Marigolds in October

by Clare Revell

  The autumn sun reflected across the river, the beautiful autumnal shades of the trees melding with it into a stunning symphony of color. She sucked in a deep breath, the hair rising on the back on her neck, as if someone were watching her, but she glanced around, seeing no one obviously staring.

  Tossing the feelings off, Milly threw the briefcase into the boot of her car and climbed into the driver’s seat. She shoved the CD of hymns into the player and glanced in the mirror.

  The silver car was parked behind her. The same silver car that had been around on and off ever since she left the station.

  She looked over her shoulder before pulling out.

  Behind her, another car pulled out sharply, narrowly missing hitting a bike.

  Millie shook her head at him as he slowed down, taking the advantage of accelerating towards the lights. By the time she reached them, the silver car had caught her up. She stopped and pulled her phone from her pocket. She slid it into the holder on the dash and hit speed dial to call Craig.

  The lights changed as the call connected. “Guv, it’s me. I’m in the car.”

  “You’re not driving and talking on the phone again, are you, lassie? I told you before, it’s illegal.”

  She turned left without indicating. The silver car did the same. “I’m being tailed. Silver Ford, license Sierra X-ray five two Alpha Echo Tango—”

  She broke off with a grunt as the car slammed into the back of her.

  “Milly, what was that?”

  “He went into the back of me…agh…” The car hit her again, and she slammed her foot on the accelerator.

  She barely had time to recover before the car pulled out rapidly and sideswiped her. She screamed as her car mounted the pavement and collided with a lamppost.

  9

  Craig followed the ambulance up the steep hill to Perth Royal Infirmary’s ED. The hospital, set on top of a hill, offered stunning views of the city, river, valley and hills on the other side. He’d been known just to come up here to look at the view, but not today. Today his mind was firmly on the woman in the back of the van in front of him, the one currently being cared for by the paramedics.

  He pulled into the short term parking and ran after the gurney towards the entrance. One of the paramedics caught his arm. “Go through the main door and book her in. Someone will come and find you.”

  Frustrated, Craig did as he was told. He sat and waited for an hour, praying hard, then went outside to phone the nick to see if they’d found the car that drove Milly off the road yet. He wasn’t surprised that they hadn’t. Hanging up, he dialed Chief Superintendent McCaskill. He filled him in.

  “Why are you no telling traffic this? I assume they responded.”

  “Och, they did, but they’re being less than helpful.” Craig hissed a long breath out between his teeth. “And I’d like the information from someone I trust.”

  “OK. Leave it with me.”

  Craig went back inside just as his name was called. He headed over towards the nurse and held out his ID. “I’m DCI Fraser. How is she?”

  “There’s nothing broken. She can go home once the doctor signs her off.”

  He followed the woman though to the cubicles and shoved the curtains aside of the one she indicated.

  Milly sat on the bed, faint bruising on her eye where presumably she’d hit something.

  Relief flooded him and took away his breath. Before he could stop himself he’d rushed across the small space and hugged her.

  It was only when she winced he relaxed the hold and looked at her. He tucked her hair behind her ears, his knuckles grazing her cheek. “Milly, I was so worried. Are you OK?”

  “I’m fine, just a tad sore. I’m fine, sir, really.”

  He raised an eyebrow, the ‘sir’ shoving a spear through him. “Sir?”

  Milly looked pointedly behind him and nodded. “Sir.”

  “Are you her boyfriend?” a voice asked.

  Cheeks burning, Craig wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Now it was going to be all over that he’d got feelings for the woman. But it could have been worse. No, actually, it couldn’t be worse.

  “He’s my boss, doctor,” Milly said, holding his gaze. Of course she’d know who the man treating her was, as Craig had introduced them in church on Sunday. The woman was getting a kick out of this. She kept her face straight. “I’m assuming this hugging thing is a local tradition amongst Scottish cops.”

  “Normal for Craig at any rate,” Alistair said. He elbowed Craig. “And I should know. I lived with him long enough before I got married.”

