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“No, it was dark.”
It was possible the blood had soaked into the sand under the body and Isobel had assumed it was water. There wouldn’t have been any colour in the moonlight.
“When did you come into the cove? How long after you saw them get off the boat?”
“I waited at the top of the cliff until I heard the car roar away. The driver seemed to be in a hurry. Then I called my sisters.”
Callum pinched the bridge of his nose. This was one helluva mess, and she’d landed smack dab in the middle of it.
“What’s going on Callum?” Isobel said softly.
He let out a sigh. “I’m guessing here, but I think the guy with the bag had a delivery to make and he was on a tight schedule. I think he intended to come back and deal with the body.”
She wrapped that ugly cardigan tighter around herself. “And while he was gone, we took it away.”
“Aye. He knows the police didn’t take it. If they had, the whole place would have been cordoned off and crawling with investigators for days on end. The fact it isn’t, means someone else had to have taken the body. Someone who was watching them. He’ll most likely try to figure out what the agenda of that person is.”
“There was no agenda. All I wanted to do was make sure Jack didn’t find the body, and the cops weren’t called.”
“Aye, but now this mob are aware that someone knows about them.”
“Oh.” Big eyes blinked up at him. “That isn’t good.”
“No. It isn’t.” He resisted the urge to shake her. “Now would be a good time to call in the police.”
She shook her head. “I can’t, I told you that. You need to believe me when I say I don’t want the police involved. I can’t risk that they’d arrest me and take me away from my kids. I sold stolen goods. I didn’t report the sneaky boat activity. And now I have a body in my freezer. There is no way they won’t arrest me.”
She had a point. “I know a lawyer—”
“Callum, I can’t afford a lawyer. I can barely afford to feed my kids. People like me, people with no resources, don’t get away with breaking the law. They get sent to jail, and I can’t let that happen. I need to find another way out of this mess. That’s why I came to you. You have to help me. You will help me, won’t you?”
“I’m trying to help you. This is bigger than I thought. We need help. You need to call the cops.”
“I can’t. Don’t make me. I’m the only parent my kids have ever known. I can’t let myself be taken away from them. They would feel as though I’d abandoned them too. And if they lock me up, I won’t be able to pay off the loans. The moneylender said he’d hurt my family if I can’t pay him back. I can’t talk to the police unless I take my kids and sisters and we run first. Then, once we’re safe and hidden, I could maybe make an anonymous phone call. What am I thinking?” She threw up her hands. “I don’t have money to run away and start afresh. Maybe I could sell a kidney? Is that legal?” She was all too serious.
“No, it isn’t legal,” Callum said.
She nodded, appearing utterly crestfallen that she couldn’t sell a body part. “Then I’m stuck here. With a body in the freezer and a moneylender threatening my family. I don’t know what to do. That’s why I came to you. I honestly don’t know what to do, and you’re the scariest person I could think of. The only person I could think of who might know what to do with a dead body. You are going to help me deal with the body, right?”
Callum stared at her before sighing. “Aye, I’m going to help you. But we can’t deal with this alone. I’ll need to call in help.” Which meant contacting the team he’d run out on. He wanted to curse a blue streak at the thought. There was a good chance they wouldn’t take his call. They say you shouldn’t burn bridges for a reason, and he’d taken a nuclear bomb to his.
“Not police help, right?”
“Not right now.”
“Not ever.”
“I can’t promise that. But I’ll try to sort this for you without involving them.”
“Because I can’t get taken away.” The look of absolute resolve on her face made Callum wonder what she would do if he called in the cops. “What do we do about the body?”
“Leave it where it is for now,” he said. “At least until I do a bit of investigating and see how deep this hole is that you’ve stumbled into. You need to go stay with one of your sisters for a few days. Just in case these guys come back and decide to look for the person watching them.”
“That isn’t possible.” She shook her head adamantly.
Callum was losing his patience. “Is there anything I suggest that you feel you can do? Because if you aren’t going to take my advice, I don’t see the point in me being here.”
“Mairi and Agnes share a tiny one-bedroom flat over the town’s garage, and Mairi is up all night working. Agnes has a college exam tomorrow that she can’t fail. And Donna is live-in staff at the mansion house. She isn’t allowed to have people stay over. That’s why I can’t go to them. Plus, I can’t put them in any more danger than I already have. I’m not trying to be difficult. This is just the way things are.”
