by Les Haswell
Lorna squealed with delight and almost knocked him over as she jumped forward and flung her arms round his neck and her legs around his waist, “I knew it!”
As she began to cry, Rob wrapped his arms round her trim body, and held her close.
“I just knew the minute I saw you, but they said it wasn’t … I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.” She kissed Rob fiercely, then wiped away tears of joy as she regarded him intently. “I’ve got my best pal back.”
Hamish and Lizzie returned outside and walked briskly across the car park. “You finally twigged, did you?” the older gent asked Lorna with a wink.
“You knew? Hamish Allen!” She turned to Lizzie. “Did you?”
She nodded.
Lorna looked hurt and released Rob. “Did you tell them?”
He shook his head. “I thought I was being clever. I’d convinced myself that with brown eyes I could fool anyone … but obviously not.” He chuckled.
Hamish crossed his arms. “You three better vamoose. Bruce and his buddies’ll be here in half an hour. I called and when I told him what happened, he went ballistic. He’ll pick up these two and I don’t think he’ll cause trouble tonight, but better to be safe than sorry.”
“I’m not sure that I should stay here tonight, Hamish. Might be tempting fate. It’s probably best I sleep elsewhere … and maybe head back to the mainland tomorrow night,” Rob suggested.
“You can stay with us,” Stella offered.
“That’s the first place Bruce will look, if and when he susses out who I am,” he answered quickly.
“You haven’t really met my friend, Stella.” Lorna clasped the woman’s slender arm. “Stella and I got married in Glasgow last year. We’ve been together for about two years.” She smiled at her partner and kissed her hand quickly. “Stella knows about us, that we were always best friends.” She eyed Rob tentatively. “Please say my being gay doesn’t spoil what we have.”
“Of course it doesn’t.” Smiling, Rob put his arms round the two, hugged them, and kissed one and then the other. “Just give each other happiness.”
“I hate to break up this impromptu ménage-à-trois but you need to go—and now.” Hamish held up Rob’s Land Rover key. “Swapped you for the cottage key. I took the liberty of clearing out your stuff and putting it in the car so you could get away quickly. The barrier’s open.”
Stella turned to Lorna. “We should go to Uncle Charlie’s house and figure out what to do there.”
“Good idea. They won’t look for us there. You go home and get the keys, and I’ll show Robbie where it is.”
“See you there!” Stella raced up the Main Street, out of sight.
11
Taking a last look at the two unhappy men still lying on the ground, Rob led Lorna to the rear car park where the Land Rover was parked. As they walked, he noticed a white Toyota Land Cruiser bearing the Achravie Estate logo parked outside the bar entrance.
“Turn left out the car park and head down the coast two miles or so,” Lorna instructed and he headed down the coast road at a leisurely pace, knowing that they’d likely get to Uncle Charlie’s house before Stella.
“Where did you two meet?” asked Rob casually, keeping a wary eye on the road—front and behind.
“She came here on holiday with her uncle three years ago. We met in the Red Lion one night and hit it off. She came back a few months later and then I visited her in Edinburgh.” Lorna studied his profile.” You told me you looked just like you did sixteen years ago: big, skinny, blond guy. You look nothing like that. You lied to me, you big lump,” she said with a pout, thumping his arm.
“Ouch,” he said with a chuckle.
“Fraser said you were in the army. Is that where you learned to fight like that?”
“I joined the army three weeks after I left here. There was the Black Watch and then I served with a Special Forces group for a few years, and left the military in 2011. I set up a security company with an ex-colleague when and I’m still doing that. Yeah, I learned a lot about fighting; that’s what soldiers do. I try not to fight though.” He grinned. “It hurts my knuckles.”
“Married? Significant other?”
“Not married … but recently I met a girl I think is a bit special, but it’s very early days.”
She pointed to a turnoff to the right. “Turn down there.”
It led down a narrow road and after half a mile opened into a wide pebbled area in front of a reconstructed stone-built shepherd’s cottage. The Land Rover crunched gravel and Rob parked it out of sight, on the far side of the quaint dwelling.
