Page 60 of Refuge for Ailsa

“Tavish! Please!” Maeve yelled as she left the building.

“I’m trying, Maeve! I’m doing everything I can.” It didn’t feel like it, though. It felt like he should be doing something. He just didn’t know what.

“Tav, do you think you could figure this out? I don’t understand.” Vince was staring at a piece of paper, and he looked completely confused.

Tavish glanced at it. “It’s a compliance form. She has to fill them out for the EPA every quarter. Don’t worry about it. I’ll?”

The door flew open and Harley stood there, panting. “Tav!”

“Yeah?”

“The guy? He’s at the Danville Police Department. He walked right in.”

Tavish dropped the paper and took off at a run. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Harley and Tavishhit the door at the DPD so hard that it slammed into the wall behind it. “Where is he?” Tavish yelled.

“I assume you mean the poster boy. Down the hall, last room on the right,” the desk sergeant said. As the two men raced past him, he called out, “You’re welcome.”

They burst into the room and found the man from the video sitting there, calmly drinking a soft drink. Something about him infuriated Tavish, but it frightened him too, not for himself, but for Ailsa. A panting Harley said, “I’m LieutenantWright of the BoyleCounty Sheriff’s Office. This is Conservation OfficerTavish Stewart. Mind if we have a seat?”

The guy shrugged. “Suit yourselves.”

Harley took a seat, and Tavish sat right beside him. Before he could say anything, Harley gave him a look and shook his head. Great. He wasn’t supposed to speak. How the hell could he possibly keep his mouth shut? With a sigh, he slumped against the back of the chair, folded his arms across his chest, and waited.

Harley pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded it. “Have you seen this photo?” With a spin, he turned it to face the man.

“Oh, yeah. That’s me.”

“Why did you come down here today?”

“Because I saw my fucking picture all over town. Were you two responsible for that?”

“Yes, sir, we were,” Tavish answered before Harley had a chance, and the deputy gave him a glare.

Harley tapped his finger on the paper. “The woman you’re talking to in the picture, that’s AilsaMacDougal.”

“Yeah. I know. I had her name when I went there.”

“And why did you go there?”

“To talk to her. Why else would I go there?”

“Maybe to take her? She’s missing.”

The guy’s eyes popped open wide and his eyebrows shot up. “Whoa-whoa-whoa! No! I have nothing to do with that. I only wanted to talk to her, and I did. And I was planning to leave town today.”

“We’d appreciate it if you didn’t go anywhere,” Harley said, then stood and sat back down on the edge of the table. It was an intimidation tactic, and Tavish hoped it worked. “And what exactly did you want to talk to MissMacDougal about?”

“The incident at the marina.” When both men continued to stare at him, he added, “You know, the Bentleys? I just wanted to know how much she knew about it.”

“Because you were afraid she’d help to send Bentley to prison and you wouldn’t get your money?”

“Afraid I wouldn’t get my money? What money?”

Harley stared him down from his higher position. “We’ve heard rumors that the mob was looking for Bentley, that he owed them some gambling money.”

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