Secrets and Lies

Despite Phoebe's concerns things actually worked out fairly well with her sister, at least as far as I could see.

Katie was just as accepting of Feebs' new circumstances as Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had been, if not more so. Same with her fiancée, Esau didn't seem the least bit bothered knowing Katie's sibling had recently transitioned from a slightly older brother to a much younger looking sister.

In fact it seemed like Duncan was the only one who had any real hang-ups about things. He seemed just as unhappy about Katie and her partner as he was about Phoebe's situation, and the fact that she and I were 'together'. The more I saw though, the more I was convinced that he wasn't actually racist or transmisic. Instead I wondered if maybe the oldest sibling was just generally unhappy, and unfortunately his way of dealing with that was by taking it out on his sisters.

Aside from Duncan everything generally worked out pretty well, I thought. There were still some awkward moments, but overall Phoebe's relationship with her parents seemed to be on the mend. She definitely patched things up with her sister too, to the point where Feebs and I took Katie and Esau out for lunch on the twenty-fourth so we could all get to know each other better.

I found out Katie was a cardiologist working at St Thomas' Hospital in London, which was also where she and Esau met. He was originally from Kenya, but his family moved to the UK when he was a teen. And he was also a doctor, but unlike Katie he worked in the A&E department. After learning more about the two of them Feebs and I explained what we did for a living, including how the two of us met. Phoebe also told her sister why she'd had to keep her work secret for the past two decades, and I mentioned my background in law enforcement with the Met.

When xmas day arrived things in the Campbell house were a little different, since the staff were all off for the holidays. So there was no chef preparing meals and no maid to serve the food or take care of the tidying up afterwards. Instead that was apparently something Katie and Mrs. Campbell did together in prior years. This time however Phoebe insisted on joining her sister in the kitchen, so their mother could take it easy. I offered too, and even though the sisters wouldn't let Moira do any work she came along to keep us company. And perhaps to ensure we didn't make any mistakes.

That actually turned out to be a lot of fun, and I was sure Phoebe enjoyed herself as much as I did. It was certainly a new experience, in that neither of us had ever been involved in preparing a big family holiday meal before. Both Katie and Mrs. Campbell were patient with us though. And it was exactly the sort of feminine bonding experience I'd missed out on growing up, as had Phoebe. I'd always spent the holidays hanging out with uncle Mike while aunt Rose did the cooking. And in Feebs' case, she'd have been with William and Duncan for any holidays she'd actually attended.

We started off with a fairly straightforward brunch, but supper was much more involved. Thanks to Mrs. Campbell's instructions we produced quite the feast, with roast goose as the centrepiece to a huge spread of food. Some of it was hard work, but none of it was unpleasant. And it was well worth it, since it all turned out great as far as I was concerned. Even the clean-up afterwards wasn't so bad, although having access to that small commercial dishwasher definitely helped.

After the big meal and the clean-up we all gathered in the parlour for some quiet conversation and after-dinner drinks. That's also when we finally got around to the gift-giving. Not that there were a lot of parcels to be exchanged, but it seemed like everyone got something.

Esau and I were both surprised when Moira presented us both with presents, although our gifts were a little generic. I'd been given a scarf in the clan tartan, while Dr. Murumbi received a tie similar to the ones Duncan and William wore. Even Phoebe got some tartan from her mother, and she was rather surprised to discover hers came in the form of a short pleated skirt.

Feebs and I also had gifts for each other, and it seemed as though we'd both been thinking along similar lines. She presented me with a cute pair of earrings, in gold with little diamond settings. And I gave her a rose gold necklace with a small heart pendant. The fine chain fit like a choker, although it could be seen as a metaphoric collar. And from the way the subby redhead's cheeks warmed when I put it on her I was positive she'd made that connection as well.

Those suspicions were confirmed later that evening, after the two of us finally retired to our room for the night. And even though we were in bed at a reasonable hour it wasn't until the wee hours of the following morning before either of us actually thought about getting some sleep.

Which meant the two of us slept in rather late on Thursday, enough so that we missed breakfast entirely. We were up in time for lunch though, which was happily a very casual affair. The house staff were still off so Katie and Feebs and I prepared sandwiches for everyone, using left-overs from xmas dinner. That was served with some soup and a bit of salad.

After that we all had a rather relaxed and lazy afternoon, with most of us chilling in the parlour again. Even Duncan finally seemed to be lightening up a bit, or at least he'd stopped openly scowling at his sisters.

Phoebe and Katie and I were back in the kitchen again come early evening, and after reviewing what sorts of ingredients were available we decided comfort food was the best option. That meant something simple but hearty, which turned out to be a nice shepherd's pie with a filling of finely minced seasoned lamb and a mashed potato topping. We also roasted some vegetables to serve on the side, then when everything was ready we carried it out to the dining room.

