Effie found Fraser in the yard feeding raw sprouts to Ginger. The sky was a clear blue and the air crisp. She watched Ginger inhale another sprout from Fraser’s hand. ‘You know that’s probably not going to end well, don’t you?’
‘Sounds like the story of my life,’ he said.
Effie came to lean on the stable door next to him. ‘Why so glum?’
He sighed heavily. ‘I dunny know. I have a lot to be thankful for. Especially now the hotel’s not being sold and with a big heap of luck I should be able to get the restaurant off the ground. But you know when something feels off? Like you’ve forgotten something important but canny think what it is? I feel like that.’
‘Is it Callum? Do you need to give him a call?’
‘I don’t know. That still feels pretty raw. But I do know I’ll not be nagged into it.’ He gave her a look and she nodded. ‘We’d better get back inside.’ He gave Ginger one last sprout and roughly rubbed the top of her head, which she leaned into before he and Effie walked back across the yard. ‘What’s the deal with you and Robbie?’
An instant giddiness came over her at the thought of it. ‘I don’t know yet, but it’ll be fun finding out.’
‘He’s a great guy. A bit off the wall but nice all the same,’ he said shutting the door behind them.
‘I like off the wall. I guess I’m a bit like that too.’
Fraser looked up from pulling off his wellies. ‘You dunny say?’
She nudged him and he almost fell over. ‘It means he gets me. I don’t think many people do. They think I’m a bit dippy, daft, kind of wacky. A reindeer short of a sleigh ride. You know?’
‘You’re you and that’s a good thing,’ he said. ‘I’m going to check the roast tatties,’ he added pointing into the kitchen.
Back in the warmth of the library, Jock’O was twitching in his sleep, Winnie was enjoying a glass of Scotch and Dolly was studying her DNA kit. ‘Will this tell me all the clans I’m related to?’ She seemed interested at the prospect.
‘I don’t think it’s that detailed,’ said Effie. ‘But it will tell you different countries and civilisations and stuff. We might even be related to royalty or better still someone famous. I also read where this man found out his grandad had been switched at birth!’
‘That’s the sort of thing I’d not want to be finding out,’ said Dolly.
‘But you’ll do the test, Granny, won’t you?’ Effie put her palms together as if sending up a little prayer.
Dolly smiled. ‘If you want me to.’
‘I do. And I’ve paid for super-fast responses so if we all do them and post them off we’ll get the information really quickly as they upload it to an app,’ said Effie, bobbing up and down in her seat.
‘That’s good then,’ said Dolly although she didn’t sound that pleased about it.
Effie was seeing Robbie out and catching a quick kiss under the reception desk mistletoe just to undo any bad luck they might have triggered the day before.
‘Eww get a room,’ said Fraser, walking up the hall. ‘Is that what we’ve got to look forward to? You two being all loved up? Eurgh.’ He pretended to feel queasy at the prospect.
‘Truly sorry,’ said Robbie. ‘I’ve waited a lifetime to kiss your cousin.’
Effie spun around. ‘Have you?’
Robbie went all shy. ‘I think you’re amazing. Always have, always will. Did you not know?’
Effie shook her head. ‘You never said anything. All this time we could have been together.’
‘I guess I hoped one day it would just all work out and it did.’ He kissed her.
Fraser made retching noises behind them. ‘Sorry,’ he said with a grin as they pulled apart.
‘Ignore him,’ said Effie. ‘He’s jealous.’
‘Let’s call it a touch of envy. I’m really pleased for both of you,’ said Fraser, reaching forward to shake Robbie’s hand. ‘And nice touch with the case – great idea.’ Fraser’s expression changed. ‘I didn’t get Liv a Christmas present. But then I wouldn’t have known what to get her anyway.’
‘Gift purchasing can be a minefield,’ said Robbie. ‘I just thought about what Effie wanted most in the world and how I could facilitate that.’
‘Aww, you’re so lovely,’ said Effie giving him a tight squeeze.
Fraser snorted a laugh. ‘What Liv wants most is to track down who set up the fake dating profile in my name and give them a piece of her mind. So that’s a bit out of my reach.’
Robbie’s expression changed to his serious police officer one.
‘What’s this?’ he asked.
