Shortbread and Sorrow

by Agatha Frost

  The DI walked over to the armchair and picked up the decanter. He lifted off the lid and gave it a sniff, but Julia was already running across the room. She stared at the bookcase she was sure concealed the hidden door.

  “Secret passage?” he called after her as he weaved in and out of the furniture to catch up. “Do you realise how ridiculous you sound right now?”

  “It’s true,” Julia said, scrambling at the books for a secret lever or switch. “It’s right here. It leads out into the courtyard. He could be halfway back to the village by now.”

  “Who?”

  “Andrew!”

  “What does Andrew McCracken have to do with Mary McLaughlin’s death?” he asked with an exasperated sigh. “Please, Miss South, try to stay on topic.”

  “Aren’t you listening to me?” she cried, turning away from the bookcase and back at the DI. “Charlotte is pulling all of the strings. She shot her father and had Mary killed. She’s desperate to run this castle. Her very words were ‘whatever it takes’. She’s ruthless.”

  “Do you have any evidence, aside from a conversation you claim to have overheard?”

  “I did overhear it,” she snapped. “Sue was there. She’ll account for the secret passage too. Benjamin, the new groundskeeper, told me the castle was full of them. I suppose that’s how Charlotte managed to be in the opposite part of the castle when her father was discovered. She must have slipped away and waited until witnesses could see her walking onto the scene.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  “I’m making perfect sense!” she cried, her hands disappearing up into her curls. “Why aren’t you writing any of this down?”

  He sighed and pinched between his brows as he took a seat on the red Chesterfield Julia and Sue had been hiding behind not that long ago.

  “Just tell me what happened on the morning Mary drove away from this castle?” he asked, opening his notepad again. “And please stick to the facts.”

  Julia reluctantly sat next to him. She ran through the story of being awakened by the shrieking and seeing Rory pushing her out of the castle. She told him all about their conversation, and how Mary had insisted on going to see her lawyer. When she was finished, she looked down at the polished floor, Mary’s tears ringing through her ears.

  “Thank you, Miss South,” he said as he slapped the notepad shut. “You’ve been very helpful.”

  “Have I?” she mumbled with a strained laugh. “I could hand you the killer with a stack of evidence and you would instantly dismiss me.”

  “If you hand me the killer with a stack of evidence, I’ll owe you a drink, Miss South,” he said with a wink as he stood up. “But until then, your witness statements are more than enough.”

  The DI turned on his heels and strode confidently out of the drawing room, his black trench coat fluttering behind him. She turned back to the bookshelf, wondering how things had turned so peculiar so quickly. Standing up, she walked over to the window and stared out at the loch through the fog. It was growing thicker by the second, keeping them from the rest of the world. Seven hour drive or not, it was more than tempting to jump into her trusty Ford Anglia and drive back to Peridale.

  Deciding she was going to have a lie down in her bedroom while DI Fletcher spoke to Dot, Sue, and the others, Julia abandoned the drawing room, but not without looking back at the bookshelf once again. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of the peephole staring directly at her within the mass of leather-bound books. All of a sudden, she had the unnerving feeling she was being watched, and perhaps had been the whole time.

  Shaking out her curls, she pulled on one of the ornate doors, stepping out into the corridor just as DI Fletcher appeared with Sue behind him. Before the door closed, she spotted Charlotte and Rory sitting at the bottom of the stairs, still putting on a performance for the rest of the guests. One of the new women was even trying her best to comfort them.

  DI Fletcher and Sue walked past her, both giving her very different looks. DI Fletcher’s said ‘go away’, and Sue’s said ‘please stay’. They both slipped into the drawing room, no doubt walking to the seats by the window to prevent eavesdropping. Turning to the empty dining hall, Julia had a better idea than listening in on the interview. With Charlotte and Rory otherwise occupied, she set off weaving between the tables and towards the kitchen.

