Three Dog Island Page 20

“McNair?”

  “MacGregor. Are you off to Bellingham?”

  “Not quite. I’m in the ferry line at Anacortes.”

  At least he gave me a little more warning than Charlie usually did. “You’re coming here? How?”

  “I found another professor to fill in for me.”

  “But it won’t be the same for the students.” Guilt struck me down for my greed.

  He chuckled. He was comfortable with flattery. “We actually traded slots. I’ll fill in for her in a few weeks time, so you needn’t worry. The students will have the benefit of my company . . . and wisdom.” He paused. “That is, if you still want me to come.” It was good to know that even Malcolm MacGregor suffered moments of insecurity.

  “Definitely.”

  “I’ll take you to the pub for dinner tonight. You can introduce me to your friends.”

  “Uh—”

  “Not ready to do that yet?”

  I walked outside to the front porch to be sure Josh could not hear me. I told MacGregor about our conversation. “I don’t think I should leave him alone. Do you mind?”

  “No problem, lass. I’ll stop at the pub and pick up some fish and chips—enough for the three of us. How would that be?”

  “Perfect. And MacGregor—?”

  I felt his warmth through the air waves. “Aye, McNair, he can come home with me on Sunday.” He sure was making it easy to love him.

  They talked physics. They talked laws. They talked theories. And they talked energy—kinetic and potential.

  The smile had not left Josh’s face since MacGregor had joined him at the kitchen table. It would not have surprised me if by the end of the weekend, he decided to become a physicist instead of a detective. Or maybe both, just like MacGregor, thanks to Charlie’s power of persuasion.

  “It’s kind of like that sculpture of Jasper Rosenthal’s. What is it called?” Josh looked up at me. “Tug of Heart?” He opened the computer and went to the website to show MacGregor.

  “Excellent example.” MacGregor’s head tilted to the side. “This is an amazing piece of art. You’d swear it’s moving.” He glanced over at me. “You weren’t exaggerating when you told me that Jasper’s a genius, McNair. He deliberately shows this piece from different angles. If you look at it from this direction, it looks as though this figure is pushing the other. But if you look at it from this angle, it appears that the other figure is pulling this one.”

  Josh was nodding. He was getting it. He knew enough to appreciate a genius sculptor and enough to appreciate that he was having a private tutoring session from a university physics professor.

  “Extraordinary. I wonder if the artist would be willing to come to one of my physics lectures and speak.”

  “I’m afraid not. He’s becoming more and more reclusive. Rarely leaves his home at all.”

  “What a shame. I’m sure it’s been sold by now, but I’d love to see this sculpture,” MacGregor said, studying it in detail. “But even on the computer screen, if you look very carefully, you can see that there’s an instant when it changes direction, energetically speaking of course.”

  “What do you mean?” Josh asked, their eyes fixed on the screen together.

  MacGregor’s voice was hushed. “I’m talking about potential energy. It’s the energy stored within a physical system. You can feel it, sense it, building until it’s converted into kinetic energy.”

  “You sound just like Jenny,” Josh said.

  MacGregor looked over at me, that George Clooney twinkle in his eyes.

  “McNair, do you have that necklace of yours? The clear crystal one?”

  I ran upstairs and opened the wooden jewelry box that Matthew had carved in his seventh grade wood working class. There it sat between my pink quartz crystal and my calming amethyst crystal with its balancing peridot bead. They all looked sadly neglected. I was not normally a woman who was influenced by her husband’s opinions regarding what she wore and didn’t wear, but after a sufficiency of comments referring to my tendency toward hippyism, I had grown tired of hearing it and had put away my beloved jewelry.

  When I brought it downstairs and handed it to MacGregor, our hands melded together. Energy. Way beyond potential. The beam in his eyes told me he agreed.

  Josh watched as MacGregor allowed the makeshift pendulum to work its magic, swinging back and forth, but stopping for an instant each time as it reached its highest point, renewing itself before swinging back in the opposite direction.

