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Jamie's jaw twitched and he seemed stressed. "Fine. She comes. Go fetch your horses. I will have Wallace send word to the Laird of this murder."

"Aye. We'll meet back here," Rory said as he and the others headed for the stables next to the inn.

Jamie started for the door of the Gatehouse with Crystal on his heels since she didn't have a horse to fetch. He stopped and turned so abruptly she ran right into his chest. "Careful now, lass," he murmured as he gripped her arms to keep her from tumbling backward.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to stop and turn around," she said, as heat filled her cheeks.

"Stay right here. I do not like leaving you alone, but I do not want you coming inside right now. Cameron is not stable and might do something violent if he sees you."

A shiver raced up her spine and she nodded. "Right. I'll stay here by the door," she said. Crystal planted herself outside the door against the door while Jamie popped into the tavern.

He returned within two minutes and moved straight toward her side. "I've already had my horse readied. Let's get you mounted," Jamie said as he led her over to the horse and untied it.

He put his hands on her hips and lifted her up so she could swing her leg over the saddle. A moment later he hopped up behind her and the joined the others in the courtyard.

"Let us be off," Jamie directed.

A few minutes later they arrived at a home just beyond the village proper.

She thought it was a bit run down from the other ones she'd seen but the property was fairly large with there were two small buildings and a stable behind it.

One looked like storage and the other a small barn.

They dismounted the horses and stopped before approaching.

"Follow in one line to keep our tracks together, and be aware of any other footprints so we do not mar them. If you see anything on the ground let me know," Jamie said. "Shaw, you, Elena and Melanie take the outer buildings, we'll head for the cottage."

Rory and Crystal followed Jamie to the door of the cottage and entered.

Crystal was excited that she was going to see a live crime scene this time instead of just photos of one, that was until she actually saw it.

Billy lay on the floor of the main room in a pool of blood. His throat had been slit from one ear to the other.

"Just as Cameron said, whoever did this slit his throat," Jamie said.

"It looks like there was a struggle in here." Crystal pointed out a table knocked over and a chair, as well as a shelf knocked from the wall with various item fallen to the floor.

"Aye, a violent one," Rory added.

Crystal moved closer to the body even though her stomach was starting spasm, especially at the smell.

She directed Jamie's attention to the body.

"Look. It's not just his throat. He was stabbed in his upper arm, and here in his chest. It looks as though the knife struck him again and again here in the chest."

"Aye, I see it," Jamie said.

Crystal had seen many real crime scenes in her research but only via photos. Seeing the real thing in person made her stomach churn. She held it together because she didn't want Jamie to regret his decision to let her come along. This was more horrible than anything she could have imagined.

"These stab wounds are smaller than a dagger like you gave me would have made, what about the ones that were inflicted on Maeve?

What kind of shape were they? Did they resemble the same?

" Crystal asked. "Good question, lass," Jamie said as he studied the wounds.

"What I gave you is a dirk, most Scotsmen carry them.

The wounds upon Maeve were more of a slashing kind, so if they were made by a blade, it would be hard to say, which is why we've considered it might have been goblins who killed her.

These wounds appear more like those of a Bollock dagger, which is thinner than a dirk," Jamie explained.

"Okay, so possibly two different weapons?" Crystal hypothesized.

"Aye," Jamie agreed. "Or two different goblins."

"Right, or two different goblins," Crystal conceded, though she had no idea what that meant. "Is that likely though? For two different goblins to attack like this, but one attacked a woman and one a man?"

"Goblins generally attack in packs," Jamie said.

"I remember you saying that, but is it likely that if there was more than one goblin here, that only one did this kind of damage to him?"

"I could not say, lass. The goblins are tricky. They may be trying to manipulate us into thinking there is only one attacking."

Crystal frowned at that. "But why stab Billy like this, but slash Maeve. If they were trying to manipulate us into thinking it was a lone goblin, wouldn't they keep the attack the same?"

"Maybe because Billy was stronger as a man, and Maeve wasn't as a woman," Rory said.

"That is possible," Jamie said.

Crystal turned her head from the body and looked at the cottage floor. "If there were goblins here, there should be tracks in the blood. Don't you think? I don't see any," she said.

"That is a curious observation, lass. Maybe we should check outside," Jamie said.

"I'll do it," she said and went straight for the door. As soon as she stepped out she took a deep breath of air. Then she followed their footprints back toward the horses. She walked far from the door to catch her breath to keep herself from vomiting.

A moment later, Jamie approached her and put his hand on her back. She found his touch comforting.

"You alright, lass?" he asked.

"I am. Just needed some fresh air for a moment. The smell is horrible in there. I didn't expect it to have such a sickly sweet metallic smell."

"Aye, tis awful," he said.

"Whoever did that, it's inhuman. I know I've questioned whether it was goblins, but I have to tell you, humans are capable of such gruesome acts as well," she said.

Jamie nodded, and then looked up over her shoulder. "Oh no," he groaned.

"What?" she asked, turning to look behind her.

A group of neighbors were approaching.

"I need to keep them away from here. Go and fetch Rory."

"Alright," she said as she hurried back down the path they'd created. Crystal stood outside the cottage door and shouted, "Rory, Jamie wants you."

Rory stepped out and headed for Jamie. As the others emerged from the out buildings to join Jamie and Rory at heading off the neighbors, Crystal took it upon herself to scour the exterior walls of the cottage.

She looked for tracks of any kind before the deluge of neighbors trampled the crime scene and because she didn't want to go back inside where the body was.