“No! You? Innocent Kate?”
She narrowed her eyes, but he just smiled. “In 1994, some friends were having a party at Oxley Manor. Two of them walked out the door and were never seen again.”
“A male and a female?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds normal to me. They just wanted to get away from everyone they knew. I’ve felt the same way many times.” With a glance at Kate, he said, “Before I met you, of course. What else was there?”
“That’s all I could find. It was a tiny piece in a local newspaper.”
“Doesn’t sound very mysterious. What made you think it has anything to do with this trip?”
“It was important enough that Aunt Sara was using the clipping as a marker in the book she was reading. It was about true crimes. Don’t look at me like that! I was curious about the book and the paper fell out.”
“You think she’s planning to stay at the hotel to research what happened while you and I go to bonny Scotland? I like that idea.”
“You’d leave her alone to investigate all by herself?” She sounded shocked.
“She was researching her novels before I was born. Don’t tell her I said that! She hasn’t discovered that she’s no longer about twenty-six.”
Kate looked at him. “Aunt Sara might not know her age, but we do.”
Jack groaned. “Please not a mystery to solve. I want a vacation in the Highlands. I grew up in Florida. I’m curious about cold weather. It gets to sixty-eight and I turn on the heat. Sara bought me a sweater for this trip. It’s made of wool.”
“I grew up in Chicago and cold is overrated. And no one is keeping you from going anywhere.”
“You’re going to let me run around the Highlands in a kilt all by myself?”
“If that’s what you want to do, yes.”
Jack closed his eyes and said nothing.
“There’s no law saying you can’t wear a kilt in England,” she said softly.
Smiling, Jack opened his eyes. “I think we should wait until we get there and see what’s going on.”
“We have a plan!” Kate pressed the button to flatten her seat for sleeping.
“Why do I feel like I’ve just been manipulated?” he asked.
She smiled, but she didn’t let him see her face. The truth was, in the last few months she’d also been a bit bored. Solving a mystery sounded good. Maybe not a murder but just finding out why someone did something. Obviously, the couple who’d run away together must have had serious obstacles in their paths. If they didn’t, they would have announced their love and invited people to the wedding. So why did they feel the need to vanish? And why had no one heard from them since? Or maybe they had. The newspaper article was old.
But Kate knew that if the mystery of the disappearance had been solved, Aunt Sara wouldn’t be arranging a visit to Oxley Manor.
Wonder what else she’s done? she thought as she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
When they arrived in England, it was early morning. A black sedan picked them up at the airport. The driver had on a black suit, with a cap that you’d expect a chauffeur to wear.
Jack got in the back with Kate, while Sara sat in the front with the driver. They heard her ask the man about himself. He’d worked at Oxley Manor for years and picking them up was his last job before he left on holiday.
It took two hours of driving over express highways, then spiraling country roads before the car slowed down at a tall brick wall. A huge iron gate was in front of them. It was a rather plain gate, not flashy at all. To the left was a small brass plaque that read Oxley Manor.
At the security box, the driver tapped in a code, the gate opened and they drove slowly down a paved road. Around them was an expansive lawn, interspersed with huge old trees. Sheep dotted the lawn—walking lawn mowers.
After a few minu