No Stranger to Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 1 (16 page)

The road took a sharp right. Zoe’s car travelled straight on.

It screeched against the hedge. Grated along the uneven ground. Plunged into deep tractor tracks. Lurched violently from side to side.

The steering wheel wrenched itself from Zoe’s grasp. Her handbag flew off the passenger seat on to the floor.

Just as the car felt like it was going to tip over completely, the ride became much smoother. Suddenly aware she was holding her breath, Zoe exhaled deeply. The car was still travelling at high speed but this field must be longer than the distance it could coast.

Then she saw what lay ahead.

A plough. And she was hurtling towards it.

Zoe grabbed the steering wheel. It felt slack. However much she turned it, she could make no difference to the car’s course.

She pumped the brake pedal again. Still useless.

Robert Plant’s vocals were replaced by Jimmy Page’s guitar solo. That huge and shiny plough, the low sun bouncing off its metal curves, was much closer now.

At the last minute, the field’s uneven surface made the car veer to the right, preventing it from hitting the plough head-on. Even so, blades designed to cut through the hardest soil ripped open the passenger side with the sound of a giant metal zip.

The vehicle juddered to a halt.

Zoe’s chest took the full impact of her exploding airbag.

Chapter 18

Mather flung open the car door, leaned in and switched off the ignition.

‘Smoke,’ Zoe whispered.

‘Don’t worry, it’s talcum powder from the airbag.’

She tried shifting her legs slightly. They obeyed the command, a good sign.

‘Need to move my head.’
Not so good
. A wave of nausea swept over her.

‘Zoe, you must stay still. Help’s on its way.’

He had never used her first name before.

Pain spread up from her ribs to her shoulders. Her head was thumping too, and she felt very sick now.
Was she going to vomit all over his lovely shoes?

‘Brakes failed. Couldn’t stop.’

‘There’s no need to talk. I saw it happen.’

‘Steering went too.’

She managed not to throw up until she was in the ambulance.

Kate insisted on Zoe taking her arm as they made their way slowly to the hospital car park.

‘You can’t imagine how I felt when I opened the door and there he was. Straightaway I could tell something awful had happened, from the look on his face. My first thought was the bairns, or Mum and Dad.’

At any other time, Zoe would have joked what a relief it must have been for Kate to learn it was only her friend who had met with an accident. But she felt light-headed and shaky, and the painkiller she had taken was only just starting to make a difference. Despite no bones being broken, her body ached as if a large, angry person wearing hobnail boots had knocked her down and kicked her repeatedly in the ribs.

‘I don’t know what happened. I’m sure I wasn’t driving too fast.’

‘Try not to think about it.’

Kate drove even more slowly than usual, because Zoe could not do up her seat belt. A yeasty smell hit them as soon as they walked into Keeper’s Cottage, and once Kate had settled Zoe into her chair, she retrieved the bowl of shrivelled bread dough from the bookcase and carried it away. Then she relit the log burner and took Mac for a short walk.

Zoe had not realised she was dozing until her friend’s voice made her start.

‘Do you want me to fix you some food?’

‘Thanks, but I couldn’t eat a thing.’

‘Is it very painful? They should have kept you in overnight.’

‘I’m fine, really. It’s shock more than anything. I might have a nap when you’ve gone.’

‘I’ll come back later.’

‘You’ve got three children to care for. You don’t need me as well.’

‘Shut up. You’re my friend. Okay?’

‘Okay. Take the spare key so you can let yourself in. It’s hung up by the front door.’

Although she only expected to doze, Zoe slept until a little after six, when she was roused by Mac’s barking.

Kate poked her head round the door. ‘Have you slept?’

‘Ever since you left.’

‘Sorry, did we wake you?’

Zoe shifted cautiously in her chair and winced. The painkiller was wearing off. ‘“We”?’ she asked.

Kate still didn’t come into the room. ‘Are you feeling any better?’

‘Who’s with you?’

Kate opened the door to reveal a sheepish-looking Neil holding two shopping bags.

‘I’m here to make sure you don’t shout at him,’ Kate said.

‘I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.’

Leaving the bags in the hall, Neil came over and knelt down next to Zoe’s chair. He looked gravely into her eyes. ‘I’ve come to take care of you, and for once you can’t say you don’t need it.’

