The Presence (30 page)

Beyond the café, he paused. It felt as if he had shed a heavy overcoat, just being in the air again. He glanced around, considering a drop-in at Jonathan's constabulary, then a visit to Daniel Darrow. He eschewed both ideas, staring up at the statue of his ancestor. Marble, some steel and God knows what else went into a statue.

“Get out of my life!” he told the statue.

“So, the old laird is in your life,” a soft voice said.

He spun around, damning himself for not moving more quickly. Darcy Stone had followed him out.

“Mrs. Stone, if you'll forgive me—”

“Please, just give me a moment of your time.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “A moment, then.”

“First, Toni Fraser didn't ask that we come.”

“Why did you?”

She wasn't ready to answer that one. “There is a presence in your castle.”

“There are a lot of presences. Americans,” he said.

She smiled. “Laird MacNiall, you made one of the most brilliant cases and arrests in the crime annals. And then you left the force. Why?”

He lifted his hands. “Because the work absorbed my life. I put off my wedding. My fiancée became terribly ill and died soon after that case was solved. I decided that I had put a little bit too much time into man's inhumanity to man. Not that it's really any of your business, but then, you seem to know everything else about me.”

“Might that be only part of the reason?” she asked.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I think you do. I think you had a few moments during that case when you saw too clearly what the killers were doing. Maybe you even got into their skin—into their hearts and minds—far more than you wanted.”

“Murder is ugly, Mrs. Stone.”

“That's why it should be stopped, whenever possible. Why killers should be taken away from the public, locked up,” she said.

“Is that all, Mrs. Stone?”

“No. I just wanted to say that if you want to talk, if there's anything I can do…well, I would really love to help you.”

He wanted to tell her that he didn't need her help but he refrained. “I'll keep that in mind.”

“I really would love to come back to your castle.”

“I'll consider it,” he told her. “Is that it?”

She shook her head. “Just one more thing.”

“Aye?”

“You…you have real capabilities, I believe. If you'd let yourself use them.”

“I'll keep that in mind, as well, Mrs. Stone. Now…if you'll excuse me?”

And he made a point of getting into his car.

G
ina was in the kitchen with David and Kevin when Toni came down. The three of them were studiously poring over a document.

“Toni,” Gina said. “Want to take a look at this? I've written up a new rental agreement. Well, it's not exactly a rental agreement, since MacNiall will apparently be staying on his own property. And, of course, there's no telling how long he'll be willing to play his ancestor with our presentation. Anyway, I'm asking him for a six-month run. If we keep doing as well as we've been doing, we'll be able to pay him for the facility—and even give him a cut for his participation—and come out with enough to look into going home and getting new work, or looking for another property.”

Toni poured herself a cup of coffee, then leaned against the counter and said, “Gina, I'm sure you've written up a good agreement. But what we have to do now is get it to an attorney—and past Laird MacNiall.”

Gina chewed on a thumbnail, reading over her own document. “I hope he'll go for this. Otherwise, we're just living day to day.”

“Actually, we all just live day to day, no matter what,” Kevin said.

“Sage, very sage,” Toni told him. “Where is everyone else?”

“Bruce went somewhere in the car this morning, but he came back and went riding,” David told her. “Thayer muttered something and went out. Ryan is upstairs—he wants to drive into town and buy some kind of polish for his swords. Eban is…well, he's being Eban, out doing whatever he does.”

Gina glanced at her watch. “We should get going. We always spend more time in the village then we intend. Toni, want to come with us?”

“No, I think I'll hang around here.”

David frowned at her. “You should come.”

She smiled. “I'm fine. Really.”

“Ah, the nights are not enough!” he teased. “She's awaiting the return of Laird MacNiall.”

She forced another smile. “I have a book I want to read,” she told him.

“Um,” Kevin teased. “The book of man. And it's partially in Braille.”

“You two are terrible,” she said.

“I'd rather thought last night that there was some trouble in tranquil waters,” Gina said, looking at her somewhat sharply.

That caused David and Kevin to study her, as well.

“Oh?” she said.

“I heard your voice when I came up. You sounded a little sharp,” Gina said. “Are you two arguing?”

Toni shook her head.

“Because we really need him to sign this agreement,” Gina reminded her.

She sighed. “He will sign it, or he won't sign it. I'm not arguing with him.”

They heard singing and Ryan came bursting into the kitchen, doing a version of “Oklahoma.” He seemed cheerful. They all stared at him; he wasn't known for his vocal ability.

He stopped and stared back. “What?” he demanded. “Okay, so this is Scotland. Brigadoon! I feel a new song coming on.”

“Let's get out of here, please!” David begged. “Toni, come on. I'll go read more headstones with you, if you want.”