As we all started eating Mrs. Campbell commented, "This is lovely. You girls have done a wonderful job with the meals these past two days, thank you all."

"You're welcome mother," Katie replied. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

Mr. Campbell looked like he was about to respond as well, but just as he opened his mouth we all heard a loud buzzing sound coming from the cute redhead sitting next to me.

"Sorry," Phoebe cringed as she fished her phone out of a back pocket. After a brief glance at the screen she answered it, "Owen mate, it's not a good time..."

Feebs' voice trailed off as her expression shifted to a concerned frown. Then she sighed, "Bloody hell. Give us a minute ok? I can't put you on speaker here."

"Tril," she looked to me as she got to her feet, "We need to take this. There's been another incident."

Her words left a cold weight in my gut, and I suddenly found myself wondering if we should have gone to Inverness on Monday after all. At the same time I couldn't help feeling some confusion too, as I wondered what sort of incident and how it was connected to the MacDonald case. Rather than dwell on that I got to my feet, then Feebs and I both excused ourselves before hurrying out of the dining room and upstairs to our guest room.

"Alright Owen," the cute redhead stated as she put her phone on hands-free, "Trillium's here, we can talk now."

Our manager took a deep breath then announced, "There's been another mass shooting in Inverness. It happened this afternoon, at Raigmore Hospital. Three more people were killed and two seriously wounded, and the casualties include a pair of soldiers. Those numbers could have been a lot higher, but General Walcott had some of his people guarding the hospital. They were able to apprehend the attacker within minutes of the first shots."

"The suspect's still alive?" I asked. "The shooter didn't try and turn their weapon on themself?"

Owen replied, "Thats correct, they have him in custody."

"And how do we know this shooting is connected to the other one? Apart from happening less than two weeks apart, in the same city?" Phoebe asked.

It was Dr. Bishop who answered, "The gunman was Dr. Malcolm Shaw. He's the ME who wrote all those coroners' reports we sent you on Monday. He also supervised both David and Gordon MacDonald's autopsies. As far as we've been able to ascertain he's a stable well-respected man, described as soft-spoken and compassionate. Until earlier today, when he brought a gun to work and started shooting both coworkers and complete strangers alike."

"How fast can you two get to Inverness?" Owen asked. "The army's already taken charge of the scene and the shooter, General Walcott is convinced this is Anomaly-related. Something's setting people off and sending them on killing sprees, and we have to stop it before it happens again."

Grace added, "I think that's why Corporal MacDonald took two weapons and all that ammunition with him when he went on leave. I believe he was manipulated or coerced, that something wanted him to do a mass-shooting too. Except he took his own life rather than go through with in. Then whatever was affecting him somehow moved on to his son instead. And now it's passed from Gordon MacDonald to Dr. Shaw."

I frowned, "Are we thinking this is another case of mind control? If so, why the varied delays? It was over two months between the corporal's death and the church shooting, but only eleven days between that and today's attack."

"That's exactly what the army's hoping LIES can figure out," Dr. Bishop replied. "We need to know what's causing this, how it chooses its victims, how it manipulates them into committing murder, and what we can do to stop it."

The doctor sighed, "I'm sorry Trillium, Phoebe. I know this isn't exactly a happy holiday assignment. The military's asking for our help though, they're relying on us to stop this thing. Whatever it is."

Feebs glanced at me then nodded, "Alright doc. We'll be in Inverness first thing in the morning. Or if we can get there sooner we'll let you know."

"In the meantime if you hear anything else from the military please forward it to us," I added.

"Of course," Owen responded. "We'll be in touch."

Phoebe nodded, "Same."

• • • • •

"Right. That's our accommodations sorted," Feebs announced as she looked up from her phone.

"Let me guess," I responded with a smirk, although I kept my eyes on the road. "It's another penthouse suite in a five-star hotel?"

The cute redhead laughed, "Only four stars, but close enough. And I couldn't get their best suite, someone else had it booked."

"It sounds like a nice place though," she continued. "We're staying at a spa hotel just across the river from Inverness Castle. That's right downtown, in the heart of the city."

I was still smiling as I rolled my eyes, "Of course. Do you want to update the satnav with the hotel address? Then maybe you can text Owen and Grace with an updated ETA."

"Aye," Phoebe nodded.

It was just past nine Thursday evening and we'd already been on the road for about half an hour. We were on the A96, making our way north-west towards Inverness. After we got off the phone with our coworkers we'd let Feebs' family know there was an emergency and we had to leave early. Then the two of us started packing while looking into our travel options, and that's where we ran into a minor setback.

