Too Soon a Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 2 (14 page)

‘It’s no further than I would normally walk on my own.’

He nodded and thrust Peggy’s lead at her. ‘Thanks.’

She watched him break into a slow jog and disappear back the way they’d come.

Patrick had done a good job of selling
I Am Legend
to her, so after lunch Zoe sat down to read it. Instead of boring her as she’d feared, the book had gripped her from the start, transporting her out of her own troubled world into a fictional, post-apocalyptic one. She was so engrossed that even though she knew Patrick would be coming round to collect Peggy, the sound of the doorbell made her jump.

‘You don’t know me well enough to recognise this as my contrite look,’ he said, bowing his head between raised shoulders.

Unable to stop herself from smiling, Zoe stood aside. ‘You’d better come in.’

Peggy rushed to greet her owner, followed by the obviously besotted Mac. ‘Thanks for hanging on to her,’ Patrick said. ‘I should have told you where I hide my spare key.’

‘She’s been no trouble. In fact, having her here has made me seriously think I should get a companion for Mac. They’ve had a great time.’

‘I’m always on the lookout for people wanting to give a dog a home but maybe you’d best wait a few months before making a firm decision.’

‘You’re probably right. Would you like a drink?’

‘Thanks but no. I just came to take Peggy off your hands and apologise again for rushing off like that.’

‘Is your friend okay?’

‘I hope so. He’s having a hard time at the moment.’

‘He’s lucky he can rely on you.’

A look passed over Patrick’s face which Zoe found impossible to interpret. He was right: she didn’t know him at all.

‘To make up for my lack of gallantry, how about we go out for supper one evening?’

‘Well, I . . .’

‘Not a date. Please don’t think I’m asking you out.’ He winced. ‘And please say that didn’t sound as insulting to you as it did to me.’

She laughed. ‘No offence taken. My dating days are over, for a while at least. Okay, you’re on. As long as you promise not to run out on me this time.’

‘In which case we’d best make it when I’m not on call. Can I check my schedule and get back to you about when exactly?’

After Patrick’s departure, dragging the reluctant Peggy behind him, Zoe locked the front door and returned to her book. Any hope she had of staving off anxiety by reading was dashed when the house phone rang, sending her pulse racing. She lifted the handset with foreboding; relief flooded through her as she heard Paul’s voice.

‘My dear, I’m so sorry to disturb you on a Sunday but I’ve just heard from Walter and needed to talk to someone.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘He says he’s not coming back for another week.’

Biting back what she thought of his partner’s disregard for others, Zoe said, ‘We can manage without him for a bit longer, can’t we? I’m still capable of doing some additional sessions.’

‘Thank you, but I fear this is a problem which isn’t going to go away.’

‘What to do you mean?’

‘Reading between the lines, I think we need to prepare ourselves for bad news. I suspect Walter’s continued absence is because he’s planning to return to Wales on a permanent basis.’

‘Oh.’ Not such bad news after all.

‘I hoped bridges had been mended after that fuss last winter, but it would appear he thinks otherwise.’

‘Are you sure of this, Paul? Has he actually said anything about leaving?’

‘No, but we’ve worked together for a long time and I don’t need to tell you that Walter’s not one for hiding what’s on his mind. Although I can’t do anything at present, we must to be prepared, in order to safeguard the practice and look after our patients’ interests.’

‘How can I help?’

‘I have to rush off to a meeting tomorrow lunchtime, so can we get together on Tuesday morning after surgery for a chat?’

‘Of course.’

As she put the phone down, Zoe couldn’t help smiling at Paul’s parting words, counselling her not to worry about this development. Compared with everything else going on, although it would definitely have an impact on her life, Walter’s possible departure posed no threat to her peace of mind. Indeed, it provided something welcome and new to consider: the prospect of becoming a partner in the Westerlea practice. It would mean putting down roots in a place she had friends—and family, now—but where some pretty awful things had happened. Was this what she wanted? And more importantly, did what she wanted actually matter any longer, now she had someone else to consider?

FOURTEEN

As usual, both Paul’s and Zoe’s Monday morning surgeries were packed out, so the time they spent together amounted only to passing in the corridor outside their consulting rooms and exchanging smiles. Paul had casually mentioned Walter’s continued absence to the practice staff and nobody queried his assertion that things would get back to normal the following week, although Margaret’s eyebrows had briefly risen at the news, as if she knew exactly what was going on.