“I need to go and see Fraser tonight,” Rob said as they parked.
“You need to be careful now that they know who you are,” she stated flatly.
“They don’t and if you don’t tell them, I won’t tell then either,” Rob joked.
“It’s not funny. You saw that they were like tonight and they almost killed Fraser.”
“I’m not Fraser and they’ll need to catch me before they kill me, which means they’d need to see me first; I can be pretty invisible when I want to be,” Rob assured her.
Lorna changed the subject. “Fraser says you weren’t driving the night of the accident. He says you didn’t kill Sheila Stewart.”
“I wasn’t and I didn’t. You saw me that night, Lorna. I couldn’t walk, let alone drive. Bruce and Sheila dumped me in the back and Bruce drove. I was so drunk, I was hardly aware of the accident.” Rob exhaled sharply as an image of the crash flashed before him. “He told everyone it was me and, sadly for me, everyone believed him.”
“I didn’t.” Lorna squeezed his hand. “Fraser didn’t, either. He said the seat was in the wrong position; you couldn’t have been driving.”
“He said what?”
“The seat was in the wrong position,” she repeated quietly.
There were few cars using the main road above. Sitting in the Land Rover, waiting in silence, they heard rather than saw vehicles coming. An arc of light from a motorbike caught their attention.
“That’s Stella,” said Lorna, getting out to greet her partner as she crunched across the deep gravel.
Stella parked the bike and the two women kissed lightly, and headed for the front door, motioning for Rob to join them.
They unlocked the door and entered a spacious open- plan area which, like Big Mac’s cottage, comprised a living area and dining kitchen.
v Stela, pointing, “Aad I’ going in the morning.”
Rob wandered to the back and scanned the double bedroom, peered out the window and saw that the trees had been cleared from the back of the house to form a large patio with a gravel surround.
The window had a sturdy lock, which was comforting. Returning to the lounge area, he found the women kissing.
Stella smiled self-consciously. “Lorna’s going to stay here tonight with you. She says you have years of catching up to do and she’s not sure how long she’s got you for. I totally understand your relationship. If I’m jealous at all,” she grinned, “It’s because I’ve never had a friend like you. Will you bring Lorna home in the morning?”
“Sure. I appreciate your honesty. I’m no threat to your marriage … and I’d like to think that my friend’s partner could be my friend as well. You obviously make Lorna very happy, so that raises you in my estimation right away.”
“You don’t have a problem with gay marriage then?” asked Stella, eyeing him closely.
“I wouldn’t care if you were a lesbian or one-legged sailor with a parrot on your shoulder. If you guys are happy, that’s all that counts.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Okay, I’ll see you both in the morning.” Stella kissed them both and left.
It was dark now and they watched as Stella started the bike and drove up the narrow road to the main road, then heard her gun the big machine down the road heading for Achravie.
“I need to see Fraser now,” Rob said. “You’ll be okay on your own till I get back?”
12
Rob followed Stella’s route into Achravie. He passed the Red Lion and noticed that the Achravie Estate Land Cruiser had gone, no doubt picked up by Bruce’s heavies. He drove beyond Main Street and passed the Cottage Hospital leaving the village. He’d seen a wide layby beyond the hospital earlier that day, part of the old road. Partially overgrown with trees and shrubs, it was an ideal place to park the Land Rover out of sight. Locking the car, he set the alarm, a volumetric system that would activate if someone got into the vehicle.
The hospital lights shone brightly in the main public areas to the front of the building, but Rob wasn’t going there; he was heading for the darkness at the rear, where Room F was situated and Fraser McEwan would be expecting this nocturnal visit.
Rob was in no hurry. He crept slowly round the back of the hospital, keeping to a tree line inside the boundary wall. He pulled a Luna Night Vision Monocle from a little backpack he’d hastily packed at the cottage and positioned it over his right eye.
