Page 29 of Edinburgh Escape
Maggie frowned. “What are you doing?” She bent to gather her belongings.
“You said someone bumped into you at the airport,” Callum said. “They might have planted a GPS tracking device on you.” He sifted through her charging cords, makeup kit and her change of clothes, including a lacy black pair of panties.
Maggie snatched the panties from his hand and wadded them into her left hand. With her other hand, she sifted through the items.
When they didn’t find anything that might resemble a GPS tag, Callum unzipped the side pockets and emptied them as well.
A small round piece of metal that looked like a coin rolled across the floor.
“Son of a b—” Maggie muttered.
Callum straightened and stepped toward the device.
“Wait,” Angus said. “Don’t smash it. Let me deal with it.” He bent to retrieve the tag. “I’ll be right back. Might be a minute as I want to speak with the police when they return.”
Angus left the flat. His footsteps rang out on the stairs leading down to the street.
“How did I not know that was in there?” Maggie shook her head.
“Because when that man bumped into you at the airport, he probably slipped it into your backpack. You were rightfully angry about his rudeness and were more focused on the man, not your backpack.”
Maggie shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. “And they’ve been following me ever since.” The chill of the room raised goosebumps on her arms and bare legs. She dug in her backpack for slacks and a sweater, then ducked into the bathroom to change out of her pajamas and into something more substantial. After she stuffed her pajamas into her backpack, she brushed her hair and teeth, then left the bathroom.
Suddenly restless and greatly paranoid, she crossed to the window overlooking the street below. “What’s Angus going to do with the disk?”
Callum came to stand behind her. He laid his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back against him and out of view of anyone who might look up and spot her.
The heat of Callum’s body warmed the chill that had crept through her when she realized she’d led the bad guys to her. Not only could they have kidnapped or killed her, but they could also have hurt Callum in the process. What if Angus had come home and surprised the four men during their raid on his flat? He, too, could have been injured or killed for allowing Maggie to stay there temporarily. As it was, they’d trashed his home. All because she’d dared to come to Scotland to meet her half-brother?
Angus stood on the sidewalk below, glancing in both directions.
A garbage truck rumbled up the street. It stopped, and two men leaped off, grabbed trash bins and emptied them into the back of the truck.
Callum’s friend lifted the lid of a rubbish bin perched on the sidewalk, tossed something, closed the bin and moved back as the garbage truck came toward him.
The guys on the back of the truck jumped out, grabbed the bin, emptied it into the garbage truck and set the empty bin on the curb.
As the truck moved on to the next trash container, two Scottish policemen joined Angus. They bent over, hands on their knees, dragging air into their lungs, winded from chasing the burglars. Since they’d returned on their own, the intruders had obviously gotten away.
Maggie sighed.
For several minutes, Angus spoke to the police, and then he waved toward the entrance.
The two policemen disappeared into the building, followed by Angus. Their footsteps echoed on the wooden steps as they ascended to the third-floor flat.
Maggie spun toward the policemen as they stepped through the door.
“Freeze!” the younger officer shouted, his face fierce and set in hard lines.
Heart pounding against her ribs, Maggie backed away, hands in the air, shocked they’d come in acting like Maggie and Callum were the bad guys.
Callum moved between her and the exuberant policeman, his hands also in the air.
The officer’s frightening scowl melted into a broad grin. “Always wanted to say that.”
“Not funny,” Callum muttered.
The older policeman clapped a hand on the younger officer’s shoulder. “Stand down, McGregor.” To Callum and Maggie, he said, “Ignore the whelp. He’s still wet behind the ears. We need to look around for a few minutes and dust for prints to document the intrusion for our report.”
