Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
The day of the gala, I had a bad case of nerves.
I was glad we had such a busy schedule at work, so I didn’t think about what was about to happen later.
The last time I’d gone on a date, it hadn’t worked out so well for me.
Though, as Ewan had said quite clearly, this was just one friend helping out another.
Still, I was nervous. I’d showered and had on my new dress, which I loved. The sparkling shoes were fancier than anything I’d worn in years. As I waited in my office for Ewan, my hands shook as I tried to put the diamond studs my grandmother had given me into my ears.
I did feel good in my dress, though. Thank goodness for Lulu’s shop. I always seemed to find the perfect outfit for an event when I shopped there.
Ewan used the buzzer to announce himself. I knew it was him because his face came up on my computer screen. He was dressed in a tux and was more handsome than any man had the right to be.
The nerves multiplied and swirled in my stomach. I took a deep breath and shoved them all down.
When I answered the door, he just stood there for a minute staring at me.
“Is everything OK?” I asked glancing down at my dress wondering if I’d managed to spill something on myself.
“You are beautiful,” he said. And then the swirling nerves started all over again, but it was more like a tornado in my stomach.
“Uh. Thanks. You clean up well, too.”
He grinned at that. Then he crooked his arm.
I put my hand through, and he guided me to the car.
After opening the door, he helped me make sure my long skirt made it into the seat.
Then he grabbed my overnight bag from the doorway.
He took my key to lock things up, even though I knew he had his own. After all, he owned my office and home.
When he climbed in the other side, there was a strange tension between us.
“So, I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about something, but I spoke to Jeremy Burns’s girlfriend the other day. And before you get mad, it was completely by accident.”
I told him what had happened at Jasper’s.
Discussing the case was our safe space. He listened intently, as he always did, as we made our way down the highway toward Edinburgh.
“Do you feel like she had a hand in the murder since she was there?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I mean, she could have unknowingly done something if Jeremy told her to do it. She might be right about him keeping his hands clean. But, no, I can’t see her coming up with such a clever way to kill or stuffing him in a closet.”
“You dinnae sound like you care for her much.”
I grunted. “I didn’t mean she isn’t bright, but she might be more interested in hurting Jeremy than his partner at this point. I feel sorry for her in a way.”
“She’s dating a married man,” he said. There was no judgment in his voice, but he spoke from experience. He’d found his ex-fiancé in a compromising position with another man. The two of us had that sort of betrayal in common.
“Have you and your team gone through the client list? It seems to me this all may be related to him losing their money.”
“Aye, we have been. Most of them have alibis or were nowhere near the murder scene.”
“That’s the thing though. I don’t think the killer had to be there,” I said.
“What about the closet?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. And I had.
“What if he put himself in there?”
Ewan glanced at me with surprise. “Why would he do that?”
“The toxins in his blood may have meant he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.
Maybe he had been looking for the restroom and mistook the office.
His brain may not have been his own, and he could have been severely disoriented, as in out of his mind completely.
Funny things happen when the brain isn’t getting the oxygen it needs.
Perhaps he saw the door and thought he was going into another room. ”
“Really?”
I nodded. “His face wasn’t the only thing that was swollen.
There was a great deal of inflammation in his brain.
The killer made sure his lip balm was dosed heavily, and perhaps, never even meant for him to die at the train station.
I can’t imagine they would have picked such a public place to carry out the murder.
In fact, they might have thought it would happen at the office or home. ”
“So, you believe he could have been that far out of his mind that he thought the office was the loo.”
“We have no way of knowing. All I can say for certain is that he was most likely very confused between the palpitations in his heart, and what may have been going on his brain. As I said, he was likely quite disoriented.”
“That puts a different spin on things.”
I sighed. “I could be totally wrong. You understand that, right? Could be the killer was there. But it might have been too obvious. I feel like someone would have seen the victim being shoved into the office. Everyone I’ve talked to didn’t see any such thing. How about you?”
