Page 39 of Death at a Scottish Halloween

“Oh!” I accidentally yelled, and Abigail jumped. “Sorry. I just remembered that last night one of the team found some old-fashioned handcuffs. They didn’t test positive, so I forgot about them. Maybe our victim was just messing around and put them on too tight or had trouble getting them off. I’ll ask Ewan for them, and we can test for the victim’s DNA. We went through so much evidence last night, they slipped my mind.”

“That will help with that piece of the puzzle,” she said. “That is if we find his DNA. I hope we do. I don’t like the idea that someone might have been putting people in that kind of pain.”

“OK. Now, on to our first victim. Any more results?”

She shook her head. “Still waiting on DNA. Nothing on the knife. They wore gloves. I’m certain of that. But there would have been blood spatter on their clothes.”

“Did you find anything on the clothing the sister and friend brought in?”

“No blood on anything,” she said. “The cross contamination of DNA could be easily explained, when those results come back. I don’t think it was them.”

“And it could have been anyone in a costume, which narrows our suspects to the hundreds of people who came through the house. If they were wearing a costume, they could have snuck out of the house without anyone thinking twice about it.”

“I still don’t understand how we didn’t hear anything,” she said.

“Think about it, there was loud music and shrieks over the sound system. That didn’t shut down until about five minutes before we left. I was thinking about it. There are two storage closets on that floor. Someone could have hidden away in there until everything was done.”

“Yeah, but how would they know that the sister and best friend would leave him alone?”

“They couldn’t. I think they were waiting just in case. A crime of opportunity. That’s why they took the knife. I just wish one of us had noticed it missing. That would tell us if it was someone else working in the haunted house. I mean, they would’ve grabbed it while we were eating. Or while the tours were happening, and we were distracted.”

“So if you were guessing, and I know Ewan hates that, what do you think happened?”

I shrugged. “We know when he was killed, for one. And secondly, I think he was surprised and had to know the killer. Otherwise, he would have yelled if he saw a stranger coming with a knife, right?”

“Unless they snuck up on him, and he turned around. We’re going to have to keep working on the why and who. We know he had problems at work but were any of his coworkers at the haunted house? Hopefully, Ewan will find some answers today.”

“Those men can be a bit rough,” she said. “The ones who work on the rigs. Drinking and gambling. That sort of thing. Mara threw a lot of them out of the pub before you arrived. Told them not to come back. They had no respect for our locals. I’m sure they aren’t all like that. I mean, Duncan seemed nice.”

“He did,” I said.

“I don’t like the unknown.”

I smiled. “That’s why we’re going to figure this out. What do you think happened?”

“I hadn’t heard about the ring, but that’s a lot of money. Maybe it was sold by accident, and the owner wants it back,” she said. “They could have been looking for Duncan and found out the other one was working at the haunted house. When he didn’t have any idea about the ring, they killed him.”

“That’s a great supposition. Though I’m not sure why they would have done it in such a visible place. Anyone in the haunted house could have walked in on them.”

“Well, our Duncan was certainly murdered. The second one isn’t as easy to explain,” Abigail said.

“True. I would label it death by misadventure. But something or someone scared him to death. I feel certain about that with what we’ve found so far.”

“Even though we didn’t know the second Duncan, I feel sorry for them both. Especially, for the second one’s wife and child. Oh, do you think they’re safe? If someone is looking for the ring, wouldn’t they be in danger?”

“I think that’s why Ewan has them at the B&B. It’s right by the station, and you know no one gets past Mrs. Beatty.”

She laughed. “True.”

“I would like to talk to the wife again, though.”

“We could go before the Witch’s Blessing tonight,” she said.

“I’d forgotten about that one.”

“When I was younger, I didn’t understand what it was really about, and it scared me.”

“Can you explain it to me?”