Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
It was almost four o’clock before Wendy and Joel returned from their visit to The Bothy and Loch Trioch. Ally was brushing up some leaves in the garden when the Jeep pulled up outside.
‘Oh, Ally!’ Wendy exclaimed as she climbed out of the passenger seat. ‘We had such a lovely lunch. Thank you so much for recommending The Bothy.’
‘I’m glad,’ Ally replied, leaning her rake against the wall. ‘And did you visit Desdemona?’
Wendy rolled her eyes in ecstasy. ‘Yes, we did, and, my goodness, isn’t that place in the middle of nowhere! Furthermore, there must have been at least half a dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes, barking, jumping up and even growling. We were quite nervous, weren’t we, Joel?’
Joel, walking just behind her, nodded. ‘She wasn’t exactly welcoming,’ he muttered.
‘But she showed us her garden and, my goodness, we were really impressed!’ Wendy said. ‘She has some amazing plants in there – sub-tropical ones – and as for all her herbs and spices, well…! And she was kind enough to let me take some seeds for my own garden.’
‘She tried to sell us some of her paintings,’ Joel added. ‘They were nice, but I couldn’t see us getting them back to Halifax without a lot of hassle. If we ever get back to Halifax!’ he added gloomily.
‘She’s certainly a one-off,’ Wendy concluded as she made her way indoors.
Joel had gone back to his Jeep. ‘I want a word with the earl,’ he said. ‘Do you think he’s likely to be in? He wasn’t the other day.’
‘I really don’t know,’ Ally replied truthfully.
If he was at home, he’d doubtless be scoffing Mrs Jamieson’s sandwiches and scones at this particular time and might not necessarily be in the right frame of mind to welcome this rather belligerent man.
However, it was best to let Joel find out for himself.
‘Well,’ said Joel, ‘I’m gonna try.’
He got back into the driving seat and off he went.
The outcome of Joel’s visit to the castle did not become apparent until Hamish came barging in the back door at half past six, just as Ross had poured out some pre-dinner drinks for Ally and himself.
‘You will not believe what’s happened!’ he ranted. ‘And yes, I would have a wee drop of Scotch – if you’re offering it.’
Ross poured a generous measure of the whisky and handed it to Hamish. ‘So what’s happened then?’ he asked.
‘That man, that son, that what’s-his-name Watson…’ Hamish began, taking a large glug of his drink.
‘Joel,’ Ally supplied helpfully.
‘He comes barging into the castle, demanding to see me, while Magda and I are having our afternoon tea!’ Hamish was plainly horrified at the intrusion to this ritual.
‘He wants to know what I plan to do about all the murders. The cheek of the man! “What am I supposed to do about all the murders?” I ask him. I also mention that we’ve only had these murders since his family arrived in Locharran, which isn’t strictly true, of course, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
’ He stopped for breath and more whisky.
‘I bet you felt like punching him on the nose,’ Ross said.
‘I’m not a violent man, but I must admit I did feel like it. But I told him that the police were doing their best and it was them he should be talking to, not me.’ Hamish gave a heavy sigh.
‘Did he leave then?’ Ally asked.
‘No, he damn well didn’t. He gave me a long spiel about the stories Tom told him about Angus and Pat’s conversation, and how crazy it was that his poor Aunt Patti was under house arrest because of these lies.
Well.’ Hamish shook his head and gulped some more whisky.
‘I very stupidly told him that he should be talking to Angus and not to me. Oh Lord, why ever did I say that?’
‘Did he go to talk to Angus then?’ Ross asked.
‘He did. I followed him, a discreet distance behind, down the drive to Angus’s cottage and watched him rap on the door. Angus came to the door, closed it behind him and faced Watson. “Why are you here?” he asked.’
Ally was agog now. ‘And then…?’
‘And then I could hear Angus asking grumpily, “What do you want?” You know how gruff he can be. And then Watson ranted on about Tom supposedly hearing this conversation, and did he know that his poor niece was now under house arrest for something she didn’t say?
Then he demanded that Angus tell him where he could find Tom because it was time “that lad got sorted out”, and Angus said, like I did, that it was none of Watson’s business and, if he’d got something to say, he should say it to the police. ’
‘Poor old Angus,’ Ross said. ‘This bloody Joel’s upsetting everyone.’
‘Well, Angus stood his ground, and so did Watson, and the argument got more and more heated until…’ Here Hamish drained his glass, and Ross hastily replenished it.
Hamish gave him a nod of thanks and then continued with his story.
‘Angus told him to sod off, but Watson stayed put, still sounding off, and it was then that Angus punched him, hard. Really hard! Flattened Watson, who now has a bloody nose to go with his swollen eye!’
