The thud downstairs and subsequent whispers woke me up. I was a light sleeper to begin with, but with Christian was working late, I couldn’t fully fall asleep. The thud downstairs made the silverware shake in its drawer.

“Shhh,” I heard someone say. I reached under the bed for our gun safe. It was too far back for me to reach. Between the foot of the headboard and the wall was my Mag Light. I kept it there for emergencies. The cool metal felt good in my hand. Slowly, I crept down the back stairs. Lightening flashed across the sky and lit the stairwell for a brief second. I could just make out the figures of three intruders in my kitchen. They were bent over the body of a forth person lying on the Mexican tiled floor. The last step had a way of giving one up trying to sneak about; I avoided it with a light leap. The door to the basement was ajar, so I waited behind it until my eyes adjusted to the light. My hand rose to my mouth to stifle a gasp. The body lying on the floor was Christian, my husband. His head was surrounded by an eerie red halo. Lightening lit the kitchen once again and I saw the dying look on my husbands face. His eyes were open, looking up to meet mine in the seconds before the thunder screamed in my ears. I fell to my knees, my cover blown. The intruder closest to me whipped around to face me. I stared in disbelief not able to reconcile the scene at hand with the person staring me in the face. The next thing I knew I was swinging my Mag Light with all I could muster at the face of a person I hadn’t seen for years.

The taxi pulled up to the curb and the driver came around to help me gather my meager belongings from the trunk of the car. It was close to midnight, and I could hardly hold my head up any longer. I rang the bell to the inn I'd be calling home for the next few days until the closing of my new home was finalized. After what seemed like an eternity the door finally opened a crack and a very small, old lady peeked her head out the door.

"May I help you," she whispered.

"Yes ma'am," I stifled a yawn. "I'm Kate, we spoke last week about my renting a room here for a week while I close on my house." The driver brought up my last bag and plunked it down at my feet.

"30 Euro," he mumbled, trying not to yawn himself. I dug through my pockets and found enough for the fare and an adequate tip. He turned and shuffled of down the walk back to his taxi.

"Gracious dear, you must be half frozen! Come in, come in," she said. Opening the door wide for me she grabbed one of my bags and lugged it into the foyer. "I'm Miss Kinsey, welcome to my inn."

"Thank you," I said. "Here, let me get those, I know they must weigh a ton." I pulled the last two bags in, dropping them close to the steps. "I'm sorry I'm so late, the train from Edinburgh was late and it took forever to find a taxi on duty this time of night."

"Ah yes, things really do seem to shut down in the middle of the night around here. Come, would you like a nice cup of tea? I have your room all ready for you. Just take up what you need for the evening dear, and I'll have John bring up the rest of your luggage in the morning."

"Are you sure, a cup of tea sounds wonderful." At this point I could have hugged this woman.

"Of course, I could use a spot of tea myself. And really, leave your bags. John will be here in the morning, and he'd be more than happy to bring them up. If you're still asleep, he'll leave them at your door. Now about that tea, how about a nice cup of chamomile, perhaps with a little lemon and milk?" She headed off to the kitchen talking as she went.

"Lemon, no milk please." I followed her into a huge kitchen. The windows along one wall stretched almost to the ceiling. In the middle of the room was an island with several stools. I pulled one out and sat down. "Perhaps in the morning you could tell me how to get to Barrister Adams office, I need to go over the paperwork to close on my house." I had recently decided to move from Asheville, NC to Pitlochry. I loved Asheville, but it was time for me to move on. Since Christian died, I felt like I didn’t have anything left there for me.

I had spent the last few months researching small Scottish towns where I could relocate and start over. I'd found a pub for sale and the owner lost no time in accepting my offer. McClairn’s was founded in 1789, and had supposedly been owned by the same family for the last hundred years. I was excited; McClairn’s was located right in the heart of Pitlochry and had a living space on the third floor. The second floor was used as office space, enough to sublet if I so desired, the owner said.

"Ah, barrister Adams," Miss Kinsey sighed. "He's a wonderful man. I've known him since he was a wee lad. His parents were wonderful people, too." She sliced a lemon and set a wedge on a saucer. " I can't believe he sold McClairn’s, been in the same family for as long as I can remember." I wondered just how long that was, Miss Kinsey was old, but her mind seemed sharp as a tack.

"That's what I understand," I said. "I did some research before I decided to move here and it seems to have quite a history." The building, in addition to being one of the oldest in town had quite a colorful past. It had housed local politicians and criminals alike during its life. Some I suppose would say they are two in the same. "I even read one account that talked about murders there," I dropped two sugar cubes into my cup. The kettle started to whistle and Miss Kinsey turned back to the stove.

