Too Soon a Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 2 (8 page)

‘What a lovely dress,’ she said on opening the front door a few minutes later.

‘It’s Sunday.’ Kate struck a pose to show off her pink frock with white embroidered flowers. ‘I like to wear something special, even if I don’t go to church.’ She bounded in, nearly knocking over the hall table.

‘How did you get on with Ken?’

Kate’s grin became a pout. ‘Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you about it.’

Once they were outside with their glasses of iced orange juice, Kate launched into an account of her discussions with her ex-husband, which had centred around the news that Ken had recently remarried and his new wife was expecting a baby. ‘This appears to have reminded him of the existence of the children he already has,’ she said, her ability to sound sarcastic unhampered by her lack of hearing. ‘Doubtless egged on by the new Mrs Simons, he’s decided he wants us all to play happy families.’

‘What would that entail?’ Zoe asked.

‘He wants to spend time with Frankie, Eva and Mhairi in order to “build relationships” with them.’ Kate’s exaggerated air quotes demonstrated what she thought of this idea. ‘And then, when they’re better acquainted, he expects me to pack them off to stay with him on a regular basis.’

‘Won’t that be difficult, as he’s living in London?’

‘Oh no, here’s the best news of all. He’s been offered a job in Newcastle and is planning to bring wifey and sprog up to live just over the Border in Northumberland. They’re already house-hunting around Alnwick.’

‘Oh.’ Zoe had no idea how to respond. Had anyone else presented her with this development, she might have argued it could be good for all the parties involved, especially the children. However, she knew the strength of Kate’s antagonism towards Ken precluded any chance of such an agreement being acceptable to her. ‘What do your parents say?’

‘They’re as upset as I am. Don’t forget they had to pick up the pieces when Ken walked out on us. I don’t know what I’d’ve done without them. Mhairi wasn’t two months old.’

‘So how did you respond?’

‘I was very calm. At first, anyway. I asked him if this meant he was going to start paying maintenance. Needless to say, he hadn’t even considered
that
possibility. Things went downhill from there.’

‘Did you manage to agree on anything?’

‘Only that he’s going to consult a solicitor, so I must spend money I don’t have on doing the same.’ Kate’s glass thumped as she deposited it on the table. Seeing Zoe wince, she picked it up again to check for cracks, then set it down more carefully. ‘Anyway, I’ll do what I have to. He’s not going to disrupt our lives again.’

‘Have you told Mather? Sorry—Erskine.’

‘Not yet. As you know, his job doesn’t respect normal people’s routines. And it’s not his battle anyway.’

‘True.’

‘Can we talk about something else?’ Kate asked. ‘What have you been up to today?’

Zoe told her about Mac’s early-morning adventure and Kate agreed the stray dog was most likely the one that attacked her father’s sheep, even though the incidents were several miles apart. Ranald had informed the police and warned other farmers nearby to be on the alert.

‘And I’ll be going to see my solicitor too, following your brother’s visit.’

Kate looked blank. ‘Why?’

‘Sorry, I assumed you knew. Robbie’s offered to sell me all this.’ Zoe extended an arm to indicate the field that surrounded them. ‘I’m going to be a landowner.’

‘Really? He almost never sells anything. I had to work on him about letting you buy the house.’

‘I got the impression it’s just a small part of a bigger plan, what he described as rebalancing his portfolio. I hope I haven’t been indiscreet in mentioning it.’

‘Of course not. Robbie’s always far too busy these day to tell me what he’s up to. I was surprised he found time to come down to Mum and Dad’s barbecue, though he needn’t have bothered, seeing as he ended up having a row with Dad.’

‘Not a serious one, I hope.’

‘I doubt it. Dad pretends to disapprove of Robbie’s flashy lifestyle—especially all the holidays they take, and sending the girls to a private school—but secretly he’s proud of how well he’s done. Especially for someone who was thrown out of agricultural college.’

‘So Robbie did try to go into the family business?’

‘Only because it was expected of him. And although he had to face telling Mum and Dad about being asked not to go back to college, he was pleased really. They sent him to work with Uncle Bill, who at the time was doing up some old cottages to sell. It was meant as a sort of penance, but instead he got the property bug.’

‘He’s obviously good at it.’

