Marigolds in October

by Clare Revell

  Sitting at her computer, she connected her phone and uploaded the photos to it. Then she emailed them to herself and Craig so she had several copies. Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she glanced at the door. Vickery was still in the main squad room.

  Marching over to the door, she flung it open. “Why are you still here?”

  “Because I don’t take orders from a woman with a reputation for getting officers killed,” came the reply.

  Milly closed her office door and locked it. “Well, unless Mr. Tanner is our killer, interviewing him should be relatively safe, wouldn’t you think? And you’re on report as of now.”

  She shouldered her bag, leaving the office and a slack-jawed Vickery behind her. She headed down to the DCI’s office and wasn’t surprised to find it empty. She sat in his chair and quickly filled in the report form. She was a woman of her word. Then she shoved it under his blotter where no one else would find it and left him a cryptic note. He’d have to ask for an explanation.

  Glancing at her watch, she headed down the hallway to the canteen. Only to find the rest of the squad there, now joined by Vickery. She paused. She’d go and interview Mr. Tanner herself. Or would do if she hadn’t been explicitly told not to. She could hardly report Vickery for disobeying orders if she went and did the same thing.

  Shoving the door to the canteen open fully, she headed across to the counter and picked up lunch. She paid and then crossed over to the men. Making sure her voice carried just enough so everyone heard her, she looked at them. “I trust you’re all on your way out now. With a top ranking officer’s daughter missing you can’t afford to sit on your laurels all day.”

  Her words had the desired effect as all the men scrambled to their feet and headed out with a few who muttered, “Aye ma’am,” under their breath.

  Milly sat with her meal and stabbed at it. This assignment was going to be nigh on impossible if the rest of the squad refused to take orders. She ate slowly, then returned to her office, and finished going through the files. Just after three, she shoved her notebook into her bag and locking the office door behind her again, headed out of the building.

  She pulled the map from her coat pocket and followed it to get to the North Inch. She needed fresh air and trees and space to cool down before going back to face Craig Fraser. Long strides took her through the sports center to a huge green playing area, with rugby posts behind her. She set off around the tree lined path. Some trees had lost their leaves, others in various shades of orange, yellow and red clung to the branches in a desperate attempt to stave off winter.

  After half an hour of walking, she reached the river. Amazing reflections of the houses and trees lay on top of the rippling water. It was so pretty and quiet. She kept walking, finally reaching the point where she’d started.

  She dropped heavily onto the first bench she came to and sucked in a deep breath. In front of her rose what looked like a mountain, but probably wasn’t. Pulling the bottle of water from her bag, she drank half of it, and then replaced the lid.

  “You’re in my thinking spot.” The familiar figure loomed over her. She wasn’t short, but he still towered above her.

  “Sorry.” Milly got to her feet.

  “Sit doon.” He sat and stretched his long legs in front of him. “What does ‘Sweeny’s false teeth’ mean? You left a note on my desk.”

  Milly sat. “I left a police report underneath the blotter on your desk that you need to see. I had to hide it due to its confidential nature.” She expected him to ask, but he didn’t.

  Instead, he turned his collar against the wind and shoved his hands into his pockets, obviously waiting for her to explain anyway.

  “Your men need to learn to take orders from a woman.”

  “And mibbe my DI needs to learn to follow protocol and no go against what she’s been told.”

  She hit the bench in frustration. “I might have known you’d side with them.”

  “I’m no doing that.”

  “Yes, you are.” She pushed to her feet. “You can’t not interview someone or not treat them as a suspect because of who they’re related to or because of who they are. You have to treat every victim, every missing person, the same and, therefore, treat all the relatives the same. Interview them, try to establish where they were, when the last time they saw the victim was, in order to get an established time line to work with. It’s basic police work that you bunch of sweaty socks don’t seem to get.”

  He grabbed her arm, putting an end to her tirade. “Dinnae try tae teach your grandmother tae suck eggs. You want to interview the Chief Constable as well?”