Effie took a deep breath. ‘Liv, set up a dating profile in her full name – Olivia Bingham – and she was matched with Fraser Douglas.’ She pointed at Fraser. ‘But it wasn’t our Fraser who set it up and whoever did set it up led her on a wee merry dance before deleting the profile. And—’
There was a dramatic gasp from the library doorway and they all turned to see a shocked-looking Winnie standing there gripping her frame so tight her knuckles were white.
‘Are you all right, Winnie?’ asked Fraser going over to her.
‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ said Winnie. ‘That poor wee thing.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Fraser waved it away. ‘It’s a long story about Liv being ghosted on the internet. But I’m sure she’s okay.’
‘I’d better get going before my mam’s turkey is as dry as sandpaper,’ said Robbie turning around.
‘No wait!’ said Winnie forcefully. ‘I’ve done something terrible.’
Robbie seemed torn by the statement and the thought of his mother. ‘Terrible as in committed a crime?’ he asked.
‘Did you say Olivia Bingham?’ she asked, scanning their faces.
‘Yep, that’s right. Liv is Olivia. One and the same,’ said Fraser. He and Effie exchanged glances. ‘You okay?’ he asked Winnie.
‘No, I’m not. Not at all.’
There was a long pause like when they’re about to announce the winner of a reality show, and Effie got butterflies.
‘Did you want to sit down?’ asked Fraser.
Winnie straightened her shoulders, took a breath and looked Fraser in the eye.
‘It was me.’
Fraser scratched his head, ‘Sorry, Winnie. What was you?’
‘I set up the phoney dating account in your name,’ she said.
Effie gasped. ‘You’re fake Fraser?’ She leaned into Robbie who put his arm protectively around her.
‘Why? I mean, but you don’t use dating apps. Do you?’ asked Fraser.
‘There’s no upper age limit,’ she said. ‘It does take ages to scroll down to my year of birth. But no, I don’t use them for me. But I do know my way around the world wide web. I’ve not always been a little old lady. I was one of the first women to get a degree in computer science in the early sixties, I’ll have you know.’
‘Oh, that’s clever of you,’ said Effie clapping her hands but Fraser was glaring at her. ‘But you did a bad thing.’ She wagged her finger, making Robbie give her a look. Perhaps telling off an old lady wasn’t a good idea. ‘At least you’re not another John,’ said Effie.
Robbie was momentarily distracted. ‘Who’s John?’
‘Long story,’ said Effie and Fraser together.
‘Robbie, I think you can go because your mam’s turkey is bothering me. Turkey dries out really quickly.’ Fraser rubbed a hand over his beard.
‘I’ll just stay a few moments more,’ said Robbie, pointing at Winnie. All eyes turned back in her direction.
‘Why did you do it, Winnie?’ asked Fraser, softly.
‘Dolly and I got chatting at the Saracens charity quiz and she was concerned about you after Lizzie and Callum did what they did. She felt you had gone into your shell. Said you were sucking your thumb again.’
Fraser’s face was one of horror. ‘Thanks for that, Granny. I don’t do that by the way. It’s a hangnail that I sometimes chew… anyway carry on.’
‘Dolly said you needed to meet a nice Scottish girl but as you were throwing yourself into the restaurant you had no time. You might remember I suggested to you that online dating might be an option?’ Winnie looked at Fraser.
‘Don’t remember that.’
‘Anyway,’ said Winnie. ‘I thought if I could do the groundwork for you – find you a perfect match – there would be little for you to do other than meet her, and you would instantly charm her and then you’d be happy again and Dolly wouldn’t have to worry about you. And I do like to have a surf on the internet.’
‘Aww that’s really cute,’ said Effie, wriggling from under Robbie’s arm.
Fraser abruptly folded his arms. ‘But Winnie. That’s not how it turned out. How did you find Liv? What happened?’
‘There were a few no-hopers and a lot who were clearly not after anything long-term. Some of the messages were borderline pornographic, which I’ll not go into. But Olivia, because that’s what she called herself, Olivia seemed lovely. She was a little feisty but driven and kind. She was self-employed like you. She liked food, action films and was mad about Mariah Carey. I clicked the like button and so did she, which led to us corresponding. There were daily messages. I answered everything as closely as I could to how you would so that any connection was based as much on you as possible. And I have known you since you were in nappies.’
‘That’s okay then,’ said Fraser looking dumbfounded.
