It was charcoal gray, concrete worktops atop the wall cabinetry—almost industrial with no handles, no frills. The cabinetry had inset detailing in antique gold, and that, with the addition of the 40 mm thick gold-and-white quartz countertop on the island, added a touch of glamor that gave it a wow factor. The kitchen was something out of a high-end interior design magazine. And it should be for how much it cost.
“Looks great.”
“Again, sorry for the delay.”
I wiped the sweat away with the back of my forearm and shook my head. There was no point going over that issue again.What was done was done. I gave the kitchen a thorough once-over to make sure everything was as it should be and then I signed it off so the Germans could leave. They were staying at Tierney’s inn and taking their small lorry back over on the ferry first thing tomorrow.
As they left, my crew guys who were working on other parts of the house departed, including Ramsay. Yesterday after my agonizing meeting with Taran, I’d met Ramsay to discuss the possibility that Eoghan McCall had tried to mow me and Taran down. Eoghan had been abusive toward Taran in the coffee shop, and the fact that Cammie had been targeted only heightened my suspicions that this was about me. I’d relayed my and Forde’s complete history with Eoghan so Ramsay understood Eoghan’s possible motive.
“Still nothing,” Ramsay told me as we stood alone in the Keatons’ place. “If it was McCall, he knew to avoid Main Street. None of the shops or ferry terminal CCTV picked up that car. He must have fled the back roads.”
“If it was him.”
“Who else could it be?”
“Then we have nothing?”
Ramsay scowled. “Nothing. None of Cammie’s neighbors saw anyone vandalize her car, and no one has a front door camera. I’m seriously considering donating a bunch of them to the entire fucking populace of Leth Sholas.”
I grunted in agreement. “I’m installing one on Taran’s front door tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ve got my tech girl looking into McCall’s background. We’ll check for priors, bank statements, all that. If we find something, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Thanks.”
“You sure you don’t want to let the police in on this?”
“And bring up Liam’s death again for this town? It was bad enough when it happened. I can’t deal with it on top of everything with Taran right now.”
Ramsay nodded in understanding and left me to lock up. I checked over the house, making sure tools had been set down safely and switched off, and then checked all the doors and windows to make certain those were locked. Just as I was inputting the code on the digital front door lock, my phone rang. I knew it was Heather without even looking because I’d set her ringtone to “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder.
We’d been texting back and forth since she’d returned to Oban, and it was the one bright spot in my life right now. “Flower,” I answered. “How are you?”
“How am I? How are you? How’s your back?”
Having promised to treat Heather like an adult, I’d told her about the incident the other night before one of her pals from the island could. “All good. It was just a bit of bruising.”
“And they still haven’t found the idiot?”
As far as my daughter and everyone else in Leth Sholas was concerned, it was merely a dangerous driver who almost ran us over. Nothing insidious. “Nah. Unfortunately.”
“Where are you now?”
“Just getting into my car to head back home from the Keatons. Where are you?”
“In the house. Hazel and I are babysitting Angus while Mum and Gary have date night.”
Heather had confessed Hazel was her girlfriend to Kiera as soon as she’d returned home after the kids’ summer visit with me. I’d had no concerns about Kiera, but I understood after Heather’s explanation why she was wary of telling us. Kiera had made Heather feel safe and loved and assured. But for Hazel’s sake, we’d agreed to keep it quiet for the girls until Hazel was ready to tell her parents. By the sounds of things, Kiera andGary’s had become a haven lately for my daughter’s girlfriend. “That’s good of you. How is Angus?”
“Excited for his game next weekend. Anyway … speaking of date nights, how are things with you and Taran?”
I shook my head as I got into my truck. “Is this the real reason for your call?”
“Well, I still have friends on the island, Dad, and reports say you and Taran were getting very cozy on the dance floor at the end-of-games’ ceilidh until some kind of tiff happened and you dragged Taran out of there like a caveman.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered as the phone connected to the car. This bloody town.
“You’ve also been spotted in each other’s company on numerous occasions. Everyone’s watching you like you’re their favorite soap opera.”
