The Pillar of Horns

Chapter Four

Elspeth clutched the warm paper bag in her hands, the smell of pastry and corned beef wafting into the air from the opening in the top. It was an oddly comforting feeling, one that took her back to rainy Saturdays in the park with her father. It had not surprised her, that despite the islands tiny population they had still been able to find a Greggs nestled amongst what the locals had called the "high street" but was much more of a "middle lane" in Elspeth's eyes. Gregor walked slightly ahead, his own pasty in hand, some new concoction, nacho cheese and pepperoni. It didn't seem right to her. Pasties should be filled with corned beef and a little potato. You went Cornish, if you were feeling fancy.

They were strolling through the town, headed towards the pier. Raasay house had been near empty. The manager had assured them, perhaps too thoroughly that it was the low point in the year. It was a double-edged sword. It meant that it was mercifully easy to move on the guests, to conceal the brutal murder just beyond their window. It also, unfortunately, meant no-one had seen or heard anything. Their leads were non-existent, so the detectives were one their way to speak with the only person they knew would have had contact with the deceased.

The target of that interview was currently on the horizon, driving his boat towards the pier. The weather was much improved, the constant drizzle having lifted, a slim ray of sunlight creeping through the still omnipresent cloud cover. Elspeth watched as the boat slowly drifting towards them, gliding smoothly across the water. She was jealous of the coroner's team aboard, remembering her stomach-churning crossing. Her lips upturned in a smile as she realised that they wouldn't be happy about the now doubled workload. It gave Elspeth a sense of grim fairness. She took another bite of her breakfast, the warm filling squirting from between the pastry layers.

The boat drifted gently up the pier, water rippling calmly around it. The ferryman, clad in the same yellow waterproofs deftly tied the small boat up, before dropping down a large ramp. A gaggle of unhappy looking men and women, all wearing plain black suits gingerly stepped across the wobbling metal. The last two carefully lifted a gurney onto the ramp with a clatter.

"Morning all," Gregor said cheerfully, placing the paper bag that had held his breakfast into a small public bin. "You'll find the local bobby in the corner shop. He'll show you where to find the bodies."

"Bodies?" asked one of the suited men. "As in plural?" He placed his hands to the sides of his head and began to rub.

"Oh, I guess your boss didn't let you know. We've got two now." Gregor held up his fingers to make his point.

"Oh, for Christ's sake. We only have one gurney. We couldn't get the van on Chiron's bloody dinghy back there." The suited man let out a long drawn-out sigh.

"Honestly," Gregor began, "you won't need one for the second body. It's not...together enough. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and all that, but we appreciate you guys coming up from London special."

"Dragged out of my bed, slammed into a van and then told to drive to Scotland. Got its...every single time with your department is something weird. And it's always in the arse end of nowhere." His fellows were nodding along in agreement as he spoke. "Just think of the overtime Brian. Think of the overtime," he muttered. "Right. Come on then you lot, quicker we're done, the faster we're on the road back home."

"Did I hear right?" The ferryman asked as the team from the coroner left, his voice low and quiet. Secretive. "There's been another murder?"

The ferryman sat, a mug of coffee in his hand. Gregor and Elspeth had taken seats on sofas opposite. They had found a small café, nestled in between a hairdressers and the islands sole take-away. The ferryman seemed visibly shaken, despite them choosing a neutral a location as possible.