Free Does Your Mother Know? by Maureen Jennings Page B

like unanswered questions, no matter what the case is.”
    She studied his face for a moment. “So you say, but there’s something on your mind, I can tell. What the hell is it?”
    Gillies looked over to me. “Your call, Christine.”
    Lisa hadn’t sat down and she was between me and the sun. I shaded my eyes so I could see her better. She returned my gaze, her eyes a bit anxious but not abnormally so.
    “The MacLeans said the car was a small red Vauxhall. There was a car accident not too far from here, which involved such a car. A rental. A woman was killed and the other woman... The other woman is somebody I know. We’re trying to locate her.”
    “My God. Who was it, Gill? Tourists?”
    “The woman who was killed was Sarah MacDonald.”
    “Sarah! What the hell happened?”
    “The car went off the road at the Dail Beag turn. She was thrown out.”
    “Well, I regret to say I’m not surprised. Sarah’s been in at least two accidents that I know of because she was inebriated. I’m amazed she still had her driver’s licence. But still... the poor woman. Have you contacted Janice?”
    “Yes, we tracked her down. She’s on holiday in Tenerife, but she’s getting here as soon as she can. Janice is Mrs. MacDonald’s only daughter,” he explained to me.
    Lisa stared at me. “You said the other woman was somebody you knew.”
    “Yes, she lives in Canada. She was a visitor here.”
    “But she didn’t die?”
    “We actually don’t know for certain. There was no sign of a second body at the crash site, and she seems to have disappeared.”
    “What does this have to do with Tormod?”
    “Probably nothing, except that it would seem that their car was here on Friday night. Did he mention to you that Mrs. MacDonald was coming over? Or any other visitor?”
    “No, he didn’t. And I’m surprised she was here. She’s an estate agent, and they had a tiff because he didn’t list his house with her. Not at big thing, but she seemed to feel he owed her.”
    “I didn’t know he was selling his house,” said Gillies.
    “Everybody wanted it kept quiet. You know how sensitive the crofters are about property changing hands, especially to incomers. In this case though, they’ll probably be happy about it. Coral-Lyn’sfather has bought this place, and they’re going to build a quote, religious centre, unquote here. Apparently, the intention is for it to be quite grand.” She smiled a little. “At least as grand as you’ll get with the wee kirk.”
    “I hadn’t heard a word. When did all this happen?”
    “Not more than a week ago. Tormod was going to rent a flat in Stornoway and move at the end of June. He didn’t really want to leave this place, mind, but given his state of health, it seemed wise for him to be in town.”
    Abruptly, she flopped down into the other chair and ran her hand through her hair so that it spiked up even more. “I’m really sorry to hear about Sarah. She was a nice woman, especially when she was sober.”
    “Given what you’ve said then, it might have been a business matter that brought her out here?” I asked.
    “Tormod didn’t mention it.”
    “Would he have? Mentioned it, I mean?”
    She bristled at my question. “What you’re asking is did we have the kind of relationship where he’d share those things with me or was I just the gamekeeper?”
    “I’m not asking if you were sleeping with him.” I can play ‘guess the literary reference’ as well as the next English major. “My question was without subtext.”
    I must have passed a test of some sort, because she softened. “I told you I was his paid companion. Exactly that. No more and no less. I kept him company. He was lonely a lot of the time. He didn’t make friends easily. He was divorced a long time ago, and his ex-wife lives in New Zealand with their daughter. His son, Andy’s dad, died in 1999, and Andy was his only grandson. Since Miss Coral-Lyn came on the scene, he hasn’t been around that