No Stranger to Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 1 (19 page)

‘Where was your car during this time?’

‘Outside here.’

‘And when did you get home from Larimer Park?’

‘It was nearly dark, so that must have been four-ish. I put the car away soon after, but I didn’t notice anything wrong with it then.’

‘You wouldn’t have, making a slow manoeuvre.’

‘It felt perfectly normal to drive when I set off in front of you, or I would have pulled over. And . . . oh dear.’

‘Have you remembered something?’

‘I’m so sorry. I haven’t thanked you for helping me after the crash.’

Mather looked embarrassed. ‘I could hardly have driven past.’

‘It was very reassuring to have you there. Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’ He smiled. And suddenly it was easy to imagine him as a student in well-pressed jeans with a young Kate on his arm.

‘So what now?’ Zoe asked.

‘Given the circumstances, you need to consider moving out of here for a while. Until we find out who tampered with your car there’s always the possibility he may try again.’

‘Even if I wanted to do that – which I don’t – where do you think I’d go? I don’t know anyone well enough to land them with me and Mac.’

‘I’m sure Kate would take you in.’

‘She’s got enough to deal with. No, I’m staying put. I won’t be driven out of my home by some vague threat.’

Mather did not look surprised. ‘We could install a panic alarm.’

‘No thanks.’

‘Carry out a security survey.’

‘Didn’t you do that when you came in?’

He had little more to say, save a parting shot as Zoe showed him out. ‘At least ask Mr Pengelly to fit a chain to this door.’

‘All right.’ She closed the door behind him. And turned the key.

Half-expecting another phone call or visitor any minute, Zoe gulped down a painkiller with an addict’s fervour. Before settling back into the chair, she fetched her mobile.

She texted Kate, inviting herself to lunch at Tolbyres Cottage after surgery the next day. A response came back almost immediately:
CU then
.

Even looking on the bright side, the inescapable fact was that someone had wanted to frighten her. And if their intention had been more malevolent, they would probably try again. No one could say she was on the sidelines of whatever was happening in Westerlea now.

Kate was right. They had to do something
.

Chapter 22

For the first time in years, Zoe went to bed in the afternoon. She woke two hours later, still sore but in a better frame of mind. Going into work tomorrow was not such a bad idea after all.

Remembering one of her gran’s favourite sayings, ‘If you’re bored, you’re better’, she roamed the cottage looking for things to do. Vacuuming and catching up with the ironing were out of the question, but she managed to make a new batch of bread to replace the one which had spoiled the day before. The phone rang a little after five o’clock.

‘Does that log basket need refilling yet?’

‘I was starting to think you’re the kind of man who spends a night with a girl then never calls her again.’

‘You’re obviously feeling better.’

‘But still in a sufficiently weakened state to appreciate a visit.’

‘I won’t be able to stay.’

‘Did I ask you to?’

As soon as he arrived, without stopping to take off his hat or gloves, Neil replenished the log basket then took Mac for a brief torch-lit walk up the lane. By the time they returned, Zoe had poured a glass and a half glass of red wine from a bottle she kept in the larder. She handed the full glass to Neil.

‘It’s a bit cool, I’m afraid.’

He took the wine and cupped it in his hands, but remained standing. ‘It’ll warm up soon enough.’

‘Please sit down. You look as though you’re about to make a run for it.’

He did as she asked and they chinked glasses.

‘To your speedy recovery.’

‘Cheers.’

Zoe took a sip of wine. She warned patients about combining alcohol with strong painkillers, but it was only half a glass and she had no plans to drive or operate machinery any time soon.

Neil seemed more at ease now, leaning back in the chair with one hand stroking Mac’s head.

‘I’m going to work tomorrow.’ She braced herself for the inevitable dissent.

‘Are you up to it? You should take another day off.’

‘I can’t stay cooped up here any longer. I’ll be fine.’

‘Okay, but let me drive you in.’

‘Paul’s already offered to come and pick me up. But there is something you could do. DCI Mather suggested it.’

‘Mather? Has he phoned?’

‘No, he came round to see me.’

‘Checking you’re all right?’

