They followed her into what had once been a front parlour, now furnished only with a desk and computer, two chairs in front of the desk, and one behind it.
She waved a hand to indicate they should sit down and surveyed them with dark-brown suspicious eyes. “The nurse who originally looked after Mr. Harrison is one of our best, Harriet Macduff. Out of the blue, Mr. Harrison demanded Gloria Dainty. He said she was an old friend of the family and he had promised to keep an eye out for her. At that time, Gloria was nursing a Miss Whittaker and so Harriet took over her job and Gloria was sent to Mr. Harrison.”
“And where can we find Miss Macduff?” asked Hamish.
“Number five, Tomintoul Brae, just outside the town on the Lairg road.”
“What was your opinion of Gloria Dainty?” asked Hamish.
“She appeared to be a good nurse. She had been working at the hospital before deciding to go into private nursing. She seemed quiet and modest.”
“Did she have any boyfriends?” asked Hamish.
“No one who called here, and we definitely do not encourage that sort of thing.”
“Do you have a photo of her?” asked Charlie.
“There is a staff photo taken before she left to go to Mr. Harrison. Wait a minute.”
Alexandra left the room. “Why do you want to see her photo?” asked Hamish. “I know what she looks like.”
“Just an idea.”
Alexandra came back. She held out a photograph. There were ten nurses in the photograph. “Which is Gloria?” asked Hamish, puzzled.
“Second from the left in the front row.”
The Gloria in the photograph had brown hair. Like the other nurses, she was dressed in a dark-blue uniform with white collar and cuffs. She wore no make-up.
“May I take this?” asked Hamish. “I’ll give you a receipt.”
“Yes, if you think it will help you.”
Outside, Hamish said, “You’re a clever man, Charlie. Did you think she might have changed her appearance?”
“It crossed my mind. You said she looked like a fantasy nurse and I couldn’t see that agency letting her go around dressed like that. I wondered suddenly if there might be a connection to Willie Dunne. Gloria wanted money. Maybe she hoped someone elderly might pop off and leave her some. She finds out which nurse is looking after which client and maybe finds out Harrison is the richest by getting Willie on the job.”
“And,” said Hamish excitedly, “all she had to do is wait until it’s Harriet Macduff’s day off, go up there all blonded and tarted up. Harrison agrees to tell the agency she’s a friend o’ the family. Let’s go and see what Macduff has to say.”
Miss Whittaker lived in a large sandstone house with a short drive leading up to it, bordered by rhododendron bushes.
There was a large garage to one side of the house and a small Ford Escort was parked outside it.
Hamish rang the bell. The door was opened by a tall woman in nurse’s uniform. Hamish judged her to be in her fifties. She had a pleasant face and thick grey hair tied back.
“Miss Macduff?”
“Yes.”
“Police. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth and Constable Carter. We would like to ask you some questions about Gloria Dainty.”
“I barely knew the lassie. But come in. Be quiet because I’ve just got her down for her nap.”
She led the way through to a kitchen. They all sat down at the table in the centre.
“Were you surprised when you were replaced by Gloria?” asked Hamish.
“Very surprised,” she said. “Mr. Harrison and I got on just fine. When I protested, he was insulting and said he was tired of my ugly face. I was told to pack up and leave immediately. I was afraid I might have done something wrong. I tried afterwards to phone Gloria several times, but it was always answered by Juris and he always said she was busy.”
“Did you know her well?”
“No. I met her at the Christmas party. She seemed quiet, rather prim. The stuff that came out about her in the newspapers, you know, about her being blonde and beautiful amazed me.”
“Did Miss Whittaker talk about her?”
“Not much. Oh, when I first arrived, she said, ‘Don’t expect any money in my will like that last one. I told her it all goes to my niece.’”
“Did she have any gentlemen callers?” asked Charlie.
She smiled. “What an old-fashioned laddie you are. Boyfriends? Maybe. Miss Whittaker told me she didn’t want any men hanging around.”
“I wish we could speak to her,” said Hamish.
“Come back at four in the afternoon and I’ll see what I can do.”
As they were getting in the Land Rover, Hamish’s phone rang so he switched it off. “Switch off yours again as well, Charlie. It’ll be Fiona wondering what the hell we’re doing and I don’t want to be taken away from here until we find out what Miss Whittaker has to say.”
Hamish realised he was very hungry. He always seemed to be hungry these days. He had been so accustomed to Dick feeding him.