Page 10

Chapter Ten

The screams rang sharp in my ears as we neared the kitchen. Thankfully, we didn’t have far to run. Some of the staff were on the floor, and others were scrambling up on counters to get out of the way.

Flour and other ingredients had been thrown about like a tornado had torn through the normally pristine kitchen.

Then there was Jasper, running around like a mad man with a butcher knife.

“I’ll kill them. Bloody menaces.” He snarled. His apron was covered in icing and cake.

“Jasper.” Ewan’s powerful voice reverberated against the marble kitchen walls.

Everyone stopped.

Jasper glanced up, and the knife clattered to the floor.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“Bloody sheep,” Jasper growled.

Three small lambs ran around the kitchen. Ewan scooped two of them up, and Tommy, Abigail’s brother, caught the third. Then Tommy sat on the floor and put his face into the neck of the baby lamb. The young man’s arms shook with fear.

“Mara, get Abigail from the dungeon,” I whispered.

I knelt next to Tommy. Routine was his friend, and anything outside of that caused him a great deal of anxiety. I frowned at Jasper. A crazy man running around with a butcher knife would have scared anyone.

Even though we all knew Jasper was harmless.

This situation was too intense for him. He needed a calm atmosphere, surrounded by familiarity.

“You’re okay,” I whispered. “Whatever happened, no one is mad. No one will hurt you.”

Without looking up, he pointed at Jasper. “Kill the babes. I have to protect them. Jasper is bad.”

Jasper’s face was red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Tommy. You’re right. I’m an arse.”

“Arse is a bad word. Abbie says we can’t say it.”

“You’re right, lad. The lambs knocked over the cake I’ve been working on for two full days, and I—I did not act appropriately. I apologize if I frightened you.”

“Babes are more important than cake.”

Jasper appeared as if he didn’t agree, but then he sighed. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have hurt them. I was just angry. I’m not now. You’re safe. The lambs are safe. Everyone is safe.”

“They lost their mum.” Tommy’s sweet voice was so sad, it tore at my heart. “I don’t have a mum. Have to take care of the babies like Abby takes care of me.”

That was the most I’d ever heard him say at once, but it was like a mantra, and he kept repeating it.

“I’m a horrible person.” Jasper sat down on the floor and put his head in his hands. “I wasn’t thinking.”

He and Tommy were equally distressed.

“Tommy, the lambs are safe, thanks to you. That was very courageous of you to protect them,” I said softly. “You are a big hero to them.”

“Big knife.” Tommy kept his face snuggled in the lamb’s neck.

“I put it down, I promise. I was just frustrated,” Jasper said. To his credit, he appeared forlorn that he’d upset Tommy. We were all close, this little group of mine. We looked out for Abigail’s brother and included him in our get-togethers—even if that meant he was in a corner chair, with headphones, playing games or watching television on a tablet.

“Like when you play your games too loud, and I’ve asked you more than once to turn them down,” Abigail said behind me. Sometimes she was ninja quiet.

I glanced back to find her standing with Henry.

“Why are the lambs in the kitchen?” she asked in her direct way.

“Mum’s dead. Too much snow. Building a pen in the garden—too cold outside. Someone left the door open. Not me,” Tommy said.

Again, he spoke much more than I’d ever heard him.

“That’s right,” Ewan said. “That’s what we were doing when I came inside. It was probably me who left the door open. Mara said Angie was sick again, and I took off running. I’m sorry too, Tommy—and Jasper.”

“I lost the plot,” Jasper said.

“Crazy. Crazy.” Tommy finally looked up, though he didn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“We do not say that word.” Abigail pointed a finger at him.

“He said ‘arse,’” Tommy responded.

“I did,” Jasper admitted.

“Jasper did look like Sweeny Todd,” I added. Everyone in the kitchen put a hand over their mouth, to hide a smile, except for Ewan. His arms were full of sheep. Still, he smiled.

