Labyrinth by Tarah Scott Page A

business life."
    Margot couldn't deny her surprise. Cat had never displayed any talent, much less interest, in anything other than men. But that really hadn’t changed, had it? Despite appearances, men were the very thing Cat was interested in. Last night had proven that. Nausea turned Margot’s stomach. How had watching a killer fuck her next victim gotten her wet? How had that revived the dream about Colin Morrison—and what did the whole fucking thing say about her?
    "I hope I'm not boring you by grocery shopping.” Cat paused at a stand with a variety of berries.
    Margot halted beside her and realized her insides were shaking.
    Cat started forward again. “I've just been so much busier than I thought I'd be with the renovations."
    "No problem," Margot managed in an even voice. "I’m glad to see more of the island. I’m starting to understand the appeal." She thought of McNeil, and how they hadn't been in Stornoway two minutes before running into family. He was right. The island was like Wilkinson County . Too much like Wilkinson County . "Why Scotland ?” Margot asked Cat. “Why a castle?"
    Cat laughed as if the two of them strolling past fruit and vegetable stands on a small island in the north of Scotland was the most natural thing in the world…as if she didn’t know Margot really meant, why a castle after killing Donny?
    "It was bad enough the way people pitied me when I was a kid,” Cat said. “I couldn’t take it after Donny’s death."
    Margot halted in surprise. A large body bumped into her back. She looked around. A woman smiled and pressed past.
    Margot faced Cat. “Pity? What are you talking about? You’re one of the richest women in Wilkinson County .”
    “Money doesn’t buy respect.”
    Margot’s heart thumped. A lesson learned too late?
    “Did it ever occur to you that I left because I couldn't deal with being there where he died?” Cat said.
    Margot stared.
    “Don’t look so shocked.” Cat began walking again.
    Margot cursed her stupidity and fell in alongside. “You never talked to me. How could I know?”
    “I heard what people were saying,” Cat replied. "A girl from the wrong side of the tracks marrying the county's richest eligible bachelor…”
    The old guilt surfaced. Margot had heard the rumors…had thought them herself. “That was one rumor,” she agreed. “That's how it is in a small town. Hell, that's how it is in big towns. People like to talk. So what? What did that have to do with you leaving?"
    “We had been married only a few years.” Cat looked at her. “He was young and strong. He shouldn’t have died.”
    “No one young and strong should die,” Margot said. “That’s what makes it a tragedy.”
    “I know you blame me, Margot.”
    “Blame you? It’s not your fault he—” her voice caught and she realized her heart was pounding again. She gave into the emotion. Why pretend she didn’t grieve over her cousin’s death. Why pretend she wasn’t angry he died? “I miss him like hell, but that’s got nothing to do with you.”
    Cat looked at her and, for the first time since Donny's death, Margot saw doubt in her eyes. Maybe she should have given into her anger—and grief—a long time ago.
    Cat broke the stare. “You said you wanted to pick up a souvenir for your dad. One of the best curio shops in town is at the end of the block. I'll meet you there in twenty minutes.”
    Margot watched as Cat weaved her way through the crowd. Margot’s heart slowed, but the hot emotion that swept through her left a quiver in her stomach…and a bizarre question. Cat had come damn close to saying she knew Margot had figured out Cat murdered Donny. Why?
     
    Twenty minutes later, Margot completed her purchase of a sgian dubh , a traditional Scottish dagger. Permits and postage were necessary to mail the dagger to the U.S. , but the clerk assured her she’d take care of everything for the right fee. It would be worth every penny to see her father's face when