Kilt Dead (9 page)

Pete thought about that for a moment, then said, “I
need to get back outside. Can you finish cleaning up on
your own?”

“No problem.”

The fallen looseleaf binder had opened on impact,
freeing the contents. Dan scooped everything up and took
it over to the desk to line up the holes and put the pages
back in order. He glanced idly at the printed words as the
stack slid into place. He frowned as he recognized a name
or two, but didn’t take time to read more than a few sentences.

Ten minutes later, Dan was back home and Lumpkin
had been freed from the much-hated cage.

“Here. Console yourself.” Dan put a feeder full of kibble, also liberated from Mrs. Norris’s house, in a corner
of the kitchen. He filled a cereal bowl with water and set
that down next to it. Lumpkin curled a lip at him but
deigned to eat.

Dan went to the refrigerator for another beer.

What the hell, he wondered, had he gotten himself
into? He didn’t usually act on impulse, but somehow he’d
ended up with two house guests. One of them was probably there for good.

Too bad it wasn’t the one he’d like to keep.

Yawning, Liss wandered into the kitchen at ten minutes past six the next morning. She stopped short at the
sight of a large yellow cat. “Well, hello there, gorgeous. I
didn’t know Dan had a cat”

“Dan doesn’t.” Dan sounded disgruntled. “Or rather, Dan
didn’t. That’s Lumpkin. He belonged to Mrs. Norris.”

As unexpected tears welled up, Liss felt her composure slip. She’d given herself a stern lecture before coming
downstairs. She’d intended to show a brave front, act as if
she’d put finding Mrs. Norris’s body behind her and could
cope with whatever the new day might bring. Fat chance!

She bent down to scratch Lumpkin behind the ear.
“She only had the one?”

Dan kindly ignored the hitch in her voice. “For the last
couple of years, yeah. Remember when she had five felines in residence, along with a dog she named Not-acat?”

“She did enjoy her pets” Steadier now, Liss glanced at
Dan over her shoulder. “Are you going to keep him?”

“Kind of depends on him. Right now he’s not too happy
to be here” Dan indicated a section of freshly shredded
wallpaper.

“Poor baby. He’s just upset. He’ll settle down.” She
lifted the cat against her chest and gave him a cuddle. She
smiled when he began to purr. That had to be the most
comforting sound in the universe.

“He’s smirking at me over your shoulder,” Dan informed her. “I swear that cat hates me. He bit me on the
ankle by way of greeting this morning.”

“What did you do to him?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you” It was a relief to find she could banter
with Dan.

“I’ll have you know I’m innocent of all but the noblest
of intentions.”

“You haven’t been innocent since seventh grade”

Dan stared at her, bemused. “Okay. How did you come
up with that?”

“You were thirteen when you cooked up that scheme
to con the other kids out of their lunch money by claiming it would go to a charity to save abandoned puppies.”

“It did go for dog food”

Liss turned to look at him and grinned. He was standing in front of an east-facing window. The early morning
sun behind him had created a totally inappropriate halo
around his head. “Yes, for your own dog”

“I found Freckles in a box by the side of the road. I
rest my case” His gaze shifted to a spot behind her.
“Damn!”

A small television on top of the refrigerator had been
running on mute, tuned to a morning news program. Dan
reached for the clicker and restored the volume.

and authorities here in Moosetookalook say the
autopsy will be done in Augusta on Monday. Detective
LaVerdiere, can you tell us anything else about the case?”

An attractive brunette ignored the state police public
affairs officer to shove her microphone in Craig LaVerdiere’s
face. They were standing in front of Aunt Margaret’s store.
The sign reading MOOSETOOKALOOK SCOTTISH EMPORIUM
was plainly visible in the background.

“We’re investigating several leads,” LaVerdiere assured
her, giving the camera a phony smile. “We expect to have
someone in custody shortly.”

As one, Dan and Liss moved out onto the porch. From
that vantage point they could plainly see that three news
vans with satellite dishes were parked in front of the shop,
along with several police vehicles. A crowd of townspeople
had gathered and Liss recognized several of the neighbors … and Ernie Willett.

“I’m glad you suggested moving my car into your driveway last night,” she murmured. “Unless Willett identifies
it, no one will know where I am” No one would bother
her. At least, not today.

“Come back inside,” Dan urged. “Eat something. Get
dressed. We’ll get out of here as soon as you’re ready.”

“One thing’s sure,” Liss said with a sigh. “I’m not
going to have time to worry about my little career crisis
today. Murder is one hell of a distraction.” Horrified by her own words, she clamped both hands over her mouth.
“Oh, Lord! I didn’t mean that the way it sounded!”

“Sit down, have another cup of coffee, and tell me about
your career crisis. It will take your mind off Mrs. Norris.”

As if he knew she needed reassurance, Lumpkin stropped
Liss’s ankles. She sipped the coffee Dan poured and
scratched the cat under the chin. But when he went back
to his food dish, she hesitated. Dan was watching her, a
contemplative look on his face.

“What?”

“I’ve been wondering why you came back.”

“To help Aunt Margaret. Good grief. How am I going
to tell her what happened to Mrs. Norris?”

“You can’t do anything on that score yet. She’s barely
had time to get to Scotland. So, you’re here, helping out.
You have that much vacation time?”

Very carefully, Liss placed the now empty coffee mug
on the kitchen table. “Don’t be coy, Dan. It doesn’t suit
you. I’m sure Aunt Margaret told you I had knee surgery.”

“Yeah, she did. But she didn’t say how serious it was”

Liss stared into the dregs of the coffee. “Serious enough
to end my career.”

