“There could be a ton of suspects,” Wyatt said.
We all nodded.
“So, you don’t think I should tell the police about my night out with Brodie? I was certainly blabberin’,” Birk said as he looked at his watch.
I’d heard someone use “blabberin’” to describe their drunken evening before, but I couldn’t place who.
“You probably should, but I really would like the opportunity tae talk tae him first,” Edwin said.
“I understand,” Birk said. “Besides, if the police haven’t figured out that Brodie was one of Gavin’s clients, they need tae do a better job at their job, I suppose.”
“Why would they leave him off the list on purpose?” I asked.
“He’s a celebrity, well loved,” Edwin said.
“Ah, right,” I said, knowing those sorts of things happened all the time, but still not liking it.
Birk stood first, but the rest of us followed behind.
“Birk!” I said, remembering something. “Did you talk to your friends up by Loch Ness? I know Wikenton was a place at one time, but it’s not much anymore. Any chance your friends would know more about it?”
“In fact I did. They knew nothing about it, I’m afraid. Sorry not tae have something more.”
“It’s okay. Thanks.”
“Thanks for coming tae talk tae me here. I didn’t want tae tell you over a phone call. I’ve become slightly paranoid in my old age. I wonder if anything is private anymore.”
“Of course, Birk. Good luck with the play,” Edwin said.
Birk cringed. “No, Edwin. You do not wish a thespian luck, you tell him tae break a leg.”
“Of course. Break a leg, Birk. Break two!” Edwin smiled.
“Thank you, friend.”
They shook hands and then Birk shook Wyatt’s hand and mine.
“You really were very good in there,” I said.
“Thank you, lass. You’ll have tae come tae a performance.”
“I will. Definitely.”
We watched Birk disappear back into the auditorium.
“Edwin,” I said, “I know we have other plans, but I’d really like to talk to the police first. No, I’d like to talk to Inspector Winters. Could we go there next? Not to tell them about Brodie; something else,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Edwin said before he set out with long steps to lead us out of the theater.
“This is what you do with your time?” Wyatt said to me as we followed behind.
“Sometimes, though it wasn’t in the job description.”
“Gotta give it to you, sis, for a book nerd, you’ve certainly found a way to live an exciting life.”
“I’m not sure I need this much excitement,” I said with a laugh.
I couldn’t help but wonder: Maybe I did.
TWENTY-FOUR
On the way to see Inspector Winters, I told Edwin and Wyatt the information I’d already given to the inspector about Brodie visiting Norval. My comment to the inspector had been more about Nisa than the writer, but I had mentioned him by name. None of us thought that boded well for Brodie, but we hoped it was simply coincidental timing.
Birk had been under heavy influence of alcohol when Brodie had said threatening words about what he wanted to do to Gavin. Brodie probably had been too, although from what I’d heard, perhaps Brodie was immune to the effects of alcohol. I went along with Edwin talking to Brodie before we threw him further under any bus, only because I trusted Edwin enough to think he’d tell the police whatever they might need to know when the timing was right. I hoped I was correct, but a small part of me doubted.
I held tight to the fact that it seemed Edwin was fond of Norval. If so, he’d do what needed to be done if it meant catching a killer. I hoped.
I knew this—lots of people said they were going to “kill” someone. Most of the time it was just an expression, not a real threat.
As we waited in the police station lobby, more than once I felt the urge to leave, embarrassed by my call about the dress, worried I’d come upon something unimportant. But I didn’t leave.
I did, however, feel the urge to nudge my brother and ask him to put a less guilty look on his face, but he managed it himself by the time Inspector Winters appeared.
“Delaney, I got your messages about the dress shop and the cards,” Inspector Winters said as he came around the wall dividing the officers’ offices from the front open area. He sent Edwin a nod and Wyatt questioning glances. “I will ask someone to try to find the shop owner. What is this about the cards?” He scratched the side of his head but didn’t say aloud how ridiculous my dress shop request had been. I was relieved, but still embarrassed.
I stepped forward. “Thank you. I’m sorry to interrupt your day, but, well, I felt like you needed to know something about Gavin MacLeod’s case.”
“I’m listening.”
I nodded. “This is my brother, Wyatt. We’ve been … well, can we all come back and talk to you a minute?”
“Sure,” he said after a long pause.
Once formal introductions and handshakes were made and we were cramped into the small interview room I’d become familiar with, I pulled up the picture I’d taken of the cards.
“On the day I met Norval,” I began, and then told him about the card connection.
“I see. We have talked to Mr. Winsom, but I didn’t know about the cards. Though I’m not sure that two Nessie collectors having the same deck of cards is of much, if any, significance.”
“Probably not, but I’m not sure yet. I need to research their value. That might tell us more, like how available they were and are. If they’re rare, well, that’s something, and if you didn’t find a deck at Norval’s or Gavin’s … it might help nail down a possible trail or something,” I said. “I haven’t looked through Norval’s place yet. Do you know if you guys found any cards?”