“‘Attend the tale of Sweeny Todd. His skin was pale, and his eye was odd.’” Tommy sang the lyrics in a clear baritone voice.

“You have a beautiful voice,” I said.

“He does,” Mara agreed.

“Music soothes him,” Abigail said. “We didn’t have many CDs when we were young, so we listened to Mum’s musicals. With most things he likes, he remembers every word.”

“I loved that musical,” Jasper said. Then he stared up at Abigail. “I feel awful. I’m so sorry. The lambs ran through and tripped me. I fell into the cake and lost my mind.”

“My cake is ruined!” Angie sniffed and then took off down the hall.

“I’ve got this,” Damien ran after her.

“Tommy, I can’t apologize enough,” Jasper said. “You and the lambs didn’t do anything wrong. I made a mistake. It isn’t an excuse. No one should run after anything with a knife.”

“A big knife,” Tommy clarified.

“Right. I better tell Angie it was just the top two tiers. Easy-peasy to fix. Tommy you were right. I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Jasper followed the couple out.

“I made her cry.” Tommy’s eyebrows drew together.

It took a minute for me to understand who he meant.

I reached out but didn’t touch his arm. He wasn’t big on physical contact, and he held the baby in his arms like a lifesaver.

“No. You didn’t,” Abigail said. “Ewan left the door open. You were only trying to help.”

“But she cried.” While he didn’t always exhibit emotions, he understood them.

“She was hurt on the head last night and didn’t sleep much,” I said gently. “And someone she knew died. I promise you her tears had nothing to do with you, Tommy.”

“Did the bad man hurt her? Abbie said the bad man was dead.”

I glanced over at his sister, who had moved to the other side of him, where Jasper had been.

“Why do you think he was bad?” Ewan asked.

“He is bad. He yelled at me. ‘Get out of the way. Get out of the way, stupid.’ Same man on your phone. He can’t yell anymore.”

Abigail’s eyes widened. She pulled her phone from her pocket. “Did you look at the pictures on my phone again?”

He nodded. “Mr. Manor said the Rosa pimpinellifolia wouldn’t grow in the garden. I wanted to show him the picture of the one at Doctor Emilia’s. Good soil, I say. Good soil. Must be fresh. No replanting in the same soil. Roses like fresh.”

Sometimes following Tommy’s train of thought wasn’t easy, but I had the gist of it.

“So, you saw the bad man and he yelled at you. Then you saw his picture on your sister’s phone?”

Tommy rocked with the lamb. “Bad man. Bad man.” He didn’t always appreciate direct questions. His mind processed words differently. I knew that, but my curiosity had the better of me.

“How about we take these lambs back to the pen,” Ewan offered. “We can finish it off. Then we can help Jasper clean up.”

“No knives.” Tommy said. Then he handed me the lamb to hold. The tiny animal was even softer than it looked. I’d never held a farm animal before. There was a first time for everything.

Tommy stood and then reached down for the sweet creature. But as he picked it up, the animal pooped on my black jeans.

Everyone laughed, including me.

“He yelled at the lady. Yell. Yell,” Tommy said. “You don’t yell. Even the poop. No yelling.”

Everyone paused.

“What lady?” Abigail asked softly.

“No face. Ran away. Too much yelling.”

Tommy had put more together than the rest of us had in two days. It was what we suspected: there was an accomplice.

It had been quite the eventful morning.

What if this mess in the kitchen had been on purpose?

“Abigail, did Henry lock the door to the dungeon?” I asked.

“Wine cellar,” Ewan called out. He was halfway to the back door with the two lambs in his arms. Then he stopped.

“No,” Henry said. “We came running when Mara said Tommy was upset.”

Abigail took off running. Before I could get off the floor and clean myself off, she was back upstairs.

“It’s gone. The mallet used to hit Angie.”

A diversion. That’s what had just happened, and it hadn’t been Ewan or Tommy’s fault.

“I’ll add a new lock to the cellar.” Ewan shook his head.