‘The money to be made in the Borders is paltry compared with Edinburgh, so that’s where he mainly operates now. And lives. Because the lovely Ingrid wouldn’t be seen dead in a pair of wellies.’

‘I got that impression from our brief encounter last night.’

‘He was never going to hook up with anyone normal. They met on a skiing holiday in Switzerland.’

‘Ordinary people go skiing too, you know. I’m not very good, but I do enjoy it.’

‘Is there any dangerous sport you haven’t done?’

‘They’re not dangerous if you do them properly. And in answer to your question, hearing your dad enthuse about the Jim Clark Rally reminded me I haven’t tried my hand at competitive driving. Yet.’

‘You’ll forget that idea when the baby arrives.’

‘There’s an expression you use when I say something outrageous like that.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Aye, right.’

They both laughed, then Kate looked grave. ‘I’ve been putting it off, but there’s something I need to show you.’ She lifted up her handbag and rummaged inside it, bringing out a folded sheet of A4 paper. ‘First of all, I need to explain how we got this.’

‘You’re being very mysterious.’ Zoe reached out her hand. ‘Come on, show me.’

‘No, it’s important you know we’ve not been spying on you.’

‘Now you’ve got me worried, Kate. What have you found out?’

‘Frankie brought it to me. Last year, when all that unpleasantness was going on, he set up a Google alert for your name. I had no idea, honestly, but he was curious and a bit scared because no grown-up would talk to him about what was happening.’ Kate paused but Zoe said nothing. ‘Anyway, here we are, six months later, and he gets notification of this on that awful Scotland’s News website. I’m so sorry.’

Zoe grabbed the paper and unfolded it. At the top was a photograph of her standing on the Chain Bridge, frowning.

EXCLUSIVE

Pregnant Borders GP with tragic past involved in river death mystery.

Soon-to-be-single-mum, Doctor Zoe Moreland, 38, is once again helping the police with their enquiries just months after narrowly escaping death herself when ...

Not wanting to read any more of this rubbish, she held the sheet of paper out to Kate, who thrust it back into her bag. Neither woman spoke until Kate said, ‘They got your age wrong.’

‘They all did last year too.’ Zoe swallowed hard and reached for her drink, but just the smell of the orange juice made her feel sick. She put the glass down again. ‘Shit!’

‘If it’s any consolation, hardly anyone I know ever looks on that website. It was set up by some people who didn’t like the BBC’s coverage of the independence referendum. It reports on stories none of the proper news outlets is interested in.’

‘I hope you’re right. But it’s still there, and will be forever more now. That’s the trouble with the internet.’

‘Did you know someone had taken the photograph?’

‘Yes, but I told myself even if he was from the press he couldn’t possibly have recognised me. I look rather different to how I did last November.’

‘Aren’t they supposed to identify themselves?’

This at least made Zoe smile. ‘In my experience, they’re not bound by any rules at all. He’ll be an opportunistic freelancer hoping to get a picture of the police working a murder scene, who struck lucky finding me there too.’

‘Can you try to get it taken down?’

‘That’d be a waste of time. The best thing I can do is ignore it.’ Zoe winced and rubbed her stomach.

‘Baby kicking?’ Kate asked. ‘Amazing, isn’t it, to think of a little person living inside you?’

Grabbing this opportunity to change the subject, Zoe said, ‘I’ve been trying to choose nursery furniture for when that little person comes out, but I can’t make up my mind what to get. Do you want to help me?’

‘Where are you looking?’

‘EBay and Amazon.’ Seeing Kate’s scandalised expression, she added, ‘I’m not buying second-hand, don’t worry.’

‘You can’t possibly buy those things online. We need to go to John Lewis.’

‘I couldn’t face shopping in this heat.’

‘Nonsense. Haven’t you heard of air-conditioning? A department store is probably the most comfortable place to be at present. And afterwards we can reward ourselves with cake.’

‘But you’re busy.’

‘I’m never too busy to help someone else spend money. And I have to visit the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh to do some research this week. Would Wednesday suit you?’

‘As long as I can get someone to take Mac for the day.’

‘I’m sure Mum will. Which reminds me—I told her I’d only be gone for half an hour. I’ll text you about it, okay?’

