Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“You look amazing,” Mara said, as she finished piling my hair on top of my head.
“No one will figure out who I am, but I’m OK with that. I don’t know about these petticoats, though.”
She grinned. “You could be Jasper in his Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume.”
“I didn’t think these rolls through,” he complained as he tried to get up off the couch.
“I feel like I should wear a coat,” Abigail said. “I can’t believe I let you and Lulu talk me into this Warrior Woman outfit.” Her costume fit her petite body perfectly and was goddess-like.
“Don’t you dare cover that gorgeous body of yours,” Mara said. “You look like an ethereal princess. I bet you will be fighting the men off with sticks. ”
Abigail grinned. “Oh, I hope not,” she said shyly.
“I think we all look awesome,” I said. “I love that we all went for it.”
Mara was dressed as Mary Queen of Scotts, and her huge lace collar almost hid her face. She pushed it out of the way.
When we walked outside, I stopped. After looking around, I followed my friends. But I had the sense someone watched from the shadows.
Or I’m being paranoid.
I stood there for a few seconds trying to see into the darkness.
If it weren’t against the town policy, I would put more lights out here, but there were rules in a historic town like Sea Isle.
I was lucky to have the outdoor lights on my practice.
Those only happened because Ewan was the mayor as well as the Constable, and had insisted on them.
The shuttle heading up the mountain was crowded. Poor Jasper ended up having to stand because his puffy costume wouldn’t fit on the seats.
“Definitely didn’t think this through,” he grumbled again.
A short ride later, we were in front of the church. There were people in costumes all over the place. I loved that everyone was so involved when it came to this town.
I went down first and helped Jasper with the narrow shuttle steps. I did my best to hide my grin.
“Do you need help?” a familiar voice said behind me.
I turned to find Ewan dressed in a pirate costume. He even had a patch over one eye, and his coat was navy velvet.
“Wow.”
He smiled. “I could say the same. With that Queen of Science banner, I’m guess you are Mary Somerville.”
My cheeks heated. “Mara told you beforehand, right?”
“I didn’t,” she said.
“She’s right,” Ewan said. Then he took my hand and put it through the crook of his arm. I tried not to notice the warmth spreading through my body from his touch.
We followed the crowds to the side entrance of the church that led to the Great Hall. The wind and rain made holding the dance in the streets impossible. The old gothic place was the perfect spot for a Halloween party. Since the town rented the space, it was also good for the church funds.
“Any news on the cases?” I asked. “Did Flora and Elsie make it home safe?”
“They did. How about we put everything aside for the next few hours?” he asked. “I think we could both use a break, right?”
“You aren’t wrong.” We entered through the decorated entrance, which was over-the-top gothic style.
There were menacing gargoyles stationed on each side of the entrance.
Everything inside was black, red, and deep purple.
It all worked together to make it look like a party taking place hundreds of years ago.
“I need to check on something quickly, but then I’d like to dance,” Ewan said. “With you.”
Once again, the heat on my cheeks felt like they were on fire. “OK,” I said in a squeaky voice.
He walked off.
“Mara, these decorations are amazing.” There were battery-operated, black candelabras all around the room, adding an eerie but beautiful light.
The band on stage was dressed in old horror movie standards.
The mummy sang, and the drummer was painted green with bolts in his neck.
The lead guitarist had fangs. I loved it all.
“If you had any idea the arguments over the battery-operated candles, you would be surprised, but the minister won out. He was worried about the safety of the building if we used real ones.”
“I can’t blame him,” I said. “And they work.”
“Thanks.”
“I need to check out the dessert tables,” Jasper said.
“We’ll come with you,” I said. We followed him to the other side of the room.
“I love having a team,” he said. “They’ve done a splendid job.”
There were plates of petit-fours, macarons, and other delicacies covering four tables.
“Yes, they have,” Mara and I said in unison. We picked up plates. I handed one to Abigail, who seemed to have fallen back in her shell.
“Are you OK?”
She shrugged. “I feel exposed,” she said tightly.
I gave her a wink. “Only because you’re turning heads. You look gorgeous. Own it. When Henry sees you, he’ll be trying to throw a coat over you.”
