Cammie jolted from whatever softly spoken conversation she was having with Forde. “Oh. Shall I walk you out?”
“No. I’m a few doors down. Nice to meet you, Forde. You too, Ava.” I didn’t look at her or Ramsay as I thanked him for the drink and then lowered to my haunches to say goodbye to Akiva.
The Malamute bussed into my pets, her beautiful pale eyes staring into my soul in the same way her damn owner’s did. I kissed the bridge of her nose. “Good night, beautiful girl.” She tried to swipe me with her tongue in response and I laughed, evading it before I rubbed behind her ears and turned away.
The Lantern was now elbow-to-elbow, and I had to squeeze through to make my way out. Some locals nodded good night, which warmed the disappointment chilling my limbs.
Unable to stop myself, I glanced back at the bar.
Ramsay was so tall I saw him over the crowd.
Our eyes locked as he watched me leave.
With a frown of confusion, I turned away and walked out.
9.Tierney
While Quinn assured me things were going along at a good pace, the B and B still looked like a shell of its former self. He promised me this was the point where it didn’t feel like much was happening because it was all “first fit” site services—updating the electrical, the heating, the plumbing. And since I’d chosen the best eco version of everything, Quinn was constantly conferring with the experts on how to install it.
It was costing a nice little chunk of the inheritance my maternal grandmother left me, but I wanted the B and B to run as efficiently and sustainably as possible. Weeks had passed and Cammie’s joke about the island only experiencing two seasons—June and winter—was proving true. It was the first week of August, there were more tourists than ever, and it had already rained the entire week. While July, apparently, had been surprisingly mild with clear skies, the temperatures only peaked at 14°C, which was around 57°F. In July.
Despite that temperateness, Scotland was more humid than outsiders realized. I only knew from my summer visits to my grandparents’ house. July’s clear skies did not fit the mood of the village. No, in fact, a downpour of constant rain would have been more appropriate for a village in mourning that month.
Isla passed away at the end of June, the night of the pipe band performance in the Lantern.
While I hadn’t known Isla, I hurt for my new friends who did. And, of course, it reminded me of my own loss. Two years. It had been two years since I’d lost my parents, but that seemed impossible. Needing distraction, I found myself growing impatient with the progress on the building, even though we were on schedule. The B and B’s social media pages were starting to attract attention, and I was fielding regular DMs asking when guests could book to stay. That was exciting! I had a friend from college whom I was paying to build my website and thus I was waiting for the booking section to be added to the homepage. I’d thought people wouldn’t want to book until the finished article, but there were some eager folks out there.
After another message came in inquiring for specific dates, I decided it was time to take bookings. We could at least open the calendar for next spring because I knew the renovations would be finished by then.
I’d shot Gen, my techy friend, a text to get the booking system up and running. When stepping out of my apartment building on Main Street, an incoming call flashed on my screen. Things had been quiet on the Perri front too, so it was a surprise to see her name.
I turned my back on the bustle of the harbor. “Perri?” I answered expectantly.
Her reply was a soft laugh. “It’s been two weeks. You’d think it was years. How are you?”
“I’m fine. I’m sorry for the antsy reply. How are you?”
“I understand. And I haven’t called or been in touch because I wanted to make absolutely sure before getting your hopes up … but there’s been a breakthrough.”
Everything but Perri’s voice faded into the background. “Tell me.”
“Henry Copeland. He’s agreed to talk again. He was scared for a while after your parents, but … I guess his conscience won out.”
Tears of relief stung my eyes. “Really?”
Triumph hardened Perri’s tone. “We’ve got the bastard, Tierney. Henry handed over all the documentation he has. The last piece of the puzzle is the helicopter and we’re pushing the crash investigators to release their report so we can see who cleared it as nonsuspicious. If we can connect the dots back to the CEO and find a paper trail to a bribe, the police will have no choice but to step in. But even without that piece,wehave enough to publish in the next few weeks. We need to dot ouri’s and cross ourt’s first. Make sure everything is in order legally. Of course, we also legally need to give the Silver Group a heads-up and let that play out before we print. And I’ll need you to go on record that you donated your shares because you’d discovered the CEO of Silver Hotel and Resorts covered up manslaughter and had your parents and a reporter killed when they began to investigate it.”
“I’ll give you whatever you need.” The sob broke out of me before I could stop it. It was coming to an end. This nightmare was finally coming to an end. “W-we’ve r-really got him?”
“Yes. We’ve really got him.”
A hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder and I whirled in fright. Through the blur of my tears, I found Ramsay towering over me, scowling. “Silver, you all right?” he demanded gruffly.
Akiva nudged her face against my leg, her intelligent eyes almost questioning.
Reminded I was in the middle of Main Street, sobbing, I swiped frantically at my tears, sucking back the shaky cries that still needed an outlet. “Perri, I have to go. But thank you. We’ll talk soon.”
“Talk soon, Tierney.”