She laughed. “I'm fine here alone. I'll walk you to the car.”

They started to trail out, but when David opened the front door, they were startled to find Constable Jonathan Tavish standing there. He looked grim.

“Constable,” Toni said. “Hello. Can we help you? Bruce isn't here.”

Jonathan shook his head sadly. “I'm sorry. I've not come to see Bruce.”

“Then…how can we help you?” Ryan asked.

“I've come for your cousin, Miss Fraser.” He hesitated a moment. “I'm truly sorry. I've come to arrest Thayer Fraser.”

David was the one to gasp. “Why? For what?”

Jonathan Tavish shifted uneasily on his feet. He truly looked miserable. “Fraud,” he said.

“Wait! Please, explain this!” Toni said.

“Is he here?” Tavish insisted.

Toni shook her head. “He may be about…we don't know where he is. But—”

“I'm sorry to say this, folks, but he engineered the whole deal. Set you all up. He created a fictitious corporation on the Web and arranged for the box as an ad
dress. He probably presumed that you'd all be out after the MacNiall returned…you'd have to go home, broke, and he'd have managed to make himself long gone. It's quite a surprise that he hasn't flown already, but maybe he thought he'd covered his tracks.”

“Thayer!” Toni exclaimed.

“Your cousin?” Ryan said.

“Now, now, we may be able to retrieve a bit o' the money,” Jonathan said consolingly.

Toni shook her head. “I don't believe it.”

“You don't want to believe it,” David murmured.

“What kind of proof is there?” Toni demanded.

“Enough for an arrest,” Jonathan told her quietly.

“I still don't believe it,” Toni said stubbornly.

“Y'are not certain the chap isn't about?” Jonathan asked.

“He could be. We don't know,” Ryan said. He stepped back. “Come in…I can check his room.”

“I'll take a look around upstairs,” Gina said, “while Ryan goes to his room.”

Toni stood awkwardly for a moment, then thought that she might know where Thayer was. The stables. Up in the rafters. She didn't know what he did up there.
And maybe she didn't want to know.
But she did want to see him before the constable got to him, though.

“I'll…look around outside,” she said.

She walked out the main doors, gazing toward the stables. Despite the fact that he'd actually warned her just yesterday that a trace had been made to Glasgow, she was stunned.
You don't want to believe it!
That much was true.

As she started across the grass, she saw Thayer. And she was certain he had been up in the rafters of the
stables. He was walking toward her casually, though, smiling, taking long strides, his arms swinging, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

She stood still, feeling the cool breeze lift her hair from her forehead. “Top o' the mornin' to you, cous—ach! That's Irish, eh?” he said teasingly. Then he stopped, seeing her expression. “Toni? What's the matter?”

“The constable is here.”

“Aye?”

“To arrest you.”

“Arrest me?” He appeared honestly stunned.

“For fraud.”

“What?”

“For fraud. For taking the lot of us.”

He looked toward the door. Something else passed over his features. Turning, she saw that Jonathan had come out.

“Bloody hell!” he muttered, and took off running.

It must have been a moment of blind panic for him, for there was really nowhere to run. Or maybe there was. If he could have gotten down the hill and into the forest, he might have managed a real disappearance. But he didn't.

Jonathan Tavish could run. Seeing Thayer's intention, he came out with a startling flash of speed and athleticism. Thayer hadn't gone more than twenty yards before the constable tackled him. “This is bullshit! Bullshit!” Thayer roared as the two scrambled on the ground.

Tavish was the stronger man, broader, and in better shape apparently. The scuffle didn't last long. Thayer was quickly cuffed. Dusty and disheveled, he was dragged to his feet.

As Jonathan led him toward the patrol car, he looked at Toni. “I didn't do it! I don't know what kind of crazy proof there is against me, but I didn't do it. Toni, you've got to help me.”

“Tell it to the judge!” Jonathan muttered, shaking his head wearily.

“I need help, Toni!” Thayer called to her. “Legal help. I swear, I'm not guilty!”

“We'll get you a lawyer!” she cried out. “A solicitor…whatever you need!”

The arrest was not like on a cop show. Jonathan didn't protect his suspect's head and put him into the back. Instead he opened the passenger door of his vehicle and shoved Thayer in.

Thayer's eyes remained on Toni's, silently begging for help.

David, Kevin, Gina and Ryan were there then, aligned on either side of her. “My God!” Gina breathed.

“Well, Constable Tavish said that we could get some of the money back,” Ryan said.

Toni spun on them. “He says that he's innocent!”

David looked at her sadly. “Toni, most people don't go around yelling out that they're guilty, you know.”

She shook her head. “I believe him. And we've got to get to the bottom of this! He needs legal aid—whatever it is over here.”

“They have a fair and judicial legal system,” Kevin told her sympathetically.

