Amir listened attentively, nodding slowly. ‘Thank you, Ally. This is the kind of conversation they’re unlikely to give me.’ He then made Ally repeat everything she could remember about her chat with Wendy and all she could decipher from the fight in the garden. He was plainly recording their conversation, but he was also making copious notes.
‘OK, Ally,’ he said, standing up. ‘I’ll have a chat with the Armstrongs in a minute.’
Thinking of blood being thicker than water, Ally asked, ‘How are your girls, Amir?’
He smiled. ‘Indira is now eighteen and wishes to become a doctor, and I am very proud of her.’ Amir sighed. ‘Then there is Maya, who is nearly sixteen and has no idea what she wants to do. She is more interested in boys than anything else.’
‘My daughter was just like that,’ Ally said, remembering how wayward Carol had been in her teens. ‘But she sorted herself out and now leads a very respectable life, and I’m sure Maya will too.’
Just then, a pink-faced Morag burst into the kitchen. ‘What’s thatpolicemandoin’ here…?’ She hadn’t noticed Amir sitting at the far end of the table.
Completely unflustered, he replied, with a smile, ‘Just doing my job, Mrs McConnachie!’
‘Aye, well…’ For once, Morag had run out of words.
Amir stood up. ‘I need to have a little chat with your guests, Ally. Do you think they’ve finished eating yet?’
‘I’m sure they have,’ Ally said.
As the door closed behind him, Morag, who was stirring her mug of tea, said, ‘He’s got it in for our poor Micky!’
‘Why’s that?’ Ross asked.
Morag shrugged. ‘I know Micky talks big; he always has. And I know he was shoutin’ in the bar about wishin’ he’d been able to pull the trigger himself and all that. But Micky wouldn’t hurt a fly!’
Ally had her doubts about that, but she nodded dutifully.
‘Anyway,’ said Morag, gulping her tea, ‘I’d better be off. I’ve a lot to do today.’
‘Thank you, Morag. See you tomorrow!’
‘If the good Lord spares me,’ she added as she set off down the lane.
‘I must be off in a minute too,’ Ross said. ‘I’m on duty until lunchtime, I think. But let me tell you, Micky McConnachie has an evil temper and a big mouth to go with it. He’s been in no end of fights. And his brother, Bobby, is no saint either. And Morag knows that perfectly well, which is why she’s so edgy around the police.’
Shortly after Ross had left, Amir reappeared.
‘I need to question your guests individually,’ he said. ‘Well, the three adults anyway. And so I’m going to take them down to the police station, such as it is.’
He referred to the temporary police station which had been set up in one of the Craigmonie’s letting cottages. There was a constable on duty at the door and a banner overhead with ‘Temporary Police Station’ written on it, but that didn’t stop tourists queueing up to ask directions to all manner of places.
‘The thing is,’ Amir said, ‘we haven’t anyone here to keep an eye on the girls while I’m talking to the adults, so I wondered…’
‘If I could step in?’ Ally provided.
‘That would be very helpful,’ Amir admitted. ‘I mean they’re quite grown-up, but I’d like to think someone was keeping an eye on them.’
‘I’ll suggest they take Flora for a walk to Loch Soular,’ Ally said. ‘They’ve done it before and enjoyed it.’
Flora was already on her feet, wagging her tail, fully fluent in dog-related language, in particular ‘walk’, ‘dinner’ and ‘biscuits’.
‘If you’re sure?’ Amir asked.
‘Of course,’ Ally agreed, picking up the dog’s lead as she and Flora headed towards the hall. She found the two girls being reassured by Patti that no, no one was being arrested, and they’d be back soon, and there was no need to worry. Their faces lit up when they saw Flora.
‘She really needs a walk,’ Ally said truthfully, ‘and I thought you might fancy tramping through the heather to Loch Soular again? And it’s a lovely day.’
Amir interviewed Wendy first, and she got back to the malthouse shortly before the girls returned from Loch Soular. Relieved that her ‘girls-sitting’ duty was almost over and that she had a couple of hours to herself before Ross got back, Ally made herself a strong cup of coffee and switched on the radio to get the news before vacuuming the two downstairs rooms.
