The Ardmore Inheritance by Rob Wyllie (best value ebook reader TXT) 📗

it was, with Roderick stuck over in Canada with two newborn babies and his young son Peter. To be fair to the Navy, they arranged pretty rapidly for him to be posted back to Scotland. They found him a desk job here at the Ardmore base so that he could move back into the family home.'

'So who looked after the children then?'

McLeod smiled. 'Yes that was the priority of course. They managed to find a live-in nanny, who stayed with them for quite a few years. Until he married Alison in fact.'

'A nanny?' Maggie said, her eyes narrowing. 'And I assume you know who she was. Who she is, I should say?'

He nodded. 'Yes, of course. Susan McColl is her name, old Jim McColl's daughter. He was a local farmer, up at Ardrishaig. Long dead of course and the farm sold off.'

'But this Susan, I'm sure she must still be alive?'

'Susan? I'd imagine so. She was around forty then, so she wouldn't be that old now, perhaps in her early seventies I'd guess. But she moved away from the area, what, it must be twenty-five or more years ago.' He gave her a wry look. 'She married a sailor you see, as many ladies around here do. I seem to recall they moved down south when he was posted to another base. Portsmouth or Plymouth, I always get them mixed up. But I remember her married name. Susan Priest. He was a Petty Officer, worked in the ordnance stores as I recall. John or Jim, I think it was one of the two.'

'And she would know I guess, which twin was the elder?' Maggie asked, then thinking out loud, 'but goodness knows how we would track her down.'

McLeod nodded again. 'Yes, I expect she would.' Then out of the blue he said, 'But you could always ask my Flora of course.'

'Flora?' she said, feigning surprise. And hoping that her acting wasn't so bad as to arouse suspicion.

'My daughter. Dr Flora Stewart. She works here in the practice.' There was no disguising the pride in his voice. 'She was great friends with the twins when she was growing up, and they were always round our house.'

'Yes that would be great,' Maggie said, thinking that it would be exactly the opposite.

'She's not in today unfortunately,' McLeod said. 'She's up in Glasgow on a course. But she'll be back in tomorrow as usual. I'm sure Elaine could fit you in. And of course I'll ask my wife Elizabeth this evening. She would probably know too, now that I come to think of it.'

'Yes, well that would be great,' Maggie said, relieved, 'but we're actually heading back down south tomorrow so it will have to wait for another time. But thank you for your help Dr McLeod.'

He shrugged. 'I'm not sure I was much help but I hope you do get it sorted out. Now, is there anything else we can do for you today?'

She laughed as she got up to go. 'No, nothing I can think of thank you.'

She knew it was cowardly, but she wouldn't be bothering Elaine the receptionist with a request for an appointment, not right now at least. She planned to have a glass of wine or two back at the hotel and think through the next steps in her Jimmy-Flora reconciliation plan. Because now that Lochmorehead was so central to the Macallan matter, it would be silly if he didn't arrange to meet her at some point.

◆◆◆

It was only quarter to five when she got back to the hotel, finding Jimmy and Frank already propping up the bar with pints in hand, in the company of a uniformed WPC who was sitting on a bar-stool drinking a mug of tea.

'Hi Maggie,' Frank said, beaming a smile. 'Great to see you. This is WPC McDonald, Lexy to her friends. Lexy, meet Maggie Bainbridge. She's a lawyer beneath the innocent disguise so be careful what you say.'

Maggie laughed. 'Nice to meet you Lexy, and as Frank well knows, I'm actually a lapsed lawyer.'

'Once a lawyer, always a lawyer,' he said. 'Anyway, can Jimmy get you a drink? Usual chardonnay, is it?'

'That would be nice. I'm just going to give Ollie a call and then I'll join you.' She smiled then slipped out to the reception area.

It was one of the downsides of the job, having to leave her adored little boy back in Hampstead with their Polish nanny, but Marta was an absolute gem and she knew he was being well cared for, both physically and spiritually. She called her home landline number and it was answered by her son almost before the first ring.

'Mummy mummy,' he yelled, his voice crackling with excitement, 'I've been picked for the football team. I've to play in a flat back four.'

'That's amazing darling,' she said. 'It's a very important position I'm sure.' After the call she would ask Jimmy or Frank to explain to her what it meant, not that she was likely to understand any of it, if past experience was anything to go by.

'The first game's on Tuesday. Will you come to watch? Please mummy, please.'

She laughed. 'Of course I will, and I'm sure you'll score lots of goals.'

'Defenders stop goals mummy, they don't score them. Except from set pieces,' he said importantly. That would be another thing she would have to ask the Stewart brothers about. Jimmy and Frank Stewart. She'd known them barely two years and in that time they had become the most precious people in her life after her little boy and her mum and dad.

'I'll be back home in time for tea tomorrow darling,' she said. 'I can't wait to see you again.'

She heard his sigh of disappointment, guessing correctly what had prompted it. 'Marta said we could go to McDonalds mummy.'

She laughed. 'Well that sounds like a very good idea. I'll be there too if there's room for me. Now go and have some tea and be good for Marta. And don't stay up too