  Craig rolled his eyes. “And are you no on paternity leave? Or is Katie no home yet?”

  “Aye, she’s home, but the mother-in-law is staying. I have the two weeks off after she leaves.”

  “Ah. Coward.” Craig winked, finally hiding his embarrassment. He glanced at Milly, who seemed to find all this amusing. “I forgot tae mention ma brother is a doctor.”

  “A very good one, actually,” she said.

  Alistair smiled. “Thank you for saying so. You are one very fortunate lady, Miss Jenson. By all accounts, you could have been killed or seriously injured. You need tae rest over the weekend. No driving and no chasing bad guys, either.”

  “No fear on the driving. The firefighters removed the roof. I have no car until I hire one.”

  “The insurance people will sort that. You can ring them later,” Craig said. “Cars are replaceable. You’re not.”

  “Any headaches, blurred vision etc., you need tae come straight back.”

  “I’ll make sure of it,” Craig said, before Milly could argue. He helped her off the bed. “Let’s get you home.” He walked slowly with her, noticing the slight limp.

  “I guess dinner’s off,” she said quietly.

  “No at all. I can bring take out, unless you still want tae go out.”

  “I do…”

  “Then I’ll pick you up later, but if you feel at all doddery then I get takeout.”

  ****

  Milly lay on the bed. Every part of her ached. When she dozed her dreams were dark and foreboding as she trudged through woods towards the cottage. The river rushed past her, a chill wind blasting through her. Something knocked against the door, and she jerked upright to find Craig standing over the bed. She gasped.

  “It’s only me. I did no mean tae scare you.”

  She just sat there, hand over her throat. “How…how did you get in?”

  “You dinnae lock the door. I could have been anyone. How are you doing?”

  Milly lay back down, her breathing slowing. “Better.”

  “Do you still want to go oot for dinner?”

  She nodded to the bathroom. “Give me a couple of minutes to get ready.”

  Craig headed to the lounge, closing the door behind him.

  Milly sat up and buried her face in her hands. She was still dizzy, but that was remaining between ‘me, myself and I’ as her best friend, Jude, would say. But she didn’t want to spend the rest of the evening, and probably all night, in a hospital bed. Maybe she was simply light-headed due to hunger—she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Five minutes passed before she joined Craig in the lounge. She struggled into her jacket.

  Craig frowned. “Are you sure you should be doing this?”

  “Yes. I’m just stiff and hungry. Where are we going?”

  “No far.” He led her slowly to his car and, being the gentleman he was, seemed to ignore the way she spent most of the short drive with her eyes shut.

  Taking her hand, he took her into the restaurant. Once seated at the table he ordered juice rather than wine.

  Milly didn’t complain, not sure wine would be a good idea right now anyway. She looked at the menu and was instantly lost. She glanced up. “What’s French for chicken?”

  He smiled. “Trust me?”

  “Of course.”

  Craig ordered, then took her hand in his larger ones, gently stroking it. “I was really worried
when your call cut out the way it did. Your scream was the last thing I heard, then a screech of brakes and a crash.”

  “It wasn’t that great from where I was sitting,” she said dryly. “I still need to ring the insurance.”

  “We’ll stop off at my house on the way home. You can use the landline.”

  “Thank you.”

  The food arrived and Craig said grace, including thanking God for sparing Milly’s life earlier that day.

  Milly ate slowly, not really hungry despite the fact her stomach gurgled. “Did you trace the number of the car?”

  “Aye. Traffic are handling it.”

  “It was a deliberate attempt to kill me.”

  He paused, his fingers reaching for his glass. “Now you’re being over dramatic.”

  Milly looked at him, horror struck. “I’m what? Craig, he followed me, hassled me, went into the back of me twice before he deliberately drove me off the road. I’m blessed I wasn’t going the opposite way, because then I’d have ended up in the river!”

