‘You are so right,’ Ally agreed.
‘Well, I must be on my way because I’m supposed to be going to the shop. But you will let me know, won’t you, if you see or hear anything relevant? Anything that might exonerate Angus?’
‘Of course I will.’
Hamish stood up and, as he got to the back door, he added, ‘Well, do you know, I’ve completely forgotten what it was I was supposed to be going to the shop for? Do you think it might have been milk?’
Ally smiled as she closed the door behind him.
When Ross appeared about five o’clock, he asked, ‘Have you had a nice, quiet day?’
‘You would notbelieve!’ Ally replied. ‘Where shall I begin?’ She then related the events of the day.
‘I think we should have dinner at the Craigmonie tonight,’ said Ross.
‘That would be great. Any special reason?’
‘Firstly, you’re tired. Secondly, we might get some idea of what this son of Greg Watson is like, if he’s arrived by then. And, thirdly, the food’s good!’
Ally also hoped that they might catch sight of the Watson son and couldn’t believe her luck when, as they walked into reception later, there was Wendy with a younger, larger replica of the late Greg Watson. And, as she caught sight of them, Wendy called out, ‘Hey, you two, come and meet Joel!’
There were introductions all round and murmurs of sympathy from Ally and Ross on the awful deaths of his father and uncle.
Joel nodded. ‘I couldn’t have Mom dealing with all this on her own,’ he boomed. ‘And I ain’t gonna be leaving until I find out who killed my dad and Uncle Archie.’
He was well over six feet tall, barrel-chested and loud-spoken. He wore jeans, a T-shirt and a plaid jacket, all looking somewhat crumpled after his long journey. ‘You just show me the likely suspects andI’llget a confession out of them!’ he added ominously. ‘I just got the key to my room’ – he dangled this in the air – ‘and I’m gonna have some room service and then hit the sack cos I’ve been travelling nigh on twenty-four hours. I’m gonna escort Mom back to your place though because I’m not taking any chances on all these killers round here. And I’m going to need my strength to sort out that detective tomorrow.’
Wendy nodded mutely and followed him to the elevator.
‘“Sort out that detective,”’ Ally exclaimed when they were out of earshot. ‘I’m not too sure that Amir will appreciate being “sorted out”!’
‘Hmm,’ Ross agreed. ‘This Joel comes across as a tad dogmatic.’ He steered Ally towards the bar. ‘Shall we treat ourselves to a little aperitif before dinner?’
The following morning, Patti joined the rest of the family for breakfast, and there was a general feel of optimism around the dining-room table.
Wendy was positively cock-a-hoop because Joel was coming up after his breakfast and they were going to help the detective to ‘get a move on’ with finding the killer or killers.
‘I don’t think Amir is going to be particularly thrilled at being told how to do his job,’ Ally remarked to Ross as she re-entered the kitchen with a tray-load of dirty plates. ‘Apparently, Joel wants a list of all the suspects andhe’sgoing to sort it all out.’
‘I told you he was dogmatic,’ Ross reminded her, ‘and he’s unlikely to be winning any popularity contests round here.’
‘It’ll certainly set the cat among the pigeons,’ Ally said.
‘He’ll probably be asleep now anyway because of the jet lag,’ Ross added.
But Joel wasn’t asleep. Joel was at the front door at precisely nine thirty, and after embracing his mother, his aunt and his cousins, they all settled themselves in the sitting room because, apparently, Joel had a lot to say.
In the meantime, Morag had arrived.
‘Who’sthat?’ she asked when she heard a man’s voice booming from the sitting room.
‘It’s Joel, Wendy and Greg’s son,’ Ally explained. ‘He arrived last night from Canada.’ She thought it politic not to mention Joel’s intentions as Morag would have a lot to say on the subject of her precious sons.
‘Ach well, the poor man’s lost his dad and his uncle,’ Morag said sadly, shaking her head, ‘so it’ll be a comfort for his poor mother.’
It was well after Morag had done the bedrooms, had her tea and headed for home before the family emerged from the sitting room. Ally had just finished vacuuming the dining room, and they all coincided in the hallway.
Wendy looked positively animated. ‘Joel’s taken over,’ she said cheerfully to Ally, ‘and we’ve made a plan. We’re making a list of the suspects, and we’re now going to see Detective Inspector Kandahar.’ She inched a little closer to Ally and murmured, ‘Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands.’
