Most Gracious Advocate (Terrence Reid Mystery Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010

  Chapter 1

  PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 28

  Chapter 2

  MONDAY, MARCH 29

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  TUESDAY, MARCH 30

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  THURSDAY, APRIL 1

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  SATURDAY, APRIL 3

  Chapter 21

  EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 4

  Chapter 22

  EASTER MONDAY, APRIL 5

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  TUESDAY, APRIL 6

  Chapter 26

  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  THURSDAY, APRIL 8

  Chapter 29

  FRIDAY, APRIL 9

  Chapter 30

  SATURDAY, APRIL 10

  Chapter 31

  SUNDAY, APRIL 11

  Chapter 32

  MONDAY, APRIL 12

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  TUESDAY, APRIL 13

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  THURSDAY, APRIL 15

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  FRIDAY, APRIL 16

  Chapter 49

  SATURDAY, APRIL 17

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  A MONTH LATER

  Chapter 54

  About the Author

  Terrence Reid Series

  MOST GRACIOUS ADVOCATE

  MARY BIRK

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2018 by Mary Birk

  eISBN: 978-0-9903277-9-0

  Cover Design by JT Lindroos,

  Cover photos by William Warby and Ben Brophy

  To Mike, forever alive in our hearts

  WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010

  Chapter 1

  Glasgow, Scotland

  LIZZIE FROST CHECKED her watch—twenty minutes early. Glasgow was a lot bigger than the town in California where she lived with her mother, and she wasn’t quite used to calculating how long it took to get from one place to another. She scanned the busy restaurant, craning her neck around the boisterous line of people waiting to be seated, but didn’t see any sign of her friend.

  Finally, after months of online chat, she and Rosie were going to meet in person. Lizzie couldn’t wait. Despite being from different countries, she and Rosie had instantly clicked. They’d exchanged photos, and Lizzie didn’t have any doubt they’d recognize each other. But chances that Rosie and she would be able to get a table here, and still be on time for the movie, seemed slim.

  Cold air rushed in as the door opened and a young man in a black leather jacket and worn jeans burst into the entryway. Rubbing his hands together as if to warm them, his eyes searched the crowd. Dark hair, mussed from the wind, covered his eyes. When he shoved his bangs back, revealing ferociously bushy eyebrows, his eyes flickered toward her. She quickly turned away, but sensed, rather than saw him move toward her.

  Lizzie felt her face flushing, realizing he must have seen her looking at him and taken it for encouragement. Now what was she going to do? She certainly didn’t want him to think she was trying to get picked up. She wasn’t good at talking to guys, and going to a Catholic girls-only school hadn’t given her many opportunities to get better at it. Lizzie backed up against a large fern, fingering the cross around her neck as she turned her head away and fixed her gaze toward the tables full of people.

  She jumped when she felt a touch on her arm.

  “Lizzie Frost?” It was the young man.

  She hesitated, feeling her heart pounding. His fingers closed gently around her arm, and he leaned his face down to hers, sending a lovely, but scary, shiver through her whole body

  “I’m Kevin. Rosie asked me to come get you.”

  “What?”

  “This place is too crowded, she says, but she’s holding a table for us at a café down the street.”

  Us? Rosie hadn’t mentioned bringing anyone else along. Remembering all the times she’d been told not to go anywhere with a stranger, Lizzie hesitated, her eagerness to see her friend warring with her instinct for self-protection.

  “How do I know she really sent you?”

  The young man smiled, and his fingers relaxed, dropping her arm. “Now, lassie, how else would I know your name, and that you’d be here?”

  She cautiously studied him, trying to determine if he seemed dangerous. Her eyes lit on the small gold cross in his ear. She felt her guard begin to drop.

  “How do you know Rosie?”

  “We go to the same church.”

  “What kind of church?” Catholic churches weren’t that common here, so if he got the answer to this question right, she’d feel better about trusting him.

  “Catholic.”

  Lizzie smiled. Her job as a nanny for the most demanding family in Scotland left her so exhausted most days that all she could do at night was drop off into immediate sleep. Today she finally had a day off, and it was turning out even better than she’d hoped. If he was Rosie’s friend, he’d be a nice boy, not someone who thought that because she was American, she was easy. And he was Catholic.

  He reached out and, this time took her hand. “It’s down the street a block. You’ll be perfectly safe. We’ll be on a public street in broad daylight.”

  He was right. Why was she being such a ninny? But still something made her hesitate. “Why didn’t Rosie come and have you hold the table?”

  “She sprained her ankle, so I volunteered to come get you. Come on now, if we don’t hurry, we won’t have time to eat before the movie.”

  If he knew about the movie, Rosie must have sent him. Lizzie looked around one more time before making up her mind.

