MacTavish & Scott - A Cupcake for the Murderer E-Book

Gitta Edelmann

• Herausgeber: Bastei Entertainment
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 191

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Novice detective Finola hasn’t been in Edinburgh long, but she’s already made friends in the city. She gets on especially well with the amicable café owner Laurie, who’s known for her delicious, beautifully decorated cupcakes. But when a woman is poisoned shortly after eating at the café, suspicion inevitably falls on Finola's new friend. Finola can't for the life of her imagine that Laurie had anything to do with the lady’s death - or maybe the detective is simply too trusting? Either way, Finola sets off in search of answers ...

About the series:

Young Scot Finola MacTavish has moved from the picturesque Isle of Skye to Edinburgh to work as a private detective in Anne Scott's agency. Along with computer whiz Lachie, the two lady detectives solve a series of baffling cases. Finola soon realises that she has a knack for investigation and shadowing people - preferably in disguise. What's more, she always has her granny's herbal medicine to hand, and the drops in question are much more than just a headache remedy ...

About the author:

Gitta Edelmann worked as a translator in Bonn, Rio de Janeiro, Freiburg and Edinburgh before moving back to the Rhineland, Germany. In addition to children’s stories and historical novels, she published a five-volume cosy crime series before starting on the mystery series MacTavish & Scott. The author also goes by the name of Lady of Glencoe and Lochaber as she owns a few square feet of land there.

Leseprobe

Contents

CoverMacTavish & Scott—The Lady Detectives of Edinburgh: The SeriesAbout this episodeTitleChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41About the authorNext episodeCopyright

MacTavish & Scott—The Lady Detectives of Edinburgh: The Series

Young Scot Finola MacTavish has moved from the picturesque Isle of Skye to Edinburgh to work as a private detective in Anne Scott’s agency. Along with computer whiz Lachie, the two lady detectives solve a series of baffling cases. Finola soon realises that she has a knack for investigation and shadowing people—preferably in disguise. What’s more, she always has her granny’s herbal medicine to hand, and the drops in question are much more than just a headache remedy …

About this episode

Novice detective Finola hasn’t been in Edinburgh long, but she’s already made friends in the city. She gets on especially well with the amicable café owner Laurie, who’s known for her delicious, beautifully decorated cupcakes. But when a woman is poisoned shortly after eating at the café, suspicion inevitably falls on Finola’s new friend. Finola can’t for the life of her imagine that Laurie had anything to do with the lady’s death—or maybe the detective is simply too trusting? Either way, Finola sets off in search of answers …

A Cupcake for the Murderer

Chapter 1

All the tables in Laurie’s Café were taken. There were only three of them though, so while it was a pity, it didn’t really come as a surprise.

Finola MacTavish hesitated. Should she go in and say hello to Laurie anyway? She hadn’t seen her for over a week. And that way, she could also buy some cupcakes for her afternoon meeting with Anne and Lachie.

In the end, the decision was taken out of her hands when Laurie spotted her through the window and started waving enthusiastically.

‘Hiya!’ The café owner greeted Finola as soon as she stepped through the door. ‘I was afraid you’d got lost wandering around Morningside again and couldn’t find me!’

She grabbed a folding chair from behind the counter and scanned the room, searching for a space.

‘It’s okay, I don’t need a seat. I’ve just called in for some cupcakes. Oh, and you don’t need to worry—my local knowledge of Edinburgh has improved considerably since I moved here!’ Finola eyed the colourful baked treats and then pointed to the lemon and blueberry cupcakes, which weren’t quite as gaudy as the others. ‘Three of those and three of the ones with the caramel cream, please,’ she ordered.

‘Are you planning a feast?’ Laurie enquired with a grin as she packed the cupcakes into a white box.

‘No, we’re having a strategy meeting at the detective agency this afternoon, so we could do with something sweet!’

‘Oh, tell me more!’

The young couple who’d been sitting at the back table stood up, leaving a couple of free chairs beside a woman reading a book.

‘Look, there’s a spot! You can sit with Helen while I look after these guys. Then I’ll be right with you.’

