off their hoses. Friar Thomas walked to the doorway and peered inside, shaking his head. The walls and roof had survived, the interior was a mess. A black mass of charred debris filled the front of the room. Miraculously, the shelves at the back of the room remained standing, their books slightly blackened, showing only light water damage.
Summer joined him at the door. “I’m so sorry the library has been destroyed.”
“The rare books in the collection look to have survived,” Thomas said, pointing at the intact rear shelves. “I think only the modern parish records have been lost, and those we have on digital files.” He gazed upward in reflection. “We thank the Lord. It could have been much worse. We could have lost all of you.”
The friar led them back into the main building to wash up. As Summer and Brophy thanked the friar for his help and turned to leave, they noticed Dirk had disappeared. They found him outside, walking away from an angry young woman. He had a long face and carried a smashed pie box.
“Helping with the bake sale?” Brophy said. “Kind lad.”
“Sort of,” Dirk said. “It was thrown in as part of the transaction.”
“Transaction?”
“I just bought a car.”
“Then why so glum? That should be a happy occasion.”
Dirk pointed to the mangled Fiat. “Not if you can’t drive it.”
45
It was near dusk when Pitt piloted the fishing boat back to Drumnadrochit. He thanked the lady at the marina and tipped her for use of the fishing gear. As he made his way to his car, he pretended to ignore the black BMW parked on the road above, which had tracked him up and down the loch all day. He turned onto the shoreline road and drove to the McKee estate.
As he approached the manor, he quickly pulled off the road well ahead of the entrance and parked. The tailing BMW was caught off guard and had to drive past Pitt and the manor and stop around the next bend. Pitt walked to the guard at the entrance and pointed at his car.
“I got in a fender bender. A tow truck is supposed to fetch it this evening. I told them to pick it up just outside the residence.”
The guard looked at the car, then back at Pitt. “I understand, sir. It will be safe there.” She motioned for Pitt to proceed.
Inside the gate, Pitt saw the interior parking lot was nearly empty. At the main entrance, a handful of women with suitcases were preparing to depart. He made his way to his room and found Loren in front of a mirror, applying makeup.
“There you are,” she said flatly. “We’re due to dine with Mrs. McKee in twenty minutes.”
“It looks like everyone is leaving,” Pitt said. “I thought there was another day of conferences.”
“Only the new attendees are invited to stay an extra day.”
There was an unusual hardness in Loren’s voice, and her eyes appeared glassy.
“Are you feeling all right?” He put his arms around her.
She immediately brushed him away. “I was fine until now,” she snapped. “You better get ready.”
Pitt stared at his wife with worry, but said no more. He cleaned up quickly and slipped on a sport coat. Together they walked to the formal dining hall, where a single table overlooking the courtyard was set for dinner. McKee and Audrey stood talking with Abigail Brown, each holding a drink. McKee’s tall companion Rachel stood in the background, eyeing Pitt.
As Loren introduced Pitt to the former Australian prime minister, a servant offered them champagne. McKee ushered everyone to the table, where she took the seat at the head, opposite Pitt.
“I’d go easy on the drinks,” Pitt whispered to Loren as they took their seats. She shook her head and took a sip of champagne.
“Where is your other daughter this evening?” Brown asked McKee.
“Riki had to fly to Ireland for a business project.” McKee turned her attention to Pitt. “I understand you tried your hand at fishing today. Did you have any luck?”
“A few bites, nothing worth keeping. It was pleasant to be on the water. The loch is quite intriguing.”
“My late husband used to love to fish,” she said. “He has some record salmon mounted in the basement.” She looked at Pitt with a penetrating gaze.
He stared back at McKee. “I’d love to see them. I understand your husband was killed in a boating accident on the lake.”
“Yes, he had an Italian speedboat that he liked to race about at high speeds.” She spoke in