As his eye grew accustomed to the Monocle, the world of dark shadows turned green, and Rob was able to pick out individual items on the grounds. Bushes, trees, an LPG tank, and the waste-bin storage area all became visible. For twenty minutes, Rob knelt motionless, watching. He saw movement: a rat raced across his feet, two rabbits hopped along the grass, and a startled scat raced up a tree.
He studied the area from which the cat had scampered. Sure enough, there was human movement: Fraser’s watchmen, similar to the two men Rob had left writhing in the Red Lion car park. They stood behind a large tree, watching Fraser’s window.
Rob crept around the other side of the hospital building and repeated the exercise. There was no one watching from the shadows. Visible from the road, he’d noticed a door on this side. A staff member was outside, finishing a cigarette. The door was wedged open and remained so when the squat little man turned back inside.
He approached it and saw a small rubber wedge to keep it from shutting fully. “Thank you,” said Rob to no one in particular and slid into the darkened corridor.
Stealthily, he crept down the corridor till he found Room F. Opening the door slowly, he entered the dimly lit room and returned the door to its slightly ajar position. He crossed to the bed and watched a sleeping Fraser McEwan, his chest rising and falling in slow rhythm. There were no tubes, which could only be a good thing.
Suddenly, Fraser’s eyes opened.
“It’s me, Rob,” he whispered quickly to allay fear or panic the man might experience at finding a stranger in his darkened room in the middle of the night.
“Robbie, you came. I knew you would,” Fraser smiled weakly.
“I can’t stay long; someone might come along. How’re you doin’? And what the hell happened to you? You didn’t fall off a quad bike that’s for sure.”
Fraser sighed softly. “I was seen up at a part of the estate … that Bruce’s and his heavy brigade had warned me to stay away from … and this was their way of telling me not to do it again and keep my mouth shut.”
Rob noticed a chair in the corner and brought it over. He sat close. “Tell me what’s goin’ on.”
“It’s a long story. Lorna knows most of it. I don’t have the strength to go over it all again.” He drew a shaky breath. “Suffice to say, Bruce and his pals are smuggling something in and out of Achravie. Whatever it is, they keep it in a new warehouse up at the pond, below the top field.”
“Where’s Angus and my mother in all this? Surely Angus should be running things, given he’s the eldest?”
“Angus fell out with your father and Bruce. It all started with your accident. I showed them evidence that things didn’t happen the way Bruce had told them. For a start, Bruce had big bruises on his shoulder from the driver’s seatbelt. I’ve seen these before. But Bruce said you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, so there’d be no marks, but he couldn’t explain why he had such bruising.
“I showed them the car seat. The first thing anyone with your height would do, is push the driver’s seat back so that you don’t hit your knees on the steering wheel. I saw you push that seat back when you left that night, but it had been pulled forward again after the accident. There were other things … like you sitting on the ground at the driver’s door, but not in the car.”
Fraser inhaled slowly and scanned Rob’s face, his own grim. “I showed these things to your family. Angus believed me and accused Bruce of lying and fitting you up to take the blame. Your father wouldn’t hear it—I think mainly because he’d initially accepted Bruce’s story and had had you sent away. And to believe my version of the accident was to admit that he’d been wrong to do something so drastic.”
“Angus fell out with your father and Bruce, it all started with your accident. I showed them evidence that things didn’t happen the way Bruce told them. For a start Bruce had big bruises on his shoulder from the driver’s seatbelt, I’ve seen these before after an accident, he had them and you didn’t. Bruce said you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, so there would be no marks but he couldn’t explain why he did have the bruising. I showed them the seat in the car. You’re six foot three, the first thing you do when you get in to a driver’s seat is to push it right back so that you don’t hit your knees on the steering wheel. I saw you push the seat in your car right back when you left that night but it had been pulled forward again when I saw the car after the accident. There were other things, you were sitting on the ground at the driver’s door but not in the car for instance. I showed these things to your family, Angus believed me and accused Bruce of lying and fitting you up to take the blame. Your father wouldn’t hear of, I think mainly because he had taken Bruce’s story and had had you sent away and to believe my version of the accident, was to admit that he had been wrong to do something so drastic. So Angus said he was leaving, your mother saw her family breaking up and was ready to admit that they had been wrong to believe Bruce over you and tried to stop him. She failed and Angus left. He’s in New Zealand now managing some big farms over there. Eventually your mother and father grew so far apart that she packed her bags and left as well. She filed for divorce and she’s living in Hampshire somewhere I think.”