  Julia crept down the winding stone steps, her fingers dragging along the cold wall to steady her. She checked her watch, surprised that it was still only a little after nine. So much had happened since being awoken by Mary at six that morning, it felt like she had fit an entire day into just a few short hours.

  Forcing herself not to think about Mary’s crash, she reached the bottom of the stairs and peered through the round window in the door. She was relieved to see Blair alone in the kitchen, leaning over the stove as she moved bacon around in a pan with one hand, while she stirred baked beans with the other. She took a step back and wiped sweat from her rosy forehead, her eyes clenched tightly shut. Julia didn’t know how anybody could expect this young girl to juggle the cooking for an entire castle on her own.

  She was about to push on the door to help Blair finish preparing breakfast, but she stopped herself when Blair tore off her apron and tossed it on the table. She was wearing a khaki green wool jumper underneath it, rolled up at the sleeves. She dragged the sleeves down and began pulling it over her head. As she did, her white T-shirt slid up with it. Julia let out a small gasp when she saw the small, yet definite bump protruding out of Blair’s stomach.

  Almost out of sheer shock, she hurried into the kitchen, startling Blair as she pulled the jumper over her face. She tossed it onto the table and quickly yanked her shirt down, turning away from Julia as she loosely tied her apron around her waist, just as it had been every other time Julia had seen her.

  “You’re pregnant?” Julia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “You shouldn’t be down here,” Blair mumbled, her cheeks burning brightly as she flipped the bacon. “Charlotte has forbidden it. You’re going to get me in trouble.”

  “You’re pregnant!” Julia repeated, taking a step forward.

  Blair turned to face Julia, hovering over the frying pan with the metal spatula in her hand. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, neither of them knowing what to say. The stare was only broken when Blair yelped and tossed the burning hot spatula into the pan. Clutching her burnt hand tightly, she stepped back and immediately began crying. Julia hurried forward and turned off the stove. She took the young girl into her arms, who wrapped her arms around her shoulders, clutching onto her tightly. Through the apron, Julia could feel the tiny life pushing up against her.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Julia whispered as she stroked the back of Blair’s head.

  “You can’t tell anyone,” she said as she pulled away from the hug, her pale cheeks tear-stained and her nose glistening. “Please, miss. Promise me you won’t say anything.”

  “I promise.”

  “I haven’t even told Ben yet,” she said as she tried to suppress her sobs. “They’ll fire me if they find out. They’ve done it before. I can’t afford to lose this job. We both send money to our mam back home. She wouldn’t survive without it.”

  Blair walked over to the sink, cramming one hand under the cold tap as she wiped her tears with the other. Julia did the only thing she knew what to do. She flicked on the kettle, grabbed two cups, and pulled two peppermint and liquorice tea bags from the box she had given to Blair.

  When the kettle boiled, she filled the cups and placed them on the counter. Blair gratefully accepted the tea. Staring into space, she hugged it tight to her chest as the weight of the world pushed down on her. Julia had to remind herself the girl was only nineteen.

  “I need to finish breakfast,” Blair said without moving, her eyes still wide. “Charlotte always eats later on a Saturday because she likes to sleep in on the weekends. I had the four new guests this morn
ing, so I’m already running late.”

  “I don’t think she’s going to be thinking about breakfast,” Julia said carefully. “Mary died this morning.”

  “Died?” Blair furrowed her brow tightly, suddenly turning in her seat. “How?”

  “She crashed her car driving away from the castle this morning. I spoke to her just before it happened. The police seem to think it was an accident.”

  “You don’t?”

  “Do you?” Julia asked, arching a brow. “Considering what happened to Henry, I don’t think there are any accidents around here anymore. Everything has been happening very deliberately and when it’s supposed to.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Blair whispered as she lifted the cup to her lips.

  “I think you do,” Julia replied, putting her cup down. “Or you don’t realise you do. I overheard Charlotte talking earlier today, and I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, but I think I do now. I think she knows you’re pregnant. She asked Andrew to get rid of you.”

