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Railroad tracks.
That didn’t mean she had to make any more mistakes. She whirled on the stairs and ran back down. Not when MacDuff had a library overflowing with ancient books about the property and all of Scotland itself. Fiona might even have been exposed to some of those books at one time or another. Or not. That didn’t mean Jane couldn’t explore and learn and find out if there was anything in them that could help her unveil a little of the mystery that was Fiona.
God knows, she doubted if she was going to be able to sleep tonight.
Not when she had no idea what was waiting for her tomorrow at Kilgoray.
***
“You were right to tell me to go after the woman,” Chiswick said when Bohdan picked up the phone later that night. “I just spent an interesting few hours with Jane MacGuire’s agent, Felicia Dillard, at her apartment in London. I couldn’t get in touch with MacGuire herself.” His voice was filled with satisfaction. “But it didn’t really make a difference because I got what you wanted. Seth Caleb goes to all MacGuire’s exhibits, and Dillard is sure that they’re lovers. At the moment she’s a guest at the estate of John Angus MacDuff, the Earl of MacDuff’s Run. That was the friend of Caleb’s who called him when he thought MacGuire was in trouble a couple years ago. So he might still be watching out for her.” He added softly, “Or Caleb could possibly be there, too, and we might be able to gather both of them in.”
“Or MacGuire could be MacDuff’s mistress and Caleb might not give a damn about her any longer,” Bohdan said sarcastically. “He probably got bored with her and gave her to MacDuff. Two years can be a lifetime. She might not be any use to us at all.”
“That’s not what her agent said,” Chiswick replied. “I spent a long time questioning Felicia Dillard and she swore that Caleb was still MacGuire’s lover.” He chuckled. “I even used some of your special techniques to make certain she was telling the truth. I knew you’d be skeptical. I guarantee that she wouldn’t have lied after what I put the bitch through.”
“You’re an amateur. You should have left her for me.”
“You were in a hurry. You’ll have MacGuire soon enough. I didn’t want to bother keeping Dillard alive when there was no reason. I got the information and then took her for a ride on a yacht I rented to go up to bonnie Scotland and scout out MacDuff’s Run. Unfortunately, if MacGuire survives, she’ll have to get another agent.”
“She won’t survive.”
“I didn’t think so. That’s why I didn’t want to have to deal with Felicia. I’m on my way to check out MacDuff’s Run, and exactly who is guarding it. If Caleb had anything to do with it, I imagine it’s been upgraded by now. He probably pulled in MI6. I did a little initial probing and got info about the general setup of the estate. The number of people occupying the castle and the village. It depends on how many additional guards are there, if we’re going to get lucky with Caleb as well as Jane MacGuire.” He paused. “I believe we have a chance to reel them in. I know there’s no way you want anyone to touch Caleb but you. But we both know how lethal he can be. If I get a chance, can I take him down?”
“Hell, no,” he snarled. “Not unless you want me to cut your nuts off. He’smine. Stake out the place, get me the information, and I’ll go in and take him down.” But Chiswick might actually be close this time, he thought. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins as he considered it. It had been years since anyone had humiliated him the way Caleb had. He couldn’t wait to pound that son of a bitch into the ground. “But I’m going to trust you on this, and you’d better not fail me. I’ll be leaving Naples in a couple of days to join you. I’ll call you when I’m near enough to rendezvous with you at MacDuff’s Run.” He concluded, “So get your ass in gear and do your job,” then pressedDISCONNECT.
***
Courtyard Stable
Next Day
“It’s about time you got here.” Jane’s tone was caustic as Rodland came down the steps to the storage unit. “It’s almost two in the afternoon. Where have you been? So much for devoting your entire time to guarding me even if it meant battling MacDuff.”
“Stop complaining. MacDuff told me he was sending Fergus to watch over you.” He dropped to his knees beside her. “Besides, it was entirely your fault. I ran into MacDuff on my way here this morning and he was actually fairly civil to me.” He made a face. “Though he does have a puckish sense of humor and insisted that he show me the dungeon that he’d been threatening me with during our first encounter. When we got there, he bet me that I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the damn place.” He shrugged. “What could I do? I had to prove my worth, didn’t I? He wouldn’t have trusted you with me if I hadn’t.”
“So you let him lock you up?”
“It seemed the best thing to do.” He grinned. “But I made sure that it would work for us.”
She was frowning. “You got out of the dungeon?”
“His dungeon was a piece of cake after the prisons I’d occupied in Afghanistan. They didn’t know how to build them right in the good old days. But I deliberately stalled for an hour or two to make MacDuff feel good about how hard I was finding it. Then I was duly humble when I supposedly discovered the way out of his precious hoosegow. Though I let him know how upset you were going to be because I’d wasted all that time and we’d probably both have to work late going through these diaries. That should give us a little extra time if Kilgoray takes longer than you think it will.”
“It shouldn’t. But you’re right, it could help.” She smiled. “I guess perhaps I’ll forgive you for keeping MacDuff amused all morning.” She added thoughtfully, “But don’t be too sure that MacDuff was fooled. I’ve been in that dungeon, and he knows it’s possible to get out. He might have known you were playing him. He’s very sharp.”
He nodded. “There was always that possibility. However, I think there’s a decent chance that he was. If he wasn’t, then he was in a mood to let me play a game that he also enjoyed. At any rate, even though I’d won the bet he took me back to the castle for a brandy and we parted on good terms. That’s not bad.” He asked curiously, “You were in that dungeon?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t resist. My father, Joe, is a detective and an expert in any number of restraint techniques from handcuffs to safes. He spent a summer when I was a teenager teaching me. It was great fun.”
“And so was showing up MacDuff when you came here?”
“We were friends, he was glad that I’d been taught a skill. It wasn’t a game between us. I wouldn’t have tried to show him up. But never underestimate him.”
“I won’t. I’m glad you warned me.” He gazed at the pile of volumes on the floor beside Jane. “You found more Fiona journals?”
She shook her head. “Historical books from MacDuff’s library. I went over most of them in my room last night, but I wanted to compare the contents with entries from Fiona’s diaries and journals. These are very good. They go back to the time of Cira and her arrival in a very savage Gaul from Herculaneum.”
“Cira. I’ve heard you mention her before.”
