The Third Sin by Aline Templeton Page B

next generation, though at the moment his career as a Scottish international rugby player and a professional with the Glasgow Warriors took precedence.
    After Bill’s heart attack last year they had all walked around on eggshells, though the doctors had assured him he’d made an excellent recovery. Cammie had talked about giving up rugby to take on his share of the farm work but Bill had threatened to have another heart attack if he did any such thing. Cammie would be near enough to give a hand at the busiest times and Bill had Rafael Cisek, his right-hand man, the rest of the time.
    Marjory blessed the day Rafael had come, especially since he had brought his wife Karolina with him from Poland. She kept the farmhouse in perfect order and provided delicious meals that madeup for Marjory’s notorious skills’ deficiency in the kitchen. The meals were low-fat now and aggressively healthy; she gave a small, wistful sigh as she remembered Karolina’s belly of pork and the dumplings whose light-as-a-feather innocence belied the wickedness of their ingredients.
    Still, keeping Bill fit was considerably more important than her own decadent tastes. After the shock of his illness he had become less confident, more inclined to fuss about minor problems; he never said anything but she knew he hated it when she came home late and tired. He did seem to be improving, though, and with Cammie at home so much there was lots of light-hearted banter at the supper table.
    Their daughter Catriona had said she would be home from Glasgow University this weekend too – that was good. She had also said she was bringing a friend, a young man who was studying social sciences with her. That was …
    Perhaps ‘interesting’ was the best word Something about the way Cat had mentioned it had made Marjory suspect this wasn’t just a random friend, and she thought she had sensed a faintly defensive note in her daughter’s voice.
    Their relationship had been uneasy for a long time. Bill’s illness had brought them closer together but Cat’s placements alongside social workers dealing with ‘problem families’ had fostered her distrust of the police force, which put a number of topics off limits if they weren’t going to descend into the sort of arguments that upset Bill. Marjory had a sinking feeling that the weekend guest wouldn’t be sympathetic to her views on dealing with crime either.
    Bill, though, would be looking forward to seeing his daughter so he’d be in a cheerful mood tonight. Summer was on its way too, and it was the off season for Cammie so he came home from his Glasgow flat quite regularly. She wouldn’t spoil things just yet by telling Bill that she was taking on another investigation which would, no doubt,result in her coming home late and tired even more often.
    As Marjory turned off up to the farm she suddenly realised she was very hungry – it had been a long time since lunch. It had been dreary all day, with grey light under an overcast sky, and now a drizzling rain was falling, so she did hope it wouldn’t be salad tonight. Karolina’s salads were a long way from the limp lettuce, sliced cucumber and hard-boiled egg of the station canteen but however imaginative and interesting they might be, when it came right down to it they were still, well, just salad.
     
    ‘Louise!’
    Louise Hepburn turned from the bar where she was waiting to get in the next round of drinks. The girl whose birthday they were celebrating was holding up the mobile Louise had left on the table and now she could hear the police siren ringtone she’d thought was funny when she installed it, though she was beginning to get tired of people turning round and staring.
    ‘Thanks, Chrissie.’ She came back to the table to take it, glanced at the unfamiliar number then answered, walking with her finger in her other ear as she went to a quieter part of the bar.
    ‘Sorry, who did you say?’
    ‘Randall. You know – Randall Lindsay.’ He sounded