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Malcolm leaned forward. “Hamish said McEwen’s body was savaged by an animal. Is that true?”

An affirmative answer could have disastrous consequences for the local wildlife, especially if the villagers decided to hunt for the culprit.

I replied firmly, “The police don’t believe the body was savaged by an animal. As far as they’re concerned, McEwen’s death is nothing more than a giant hoax—at least until his body is found.”

Malcolm said, “If his body isn’t found soon, we can report him missing. But maybe we should organize a search first. It’s the least we can do.”

“Can you organize some of your friends?” I asked, surprised that he’d come up with such a good idea.

“I’ll organize the whole village,” he replied enthusiastically.

Leaving him to call around, Casper and I headed toward Mac’s. On the way Casper told me he wouldn’t be part of the search party. Apparently he had things to do. I wondered what kind of things. Eating angel cake? Sipping cocktails on Cloud 9? Joining the Ten Mile High Club? No, wait, Casper wasn’t allowed to have sex, but there was another possibility that was so obvious I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before. What if he was guarding someone else?

I had always understood that he was only allowed one morsub at a time, and that the relationship was a lifetime commitment. But maybe I was wrong. Or maybe Casper was moonlighting on me.

I was surprised by the sudden stab of jealously. Casper was my guardian angel. He was mine. All mine.

Reprimanding myself for thinking like a megalomaniac dictator or a two-year-old child, which pretty much amounted to the same thing, I decided to put Casper out of my mind until we met again for our visit to Sir Alastair.

My decision lasted about ten seconds. Soon I was acutely aware of Casper’s absence. I told myself that was perfectly natural, considering he was my oldest and best friend. But was it?

Hmmm. I told myself to stop thinking about Casper. He would join me at four in the afternoon. It was only four hours, thirty-two minutes and fifteen seconds until then.

* * *

Douglas, Bess and I joined the throng of people who had volunteered to search for McEwen’s body. Malcolm took charge, efficiently dividing us into groups and sending us off in different directions to comb the countryside. Douglas and I were assigned the shore of the loch near the Dedfield Rose.

The vegetation was sparse, and it wouldn’t be difficult to spot a body. But I soon realized Douglas was less interested in finding the body than in pumping me for information about Casper, whom he apparently considered his rival.

Coming straight to the point—no beating around the bush for this man—he asked, “Where’s Casper?”

I wished I knew, but as Casper hadn’t shared that information, I said, “He had things to do.”

“Is he following another lead in this investigation?”

“Something like that,” I mumbled, embarrassed at not knowing what my guardian angel was doing.

But Douglas seemed to think I was holding out on him. “You can tell me,” he said. “I promise I’ll keep it to myself.”

I stopped walking and looked at Douglas. “The truth is I don’t know where Casper is or what he’s doing.”

He studied my face and said, perceptively, “That bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all. Casper has always come and gone as he pleased.”

“It’s clear you dinnae like that.” Douglas was more astute than I’d given him credit for. “Are you sure you’re not romantically involved with him?”

“Quite sure, Douglas. He’s my business partner.”

“And that’s all?”

“That’s all,” I said firmly.

“I dinnae believe you. Anyone can see you care about Casper.”

“No, I care what happens to Casper. There’s a difference. And why shouldn’t I care? He is my—”

“Your business partner. I know.” Stepping in front of me, he put his hands on my shoulders. I could’ve dropped him with a punch but I decided it was best to listen to what he had to say. “What you feel for Casper doesn’t have anything to do with business, does it?”

I wished I’d punched him. Trying not to let my exasperation show, I asked, “Why are you doing