X Marks the Scot

by Kaitlyn Dunnett

  “Sorry to intrude,” Liss said, “but it was material from the society’s collections that brought us to Chadwick in the first place.”

  “You aren’t intruding. In fact, I was just putting together a packet of information to mail to you. Having you stop by saves the society the cost of postage.”

  “Oh, how wonderful,” Margaret said. “You must have found the material Mr. Bailey collected for us.”

  “Oh. Um. Well, not quite.” From her cluttered desk, Cindy scooped up a padded envelope that already had Margaret’s mailing address written on the front. “But this is everything Orson located. I made copies for you.”

  “You made copies?” Liss asked. “I’m confused. I thought Mr. Bailey had already done that.”

  Cindy looked apologetic. “Yes, well . . . I expected to find a folder with your name on it in his office, but there wasn’t one, only the record of his research. Fortunately, that had all the citations, so it didn’t take long to assemble everything.”

  “Perhaps Mr. Bailey was planning to make the copies while we were here, so we could see the originals and decide which ones were relevant,” Margaret suggested.

  “He should have had the copies ready to give to you. I don’t understand why he didn’t. Orson was always so well organized.”

  “Maybe the police took the material he collected for us.” Liss could have bitten her tongue when she saw Cindy’s face crumple.

  “It’s standard practice to take everything that could possibly be evidence.”

  Had that explanation made matters better or worse? Liss couldn’t tell.

  Cindy turned aside for a moment, after which, although there was a catch in her voice, she regained control of herself. “You’re probably right. They even took up the carpet in his office, and they confiscated his water carafe and his computer.”

  “That’s pretty typical,” Liss said. “They look for fingerprints and DNA evidence from hair or skin cells to help them find the killer. Now that they have him in custody, they’ll probably return some of those things.”

  Cindy abruptly sat down in her desk chair. “I just don’t understand why he would murder Orson.”

  “Do you know the man who confessed?”

  “Not personally, no, but I’ve seen him around.” Cindy frowned. “I always thought there was something wrong about him, but I never imagined that he’d turn violent. Orson didn’t do anything to him. I doubt he even met him.”

  “Do you mean he’s mentally ill?”

  “I think he has PTSD. And he may have been homeless.” She managed a faint smile. “U.S. soldiers aren’t the only ones fighting terrorism on foreign soil.”

  While Liss’s attention had been on Cindy, Margaret had been going through the contents of the mailer. “Is this from that old atlas Mr. Bailey mentioned?” She placed a photocopy of a map in front of the society’s executive secretary.

  “That’s right.” Cindy identified several landmarks, including the site of the original Chadwick homestead. “There’s an apartment complex there now. It was named for Albert Chadwick, who donated the land. There’s a newspaper article about it in there.” She indicated the packet. “Most of the rest record weddings, funerals, and charity events the Chadwicks attended. The family was extremely respectable and very generous to the community.”

  Maybe they were and maybe they weren’t, Liss thought, but she kept that opinion to herself. She swallowed her disappointment at not having a site to explore. “Every little bit of information helps. Thank you so much for collecting all this for us.”

  “Don’t you want to show her your map?” Margaret asked.

  “It doesn’t match what hers shows,” Liss objected, but Cindy’s green eyes had suddenly brightened with curiosity and she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to let her see it.

  She recounted the story of her discovery and what they already knew about the American branch of the Chadwicks and their highly successful import business during Prohibition.

  “If you’re assuming that they made Chadwick their base of operations in Canada,” Cindy said as she studied the two maps side by side, “I’m pretty sure you’re barking up the wrong tree. As I said, our Chadwicks were respectable. Straitlaced would be an even more accurate description.”

  More to the point, there were no landmarks common to both maps. Liss returned the one she’d found to her tote and handed the other to Margaret to tuck back into the mailer. “We always knew it was a longshot, but since we were going to be in the area anyway, it was worth checking into.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,” Cindy said. “I can take you to the Chadwick Apartments if you want, but there’s really nothing to see there, and certainly nothing left from the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties.”

  Liss glanced at her watch. It was well past noon and they hadn’t even had lunch yet. “We have a long trip ahead of us.” Without the detours it would still have taken at least nine hours to drive from Antigonish to Moosetookalook. “Is it all right to e-mail you if we think of any other questions?”

  “Of course. That’s what we’re here for.” Cindy followed Liss and Margaret to the door, still smiling, but she engaged the lock the moment door closed.

  * * *

  Dan Ruskin was furious and making no effort to hide it. “Another body! And as if that wasn’t enough, you were the victim of a burglary. If you were a cat, you’d have used up eight of your nine lives by now.”

  “Don’t make a fuss.” Liss turned her back on him to trudge up the stairs, hauling her heavy tote and a small roller bag after her.

  “Damn it, Liss! You’ve got to stop taking risks.”

  She swung around to glare at him from two steps up. Lumpkin, who had been padding along behind her, fled the rest of the way to the second floor, tail fully fluffed. “What risk? I wasn’t in any danger.”

  “You walked into that building right after someone was murdered.”