He nodded. “It’s the same. A few of the witnesses remember seeing him in the trench coat and fedora, but they have no recollection of anyone around him at that party. Except for one of the waiters. He argued with the waiter who served him that he wasn’t holding the tray correctly.”
“That sounds like Jacks. And if it didn’t happen at the train station and that was all an accident, it narrows down the possible suspects,” I said.
“What are you thinking?”
“It’s either someone who was in his home, at work, or was part of the volunteer group helping to bring the train back whom he invited into his home.
He didn’t get along with a few of them because he was such a perfectionist. I remember some of the committee members telling me that.
But I can’t imagine him inviting someone into his home if he didn’t get along with them.
“It might be a good idea to go back with those he did invite and speak with them. And then of course our most likely suspects are the people he worked with at the firm.”
“We have to tread carefully with the business partner and the executive assistant,” he said.
“Oh? Why is that?”
“They’ve called the solicitors in.”
“Do they realize that makes them look even more suspicious?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think they care. They were tired of us bugging them.
That doesn’t mean we’ve given up on them as suspects.
The forensic accountant finally has the files.
It is taking longer than expected, though.
I hope to hear from her soon. If nothing else, we may be able to get them on fraud. ”
I scrunched up my face.
“What?” Ewan asked.
“I never like the idea of a killer getting away.”
“Nor do I. But at least it’s something. She is going through hundreds of files and comparing those with the records on multiple laptops.”
“I’m surprised, if there is fraud, that the partner hasn’t taken off for some nonextradition country.”
He chuckled. “Probably thinks we won’t figure it out.”
“Or he may not know the extent of it,” I said.
“What do you mean? He is a full partner in the firm.”
“Yes, but what if Jacks was the real criminal and had been hiding things? I remember something the executive assistant said about Burns being angry at the victim for messing things up.”
“Hmm. You may be right. But that gives him even more motive for murder.”
“There is that.”
A half hour later, he turned off the main highway and drove up the side of a mountain.
“I thought this was in Edinburgh,” I said.
He grinned. “We’re on the outskirts. The estate has been in my family for hundreds of years. Mum uses it for charity events.”
“Estate, so not one of your castles?” His family had a few all over Scotland. Though one would never know about his wealth if they met Ewan. He was as down to earth as they came, and likely to get his hands dirty if the situation required it.
He was wealthy enough to live off his laurels for many lifetimes, but he wasn’t that kind of guy. He worked hard and helped as many people as he could. There was much to admire about Ewan, even if we didn’t always get along.
The road curved around and then opened up to a grand estate. It was like something out of Downton Abbey but with more gothic architecture. The mix of stone and pillars gave it a grand dame sort of appearance without being too fussy.
“Let me guess, some of this was refurbished when the Normans made their way into Scotland.
He chuckled. “You’ve been reading up?”
“I have. Everything is so much older here than anything we have in the States—by several hundred years. I find it fascinating how each invader sort of brought their own spin to the residents of Scotland.”
“That they did,” he said. “You might be interested to know that this wasn’t originally our land. It once belonged to someone who betrayed the king. He then handed over several properties to my family, for taking care of that problem.”
My eyes must have gone wide, as we paused in the valet line, because he laughed.
“As in off with the betrayer’s head,” I said.
“Things were a bit more brutal back then, but yes. I’m afraid that’s true. My family could be quite barbaric when necessary. It isn’t always such a pleasant thing to discover just how far they were willing to go.”
“I’m slightly envious of your family’s history. Especially, since I know so little about my own.”
“I thought you were digging into that?”
I shrugged. “I have been. The records are spotty though. I found a great uncle, as you know. The one who used to be a minister in Sea Isle. There was also information about his father, but not much. I can’t find anything that shows how they ended up in Sea Isle.
But I was told many of the older records may be spread out over Scotland and that they are just now building a centralized genealogy system.
I’m hoping to learn more this winter when things slow down a bit. ”