Scot on the Rocks by Catriona McPherson

Author:Catriona McPherson [Catriona McPherson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2020-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

Burt Towser wasn’t hard to find, although there were more of them across the land than I’d expected. I took a punt that the orthodontal surgeon based in Madding was the one I was after, and set off up there at ten o’clock.

It was still pelting rain, which usually cheers me up – bringing, as it does, memories of childhood and Scotland; of jumping in puddles, and cocoa by the fire afterwards; of life without drought and wildfires. Today though, I had been hoping to keep my hair within the normal range of acceptable styles for toilet boy but, as I drove up the state route between Cuento and Madding, I began to see the edges of it in the rear-view mirror as it grew and frizzed and grew again, like a home chemistry trick with baking soda. When I took a look at it, after parking, I thought of those bolls of killer tumbleweed that cause pile-ups in the desert, and of those fridge cakes you make by rolling cornflakes in melted toffee, except I looked like one great big one dragged across a barber’s floor before it was set all the way.

Towser’s office was, as so many offices in these parts are, in a big block of suites set round an atrium, with more parking than they needed (surely) and a handy little strip mall across the way, offering a Daivz coffee, a Korean barbecue, a nail salon and a juice bar. I think it’s a local zoning law that these four establishments appear in every five-unit strip mall in the state. The wild card this time was a doughnut shop, all the better to make more customers for orthodontal surgeons across the way.

I was sure the receptionist could tell I still had my wisdom teeth. She stared at the hinge of my jaw as I asked whether Dr Towser had a free moment in the next hour or so.

‘You don’t have an appointment?’ she said. ‘Dr Towser is extremely busy, scheduled all day, with no breaks.’ But she was still staring at a point just in front of my ears.

The sensible thing to do was to make an appointment, but I had spoken to Bran on the hands-free while I was driving.

‘Brandee?’ he had said breathlessly, after less than one whole ring.

‘Lexy,’ I said. ‘You haven’t heard from her then?’

‘It’s been four days, Lex,’ he said.

‘Have you had any more … deliveries?’

‘No, thank God. Nothing.’

‘And nothing by way of a follow-up to the last one? They said, “obey instructions”. Have they given you any instructions to obey?’

He gasped. ‘Oh God. Oh my God. That never even occurred to me. What if the instructions are lost in the mail and—?’

‘Wasn’t it hand delivered?’

‘What if the instructions blew away from under the porch and they—?’

‘Didn’t you fit a camera?’

‘But Lexy,’ he said, and his voice had sunk to a whisper, ‘what if she’s dead? What if I never see her again? What if they’ve hurt her and she’s alone

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.