Page 80 of Death on a Scottish Train

“What are you thinking, Em?” Mara asked.

“I don’t know. My thoughts are whirling. But someone broke into my office for a reason. That took a person with some knowledge of security and how to avoid those cameras. It’s all so confusing.”

Both Mara and Jeremy nodded sympathetically.

“One minute I think the killer is someone sophisticated enough to know what they were doing. The next minute, I wonder if they were just lucky. I need time to sort it out in my head, and to talk to Ewan.”

“You’ll have plenty of time on your date,” Mara said.

Jasper clapped his hands. “Finally! You have a date with our ACC?”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t call it that. More of one friend helping out another.” I explained how his mother kept trying to fix him up with one of her friends’ daughters.

“Really?” Mara asked. “Or was he just trying to get you on his side so you would go out with him?”

Had he done that? “Stop making more of it than it is.”

“We shall see,” Mara said.

“I’ll be there with David,” Jasper said.

“Oh?” David owned a coffee shop in Edinburgh. He’d helped cater an event where Jasper’s patisserie was on display. They’d been going the friend route, attending movies and such.

He held up a hand. “Like Em, it is more of a friend’s thing. He offered to help me put out the cakes. Once that’s done, I’m free to enjoy the gala. It was a chance for us both to get dressed up.”

“Well, while we are confessing,” Mara said. “I’ll be there with Teddy, the dentist I met at Angie’s wedding. And before you make more of it than it is, we too are just friends.”

“Oh? I didn’t realize you two had kept in touch.”

She cleared her throat. “We didn’t. He was here surfing a few weeks ago, and we had dinner.”

“You didn’t tell me,” I said, surprised.

“Well, it is good for women to have a bit of mystery.”

“Look at us all having dates,” I said. “Almost like we’re grownups.”

We laughed.

As we headed home, I wasn’t thinking about my date with Ewan. There was time to worry about that later. No, I had a killer in mind.

But how and when did the killer strike? Those were the two biggest questions. If the victim was already showing symptoms, why hadn’t he used an EpiPen? Or asked for help?

It was frustrating that I was no closer to an answer with any of my questions. I needed to speak to Ewan. Maybe, he could help me piece together what I’d just learned with the facts of the case.

I need answers and I need them now.

Chapter Twenty-One

The day of the gala, I had a bad case of nerves. I was glad we had such a busy schedule at work, so I didn’t think about what was about to happen later. The last time I’d gone on a date, it hadn’t worked out so well for me. Though, as Ewan had said quite clearly, this was just one friend helping out another.

Still, I was nervous. I’d showered and had on my new dress, which I loved. The sparkling shoes were fancier than anything I’d worn in years. As I waited in my office for Ewan, my hands shook as I tried to put the diamond studs my grandmother had given me into my ears.

I did feel good in my dress, though. Thank goodness for Lulu’s shop. I always seemed to find the perfect outfit for an event when I shopped there.

Ewan used the buzzer to announce himself. I knew it was him because his face came up on my computer screen. He was dressed in a tux and was more handsome than any man had the right to be.

The nerves multiplied and swirled in my stomach. I took a deep breath and shoved them all down.