Driving out of the health centre car park at lunchtime, Zoe stared off to the right, where she had noticed the blue Fiesta lying in wait for her just a few days ago. The space it had occupied was empty now, and more than a day had gone by since she received a silent call. She went straight home and felt secure enough to sit with her book outside, under the umbrella’s shade, although only a few steps away from the French windows. She read and dozed the afternoon away until her mobile buzzed with an incoming text.

Fancy a visitor? Can’t be till kids in bed tho. K

Lovely. See you later. Z

Kate arrived at Keeper’s Cottage at eight-thirty, handing Zoe a small plastic box as soon as she stepped through the front door. ‘Mum’s been making tablet and wanted you to have some. She says you need to keep your energy up.’

Zoe grinned. ‘I’m still not sure I can justify eating something made entirely from boiled sugar and condensed milk, but thank her for me, won’t you?’

‘Of course. Though you’re forgetting there’s butter in it too, which makes it practically a dairy product.’

‘Like yoghurt, you mean?’

‘Exactly.’

Having had her day’s ration of caffeine, Zoe was relieved when her friend said all she wanted to drink was water. They took their glasses outside and sat in the relative cool of the evening. Mac stalked a moth; the cat wandered past on her way out for the night.

‘So,’ Zoe said. ‘What’s been happening?’

‘Before I start ranting and forget,’ Kate said, ‘I’m having a birthday lunch at Mum and Dad’s on Friday. It was supposed to be a secret but Mhairi blabbed. Please say you’ll come.’

‘I’d love to. What time do you want me? I could come early and lend a hand.’

‘It’s unlikely Mum’ll let you do anything, but turn up when you like. We’ll probably not sit down to eat before two.’

Zoe nodded. ‘Alright, I’ll look forward to it. Now, rant away.’

‘I got to see my solicitor at last,’ Kate said. ‘And the bad news is although Ken’s a good-for-nothing waste of space, unless I can prove him spending time with the children I’ve brought up single-handed since he buggered off will put them at risk, he has equal rights to me.’

‘I feared that might be the case.’

Kate’s cheeks reddened. ‘How can it be fair?’

‘Maybe in the long run it’ll be for the best. If they get to know their father now, they won’t feel the urge to seek him out in the future. And your children aren’t stupid. Ken won’t be able to hide his true character from them if they see him regularly.’

‘So if your baby’s father waltzed back into your life in a few years, you’d be okay with him having unlimited access to a child he’s never met?’

‘That’s a low blow. Our situations are completely different.’

Kate slumped back in her chair. ‘My solicitor suggested we use a family mediation service but I’m not sure I want strangers involved.’

‘Ken might listen to someone he doesn’t know.’ And so might you.

Zoe worried for a moment she’d actually said this last thought out loud, because Kate stared at her, unblinking. Eventually, she asked, ‘Are you alright?’

‘I can’t believe what I just said to you,’ Kate said. ‘I’m so caught up in my own little world that I forget other people have far more serious situations to deal with. Forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive. You’re just upset.’

‘When I got my first job I shared a flat with a friend called Tina. We’d get together every evening over a bottle of wine and compare notes about work and boyfriends. If things had gone badly, we’d console each other by chanting “But at least no one died”.’ Kate shook her head. ‘When I think what happened to you, I realise how lucky I am, how little I have to complain about.’

‘Things haven’t exactly turned out as I planned, but I’m very happy now, honestly. And the support I get from you and your family has helped me reach that state.’

‘Really?’

‘Cross my heart.’

‘What a lovely thing to say. Mum’s so fond of you, I’m almost jealous.’

‘You have no reason to be.’

‘Just kidding. Although I do envy you one thing.’

‘What?’

Kate looked wistful. ‘I’d love to have another baby. Before it’s too late.’

‘I had no idea you felt like that. But you’ve got years left. You’re younger than me.’

‘Things are so up in the air with Erskine, I can’t see even being able to try for one for a long time. Anyway, let’s not go there. I’ve remembered something I wanted to ask you.’

‘Ask away.’ Zoe drank the last of her water.