Inspector Winters fell into thought as he continued to look at the picture on my phone. He looked back up a moment later, and I thought he sent a quick sideways glance toward the door just to make sure it was closed. It was. “No, we didn’t pick up a deck of cards from Norval’s. I don’t know if the officers looked for or saw a deck at Gavin’s, but I will ask. It’s a long shot, but worth looking into.” He paused and leaned his arms on the table. “In fact, we found no evidence at all at Norval’s. We found a lot of things about Nessie, but nothing that had anything tae do with Gavin MacLeod’s murder.”
“Other suspects?” Sometimes I tried to sneak a question or two in with the police, but I hadn’t intended this one. I blinked at my own surprise gall.
Inspector Winters frowned at me, but he wasn’t upset. I’d seen him upset before. This was something different. I was glad when he continued. “Well, I’m not sure we have any other solid suspects. There are some questions about the fingerprints. It’s possible there’s more than one set on the knife handle. We aren’t one hundred percent sure that Norval’s are … well, enough to count as conclusive, is the best I can explain it.”
“Enough to get rid of reasonable doubt?” Wyatt piped up. We all looked at him and his overly earnest eyes. He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Inspector Winters said. “Aye, something like that.”
“Any ideas about the other prints?” Edwin asked.
“None, but other folks are being looked at a little closer. Some of Gavin’s clients were pretty upset with his business practices.”
“Albert Winsom?” I asked.
“Aye, he’s one, but there’s a deeper connection there with the Nessie things. Other people too, but I’m not at liberty to say who. You’ll have to understand.”
“Inspector Winters,” I said, “I’m going to tell you something and then I’m going to feel really horrible about it. I’ve been turning it over in my mind…”
“Delaney, what?” Wyatt asked. His question, along with Edwin’s raised eyebrows made it clear that they didn’t know a thing about what I was going to say.
Along with wrestling with whether I should bring it up to Inspector Winters, I’d wondered if I should tell Edwin and Wyatt, but I hadn’t.
“G’on,” Inspector Winters said.
“I’m … I don’t really think it’s possible that she was involved, but do you know the reverend at Norval’s church? Nisa? I mentioned her earlier.”
“I do. She confirmed that Norval said that the author Brodie Watson paid him a visit, but there didn’t seem to be anything else there. Are we missing something?”
I felt both Edwin and Wyatt hold their breaths, but I didn’t go where it looked like I might be headed.
I finally said, “She talked to Norval right before I met him, later telling me that she thought Norval and Gavin were having a row. They were going to meet later to discuss it, but the meeting never happened. Did she mention that part?”
“No.”
I nodded. “Tom and I saw her coming out of his flat right after the murder, and right before the crime scene tape appeared. The timing seems weird.”
Nisa had ultimately ended up with Mr. Watson’s book. I really hoped she wasn’t a killer—for more reasons than the fact that I’d have to find yet another officiant if she was—but as we’d talked to Birk, it had become clear to me that the police needed to know more of what I knew about the friendly and open-minded reverend. However, it didn’t change the fact that I was cringing inwardly. I’d just brought up Reverend Nisa regarding the investigation of a murder. Talk about gall.
Any other police officer, I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but I trusted Inspector Winters. Elias thought I trusted him too much. If he was here, he would have kicked me under the table.
“I see,” Inspector Winters said as he took notes in his small notebook. “Thank you, Delaney, we’ll check it out today.”
I hoped I hadn’t made a huge mistake, but it was done now.
“How’s Norval?” Edwin asked, easing the tension in the room.
“He’s fine.” Inspector Winters sat back in his chair. “Do you know him?”
“Not well, no, but it seems … I’m glad he’s been moved to a hospital instead of a jail cell.”
Inspector Winters squinted at my boss. I couldn’t tell if they liked each other or not. Maybe they respected each other, maybe not. Neither of them would give me a straight answer whenever I asked.
“Let me be clear. We are keeping a tight rein on Norval because we believe he might be a killer. We are investigating all other avenues because, as a police force, we like tae be thorough. We have dropped the murder charges for the time being, but we wouldn’t detain Norval if we didn’t feel it was the right thing tae do. Additionally, we also think it’s the right thing tae have him see a doctor,” Inspector Winters said. “We aren’t done with Norval Fraser. Please don’t think we’d look the other way just because he’s a sweet, old man.”
Edwin nodded. “I understand. Does he have legal representation?”
“Yes, the court appointed him an attorney.”
Edwin’s mouth made a straight line as he thought a moment. “May I offer tae hire a different attorney for him?”
Inspector Winters sighed. “Sure. That would be fine, but he might like the guy he already has.”
“Is he in any shape tae determine who would serve him the best? He is in the hospital.”
“I can’t answer that question, Edwin.”
“Of course. I will proceed with attempting tae acquire someone else. I will ask them tae tread carefully as not to offend anyone.”
“That would be fine.”
“Thank you.”
Inspector Winters turned back to me. “How quickly can you determine the value of the cards?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll start with my friend at the museum, Joshua, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to help. He might know where to direct me, though. Maybe I could just do a quick search on the Internet if you have a computer I could use for a minute. It would be better than my phone.”
“Aye, come along. I’m going tae have you work with another officer, one of our information specialists. She’ll know what we might need tae save.” He turned to Edwin and Wyatt. “Can I get you some coffee while you wait?”