Tommy followed him out the back door.

Whoever was behind this was scary clever.

Later that afternoon we were to appear in the grand salon, I had no idea which room that was until Mara showed me. A ceilidh dance class had been planned.

In the itinerary, Angie had stated: You will not look like a bunch of drunk Scots on my wedding videos. Attendance is mandatory.

When Mara and I walked in, it was crowded, which was probably a good thing, since Angie didn’t need any more stress. In fact, Mara and I wondered if she’d even show up. The last time I’d checked on her, she’d been sound asleep.

I needn’t have worried. She came in right behind us, with Damien. But she wore no makeup. Her hair was in a short ponytail at the nape of her neck, and she wore jeans and a plain cable-knit sweater.

Her appearance was very un-Angie-like.

“Are you okay,” I whispered.

She turned her back to the crowd and faced me.

“I feel like I’ve been poisoned, bonked on the head, and had my wedding ruined. But Ewan said to keep everyone busy. They want to search the rooms again. Damien and I are doing our part, pretending to carry on for now.”

The more everyone was together, the better. It would be noticeable if someone was absent from the group events.

There was also the fact Ewan had taken me seriously.

“I think everyone would understand if you needed to rest.”

She shook her head. “I think it might be better if Damien and I keep ourselves busy as well. We’ve never fought as much as we have the last twenty-four hours. I’m wondering if our relationship can handle stress at all.”

I took her hand in mine. “You are in extraordinary circumstances. Give him, and yourself, some grace. And think about it. Pretending to be happy and having fun will really make your soon-to-be-father-in-law angry.”

She smiled. “There is that.”

“I know we keep saying this, but don’t make any decisions about your wedding right now. Don’t say anything to anyone who asks. Leave the prying to Mara and myself. We’ll get this figured out for you.”

“After seeing Robbie, I’ve decided to help,” she said.

“Uh.” That wasn’t a great idea. Her life was already in danger.

“No. Don’t say it. I told you that I know most of these people better than anyone else.”

“Right, but don’t get too pushy, okay? Like Ewan said, we don’t want to clue in our killers that we—as in you, me, Mara, and Abigail—are trying to figure out a mystery. Understood?”

“Yes, Vera .”

I laughed at her reference to our favorite television show.

“Now what is ceilidh dancing?”

“It’s a Scottish wedding dance. Sort of like something you Yanks do when someone calls out moves, and you’re all moving at once.”

“Square dancing?”

“Odd name, but yes, I think that’s it.”

“Okay. Do me a favor and look around to see if anyone is missing other than Mr. Carthage.”

“I will.” She moved to the front of the room, where a man I didn’t recognize stood with a fiddle. A tall, lanky man in a kilt stood beside him.

Where had these guys been staying? I hadn’t seen them at any of the events.

This enormous castle was too large for us to keep track of all the occupants.

“Wee bit of instructing,” the tall man said. I assumed he’d be the one calling the dance. I’d never taken part in anything like this. I’d never been one for dancing except for the occasional whirl around the floor with my husband at fundraising events.

That life felt like it had happened centuries ago to someone else. It was surreal that I’d left America only three months ago.

Everyone shifted to one side of the room or the other. Of course, I’d been lost in thought and hadn’t heard any of the wee instructions . The women were on one side, the men on the other.

That was simple enough.

The fiddler played, and the man called out something, but I had no idea what language it might have been. Everyone moved forward, and Ewan was in front of me, sticking out his right hand.

Where did he come from?

He pulled me to him and then gently shoved me back, and somehow, I ended up on the other side of the room.

Then we did it again.

The moves changed. I was always a beat behind. The callouts were a mix of Gaelic and highly accented Scottish. I had to watch everyone else first, before I moved, because I didn’t understand.

Poor Ewan probably rued the day he’d decided to stand across from me, but he was patient.

“Shouldn’t you be searching rooms for the weapon?” I asked when he pulled me near again.