Zoe gestured at him to stand up, then pointed to the woodburner. ‘That needs stoking, and perhaps you could bring in more wood.’

Neil stood and saluted. ‘Yes ma’am. Leave it to me.’

Zoe pushed herself to her feet and groaned. ‘There are some things I have to do for myself.’

From the bathroom she could hear other people getting on with her life: boiling her kettle, pulling her curtains and letting her dog out into the garden. She glanced into the mirror above the sink and let out another groan. Not even Neil could find that grey face surrounded by clumps of hair attractive. Lifting her arm to remove the scrunchie, brush her hair and then tie it up again was painful. It didn’t do much to improve her appearance either.

By the time she returned to the sitting room, a small table had been placed next to her chair on which a mug of tea, a glass of water and the bottle of painkillers from the hospital waited for her. The room felt warm and someone had even plumped up her cushions.

Kate came in as Zoe was easing herself down into the armchair. ‘I must go home now. I’ll come round tomorrow morning after I’ve got the bairns off to school.’

Out in the hall, Neil and Kate spoke too quietly for Zoe to hear what was being said. Then the front door banged and he carried in his shopping bags and put them down in front of her.

‘I didn’t think you’d be up to eating much, so I’ve come prepared to make my speciality, roasted tomato soup.’ He brought out two packs of tomatoes, a head of garlic and, with a flourish, a bunch of fresh basil. ‘I can’t believe Lisa and Brian can still get this in November. It makes all the difference. I assumed you’d have olive oil.’

Delving deeper into the bag, he produced a bottle of Merlot, a ciabatta loaf and two wedges of passion cake. ‘I asked Lisa what I could buy you as a treat and she told me this is your favourite.’

‘I can’t drink wine,’ Zoe said, holding up her medication.

‘It’s for me. This is for you.’ A container of fresh orange juice appeared.

‘What’s in the second bag?’

‘I noticed the other night that you’ve got a DVD player.’

‘It comes with the house,’ Zoe said. ‘I’ve never actually used it.’

‘Luckily I’m the owner of what is probably the best collection of films in the Borders.’ Neil put the bag gently on her lap. ‘Here’s some for you to choose from while I put the tomatoes into the oven.’

When he came back a few minutes later, Zoe held up
Fargo
. ‘This looks interesting.’

‘Have you never seen it?’

‘I don’t watch many films.’

‘Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer something lighter? How about
Animal House?
It’s one of the funniest films ever made.’

‘They don’t call comedies rib-tickling for nothing. It’ll hurt me to watch if it’s that funny.’

Neil’s shoulders slumped. ‘Sorry, I never thought.’

‘Another time, perhaps.’

‘So what happened?’ He sat back and took a sip from his glass of wine. ‘Kate only told me that you’d run your car off the road on the way to the dentist. Which is going to ridiculous lengths to avoid a filling.’

‘It ran itself off. The brakes failed just after Billiewick.’

He gave a low whistle. ‘You’d’ve picked up a fair speed coming down that hill. What did you do?’

‘What could I do? There was an opening into a field directly ahead, so I aimed for that. I could never have made it round the corner.’

‘Kate said you hit a plough.’

‘It was parked in the field. I’d slowed down by the time I reached it, but was still travelling fast enough for my poor car to be a write-off.’

He reached over, grasped her hand and squeezed it. ‘You could have been too.’

‘I’m trying not to think about it.’

‘You can’t blame me for being upset. After all, how can I marry you if you’re dead?’

Zoe tried to cross her legs. Even that hurt. ‘Why is it that whenever you’re here you insist on saying you’re going to marry me?’

‘Because I am.’

‘If you keep this up, I shall have to ask you to leave. However good your roasted tomato soup is.’

‘Okay, you win. For now. Never let it be said I’d take advantage of a lady in a weakened state.’ Neil sipped his wine. ‘So how come that policeman was first on the scene?’

‘He’d been here asking me some more questions.’

‘Are they any nearer to finding out who killed Chrissie?’

‘I don’t think so. We mainly talked about what happened to Jimmy.’

‘Wasn’t that an accident?’

‘There’s no proof one way or the other.’

