“Thanks. I’ll make that a priority.”
“You do that.” Archie dunked a biscuit in his tea, then cursed when it broke.
“Delivery for you,” Findlay announced as he waltzed into the room.
He plonked a brown paper package on the desk in front of her. James looked through the window from the library, where he was manning the phones. “Is it something good?”
“I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Get on with it, then,” James said.
Caroline slit the paper and pulled out a plain brown box. She took off the lid and her jaw fell open. She jerked to her feet.
“What is it?” James demanded. “I can’t see anything.”
“You don’t want to see,” Findlay said with disgust.
Archie bustled around to peer in the box. “Bloody hell. That’s just sick. Maybe you shouldn’t look at this, lass.”
Caroline stared at the contents. Her mind reeling. Who would do something like this?
“Better call the police station,” Archie told James. “We’ll be needing them.”
“Tell me what it is,” James said.
“Just call the police.”
James grumbled, though he did as he was told.
“I’ll make tea; you need a good cup of tea. A strong one.” Findlay headed to the kitchen.
“Sit down, Caroline, love.” Archie put his hands on Caroline’s shoulders and pressed her towards the chair.
Caroline sat. She reached for the box, but Archie moved it out of the way. “I watch a lot of crime programmes. The police will want to fingerprint that.”
She nodded. She felt a little dazed. “We need to call Josh. He made me promise to call if anything happens.”
“What’s his mobile phone number?”
She looked at him blankly. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll try the castle.”
“Try my house too; he might be there.”
Archie nodded as he reached for the phone. Against her better judgement, Caroline peered into the box. There was a small cloth doll wearing a grey suit. The doll had pins stuck into it, one through the eye, and someone had painted on red dye for blood. In a clear plastic bag beside the doll was what looked like a heart. It was bloody and horrible. Lying on top of it was a note. It said: Caroline Patterson, you don’t love him. You can’t love him. Your heart is as dead as this one.
She sank back into her chair and wondered what to do next. Deep inside she was convinced that there was a way to gain control of the situation.
She just had to find it.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Helen bustled into Caroline’s office ten minutes later. “You poor dear, you must be devastated.”
Caroline gave her future mother-in-law a bewildered smile. “That was fast. The package only arrived ten minutes ago.”
“Package?” It was Helen’s turn to look bewildered.
“The police are here,” Archie said from his position by the front door.
“Police?” Helen sat down on the only other chair in Caroline’s office and looked around as though the answer to her question was somewhere in the room. “I’m not sure this is something the police can sort out.”
Caroline frowned at her. “This is definitely something for the police.”
She heard voices, masculine voices, in the vestibule.
“I think you’re taking this a bit far,” Helen said. “I understand how you feel. I was upset too. But it’s nothing a little shopping won’t fix.”
Caroline didn’t have time to deal with Helen, or her bizarre reaction to the box, because Officer Donaldson strode into the room.
“We need to stop meeting like this,” he told Caroline. She attempted a smile, but didn’t quite pull it off. “Archie gave me the basics. Where is it?” Caroline pointed to the box on the edge of the desk. “Who handled it?” He held the box lid by the corners and lifted it up.
“Findlay, Archie maybe, I can’t really say. I touched the outside of the box, but not the contents.”
“Caroline?” Helen was worried. “What’s going on?”
She turned to explain it to her when Kirsty, followed by Lake, burst through her door.
“Caroline, honey.” Kirsty rushed over to give her a hug. “I’m so sorry. We were in the newsagent when we saw it. Don’t let it get to you. I’ll help you and it won’t be an issue anymore. I promise.”
Caroline squeezed her friend back, but shot a questioning look to Lake, who seemed amused. She pulled herself out of Kirsty’s arms. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. How could you see the box in the newsagent? Did they get one too?”
“Box?” Kirsty looked at Lake. “I’m talking about the newspapers.”
“What newspapers?”
Helen shook her head stiffly at Kirsty, who seemed to get the message. “You haven’t seen them?” Kirsty said. “Well, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing we can’t fix.”
Caroline shook her head to clear it. Had everyone around her gone insane?
“Holy guacamole.” Betty stomped into the room. “You’re more famous than Kate Middleton.”
She pushed everyone out of her way and thumped a pile of newspapers and magazines in the middle of Caroline’s desk.
“Oh no,” Helen groaned.
“You don’t need to see those.” Kirsty made a grab for the pile.
“Hands off, they’re mine,” Betty warned.
Kirsty looked pointedly at Lake.
“I can remove you or the magazines,” he told Betty. “Your choice.”
She grinned a toothless grin at him. “You’re like a son to me.”
Caroline reached for the newspaper on top of the pile while everyone was arguing. She turned it over to see the front. The headline screamed, Is this the most boring woman in Britain? And there she was, dressed in a grey suit, looking severe.
“What on earth?” She grabbed another one.
This one had The grey lady of the north as its headline. The subheading asked why sexiest man alive Josh McInnes could marry someone like her. Caroline swallowed hard.
Kirsty and Helen came up beside her. Each of them tried to take the bundle out of her hands.
“No, I want to see.”