Recognising her friend’s intervention was probably the kick up the backside she needed, Zoe agreed. Despite Kate’s insistence that she should stay put, she pushed herself up from the chair. They had just gone back into the kitchen when the house phone rang. Zoe pointed at it to indicate what she was doing, and went to take the call.

‘Hello.’

Silence.

‘Hello.’

Expecting a click, signifying the automatic dialling system in a distant call centre had rung off, instead all she heard was the sound of someone breathing. She rammed the handset back into its stand. Once Kate was gone, she’d dial 1471 to find out who the caller had been, although probably all she’d get would be confirmation they had withheld their number.

Was this the work of the same person who rang her mobile three times during the night?

EIGHT

Although too fond of driving to be a fan of public transport, Zoe had allowed herself to be persuaded by Kate that taking the train to Edinburgh would be their best option, and as she stood on the platform at Berwick-upon-Tweed station, cooled by the sea breeze and sipping from her bottle of chilled water, she felt inclined to agree. Less than a week had passed since she had driven to Moffat to meet Andrew, yet every time she pulled a seatbelt across her body it felt more confining. If her father wanted to see her again before the baby arrived, she might have to insist on their meeting somewhere far closer to Westerlea. He would, after all, have to come to her once the baby arrived.

She turned round to Kate, who was staring at her mobile and shaking her head. When she looked up, Zoe asked, ‘Problem?’

‘I knew telling him I’m in Edinburgh today was a mistake.’

‘Who?’

‘The client I’m doing the research for. He says he’s got a clear diary so we should meet up and I can give him a progress report.’

‘If you can’t come shopping with me, I’ll understand.’

‘You’re joking, aren’t you? I’d rather turn him down than miss that.’ Kate undid the clasp on her oversized handbag and peered inside. ‘I haven’t got his complete file with me so I can’t give him more than an overview, which won’t take long. We should be in Edinburgh by eleven, so I’ll text him saying to meet me in the John Lewis restaurant on the fourth floor at eleven-thirty. If he proves too demanding, you can come and rescue me.’

Zoe followed Kate onto the train, letting her go ahead to claim an empty table. They sat down facing each other, and as soon as they had left Berwick, Kate pulled out the contents of her bag and started to sort them into piles. Zoe reached into her own handbag for her book but as she opened it, Kate said, ‘You might find this interesting.’

‘If it’s to do with your work, I’m sure I will. But I didn’t think your client wanted you to discuss what you’d found out about his family.’

‘You’re the least gossipy person I’ve ever met, so where’s the harm? And anyway, he’ll never know.’

‘I’m not sure that’s the point.’

Kate flapped a hand, dismissing Zoe’s concern. ‘I’ve managed to go back to when my client’s great-great-grandfather and his parents were arrested in Jedburgh. Look at this.’ She slid a piece of paper over the table.

Zoe studied the photocopied sheet. Although she struggled to read some of the handwriting, the typed headings of every column were clear: she was looking at an extract from something called the Roxburghshire Criminal Register, which recorded arrests made in one week in February 1861.

‘This is fascinating. I love the details. Under education the choices are “neither reads nor writes”, “reads and writes imperfectly”, and “superior education”. I wonder how they judged which category each prisoner fell into?’

‘Delving into old records is the bit I enjoy most about my job,’ Kate said. She indicated a series of columns on the Register. ‘Because it was still the early days of photography, they had to make do with noting down things like height and eye colour to identify them. There’s the chap I’m interested in.’ She pointed halfway down the page. ‘Adam Ainslie, aged fifteen. And below him, his parents Archibald and Grace, both in their late forties.’

‘All arrested for theft,’ Zoe said, ‘although it doesn’t say what they stole. Couldn’t have been much. They got away with a fine.’

‘There’s a lot more I’d like to discover, but I’ve not managed to so far,’ Kate said. ‘But this is the sort of detail clients love. It makes their ancestors come alive.’

‘So they don’t mind you finding out they’re descended from petty criminals?’

‘As long as it’s far enough in the past, they quite like me to drag up a scandal or two.’

Zoe stared down at the Criminal Register then met Kate’s gaze. ‘You do realise that if this information is accurate, Archibald and Grace are unlikely to have been Adam’s biological parents?’