‘So why did Mather need to see you again?’

‘He wanted to check if I was sure about the car I’d seen by the water meadow that morning. The owner reckons she was nowhere near there.’

‘Does this owner have a name?’

Zoe said nothing.

Neil let out an exaggerated sigh. ‘You’re still so guarded. Even now, when you’re drugged up to the eyeballs.’ He rose to put another log in the woodburner and remained standing. ‘Did a liquidiser come with the house too?’

‘It’s in the drawer next to the cooker,’ Zoe said. ‘And please don’t be annoyed. I’m a doctor, I can’t tell you everything.’

‘I understand that, but there are some things you can share. It’s as though the habit of keeping your patients’ secrets has bled into the rest of your life.’

‘We’re talking about one, possibly two murders. It’s a serious business.’

‘You think I don’t realise that?’ Neil moved towards the door.

Zoe got out of her chair as fast as she could, crossed the room and put a hand out to him. ‘Despite what happened earlier, I’m enjoying this evening with you. Let’s not spoil it.’

Neil led her back to her chair. ‘And I’m enjoying being here. Sorry the food’s taking so long.’

‘I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.’

‘It will, I promise. Are you warm enough?’

‘You’ll be spreading a blanket over my knees next. Please don’t treat me like an invalid.’

‘I’m not. But your stove isn’t drawing very well.’ Neil bent down, grasped a handle on the side of the woodburner and moved it a few times. They both watched a small flame flicker behind the sooty glass then disappear. ‘I think the chimney needs sweeping.’

‘I’ll call Tom tomorrow.’

‘You know him, do you?’

‘He’s Kate’s cousin. And his girlfriend Jean works at the health centre.’

‘Oh yeah, silly me. Everybody knows everybody around here.’

They ate off trays on their laps, Zoe with her feet raised on a pile of books Neil took down from the bookcase. She was surprised how hungry she felt, then remembered her last meal had been breakfast some twelve hours earlier. Relieved her enthusiasm could be genuine, she congratulated Neil on his soup.

‘You should see me bake a cake,’ he replied.

‘I’ll look forward to that.’

After clearing the trays away, Neil manoeuvred their chairs into a better position to see the television. He found the DVD player’s remote control among a pile of magazines and put on
Fargo
, then sat down, his knee just touching Zoe’s.

The film was punctuated by Neil asking Zoe if she needed anything, sharing snippets of information about the actors and directors, and alerting her to ‘a good bit coming up now’. When it ended, she could truthfully say she had enjoyed it, although she had been mystified by Neil’s laughter at certain scenes.

‘You’ll love it when you’ve seen it a few times,’ he said.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever watched a film more than once. Knowing what’s going to happen takes all the fun out of it.’

‘No, that’s where you’re wrong. The anticipation of a good scene or a really clever line adds to the enjoyment. I’ve got films I watch regularly, and I never grow bored with them.’

Zoe remained unconvinced, but Neil vowed to introduce her to more of his favourites, comparing the appreciation of a good movie to educating the palate to enjoy fine wine. She laughed at him, then hugged herself, grimacing. It was after ten and despite her long afternoon snooze she felt exhausted again.

Neil leant over and gently pushed away a strand of hair which hung across her face.

‘I’m going to put you to bed. You look terrible.’

‘Thanks. Just what I needed to hear.’

‘You know what I mean. It doesn’t matter to me what you look like.’

Zoe pointed at the empty wine bottle. ‘You’re well over the limit to drive home.’

‘It’s not far. I won’t get caught.’

‘That isn’t the point.’

Neil looked around the room. ‘I’d sleep on the sofa, but you haven’t got one.’

Chapter 19

As she came to, Zoe was conscious of pain throughout her body, someone in bed next to her, and whines coming from the other side of the bedroom door.

‘Your dog needs oiling.’

The room was still in darkness, so she could only see the outline of Neil’s head against the pillow. ‘This is usually his bed too.’

‘I could tell that from the dirty look he gave me when I shut the door in his face last night.’ Neil put on the bedside lamp and gazed at her. ‘Why do women look so gorgeous first thing in the morning? All rumpled and bleary-eyed, but even lovelier than when they went to bed the night before.’