“This is crazy. The whole family has fallen apart because of Bruce’s lies! I couldn’t have walked that night, never mind gotten into a car and driven it.”
“I know that, and so do the people who really know—knew you. You’ve nothing to prove, but you need to sort out this thing, whatever it is, that’s going on with Bruce and his ‘security people’. He’s got seven big strappin’ lads up there, all vicious and armed, Robbie. I’ve seen then with handguns and automatic rifles. That’s what I wasn’t supposed to see.”
“He’s only got five as of tonight. I left two with broken limbs in the car park at the Red Lion tonight.”
He smiled wryly. “You don’t waste any time, do you? Mind you, you look to have grown into quite a big lad yourself. I wouldn’t like to have a fall out with you.”
“Not much chance of that, my friend,” Rob winked. “It’s good to see you again … just sorry you needed to be in a hospital bed to get me here. Why didn’t you call earlier?”
Fraser scanned the ceiling, then shrugged limply. “I wasn’t sure what was going on with Bruce and these lads of his … and I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“You were the only friend I had in world at one point. And Lorna. Of course, I’d come.”
“That lass thinks the world of you Robbie MacLaine. I know she’s got a woman as a partner—I’m still getting’ used to that—but you cherish her. She’s a heart o’ gold and thinks the world of you. Near as broke her heart when she found out you were gone.”
Rob rose and stood behind the chair. “I better go before someone comes. They’ve got security
on the grounds watching your window. I wasn’t seen.” He eyed Fraser’s drawn, weary face. “You concentrate on getting better and leave Bruce to me. He’s goin’ to pay for what he’s done to the family. I’ll keep in touch through Lorna, but don’t worry. Everything’ll be sorted out.”
“Me take care?” laughed Fraser feebly. “I think it’s you that needs to watch your back.”
13
Rob slipped out of Fraser’s room and headed to the exit. He skirted round the “sentry” and made his way back to the Land Rover. Staying in the cover of bushes with his Night Vision Monocle, he made sure there were no surprises waiting in the layby.
Slowly, he drove to the open road before gunning the engine and heading back to Uncle Charlie’s cottage. Again, taking no chances, he parked shy of the cottage and made sure there were no unwelcome visitors before actually driving to the cottage and parking round the side.
“Lorna, it’s me,” he shouted upon entering the front door.
She appeared at the bedroom door and smiled. “I heard a car and saw it was you.”
“Someone’s been quite clever. You can’t get near this house without making a heck of a lot of noise crossing the gravel,” Rob said, removing his lightweight jacket.
“I’ve opened a bottle of red wine. Would you like a glass?” Lorna held up the bottle.
“Sounds good.” Rob went to his room and took the Heckler & Koch SFP9-SF from his waistband, and slid it under a pillow. Kicking off dust-covered Chelsea boots, he returned to the lounge area to find Lorna sitting on a padded armchair, holding two glasses of wine.
“You okay with Rioja?”
“Couldn’t be better. Thanks.” Taking the proffered glass, he sat on the settee and put up his feet. “Smart of you to shut all the curtains … best no one can see that there’s someone staying here. If they are looking for me and see lights, they might come and have a nosey.” He held the glass to his nose, smiled, and took a sip. “If Stella is coming, tell her to text or call from the road end, so that you know she’s there. I’ll do the same, and don’t answer the door to anyone else. If someone knocks on the door, or you hear someone on the gravel, phone me right away.”