  “We don’t know that. He could have been dead for hours. Anyway, it was just dumb luck that Orson Bailey was killed that morning, and pure chance that a thief picked our room to burgle.”

  “Liss—”

  “Furthermore, the murderer is in jail. As for the thief, the only thing he got was my iPad and a brooch Aunt Margaret had just bought.” She started to climb again, muttering under her breath. “I shouldn’t have told you. I knew you’d blow things out of proportion.”

  “What you should have done was call me from Chadwick as soon as it happened. Hell, you should have come straight home at the first sign of trouble.”

  Again, she turned, her eyes shooting daggers. “Why? Because I’m some frail little female who can’t take care of herself. You listen to me, mister. I was on my own for a long time before I came back to Moosetookalook. I don’t need some big strong man to watch my back!”

  “You need a keeper!”

  At that she flew back down the stairs, dropping the tote and roller bag along the way, and got right in his face. Her fist came up and smacked him in the chest. Hard. “You are being an idiot!” she shouted.

  “I’m an idiot?”

  She thumped him again. “Yes!”

  She was horrified to feel moisture gathering in her eyes. She didn’t want to be the kind of woman who relied on tears to win an argument. But when Dan wrapped his arms around her and held her close, burying his face in her hair, she could only stand stiffly in his embrace, saying nothing, for a moment before she relaxed against him, sniffling a little.

  “I’m sorry, Liss. You’re right. I am an idiot. But I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.”

  “I should have waited till morning to tell you.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “but I’m glad you didn’t. I shouldn’t have flown off the handle like that. I know you can take care of yourself. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep me from worrying about you.”

  “I don’t stumble over murder victims on purpose.”

  He gave a wry laugh. “Don’t you think I know that
? I’m just glad this case has already been solved and that you’re safe at home again.”

  She snuggled deeper into his arms.

  “Come on. Let’s get your stuff upstairs and you into bed. You look like you could use a good night’s sleep.”

  “I think I’d rather get it all out first,” she mumbled into his chest.

  “There’s more?” He stepped back, holding her away from him so he could see her face.

  “Just something else I need to tell you about. Nothing to do with any crime. Do you want me to wait until morning?”

  Tension crept back into her shoulders and for a moment the exhaustion born of all those hours of driving threatened to knock her flat. As if he sensed that, Dan slid one hand down her arm until he could fold her fingers into his. With a firm grip, he tugged her down the hall and into the kitchen.

  “I’m guessing this means you want to hear it all now.” Liss collapsed into one of the chairs at the kitchen table and watched her husband rummage in the cabinets. When he held up a packet of instant cocoa, she nodded.

  They didn’t talk while he dumped the contents into a ceramic mug, nuked some water in the microwave, and poured it over the powdered chocolate. He prepared a second serving for himself. A quick stir, a dollop of whipped cream, and he carried both mugs to the table, taking the chair opposite his wife.

  Glenora had appeared while he’d been busy and was now ensconced on Liss’s lap. Holding the small, black feline comforted her, as did the sound of the cat’s delighted purring. Lumpkin was nowhere to be seen. As was his habit, he was giving her the cold shoulder for going away and leaving him for more than a week.

  “I’m not going to like hearing this, am I?” Dan asked.

  “Probably not.” Liss picked up her mug, licked at the whipped cream, blew on the cocoa, and took a tentative sip. Finding it too hot to drink, she abandoned it. While she continued to stroke Glenora’s soft, thick fur, she blurted out the bad news. “According to Margaret, my folks are planning to move back to Moosetookalook.”

  Dan stared at her for a long moment. “Why?”

  Liss shrugged. “That’s what I asked, and I’m still not entirely sure. This is all secondhand information. Dad delegated Margaret to pave the way for their big announcement. I think there are more health issues than they’re admitting to. They’re investigating assisted living rather than looking for a place of their own.”

  “Wouldn’t they get better care where they are?”

  Liss buried her face in Glenora’s soft fur. “You’d think so.”

  “So maybe they just want to be closer to their only daughter.”

  “I’m being selfish,” Liss admitted. “I want them to stay in Arizona so I don’t have to see them get older and more frail.” Anguish and guilt clawed at her. “What’s wrong with me? They’re my parents. I ought to be delighted that they’re coming back home for good.”

  Her agitation made Glenora squirm. Liss released her and picked up the cocoa, sipping without tasting.

  “You’re not selfish. You’re a realist,” Dan said. “You know damned well that your mother will drive you crazy if she’s living in the same town. I get along just fine with Mac and Vi, but your mother is not the easiest person in the world to tolerate. She’s good at handing out criticism and stingy with praise.”

  Liss’s lips trembled and once again she felt her eyes brim with tears. “They might have to live here, at least for a while.”

  “Tell them we haven’t got room.”

  She had to laugh at that. “We have two guest rooms and a full attic that could be turned into a mother-in-law apartment. And they know that better than anyone since this was their house before it was ours.”

  Liss stood abruptly and scooped up both mugs, even though Dan hadn’t touched his cocoa, to carry them to the sink. She stood there with her back to him, waiting to see what he would say next. Something comforting would be nice.

