Chapter 19 Taran
Trying to walk home from Pages & Perks had been a feat this week.
The streets of Leth Sholas bustled with tourists, and it felt more than a wee bit suffocating.
My store was packed to the rafters, and we were selling a ton of coffee and books, which was wonderful, but my goodness, I hadn’t had a chance to breathe.
London had offered to stay in the manager’s suite with Tierney at the B and B this week so she could be there at the crack of dawn to get breakfast started.
The place was fully booked for the Highland Games.
Everywhere was. The weather gods had smiled down on us, depending on your outlook.
It had been a humid few days, making some of the physical events a bit more taxing for the competitors.
Or so I’d heard. Between the paperwork I needed to fill out for the charity and the many grants I was applying for, plus running Pages & Perks, I hadn’t had a chance to attend the games.
Cammie made me promise we’d go tomorrow, so I was trying to ensure my staff could handle a day without me by finishing all the necessary admin stuff. Paisley was now a member of our team, so that helped alleviate some of the workload in the afternoons, even though she was still training.
Wanting a brief respite from the mayhem, however, I’d decided to take my lunch break at the house.
What should have been a five-minute walk was instead a ten-minute shuffle, dodging and weaving through tourists.
It was nice to see so many handsome blokes in their kilts, paired with T-shirts and hiking boots, but my goodness, I was worried our wee island was going to sink with the weight of all these extra folks.
By the time I turned onto the quieter residential area of Leth Sholas, I was sweaty from the humidity and wished I could just hide in my mum’s bungalow for the rest of the afternoon.
That wish fell out of my head as soon as I started up the front walk to the house.
My eyes registered the front door was ajar, and it took a few seconds for my brain to catch up to why that might be. Heart racing, I slowed as I neared the entrance. Had London returned and forgotten to shut the door?
Reaching for my phone, I swiped up the lock screen to have the phone app at the ready as I tentatively stepped inside. My breathing faltered as I looked into the living room and saw the sofa cushions had been pulled off and flung onto the floor.
Blood rushing in my ears, I took another step into the room and gasped.
It was trashed. Items had been swept off bookshelves, there were pieces of ceramic smashed all over the floor, and the TV was knocked off the side table and lying flat on its front.
Common sense returned to me with icy realization, and I tore out of the house and only stopped running once I was by my parked car. Fingers trembling, I called the police.
London sat pale-faced on the now righted armchair.
The police had been at the house for two hours.
PC William Shearing stood with his superior Detective Constable Alice Young.
Alice was married to the island’s Detective Inspector Paul Young.
However, since Paul was head of the island’s station, he was occupied with the organization of the extra police officers who had been sent to the island by Police Scotland’s N Division to help with public safety this week for the Games.
PC William had arrived first and then DC Alice turned up just as London came hurrying into the house.
It wasn’t usual to refer to police officers by their first names, but they preferred the informality here since we were such a tightknit community.
I’d only ever interacted with them as members of Leth Sholas.
Now both officers were in work-mode and had checked over the home to make sure no one was hiding inside and then asked us to check if there was anything missing.
Pieces from my mother’s jewelry collection were gone.
“I’m sorry, ladies.” DC Alice gave us a sympathetic grimace. “It looks like someone has taken advantage of the busy week here to burgle your home.”
No shit, Sherlock.
Exhausted, I rubbed a hand over my face. Whoever it was had busted open the front door lock.
“We’ve asked your neighbors if any of them have front cameras, but no such luck.” PC William sighed. “Maybe we need to bring that up at the next town meeting. Those door cameras are really quite useful.”
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t help us.” London fidgeted nervously. “You really think it’s just an opportunist?”
My stomach knotted at why London was taking this so badly.
Last year, my friend had fled an abusive relationship.
Her ex, Nick Huston, was a powerful stockbroker in New York who came from a wealthy family who long ago had made their fortune in railroads, only to become one of the largest financial investment groups on the American East Coast. He had been a revered bachelor of New York society until the FBI arrested him for insider trading.
That was after Tierney and Ramsay helped London flee his controlling chokehold on her.
His legal troubles meant, as far as I was aware, there wasn’t a possibility of him leaving the US.