  “It might be an idea. And it’d be nice if forensics bothered to show up after we call them, as well.”

  “Aye, they said you’d been on tae them. Now, sit doon, Inspector. I’ll no tell you again.”

  She sat.

  “Sweaty socks?”

  Milly shook her head. “Just consider it an insult. Look, you don’t want me here anymore that I want to be here. We’ve established that already. But you need me, so let me do my job.”

  He sighed. “Go home. See you Monday.”

  Milly did a double take. “It’s Friday…”

  “Aye. We have a rota for the weekends and nights. And you have the weekend off. So go home.”

  “Well, I would, but I don’t have my car, remember. And I have no idea how to get back to Bridge of Earn on foot.”

  “Then I’ll drive you back. I’m going that way anyhoo.”

  The entire car trip was an uncomfortable silence. Milly unfastened her seatbelt with profound relief as Craig stopped outside her lodge. She opened the door. “Thanks. I don’t suppose you know of a good evangelical church around here, do you?”

  “Tayside Christian Fellowship. It’s off Kings Street.”

  “Thanks, I’ll find it. See you Monday.” She let herself in and tossed her bag to the kitchen counter. She put her coat in the bedroom and then flopped onto the couch and closed her eyes. What was she doing wrong?

  Her mind wandered. Caught in that space between dreaming and wakefulness, she was walking along a tree lined path. Her feet crunched on leaves. A scream echoed, and she pushed her way through long grass and bushes, searching. Stumbling into a clearing, she came upon an overgrown cottage covered in leaves and ivy. A light shone from one of the windows, until with an audible click it went off, plunging everything into darkness. Someone grabbed her, a hand clamped over her mouth, an arm around her waist…Who was knocking?

  Milly jerked upright, her heart pounding. Darkness surrounded her. She flicked on the light and jumped as a figure stood outlined against the door. She pulled it open.

  “You left your hat in the car.” Craig held it out. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, fine.” She took the hat, trying to ignore her rapid heart beat. “Thanks for this.” She saw him out and stood on the balcony as he drove away.

  From the door of lodge four, a figure raised his hand and waved.

  She automatically waved back, and then went inside. She closed the door and leaned against it, her hand against her throat. She hadn’t had dreams like that since the last case. She didn’t want them again.

  6

  Still not sure why he was here, Craig pulled up outside lodge eleven at nine o’clock sharp. He took the piece of gum from his mouth and disposed of it in the bin in the car. She might not even be up yet, never mind want to spend the day with him. But as his mother always said, them that don’t ask won’t get. Her car was here, but the curtains were still closed. He walked up the ramp and knocked on the door.

  Milly opened the door, a fleece dressing gown held tightly around her. “Sir.”

  “Hi. I was wondering…” Something made the back of his neck crawl. He glanced over his shoulder. The bloke from number four was standing at the door of his lodge watching them. He turned back to Milly. “Can I come in?”

  She hesitated briefly, then opened the door wider. “Sure.”

  He went ins
ide and slid his hands into his pockets as she closed the door. “I thought you would be up by now.”

  “Weekend off, remember.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I’m off oot for the day and wondered if you would like tae come with. I could show you some of the sights. Prettier ones than yesterday.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that, sir.”

  “One proviso. I dinnae want you calling me sir or guv or even Mr. Fraser today. It’s Craig. We’re off duty.”

  She hesitated again, color touching her cheeks. “OK…Craig. Are you this informal with everyone off duty?”

  He shook his head, trying to ignore the way his heart and stomach jumped and rolled in unison at the way his name sounded in her cute east end accent. “Nay.”

  She tilted her head. “Then, is this a date?”

  He caught his breath. “It could be.”

  “I’ll get dressed.” Her color deepened, making her even prettier.

  “I’ll make you some coffee. Unless you’d prefer tea.” He ran his gaze over her figure, tempted to tell her she looked fine as she was.

  “Tea, please.” She shot him a smile and moved into the other room, shutting the door.