  “Blessed?” He snorted, almost knocking over his juice. “You could have been killed and you call yourself blessed?”

  “Would you rather I said lucky?” she shot back. Then she reigned in her temper. “But yes, blessed because I wasn’t killed. God doesn’t let anything happen without a reason even if we don’t understand at the time.” She cut off a piece of chicken and studied it. “See it’s like a cross stitch picture or tapestry. When you’re working a small bit at a time, it’s just a mess of random colors. It’s only when you step back and look at the whole picture you understand why there’s a random black section in places.”

  Craig heaved a sigh and a shadow crossed his face. “I suppose you’re including Lockerbie in that.”

  Something in his voice gave her pause. “Were you there?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Aye. We lived in Sherwood Crescent. The main bulk of the wreckage missed us by one house. I thought the world was ending. There was this noise I can’t describe and a huge explosion. The whole house shook, and the ground heaved. Fire rained from above and all around. We barely got out of the house, fire followed us… Dad picked me up, ran with me in his arms and—” He closed his eyes, his voice fading.

  Milly took his hand. “I can’t imagine how awful that was,” she said quietly. “I remember watching the news with my parents. We’d lost my grandmother only a few weeks before and it would have been their fifty-third wedding anniversary that day.”

  “I lost my best pal.” Craig’s eyes glistened with barely held tears. “We’d been out on our bikes and I’d been invited tae his house for tea. Mum said no because Granny and Grandad were coming tae stay for Christmas. I wasnae speaking tae her—sulking like a trooper—but had I been at Davy’s…” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry.”

  Milly pulled a packet of tissues from her pocket and offered them to him. “It’s OK.”

  He took a minute to recover. “Sorry,” he said again.

  “Don’t be. It wasn’t much of a Christmas for either of us that year.”

  He shook his head. “We moved tae Perth five years later when Dad got a new job. I’ve never told anyone what I just told you,” he said quietly. “I’d appreciate it if you didnae tell anyone.”

  “Of course.”

  He nodded. “Thanks.”

  She took a deep breath. “So, did I ever tell you about the time I took MIU bowling in a team bonding exercise?” she asked knowing she hadn’t. “We used to go about three times a year. We’d book the lane and play. It was kind of a standing joke that no one could beat me no matter how hard they tried. Anyway, I was winning and the balls stopped coming back for our lane and the adjoining one.”

  “What did you do?” he asked.

  She sipped her juice. “One of the blokes went and got an assistant who turned off the lane and climbed into the back to fix it. The balls came back, and the assistant turned the lane back on. But instead of the machine depositing the pins down so we could finish the game, it dumped a body.”

  Craig’s face was a picture. “Fortunately I have never been tae a team bonding exercise like that. Better no tell our killer that.” He put his knife and fork down, pushing his now empty plate to one side. “Would you like dessert?”

  She shook her head. “No thanks. That was lovely.” She stifled a yawn. “And I’m really tired all of a sudden.”

  “I’ll tak’ you home.” He took her hand, his skin warm against hers, the sudden and unexpected touch thrilling her. “I was wondering if you’d like tae spend the day with me tomorrow? We’ll go to Crieff and find that Christmas shop.”

  “I’d love to.” Because she would. At that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to be with him. And if this was all the time they had, a few moments during a case before she went back to her life ‘doon sooth’, she’d take it, and make memories that would last a lifetime.

  ****

  The Christmas shop was amazing. There was a huge tree in the center with seven or eight rooms off that, each with its own tree and theme. Milly’s basket was piled high by the time Craig convinced her to leave and even then she’d spent a small fortune.

  Not that he could say anything. They’d also gone to the ceramic shop across the road, where he’d bought a new dinner service to replace his old mismatched one.

  He let her buy him lunch, and then they headed back to Bridge of Earn to drop off the shopping and climb Moncrieff Hill and visit Elcho Castle.

  Milly stood in the great hall on the uneven stone floor, the stone walls towering above them. “Have you been here before?”