‘Oh my God!’ Ally stared at him in disbelief. ‘Tell me you’re joking!’
‘I’m not joking, and that’s not all. When Watson had recovered sufficiently to locate his phone, he called the police, said he’d been assaulted.
The police arrive, big fuss; a Canadian visitor has been attacked and has a bleeding nose, a split lip, bruises coming up everywhere.
’ Hamish sighed in exasperation. ‘Angus, of course, is totally unrepentant, and I don’t blame him. But poor Angus has been arrested!’
There was a horrified silence for a moment before, in unison, Ally and Ross both repeated, ‘Angus? Arrested?’
‘Angus, for God’s sake! Angus would never raise his fists normally!
’ Hamish took another large gulp. ‘This man has only been in Scotland for a couple of days and he’s already managed to get himself one black eye and, for sure, he’s going to have two of them before the day is out. And possibly a broken nose.’
‘And what about Tom while all this is going on?’ Ally asked. ‘After all, it was Tom who started all this by hearing the so-called conversation.’
Hamish shook his head. ‘He never got round to having a go at Tom, which is probably just as well. In the meantime, poor Angus is in custody tonight for only doing what any red-blooded male would do when provoked like that.’
‘Was it Kandahar who arrested him?’ Ross asked.
‘No, he’s in Glasgow apparently. It was two young, enthusiastic constables. They came racing up the drive with lights on, sirens blazing. God only knows what the village thought!’
‘Somebody’s got to gag that Joel,’ Ally said with feeling.
‘He’s certainly a troublemaker,’ Hamish agreed, ‘but it’s poor Angus I’m worried about! Angus in jail – unbelievable! I shall get straight on to Kandahar about having him released on bail. I cannot run my estate without Angus, and that’s all there is to it!’ He drained his glass.
‘Would you like another of these?’ Ally indicated the Scotch bottle.
‘Oh, just a wee one then, if you insist,’ Hamish said. ‘But only because Magda says I’m drinking far too much, but, my God, I need a drink today! I’ll bring a couple of bottles of my best, to boost your supplies, next time I pop in.’
‘This is the one you brought last time,’ Ally said. She and Ross usually drank gin or wine. ‘So where is Joel now?’
Hamish shrugged. ‘I think he’s gone back to the hotel, and one of the police has gone with him. I don’t know what happens now, but I’ve been on to Kandahar and he’ll be here in the morning.’
Poor Amir, Ally thought. This village must give him more work than all the rest of the area put together.
‘Alison is a wonderful friend,’ Hamish said, turning to Ross with a wink.
‘When she resisted my charms and said she only wanted friendship, I really didn’t think it was possible to just be friends with such an attractive lady.
But I was wrong, and I deeply value our friendship, Alison!
’ He turned to her and raised his glass.
‘Thank you, Hamish,’ Ally said, hoping she wasn’t blushing at her great age. ‘I really value our friendship too.’
‘Hope I’m not intruding on this mutual admiration society,’ Ross said with a grin, raising his own glass.
Morag was almost rendered speechless when she arrived in the morning.
‘There’s this rumour goin’ round,’ she said, ‘that Angus Morrison has been arrested. Angus! You couldn’t make it up.’
‘It’s true,’ Ally said, spooning coffee grounds into a cafetière.
‘I can’t believe it! What the hell could Angus have to do with any of this?’ Morag demanded as she fastened on her pinny.
‘I believe he had a difference of opinion with your friend Joel Watson,’ Ally replied.
‘He’s no friend of mine! A difference of opinion! Is that what you call it? That Watson got back to the Craigmonie with a policeman and a bloody nose, Murdo says. But it couldn’t be Angus; Angus is only interested in huntin’, fishin’ and mindin’ his own business.’
‘Apparently, even Angus has a limit to his patience,’ Ally said.
As if to verify this state of affairs, there was a gentle knock on the kitchen door, and there stood Wendy.
‘I just wanted to tell you that I won’t be breakfasting here this morning,’ she said, ‘because poor Joel’s been in a spot of bother, and I feel I should go down there straight away.’
‘Thank you for letting me know,’ Ally said, hoping to avoid further conversation on the subject.
‘Because he was attacked last night!’ Wendy went on.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, Wendy,’ Ally said, backing slowly into the kitchen. ‘I hope he’s OK.’
As she closed the door, she heard Morag mutter, ‘She seems quite a nice woman, so how come she’s got a son like that?’
‘He’s probably been spoiled and likes to get his own way,’ Ally said. Just like your Bobby, she thought.
Morag gave a disapproving sniff as she set off upstairs.