Melody is not concerned about being late. She had an early start to her day because she was unsure if her ankle would cooperate with her or not. It was surprisingly very obedient, even allowing her to walk at a normal pace. Now, she can’t wait to tell Morrison, her temporary caretaker, about her speedy recovery. He will in-turn ease Dr. Ian’s worries. Just a few steps away from the front door, she turns with her work bag to go and tell him the good news.
There is, however, one other person downstairs in the bar with Melody. In the dark room, dimly lit from the kitchen doorway, she did not see him until now. He is sitting between the kitchen and the stairs; his face is barely catching the hues of this light and it is shading half his face and forming a silhouette around the other side. He appeared out of thin air it seems, his clothes are wrinkled like he may have slept in them and just wandered out of bed the same way he entered. They are the same clothes he wore last night; she remembers them well. Her muscles tense as she clutches her bag tightly in her hand and pulls it close to her chest. She does not mean to do this, but the sight of the man seated before her, involuntarily draws this cautious act out of her.
It is Rob Maclean who breaks the tension in the room and somehow restores it again. “Melody.” His voice is hoarse and carries a heaviness of sleep on it. He stands up and now walks towards her. A smile as sinister as his unkempt hair forms on his face right before it loses the silhouette around it. “I was hoping to catch you alone.” His dark figure now walks towards her.
An uneasy feeling forms inside her. What is he doing here? She thinks.
“You put on quite a performance yesterday, didn’t you?” He forms his hand into what looks like a fist. “I don’t like to be embarrassed!” He slams the table, and she gasps.
Melody looks around to see what she can use to protect herself. There’s a chair, or maybe she can feel for an ashtray on the table, even the bag in her hand could work. But she must choose fast. She inches towards a table beside her not taking her eyes off him. Rob is no less deterred.
There are only a few tables separating him from her. “Remember what I told you last night? Maybe you should...”
Suddenly, an arm appears from behind Rob, hurls his body around. He loses his balance, almost landing his head on the corner of a table. “She should what, Rob?” Morrison pushes Rob to the ground; his voice is hurt and angry, then he turns him around to face him. “Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble here?”
Rob tries to respond, but Morrison has him by the neck and is threatening him with a pan in the other hand. Morrison must have brought it from the kitchen thinking there was an intruder. The threat, however, was inside all along.
“I have half the mind to kick ye oot the noo if ye don’t scram fae my face. Git!”
Rob scurries to his feet, his eyes wide open with fear and runs up the stairs. Melody watches in amazement as he skips steps just to make his plight more certain.
“I’m sorry, Melody. I wish ye didnae have tae see that.” Morrison lays the pan down and apologizes as he holds his hand on his forehead.
“It’s a good thing you got to him first, Morrison,” Melody begins. “Or I would have gotten him good with this.” She waves an ashtray in the air, “He wouldn’t have seen it coming.”
They both laugh as Melody pretends to give one good swing to the air. “Aye, he’d be a goner by now. Good on ye, hen.”
Once they return the tables to their original spots, they leave.
The air is moist with light showers of rain lightly tapping on Morrison’s windshield. He and Melody are almost at Deacon House. While the windy roads across town with their obvious bumps are irritating her ankle at certain points in their journey, Melody isn’t too concerned as she stares at the jagged cliffs and rough seas below. They hit against the walls of the cliffs, pounding for entry then retreating again for a second try.
Much like the restless waters, Melody’s attempts to find clues that her father may have left have been thwarted over and again. But something Rob said last night let her know she may be rocking the right boat after all – even though he tried to dissuade her this morning. If her overhearing him and Tam on Saturday meant nothing, he wouldn’t have threatened her. Ironically, his attempt to keep her at bay may be the very confirmation she needs to know she is on the right track.
“Ye shouldnae worry aboot that Rob. He’s just no’ used tae women refusing him.” Morrison’s voice is calm and reassuring.
“Do you think he’s...dangerous?” The precarious feeling lingers.
“Whit ye mean?” Noticing the look of discomfort on Melody’s face as she looks at her ankle, Morrison swerves around a couple of bumps to make the ride more comfortable. They glide smoothly onto the steep hill going up to Deacon House.
“Is he... capable of hurting anyone?”
“Whit makes ye say tha’? The wee threats from this morning?”
“No. I just saw a different side of him recently.”
Morrison parks next to the front door then says, “Hmmm, the way he ran this morning, shows you he’s harmless, trust me. But I’m also no’ one to awaken the devil in someone. You ken whit I mean?”
“Yeah.” Melody understands that Morrison
