Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Later that night, I dressed in my new dress from Lulu’s.
The midnight blue chiffon came down to mid-calf.
It was quite chilly outside, and I’d almost decided on jeans and a sweater, but I really loved the dress.
My feet still hurt from the night before, so I wore the sparkly flats I’d bought as well.
It had been an extremely long day, and it wasn’t over yet. Thankfully, I’d managed a power nap between the Highland Games and the talent show that was to be performed in an hour.
I was glad we only had a few more days of events before this was all over. Not that it wasn’t fun. It had been. But I was ready to get back to a normal schedule where I spent most of my nights curled up on my sofa watching mystery series.
As we’d planned, I met Mara down the hill behind the pub. The shuttle would take us up the mountain to the church where the event was being held.
Abigail and Tommy were already there. She was playing piano for her brother, who had surprised everyone by saying he wanted to sing at the talent show.
He had a beautiful voice, which we all knew. But he was not a fan of crowds. For that reason, Abigail had tried more than once to talk him out of it over the last two weeks. But her brother was insistent.
She’d come to me upset, and I’d calmed her down with a bit of advice. “The worst that can happen is he gets cold feet or freezes on stage. You’ll just carefully guide him off and take him home.”
She’d been nervous about it all week, and I didn’t blame her. We were all so protective of Tommy and his wanting to perform in public was very unlike him. But he loved to sing, especially show tunes.
“Are you as nervous as I am?” Mara asked.
“Yes,” I said, as we boarded the shuttle. Jasper was right behind us. We’d all come to show our support. Even Angie and her husband, Damian, planned to be there.
“Do we have a plan B, if things go south?” Jasper asked. “I feel like I want to throw up, I’m so nervous for him.”
“Yes. Abigail will guide him off the stage, and Henry will whisk them home. She even bought him a new video game to distract him in case it all goes wrong.”
“I dinnae understand why he would put himself through this,” Jasper said. “I feel like a protective uncle who doesn’t want his nephew hurt.”
“You are a protective uncle, and we are the aunties,” I said.
“How did he even know about the talent show?”
“He heard about it from his group therapy on the farm.” His counselor suggested his patients try to step out of their comfort zones and try things that scared them. I understood he wanted to teach them that it isn’t bad to fail. Instead, it’s worse not to try and to then regret missing out.
“He’s been attending the group for the last several months. It gives him a chance to interact with the animals, which he loves, as well as other people, who were challenged in one way or another. And it was the counselor’s suggestion for them to attempt things that made them feel uncomfortable.”
“Abigail was still trying to talk him out of it when I left them at the games this afternoon. But he was insistent. We will see what happens.”
The shuttle dropped us off near the library, and it was a quick jaunt up a block to the church. One of the halls there had a temporary stage where the performances would take place.
By the time we arrived, the hall was filling up, but Abigail had saved us seats a few rows back from the front of the stage. She waved us over.
“I need to get backstage,” she said. “I left him in a corner with his headphones and one of his games.” She was paler than normal, which was saying something.
“Are you OK?” It was all I could do not to reach out with my hand to gauge her temperature. “I’m fine. Just nervous for Tommy and myself. It dawned on me that I too would be in front of the town playing the piano. What if I mess up?”
Jasper clasped her hands in his. “You just keep going. No one in this crowd will be the wiser.”
She took a shaky breath and nodded.
Right after she left, Ewan walked up. “Abigail texted that she’d saved me a seat,” he said. “I wanted to be near the stage in case Tommy needed me.”
There it was. That innate caring and sweetness that hid behind the cranky exterior he normally wore. Warmth spread in my chest. He really was an incredible man.
“You can sit on the end by Em,” Mara said casually. But I saw the glint in her eye. She was always trying to push Ewan and me together.
We sat through a Scottish jig, several singing groups, a few dramatic monologues, and then it was time for Tommy. He walked out onto the stage with his headphones on and a hush fell over the audience. His sister was right behind him. A piano was rolled out.
Then Tommy glanced Abigail’s way. He didn’t make eye contact, but she nodded just the same. He took off his headphones, and she began to play “Johanna,” from Sweeny Todd. It was an odd choice of tune, but Tommy’s sweet voice rang out as clear as a bell. He had the audience holding their breath.
Each note was perfect. And after singing the last bit. Tommy put his headphones on and walked off the stage. I couldn’t help but smile and yes, tears streamed down my cheeks. The young man was so talented, and I knew he had no idea.
There was a slight pause before thunderous applause and whistles filled the church.
Abigail stood and curtsied, and as she left the stage, she wiped some tears from her cheeks.
I had no idea if she was relieved or happy that her brother had sung so beautifully.
Ewan handed me a handkerchief, and I thanked him.
I wasn’t the only one—all of our friends and other audience members were wiping their cheeks.
After the show, we went to find them.