ScotRail ran trains between Aberdeen and Inverness, but nothing convenient for late Thursday evening right after xmas. It looked like we'd have to wait until Friday morning after all, until Mr. Campbell spoke up. He offered to loan us his personal SUV, which surprised Phoebe almost as much as it did Duncan and Katie. William didn't think it was a big deal though, he even made the point the big black Grandland wasn't doing him any good since he wasn't allowed to drive it anymore.

I kept quiet about it but I wondered if maybe the older man had an ulterior motive, since it all but guaranteed Phoebe and I would be back in Aberdeen again to return the SUV after we'd completed our assignment.

Either way we thanked Feebs' dad for letting us take the vehicle, then Phoebe and her sister said their farewells since Katie and Esau would be heading back to London the following day. After that we headed out to the garage and climbed into Mr. Campbell's car, which I noted was almost exactly the same make and model as Phoebe's SUV, and finally hit the road.

According to the updated directions we still had almost two more hours to go, which meant it'd probably be close to eleven-thirty by the time we reached our destination. Add time to park then check in at the hotel and it'd be pushing midnight when we got to our room. That just left the question of whether Grace's army friend wanted to meet with us in the morning, or if the guy expected to see us tonight.

After sending her text Feebs glanced at me and commented, "I see you're wearing that scarf already."

"It's a cold night and the scarf's warm," I replied with a shrug. "Plus I figured your mother would be happy to see her gift was appreciated."

"Aye," the cute redhead nodded, but her tone made me think there was something else on her mind.

I waited a bit to see if she'd elaborate, but she didn't so I finally asked. "Ok what is it? Is there some sort of in-joke I'm missing out on? Or something else on your mind?"

"It's not a joke," she assured me. In fact she almost sounded like she was blushing as she explained, "I could be way off, but I think maybe mother gifting both you and Esau clan tartan was her way of welcoming the two of you into the family."

My eyebrows crept up as I responded, "Ah. Well that's very nice of her, I'm touched."

"Does that apply to you as well?" I added a moment later. I was smirking though as I teased, "Not so much the tartan, but the fact that she gave you a mini-skirt I mean. So she's accepted you as a twenty year old woman?"

Feebs sputtered, "It's not a mini-skirt! It's just... short."

"Like you," I grinned.

She made some embarrassed noises, but before she could formulate a proper reply her phone started ringing. So she took a deep breath to try and settle down before answering the call. "Phoebe and Trillium here, we've got you on speaker. I take it you've some news for us?"

"We do," Dr. Bishop responded. "And I'm afraid it's not good. I have General Stuart Walcott on the line with us, and Owen's here too. Stuart, do you want to give them the latest?"

An unfamiliar male voice took over, but he actually talked exactly as I'd imagined. He sounded like he was in his fifties, and spoke in tight clipped tones and an accent than suggested south-eastern England. He also seemed very focused, and more than a little stressed.

"It seems Dr. Shaw's rampage did not begin today, or at Raigmore Hospital," the general announced. "His entire family was found dead in their home earlier this evening. Preliminary analysis suggests they were all poisoned, likely during yesterday's holiday supper."

Walcott continued, "That's eleven casualties at Dr. Shaw's hands, including two of my own people. Add that to the church shooting and we have over twenty people dead and another nine injured. All in just eleven days. We have to find out what's causing this, and we have to stop it. ASAP!"

"What's Dr. Shaw had to say since you apprehended him?" I asked.

"Shaw died not long after he was taken into custody," the general responded. "Cause of death is currently unknown, but Dr. Reeves will be performing an autopsy first thing in the morning. Until then I have a squad guarding the mortuary, to ensure nobody else can access the remains or the rest of the evidence."

Finally the military man sighed, "I've also had the two men who apprehended Shaw separated and locked up, as a precautionary measure. At least until we can identify what's causing this, and confirm that neither of them have been affected."

Phoebe asked, "I take it Emma wasn't able to provide any useful information? Is there anything else we need to know right now?"

Owen answered, "Emma examined those samples on Monday but there was nothing. No psychic traces to follow, and no evidence of magic or the supernatural."

"That doesn't rule it out though," Grace pointed out. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It just means whatever this is, it's not going to be easy to find."

I sighed, "Understood. We'll be in town just before midnight, should we expect to meet with the general as soon as we arrive? Or...?"

"You can report to the Raigmore Hospital's mortuary at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow morning," Walcott stated. "I'll see you then."

Phoebe made a face while I responded, "Very well sir. We'll be there, nine o'clock sharp."