Finola shook her head. ‘I don’t want to keep you from your work.’

‘Don’t be daft!’ Laurie looked at her watch. ‘Everyone will be out of here in ten minutes, tops. That’s when my lunchtime customers go back to work.’

Finola hesitated.

‘Go on, have a seat. I’ll come over with your latte as soon as I can.’

Finola obeyed and made her way over to the small table in the far corner. She greeted the woman, who was engrossed in her book, and smiled when she didn’t get a response. Unfortunately, Finola couldn’t make out the title, but the black and red cover suggested a thriller.

Finola had barely sat down when the mobile phone lying on the table next to the teapot lit up and started beeping frantically. The woman sighed, switched off the alarm and then closed her book.

‘Hello,’ she said, nodding briefly and smiling, before gathering her things and getting up.

Finola had to wait quite a while until Laurie had settled the bills of all the customers heading back to work. Eventually, her friend bustled over and placed a steaming hot latte on the table.

‘See?’ With a grand gesture, Laurie indicated her now empty café, before sitting down opposite Finola. ‘It tends to be quieter at this time of day.’

‘Seems to be going really well here now.’

Laurie brushed a red curl from her face and nodded with satisfaction. ‘I’m really busy. Especially since I started offering salads at lunchtime. And if the demand for my cupcakes keeps up like this, I’ll have to find some help soon.’

‘Don’t look at me like that!’ Finola grinned. ‘I’m completely useless at baking. And besides, you may have heard that I have a detective agency now.’

‘Well, there have been a few rumours flying around! You’ve been avoiding me for days though, so I wasn’t sure.’ Laurie grimaced sadly for a moment, then smiled again. ‘Go on then, spill the beans!’

‘There’s not much to tell, really … I’m now officially a partner in Anne Scott’s detective agency, with all the bureaucratic trappings that involves. And the agency has a new name now, too.’

‘MacTavish & Scott—I’d already heard. Sounds good.’

‘Now we have to figure out how we can bring more clients in and start making money. Walk-in clients are thin on the ground because Albert Terrace isn’t exactly in the centre of Edinburgh. But we do offer a certain level of discretion by being based in Morningside. Lachie is currently building us a new website and …’ Finola’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the front door of the café, which had just been pushed open, and she left her sentence unfinished.

‘Customers?’ Laurie asked, looking round.

But instead of answering, Finola got up and hurried towards the newcomer. ‘Antônio! What are you doing here?’

She hugged him and planted a kisson both cheeks.

‘Looking for you,’ he replied as he hugged her back. ‘Your boss said you might be here.’

Finola refrained from pointing out to Antônio that Anne was no longer her boss, but her business partner. She released herself from his embrace and turned to Laurie.

‘This is Antônio, a friend from Brazil who’s come to Scotland to teach us a few tourism tricks. We know each other from Portree. And this is Laurie, she owns this café.’

‘And I’m kind of your friend, too.’ Laurie smiled, raising her eyebrows as she looked Antônio in the eye.

Antônio beamed, showing his perfect white teeth. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

‘Do you have time to have a coffee or a cup of tea with me?’ asked Finola, pointing to the latte that she hadn’t finished yet.

‘I’ve time for much more than that,’ Antônio replied. ‘I missed you so much that I’m moving to Edinburgh. Now, we can finally see each other regularly again! And yes, I’ll have a cup of tea. Darjeeling, please.’

Finola caught Laurie’s amused look. But as happy as she’d been to see him again at first, she wasn’t exactly thrilled that her ex-boyfriend was moving into her neighbourhood on a permanent basis. After all, she thought she‘d successfully left him behind.

Chapter 2

Feeling a little breathless, Finola walked into the large kitchen in Anne Scott’s house, which was also home to the detective agency.

‘Am I late?’ she asked, craning her neck to glance at the clock above the door.

‘No, it’s fine. Lachie and I finished early, so I made some tea straight away and we sat down together for a chat.’ Anne smiled.

Unlike the plain grey shift dresses, skirt suits or trouser suits she usually wore as the respectable owner of a detective agency, that afternoon Anne was wearing a black-and-purple striped floaty dress with purple tights and light-blue knitted socks on her feet. They looked homemade—perhaps a gift from Lachie.