  Craig opened the curtains and turned to making tea and toast. Are you crazy? Getting involved with a woman you work with? You ken next tae nothing aboot her, except she’s trouble with a capital T. But—his heart objected—you like her. A lot. She lights up a room simply by being in it. You get a warm fuzzy feeling from being around her, and you dinnae do warm and fuzzy. See…point proved. She’s dangerous. With a capital…

  The door opened and Milly came into the lounge, ending the argument with himself. Wow. “You look…amazing,” he managed, almost lost for words.

  She tugged down the sweater that barely reached her hips and was the same shade of blue as her jeans. She wore black ankle boots. “Is this OK? I can always change my shoes.”

  “Boots are fine for what I have planned, so long as the heels aren’t too big. I made you toast.”

  “Thank you.” She sat at the breakfast bar and covered the toast with butter and marmalade.

  He sat with her, barely able to hear himself think over the pounding of the pulse in his throat. His heart was in serious danger here and he knew it. But part of him, the risk taking part, didn’t care and didn’t want to pull back.

  She scraped a fingernail along the edge of the toast to catch an errant drop of marmalade. “So, this ‘date?’ Are you sure? I mean…”

  “It doesnae have tae be a date. I just thought I had nothing tae do and you dinnae ken the local area.” He paused. That sounded lame even to him. “But, you ken…”

  She touched his hand, sending rivers of fire straight to his core. “It’s a good idea. I’d gone through some of the brochures, but hadn’t really decided where to go today. Aside from trying to find this Christmas shop at some point. It’s in Crieff.” She handed him the leaflet.

  Craig read it and smiled. “I havenae been there, but it sounds like my kind of shop. It shouldnae be too hard tae find.” He sipped his tea. “Do you like waterfalls?”

  “Love them.”

  He grinned. “Then I have just the place to tak’ you.”

  She chuckled. “Now I have a song running through my head.” She stood and took her plate and cup to the sink. “Ye’ll tak’ the high road and Ah’ll tak’ the low road, and Ah’ll be in Scotland afore ye…” she sang.

  He laughed. “Perhaps we’ll do Loch Lomond another day. We’re going to the Hermitage.”

  ****

  Craig seemed to whip along the narrow, tree-lined roads, but then Milly guessed he knew them like the back of his hand. The mountains provided a magnificent backdrop and she snapped photo after photo. She’d have to download them all to her laptop when she got home, or she’d run out of memory. But the country was so beautiful, the trees such a mass of different colors, she had to keep taking them. She even took a sneaky one or two of Craig. His presence filled the car, sending her stomach fluttering and her pulse racing. And he looked so different out of a suit.

  He glanced at her and she felt her cheeks burn for being caught looking. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  Milly plunged for the honest truth. “Trying to work you out. You seem like two totally different people. Put you in a suit and tie and you’re all business and DCI Fraser, righter of wrongs and defender of the weak. But here you are in jeans, jumper, and jacket, just Craig, you seem years younger and so different. Even the stubble suits you.”

  Craig ran a hand over his chin. “I dinnae shave when I’m off duty. I have tae do things for me. I cannae be the cop all the time, I’d go spare. Not that I switch off—the current case is always on my mind and the phone is always on if they need me back at the office. But I ken how tae have fun.”

  She smiled. “So what do you do for fun?”

  “I run…”

  Milly giggled. “That’s part of the job, though not so much when we get to our—your rank.”

  “I love running,” Craig said, seeming to ignore her slip up. “I run at least six miles every day. I also like hiking, ten-pin bowling and I dance…badly, according to my brother.” He winked. “And I dinnae shave either.”

  “We share a love of walking. That’s something I do a lot of at home. But I don’t dance, although I do love singing. I did some amateur dramatics at one point, but the hours weren’t really conducive to working and rehearsals.”

  “I ken how that is.” He pulled into a car park. “We walk from here.”

  Milly paused by the signs, reading about the Hermitage and what she’d see here. She tugged her hat down over her head.

  Craig came over with his scarf tight around his neck. “Ready?”

