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“I take it they still havnae located yer brother, then? Is that part of the intriguing puzzle ye’ve brought us?” He leaned back and gave her a sympathetic smile. “But enough guessing, Ms. Williams. I’ll let ye tell us what brings ye here.”
“Paige, please,” she replied. They listened intently while she repeated her story and Lauren showed them the tattered post-card.
When she finished, Taran couldnae take his eyes off her as she nervously chewed her lip, her lovely face etched with worry and exhaustion.
“I ken ye’ve been in contact with the search team?” Reginald asked. “They’ve kept ye up tae date?”
“Yes. No. Sort of,” Paige winced. “After I reported him missing, I called every day for an update, but they didn’t seem to know much more than I already knew from what Austin wrote on the postcard. They said they’d check things out and as soon as they had any new information, they’d be in touch with me.”
Taran put his hands under the table and clenched them together to keep from following his outrageous impulse to smooth her battered lips with is thumb. The lass wouldnae quit scraping her teeth across them. “But they dinnae?” he prompted.
She glanced at Taran. “Not at first. And after more than a month with no word, my anxiety became unbearable. Then they told me they’d spoken to Mr. McColl and Austin had, in fact, come here. And that the two men with him said they’d had a successful descent and then each had gone their separate ways. That’s when I decided to come to Scotland myself.”
She shook her head and took a shuddering breath, glancing between Taran and the McColls. “The authorities said that’s all the information they had. But that can’t be all there is. There has to be something more. Some clue to where he went. Something he said.”
Turning to Reginald, she leaned closer. “I came here hoping—praying—you might have remembered something else? Anything. Even the smallest detail could make a difference.” She paused and closed her eyes, seeming to struggle for composure. “So, please, if you wouldn’t mind repeatingeverythingfor me I’d appr…appreciate—”
Her voice cracked and an agonizing sob escaped. “Please, Mr. McColl. I’m desperate to find Austin!” she cried. “Desperate enough to quit my job, sever my lease, and use every dime I had plus all I could beg or borrow, just to get here!”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to reveal my personal issues. It’s just…I fear something terrible has happened or Austin would have contacted me long before now. He’s all I have. I must find him and…” she took a shuddering breath, “youseem to be my last hope.”
Watching her struggle to still her quivering chin as her eyes filled with tears, put a lump in Taran’s throat. Though valiant, her battle to contain her emotions was painfully obvious. Sadly, he kenned what ’twas like to feel so helpless. Every one of The 79 could empathize. They’d all agonized over their own families, left behind to suffer the aftermath of Culloden.
Someone needed to comfort her! The poor lass seemed at her wit’s end. Taran looked to Lauren whose brow was furrowed in concentration as she focused expectantly on her husband.
“As I told the search team when they came out,” Reginald began, “three men showed up one afternoon tae ask exactly what yer brother told ye in that message. They wanted tae rappel the crag.”
“I can’t believe you let them.” Lauren said, incredulously. “You’ve always been so private and protective of everything in the glen.”
“You’re right” he said, taking her hand. “But regretfully, in the end, I gave them permission on the promise they wouldnae share the existence of the crag or the cave. I dinnae want others coming tae make the same request. I cautioned them about how dangerous and slippery the rock face could be. Especially with the weather still as cold as it was. And I explained that on top of the remaining snow, the mist from the waterfall turned the rocks and the stone face tae sheer ice.”
He glanced miserably at Paige. “But they were so determined, so anxious tae get started they wouldnae back down. The difficulty seemed tae just ignite their determination further. So, I had them jot down a quick liability release and quite reluctantly, gave my permission. I had an order due that day, so I couldnae accompany them tae the edge. Now, I wish I’d followed my instincts and denied them access altogether.”
Taran couldnae tell if the muffled noise Reginald made was a sigh or an agonized cry. Clearly, he was suffering for his decision.
“Foolishly, I gave them directions and watched them walk away loaded down with ropes and all kinds of gear I dinnae recognize,” Reginald said. “I never saw or heard from them again, so I assumed they’d done exactly as they’d intended.”
“Was Austin…okay when you spoke to him? Did he say where he was going next or mention any upcoming plans? What about the other two men? Did they say anything else?”
“No’ much, really,” Reginald replied in a low tone. “The one called Harris mentioned he worked as a local tour guide for a company in Inverness but liked tae go rappelling whenever he got the chance. As they left for the crag, yer brother was giving him a hard time about being tied down tae specific work hours. Harris argued that regular hours provided regular paychecks and reminded yer brother that’s what paid for the expensive equipment they were about tae use.”
Paige nodded, absently drawing circles in the condensation on her lemonade glass. “Sounds like some of the few conversations I’ve had with him. Although, not over sports equipment.”
Taran coughed to muffle the grunt that escaped him. This brother dinnae sound to him like the savior Paige deemed him to be. But he couldnae help admiring the unconditional love she obviously had for him. ’Twas hard watching her suffer so.
“I ken it isnae much, lass,” Reginald offered, “but ’tis good tae know the Mountain Rescue Team did a thorough search of the rock face, the cave, and the valley below. In person and with drones. So ye can rest assured he wasnae hurt. At least, no’ here,” he added in a low tone.
“I’m sorry you had to expose the existence of the cave to so many,” Lauren said, laying her hand over his.
Reginald turned his hand palm up to squeeze her fingers. “Thanks, Love. But the safety of that missing man was far more important than any amount of family history there. If there were clues to Austin’s disappearance, they needed tae come tae light.”
“But there wasn’t,” Paige interjected. “Not all those months ago, or any time since. But I still can’t give up! Not when all I’ve been able to think about is Austin lying hurt somewhere.” She swiped irritably at her tears. “I was wrong to wait so long to report him missing. And even longer before I decided to come. I’m…I’m terrified that he might really be...gone.”
“The fact that your brother is missing, is unbelievably tragic,” Lauren offered. “But you can’t shoulder the blame. As harsh as it sounds, it’s obvious he’s been doing whatever he wanted for a long time now. You can’t bear any responsibility for whatever has happened to him.”
“Ye must ken she’s right,” Taran urged.
Paige turned her tearful gaze in his direction. “I suppose. I just…need to know he’s safe.” Pulling a tissue from her bag, she mopped her face, blew out a breath, squared her shoulders and glanced around the table. “I apologize if Austin’s actions, or mine, have caused trouble for anyone.”
