
where is Mr. Green?”
    Bessie exchanged glances with the others.   “We don’t know,” she said after a pause.
    “Is he meant to be working?” Corkill asked.
    “He might be taking a lunch break,” Bahey suggested.   “From what I understand, his arrangement
with the owners of the building is somewhat flexible.   He’s on call all the time, so he doesn’t
really have to stay at the foyer desk for any set hours.   I gather his biggest responsibility is
letting the postman in every morning.”
    “Which flat did you find the man in?”
    “Number five,” Howard supplied the answer.
    “Right, I’ll just go and have a look around, then,” the inspector
told them.   “At the moment we don’t
know if a crime has been committed or not, but it won’t hurt for me to have a
look around and maybe take a few photos.”
    “It’s just an empty flat,” Howard remarked.  
    “There’s a folding sort of bed in the bedroom,” Bahey said.   She flushed when everyone looked at
her.   “I was trying to find a quiet
corner to talk to the emergency operator,” she explained.  
    “I’ll check it all out.   From what the paramedics said, they didn’t find any identification on
him.   If there isn’t anything in the
flat and the manager doesn’t know about him, we’ll have to wait until he wakes
up to find out who he is,” Corkill said.   “I don’t suppose any of you recognised him?”
    The trio exchanged glances.
    “I certainly didn’t,” Howard replied after a moment.
    “I didn’t either,” Bahey said.
    “Sorry, but he didn’t look familiar to me, either,” Bessie chimed
in.   “I didn’t get a very good look
at him, though,” she added.
    Corkill nodded.   “We’ll
figure out who he is eventually.”
    “Do you want formal statements from us?” Bessie asked.
    “Not at this point,” he replied.   “Let’s wait and see what happens next.”
    The foursome walked back into the building.   At the lift, Bahey, Bessie and Howard
headed back upstairs while the inspector continued to flat five.   Back in Bahey’s flat, Bessie felt unsettled.
    “Well, whatever else is happening here, that was definitely odd,” Bessie said to Bahey.
    “It certainly was,” Bahey agreed emphatically.   “Are you still willing to investigate or
do you think I should talk to the inspector about my concerns?”
    Bessie shook her head.   “I don’t know,” she said after a moment.   “Let’s see what the mystery man has to
say when he wakes up.”
    “Maybe he’s homeless and he saw the empty flat and decided to crash
there,” Howard suggested.
    “How did he get beaten up, then?” Bessie asked.
    “Maybe Nigel found him there and they had a fight,” Howard said.
    “I can’t see