  “Wow. Cool.” Josh slipped the necklace from MacGregor’s hand. After holding the chain and allowing it to swing for a while, he looked up at us. “There sure is a lot we can’t see in the Universe.”

  “Energy,” MacGregor said.

  “Vibration,” I said.

  Josh would never look at the world the same way again.

  MacGregor scooped up my beloved quartz crystal necklace and put it around my neck, fastening it for me. “I miss seeing this on you,” he said softly.

  If it was possible to smile with every part of your being, I was doing it.

  After lunch, they went right back to work. MacGregor was equally adept at helping him with his algebra and his English Literature. It didn’t hurt that he was reading the chapter on poets, particularly since MacGregor and Charlie threw around Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott and Robbie Burns quotations as though they were rugby scores.

  At one point Josh pulled me aside and whispered, “He’s not a typical physics professor, is he?”

  I shook my head. There was nothing typical about Malcolm MacGregor.

  He gave me a look as though to ask if I minded that he was monopolizing MacGregor’s attention. I winked in response. I loved watching the two of them together. If it was possible, it was endearing MacGregor to me all the more. Besides, I knew I would have his full attention tonight as I had last night.

  After cleaning the lunch dishes, I picked up the crime report that Charlie had sent via MacGregor. I curled up on the living room couch and read it through. The details of these reports are never pleasant and the cold aloof tone, as though no human lives are involved, is always difficult to abide.

  This one was no different despite its concerning the killing of one of their own. Officer Arellano was hit in the chest with a bullet. Officer Simpson was shot in the shoulder while trying to pull Officer Arellano out of the line of fire. And thus a hero was born. My mind flashed to his hand wrapped around Grace Wallace’s wrist. Too bad they didn’t know about the contemptible things he had been doing as well.

  Just as I set down the report, Charlie called. And he claimed my intuition was better than his? “Find anything, Jenny luv?”

  “Not really, Charlie. Nothing jumped out at me.”

  “But?”

  “But something is bothering me. Wish I knew what.”

  “Aye, so do I, lass.”

  “Something bothered you too, didn’t it, Charlie?”

  “Och, I must be picking up on your intuition. Something did, but nothing I can put my finger on.”

  “Hmm, maybe it warrants another trip down to Portland.”

  “What are you thinking, lassie?”

  “I’m thinking that maybe I’ll pay Bob Arellano’s widow a visit.” Just saying the words gave me a chill.

  “When would you want to do that?”

  “I have some things I need to take care of here on the island and Matthew’s coming up next weekend. Maybe after that.”

  “Do you want me to come along to Portland?”

  My pause spoke volumes.

  He laughed. “Ah, you’re thinking of requesting the pleasure of someone else’s company.”

  I hoped my blush wasn’t turning his phone pink. “Any word from Manny yet?” Changing subjects was always a sound tactic, one I’d learned from Charlie.

  “Aye, the reason I called.”

  “What did he find out?” I sat up on the couch as though it would improve my hearing.

  “He followed Al Wallace’s truck—”


  “Work truck?”

  “Oh, aye. must have been working his legitimate job at the same time. Manny and the grandkids followed them all the way to the Washington State Ferry.”

  “Seattle?”

  His pause made me suspicious. “Where Charlie?”

  “Anacortes.”

  My stomach did a triple flip followed by a double somersault, ending in a perfect knotted landing. “Did he drive the truck onto the ferry?”

  “No. He parked it at a truck stop and got into a van that he had parked there. Transferred a crate from the truck to the van and some personal items from the cab and drove that onto the ferry.”

  “A crate?”

  “Aye. Not a large one, mind you. Manny said it was perhaps six feet long. He handled it himself with the help of a dolly. But it could have contained something he was delivering for work.”

  “Or not,” I said.

  “Or not,” Charlie agreed. “I figure if it was legitimate work, he would have driven the truck onto the ferry. Manny said his truck isn’t that big.”

