by Olivia Swift
She settled on the couch and started to look at what the distillery had sent. There were pictures of the area and the distillery and a brief outline that said the whisky had been made since 1826. Sam brought her a cup of coffee and she handed the photos to him.
“Looks like lovely and wild country. Lots of moors and small lakes.”
“I think they would say lochs,” Sam added.
“They have stuck to the old way of making whisky and kept it unique,” she added and settled down against Sam. “Enough for tonight. What about this camping trip?”
“You can sleep in the truck, and I’ll get a tent from Mikey for Declan and myself,” Sam told her. “It’s ages since I’ve been out in the wilderness—although technically it will be private land.”
In the end, Sam decided it was not worth going home to a cold house.
They started the day together over a shared breakfast.
“I’ll drive you over to Declan’s when you close up if you like,” he offered as he stepped out the door and then came back to give her a kiss that still sent her heart doing somersaults in her ribcage.
“Lovely,” she said and collected her things together for the café.
It still gave Magda a thrill to open up her very own chocolate café and step inside the gleaming kitchen. At the same time, she did have a slight apprehension that the warrior that Declan had seen might still be lurking around somewhere. But all was quiet, and Rula arrived hot on her heels, followed by Katie. The girls were a good, close team who worked well together.
Magda told them about the cats and the piece of wood.
“Declan took the wood home with him to see if it affected his cats, and mercifully, ours settled down and actually sniffed the box and forgot about it.”
She added that they were going over to see the wood sculptures after work.
“I was wondering,” she said, “if you would be okay if I went on that two-day trip to the forest with Sam and Declan?”
“As long as there is stock we should be okay. Maybe Branston would come and help,” Rula answered, and that reminded Magda to call him anyway and ask if they could come for a night at Sam’s new addition. Then the man in question strolled into the café wearing his outrageous cowboy costume and enormous Stetson.
“Well that saves me a phone call,” Magda said, “but I have to look at you in that hat.”
Her cousin swept off the offending hat and made a very exaggerated sweeping bow.
“This outfit is essential for my work on the dude ranch. The clients love it. Why were you calling?” he held up a hand, “Don’t answer that. Merle says to ask if you had a weird ghostly experience?”
“What?” the three girls all gasped together.
“How on earth did she know?” Rula queried and handed Branston his favorite flat white coffee. He found a chair and brought it into the kitchen.
“She just said that she kept thinking of Magda and wondered if anything was wrong.”
“Wait for it,” Rula said. “Tell him the story, Magda.”
“Wow,” Branston exclaimed when he heard it all. “That cat is at it again as well.”
“And Pushkin,” Magda added.
“Has this warrior dude come back again?” Branston asked, and Magda said that it seemed to be the piece of wood that was the problem and that Declan had taken it home.
“Can you and Merle make it tomorrow night for a get-together?” Magda asked him. Then Rula asked if he would be able to help out when Magda was away for a couple of days the following week.
“Well I am much in demand this morning,” Branston grinned. “Yes, I can help out as long as I tell the boss first—but more to the point—she has a nephew looking for a part-time job.” He looked at Magda. “Any chance you would need somebody?”
Magda looked at the other two girls and they both nodded vigorously.
“We are shorthanded,” Rula said, and Magda told her cousin to send the boy around.
“He’s eighteen and called Josh,” he said. “I’ll go back and tell Merle the story. Are the wood and box going to be there tomorrow?”
“I guess so, and food contributions will be appreciated.”
“See you tomorrow, ladies,” he said and swept out the door with a swagger, tipping his enormous hat to the customers arriving and making them giggle. Magda shook her head and started making cheesecake decorations.
Every once in a while, she felt a draft as if someone opened a door, but the double doors were open anyway and nobody was doing anything unusual. It was a little bit annoying and she asked Katie if she felt it as well.
“Yes. I wondered if a window was open but there is no reason and no wind outside,” Katie answered, and went on stirring chocolate to coat a batch of orange liqueur truffles.
Magda gave a little shiver and pulled on a white chef’s jacket. She glanced around and wondered if she was letting her imagination run wild.
“Ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” she muttered defiantly, quoting the famous film but looking over her shoulder just the same.
Rita arrived to start the lunchtime preparations and they were so busy that Magda forgot about the possible ghost. After lunch, a young man arrived.
“You must be Josh? Come and sit at the back of the kitchen away from the noise,” Magda told him. He said he was Josh Wilson and lived in town.
“I can walk from home to here. Aunt Merle would give me a job but I can’t get out there.” Magda asked him the usual questions and he was keen to work.
“Have you got time to see what we do today?” she asked, and he nodded, so she handed him a big white apron and introduced him to the others.
“Don’t try to be as fast as Rita. We’ve all tried and it’s impossible.” Rita gave a cheerful grin and said that she wouldn’t be the newbie anymore. “You would need to help Rula or Katie or me and that would mean doing a bit of everything,” Magda added.
“Sounds great,” Josh said enthusiastically. She asked if he could start in the morning. “Yes ma’am,” he replied.
