Skinner’s round

`That's where my clothes got damp, in the garden, and that's where I must have picked up the mud, although I didn't realise till now that it was there. One of the gardeners must have left a sprinkler on. I didn't see it, so I walked right into it. I just stood there, laughing like a dummy, and thinking, "What the hell else can go wrong tonight?" Then I found out. The moon went behind a cloud. All of a sudden it was black as the Devil's waistcoat, and I walked right into a flower-bed. That was enough. I gave up, came back into the house, and went to bed.'

He looked up at the two policemen. 'And that is the truth. Happy as I am that that asshole Masur is dead, I swear to God I did not kill him.' Ski

I'll need a formal statement to that effect, Mr Morton. You're a lawyer, you can draft it yourself and sign it. However, I have to take these clothes, and your shoes, for forensic examination. I'm not going to detain you, for the moment at least, but I should warn you that you'll be under constant police scrutiny, at least until we get the results of the lab tests.

Understand?'

Morton nodded, his face no longer florid, but pale. Ski

They made to leave, until Ski

The American looked up with a start, and shook, visibly. `Richard! You mean Richard Andrews. He ain't been Rocco since we were kids.

I don't know where Richard is. He told me he was checking out from the tournament early last week, 'cause he had personal business to attend to. I don't know. where he is or what he's doin'.'

Ski

Morton shook his head, solemnly. 'No sir, I ain't. No one ever asks Richard where he's going, or what he's doing. No one at all!'

Thirty-seven

‘I know you said I wasn't to, but I've been worrying ever since you called me, Miss Rose. If you've come a' the way to Germany to see me, it must be serious. It's got nothing to do with poor Davie, has it?'

The Inspector smiled and shook her head. 'No, not at all. Sergeant Soutar's fine. I saw him the day before yesterday in fact.'

Lisa Davies, nee Soutar, was as far removed as it was possible to be from the adult that Maggie Rose had imagined. On the flight to Hanover, and on the drive to her overnight hotel, she had formed a mind picture of a fey, folksy lady, bejewelled, in long skirts and open-toed sandals, holding court amid the scent of joss-sticks. The reality was a small, nervous person, with dull sunken eyes, and streaks of grey in her hair which made her look well past her thirtieth birthday, even though she was still a year or so short of that milestone. Her child, who squatted in the middle of the floor playing with a doll, was scrubbed shiny and neatly dressed, but the mother, still in slippers and housecoat at 9.45 a.m., had the air of a woman who long since, had given up caring about herself. As Maggie looked at her, and around the severe, soulless living room, she recalled Davie Soutar's vehement dislike of his brother-in-law and wondered about life with Corporal Davies.

`Sit down, please,' said Lisa. 'I'll make us a cup. D'you take sugar?' Rose shook her head as she sat on the mock-leather couch; her hostess disappeared into the kitchen, directly off the living room, to return a few minutes later carrying a tray, with two steaming white mugs and a plate of cream biscuits. She handed the policewoman a mug, and sat down opposite her.

`So what's it about, then?' she said, trying to be matter-of-fact.

Maggie smiled again. 'You might say it's a voice from the past. I'd like you to listen to this.'

She produced the tape cassette from her handbag, and reached across the back of the couch to an expensive music centre, positioned in the centre of a cheap sideboard. She dropped the tape into one of its two drives and pressed the play button.

As Lisa Davies listened to the recording from her childhood, an incredible thing happened.

She became Lisa Soutar once more A smile of wonder grew on her lips, her dull eyes brightened, and colour came to her pale face. 'Oh my God,' she whispered, as it ended.

Suddenly tears welled up and spilled down her face.

‘D'ye ken, I'd almost forgotten. But not quite, not quite. Oh aye, I remember telling that story in the class, and I remember poor Mrs Ski

`He survived. He's my boss now. Their wee girl, she's twenty-one.'

Lisa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. 'My, but that tape gave me a turn. Can I keep it?'

`Course you can. It's a copy. The boss would want me to leave it with you.'

She smiled once more. 'See the trouble I got into over that!' `What d'you mean?'

`Well I got back from school that day, and I told my nana all about the history project, and how I had told our story. My God, but she went mental. I never saw her like that before. My dad always said she was a witch, and right then I thought she was goin' to turn me into a fly and squash me!

`She said that the story of the curse was ours, the Soutars' alone, and shouldn't be told to strangers, only to family, or to the Queen if she came to ask about it.'

`She said that? What did she mean, d'you think?'

`That's part of the story, but I don't know what it means. The only people allowed to hear the curse are the sovereign and Lord Kinture. I didn't think she meant it when she told me that at first. I was just ten, and I thought, "What's the point of a story if you ca

`Did Mrs Ski

`No, she never did. But I remember ma nana saying she'd have to speak to the Marquis about it. The whole Jubilee Project was his idea. He paid for the books to be printed.'

Rose delved into her handbag once again, and produced a folded A4 photocopy of the Scotsman story. 'Lisa,' she asked, `have you heard of a new golf course being built just outside Aberlady? It's called Witches' Hill.'

Aye, they were talking about it at Easter-time, when we were home last. When I heard the name it gave me a turn.'

OK. Well, on Sunday one of the developers of the course was murdered, in his bath, in the changing room. His throat was cut. Next day, this was handed in to the Scotsman newspaper, addressed to the editor.' She handed over the cutting.

The woman-child read it in silence, and her face grew grim. 'That's awful. Who'd have written that?'

`That's what I was hoping you could tell me,' said Rose. Did anyone else in your family know the story?'

`No, no one at all. That's not the way it works.'

Did you ever tell it to anyone else, a school pal for example?'

After the row ma nana gave me ah never even spoke it out loud, in case someone would hear me.'

`What did you mean when you said "That's not the way it works"?'

Lisa sat forward on her chair and pulled her knees up to her chin. Ah don't know if I should tell you even that.'

Rose looked at her earnestly. 'Lisa, it's important. I promise you that no one will ever know more than they need.'

Eventually the woman loosened her grip of her knees. She nodded. 'All right. I trust you.' She sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. 'Remember I said that it was our family's story?'