“Harmless as a setting dove,” he agreed. “I’m too hungry to be a threat to anything but breakfast. Let a stray bannock come within reach, though, and I’ll no answer for the consequences.”
—Diana Gabaldon, Outlander
Nathan and I slept in a little bit and enjoyed some honeymoon snuggling. I spooned up against his muscular body, feeling perfectly content and still a little sleepy. “Did you ever wonder why I run into trouble everywhere I go?”
“You heard it here,” he said, squeezing me. “You and Miss Gloria are magnets for trouble.”
“You didn’t have to agree so quickly,” I said, poking him in the ribs. “People need help and we step up, that’s all.”
“Speaking of that, what’s up with my sister?” he asked.
I told him in more detail about the conflict between Vera and her colleagues. “I suspect she wishes she’d never gotten into this project with them, but Gavin brings a level of recognition and money that would disappear without him.” The alarm on my watch beeped, marking eight o’clock.
“Noooo,” he said. “Turn that thing off. It’s the first morning in ages I have my wife to myself.”
I giggled. “We’re leaving for Iona in a couple hours, but that leaves us time for breakfast and a walk out to the lighthouse if we get going now. You and I will see each other forever, but this is our only chance to see Tobermory.” I threw the covers off to let him know I was serious.
We got dressed and went downstairs to the bar, my brain focused on coffee and my stomach on eggs and a double rasher of bacon and, if I was lucky, maple scones with loads of butter. Or cheese scones—those would be amazing too. Miss Gloria was not in the breakfast room. I glanced at my phone. It was minutes past the time we’d decided to meet.
“I better go wake her up,” I said to Nathan. “She’ll not forgive us if she misses anything. Will you order the full Scottish breakfast for both of us?” I’d have to cut back on the amount I was eating once I got home, but breakfast in this adorable hotel was not the place to start.
I trotted up the stairs and knocked on her door but got no answer. Maybe she’d gone outside to cuddle Tobermory the cat before breakfast? She had told me on the way upstairs to bed last night that she was missing Sparky and T-bone something terrible. As I went back down the hall, I checked my phone again and noticed that Miss Gloria had left a message that I hadn’t seen on the way out because I’d been distracted by Nathan.
“Gone for a walk to the lighthouse with Glenda. I should be back in time for breakfast. Remember how I told you how kind she was yesterday? She feels terrible about upsetting me, and wanted to make it up to me by taking me on the walk to the lighthouse. It’s another thin place that she says I need to experience. She’s really much sweeter than we thought. She realized I was upset by my experience with those goggles and wanted to show me something she thought I’d really appreciate. She says it might be the most amazing treasure out of all the thin places in Scotland, and that most people don’t get there.”
This was bad. I could feel it in my bones. I didn’t like the way she explained it to me, justifying her decision and then repeating it, which meant Glenda must have given her a real sales job. I hurtled down the stairs two steps at a time and bolted into the bar. Nathan was explaining to the waitress that yes, in fact, he did mean to order three full Scottish fries plus extra scones and butter for the table.
“Hold everything,” I said, stopping Nathan mid-order. “We’ve got to get to the lighthouse. Miss Gloria might be in trouble.”
We hurried out the door and trotted down Main Street until we reached the point where the path leading to the lighthouse began. On the way, I explained why I was so worried. “I suspect Gavin and Glenda fear that Miss Gloria’s experience could scotch the publisher’s interest in going ahead with the goggles. The way she talked last night at dinner, they would have to feel certain she’s going to call their editor. There’s no telling what they might do to keep this from happening. I don’t like it one bit that Glenda has cut her out of the pack and is taking her somewhere remote.”
“Have you noticed anything over the past week that would make you suspect Glenda of nefarious intent?” asked my husband as we trotted toward the lighthouse. “You have hardly mentioned her to me.”
I thought this over as we jogged. “I’m free associating here … She accused Grace of trying to poison her, though Grace denies this. And Grace also says Gavin made a pass at her. Does Glenda know this? Imagine how humiliating that would be. Ainsley, Vera, and Glenda seemed to have had a falling out in college, but I don’t have a clue why. And everyone knew Joseph Booth at least slightly, though no one wants to discuss it. And last but not least, Glenda doesn’t eat much—that always gives me pause.”
A couple walking two large black Labrador retrievers emerged from the opening in the vegetation.
“Have you seen two ladies going this direction, one of them older with white hair and a big smile?” Nathan patted his head to mimic our friend’s wispy halo.
Because of her thick accent, I couldn’t understand everything the woman answered, but they had definitely seen Miss Gloria enter the path with a second woman. Apparently, they both seemed fine, friendly even. And I heard the man mention Rubna Nan Gall, which Vera had told us was the name of the lighthouse.
“Is there a road?” Nathan asked. “Any way to get there in a car?”
The two locals looked at each other and shook their heads. “The only way to the lighthouse is this.” The woman gestured at the narrow path.
“It’s a coastal foot path,” the man added. “Two kilometers to the lighthouse, twenty-five minutes if you walk at a brisk pace.”
“Call the police,” Nathan told them firmly. “Find out if they can send a rescue boat to the lighthouse. It’s an emergency.” He was terrified for our friend, I could see that. And his worry made me feel even more frightened.
Nathan took off without waiting for me. But that was fine, the sooner he got there, the better Miss Gloria’s chances. The adrenaline coursing through my veins allowed me to run faster than my lungs and legs thought possible. I only stopped for a moment to pick up a fallen tree limb the size of a baseball bat, which might serve me as a weapon if I needed one. When I finally burst out of the greenery, panting like one of the black dogs, I could see the lighthouse keeper’s cottage on the left and a long path leading to the lighthouse on the right. A weathered stone wall ran the length of the path until it met a wire fence guarding the lighthouse. Past the fence, two figures stood at the end of the rocky promontory.
Nathan hurtled in their direction. “Stop right now!” he hollered, but the wind was blowing hard off the water, and with it, his warning bounced back to me.
To my utter horror, the taller figure gave the smaller shape a good shove off the rocks and into the cold waters of the Mull Sound.