Free Grave Matters by Jana Oliver Page A

he didn’t like to share his troubles with anyone, something made him dial Grand Master MacTavish. His superior answered almost immediately.
    “How’s it goin’, lad? Did ya pop the question yet?”
    Ah shit.
    Beck gave him the grim news and waited for the reaction.
    “Ya dinna call me ta say the girl turned ya down. What’s really on yer mind?”
    “She’s different. I know, maybe it’s my pride talkin’, but my gut says somethin’s goin’ on with her, and it started when we got to the hotel.”
    There was a long pause. While Beck waited, a cup of coffee appeared in front of him. He nodded his thanks and took a sip, finding it strong, bitter even, and that helped clear his head.
    “How much did she trust ya in the past?” MacTavish asked.
    “With her life,” Beck said.
    “And now she’s not trustin’ ya at all. Hmmm ... Bring her here tomorrow. I want ta talk ta Riley for a bit, see if she can tell me what’s goin’ on.”
    “She hasn’t told me,” Beck snapped.
    “Yer too close ta her. If it’s a matter that she’s got cold feet, then we’ll know that. If it’s somethin’ else...”
    “Like what?”
    “We’ll see when ya get here.”
    “Did you find out how many people knew about her comin’ to Scotland?” Beck asked.
    “Aye. Includin’ the two of us, there were eight: Kepler and Brennan, of course. Then there’s the housekeeper, the cook, the maid, and our travel agent.”
    “Someone leaked that information and set Riley up,” Beck replied. Someone had deliberately screwed up his future.
    “I’m not thinkin’ they’re not done messin’ with her yet. Put the hurt behind ya, lad, and keep focused on the problem. We’ll sort it one way or the other.”
    We damned well better.

Chapter Seven
     
    Riley hastily repacked her suitcase after Beck had grumpily rousted her out of bed at eight. He insisted they leave within the hour.
    “Where are we going?” she asked.
    “To the manor.”
    “I thought we were going up there later this week.”
    “We were. Now we’re goin’ today.”
    “Orders from your boss?” she said, glaring at him.
    “Yeah. Get movin’.”
    From that point on, they packed in silence. The room felt too small, maybe even the whole planet. If there was some way Riley could fly home today, she would have done it. She had no doubt Beck would have happily let her go.
    After using the last of the Holy Water and tossing the bottle in the trash, she zipped her suitcase shut.
    I shouldn’t have come here. I should have stayed home.
    Maybe if she could find a way to ditch Beck, she might be able to think this through. But that wasn’t likely to happen.
    Beck kept snapping at her until they boarded the train, and his surly behavior made her wonder just how much he hated her now. Once they were seated, he seemed to settle down, and his chilly behavior thawed a bit, as if he’d come to terms with her rejection and decided to move on.
    He traded texts with Brennan, then, as the train wound its way west through Stirling and then farther north, he extracted a map from his backpack and helped her trace their journey into the Highlands. He’d been right — the scenery was beyond her imagining.
    A couple hours later, they left the train at a small Scottish town where Beck led them to a car at the far end of a car park.
    When she asked about how it’d gotten there, he said, “Brennan left it here for us.”
    Brennan again. “He’s kind of your all-purpose slave, isn’t he?”
    “Yeah, but don’t tell him that,” Beck replied.
    “You know how to drive on the left side?”
    He nodded. “It’s simple once you work it out in yer head.”
    Until you get back to Atlanta.
    As they climbed in she found another bottle of Holy Water on the seat with a note attached:
    For Riley
    “Your guy Brennan is way efficient.”
    “He must like ya,” was the curt reply.
    Riley stuffed the bottle in her backpack — her wounds were healed enough she didn’t need it anymore.
    As