Allegra Fairweather_ Paranormal Investigator - Janni Nell [67]
“That child, his name was Donald, never forgot that a selkie had saved his life. Until the day he died he made sure that we lived in harmony with the villagers. We walked on land and nobody tried to steal our skins. Donald’s son and his son’s son honored the treaty between our people.”
“So that’s why the villagers denied that anything lived in the loch,” I murmured. “They were honoring the treaty.”
“They denied our existence?” Harq seemed surprised. “Why would they do that? The treaty had already been broken. Twice.”
“Tell me how it happened,” I said.
“Sometimes my people go ashore. They like to run and dance, particularly the females.
“Three men were hiding in the bushes when—” He made a noise that sounded like Cark. I guess that was the name of the female selkie The Three M’s had seen near the rose. “—when Cark went ashore. The men came out of the bushes to look at her. She was frightened. They shouted at her. One of them grabbed her hair but she got away.
“We wanted to teach the men not to touch our females,” he said, struggling with the words. “We caught one of the men and pulled him into the loch—to frighten, not kill. But we kept him underwater too long. He drowned.
“My people decided to mark him. We wanted to—to—” He glanced at Scarlett as though he couldn’t think of the right word.
Scarlett said, “They wanted to send a message to the villagers to leave the selkies alone.”
He nodded.
I thought about that. It almost made sense, but there was one thing I didn’t understand.
“If the selkies wanted to send a message,” I began, “why was the body removed and replaced by fish?”
“That was my idea,” said Scarlett. “I panicked. I feared what the villagers would do if they knew the selkies were responsible for McEwen’s death.”
“Where is McEwen’s body now?”
It was Scarlett who answered. “The selkies took it out to sea.”
So it would probably never be found. I turned to Harq.
“What about Malcolm?” I asked. “Why did you kill him?”
“We did not,” said Harq. “We found him floating. He was already dead.”
“The man was a known drunk,” said Scarlett. “He must have fallen in and drowned.” She looked to Harq for confirmation.
All he said was, “We didn’t kill him but we did mark him. To send a message.”
Wonderful. Case solved.
Almost. “You said the treaty had been broken twice. What happened the second time?”
“He’s just told you about the second time,” said Scarlett.
“Okay, what happened the first time?”
Harq looked as though someone had stolen his heart. “Eark,” he began. I guess that was the name of another selkie. “She was—is—my sister. Her skin was stolen.”
Immediately I remembered the chest of furs in Sir Alastair’s attic and the skin that hadn’t been made into a coat. So that’s why my toe had itched. Sir Alastair had stolen Eark’s skin and hidden it in the attic, thereby forcing her to live as his wife.
Suddenly it all made sense. The skin, the naked dancing in the wood, and the slight accent that reminded me of Harq’s thicker one.
“Lady Justina is your sister,” I said.
“That bastard Sir Alastair stole her skin,” Scarlett said. “He broke the treaty made by his great-grandfather, Sir Donald. I’ve tried everything to convince him to set Eark—Justina—free. I’ve threatened and pleaded but he just laughs at me and calls me crazy for imagining he’s married to a selkie. That’s why when the other men attacked Cark, the selkies took matters into their own hands. It’s a shame they couldn’t get their hands on Alastair.”
Sometimes, during my work, I get the chance to bring real joy to people. This was one of those times.
Looking from Scarlett to Harq, I said, “I know where Justina’s—I mean Eark’s—skin is hidden. I’ll have her back in the loch tomorrow.”
“You will help us?” asked Harq. “Even after what we did to the man you call McEwen?”
I nodded. “But you must promise not to harm any more humans.”
“Of course,” he said. “As long as Eark is returned.