Page 5 of Death at a Scottish Halloween

“You two go on,” Abigail said. “I can handle transport and make sure we’re set for the autopsy. You know this town, his sister might hear about if you don’t hurry.”

She made a good point. In Sea Isle, gossip was a commodity. Nothing stayed a secret for long.

“I know you probably need to pick up Tommy, but can you stay with the body until I can get home?”

“No worries,” she said. “Henry has things covered. That is unless Ewan needs him.”

The constable shook his head. “He can help with the follow-ups tomorrow.”

Tommy was Abigail’s younger brother. He was on the spectrum and absolutely brilliant. But he wasn’t a fan of noise or people. He preferred the quiet of working in my gardens.

When we walked into the pub, there was a hush, as everyone turned around to watch us come in.

“Leave ’em alone,” Mr. Wilson said from behind the bar. “Bunch of nosey buggers.”

There were a few laughs, but people did turn back to their conversations. The town was rife with rumors about Ewan and me, but I don’t think even we understood what was going on between us. We’d been out together a few times, and we had fun. Then there were times, usually when we were working, that we butted heads like two territorial rams.

Ewan went to the bar and motioned to Mr. Wilson who stepped out from behind it. Ewan said something and Mara’s grandfather nodded. Then they headed toward the back patio.

I followed.

When we stepped out on the back patio, it was a bit cooler than inside the pub. But there were large space heaters that kept it from becoming too frigid.

Isobel smiled when she saw me and waved me over, but then she noticed Ewan heading their way.

“Ewan?” Baird seemed surprised to see the Constable.

“Baird, Isobel, I need to speak with you.”

She glanced at him and then me. “Did something happen to my brother? He was supposed to meet us here. Is he hurt?”

I swallowed hard. This was never an easy part of the job.

Isobel had tears in her eyes. Ewan sat down and shook his head. I stood behind him.

“There was an incident at the haunted house. I’m sorry to say, Duncan is dead.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No,” she gasped. “This is some kind of terrible joke. He’s put you up to it, and it’s not funny, Ewan.”

“Did he put you up to this?” Baird asked. “It seems like something he would do.”

“I assure you he’s quite serious,” I said. “Abigail and I found him at the haunted house.”

She sobbed. “We just saw him forty minutes ago. He was fine. Said he wanted to change and take off his prothesis before coming down to the pub. He complained the nose he wore was itchy. And he wanted to add a bit more blood to his frame. I don’t understand. What happened?” She turned to Baird and sobbed into his shoulder.

He hugged her, but there were tears in his eyes, as well.

“We’re investigating,” Ewan said. “I need to know your movements once the haunted house closed.”

“You can’t think we had anything to do with this,” Duncan said. “Was it his heart? He’d complained of chest pains the last few days, but I thought it was his digestion.”

In a matter of speaking, it was his heart. But I kept that bit to myself.

“As I said, we’re investigating. The doc will know more after she runs some tests.” That was Ewan keeping things close to the vest. “So, you two left at the same time?”

“Yes. We changed at the haunted house. Our outfits and makeup weren’t as involved as his,” Baird said. “Also, he wanted to move one of the frames that kept twisting up. We asked if he needed help, but he told us to go on.”

“Right. Is there anyone you know of who might want to hurt him?” Ewan asked.