“Only if you pass a machine. Thank you,” Edwin said.
“I’m good. Thanks,” Wyatt said.
Inspector Winters led me out of the interview room and down the hallway. But this time, instead of leaving out the front doors, I followed him down the other side of the building, a side I’d never seen before.
We moved through a short, almost cramped, hallway, stopping outside a plain door. Inspector Winters knocked.
“Enter,” a voice from inside said.
“She’s got an attitude, but she’s the best at what she does. Don’t let her offend you. She’ll try.”
I nodded. I just needed a computer with an Internet connection. I didn’t think there would be time for offense.
“Kari,” Inspector Winters said as we went through. “This is Delaney Nichols. She needs tae do some research, but I’d like for you tae monitor just in case we need a record of what she’s looking at.”
Kari was the youngest police officer I’d ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than about twenty, with thick black eyeliner and jet-black short hair that stuck up in every direction. She nodded at Inspector Winters and then sent me a critical frown.
“Got it,” she said. “Sit here.” She pulled a chair over next to her. “Type. I can do what I need to do just by watching.”
“Okay.” I took a seat. “I’m just looking for some artwork that was on the back of a deck of cards.”
“Don’t need to tell me. Just do. I’ll watch.” I couldn’t quite place her accent. It didn’t sound Scottish.
“Right.”
I started by typing a general question about Loch Ness playing cards but had to refine my search to get real results. It wasn’t until I figured out who the artist was that I could narrow things down enough.
Bottom line, the artist who’d created the picture had been on staff at a newspaper, The Scotsman, back in the 1940s. He’d created a one-panel strip that featured Nessie. The strip wasn’t long lived, but the artwork was popular and ended up on souvenirs and promotional items like the deck of cards. There had been many decks created, which made the cards only somewhat valuable. The deck at Albert’s shop as well as Norval’s—if they were, indeed, the same deck—might go at auction for only as much as about £200, but that was just a semi-educated guess. Not bad for a deck of cards that was originally used for promotional giveaways, but not too hard to find nowadays, particularly for serious collectors.
“Cards, huh?” Kari asked after a few minutes.
“Yes. This deck specifically.” I put the cursor over the appropriate picture.
Kari huffed. “That ridiculous monster story. Haven’t we squeezed it for all we can get?”
“I don’t know. I guess that ultimately depends on if she’s ever proven to exist or not.”
Kari rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Are you from here? Scotland?”
“Nope. I’m originally from Iowa. Not far from where you’re from.”
“Oh!”
“Yeah, your reputation precedes you. Everyone here knows about the nosy redhead from Kansas. You’ve given me a lot to live down. American behavior and all.”
I swallowed the offense I said I wouldn’t take. “I think that’s all I really need. Can I print a couple pages and take them back to Inspector Winters?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks,” I said as I took the pages and stood to leave.
“You’re welcome,” she said as she looked at her screen.
The last thing I had ever intended was to attain a reputation at an Edinburgh police precinct. And, yet, here I was, known by everyone from the revolving door of officers at the reception desk to the rude woman in the computer room. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, though, as I thought about Wyatt’s admiration of
my “job.”
I looked at the papers as I made my way back down the hallway, smiling and nodding at the current reception officer and then moving back into the interview room, where Edwin and Wyatt waited.
“How’d it go?” Inspector Winters asked as he rejoined us.
“I found what I was looking for, at least enough for now. It’s more than feasible that both Norval and Albert have a deck of the cards. I guess the question would be if Norval’s can be tracked down. Are they at his home, or did they go with Gavin back to his? And did the killer take the deck? I can’t imagine Albert would kill Gavin, grab the cards, and think to display them,” I said, “but who knows?”
“Aye, you might be surprised by a killer’s behavior. I know I frequently am. We’ll try to find Norval’s cards.” He looked at me. “I take back my permission and request to check Norval’s flat. I’ll let you know if I clear it again, but for now it’s off limits.”
I nodded, disappointed I hadn’t already searched.
“Can I see Norval?” I asked. “Or talk to him on the phone or something?”
At first he looked like he was going to say no, but his expression softened and I thought he might say yes. When he followed it all with a frown I knew what the answer would be.
“Not right now, Delaney. Maybe later.”
I was disappointed, but not sure I had a right to be.
Inspector Winters walked us out of the station, promising me that he had someone trying to track down my wedding dress. Once inside the car, Wyatt tapped my shoulder.
“Sis, if your dress is gone, it’s meant to be. You didn’t think that one through very well, did you?”
Even Edwin lifted his eyebrows at my brother’s tone.
“What in the world are you talking about?” I said.
He tsk-ed and rolled his eyes at me, and suddenly, ever so clearly, it came to me.
Oh, I was a horrible, horrible person.
TWENTY-FIVE
I was as horrible as I could be. Okay, maybe not as a person, but at least I was a horrible daughter. I looked around at everyone, wondering how I was going to find the right moment to fix my mistake.
I’d had another sleepless night trying to figure out what I should do. Hopefully, an opportunity to right my wrong would present itself.
The Loch Ness Papers Page 16