She paused to sip from her cup. ‘But the reason I am here today is to undertake the most frightful of duties. My carriage is to take me now to the station where I believe they have a makeshift mortuary. I must identify the body of a young woman brought up from the waters of the Tay on Monday afternoon.’

Ann picked up a small damask napkin from the tray and began to fan herself with it. ‘Why? Why have you been asked to do that?’

The old lady turned to look out the window where the branches on the magnolia were swaying in the wind. ‘They believe she is – was – one of my housemaids. Janet Clark. They require me, as her employer, to attend to this. They have been unable to contact her father and her mother is dead. I had hoped Robert might accompany me on such an onerous task. But if he is not here…’ She looked up at the clock. ‘I must go soon. Shall you accompany me in his stead?’

Ann wiped her brow with the napkin and placed it on the tray. ‘Yes, I shall accompany you. And if, as you believe, Robert was not on the train, then there is hope he might still be alive.’

‘I cannot see why ever not.’ Lady Cruickshank stood up. ‘We must leave now. There is only one ferry sailing back to Tayport this afternoon, I cannot miss it for there will be none tomorrow. Henderson has the carriage waiting. Come along, and fetch your coat and bonnet, it is cold outside.’

CHAPTER 12

Chapter 12

2015

‘Hi, Doug, how’re you doing?’

‘Great thanks, you got time to chat?’

‘Yeah, no worries, I’m driving but I’ve got you on speaker phone. What’s new in Glenisla?’

‘I’ve just had a phone call, Fiona. Had to let you know. It was kind of to do with the restaurant review from the weekend Pete disappeared.’

Fiona glanced at herself in the mirror. She was frowning, those increasingly obvious lines in her forehead furrowed.

‘Restaurant been busy since, I presume?’

‘Yes, it’s really helped, though without Pete it’s been tricky to keep the food as good. Tom had to really raise his game – and fast.’

‘Well, let’s hope they keep flocking to Glenisla. I miss it. We both do.’

‘And we miss you, Fiona.’ Doug coughed. ‘Anyway, it was a phone call from somebody with an Australian accent.’

‘Who from?’

‘A woman, didn’t give her name. But she said she’d been trying to find Pete for years and his name came up in the review on a Google search. When I said he’d upped sticks and left, she said something funny.’

Fiona turned into a lay-by on the ring road. She couldn’t concentrate while she was driving. ‘What?’

‘She said, “Oh, so he’s gone and done it again, has he?”’

Fiona felt her stomach tighten.