She hated saying that out loud. There were days when she
could almost convince herself there was still hope for her as
a dancer. When she’d done her stretches that morning, she’d
been nearly as limber as she was before the accident.

“I’ve devoted myself to dancing for so long,” she confided, “that I’m having a hard time imagining I’ll ever
find another purpose, another passion to fill my life.”

“Do you miss the touring, or just being on stage?” Dan
asked.

The question made her think before she answered.
“Both, but it’s not being able to perform that really tears
me up inside. I’ve considered going back in some other
capacity, but I’m not sure I could bear watching everyone
else on stage while I’m restricted to the wings. Even yes terday at the games, I stayed away from the stage where
the dance competitions were being held. To watch others
perform when I can’t… “

“Ever think about staying on here?” Dan asked.

“I’m not sure Aunt Margaret’s shop can support another salesclerk.”

Dan frowned. “Was Ned telling the truth? Did she
overextend herself to buy into the hotel?”

Startled, Liss gave him a hard look. “What are you
talking about?”

“Damn. I thought you knew.”

“I know she invested in the castle, along with your father.”

“Ned says she’s going to bankrupt herself if she doesn’t
unload the hotel shares. Then again, it’s Ned who told me
that.”

“Are you involved in that project too?” Liss asked.

“Only as free labor.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m
supposed to be out there this morning, but I’m going to
give it a pass. Dad will understand, soon as he hears about
Mrs. Norris.”

Liss started to protest that he didn’t need to stick
around to babysit her, but Dan cut her off.

“I’m going to the fairgrounds with you this morning.
Give you a hand packing up”

“Sherri can-“

“She’s just coming off her shift at the jail. I don’t think
she’s going to mind the help.”

“I still have trouble taking that in. Sherri as a police
dispatcher. Pete as a cop”

“Me as a good Samaritan?”

“Oh, no. I had you pegged. Man who rescues abandoned puppies and orphaned cats”

A loud pounding at the door prevented Dan from responding. Liss turned. Her first thought was that Craig
LaVerdiere had come for her. You’re innocent, she re minded herself. With the memory of LaVerdiere’s interrogation still fresh, that thought wasn’t much comfort.

“Sit tight,” Dan said. “I’ll get that”

Liss didn’t know whether to feel relief or dismay when
Ned followed Dan back into the kitchen.

“Why didn’t you call me? I had to hear about it on the
morning news” Ned seemed distraught and looked as if
he’d thrown on the first clothing that came to hand after
he’d heard the television report. The short-sleeved Oxfordcloth shirt looked odd matched with ratty old cut-offs.

“I’m sorry, Ned. It didn’t occur to me” In all honesty,
she hadn’t given Ned a thought except to consider his
apartment as a temporary refuge. She’d never seen the
place, but she knew it was only a few blocks away above
one of the old storefronts on High Street.

“It should have. After all, with Mother away, the business is my responsibility.”

Very carefully, Liss put down the mug she’d just refilled with coffee. “I rather think it’s mine. Aunt Margaret
left me in charge”

“Well, what are you going to do about this, then? Are
you still going to the fairgrounds today?”

“Yes. I’ll pack up”

“No. Keep the booth open. You’ll do a land-office
business when news of this gets out”

“Yes, with ghouls!” Liss couldn’t believe what she was
hearing. “Ned, that would be disrespectful to Mrs. Norris”

“You have an obligation to a live woman, not a dead
one. Besides, it’s not like we arranged her death for the
publicity. Come on, Liss. The show must go on, right?”

“Wrong, Ned” Dan’s voice was level but his eyes betrayed a temper rapidly coming to a boil. “Have a little
concern for your cousin’s feelings, why don’t you? She’s
the one who found Mrs. Norris. Do you think she wants
to spend the whole day fending off insensitive questions
about the gory details?”

Not a picture she’d wanted to imagine, Liss thought,
but Dan’s blunt words had the desired effect on Ned.
“Sorry, Liss,” he mumbled, studying the floor.

“You didn’t know.”

Ned shifted his gaze to her face, trying his best to ignore Dan. “Thing is, we can’t let Mother down. She’s
counting on us to keep the business solvent. There are
going to be big profits today. Always are on the Sunday of
the Highland Games. We can’t afford to sacrifice those”

“Maybe I should call Aunt Margaret and find out what
she wants me to do “”

“No! Don’t do that!” Ned’s voice rose in alarm. “Why
upset her? Just go to the games and open the damned
booth”

“If you feel so strongly about it, why don’t you do it?”

Dan’s suggestion earned him glares from both Liss
and Ned. Then Ned laughed. “Sorry, folks. It would go
against my principles. I’ve said for years that the only
Scottish import I want anything to do with comes in a
bottle.”

Liss rolled her eyes heavenward. What an asinine remark! Sometimes Ned sounded more like a spoiled frat
boy than a grown man of thirty-one.

“I’ll open the booth,” she said, ending the discussion,
“but I may not stay open all day. If things get to be too
much, I’ll close early.”

Ned’s relief was almost palpable. “Excellent! And
don’t you worry about breaking the news to Mother. I’ll
take responsibility for contacting her.”

Liss told herself she should feel relieved. She had no
idea what to say to her aunt. But she wasn’t sure she
trusted Ned to be accurate. As soon as she moved back
into the apartment and reopened the shop, Liss decided,
and had made certain nothing was missing from either,
she’d call Aunt Margaret herself.

an hadn’t been to the Highland Games for years and
wasn’t all that excited about the prospect. The skirling of bagpipes didn’t do a thing for him and he wasn’t
fond of crowds. But when he saw the light come back
into Liss’s eyes, watched her smile in spite of the ordeal
ahead, he was glad he’d accompanied her from Moosetookalook.