  “Get rid of me?” Blair echoed, the shake in her voice obvious. “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know, but she wants this castle, and she is doing whatever she can to get it. She got rid of Mary, and I think you’re next. She seems to think you know something that could derail her plans.”

  Blair looked down into her cup without blinking. Julia knew Blair knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “I don’t know anything,” Blair mumbled, placing the cup on the table and hurrying back over to the stove. “I really need to get on with this before Charlotte calls down.”

  “Didn’t you just hear what I said?”

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Blair snapped bitterly, casting an angry look over her shoulder at Julia. “You’re just a guest here. You get to go back to your café in two days, and I have to stay here. If Charlotte is going to fire me, I need to work as hard as I can to try and change her mind. I can’t bring my baby into this world without a penny to my name.”

  She placed her hand momentarily on her stomach, outlining the shape of the tiny barely-there bump. Julia could feel every part of Blair’s frustration and anger radiating from every pore in her body, but despite her warning, she felt there was nothing she could actually do to improve the girl’s situation.

  “Just be careful,” Julia whispered as she passed, resting a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “This family is dangerous.”

  Blair shrugged off her hand and focussed on cooking Charlotte’s breakfast as though nothing had sunk in. Sighing to herself, Julia reluctantly pulled on the kitchen door. She cast an eye through the tiny round window before she set off up the winding staircase. Blair lifted her hands up to her eyes and sobbed silently for a moment before shaking her head, picking up the spatula, and flipping the bacon once more.

  “Julia?” a voice from the dark startled her.

  Julia spun around to see Benjamin. She let out a relieved laugh, glad it wasn’t Charlotte or Rory.

  “I was just about to give your note to Blair,” he said, pulling the letter from his pocket. “Is everything okay?”

  “There’s no need.” Julia grabbed the note from Ben. “I’ve spoken to her. Can you just keep an eye on her for me? I don’t think she appreciates me sticking my nose in, but I’m worried about her.”

  “Of course,” he said quickly. “I always do. She’s my little sister.”

  Julia thanked him with a smile before stepping around him. She hurried up the winding staircase and back through to the dining room. The fog had started to clear, but only to be replaced with a miserable grey sky.

  Wondering if Sue was finished with her interview, she pushed her ear up to the door. She strained her hearing, but it was in vain. She looked ahead to the sunroom, where Charlotte and Rory were standing by the window and looking out at the clearing fog. They were both talking in whispers, the amateur dramatic tears from earlier having stopped entirely.

  As she walked back to the entrance hall, Julia felt the sands of time slipping away. She had less than two days to get to the bottom of this mystery before she could head home to Peridale with a clear conscience.

  11

  The next morning at breakfast, Julia wasn’t surprised when Blair ignored her entirely, only nodding when Julia put in her order for poached eggs on toast. Dot and Sue didn’t seem to notice, so she decided against letting them in on Blair’s secret. She had promised after all, even if that promise didn’t make much difference in the grand scheme of things anymore.

  After breakfast, Julia let Sue drag her to the spa one last time, if only to use the quiet time to properly think about everything. No matter how many different theories she pieced together about what had really happened to Henry and Mary McLaughlin, something didn’t sit right every time. Her mind kept landing back on Charlotte, but her vision was clouded, and she knew she was missing vital clues concerning the reasoning behind the murders.

  After her facial and shoulder massage, which she had enjoyed more than she had expected to, she wasn’t surprised to see DI Fletcher sniffing around the castle once more. She was, however, surprised to see Andrew McCracken stacking the fire with logs a little before lunch, as though he had never been fired in the first place. When he walked past her, Julia tried her best to make eye contact with the man to see his true intentions, but he appeared to be avoiding her at all costs.