  “Assisted living, huh?”

  Not what she’d hoped for. She concentrated on rinsing the mugs and placing them on the drainboard. “Margaret says they’re considering the place that’s going to be built on the Chadwick property.”

  “It could take a year or more to go from blueprints to finished buildings.”

  He would know. He’d spent a lot of years in the construction business.

  She slumped where she stood, suddenly too weary to talk about it anymore. A moment later, she was once more gathered into Dan’s strong arms.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “Finding solutions to problems is one of the things we do best.”

  Chapter Six

  Some of the new inventory Liss and Margaret had purchased in Canada arrived in Moosetookalook before they did. After a short and broken night’s sleep, Liss threw herself into the task of rearranging the shelves in the shop to make room for additional stock. The job had to be done anyway, and it had the added attraction of keeping her mind off all the things she didn’t want to think about.

  Investigating the contents of the envelope Cindy had given them was a low priority, especially since Margaret had already taken a preliminary look. The mailer hadn’t even made it into the house. It was still in the back seat of Liss’s car, where Margaret had tossed it on their way out of Chadwick. By Wednesday, Liss’s second morning back at work, she had all but forgotten it existed.

  She mounted the front steps at Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium at the usual hour, more or less awake after coffee and toast and the short walk from her house to the shop. She inserted her key in the lock and froze when it refused to turn. It took her a moment to understand the reason—the door was already unlocked.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered. The memory of that ransacked hotel room vivid in her mind, she turned the knob and stepped into the Emporium.

  It looked exactly the same as it had when she closed up the previous evening. The lemon-scented furniture polish she’d used on the shelves still hung lightly in the air, together with a faint whiff of perfume coming from a display of decorative candles. Liss’s nose twitched, as it always did. She disliked the smell of those candles. They’d been one of the few mistakes she’d made when purchasing stock. She’d promised herself more than once to lose them if they didn’t sell soon. Today might be the day she actually tossed them in the trash. Meanwhile, since no foreign aromas wafted her way and a closer examination of the wares she offered for sale revealed nothing out of place, she slowly began to relax.

  At the same time, she gave herself a mental slap upside the head for being so foolish as to rush into what might have been a crime scene. She was relieved that it wasn’t, but if no one had broken in, how had the door come to be unlocked?

  Liss was positive she had secured the shop at closing the previous day. She was meticulous about locking up, a habit acquired from Margaret, who lived right upstairs. Liss’s aunt was even fussier about double-checking doors. Windows, too. She was at heart a trusting person, but she was also a woman living alone. At least, she had been alone until she’d acquired the two Scotties as companions.

  Did she rely on them now as watchdogs? Was it possible she’d gone out through the shop and neglected to close up again?

  Liss’s walk-through to check shelves, displays, and the contents of the stockroom brought her to the stairwell door just behind the sales counter. Opening it, she stood at the foot of the stairs leading up to Margaret’s apartment, listening hard. She’d like to believe that Dandy and Dondi would sound the alarm if there was an intruder, but she had no great confidence in their talent as guard dogs. She’d seen how soundly they slept and knew that they were more likely to fawn over a stranger than attack.

  Once again she looked around. She saw nothing that was out of place, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that someone had been in the Emporium before she arrived.

  Belatedly, another possibility occurred to her. What if Margaret’s apartment and not the shop had been the target? Spurred into action by that thought, she ran up the sta
irs, her ascent far from silent. Even before she reached the top, a joyful barking came from inside the second-floor rooms, along with the welcome sound of her aunt’s voice.

  “Hush, Dondi! Settle down, Dandy.” Margaret opened the door just as Liss reached the landing.

  “Thank goodness you’re okay,” Liss blurted.

  “Why on earth wouldn’t I be?”

  “Your door wasn’t locked.” If it had been, she’d have heard the sounds of the deadbolt turning and the chain being lifted out of its slot.

  “I’ve been out already this morning.” Margaret sent her a puzzled look. “I took the dogs for a walk.”

  “Did you leave through the front?” At last—a logical explanation.

  “No.” With that one word, Margaret dashed Liss’s hope of an easy answer. “We went out through the stockroom. Why?”

  Liss told her.

  Margaret frowned. “I can’t swear that door was secure when I turned in last night. I used the outside stairs when I took the dogs for their final run. The back door was definitely locked this morning, though, and I relocked it after we came back in. You know I’m careful about things like that. Is anything missing from the shop?”

  “Not that I could see, but I should probably check stock against my inventory lists.”

  “Sit down and have a cup of tea first.” Margaret took a firm grip on Liss’s arm and towed her into the kitchen. “Chamomile, I think.”

  Liss let herself be seated on one of the stools around the center island, but her thoughts continued to race. Why was she so upset? It wasn’t as if anything had been stolen. Margaret was fine. The dogs were fine.

  “Are you certain you didn’t just forget to lock up?” Margaret asked.

  Was she? And was she making a mountain out of a molehill? It wasn’t like her to get so rattled over nothing.