Chapter 21
Early the next morning, Maisie snuggled with Robert, not wanting to get out of bed for anything. She couldn’t believe how he’d been so romantic after the long day and delivering the wolf pups, then visiting with the rest of the guests while she had taken the newborn pictures. She absolutely adored him.
He kissed the top of her head, his hand stroking her back. “Do you have anything scheduled today?” she asked him.
“Nope. Everything’s unpacked and put away. I’m still getting more supplies in for the clinic, but otherwise I’m free. I thought we might start working on setting up your garden. What about you?”
“I need to go to the inn and help Anne with the morning meal. I’ll help her clean the rooms too. I don’t have any photography sessions for a while, but we have Edeen and Lachlan’s wedding coming up that I need to photograph. What else are we giving them for their wedding present? She said that the photography was enough for her, but—”
“We paid for their airfare to Bali, and Enrick, Grant, and their mates paid for the rest of their excursion for their honeymoon,” Robert said, “so we’re covered. Speaking of which, Lachlan and his brothers and their mates are paying for our flight, lodging, and meals for our honeymoon.”
“Ohmigosh, that’s wonderful.”
“I should have mentioned we’ll be taking care of Edeen and Lachlan’s three dogs and the cats while they’re gone, and they’ll reciprocate for our honeymoon. We’ll also be taking their pets for the first couple of weeks after they have their babies.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I won’t be here all the time, but I’m sure between the two of us, we’ll give them plenty of loving, and you know I love animals.”
He smiled. “Yeah.”
“Okay, so if neither of us have anything else to do today—”
“We’ll return to bed and make love once you’re done at the inn?” he asked. “In the meantime, I’ll start to work on the garden.”
She laughed. “We’ll catch a killer.”
Robert raised a brow.
She sighed. “We could try and get in touch with Chelsea and see what she has to say about Gus and Jack. We need to resolve this.”
“Iverson is looking into it since he has had homicide training, though he has been unable to reach her. We do have her phone number, address, and email, but no response.”
Maisie smiled. “I’ve got an idea.”
Robert kissed her forehead. “I’m not surprised.”
“I like to solve problems. Okay, so how about we say that Gus put Chelsea’s name in a box at the inn for a chance to win a free photo shoot and she is the winner?”
“What if she was involved in Gus’s murder?”
“He could have entered her name in the contest before he got together with her,” Maisie said. “But if we can get her to come to the inn, I could question her.”
Robert smiled. “Now that might actually work.”
“I’ll call her in case she doesn’t check her emails very often.” Maisie grabbed her phone off her bedside table where it was charging and called the number that Iverson had given them.
Robert cuddled with her as she made the call, and she loved it.
As soon as a woman answered the call, Maisie couldn’t believe it! “Hi, Chelsea Bowers? I’m Maisie MacTavish, part owner of the MacTavish Inn where Gus Anderson was an overnight guest. I’m also a professional photographer for magazines and for other clients—weddings, pet photos, maternity, and newborn photos, you name it—and Gus put your name in for a contest for a free photo shoot. I’m pleased to announce that you are the winner, and if you can come here this week, I can do your photo shoot.”
“Oh, wow. I haven’t heard from Gus since he stayed at the inn. He didn’t tell me he had done that. That was so sweet of him. Do I need to make an appointment? Would two this afternoon work for you? Or is that too soon?” Chelsea asked. “I’ve got work for the next two weeks after today and I don’t know if I’ll have time to do it after that otherwise because of the way my jobs come in.”
“Yes, that would be perfect.” Maisie pumped her fist. “I’ll see you this afternoon then. I can’t wait.”
Robert smiled.
Maisie ended the call and said, “I wonder if one of our former homicide detectives should be there to do the questioning, and I’ll do the photo shoot at the same time.”
“She might feel more open talking to you. You could speak with her first about Gus and then if you don’t get anywhere with it, the guys can talk to her. I’m going with you. I can be helping Anne, visiting with your parents if they’re around, or acting as your photography assistant.”