Creatively, Anne’s strength wasn’t knitting, but painting. In the last few days, she had spent a lot of time in her studio on the top floor of the house—and it had done her good, Finola thought. She looked much more relaxed than when she had met her a few weeks ago. Even her short grey haircut seemed softer somehow.

Finola placed the white box of cupcakes on the wooden surface of the big old kitchen table and took three plates out of the cupboard.

‘I brought you both something,’ she announced.

‘Perfect.’ Lachie’s eyes twinkled behind his horn-rimmed glasses. ‘Because, once again, we have something to celebrate.’

‘Have you finished the website?’ asked Finola, sitting down at the table with Anne and Lachie. ‘Or have you hacked the competition’s servers and poached a few clients for us?’ She opened the box of baked treats. ‘Help yourselves!’

Lachie pushed it closer to Anne so she could be the first to take a cupcake.

‘The website is ready, actually. You should have another look at it later, then I can launch it,’ Lachie explained.

He looked a little embarrassed, but proud at the same time. For a moment, Finola could see the little boy that Lachlan MacKinnan had probably once been, instead of the bald, adult man in front of her.

‘And, of course, I don’t just go around hacking other people’s networks, willy-nilly!’ he added, with a touch of indignation.

Finola laughed and reached for the last of the blueberry cupcakes while Anne poured her some tea.

‘Well, we because we’ve got our first case as MacTavish & Scott!’ Anne’s broad smile betrayed her relief.

‘See, I told you we could do it! Cheers to that!’ Finola raised her cup.

‘To my two lady bosses!’ Lachie clinked teacups with her.

‘You could have bought yourself in as a third partner,’ said Anne, also raising her teacup. ‘Then you would be more than just my slave, er, I mean employee …’

All three of them started to laugh.

‘But then I wouldn’t be paid a regular salary. And I’d end up having to make decisions instead of just blindly following your instructions. No, thank you!’ Lachie grinned.

Finola changed the subject as she munched on her cupcake. ‘What kind of case is it? Another stakeout?’

‘Something like that,’ Anne replied. ‘It’s a student. Well, the parents are the clients. They’re worried that their daughter isn’t taking her studies—or her life in general—seriously enough. In any case, she’s not checking in regularly as agreed and they want us to find out what’s going on.’

‘And why don’t the parents just pop round and surprise their daughter?’ Finola shook her head. ‘I mean, it’s fine with me, we can definitely use the money, but I certainly wouldn’t spend money on a detective in a case like this.’

‘Well, a six-thousand-mile journey is one argument against popping round,’ said Anne. ‘The parents live near São Paulo.’

‘In Brazil?’

‘The last time I checked, São Paulo was in Brazil, yes.’

‘I know that,’ Finola clarified. ‘It’s just strange. It’s the second time today that someone from Brazil … I mean, I met Antônio earlier.’

‘Isn’t that the young man who brought your luggage here last month? The good-looking one?’

Lachie looked up from his cupcake on hearing Anne’s words.

Finola nodded. ‘Yes, that’s the one. He’s just moved to Edinburgh.’

‘And?’ Anne scrutinised Finola. ‘Are you happy about that?’

‘I don’t know,’ Finola said honestly. ‘In a way, I am. It’s just that he belongs to my old life, not this one, and I thought I’d closed that chapter with him. But I don’t think he really got that—maybe I should have made it clearer that I wasn’t just breaking up with him because I was moving.’ She shrugged her shoulders. ‘We’ll see. Anyway, back to the student.’

‘Letícia de Sousa Machado,’ said Anne. ‘She’s at the University of Edinburgh on an exchange programme from her university in São Paulo. If her father is to be believed, we’re talking about a highly intelligent and ambitious girl. But she hasn’t answered her phone for a whole week. And the university won’t say whether she’s attending lectures.’

‘How old?’

‘Nineteen.’

‘Hmm. Quite young. Maybe she’s just enjoying her freedom?’

