Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(36)

‘Maybe he’s doing a runner. He’s going to head for the sea and swim across to Europe.’

‘Right now we’re going west,’ I pointed out.

‘So he’s going to America then.’ Bob began to hum the ‘Star Spangled Banner’.

I had no idea how I managed to get into these conversations. ‘You think he’s going to swim across the Atlantic Ocean? What is that? Three thousand miles?’

‘Fine,’ Bob said, obviously stung. ‘What’s your suggestion?’

‘I told you, I don’t know where he’s going or what he’s doing. That’s why we’re following him.’ We were reaching the city limits now and I still couldn’t work out where we were heading. The Cruaich was in the other direction and The Veil – and my own lands – were more southerly.

‘You’re no fun.’

I huffed. ‘Bob, we’re tailing Aifric Moncrieffe’s son. He’s obviously on some secret mission and we’re the only ones who know about it. What kind of fun do you want?’

Bob considered this. The last of the street lights vanished in the rear view window and another car pulled off the main road, leaving just one vehicle between Byron and us.

There was a blinding flash and I cursed, swerving across the centre of the road briefly before righting the car again. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I glared at Bob. He’d changed into a tuxedo and was sipping what looked like a martini.

‘Mish Moneypenny, you ought to calm down.’ His accent was a good approximation of Sean Connery’s but I still rolled my eyes. ‘If Byron Moncrieffe isn’t going to be James Bond, then I will be.’

‘No more of that,’ I hissed. ‘Any further flashes of light and Byron will know something’s up. If we’re going to be spies, then act like one.’

‘Don’t worry, Uh Integrity,’ Bob said, more cheerful now. ‘This isn’t my first secret mission. I worked with Kim Philby, you know. If it wasn’t for me, he’d never have been a double agent for the KGB.’

I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel. There wasn’t much petrol left in the tank so I hoped Byron wasn’t planning a long expedition. ‘So what you’re saying is that you aided and abetted a traitor.’

Bob pursed his lips. ‘I’m helping you. You’re a traitor too.’

‘It’s hardly the same thing.’

‘Depends whose point of view you’re looking from.’

I was liable to toss Bob out of the window if he didn’t stop talking soon. I did the only thing I could think of to shut him up. ‘What do you call a traitor with a lisp?’

‘Is this a joke?’ he asked suspiciously.

‘Judith.’ I grinned.

‘Uh Integrity…’

‘What do spies do when they get cold?’

He dropped the martini in favour of putting his hands over his ears. ‘Stop it,’ he moaned. ‘I’ll tell you whatever state secrets you want to know. Just please stop the torture.’

‘Then I’m going to need you to be quiet. Not one word out of your mouth unless I ask for it. Got that?’

He nodded vigorously. ‘Sure. Sure. Sure.’ He drew his finger across his lips.

I beamed. ‘Great.’

Bob dropped his hands and sighed ? but at least he didn’t say anything.

‘Oh, one more thing,’ I added casually. ‘Cold spies go undercover.’

His cheeks went bright red. It was quite possible that Bob was about to explode.

***

We tracked Byron for several miles. He wasn’t speeding and he didn’t seem in any hurry, though he wasn’t driving at snail’s pace either. It wasn’t until we passed a road sign that I got an inkling of where he might be heading. It made even less sense than Bob’s theory about Byron swimming across the Atlantic so I kept my mouth shut and continued, grimacing when the last car between us turned off the road and away. The only saving grace was that it was dark and the glare from my headlights would prevent Byron from seeing inside the car. All the same, I slowed down slightly and let him pull away from us.

When we reached the next turn off, I swung towards it. Bob opened his mouth to question my action then remembered his promise and snapped it shut again.

I brought the car to a stop and waited until Byron’s headlights were little more than pinpricks in the distance. Then I killed my lights, did another U-turn and headed after him again, making sure that this time I didn’t even begin to get close. From this distance we’d be all but invisible. I smiled. Who needed magic when you had a bit of nous?

It wasn’t long before Byron’s car also turned – and when I saw where he was going, I realised that my suspicions were correct. Bob gazed round, his expression as flummoxed as mine, as we tailed Byron down the first part of the driveway which led to the Moncrieffe Lands.

Aifric spent most of his time at the Cruaich, as befitted the Steward of the Highlands, but this was still his ancestral home. That meant it was Byron’s home too – so why was he was sneaking away from Perth simply to return to his own damned house?

I was forced to stop again after Byron paused at the border. It was too dark to tell for sure but this time he seemed to get out of his car. I watched, worried that new guards had been posted there now that all the trolls had vamoosed. If that were the case, I’d have to be more than careful ? I’d have to be the luckiest damn woman alive to tail him up to the main building. There was nothing obvious, however, other than a flare of light which was extinguished quickly. A torch, perhaps?