  Above Andrew’s apparent return to work, Julia was even more surprised to learn from one of the other guests that the dinner in the drawing room was still happening as scheduled that night, despite what had happened to Mary. Even though she wouldn’t put anything past Charlotte at this point, she didn’t quite understand how she could transition from grieving stepdaughter to gracious host in the space of a day.

  “I haven’t seen a single man in a kilt yet,” Dot complained as she settled into a chair in the sunroom with a cup of tea. “I wanted to check Jessie’s theory about the underwear. Despite that, this trip has been rather lovely.”

  “Ignoring the two deaths,” Sue whispered as she peeled the wrapper off one of the cupcakes Blair had brought them.

  “Everybody dies, sweetheart!” Dot exclaimed loudly, turning the heads of the couple who were enjoying the view on the other side of the room. “It doesn’t mean I can’t relax! I’ve had at least one of every facial and massage on the menu, and I feel remarkable for it. Feel how soft my skin is.”

  Dot crammed her hand in front of Sue’s face, who recoiled before reluctantly giving it a stroke.

  “Like a newborn’s behind,” Sue mumbled.

  “We need to do this more often,” Dot said, sighing contently as she turned back to look out at the clear loch. “I’ve really enjoyed this time alone with my two favourite granddaughters.”

  “We’re your only granddaughters,” Sue said.

  “And that’s why you’re my favourites,” she teased with a wink. “Are you okay, Julia? You look distant.”

  Julia broke her gaze from the bank across the loch and turned to her gran, forcing a smile. She nodded, unsure if she had the energy to deny it. The truth was, she was distant, and she didn’t know how her gran was so oblivious to what was going on in the castle. Every fibre of her being was telling her something bad was going to happen very soon, like an orchestra rising to its final crescendo.

  “I think she’s just missing Barker,” Sue answered for her when she noticed Julia’s lack of response. “I know I’m missing my Neil. Do you think we’ll be able to drive into the village on the way home and pick up some souvenirs? I promised I’d bring him something.”

  “Sure,” Julia replied, souvenirs the last thing on her mind. “Is that Benjamin?”

  She stood up and walked over to the window, squinting at the mossy bank ahead. Benjamin was walking amongst the heather in his usual green Barber jacket. With Andrew apparently being back she had assumed Benjamin had already been given his marching orders. She had even tried to put Blair’s distance down to that, and not
what had transpired yesterday in the kitchen.

  “Looks like him,” Sue said.

  “Who’s Benjamin?” Dot asked. “Whoever he is, he looks like a fine specimen of a man.”

  “He is,” Sue said, blushing a little, no doubt remembering him with his shirt off the morning before. “He’s the cook’s brother.”

  “I wonder if he’s as miserable as her,” Dot exclaimed, catching the attention of the couple again. “My stomach hasn’t felt right all week!”

  “I thought you said you’d been relaxed?” Julia mumbled over her shoulder, her defence of Blair automatic by this point, despite being blanked that morning. “Why have two groundskeepers?”

  “Huh?” Dot replied, arching a brow. “Why does it matter?”

  “Because we’re in a castle that has been running with a skeleton staff since we arrived. Why rehire the old groundskeeper and keep his replacement around?”

  “Maybe because there’s a lot of ground?” Dot suggested with a roll of her eyes. “Honestly, Julia, I don’t know why you care so much about these things.”

  “Because somebody has to,” she said before pulling her phone from her pocket and walking out of the sunroom.

  As she scrolled to Barker’s number, she walked past the dining hall and straight through the open doors to the drawing room. She was relieved to see it empty. She pushed the phone against her ear, closed her eyes, and waited. Barker picked up on the last ring.

  “Hello?” he called down the phone. “Julia?”

  “It’s me,” she said, a smile flooding her face. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “What? I can’t hear you? Jessie! Take that turn! Slow down!”

  Julia heard what she thought was the screeching of tyres as somebody slammed on the brakes and turned.

  “Are you driving?” Julia asked.

  “Jessie is,” Barker called back. “If you can call it that. Can I call you back?”