‘Would you like me to be your birthing partner? I’ve got practical experience and I’m not at all squeamish. Trust me, you don’t want to go through it without someone there you can safely swear at.’

‘I haven’t given it much thought, to be honest.’

‘You’ve not written a birth plan?’

‘No.’

‘Is that because you don’t think you need one?’

‘I’ve got a form somewhere to fill in. I just haven’t found the time.’

‘They do say doctors make the worst patients.’ Kate got up from her seat. ‘The offer’s there, so think about it and let me know. In the meantime, see you on Friday.’

Zoe put out her hand to grab Kate’s arm. ‘Thank you. It’s a kind offer and I’ll probably take you up on it. Put my due date on your calendar. August the—’

‘—eighteenth. I know.’ Kate leaned over and hugged Zoe. ‘Don’t get up. I’ll go round the side of the house.’

Once alone, Zoe reflected on the arguments going on in her head both for and against becoming a practice partner. She had toyed with the idea of discussing it with Kate but at the last minute decided not to because Paul might be wrong about Walter planning to resign. Her uneasy truce with him would be well and truly broken if he thought she was hoping to replace him before he’d even chosen to leave.

The house phone started to ring, but by the time she reached it, the caller had rung off. She dialled 1471: number withheld. Which meant nothing. It could, after all, have simply been one of those annoying companies trying to sell her something she neither needed nor wanted.

FIFTEEN

Zoe sat down opposite Paul on Tuesday morning after surgery, noticing that his face remained hairless but the nick on his cheek suggested he’d not yet become used to the daily ritual of shaving. And there was something else different about him today. For the first time in the year she’d known him, the tie he wore wasn’t tartan but floral. Although not the height of fashion, it was elegant, in subtle shades of green and coral silk. More like the kind of tie Erskine Mather wore.

There could be only one explanation for these recent changes in Paul’s personal style: someone else had initiated them.

She smiled involuntarily. Following her eyes, Paul self-consciously touched the tie. ‘Doesn’t suit me, does it?’

‘It’s different to what you usually wear, but it’s gorgeous, really.’

‘I’d hate to think I was making a fool of myself.’

Aware he may not only be referring to the tie, Zoe said, ‘If it feels right, trust your instincts.’

He picked up some pieces of paper, tapped them vertically against his desk to make a neat pile, then set them aside. ‘If Walter does decide to leave,’ he said, ‘I’m not sure I want to carry on alone. Given my age.’

Zoe shrank back into her chair. How had she managed to misread the situation so badly? He’s not looking for a new partner. He wants to retire. ‘Oh.’

‘It pains me to say this, but I’m not sure what else to do. Given your change in circumstances.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I knew Walter was getting restless and would sooner or later want to quit our partnership. I’d hoped by then you would feel sufficiently settled to join me in his place, but now . . . ‘

When he failed to finish his sentence, Zoe asked, ‘Do you mean now I’m pregnant?’

‘Yes, dear. The timing’s all wrong.’

If she’d been having this conversation with anyone else, Zoe would have accused them of sex discrimination, of making excuses for denying her a great career opportunity. However, she knew Paul better than that. He genuinely believed she couldn’t make the huge commitment—which would be monetary as well as professional—to become his partner because she was expecting a baby. Instead of anger, she felt relief.

‘It’s only wrong if you think having a baby means I wouldn’t make a good partner.’

‘Of course I don’t.’

Zoe reached across the desk and laid her hand gently on Paul’s. ‘In which case, if Walter takes off and you want me to replace him, I’m in.’

The next couple of days passed more quickly than Zoe expected, given her impatience for Walter to return from Wales and confirm or refute Paul’s speculation that he planned to resign from the practice. However, the absence of any further silent calls or sightings of the blue Fiesta meant she could relax a little and busy herself preparing for the baby’s arrival.

A distinctive green and white John Lewis van delivered the items she had ordered while up in Edinburgh with Kate. The unembellished wood furniture resembled adult-sized pieces in all but their scale and required no assembly. After the delivery men had left she unpacked everything and pushed it around on the laminate floor, then hung the curtains in different shades of coral which Kate had tried hard to dissuade her from buying and defiantly placed a matching cushion on the rocking chair.