  He shook his head. “I always meant tae, but never did.” He grinned at her. “You do realize those dressing up clothes are for kids, right?”

  She arranged the veil over her shoulders and straightened the head piece. “I’ve always wanted to wear one of those since I saw pictures of Anne Boleyn wearing one.”

  He grinned and pulled out his phone. He took a photo and chuckled. “Office wall.”

  “Don’t even think it.” Her phone rang and she answered it. “Jenson.” She paused. “Thank you. If you fax it to the number I gave you, that’d be great. Monday’s fine. Bye.” She hung up. “That was the insurance people. I have a hire car. I can collect it here, and if need be leave it with the same company in Headley Cross.”

  His stomach pitted at the thought of her leaving him and going home. He didn’t want her to leave. And he didn’t understand that. She’d breezed into his life unwanted and unasked for, but now all he wanted or needed was her.

  And that fact unsettled him far more than the thought of the killer out there he still hadn’t caught.

  “Don’t look like that,” she said. “I’m not getting the hire car until Monday, so you can still be my driver until then.”

  “I wasnae thinking that.” He took her hand and led her up the narrow, steep winding steps to the roof. Reaching it, he slid an arm around her waist, his reasoning being he didn’t want her getting dizzy and falling several hundred feet to the ground. But he didn’t believe himself for a moment.

  “Wow…that’s incredible. You can see for miles,” she gasped. “So beautiful.”

  “Aye, you are.”

  “I meant the view,” she grinned, gesturing.

  “And I meant you.” He twisted her in his arms to face him. He lowered his face to hers, giving into the urge he’d had all day to kiss her. His lips were about to touch hers when the phone in his pocket rang.

  “You’d better answer that,” she said.

  He groaned. “I’d rather not.”

  “You really ought to get that.”

  He eased the phone from his pocket, holding Milly firmly in his other arm, his gaze not leaving her face for an instant. “Fraser.”

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?” McCaskill’s voice was the last thing Craig wanted to hear.

  “Nae, sir. Just admiring the view from the roof of Elcho Castle. What’s up?” The nagging sensation in his c
hest grew. The Chief Super wouldn’t have called on a weekend unless something major had happened.

  “There’s been an incident at the nick. Both your office and DI Jenson’s have been broken in tae.”

  “What?” Outrage and horror filled him and he wanted to get back there now. “When?”

  “Over night. I’m handling this personally. Both your computers were wiped.”

  Craig sighed. “That’s no the first time.” He quickly filled his commanding officer in, ignoring the frown on Milly’s face.

  “Do you have backups of all your files?” McCaskill asked.

  “Aye, at home. I backed up both computers last night.”

  “Good. I dinnae want either of you coming in as there is nothing you can do. Come in Monday as normal and reinstall the files.”

  “Aye, sir.” Craig hung up and groaned, the stress adding to the growing nicotine urge. He pulled a piece of gum from his pocket and unwrapped it. He’d been hoping to go at least another couple of hours before giving in. “Both your computer and mine have been wiped.”

  “What?”

  “That was the Chief Super. He’s handling it, said for us to stay away until Monday and just reinstall things then. But perhaps we should just go in tae Perth and buy new laptops. We’ll put the backup files on tae them and use them for work. Just dinnae connect it tae the network at the nick.”

  “OK.” She paused. “So what’s with the gum? Not that I mind you not sharing…”

  His cheeks burned a tad and he held her gaze. “I’m trying tae quit smoking. The patches dinnae work and the pharmacist suggested the gum.”

  She grinned. “How many days?”

  “Ten.” He paused. “Ten verra long days.”

  “It gets easier,” she told him. “I’m a year and counting now. Don’t give up.”

  Having bought a laptop each, they went back to Milly’s lodge. Once the laptops had been set up with software and the files, Craig watched as Milly password protected hers with a twenty-four character password. He raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

  She grinned. “TV program plus a random number. It’d take hours to break.”