Woman’s Weekly had a double-page spread dedicated to her. It showed six photos of her all in different grey suits. All with makeup-free faces. And all without a smile. The article demanded that Caroline burn the suits and hire an image consultant. It said she was letting the country down.
The front cover of Francine Magazine showed a picture of her alongside headshots of the presenters from What Not to Wear. The duo had decided that she needed their help. They were campaigning to get people to put pressure on her to take them up on an offer of a full makeover.
“How did they get all of these photos?” She stared at the double-page spread. “Some of these are years old.”
“Caroline.” Officer Donaldson cut into her thoughts. “We need to talk about the box.”
Kirsty spun on him. “Can’t you see she’s upset? The country thinks she looks terrible. Talk about a box some other time.”
He looked at the ceiling for a moment before answering her. “As important as Caroline’s clothes are, someone sent her a box with a threatening letter and an animal heart. I think that takes precedence.”
“What the hell?” Lake pushed through the women to get to the desk. “When did this arrive?”
“This morning,” Officer Donaldson said.
“Postmark?”
“Fort William.”
“Where’s Josh?” Lake said. All eyes turned to Caroline. “Did anyone call Josh?”
“I asked Archie to call the houses. I don’t have his mobile phone number. He programmed it into the phone he gave me, but the phone is in my kitchen drawer.”
Lake sighed before reaching for his cell phone. “Get to the community centre. Caroline got a package you need to see, and she’s made national news.”
Everyone looked a
t Caroline. There was silence. The men were stony-faced. Archie’s cheeks were red and he looked like he could hit someone. All the women’s faces, except Betty’s, were hugely sympathetic. Helen had tears in her eyes.
“Let me see that box. I can help.” Betty tried to elbow past Lake. He grabbed a handful of tartan dress at the back of her neck to stop her. “I watch CSI. I know what I’m doing.”
Lake stepped in front of her, his arms folded.
“Kirsty,” Lake said. “You and Helen sort out tea for everyone. Take Betty with you. Everyone waits in the blue room. Nobody talks about this until they’ve spoken with us. Got it?”
Kirsty nodded, and with Helen’s help, she manhandled a grumpy Betty out of the room.
“Archie,” Lake continued, “close up the centre. Get everyone except the domino boys out of here.”
Archie nodded and bustled out of the room. Caroline was left with Lake, Officer Donaldson, a pile of offensive articles and a box with a heart in it. They stared at each other.
“Everything will be okay,” she told them. “I’ll sort this out.”
The window to the library opened.
“Got a woman on the line,” James said. “She’s from the BBC and wants you to come on her programme. She says you’ll get a makeover and they’ll give you free clothes. Sounds like a good deal to me.”
Lake reached over and slid the window shut. James stared through it for a moment before he disappeared.
“Now about this box…” Officer Donaldson said.
Caroline sat in her chair and tried to focus on his words. She needed to get the chaos under control. She’d learned the hard way as a child that when people lost control, terrible things happened. Her parents had lost control of their car. Caroline couldn’t lose control of her life. She straightened her back. No. She needed to get on top of this situation. And fast.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
As soon as Josh got Lake’s message, he dropped his sandwich on the bar at The Scottie Dog and ran for the door—with Mitch hard on his heels. They sped up the high street to the community centre, attracting curious glances as they went.
Josh’s mouth thinned when he saw the notice pinned to the door: Temporarily closed. We’ll let you know when we open up again. Don’t worry about library fines in the meantime, we’re postponing them.
He pushed past the notice and into the library. He spotted his mum and Kirsty sipping cups of tea with the domino boys, and an irate Betty stomping around at the back of the blue room. Ignoring them, he pushed open the door to the office.
Caroline stood behind her desk, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She looked calm, in control and perfectly fine. If it weren’t for the slight hint of panic in her eyes and the tick on the edge of her jaw, he wouldn’t have worried. Josh went straight to her, holding her close, and relaxing slightly now that he had her in his arms.
“You okay?”
She nodded against his chest before pulling back to look up at him. “I tried to call, but I forgot your number.”
“It’s programmed into your phone, baby. Give it to me and I’ll show you.”
“It’s in a drawer in the kitchen.”
Josh stared at her for a beat. “It’s called a mobile phone, Caroline. The idea is that it’s mobile. It goes where you go.”
“I know that.” She stepped away from him. “I didn’t think I needed it with me at the community centre.”
“Well, now you know you do.”
She frowned at him, folding her arms tight against her chest. Josh left her to sulk. He turned to the men in the room. “What’s going on?”
The cop cocked his head towards the box. Josh leaned across the desk to peer in. There was thunder in his ears. “Who sent it?” His voice was tight.
“We don’t know yet.”
“Postmark, Fort William. Could be a local. Could be a visitor,” Lake said.
“Fingerprints?” Josh clenched his fists to stop from hitting something. Or someone.
“I’ll send it off,” the cop said, shrugging, “but the lab can take weeks.”
“Was there an outright threat with it?”
His eyes were on Lake and Donaldson, but it was Caroline who spoke. “Apart from the note, I’m taking the fact someone stuck a needle through a doll’s eye as a threat. The doll is supposed to be me. She has the same fashion sense.” Her voice was brittle, making Josh think he was missing something.