  “So what happened next?”

  “Manny followed him as far as Orcas Island where he got off the ferry.”

  “Orcas? What did he do there?”

  “Loaded the crate onto a boat and took off. That’s as far as Manny went. He didn’t have time to rent a boat and follow him.”

  Chills had engulfed me. This was way too close for comfort. They were right here in our little cluster of islands. What if he had come to Gael or worse, Anamcara! No. There was no way they could be going back and forth to our island, not with the Anamcara Herald on the job. Suddenly I was grateful for the odious gossip column that I had loathed in the past.

  My mind flashed to the creepy compound on Aurora Island, the compound I’d managed to avoid thinking about until now, the very island where Josh, believing he was safe, had taken refuge.

  My intuition said no again. Or was it logic? It was definitely too coincidental. The truth was, it could be any of the San Juan or Gulf Islands. We just had to find out which one.

  “How are we going to figure out where he goes from Orcas?” I asked Charlie.

  “We’re working on it, lass. Dinna fash yourself. We’re researching every storage facility on the islands.”

  “But what if they’re not storing things, Charlie? Or what if they own a facility?”

  “We ran a search of all property and it doesn’t appear that Simpson or Wallace owns any. But we’re researching all commercial property, rentals included. And I’ve hired some extra men to help Manny follow them next time. Two are hanging out at the diner where Josh’s mum works in case they hear anything. They’re also following Al on all his runs north. We have a boat on standby so they can follow him next time.”

  I started to breathe a little more easily. “Thanks, Charlie, but that sounds very costly.”

  “Well worth it if we bust this ring open.”

  “I could put our local sheriff and deputy on it.”

  “Best not to. At least not yet. Even if they’re upstanding fellows themselves, they might entrust information to other lawmen who aren’t.”

  “Good point.”

  “Now, tell me, are you enjoying your weekend?”

  “Immensely.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “Charlie?”

  “Aye, lass?”

  I lowered my voice. “Anything on Grace’s background?”

  “Working on it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Startled by a tap on the front door, I said good-bye quickly. Even knowing it was Sasha, I checked to be sure.

  “Just happened to be in the neighborhood, did you?”

  Sasha laughed. “So, where is this handsome professor of yours?”

  “In the kitchen helping Josh with his school work.”

  “Wow!”

  “What?”

  “You’re glowing.”

  “Am not!” My hands went to my cheeks in a reflexive motion.

  “Are too!”

  I had argued enough with my children to recognize a dead-end conversation. “Where’s Whistler? Too lazy to come for a visit?”

  “With Frankie. She and Lenny stopped by. We couldn’t separate the two so she took them both to work with her which reminds me, I think we’d better have a get together at my place with Frankie as soon as we can.”

  “Why?”

  “She keeps mentioning that she hasn’t seen you in a while and she misses coming over here.”

  “Good point. Josh is going to Seattle with MacGregor tomorrow, so maybe Tuesday morning we can do it here? Then she won’t be suspicious.”

  “Good. I’ll tell her.”

  “I feel bad keeping her out of the loop,” I said.

  “Me too, but it’s better than putting her in a position to keep Sam out of the loop.”

  “Right.”

  Sasha tossed her purse on the couch and headed for the kitchen. She was determined to meet the man in my life. “You must be Malcolm MacGregor.” She extended her hand to him as he stood up, gentleman that he was.

  “Aye. Lovely to meet you. Sasha, is it?”

  She nodded, immediately afflicted by the same romantic attraction that most of his female students are.

  It took me ten minutes and several attempts to convince Sasha to leave the men to their studies.

  “He’s adorable,” Sasha whispered when we were back in the living room.

  I just smiled, kind of like the cat that had swallowed the proverbial canary, I imagined.

  “When does he have to leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “And Josh is going with him? Good idea. We’ve got to keep that boy safe.” Sasha was becoming quite fond of him as well.

