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“ T ake me with you please," Crystal said.

"To the crime scene? I can't do that. Jamie'd be angry and I'll never hear the end of it," Elena said.

Crystal huffed. "You know that I write about crime. That means that I have read and dissected every single crime that I've come across. This is no different, even if it is in a different time period."

"That might be true but I can't. You don't understand this place yet. It's safer for you here under guard."

"He can come with us. You shouldn't be out there alone either. Courteney said their house was outside of the village," Crystal said.

Elena was quiet for a moment. "Very well, you're probably intricate to solving this murder anyway, seeing as that's usually how it works. Jamie won't be happy, but we'll do our best to make sure you're protected, right, Rory?"

"Aye, my lady." Rory nodded.

"I will just tell Jamie that I made you bring me, then he can't be mad at you."

Elena chuckled. "I think he knows me well enough to know that no one can make me do anything. I'm pretty stubborn."

Crystal laughed. "I am as well." "All right then, let's grab another of the meat pies and then we should get going," Elena said.

Crystal found the bag with the pies and handed Rory and Elena one, then grabbed one for herself. They ate them quickly and headed out the door. "How far of a walk is it?" she asked.

"We won't be walking. Do you know how to ride a horse?" Elena asked, pausing her steps.

"I've never been on a horse in my life," Crystal admitted.

"She can ride with me," Rory suggested.

"That will work," Elena strode to the stables near the tavern.

A few minutes later, two horses were saddled and Rory was directing Crystal into the saddle. Once she was seated, he swung up behind her, grabbed the reins and turned the horse in the direction they were going to travel.

Crystal turned her gaze toward Elena to see her astride a chocolate brown mare, looking as though she'd been riding her whole life.

She seemed very confident upon the horse.

As they rode, Crystal had no idea what to do with her hands, so she wound her fingers into the horse's mane to hold on.

She didn't think she'd actually fall off, though, not with Rory's arms blocking her in.

They galloped along a dirt road for about twenty minutes and Crystal watched as they passed by homes that were closer to the village until they grew further and further apart.

Finally they arrived at a cottage that was a little bigger than Courteney's.

Crystal noticed that the home wasn't the only building on the property.

Behind it was a small outbuilding that was half open, and a barn, which was also open where the horses were kept.

It was a good hiding place for anyone who might be waiting for Maeve to come home.

Crystal took note of it as Rory reined the horse in and they came to a stop.

Jamie stepped out of the outbuilding and strode over to them wearing a frown. "Why did you bring the lass?"

"These two demanded I bring the lass, says she might be able to help solve the murder," Shaw commented as he dismounted and helped Crystal down.

"Is that so? And what makes you think that you are capable of solving something like this murder? Were you a detective like Elena?" he asked, giving her a hard stare.

"Well, no, but I did have to investigate many crimes where I am I from."

"She's a crime novelist," Elena replied, dismounting as well.

"What might that be?" Jamie narrowed his eyes, obviously not liking what he was hearing.

"I'm an author. I write books."

Jamie scoffed. "So you think coming out here when we haven't any idea of what or who has murdered Maeve is a good idea? Have you lost your mind, lass? This is dangerous work, and I can't be having a novelist out here causing me to be distracted!"

Crystal put her hands on her hips. "I can and I will investigate this crime. You are not the boss of me, Jamie Grant. I am in control of my body not you." She gave him a defiant look, daring him to make her leave.

The Watchmen who had come out of the barn grinned and turned away.

Clearly they found the argument between her and Jamie amusing, but decided it might be better to give them some privacy as they returned to the barn.

Or maybe they were just going back to work, Crystal couldn't be sure.

Either way, she was grateful not to have a large audience.

"I am not trying to control your body," Jamie said, his voice gruff as he ran a hand through his thick blond hair.

"Only trying to save my own head. If anything happened to you while you were out here, the Laird would have my head.

You're not qualified to be out here. You're only here to satisfy your own selfish curiosity! "

Crystal took a step toward him getting in his face.

He was being pig-headed and she knew that she could help.

She glared at him, digging in her heels.

"I am not being selfish! Yes, I may be curious, I've never encountered anything supernatural, so I understand that it may be dangerous, but you aren't the boss of me.

I can go where I want and do what I want with my own body. You don't own me."

Jamie's chest heaved, an angry look on his face as he stared at her, but there was something else brewing between them and Crystal could sense it.

She was pretty sure he could too because the fire in his eyes turned to something softer.

She felt her cheeks flush and her eyes narrowed at him, but she felt anything but angry.

Jamie groaned, clearly annoyed. "All of you lasses from the future are impossible! Stubborn, and mule headed—""How dare you—" Crystal began, but Melanie cut her off.

"Enough, both of you. We have work to do. Now you both can make yourself useful or go argue in that field over there like animals."

Crystal took a step back from him, counting to ten and calming herself.

Jamie turned away, muttering to himself about trouble finding women.

"I'm sorry for getting drawn into an argument like that.

I'm here to help, Melanie. I am really good at investigating.