That made her laugh. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You are powerful and intelligent. Never forget that.”
“I’m really lucky to have you as a friend.”
“I feel the same way about you. Now, how about we load up on some desserts?”
“I never turn down food from Jasper.”
“Smart woman,” Jasper said.
The band played an energetic tune and several people danced.
It was funny to see witches dancing with jack-o-lanterns and all points in between.
I visited with a few of my patients who came up to tell me they admired my costume.
I’d been nervous about taking on a Scottish icon, though I hadn’t thought they would recognize her. But they did.
There was a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to find Ewan again. “Time to dance,” he said. “If you’ll excuse us.”
The music had slowed, and he pulled me into his arms. We were close, and I laid my cheek on his coat.
We more swayed than danced. “This is nice,” I said.
“I agree,” his voice was deep and rumbly. It sent the good kind of shiver down my back.
“I meant, your jacket. The velvet is very soft.” I laughed, and so did he.
I glanced around to find many sets of eyes on us.
“People are watching,” I said.
He shrugged. “So. We’re together, let them think what they want.”
I gasped and pulled back to look at him. “We are?”
“Yes, Em. We have been for months,” he gave me a crooked smile. “I’ve just been easing you into it. I wasn’t certain you were ready.”
This was the most we’d ever discussed our relationship. He wasn’t wrong. More often than not, he was at my house. We found excuses that had nothing to do with cases to spend more time together.
“I think I’ve been afraid to …”
“We haven’t had the best of luck with past—relationships,” he said. “Perhaps, we both needed a bit more time than most to …”
“Figure out who we are?”
“Exactly. It isn’t easy for me to talk about things like this. But with you, I want to be honest.”
“Same,” I said.
He pulled me tighter again. I rested against him, happy to find that we were on the same wave length. I had no idea where we went from here, but for the first time in my life, I was OK with that.
“Right,” he said.
I lifted my head.
“What?”
He touched the comm in his ear. “Sorry, there’s something happening at the entrance.” He guided me off the dance floor. “I’ll be back.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said.
He didn’t seem to hear me, but I followed just the same.
As we drew near the entrance, there were loud voices. A crowd had gathered, and Ewan pushed through. I entered through the wake he made. There was an alien arguing with what looked like a lizard. It was hard to tell from my angle.
Akif and Henry, who were also dressed as pirates, were there. Each of them held one of the men who were spouting nonsense at one another.
“Enough,” Ewan roared. The men quieted down.
“He should be in jail,” the lizard said. “Why haven’t you arrested him?”
I recognized that voice. It was Baird. I frowned. The other man was most likely his nemesis Robert McClendon.
“Take it outside,” Ewan said. Both men were shouldered out of the entrance and away from the crowd that had gathered.
Someone sniffled behind me. I turned to find Isobel, in a Celtic dress and a witch’s hat. She looked beautiful and sad.
“Hey,” I said. “Come with me.” I took her down the hallway to the lady’s room. Then I gathered several paper towels for her to dry her tears.
“Thank you, Doc,” she said through her tears. “Baird thought it might be fun for us to get out of the house. We should be mourning, but he begged. I couldn’t say no. Then we ran into Robert and his gang. They are awful men. My brother was right about that. But sometimes Baird’s temper scares me.”
“Has he ever turned it on you?” I held up my hands. “I’m a doctor. Anything you say is confidential. But I do have to ask because this isn’t the first time I’ve seen him that way.”
“Normally, he’s as cuddly as a puppy,” she said. “But Robert sets him off. He feels certain that man killed my brother. The police say there is no way that could have happened.”
“And you don’t know what to think.”
She sighed. “Exactly. Why are Robert and his men even here? They live in Edinburgh.”
“I think that might be the Constable’s fault. He likes to keep everyone close until he solves the case.” That was my best guess. I really had no idea, but I was just as curious. Ewan kept saying they had alibis, but maybe there was more to that side of the story.
Why are they still here causing trouble?
“Is there more to the story with Baird?”
She blew out a breath. “He was fired a month ago off the rig. My brother went to bat for him, but it didn’t do any good.
That was when my brother started gathering evidence against Robert and some others in management.