"Oh my dear, yes! A colorful piece of history you've bought yourself there!" She brought the kettle over to the island and poured us each a cup of boiling water. "Lots of stories going back years before the days of McClarin’s." She looked off into space for a moment. "Oh, but listen to me go on, I know you must be tired. We can talk tomorrow. Would you like a biscuit to take up to your room with your tea?" All of a sudden I wasn't feeling so tired, but I knew I needed sleep.

"No, thank you," I said as I took my saucer and stood up. "I really appreciate you waiting up for me. I'd love to hear more about the local history tomorrow."

"It would be my pleasure, and I want to hear all about how come you decided to move to Pitlochry. I can't believe a pretty young thing like yourself would want to just up and move far away from friends and relatives." She smiled.

I could tell she meant well, but I wasn't ready to talk about my family, or lack there of, just yet. That would be a conversation for another day. "Yes ma'am, I'll tell you all about it in the morning," I said. I didn't want to sound rude after she went to all the trouble to stay up and make me tea.

"Your room is the last left down the hall upstairs. Just go on in, the key’s on the dresser. Try and get some sleep, dear." I was halfway up the stairs looking forward to falling into a warm comfy bed when I heard heavy footsteps on the porch.

"Miss Kinsey! Miss Kinsey!" Boomed a male voice. I turned around, headed to the front door. Miss Kinsey had her hand on the knob. "It's ok dear, it's John." She opened the door and a large man rushed inside and shut the door hard. "I didn't mean to scare you ma'am, I just wanted to come check on you. I saw the lights on, and it's so late-"

"It's alright John, please, sit down. Tell me what's going on." She gestured John towards the sitting room off to the right of the foyer. "Ah, forgive me, where are my manners. John, this is Kate. She is buying McClarin’s. Kate, John, he’s my handyman."

John seemed to not have noticed me until Miss Kinsey introduced me. I was glad she had someone to look out for her.

"She's buying what?" John turned to look at me. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"McClarin’s, the pub-" I started.

"I heard you, I'm sorry, it's just that's what I came over here about." He turned to look at Miss Kinsey. "I hate to tell you dear, but they just found Robbins." He paused to look back to me. "Dead. Shot right between his eyes, laying on the floor in the back of the pub."

Miss Kinsey sank down onto the sofa. It seemed as if all the air had rushed out of her poor little body. I sat down beside her and put my arm around her frail shoulders. John was still standing in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry to meet you under such trying circumstances, Kate. I’d heard Robbins had a buyer, just didn't know you would be here so soon." He said.

"Yes, well," I didn't know what to say. "Once the terms of the sale had been approved, I didn't want to waste any time." I leaned back into the sofa, not quite able to take all that had happened to me in the last 30 minutes.

"John," Miss Kinsey said. "How did you find out in the middle of the night?" Good question, I was thinking the same thing.

"Magistrate called me, his deputy's out of town.” He said. “Magistrate’s my late wife's brother," John said as a side note for me. "On my way home, I noticed the lights on and got a little worried."

"Oh, thank you John, I'm fine. Kate's journey took her longer to get here than she thought, and I wanted to make sure she had a cup of tea waiting for her." She smiled at me.

“Who found Robbins?” I was a little unsettled about my seller being found dead the night I arrived in town.

“Magistrate said he got a call about the front of McClairn’s being ajar. Guy wouldn’t give his name and hung up pretty quickly.”

“That sounds strange,” I said. “Are there usually people out and about so late around here? I didn’t notice a soul on my ride in.”

“No ma’am, usually it’s a ghost town out there once everyone’s closed up for the night.” John face reddened. “Oh, I didn’t mean,” he started.

“I understand, I know how small towns are.” I said. “Do they have any leads?”

“Not that I know of, I went over to help secure the building for the night. A forensic team will have to come in from Edinburgh tomorrow.” John replied. "Well, I reckon I'll be on my way, nothing else anyone can do tonight. You two have a good night's sleep.”

“Thanks for stopping by John, “ Miss Kinsey said. “Oh, John, would be able to show Kate where Barrister Adam’s office is tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he replied. “Try to get some sleep and I’ll come over mid-morning.”

“Thank you, he’s handling the sale.” I said. I wondered to myself how complicated this whole thing had just become. We said our goodnights and I retrieved my tea from the bottom step where I'd left it in such a hurry and headed up to my room. Even though my head was swimming, I fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning I awoke to thunder and lightning beating down on the inn. I glanced at the clock expecting it to me much later than it was. The numbers on the clock glowed a faint red in the early morning darkness, 6:35am. I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so I pulled on the clothes I'd left in a heap at the foot of me bed and found the shared hall bathroom. Miss Kinsey had set out a towel, toothbrush and a little dish of soap for me. I could get used to this, I thought to myself, as I splashed cool water over my face.

