Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Wanting a brief respite from the mayhem, however, I’d decided to take my lunch break at the house. What should have been a five-minute walk was instead a ten-minute shuffle, dodging and weaving through tourists. It was nice to see so many handsome blokes in their kilts, paired with T-shirts and hiking boots, but my goodness, I was worried our wee island was going to sink with the weight of all these extra folks.
By the time I turned onto the quieter residential area of Leth Sholas, I was sweaty from the humidity and wished I could just hide in my mum’s bungalow for the rest of the afternoon.
That wish fell out of my head as soon as I started up the front walk to the house.
My eyes registered the front door was ajar, and it took a few seconds for my brain to catch up to why that might be. Heart racing, I slowed as I neared the entrance. Had London returned and forgotten to shut the door?
Reaching for my phone, I swiped up the lock screen to have the phone app at the ready as I tentatively stepped inside. My breathing faltered as I looked into the living room and saw the sofa cushions had been pulled off and flung onto the floor.
Blood rushing in my ears, I took another step into the room and gasped.
It was trashed. Items had been swept off bookshelves, there were pieces of ceramic smashed all over the floor, and the TV was knocked off the side table and lying flat on its front.
Common sense returned to me with icy realization, and I tore out of the house and only stopped running once I was by my parked car. Fingers trembling, I called the police.
London sat pale-faced on the now righted armchair. The police had been at the house for two hours. PC William Shearing stood with his superior Detective Constable Alice Young. Alice was married to the island’s Detective Inspector Paul Young. However, since Paul was head of the island’s station, he was occupied with the organization of the extra police officers who had been sent to the island by Police Scotland’s N Division to help with public safety this week for the Games.
PC William had arrived first and then DC Alice turned up just as London came hurrying into the house. It wasn’t usual to refer to police officers by their first names, but they preferred the informality here since we were such a tightknit community. I’d only ever interacted with them as members of Leth Sholas. Now both officers were in work-mode and had checked over the home to make sure no one was hiding inside and then asked us to check if there was anything missing.
Pieces from my mother’s jewelry collection were gone.
“I’m sorry, ladies.” DC Alice gave us a sympathetic grimace. “It looks like someone has taken advantage of the busy week here to burgle your home.”
No shit, Sherlock.
Exhausted, I rubbed a hand over my face. Whoever it was had busted open the front door lock.
“We’ve asked your neighbors if any of them have front cameras, but no such luck.” PC William sighed. “Maybe we need to bring that up at the next town meeting. Those door cameras are really quite useful.”
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t help us.” London fidgeted nervously. “You really think it’s just an opportunist?”
My stomach knotted at why London was taking this so badly. Last year, my friend had fled an abusive relationship. Her ex, Nick Huston, was a powerful stockbroker in New York who came from a wealthy family who long ago had made their fortune in railroads, only to become one of the largest financial investment groups on the American East Coast. He had been a revered bachelor of New York society until the FBI arrested him for insider trading. That was after Tierney and Ramsay helped London flee his controlling chokehold on her. His legal troubles meant, as far as I was aware, there wasn’t a possibility of him leaving the US.
But of course, it always played in the back of London’s mind.
“You should keep staying at the B and B until I get this place back into shape.”
London’s eyes flew to mine. “I’m not leaving you with this.”
“I’ll be fine,” I promised her with a knowing nod.
Her expression hardened. “You’re not staying here alone tonight. End of story.”
Before I could argue, we heard the stomping of feet up the front walk and then the front door flew open.
“Taran!” Quinn burst into the house, forehead damp with sweat, his eyes a little wild as he marched into the living room and straight for me. “Are you all right?”
I could only imagine the look of confusion and shock on my face as Quinn took me by the biceps to peer at me, as if he could read the answer to my well-being upon close enough inspection. “What … what are you doing here?”