‘Partly. But mainly to tell me my car didn’t go off the road accidentally or even because of what Kate considers to be my reckless driving. Someone tampered with the brakes.’

‘Fucking hell.’ Neil jumped up, spilling several drops of wine onto the carpet. He strode over to the window and glared at his own reflection in the glass.

‘Your getting angry won’t help the situation. And don’t you want to know what he suggested?’

‘Yes. Of course.’

‘He thinks I should ask you to put a chain on my front door.’

Neil looked incredulous. ‘That’s the best he could come up with?’

‘He made some other suggestions, but nothing I’m prepared to consider. I expect he thinks it’ll make me feel more secure, even though a chain would hardly be much use if someone’s really out to get me.’

‘Why would anyone be out to get you?’

‘I don’t know. Mather didn’t say as much, but I’m sure he’s linking it with all the other things that have happened in the village.’

‘Don’t you keep the car locked up in the garage when you’re not using it?’

Zoe shook her head. ‘I’ve been meaning to buy a padlock for ages. So anyone could have got in when I was out walking with Mac, or during the night for that matter. I usually sleep very soundly.’

‘The hound would have heard someone skulking around.’

‘You’d think so, judging by the fuss he makes when people arrive during the day. But I’ve never known him bark in the night. The bedroom’s at the rear, well away from the garage.’

‘I know.’ Neil smiled for the first time since he arrived, although the hand holding his wine glass shook slightly. He tugged at the curtains to close them, then returned to his chair. ‘You’ll be safe now, I promise. Nothing else will happen to you.’

‘You can’t be certain of that. If he’s tried once, what’s to stop him from trying again?’

‘You’re on your guard now and the police are involved too. Not to mention Captain Courageous here, who’ll be looking after you.’ Neil cocked his head to one side, trying to coax a smile from her. It didn’t work.

‘We don’t even know why he went after me in the first place. It has to be connected with the Bairds’ deaths.’

‘Who can tell what goes on in other people’s heads? Or perhaps the police have made a mistake and it was an accident after all.’

Zoe stared at him. ‘Are you suggesting this has nothing at all to do with what happened to Chrissie and Jimmy?’

‘Think about it. You don’t know anything to help find out who killed Chrissie, do you?’

‘No, but –’

‘So what advantage would there be in killing you as well?’

‘None that I can see, but there must be a connection. It can’t be a coincidence.’

‘You don’t believe in coincidences?’

‘I’m a doctor. I believe in science, in cause and effect.’

‘If you were a vicar, would you put it down to God’s will?’

‘Now you’re being facetious.’

Neil rose to pick up the bottle of wine from where it sat next to the woodburner. He silently topped up his glass and gestured towards Zoe’s. She shook her head.

‘I just don’t want you to worry,’ he said.

‘Worry? I feel angry more than anything. And violated. Which is why Kate and I are going to find out who’s behind all this and put a stop to it.’

Neil choked on his wine. When his coughing abated, he demanded, ‘You’re what?’

‘Kate reckons that between us we can find out who’s doing these terrible things. I wasn’t keen on the idea at first, but now it’s got personal.’

‘Let the police sort it out, Zoe. That’s what they’re paid for. I won’t let you get involved.’

‘You won’t let me? Who are you to tell me what to do?’

‘Please be sensible. What can you and Kate do that the police can’t?’

‘Someone tried to kill me.’ Zoe got slowly to her feet. ‘Don’t you think it would be a good idea to find out who that person is? He may have better luck next time, while I was being sensible and waiting for the police to do their job.’

She glared at Neil. He held her gaze for a few seconds then looked away. After a silence that seemed to go on forever, he said, ‘This is typical of Kate, but I’d’ve expected you to see what a stupid idea it is.’

‘I think you’d better go. My ribs have started hurting again and I can’t be bothered to argue with you.’

‘Promise me you and Kate won’t get involved in things which don’t concern you.’

‘You don’t understand, do you? I’m already involved. I won’t promise you anything.’

