Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Later, when Ross got back, Ally told him about Hamish’s visit.
‘Is he certain that he saw Micky at the tent?’ Ross asked. ‘I mean he’d probably had a few drinks by then.’
‘He seemed very certain, and he’s bolted off to Fort William to tell the police what he saw. Fortunately, the family here have no idea about this. They just seemed delighted that someone’s been arrested so that they can go home.’ She told Ross about what she’d overheard.
‘Ally, don’t read too much into that,’ Ross said. ‘I mean his wife said to you, didn’t she, that the two men didn’t get on all that well business-wise, so of course Greg’s going to enjoy a certain amount of freedom that he didn’t have before.’
‘Yes, but it was also the way he referred to Patti,’ Ally said. ‘She’s excluded from the company altogether, apart from getting a share in the profits.’
‘I expect that’s how she wants it,’ Ross said. ‘I can’t see her as much of a businesswoman, and what does that matter if she gets her share of the profits for doing nothing?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Ally admitted grudgingly.
‘You want it to be Greg, don’t you?’
Ally pulled a face. ‘I just don’t want it to be someone from Locharran.’
‘That’s understandable, and I can see why you might suspect Greg. I’ve no doubt the inspector will be here again before long if they’re releasing Micky, so let’s wait to see what he thinks.’
Yet again, Ally found it difficult to get to sleep.
An elated Morag appeared next morning. ‘They let our Micky go yesterday evenin’,’ she said, ‘and thank God for that! Not that they should ever have arrested him in the first place! And, thank the good Lord, they seem to have lost interest in Bobby too.’
Ross had had to go home first thing in the morning because of a visitor problem, and so Ally was having to cope with the sausages along with everything else. ‘I’m so pleased, Morag.’
‘And I’ll tell you why,’ Morag continued. ‘It was the earl himself – God bless his soul! – who remembered seein’ Micky just leavin’ the tent at the very moment we all heard that shot.’
‘That must be such a relief,’ Ally said. But all she could think of at the moment was that the family were about to appear in the dining room, and had they been told of this yet? And how would they be likely to react? Would Amir put in an appearance to inform them in person?
As she heard her guests going into the dining room, Ally took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and went in to greet them, as she always did.
‘Good morning, Ally,’ they chorused as usual.
‘I hope you’ve all slept well,’ Ally said, beginning to relax.
‘Oh yes,’ said Wendy, looking around at the others for confirmation. They all nodded in agreement.
‘Except I heard a funny noise in our bathroom again when I woke in the night,’ Julie said.
Ally’s spirits plummeted. She knew she shouldn’t really believe in her wretched ghost, but it had to be said that he’d been right so far.
‘I expect you were just dreaming, darling,’ Patti said soothingly.
‘No, I wasn’t,’ protested Julie. ‘It sounded like some kind of wailing.’
‘Probably air in the pipes,’ Wendy said.
Oh, how true that is! thought Ally.
Nevertheless, she could see they were all quite upbeat, and no one seemed aware of Micky’s release.
As Ally went back to cooking and Morag headed upstairs to do the rooms, Amir arrived.
‘Don’t let me interfere with breakfasts,’ he said to Ally as she ushered him into the kitchen. ‘I need to have a word with your guests, but not until they’ve finished eating.’ He pulled out a chair and sat at the far end of the kitchen table, removing files and phones from his briefcase.
He gave a slight smile and, for the umpteenth time, Ally thought what a good-looking man he was. She plated up breakfasts and carried them next door.
‘What’s that police car doing out there?’ Greg asked with a frown.
‘Oh, I expect they want to update you on whatever’s happened,’ Ally said casually, making a rapid escape before he could ask anything else.
Back in the kitchen, Amir had poured himself a cup of tea from Ally’s pot. ‘I hope you don’t mind?’ he asked, pointing politely at his cup.
‘Of course I don’t mind! Would you like something to eat?’ Ally asked.
Amir shook his head. ‘No, thank you.’ He took a sip of tea. ‘We’ve had a suspect in for questioning,’ he said, ‘but we’ve had to let him go, due to the fact he now has an alibi. A witness has come forward.’
‘Micky McConnachie?’ Ally said.
Amir looked surprised. ‘You knew?’
‘Have you forgotten that his mother is my cleaning lady? And that it was on the local news?’
‘Of course!’ Amir shook his head. ‘I should have remembered.’
‘Furthermore, Hamish – the earl – called in yesterday afternoon. When I told him about Micky’s arrest, he told me he’d seen Micky at the time of the shooting, and he left here immediately,’ Ally said.
‘So you knew before I did,’ Amir said with a smile. Then he looked serious again. ‘You know the earl much better than I do, and I know I’ve asked you this before, but would you say he was trustworthy?’
