Chapter 13 #2
“What’s that?” Ewan asked as he came back into the room.
“It’s like before with the papers we found at his place.
For someone in charge of his clients’ money, he seemed to lose money in excessive amounts.
It looks like one bad investment after another.
Most of these emails are from angry people who were ready to kill him.
I’m afraid as we go through these, your suspect list will grow. I’m flagging some of them for you.”
“Thanks,” he said. “We have to think which customers might have been close enough to know about his lip balm habit, and how they would have had the proximity to use the venom.”
“Right. But I think it is worth taking a look. The problem is—none of them have actual names.”
“Our expert can trace the emails, so that won’t be an issue.”
I had figured as much. Ewan was right about the proximity, but from what others had said, he used the balm all the time.
One thing dawned on me, and I made a mental note to check. While Scottish weather was harsh on the skin, why was Jacks always using the balms?
I needed to know if he had a medical condition that may have caused the dryness.
My phone dinged with an alarm. I only had an hour before I had to start seeing patients. “I need to go,” I said. “I have a full schedule this afternoon.”
“I’ll have Henry run you down,” Ewan said. He took the laptop from me and put it one of the file boxes. “Thank you for your help. Oh, can you write down the password?”
I found a sticky note in the desk and wrote it down. Then I handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He smiled.
“You’re welcome. Will you let me know if you find out anything else?”
“Yes,” he said.
We’d come a long way when it came to trust. I used to have to pry information out of him, but now, more or less, he considered me a colleague. I didn’t get the automatic response everyone else did about it being an ongoing case.
As I was walking out of the building with Henry, Angie and her grandfather were going into the accountants’ office.
Her eyes went wide when she saw me. “What are you doing here? Do you use this firm?” She asked.
I shook my head. “They are part of the investigation of the murder I was telling you about yesterday on the boat.”
“Oh. Ohhhh. I dinnae make the connection.” She turned to look at her grandfather. “One of the partners is the fellow who died at the station.”
Her grandfather shook his head. “Poor fellow.”
“What are you two doing here?” I asked. It came out a bit harsher than I meant. “Are you clients?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Now that Damian’s business matters are more or less settled, we were thinking about making a move to Sea Isle. Well, at least buy a weekend place so I’m not always having to bunk with grandad.”
“I told you I don’t mind,” her grandfather said. They owned a tartan shop that sold all kinds of tartans, kilts, macs, and other outerwear. They had shops all over Scotland, and Angie was in charge of the business. She might have pink hair, but there was a wicked clever brain in that head of hers.
She crooked her arm in his. “I know. Anyway, I thought I might check out an accounting firm here to help keep an eye on the business.”
Something must have flashed over my face, because she frowned.
“Why? Is there something wrong with the firm?”
“Uh.” I was at a loss for words. “I really need to get down the mountain. I have patients to see.”
She let go of her grandfather. “You go on inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He seemed confused but she opened the door for him.
Angie grabbed me by the arm and pulled me down the block a bit.
“I need you to tell me what is going on. Is there something I should know?”
“I will get in trouble if I say anything,” I said. “You know how Ewan is. But as you can see the firm is under investigation.”
She pursed her lips. “But that’s just because he was murdered, right? You don’t think it was someone here at the firm?”
I shrugged. “We honestly don’t know. I shouldn’t say anything. I’m fairly certain it is against the law. But you are one of my best friends. Just be careful with these people.”
“Are they crooked? That’s the last thing I need.”
“That I can’t say. I’ve looked over some of the paperwork in Jacks’s files. I can say several of his clients were not happy with him. I couldn’t tell you about the other partner though. Ewan is still taking a look at things. They have brought in an expert.”
She frowned. “OK, good to know. I wasn’t crazy about moving the accounting to Sea Isle. It’s just that grandad likes to feel like he’s a part of it all, and he doesn’t like going to Edinburgh for the financial side of things.”
“I honestly can’t say whether you should trust these people or not.”
She pursed her lips. “Answer me honestly.”
“I will if I can.”
“Would you put your money in their hands?”
I cleared my throat. “Uh. No.”
“That’s good enough for me. I will sit through the meeting, but I won’t use them.”
“At least, they have some of Jasper’s baked goods.”
She smiled. “Well, that is a plus.”
“Please, don’t tell anyone I said anything.”
“Mums the word.”
After Henry dropped me off at the clinic, I headed back to the kitchen for some coffee. Then I grabbed my tablet to see who we had coming in.
It was funny how much my life and medical practice had changed over the last year. In the ER, I often saw patients every five to ten minutes.
In Sea Isle, some appointments took more than half an hour and were scheduled accordingly. Nothing was rushed in this town, and I loved getting to know my patients.
And it was a small town, so I’d often see them out and about in Sea Isle.
When I’d first arrived, everything had been a little too different from the weather to the people, but I’d grown to love every bit of it.
I had a beautiful old church that was my home and practice.
And I had a lovely circle of friends for life, and a town that counted on me. I took that responsibility seriously.
I sat down at my desk with my tablet and coffee, when the front door opened and closed.
“We’re here,” Abigail called out. “I heard you were at the accounting office this morning. Did you find the killer?”
I smiled. Henry must have been chatting with her.
“Not yet in regard to the killer. I did have an idea for some additional tests I’d like to run,” I said as she came into the office.
