“Probably the post office and the shops I read about,” I muttered to myself. Elias’s cab was far enough away from the walking path that he wouldn’t hear me. I could hear the cab’s engine on one side and the water on the other.
I thought of the ghost towns throughout the United States and had an idea. I was going to ask Elias and Aggie to come with me on a visit to Kansas someday. Aggie would love ghost towns, and Elias would go along without much of a grumble. I stepped out of the trees and onto Ava’s property.
Though matching in shape and small size to the other man’s cottage, Ava’s blue house was in better shape than the one with the red door. I had a notion that it could either be a welcoming place, sure to have comfortable chairs and delicious sweets inside, or the home of a wicked grandmother who liked to trick children inside her oven.
“I’ll wait here again,” Elias said as I walked past the cab.
“The gentleman on the other side told me to go in, that Ava can’t hear well and everyone just goes in.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Elias said.
As my barometer for proper Scottish behavior, his “reasonable” assured me that I wouldn’t be overstepping, and chances of being thrown in the oven were slim. And, he was close by. Though it seemed my family would be useless if saving the day was in order.
I knocked even more loudly on this door than the other one and then I turned the knob, leaning to look inside as I called out, “Ava!”
There was no answer, so I made my way in, leaving the door wide open. I had surely stepped back in time. Last Christmas I’d been in a place that seemed to take me back to another time. I didn’t dwell on those moments much because they were still somewhat unexplainable. But a chill ran up my arms as this place felt eerily similar to that one.
At least I could look out the front door and still see the cab, which kept me solidly in my realm.
“Ava?”
Still no answer. The small front room was walled off from the back of the house, and it only took two steps to reach the area behind it. A tiny kitchen with a too-tiny-for-even-a-child-to-fit-inside cooker took up one corner of the back space, and I could peer into a doorway to see the bedroom and adjoining bathroom on the other side.
Ava wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but I couldn’t resist taking a moment to get to know her.
The white appliances had probably been made back in the 1950s. They seemed clean but aged with a few scratches and maybe a fingerprint or two. The old wood floor was worn but would have caused renovators back in the States to cheer with glee if they’d discovered it under some carpet.
Some sort of sweet bread had been wrapped and was sitting on the counter, and my mouth watered reflexively. There was just enough space for a small wood table with two chairs tucked underneath. A white crocheted doily had been placed in the middle of the table, and cat-shaped salt and pepper shakers sat in the center.
Warmth emanated from a potbellied stove on the other side of the table. It probably warmed a kettle or two and seemed to be what heated the entire cottage.
The bed inside the bedroom was covered in a quilt of reds and yellows, handmade, I guessed, but it seemed too intrusive to walk in the bedroom to inspect further. I searched for the phone Ava had spoken on and found it attached to the wall. An old dialer, just like I’d expected, black with a knotted cord.
I pulled a pen and piece of paper out from my pack and wrote a quick note, letting Ava know I’d stopped by and that I would try to call her again later. I left the note on the table and then turned to go.
I hadn’t noticed the picture on the wall just inside the front door, but I saw it now.
It was an old black-and-white photograph of a young girl, maybe a teenager smiling at the camera, but it was what was in the background that was the most interesting.
A tail. Or, maybe a tail. It was something with a tip that might have belonged at the end of a reptile. Except that it was sticking out of the water, probably the water right outside this cottage.
“No way,” I said as I looked even closer. There was no mistaking its shape, but it could have been a trick of the light, or a trick of something. I took out my phone and snapped a picture of the picture. It wouldn’t be easy to study, but I couldn’t help myself.
I closed the door behind me and hurried back to the cab. Everyone inside was now napping. I tried to climb in quietly, but Elias’s eyes flew open.
He cleared his throat. “How’d it go?”
“She wasn’t there, but her house is adorable, and I almost stole what I thought was a homemade loaf of banana bread from the kitchen.”
