Hamish stared dreamily at the ceiling. “I think when she sells the house, Mrs. Davenport will be looking to pay back as much as she can. Now, if someone in Drim was feeling the pinch, and all because of that fraudster, wouldn’t it be chust grand if that person knew he or she might be getting their money back?”
There was a long silence. The wind screeched around the house like a banshee.
Ailsa suddenly rose to her feet. “I’m not saying anything, mind. But let’s drop in on Edie.”
As they walked to Edie’s home, Hamish remembered that when a charming young Englishman had caused a flutter amongst the hearts of the women of Drim, Edie had set up an exercise class in the village hall as they all tried to lose weight.
Edie answered the door to them. “This is nice,” she said. “Come ben.”
She led the way into a shabby small living room. “Nobody else dead, I hope?” she said.
“I wondered if you knew that Mrs. Davenport plans to refund as much of the money as she can that her husband tricked people out of?” said Hamish, reflecting that he’d better go and see Milly afterwards and tell her about it.
“Go on,” said Ailsa softly. Edie was a thin, scrawny woman wearing a pink tracksuit. Hamish judged her to be somewhere in her sixties. She was heavily made up, from mascara on her sparse eyelashes to bright red lipstick on her small drooping mouth. No teeth, thought Hamish. Dentures. Women of her generation often got all their teeth pulled out at an early age “to get it over and done with,” sometimes after only about two extractions. They never thought how their faces would begin to droop and how the shape of the mouth would be spoiled.
Edie’s bony shoulders rose in a dismal little shrug. “I’ve been a right fool. You remember, Hamish, when we had that murder here? Before that, I ran the exercise classes. It was all such fun and excitement. I was out for a walk one day and saw the captain up ahead of me. I thought I’d take him to task for not shopping at the village store. Thae supermarkets are killing off all the wee shops. It’s a disgrace, that’s what it is!”
“Yes, yes,” said Hamish soothingly. “And then what happened?”
“He wasn’t what I expected. He was awfy kind and polite. He said he would start to buy groceries at the shop. He said it must be a lonely life for a sophisticated lady like me. I found myself telling him about missing all the excitement I’d had when I ran the classes. Oh, he said, you should start an exercise salon in Strathbane. I said I hadn’t the money. He said that he’d a friend in Strathbane who would back me if I put a small down payment but it’d need to be in cash.
“I asked him how much and he said, one thousand pounds. Well, I just had that much and not much over in my post office savings account, but after we’d talked for a long time and I could practically smell that salon, I said all right. I’d call at his house with it. And I did. He told that wee wife of his to take a walk and leave us alone. He said to me that Milly was a bit of a fool and didn’t understand business. I still hung on to the money in my bag, I was that nervous with the idea of parting with it. But, och, he gave me a couple of drinks and I’ve aye had a weak head and he fed my dreams. I gave him the money.
“After that, I called at the house a couple o’ times but the wife always said he wasn’t at home and she always looked as if she’d been crying. I watched and waited one day until I saw him marching off for one of his walks. I followed him. He denied the whole thing. I said I’d go to the police. He smiled and said, ‘What proof do you have? You’ll just look like some old senile fool.’ ”
“Did you tell Jock?” Hamish asked Ailsa.
She shook her head. “Edie swore me to secrecy.”
Thank goodness for that, reflected Hamish. If word had got around what had happened to Edie, then he would have to suspect the village men, who would have banded together behind Jock to teach the captain a lesson.
“Will you be taking me in?” asked Edie. Tears were running down her thin face. Her mascara ran in black streaks.
“I’ll keep it quiet for now,” said Hamish. “I’ll see what I can do.”
When he left, he looked down to the beach. Lugs and Sonsie were chasing each other around and seemed to be having a good time. He walked on up to Milly’s house.
She led him into the kitchen, where he found Tam Tamworth ensconced by the stove. “Get lost, Tam,” ordered Hamish. “This is private business.”
“Anything that concerns Milly concerns me,” said Tam.
“Please, Tam,” said Milly. “I must hear what he has to say.”
He closed the kitchen door behind him. Hamish waited a moment and then jerked the door back open. Tam nearly fell in. “Out!” ordered Hamish. “As far away as you can go.”
Tam gave a sheepish smile and walked to the front door. Hamish waited until he heard the door slam behind him and returned to Milly.
He told her about Edie Aubrey. “But that’s awful,” said Milly. “I’ll give you a cheque for her. I’ve already sent a cheque to Angela Brodie.”
“I’m afraid there might be others. How are you situated financially?”
“I thought I had enough to keep me going for a bit and then I’ve got Henry’s army pension and my widow’s pension. But if those four colleagues of Henry’s are telling the truth, then I will need to sell this house.
“Oddly enough, ever since Henry’s death, I’ve begun to like this place. The women are so friendly.”
“I wouldn’t pay any more until the murder is solved. I mean, I don’t trust those men. Any one of them or all of them could be claiming inflated amounts of money. What’s Tam doing hanging around?”
“Oh, he’s been so kind.”
“I’m warning you, a reporter will be kind to anyone to get a story.”
“Tam’s not like that. He’s promised to only write up any background I gave him after the murder is solved.”
“Get it in writing,” said Hamish cynically.
“I’ll get you that cheque,” said Milly in a thin little voice. She obviously did not like any criticism of Tam.
When she returned with the cheque, Hamish left and found Tam moodily kicking at a clod of earth in the garden.
“Don’t you go messing up that poor woman,” cautioned Hamish.
“It’s not like that,” said Tam. He turned dark red and gave the clod another kick. “Fact is, I’ve got it bad. I want tae marry the lass.”
Hamish stared at him in amazement. They were in the lee of the house so he had heard clearly what Tam had said.
“Why?” he asked.
“She’s such a lady wi’ her gentle ways, and I’ve a mind to settle down.”
“She doesn’t have much money.”
Hamish sidestepped quickly as Tam took a swipe at him. “I love her, you useless loon!”
“All right, all right,” said Hamish, backing off. “Invite me to the wedding.”
As Hamish walked back down towards the village, he turned and looked back. The bushes had all been cleared, and only the monkey puzzle tree remained. It meant that Milly would have a clear view of anyone approaching the house.
He gave a tearful and delighted Edie her cheque and then headed to the beach. Sonsie and Lugs were now sheltering beside the Land Rover. He noticed that the sea loch’s tide was very high—higher than he could ever remember it.
He had an uneasy feeling that the seas were coming back to claim the land they had lost.
Chapter Six
The shadows now so long do grow,
That brambles like tall cedars grow,
Molehills seem mountains, and the ant
Appears a monstrous elephant
—Charles Cotton