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He was silent a moment. “I couldn’t find any trace of MacClaren after Denver.” He smiled. “But I did find that D. B. Ward located very happily in Seattle, where he continued to write and illustrate dime novels. He also painted several landscapes that were very well thought of by the critics of the time. He invested his profits in the local railway and did fine economically. But that might have something to do with his wife, who took over the running of the railway and evidently had a terrific head for business.”
“And her name?”
“Not Fiona. They would have both been too smart to make that mistake when they couldn’t be sure whether the hunt was still going on.” He smiled. “Her name was Maggie. A fine Scottish name from the Borderlands.” He added softly, “And one of the meanings is ‘she knows.’”
“I’m glad someone appreciated her.” Jane added thoughtfully, “So they decided that MacClaren was to completely leave the scene so he wouldn’t be under suspicion. Then he could find a place for both of them and arrange for Fiona to disappear six months later.”
“If that’s what you think happened.” He smiled. “I can only give you the bare facts. It’s up to you to twist them to suit yourself.”
“And I’ve already done that.” She frowned. “But I wonder how she got from MacDuff’s Run to America?”
“With help from MacClaren, of course. Just as he probably helped her to eliminate Graeme a few years later on that train in Montana when he was hunting her down.”
She nodded. “Too coincidental. I can see a confrontation happening. But it might have been Fiona, not MacClaren. If it was as passionate a love affair as it seemed, she would have wanted to protect what they had together.”
“‘If’? You haven’t read the letter?”
“Not yet. I meant to do it. But I’ve been a bit busy.” She added bitterly, “That’s an understatement. Bohdan managed to poison everything lately. We’ve got to stop him.” Her lips tightened. “And not let him take over our lives. I’ll read that letter, dammit. I promised MacDuff that I’d solve his Fiona mystery. It’s the least I can do after what he’s gone through for me. I’m dreading what I’m going to see at the castle.”
He nodded. “The damage isn’t a pretty sight.” He glanced out the windshield. “And we’re getting close to the road. You’ll be seeing it soon. You said you wanted to call Caleb?”
She was already reaching for her phone. “Pull onto the road as soon as possible. I’ll tell him I want to talk to him before we reach the gates.”
“Good idea. You might lose your train of thought. Not much left of those gates,” Rodland said. “I think I see Caleb just ahead…”
And Jane was already talking to him. “We’re right behind you. Could you rein in and let me talk to you? Rodland is stopping when we reach the road.”
“Any problem?”
“A misunderstanding. We’ll take care of it.” She ended the call.
“Brief and to the point.” Rodland was already stopping on the edge of the road. “Not necessarily warm.”
“I wasn’t aiming for warmth. I wanted clarity.” She opened the car door. “Caleb will understand. At the moment he’s probably rapidly going over in his mind all the things that I might be about to say.” She got out of the car. “And because he’s really quite brilliant and knows me very well, no doubt he’ll reach the right conclusion before I have a chance to go into it with him.” She was walking toward where Caleb was sitting on Jocko a short distance away. “I don’t think I’ll be long.”
“A misunderstanding?” Caleb was smiling faintly as she approached. “Then let’s take care of it. You didn’t like me doing the advance sweep to make certain we weren’t going to have company in that forest.”
“I told Rodland that you’d have it worked out before I had to open my lips. You probably knew it was a possibility before you told Rodland to saddle Jocko.” She looked him in the eyes. “You were very persuasive about the fact that you knew I’d be reasonable about never wanting the baby to be in danger and I was the natural guardian because I’m carrying that child. All that was true. I will be careful, but I won’t let you go riding off and taking chances that aren’t necessary. There will be times when I’ll have to make decisions, but this wasn’t one of them. I won’t lose this baby and I won’t lose you. You went alone today, and I could have been there and helped. Don’t do that again.”
“Do I dare ask what you’d do if I did?”
“I’d come after you. I almost did today. I won’t hesitate again.” She smiled crookedly. “The solution is that you find a way to use me to help, and you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Oh, I’ll worry.” He paused. “But I’m reading you loud and clear. I don’t believe we’ll have to have this conversation again.”
“Thank God,” she said wearily. “I didn’t want to face arguing with you. Because I’m going to have to get back in that car and go down to that burned-out gate and face MacDuff. It’s going to hurt, Caleb.”
“I know. I don’t want you to be alone.” He turned Jocko and gave him a kick. “Give me a five-minute start. I’ll meet you at the gate.”
She stood looking after him for a few moments and then turned and headed for the Range Rover.
“Everything okay?” Rodland asked as she got in the car. “He didn’t give you a hard time?”
“No, everything’s not okay.” She might still have problems with Caleb’s protective instinct, yet that wasn’t all bad. That moment when he’d reached out and told her he wanted to be with her at those burned-out gates had magically soothed and eased the pain she knew was coming. “But some things are a lot better than others.”
***
MacDuff’s Run
