The House on the Shore (44 page)

“Unfortunately, they’re dealing with a nasty incident in Glencoe
.
A
party of missing school children, I believe.
Once that’s been resolved, they’ll be on their way here.
Until then, we’ll have to manage on our own.
I’ll get Katrina to bring you something hot to eat and
a bowl of
water for the dogs.
Anna looks done-in.
You should take her home after you’ve eaten.”

Anna opened her eyes at the sound of her name.
“No!
I’m not leaving
,
not until we find Morag.”

Luke frowned.
“Anna, sweetheart, Ewan’s right.
You’re worn out.
You need to rest.”

“Luke, please.
I won’t go home until I hear something positive.
”
She wiped away a tear that had rolled down her cheek.

“Look,” he said gently, putting an arm around her shoulder.
“Why don’t you stay here with Ewan?
I’ll go out agai
n and have another look round.”

An
na leaned against his warm body
an
d let exhaustion wash over her.

“Perhaps I will rest for a while, but only so I can search again tomorrow.”

“Good girl,” said Ewan.
“Dinner won’t be long.
Katrina!”
He bustled off in the direction of the kitchen.

After dinner, Luke left Anna in the bar.
He took the dogs and re-joined the search party.
When the light began to fade
,
they abandoned the search for the night and returned to the hotel.

The following morning, summer roared back to the Highlands.
Thousands of midges took to the air, nibbling at every warm-blooded being in their path.
With temperatures in the seventies and smothering humidity to match, the search party met at eight.
Despite a sleepless night, and against Luke’s wishes, Anna joined the Fraser boys and everyone in the hotel bar for the briefing.

Ewan held up his hands.
“Quiet everyone!
Quiet please!
Thank you.
Sadly, yesterday’s search found no trace of Morag, or the Land Rover.
I suggest we continue as before, fanning out from the village.
Agreed?”

Luke was the first to offer an opinion.
“You’ll be wasting time.
We
should confine our search to the road and surrounding area.

“Bloody foreigner,
”
Angus Murray shouted from the back of the room.
“W
ho do you think you are
,
telling us what to do?”

The Reverend Cameron joined in the argument.
“Aye!
It’s fifty miles, man!
There are only twelve of us.
It would take us a month to cover that distance.”

Luke’s voice was calm and commanding.
“I’ve been involved in searc
hes before.
W
e need to concentrate on the road.
The Land Rover might be lying in a field or gulley.
I suggest those of us with cars drive out to given points and start
our
search from there.
That way we’ll cover the ground quicker.
As
Morag hasn’t been
seen
since Saturday afternoon,” he said glancing at Anna and taking her hand in his, “we have to presume she’s hurt
, and
hope she’s with the Land Rover.”

“You can’t make those assumptions
.
S
he could have amnesia…and
have
wandered off,” Jamie, the elder of the two Fraser boys suggested.

“It’s possible, I guess,” Luke responded.
“But somehow I don’t think so.”

“
I think Luke’s right,” Lachlan said, his voice resigned.
“Morag’s hurt and unable to seek help
. We woul
d have found her otherwise.
We should do as he suggests and not waste time arguing.”

Suddenly Anna felt weak.
On the verge of fainting, she pushed her way past Luke and the other searchers
, and
made her way to the ladies’ room.
Barely able to stand, she splashed cold water
on her face
, and
then
looked into the mirror.
The woman who looked back was pale.
And guilty.
She couldn’t forgive herself if anything happened to Morag.
She had to summon the strength to find her friend.
Morag had always been there when Anna needed her
, and n
ow Morag was in need somewhere out there
.
Anna would not let her down.

Revived, she threw the ladies’ room door open
and bumped straight into a man.

Alistair Grant.

His face blanched.

“Anna, this
—
what a surprise,” he spluttered.
“How
are you?”

“Not well and in no mood to talk right now, Alistair,” she said
.
“I have to help with the search.”

“Search?
What search?
What on earth are you talking about?”

“The search for Morag McInnes
.
S
he’s missing.”

“Who?
Morag
McInnes, missing?
Since when?”

“Since the day before yesterday.
She was supposed to collect her husband from the railway station, but never arrived.”

“But isn’t that her vehicle in the car park?” he replied, looking over his shoulder.

“Look, I haven’t got time to explain everything now, but Morag borrowed my Land Rover.
Heaven knows where she is.”

“Well,” he stammered, “you should search the estate, of course.”

“Thank you, but we’ve already done that, and found nothing.
Are you all right, Alistair?
You sound breathless, and your hands are shaking.”