  “Okay, great. Thanks.”

  Kevin opened the door to the street for her and they went out into the wind. “Bleeding cold today.”

  Lizzie thought bleeding was a swear word in Scotland, but she wasn’t sure. What did it even mean? “I feel like I haven’t seen the sun since I got here. It’s cloudy all the time and there’s so much rain.”

  He grinned. “That’s why they call it Raintown.”

  “I guess so.” A flutter of excitement pulsed against her ribs at the easy familiarity in his voice.

  They hurried along the sidewalk in the direction that he indicated, against the rush of a wind so strong that talking was hard. The streets were lined with parked cars—probably from the
mob eating in the restaurant they’d just left, Lizzie thought. He moved around her so that she was on the street side of the sidewalk.

  “Rosie says you’re from California.” He bent his head down to her, walking so close that she had to move closer to the street so their bodies didn’t collide.

  “Yes.”

  “I suppose you’re used to warm, sunny beaches?”

  She smiled at the predictability of his belief that all Californians lived near a beach. “Not really. The closest beach is over a hundred miles away.” Maybe talking to guys wasn’t that hard. At least, talking to this one wasn’t. He seemed to like talking to her.

  Suddenly, he grabbed her arm. “Be careful. There’s a . . .”

  Lizzie jerked her head around and saw the back door of a dusty black car opening right in her path. She stopped abruptly when a woman emerged from the car, blocking her way. The woman murmured an apology, and leaned down as if to get back into the car to let Lizzie pass. Lizzie started to respond with an apology of her own when the young man squeezed her arm, pushing her into the car with the woman.

  Before Lizzie realized what was happening, she found herself wedged in the back seat between the young man and the woman. She started to cry out, but the car door closed, and they quickly moved out into traffic.

  PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 28

  Chapter 2

  TERRENCE REID SAT in his leather club chair in the study of their Glasgow home where he’d settled in to read the Sunday paper after church. He took off his reading glasses and looked at his wife.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I don’t care what you told him, Jack Shelton is not staying here.”

  His casual announcement of the invitation he had extended to the FBI agent was not going over well. “Why not?”

  “Because he’s a jerk.”

  He blinked. “But I’ve already invited him.”

  “Then uninvite him.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t like him, and I don’t want him in our house.” Anne folded her legs up underneath her on the sofa.

  “How can I uninvite him? He’s counting on staying here.”

  When Reid had gotten the call that morning from Shelton about the disappearance of three American girls in the Glasgow area, he hadn’t hesitated a second in asking Shelton to stay with Anne and him; their house had plenty of room, and he doubted that Shelton would stay long once reassured that the case was being given the proper attention. Also, although he’d never tell Anne, Reid wanted to show her off, or more to the point, show off how happy they were together. Maybe he was trying to convince himself as well.

  “Tell him I’ve come down with something contagious, tell him we’ve had a plumbing disaster. Tell him anything, but tell him he can’t stay here.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “It would be rude.”

  “It was rude not to check with me first. Besides, it’s a bad time. I’m right in the middle of the Loch Etive garden bid and the Dunbaryn garden redo, your mother needs my input on the renovations to the castle, and Michael’s not even six months old.” She looked like she was going to cry.

  “You’re right. Come here, girl.” He patted his lap. They’d had almost three months of unbelievably smooth seas now, a record by far for the two of them, and he wasn’t going to risk changing things over Jack Shelton. There were things worth arguing about, but this was not one of them.

  She unfolded herself from the couch, and came over to him. He pulled her down on to his lap. She put her arms around him, laying her head against his chest.

  “I’ll tell him he needs to find a hotel. That my beautiful wife can’t stand him, and I like her best.” That, at least, got a smile from her.

  “I certainly hope you like me best.”

  “I most definitely do.” He kissed the top of her head. “When do you go up to Loch Etive?”

  “The day after tomorrow. The same day he’s coming. Sebastian’s going with me to watch Michael, and we won’t get back until late.”

  “You’re taking the baby?” He couldn’t stop himself from frowning. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I have to, he’s still so abysmal with a bottle. The doctor says he’ll get better, but for now, Michael’s not negotiating.”

  “I don’t blame him for preferring you to that nasty old bottle. Me, too.” He smoothed a hand over her breast. She laughed, but didn’t swat his hand away. A good sign he was going to be forgiven.

  “I’m going to have to break down and get us a nanny. I can’t keep dragging Sebastian all over when he’s supposed to be taking care of the house and you, too.”

  “I can take care of myself. I’d rather you took Sebastian along. I feel safer that way.” He’d hired the big Jamaican to serve not only as their housekeeper and cook, but also for security. Reid’s job as the head of a special taskforce that operated between various Scottish law enforcement agencies had put his family in danger before, and he didn’t want to take any chances.