She smiled. “Good. I was planning on asking you if you wanted to go with me. You can definitely be my assistant photographer-in-training.”
“I’m totally at your command.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear. I need to call Anne and tell her what we’re doing so she’s not blindsided.”
“Good call.”
When Maisie told Anne what they had planned, she said, “I’ll tell William and Edward that they’ll need to question her unless you can get what we need out of her first.”
“Okay, we’ll see you after we have breakfast then. Mom and Dad will be out looking for houses or land for sale again. I’ll let them know what we’re doing. I hope they don’t hang around to make sure that we’re okay.”
“I agree. I’m afraid if there are too many of us there, we’ll spook Chelsea.”
***
After they finished the call, Maisie and Robert dressed, had breakfast, and then drove over to the inn.
Iverson was still in Glasgow in search of Jack Wolfson. Jack had been missing since Gus’s death, he’d learned. Was Jack also dead? Or just in hiding because he was responsible for Gus’s death?
On the way over to the inn, Robert called Iverson to let him know that Maisie had gotten hold of Chelsea and the scheme they had planned.
“Good. Let me know if you learn anything useful.”
“I sure will, Iverson. Good luck on tracking Jack down.”
“Thanks. I would still keep an eye out for him in case he doubles back there for any reason,” Iverson said.
“We are. Thanks.”
When they arrived at the inn, Robert saw that the sisters’ parents’ vehicle was gone.
“That doesn’t mean they won’t return for lunch and then decide to stay,” Maisie warned.
They walked inside the inn, and Anne greeted them with a smile and hugs. “I’m so glad you’re going to be with Maisie the whole time, Robert.”
“Like we wouldn’t be there to protect her,” William said, watching them.
Nearby, Edward smiled.
Anne shook her head. “You know what I mean. He’s her mate.”
“Are Mom and Dad coming back to have lunch with us?” Maisie asked.
“No. I told them what was going on, and they agreed that too many of us hanging around might make Chelsea shy away from telling anyone anything,” Anne said. “They really loved Heather’s pie shop, so they’re going there to eat. Besides, they dropped by the castle to give baby gifts to the new mothers, and when they went to see Heather, mentioning they were having lunch at her place, she gave them the mission of making sure her brothers were doing a good job. They were invited to a free lunch at the castle too, but they had their heart set on steak pies and dessert at the pie shop.”
“I’m sure Heather’s brothers are doing a great job,” Maisie said.
“I agree. I need to figure out what to give the babies,” Anne said. “Everything has been happening so quickly, I haven’t had time to think about it.”
“I’m taking portraits of the two sets of twins each month for free until they’re a year old,” Maisie said.
“You are so lucky you have such a great gift to offer,” Anne said.
“Edeen’s making them some clothes with the MacQuarrie tartan,” Maisie said.
“Edeen’s got a great talent also that she can share,” Anne said.
“Something personalized would be nice. Maybe their own bowls, plates, and sippy cups with their names,” Maisie said.
“I’ll look into that, though they’ll be on bottles for a while, well, and nursing.”
The first of the guests arrived in the main dining room for breakfast, and Maisie and Anne got to work while Robert spoke with William and Edward in the inn’s private quarters.
“So where is Maisie doing the photo shoot?” William asked.
“Maybe the gardens or with a view of the ocean. The guests should be off exploring by then, so it should be just us there,” Robert said.
“We figure you and Maisie will set up the camera equipment, and then once Maisie begins taking pictures, she can start talking to her,” Edward said. “If Maisie isn’t able to get anywhere, we’ll try to handle it carefully so Chelsea doesn’t leave.”
“What if she tries to leave?” Robert asked.
“We take her into custody. We have to know the truth. Does she know if Jack murdered Gus? Does she know where Jack is? Did she have any part in this? We’ve talked to Grant, and he said that if she cooperates during the questioning, we can just do it here. But if she stonewalls us, we’ll take her to the castle.”
“Alright. That sounds good,” Robert said. But who knew how wrong the plan could go?