“My men have it covered.” He swirled me away again.

When we met up again, everyone stopped for the man calling out the moves to explain the next part.

“They are smart,” I said.

“They?” he asked.

“We know there is a woman,” I whispered. “Tommy saw her. Did you by chance get a description from him?”

“No. He needed to calm down first. He doesn’t do well when he feels cornered.”

“Right. But we need to know at least what color hair she had.”

“I’ll ask him later. He’s busy with the lambs. Might be best to get Abigail to handle it, though.”

“You’re right. Is Tommy okay?”

He shrugged. “I left him in the pen with the lambs. My gardeners will look after him. He’s happiest with flowers and animals.”

“True. That voice of his?”

“Was a beauty,” he said. “Never ’eard him sing.”

Everyone moved apart, and that ended our conversation.

I was too busy trying to keep up to ask anything else.

Mara was a few people down from me, laughing with a very handsome man. I’d seen him at some of the functions. She was full-on flirting. I’d never seen her bat her eyelashes at any man.

Interesting.

I wouldn’t have exactly called the dancing fun, but I’ve had worse times. There was a lot of laughter all around. I wasn’t the only klutz in the group, but everyone took it good-naturedly.

I’d hoped to get to know more about our cast of characters in the castle, but everything moved much too fast.

Toward what I hoped was the end, Damien and Angie danced an intricate jig down the center and appeared happier than I’d seen them in days. Angie’s cheeks were flushed, and her smile was genuine. Then another couple came down the center, and I understood that it would soon be our turn.

My heart thumped faster.

We had nothing rehearsed, and the others had obviously talked about it. Most of the couples looked like they’d been dancing together for years—even though many of them had just met a few days before.

Each of the stepmothers tried to outdo the last. They were funny, and each of them would blow Angie and Damien a kiss as they danced by.

They were sweet for a group of possible suspects.

I’d barely had a chance to know my mom. She’d abandoned me to my grandmother, and later to foster parents. It wasn’t until she was dying that my mom came back into my life.

I forgave her. I’d never understand the choices she made, but I’d had a better life without her. Of that, we’d both been certain.

“Follow my lead,” Ewan whispered.

I’d been wool-gathering and hadn’t realized we were at the top of the line. Before I could say anything, he twirled me three times and then pulled me along in something akin to the polka. I’d never been so grateful for anything to end.

“Excellent,” said the man who had been calling the steps.

At least I understood that word. My performance was far from that, but he’d said it to everyone coming down the line.

The dancing was more something I survived, but it appeared to have put the others in a good mood.

The caller and fiddler took a bow. Everyone clapped. The excitement in the room was palpable. The exercise had been good for everyone. There were probably a few who had a bit of cabin fever. Though how that could happen in this castle, I had no idea.

Most days I was exhausted just going from my room to wherever the next function might be.

Refreshments had been brought in by the staff. Henry stood guard over the table with soft drinks, water, sandwiches, fruit, and veg.

This time, no one in the crowd hesitated to grab some food. Maybe it was the presence of law enforcement that made them feel safe. Or the fact that we’d expended many calories dancing for the last hour and half.

People didn’t seem in any hurry to leave. After grabbing some snacks, I walked slowly through the room, catching bits of conversation here and there, but nothing that appeared suspicious.

That was, until I came up on Caleb and Tiffany angrily whispering.

“I’m not the one trying to ruin the wedding,” Caleb said. “It must be you. You’ve always been jealous of his relationship with Angie.”

“Shut up, Caleb. You’re such a jerk. Like you weren’t jealous when he swooped in and saved the day? I saw you watching her at the club at Damien’s birthday. I almost offered you a towel for the drool. You’re still not over her.”

Wait. Caleb used to like Angie?

Did she know? I’d stepped into the middle of a soap opera with the two villains.

“You can’t get over what you never had,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Bullocks. It wasn’t me who brought Robbie here. I’ll swear to that one.”

