Part 18 (1/2)
Robert shook his head. ”Just a point of interest. I suppose there's no reason to think that they'd know much about the wee hamlets and villages, even if they'd been several times before. And from what you say, they've done well. Your castle was in need of serious repair.”
”Aye, I've let it go. But every time before.. .well, it had been Meg's dream to go with all guns blazing and make it a showplace. When she was gone...”
”That's been more than a decade.”
”I know, and I don't need any speeches. I've gone on with my life. I function well. I travel the globe. I do my best to steal from the rich and give to the poor. It was just the castle where I fell short.”
”So your guests--for want of a better description-- don't know what you do, who you are or that the castle isn't really what you call home?” Robert said.
”No.”
”Are you keeping these things a secret for some reason?”
”Not really. No one has asked. I don't know. Maybe,” Bruce said, correcting himself. ”We might all be a bit wary of one another. They certainly appear to be exactly what they say. Still...let me tell you, it was strange to come home and hear what they were up to, then to have Toni Fraser tell me that she had made up her story, but even the name of Bruce MacNiall's wife was exact.”
Robert waved a dismissive hand in the air. ”That happens all the time. People hear things, forget them and then think that they're original thoughts.”
”Well, that's what one would a.s.sume,” Bruce agreed. ”But I've talked to her, rather extensively. She's convinced that she made it up. And something more.”
”What?”
”She's scared by it. She's having nightmares about my ancestor standing at the foot of her bed with a dripping sword.”
Again Robert was unimpressed. ”That's easy enough. She's in the old laird's castle.”
”Easy enough--unless you've been there and seen the way she looks when she wakens from such a dream.”
Robert arched a brow at him. ”She's an actress, right?”
”Aye.”
”Do you think that maybe, just maybe, a scam is being played on you?”
”Not unless it's the best one in history.”
”Granted, you're not the kind to be taken,” Robert mused. ”A lot of this is outside my jurisdiction but, naturally, I'll get on it.”
”Thanks.”
Robert's phone went off, and he excused himself to answer the summons. Bruce watched his friend's face go from surprise to concern.
He clicked off, staring at Bruce.
”I'll head back with you right now,” he said.
”What's happened?” Bruce asked, an uneasy feeling already seeping into his bloodstream.
”They've found a body.”
Bruce's blood chilled. And yet, he wasn't surprised!
”Is it--Annie O'Hara?”
”I don't know. One of my sergeants saw the alert and called me right away. Jonathan and the medical examiner are heading out to the scene now. Even if the body is not at a severe stage of decomposition, I doubt they can be certain until they've brought it out and performed an autopsy.”
”Oh, G.o.d. They've found her in the forest?”
”Aye. More than that.” He was looking at Bruce strangely.
”What?”
Robert shook his head, rising. ”I'll tell you on the way. I want to get out there before they botch anything up.”
”Dammit, Robert, what is the 'more'?” Bruce demanded.
”She was found by your guest. Miss Fraser.”
*9*
A strange calm had descended over Toni. By the time she'd reached the village and a lazy deputy had accepted the fact that she wasn't hysterical and had contacted Jonathan Tavish, she was already ruing her actions in regard to Eban. There was no reason to suspect the fellow. Away from the green darkness of the forest--and the sight of the pathetic remains--she felt stronger.
When Jonathan arrived, she gave him a description of walking into the woods, seeing the branch and moving it. They sat in his office. He was just feet from her, looking almost like the boy next door in his casual Sunday attire.
”Toni, la.s.s, what were you doing walkin' so deep into the woods on your own? I explained this morning why you shouldna be doing so.”
”I saw Bruce,” she said.
Jonathan shook his head. ”I don't think so. After I left you earlier, I saw him in the coffee shop. Said he was taking the drive to Edinburgh to have lunch with a friend.”
His comment chilled her, but it didn't create the panic it might have just hours before.
”Well,” she murmured, letting her lashes fall over her eyes. ”I thought I saw him.”
He sighed. ”I hate to ask this of you, but you'll have to come back into the forest with me. I need you to guide us to the site.”
”Certainly.”
So she wound up not in the minivan, but in the constable's car with him and one of his deputies. Another car following behind them was filled with police tape and other paraphernalia needed to protect the integrity of the site.
At the scene, photos were taken before anyone touched the remains. The medical examiner--an almost absurdly kind and jovial looking little fellow named Daniel Darrow--carried a small recorder and made comments into it as he made a preliminary inspection of the site and the skeletal corpse.
Toni stood some distance away, glad that the area was teeming with people. Even then, she felt as if she were being watched, and she kept herself from looking into the trees, somewhat afraid that she would see eyes observing her. Watching. Waiting. For what?
She heard Dr. Darrow speaking with Jonathan. ”Well, it's not the missing Annie O'Hara. That's for certain.”
”No?” Jonathan said.
”Definitely not.”
”Aye?” Jonathan said. ”How can you be certain?”