When I got to the kitchen, I was greeted with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and cinnamon Danish. Miss Kinney was busy getting the table setting a table for three.

"Good morning dear," she said as she set out a bowl of grapes. "How did you sleep?'

"Actually, quite fine, considering how late it was when I got in and the events of the evening." I sat down in the chair closest to me and reached for a few grapes. "I honestly thought I'd be sleeping until much later this afternoon." She handed me a cup of coffee. "Do you have other boarders," I asked, nodding towards the other place settings.

"Not right now, but John usually comes over early for breakfast each day since his wife passed a few years ago. He's sort of taken me as his cause," she chuckled. "And I have to confess, I don't really mind all that much. My husband passed away almost 20 years ago. We started this inn a year after we were married." She looked wistful. "The best 65 years of my life were spent with that man." She turned back to the stove. I was amazed by the way she conducted herself.

"So, since I'm up so early, what can I do to help you?" I asked.

"I'm doing good," she replied. "What do you think is going to happen now, dear? In regards to McClairn’s, I mean.”

“Well, I had planned on working with Robbins for a week or so before he took off. He said he’d show me the ropes. Now I’m not so sure.

"John will be here soon,” Miss Kinsey said. "He'll take you to Barrister Adams office and you will get everything sorted out I’m sure."

I, however, wasn't so sure. Robbins was supposed to ease me in so there wouldn’t be any down time between ownership. I know how small towns are; they can be very resistant to change. Nothing like a murder to draw attention to the sale.

She sat down at the table holding her coffee cup to warm her hands. "So," she said. "Tell me how you happened to land in Pitlochry."

I didn't know how much I wanted to divulge to someone I just met. Honestly, I was sleep deprived, and all I could think about was getting to Barrister Adam’s office to begin sorting out these new developments.

"Not much to tell. My parents died when I was young, leaving my aunt to raise me. “I said. “My husband died a few years ago and I’ve been on my own ever since. I guess it was just time to start over.”

I wished I could tell her about my parents. My background. The way I'd found my husband brutally killed. But I couldn't, not yet. There was too much at stake. If I let my guard down I might blow my chances at being accepted in the community. If I let to much of my

"When is John coming," I asked. "I think I really should get a head start on the day and see what I need to do." Since the man I was buying the property/business from had been murdered, I wanted to make sure I still had a business to buy.

“He’ll be here soon, dear.” She said. “I know Robbins had been talking to the magistrate and they knew you were coming. I’m sure Barrister Adams will be expecting you.”

I didn’t know weather to be happy or apprehensive to hear that news.

She looked at me like I was her long lost daughter. I felt for her. I wished my mother were still alive and there for me at times like these to talk to about life’s problems.

“Does he know the magistrate?” I wanted to know.

“Yes, they are distant cousins.” Miss Kinsey replied. “He’ll some by in a few minutes and take you to see Barrister Adams. It’s still early, though. Relax for a bit and then take a nice long soak.”

I took a drink of my coffee and thought about what was happening to me. I had recently decided to up root and move far away from everything I had ever known. I some ways it was the best decision I had ever made. In some way, I already regretted it. The ad that advertised McClarin’s had said it was a popular pub not far from Edinburgh. For years my husband and I had planned to move here after we retired. Up until he died, we had been planning and saving.

Finally John showed up. He came in and sat down for breakfast, taking in the conversation between Miss Kinsey and I.

“So,” he said between bites of his cinnamon roll. “Tell me how you settled upon the small town of Pitlochry as a place to buy a business.”

I wasn’t sure if I could trust these two people, but I figured if I wasn’t somewhat forthcoming, it would be odd. I’d moved across the world to find out who had killed my husband, what did I have to lose?

“My husband was killed several years ago,” I explained. “I’ve been looking for a place to start over and build a new life. I found this place for sale, and thought it would be a great place to rebuild my life.” John seemed to take this for face value

“I called Barrister Adams this morning,” John said. “It might be a good idea to get in his office early this morning before everything gets crazy. He said his day is sure to explode with the investigation and he’s anxious to meet you and sort out the details.”

I couldn’t agree more. If I was going to find out whom was behind my husband’s murder I needed to get going. The fact that Robbins had been murdered could mean a couple of things. On one hand, it may just be a totally random incident. I doubted this was the case, but time would tell. On the other hand, my husbands family’s reach could extend much farther than I’d first imagined.

“I’m so grateful for all the help.” I took the last sip from my cup and excused myself from the table. “I’ll just go get ready, it won’t take long.”