‘I certainly would,’ Ally replied firmly.
‘Because the earl, as you know, is also a suspect, so I can’t altogether rule out some sort of collusion between the two of them. The two of them were standing just outside the tent, and we’ve had no witnesses come forward yet to confirm this.’
‘Meaning that you think the two of them could have been in this together?’ Ally asked, realising that she hadn’t thought of that possibility. But the whole idea was quite preposterous!
‘We can rule nothing out at this stage,’ Amir replied.
‘The family knew that you had someone in custody,’ Ally told him, ‘and seemed certain that you’d got the killer and that they’d be going home.’
‘I hate to disappoint them,’ Amir said with a sigh, ‘but that is not the case.’ He studied Ally for a moment. ‘Have they said anything relevant to you?’
‘Only that Greg seems very keen to get back to take over the business he co-owned with Archie Armstrong.’
‘That’s not entirely surprising,’ Amir said.
‘I suppose not,’ Ally admitted, feeling a little deflated.
‘And I overheard him saying to his wife that he’d persuaded Patti to keep away from the business but just take a share of the profits.
And when Wendy asked him how he’d managed to persuade her, he said something to the effect that Patti was glad of her new-found freedom. ’
‘I’ve a feeling that you suspect him then?’ Amir asked. ‘Is he top of your list?’
Ally looked at her painting of oranges, lemons and grapes on the wall. ‘He’s near the top of my list,’ she said, aware that she had indeed placed Greg at one o’clock and Patti was at the top at twelve o’clock – always suspect the nearest and dearest, she had discovered.
Shortly afterwards, Ally could hear the chairs being pushed back next door so assumed her guests had finished breakfast. She signalled to Amir, who picked up his briefcase, made his way to the door and waylaid them all in the hallway, suggesting they had ‘a wee chat in the sitting room’.
Ally could hear, from all the pleasantries being exchanged, that the family were most likely convinced that Amir had arrested the killer and that they’d be free to head for home. She could hear him talking quietly for a few minutes – followed by uproar.
‘What do you mean?’ Greg was shouting. ‘Why have you not arrested this guy?’
‘We just want to go home!’ Patti wailed.
‘I’m sorry,’ Amir said, raising his voice. ‘I’ve already told you that we have insufficient evidence against him and that he produced an alibi.’
‘But surely we can go home?’ Wendy piped up.
‘I’m afraid that will not be possible,’ Amir replied calmly.
‘Are you suggesting we’re suspects still?’ Greg roared.
‘I can rule no one out at this stage,’ Amir said diplomatically.
‘Ridiculous!’ shouted Patti. ‘How can you accuse me of shooting my own dear husband?’
‘I’m not accusing anyone of anything,’ Amir said. ‘I’m only telling you that the person we took in for questioning has now been released due to lack of evidence.’
‘Could we not go and stay in Inverness?’ Janey asked hopefully.
‘I’d prefer it if you could stay right here,’ Amir replied.
‘Bloody ridiculous!’ Greg shouted as Amir was leaving the room.
When he came back into the kitchen, Amir rolled his eyes and said apologetically, ‘I’ve left you with some unhappy customers, Ally, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Let me know if you have any problems.’
Ally nodded. ‘I will,’ she said, just as Morag reappeared from upstairs.
‘What’s all that shoutin’ goin’ on?’ she asked crossly, glaring at Amir as she began to make herself a mug of tea.
‘I must be on my way,’ Amir said hurriedly. ‘Thanks for the tea, Ally. And I’m glad we were able to release your son, Mrs McConnachie.’ With that, he sped towards the front door.
‘Well, well,’ said Morag, sitting down with her tea, ‘them police never give you a straight answer, do they?’
After Morag had gone and Ally was clearing up in the dining room, she could hear raised voices and the sound of arguments emanating from the Armstrongs. She could clearly hear one of the girls asking, ‘Why can’t we go to Inverness? There’s nothing to do here!’
That much was true. Most young people here, as in many other country areas, left to go to college or work in the nearby towns and cities. They didn’t want to get away from it all – they wanted to be where the action was.
At that point, Patti emerged from the sitting room, slamming the door behind her.
‘Would you believe they’ve still got no idea who killed my Archie?’ she snapped.
‘I’m sure they’ll find the killer soon,’ Ally replied.
‘Well, I’m not optimistic. And he won’t even let us move to Inverness! No offence – you’ve been very kind – but the girls are bored, and I so need a visit to a beauty salon and a nail bar…’ She shook her head at the injustice of it all. ‘I think I’ll pop up to see Uncle Angus.’