Page 22 of A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3)

SEVENTEEN

Having refused Cathy’s offers of more tea and more cake, Ally and Ross got back on the road about half past three, knowing they’d need to be home by five at the latest as the dogs would have been shut in for a few hours.

‘What did you make of that ?’ Ally asked as they whizzed through Drumnadrochit again.

‘What? Rigby do you mean?’

‘Well yes, and his change of heart about telling Amir.’

‘I think you’ve persuaded him to make the right decision,’ Ross said.

‘He’s obviously determined to see the body again and request a DNA test. I don’t think he’s going to be getting back to work in the near future, and certainly not in time to get this case sorted out.

So at least by visiting his sister’s body, he can get some sort of resolution. ’

Ally nodded. ‘I agree with you. I think I owe it to Rigby to help put his mind at rest, which he can’t do himself. I need to get back to my board and think some more about my chief suspect.’

As she spoke, Ally had a further thought. If Jodi’s baby had been a girl, could any of the women possibly be the daughter? Age-wise that eliminated Penelope and Joyce, but what about the others? Was Laura the right age to be Jodi’s daughter?

‘You and your board! I take it that when you say chief suspect, you mean Laura?’

‘Yes. I mean why else would she have signed up for this writers’ course where Jodi was the main attraction? And couldn’t that be the reason? To kill Jodi?’

‘Or maybe to improve her writing skills?’ Ross suggested.

‘Unlikely,’ Ally retorted. ‘I think she was in constant touch with her lover, Owen Jones, told him she’d done the deed, and so it would be safe for him to appear – the so-called grieving husband!

He told her where he was parked, and that’s where she went every day instead of socialising with the others. ’

‘That makes sense I suppose,’ Ross agreed. ‘But what about Joyce?’

‘Poor Joyce!’ Ally said. ‘I suppose she could have seen Laura and Owen together somehow and put it together the way we have? And I can still see Brigitte looking through Jodi’s diary and guiltily putting it down when she saw me.’

‘Perhaps she was just being nosy? It’s the kind of thing any of us might do, and especially a writer who’s always on the lookout for new stories. You could always ask her,’ Ross said as they passed the sign for Fort Augustus.

‘Ask her what?’

‘Ask her why she was in there in the first place? Her excuse about having a look at the room or whatever seems a bit wobbly to me.’

‘I suppose so,’ Ally reluctantly agreed. ‘She did explain that she had a pre-arranged meeting, so I can’t very well come out and accuse her of murder, can I?’

‘But the most important thing right now is to tell Amir about Rigby’s involvement in all this, so they can hopefully get the DNA test done.’

‘I will,’ Ally agreed, delving into her bag and getting out her phone.

When they got home, Ross took both dogs for a walk, and he’d hardly gone when Amir arrived.

‘You’re going to need some strong tea, Amir,’ Ally said as she led the way into the kitchen. ‘Or a wee dram?’

‘I’ll settle for the tea, please,’ Amir said, sitting down at the kitchen table and removing a file and a phone from his briefcase. ‘You’ve something to tell me?’

‘I certainly have,’ Ally said. ‘I’ve just been to see Bob Rigby. He’s been keeping some information from you until now, but finally we’ve persuaded him to let me tell you about it.’

Amir looked up with a frown. ‘Go on.’

Ally handed him a mug of strong, black tea with one sugar. ‘He got a massive shock when he saw Jodi Jones’s body,’ she said, ‘because he had reason to believe it was his long-lost sister.’

Amir, who had the mug of tea halfway to his mouth, laid it down again with a shaky hand.

‘ What ?’

Ally then proceeded to tell him about the family resemblance and the birthmark.

‘Why in God’s name did he not tell me this?’ Amir asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

‘Because he didn’t want to be taken off the case.’

‘But, Ally, with his health issues, it would be very unlikely that he’d be back on this case anyway.’

‘He also wants to ask you if he can see Jodi’s body again before the burial,’ Ally continued, ‘and he would like to request a DNA test. I guess he needs to find out for sure one way or the other.’

‘I’ll have to arrange something with the undertaker’s in Inverness,’ Amir said. He thought for a moment. ‘Could the shock have brought on his heart problem, I wonder?’

‘I think it’s very likely,’ Ally replied. ‘Rigby and his family always thought she’d gone away because she was pregnant, although Rigby was only a little boy at the time. He learned most of it later, but it ties in with the magazine article about her baby.’

‘Yes, but, Ally, where is this child? I’ve been looking into it since we last talked and there’s still no sign of them,’ Amir said gloomily, draining his tea. ‘I must be off, but, as always, if you come across anything else of interest, please get in touch with me immediately.’

‘I will,’ said Ally as she accompanied him to the door.

‘I don’t know about you,’ Ross said, when he and the dogs returned, ‘but we’ve had a very long day and I, for one, am knackered.’

Ally reminded herself that he’d done all the driving to Inverness and back, and that it had indeed been a very long day. The lights were on in the bedrooms upstairs, so she assumed that all the women were in, and locked up the house while Ross boiled the kettle for cups of tea.

‘We won’t talk about this any more tonight,’ he repeated sternly as she re-entered the kitchen. ‘We can talk about the weather, the price of fuel, anything you like, but not another word about Rigby, Laura or anyone else! OK?’

‘OK,’ Ally agreed meekly. ‘We might as well go to bed after this then.’

As she sank into bed and cuddled up to Ross, Ally realised how tired she herself was too, and it was only a matter of minutes before she drifted off into a deep sleep.

And it only seemed like seconds later when Ally’s phone rang. And rang.

It’ll be a wrong number , she thought. And then: Nobody rings at this time of night unless… Oh no, please God, not one of the children…

Ally groped frantically for the phone, almost dropping it on the floor in her panic. Ross groaned and sat up in bed.

It was the earl.

‘Oh, Alison! I’m truly sorry to bother you at this time of night,’ he said, ‘but it’s Magda! She thinks she’s in the final stages of labour and I don’t know what the hell to do ! She says there isn’t time for me to get her to Inverness as planned.’

‘Have you called the doctor or anyone?’ Ally asked desperately.

‘Well, I tried old Doctor Hayward, who I know has been retired for years, but he must have delivered countless babies in his time. But he’s not answering.

I’ve rung the emergency services, but we’re so out of the way…

’ He let that sink in for a moment or so, then his voice rose, ‘And I don’t know what to do !

’ His voice wavered. ‘Could you possibly come up?’

‘I’m no expert on childbirth!’ Ally exclaimed, but at the same time, she slid out of bed, while looking around for her bra and digging some knickers out of her bedside drawer.

‘But you’ve had children and you must have some idea—’ Hamish’s voice broke, and, in the background, Ally could hear Magda yelling.

‘I’ll be up shortly,’ Ally said. She laid down the phone and saw Ross climbing out of bed as well.

‘You don’t need to come, Ross,’ she said, pulling on a sweater and jeans. ‘This is possibly a false alarm because I don’t think she’s due yet, but Magda’s yelling and Hamish is in a hell of a state.’

‘You’re not going out there on your own at this time of night!’ Ross said firmly as he too searched around for some clothes.

‘But it’s only up the road…’ Ally began.

‘I’m coming with you,’ Ross said. ‘Besides which I’ve delivered literally thousands of puppies, calves, foals, you name it! Delivering a baby person can’t be that much different!’