“I’m curious about his lips. He wasn’t dehydrated, but perhaps he had some sort of infection like angular cheilitis or eczema. From what those close to him have said, he used the balm constantly, as in several times an hour. I’m curious as to why.”
She nodded. “I’ll grab some cells and run the labs.”
“Thank you,” I said. Abigail really could do anything. “Is Tommy in the garden?”
“Aye, and I need to speak to you about something.”
She ducked her head, which meant she was nervous.
“You can tell me anything. Is he OK?”
She waved a hand. “Oh, he’s fine. But he wanted to speak to you about growing a vegetable garden in the greenhouse. He says he will use his own money, but he wants to give it a try.”
“He will not,” I said.
Her head snapped back like I’d slapped her.
“Use his own money,” I said quickly. “I’d love to have fresh veggies. I think it is a great idea. But I’ll only agree if I can pay for it.”
She laughed as she put a hand on her chest. “Oh, that is a relief. Not about the money, just that he can do it. He will not stop talking about this book we checked out at the library about growing organic fruit and vegetables. He wants to ask you himself, but I thought I would give you a heads up, as you like to say.”
“I’m happy to talk to him about it.” They were family as far as I was concerned. Whatever made them happy was fine with me.
It wasn’t long before my first patient arrived.
Almost every conversation started with, “That poor man you found at the train station …” or “I know Ewan won’t let you say anything …”
I’d smile and nod. “Ongoing investigation,” I’d add. Of course, that didn’t stop the questions or the various summations of what might have happened. Nobody had any real information to add.
That was until my last patient of the day.
Todd was an Englishman, who had moved to Sea Isle a decade ago to raise Highland cows. He often said it was his calling. He’d been a dentist before that.
“This is Horace, our wee addition to the family,” he said as he showed me a picture on the phone. The baby cow was furry and adorable. He shared the photos like a proud father. I didn’t mind because the fuzzy cows were gorgeous.
“He’s so cute,” I said.
“Aye. His mum is the one who gave me this.” He pointed to his foot, which was still in a cast. “She’s a good girl, though. She didn’t mean it. My foot was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I smiled. He spoke about his cows like most people did about their dogs.
“Well, we’ll take another X-ray to check, but hopefully we can get that cast off today. Though, I have a boot for you to wear for a few more weeks. It will help your foot to further heal. Promise me you’ll wear it. We want those bones to continue to mend. Is your son Angus still helping you?”
“He’s a good lad. He’s been working hard on the farm since he graduated university.
He’s helping with the books, and he even set up social media for the herd.
I never thought strangers would be so interested in a bunch of cows, but they are.
He tells me they are up to seventy-five thousand followers. ”
I chuckled. “Well, they are very cute cows,” I said.
“They are. He’s working on merchandise now. Says we need stuffed animal replicas. If it helps support the business, like he says, I’m all for it.”
“He sounds brilliant.”
“Aye, we are proud of him.”
“Heard you were investigating Donald Jacks’s death. Terrible business. Do you know how he died?”
“Oh, did he keep your books for the farm?” I asked avoiding his question.
“For a time. But he kept trying to get me to invest in various schemes. He was a pushy sort. As I said, when Angus came home from university, he offered to take over the books, and I let him.”
“When was that?”
“Beginning of summer,” he said. “Jacks was furious and wasn’t particularly kind when we made the change.
He was a disagreeable sort. Did someone try to kill him?
I only ask because I heard some rumors in the pub that he was murdered.
” He held up his hands. “Aye, I know it’s an ongoing case, but I’m just curious.
If he acted like he did with us to his other clients, I could see someone wanting to cause him harm. ”
“Oh?”
“He wasn’t happy about us pulling our business. Said some unkind things to me and Angus. Made me angry, and I told him I’d be telling everyone I knew to pull their accounts from him.”
“What did he say to that?” I asked.
“Threatened to take us to court,” he said. “And he was serious. Said he’d sue if we besmirched his name. Those were the words he used.”
“Before all that happened, what was he like?”
The farmer shrugged. “Bit of a cold fish,” he said. “I thought it was because he was an accountant, and he didn’t like to talk. But now I know, he was an unfriendly sort.”
I nodded. “You and Angus were at the train celebration the night he died. Do you remember seeing anything?”
“The police asked us the same. We didn’t even remember seeing him there. It was crowded, though.”
“Maybe, you did see him but didn’t realize it. He wore a fedora and a trench coat, with black-rimmed glasses.”
He frowned.
“What is it?”
“I do remember seeing a man in a trench coat. I thought it was a bit warm for a coat like that indoors.”
“Do you remember when or what he was doing?”
Todd’s eyebrows went up. “Well, come to think of it, I did see a fellow going into one of the rooms off the main part of the station. There was someone with him. I only saw the backside of them, though. I couldn’t tell you if it was a man or a woman. Jacks blocked my view.”
“Do you remember what the other person might have worn?”
He sighed. “They wore one of those Scottish caps like the other servers on the train. And a black jacket, but that’s all I can remember.”
“You didn’t see their face?”
“No. I remember wondering if that was the loo, but then I was distracted when the conductor called, ‘All aboard.’ We hustled onto the train after that. I’d been standing a fair amount of time and was needing to have a good sit.”
“And the other person was dressed like the food servers on the train?”
“Yes. Wore a tam, one of those Scottish caps that they all wore. That much I remember.”
Had the killer blended in because he’d worn a uniform?
I texted Ewan: I have news.