He smiled and shrugged. “Ye ken, if she’s the type of woman I’m guessing she is, she wouldnae have minded a bit. Might be offended that ye didnae.”
“I’ll apologize. Also, I took a picture of a picture.” I handed him my phone. “What do you think?”
Elias looked at my phone. “I think it could be the tail of a lake monster, or some sort of shadow, or … it’s difficult tae know, lass.”
“I know. But I couldn’t resist.”
“I expect not.” He handed me back the phone.
“I feel terrible that I did this to my family.”
He smiled in the mirror. “They can say they’ve been tae Loch Ness now.”
“I guess.”
“Home?” Elias asked as he put the cab into drive.
“Yes, home.”
“We’ll be there bedeen.” He caught my questioning eyes in the mirror. “Quickly.”
It was my turn to nap.
TWENTY
“Come in,” I said as I opened the door. “They’re all in the kitchen waiting for you.”
I’d never once before seen my pub owner nervous. He was always cool under pressure, cool while my cheeks reddened with embarrassment at what his eyes could do to me. But today he was, for him, a wreck.
He took a deep breath. “Aye, and I’m anxious tae meet them. Lass, did ye see the paper this morning?” He’d tucked a copy under his arm and handed it to me.
“No.”
“There’s an article about Gavin’s murder. Let’s get tae your family, but I think you’ll want tae read it when you can. No hurry. It’s right there on the front page.”
“Will do.”
I was deeply curious about the article, but there were currently more important things to consider. I put the paper on the coffee table and then placed my hands on Tom’s arms. “It’s all good. They’re going to love you.”
“I hope so.”
“I have no doubt.”
The first thing my family had done on the day they woke up refreshed from their fifteen-hour naps, which was the same amount of time I’d needed to recover, was demand to meet Tom. They’d knocked on my cottage door and hoped he’d be in there with me. He hadn’t been.
So, I’d called to invite him for breakfast. I’d invited Elias and Aggie too, but they thought we should have a meal as just a family first.
“This is Tom,” I said as we came into the kitchen.
They all stood and greeted him with handshakes and hugs, and Mom said, “Goodness, you are a looker, aren’t you?”
“Oh, Mom,” I said.
“Mom,” Wyatt added.
“Almost as much a looker as my little girl,” Dad said.
Wyatt laughed, one quick snort. “Sorry, but, well, I mean, yeah, she’s okay but … boy, am I hungry.”
Tom had educated himself on my family’s farm, going so far as to learn about the harvesting cycles. He asked intelligent questions that gave my parents a chance to talk about what they did with their days. Wyatt sent me some lifted eyebrows and a wink or two of approval.
And when Tom answered Wyatt’s questions about Scottish whisky, I knew the two of them were destined to be friends. Tom promised Wyatt a full tutorial with samples and Wyatt didn’t hide his enthusiasm at the idea.
Curiosity got the best of me and as their discussions continued, I didn’t feel a need to supervise. I snuck away to
the front room to look at the paper.
As Tom had said, the article I would be most interested in was right on the front page:
“Local Loch Ness Monster Hunter, Norval Fraser, Released but Detained and Moved to Medical Care.”
“That’s interesting,” I said aloud as I sat on the couch and read.
Not only had Norval been hospitalized in an undisclosed location, the evidence against him had come into question.
“Charges have been dropped against Mr. Fraser,” the article said. Though a caveat was included—he wasn’t free from suspicion yet. However, now there were others who the police were also looking at. The others weren’t named.
“Were there fingerprints or not?” I spoke to the paper again as dread rolled through me with another memory of Norval’s warning about the police not liking him. Had they tried to get away with something, but failed? Or just hadn’t succeeded yet?
I read on, hoping for an answer. I didn’t get one, but I did learn more. Gavin had been stabbed to death with a knife that had a Nessie handle, a knife that it seemed “might” belong to Norval Fraser. The article even had a picture of the weapon—though the knife in the photo wasn’t bloody, so I couldn’t be sure if it was the actual murder weapon or a reasonable facsimile.