“What’s the rest of this story?” he asked Lake.
Lake nudged some tabloids and magazines towards him. “Caroline has made national news, and it isn’t good. Same story in all of them. Some are sympathetic, some aren’t. The photos were taken over the past few years. Looks like someone local fed the press.”
Josh felt pain in his jaw as his teeth clenched hard. He handed the pile of papers to Mitch, who let out a grunt of disgust as he sifted through them.
“This is why your mum and Kirsty are here. They saw the papers and came to offer support.” Lake smiled slightly. “We were in the newsagent when Kirsty went ballistic. She tried to buy every copy until I pointed out that even if Caroline was in the shop, she probably wouldn’t notice. Romance novels and Scottish heritage magazines, yes, tabloids and fashion mags, no.”
Caroline beamed at Lake. Josh stepped towards Caroline, threw an arm around her shoulders and tugged her to his side. Sure, it was a possessive move. But he was too annoyed to care.
“I think you should ask the butcher if he’s sold any hearts recently,” Caroline told Donaldson.
“Aye, I thought of that, Caroline,” the local cop said.
“And you should also ask at the newsagent if anyone bought a big parcel box.”
The cop just stared at her. Josh squeezed her shoulders. “I think Officer Donaldson knows what he’s doing, baby.”
She wasn’t listening. “Another question is why did the package come here instead of to my home address? Maybe it was sent by someone who only knew where I work? I know!” She shrugged out from under Josh’s arm and bent over her computer. She pressed some keys, and a minute later a list of email addresses began printing out. “All of these people applied for the job as my assistant based on the fact I’m marrying Josh. Most of them aren’t from town, so they would only have the community centre address. Maybe one of them doesn’t want me to marry Josh.”
The cop accepted the list. “That’s a good idea, Caroline, but I know what I’m doing.”
She snapped her back straight and stuck her nose in the air. “I’m not saying you don’t. I’m only trying to help. To coordinate this situation.” She didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, she looked at the magazines. “As for this. We’ll organise some people to check where the photos were taken; that should narrow down who took them and lead us to whoever sold the story.”
“Or”—Josh nudged her away from the magazines—“I can have Lake and Mitch deal with that, while you get fitted for your wedding dress.”
Her eyes snapped to the clock high on the wall. “I forgot all about the fitting.”
“I know. They called me three times because they kept getting the voice mail on your cell. Mobile phone, babe, mobile phone.”
“Right.” Caroline bent down and picked up her ugly briefcase. “I better get to the castle.”
Josh stopped her before she could escape. “Do me a favour, make sure Mom and Kirsty go with you.”
“Why?” She looked genuinely confused.
He bent and kissed her nose. “They’re upset. It will be a good diversion for them. Plus Kirsty has to try on the bridesmaid dresses they brought for her.”
“Right. Of course she has a fitting too.” Caroline strode to the door. “If I think of anything else you should do,” she said to Officer Donaldson, “I’ll call.”
“You do that,” he said with a smile.
Once Caroline was gone, Josh felt his rage build. “Your guy is still with her, right?”
“You don’t need to worry. I told him to wait outside. H
e won’t let her out of his sight.”
Josh took a deep breath then looked to Mitch. “The tabloids and mags…I need you on damage control. They know Caroline doesn’t have a team behind her or they wouldn’t have tried this garbage. Now she has my team. Make this go away. Do everything you can think of to turn this around for her. Okay?”
Mitch gave a tight nod. His disgust was clear. “Half of this is slander. I’ll throw the book at them. While I’m at it, I’ll pull strings, get the name of the person who fed them the story and the photos.”
Josh nodded, feeling slightly relieved. He could always depend on Mitch.
The cop gathered up the box. “I’ll follow up on the box and keep an eye on the mail. I’ll have the domino boys run interference in case anything else turns up. It would probably be for the best if Caroline didn’t open any more packages.” He ran a hand over his face. “We all know she thinks she can handle anything, but that girl doesn’t have a clue about her own limitations. We need to save her from herself.”
Josh couldn’t agree more. “I’ll talk to the domino boys about keeping the centre closed until after the wedding. That will make it harder to get anywhere near Caroline.”
“Good idea.” The cop pointed at Josh and Lake. “Keep her safe. I don’t know what this means—it could just be someone screwing around, but we don’t take any chances.” They nodded. “Josh, I’ll need a list of anyone who’s been overfamiliar, issued threats, that sort of thing. They could be targeting Caroline to get to you.”
“I’ll get it to you,” Mitch said.
The men stood grimly silent for a moment.
“Right, we’re done here. This used to be a nice, quiet job,” Donaldson grumbled. “Then all you foreigners started coming to town and now I’m dealing with crazy ex-boyfriends, buildings burning down, voodoo dolls and sheep hearts, crazed reporters and road blockades. I need a vacation.”
“What’s he talking about?” Mitch asked Lake.
“Kirsty’s ex burned down her shop. He’s making a big deal out of nothing.”
“Yeah, right,” the cop said.
“It’s not us,” Lake told him. “It’s the women. Wait until you get one of your own, then you’ll see.”
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