‘Or something has actually happened to her, and because she’s been in the country for less than two months and knows just a handful of people, no one has realised she’s disappeared.’ Anne’s voice sounded serious now.

‘Also possible,’ Finola admitted. ‘I’ll take care of it straight away. I’ve got nothing else on today, so I can start our first job as a new detective agency right now.’ She grinned. ‘Do you have an address?’

‘The file with all the information I got from the parents is in the office. But take your time drinking your tea first. And I recommend claiming your second cupcake before Lachie devours it.’

Lachie shook his head. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ he declared.

To be on the safe side, Finola reached for the last caramel cupcake anyway.

‘How did the parents find MacTavish & Scott from Brazil, anyway?’ she asked. ‘We don’t even have a website at the moment.’

‘Yes, we do. The old MWS Investigators site is still online,’ Lachie explained.

‘True, but in this case, they didn’t contact me via the website, they called me directly. Malcolm must have worked for Letícia’s father in the past,’ Anne added.

Finola nodded thoughtfully. Malcolm Scott, Anne’s late husband, had owned the detective agency until he was run over by a lorry. Thankfully, he seemed to have done some good work for his former client, and now they had a returning customer. Notwithstanding, the truth was that they were not particularly happy with Malcolm Wallace Scott here in this house.

Chapter 3

‘I thought you were going to send the young lass to England first thing?’ Lachie’s voice snapped Anne out of her thoughts.

After Finola had left to make sure Letícia de Sousa Machado wasn’t actually just hanging around in her student digs with a broken mobile phone, Anne and Lachie had lingered at the kitchen table.

It was good for Anne to consciously take a break from working almost non-stop at the detective agency. In the last few weeks, she had been dealing with a lot of complex legal matters winding up MWS Investigators and setting up MacTavish & Scott.

And it was actually surprisingly pleasant to just sit there with Lachie instead of staring at a blank canvas and realising that she’d lost her creative spark over the past few years. Despite her lack of inspiration though, she had managed to paint a few small watercolours in the last few days, wide landscapes with lots of sky and sea, and it had done her soul the world of good.

‘I think this calls for something stronger than tea,’ Anne said as she stood up. She fetched the Laphroaig and two tumblers, then poured them both a glass.

‘Are you out of proper single malt?’ Lachie asked with a sceptical expression.

Anne shook her head. ‘I know it’s too peaty for you,’ she said. ‘But it’s all I have in my bar. When our client pays up, I’ll get something else in.’

‘Well, it’s better than nothing. Grows on you. Slàinte!’

‘Slàinte!’

They drank. The fiery warmth and that peaty, smoky flavour the whisky left in the mouth were just right, Anne thought, for a discussion about Malcolm. Precisely because he hadn’t been a fan of her favourite malt either.

‘Yes, I thought she could go to York and make some enquiries locally. Maybe she’d find out more if she asked people in person. We haven’t really made much progress from here.’

‘Have you already spoken to her about playing Malcolm’s daughter? You’ll have to brief her well for the part. After all, she didn’t know him, but the people she’ll be talking to probably did.’

‘I know.’ Anne sighed. ‘But the thing is, the Brazilians are more important right now because they pay very well. We don’t have the financial stability for me to prioritise my personal problems.’

‘What do you mean, personal problems?’ Lachie took another sip. The Laphroaig didn’t seem to taste too bad. ‘The money that Malcolm withdrew from your account out of nowhere wasn’t exactly a small amount. And what about the debts he left behind? The detective agency almost went bust over them! So why is it just your personal problem?’

Anne got up hastily and went to the larder. ‘Shall I cook us some spaghetti?’ she asked.

‘Anne, sit back down. We’ve just eaten two massive cupcakes each. You don’t need to cook, not even as a distraction.’

Anne sighed. Lachie was right. But when she thought of her late husband and the missing money, she invariably felt the urge to run away or drop the subject and occupy herself with something completely different.

‘Oh, Lachie, what did he do with the money? Why was he in York in the first place? Or does that have nothing to do with it? That case with the missing boy he said he was looking into—even you haven’t found a trace of it. So, he was lying! He lied to me! If he hadn’t had the accident there, he would still—’

‘We’ll figure it out.’ Lachie gave her a confident look. ‘We already know quite a lot.’

