Part 34 (1/2)

”I'm glad. I hope like b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l they catch the bloke,” Thayer said, staring straight at Bruce.

Actors. It was a crowd of actors, Bruce told himself.

Thayer frowned suddenly. ”Ryan isn't out with the horse,” he said. ”At least, I don't think, anyway. I saw him upstairs in his room, talking with his wife, not twenty minutes past.”

”The horse is gone,” Bruce said, frowning, as well. Then he realized that Toni had the horse out, and an unreasoning sense of panic set into him.

Thayer, too, seemed alarmed for reasons of his own. ”Toni!” he said.

”I'll find her,” Bruce told him, already turning to lead Shaunessy from his stall.

With landscape and terrain this beautiful, Toni wasn't sure why she hadn't been out riding before now.

One benefit to growing up in rural Maryland had been the little pinto her father had bought her. But as an adult working in the city, she'd had to leave Barto, now twenty-two, with her old neighbors. It was good for Barto, though. He was hardly ever saddled, was loved like an old dog, and given the best of everything.

She seldom saw him, and with the move to Scotland, she had given up the idea of owners.h.i.+p altogether, and given him to the Andersons' granddaughter. He was a gentle soul by then, just right for a child, as she had been.

Wallace was definitely a fine fellow, heavy enough for Ryan with his armor and weapons, and still sleek enough for a good ride. Whatever had ailed him, his recovery had been all but miraculous. He wasn't just glad to be out; he was feeling his oats.

Her mood had been angry and wild, so she hadn't bothered with a saddle. She'd just slipped the bit into his mouth, the bridle over his head, and chosen a path down the hill. There was plenty of countryside. Beautiful s.p.a.ces. They pa.s.sed slope after slope, scattering a few sheep as they raced along, but the longhaired cows they pa.s.sed didn't seem to mind.

She wasn't sure how far she'd gone when she noticed that a white car marked Tillingham Constabulary was parked by a fence. Curious, she rode in that direction, and saw Jonathan out in the field. He appeared to be inspecting one of the sheep.

Nudging Wallace, she rode down the little slope that led to the valley where the car was parked. Jonathan heard the horse, looked up, released the sheep and dusted his hands on his uniform pants as he walked toward the fence, calling out a cheerful greeting. ”Aye, now la.s.s, good t'see you. That is the way to really enjoy this countryside,” he told her.

”h.e.l.lo! And, yes, it's really beautiful. How are you?” she asked him.

”Well and fine enough, Miss Fraser. So...all is working well for you? Your friends were in, you know. And though I've not the resources of the big department, we are working hard for you, through the folks that know their business. I just told Bruce this morning, they've traced the site on the Web page to Glasgow.”

”Really? I haven't seen Bruce today,” she told him. ”Glasgow,” she repeated. ”I'm delighted, naturally, and grateful that they've traced it so far already, but I suppose they'll need to learn much more to actually catch someone.”

”Aye, Glasgow,” he said. She thought that he was looking at her strangely, as if that should mean something.

”It's a very big city,” she murmured.

”Aye, that it is.” He was still staring at her strangely.

”I'm sorry, should that fact mean something to me?” she asked him.

”Your cousin is from Glasgow,” he reminded her.

She instantly felt defensive bristles grow up around her. ”It's a very big city,” she reminded him.

What was it today? Was there something in the water? People attacking everyone who meant something to her?

”You're right,” he acknowledged. ”A very big city. I just thought that you wanted the truth. No matter what the truth may be.”

”We do want the truth. Sorry, I didn't mean to bark. But I don't think the fact that something originated in Glasgow is any aspersion on Thayer at all. That would be like me being guilty of something because it happened near Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.”

”D.C. is much bigger than Glasgow,” he said with a rueful grin.

”Still the point,” she said.

”And well taken,” he told her gravely.

”Well, I do thank you. Very much.”

”You're quite welcome, but it is my job to uphold the law, even if it falls into unfamiliar realms. We've good police here in the old country, y'know. I feel somewhat guilty, I do. I should have known, before your group put the work into the place, that he'd have never rented out the place. But then, he hadna' been about himself for some time, so.. .it would be his right to do it, had he chosen.”

”Please, there's nothing for you to feel guilty about. And actually, he's been quite wonderful.”

Jonathan glanced down. ”Oh, aye, the fellow is.. .magnanimous, isn't he?” he queried, looking back up at her.

She nodded, not wanting to go any further in that vein. ”Are these your sheep?”

”Aye, that they are.”

”You've beautiful land.”

”Well, quite frankly, it's not my land. But I pasture here. Heard there's been some trouble with that roan there, but he looks fine to me. I thought I'd be wise to take a look at these fellows and la.s.ses, a.s.sure myself nothing was getting into the herds.”

”He's fine. The vet said he must have gotten into something, but he's come through just great. Like a little boy with a bellyache who'd eaten too much candy, I guess,” Toni said.

”Well, you're right, must have been something... Anyway, the sheep look fine and healthy, too, la.s.s. I guess I'd best be getting back into town.”

”It was nice to see you!” Toni told him.

”Enjoy your ride!” He waved and started toward his car. Toni headed Wallace back up a slope. He seemed to want to run again.

She let him do so, mulling over her encounter with the constable. On the one hand, it seemed that he did want to do what he could for them. But on the other hand.. .he seemed more concerned with how their business affected him. The foreigners have a sick horse, so he checks his sheep?

Then, of course, there was that ridiculous conversation she'd had with the others back at the castle, and... there was the ghost. A ghost that should be happy now! A ghost who kept appearing at the foot of her bed.

She leaned low against Wallace, and let the wind rip by her. She wanted not to think for a while.

She didn't know how long she traveled the hills and valleys before she realized that, even if Wallace was feeling frisky, she might well be pus.h.i.+ng him too hard. After all, they'd had to send for a vet to see him twice in the past week. Patting his neck, she slowed him down, leaped off for a moment and came around to take a good look at his eyes.

He stared back at her and snorted, sending a sneeze and some mouth foam flying over her. ”Wallace!” she chastised him. ”Ugh! How could you do that to me? There are times when you should do it to Ryan, but I'm your friend. I think I am, anyway. You need a drink. Well, we should walk a bit and then get you a drink.”

She looked around, trying to ascertain where she was, then wondering how on earth she could have turned herself around so badly. Although she could still see sheep, there was no sign of a house, a cottage or even a road.

Listening, though, she could hear the bubble of a brook. It was to the right, through a field of trees--and the path--a great canopy of trees arced over pine needles--looked inviting. ”We'll wander in and find the water, eh, boy?” she asked, rubbing his nose.

As he tended to do--with true love and affection, she was certain--he nosed her in the chest, gently prodding her, as if he understood her words.

Plenty of light dappled through the trees. The shadows and patterns that fell around the trees and bushes were quite beautiful. The trails seemed broad and well used, yet when she followed the sound of the water and came to it at last, she felt like a fool.

”You know what? We're back in the forest.”