  “Michael’s asleep?”

  She nuzzled against him. “Mm-huh.”

  “Want to take a nap?”

  “Mm-huh.” Her mobile phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text. He tensed as she slid the phone in her pocket without looking to see who’d sent the message.

  “You don’t need to check that?”

  “It can wait.”

  He nodded, took her hand, and led her quietly upstairs to their room, trying not to dwell on who would be texting her on a Sunday. He was afraid he knew.

  * * * * *

  Later, she rolled over in bed toward him. “I like naps with you.”

  “One of the many advantages to living together.” Their bedroom in the Aytoun Road house had become their refuge since their reconciliation. He knew Anne had taken great pains in making sure that the combination of rich, soothing fabrics in beige and golden tones and antique accent pieces made it neither feminine, nor masculine.

  “Do you think I’m being awful about Jack?”

  “Not at all. I’m sorry about inviting him without asking you. I forgot he’d be so objectionable to you.”

  Anne gathered the pillow up under her head, turning to look at him, and sighed. “You’re right, though. It would be rude to uninvite him.”

  “Rude or not, I’ll do it if you want me to.”

  “No. But you’ll have to take him to a pub or something for dinner that first night. We can’t expect Sebastian to come home that late, and still have to get dinner ready.”

  “You can’t move the site visit?”

  “No, and certainly not because of Jack Shelton.”

  “Message received.” He kissed her. “Thank you.”

  “I’m warning you, though, if he accuses me of murder or sleeping around again, he has to leave.” He could tell she was only half-joking.

  “Absolutely. We won’t take that from our houseguests.”

  “Why’s he coming?”

  Reid explained about the missing girls.

  “That’s terrible. I hope you find them.”

  “We’ll do our best.” He traced his fingers down her bare back. “These are the kind of Sunday afternoons I like. Housekeeper gone, baby sleeping, and you to myself.”

  She stretched out her arms, wrapped them around him. “Me, too.”

  “Are you certain you want this job?” He wasn’t convinced her continuing to work made any sense, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. At least not yet. Not until they were on firmer ground.

  “Are you kidding? I’d die for it. It’s a fantastic project. The whole castle is being restored so it can host events like weddings, so of course, the gardens also need to be restored. But there’s a lot of competition for the job. Who knows if I’ll get it?”

  “You’ll get it.” He had no doubt about the power of Anne’s determination. She might look like she was made of spun sugar, but when it came to her work, she was more like spun steel.

&nb
sp; “I wish I had photos from the Lynstrade Manor job to attach to my proposal, but with everything that happened last spring. . .” Thankfully, she didn’t go into the details of the debacle that had ended with her leaving Scotland.

  “I’m sure your proposal will be great without them.”

  As if she hadn’t heard him, she continued, “Getting photos now would be better, anyway, after the plantings have had time to settle in.”

  He moved back so he could look her in the eye. “Anne, I consider the Von Zandt investigation still open.”

  “I thought it was closed, that Walter cut a deal.”

  “He did, but that doesn’t mean it’s closed.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Besides, the house isn’t even his anymore.”

  “It’s his son’s, which is effectively the same thing.”

  “It’s a hole in my portfolio.”

  “It can’t be too serious a hole. They’ve asked you to bid on the job.”

  “I know, but it’s my only project in Scotland. Photos would really help.”

  “I don’t care. Promise me you won’t go to Lynstrade Manor.”

  “Even if he’s not around?”

  “Even if.”

  She sighed, but didn’t argue. Neither did she promise. He’d press her on that later.

  “How long’s the commute?”

  “About two hours.”

  He looked at her incredulously. “Each way?”

  “Less if there’s no traffic.”

  “There’s never no traffic. Commuting four hours every day is too much. For you, and definitely for Michael.”

  “I wouldn’t commute every day.”’

  “You wouldn’t have to be on-site every day?”

  “No, I would. Every day, except weekends.”

  “I don’t understand.” Reid hoped she wasn’t saying what he thought she was saying. He didn’t want them to live apart again, especially not when she was still in constant contact with Andrew Grainger. She didn’t throw her friendship with her former lover in his face, but there were too many phone calls and texts she ignored when Reid was around, too many times she rang off when he walked into the room, and too many times he walked in on her obviously preoccupied.

  “I thought maybe Michael and I could stay at Dunbaryn during the week and come home on weekends, or you could come to Dunbaryn for some of the weekends. Loch Etive is about the same distance from Dunbaryn as it is to Glasgow, but the traffic is a lot less going from Dunbaryn. That way I could monitor the Dunbaryn project and the Loch Etive project at the same time.”