"I control it, that's all. Pills take the edge away, but the fear's always there. It sort o' lurks on the periphery, waitin' for me tae let my guard down."

I nodded. "I think I'm more angry now than scared. Guess that's an improvement."

"No' necessarily. Anger's a double-edged sword. While it gives ye the strength tae hunt one monster, it can turn ye intae another."

"Meaning?"

"Now's no' the time."

"No, go on. Finish."

"Okay then. The Zachary Wallace I knew never resorted tae usin' his fists tae make a point. Angus Wallace, on the other hand …"

"David's way out of line."

"That's Angus's ego talkin'."

"Brandy, I'm not about to let David destroy my life."

"Seems yer life was sufferin' long before David Caldwell ever came along."

"And you put it in my face. Why him, Brandy? Of all people, why get involved with him?"

"Look at me, Zachary. My boat's fallin' apart, I'm barely survivin', an' I've no money nor savings nor rich parents to borrow from. Bad enough I'm alone, but tae face the coming winter wi' no means tae live? David's job, it pays more in one day than I can earn in a good week."

"And in exchange, you're sleeping with him."

Her eyes angered. Stepping closer, she struck me hard in the chest with the heel of her palms. "First off, mister, I am no' a whore. Second, I'll sleep wi' who I please, when I please, an' it's none o' yer damn business!"

Glancing over my shoulder, she spotted David, Owen Hollifeld, and the engineer from NIST approaching along the pier.

"Ye need tae leave."

"Look, I'm sorry—"

"Did ye no' hear me? Get off my boat. Go on!" She pushed me toward the rail.

I climbed down just as David reached the berth. "What's all this?"

"He was lookin' for ye," Brandy lied. "Had tae threaten tae arrest him for trespassin' before he'd leave."

The NIST engineer hurried on board to check his equipment. The provost got in my face. "We're no' gonnae have any trouble from ye, are we Dr. Wallace?"

"I was just leaving."

"Good," David chirped. "I hear there's a nice vacant cell next to your father's."

I raised my hands, slowly backing away. "I was just making conversation with the lady. Do whatever you have to do to catch your monster, but you'd better think twice before you hurt Brandy, that's all I've got to say."

I walked away, the veins in my neck throbbing, my inflated ego shunting off any remaining whispers coming from the left side of my brain—

"Hey, Angus!"

—my psyche deflating once more as Brandy buried her open mouth against David's.

Inverness Castle

"Well, whit did ye expect?" said Angus, finishing his Scotch broth soup and chips. "Ne'er mess wi' a Scots livelihood, especially a woman's. Brandy kens whit she's doin', believe you me."

"I love her."