I might have only been a writer, but I did my work and I did help with a couple of cold cases back home.

" Crystal smiled as she explained. "I know you were interviewing witnesses yesterday, I heard some of it, but what have you found here at the crime scene?

" she asked, completely ignoring the fact that Jamie was in charge.

She wanted to rile him up because he'd pissed her off.

"We've been looking for any signs of animal tracks, but so far all we've found are horse hooves and boot prints.

We've matched Brian's Maeve's and Courteney's to many of the boot prints, and Brian's horse as well as ours to the hoof prints, but there are others we haven't been able to verify.

It could be from the Watchmen who were here the night of the murder, but we can't be sure," Melanie answered.

"It's very troubling." "Why specifically look for animal tracks? " Crystal asked.

"Well it's not exactly animal tracks that we're looking for but something that would look like an animal track.

It's what the Goblins would leave behind," Jamie said, sounding calmer.

"It rained earlier in the day on the night of the murder, so the ground was soft and the tracks would remain and stay fresh because it has not rained since. "

Crystal was still having trouble understanding what these goblins were.

The only reference she had for them were the muppet kind of goblins she'd seen in movies.

In the movies they were capable of speaking English, but if they were looking for animal tracks, she wondered if that meant the goblins were more like animals here.

"What kind of animals are these goblins? " she asked.

Jamie frowned and tilted his head at her. "They aren't animals, not like you're thinking. They are—" he stopped and looked at Elena and Melanie for help.

"Okay, so you know how they were portrayed in the movies?" Melanie asked.

Crystal nodded. "Yes, I mean I've seen Labyrinth, who hasn't?" She shrugged.

"So they are similar. They can speak both in their own language, and in ours.

Depending on what type of goblin they are, they have various features.

Some are more vicious than other, like the redcaps.

Their foot prints will look similar to our feet, but with fewer toes, and smaller than an adult human's.

Unless we're dealing with a goblin sorceress who has stolen someone's identity again.

" Melanie frowned and looked over at Jamie. "Think that's possible?"

Jamie shook his head. "The ones who are capable of doing that are very few. It'd be unlikely and Nellie is locked away in the Seelie Court prison, so it cannot be her."

Crystal had no idea who this Nellie person was, but she was more concerned that there were goblins who could steal someone's identity. "So, how do they steal someone's identity here? I mean it seems like everyone here knows everyone else, wouldn't they recognize a goblin?"

"When we say that, we mean that they can shapeshift and trade bodies with the human.

The human becomes the goblin and the goblin takes on the human's form.

You'll have to ask Mary about it sometime, she's a little sensitive about it, but she's back to her own body now that the spell was broken, and more willing to talk about it," Elena explained.

The entire idea was terrifying and Crystal really hoped they weren't dealing with that kind of goblin. "Let's hope Jamie is right and that's noth what we're dealing with here."

"Exactly." Melanie nodded. "Anyway, if you would help with looking for their tracks, that could be useful."

Crystal nodded. "Yes, I can do that, but I would like to be shown inside the cottage, if you don't mind? I'd like to see where the body was found and for you to explain how she died," Crystal said.

"I can do that, but… what do you mean by how she died?" Melanie asked. "She was murdered."

"I know but… Courteney said there was blood everywhere, the ceiling even. How did that happen?" Crystal's gaze was drawn to Jamie who arched a brow at her request. He didn't deny her access though, and for that she was grateful.

"Ah, okay, follow me," Melanie replied.

She and Elena led Crystal to the small bedroom.

The room had been cleaned and smelled of some sort of cleaning fluid, but there were still stains upon the wall and floor.

Crystal's gaze moved to the low ceiling and she could make out a few stains there as well.

They'd been scrubbed, but it seemed that didn't get rid of all the blood evidence.

"Her body was found here, though I didn't see it." Elena pointed to the spot on the floor. "From what I am told, it looked as though she'd been mauled and her body slashed. Whether by a goblin or man, I can't say."

Crystal frowned. "You think a man might have done it?"

"I'd hate to think that there is someone in the village capable of this kind of violence, but we all know that men are capable of this kind of attack.

Goblins are dangerous, and they too have been known to do this kind of damage.

Redcaps especially. If that's what we're dealing with, there will be more attacks. "

Crystal was glad to have this investigation to focus on for a few hours.

It distracted her from the fact that she had traveled through time to an era where women were treated like property and she found that worrying.

It also distracted her from thinking about Jamie.

Though he was just a few feet away, outside the cottage.

Just that thought of him seemed to conjure him up, as he stepped into the cottage a moment later.

"If you are finished in here, we could use your help searching the property."

Crystal's gaze met his and for a moment she thought he might say something more, but he simply gave her an enigmatic look, turned on his heel and left again. She sighed as she watched him leave. She admired the way his broad shoulders filled the doorway as he left.

"We should go help," Elena murmured, breaking Crystal's thoughts about Jamie.

"Yes, there's not much we can do in here right now I suppose." She followed the other women back out of the cottage.