Though the article didn’t name the other suspects, I wondered if Albert Winsom, chemist and fellow Nessie enthusiast, led off the list. Who else? Gavin’s clients, probably.
I reached for my phone. I was going to call Inspector Winters, but then I thought better of it. He wouldn’t tell me who the other suspects were. I had no right to know. But he did want me to go to Norval’s apartment and look around. He’d texted me late the night before, telling me he’d received clearance from his Chief Inspector. He didn’t mince words this time. I’d like for you to have a look around, the text had said.
I wondered if I could talk to Norval again. I looked at the phone in my hand. No, I would look around the apartment first and then call Inspector Winters. I could slip in all my questions, and hope for some answers.
“Sis?”
I looked up. My brother was so big, he seemed to take up the entirety of the small hallway to the front room from the kitchen.
“Sorry, I got caught up in an article.” I put the paper back on the coffee table as I stood. I lowered my voice. “How’s it going in there?”
“Great,” Wyatt whispered back. “You’re marrying a great guy.”
I smiled. “You really think so?”
“He’s either a terrific actor or he fell head over heels. Hard to know.”
I smiled again. “I appreciate your support.”
“Anytime.”
“Let’s go back in,” I said.
I tried not to be distracted through the last few minutes of breakfast, but I probably was. And then I had one more task that needed attention before I could think about Norval or anything else again. I simply couldn’t put it off, even for a police- requested “look around.” Once Tom left, with confident hugs all around, I told Dad and Wyatt that I needed Mom to myself for a little while. Elias would take us on the errand and Aggie would be over to show them some spots she recommended they visit while they were in town.
“Hopefully, she’ll have suggestions that won’t put us to sleep,” Wyatt said as he looked at me.
“I’m sorry about Loch Ness. We’ll try to go up again,” I said.
“I do find it odd that we slept through the whole thing,” Dad said.
“Jet lag is real,” I offered, helpfully.
My family and Elias and Aggie looked at me as if I might have more to add, but I didn’t. It was a little crazy that I’d made them sleep in the cab, but that was yesterday, and we couldn’t do much about yesterday, at least that’s what Mom always said.
“Sorry about that,” I said again.
Once Mom, Elias, and I were inside the cab, I said, “We’re going to go get my dress. It needed one final alteration and it should be ready this morning.”
Mom’s eyes brightened. “Oh, Delaney, thank you for saving this for me!”
“I wish you could have been here the whole time.”
“It’s okay. The texts and pictures have kept me in the loop.”
She put on a brave face, but my wedding had always been something she’d looked forward to, even more than I had.
Elias steered the cab toward Cowgate and I tried to point out some of the sights. The statue of Greyfriars Bobby and the story that went along with the much-loved dog captivated her.
I got so into telling it that I didn’t notice something I should have noticed quickly. But Elias noticed. He uttered some Scots’ curses under his breath as he looked toward the dress shop window.
“What?” I said as I looked over too. “Oh, no, that can’t be. They’re just switching things out. We must … there must…” Dread rolled through me.
There was no display in the shop window. Where there had been a quaint display of a couple of mannequins in dresses, there was now nothing.
I jetted out of the cab and hurried to the window.
“No, no,” I said again as I peered in at nothing but one lone white hanger on the floor, broken in two, strangely resembling a hand-drawn broken heart. How fitting. “How is this possible? There must be a sign somewhere or something.”
There was. It was taped on the door.
“We are sorry to announce that we’ve had a family emergency and have had to close the shop. Our sincerest apologies.”
“Is there a phone number?” Mom said over my shoulder as she fished her mobile out of her bag.
“I’m not seeing one. Both of you look too.” I grabbed the door handle. Of course, it was locked, and didn’t budge a bit when I shook it, even when I shook it really hard. “There has to be one, though. I paid for the dress. The seamstress was just fixing it. She probably has it with her.” I peered in again. “Unless it’s in that back room still. Do you think I have a right to break the glass?”
