Page 81 of The Highland Heist
Zahra nodded, taking another sip of her soup.
“Oh yes. Sometimes even worse things than ghosts.” Grace glanced toward the window, where the silhouette of the looming castle, Mosslea, stood tall against the darkening sky—an almosttooperfect visual example of a penny dreadful in reality. “However, Zahra, what we have here, as in many penny dreadfuls, is a person who isn’t really a ghost but wants us to believe she is.”
“So she can sneak,” Zahra added, her eyes narrowing a little as she said the word.
“Exactly.” Grace sent a proud look to Frederick, clearly happy their daughter had already caught onto the sleuthing role.
“And as the wife of the previous owner, she knows the castle much better than we do, which means she is at the advantage.” Frederick added, joining into what he supposed was bound to be family discussions for the majority of his married life.
“I do wonder if Mrs. James … um … Kane … I mean Lady Blair.” Grace sighed. “Why do we always seem to meet people who can’t keep a single identity? I thought it was just something about the air in Venice.”
“Because we’re sleuths, darling.” The moment the word left his lips, Grace’s smile bloomed. And if Zahra hadn’t been sitting with them, he had a feeling his wife would have breached the distance to reward his usage. “Itispart of the job.”
“True.” Her large blue eyes danced, telling him of her appreciation much more than words. “But if Lady Blair did marry Lord Blair only for the money and land, it is likely she’s the one who killed him, or at least helped with the planning.”
“Which means she’s quite serious about finding the will, Grace,” he warned.
“You mean dangerous,” Zahra interpreted, her bluntness making the gravity of the situation hit a little harder than expected. So much for trying to guard Zahra from the darker side of this investigation.
“Yes, very dangerous,” Grace reiterated, her voice gentle yet firm as she glanced at Zahra, then took another spoonful of soup. “But I’m certain we can find out more by just asking the locals. People in small villages always know something important.”
“I can sneak,” Zahra offered with a smile, a glint of mischief in her eyes. Frederick’s chest tightened. The warmth that had been there a moment ago evaporated. “I’m very good at sneaking.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” Grace grinned as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “And you’re small, so you can fit into places we can’t. That could come in very handy, don’t you think, Frederick?”
“Indeed, Zahra,” he replied, his voice strained by the effort to keep his composure. “But if you’re to sneak, you must only do so when we know exactly where you are.”
He shot a prayer heavenward.God, help me.He had two of them to protect from themselves and the world. He sighed. And only God could help him as far as that was concerned.
Frederick looked out toward the window again, the moon’s glow casting ghostly hues down upon the black silhouette of Mosslea, inciting the hairs on the back of his neck to rise ever so slightly. He hoped any “ghost” proved as simple a solution as the last two, because Frederick wanted nothing more than to sort out this entire affair quickly and without someone he loved getting hurt … or worse.
“I’m glad we were able to slip from the hotel without meeting up with your sister this morning, Lady Astley,” Blake said from behind the steering mechanism of his car. “Normally I would have had us complete the short walk to the castle, but this way, we can keep Tony hidden in the car and still look the part of the eager castle hunters the villagers believe us to be.”
“We’ll have to talk to Lillias at some point, Mr. Blake,” Grace replied from the back seat, wedged between Tony and Zahra, as she had been the day before. “She’s very much a part of all this, whether she likes it or not. And she’s expecting us.”
“True enough,” Blake acknowledged, gesturing ahead. “But don’t you think a good understanding of the landscape will help us plan before we drag the little puzzle of your sister and Mr. Kane into it?”
Tony tensed at her side at the mention of Mr. Kane.
“Most certainly,” Grace said, flashing Blake a playful smile in the rearview mirror. “How convenient it is that you’re so adept at sleuthing, Mr. Blake. It’s almost as if this isn’t your first case, given how much you know about everything.”
Blake grinned. “I’ve dabbled on occasion.”
“Boredom leads to mischief where Blake is concerned,” Frederick chimed in, casting his cousin a pointed look. Blake’s laughter rang out.
“It’s my way of making boredom work for me.”
Blake brought the car to a stop in front of a stone gatehouse, with a path leading to the castle looming on the horizon, its gray stone walls merging with the overcast sky. The faint scent of rain in the air seemed only fitting for their situation. After all, a sunny day spent searching for a will guarded by a ghost just didn’t seem right.
“Tony and I are going to take a look around the castle while the three of you go on the tour.” Blake announced once they’d exited the car. “We can cover more ground that way and keep Tony out of sight of Lady Blair, in case she is Mrs. James.”
“Or mistake me for one of her own ghostly acquaintances,” Tony quipped, his humor returning—albeit faintly—after his, well, death.
Grace let out a laugh. “Imagine that! Dueling ghosts.”
Tony’s humor failed to rise to her teasing, and with a nod to them, he followed Blake around the loch side of the castle grounds.
Before Frederick, Grace, and Zahra had reached the entrance of the gatehouse, the door swung open to reveal a rather spindly man. He huddled slightly, his thin white hair sticking out in various directions, much like Baby Thomas’. His pale blue eyes, framed by a weathered face, scanned them before a welcoming smile spread across it.