Tommy sat in a chair facing a wall. His noise cancelling headphones were on, and he played a game on his hand-held system.
“That was amazing,” I said to Abigail. “I’ve heard him sing around the house and in the gardens, and he has such a lovely voice. You both did an amazing job.”
“It’s all a blur,” she said. “I was so focused on what he might do if he realized how many people were watching him that I forgot to be nervous for myself. That was until it was over. Now, my hands won’t stop shaking.”
I took her hands in mine and held them. “Everyone in the audience loved it. Did you hear the applause?”
“Aye, I did.” She smiled. “I’m just glad it is over.”
“Em is right, it was perfection,” Mara said. Jasper and Ewan nodded. “Did he ever explain why he wanted to do it?”
Abigail laughed. “Right before we went on. I told him, we didn’t have to do it.
But he said he read that music could help people’s souls feel better.
I have no idea where he read it. He said he wanted to do his part for the community.
It is one of the things they teach in his therapy group, doing for others. ”
“Well, he succeeded,” Ewan said. “Though, an interesting choice, a song from Sweeney Todd to soothe a soul, but it worked.”
We all laughed. It was one of the more beautiful songs from the murderous show.
“Did he know about all the applause?” Mara asked. “He was by far the favorite act. You both were. You played beautifully.”
“He didn’t care about all that. The clapping was just noise to be avoided for him. As for me, I’ve never in my life played in front of anyone but my brother. But like I said, I was so worried about him, I didn’t think about myself. Probably for the best.”
We hugged her goodbye, and Henry came up and offered to take Tommy and Abigail home.
Ewan glanced down at his phone, which had just buzzed. “I need to head back to the station,” he said and left abruptly without saying goodbye. That was sort of his norm, though.
“That was more amazing than anything I could have imagined,” Mara said as we walked toward the exit. “I’m still weepy over the beauty of it all.”
“So am I,” Jasper said.
“You two are not alone,” I said.
Outside, a chill had whipped up the wind. I should have known to take a jacket. I had to hold my skirt down to keep it from doing a Marilyn Monroe. We headed toward the shuttle, but something caught my eye.
I stopped.
“What is it?” Mara asked as she tried to peer where I was looking.
“I swear I just saw the girlfriend and the assistant going into the office,” I said. “Why would they be doing that on a Saturday night?”
“Maybe, we should snoop,” Jasper suggested.
I almost said no. I knew that would be the smart thing, but my curiosity won out.
“You don’t have to come with me.”
“Oh, but we do,” Mara said. “What if they are the murderers?”
“All the more reason to keep you safe.”
“Nope. We’re coming with,” Jasper said.
“I have the pepper spray you bought me,” Mara said.
“Hopefully, we’ll have no use for that.” But I had mine in my purse as well. I never went anywhere without it.
The front door to the office building was left open, and we slipped inside.
We quietly made our way up the stairs. The lights were off, but the moon coming through the windows let in just enough light that we didn’t trip.
My stomach churned with nerves. We had no business being here, and Ewan wouldn’t be happy with us. But my curiosity was peaked. Why were the women here and with the lights off?
The office door stood open, but we paused outside of it. As Mara moved to the other side, a board creaked. We all went wide-eyed.
“Did you hear that?” Catherine asked.
“What?” Davina replied. “I didn’t hear anything. It’s your imagination. Come on. We need to find the account Katilyn told you about.”
I pushed record on my phone, as this was an interesting conversation.
“And you don’t get it,” Catherine responded. “I told you I’ve been going over all of his accounts since he died. I haven’t found a clue as to where he’d hidden the money his sister mentioned.”
“She wouldn’t lie about something like that,” Davina said.
“In one of their last conversations, he’d said he was putting aside money for her.
That money has to be somewhere. You said you could transfer the funds to one of your accounts without anyone knowing.
But it does us no good if you can’t find it. ”
“Stop nagging,” Catherine complained. “You’re worse than my mother. Trust me, no one wants to find that money more than I do. And the sister doesn’t need it as much as we do.”
Funny how people could justify stealing.
I texted Ewan. He’d be furious with us for snooping, but he needed to catch these women in the act. They could be the murderers.
There was a strange noise down the stairs.
Mara frowned and pointed to herself and Jasper. She motioned they were going to check it out.
I nodded. I tried to get a bit closer to the door, to record their conversations. It probably wasn’t admissible in court since I was eavesdropping but it might help the police make their case.
There was a scream from downstairs. And then two thumps.
“I told you I heard something,” Catherine said. “Come on, let’s go out the back.” There was a quick slamming of drawers, and then the door. I had no idea where the back exit was or I would have followed them.
Besides, after that scream I needed to check on my friends.
I ran down the steps.
“Mara? Jasper?” I called out. They didn’t answer. Maybe, they’d been frightened by the scream and run out.
But as I neared the bottom step, two bodies came into view.
Mara and Jasper lay on the floor, and neither was moving.