Murder in the Cairngorms: A fiendishly twisty murder mystery, as Maggie embarks on her fourth Scottish puzzler by Rob Wyllie

Author:Rob Wyllie [Wyllie, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rob Wyllie Paperbacks
Published: 2024-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Jimmy had been forced to park his investigation of Gordon Baird's death for a few days, with him and his business partner Stew Edwards committed to taking a party of Edinburgh civil servants on their outward-bound company's signature three-day Cairngorm endurance trek. However, somewhat disingenuously he had to admit, he had planned the adventure so that it followed the route taken by the mountain rescue guys when they had set out to search for Gina McQuarrie, and taking the party right by the exact same spot where she had met her death. The group had stopped for a half-hour hydration and nourishment break in the saddle that led up to Braeriach, allowing Jimmy the opportunity to re-examine the crime scene. Given that he would soon have the job of convincing an experienced local police officer that his analysis of the situation was correct, he approached this second visit with an open mind and some trepidation. But no, there was nothing he saw that made him change his opinion - unquestionably, Gordon Baird and Gina McQuarrie had been forcibly propelled over the edge, clearing the potentially arresting ledge before falling to their deaths.

Now Jimmy was over in Aviemore, where he had arranged to meet with Sandy McDade from the mountain rescue team, together with his new colleague DC Lexy McDonald, who had driven up from Glasgow that morning. The venue was the Infamous Grouse pub, which had evidently become the unofficial headquarters of the team and had inexplicably been allowed to keep using its cheeky name by the international beverage giant that owned the trademark to the Famous whisky brand. At ten-thirty in the morning however, a wee dram wasn't on the menu, famous or otherwise. Swinging through the door, he saw that Lexy and Sandy had already arrived and had grabbed a table over in the corner. He raised an arm in greeting and strode over to join them.

'Hi Jimmy,' Lexy said brightly. 'Me and Sandy have already introduced ourselves and we've ordered some coffees.'

Jimmy gave the man a warm smile. 'Good to see you again Sandy,' he said, shaking hands.

'So what's this all about?' McDade said. 'You said on the phone you wanted to talk about a couple of deaths from ten years ago, and now it seems it's a police matter.'

'Aye, sorry about the subterfuge Sandy,' Lexy said apologetically. 'It's a situation that's moving really fast and we can't tell you the full story right now, because we don't actually know it ourselves. But we really need your assistance.'

McDade smiled. 'Well of course, I'll do whatever I can to help.'

'I see you've brought your laptop,' Jimmy said, nodding at the device. 'Does that get us on to your database?'

'Yep, it's all here,' he confirmed. 'Or at least everything we have. Remember, lots of eejits head into the hills without telling a soul.'

'Aye, I know that,' Jimmy said ruefully. 'So for Lexy's benefit, would you mind explaining how this thing works?'

'Yeah, I suppose you and your mate Stew use it all the time,' McDade said.

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