Chapter 10 #3
“Please call him,” Baird shouted. “Tell him to round up this bunch of liars. You two are no better,” he pointed at the men in the booth.
“If you told the truth, this idiot would be behind bars. I know what you did. Duncan told me everything. It will be in his reports.” Baird spit out the words.
“You aren’t getting away with it this time. ”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Boss said. “You weren’t there. And we both know your so-called friend could lie with the best of them.”
There was a low-pitched growl coming from Baird. His anger seething out of him.
“I mean it,” Mara said. “Get out. Now.” She had strict rules about fighting in the pub. As in, a zero-tolerance policy. That wasn’t always easy to keep as people who drank too much often had words with one another, but she drew the line with physical violence.
I stepped forward. “Baird, it’s Dr. Emilia McRoy, remember me? It would be a good idea for you to take a step back so I can see to his wounds.” I held up a hand.
His breathing was like that of a bull ready to head straight into danger.
“Mara, I need some napkins and your first aid kit.”
Baird took a step forward. That’s when I moved between them.
“No,” I said. “He’s injured. Whatever he’s done, it’s best you go tell the Constable.”
“He’s on the way,” Mara said.
The man on the floor waved me away. “I’m fine. But I’m pressing charges.”
“You do that,” Baird warned. “I’m happy to tell the Constable everything. We’ll see how much longer you have a job.”
If looks could kill, Baird would be dead.
“I’m a doctor, and if I don’t straighten out that nose, it will be crooked for the rest of your life.” I was doing my best to diffuse the situation.
He coughed, and his hand filled with blood.
“Head wounds are always the worst. Let me help you.” I bent to grab his arm and help him up onto the stool. I was no more a fan of the man than Baird, but I’d taken an oath.
The door opened again, and Duncan’s sister came into the pub. She took one look and ran to Baird. “This isn’t the way to do it,” she whispered to him. “Come on.”
“He deserves so much more,” Baird grumbled.
“We’ll talk to the police.”
“They were there, and the Constable didn’t do anything. Robert lies as easy as he speaks.”
“There’s a reason you’re no longer on my rig,” the boss grunted. “No one will believe you.”
I did. The guys in the booth stared down at their empty drinks as if wanting to be as far away from the trouble as possible.
It was more than obvious this guy was a bully.
After she tugged on Baird’s arm for a bit, he followed Isobel out of the pub. They passed Ewan as he came inside.
“Quick, you need to catch Baird,” the boss said.
“I need to know what happened.” Ewan’s eyebrows went up.
He glanced at me. “I didn’t see exactly how it started,” I said.
Then he looked at Mara, and she shrugged.
“You saw him punch me,” he said angrily. “I’m pressing charges. Everyone saw what happened.”
“I suggest you let the doctor fix your face,” Ewan said. He had so much authority in his voice. “Then we’ll talk. I do know that the man who left here and Duncan’s sister are mourning. I’m certain you wouldn’t want to cause them more grief.”
This time, Ewan was the one who received the death stare.
“It might be a good idea for you to come back to the station tomorrow morning, say ten? I received some new information and was on my way to find you. And may I remind you all,” he glanced at the guys in the booth, “lying to the police is an offence. I will seek the full penalty of the law if I find out you didn’t tell me the truth. ”
Ewan stood there until the boss nodded.
“It isn’t broken,” I said. I taped his nose and cleaned the surrounding area with antiseptic. “But you’ll want to be careful until it heals. You will most likely have a couple of black eyes. If it starts to bleed again, or if you suffer any headaches, my office is up the hill behind the pub.”
I took off the gloves that had been in the first aid kit, though I kept my own in my bag. I’d wanted to stay between the two men.
Thank you, Mara mouthed. Then she turned to the man. “I’d like you and your friends to pay your tab and leave, now.”
There was a fair amount of grumbling, but the men shuffled out.
When they’d left, Ewan sat down at the bar.
“Tell me everything.” He stared at me.
I sighed. Then I went and grabbed my things and put them on the barstool beside me.
I gave him an abbreviated version while Mara put bowls of stew and crusty bread in front of us.
“They’d been over there talking for some time before Em came in,” Mara said. “But we both heard the boss tell the other men thanks for not telling you something. It had to do with the rig.”
“I’ll speak to them again tomorrow. Robert McClendon, the boss, has several complaints against him from former employees. And we found reports on Duncan’s laptop that are making me look twice at him. Even though his friends gave him an alibi.”
“You’re actually sharing info about a case,” Mara said. “It’s a miracle.”
He chuckled. “Well, I know Em shares most everything with you. And you do have your ear to the ground. But I thought I told you both to be more careful. Em, you put yourself in the middle of those two, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know about the boss guy, but Baird wouldn’t hurt me. And you’re right. He’s mourning his friend. It was written all over his face. There is a lot more to that story. Seems Baird used to work on one of that guy’s rigs. There was definitely bad blood between them.”
“I’d say that’s a given since Baird tried to rearrange the man’s face,” Ewan said.
“So this all could be about something that happened at work? The other Duncan is just a coincidence?”
I didn’t believe in coincidences and neither did my friends.
“Or are we looking at two separate killings?”
“You think the second Duncan was murder?” he frowned. “I thought you said it was accidental poisoning. That’s what’s in your report.”
“You didn’t make it to the last page. The adrenaline spike indicates he was scared to death.”
“That may be hard to prove,” he said.
“I don’t disagree, but we need to know who it might have been, right?”
“Agreed.”
“We are running more tests and thanks for sending down the handcuffs. I had the idea that maybe he tried them on and then had a hard time getting them off. That may have caused the marks on his wrists. At least, I hope so. I don’t love the idea that he was tied up for any reason.”
“I remember those, and I hope you are right.”
I took a bite of stew.
“Have you been shopping at Lulu’s?” He changed the subject.
“Yes. I picked up a few things. Before the event tonight, I’m heading up to take some gifts to Flora and Elsie.”
He turned to face me, his eyebrows going up into his curls again.
“They’re mourning, Doc.”
“I know. I’m not going to question them.” At least, not outright. “ I remembered how I felt when my dad died. I bought a sweet gift for Elsie and a little something for Flora. Lulu helped me pick them out. I feel so sorry for them being away from home and dealing with so much.”
“I offered to send them home with one of my officer’s, but she doesn’t want to leave without her husband.”
“If her husband was murdered, it’s safer for her to be with Mrs. Beatty. After what happened last year, that place is a fortress.” There had been a murder or two related to some of her guests and she’d doubled her security after that.
“I should get going,” I said.
“Hey, Doc?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful, OK.”
“Always,” I said.
He laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound.