Page 15 of Death at a Scottish Halloween

“Thank you,” the mother said softly. “I feel like I’m going mad. I—can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now. It’s just such a shock. I took three trains to get here from Glasgow. We were starving, so we went to the pub. That’s where I heard someone talking about my husband being dead.”

“Why do you think it is your husband?” Ewan asked. “If you’re from Glasgow?”

“I haven’t heard from him in days. We own a second-hand and antiques shop. It’s small but keeps us going. He takes short trips to do estate sales and sometimes he does resales at fêtes. That’s why he was here. He usually calls me every day and video chats with Elsie. But I haven’t heard from him since—I don’t know. It’s been a few days. I have a find my phone app, and the last spot his phone was on was here. I thought …”

“What?” Ewan asked encouragingly.

“He’s been off the drink for years. Since Elsie was born, he hasn’t had a sip. But before … he had a problem. I was worried maybe he was … I never imagined he’d be dead.” Tears streamed down her face. “Please, I need to see him.”

Isobel and Baird stared at her. The shock evident on their faces. It was obvious this poor woman was sincere.

Ewan nodded at me.

“If you’re ready, I can take you to see him,” I said.

“Thank you.”

She and Ewan followed me to room four.

I cleared my throat. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” the word was a whisper.

I carefully pulled back the sheet.

She gasped. And then fainted.

Thankfully, Ewan caught her before she hit the floor.

I quickly pulled the sheet back up and then helped him get her into the room next door. We sat her in a chair. “Hold her there, I’ll get a wet rag and a glass of water.”

I put the rag on her head.

“Is there something we can do to help?” Baird asked. “What happened?”

“She fainted.”

The cool cloth seemed to stir her. Her eyes opened, and it was obvious she tried to focus.

“I’m Dr. Em, and you’re OK,” I said. “You’ve had a shock and took a spill. Here drink this.”

She took the water from me and sipped slowly.

Then she put her hand to her head. “I—I fainted?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s not unusual when you’ve had a shock. Have you had an episode like this before?”

“Only when I was pregnant … oh?” Her eyes grew wide.

Ewan and I glanced at each other. The poor woman had enough to deal with at the moment.

“Tell me what we can do to make things better,” I said.

“You already have,” she said. “I’m sorry I made such a fuss. I’m usually the sensible one. It’s all just been so much.” She touched her head again. Her shoulders sagged.

“Is there someone we can call to come and get you?”

“No. I’ll be fine. We never ate. I heard about Duncan … I just need food, and I’ll be fine. And please apologize to the man’s family.”