Winnie brightened. ‘There were some quite lovely discussions about things. She really did seem to like you in a big way.’
‘Heavens, Winnie!’ Fraser’s voice was shriller than normal.
‘Don’t shout. New battery,’ said Winnie pointing at her hearing aid.
Fraser lowered his voice. ‘At what point did you think you’d maybe gone too far?’
Winnie took a moment to think about the question. ‘I suggested that we meet up. And that’s when I realised how far away she was. You see she said she was from Blackburn. Which I assumed was Blackburn, West Lothian.’
‘It’s nice there,’ said Effie.
‘It is,’ agreed Winnie. ‘I had a cousin Maud who lived there. And it’s a perfectly acceptable distance. But it was actually Blackburn, Lancashire, which also meant she was English – and after what happened with Lizzie.’ She pulled a face like an exaggerated version of the grimacing emoji.
‘And what did you do then?’ Fraser was staring at her hard.
‘I did the only thing I could. I stopped replying to her messages and I deleted your profile.’ Winnie blinked and paused. ‘That’s what you young ’uns call ghosting, isn’t it?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Fraser shook his head and began pacing. ‘How did you not recognise her when she turned up here?’ he asked.
‘The photograph on the dating app was very small. That reminds me, I’d best get booked in for an eye test.’
Fraser rolled his eyes.
‘Anyway,’ said Winnie continuing. ‘The photo was of a young woman with more golden blonde in her hair than auburn. She looked quite elegant with a sort of film star quality about her. Although I did think Liv was familiar.’ Winnie put a finger to her lips as if remembering. ‘I thought it was just because she looked like Amy Pond.’ Winnie giggled but stopped when nobody else joined in.
‘And her name. Liv is short for Olivia,’ said Fraser.
‘That one passed me by completely,’ admitted Winnie. ‘But in my defence, I wasn’t looking for a connection and she’d only been here a few days. I didn’t spend that much time with her.’
Fraser shook his head. ‘I don’t believe this. Poor Liv. Hell, all the things I’ve said to her. All the times I thought she was a fruitcake and it was because of your meddling.’ He stared at Winnie. ‘This is not good.’
‘I am truly sorry,’ said Winnie. ‘I was only trying to do a nice thing and to help you find someone lovely. And she was lovely, wasn’t she?’
Effie and Robbie both nodded.
‘I panicked when I realised she was English,’ said Winnie. ‘I didn’t think through how she might feel. She did say some lovely things about you though.’
‘Like what?’ Fraser softened.
‘That you have the loveliest eyes! Like when you go on holiday and you can’t quite believe the sea can be that blue.’
‘Aww that’s adorable,’ said Effie clapping her hands together. ‘What else?’
‘She loved how passionate you were about cooking and setting up the restaurant. She admired you for that. And she liked how you didn’t judge her when she bought a jumpsuit like the one she already had. She was especially impressed that you were comfortable to share that you were a huge Mariah Carey fan.’
‘Goodness, Winnie, did you tell her I suck my thumb as well?’
Winnie cleared her throat. ‘No. Like I say I am really very sorry for upsetting you and Liv. She liked you. She really did,’ said Winnie. ‘I’m sure this can be fixed. Did I do anything against the law?’ She looked cautiously at Robbie.
‘Nothing criminal thankfully, Winnie. I’d hate to have to arrest you. My mother would be furious,’ he said. ‘And on that note, I absolutely have to go now,’ he added making for the door.
‘You do,’ said Fraser. ‘I hope the turkey’s okay. If not tell your mam to add some butter to the gravy and brush that mixture over the top of the sliced turkey, cover it in foil and whack it back in the oven while she serves everything else.’
‘Thank you,’ said Robbie. He kissed Effie briefly and left.
Fraser and Effie turned to look at Winnie still gripping her frame in the doorway. ‘I am truly sorry, Fraser. Liv was a lovely young woman and you two were an excellent match. The app said so.’ She gave a stilted smile and shuffled off down the hall.
Once he thought Winnie was out of earshot Fraser turned to his cousin. ‘What the hell?’ he said. ‘Now what do I do?’
Effie rolled her lips together and thought. ‘I think only you can make that decision,’ she said and she went back into the library, leaving Fraser alone.
‘Don’t be a choob! You need to go after her,’ called Winnie from the other end of the hallway.