“Oh
,
my, look at the time!
I’ve just remembered…you see…I’m expected…I have to…uh
—
”
And with that he turned and sprinted from the hotel.

Anna stared as the door squeaked back and forth on its hinges.
What was all that about?
She’d known him for years, but ha
d never seen him act like this.

“Who were you talking to?”
Luke as
ked, cutting into her thoughts.

“Didn’t you see?
It was Alistair Grant.
He was acting very strangely
,
as if he’d seen a ghost.”

“Honey, everything about that man is strange.
We’re
ready to go.
Are you coming?”

“I’m ready.
We must find her.
We’re
going
to find her,” she said, picking up her rucksack.
“Alive!”

“I pray we do, lass,” Ewan said, joining them in the hallway.
“I pray we do.”

With the search now focused on the road and its environs, Luke could no longer protect Anna from what they might find.
At Ewan’s suggestion, and accompanied by two other members of the search party,
they drove
down the glen,
and left
their vehicle in a lay-by
some
miles west of Home Farm.
The plan was for them to make their way towards the farm, with Anna and Luke searching the surrounding moorland and occasional field, while the other pair concentrated on the road.

“We will
cover
the ground quicker if we work
either sid
e of the road,” Anna suggested.

Luke studied her face before replying.
There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin had lost its rosy glow.
She moved woodenly, as if e
ach step took all her strength.

“Quicker, maybe.
But this way our search will be more thorough.”
He took her hand, his fingers warm and strong as they grasped hers.
He could see her composure was little more than a fragile shell.

“I suppose you’re right,” Anna said, taking comfort from his touch.

He kissed the top of her head.
“That’s my girl.
Now, call those dogs of yours and let’s get started.”

Anna held a sweater, previously worn by
Morag, while the dogs familiariz
ed themselves with her scent
.
“Ensay, Rhona.
Find Morag!”

The two collies set off at a trot, quartering the rough terrain, their noses pressed to the ground.
Luke and Anna followed more slowly, searchin
g every crevice and bush.

After two hours, they stopped to rest.
Anna took a bowl and bottle of water from her rucksack and gave the dogs a drink.
Luke opened his pack and was in the process of pulling out a can of soda when the two-way radio
he carried crackled into life.

“Luke?
Anna?
Can you hear me?
Over.”

Fearing the worst, Luke’s expression sobered.
“This is Luke.
Anna is here
,
too.”
He hoped to God the other man took the hint and chose his words carefully.
“Go ahead.
Over.”

“The rescue team from Fort William has arrived.
As soon as they’ve set up I’ll send some help your way.
Over.”

Luke glanced at Anna and exchanged a smil
e.
“Thanks.
Over.”

“That’s a relief,” Anna said.
“I thought the police would never take Lachlan
seriously.”

“They can’t ignore the situation any longer.
Do you kno
w if the mountain rescue team has
access to a helicopter?”

“I think so.
Why do you ask?”

“A helicopter with an infrared or thermal imaging camera can pick up a heat signal, no matter how faint it is.”

“Even at night?”

“
If
the weather conditions are right.”

Anna leapt to her feet and whirled round to face Luke, sadness and pain turning into white-hot anger.
“T
hen why haven’t they sent one?”

“Hey, don’t take your frustrations out on me.
It’s probably on its way right now.
Ewan will be in a better position to pass on information once the mountain rescue team sets up their equipment.
In the meantime, try to relax a little.”

“Relax?
How dare you tell me to relax when my best friend is
missing?
”
She fought back her tears.

Luke clasped
her body tightly to his
and gently rocked her back and forth.
Her fists beat his chest as she tried to struggle free, but he merely tightened his hold on her waist.
She shuddered as one deep, tortured sob, and then another racked her body.
“About time,” he muttered,
and wait
ed
for her to cry herself out.

“I’m sorry.
I know…I should be strong.
But I can’t…bear
to…think of…Morag…lying hurt.”

Luke pressed his lips against her forehead.
“I know, babe, but with so many people looking for her, we’re bound to find her soon.”

“Do you really think so?”
Anna asked
lifting her face to his
.

He led her to where they ha
d left their rucksacks.
“Yes.
Can you keep going or do you want to go back to the hotel?”

“I’m not giving up, Luke
,
no matter how tired or upset I am.
I
won’t
give up until we find her.”

“In that case, rest here awhile and have something to eat.”
He offere
d her a sandwich from his pack.

Under his watchful gaze, Anna accepted the sandwich and took a bite.
It tasted like sawdust, and was difficult to swallow, but she ate it anyway knowing that Luke would insist she
return
to the hotel if she refused.