“We should have never trusted an outsider,” Gina murmured.

“Right, he's my cousin, my fault,” Toni said angrily. “What if he's innocent?”

“Toni!” Gina argued, but gently. “They couldn't have arrested him without some kind of proof.”

“I want to know what proof!” she said. “And I want him to have legal help, right away.”

“Well, that's just great,” Kevin said.

“Why?” Toni demanded.

“Because we're all broke!” he reminded her.

“Look,” David said calmly, “we need to find Bruce. This is his place, and he always knows more than we do. We can get hold of his friend, Robert. He can tell us, I'm certain, what they really have on Thayer. Let's hop in the car and drive around until we find him.”

“Great,” Kevin said with a sigh. “We're going to try to help the guy who screwed us all royally.”

“Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?” Toni demanded.

“We really need to put all this before Laird MacNiall,” Ryan said.

“Could he have
ridden
down to the village?” Gina wondered.

“I suppose you can ride anywhere around here,” Ryan answered. “Hey, David and Kevin—you two take the minivan down to the village, ask if anyone has seen Bruce. Gina, Toni and I can hop in the car and try driving around these roads, cover the farm paths and all that.”

Toni backed away. “Thank you,” she murmured. “But I'll stay here, in case he's not in the village, and you miss him on the roads.”

“You're going to stay here? By yourself?” Gina asked her.

She shrugged. “Eban is around somewhere.”

“Oh, great. Eban! That gives me a real sense of security for you!” Gina said.

Toni shook her head. “It's all right. It's broad daylight. I'll be fine.”

“I don't like it,” David said.

“Oh, for the love of God, will you please go! If Bruce doesn't come back soon, or if you guys don't find him, I'll just hop on Wallace and come down to the village,” she said. “Please, let's all move. I doubt if they'll be keeping Thayer in the village. They'll want to take him to a jail in one of the larger cities. We really need to move on this.”

“All right,” Gina said. “But, Toni, you've got to accept the fact that he might have done it.”

She nodded, then backed away, toward the castle. But when both cars had started down the road, she walked resolutely toward the stables.

Entering, she noted Wallace in his stall, walking to the gate, expecting her to come and rub his nose.

“Sorry, boy!” she murmured, heading straight for the ladder. She climbed quickly to the rafters and looked around. A layer of hay covered the floor. She walked the planked surface, thinking this was foolish. She couldn't find something—whatever it was that brought Thayer up here—if she didn't know what she was looking for.

Then she heard whistling and stopped short. Eban. She listened as he strode into the stables, walking straight over to Wallace. “He y'be, lad, yer special treat!”

He was feeding the horse something. But what?

It occurred to her then that the strange little man may well have been feeding the horse something that made him sick. After all, Shaunessy had never been taken in. But why would Eban do such a thing? To sabotage their efforts? Or maybe he thought, as Bruce had originally, that they were mocking Scottish history.

She held very still, listening.

“Ah, there, lad, aye, eat it all up!”

She forced herself not to move, not to breathe. She waited. Eventually, she heard him leave the stables. Even then, until the sound of his whistle was long gone, she waited. Then, in a fury, she began to kick the hay around, desperately…searching.

 

“You'll not get me on this!” Thayer told Jonathan. “I didn't do it.”

“You should be ashamed! A Scotsman, doing such a thing!” Jonathan said.

“Listen, I'm telling you—”

“Don't be tellin' me!” Jonathan warned him.

“Listen to me—” Thayer began.

“I'm warnin' ya!”

“Aye, and I'm beg—”

The constable had no more patience. He lifted his elbow as he drove, slamming it against Thayer's head.

The blow hurt. Like bloody hell! Stunned, Thayer reacted to the strike. He swung his elbow back, and caught the constable on the side of the head. Jonathan's skull crashed against the glass. He lost control of the car. It began to careen down the hill.

Jonathan swore just as the car hit a large boulder—and flipped.

 

Toni kicked up a lump of hay and saw it—a plastic bag. She crouched down and picked it up, looking at the contents. Grass?

Running her hands over the floor, she found a second bag. It held matches and brown cigarette wrappers. She sniffed the first bag, no longer puzzled.

So Thayer had been coming to the stable rafters to smoke weed. It seemed evident, but it wasn't the answer she'd been looking for. She'd wanted something to either convict him or exonerate him on charges of fraud!

Sighing, she returned his stash, thinking she sure as hell didn't want to get caught with it herself. Rising, she walked gingerly to the ladder, not wanting to run into Eban again. She crawled down quickly, then made a detour to Wallace's stall. She eyed the horse carefully and critically. He whinnied. “I don't have anything for you. And if that man is giving you anything bad at all to cause a colic, I'll punch him out myself, okay?”