When Painted With Deceit

The past is a story we tell ourselves.

When a suave tycoon targets the heart of the town, Dachaigh inn’s future dangles on a knife-edge. Aileen Mackinnon, innkeeper and former forensic accountant, knows this man’s pockets are as deep as his secrets. After all, she’s seen his true colours before.

Detective Inspector Callan Cameron, Aileen's partner in love and crime-solving, finds himself handcuffed by the law, powerless against the tycoon’s machinations. But a sudden crash shifts the gears, plunging Aileen and Callan into a whirlwind of danger and deceit.

Old secrets crawl out of the shadows, testing their bond and pushing them to the edge. What are they willing to risk for love?

This journey weaves through the tight-knit fabric of human emotion, questioning what we hold dear. Embark on this heart-stirring adventure and uncover the truth for yourself.

Daniel let out a curse. ‘The front tyres are almost in the ditch! What if they’d drowned in the burn?’
Callan’s objective brain pointed out that wasn’t quite true – the car was just tipped forward thanks to a puncture. And a burn was just a small stream, unlikely to cause much harm.
Yet, Callan cursed at the mud the front tyres rested on. It was the sort that could crumble under weight. Thankfully, the women and the bairn were no longer in the car.
He parked behind Robert. Daniel jumped out and ran towards his family before Callan could cut off the engine.
His best pal drew Isla and a blubbering Carly, who were standing by the ambulance, into his chest, squeezing them close. The paramedics were talking, and the blanket around Carly’s shoulders slipped. When Daniel straightened, he and Isla spoke to the medics while running concerned hands over Carly’s back.
Callan’s chest burned with something. Relief that they were alive and seemingly unhurt, and anxiety as he scanned for his love. He saw her in front of Robert’s car, watching Isla and her family while talking to Robert.
Callan slid out of his car and strode towards her. ‘Who was it?’
‘As I was saying’ – Aileen raised her voice, laced with annoyance, and shot a glare his way – ‘it was a navy-coloured car. Glinting like it had been polished recently. A retro convertible. But with a sports car engine. He – and it was a Caucasian man – came at us like a bullet. I saw him before Isla did. She turned the car – and if she’d panicked even for a second, we’d have had a major accident.’
‘And you didn’t recognise the car?’ Robert asked.
Aileen shook her head. ‘I don’t understand. The only thing that way is Dachaigh.’
‘And the exit to the bypass leading to the dual carriageway,’ Callan said. But no one ever took this exit as the one from town was more convenient. Where had this man come from? Why had he driven here?
‘He didn’t wait after?’ Robert asked.
Aileen shook her head again.
Callan crossed his arms over his chest. He was tempted to wrap them around Aileen, but he felt her reluctance. ‘What else did you notice about him?’
‘He was wearing a hat. It looked like a Sherlock Holmes hat. And a tweed jacket.’
Robert noted it down. ‘It sounds like the man cutting about town running people over. Only now he’s managed to almost— Well, he did run you off the road.’
He’d almost killed them. Callan saw the slight tremor in Aileen’s hands as she wrung them in front of her. That was it.
Callan drew his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. ‘What did the paramedics say?’ he asked, almost in a whisper.
She swallowed, the fight and anger dissolving. ‘They checked Carly over, she’s fine just scared. Isla’s taking her to see their GP to follow up, just in case. Isla was terrified.’
So was Aileen. Still, he asked, ‘How are you?’
Aileen straightened her shoulders. ‘I was just the passenger. I’m fine.’
The tremors racking her body said otherwise. He squeezed her until her curves melded into his hard body. ‘Robert, write it up, get a tow truck. And ask around for someone driving a blue car. Old with a sports engine. If the guy’s been about today, he’s definitely staying here but not at Dachaigh – I haven’t seen that car in the car park. I’m taking Aileen home.’
Aileen opened her mouth to argue, but Callan pressed a kiss to her head, silencing her. He whispered, ‘We’ll have some tea. Please.’ He needed that because since falling in love, he’d become a sap. And this had scared him more than he’d thought possible. A head-on collision killed people, no matter how fast or slow you were driving. And he was damned lucky to have three important women in his life breathing and alive.
He just needed to catch his own breath now.