But of course, it always played in the back of London’s mind.
“You should keep staying at the B and B until I get this place back into shape.”
London’s eyes flew to mine. “I’m not leaving you with this.”
“I’ll be fine,” I promised her with a knowing nod.
Her expression hardened. “You’re not staying here alone tonight. End of story.”
Before I could argue, we heard the stomping of feet up the front walk and then the front door flew open.
“Taran!” Quinn burst into the house, forehead damp with sweat, his eyes a little wild as he marched into the living room and straight for me. “Are you all right?”
I could only imagine the look of confusion and shock on my face as Quinn took me by the biceps to peer at me, as if he could read the answer to my well-being upon close enough inspection. “What … what are you doing here?”
“Tierney called me. Said someone broke in.” His eyes darted over my shoulder to the wreck in my living room. Quinn’s expression hardened and if the wrath I witnessed there was real, it was a good thing he hadn’t seen the mess of my bedroom.
“I had to tell Tierney why I was leaving,” London spoke up.
“It’s a good thing you’re here, Quinn,” DC Alice stepped forward. “Taran’s front door lock is broken. We’ve dusted for fingerprints already, so it’s clear for repairs. I don’t suppose you could replace the lock before the end of day?”
“Of course.” Quinn searched my face again. “Are you okay? Did they take anything?”
I gently extricated myself from his grip. “I’m fine. They took some jewelry.”
“Tourists?” he asked the police officers.
“That’s our guess. We’ll ask more of the neighbors if they saw anyone or anything suspicious, and we’ll put an announcement on our social media pages, so people are on alert in case it happens again.”
He gave them a sharp jerk of his head before pinning me in place with his attention. “If you don’t feel safe to stay here tonight, you can have my house. I’ll stay with Ramsay on Stòr.”
I didn’t know how to feel about his generous offer other than that I couldn’t accept it. “I’ll be fine. I got burgled in Glasgow years ago, so I’m a bit of a veteran.”
Something crossed Quinn’s expression at that slice of information. Consternation, perhaps. All these years between us as strangers.
“She’s got me.” London stood up and crossed the room to stand next to me. Her tone was neither defensive nor wary. Matter of fact. “We look out for each other.”
My ex glanced between us. We weren’t so much strangers that I didn’t recognize the stubborn glint in his eyes. However, much to my relief, he didn’t push it.
“I’ll fix the lock. I’ll need to go get my tools and see if Street’s has the right one.” He referred to the village DIY store owned by Ruari Street. It was usually well stocked considering it was the only one on the entire island. “I won’t be long.”
I could only nod because I needed my lock fixed, even if it meant being around Quinn today of all days.
I’d just closed the door on a worried Tierney and Ramsay. Weariness claimed my bones, but I ignored it and sidled back into the living room where London sat curled up in the armchair.
Tierney was concerned about London, I could tell. However, she and Ramsay had to return to the B and B before dinner.
After the police left, London helped me right the house and clear all the damaged items into bin bags. While we did that, Quinn fixed the lock and added a dead bolt.
“I ordered you a door camera that you can access on your phone,” he’d told me as I tried to not so subtly shoo him out of the house.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s done. As soon as it arrives, I’ll be round to fit it.”
Frustrated by his high-handedness, I’d snapped, “How much do I owe you for all of this?”
“Nothing.” He reached out as if to touch me and then dropped his arm to his side. “I know you won’t, but call me if you need me.”
Then he departed, leaving me with this excruciating ache in my chest. I ignored it and threw myself into clearing and cleaning the house.
By the time we’d finished, Tierney and Ramsay showed up with food.
Ramsay had gone over the house, as if he could somehow find a clue to who had been here.
He was a difficult man to read usually, but when he, like Tierney, noted how withdrawn London had grown, I saw a flash of fire in his icy gray eyes.
“I’ve already checked, and Nick is still in New York,” Ramsay had announced.
London physically jolted at the words but then gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
Still, the break-in had left her shaken.
As I closed the door on the couple, I promised with my expression that I’d talk to London.
I sank down into the sofa opposite her and decided to put it right out there. “He’s always your first thought, isn’t he?”