Bonnie of Evidence by Maddy Hunter

Author:Maddy Hunter [Hunter, Maddy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, senior citizens, humor, tourist, Nessy, geocaching, Scotland, cozy mystery, Loch Ness Monster, Loch Ness, cozy
Publisher: Midnight Ink, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
Published: 2012-12-27T13:00:00+00:00

twelve

“They was having a shoppers’ special on bottled water in the hotel gift shop,” Nana told me as we approached Wick the next day. “Buy one, get two free.”

I frowned. “But why did you pay for water when you can get it free on the bus?”

“’Cuz the water in the hotel was on sale, dear. Gettin’ somethin’ for free don’t got the same buzz as gettin’ it dirt cheap.”

We’d followed the coastline as we headed northeast on the A9. We visited the home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland at Dunrobin Castle, geocached at an obscure site near Hill o’ Many Stanes, and spent the rest of the day crossing a flurry of firths and being wowed by sweeping views of the North Sea, which appeared to be stuck at permanent low tide despite our many hours on the road. I’d switched seats with George at our last comfort station, so this was the first time I’d been able to talk to Nana today.

“The clerk give us fair warnin’ that the farther north we drove, the fewer shops we was gonna find, so we loaded up. I got three bottles, Tilly got six, and your mother got about a dozen.” She gave me a hard look. “She probably wants to make sure I don’t got no excuse for not takin’ them dang pills she give me.”

I hefted Nana’s stubby bottle of Thistle brand water in my palm. Just my luck that Mrs. Dalrymple had stocked the same brand of water in her gift shop that Calum had stocked in his cooler. Talk about muddying the evidentiary waters. “Did you happen to see anyone other than the Iowa gang buying up the inventory?”

“Nope. But that don’t mean they didn’t get in on the deal. I wasn’t in there too long ’cuz I wanted to run the bottles up to my room before the bus started loadin’.”

“So when did you make your big purchase?”

“Yesterday mornin’, after breakfast. Them two hunky fellas was in there tryin’ on sweaters, so they probably seen the sale sign too.” She glanced over her shoulder, then said in a low voice, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dear, but them two young men aren’t like the other fellas on the trip.”

“No kidding?” I feigned surprise. “How so?”

She dropped her voice to a deathbed whisper. “They got real good fashion sense. I never seen nuthin’ like it. I’m hopin’ George’ll pick up a few pointers. I don’t got the heart to tell him what he looks like when he wears his plaid shirt with them checkered pants a his.”

Signs for a hospital and railway station welcomed us to Wick. We crossed the stone bridge into the town, passing over a coastal river whose exposed bottom was a swill of black tidal mud cluttered with rocks, seaweed, and a blanket of neon green algae that was crawling up the support walls like a flesh-eating virus. Beyond the bridge was the town’s business district, comprised of an orderly assemblage of tidy stone buildings that housed the offices of local government.

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