They finished a busy day and then Sam came to collect Magda to go to Declan’s. He met them at the door and said that his cats hated the wood as well.
“Never ever happened before. This piece of wood must have some sort of scent or feeling attached to it.”
Inside the living room, he brought out a big box that he had found in which to keep the wood, and opened it. As soon as the wood appeared, all four cats shot into the kitchen and huddled in the farthest corner they could reach. He closed the door to settle them down and asked if the wood could go in the car. Sam took it outside and when he came back, all four cats were peacefully on the furniture again.
“That is so strange,” Magda said. “I guess we could always burn it and get rid of it completely.”
“In the meantime, it can go back in a box at the café, and after tomorrow night, we can decide what to do with it,” Sam added.
Declan showed Magda the sculptures and she ran her hands over the smooth curves.
“I can tell you what sort of wood each one is,” he offered.
“I love them all,” Magda told him, but she chose four to see what customers thought of them. She asked him for a price but he had no idea.
“I’ll price them for the shop and halve it with you,” she suggested. Declan said he was happy with that.
“If that Scottish wood was normal, it would make a lovely curved shape,” he remarked.
“We’ll not risk it,” Magda told him and asked if she could see the cat exercise area. Sam sighed and followed her onto the decking.
4
“These are lucky cats,” Magda said and then said to Sam that maybe it would be better to wait until they were in the other house to build a similar one.
“Good thinking,” Sam answered with a sigh of relief and asked Declan if he was coming the next night.
“We need to have your special skills in case the warrior shows up,” Magda told him.
“Thanks, I’ll be there.
I’ll buy some donuts on the way over.”
“Custard please,” Magda smiled at him and handed Sam two of the sculptures. She picked up the other two and Declan followed them to the car.
Magda settled in to read up on the history of Scotland and wondered if she should have some tartan items in the café as well.
“This castle . . .” she said to Sam who was watching an old movie.
“Mmm,” he answered.
“It was owned by the local laird or lord or whatever, but the Vikings had been there before that. Then eventually it came back to Scottish hands but the Vikings had married some of the locals, and the first Lord of the Isles was half Viking and half Scottish. He kinda started Scotland as we think of it now. Look at that natural rocky harbor. You could see a Viking longboat tied up there. There is definitely a story to write up about these truffles.”
Sam took the set of pictures.
“They say the Vikings were such good navigators that some of them reached America years before the people who say they discovered it,” Sam answered.
“How do you know that?” Magda asked.
“Watching history on TV,” he grinned. “I like the archaeology programs.”
“I never knew that about you and I thought I knew everything about Sam Barnes.” She came over and sat beside him.
“Got to keep the magic and mystery going,” he said as he stroked her hair.
“Magic and mystery, hmm. We seem to attract it all the time—ghost cats and psychic Crystal.”
Crystal heard her name and came over to sit on Sam. She pressed her paws on his leg and he told her that she was hurting him. The cat took no notice and pushed at him until he sat up to ease the situation and his phone fell onto the floor. It rang and he picked it up.
“She always knows when the phone is going to ring,” Magda remarked, but Sam looked puzzled and said hello several times before deciding there was no one on the other end.
The next morning, the café being closed, one by one, they all arrived at Sam’s house. Sam Barnes liked modern lines and sleek construction which had always made for arguments between him and Magda for all the years since they’d been teenagers. The bungalow was long and low from the front, and stepping inside, one could see it opened up right through to the back.
Sam and Magda had closed the blinds and folding glass doors that went through to the new addition, because it was partly to show it off that the group was meeting there. The entrance hall brought visitors into the large kitchen which had been renovated with an island in the center. The couch which had always been there when it was the living room, was still against one wall, but now there were shiny, new kitchen cabinets.
The rest of the friends started to arrive, unloaded food that they had brought onto the island top, as they chatted away to each other.
“Just Merle and Branston to arrive now,” Sam grinned. He was enjoying the slight mystification on their faces about where this addition could be. Declan knew because he had helped with the build.
Magda’s cousin and his boss from the dude ranch came inside and removed their jackets. Merle placed food with the rest of the contributions. Magda noted that Branston was dressed normally. He saw the look on her face and grinned.
“Could’ve worn the Stetson if you wanted to,” he said. She gave him a friendly push and went to the folding doors. Sam came and stood beside her.
“Beers in the cooler, folks. Feel free to help yourselves and toast the newly finished area.” He set the electronics in motion which opened the blinds, and Magda started to fold the glass doors away. There was a genuine gasp from the whole group as they walked into the two-story-high addition that soared way up to windows that let light flood in from above. The lights were on to display the whole effect. One was placed under the spiral stairway that led up to the roof terrace. The floor was ceramic tile with underfloor heating, and Magda’s influence could be seen in the dark-green leather couches, soft rugs, and tall evergreen plants in corners.
“This is marvelous,” Rula said breathlessly. “I love it.”
“Can we go up the staircase?” Katie asked.