“Then who did?” he asked. He seemed genuinely curious.

“Probably you. Robbie was your go-to for drugs for years. I bet your family doesn’t know that. You probably owed him money and were forced to bring him here. Maybe I should tell the constable about your past dealings.”

“Do it, and I’ll have a few things to tell Angie about you. Like that time you tried to screw her soon-to-be husband.” He snarled, and his voice became hateful.

Tiffany had tried to sleep with Damien.

“Maybe I should have left you in his room. As we know, my brother is far from perfect.”

“I was drunk.”

“Did I make a good substitute that night for my brother?”

“You are a jerk. A good man would have sent me on my way and wouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation.”

My stomach turned.

Angie had been right about Tiffany’s self-esteem, but Caleb was not a good man.

“We were both drunk and neither of us thinking clearly,” Caleb continued. “You can’t blame me for that. I’ll ask again, Tiffany: Who brought Robbie here?”

“I’ve no idea. Now scurry off like the rat you are.”

I didn’t have time to move away quick enough, and he ran right into me.

“Doc, you keep popping up in the most unexpected places.”

“Sorry. I’d been looking up at the ceiling and wasn’t watching where I was going. It’s gorgeous. Every room in this place is.”

He glanced up and then frowned at the fresco painted there.

“Hmm. Hadn’t noticed that one. Are you sure you weren’t eavesdropping on my conversation with the bridesmaid?”

I scrunched up my face. “What? No. It’s so loud in here, everyone’s voices are echoing.” That wasn’t a lie. “I didn’t even see you there. It’s so crowded, I was about to head back to my room.”

“Would you like an escort?”

I faked a smile. “No thanks.”

I shoved past him. Once I made it through the intricately carved double doors, I peered over my shoulder. He hadn’t followed me.

Thank small graces for that.

Needing some fresh air, I found the center hall to the courtyard garden. While it was much lighter than it had been a few nights ago, the snow still came down furiously.

I petted the lambs in the pen Tommy and Ewan had set up. It was near one of the heat lamps, which made this a toasty winter wonderland for them. I sat on a bench nearby and ate my sandwich.

I’m not one for large groups of people, and it was a regular event here at the castle. Just a few more days, and it would be over.

But the question of the day was, Would the happy couple get married before someone killed one of them?

I had to keep that from happening.

My heart hurt for Angie, more than she’d ever know. It wasn’t fair that her wedding was the stuff of nightmares.

More than anything, I wished things had gone smoothly for her.

Few people understood better than me that life never quite went to plan. I, and my patients in the ER, were living proof of that. I never thought I’d end up living in Scotland. My patients in the ER had often suffered some of the worst days and nights of their lives.

Everything could change in an instant, and it did it far more than any human might be prepared for most days.

I finished up my food and put the trash in a small bin near the lamb enclosure. I petted the lambs again. I was certain there were more sheep than humans in Scotland. There were fuzzy and furry ones, and all types of colors. Wool was a big deal here. Probably because of the freezing temps outside.

I’d need to shop for warmer layers when I went home.

I peered up to the white haze above me. It was like being in a snow globe.

Then there was a large clatter, like someone had knocked something over.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cooler temps in the garden.

“If you broke something, I won’t tell.”

An eerie silence prevailed. Dread slithered down my spine. I hurried down the center path toward the glass doors going into the house.

There was a weird scraping sound. My stomach knotted.

I stopped just below the terrace above, which was also enclosed inside the dome. The scraping noise happened again.

The unnerving silence sent another chill down my spine.

“I don’t know who’s up there, but this isn’t funny.” I’d just stepped under the terrace when I tripped on my own feet. I fell forward, but something brushed the back of my calf.

I hit the stone floor with my knees, about the same time something crashed behind me.

As I pushed myself up, I glanced back to find one of the gargoyles from the terrace staring back at me.

I must be getting close to the killer.

Someone is trying to kill me.