  She nodded, walking with him along the forest path. To the left and below them the river thundered past across the stones, high because of all the recent rain. The sound was amazing, and she snapped photo after photo.

  “Do you have any family?” He pulled some gum from his pocket and unwrapped it.

  “I’m an only child. Dad’s a dentist, Mum’s a nurse.”

  He put the gum in his mouth, pocketing the paper. He didn’t offer her any, which she didn’t mind as she’d always thought chewing gum was a disgusting habit. “I have a brother, Alistair. He’s married to Katie with a baby due any time now. My parents live the other side o’Perth. They’re both retired.”

  Milly stopped by a fallen tree. Inside was completely hollow. She ran a hand over the trunk. “When I was a kid, my favorite story was about a hollow tree house. These kids ran away and lived inside it. I never thought it’d be possible, but seeing this I guess it must be. It’d be a good place to hide a body.”

  “No now, it wouldnae be.” Craig winked.

  “Well, obviously.” She grinned and started walking again.

  He shook his head. “Hide a body? Are you never off duty, lassie?”

  “I guess not, and the name’s Milly. Lassie’s a dog, and I’m no dog.”

  He chuckled. “OK, Milly, but no more work talk today.”

  “Is that an order?” She ignored the shiver of delight she got when he mentioned her name.

  He paused and tilted his head. “Aye.”

  “Now who is never off duty?” She threw her head back and laughed as they approached an oval building.

  He chuckled and opened the door to the folly for her.

  The walls around them were cold, with brass panels on either side. In front were two glass doors. “These are a relatively new addition,” Craig said. He pulled open one for her. “After you.”

  Milly went out onto the viewing platform. The noise of the thundering falls was deafening. She stood in amazement at the beauty of the waterfall, watching the water pour over and between the rocks. Not one continuous sheet all the way across, but numerous individual falls, making up one whole.

  “Sometimes you can see the salmon leaping up it.”

  She stood there silently, lost for words as
she took photos. The only words she could think of were amazing and wow. A hand on her arm made her jump.

  “Are you all right, Milly?” Craig asked, concern in his voice.

  She nodded. The fact he used her name was not helping any.

  “Only you havenae said anything in five minutes now.”

  She pointed to the tumbling mass of water in front of them. “It’s just…”

  His face broke into a smile. “Aye. It is.”

  ****

  The next stop on Craig’s tour was Queen’s View. He grinned as Milly fell silent.

  She gazed out over the mountains and Loch Tummel.

  “Queen Victoria came here tae admire the view in 1886.”

  “I guess that’s why they call it Queen’s View.”

  “Actually, it was named after Robert the Bruce’s wife, Queen Isabella back in the fourteenth century.” He pointed out the mountains, naming them for her.

  “It’s just so pretty. All the different colors.”

  “It’s different in every season. Wait until it snows.”

  She smiled. “Now as much as I love Christmas, I prefer the autumn colors.”

  “I love spring myself. Everything coming back to life and made new.” He rubbed his stomach, hoping she hadn’t heard it gurgle. “Now, I dinnae ken aboot you, but I’m hungry. What say you we go find somewhere in Pitlochry tae eat, and I’ll show you the dam.”

  “Dam?”

  “A hydroelectric power station and fish ladder for the salmon.”

  Milly’s enthusiasm for his homeland thrilled Craig as he showed her a few of his favorite places in Pitlochry. She insisted on paying for her own meal, and then ran over the dam the same way he and his brother once had. They walked back the long way, over the footbridge, stopping off for ice creams on the way back to town.

  She paused outside a shop, gazing in the window. “A kilt shop. I’ve always wanted one. Can we go and look?”

  He nodded. “Sure.” His phone rang and he stifled his disappointment. This had better not be work. “Fraser.”

  “Can I speak tae Uncle Craig, please?” His brother’s joy-filled voice laughed down the phone. “My name is Ellie. I’m thirty minutes old; and I weigh six pounds, four ounces.”