‘But not enough.’

‘We know hotel he booked a room. And under what name.’

‘But he didn’t ever get there. Instead, the next day that damn lorry …’ Anne wiped tears from her eyes.

Lachie took her hand. ‘It’s going to be all right, lassie. As soon as Finola finds that Brazilian student and closes the case, I’ll brief her. I’m sure it’ll be easier for you if I take over.’

Anne nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. ‘You really are a good friend. Now let’s talk about something else, please.’

But one crucial question was still circling in the back of her mind: where had Malcolm spent the last night of his life?

Chapter 4

According to her parents, Letícia de Sousa Machado didn’t live in one of the university’s many student halls, but in her own flat in West Newington Place—a small street in the Newington neighbourhood. The address was very conveniently located for George Square, where the University of Edinburgh’s Business School was housed in a modern building, and where Letícia attended classes.

The houses in West Newington Place were far less modern than the university building, Finola realised. The street was a narrow one which only offered parking spaces for residents and was lined with rows of old three- or four-storey sandstone houses. And—most importantly for a student—Newington Road was just around the corner with a plethora of bus stops and small shops.

Finola looked around for the right house number. It had to be somewhere here on the left. Stone steps led up to the front doors on the mezzanine floor, while shiny black wrought-iron railings protected passers-by from falling into the basement entrances. That’s exactly where she found what she was looking for: The flat that Letícia’s parents had arranged for their daughter was in one of these basements.

Finola rang the doorbell.

No one answered.

She rang the doorbell again and put her ear to the front door. Was that a noise?

Third attempt. Nothing.

Slowly, Finola climbed the steps again and then the second set of steps to the front door on the next level. When she rang the doorbell, someone answered almost straight away. A small, plump woman in her sixties looked up at her. ‘Yes, how can I help? I hope you’re not a Jehovah’s Witness,’ she said sternly.

‘No, no,’ Finola assured her. ‘I’m from the university’s administration team and I have to deliver something for a Letícia de Sousa Machado. Personally. She’s supposed to live here.’

‘Not here. Downstairs.’ She pointed to the basement with her index finger.

‘Oh, sorry, are you the landlady then? Ms …?’

‘Turnbull. Yes, I own the flat. Why? Is something wrong?’

‘No, no,’ Finola assured her. ‘It’s just a formality because Miss de Sousa Machado wants to apply for a rent subsidy.’

‘A subsidy? Are you sure? I’ve never had anything like that before. And I’ve been renting the downstairs flat to female students for years. I only ever take girls because they’re cleaner,’ Ms Turnbull explained.

‘Erm, yes, it’s new this year,’ Finola claimed.

‘Well, I don’t care as long as I get my rent, and it comes directly from her father. Those are my terms—it’s the most reliable way.’

‘Very good. Do you happen to know the best time to catch your tenant at home?’

‘No, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. These students seem to have a different routine every day and Miss de Sousa Machado hasn’t lived here for long. I hardly ever see her. Why don’t you go downstairs and ring the bell? Maybe she’s in.’ Ms Turnbull took a step back and made a move to close the door.

‘I’ll do that,’ Finola said quickly. ‘Thank you very much, Ms Turnbull.’

The landlady half-smiled and nodded, then closed her front door.

Finola climbed back down the steps to the basement and sat down on the second step from the bottom. She would wait a little longer, perhaps Letícia would be home soon. And if not, she could at least plan her strategy while she sat there, ready to discuss with Anne in the morning.

They had both agreed in principle that Anne would continue to take charge of the office tasks—in other words, the tedious paperwork and the bulk of the contact with clients. Finola was responsible for fieldwork: surveillance, interviews and personal contacts—if necessary, in disguise and under a false name. Lachie would support them both with his computer skills and also carry out jobs such as monitoring subjects online and analysing data from searches for MacTavish & Scott.

So, who could Finola pretend to be if Letícia didn’t turn up any time soon? The idea of a rent subsidy from the university wasn’t a very good one apparently; there didn’t seem to be any such thing.