Chapter 23

Having fallen asleep more speedily than expected, thanks to the combination of painkillers and red wine, Zoe woke just after three in the morning with heartburn. She should have known better than to force down that cheese on toast after Neil left. There were no antacids in the house, so she would just have to wait it out.

Reading a book provided a temporary distraction but as soon as she put it down her mind started to race, replaying the accident again and again.
What would have happened if she’d tried to take the corner or that plough had been nearer the gateway?
Then she became consumed by trying to work out who had tampered with her brakes and what she could have done to deserve such animosity.

At five o’clock, despite feeling exhausted, she abandoned all hope of falling back to sleep and sat up more quickly than her ribs liked, although this was a lesser evil than having Mac jump on them. She pulled on her dressing gown and went through to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

Her discomfort lessened as she started moving about, which only added to the shock when she stripped off in the bathroom. The blue and purple markings, now tinged with yellow, had spread across her torso and the impact point where her airbag had exploded was clearly visible. She took a very quick bath, in a hurry to put those contusions back out of sight.

Paul arrived at eight-thirty, as she was on the point of dropping off to sleep in her armchair. ‘I’ll drive very slowly of course, my dear, but you will need to put on your seatbelt. Look, I’ve brought this to make you more comfortable.’

Zoe held the red velvet cushion in place while Paul tugged at her seatbelt. She probably looked ridiculous but felt surprisingly comfortable as they inched their way through the village as though part of a funeral cortege. Drawing up in the health centre’s car park, they were greeted by Margaret and Penny, who flapped around Zoe so much she was surprised they had not met her with a wheelchair. Once inside, they instructed her on a system devised to save her from having to fetch patients from the waiting room.

As the morning passed, she received many commiserations and heard several anecdotes about drivers who had also failed to negotiate that particular corner. One, faced with the same split-second decision, had been less fortunate than Zoe: the gate into the field had been closed. He had died at the scene.

Her final patient having left nervously clutching the container in which he was to submit a stool sample the following day, Zoe continued to wade through the pile of insurance forms Walter had unloaded on to her. She was signing the last one when Margaret knocked and came straight in, carrying a mug of coffee and wearing a knowing smile on her round face.

‘Someone’s been enquiring after you, Doctor Zoe.’

‘Who?’

‘Your friend Neil.’

‘Neil Pengelly? You know him?’

‘Of course I do. Him and his brother. Lovely boys they are.’

‘They’re not patients here, are they?’

‘No, but when my Hector’s mother passed and he sold her bungalow, he treated me to one of their kitchens.’

‘What did Neil want? Do I have to call him back?’

‘He said he was just checking you’d got to work safely, as he wasn’t able to stay with you last night.’ Margaret’s eyes widened. ‘I told him you were fine, and he said he’d see you this evening.’

‘Right.’ Zoe pointed at the pile of forms on her desk. ‘Would you take these away please? They’re ready to be scanned and sent off.’

Once Margaret had left the room, Zoe rose from her chair and, trying hard to forget this latest example of Neil’s inability to be discreet, made her way slowly to the practice waiting-room. The local taxi firm’s business card was pinned up on the notice board, and he arrived shortly after her call. Despite Paul’s cushion, Zoe found travelling along the bumpy farm track to Tolbyres Farm a few minutes later so uncomfortable that she promised herself another painkiller before the journey home.

Over a bowl of home-made vegetable soup she told Kate about Mather’s most recent visit. ‘He confirmed what I suspected. Someone tampered with my brakes.’

Kate’s spoon clattered in her soup bowl. ‘Oh my God, Zoe. How can you be so calm about it? This means the murderer has set his sights on you now.’

‘I’m not calm inside. Far from it. But getting upset won’t help matters.’

‘He might try again.’

‘I doubt it.’ Zoe found herself repeating Neil’s words. ‘I’m on my guard now and the police are involved.’

‘Will they protect you?’

‘What, by giving me a new identity?’

‘Don’t be sarcastic. I’m worried about you.’

‘I know you are. Sorry.’ Kate looked so upset that Zoe decided to move their conversation on to a subject she knew would distract her. ‘My other piece of news is that I’m finished with Neil Pengelly.’