Page 51 of Death at a Scottish Halloween

He snorted.

After dropping Mara at the pub, we headed up the hill to my place. Jasper insisted on walking me home. But as we drew closer, it was easy to see someone sat by the door. The figure wasn’t moving.

I sighed. “Not again,” I whispered.

Chapter Thirteen

Jasper grabbed my arm and tried to pull me behind him. He was tall but so lithe, there was no way he’d be any more effective than me at holding off the enemy. As we moved closer, the person shifted.

“At least, they’re alive,” I said.

“There is that. Do you know who it is?”

The man moved out of the shadow and into the porch light.

“Unfortunately,” I whispered. “It’s the guy we were talking about earlier.”

“Robert, right?” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I need help,” he groaned. He held his head. “I can’t shake this headache. I tried over the counter remedies, but nothing is working. You said I could come see you if it was worse.”

“Let’s take a look,” I said.

“I’m coming in with you,” Jasper whispered.

I started to say I’d be fine, but I didn’t like this guy. There was something off about him. Other than him being rude and possibly corrupt.

“Thanks. Can you text Ewan and let him know what we’re doing. Maybe he could drop by.” I whispered the last bit.

He nodded.

“Follow me,” I said.

I turned on the light in room two. “Have a seat, and I’ll be right back. I’m going to grab a few things.”

I picked up ice packs, bandages, and antiseptic. When I was back in the room, I used a small set of forceps to pull out the cotton he’d stuffed in his nose.

“OK, I’m going to switch off the light, and take a look with my flashlight. Just sit still.” I did it and tested the light around his face. I turned the light back on.

“There’s no discharge. I suggest you leave any sort off cotton out to help it heal faster. There is swelling but it doesn’t appear to be broken. I mean, we can do a scan, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Most likely, it’s the swelling causing pressure in your head. That could be the case for a few weeks. I can give you something mild for the pain.”

“I’m not asking for hard drugs, if that’s what you’re worried about,” his voice was gruff and nasally. “I just need something to take the edge off. I should be pressing charges, but the company wouldn’t like that.”

“The company?” I played dumb.

“I work on an oil rig, and I’m one of the managers of two teams. There have been rumors that one of my workers was about to release some not-so-favorable information. The constable has it in his head that I might have killed him because of it.”

“Oh? Huh. The constable is usually very careful about that sort of thing,” I said nonchalantly. “The man loves his facts. I’m sure he’s being thorough. He’s very good at his job.”

“That may be, but he needs to understand that guy had always been a troublemaker. Stirring up the other workers about unfair conditions and nonsense like that. None of it true, of course. We all work in the same conditions. It’s Scotland. What do they expect? Tropical winds?”

He went off on a tirade.

“OK, I need you to hold your mouth closed, for a minute.” He didn’t, I was just tired of his griping. I felt around his jaw to make sure I hadn’t missed anything earlier.

“For the next several days, you’ll need to breathe through your mouth. Before I can give you any sort of pain reliever, you must fill out this paperwork. Including a full medical history and name of your regular doctor.” I handed him a clipboard.

He grumbled but started filling it out.