Page 56 of Death on a Scottish Train

A movement caught my eye, and to the left of the arguing couple, Ewan stood with his back to them. But I had a feeling he was listening to every word.

On the next round we made on the carnival ride, the couple had moved off, and so had Ewan. I tried to find him but wondered if maybe he had followed them. I was curious to know what they had been arguing about.

When we got off the ride, Tommy asked if I would go on the Gravitron, where we would be sucked to the side of a whirling dervish as the bottom dropped out beneath. It wasn’t my favorite ride, but I couldn’t disappoint him.

Once the ride took off, I had to remind myself to breathe. While it wasn’t easy, I turned my head to the right to see Tommy laughing harder than I’d ever seen him laughing before. I couldn’t help but smile at the pure unadulterated joy on his face.

I lived for moments like this where my friends gave me so much happiness just by being themselves and with me. When the ride was over, we were both laughing. We stumbled out of the gate, trying to stay upright and laughing even harder.

Abigail laughed with us as she handed him his headphones back. “You’re very brave, Doc.”

“I’m not sure brave is the word I’d use.”

“Hungry,” he said.

We laughed. She’d told me that earlier, in addition to the cotton candy, he’d had two sausages and some Scotch eggs.

“I have to feed the beast again,” she joked. She’d been doing that more lately as she’d grown more comfortable around me.

“I saw something earlier, and I need to find Ewan.”

She nodded.

I went through the crowds and ran into Jasper near a booth that sold jewelry. Many of the pendants were on leather and were quite beautiful.

“Hey, have you seen Ewan?”

“Not lately. I was about to come and find you, though.”

“Oh?”

“This is Malcolm. He used to have his taxes done by your dead man. And he has some interesting thoughts,” he whispered the last bit.

Malcolm was helping another customer, so I waited. While I did, I picked out some early Christmas presents for my friends. OK, and maybe a couple of necklaces and bracelets for myself.

Malcolm was young, and totally Jasper’s type, which was probably why he hung around.

“This is my friend, Dr. Em. I was telling you about her,” Jasper said by way of introduction. “She’s one of the ones investigating your accountant’s death.”

I shook Malcolm’s hand.

“Was he killed?” he asked me.

“Why do you ask?”

“That’s the rumor going around town,” he said. “And the police do not usually investigate natural deaths. I’ve seen our good ACC speaking with several people tonight. And I may have heard a snippet or two.”

“Everyone in this town thinks they are an investigator,” Jasper said.

We laughed.

“So, he did your taxes?”

“Aye, for the last few years.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

He shook his head. “Not too much. He was very professional, but a bit of an odd duck.”