  A moment after I closed the door behind her, she tapped on it again. “Forgot the reason I came over.”

  “You mean there really was a reason?”

  “Of course. Two more of your pieces sold. Alice asked me to tell you to bring in some more as soon as you can. She wants to be sure you have a good display for the open house on Friday.”

  “Open house?”

  “Oops, she asked me the other day to be sure you knew about that too. I forgot, didn’t I?”

  “You’re an artist. You’re allowed.”

  “You can make it though, right?”

  Matthew was planning to come spend the weekend with his mom, but I could bring him along. I had a feeling it was important for me to be there and it had nothing whatsoever to do with my art display.

  “I’ll definitely be there. I can glaze some pieces I threw last week. And I’ll get busy on the wheel as soon as they leave tomorrow, “I told Sasha. Even if I didn’t finish any new ones in time for the open house, it would help fill the emptiness with Josh and MacGregor gone. Thank goodness I had a dog.

  Chapter 19

  When the scent of fresh coffee titillated our nostrils, MacGregor and I tumbled out of bed. We made our way to the shower—separately. Otherwise breakfast would have been very cold and their departure delayed considerably.

  After eating the bacon and eggs that Josh had prepared, I saw the two of them off.

  “He’s a good lad,” MacGregor said when Josh went to fetch his duffle bag.

  “Thank you for doing this.”

  His shoulders slumped and for a moment I thought I’d said the wrong thing. Apparently I had. “When will you understand, McNair?”

  “Understand what?”

  “That I’d do anything for you.”

  Our eyes met and held. The moment was broken by a good-bye kiss.

  But I wasn’t about to let the conversation end there. “Since when?” I asked.

  “Since always.” His eyes were twinkling and for an instant I knew what it felt like to be surrounded by unconditional love. “The minute you walked into my classroom, I was a goner.”

  “The minute?”

  “Aye. Well, certainly by the second class when you raised your hand a
nd argued with my statement that this is a mental universe.”

  “Did I really?”

  “Aye, you did.”

  I wondered how long it had taken me to change my thoughts on the subject.

  “Ready.” Josh appeared in the hallway.

  “I don’t think you need to hide in the car,” MacGregor said, his voice still husky and warm from our conversation. “No one will connect me with you, McNair, so he should be safe, don’t you think?”

  “Except Burt Burrows,” I reminded him.

  “Oh, aye, the chap who rented a boat to Charlie and me.”

  “Besides, on this island, everyone is noticed, particularly when they’re coming or going. But once you’re on the Anacortes ferry, you should be fine.”

  Josh hugged me on his way out the side door to the garage where MacGregor’s car was parked. Hugs were still a bit awkward, but he knew he wasn’t going to get away without one. “I’m sorry I didn’t refinish the armoire for you, Jenny. We should have done it this weekend with Mac here to help us get it into the garage.”

  “You were busy with other things. Your studies come first.”

  “I’ll do it as soon as it’s safe for me to come back. I promise.”

  I didn’t tell him that it was fine. I didn’t care if it was refinished or not. But I did care that he sounded hopeful about his coming back.

  “What’s this?” he asked, opening the back of the Range Rover.

  MacGregor reached in and pulled out an oversized dog bed, handing it to Josh who took it inside. “I forgot I brought it for Rocky.” He winked at me. “Must have been distracted. Can’t imagine by what . . . or whom.”

  I shook my head, staring up at him. “If you’re not careful, I’m going to start thinking you’re perfect. Good thing you didn’t bring Josh and me gifts too.”

  He winced, then smiled sheepishly.

  “You didn’t.”

  “I ordered some weights for Josh. I’ll pick them up this week which works well since he’s coming home with me.”

  “You are amazing.” I reached my arms around his neck and hugged him.

  After a quick hug back, he removed my arms and reached inside the back of the car. “Just one more thing.”

  I stared down at the framed series of photographs, blinking back my tears. “How?”