‘I can do that,’ Effie said.
‘So can I,’ Sharon offered.
Cordelia planted her hands on her hips and fixed Maura with a determined stare. ‘So that’s sorted. Maura can concentrate on the plates, Effie and Sharon will finish the ghosts and I’ll empty the trap.’
Their kindness was almost too much for Maura. She felt her eyes swim as she battled a sudden lump in her throat. ‘But you’re my students,’ she said in a small voice. ‘You pay me to learn. You shouldn’t have to do this.’
Cordelia placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. ‘We’ve all been coming here a long time. I like to think we’re also your friends.’
‘Besides, we will be learning,’ Effie said. ‘Cordelia is going to learn what it’s like to be up to her elbows in cold, slimy clay, and Sharon and me will be learning what it’s like to be Maura McKenzie.’ She picked up a paintbrush and twirled it airily. ‘I call that a win-win.’
‘If you say so,’ Maura said weakly, and once again felt the hot burn of tears. ‘Thank you. It’s too much to ask, but thank you.’
‘Rubbish,’ Cordelia said. ‘That’s what friends are for. Now, where do you keep the gloves?’
Chapter Seven
The woman glowering at Fraser was familiar but he wasn’t sure why. She hadn’t been on the tour he’d just finished, he was certain of that – the scowl she wore would have scared his punters far more than any ghost story he could tell. But here she was, outside a darkened Greyfriars Kirk, glaring as though she had a king-size bone to pick with him. Perhaps she was one of a long list of unhappy customers who were waiting to receive the ghost they had ordered.
Maura had finally been in touch, sending him a one-line message to explain that there’d been a problem in the manufacturing process but she expected to deliver the batch by Monday. Relieved, Fraser had told her not to worry and sent out an update to the waiting customers. Most had been understanding but there was always one, he thought. Or perhaps she was simply a homicidal maniac determined to inflict a grisly death upon him. As Callum had suggested at the castle gates, in Edinburgh it could be hard to tell.
‘Hello,’ he said easily as the last of the ghost walkers drifted away. ‘Can I help you with something?’
She folded her arms. ‘Yes, as a matter of fact you can, Fraser Bell.’
The use of his full name almost made him wince. He straightened up. ‘Obviously, I’m at a bit of a disadvantage. You know my name but I’m afraid I don’t know yours.’
‘Kirsty Black,’ she snapped. ‘Maura’s sister.’
Fraser wanted to click his fingers. Of course, he should have known. She didn’t have Maura’s dark curls or ethereal beauty but there was enough of a family resemblance to make the relationship obvious. Perhaps the furious scowl had fooled him. ‘I remember now. You came on the tour with Maura.’
She nodded. ‘I did.’ The ferocity of her expression lessened a bit. ‘You were very good.’
‘Thank you,’ Fraser said gravely. ‘So what brings you here this evening? Obviously you’ve missed tonight’s tour.’
‘I’ve come to find out what the bloody hell you think you’re playing at,’ Kirsty said. ‘Do you have any idea how close to a breakdown Maura is?’
Fraser felt his jaw drop. Whatever he’d been expecting her to say, it wasn’t this. ‘What?’
Kirsty narrowed her eyes. ‘All these ghosts you’ve asked her to make. She’s working eighteen-hour days to fit them in. It’s not healthy. You’re taking advantage of her good nature to make a profit and it’s about time someone told you where to get off.’
‘What?’ Fraser said again, but this time it was purely to buy himself a few seconds to process the accusation. Maura was putting in eighteen-hour days? It was news to him. ‘But she hasn’t said anything.’
‘Of course she hasn’t,’ Kirsty replied, rolling her eyes. ‘She’s a people pleaser. She doesn’t want to let anyone down, least of all you. But she’s working herself into the ground and if someone doesn’t stop her, she’s going to make herself ill.’ Her raised voice had begun to attract attention; passers-by were throwing curious looks their way.
‘Sorry, can we backtrack a bit? I know she’s had a problem delivering the latest batch of ghosts, but I thought it was fixed now.’
Kirsty let out a harsh laugh. ‘Yeah, I suppose you could call being cheated on by her boyfriend aproblem. Good of you to acknowledge that.’
And now Fraser could only stare at her in open-mouthed bewilderment. He shook his head, aware he was gaping like a stupefied carp. ‘What?’
His obvious confusion made Kirsty study him more closely. ‘Ah,’ she said, her voice subsiding into a more neutral tone. ‘That explains one or two things. You don’t know.’
‘Jamie cheated on Maura?’ he managed, slowly making sense of her words. ‘When?’
Kirsty waved a hand. ‘A few months ago. With one of her friends, to make things worse. A girl called Zoe.’
Fraser blinked. ‘I know her. She came on one of my tours, tried to get me to go for a drink with her afterwards. But I thought she had a boyfriend.’