They aren’t all bad, but Robert—my brother said he was the worst of the worst. Anytime anyone spoke out against him, they were fired.
“Luckily, Baird does well with his art, and it makes him happier. But he can’t seem to let the past go.”
“It’s recent past, so that is understandable,” I said. “It takes time to process that sort of thing, and then his best friend being—dying.”
“You can say murdered. The police have. The Constable told us he was stabbed. It’s so horrible.”
“And you don’t have any idea who might have wanted to hurt him, other than Robert?”
“No. He was well-liked on the rigs. That’s what Baird tells me.
And as an artist here, we’re all a part of a very welcoming community.
Before he died, we talked about getting a place together.
He lived in his caravan, which was fine for him, but kind of awkward for the both of us.
” She sniffed again. “I can’t seem to process that I won’t see him again. ”
“Again, death is big when it comes to processing. Maybe the biggest. You need to give yourself some grace. Feel your feelings. I know you’ve been over it many times with the police, but can you take me step-by-step through the night your brother died?”
I guided her to a velvet settee that was in the outer area of the lady’s room.
“I should probably see what’s going on with Baird. I hope he doesn’t get arrested. He just has big feelings.”
“I’m sure he’s fine, and this won’t take long. Please, I’m hoping we might find something that will help.”
Some other women came in but went straight for the stalls. The door to the area where we were shut softly.
“Close your eyes,” I said.
She sighed but did as I asked.
“Start by taking a look in the room where you all were set up in the haunted house. Do you remember seeing anything out of place?”
She shook her head. “We’d worked hard on it. I was so proud of what we’d done. But Duncan was a perfectionist. He wanted to make a few tweaks for the next night. If he’d just come with us to the pub, he might still be alive.” She sniffed, and I realized I was losing her to grief.
“Don’t think about that now. You and Baird left. Did you see anyone as you were leaving that might have been headed upstairs?”
“There were loads of people in and out. I waited in the hall when Baird went back to get my scarf. I’d forgotten it.”
Wait. Baird had been alone with Duncan.
“How long was he gone?” I asked.
“Maybe five minutes,” she said.
That was long enough, but why would Baird kill his best friend? I couldn’t ask her that, as she didn’t seem to consider him a suspect. But was he?
“And they were best friends?”
“Yes, for years. Though I used to joke they were like an old married couple. They constantly bickered and nagged at one another. Two men with strong ideas—and creatives—though in very different ways.”
Her eyes snapped open. “He couldn’t,” she said.
“I know where you’re going with that, but he had no blood on him, and he loved my brother.
I’m certain it was one of Robert’s men. They stick to him like glue, and I hear he pays them well for their silence in all things.
My brother said Robert’s wife would love to know the real man. Always had someone on the side.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. When he was telling me about the evidence he’d been gathering to help Baird, he said Robert had a place here where he brought women. And that his wife had no idea.”
“Men,” I said.
She gave me a weak smile. “Sometimes, yes. My brother could be a cad, but he wasn’t married. And he had a rule against dating married women, which should be a rule for everyone.”
As someone who had been burned in the past, I couldn’t agree more. “You are right about that,” I said.
Someone came through the door. It was a woman dressed as a witch, but this one was dressed in head-to-toe black and wore a mini dress with fishnets. She glanced at us and then approached.
“Isobel, right?” she said.
“Yes,” the other woman said tentatively.
“I’m Marigold MacAllen,” I recognized her then as the head of the local coven. “I was a big fan of your brother’s art. I’m sorry for your loss. He was charming and … well, as I said, I’m sorry.”
I wanted to yell at her to finish that sentence, but it wasn’t appropriate. Did she have an affair with the former artist? It was the way she’d said he was charming that made me wonder.
“Thank you. I really should be going,” Isobel said. “I want to check on what happened to Baird.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll take you back. And Isobel …”
“Yes?”
“If you need anything, I’m here for you. I mean it.”
“Thanks,” she said hesitantly. “I appreciate that.”
I very much wanted to have a conversation with Marigold. It was the tone in her voice, and the way she looked at Isobel, as if she were sorrier than anyone could imagine.