1 Aunt Bessie Assumes by Diana Xarissa Page A

much
of a life together, though, did it?” Samantha drawled.
    “Sam!”   Donny looked at her furiously.  
    “I don’t know why you have to
be so horrible about me.”   This time
Bessie recognised the voice from the doorway.  
    “Vikky, please don’t pay any
attention to Sam.” Donny rushed over to Vikky’s side and took her arm.   “How are you feeling?” he asked in a
concerned tone.
    “I’m okay,” Vikky answered
softly.   “I think I’m still in
shock.”
    “That isn’t surprising under
the circumstances,” Donny said soothingly.   “Come and sit down and rest.”
    “I didn’t know we had a
guest,” Vikky said as she suddenly noticed Bessie.
    “I just came to pay my
respects.”   Bessie was tired of
repeating herself.   “I do hope
you’re feeling better today,” she added.
    “Oh, you’re the woman from
yesterday, aren’t you?” Vikky asked.   “You were there when I found Danny.”
    “Yes,” Bessie said
gently.   “I was there and then you
came back to my house for tea, remember?”
    Vikky wrinkled her nose and
Bessie could see her trying to concentrate.   “I guess so,” she said eventually.   “The doctor was here earlier and he gave
me something to make me feel better.   I’m sort of out of it a bit.”
    “Never mind,” Bessie told
her.   “You’ve had a huge shock.”
    Donny led the young widow to
a seat near the window and then sat down next to her, still holding her hand
tightly.   Bessie glanced over at
Samantha, who rolled her eyes and sighed deeply.
    Mr. and Mrs. Pierce seemed
oblivious as they sipped their drinks.   They were both staring into space in different directions.   Bessie shook her head.  
    “I suppose I should be going,
then,” she said generally.
    “Oh, thank you for coming,”
Mrs. Pierce answered vaguely.  
    Vikky glanced up and waved
before turning back to her conversation with Donny, who simply ignored Bessie.
    “I’ll walk you out,” Samantha
offered.   “I would hate for you to
get lost in this monstrosity.”
    Bessie grinned at the younger
woman.   “I’d appreciate that,” she
told her.
    “Mr. Pierce seems pretty
certain that the murder was random,” Bessie remarked as the pair made their way
through the house.  
    Samantha laughed.  “And
yet he can't explain how the weapon came from this very house.”
    “The knife came from Thie yn
Traie?” Bessie asked in surprise.
    “Yep,” Samantha grinned.
 “Not only that, but it was part of a set that Mr. and Mrs. Pierce just gave
the happy couple as a wedding present on Saturday night.”
    “My goodness,” Bessie
exclaimed.   “How on earth can Mr. Pierce
explain that?”
    “Oh, he has some theory about
Danny taking the knife on the walk with him, you know, for protection.”
 Samantha waved a hand. “It's all nonsense, of course, but it's what he
wants to believe.”
    “How on earth did you find
out about the knife, anyway?” Bessie asked curiously.
    “When you’re as important as
Mr. Pierce, the police share information with you,” Samantha said with a
shrug.   “I think the Chief Constable
himself called and talked to him.”
    Bessie frowned.   Doona was worried about saying anything
she shouldn’t, and yet the Chief Constable was having cosy chats with the
victim’s father.  
    They had nearly reached the
front door now, and Bessie deliberately slowed her pace.  “So do you have
your own theory about what happened?” she asked the young blonde.
    “Sure,” Samantha
shrugged.   “But no one wants to hear
it.”
    “I'd love to hear it,” Bessie
told her eagerly.
    A wary look came over
Samantha's face.  “Yes, well….” she prevaricated.
    “Sam, where are you?”  
    Samantha jumped as Donny's
voice echoed down the corridor. 
    “I'm just showing our guest
out,” she called back down the hall.
    “Well, hurry up, will you?
 Vikky wants to go for a walk and I need you to sit with my parents.”
    “And it's all about what
Vikky