“No!” Elias and my mom exclaimed together.
“We’ll find it or her, Delaney,” Mom said. “Let’s keep our wits about us.”
I nodded. “Right, but … how is there no phone number?” I rattled the door handle again.
“What was her name?” Elias said as he took out a pencil and piece of paper from his pocket.
“Bonnie. Bonnie Warren,” I said. “Any chance you know her?”
“No, but Aggie can find her. Or Inspector Winters, maybe. Should we call him?” Elias asked.
“Yes! That’s brilliant!” I said as I took out my own phone.
“You’re calling the police?” Mom said.
“Oh, yes,” I said.
Ultimately, I was glad that he didn’t answer. The message I left made my “urgent” situation sound ridiculous. Could he find the owner of a seemingly abandoned dress shop, or the seamstress who worked there? I doubted the police got many calls for such a thing. Still, desperate times and such.
I suddenly had a memory of years before, when my grandmother said that all weddings should be elopements. It was right after she told me the story of my own parents’ wedding, one that had been fraught with one minor disaster after another until the major one hit. The barn that was supposed to have been the location of their ceremony burned down the night before. Fortunately, no people or animals were hurt, but all the decorations and some flowers were lost.
I looked at my mom and remembered that they’d ultimately had to share their vows at the local diner because another couple had booked the church, and it had been raining cats and dogs, mixed in with some ash from the barn fire. I hadn’t interpreted her stories to mean that we as a family might be wedding cursed, but it crossed my mind now.
“Aggie’s going to be bealin’ when she hears aboot this. It’ll give her something tae do with all that energy,” Elias said.
“Bealin’” must be angry, boiling angry probably. I knew the feeling.
Time to get a grip.
It was just a dress.
I could get married in anything. The good news was that Tom had his own kilt and I already knew it was ready for the ceremony; cleaned, pressed, and pleated.
“Thank you,” I said. “It will be fine. I’m…”
“Weddings are stressful,” Mom jumped in. “But Elias is right. It will be fine. And this is a good omen. You know, your dad and I have been married thirty-four happy years and we had one disaster after another. Come on, let’s let Elias take us home. I’ll tell you a story or two that will curl your hair. Or your toes, or something.”
I hadn’t been aware of the burn of unshed tears behind my eyes, but I became aware of it as the tears dissipated. I reminded myself that it was, indeed, time to get a grip. Maybe this was how it was supposed to go. However, I still heard my grandmother’s words in the back of my mind. Maybe all weddings should be elopements.
TWENTY-ONE
“Hello, lass!” Edwin said as Mom, Elias, and I walked into The Cracked Spine. “Welcome tae your celebration!”
Mom leaned toward my ear. “We couldn’t tell you. It was meant to be a surprise. I know you’re upset about the dress, but act happily surprised. We wanted a party to celebrate the wedding mostly, but everything else too. Your job, all these wonderful people you’ve met, everything!”
Elias sent me a tight grin, probably hoping I’d do what my mother said. I would.
Everyone was there. Dad, Wyatt, Aggie, Edwin, Rosie, Hamlet, Tom’s father, Artair, Tom, and even Regg. Hector too. He trotted over to me before anyone else could and demanded to be picked up and have full access to my slightly wet cheeks for some of his kisses.
The burn gave way this time and real tears fell, just a few of them, and they were happy tears.
“Edwin wanted it tae be a surprise,” Tom said as came forward and hugged me. “Are you all right?”
“I am better than all right. This is perfect,” I said.
My parents and brother were treated like they were royalty. I was touched by how important it was to my Scottish family that my biological family feel welcomed and comfortable. Even Artair joined in and offered himself up for the role of tour guide. He had the week off from his job at the University of Edinburgh library and was available to take people wherever they wanted to go.
The Loch Ness Papers Page 13