Secrets Remembered by Raven McAllen Page B

problems onto someone else, go away with my Sir and have a great weekend.” She looked at Aidan who seemed to be doing his best not to laugh, then at Jeff. “Up to you, Mr Richie.”
    “Oh, come in.” Jeff’s tone had no invitation in it whatsoever. “No need to go all official on me. Aidan vouches for you, so we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” He stood back to allow Ailsa and Aidan to enter.
    It was a grudging acceptance, but under the circumstances Ailsa didn’t think she was badly off. She walked past him and stood to one side.
    “After you.”
    Jeff glared. However, he led the way upstairs.
    “You, pet, are pushing your luck. He doesn’t lose his temper often, but when he does, we all duck,” Aidan said in a low voice as he patted Ailsa’s bum to urge her upwards.
    “Likewise. I’m trying not to be rude or offensive or officious, but if he carries on that way, I can go exactly by the book. Tedious, time consuming and a lot of paperwork. I’ve been given the opportunity to, shall we say, tell a few tales out of school, but I don’t have to, not if I think it will cause trouble.”
    “It won’t, not if you’re honest.” Jeff had overheard her. His tone implied that he thought she’d be anything but.
    Ailsa bit her lip on the retort she wanted to give. Antagonizing him now wouldn’t be a good move. If she upset him later, that was just tough.
    “Jeff, you’re being a prick,” Aidan said in a conversational tone. “Give her a chance, and then sound off on one if you see the need. Remember, Ailsa’s put her job on the line for you. The least you can do is have the courtesy to listen.”
    “Eh?” Jeff had the grace to look somewhat ashamed. “Yeah, ‘kay. This way.”
    “If that’s consideration, never let me be near him when he’s not in a considerate mood,” Ailsa said as they followed Jeff into a lounge where Jess, Kath and David sat. None of them looked much more welcoming than Jeff had.
    Ailsa sighed. It was going to be a long evening. Her tummy rumbled and she took her notebook, pencil and oat bar out.
    “No, don’t eat it if you can hold on ‘til you’ve talked,” Kath said. “There’s chili and rice ready for us.”
    Ailsa obligingly put the bar down. She sighed again and took a deep breath. Aidan winked and sat on a chair as near to her as he could. He tapped his lap. “Want a seat?”
    “I wish. Later maybe,” she said in a low voice. Then she raised it. “Right so let me introduce myself properly. My name is Ailsa McLagan. I’m a police inspector attached to a special squad who are tasked to do jobs that perhaps are not run of the mill. I met Jess by accident, just after I’d been detailed to try and find out if anything”—she hesitated—“nefarious or illegal was occurring in here. We were tipped off that something illegal was happening inside Diomhair. Because I knew the castle from childhood, I was detailed to get inside and see what I could find out.” She smiled. “And also, I suspect, to keep my boss out of it. I can tell you now, I saw nothing untoward inside, but why on earth was a white van parked outside that half-ruined cottage set off the drive?”
    Jeff shot up out of his chair like a bullet from a rifle.
    “When?”

Chapter Eleven
     
     
     
    “Several times. Once I had to hide whilst it drove along the front drive and out of the back. Why?”
    “Someone in a white van knocked Kath over when she was pregnant. It was a woman.”
    “Well it wasn’t me.” Alisa stared at Jeff who looked anywhere but at her.
    Aidan glared at Jeff, who flushed and sat down again. He had a right to be angry, but truculence directed at Ailsa was a waste of energy.
    “I didn’t say it was.” Jeff ran his hand through his hair, and Aidan could see the worry in his eyes and in his stance. “But happenstance and all that. Breaking in, white vans, someone digging and moving stuff around in the grounds. Then you pop up so conveniently. Well.” He shrugged.