Free 6 The Queen of Scots Mystery by Cecilia Peartree

adults? And why did Mrs Johnstone think it had something to do with you?’
    ‘It was my ex-wife. Andrea. Penelope said she was carrying on with Liam. She wanted me to warn Andrea how dangerous he was, and how easily other people could find out what they were up to.’
    ‘Dangerous? In what way?’
    Neil shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’m not sure. She might have meant he was a bit of a lad. You know. A girl in every port. That kind of thing.’
    ‘Or what?’
    ‘Well,’ said Neil uneasily. ‘There had been shooting incidents in the past.’
    ‘Is this just hearsay or have you witnessed a shooting incident?’
    ‘Mostly hearsay.’
    ‘And did you agree to warn your ex-wife?’
    Neil gave a hollow laugh. ‘It was nothing to do with me. Andrea was nothing to do with me any more. She’d remarried. I don’t know why Mrs Johnstone thought I would have any influence on her one way or the other.’
    Sergeant Whiteside made a note. She frowned again. ‘When did you last see your ex-wife, Mr Macrae?’
    ‘Oh – it was months ago. Some time last year.’
    ‘Was that when you were arrested for causing a disturbance at the registry office where she was getting married again?’ said the sergeant serenely.
    Neil blushed. ‘Yes, it might have been.’
    The lawyer intervened. ‘Mr Macrae has paid his dues for that and it’s irrelevant to the present case.’
    ‘We’ll decide what’s relevant,’ said Sergeant Whiteside. She sat back, looking pleased with herself. Neil braced himself for what was coming next. She added, after a tantalising pause, ‘We could try and make a case for your client still being possessive about his ex-wife and angry with her for leaving him. But as you say, that would be irrelevant. We now know that Mr Johnstone was already dead by the time Mrs Johnstone spoke to Mr Macrae that evening.’
    ‘Already dead?’ said Neil.
    Sergeant Whiteside nodded. ‘Carbon dioxide doesn’t take that long to kill someone. You were quite lucky the cellar door was a snug fit, otherwise the whole house might have been full of it by morning.’
    At the end of the interview Neil’s lawyer gave the police an ultimatum about charging Neil or releasing him, and Sergeant Whiteside went off to see about getting an extension of the time limit for questioning him.
    ‘What do you think?’ said Neil to the lawyer. Constable Burnet was still in the room but he was doodling aimlessly, his eyes glazed, so they ignored him.
    ‘You were an idiot not to tell them about Penelope Johnstone in the first place,’ said the lawyer. ‘She’s an idiot too if she hasn’t come forward yet. But there are things in your favour. No motive, for a start. Doubtful opportunity, if the barmaid’s a reliable witness. And best of all, you stayed the night on the premises. I don’t think you would have taken that risk if you’d known about the CO2.’
    ‘I certainly wouldn’t,’ said Neil, and shivered.
    The lawyer patted him on the shoulder. ‘We’ll get you out of this, don’t you worry.’
    For some reason the man’s over-confidence engendered in Neil a sense of despair. Would he ever be able to get on with the life he had thought was ahead of him?

Chapter 10 Eyes on the horizon
    ‘I suppose I ought to be getting home,’ said Charlie Smith on Monday evening. He and the dog stood in the kitchen doorway looking gloomy. Christopher, who had spent half the day in meetings at the West Fife Council offices and the other half trying to fill in a funding application, was in no mood to indulge either of them. He turned over some bacon under the grill and broke two eggs into the frying-pan. He and Charlie had lived on bacon and eggs over the weekend, so there was no reason to stop now.
    ‘You can go home if you like,’ he said, ‘but are you sure you’re up to it?’
    ‘Up to what? Living in my own house and looking after myself? I’ve been doing it for the last umpteen years.’
    ‘That isn’t what I mean,’ said Christopher,