The House on the Shore (40 page)

Morag started.
“You what?”

“
He was sheltering in
Ardtoe bothy
.
H
e
said
he
’
d been tracking an injured stag.
”

“
Did you believe him?
”

“
There was no injured stag.
Apart from the fact the deer are way up in the hills at this time of year, he would have needed a high powered rifle with a telescopic sight to bring one down.
You don
’
t shoot deer with a shotgun
.
”

Morag paused between tables
.
“What
did you think of the man?
”

“
H
e gave me the shivers.
He looked at me as if I was dinner on his plate.
Y
ou
’
re right
;
I wouldn
’
t trust
him
either.
He has the appearance of a thug.
I can
’
t imagine why Alistair would want to employ him.
”

“
You
’
re not the only one wondering that, lass.
It
’s some
months since he took over Sandy
’
s job, and from what I
’
ve heard, he
’
s no very good at being
head ghillie
.
”

“
I
’
m not surprised, although he obviously knows how to shoot.
”

“
Well, any damned fool knows that
.
A
ll you have to do is
load a gun and
pull the trigger,
”
Morag replied caustically
.

Ewan poked his head through the swing door.
“
Ah, Morag.
Here you are.
There
’
s a
telephone
call for you
.
Y
ou can take it in reception.
”

“
I wonder who it can be
.”
She
hurried thro
ugh to the front of the hotel.

A few moments later
, Morag re-entered the dining room later carrying a tray of wine glasses.

“Oh, Anna.
Lachlan
’
s just phoned.
He
’
s on his way home
.
C
an you believe it?
”
She put the tray down on the nearest table.

“
But I thought he was staying on the rig.
”

“
He was.
T
hey
’
ve found someone else to cover for the
laddie
who
’
s on holiday.
Lachlan
’
s in Fort William
,
waiting for me to fetch him.
Do you think you can manage to finish up here on your own?
”

Anna smiled.
“
Of course I can.
Don
’
t keep that man of yours waiting any longer than necessary.
Now off you go.
”

Morag stopped.
“Wait
!
I can
’
t go!
The petrol tank is empty
.
I
’
ve no transport.
”

“
Here,
”
Anna said, p
ulling
her keys from her pocket and placing them
into her friend
’
s hand,
“
take the Land Rover
.
T
he tank is almost full.
I
’
ll get
Ewan or Katrina to give me a
lift to the garage
.
I’ll
get a can of petrol
and then take your
pickup
home.
We can swap back in the morning.
How does that sound?
”

“
Oh
, lass
.
You
’
re wonderful!
”
Morag hug
ged her enthusiastically
.

“Give over
,
I
’
m just doing what any friend would do.
You’re still rather pale.
A
re you sure you
’
re well enough to drive that far?
Because I can easily
—”

“
I
’
ve told you, I
’
m fine
,
more so now that my man is
on his way
home
.
Please stop fussing
.
”
She kiss
ed Anna
on the cheek
and rushed out of the room.

Morag climbed into the Land Rover, adjusted the seat and mirrors, and turned on the ignition.
The old engine
coughed once, twice, then
rumbled into life.
She fastened her sea
t belt, eased off the handbrake
and put the vehicle into reverse, carefully backing out of the parking space.
Straightening the wheel, she selected first gea
r and
set off
down the driveway.

As the Land Rover picked up speed
,
she hummed along to the radio, the windscreen wipers keeping time with the rhythm.
It would take
two
hour
s
,
provided
she didn
’
t meet any tractors on the twisting, single-track glen road
,
to get to Fort William.
She smiled to herself; Lachlan had been away for five long weeks and was finally coming home.
She m
issed him so much and wished he woul
d find work closer to home.

As she approached the crossroads
,
she
applied the brake
and was surprised at the amount of effort it took to bring the
Land Rover
to a
stop
.
The road was slick
because of the
rain, she reminded herself
.
Perhaps she could get Lachlan to persuade Anna to pension off this old heap and trade it in for something more modern
.
S
he
drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she
waited for a car coming
in the other
direction
to turn
left
.

On her way once more, Morag turned up the volume and sang along, her
clear, delicate
voice echoing in the small space.
After seven miles, she reached the first of a series of tight bends
.
She tapped the brakes
, and steered into it
.
Suddenly
, the wheel
had a mind of its own.
She tried to turn right.
The Land Rover veered left.
Her heart pulsed
.
She yanked the wheel harder.

T
he ba
ck of the Land Rover swung out.

She scream
ed and
depressed the clutch
,
but the gear didn’t engage
.
Icy fear twist
ed
in her stomach
, she tried again,
and
this time the lever shot home
.
Her heart thumping, she stretched out her hand to turn off the radio.
She
was
too busy
thinking about Lachlan
when she should have been concentrating on the road.
Fortunately, she regained control
,
and
the Land Rover rounded
the bend without a scrape.
Not that Anna would have noticed; there were already numerous dents on
the bodywork.

The road straightened out,
and
Morag shifted
gear
, keeping a wary eye out for any sheep that may have strayed on to the highway.
As she passed the entrance to Home Farm at the top of the hill, she downshifted in readiness for the sharp right-hand bend at the bottom
.
She pressed the brake.

This time the pedal went all the way to the floor.

Shrieking, she frantically pumped
it.
She grabbed
the handbrake
.

The Land Rover sped up.

She downshifted again
.
T
he engine scream
ed
in protest, but still it didn
’
t slow.
The nearside wheels mounted the grass verge
.
T
he bodywork
skidded against
a dry-stone wall,
chipping stones away as the Land Rover went faster
.

Morag
jerked
on the steering wheel
.
The
vehicle skidd
ed
back on
to the road
, b
ut it was too late to make the turn.
T
he Land Rover
smashed
through
the wall
and took flight.
It spun over a field.

Morag screamed.
She prayed.
She called for Lachlan.
Then a large Scots
pine loomed out of the bushes.

A massive thud.

Her head hit something.
There was no pain.
Only darkness.
Something wet covered her face.
She tried to catch it with her hands.
They were numb.
She thought of Anna.
Then she thought of Lachlan
.
Then she thought no more.

Anna closed the gate, climbed back into Morag’s pickup, and wondered if her friend had collected her husband from the station in Fort William.
She h
oped for Morag’s sake that they would
soon be able to buy the farm they wanted, and Lachlan could stay at h
ome.

As s
he carefully negotiated the pot
holed track to Tigh na Cladach, all she could think about was an early supper and a long soak in the bath.
It had been strange day with her run-in with the new ghillie, and doing Morag’s job as well as her own.
She was tired and, if luck
were
on her side, Luke
might
have prepared dinner
.

Silence greeted her as she opened the door to the croft.
Luke must
have taken the dogs for a walk.
She
hung her c
oat on the stand in the hallway
and
made her way into the kitchen.

She stopped.
She wasn’t alone.

Mark, her former lover, leaned against the Aga, his
hands folded across his chest.

“What the
h
ell are you doing in my house?”

“
I knocked, but
the door wasn’t locked.”
He took a few steps towards her.
Her green eyes narrowed.

“You’ve got some nerve walking
in here
uninvited.
I’m going to call the police.”

“If I remember correctly, you don’t have a phone.”

Out witted, she slammed her bag on the table.
“Get.
Out.
Now.”

“I wrote to you, but you didn’t reply.
Did you get the letter?”