Page 53 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
He handed her the photo, which she took gently, and studied the image in front of her.
‘So what do you think?’ he said quietly.
Bex could feel Duncan’s eyes boring into her, but at that moment, she had lost the ability to speak. Her eyes were fixed on the woman in the foreground. Not the simple black dress she was wearing, or the very nineties Rachel haircut. But her face. The roundness of her eyes. The curve of her loop.
As Bex stood there, she realised her pulse was racing, and a tightness wrapped around her chest.
‘Bex,’ Duncan said, placing his hand on her arm. ‘Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘I’m sorry, Duncan. Can I borrow this for a minute? I need to speak to Gordon.’
‘Gordon?’
She nodded, struggling to swallow. ‘Right. And Moira. I need you to find Moira and ask her to meet us in the study. I promise it’ll make sense. Can you do that for me?’
‘Can you tell me why?’ Duncan asked. ‘Why do you want that photo of my mother? What has she got to do with anything?’
But Bex didn’t reply; she was already racing across the dancefloor in search of the lawyer.
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Bex found the old lawyer standing by the bar, inspecting several bottles of whisky, presumably to work out which one he wanted to try next.
‘Gordon, I need you. I need you now.’
‘Bex.’ He turned to look at her, while tapping one of the bottles, which the barman then picked up. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘I’ve found something. Something to do with the job. I think I know who it is. Who the heir is.’
The old lawyer frowned slightly, a small crease forming between his brows, but he didn’t ask any questions. He followed her straight into the study.
‘Crap!’ Bex stopped abruptly, palming her forehead as she did.
‘What is it?’ Gordon asked. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to do this in the morning?’
‘No, I want to do it now. We should do it. But the photo… the one with Fergus and the woman that I’d been meaning to show Moira, I left it at home.’
‘You mean the one with Angus – Duncan’s grandfather?’
‘That’s the one.’ Bex considered the time. She could ring Roddy to run her back to the cottage quickly. It would be an annoying waste of time, but she couldn’t be certain unless she had that photo.
‘Oh, I took a snap of it,’ Gordon said, opening up his own sporran. ‘Just in case I saw her myself.’
‘You did?’
‘Aye, here it is.’
As Gordon flipped through his phone, Bex rushed forward and kissed him on the cheek. A full-on smack.
‘Well, that was unexpected, but thank you. Now, what else have ya?’
With the photos sorted, Bex needed the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. And she prayed like heck it would fit.
‘There’s a notebook,’ Bex said as she began swinging open the cupboard doors. ‘A small notebook with a list of hospitals in.’
The music continued out in the ballroom. The carefree sounds that, only moments ago, had felt so fun and made her feel so light were now boring into her mind, making it impossible to think.
‘It wasn’t random at all,’ she said. ‘I’m sure of it. They’re notrandom hospitals. If I’m right… if I’m right… Got it!’