Sam led the way to open the door to the roof terrace. The outdoor area had glass railings all the way around so that the effect was an uninterrupted view. There were comfortable lounge chairs to relax on.
“The original vision was on a piece of scrap paper,” Declan told them, “but it sort of grew organically. Sam could see the finished picture in his head.”
“Declan seems to be able to build it,” Sam added.
“It sure works,” Merle added as she leaned over the parapet. Magda called from the stairs that she had laid out the food and they made their way back inside. The evening chill was starting to be felt.
They ate, drank, chatted, and relaxed.
“Well, I do want to hear about this mysterious wood,” Merle said as she finished off her meal with a truffle.
“Are you all sitting comfortably?” Magda asked. “I’ll tell you a story.” There was a ripple of chuckles and they waited. Sam brought in the box with the wood, the tartan, and one of the whisky bottles, but left it unopened. Magda cleared her throat.
“You all know I have found that stories help to sell the truffles so I sent for a bottle of this Old Pulteney Scotch whisky. The box arrived, and when we opened it, a cold breeze blew around the café and Declan saw the shadow of a man. Katie drew it from his description.” She produced the picture. “Exhibit one.”
She started again.
“In the far north of Scotland on the rocky edges of the cliffs, behind the distillery, there are the ruins of an old castle. It was probably built about eleven hundred, but there is evidence that there were other buildings there before that. There is a small natural harbor and it is possible to scramble up to the castle from there, but not if somebody was trying to stop you. The sheer drop from all the other sides is quite amazing. Exhibits two, three, four, and five.” She passed out the pictures of the ruined walls, the drop to the sea, and the rocks below.
“This castle was probably built by the man who was half Norseman and half Scottish. His father was the Earl of Atholl and his mother was a Viking. The area had been under the control of the Vikings, but times were changing.”
Magda paused and said that the tartan of Atholl was in the box along with the tartan of Henderson who began the distillery.
“If we open the box, we don’t know if the breeze will happen or anything else.”
“Go for it,” Branston said and Sam knelt beside the box.
“Here goes.” He opened the box and immediately a whirling wind swept around the whole room. It tugged at clothing and swept any loose papers up into the air. The leaves on the potted plants were swished back and forth. Sam picked up the piece of wood.
Merle gasped and closed her eyes and Declan pointed to the spiral staircase.
“What can you see?” Katie asked him, pulling out her pad and pencil.
“Same man, standing on the third stair and pointing at Magda.”
“He’s furious about something,” Merle said with her eyes still closed, and Branston took her hand. “He thinks that Magda took him prisoner. He’s not a good man. He hurts people and he’s proud of his strength.”
“Oh, Lord,” Sam exclaimed, putting down the wood, and went to sit beside Magda.
“He’s fading,” Declan told them, and Merle opened her eyes and nodded.
“He has used up his energy for the time being.”
“The thing is,” Magda said, “It must be the wood. The cats are terrified of it, but they quite like the box and the bottles when the wood has been taken away.”
“Crystal has swiped two pictures of the castle on the tablet,” Sam added.
“She was right,” Rula joined in. “This wood is from the castle, not the distillery, isn’t it?”
“So, if we get rid of the wood, what would happen to this warrior man?” Katie asked. They looked at each other and then looked to Merle for advice.
>
“I just don’t know,” she admitted. “Probably best to just lock it away for the time being.” Sam put the wood into the box and took the box out to the garage. There were no more breezes and no sign of any warrior.
“What about the whisky?” Declan asked. Magda picked up her papers.
“Mikey tasted it and said it was like the ocean. Listen to this. With traditional warehouses exposed to the invigorating sea air blowing in off The North Sea, Old Pulteney captures the sea in every drop of its liquid. It also says that the flavor of the whisky says a lot about the role and influence of where it is made.”
“I brought the bottle so that everyone could taste it if they wanted to,” Magda added. Sam passed around the bottle and glasses.
“The price was phenomenal as I recall,” Katie said. “I already tried it, so no thanks.”
Declan and Rula had also already tasted the amber liquid but Branston downed his shot and said he preferred bourbon. Merle sipped and approved it.
“Very smooth. Experts on Scotch whisky would love it.”
Katie handed Declan the sketch and he nodded and passed it to Merle.
“Yes. You have him pretty much as I saw him in my head,” Merle told her. She looked at Magda. “He has to be a Viking.”
“I guess I already thought that but never put it into words,” Magda answered. “I really think the truffles need to have more history about the whisky rather than the Vikings. The distillery started in 1826 and the Vikings were long gone by then.”
“What have you got on that so far?” Katie asked.
“Here we go, my little class of students,” Magda grinned. “The distillery was started by James Henderson. Probably the most northerly one on the British mainland. There were no roads to the area and the town relied on sea transport to send out its vast supplies of silver herring and gold whisky. The distillery still uses traditional methods of making the smooth, amber liquid.”
“It must have been a flourishing place in those days,” Merle remarked and pulled out her phone to bring up a map of Scotland.