CHAPTER 9 THE DELIVERY
I'd quietly put the guidebook project on hold. My editor remained blissfully unaware – breaking that news was still on my mental to-do list, somewhere between "apprehend murderer targeting photographers" and "buy more green tea."
Three days after our findings at Dunnottar Castle, we stood in the living room of our rented stone cottage in Cruden Bay while the landlady pointed at the thermostat.
"Just turn this to adjust," she said. "Heat's available twenty-four seven."
Brian's eyes went wide. "All the time?" he repeated quietly. "It's not rationed like medicine?"
Compared to our last place, this felt amazing. Our shower routine had become military operations: count to sixty under lukewarm water, then hop across frigid tiles with chattering teeth.
As soon as our
